cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Neutrino oscillations in curved spacetime: A heuristic treatment

Author(s): Cardall, CY; Fuller, GM | Abstract: We discuss neutrino oscillations in curved spacetime. Our heuristic approach can accommodate matter effects and gravitational contributions to neutrino spin precession in the presence of a magnetic field. By way of illustration, we perform explicit calculations in the Schwarzschild geometry. In this case, gravitational effects on neutrino oscillations are intimately related to the redshift. We discuss how spacetime curvature could affect the resonance position and adiabaticity of matter-enhanced neutrino flavor conversion. © 1997 The American Physical Society.
Atom capture by surfaces during n,γ reactions

New evidence is presented for a charged particle mechanism in the capture by surfaces of products produced by n, γ reactions in gases. Experiments with a graphite powder in argon, argon-air, and argon-helium suggest that charge exchange and ion production by Compton electrons are important in the capture process.
Common and country-specific components in national stock prices

Abstract Previous studies on cointegration among national stock markets show conflicting results. This paper designs a general state space model to investigate the importance of a common world-wide component and the existence of country-specific components in national stock market indices. For G7 countries, there exist country-specific permanent and transitory components. Based on a variance decomposition analysis, Germany, Italy, and Japan's country-specific permanent shocks account for about half of their total permanent shocks. Most of France, Germany, and the United Kingdom's transitory shocks are country-specific. G7 countries do not seem to cointegrate around one common stochastic trend, and potential long-run international diversification benefits still exist.
Correlating Equations for Transitional Behavior

A transitional regime, as characterized by a point of inflection, links the asymptotic regimes for large and small values of the independent variable in many physical and chemical systems. A new methodology has been devised for representation of the overall behavior including such a transition by a single correlating equation. This development is based on the identification of one exact and one nearly exact solution in closed form for such a transition and on the recognition that these two particular solutions correspond to the same special case of the canonical correlating equation proposed by Churchill and Usagi for multiple regimes. This correspondence previously escaped recognition because it is evident only for one particular arrangement of the closed-form solutions and for one particular reduction and arrangement of the canonical correlating equation. The new generalized formulation appears to be applicable even for behavior for which the internal asymptote representing the transition is not known in advance, which is the usual situation
Evaluation of vagal afferent modulation of the digastric reflex in cats

In the present study, we have examined the relative ability of cervical, thoracic, cardiac and diaphragmatic vagal stimulation to modulate the digastic reflex produced by tooth-pulp stimulation in anesthetized cats. The right maxillary tooth pulp was stimulated and the digastric reflex was recorded from the right digastric muscle. Cervical vagal stimulation produced a biphasic effect on the digastric reflex. The reflex was facilitated at conditioning test intervals less than 20 ms and inhibited at conditioning test intervals between 100 ms and 500 ms. Cardiac and thoracic vagal stimulation did not significantly facilitate the digastric reflex but inhibited the reflex at conditioning test intervals between 50 ms and 500 ms with maximum inhibition observed at 200 ms. In contrast, diaphragmatic vagal stimulation produced a weaker inhibition of the digastric reflex. The relative ability of different vagal segments to inhibit the digastric reflex was:thoracic=cardiac=cervical> diaphragmatic. The inhibitory effects were not related to cardiovascular responses to vagal afferent stimulation. These findings suggest cardiopulmonary vagal afferents represent an important source of vagal afferents which modulate the digastric reflex in the cat.
The Emergence of Giant Enterprise, 1860-1914: American Commercial Enterprise and Extractive Industries

The second edition of this guide to basic reference sources in the social sciences contains 2200 entries. In addition to revising and substantially enlarging the chapters on reference sources, the author has added a chapter on geography and one on business that is distinct from economics. Since the publication of the first edition, there have been two obvious developments in information storage and retrieval: the rapid development of online databases and the development of CD-ROM. Instead of devoting a separate chapter to these developments, the book incorporates online databases, CD-ROM and other forms of data sources into the text. In addition, there is a brief introduction to these developments. Although the general deadline for inclusion in the volume was December 1988, quite a few titles published in 1989 are included. The volume consists of two parts: the social sciences in general, dealing with the nature of the social sciences, bibliographical needs and usage of social scientists, research resources and reference sources in the social sciences in general; and sub-disciplines of the social sciences, including cultural anthropology, history, law, political science, psychology, and sociology. Reference sources for each sub-discipline in part two (and some chapters in part one) are broadly classified into four sections: access to sources, sources of information, periodicals, and additional reference sources. Each secion is further divided as follows. Under the access to sources section, headings start with guides, followed in general by bibliographies of bibliographies, bibliographies, theses and dissertations, reviews, indexes, abstracts, and contents reproduction. In the sources of information section, headings are arranged in the following sequence: primary sources, encyclopaedias, dictionaries, directories, biographies, statistical sources, and handbooks, yearbooks and the like. Headings may be further divided by subject, depending on the number of sources. Titles under each heading and sub-heading are arranged alphabetically by title. All titles are suppled with ISBN and/or ISSN number, if known.
Androgens Increase Persistence But Do Not Affect Neophobia in a Problem-Solving Context in a Songbird

