cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A note on the industry returns of NASDAQ-listed ADRs

In this paper NASDAQ-traded ADRs are formed into eight different portfolios. Each of these portfolios is of companies in the same industry, but not necessarily the same country. Each of these eight...
Burden of Chronic and Acute Conditions and Symptoms in People With Epilepsy.

Objective People with epilepsy, one-third of whom in the US are on Medicaid, experience a wide range of chronic and physical comorbidities that influence their care and outcomes. In this study, we examine the burden and racial/ethnic disparities of chronic and acute conditions, injuries, and symptoms in a large and diverse group of people with epilepsy on Medicaid. Methods Using 5 years of Medicaid claims data we identified adult people with epilepsy and used all available claims and diagnoses to identify each person's Clinical Classification Codes groups diagnosed during the study period. Using association rule mining we identified the top combinations of conditions and stratified these by race/ethnicity to identify potential prevalence disparities. Additionally, we examined the top combinations of conditions in high utilizers - that is individuals in the top quartile of hospitalizations and emergency department visits. Results Among 81,963 patients the most common conditions were: anxiety and mood disorders (46.5%), hypertension (36.9%), back problems (35.2%), developmental disorders (31.6%), and headache (29.5%). When examining combinations of conditions, anxiety and mood disorders continued to have an outsized prevalence - appearing in nearly every combination. There were notable disparities in disease burden, with American Indians and Alaskan Natives having a substantially higher prevalence of developmental disabilities, while Black individuals had a higher prevalence of hypertension. These disparities persisted to the higher-order combinations that included these conditions. High utilizers had a much higher disease burden, with 75.8% having an anxiety or mood disorder, as well as a higher burden of injuries. Significance This study shows a high prevalence of psychiatric and physical conditions and identifies racial and ethnic disparities affecting people with epilepsy. Targeting interventions to consider the comorbidities, race and ethnicity has potential to improve clinical care and reduce disparities.
Vascular endothelial cells from different tissues express functional MDR-1 (P-gp) and MRP membrane transporters which efflux HIV-1 protease inhibitors: possible role in persistence of perivascular reservoirs of HIV-1

The HIV-1 protease inhibitors (PIs) have significantly decreased AIDS mortality. However, due to viral propagation in sequestered reservoirs generation of PI resistant strains can occur rapidly. Th...
Toward a Moral Theology of Social Consciousness

A certain “rugged individualism,” characterizing classical Catholic moral theology, can be traced to theology's defining love according to the model of appetite. This model of love, in turn, is part and parcel of the prepersonalistic, static “faculty psychology” that logically and inevitably flows from the Aristotelian, substance-accidents worldview. To overcome classical individualism in principle and to become solidly established as a socially conscious science, moral theology must operate from a new understanding of love—love understood according to the model of freedom.
Effect of Water on the Thermal Death of a Hydrocarbon Bacterium in a Nonaqueous Fluid

A bacterium that grows in oil was tested for survival at elevated temperatures in menstruums of varying water content. For each doubling of the water concentration, the surviving fraction decreased by a factor of approximately 3.0. A minimum value of 0.02% water is required before enhanced killing occurs.
CampusWorld and BT‘s on-line education service

CampusWorld was BT‘s first Internet service. Aimed at education users, it replaces an existing session-oriented bulletin board system that has been running for the last 16 years. This paper describes how the team turned the connectionless webserver technology into an access-controlled information service for the 1990s. It describes the hardware and network architecture that was used, the software that was required, problems that were encountered during development and how they were overcome. Finally it outlines how the CampusWorld platform has been used as the basis for a new set of products, CampusConnect, CampusHome and CampusProfessional.
Pre-compensation for high-order aberrations of the human eye using on-screen image deconvolution

Some individuals with severe visual impairments may have difficulty in interacting with computers, even when using traditional means of visual correction (e.g., spectacles, contact lenses). This is, in part, because these correction mechanisms can only compensate for the most regular distortions or aberrations of the image in the eye. This paper proposes an image processing approach that will pre-compensate the images displayed on the computer screen, so as to counter the effect of the eye's aberrations on the image. The characterization of the eye required to perform this customized pre-compensation is the eye's Point Spread Function (PSF). The PSF can now be measured by a new generation of ophthalmic instruments generically called "Wavefront Analyzers." The characterization provided by these instruments also includes the "higher-order aberration components" and could, therefore, lead to a more comprehensive vision correction approach than traditional mechanisms. The methods presented here will be explained in terms of their theoretical foundation and illustrated with results from the correction of aberrations introduced by a lens with known and constant PSF.
Properties of high-efficiency CIGS thin-film solar cells

We present experimental results in three areas. Solar cells with an efficiency of 19% have been fabricated with an absorber bandgap in the range of 1.1-1.2 eV. Properties of solar cells fabricated with and without an undoped ZnO layer were compared. The data show that high efficiency cells can be fabricated without using the high-resistivity or undoped ZnO layer. Properties of CIGS solar cells were fabricated from thin absorbers (1 /spl mu/m) deposited by the three-stage process and simultaneous co-deposition of all the elements. In both cases, solar cells with efficiencies of 16%-17% are obtained.
The Craft of Scientific Writing

