cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Loss-Framed Arguments Can Stifle Political Activism

Research commonly finds that citizens are loss averse: they dislike losses far more than similarly sized gains. One implication is that arguments for policy change framed in terms of losses to be avoided often have a larger impact on public opinion than arguments framed in terms of gains to be enjoyed. Although several scholars have observed this pattern with respect to public opinion, we know far less about the effect of loss- and gain-framed arguments on political activism. This is a critical omission given the disproportionate impact of political activists on the policymaking process. Using field and survey experiments, we investigate the impact of gain- and loss-framed arguments on climate change activism. We find that loss-framed arguments can be less mobilizing, even when they are otherwise more persuasive, than gain-framed arguments. Our results deepen our theoretical understanding of what motivates political activism, especially in an era of professionalized politics.
Cultivating the Cooperative: PCC, the Music Library Association, and the Music OCLC Users Group

PCC and the Music Library Association (MLA) and Music OCLC Users Group (MOUG) have a long history of coordinating and collaborating on standards, best practices, and training of the music catalogin...
Dropout Prediction over Weeks in MOOCs by Learning Representations of Clicks and Videos

This paper addresses a key challenge in MOOC dropout prediction, namely to build meaningful representations from clickstream data. While a variety of feature extraction techniques have been explored extensively for such purposes, to our knowledge, no prior works have explored modeling of educational content (e.g. video) and their correlation with the learner's behavior (e.g. clickstream) in this context. We bridge this gap by devising a method to learn representation for videos and the correlation between videos and clicks. The results indicate that modeling videos and their correlation with clicks bring statistically significant improvements in predicting dropout.
Characterizing Command and Control Channel of Mongoose Bots Over TOR

A botnet is a collection of infected computers, bots, which interact to accomplish some distributed task for illegal purposes. The emergence of mobile computing technologies has presented new challenges in simulating what a modern botnet could look like, and how effectively they can be executed with the limited resources provided by such technologies. In this short paper, we present a lightweight cross-platform botnet, called Mongoose, that communicates over the TOR network and may be deployed on all manner of devices including mobile phones, tablets, and personal computers. We then characterize behavior patterns of the mongoose command and control channel by using a new network traffic flow format, called KiFlow. Preliminary experimental evaluation results show that our analysis is promising to reveal significant characteristics of Mongoose in which patterns of occurrence frequency for each individual character between mongoose bot traffic and normal traffic generated by non-bot machine are very different.
“Exceeding Beringia”: Upending universal human events and wayward transits in Arctic spaces:

In this article I examine the enlistment of Arctic ice to tell grand, universal stories about humanity’s origins and endings. Specifically, I analyze 18th century Natural History musings that linke...
The Russian Understanding of War: Blurring the Lines between War and Peace: by Oscar Jonsson, Washington, DC, Georgetown University Press, 2019, 200 pp., $32.95 (paperback), ISBN-13: 978-1626167339

According to Western tradition, war is typically consummated with the exchange of violence. Yet, there are many nonviolent tools available to governments that when applied in the proper proportions...
Buried in the Church: Raised in the Bread! Literary Observations in Mark's Gospel:

At the end of Mark's Gospel (16:7) the women are commanded to tell the disciples that they shall “see” the resurrected Jesus in Galilee. Since Mark has no resurrection appearances per se, it become...
Developing High-Quality Microsimulation Models Using R in Health Decision Sciences

Health decision science is a growing field that studies the use of population health data and advanced analytical tools to inform decisions. This paper describes several modeling approaches and programming languages widely used in health decision sciences. Special emphasis is put on the development of microsimulation models using R. A recent microsimulation model—Simulation for Health Improvement and Equity (SHINE) Model—is described to demonstrate the development of microsimulaiton models using R. Several practical recommendations for developing microsimulation models using R are proposed. This paper may serve as a practical guide for population health scientists and healthcare professionals to develop their own microsimulation models to inform complex health decisions.
Atrial coupling-index by standard echocardiography in degenerative mitral regurgitation: An incremental determinant of survival

Background We ought to determine the prognostic role of left atrial coupling-index (LACI), as left atrial volume-index (LAVI) by tissue-Doppler-Imaging a′ (TDI-a′), in a large cohort of degenerative mitral regurgitation (DMR). Methods All consecutive 4792 patients (61 ± 16 years, 48% women) with isolated DMR diagnosed at the Mayo Clinic 2003–2011, comprehensively characterized, in whom LAVI and TDI-a’ in sinus rhythm was prospectively measured in routine practice, was enrolled and their long-term survival analyzed. Results LACI (5.8 ± 3.7 – T1 6.3) was significantly higher through different DMR grades (no, mild, moderate, severe DMR: 3.77 ± 2.26, 5.08 ± 2.95, 6.54 ± 3.74 and 7.84 ± 4.29, respectively; P 6 was independently associated with worse clinical presentation. Total follow-up was 7.03 ± 3.0 years, during which 1146 (24%) underwent mitral valve surgery (94% repair – 6% replacement) and 880 (18%) died. Overall survival throughout follow-up (10-year 76 ± 1%) was strongly associated with LACI (88 ± 1% vs. 78 ± 1% and 62 ± 2% for LACI 5.79, P = 0.01). Survival improved after mitral-surgery (time-dependent adjusted-hazard-ratio 0.40[0.28–0.65], P Conclusion LA function assessed by LACI in routine practice displays incremental and independent link to excess-mortality, partially alleviated by mitral-surgery. Thus, LACI is a simple tool of crucial interest in DMR risk stratification.
Meta-analysis: Statistical Methods

