cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Limited Socioeconomic Opportunities and Latina Teen Childbearing: A Qualitative Study of Family and Structural Factors Affecting Future Expectations

The decrease in adolescent birth rates in the United States has been slower among Latinas than among other ethnic/racial groups. Limited research has explored how socioeconomic opportunities influence childbearing among Latina adolescents. We conducted in-depth interviews with 65 pregnant foreign- and US-born Latina women (31 adolescents; 34 adults) in two California counties. We assessed perceived socioeconomic opportunities and examined how family, immigration and acculturation affected the relationships between socioeconomic opportunities and adolescent childbearing. Compared with women who delayed childbearing into adulthood, pregnant adolescents described having few resources for educational and career development and experiencing numerous socioeconomic and social barriers to achieving their goals. Socioeconomic instability and policies limiting access to education influenced childbearing for immigrant adolescents. In contrast, family disintegration tied to poverty figured prominently in US-born adolescents' childbearing. Limited socioeconomic opportunities may play a large role in persistently high pregnancy rates among Latina adolescents.
Cost-Based Space Estimation in Passenger Terminals

Passenger processing space estimations described in textbooks and guidebooks are based solely on peak passenger demand and personal space standards describing perceived passenger comfort. The economic aspects of facility sizing are disregarded by those methods. In this article, an analytical tool based on deterministic queuing theory is presented for determining optimal personal space, which minimizes total cost. Total cost is defined as the sum of the cost of constructing, operating, and maintaining (COM) the facility and the cost of passenger (user) inconvenience. While COM cost is derived as a function of the expected maximum queue length and personal space, passenger cost is defined as a function of average queue length and personal space. Application of the tool is demonstrated using a hypothetical data from a typical passenger check-in lobby. It is shown that optimal personal space is influenced less by unit user cost than by unit construction cost, even when scale economies exit. Moreover, the degree of elasticity and the optimal personal space are dependent on the cost functional form.
Variation of total and available lysine in dehydrated products from cheese wheys by different processes

Abstract Excessive or prolonged exposure to heat during manufacture of dehydrated products from cheese whey and cheese whey protein concentrates is chiefly responsible for decreasing the lysine content of these products. With ion exchange chromatography of acid hydrolysates to determine total lysine, and 2,4,6,-trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid reagent to determine available lysine with its epsilon amino group free for chemical reaction, both total and available lysine were higher in spray-dried whey powders than in roller-dried whey powders. Of the lysine originally available in the protein of cottage cheese whey, 88% remained available in an experimental dehydrated high-protein isolate prepared by ultrafiltration, followed by gel permeation followed by pasteurization, vacuum evaporation, and shelf drying of the protein concentrate. Unfractionated foam spray-dried cottage cheese whey powder retained 96% of the original available lysine.
Studies on the perivisceral coelomic fluid protein concentration during seasonal and nutritional changes in the purple sea urchin.

Abstract 1. 1. In a natural population of Strongylocentrotus purpuratus, the cocentration of extracellular proteins in the coelomic fluid followed an annual cycle with a minimum of about 0·20 mg/ml in the spring and a maximum of about 0·45 mg/ml in the fall. 2. 2. In the laboratory, during starvation, the protein concentration decreased to a minimum of 0·12 mg/ml; during continuous feeding, the protein concentration tended to remain constant without the fluctuation seen in the natural population. 3. 3. The extracellular proteins of the coelomic fluid were separated into three components by column chromatography in diethylaminoethyl-cellulose. One of these protein components appeared to be basic and linked to the naphthoquinone pigment, echinochrome.
Influence of salts, including amino acids, on the rate and outcome of the in-water prebiotic reactions

Most prebiotic reactions are hypothesized to have occurred in water. However, organic compounds in general are not water-soluble. This has created a great problem for prebiotic chemistry. However, it has been shown recently that many organic materials which are not soluble in water are still capable of reacting in water, often at faster rates than in the organic solvents. This has provided a new era in the study of the prebiotic reactions. Simulated prebiotic reactions are typically performed in water. However, presence of inorganic salts and the amino acids was ubiquitous in the aqueous media on the prebiotic Earth. We thus address the influence of common salts and selected water-soluble amino acids on the rate and outcome of selected prebiotic reactions in water. We focus on Diels-Alder (DA) reaction and multicomponent Passerini reaction (PR), as models for other prebiotic reactions. Some of the results came from our laboratory, and others are from the literature. DA reaction is influenced by salts and by selected water-soluble amino acids, but generally not to a large extent. The PR is also influenced by salts, but not dramatically. However, concentrations of salts and amino acids could have been extremely high in various local niches on the early Earth, and the influence of such concentrations on these prebiotic reactions awaits further study.
Broadband diode-pumped fibre laser