Gonadal steroid hormones enhance cognitive performance, particularly spatial and vocal learning, in mammals and birds. However, it is unknown whether problem-solving ability is similarly regulated. We propose that androgens, such as testosterone and 5α-dihydrotestosterone, play a role in mediating problem-solving behavior as well. As a test, male white-crowned sparrows (Zonotrichia leucophrys gambelii) were either castrated and administered a blank (Blank-castrate) or testosterone-filled implant (T-castrate) or were sham operated and were exposed to a novel feeder, which they had to open to receive a food reward, in two trials. Testosterone treatment affected neither a neophobic response nor problem-solving performance. However, T-castrates were more persistent in manipulating the feeder than Blank-castrates or Shams. Furthermore, their persistence correlated positively with circulating levels of both testosterone and 5α-dihydrotestosterone. We suggest that a positive correlation between sex steroids and persistence in foraging and problem-solving contexts may lead to an adaptive increase in resource acquisition in the breeding season. Given the overall low success on the problem-solving test, we cannot confidently conclude that androgens do not play a role in mediating problem-solving behavior. However, unlike in mammals, it seems these hormones do not significantly influence neophobia in foraging contexts in birds.
Feasibility Study for Applying Irreversible Electroporation to the Treatment of Breast Cancer

Non-thermal irreversible electroporation (IRE) is a new, minimally invasive, localized tissue ablation technique [1]. The procedure uses electrodes to deliver short-length, high voltage electric pulses to destabilize a cell membrane, leading to the creation of nanopores. When the pulses are strong enough, the cell cannot repair the damage and dies [2]. It has been shown that substantial volumes of tissue and cutaneous tumors may be ablated in a non-thermal manner using irreversible electroporation [1, 3]. In addition, this procedure may be predicted by numerical modeling, promotes an immune response, leaves the extracellular matrix intact, does not affect nerves, may be monitored in real-time, and preserves tissue vasculature [2–5].Copyright © 2009 by ASME
The effects of medial ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction on Major League pitching performance.

Background Medial ulnar collateral ligament (MUCL) reconstruction is commonly performed on Major League Baseball (MLB) pitchers. Previous studies have reported that most pitchers return to presurgical statistical performance levels after MUCL reconstruction. Methods Pitching performance data—specifically, earned run average (ERA), walks and hits per inning pitched (WHIP), winning percentage, and innings pitched—were acquired for 168 MLB pitchers who had undergone MUCL reconstruction. These data were averaged over the 3 years before surgery and the 3 years after surgery and also acquired from 178 age-matched, uninjured MLB pitchers. Results Of the pitchers who had MUCL reconstruction surgery, 87% returned to MLB pitching. However, compared with presurgical data, pitching performance declined in terms of ERA ( P = .001), WHIP ( P = .011), and innings pitched ( P = .026). Pitching performance also declined in the season before the surgery compared with previous years (ERA, P = .014; WHIP, P = .036; innings pitched, P P = .004). Compared with age-matched control pitchers, the MUCL reconstruction pitchers had significantly more major league experience at the same age ( P Conclusion MUCL reconstruction allows most players to return to pitching at the major league level. However, after MUCL reconstruction, there is a statistically significant decline in pitching performance. There appears to be a statistically significant decline in pitching performance the year before reconstructive surgery, and this decline is also a risk factor for requiring surgery. In addition, there is an increased risk of MUCL reconstruction for pitchers who enter the major leagues at a younger age.
Treatment of osteomyelitis with ilizarov frame

The Ilizarov method has gained popularity in the management of osteomyelitis. In this chapter we describe close and open techniques for the treatment of osteomyelitis with llizarov frame. Also, the use of Ilizarov frame has been highly successful in limb salvage when infected nonunion was combined with soft-tissue defect. Presently, it is the only comprehensive approach that can simultaneously address infection, nonunion, length discrepancy, and soft-tissue defect.
Economics and the Left Party Vote in Scandinavia: A Cross-National Analysis

