cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
From devotion to disillusionment: the changing face of Penelope from Homer to Buero to Miras

This paper examines the adaptation of the classical figure of Penelope in two twentieth-century Spanish dramas: Antonio Buero Vallejo’s La tejedora de suenos (1952) and Domingo Miras’ Penelope (1971). Unlike Homer’s epic, the Penelope of these modern tragedies regrets the return of her husband, who at this point in time lost his heroic status. Buero’s and Miras’ works are not unique in their treatment of this theme, but they are among the first, at least in Spain, to consider the drama from Penelope’s perspective, while remaining faithful to the essential plot and setting of Homer’s Odyssey. Miras goes further than Buero in reducing his heroine to a (literally) vegetative state at the conclusion of the drama while Buero’s Penelope will be lauded for her constancy, though, paradoxically, she dreams of her love for Anfino, not for her husband, Ulysses. Homer’s Penelope tirelessly awaits the return of her husband over the course of a twenty-year period; yet, such devotion is absent from all modern interpretations of this myth. Modern critics of these works justify such an altered characterization of Penelope as a function of the brutish nature of the bellicose Ulysses, whereas Homer’s Penelope relishes his bloody (and by extent, combative) appearance. Moreover, Odysseus is classified as a new hero, distinct from Achilles and Ajax, for example, both earlier warriors. He is strategically armed, and such tactical know-how, in addition to the advocacy of, and counsel from, Athena, ensure his survival. The modern incarnations of Penelope, however diverse, share several notable constants: sustained dreams of romantic and filial love; diminished devotion to gods and spouses; and manifest disillusionment with both marriage and with the glory borne of warfare.
Intrathecal ketorolac tromethamine produces analgesia after chronic constriction injury of sciatic nerve in rat

Purpose The study compared analgesic efficacy of intrathecally administered ketorolac tromethamine (K) and morphine hydrochloride (M) (in equimolar doses) in the chronic neuropathic pain model, induced by chronic constriction injury (CCI) of the sciatic nerve in rat.
Comparison of 99Tcm complexes (NEP-DADT, ME-NEP-DADT and HMPAO) with 123IAMP for brain SPECT imaging in dogs.

Summary Several new lipophilic 99Tcm complexes have recently been described as alternatives to N-isopropyl (123I) iodoamphetamine (123IAMP) for measurement of regional cerebral blood flow (RCBF). In this study we have compared brain uptake and blood clearance of 99Tcm-N-ethylpiperidine-diamino dithiol (99Tcm-NEP DADT), its 4-methylated derivative (99Tcm-Me-NEP-DADT) and 99Tcm-hexamethyl-propylene-amine-oxime (99Tcm-HMPAO) with that of 123IAMPin two dogs. Single photon emission tomography (SPECT) was employed to measure brain accumulation and retention of the four radiopharmaceuticals. Cerebral uptake of the 99Tcm complexes (0.8–1.1%) was lower than that of 123IAMP (1.6% of the injected dose). There was consider-able extracerebral activity in the dog's head, especially in the olfactory and snout regions. Because of slow blood clearance 99Tcm-HMPAO showed high uptake in these regions. Brain uptake of 99Tcm-HMPAO reached a plateau 5 to 10 min after intravenous injection and remained constant for the entire study period (1 h). 99Tcm-NEP-DADT, on the other hand, showed significant clearance from the brain after reaching maximal uptake at 10 to 15 min after injection. However, brain imaging with these agents was possible during the first 20 min. The mechanism of brain uptake, as well as the relationship between brain uptake and RCBF need to be evaluated for each of the four radiopharmaceuticals.
“Been-heres vs. come-heres” and other identities and ideologies along the rural–urban interface: A comparative case study in Calaveras County, California

Abstract The rural–urban interface is the place of transition between that which we call “urban” and that which we call “rural.” The interface is situated between two places perceived to be different, but which are indelibly linked. Although the functional differences between “rural” and “urban” people (or those seen as “been-heres” versus “come-heres”) seem to be diminishing, differing perspectives and preferences persist along the rural–urban edge. Such differences influence the way that land users, decision makers, and the community manage the environment and react to landscape change. Using a comparative case study in Calaveras County, California, I examine the differences and similarities between “been-heres” and “come-heres” along several lines: basic demographic characteristics, political party affiliations and ideologies, and conceptions of private property rights, concluding that the dichotomy is false but instructive. The been-here/come-here divide, rather than being a definitive means for characterizing stakeholders or predicting their behavior or perspectives, serves as a heuristic for understanding the starting places of certain actors. Furthermore, this kind of analysis reveals not only where and how people and perspectives contrast but also the ways that they converge. Improving our understandings differing people and perspectives is especially important as decision-makers struggle to plan for and manage livable places and sustainable environments among groups with varying preferences which may sometimes conflict.
Direct union of coronary arteries after excision of short segments—An approach without arterial sutures, prostheses, or adhesives