Meta-analysis is the quantitative synthesis of multiple primary studies containing estimates of similar empirical magnitudes or effect sizes . Meta-analysis allows generalizations about the underlying population of effects and increases the power of statistical tests. Meta-regression analysis can control statistically for factual heterogeneity , methodological diversity, and possible biases among the primary studies. In the context of benefit transfers, meta-analysis can produce reduced-form functions that identify and test systematic influences of study, economic, and resource attributes on willingness to pay and other environmental valuations. This chapter provides an introduction to basic statistical methods employed in meta-analysis , including weighted-averages and meta-regressions . The chapter identifies and discusses solutions to several econometric problems commonly associated with metadata , including heterogeneity, heteroskedasticity , correlated effects , and publication bias . Basic statistical concepts and methods are illustrated using a sample of estimates for the value of a statistical life , including within-sample and out-of-sample forecasts . Benefit-transfer errors are assessed using several alternative statistical measures.
Three Books of Oomph

I think the best way for you to grasp what upsets me so much about modern economics is for you to read a little bit in other fields of the intellect. After looking into scientific history or paleoanthropology or literary criticism or Latin literature or astrophysics I'll bet you'll join me in being upset about the scientific dead end that economics has wandered into. Seriously, stomach-wrenchingly upset. You and I can go together to the gastroenterologist and get some pills. Oy. The first indigestion-producing example is a book I first read last year, Jered Diamond's Guns, Germs and Steel: A Short History of Everybody for the Last 13,000 Years. Diamond is, of all things not qualifying one to write the economic history of the world since the last Ice Age, a professor of physiology at a medical school. He's an evolutionary biologist, trained as (of all things) a botanist. The economic historian Joel Mokyr told me that he approached Diamond's book on page 1 the same way I did: "Who's this dope? He's claiming to talk about economic history. I'm the expert in economic history around here." Joel says that by page 50 he was converted. It took me only 20 pages, which just shows that Joel has higher intellectual standards than I do. Diamond argues that the reason Europe ended up so powerful is that it was the inheritor of a biological accident that plant and animal species, only a small percentage of which prove suitable for domestication, are especially numerous in the great east-west swath of land from China to Spain. And that's why the middle of the swath Mesopotamia was the first to get socially organized in a big way. The northsouth places, such as Africa and America, were broken up by ecological barriers to the spread of cows, wheat, that sort of thing the Isthmus of Panama, for example and also the barrier arising from varied growing conditions by latitude. (Incidentally, that's why the United States had a westward movement instead of a north-south movement: the successive Amish islands, for example, every couple of hundred miles from Pennsylvania west to Iowa, are all at the same latitude because that way the human capital of knowing when to plant and harvest or the like didn't get thrown away.)
Interactions between glutamate dehydrogenase, transaminases, and keto acids.

Data are presented which are consistent with the concept that transaminases can be bound to glutamate dehydrogenase. In the presence of TPNH and ammonium ions the transaminase in this enzyme-enzyme complex can be converted to the pyridoxamine phosphate form. Keto acids bind to and react with the transaminase in this complex to yield the pyridoxal phosphate form of the transaminase, TPN, and the corresponding amino acid. The specific structure of the keto acid required for binding to the enzyme-enzyme complex is determined by the transaminase, and not glutamate dehydrogenase. For example, oxalacetate is bound better than pyruvate to the complex of glutamate-oxalacetate transaminase and glutamate dehydrogenase while the opposite is the case when glutamate-pyruvate transaminase is part of the complex. The conversion of oxalacetate to aspartate occurs more readily with the complex between glutamate-oxalacetate transaminase and glutamate dehydrogenase than with the latter enzyme alone. With the enzyme-enzyme complex the specific activity with respect to glutamate dehydrogenase is higher (in some cases over 70-fold); the concentration of oxalacetate required to produce maximal activity is more than 1000-fold lower, and the concentration of ammonium ion required to produce maximal activity is more than 10-fold lower. Also, in the presence of the enzyme-enzyme complex, ADP is a significant activator. The activity of the complex can be regulated by several factors. For example, the specific activity and activation by ADP decreases when the concentration of glutamate dehydrogenase exceeds about 0.1 mg per ml. If the concentrations of keto acid and glutamate dehydrogenase are both high, then the reaction is similar to that of the keto acid with glutamate dehydrogenase alone. If the concentrations of the transaminase and glutamate dehydrogenase are both high, the pyridoxamine phosphate form of the transaminase is produced faster than the capacity of the keto acid to react and TPN is produced in excess of the amino acid.
Mechanisms in the in vivo release of lymphokines: II. Regulation of in vivo release of type II interferon IFNγ