1. Introduction: Deciding Where to Begin. 2. Structure: Organizing your Documents. 3. Structure: Depth, Transition, and Emphasis. 4. Language: Being Precise. 5. Language: Being Clear. 6. Language: Being Forthright. 7. Language: Being Familiar. 8. Language: Being Concise 9. Language: Being Fluid. 10. Illustation: Making the Right Choices. 11. Illustration: Creating the Best Designs. 12. Handling Special Stituations. 13. Actually Sitting Down to Write.
Human Intestine Matures As Nude Mouse Xenograft

This report describes a novel system for the study of the development and function of human intestine. Human fetal bowel transplanted into a subcutaneous tunnel on the back of athymic nude (nu/nu) mice develops a new microcirculation within 4 weeks. Tissues undergo morphological development, become similar to adult human bowel tissue, and may survive for 6 months after transplantation. Monoclonal antibody immunoperoxidase staining shows that the epithelial and some endothelial elements are of human phenotype, but the circulating blood cells and migrating mucosal lymphocytes are of mouse origin.
Microwave treatment for sterilization of phytoplankton culture media

Abstract A standard microwave oven for the sterilization of phytoplankton culture media and apparatus was tested. Elimination of bacterial, algal, and fungal contaminants is achieved in
Beyond Orality: Investigating Literacy and the Literary in Second and Foreign Language Instruction

This article argues for a context-sensitive, integrative approach to research on reading, writing, and related text-based practices in second language acquisition (SLA). The approach views literacy not as universal psycholinguistic processes but as constellations of social, cognitive, and linguistic practices that vary with situational and cultural contexts and that are learned through apprenticeship. Many of the phenomena that have been explored in SLA research under the rubric of the cognitive (e.g., learning strategies, reading strategies, writing strategies, transfer, etc.) need to be explored simultaneously from the perspective of the social (i.e., their functional significance within particular contexts of language use). Within the context of socially and culturally embedded literacy, the role of the literary, the traditional material for the teaching of reading and writing in many university-level foreign language classrooms, takes on new importance in terms of its potential impact on the development of second language literacy. Methodologically, this agenda places key importance on qualitative approaches, and highlights the need for a great deal more research on semiotics in written communication practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Advancements in Openhole Completion Technology - Establishing and Sustaining Differentiating Sand Control Completion Performance

Openhole completions are often selected as the preferred completion technique to maximize reservoir flow potential and provide reliable, high capacity, low skin completions. In many environments, these completions will also require some form of sand control. To meet development objectives, operators are continually challenged to select, design, and install fit-forpurpose completion strategies to optimize ultimate recovery for these fields. These challenges necessitated the creation of new practices, procedures, and hardware to ensure consistent delivery of reliable wellbores, across the entire organization, to achieve long-term, economic success.
The Visible Hand and the New American Biology: Toward an Integrated Historiography of Railroad-Supported Agricultural Research

In the early twentieth century, American railroad companies faced new challenges. The railroad network had developed fully, broad political op position was gaining teeth in new, enforceable federal legislation, and fi nancial markets-first established to support railroad expansion-had be gun to move beyond railroads. Railroad companies answered with a wide range of new managerial and scientific practices. Recent scholarship that goes beyond the traditional disciplinary separation of technological, politi cal, managerial, economic, and scientific concerns has enabled historians to recognize that agricultural research pursued in concert with other institu tions empowered railroads to address all of these challenges in the period between 1900 and 1930.
The measurement of alpha particle emissions from semiconductor memory materials

With the increasing concern for the affects of alpha particles on the reliability of semiconductor memories, an interest has arisen in characterizing semiconductor manufacturing materials for extremely low-level alpha-emitting contaminants. It is shown that four elements are of primary concern: uranium, thorium, radium, and polonium. Measurement of contamination levels are given relevance by first correlating them with alpha flux emission levels and then corre1ating these flux values with device soft error rates. Measurement techniques involve either measurements of elemental concentrations-applicable to only uranium and thorium - or direct measurements of alpha emission fluxes. Alpha fluxes are most usefully measured by means of ZnS scintillation counting, practical details of which are discussed. Materials measurements are reported for ceramics, solder, silicon, quartz, and various metals and organic materials. Ceramics and most metals have contamination levels of concern, but the high temperature processing normally used in semiconductor manufacturing and low total amounts reduce problems, at least for metals. Silicon, silicon compounds, and organic materials have been found to have no detectable alpha emitters. Finally, a brief discussion of the calibration of alpha sources for accelerated device testing is given, including practical details on the affects of source/chip separation and alignment variations.
Comments on Two of DePaul's Puzzles

DePaul mentions a couple of cases that might be thought to cast doubt on PT. One of these involves a hostage "whose only consolation comes from vividly imagining life on the outside". Though DePaul does not explicitly say so, I assume that his point is that such a hostage might take pleasure in such imaginings while not believing them to be true. That would refute PT. I certainly agree that a hostage could console himself by imagining life on the outside. But it's not clear to me that the example refutes PT. DePaul has not fleshed out the example. He has not mentioned any specific states of affairs. He has not told us precisely what the hostage is taking pleasure in. All he says is, '... life on the outside.' So I will describe the sort of hostage DePaul may have had in mind. Suppose he has fond memories of his former happy life in Kansas, and calls up vivid mental images of children playing with a dog on the lawn in front of the family home. He consoles himself with these imaginings. He takes pleasure in something or other while doing this.
Integral equations for EM scattering by homogeneous/inhomogeneous two-dimensional chiral bodies