Abstract Ten dogs underwent excision of a short segment of the diagonal branch of the left anterior descending coronary artery, the distal left circumflex coronary artery or one of its branches. Hemostasis was secured by suturing the overlying epicardium except in two animals in which the addition of a pericardial patch was necessary to control bleeding. Arterial sutures, prostheses, or adhesives were not used. Two animals died in the first 36 hr after surgery, one of massive pulmonary atelectasis, the other of bleeding. Arteriograms in the eight surviving animals showed healing of the divided coronary arteries with excellent distal filling in seven of them. Vascular union was noted as early as the fifth postoperative day and as late as the end of the 3-month follow-up period. The possibility of applying this simple surgical technique to certain instances of coronary arterial occlusive disease is discussed.
Reply to "Comment on 'Energy balance for a dissipative system' "

In a Comment by I. R. Senitzky [Phys. Rev. E 51, 5166 (1995)] on a recent paper by Li et al. [Phys. Rev. E 48, 1547 (1993)] dealing with energy balance for an oscillator coupled with a heat bath, it is claimed that the formula given there for the power supplied to the oscillator by the bath, while formally correct, is misleading, since it does not vanish at absolute zero. In reply, it is pointed out that different parts of the physical system, which is the oscillator plus the bath plus their coupling, can and do exchange energy, even at absolute zero.
Terms of trade uncertainty, savings, and the production structure

Abstract This paper studies the response of savings and the production structure (tradeables/non-tradeables) to an increase in future terms of trade uncertainty, holding expected utility constant. There is no international trade in risky assets. The impact on the production structure is studied by analyzing the markets for domestic equity. The paper shows that the response of both non-tradeables production and savings is ambiguous. Cross country evidence indicates that an increase in terms of trade uncertainty leads to a higher fraction of the labor force in the non- tradeables sector.
Inhibition of Cyclic 3′,5′-AMP Phosphodiesterase in Islet Cells and Other Tissues by Tolbutamide

AN explanation of the intracellular mechanism by which sulphonylureas such as tolbutamide and chlorpropamide stimulate the release of insulin from the pancreas1,2 (as in the treatment of diabetes mellitus) should also account for certain effects of these materials outside the pancreas3–5. These include the effect of chlorpropamide in reducing polyuria in patients with diabetes insipidus4 and the possible involvement of tolbutamide in the increased cardiac mortality of patients treated with the drug5. It has been clear for some years that cyclic AMP (cyclic adenosine 3′,5′-monophosphate) plays an important part in the regulation of insulin secretion. For example, cyclic AMP causes the release of insulin from pancreas tissue in vitro6. Further, glucagon increases cyclic AMP activity in islet cells by activating the enzyme adenyl cyclase7, and theophylline increases cyclic AMP activity by inhibiting phosphodiesterase8,9. It is known that the sulphonylureas can influence the activity of cyclic AMP10,11, and tolbutamide and chlorpropamide inhibit the enzyme phosphodiesterase in the rat kidney12. We have now shown that the sulphonylureas may regulate the levels of cyclic AMP not merely in islet cells but in kidney, lung, heart and brain. In particular, the sulphonylureas, like the methylxanthines, inhibit the activity of cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase, which hydrolyses cyclic AMP to 5′-AMP8,9, which provides a plausible explanation for their effects in the pancreas and elsewhere.
Automatic Classification of Spirometric Data

Pattern recognition principles have been applied to 200 sets of spirometric data obtained from pulmonary function laboratory patients. Each patient was classified by a pulmonary specialist as normal, restricted, or mildly, moderately, severely, or very severely obstructed. Each patient was represented by a five-element pattern vector consisting of forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), midmaximum flow rate (MMFR), and flow rates with 50 and 25 percent of the vital capacity remaining (V?50 and V?25) normalized by predicted values. By Karhunen-Loeve expansion techniques, this vector was reduced to a two-feature pattern vector with only a 6 percent residual mean square representation error. The more important feature essentially represented the average of the three flow rates, while the second feature depended on FVC and FEV1. Data were divided into training and testing sets, and using the former, a parametric Bayes classifier and one-and two-layer pair-wise Fisher linear classifiers, were designed to assign patterns described by the two derived features to one of the six categories. With the testing set, overall recognition rates were 81 to 82 percent, with most errors representing misclassifications within the four obstructive categories. If the four obstructive classes were considered as a single class, the recognition rate increased to about 94 percent.
Revisioning Fat Lesbian Subjects in Contemporary Lesbian Periodicals

It is difficult to find a visual representation of any fat individual, let alone a queer woman, that is not denigrating and oppressive in conventional media outlets and contemporary visual culture. But even as the negative imagery of fat individuals has expanded over the past forty years in mainstream distribution channels, fat-positive imagery has come to the fore within many feminist and lesbian publications during this same time frame. This article looks at the strategies of representation taken by three contemporary United States lesbian feminist periodicals in visualizing fat and lesbian women within their pages since the 1980s.
Brief announcement: prefix hash tree