Abstract The regulation of IFNγ release was studied in vivo in mice intravenously sensitized with cell walls of BCG (CW/Dr) and challenged with OT. Subcutaneous inoculation with CFA, but not with CW/Dr, following intravenous sensitization, reduced the titers of IFNγ. Similar inoculation prior to intravenous sensitization enhanced the titers of IFNγ in high- and low-responder mice. A substance that suppressed the activity of interferon was detected in the sera of sensitized and challenged low-responder strains.
Flavivirus DNA Vaccines

The use of DNA-based vaccines is a novel and promising immunization approach for the development of flavivirus vaccines. This approach has been attempted in vaccine development for various virus species, including St. Louis encephalitis, Russian spring-summer encephalitis, Central European encephalitis, dengue serotypes 1 and 2, Murray Valley encephalitis, Japanese encephalitis, and West Nile viruses. However, very little is known about the factors affecting its efficacy. Recently, we demonstrated that a single intramuscular immunization of DNA vaccine of Japanese encephalitis and West Nile viruses protected mice and horses from virus challenge. Administration of these recombinant plasmid vectors resulted in endogenous expression and secretion of extracellular virus-like particles that correlated well with the induction of protective immunity. These results provided evidence that the virus-like particles composed of premembrane/membrane and envelope proteins are essential for eliciting immune responses similar to those induced by live, attenuated virus vaccines. The biosynthesis and protein processing of premembrane/membrane and envelope proteins that preserve the native conformation and glycosylation profiles identical to virion proteins could be determined by the effectiveness of the transmembrane signal sequence located at the amino-terminus of premembrane protein. The use of DNA vaccines in multivalent and/or combination vaccines designed to immunize against multiple flaviviruses is also a promising area of development.
Almost convergence and nonlinear ergodic theorems

The first ergodic theorems for nonlinear nonexpansive mappings and semigroups in Hilbert space were established by Baillon [I, 2, 31 and by Baillon and BrCzis [4]. BrCzis and Browder [6] have recently replaced the Cesaro method in the discrete case by more general summability methods. A similar extension in the continuous case has been obtained in [lo]. The purpose of this note is to show how Lorentz’s concept of almost convergence [9] can be used to improve these results and to simplify their proofs. Following Lorentz, we say that a regular matrix {a,,,<} is strongly regular
Raman study of phonons in superconducting epitaxial (Tl,Bi)Sr1.6Ba0.4Ca2Cu3O9 − δ films

Abstract We have investigated Raman spectra from (Tl,Bi)Sr 1.6 Ba 0.4 Ca 2 Cu 3 O 9 − δ films deposited by laser ablation on the (100)-surface of LaAlO 3 substrates. The films had a thickness of 1 μm and were annealed after deposition. The as-deposited samples (before annealing) were amorphous and their Raman spectrum consists of a broad density-of-state type feature centered around 560 cm −1 . After annealing the Raman spectrum contains sharp features characteristic of crystalline materials. In some films remnants of the broad peak associated with the amorphous phase persisted. The most prominent peak occurs at 552 cm −1 . Comparison with the results from McCarty et al . [3] strongly suggest that this A 1g mode is associated with the motion along the c-axis of the O3 atoms, i.e. bridging oxygen atoms coordinated to thallium, modified by the partial substitution of Tl by Bi and Ba by Sr. The 552 cm −1 line is allowed when the incident and scattered light polarization planes are parallel; it becomes substantially weaker when they are crossed. This strongly indicates that the constituent crystals are well aligned in the a-b plane.
Communication between oocytes and somatic cells regulates volatile pheromone production in Caenorhabditis elegans

Males of the androdioecious species Caenorhabditis elegans are more likely to attempt to mate with and successfully inseminate C. elegans hermaphrodites that do not concurrently harbor sperm. Although a small number of genes have been implicated in this effect, the mechanism by which it arises remains unknown. In the context of the battle of the sexes, it is also unknown whether this effect is to the benefit of the male, the hermaphrodite, or both. We report that successful contact between mature sperm and oocyte in the C. elegans gonad at the start of fertilization causes the oocyte to release a signal that is transmitted to somatic cells in its mother, with the ultimate effect of reducing her attractiveness to males. Changes in hermaphrodite attractiveness are tied to the production of a volatile pheromone, the first such pheromone described in C. elegans.
Soft X-ray radiation-damage studies in PMMA using a cryo-STXM.