Reports the observation of a strong dependence of the emission spectrum (centre wavelength and linewidth) of Nd:silica fibre lasers on pump wavelength. In a particular fibre, careful selection of the pump wavelength has led to the operation of a broadband fibre laser at 1060 nm with 19 nm FWHM bandwidth. When pumped with a 30 mW diode laser, it exhibits a 1 mW threshold, a 2.5 mW output, and an intrinsic average wavelength temperature stability of about 10 p.p.m./ degrees C.
Performance optimization of externally modulated mode-locked laser diode

The performance of the high speed InGaAsP ridge waveguide lasers and the GaAlAs single-mode lasers operating as a micromixer have been investigated by using a circuit model derived from the iterative method and device rate equations. The laser mixer has many advantages over the conventional microwave mixer, including: high conversion gain, wide dynamic range, low noise figure and high local oscillator/intermediate frequency (LO/IF) isolation. The analytic results also indicate that the heterodyne microwave fiber optic link using a laser mixer provides the advantages of system simplicity, cost-effectiveness and improved system signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) than the conventional microwave fiber optic links. System SNR of two fiber optic links were measured: a 12 GHz link with 70 MHz IF has a SNR of better than 120 dB/Hz and a 26.5 GHz up-converted link has a SNR of 100 dB/Hz, without laser diode RF impedance matching. Other system applications of the laser mixer are also presented.
Does becoming a Member of the Football Bowl Subdivision Increase Institutional Attractiveness to Potential Students

In recent years, a number of colleges and universities have made the decision to pursue membership in the NCAA’s Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) with the idea that participating in higher profile intercollegiate football can help attract students to their institution. This belief, however, has not been empirically examined. Using difference-in-differences estimation, this study examined freshmen application trends at three colleges and universities (Florida Atlantic University, Florida International University, and Western Kentucky University) which moved from the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) to the FBS in the mid-2000s relative to similar FCS institutions which did not move to the FBS. Findings showed that moving to the FBS had a positive, statistically significant correlation with freshmen applications at the two institutions located in Florida but not at Western Kentucky University.
Omissions and errors in "media violence and the American public".

Comments on an article by Bushman and Anderson. We are concerned that Bushman and Anderson's article on media violence contains data that are incorrect or irreproducible. This is a serious issue; the article has already been referenced by numerous other formal papers according to a Google scholarly article search as well as in a statement to the U.S. Senate, in legal proceedings, and in California State law (Assembly Bill 1179 in 2005). Language: en
A Computer Model for Predicting Ammonia Release Rates from Swine Manure Pits

This paper presents a computer model for predicting ammonia release rates from manure pits in swine buildings. The model couples ammonia diffusion and generation in the manure with ammonia release from the manure surface. Ammonia release rates and concentration profiles in the manure are computed over a storage period for given pit designs, manure properties, and pit environmental conditions. As an example, computer simulations were performed for a pit designed with a final manure depth of 1·0 m in finishing swine buildings, operated at 1·8% initial total solids content in the manure, two temperatures (20 and 30°C), and three velocities 2 cm above the manure surface (0, 0·2 and 0·5 ms-1). The results show that air velocity and manure temperature have significant effects on ammonia release rates. Lower layers of manure in the pit have lower pH, higher ammoniacal nitrogen, and higher nutrients than the higher layers.
Strangeness of the Cascade Hyperon, Ξ −

From an event interpreted as the production of a K/sup +/ meson and a XI /sup -/ hyperon by a K/sup -/ meson of 750 Mev, a strangeness number of -2 was determined for the XI /sup -/ hyperon. (C.J.G.)
Preliminary predictions of athletic performance among collegiate baseball players with a biopsychosocial model

This study investigated the association of nine biopsychosocial variables and athletic performance among 40 elite collegiate baseball players. High scores on confidence and perceived fitness and low scores on repressive denial, strength of religious faith, and sensitivity to glare were reliably associated with ratings of superior athletic performance by four coaches. Preliminary results suggest that the biopsychosocial model may prove useful in predicting athletic performance.
The chaotic nature of flickering contrast due to the oscillation of small regions of tetragonality in an aged CuMnAl alloy

Abstract The flickering contrast observed in TEM images is associated with oscillations (in the orientation) of tetragonality of small sections of crystal. These oscillations appear to exhibit the characteristics of chaotic behavior. The physical significance of this, which is not surprising in and of itself, is that there is a coupling between the oscillations of the many sites which are simultaneously demonstrating reorientation of the tetragonal c-axis. It is reasonable to assume that this coupling is accomplished through the transmission of elastic stresses from one site to another. The complexity of this coupling, of course, defies direct analysis, but as it turns out, submits quite easily to categorization as a chaotic process, with a definable “attractor” of activity. This is usual for the complex systems which typically display chaotic behavior. The coupling between the array of sections of solid crystal which oscillate in the present case is strikingly similar to the chaotic coupling between elements of fluid in turbulent flow. The ability of one section of crystal to communicate with another in this way may have implications with regard to the nucleation of martensitic transformations.
Patterns in the use of information: The right to be different