Two sets of integral equations are obtained for electromagnetic (EM) scattering by isotropic two-dimensional chiral bodies embedded in free space which can be attached to a perfect electric conducting (PEC) body. For the special case of homogeneous chiral media, integral equations (IEL) are obtained in terms of only line integrals involving the free-space and chiral media Green's functions. For the more general case where the chiral media is inhomogeneous, the integral equations (IESL) are expressed in terms of a combination of surface and line integrals involving only the free-space Green's function. To validate the results obtained here, the two sets of integral equations are solved by means of the moment method technique. In fact, the IEL equations are solved exactly for two canonical geometries, whereas the IESL equations are approximately solved and compared with an exact eigenfunction solution. >
Room Temperature Cyclic Deformation Behavior of Cast and Extruded NiAl

The fully reversed, strain controlled fatigue behavior of cast and extruded NiAl was evaluated at room temperature for plastic strain ranges of 0.0006 to 0.0002 to provide baseline data on the fatigue life of NiAl and to investigate whether the low ductility of NiAl would result in poor low-cycle fatigue behavior. Except at the smallest plastic strain range investigated, NiAl work hardened continuously until failure with a final fracture stress under cyclic conditions which was at least 60 percent greater than the monotonic fracture strength of NiAl. Fatigue fracture initiation occurred at large internal tear-shaped pores, and fatigue life was controlled or limited by the presence of these processing-related defects. Even with the processing defects present in this material and the limited ductility of NiAl in general, cast and extruded NiAl exhibited much greater fatigue life at room temperature than comparable B2 ordered compounds when compared on a strain range basis.
Characterization of TWIK-2, a two-pore domain K+ channel, cloned from the rat middle cerebral artery

TWIK-2, a member of the Two-Pore Domain K channel family, is expressed in a number of mammalian tissues including the vascular system. The function of TWIK-2 is not known. The purpose of this study was to clone the TWIK-2 channel from the rat middle cerebral artery, express it in CHO cells, and characterize the channel's electrical properties. In light of the fact that there are no specific TWIK-2 inhibitors or activators, a better characterization of the channel should enhance our understanding of its role in the vascular system. TWIK-2 was cloned from the rat middle cerebral artery and expressed with an N-terminal green fluorescence protein (GFP) in CHO cells. We report that rTWIK-2-GFP currents were relatively linear at physiological K(+) concentrations but become slightly inwardly rectifying in symmetrical K(+). rTWIK-2-GFP was insensitive to 10 mM TEA, 3 mM 4-aminopyridine, and 10 microM glibenclamide. However, rTWIK-2-GFP was inhibited by Ba(2+) with 50% of the current being blocked at 80 microM. rTWIK-2-GFP activity was enhanced 60% by 100 microM arachidonic acid. The electrophysiological characteristics of TWIK-2 indicate that it could serve an important role in ion homeostasis and regulation of the membrane potential in arteries and arterioles.
In the Shadow Side of Hope: Charisma and Mutuality in the Pastoral Care of Men with Tendencies Toward Affective Disturbance

This paper explores dialectical relationships between affective mental disturbance and religious development in men. It then proposes a form of pastoral engagement—the mutual encounter—with men so afflicted. In care giving, the pastor may draw on his or her own charismatic endowment to solicit the recognition of the same within the care seeker, all the while respecting a man’s attenuating psychosocial need for communicative boundaries and privacy. Both pastor and care seeker may engage the care process as a mutual, continuing, and dialogic quest for authentic Christian relationship, charisma, and selfhood where each serves as “guide” and “messenger.”
Analyzing News Events in Non-Traditional Digital Library Collections

Digital libraries are called upon to organize, aggregate, and steward born-digital news collections. Rather than continuously building silos of such non-traditional collections, digital libraries are seeking to manage these collections in conjunction with each other in order to provide the most value to scholars. We here present the results of a preliminary study analyzing characteristics of items in two collections of digital news media: television broadcasts and social media coverage. Our findings indicate a number of factors that similar efforts will need to take into consideration when linking digital "news" collections similar to ours.
Energy balance measurements and a simple model for estimating pecan water use efficiency