Radiation damage sets a fundamental limit for studies with ionizing radiation; cryo-methods are known to ease these limits. Here, measurements on mass loss and the decrease in the C=O bond density as measured by oxygen-edge XANES (NEXAFS) spectroscopy in thin films of poly(methylmethacrylate) (PMMA), studied in a vacuum, are reported. While cryo-methods allow more than 95% of the mass to remain at doses up to 10^7 Gy, there is little difference in C=O bond density versus dose between 298 K and 113 K sample temperatures. At both temperatures the critical dose for bond breaking is ∼15 × 106 Gy.
MOSS HARVEST TRUNCATES THE SUCCESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF EPIPHYTIC BRYOPHYTES IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST

We evaluated the impact of commercial moss harvest on the development of an understory epiphyte community in the Pacific Northwest by characterizing natural development stages using data from both a long-term regrowth study and demographic sampling. First, experimentally stripped 1 m long cylindrats on 46 shrub stems in the Oregon Coast Range were monitored for species composition and abundance annually during the first five years of recovery and again in year 10. Second, a pathway of community development was inferred by examining the relative species composition and abundance of epiphytic species present in moss mats in a four-stage chronosequence. We (1) characterized the change in richness and composition from year 1 through 10 of regrowth following experimental disturbance, (2) quantified the proportion of ∼1-, 10-, 25-, and 50-year-old moss mats of commercially harvestable species that were monodominant, diverse, and late successional, and (3) contrasted these proportions with estimates from a compositional transition matrix derived from long-term monitoring. Roughly half of the observed moss mats demonstrated neutral dynamics and were composed of a mixture of readily dispersed acrocarps and pleurocarps. The remaining half exhibited positive dynamics and were dominated by aggressively growing pleurocarpous species such as Isothecium myosuroides. Following structural developmental pathways well established for vascular plants, moss mats shift with time from high diversity and evenness in the initial colonization and extended establishment phases to increasing Isothecium dominance during a presumed competitive-exclusion phase. Old mats exist in alternate states of either Isothecium dominance or mixed composition, either of which may have late-successional species. Patchy historic commercial moss harvest likely facilitated high diversity by increasing the simultaneous occurrence of all moss mat age classes, while modern strip harvesting methods are predicted to promote predominantly even-aged mats that are unlikely to reach “old-growth” conditions before re-harvest.
An Engine for the 3D Visualization of Program Information

We have a project currently underway that attempts to use 3D workstations to provide insight into programs, their structure and their execution, through the use of a variety of user-definable displays. We offer a variety of different presentation styles and utilize a variety of different layout methods and heuristics. This paper describes the underlying engine that we have developed to support this range of presentations.
Coordination and correlation in Markov rational belief equilibria

This paper studies the effect of correlation in the rational beliefs of agents on the volatility of asset prices. We use the technique of generating variables to study stable and non-stationary processes needed to characterize rational beliefs. We then examine how the stochastic interaction among such variables affects the behavior of a wide class of Rational Belief Equilibria (RBE). The paper demonstrates how to construct a consistent price state space and then shows the existence of RBE for any economy for which such price state space is constructed. Next, the results are used to study the volatility of asset prices via numerical simulation of a two agents model. If beliefs of agents are uniformly dispersed and independent, we would expect heterogeneity of beliefs to have a limited impact on the fluctuations of asset prices. On the other hand, our results show that correlation across agents can have a complex and dramatic effect on the volatility of prices and thus can be the dominant factor in the fluctuation of asset prices. The mechanism generating this effect works through the clustering of beliefs in states of different levels of agreement. In states of agreement the conditional forecasts of the agents tend to fluctuatetogether inducing more volatile asset prices. In states of disagreement the conditional forecasts fluctuatein diverse directions tending to cancel each other's effect on market demand and resulting in reduced price volatility.
EPR observation of carbon monoxide dehydrogenase, methylreductase and corrinoid in intact Methanosarcina barkeri during methanogenesis from acetate

Abstract Carbon monoxide dehydrogenase, corrinoid, and methylreductase can be observed with EPR spectroscopy during active methanogenesis from acetate in whole cells of Methanosarcina barkeri . During methanogenesis, center 2 of carbon monoxide dehydrogenase ( g = 2.01, 1.91, 1.76) shows similar changes to those seen in the isolated enzyme upon addition of CO, with the appearance of a new feature at g = 1.73. This indicates that the cleavage of acetate yields a moiety that carbon monoxide dehydrogenase recognizes as CO. Cyanide rendered center 2 of carbon monoxide dehydrogenase EPR-silent, suggesting that this potent inhibitor of methanogenesis from acetate acts at the level of this enzyme. Cyanide also induced formation of two very fast relaxing centers with overlapping rhombic signals in the iron-sulfur region of the spectrum. Transient electron flow through iron-sulfur clusters could be correlated with methanogenesis, and could be prevented by iodopropane or cyanide. Cells before and after methanogenesis possessed a putative nickel signal at g = 2.28, 2.27 and 2.18. During methane production this signal was replaced by an axial signal ( g = 2.24, 2.05). These signals are similar to those reported for methylreductase from Methanobacterium . EPR-detectable corrinoid underwent no significant change during methanogenesis and was unaffected by the presence of either cyanide or iodopropane.
STOMACH CONTENTS OF LONG‐FINNED PILOT WHALES (GLOBICEPHALA MELAS) STRANDED ON THE U.S. MID‐ATLANTIC COAST