Axioms or priorities in the value of information are a dynamic function for each user which changes with the intended use. The viewpoints of users can frequently be grouped into related “dimensions of value”: what is chosen as most important in STI is quite different from the viewpoints of science, of technology, and the information itself. There are many such sets of interacting viewpoints. Values differ for use for information operations, for planning, or for research. Preferred information may be qualitative or judgmental and not quantitative, or subjective/intuitive and not rational. Other differences may depend on the environment of use, in government/industry/academia, in business/economics/statistics, or in the argument between public versus private versus the basic urge to know. Two dimensions in any of these sets is not enough and each has to some extent its own language, with characteristic shifts in the meanings of words. The recognition of patterns in value has a direct bearing on the conservation of the energy put into evaluation. Information analysis and evaluation can be envisioned as a pyramid of work where progressively smaller parts of the original are pointed at a desired target, by being pumped up through successively higher energy levels of selection and rejection. It is possible to convert part of this work into potential energy for future reference, but information systems designed to handle facts alone have a chronic problem: they try to convert all input on values into the quantitative dimension, and they make no provision for sending the user's opinion along with the product. Intractable conflicts in information policy can be expected whenever such a reduction in values is imposed upon a multidimensional pattern, if this allows one protagonist to deny to another the right to be different. Help can come from the user's learning to recognize his own changes in identity, and where his friends are.
Object-based video coding using forward-tracking 2D mesh layers

ABSTRACT This paper proposes mesh-based methods for object-based video coding in a similar context as MPEG-4. The mesh-based approach is aimed at supporting a wide variety of applications for object-based bitstream manipulation andediting. We combine recent mesh-based motion models with the object-based video representation of MPEG-4. Amesh tracking algorithm is developed that enables the tracking of foreground video objects, through forward motionestimation, piecewise affine warping and dynamic mesh updates. Techniques to compress the mesh node positionsand motion vectors are discussed. The proposed methods were tested on MPEG test sequences of varying complexity.We have replaced block-based motion compensation of the MPEG-4 Video Verification Model with mesh-basedtracking and motion compensation and evaluated the performance of the resulting object-based coder.Keywords: video coding, object-based, MPEG-4, motion compensation, warping, mesh model, tracking 1. INTRODUCTION This paper proposes methods and tools for object-based video coding that enable object-based manipulation andediting of the bitstreams. Object-based video coding has recently gained considerable interest as an alternative toframe-based video coding. This is reflected in the currently ongoing MPEG-4 standardization effort', which is aimedat developing object-based representations of audio-visual data. MPEG-4 has defmed a set of functionalities12 for thenew standard, which has to support a variety of multimedia applications. Among the functionalities are: interactionwith the multimedia content (be it natural or synthetic) and universal access to the content (even in error-proneenvironments). The current MPEG-4 Video Verification Model2 (VM 3.0) uses an object-based representation of thevideo data and uses well-known compression tools such as overlapped-block-motion-compensation (OBMC) andblock-based discrete-cosine-transform (DCT) coding. This object-based representation provides ability to manipulatethe scene content interactively such that natural or synthetic video objects can be removed, added, or altered viadigital processing. Object-based video coding further allows object-based spatial, temporal and quality scalabilities,desirable in heterogeneous network environments.However, a number of interesting applications can be envisioned that require functionalities beyond the reach of thecurrent MPEG-4 Video VM and in particular its block-based motion compensation model. In this paper, we proposea forward tracking 2-D mesh-based motion model for object-based video coding. A mesh-based motion model is moresuitable to achieve these functionalities than the block-based motion model, because it allows a spatio-temporallycontinuous representation of the motion. Among the functionalities that can benefit from the mesh-based model arethe following..
Improvement of the representation of water quality by application of information theory

Abstract The quality of surface waters depends on chemical, physical and biological properties. An official definition of normal values of various chemical constituents for the construction of a classification scale of water quality has been in use for some years; water quality of each sampling location is presented on geographical maps by colour codes. The information content of these maps has decreased considerably in recnet years, because of improving water quality. In the method described here, a different selection of class boundaries is used, so that all classes are well populated, and data are weighted to emphasize extreme situations. This improves the information content of the maps, simplifying choices of locations for remedial action.
CT enterography technique: theme and variations.