While the literature on economic voting is vast, relatively little is known about how the economy affects party vote shares in Scandinavia per se. This article argues that left of center parties rather than incumbent governments per se bear the brunt of economic judgments at the voting booth. In large part this is due to these parties’ preeminent role in establishing and maintaining the institutional welfare systems of these countries. We examine this hypothesis using pooled time-series data for Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden from 1960 to 1991.
Theory of magnetic susceptibility of semimetals and narrow-gap semiconductors

We calculate the magnetic susceptibility of PbTe as an example to show that semimetals and narrow-gap semiconductors with large effective g-factors are highly diamagnetic.
Temporal plasticity of dorsal horn somatosensory neurons after acute and chronic spinal cord hemisection in rat

Unilateral T13 hemisection of the rat spinal cord produces a model of chronic spinal cord injury (SCI) that is characterized by bilateral hyperexcitability of lumbar dorsal horn neurons, and behavioral signs of central pain. While we have demonstrated that responsiveness of multireceptive (MR) dorsal horn neurons is dramatically increased at 28 days after injury, the effects of acute hemisection are unknown and predicted to be different than observed chronically. In the present study, the consequences of T13 hemisection are examined acutely at 45 min in MR neurons both ipsilateral and contralateral to the site of injury, and compared to the same class of cells at 28 days after injury (n=20 cells total per group: 2-3 cells/side of the cord from n=5 animals). Acutely, ipsilateral to the hemisection, both spontaneous and evoked activity of MR neurons were significantly increased, whereas contralaterally, only evoked activity was significantly increased. In animals 28 days after hemisection, spontaneous activity of MR neurons was comparable to intact levels ipsilaterally, and cells exhibited hyperexcitability to evoked stimuli bilaterally. Expansion of cutaneous receptive fields was observed only in hindpaws ipsilateral to the lesion, acutely. These results demonstrate dynamic plasticity in properties of dorsal horn somatosensory neurons after SCI.
The Finite-Difference Time-Domain (FD-TD) Method for Electromagnetic Scattering and Interaction Problems

The formulation and recent applications of the finite-difference time-domain (FD-TD) method for the numerical modeling of electromagnetic scattering and interaction problems are considered. It is shown that improvements in FD-TD modeling concepts and software implementation often make it a preferable choice for structures which cannot be easily treated by conventional integral equations and asymptotic approaches. Recent FD-TD modeling validations in research areas including coupling to wires and wire bundles in free space and cavities, scattering from surfaces in relativistic motion, inverse scattering, and radiation condition theory, are reviewed. Finally, the advantages and disadvantages of FD-TD, and guidelines concerning when FD-TD should and should not be used in high-frequency electromagnetic modeling problems, are summarized.
X-RAY ANALYSIS OF GREEK BRONZE AGE PIGMENTS FROM KNOSSOS

Analyses are reported of a number of Minoan pigments from wall paintings at Knossos, dating from c. 1700–1400 b.c.
On-again/off-again dating relationships: How are they different from other dating relationships?

This article explores the understudied yet prevalent phenomenon of on-again/off-again (on-off) dating relationships. Study 1 (N= 445 U.S. college students) showed that almost two thirds of participants had experienced an on-off relationship. Analyses of open-ended responses about relationship experiences showed on-off partners were less likely to report positives (e.g., love and understanding from partners) and more likely to report negatives (e.g., communication problems, uncertainty) than partners who had not broken up and renewed. Study 2 (N= 236), employing quantitative measures, substantiated these findings and further showed a greater number of renewals was associated with greater negatives and fewer positives. Results highlight the need for further investigation regarding on-off relationships, and theories potentially useful in explaining these relationships are discussed.
Liquid-liquid Phase Diagrams for Binary Polymer Solutions from a Perturbed Hard-Sphere-Chain Equation of State

Abstract The perturbed hard-sphere-chain (PHSC) equation of state for multicomponent mixtures is presented as a generalization from the equation of state for pure fluids. The reference term, based on Chiew's equation of state for hard-sphere chains, requires no mixing rules. Only the attractive perturbation requires van der Waals one-fluid mixing rules. Cross parameters needed in the perturbation are obtained using pure-fluid parameters and simple combining rules. The simplifying physical assumptions required to reduce the perturbation term to the Flory χ parameter are given. Specific interactions are included by adapting the model of ten Brinke and Karasz. Model calculations for binary mixtures demonstrate that the PHSC equation can predict lower critical solution temperatures, upper critical solution temperatures and closed partial-miscibility loops. Special attention is given to the effects of polymer molecular weight, pressure, differences in segment size and differences in segment interaction energy.
Nicotine and cotinine modulate cerebral microvascular permeability and protein expression of ZO-1 through nicotinic acetylcholine receptors expressed on brain endothelial cells.