This paper describes the Prefix Hash Tree, a distributed data structure that enables range queries over Distributed Hash Tables.
The role of bacteria in airway inflammation in exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Purpose of review Bacteria cause approximately half of all chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbations. The purpose of this review is to evaluate the status of research on the role of bacteria in airway inflammation during exacerbations and the mechanisms by which bacterial antigens induce inflammation. Recent findings Bacteria in the airways of adults with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease release antigens including endotoxin, peptidoglycan fragments, lipoproteins, and other molecules into the airways. These bacterial antigens induce potent inflammatory effects in the airways. Bacterial exacerbations are associated with systemic inflammation. Studies of Haemophilus influenzae, the most common bacterial cause of exacerbations, reveal that strains associated with exacerbations induce more inflammation compared to colonizing strains. H. influenzae antigens induce production of interleukin-8 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha, activate Toll-like 2 receptors, activate NFkappaB and p38 mitogen-activated protein signaling pathways, and have other inflammatory effects. Summary Research on the role of bacteria in causing inflammation in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease has been neglected for decades. Research should be directed at further evaluating the role of bacterial antigens in airway inflammation. Reducing or modulating bacterial infection of the airways in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease has the potential to reduce airway inflammation by eliminating an important inciting cause.
Physical activity and antidepressant treatment potentiate the expression of specific brain-derived neurotrophic factor transcripts in the rat hippocampus.

Abstract Brain-derived neurotrophic factor, the most abundant of the neurotrophins in the brain, enhances the growth and maintenance of several neuronal systems, serves as a neurotransmitter modulator, and participates in use-dependent plasticity mechanisms such as long-term potentiation and learning. In recent years, evidence has been gathering that brain-derived neurotrophic factor may have an important role in the neuropathology and treatment of depression. It has recently been reported that chronic (at least two weeks) antidepressant treatment leads to an up-regulation of brain-derived neurotrophic factor messenger RNA levels in the hippocampus, an important brain area for behavioral regulation, as well as learning and memory. Our laboratory has previously shown that general physical exercise very rapidly increases brain-derived neurotrophic factor messenger RNA in this brain area. In this report, we have tested the hypothesis that the combination of these two interventions, general physical activity and antidepressant treatment, leads to increased levels of specific promoter-derived transcripts of brain-derived neurotrophic factor messenger RNA in a manner that appears to be both additive and accelerated. Our results suggest that these two very different interventions may possibly converge at the cellular level. The induction of brain-derived neurotrophic factor expression by activity/pharmacological treatment combinations could represent an important intervention for further study, to potentially improve depression treatment and management.
Pharmacologic regulation of histamine release by the human recombinant histamine-releasing factor.

Abstract Background: The recently cloned human recombinant IgE-dependent histamine releasing factor (HrHRF) was initially thought to stimulate histamine release from human basophils from a subpopulation of allergic donors by interacting with the IgE molecules on the surface of these cells. Additional data suggest that HrHRF exerts its biologic effects by binding to a distinct cell surface structure and not to IgE. Objective: To address the hypothesis that the HrHRF signaling pathway is distinct from the classical high-affinity IgE receptor (FcϵRI) pathway, we used pharmacologic agents known to affect basophil histamine release. Methods: In this report we compared the effect of staurosporine, Bis II, Go 6976, rottlerin, and pertussis toxin on histamine release from human basophils mediated by the following stimuli: HrHRF, polyclonal human anti-IgE antibody, and antigen, as well as the IgE-independent stimulus, FMLP. Results: None of these modulators, except rottlerin, could differentiate histamine release induced by anti-IgE or antigen from that induced by HrHRF. Rottlerin enhanced HrHRF-mediated histamine release and dose dependently blocked FMLP-mediated release without affecting basophil activation by either anti-IgE or antigen. Conclusion: These data suggest a unique signaling pathway for HrHRF and thus strengthen the hypothesis that HrHRF binds to a specific receptor other than IgE. (J Allergy Clin Immunol 1999;103:937-43.)
Quadratic optimization for controller initialization in multivariable switching systems

This paper deals with switching between several linear time-invariant controllers to be used in feedback with a MIMO linear time-invariant (not necessarily stable) plant to be controlled. We explore the fact that, aside from selecting the controllers' transfer functions and deciding which controller to use in the feedback loop at each time instant, the system designer has two additional degrees of freedom that are seldom used: the choice of the realizations for the controllers' transfer functions and selection of the initial condition that is assigned to the controller when it is switching into the feedback loop. We show that by selecting appropriate controller realizations and finding optimal values for the initial controller state, one can achieve significantly better transients. We also show that the closed-loop system remains input-to-state stable by adding a mild constraint to the optimization and to select the initial controller state. We illustrate the use of our results in the control of a flexible beam actuated in torque. This system is unstable with two poles at the origin and contains several lightly damped modes, which can be easily excited by controller switching.
Selective platelet immune retention.