CT enterography has rapidly gained acceptance as a method for visualizing the small bowel lumen, wall and mesentery for a variety of clinical indications. Focusing on the identification of Crohn’s disease, and vascular and neoplastic small bowel masses, this review summarizes oral contrast agents and CT acquisition techniques used for CT enterography, alternatives that can be used to tailor the exam for specific indications, and how such variations affect the appearance of a variety of pathologies at CT imaging.
A network-based structural complexity metric for engineered complex systems

The complexity of today's highly engineered products is rooted in the interwoven architecture defined by its components and their interactions. Such structures can be viewed as the adjacency matrix of the associated dependency network representing the product architecture. To evaluate a complex system or to compare it to other systems, numerical assessment of its structural complexity is mandatory. In this paper, we develop a quantitative measure for structural complexity and apply the same to real-world engineered systems like gas turbine engine. It is observed that low topological complexity implies centralized architecture and it increases as one marches towards highly distributed architectures. We posit that the development cost varies non-linearly with structural complexity. Some empirical evidences of such behavior are presented from the literature and preliminary results from simple experiments involving assembly of simple structures strengthens our hypothesis.
Reinforcement learning in young adults with developmental language impairment

The aim of the study was to examine reinforcement learning (RL) in young adults with developmental language impairment (DLI) within the context of a neurocomputational model of the basal ganglia-dopamine system (Frank, Seeberger, & O'Reilly, 2004). Two groups of young adults, one with DLI and the other without, were recruited. A probabilistic selection task was used to assess how participants implicitly extracted reinforcement history from the environment based on probabilistic positive/negative feedback. The findings showed impaired RL in individuals with DLI, indicating an altered gating function of the striatum in testing. However, they exploited similar learning strategies as comparison participants at the beginning of training, reflecting relatively intact functions of the prefrontal cortex to rapidly update reinforcement information. Within the context of Frank's model, these results can be interpreted as evidence for alterations in the basal ganglia of individuals with DLI.
Humoral Immunity in Polymyositis/Dermatomyositis

Autoantibodies are found in most patients with polymyositis (PM) or dermatomyositis (DM) and 35-40% of these patients have myositis-specific antibodies. Twenty-five to thirty percent have anti-aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases, of which anti-Jo-1, directed at histidyl-tRNA synthetase, is by far the most common. Patients with anti-synthetases have a high frequency of myositis, interstitial lung disease, Raynaud's phenomenon, and other features constituting an "anti-synthetase syndrome." Anti-synthetases tend to react with conformational epitopes and to inhibit enzymatic activity, suggesting reaction with conserved regions. Sera with antibodies to alanyl-tRNA synthetase (anti-PL-12) also have antibodies to tRNA(ala), whereas most sera with other anti-synthetases do not react directly with tRNA. Production of the antibodies appears to be antigen-driven, and is influenced by HLA genes, although an initiating factor, possibly a viral infection, may be important. Antibodies to other cytoplasmic antigens, most notably the signal recognition particle (anti-SRP), are seen in a small percentage of patients. Patients with anti-SRP do not tend to develop the anti-synthetase syndrome, but may have very severe disease. Antibodies to the nuclear antigen Mi-2 are also specific for myositis, and are strongly associated with DM. Several autoantibodies, including anti-PM-Scl, anti-Ku, and anti-U1 and U2 RNP, have been associated with scleroderma-PM overlap. The role of humoral immunity in the myositis of PM and DM has not yet been clarified. Capillary loss and ischemic damage are important in DM, and seem to be mediated by humoral mechanisms, whereas cell-mediated attack on muscle fibers is important in PM. The mechanism of skin injury in cutaneous lesions is not known, but antibody deposition is inconsistent and uncommon. Whether the myositis-specific antibodies are involved in disease pathogenesis is not yet known, although there is no direct evidence for this. An understanding of the reasons for production of these antibodies, however, should provide insight into the etiology and pathogenesis of PM and DM.
Therapeutic effect and toxicity of adriamycin in patients with neoplastic disease

Adriamycin is a hydroxymethyl analog of daunorubicin with antitumor effect in man. We have studied 86 patients: 44 with acute leukemia (27 children and 17 adults), and 42 solid tumors (20 children and 22 adults). Objective response was seen in 1 of 1 Wilms' tumor, 5 of 8 neuroblastomas, 2 of 3 Ewing's sarcomas, 4 of 5 reticulum cell sarcomas; 3 of 9 osteogenic sarcomas, 3 of 6 bronchogenic carcinomas, and 1 of 1 lymphosarcoma. Complete remission (M-1 marrow) was seen in 1 of 14 acute myelocytic leukemias. Of 30 acute lymphocytic leukemias, 5 had complete and 1 had partial remission. Responses lasted from 0.25 months to 10+ months with a median of 3 months. Except for patients with osteogenic sarcomas and bronchogenic carcinomas, all received prior chemotherapy. Major toxicity of adriamycin included granulocytopenia, lymphocytopenia, thrombocytopenia, anemia, marrow hypoplasia, stomatitis, vomiting, and alopecia. Activity of adriamycin in these patients with advanced disease supports its exploration in patients earlier in their therapeutic course.
A Risk-Benefit Assessment of Pharmacotherapies for Clinical Depression in Children and Adolescents