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) adapts to a variety of pathological processes. Little is known about the effects of nicotine exposure on BBB function and the ability to adapt to stroke conditions. We have demonstrated, using a well-characterized in vitro BBB model, bovine brain microvessel endothelial cells (BBMEC) model, that nicotine and its major metabolite, cotinine, modulate BBB integrity by opening the paracellular route of solute entry into the brain. Additionally, nicotine and cotinine together increase the permeability change observed after 6 h of hypoxia/aglycemia, an in vitro model of stroke. This has important implications for how the BBB initially adapts to stroke in an environment that is previously exposed to nicotine. Nicotine and cotinine exposure also resulted in reduced ZO-1 immunoreactivity (tight junctional protein) that occurred in a time-dependent manner. Interestingly, attenuation of bovine brain microvessel endothelial cell (BBMEC) ZO-1 protein expression was reversed using 10 nM BGT, an alpha7 nicotinic acetycholine receptor (nAChR) antagonist, suggesting that the effects of nicotine on BBMEC protein expression of ZO-1 protein are mediated by nAChR expressed on brain endothelial cells. In addition to alpha7, we found that BBMEC also contain positive immunoreactivity for the alpha3, alpha5, beta2, beta3 nAChR subunit. Both alpha7 and beta2 nAChR subunit protein levels decreased with prior nicotine and cotinine exposure. These data provide evidence that nicotine and cotinine alter BBB permeability and tight junctional protein expression of ZO-1, thereby altering the BBB response to stroke conditions. These changes in brain endothelial cell paracellular permeability are believed to be associated with nicotine binding to nAChRs present at the BBB.
Clover yellow mosaic virus infection of seedling roots of Pisum sativum

Abstract Clover yellow mosaic virus (CYMV) multiplication was studied in roots of Pisum sativum (garden pea). Mechanical inoculation of pea roots with CYMV resulted in systemic infection of shoots. CYMV translocation from roots was directly related to temperature. CYMV was purified from pea roots with minimal alterations of existing schedules; yields were comparable to those from leaves (45 mg/kg, roots; 50 mg/kg, leaves). Electron-microscopic observations of thin-sectioned CYMV-infected root-tip tissue revealed large numbers of viral inclusions in meristematic root initials. Nitrogen and carbohydrate levels were significantly altered in roots and shoots of infected seedlings.
On Mechanisms of Dynamic Nuclear Polarization in Solids

Dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) can dramatically increase the signal in nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiments by transferring spin polarization from electrons to nuclei. We discuss quantum mechanical descriptions of the “solid effect” and “cross effect” mechanisms of DNP that typically occur in solid state NMR at high magnetic field, both with and without magic angle spinning (MAS). We present several extensions of recent theoretical descriptions, including (i) treatments of solid effect DNP and cross effect DNP with MAS, in which two nuclei change spin states simultaneously and (ii) a treatment of solid effect DNP in a two-spin system without MAS, in which the ratio of microwave field strength to hyperfine coupling strength can be arbitrary. We also briefly discuss factors that influence DNP efficiency in experiments, beyond the basic principles contained in simple quantum mechanical models.
Electrophoretic behavior of alkaline lipolytic activity in human adipose tissue.

Abstract 1. (1) Alkaline lipolytic activity (ALA), a soluble esterase found in human adipose tissue, has been visualized on starch gel after electrophoresis by a staining method which employs naphthol esters as substrates and Fast Blue B as a coupling agent 2. (2) The electrophoretic phenotype is manifest as five bands of esterase activity (ALA I-5) with similar substrate and inhibitor specificity, consistent with the isoenzyme concept 3. (3) The effects of time and temperature suggest that ALA 5 is a subunit of ALA i -4) 4. (4) I 8 2 fresh adipose tissue preparations have been carefully studied and no genetic variations observed 5. (5) The characteristic electrophoretic bands of ALA have also been found in human liver, lung, heart, kidney, adrenal, spleen, thyroid, ovary, testis, brain and muscle 6. (6) The physiological function is not known, but their ability to hydrolize emulsions of long-chain fatty acid esters suggests a role in lipolysis.
Summertime Convective Storm Environments in Central Arizona: Local Observations