Ten prey taxa were recorded from the stomach contents of eight long-finned pilot whales (Globicepbala melas) independently stranded along the U.S. mid-Atlantic coast. Relative importance of prey species was determined by methods that incorporate prey frequencies of occurrence, proportions of numerical abundance, and proportions of reconstructed mass. Separate analyses of trace (free, durable body parts representing well-digested prey items) and non-trace (relatively intact prey specimens) food material were conducted in order to address biases caused by differential rates of digestion and passage through the gastrointestinal tract. Different measures of prey importance yielded varying results, but the long-finned squid (Loligo pealei) was the most important prey species regardless of how prey importance was defined. Fishes were relatively unimportant in the diet. Our results indicate that the diets of western North Atlantic long-finned pilot whales differ substantially from what has been previously reported in the literature and that results from food-habits studies that utilize different techniques may not be comparable.
Self‐association and conformational properties of RAG1: implications for formation of the V(D)J recombinase

RAG1 and RAG2 catalyze the initial DNA cleavage steps in V(D)J recombination. Fundamental properties of these proteins remain largely unknown. Here, self-association and conformational properties of murine core RAG1 (residues 384–1008) were examined. As determined by multi-angle laser light scattering measurements, the molecular masses of two predominant core RAG1 species corresponded to dimeric and tetrameric states. Similar results were obtained using a RAG1 fragment containing residues 265–1008, indicating that a non-core portion of RAG1 does not alter the oligomerization states observed for the core region. The fraction of core RAG1 in the tetrameric state increased significantly at lower ionic strengths (0.2 versus 0.5 M NaCl), indicating that this oligomeric form may factor into the physiological function of RAG1. In addition, the secondary structural content of core RAG1, obtained by circular dichroism spectroscopy, demonstrated a significant dependence on ionic strength with a 26% increase in α-helical content from 0.2 to 1.0 M NaCl. Together, these results indicate that structural and oligomerization properties of core RAG1 are strongly dependent on electrostatic interactions. Furthermore, the secondary structure of core RAG1 changes upon binding to DNA, with larger increases in α-helical content upon binding to the recombination signal sequence (RSS) as compared with non-sequence-specific DNA. As shown by electrophoretic mobility shift assays, higher order oligomeric forms of core RAG1 bound to the canonical RSS. Furthermore, core RAG2 (residues 1–387) formed complexes with multimeric RAG1 species bound to a single RSS, providing additional support for the physiological relevance of higher order oligomeric states of RAG1.
Complications of cervical discography: analysis of 4400 diagnostic disc injections

Despite extensive experience with diagnostic cervical disc injection, the role of this procedure in the evaluation of patients with degenerative disc disease and severe neck pain remains controversial. Beyond the debate regarding its efficacy in identifying the site of cervical symptomatology and directing appropriate intervention are the potential morbidity and mortality associated with this diagnostic procedure. Discitis, subdural empyema, spinal cord injury, vascular injury, and prevertebral abscess have all been reported as complications of diagnostic cervical disc injection. Any meaningful assessment of the role of cervical discography in the evaluation of degenerative disc disease must include a determination of the risks inherent in the procedure. We retrospectively analyzed 4400 cervical disc injections in 1357 patients performed by an experienced radiologist between 1988 and 1993 to define the morbidity and mortality associated with discography. In addition, we reviewed the extant medical literature on the complications of this controversial procedure. This study demonstrates significant complications from diagnostic discography procedures occurring in less than 0.6% of the patients and 0.16% of the cervical disc injections.
A mode choice analysis of school trips in New Jersey

This paper examines the mode choice behavior of children’s travel to school based on surveys conducted at a sample of schools in New Jersey. The main focus is on a variety of network design, land use, and infrastructure variables that have typically been associated with walking activity. Using a mixed logit model, it is found that good connectivity, more intense residential land use, and better sidewalk infrastructure are associated with increased walking to school. The use of a mixed logit model allows the examination of individual heterogeneity. Results indicate substantial heterogeneity in behavior associated with built environment variables.
Detection of influential observation in linear regression

A new measure based on confidence ellipsoids is developed for judging the contribution of each data point to the determination of the least squares estimate of the parameter vector in full rank linear regression models. It is shown that the measure combines information from the studentized residuals and the variances of the residuals and predicted values. Two examples are presented.
Evaluation of noncoronary sources of left ventricular perfusion to intercoronary collateral-dependent myocardium due to chronic major vessel occlusion: Absent contribution of luminal and extracardiac channels☆