Child and adolescent major depressive disorders are common and recurrent disorders. The prevalence of major depressive disorders is estimated to be approximately 2% in children and 4 to 8% in adolescents. Major depressive disorders in children are frequently accompanied by other psychiatric disorders, poor psychosocial outcome and a high risk of suicide and substance abuse, indicating the need for effective treatment and prevention. The use of antidepressant medications as the first line of treatment for children and adolescents with mild to moderate major depressive disorders has been questioned. However, some subgroups of patients may benefit from initial treatment with antidepressants. These subgroups may include patients who are unwilling or unable to undergo psychotherapy, have not responded to at least 8 to 12 sessions of psychotherapy, have bipolar, atypical or severe depression or have recurrent depression. Currently, the selective serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine; 5-HT) reuptake inhibitors are the first medication choice because of their efficacy, benign adverse effect profile, ease of use and low risk of death following an overdose. Further research in continuation and maintenance treatments, treatment of comorbid conditions, subtypes of depression, e.g. bipolar, atypical, seasonal, and combinations of pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy are needed. In addition, studies of the pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics and long term adverse effects of antidepressant medications in children and adolescents are warranted.
Improving Occupant Characteristics in Performance-Based Evacuation Modeling

Over the past three decades, computer models have been developed to study building evacuation. Regardless of the complexity of these models, they all account for human characteristics such as physical movement represented by walking speeds. The current study expands previous research by introducing other human performance behaviors, which include maximum walking speed, and normal and maximum crawling speeds. Twenty-six college students participated in the study. Results indicate significant differences between normal walking speed and each of maximum walking speed, normal and maximum crawling speeds. The study also normalizes the results to walking. In addition, the study suggests that other human performance measures such as fatigue and physical exertion should be accounted for in future evacuation models.
Endogenous aggregate elasticity of substitution

Abstract In the literature studying aggregate economies the aggregate elasticity of substitution (AES) between capital and labor is often treated as a constant or ‘deep’ parameter. This view contrasts with the conjecture put forward by Arrow et al. [1961. Capital–labor substitution and economic efficiency. Review of Economics and statistics 43, 225–250] that AES evolves over time and changes with the process of economic development. This paper evaluates this conjecture in a simple dynamic multi-sector growth model, in which AES is endogenously determined. Our findings support the conjecture, and in particular demonstrate that AES tends to be positively related to the state of economic development, a result consistent with recent empirical findings.
The role of the mass media in promoting a thin standard of bodily attractiveness for women

Eating disorders appear to be more common among women than among men and more common now than they were in the past. Recent speculation has focused upon the role played by an unrealistically thin standard of bodily attractiveness for women in the promotion of these disorders. To demonstrate that this standard does play such a role, and to implicate the mass media in the promotion of this standard, it is first necessary to demonstrate that the current standard of attractiveness for women portrayed in the media is slimmer than that for men, that the portrayed standard is slimmer now than it has been in the past, and that these findings apply to many of the major media. The four studies presented here demonstrate that the current standard of attractiveness portrayed on television and in magazines is slimmer for women than for men and that the recent standard for women portrayed in magazines and in movies is slimmer than it was in the past.
Induction of mucosal immune responses in the human genital tract.

Mucosae of the female and male genital tracts are the portals of entry for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) of viral, bacterial, and parasitic origin ; worldwide, V120 000 000 cases of STDs are reported annually, but the true incidence is probably much higher. Infection with human immunode¢ciency virus (HIV) is no exception : epidemiologic data indicate that worldwide, 70^ 90% of all HIV infections are acquired by heterosexual transmission [1]. This route has the most rapidly rising incidence of new infections, especially among women, who are infected at higher rates than men. Thus, induction of immune responses at the major portals of entry of STD agents and HIV may be important for protection against these infections. Studies performed in animal models and in humans have convincingly demonstrated that the mucosal and systemic compartments of the immune system display a signi¢cant degree of mutual independence [2]. Immunoglobulins (Ig) present in external secretions or systemic £uids are represented by molecules of diierent physicochemical and biological properties. In external secretions of humans and many mammalian species, the dominant Ig is secretory IgA (S-IgA), consisting of polymeric IgA (pIgA) with J chain, and secretory component (SC) derived from epithelial cells [3]. However, secretions of the female and male genital tracts diier from other external secretions (e.g., saliva or milk) as well as from plasma in the proportion of Ig isotypes and forms.
Identification of a Novel Integrin αMβ2 Binding Site in CCN1 (CYR61), a Matricellular Protein Expressed in Healing Wounds and Atherosclerotic Lesions