Abstract The daily evolution of local surface conditions at Phoenix, Arizona, and the characteristics of the 1200 UTC sounding at Tucson, Arizona, have been examined to determine important meteorological features that lead to thunderstorm occurrence over the low deserts of central Arizona. Each day of July and August during the period 1990–95 has been stratified based upon daily mean, surface moisture conditions at Phoenix, Arizona, and the occurrence of afternoon and evening convective activity in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The nearest operational sounding, taken 160 km to the southeast at Tucson, is shown to be not representative of low-level thermodynamic conditions in central Arizona. Thus, Phoenix forecasters’ ability to identify precursor conditions for the development of thunderstorms is impaired. On days that convective storms occur in the Phoenix area, there is a decrease in the diurnal amplitude of surface dewpoint changes, signifying increased/deeper boundary layer moisture. This signal is ...
Experience with fast neutron therapy using the texas A & M variable energy cyclotron

Between October, 1972 and September, 1973, 72 patients were treated with neutrons produced by bombarding beryllium with 16- or 50-MeV deuterons. The clinical material included 34 patients with head and neck cancer, 11 with breast carcinoma, 8 with superior sulcus bronchogenic carcinoma, and 19 with a variety of miscellaneous neoplasms. Patients were treated twice-weekly with doses calculated to include both the neutron and gamma components. Most of the patients with head and neck cancer were treated with shrinking fields to doses of 1850 radnγ/5 1/2 weeks-2350 radnγ/7 weeks with the 16-MeV beam, or 2000 radnγ/6 weeks-2400 radnγ/7 weeks with the 50-MeV beam. Preliminary evaluation indicates satisfactory local control; however, the late radiation sequelae are greater than would be expected on the basis of the acute mucosal reactions observed. A significant number of complications has developed in: 1) patients treated at higher doses, and 2) those with massive epithelial involvement even at lower doses. Consequently, doses have been reduced. With breast carcinoma, doses of 2350 radnγ/7 weeks (50 MeV) with shrinking fields have been well tolerated for this short-term followup; the local control rate has been high. Eight patients with superior sulcus tumors have been well palliated with no undue side effects. However, all were treated with conventional radiotherapy followed by a neutron therapy boost to the primary site. The miscellaneous group included a wide variety of neoplasms, the number of each type too small to draw any meaningful conclusions.
HYDROGEN SPECTRUM IN MAGNETIC WHITE DWARFS : H ALPHA, H BETA AND H GAMMA TRANSITIONS.

Using the results of an accurate variational calculation, a graphical display of the wavelengths of the H-alpha H-beta, and H-gamma lines of hydrogen for magnetic field values ranging from 0 to 560 megagauss, which is believed to cover the range of fields found in magnetic white dwarfs. This is the first complete detailed compilation of such results.
Sulfuric Acid Aerosol Followed by Ozone Exposure in Healthy and Asthmatic Subjects

Abstract These studies evaluated symptom and pulmonary function responses of humans sequentially exposed to sulfuric acid aerosol and ozone. Thirty healthy subjects and 30 allergic asthmatic subjects underwent 3-hr exposures in an environmental chamber to 100 μg/m3 sulfuric acid and sodium chloride (control) aerosols (in random order), followed 24 hr later by 3-hr exposures to ozone (0.08, 0.12, or 0.18 ppm). Each subject was studied four times, receiving each aerosol preexposure followed by two of the three ozone concentrations. For the healthy group, no convincing symptomatic or physiologic effects of exposure to either the aerosol or ozone on lung function were found. For the asthmatic group, preexposure to sulfuric acid altered the pattern of response to ozone in comparison with sodium chloride preexposure and appeared to enhance the small mean decrements in FVC that occurred in response to 0.18 ppm ozone (means ± SE: −3.6 ± 1.5% with sodium chloride preexposure, −6.8 ± 1.7% with sulfuric acid preexposure). Individual responses among asthmatic subjects were quite variable, some demonstrating reductions in FEV1 of more than 35% following ozone exposure. Analysis of variance of changes in FVC revealed evidence for interactions between aerosol and ozone exposure both immediately after (P = 0.005) and 4 hr after (P = 0.030) exposure. Similar effects were seen for FEV1. When normal and asthmatic subjects were combined, four-way analysis of variance revealed an interaction between ozone and aerosol for the entire group (P = 0.0022) and a difference between normal and asthmatic subjects (P = 0.0048). There was no significant effect of exposures on symptoms for either normal or asthmatic subjects. Asthmatic subjects differ from healthy volunteers in their functional responses following sequential exposures to aerosols and ozone and appear to represent a susceptible population.
Pericardial effusion and cardiac tamponade associated with central venous catheters in children: an uncommon but serious and treatable condition