Abstract Plant water use efficiency (WUE) is defined as the net dry matter production (DM) per unit of consumptive water use. It is a vital variable for plant growth, yield, and irrigation-management models. Pecan [Carya illinoinensis (Wangenh.) C. Koch] WUE has been estimated for above ground biomass growth using evapotranspiration (ET) and DM data measured separately in different experiments. The WUE for whole pecan trees (including above and below ground parts), a direct measurement (ET and DM measured in one experiment), and a simple model for WUE based on weather conditions, are currently lacking. A 16.5 m walk-up tower in a flood irrigated pecan orchard, located in the Mesilla Valley of NM, was instrumented with energy budget and eddy flux sensors. Continuous, above canopy measurements of vertical fluxes of sensible heat, H2O vapor, and CO2 were made by the eddy covariance technique in growing seasons from 2002 to 2005. ET was calculated from vapor flux. DM production was calculated from CO2 flux assuming that dry matter of pecan trees was 46.4% carbon. During the growing seasons (May through November), the mean ET was 122.7 cm (48 inch) per season; the mean dry matter production for the whole trees was 22082.3 kg ha−1 (19684.4 lb acre−1) per season. The average seasonal water use efficiency for the whole trees was 179.7 kg ha−1 cm−1 (406.5 lbs acre−1 inch−1). In ‘on’ years (high-yield years) 13.8% of the dry matter produced was allocated to the harvested nut crop, while in ‘off’ years only 8.0% was so allocated. Similarly, the nut WUE as nut yield per unit water used (as cm depth) was higher in ‘on’ years, at 26.2 kg nuts ha−1 cm−1 versus 14.9 kg nuts ha−1 cm−1. A simple model for monthly WUE (kg ha−1 cm−1) as a function of vapor pressure deficit (VPD) and relative humidity (RH) was obtained. It is anticipated that the measured WUE, the simple WUE model, and other data obtained in this study will be useful in developing and validating pecan growth, yield, and irrigation-management models.
Developing Test Score Reports that Work: The Process and Best Practices for Effective Communication.

Test scores matter these days. Test-takers want to understand how they performed, and test score reports, particularly those for individual examinees, are the vehicles by which most people get the bulk of this information. Historically, score reports have not always met the examinees’ information or usability needs, but this is clearly changing for the better due to recent, much-needed additions to the psychometric literature as well as improved efforts in reporting practices. This paper provides an overview of score reports from a development perspective, focusing on current practices and emerging efforts in content of reports as well as the process by which reports are designed, evaluated, and ultimately used to communicate with the public.
ON TECHNOLOGY LICENSING IN A STACKELBERG DUOPOLY

This paper finds that in a linear Stackelberg duopoly model, the follower is more likely to license a cost-reducing innovation to the leader than the leader is to the follower, regardless of whether licensing is in the form of a fixed fee or royalty per unit of output. Under fixed-fee licensing, the follower gains more from small innovations while the leader gains more from large non-drastic innovations. Under royalty licensing, the follower always gains more than the leader from an innovation.
MOLECULAR TARGETS FOR LOW LEVEL LIGHT THERAPY

There are many molecular targets for Low Level Light Therapy (LLLT). The chief target appears to be cytochrome C oxidase in mitochondria, which then initiates a cascade of molecular events that signal the cell to perform various functions. Although visible light can produce photochemistry, infrared radiation only produces molecular rotations and vibrations. A probable explanation of how 633 nm radiation can produce the same biological effect as 904 nm radiation will be presented. The light activation of enzymes by multiple mechanisms will be discussed. To further enhance the scientific basis of LLLT, I propose that gene array experiments be performed at the wavelengths that have been shown to be most effective for different therapies with LLLT. Then we will know what genes are activated by the different wavelengths, and therapy can then be designed with greater confidence for success. It will also help us to determine if the use of more than one wavelength in a therapy might be advantageous. Think of the different wavelengths of light as different drugs, therefore it is important to determine which drug is best, and also the optimum dose.
Phosphorothioate analogs of oligodeoxynucleotides: inhibitors of replication and cytopathic effects of human immunodeficiency virus.

Abstract Nuclease-resistant phosphorothioate analogs of certain oligodeoxynucleotides have been tested in vitro as antiviral agents against human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in human T cells. Phosphorothioate analogs complementary to HIV sequences, as well as noncomplementary analogs including homooligomers, exhibited potent antiviral activity. The antiviral activity was related to the base composition of the analogs, and longer phosphorothioates were more effective than shorter ones. A 28-mer phosphorothioate oligodeoxycytidine (S-dC28) at a concentration of 1 microM exhibited potent antiviral activity and inhibited de novo viral DNA synthesis as shown by Southern blot analysis. However, S-dC28 failed to inhibit gag expression in chronically infected T cells assessed by immunofluorescent assay at concentrations up to 25 microM. An N3-methylthymidine-containing phosphorothioate analog, which does not hybridize efficiently in vitro to complementary normal DNA, showed no antiviral activity. A 14-mer phosphorothioate oligodeoxycytidine (S-dC14) synergistically enhanced the antiviral activity of 2',3'-dideoxyadenosine, an anti-HIV nucleoside. Therefore, phosphorothioate analogs of oligodeoxynucleotides could represent a unique class of experimental therapeutic agents against the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome and related diseases. However, their mechanism of action is likely to be complex.
The metabolism of I131 by surviving slices of rat mammary tissue.