CCN1 (cysteine-rich 61) and CCN2 (connective tissue growth factor) are growth factor-inducible immediate-early gene products found in atherosclerotic lesions, restenosed blood vessels, and healing cutaneous wounds. Both CCN proteins have been shown to support cell adhesion and induce cell migration through interaction with integrin receptors. Recently, we have identified integrin αMβ2 as the major adhesion receptor mediating monocyte adhesion to CCN1 and CCN2 and have shown that the αMI domain binds specifically to both proteins. In the present study, we demonstrated that activated monocytes adhered to a synthetic peptide (CCN1-H2, SSVKKYRPKYCGS) derived from a conserved region within the CCN1 C-terminal domain, and this process was blocked by the anti-αM monoclonal antibody 2LPM19c. Consistently, a glutathione S-transferase (GST) fusion protein containing the αMI domain (GST-αMI) bound to immobilized CCN1-H2 as well as to the corresponding H2 sequence in CCN2 (CCN2-H2, TSVKTYRAKFCGV). By contrast, a scrambled CCN1-H2 peptide and an 18-residue peptide derived from an adjacent sequence of CCN1-H2 failed to support monocyte adhesion or αMI domain binding. To confirm that the CCN1-H2 sequence within the CCN1 protein mediates αMβ2 interaction, we developed an anti-peptide antibody against CCN1-H2 and showed that it specifically blocked GST-αMI binding to intact CCN1. Collectively, these results identify the H2 sequence in CCN1 and CCN2 as a novel integrin αMβ2 binding motif that bears no apparent homology to any αMβ2 binding sequence reported to date.
Assay of stable isotope labelled urea in biological fluids by selected ion monitoring.

Abstract A selected ion-monitoring method, incorporating an internal standard, was developed to allow the direct and simultaneous measurement of stable isotopelabelled urea and unlabelled urea concentrations in biological specimens. After cyclization of urea with malonaldehyde bis(dimethylacetal) to form 2-hydroxypyrimidine, the volatile heptafluorobutyryl derivative was made in a two-step process utilizing a trimethylsilyl intermediate. The internal standard, 4-methyl-2-hydroxypyrimidine, was found to be stable under the cyclization conditions. The structures of the internal standard and urea derivatives were confirmed by electron impact and chemical ionization mass spectrometry. This method was applied to the measurement of [15N2]urea concentrations in dog plasma.
Pharmacists as investigators in FDA-regulated drug trials.

Regulatory approval of medications to be marketed in the United States by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) generally follows a very prescriptive process that can take on average 8.5 years.[1][1] For certain drugs that meet FDA’s criteria for fast-track approval, a parallel track-policy
Loss of Basement Membrane Integrity in Human Gingival Overgrowth

Gingival overgrowth tissues have thickened connective tissue stroma, sometimes accompanied by the increased presence of collagen fibers, thickened epithelia, and elongated rete pegs. We have previously shown that expression of CCN2, also known as connective tissue growth factor (CTGF), correlates positively with the degree of gingival fibrosis, and that markers of epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) are characteristic of all drug-induced forms of gingival overgrowth. Here we experimentally evaluate whether increased degradation of the basement membrane and apparent invasion of the underlying stroma by epithelial cells could be observed in human gingival overgrowth tissues. Tissues from 20 different individuals with human gingival overgrowth and 15 non-overgrowth samples were evaluated by histological analyses and by immunohistochemistry assays of basement membrane proteins. The results demonstrate that there are significantly higher numbers of basement membrane discontinuities in overgrowth tissues, sometimes containing epithelial-like cells. Disrupted basal membrane structure in gingival overgrowth tissues is accompanied by a discontinuous collagen type IV expression pattern and decreased laminin 5. These findings provide new additional support for the hypothesis that epithelial plasticity and EMT promote gingival overgrowth, resulting in compromised basal membrane structure and increased interactions between epithelial and connective tissue layers that contribute to fibrotic pathology.
Profiling Hospitals on Bariatric Surgery Quality: Which Outcomes Are Most Reliable?