Inbred rats were immunized with Freund's Adjuvant containing proteins of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Mycobacterium butyrium, or dinitrochlorobenzene (DNCB). Native arterial blood was then passed over glass beads coated with those antigens. The platelet retention on the glass beads was measured.Rats immunized with Complete Freund's Adjuvant developed accelerated platelet retention on beads coated with protein derivatives of tuberculosis (EkD) after just 18 seconds of blood flow. Rats Immunized twice maintained selective retention longer than those immnunized once. The test animals developed no cutaneous hypersensitivity nor precipitin lines on Ouchter-long gels against PPD. Rats sensitized to DNCB had accelerated platelet retention on MCB-coated beads. Results were temperature and complement dependent, and antigen-specific. Heparin caused a dose-dependent inhibition of the accelerated retention.PYD potentiated the UP-induced aggregation of platelet-rich plasma (YW) from immunized rats.These experiments sug...
Concurrent validity and reliability of lower and upper alpha activities as measures of visual and kinesthetic imagery ability

Abstract The purpose of this study was to correlate lower and upper alpha power with the Revised Movement Imagery Questionnaire (MIQ‐R; Hall & Martin, 1997) to determine the validity of electroencephalographic (EEG) recordings as measures of kinesthetic and visual imagery ability. EEG activity was recorded from 30 right‐handed‐volunteers. Results revealed that the internal consistency and the test‐retest reliability of both kinesthetic and visual subscales as measured by lower and upper alpha power were acceptable. Cortical activation was significantly correlated(p < .05) with MIQ‐R kinesthetic subscale at both the right and left parietal sites. Further, cortical activation was significantly correlated (p < .05) with MIQ‐R visual subscale at the right and left occipital and parietal regions. These results support previous research (Cremades, 2002) showing that both left and right hemispheres are activated during imagery processing. These findings suggest that EEG recordings at the occipital and parietal r...
Diagnostic aids and vital pulp therapy for deciduous teeth

A carious pulp exposure in a deciduous or newly erupted permanent tooth causes perhaps as much anxiety and concern on the part o f the dentist as any other prob­ lem in dentistry. In the past many dentists have had disappointing results when they have attempted to treat these carious pulp exposures. T oo often they have used empirical methods, those based on obser­ vation rather than scientific reasoning. Some members o f the professon have found favor with a particular technic or drug and have attempted to use the same procedure in the treatment o f all carious exposures. Although it is true that many procedures often bring excellent results in the treatment o f carious exposures, they occasionally bring failures. In this paper several commonly used procedures will be discussed, and an attempt will be made to determine the merits of each by considering the clinical symptoms and histologic picture in vital pulp exposures.
Should We Really “Kill” the Messenger? Framing Physician-Assisted Suicide and the Role of Messengers

Undoubtedly, framing political issues is an effective means of influencing the distribution of opinion. But while most studies have shown the effectiveness of alternative issue frames on opinion, they largely ignore the role of the messenger. Our research examines whether message content or messengers are more important in influencing opinion. Four experimental conditions and a control were embedded in a statewide survey, allowing an explicit comparison between the impact of frames comprising message content alone and the same frames attributed to public figures identified with physician-assisted suicide. Results show that an attributed source is no more effective than content alone in influencing opinion on physician-assisted suicide and that the messenger might in fact reduce the intended influence of the message. We conclude with a discussion of our findings within the larger literature on political persuasion and attitude change.
A dictionary based approach for robust and syllable-independent audio input transcription for query by humming systems

Transcription from audio to musical representation is a challenging problem for Query by Humming (QBH) systems. In this paper, we propose a two step note transcription process consisting of an algorithm that uses a speech recognizer for note segmentation followed by signal processing for robust location and capture of pitch and duration in the humming audio input. In contrast to most Hidden Markov Model based approaches to QBH systems that model and classify humming into a single universal model, we designed a flexible speech recognizer that allows different types of humming sounds in the input for providing efficient and accurate note segmentation and transcription. We use novel statistical energy and pitch analyses to correct potential insertion and deletion errors to augment the system's performance, and evaluate our algorithm with precision and recall tests. Using a large database previously amassed, we test various system configurations, providing results for note segmentation with and without the proposed augmentations. The augmented system robustly recognizes the location of humming notes with a precision and recall F measure of 0.84. As a second validation, we use the results of the transcription system in melody retrieval and found, for a database of 1000 melodies, a 76% retrieval accuracy with automatically extracted queries, and a 83% retrieval performance with manually transcribed queries. Sensitivity analysis shows that, while it is possible to locate the position of the hummed notes accurately, incorrect segmentation results can have a negative effect in the retrieval performance of the QBH system.
CO2 fixation by malic enzyme in a species of Micrococcus.