Abstract Purpose Pericardial effusion (PCE) resulting in cardiac tamponade (CT) is a rare complication associated with central venous catheters (CVCs) in children. The goal of this study was to determine the demographics, presenting clinical picture and CVC characteristics in children developing CT as a result of a CVC. Methods An institutional review board-approved retrospective review of children treated at a tertiary-care pediatric hospital from 1998 to 2007 was conducted. Patients were identified through institutional database search for diagnostic codes of PCE and simultaneously assigned patient codes for the presence of CVC. Patients with incidentally discovered effusions, those with recent cardiac surgery, or those with causative factors other than a CVC were excluded. Results Over the 10-year study period, 463 patients were identified using the search criteria. Six cases of CVC-associated PCE causing CT were identified (1.3%). Corrected postgestational age at diagnosis ranged from 34 to 41 weeks with a median corrected postgestational age of 38.5 weeks (median, 38.5 weeks). The median time from CVC placement to diagnosis was 2.5 days (range, 0-6 days). Radiographs obtained before diagnosis demonstrated CVC tip to be overlying the cardiac silhouette in 5 patients (83%). Five (83%) of the 6 patients were receiving hyperalimentation via the CVC at the time of PCE. All patients presented with clinical signs of cardiorespiratory distress and/or cardiac arrest. Pericardiocentesis was performed in 5 patients (83%) and resulted in rapid stabilization. All CVCs were removed at diagnosis. There was 1 mortality (17%). Conclusions Pericardial effusion and CT associated with CVC is rare and is chiefly a concern among infants. Characteristics of CVCs including infusate and tip position may be associated with increased risk of PCE. This diagnosis should be considered in any infant with a CVC who experiences acute respiratory distress or cardiovascular collapse.
Epidemiology of breast carcinoma IV: Age and histologic tumor type

The purpose of this study was to correlate major chronologic events known to have a bearing on the risk for developing breast carcinoma with histologic tumor type. Data were obtained for 1024 consecutively treated patients with the seven most common forms of mammary carcinoma. The age of occurrence of the following events was determined: menarche; first marriage; first pregnancy and first childbirth; last pregnancy and last childhood; diagnosis. The interval between each of these events and diagnosis of breast cancer was also calculated. Patients with medullary carcinoma had a significantly lower mean age at diagnosis than those with any of the other tumor types. Because of the lower mean age at diagnosis, medullary carcinoma patients were found to have significantly shorter intervals between age at diagnosis and the following: menarche, first pregnancy or first childbirth, and last pregnancy or last childbirth, Intervals between age at diagnosis and these other events were not significantly different among patients with other types of carcinoma. The ages of menarche, marriage, or pregnancy were not related independently to any tumor type. These data indicate that except for current age. the age of occurrence of major risk factors for developing breast cancer is unrelated to the histological type of tumor a patient develops.
Direct observation of radical intermediates in protein-dependent DNA charge transport.

Charge migration through the DNA base stack has been probed both spectroscopically, to observe the formation of radical intermediates, and biochemically, to assess irreversible oxidative DNA damage. Charge transport and radical trapping were examined in DNA assemblies in the presence of a site-specifically bound methyltransferase HhaI mutant and an intercalating ruthenium photooxidant using the flash-quench technique. The methyltransferase mutant, which can flip out a base and insert a tryptophan side chain within the DNA cavity, is found to activate long-range hole transfer through the base pair stack. Protein-dependent DNA charge transport is observed over 50 A with guanine radicals formed >106 s-1; hole transport through DNA over this distance is not rate-limiting. Given the time scale and distance regime, such protein-dependent DNA charge transport chemistry requires consideration physiologically.
High day 28 ST2 levels predict for acute graft-versus-host disease and transplant-related mortality after cord blood transplantation

While cord blood transplantation (CBT) is an effective therapy for hematologic malignancies, acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) is a leading cause of transplant-related mortality (TRM). We investigated if biomarkers could predict aGVHD and TRM after day 28 in CBT recipients. Day 28 samples from 113 CBT patients were analyzed. Suppressor of tumorigenicity 2 (ST2) was the only biomarker associated with grades II-IV and III-IV aGVHD and TRM. Day 180 grade III-IV aGVHD in patients with high ST2 levels was 30% (95% confidence interval [CI], 18-43) vs 13% (95% CI, 5-23) in patients with low levels (P = .024). The adverse effect of elevated ST2 was independent of HLA match. Moreover, high day 28 ST2 levels were associated with increased TRM with day 180 estimates of 23% (95% CI, 13-35) vs 5% (95% CI, 1-13) if levels were low (P = .001). GVHD was the most common cause of death in high ST2 patients. High concentrations of tumor necrosis factor receptor-1, interleukin-8, and regenerating islet-derived protein 3-α were also associated with TRM. Our results are consistent with those of adult donor allografts and warrant further prospective evaluation to facilitate future therapeutic intervention to ameliorate severe aGVHD and further improve survival after CBT.
Determinants of adverse events in vascular surgery.