Background Under the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program, hospitals will receive risk-adjusted outcomes feedback for peer comparisons and benchmarking. It remains uncertain whether bariatric outcomes have adequate reliability to identify outlying performance, especially for hospitals with low caseloads that will be included in the program. We explored the ability of risk-adjusted outcomes to identify outlying hospital performance with bariatric surgery for a range of hospital caseloads. Study Design We used the 2010 State Inpatient Databases for 12 states (N = 31,240 patients) to assess different outcomes (eg, complications, reoperation, and mortality) after bariatric stapling procedures. We first quantified outcomes reliability on a 0 (no reliability) to 1 (perfect reliability) scale. We then assessed whether risk- and reliability-adjusted outcomes could identify outlying performance among hospitals with different annual caseloads. Results Overall and serious complications had the highest overall reliability, but this was heavily dependent on caseload. For example, among hospitals with the lowest caseloads (mean 56 cases/year), reliability for overall complications was 0.49 and 6.0% of hospitals had outlying performance. For hospitals with the highest caseloads (mean 298 cases/year), reliability for overall complications was 0.79 and 30.3% of hospitals had outlying performance. Reoperation had adequate reliability for hospitals with caseloads higher than 120 cases/year. Mortality had unacceptably low reliability regardless of hospital caseloads. Conclusions Overall complications and serious complications have adequate reliability for distinguishing outlying performance with bariatric surgery, even for hospitals with low annual caseloads. Rare outcomes, such as reoperations, have inadequate reliability to inform peer-based comparisons for hospitals with low annual caseloads, and mortality has unacceptably low reliability for bariatric performance profiling.
Effects of growth and tissue type on the kinetics of 13C and 15N incorporation in a rapidly growing ectotherm

The use of stable isotopes to investigate animal diets, habitat use, and trophic level requires understanding the rate at which animals incorporate the 13C and 15N from their diets and the factors that determine the magnitude of the difference in isotopic composition between the animal’s diet and that of its tissues. We determined the contribution of growth and catabolic turnover to the rate of 13C and 15N incorporation into several tissues that can be sampled non-invasively (skin, scute, whole blood, red blood cells, and plasma solutes) in two age classes of a rapidly growing ectotherm (loggerhead turtles, Caretta caretta). We found significant differences in C and N incorporation rates and isotopic discrimination factors (Δ13C = δ13Ctissues − δ13Cdiet and Δ15N = δ15Ntissues − δ15Ndiet) among tissues and between age classes. Growth explained from 26 to 100% of the total rate of incorporation in hatchling turtles and from 15 to 52% of the total rate of incorporation in juvenile turtles. Because growth contributed significantly to the rate of isotopic incorporation, variation in rates among tissues was lower than reported in previous studies. The contribution of growth can homogenize the rate of isotopic incorporation and limit the application of stable isotopes to identify dietary changes at contrasting time scales and to determine the timing of diet shifts. The isotopic discrimination factor of nitrogen ranged from −0.64 to 1.77‰ in the turtles’ tissues. These values are lower than the commonly assumed average 3.4‰ discrimination factors reported for whole body and muscle isotopic analyses. The increasing reliance on non-invasive and non-destructive sampling in animal isotopic ecology requires that we recognize and understand why different tissues differ in isotopic discrimination factors.
What is Abduction? The Fundamental Problem of Contemporary Epistemology

It is sometimes said that the highest philosophical gift is to invent important new philosophical problems. If so, Peirce is a major star on the firmament of philosophy. By thrusting the notion of abduction to the forefront of philosophers’ consciousness he created a problem which — I will argue — is the central one in contemporary epistemology.
Use of artificial genomes in assessing methods for atypical gene detection.

Parametric methods for identifying laterally transferred genes exploit the directional mutational biases unique to each genome. Yet the development of new, more robust methods—as well as the evaluation and proper implementation of existing methods—relies on an arbitrary assessment of performance using real genomes, where the evolutionary histories of genes are not known. We have used the framework of a generalized hidden Markov model to create artificial genomes modeled after genuine genomes. To model a genome, “core” genes—those displaying patterns of mutational biases shared among large numbers of genes—are identified by a novel gene clustering approach based on the Akaike information criterion. Gene models derived from multiple “core” gene clusters are used to generate an artificial genome that models the properties of a genuine genome. Chimeric artificial genomes—representing those having experienced lateral gene transfer—were created by combining genes from multiple artificial genomes, and the performance of the parametric methods for identifying “atypical” genes was assessed directly. We found that a hidden Markov model that included multiple gene models, each trained on sets of genes representing the range of genotypic variability within a genome, could produce artificial genomes that mimicked the properties of genuine genomes. Moreover, different methods for detecting foreign genes performed differently—i.e., they had different sets of strengths and weaknesses—when identifying atypical genes within chimeric artificial genomes.
Land Use for Energy Conservation and Sustainable Development: A New Path Toward Climate Change Mitigation

Land use tools and techniques have impressive potential to reduce energy consumption, improve the economy, and mitigate climate change. This article explores the little understood influence of local land use decision-making on energy conservation and sustainable development and how it can mitigate climate change if properly assisted by the federal and state governments. The construction and use of buildings combined with extensive vehicular travel throughout the nation’s human settlements consume large amounts of energy, and much of that consumption is highly inefficient. By enforcing and enhancing energy codes, encouraging the use of combined heat and power and district energy systems, properly orienting and commissioning buildings, incorporating renewable energy resources, and promoting transit and other methods of reducing vehicle miles travelled, local land use law’s potential to achieve energy conservation and sustainable development can be unlocked. These techniques can be organized at the neighborhood level and aggregated by adopting local Energy Conservation Zoning Districts in neighborhoods where significant energy conservation can be achieved. The article proposes federal and state policies, combining features of both the Coastal Zone Management Act and the Enterprise Zone initiative, that can facilitate local land use initiatives that will shape human settlements and control the built environment as a new path toward energy efficiency and climate change mitigation.
The form of the spectral functions associated with Sturm-Liouville problems with continuous spectrum