Abstract Micrococcus sp. (A.T.C.C. No. 407) grown in a synthetic medium produced large amounts of malic enzyme. Growth of the organism and the malic enzyme production by the cells was enhanced by the addition of NaHCO3 to the medium. CO2 fixation was catalysed by malic enzyme in cell free extracts. This enzymatic reaction required pyruvate, NADPH and Mg++. The radioactive product was identified by paper chromatography as malic acid. This evidence suggests that the physiological role of malic enzyme is in the maintenance of the tricarboxylic acid-cycle.
Monte Carlo Simulation of the Sequential Probability Ratio Test for Radiation Monitoring

A computer program simulates the Sequential Probability Ratio Test (SPRT) using Monte Carlo techniques. The program, SEQTEST, performs random number sampling of either a Poisson or normal distribution to simulate radiation monitoring data. The results are in terms of the detection probabilities and the average time required for a trial. The computed SPRT results can be compared with tabulated single interval test (SIT) values to determine the better statistical test for particular monitoring applications. Use of the SPRT in a hand-and-foot alpha monitor shows that the SPRT provides better detection probabilities while generally requiring less counting time. Calculations are also performed for a monitor where the SPRT is not permitted to the take longer than the single interval test. Although the performance of the SPRT is degraded by this restriction, the detection probabilities are still similar to the SIT values, and average counting times are always less than 75% of the SIT time. Some optimal conditions for use of the SPRT are described. The SPRT should be the test of choice in many radiation monitoring situations.
Social Subordination, Population Density, and Mammalian Evolution

Natural selection, operating on phenotypic expressions of the genetic material, is generally held to be of fundamental importance in evolution. Natural selection includes environmental selection, by which is meant here the selection of particular correlated phenotypic-genotypic changes or adaptations that confer better survival, including competitive advantages of the genotype, in a new or changing environment. However, the behavioral characteristics of many, if not most, mammals operate to reduce exposure to new or changing habitats. For example, most mammals are reluctant to go beyond the limits of familiar territory-their home range-and generally must be forced to do so. In addition, socially dominant animals usually occupy and hold the most desirable portions of the habitat and are the most successful breeders. In turn, their offspring tend to be dominant. Moreover, mammals generally occupy the habitat for which they are best adapted, and a given species may occupy similar, if not identical, habitats for many millennia. Therefore, if animals occupy a specific habitat and move with it as the habitat shifts with time and climatic change, how can they be subjected to the selective force of environmental changes, and by which mechanisms does mammalian evolution occur? Mammalian evolution might be expected to be conservative and limited to a rate characteristic of the entire ecosystem. However, mammalian evolution has been explosive with respect to rate and diversity. I suggest that the conservative influence of social dominance is more than offset by other consequences of hierarchical behavior, and that social behavior is a major force in the evolution
Meta-analysis of catheter ablation as an adjunct to medical therapy for treatment of ventricular tachycardia in patients with structural heart disease

Background Most studies of catheter ablation for the treatment of ventricular tachycardia (VT) are relatively small observational trials. Objective The purpose of this study was to define the relative risk of VT recurrence in patients undergoing catheter ablation as an adjunct to medical therapy versus medical therapy alone in a pooled analysis of controlled studies. Methods Randomized and nonrandomized controlled trials of patients who underwent adjunctive catheter ablation of VT versus medical therapy alone were sought. MEDLINE, EMBASE, the Cochrane central register of controlled trials (CENTRAL), and Web of Science were searched from 1965 to July 2010. Supplemental searches included Internet resources, reference lists, and reports of arrhythmia experts. Three authors independently reviewed and extracted the data regarding baseline characteristics, ablation methodology, medical therapy, complications, VT recurrences, mortality, and study quality. Results Five studies were included totaling 457 participants with structural heart disease. Adjunctive catheter ablation was performed in 58% of participants, whereas 42% received medical therapy alone for VT. Complications of catheter ablation included death (1%), stroke (1%), cardiac perforation (1%), and complete heart block (1.6%). Using a random-effects model, a statistically significant 35% reduction in the number of patients with VT recurrence was noted with adjunctive catheter ablation (P Conclusions Catheter ablation as an adjunct to medical therapy reduces VT recurrences in patients with structural heart disease and has no impact on mortality.
Actors are madmen : notebook of a theatregoer in China

A. C. Scott s first visit to China in 1946 marked the beginning of a personal involvement with that nation s people and culture that would prove singular in its intensity, intimacy, and joy. Now, more than three decades later, an eminent Western authority on Asian theatre looks back on those early years of discovery in a memoir that is at once compelling drama and vividly etched history. This is an explorer s impressions of a world which few foreigners have ever seen and a scholar s unique depiction of pre-liberation China, its society, customs, and theatre, before the final curtain fell. For anyone interested in Chinese culture, history, or drama, or intrigued by the increasingly rare genre of travelogue, Scott s achievement will prove both enjoyable and invaluable."
The C. elegans homeodomain protein CEH-6 affects gene expression and development of the excretory cell