Background Patient safety is a national priority. Patient Safety Indicators (PSIs) monitor potential adverse events during hospital stays. Surgical specialty PSI benchmarks do not exist, and are needed to account for differences in the range of procedures performed, reasons for the procedure, and differences in patient characteristics. A comprehensive profile of adverse events in vascular surgery was created. Study Design The Nationwide Inpatient Sample was queried for 8 vascular procedures using ICD-9-CM codes from 2005 to 2009. Factors associated with PSI development were evaluated in univariate and multivariate analyses. Results A total of 1,412,703 patients underwent a vascular procedure and a PSI developed in 5.2%. PSIs were more frequent in female, nonwhite patients with public payers (p Conclusions Patient safety events in vascular surgery were high and varied by procedure, with amputations and open abdominal aortic aneurysm repair having considerably more potential adverse events. PSIs were associated with black race, public payer, and procedure indication. It is important to note the overall higher rates of PSIs occurring in vascular patients and to adjust benchmarks for this surgical specialty appropriately.
Evidence for slow-mode shocks in the deep geomagnetic tail

Plasma and field data from the ISEE-3 space probe provide evidence that the lobe-plasma sheet boundary is the central part of the distant geomagnetic tail is often a slow-mode shock. Such shocks are predicted by Petchek's (1964) model of the reconnection. If this model applies, then the ISEE-3 observations place the general location of the reconnection diffusion region closer to the earth than x of about -100 earth radii.
CCR5 Expression Levels in HIV-Uninfected Women Receiving Hormonal Contraception

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infectivity increases as receptor/coreceptor expression levels increase. We determined peripheral CD4, CCR5, and CXCR4 expression levels in HIV-uninfected women who used depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA; n = 32), the levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine device (LNG-IUD; n = 27), oral contraceptive pills (n = 32), or no hormonal contraception (n = 33). The use of LNG-IUD increased the proportion of CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells that expressed CCR5; increases in the magnitude of T-cell subset CCR5 expression were observed with DMPA and LNG-IUD use (P < .01 for all comparisons). LNG-IUD and, to a lesser extent, DMPA use were associated with increased peripheral T-cell CCR5 expression.
Peptide−Protein Interactions: Photoinduced Electron-Transfer within the Preformed and Encounter Complexes of a Designed Metallopeptide and Cytochrome c†

Photoinduced electron-transfer (ET) occurs between a negatively charged metallopeptide, [Ru(bpy)(2)(phen-am)-Cys-(Glu)(5)-Gly](3-) = RuCE(5)G, and ferricytochrome c = Cyt c. In the presence of Cyt c, the triplet state lifetime of the ruthenium metallopeptide is shortened, and the emission decays via biexponential kinetics, which indicates the existence of two excited-state populations of ruthenium peptides. The faster decay component displays concentration-independent kinetics demonstrating the presence of a preformed peptide-protein complex that undergoes intra-complex electron-transfer. Values of K(b) = (3.5 +/- 0.2) x 10(4) M(-1) and k(obs)(ET)= (2.7 +/- 0.4) x 10(6) s(-1) were observed at ambient temperatures. The magnitude of k(obs)(ET) decreases with increasing solvent viscosity, and the behavior can be fit to the expression k(obs)(ET) proportional to eta(-alpha) to give alpha = 0.59 +/- 0.05. The electron-transfer process occurring in the preformed complex is therefore gated by a rate-limiting configurational change of the complex. The slower decay component displays concentration-dependent kinetics that saturate at high concentrations of Cyt c. Analysis according to rapid equilibrium formation of an encounter complex that undergoes unimolecular electron-transfer yields K(b)' = (2.5 +/- 0.7) x 10(4) M(-1) and k(obs')(ET)= (7 +/- 3) x 10(5) s(-1). The different values of k(obs)(ET) and k(obs')(ET) suggest that the peptide lies farther from the heme when in the encounter complex. The value of k(obs')(ET) is viscosity dependent indicating that the reaction occurring within the encounter complex is also configurationally gated. A value of alpha = 0.98 +/- 0.14 is observed for k(obs')(ET), which suggests that the rate-limiting gating processes in the encounter complex is different from that in the preformed complex.
Cutting performance of nano-polycrystalline diamond ☆