Liminal contribution to perfusion of collateral-dependent left ventricular (LV) myocardium was evaluated in six dogs. A portion of LV free wall was rendered collateral-dependent by gradual occlusion of left circumflex artery with Ameroid constrictor. Eight to 10 weeks after implantation of constrictor, measurements of LV myocardial flow were made by left atrial injections of 9-10 micro radioactive microspheres. To measure total collateral flow, microspheres were injected under control conditions, and to measure luminal contribution to collateral flow, microspheres were injected after ligation of right coronary artery during extracorporeal perfusion of left common coronary artery (LCCA) with microsphere-free arterial blood, and during stoppage of flow through LCCA. Under control conditions, myocardial blood flow in collateral-dependent region, 1.01 +/- 0.31 ml/min/gm, was not significantly different from that in normal region, 1.06 +/- 0.32 ml/min/gm. Flow from luminal collateral vessels was negligible (less than 0.005 ml/min/gm) in both collateral-dependent and normal myocardium, and was not affected by stoppage of flow through LCCA. These results indicate that luminal collateral vessels, as well as collateral vessels originating from other noncoronary sources, do not contribute significantly to perfusion of normal or collateral-dependent LV myocardium.
Expression of cell cycle regulatory proteins (p53, pRB) in the human female genital tract

Recent studies have shown that proliferation and differentiation of various cell types is regulated by cell-cycle-related proteins, such as protein p53 and retinoblastoma protein pRb. Three monoclonal antibodies to p53 (PAb240, PAb421, and PAb1801) and 3H9 monoclonal antibody to pRb were utilized for localization of proteins by peroxidase immunohistochemistry in frozen tissue sections. Nuclear and nucleolar p53 expression was detected in nondividing and relatively stable cells, e.g., oocytes in primordial follicles and granulosa lutein cells. On the other hand, strong cytoplasmic p53 expression was detected in proliferating and low differentiated epithelial cells of the ovarian surface epithelium, amnion, endocervix and ectocervix, indicating enhanced p53 synthesis. Not all three p53 antibodies reacted with each tissue, perhaps due to structural and conformational changes in the p53 molecule, accompanying p53 association with other proteins, e.g., tissue specific transcription factor interactions. pRb expression was usually restricted to the cell nuclei and nucleoli. However, glandular cells of the female reproductive tract showed cytoplasmic pRb expression in juxtaluminal (secretory) segments of cells, a feature not previously described in any cell type. p53 and pRb immunoreactivities declined with advanced differentiation of cells. No p53 or pRb was detected in placental syncytiotrophoblast or terminally differentiated squamous epithelial cells. Our data indicate that large quantities of p53 are synthesized in cells leaving the cell cycle and entering differentiation. Except in glandular cells, the pRb expression is confined to the cell nuclei and nucleoli. A unique cytoplasmic expression of pRb in juxtaluminal segments of glandular cells suggests a role for pRb in human female fertility and conception.
Remapping Curricular Geography: Professional Writing in/and English

Most discussions of disciplinarity start by claiming an emerging group as constituting a discipline or a profession and authorizing that group by locating appropriate research foci, programs for graduate education and undergraduate certification, professional societies, and central professional meetings. Our discussion examines the field of professional writing, focusing not so much on defining it as a discipline as on working out its curricular geography, an activity that will affect its status in both academy and industry. To that end, we explore the status of professional writing within the department of English by (a) briefly examining the problem of defining professional writing; (b) reviewing several theoretical positions within English that have provided a status for professional writing—literature, rhetoric/composition, business and technical writing—to expose the competition for control of the term and to surface the implications of accepting these various groups on their own terms; and (c) consi...
Adjunctive coronary endarterectomy: improved safety in modern cardiac surgery.

Background. Advances in cardiac surgery have led to an improved safety record for coronary endarterectomy. Methods. We retrospectively reviewed the cases of 64 patients who underwent adjunctive coronary endarterectomy between August 1988 and February 1992. There were 44 men, and the mean age was 65 years. Forty-one patients (64%) had sustained a previous infarction. Overall, endarterectomy was performed on 76 vessels, and the right coronary system was involved in 46 (61%). Results. The postoperative infarction rate was 5%. Incomplete occlusion ( p p = not significant). The actuarial survival rates were 89% and 71% at 1 year and 5 years, respectively. A history of previous infarction was significantly associated with higher long-term mortality ( p Conclusions. Overall, these results demonstrate that in modern cardiac surgry, coronary endarterectomy is safer than previously thought and can be used effectively to achieve complete revascularization in selected patients.
Black holes and local dark matter

Two independent constraints are placed on the amount of dark matter in black holes contained in the galactic disk. First, gas accretion by black holes leads to X-ray emission which cannot exceed the observed soft X-ray background. Second, metals produced in stellar processes that lead to black hole formation cannot exceed the observed disk metal abundance. Based on these constraints, it appears unlikely that the missing disk mass could be contained in black holes. A consequence of this conclusion is that at least two different types of dark matter are needed to solve the various missing mass problems.
Neuroimaging in acute stroke