TWO juxtaposed, dissociable processes participate in the thyroidal manufacture of hormone. First, the thyroid transports inorganic iodide against a concentration gradient (VanderLaan and VanderLaan, 1947; Taurog, Chaikoff and Feller, 1947). Secondly, the accumulated anion is employed in organic iodinations within the thyroid gland (Morton and Chaikoff; 1943; Schachner, Franklin, and Chaikoff, 1944). Isolated similar functions have been reported in extrathyroidal sites. For example, concentration differentials for ionic iodide are regularly established in saliva and in gastric secretions (Lipschitz 1929; Schiff, Stevens, Molle, Steinberg, Kumpe and Stewart, 1947). As yet, an extrathyroidal model displaying both properties has not been described. In 1944, the classical experiments of Keston demonstrated the presence of soluble iodinating enzymes in unpasteurized milk. Van Middlesworth, Tuttle, and Haney (1954) have shown that such iodinations of milk proteins may also occur in vivo. Recently, Honour, Myant,...
Ethical Decision Making With End-of-Life Care: Palliative Sedation and Withholding or Withdrawing Life-Sustaining Treatments

Palliative sedation (PS) is the use of medications to induce decreased or absent awareness in order to relieve otherwise intractable suffering at the end of life. Although uncommon, some patients undergoing aggressive symptom control measures still have severe suffering from underlying disease or therapy-related adverse effects. In these circumstances, use of PS is considered. Although the goal is to provide relief in an ethically acceptable way to the patient, family, and health care team, health care professionals often voice concerns whether such treatment is necessary or whether such treatment equates to physician-assisted suicide or euthanasia. In this review, we frame clinical scenarios in which PS may be considered, summarize the ethical underpinnings of the practice, and further differentiate PS from other forms of end-of-life care, including withholding and/or withdrawing life-sustaining therapy and physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia.
Electron-donor-acceptor orbital correlations. Cofacial isomers of the naphthalene-tetracyanoethylene system in C2v and Cs Symmetry

Abstract Correlations of two highest bonding and two lowest antibonding π orbitals of both electron donor and acceptor are examined for the naphthalene-TCNE system. In this 4 + 4 π-orbital approximation, cofacial isomers of C s symmetry exhibit anti-correlation leading to exchange stabilisation of highest-occupied intermolecular orbitals (IMO) in the zeroth-order ground state, and its configuration interaction (Cl) with two totally symmetric zeroth-order charge-transfer (CT) states. However these perturbing CT states are different for each of the two C s isomers and it is suggested that their non-degenerate ground (and excited) states are responsible for the appearance of two CT absorption bands in this system. Cofacial isomers of highest (C 2v ) symmetry permit either syn or dual (syn plus anti) correlation of donor-acceptor π orbitals depending on which pair of degenerate TCNE orbitals is involved. Syn correlation leads to no overall stabilisation of the ground state as in exciplexes, whereas dual correlation appears to afford a description of “weak” EDA complexes.
The Study of Modern Languages and the Present Crisis

Author's summary.— Only in the last forty to fifty years American isolation has become politically impossible. This has resulted in a challenge to our democratic way of life, for it implies that United States citizens—both leaders and followers—must come to understand our complex world. Since the first step to understanding other peoples must cross the linguistic frontier, a task for American education is to breach that wall. Our leaders must have access across that linguistic frontier, and as many of our citizens as possible must have at least a “Cook's tour” through the cultural life of other lands.
An Inexpensive Eye Movement Monitor Using the Scleral Search Coil Technique

For the economical recording of eye movements using the scleral search-coil method, we developed a circuit using common components and costing only $300. The Helmholtz field coils are 51 cm in diameter and are separated by 51 cm. The horizontal and vertical field coils are driven at 50 and 75 kHz, respectively, by phase-locked square waves; no tuning is required. After amplification, the eye-coil signal is phase detected at 50 and at 75 kHz to produce the horizontal and vertical eye-position signals, respectively. For a 2 cm diameter eye coil of one turn, the noise is 1.0 min of angle rms.
X-ray absorption studies of the electronic structures of Pd-Ag and Pd-Au alloys

Information on the number of unoccupied d-states in the valence band of a metal can be obtained from a study of the intensities of the X-ray absorption threshold resonances associated with LIII and LN absorption edges. Such resonances, which are attributed to excitations of electrons from 2p core levels to the unoccupied d-states, have been investigated for both Pd-Ag and Pd-Au alloys over the same range of composition. The spectra were obtained from measurements of the intensity of emission of electrons (total electron yields) from powder samples. This method avoids experimental artifacts associated with sample thickness effects of the type encountered with X-ray transmission or fluorescence measurements. The attenuating effect of the Group IB metal on the resonances of palladium in the alloys was much smaller than the effect predicted by the “rigid-band” model of the electronic structure, but substantially greater than that previously observed for Ni-Cu alloys.
Inflammatory Cytokines in Lung Lavage Fluid Determined by Bead-Based and ELISA Cytokine Assays