We are studying the maturation of the excretory cell in C. elegans as a simple model for organ development. The POU-III homeobox gene ceh-6 encodes a transcription factor expressed in the excretory cell that is important for its normal development. We are investigating the role of ceh-6 in the excretory cell from two perspectives: embryonic formation of cell structure and regulation of genes required for proper cell function. To track embryonic excretory cell development, we are using a ceh-6::GFP marker and a panel of reporter genes expressed in the excretory cell. To better understand the role of ceh-6 in regulating gene expression, we are also testing these genes for their dependence on ceh-6. We found that some genes (e.g. vha-1) express in ceh-6 mutants, while others (e.g. nac-2) do not. We are testing whether the ceh-6-dependent genes are direct transcription targets of CEH-6. We have identified five POU-III homeoprotein binding sites in an intron region required for normal nac-2 expression. We are using sitedirected mutagenesis to test the function of these elements. If these sites are essential for nac-2 expression, we will perform gel-shift assays to determine if CEH-6 binds any of the elements. We will also expand this study to analyze other ceh6-dependent genes for direct interaction with CEH-6. We hope to define a group of genes expressed in the excretory cell and regulated by CEH-6.
Changes in the extracellular space of Callinectes sapidus axons during osmotic shocks

Abstract 1. 1. Estimations of the extracellular space (ECS) of isolated axons of sea-water-acclimated Callinectes sapidus give a mean value of 29·5 per cent (ml/100 g tissue wet wt.). 2. 2. There is no significant difference between the ECS of axons of crabs acclimated to sea water or to twice-diluted sea water. However, when axons of sea-water crabs are submitted to a hyposmotic stress, the ECS is transitorily decreased but resumes its control values in less than 2 hr. During the hyperosmotic stress, an increase in the relative volume of the ECS can be observed. 3. 3. These results are discussed in relation with the changes in axonal volume occurring during osmotic shocks.
On truncated poisson distribution for determining mean number of defectives in pharmaceutical products

AbstractThe Poisson distribution plays a dominant role in the determination of the mean value of a distribution of the number of defective units (e.g. tablets, capsules) per sample, based on several samples of same size. If, however, the data emanates from samples with at least one defective unit in each sample, involving the absence of the zero-defective category, then the formula of the Poisson distribution as well as of the mean number of defective units are no longer tenable. In this presentation, appropriate formula for the Poisson distribution, called the truncated Poisson distribution, and for the mean, θ, are developed. The maximum likelihood method of estimation of the parameter θ by employing numerical (iterative) analysis methods is depicted, in detail. The procedure for conducting the chi-square test of goodness of fit of the experimental data to the truncated Poisson distribution is demonstrated. The results of the analyses of two recent experiments based on the methods described above are pr...
Latin America In Comparative Perspective: New Approaches To Methods And Analysis

* The Changing Agenda for Social Science Research on Latin America Peter H. Smith. Analytical Strategies * Contending Paradigms for Cross-Regional Comparison: Development Strategies and Commodity Chains in East Asia and Latin America Gary Gereffi. * Purposes and Methods of Intraregional Comparison Amparo Menndez-Carrin and Fernando Bustamante. * Uses and Limitations of Rational Choice Barbara Geddes. Conceptual Issues * Rewriting the Scripts: Gender in the Comparative Study of Latin American Politics Jane S. Jaquette. * Trajectory of a Concept: Corporatism in the Study of Latin American Politics David Collier. * Assessments of State Strength Evelyne Huber. * Reassessing Political Culture Frederick C. Turner. Political Roles Of Social Science * Polls, Political Discourse, and the Public Sphere: The Spin on Perus Fuji-golpe Catherine M. Conaghan. * Public Opinion Research in Mexico Miguel Basez. * Public Opinion Research in Russia and Eastern Europe Elena Bashkirova.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Depression in Patients with Heart Failure: A Critical Review

Depression is a significant problem in patients with heart failure. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has been proposed as a potential non-pharmacological treatment for depression in patients with heart failure. The purpose of this review is to examine the evidence for the use of CBT in treating depression and depressive symptoms in patients with cardiovascular illness. In six of the ten studied reviewed, researchers found that CBT reduced depressive symptoms; however, the limitations of the studies prevent wide generalization of the results. There is insufficient evidence to support the use of CBT for the treatment of depressive symptoms in patients with cardiovascular illness at this time. Large randomized, controlled trials that demonstrate the efficacy of CBT are needed before nurses routinely refer patients with heart failure to CBT for the purpose of improving depression or depressive symptoms.
Catalytic mechanism of guanidinoacetate methyltransferase: crystal structures of guanidinoacetate methyltransferase ternary complexes.

Guanidinoacetate methyltransferase (GAMT) is the enzyme that catalyzes the last step of creatine biosynthesis. The enzyme is found in abundance in the livers of all vertebrates. The intact GAMT from recombinant rat liver has been crystallized with an inhibitor S-adenosylhomocysteine (SAH) and a substrate guanidinoacetate (GAA), and with SAH and an inhibitor guanidine (GUN). These ternary complex structures have been determined at 2.0 A resolution. GAMT has an α/β open-sandwich structure, and the N-terminal section (residues 1−42) covers the active site entrance so that the active site is not visible. SAH has extensive interactions with GAMT through H-bonds and hydrophobic interactions. The guanidino groups of GAA and GUN form two pairs of H-bonds with E45 and D134, respectively. The carboxylate group of GAA interacts with the backbone amide groups of L170 and T171. A model structure of GAMT containing the two substrates (SAM and GAA) was built by attaching a methyl group (CE) on SD of the bound SAH. On th...
Reactions of Fe-Cr and Ni-Cr alloys in CO/CO2 gases at 850 and 950 °C