This article reviews the various imaging modalities available for the evaluation of patients presenting with a potential stroke syndrome, specifically acute ischemic stroke, intracerebral hemorrhage, and subarachnoid hemorrhage. It reviews the various computed tomography (CT) modalities, including noncontrast brain CT (NCCT), CT angiography, and CT perfusion. It discusses multimodal magnetic resonance imaging in the evaluation of patients with acute stroke, including diffusion-weighted imaging, T2-weighted sequences/fluid-attenuated inversion recovery, magnetic resonance angiography, perfusion-weighted imaging, and gradient-recalled echo. At the end of this article, a brief review on how to read an NCCT geared toward the emergency physician is included.
Molecular Imaging of Endothelial Vascular Cell Adhesion Molecule-1 Expression and Inflammatory Cell Recruitment During Vasculogenesis and Ischemia-Mediated Arteriogenesis

Background— Inflammatory responses contribute to vascular remodeling during tissue repair or ischemia. We hypothesized that inflammatory cell recruitment and endothelial cell activation during vasculogenesis and ischemia-mediated arteriogenesis could be temporally assessed by noninvasive molecular imaging. Methods and Results— Contrast ultrasound perfusion imaging and molecular imaging with microbubbles targeted to activated neutrophils, α5-integrins, or vascular cell adhesion molecule (VCAM-1) were performed in murine models of vasculogenesis (subcutaneous matrigel) or hind-limb ischemia produced by arterial occlusion in wild-type or monocyte chemotactic protein-1–deficient mice. In subcutaneous matrigel plugs, perfusion advanced centripetally between days 3 and 10. On targeted imaging, signal enhancement from α5-integrins and VCAM-1 coincided with the earliest appearance of regional blood flow. Targeted imaging correlated temporally with histological evidence of channel formation by α5-integrin–positive...
Neuronal differentiation of NT2/D1 teratocarcinoma cells is accompanied by a loss of lamin A/C expression and an increase in lamin B1 expression.

Nuclear lamins are prominent elements of the nuclear matrix and are expressed in cell type-specific and differentiation state-specific patterns. A few observations have indicated that nervous tissue may display unusual patterns of lamin expression, in that some neurons appear to lack A-type lamins, which are generally prominently expressed in terminally differentiated, postmitotic cells. To investigate lamin expression patterns during the differentiation of a teratocarcinoma cell line into neurons, NT2/D1 cells were induced to differentiate with retinoic acid treatment. Lamin expression and organization during differentiation in vitro were examined by quantitative immunofluorescence and immunoblotting methods. Undifferentiated NT2/D1 cells were all strongly labeled with an anti-lamin B1 antibody, but displayed marked variation in A/C lamin immunoreactivity. After differentiation, neuronal nuclear envelopes were significantly more strongly labeled by anti-lamin B1 antibody than those of undifferentiated cells, but completely lacked A/C lamin immunoreactivity. In contrast, nonneuronal cells displayed a slight reduction in B1 lamin immunoreactivity, along with a distinct increase in A/C lamin levels. The loss of lamin A/C expression in NT2/D1 neurons is contrary to the pattern normally observed in most somatic cell types during early development and indicates that the nuclear matrix of some neurons, along with certain neuroendocrine and hematopoietic cells, is uniquely specialized in this regard.
Analysis Of Motion Patterns Generated By Moving Shapes

The aim of the experiment described in this paper is to investigate the possibility of describing the motion of a two-dimensional object represented by a sequence of snapshots. The interest of this experiment resides in the fact that the motion patterns we are dealing with are the irregular ones generated when the shape of an object changes the structure of its boundary slightly from frame to frame. The main motivation for considering such kind of motion is given by problems rising in biomedicine. Presently, many diagnostic results are represented by dynamic imagery where a two-dimensional display of an organ must be tracked in a time interval. The experiment is carried out by decomposing the lines representing the contour of the shapes; then a correspondence process is generated to relate segments from frame to frame and a set of low level descriptors are extracted by comparing related segments. Indications concerning a methodology for constructing higher level descriptors are given.
Organic reactions under high pressure. IX. The effect of pressure on the stereochemistry of methyl methacrylate polymerization

The radical polymerization of methyl methacrylate has been carried out at 51°C. over a pressure range of 1–8000 kg./cm.2, and the stereochemistry of the polymer analyzed by NMR spectroscopy. Over the entire pressure range, the stereochemistry of addition is independent of the stereochemistry of the growing polymer chain. The percentage of syndiotactic linkages decreases from about 75% to 62%, and the change in the resulting distribution of stereosequences is calculated. It is concluded that the transition state for syndiotactic addition is slightly larger than that for isotactic addition to the growing chain.
Agents for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases: July - December 1997

This patent update relates to neurodegenerative diseases for both the peripheral and central nervous systems. Selected patent activities are described and summarised below for the period of July through December 1997. The newly disclosed agents are listed by their actual or proposed biological mechanism. While many patent applications include agents for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, this review cites only those patents which either disclose biological data to support potential activity, display novel structures or claim relatively unexplored mechanisms for neuroprotection.
Differences Between Managers and Subordinates in Their Perception of Opinion Leaders