Rationale: Multiplex bead-based suspension arrays enable simultaneously measurement of multiple analytes in a single sample compared to traditional biochemical methods that detect proteins individually. We sought to validate the multiplex suspension array system for analysis of cytokines in murine lung lavage samples. Methods: Murine models of cockroach allergen (Bla-g) and endotoxin-induced lung inflammation were utilized to generate bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) samples assayed for inflammatory cytokines by multiplex and ELISA methods. Standards with known concentrations of cytokines served for generation of standard curves or as positive controls. In addition, various conditions affecting performance of the multiplex assay were tested. Results: Analysis of BAL fluids yielded quantifiable data with lower levels of detection for multiplex assays as compared to ELISA. Endotoxin inhalation resulted in secretion of inflammatory cytokines/chemokines IL-1, IL-6, TNF-α , IL-12p40, KC, MIP-1α , and RANTES in the airways. Bla-g-exposed animals had detectable IL-5, IL-10, TNF-α in their BAL fluids. We also report the effects of various conditions on performance of the multiplex assay, such as adding bovine serum albumin (BSA) in the BAL samples, blocking wells with BSA, re-reading plates, and measuring cytokine levels in known positive controls. Conclusions: Multiplex bead-based cytokine assays performed in this study yielded quantifiable data and proved to be a valid method to determine cytokine concentrations in murine bronchoalveolar lavage samples. Funded By: NIEHS P30 ES05605
Hysteria and hysterical personality: how come one without the other?

A review of the recent literature on hysteria and hysterical personality reveals a persistent relationship between the two concepts beyond their common semantics. A 7-trait profile of the hysterical personality emerges, and a critique of the studies concludes that hysteria does not necessarily present itself in a hysterical personality.
Specific refractive index increments of copolyamides

The dependence of specific refractive index increments (dn/dc) of aromatic-aliphatic copolyamides on weight-average molecular weight, temperature and refractive indices of the solvents has been investigated at a wavelength of 546 run. Values of (dn/dc) increase with increasing molecular weight and temperature. The temperature coefficient of (dn/dc) in N,N-dimethylacetamide, dichloroacetic acid, trifluoroacetic acid and H2SO4 was found to be 7.85 · 10−4, 5.42 · 10−4, 6.00 · 10−4 and 6.83 · 10−4cc · g−1 °C respectively which agrees closely with the values calculated on the basis ofGladstone andDale equation. (dn/dc) was found to be a linear function of the refractive indices of the solvents.
Phonon softening near the structural transition in BaFe 2 As 2 observed by inelastic x-ray scattering

In this work we present the results of an inelastic x-ray scattering experiment detailing the behavior of the transverse acoustic [110] phonon in BaFe${}_{2}$As${}_{2}$ as a function of temperature. When cooling through the structural transition temperature, the transverse acoustic phonon energy is reduced from the value at room temperature, reaching a maximum shift near inelastic momentum transfer $\stackrel{P\vec}{q}=0.1$. This softening of the lattice results in a change of the symmetry from tetragonal to orthorhombic at the same temperature as the transition to long-range antiferromagnetic order. While the lattice distortion is minor, the anisotropy in the magnetic exchange constants in pnictide parent compounds is large. We suggest mechanisms of electron-phonon coupling to describe the interaction between the lattice softening and the onset of magnetic ordering.
Sexual orientation and sex differences in adult chronic conditions, health risk factors, and protective health practices, Oregon, 2005-2008.

Introduction Research on lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals’ health and health practices has primarily consisted of convenience studies focused on HIV/AIDS, substance use, or mental illness. We examined health-related disparities among Oregon LGB men and women compared with heterosexual men and women using data from a population-based survey.
Use of psychotropics in patients with kidney failure

Abstract Patients with kidney failure comprise an important part of the workload of liaison psychiatrists, owing to the vulnerability to psychological problems, especially depression. The depression often is undertreated. However, numerous psychotropics, including the tricyclics, antipsychotics, and lithium, can be used in the kidney patient. The two major precautions about psychotropic therapy in this patient group are that some drugs are subject to being dialyzed out, ie, dialysis will reduce their blood levels, and that drugs requiring a healthy kidney for their metabolism or excretion should not be used, with the exception of the special procedure outlined with lithium.
“Mushfaking”: A Compensatory Behavior of Prisoners

Summary “Mushfaking” is a prison argot term which is used by Ohio prisoners to describe the process of producing contraband items from whatever materials are available to them in penal institutions. Field observations of the informal social structures of two adult correctional institutions, plus a review of secondary sources of data, revealed that the phenomenon was a frequent, if not a ubiquitous, behavior among prison inmates. The findings also indicated that the “mushfaking syndrome” manifests itself through a wide range of inmate activities and is not limited to the construction of contraband. The syndrome appears to represent a compensatory response of prisoners to the physical, psychological, and social deprivations of imprisonment, but it is also influenced by the cultural backgrounds of inmates, and by their learning experiences in the larger society. Besides furnishing demanded, but forbidden, goods, services, and interpersonal relationships, mushfaking can also serve a transcendent function, per...
585: Distinct vaginal microbiome profiles are associated with host mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplogroup and SNP variants