A series of Fe-Cr and Ni-Cr solid solution alloys was reacted at 850 and 950 °C in CO/CO2 gas mixtures in which FeO and NiO were unstable. The compctitive tendencies toward the carburization and oxidation of the chromium solute, as compared to a graphical thermodynamic "metastability" criterion, were tested experimentally. Relatively good agreement was found between predictions and experiments for the occurrence of Cr carburization beneath Cr2O3 internal oxides or external scales. The chromium contents required for the transition from internal oxidation of Cr to the formation of Cr2O3 external scales in CO/CO2 gas mixtures were established for Fe-Cr and Ni-Cr alloys. The Cr2O3 external scales formed on Fe-Cr alloys were found to be relatively impervious to carbon penetration for short (12-hour) experiments. No carburization was observed in the Ni-Cr alloys, but the only alloys that were predicted to carburize were the ones that formed external scales.
Ozone Retrieval from SAGE III Limb Scattering measurement

Atmospheric Ozone concentration is retrieved from SAGE III measurement of the Earth limb scattering radiation. Retrieval algorithm is described and sample data is presented
Interaction of Electromagnetic Transient Radiation with Biological Materials

The transmission characteristics of transient electromagnetic pulses in biological material are studied using a plane wave pulse incident normally on a semi-infinite layer model. With the dispersion properties of complex tissue dielectric constants taken into account, the steady state transfer function was examined as a function of frequency. Integral solutions for the transmitted field of a Gaussian pulse were obtained through Fourier transformation. The transmitted waveforms inside muscle were determined numerically for various depths pertinent to biological situations. The results suggest that incident pulse experiences severe reflection at the airtissue interface and, shorter pulses are transmitted more readily than longer ones. For an incident pulse of 50 kV/m and 1 us in pulsewidth, the transmitted amplitude is 221 V/m.
Comparing Symptoms of Autism Spectrum Disorders in a Developmentally Disabled Adult Population Using the Current DSM-IV-TR Diagnostic Criteria and the Proposed DSM-5 Diagnostic Criteria

The American Psychiatric Association is making changes in the autism spectrum disorder (ASD) criteria for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5). In order to examine potential effects of the changing of the criteria, 330 adults with intellectual disability (ID) from two developmental centers were examined. However, due to the fact that the DSM-IV-TR/ICD-10 Checklist does not contain one of the restricted behavior items listed in the current proposed DSM-5 criteria, 41 participants were eliminated from the study. An additional 62 individuals were randomly removed from the study so that no one group was 1.5 times larger than any other group. This left a total of 227 individuals. These individuals were divided into three groups: those who met criteria for an ASD according to only DSM-IV-TR criteria, those who met criteria according to the proposed DSM-5 criteria, and controls with ID not meeting ASD criteria according to either diagnostic system. After statistical analysis, individuals in the DSM-5 group evinced significantly greater overall ASD core symptoms than those in the DSM-IV-TR group or controls. In addition, those in the DSM-IV-TR group exhibited significantly greater overall ASD core symptoms than those in the control group. Furthermore, we found that the percentage of adults diagnosed with ASD declined by 36.53% when using DSM-5 as compared to DSM-IV-TR criteria. Implications of these findings are discussed.
Underestimation of Social Support Buffering

Most theory and practice in the helping professions assumes that informal social support acts as a buffer against stress, reducing its negative consequences on the stressed individual Despite many ...
Swelling and growth of polymers, membranes, and sponges

Polymers can be formed into a wide range of structures depending on the monomer chemistry and the kinetic conditions of growth. A general model of polymers having higher-order connectivity is introduced that reduces to flexible linear polymers, membranes, and sponges as special cases. This ``Wiener sheet'' model, which extends the conventional Wiener path model of linear polymers, is argued to describe various classes of branched polymers, as well as different types of interacting random surfaces. For example, lattice animals and percolation clusters are considered to be perforated sheets whose large-scale dimensions are described by the Wiener sheet model with excluded volume interactions. To within the approximations of the model calculations, the properties of the Wiener sheet ``membrane'' are consistent with this correspondence. The influence of the excluded volume and the kinetics of growth of membrane and sponge structures are treated at a Flory-level approximation, although the Wiener sheet model should admit to a renormalization-group treatment as in the case of linear polymers. Predictions of the self-interacting Wiener sheet model are contrasted with an alternative and complementary random surface model introduced by Nelson and co-workers and are compared with recent simulations and experiment.
“We Learned All About That in College”: The Role of Teacher Preparation in Novice Kindergarten/Primary Teachers' Practice

This qualitative case study reports how 5 first-year kindergarten/primary teachers utilized knowledge and skills from their teacher preparation program as a means of approaching curricular decision-making for instructional practice. In many ways, participants drew from university courses, field experiences, or both to help them make sense of their work and to guide their decisions. This was achieved as participants adopted, modified, imitated, or avoided what they learned during their teacher preparation program. While the findings suggest teacher education provides valuable learning opportunities for beginning teachers, they also illuminate areas of concern. Implications for teacher educators are discussed.
AROMATIZATION OF PROPYLENE OVER HZSM-5: A DESIGN OF EXPERIMENTS (DOE) APPROACH