This study identifies opinion leaders in the areas of Task, Organizational Scuttle- butt, and Personal Guidance, and determines how managers in the organization rated or perceived these opinion leaders as compared to how subordinates in the organization perceived them.
Cognitive Task Analysis Using Complementary Elicitation Methods

Cognitive task analysis is accomplished using a wide variety of methodologies, and we have previously argued that different methods will tend to elicit qualitatively different types of knowledge and skills. Because of this, many practitioners use complementary methods for a given project. We have developed such a complementary package of knowledge elicitation techniques, along with a specific representational method, which together are termed conceptual graph analysis. Conceptual graph analysis is domain-independent and can be used to evaluate complex cognitive tasks or subtasks. It relies on the successive use of document analysis, interviews, task observation, and induction based on review of task performance. The information from these elicitation techniques is represented as a set of interrelated conceptual graphs, but can be represented in other formats also. There are several issues relevant to cognitive task analysis that are currently being faced, including when to perform this type of analysis, a...
Multinationals , Information Update , and Product Adaptation

This paper develops a dynamic model of decision making by multinational firms. The firm chooses between exporting and producing abroad when it expands the market. Bayes learning is incorporated into this model in addition to fixed cost and transport cost Production in a foreign country gives the firm new information about the demand function. This information is applied to adjust the firm's expectation as well as output choice in the future. This process not only reduces the risk encountered by a firm in a foreign market, but also increases acceptance of the product which the firm manufactures. This paper concludes even if producing abroad loses money in the first period, the firm may still choose to set up plants in foreign countries rather than exporting, due to the dynamic information advantage associated with going multinational. [F23,F21]
Reversible-equivalent-monomolecular tau

Leaping methods provide for efficient and approximate time stepping of chemical reaction systems modeled by continuous time discrete state stochastic dynamics. We investigate the application of leaping methods for "small number and stiff" systems, i.e. systems whose dynamics involve different time scales and have some molecular species present in very small numbers, specifically in the range 0 to 10. We propose a new explicit leaping scheme, reversible-equivalent-monomolecular tau (REMM-?), which shows considerable promise in the simulation of such systems. The REMM-? scheme is based on the fact that the exact solution of the two prototypical monomolecular reversible reactions S1?S2 and S?0 as a function of time takes a simple form involving binomial and/or Poisson random variables. The REMM-? method involves approximating bimolecular reversible reactions by suitable monomolecular reversible reactions as well as considering each reversible pair of reactions in the system to be operating in isolation during the time step ?. We illustrate the use of the REMM-? method through a number of biologically motivated examples and compare its performance to those of the implicit-? and trapezoidal implicit-? algorithms. In most cases considered, REMM-? appears to perform better than these two methods while having the important advantage of being computationally faster due to the explicit nature of the method. Furthermore when stepsize ? is increased the REMM-? exhibits a more robust performance than the implicit-? or the trapezoidal implicit-? for small number stiff problems.
Subcellular trafficking of FGF controls tracheal invasion of Drosophila flight muscle

To meet the extreme oxygen demand of insect flight muscle, tracheal (respiratory) tubes ramify not only on its surface, as in other tissues, but also within T-tubules and ultimately surrounding every mitochondrion. Although this remarkable physiological specialization has long been recognized, its cellular and molecular basis is unknown. Here, we show that Drosophila tracheoles invade flight muscle T-tubules through transient surface openings. Like other tracheal branching events, invasion requires the Branchless FGF pathway. However, localization of the FGF chemoattractant changes from all muscle membranes to T-tubules as invasion begins. Core regulators of epithelial basolateral membrane identity localize to T-tubules, and knockdown of AP-1γ, required for basolateral trafficking, redirects FGF from T-tubules to surface, increasing tracheal surface ramification and preventing invasion. We propose that tracheal invasion is controlled by an AP-1-dependent switch in FGF trafficking. Thus, subcellular targeting of a chemoattractant can direct outgrowth to specific domains, including inside the cell.
Effects of the tumor promoter 12‐0‐tetradecanoyl‐phorbol‐13‐acetate on the wasp, Bracon hebetor

A single oral dose of the tumor promoter, 12-0-tetradecanoyl-phorbol-13-acetate (TPA), caused a rapid necrosis of the ovarioles, aberrations in the developmental sequence of oocytes, and a concomitant dose-dependent decline in egg production in the wasp, Bracon hebetor. TPA and its metabolities were found to have a biological half life of 26.7 h, with a peak concentration in the ovarioles in 3 h. Damage to ovariole tissue was persistent despite the relatively short half life. Other tissues in the wasp were largely unaffected, although TPA induced lethargy that persisted until death. There was no shortening of life span. Inhibition of intercellular transport and metabolic cooperation may account for decreased fecundity and fertility, but interaction with a phorbol ester receptor is more likely to account for developmental changes and central nervous system poisoning.
A variable-density fictitious domain method for particulate flows with broad range of particle–fluid density ratios

A numerical scheme for fully resolved simulation of uid-particle systems with freely moving rigid particles is developed. The approach is based on a ctitious domain method wherein the entire uid-particle domain is