diac function in a mouse model of IUGR. STUDY DESIGN: Laparotomy was performed on pregnant C57BL/6J mice at gestational day 18 and pups were divided into 3 groups (n 12). Control: Sham operated; IUGR surgically induced by ligation of a branch of the uterine artery; IGF1Treated by intra placental injection of Ad hIGF1 after ligation. Pups were delivered on day 20, cross-fostered to CD1 mice, sorted by gender and at week 8 a western high fat diet introduced. Cross-sectional, 2D and Doppler transthoracic echocardiography was performed at 12 weeks evaluating ejection fraction (EF), fractional shortening (FS) and left ventricular (LV) dimensions. Data were analyzed using ANOVA. RESULTS: IUGR mice demonstrated significantly reduced EF (43.5 8.3 vs 60 5.1vs 59 5.7,p 0.001) and FS (22 4.6 vs 32.2 3.2 vs 31.3 3.7,p 0.001) compared to SHAM that was normalized in the treatment group (FigA). IUGR significantly increased LVID;S (3.6 0.4vs3.1 0.2vs2.9 0.2,p 0.001) as compared to SHAM, restored to normal in IGF1 Treated (FigB). These findings were the same when data was stratified by sex. CONCLUSION: Intra-placental gene transfer of Ad hIGF1 rescues IUGR induced cardiac dysfunction in mice exposed to high fat diet. This supports the concept that in utero therapy may positively impact cardiac remodeling to attenuate adult onset cardiovascular disease under environmental stress. 585 Distinct vaginal microbiome profiles are associated with host mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplogroup and SNP variants Jun Ma, Kjersti Aagaard, Dirk Gevers, Aleksandar Milosavljevic, Penelope Bonnen, Curtis Huttenhouer, James Versalovic Baylor College of Medicine, Molecular and Human Genetics, Houston, TX, The Broad Institute at MIT, Genome Sequencing and Analysis, Boston, MA, Baylor College of Medicine, Pathology and Immunology, Houston, TX, Harvard, School of Public Health, Cambridge, MA, Baylor College of Medicine, Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Departments of ObstetricsG SNP associations were determined wtih PLINK. RESULTS: 173 mtDNA variants (SNP/Indels) from 38 females of diverse racial/ethnic background were identified. Specific taxa (OTU) demonstrated strong association with haplogroups I, W,X and SNP T16311C, but not with other host properties (left panels). The synonymous point mutation T6776C demonstrated strong association with microbial encoded fatty acid metabolism pathways (right panels). CONCLUSION: Several Caucasion haplogroups and mtDNA variants show significant association with specific microbial taxa and metabolic pathways from the posterior fornix of the vagina. We speculate that these findings may partially explain infectious, microbiome and host associations in perinatal disorders.
Ten Myths of Science: Reexamining What We Think We Know About the Nature of Science

This article addresses and attempts to refute several of the most widespread and enduring misconceptions held by students regarding the enterprise of science. The ten myths discussed include the common notions that theories become laws, that hypotheses are best characterized as educated guesses, and that there is a commonly-applied scientific method. In addition, the article includes discussion of other incorrect ideas such as the view that evidence leads to sure knowledge, that science and its methods provide absolute proof, and that science is not a creative endeavor. Finally, the myths that scientists are objective, that experiments are the sole route to scientific knowledge and that scientific conclusions are continually reviewed conclude this presentation. The paper ends with a plea that instruction in and opportunities to experience the nature of science are vital in preservice and inservice teacher education programs to help unseat the myths of science.
Field persistence of ice-nucleating bacteria in overwintering Colorado potato beetles.

Abstract Ice-nucleating bacteria are biological ice nucleators capable of elevating the temperature at which ice crystals form in the body fluids of insects, termed the supercooling point (SCP). In the freeze-intolerant Colorado potato beetle, these bacteria reduce its cold tolerance and, consequently, increase the likelihood of mortality in overwintering adults exposed to subzero temperatures. In this field study, two ice-nucleating bacteria, Pseudomonas fluorescens and P. putida, were evaluated for their persistence and efficacy against overwintering adults. Both strains significantly elevated the SCP of treated beetles immediately after ingestion. However, only beetles fed P. fluorescens still had significantly elevated SCPs (−4.2°C) versus control (−6.4°C) after overwintering in the field. Bacterial persistence in beetle guts was confirmed by PCR assays that positively correlated the presence of P. fluorescens with elevated SCPs. Despite the reduction of cold tolerance in overwintering adults with P. fluorescens, no significant difference was observed in the survival rates of treated versus control beetles during the winter. Because adults overwinter in the ground, the effect of this bacterium on beetle survival depends on the soil temperatures that overwintering adults experience. Nevertheless, recovery of most of the adults in the upper 15 cm of soil strata indicates that beetles with potent ice-nucleating bacteria in their guts could be subject to critically low temperatures during winter. Our results show that ice-nucleating P. fluorescens compromises the cold tolerance of Colorado potato beetles and suggest that by development of strategies to maximize bacterial efficacy in the field, this bacterium offers a potential biocontrol system against overwintering populations.
Neuronal cytoplasmic inclusions in the dorsal horn and supraoptic nucleus of the squirrel monkey, Saimiri sciureus