Aromatization of propylene was performed in a continuous reactor over HZSM-5 catalysts. A full-factorial design of experiments (DOE) methodology identified the effects of temperature (400°–500°C), Si:Al ratio (50–80), propylene feed concentration (8.9–12.5 mol.%), and catalyst amount (0.2–1.0 g) on propylene conversion as well as the yields of benzene, toluene, p-xylene, o-xylene (BTX), and total BTX. The Si:Al ratio and amount of the HZSM-5 catalyst influenced all of the responses, while temperature affected all the responses except the yield of p-xylene. An increase in feed concentration significantly increased the yields of benzene, toluene, and total BTX. An interaction between propylene feed concentration and catalyst amount influenced the yields of benzene, toluene, and total BTX. This interaction indicated that a higher feed concentration promotes aromatization at higher catalyst concentrations. By contrast, the interaction of Si:Al ratio with propylene feed concentration was found significant for ...
Mapping the human brain at rest with diffuse optical tomography

Diffuse optical tomography (DOT) is a portable functional neuroimaging technique that is able to simultaneously measure both oxy- and deoxyhemoglobin responses to brain activity. Herein, we demonstrate a technique for mapping functional connections in the brain by measuring the spatial distribution of temporal correlations in resting brain activity. Simultaneous DOT imaging over the motor and visual cortices yielded robust correlation maps reproducing the expected functional neural architecture. These functional connectivity methods will have utility in certain populations, such as those who are unconscious or very young, who have difficulty performing the behaviors required in traditional task-based functional neuroimaging paradigms.
Administration of recombinant human thioredoxin‐1 significantly delays and prevents autoimmune diabetes in nonobese diabetic mice through modulation of autoimmunity

Background Thioredoxin as a biological antioxidant plays an important role in regulating the redox system. The administration of recombinant thioredoxin has been demonstrated to be anti-inflammatory. In this study, the effect of recombinant human thioredoxin-1 (rhTrx-1) in preventing type 1 diabetes (T1D) in nonobese diabetic (NOD) mice was evaluated. Methods Eight-week-old NOD mice were treated with intravenous injection of rhTrx-1 (5 µg/mouse/day) for 5 weeks (5 days a week), followed by every other day for additional 5 weeks. Diabetes onset was monitored twice a week. Pancreatic histology and β-cell mass were examined by hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) and insulin immunohistochemistry staining, respectively. Adoptive transfer experiments were executed to assess autoimmune T cells modulated by rhTrx treatment. Results The intravenous administration of rhTrx-1 significantly delayed and prevented T1D in NOD mice. The histology data showed that rhTrx-1 treatment markedly reduced insulitic lesions and significantly preserved insulin-producing β cells. Adoptive transfer of spleen cells from rhTrx-1-treated mice into nonobese diabetic-severe combined immunodeficiency (NOD-SCID) mice significantly reduced the diabetes onset than transfer of those from phosphate-buffered saline-treated mice. Adoptive co-transfer experiments demonstrated that spleen cells from rhTrx-1-treated mice significantly delayed diabetes induced by the co-transferred diabetogenic spleen cells from the new-onset diabetic mice. Conclusions Antioxidant rhTrx-1 effectively prevents T1D which may be attributed to its activity to modulate autoimmunity. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Paroxysmal Nocturnal Hemoglobinuria: The Biochemical Defects and the Clinical Syndrome

Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria is a disorder characterized by the lack of membrane proteins affixed to the membrane by an anchor dependent upon phosphatidyl inositol, suggesting that some acquired abnormality in the metabolism of this class of proteins is basic to the disease. Most of the clinical symptoms can be explained by the lack of these proteins. However, much work is needed to understand completely the relationship of the biochemical facts and the clinical syndrome.
Effect of Board-Level Reflow on Adhesion Between Lead-Free Solder and Underfill in Flip-Chip BGA Packages

The change in solder/underfill adhesion and its effect on fatigue life were investigated for Pb-free solder joints for which, during the reflow process, the solder has melted and resolidified inside the underfill cavities. The change in interfacial adhesion was simulated and its strength compared using button shear test. Surprisingly, the difference was found to be only about 11%. Suspecting the validity of the result, the study was extended to further investigate the adhesion effect on fatigue life under thermal cycles. The effect was assessed analytically using FEA model. Energy-based Darveaux’s fatigue life model [1] is used to calculate solder fatigue life under two extreme conditions: perfect adhesion (without delamination or void between underfill and solder) and non adhesion. The failure parameter, accumulated plastic work per cycle for non adhesion was significantly less than that for perfect adhesion case suggesting adverse effect of strong adhesion to the enhancement of structural integrity. In this simulation, the room temperature was taken as the stress free state.Copyright © 2007 by ASME