We consider the spectral function, ρ α ( μ ), for –∞ and the boundary condition We suppose that q is a real-valued member of L 1 [0, ∞) and λ is a real parameter.
Efficacy of a Workbook to Promote Forgiveness: A Randomized Controlled Trial With University Students

Objective The present study investigated the efficacy of a 6-hour self-directed workbook adapted from the REACH Forgiveness intervention. Method Undergraduates (N = 41) were randomly assigned to either an immediate treatment or waitlist control condition. Participants were assessed across 3 time periods using a variety of forgiveness outcome measures. Results The 6-hour workbook intervention increased forgiveness, as indicated by positive changes in participants’ forgiveness ratings that differed by condition. In addition, benchmarking analysis showed that the self-directed workbook intervention is at least as efficacious as the delivery of the REACH Forgiveness model via group therapy. Conclusion A self-directed workbook intervention adapted from the REACH Forgiveness intervention provides an adjunct to traditional psychotherapy that could assist the mental health community to manage the burden of unforgiveness among victims of interpersonal harm.
Interaction of β-Catenin and TIF2/GRIP1 in Transcriptional Activation by the Androgen Receptor

The multifunctional oncoprotein beta-catenin interacts with the activation function-2 domain of androgen receptor (AR) to stimulate androgen receptor transcriptional activity, increase sensitivity, and broaden specificity of ligand interactions. beta-Catenin interacts with androgen receptor in close proximity to the binding groove for P160 coactivators such as transcriptional intermediary factor-2 (TIF2)/glucocorticoid receptor interacting protein-1 (GRIP1). beta-Catenin can also bind directly to TIF2/GRIP1. Both N- and C-terminal regions of beta-catenin are needed for optimal interaction with TIF2/GRIP1. We show that distinct residues of beta-catenin are responsible for both binding and functional interactions with androgen receptor and with TCF4, thus allowing the introduction of missense mutations that selectively affect these interactions. beta-Catenin and TIF2/GRIP1 are each able to mediate binding between the other and androgen receptor in functional interactions that enhance ligand-dependent transcription. The data strongly imply that AR, beta-catenin, and TIF2/GRIP1 bind in a three-way interaction that mediates transcription. Lastly, we observed that a beta-catenin C-terminal peptide containing 229 amino acids can bind TIF2/GRIP1 and AR but has a profound dominant inhibitory effect on ligand-dependent transcription. We propose that beta-catenin may play an integral role in formation of the androgen-receptor transcriptional complex.
Reconstitutable charged polymeric (PLGA)(2)-b-PEI micelles for gene therapeutics delivery

This study investigated the potential of creating a charged polymeric micelle-based nucleic acid delivery system that could easily be reconstituted by the addition of water. (PLGA(36kDa))(2)-b-bPEI(25kDa) (PLGA MW 36 kDa, bPEI M(w) 25 kDa, PLGA:bPEI block ratio = 2) was synthesized and used to prepare cationic micelles. The copolymer retained proton-buffering capability from the bPEI block within the endosomal pH range. Micelle/pDNA complexes retained their particle size (100-150 nm) and surface charge (30-40 mV) following reconstitution. It was found that adding a small amount of low molecular weight bPEI (1.8 kDa) completely shielded pDNA in the micelle/pDNA complexes and enhanced transfection efficiency 50-100 fold for both fresh and reconstituted complexes without affecting complex size. Transfection efficiency for "reconstituted" micelle/pDNA/bPEI(1.8kDa) (WR 1) complexes was 16-fold higher than its "fresh" counterpart. Although transfection levels achieved using "reconstituted" micelle/pDNA/bPEI(1.8kDa) complexes were 3.6-fold lower than control "fresh" bPEI(25kDa)/pDNA (N/P 5) complexes, transfection levels were 39-fold higher than "reconstituted" bPEI(25kDa)/pDNA (N/P 5) complexes. The micelle/pDNA/bPEI(1.8kDa) system showed very low cytotoxicity in MCF7 cells even with pDNA doses up to 20 μg, and transfection levels increased linearly with increasing pDNA dose. These results indicate that this PLGA-b-bPEI polymeric micelle-based system is well suited as a reconstitutable gene delivery system, and has high potential for use as a delivery system for gene therapy applications.