In the squirrel monkey (Saimiri sciureus) two types of cytoplasmic inclusion bodies have been observed sporadically in neurons of both the dorsal horn (Rexed's laminae I–III in the lumbosacral region) and the supraoptic nucleus. One of these, designated here the “vesicular body”, is a round inclusion which measures up to 1.4 μ in diameter. It occurs only in perikarya and is composed of vesicular-like chambers 300–400 A in diameter. We have not found previous references to this structure in the literature, but its 50 A substructural particles are similar in size to those described in nematosomes. The other inclusion, a “filamentous whorl”, is found in nerve cell bodies and dendrites and it is structurally similar to the Hirano body. The structure measures up to 2.2 μ in diameter and is composed of circularly arrayed filaments which vary in configuration and size depending on the plane of section. There are no indications that the vesicular body and the filamentous whorl are in any way related to each other; and usually both are not found in the same cell profiles.
Some Relations between Action Potential and Resting Potential of the Lobster Giant Axon

Experiments were performed to determine the quantitative relation existing between action potential and resting potential of the lobster giant axon. Resting potential changes were induced by either increasing the external potassium concentration or by reducing the external calcium concentration. For either treatment the action potential amplitude is proportional to the logarithm of the resting potential minus a constant. This constant is equivalent to the minimum resting potential at which a propagated spike is possible, and is larger for depolarization in low calcium than in high potassium. Thus the change in action potential per unit change in resting potential is greater in low external calcium than in high external potassium. Analog computer solutions to the Hodgkin-Huxley equations for squid axon membrane potentials show that, if the initial conditions are properly specified, the action potential is proportional to the logarithm of the potassium potential minus a constant. The experimental results and the analog computations suggest that reducing external calcium produces changes in the invertebrate axon that cannot be accounted for solely on the basis of alterations in the potassium potential.
Integrin receptor signaling: The propagation of an α-helix model

Abstract Upon ligand binding to integrin receptors, a transmembrane conformation change occurs, which is required for the engagement of the actin cytoskeleton. Integrin receptor latency clearly involves the proximal portion of the α and β cytoplasmic domains. Several experiments suggest that these two regions, which are highly conserved among integrins, may be associated, and this association is the structural basis for latency. We propose that ligand binding leads to a disruption of this association, which allows for the folding of the proximal β cytoplasmic domain. Thus, in this model, the α chain association keeps the β unfolded, and ligand binding leads to the propagation of an α helix from the transmembrane domain through the proximal β cytoplasmic domain, leading to signal transduction.
Steroid hormone enrichment of Artemia nauplii

Abstract Steroid treatment of fish species prior to sexual differentiation changes the developing gonad. Administration of steroids via the diet produces a higher percentage of sexually inverted individuals than other methods. However, hormone-enriched commercial diets are unsuitable for larvae of fish species, such as yellow perch, that require live diets (such as Artemia ) during the time of sexual differentiation. Steroids have been added to Artemia at the first feeding instar II stage of development, but larger size would lend them unsuitable for larval fish requiring small zooplankton as their initial diet. To determine the effect of incubation with steroids prior to the first feeding instar II stage of development, decapsulated Artemia cysts were incubated in hatching medium with either 20 mg 17β-estradiol (E 2 ) or 17 α-methyldihydrotestosterone (MDHT) dissolved in 3 ml 70% ethyl alcohol or ethyl alcohol alone (control). Cysts were cultivated at 18–20°C for 24 h. Nauplii were collected by filtering culture medium, and were rinsed in 1 l of tap water. Artemia cultivated in control medium contained 0.07±0.01 ng E 2 /mg dry weight, and E 2 -treated Artemia contained 461±40 ng E 2 /mg dry weight ( p Artemia contained 546±31 pg/mg dry weight, and controls were below the level of detection (4 pg/assay tube; p Artemia prior to the first feeding instar II stage. Enrichment of Artemia at this smaller size will allow them to be used as the initial diet to cause functional sexual inversion of fish species that require small zooplankton.
Cable life and the cost of risk

Based on XLPE cable failure statistics and using relatively conservative risk profiles, the author's analysis suggests that the cost of risk is likely to be significant relative to the capital cost of the cable.
Regulation of human T-cell homing receptor expression in cutaneous bacterial infection.

SummaryWe investigated the regulation of T-cell homing receptors in infectiousdisease by evaluating the cutaneous lymphocyte antigen (CLA) in humanleprosy. We found that CLA-positive cells were enriched in the infectiouslesions associated with restricting the growth of the pathogen Mycobacte-rium leprae, as assessed by the clinical course of infection. Moreover, CLAexpression on T cells isolated from the peripheral blood of antigen-responsive tuberculoid leprosy patients increased in the presence ofM. leprae (2 4-fold median increase; range 0 8–6 1, n ¼ 17), but not inunresponsive lepromatous leprosy patients (1 0-fold median increase;range 0 1–2 2, n ¼ 10; P <0 005). Mycobacterium leprae speciﬁcally up-regulated the skin homing receptor, CLA, but not a 4 /b 7 , the intestinalhoming receptor, which decreased on T cells of patients with tuberculoidleprosy after antigen stimulation (2 2-fold median decrease; range 1 6–3 4,n ¼ 3). Our data indicate that CLA expression is regulated during thecourse of leprosy infection and suggest that T-cell responsiveness to amicrobial antigen directs antigen-speciﬁc T cells to the site of infection.Keywords: T-cell; homing receptor; infection; skin