Abstract Nano-polycrystalline diamond (NPD) synthesized by the direct conversion sintering process from graphite under ultra-high pressure and high temperature (15–18 GPa, 2100–2300 °C) has a very fine texture consisting of small diamond grains (10–50 nm in size) bonded directly without any binder materials. NPD has extremely high hardness, high wear resistance, no anisotropic mechanical properties, no cleavage feature, and high thermal stability, and so has high potential for precise cutting tools. To clarify this potential, we conducted cutting tests for various work materials under different conditions and compared the results with those for conventional polycrystalline diamond (PCD) and single crystal diamond (SCD) tools. The results of the cutting tests were as follows: approximately 10–20 times higher than the PCD tool on turning of Al–Si alloy, 3–5 times higher than the PCD tool on turning of cemented carbide, and more than two times higher than the SCD tool on ultra-precision cutting for binderless cemented carbide. Detailed observations of the cutting edge after the cutting tests indicated that the excellent cutting performance of the tool was the result of its isotropic feature and fine texture without any binder. These results revealed that nano-polycrystalline diamond has outstanding potential for various cutting and processing applications.
Hormonal Evidence for Altered Responsiveness to Social Stress in Major Depression

In patients with major depression, abnormalities in baseline cortisol secretion and resistance to negative feedback are well established. However, it is unclear if patients with major depression have alterations in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) response to stressors. While other challenges to the HPA axis have used endocrine stimuli such as insulin-induced hypoglycemia, we now report of the response to a social stressor in patients with major depression and matched control subjects. We used the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST), a public speaking task followed by mental arithmetic challenge in front of a panel of judges. The results suggest that depressed patients manifest normal cortisol response to a social stressor, despite increased pre-stressor plasma cortisol. However, the β-endorphin response to the TSST was significantly smaller in the depressed patients compared to matched controls. These data are similar to data found with exogenous corticotropin-releasing-hormone challenge studies and suggest that elevated baseline cortisol can modulate the pituitary corticotroph response to a stressor, but that changes in adrenal sensitivity to ACTH result in a robust cortisol response to this stressor.
Tissue doppler changes in pediatric complete heart block patients who are chronically paced.

Introduction. Pediatric patients with complete heart block (CHB) often require pacemaker therapy. Adult studies have shown chronic right ventricular pacemaker therapy may be associated with decreased echocardiographic parameters and increased brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) values. The goal of this study was to determine if there are echocardiographic or BNP changes in a pediatric population that is chronically paced. Methods. Patients were recruited if they had CHB and had a pacemaker. Patients were excluded if they had congenital structural heart disease. Standard two-dimensional echocardiograms, including tissue Doppler imaging (TDI), were performed. BNP values were obtained. Nonparametric Spearman's rank correlation was used for analysis. Rho ≤ 0.05 was considered significant. Results. Eighteen patients (16.4 ± 7.3 years) with CHB were studied. Age at implant was 8.6 ± 6.6 years and length of pacing was 7.8 ± 6.6 years. Pacing mode was VDD, DDD, DDDR, or VVIR. All patients were ventricularly paced >95% of the time. Ejection fraction was 58.5 ± 7.5%. All BNP values were <40 pg/mL. There was no correlation between ejection fraction or BNP level with the length of pacing years. Pacing years significantly correlated with mitral and tricuspid E/A ratios (rho =−0.56, −0.56, respectively). Pacing years also correlated with right ventricular and interventricular TDI a wave (rho = 0.61 and 0.68, respectively). Furthermore, pacing years correlated with right ventricular TDI e/a ratio (rho =−0.58). Conclusions. Ejection fraction and BNP levels were not sensitive parameters in evaluating pediatric patients who are chronically paced. Subtle diastolic changes, especially of the right ventricle, were detected by TDI.
The Value of e/m

EDDINGTON1 originally proposed the relation hc/2e2 = 136, and later2 revised this to 137. Still later he proposed3 a second relation, namely, the ratio of M, the mass of the proton, to m, the mass of the electron, is 1847.64. This second relation, combined with the value of the Faraday and Aston's mass of O16 leads4 to e/m = (1.77031 ± 0.00014) × 107 E.M. units. If, finally, one assumes the correctness of Bohr's formula for the Rydberg constant, there results4, h = (6.5490 ± 0.0011) × 1027 erg. sec., e = (4.775855 ± 0.000048) × 1010 E.S. units.
Waardenburg'ssyndrome during the first year of life

Summary The first extensive observation of a patient with Waardenburg's syndrome from birth to age 1 year is recorded. At birth the patient had a white forelock which almost entirely disappeared by age 6 weeks. Iris bicolor appeared at age three months. The medial intercanthal distance appeared increased and hearing was normal. The importance of early diagnosis is stressed.
On Fliess operators driven by L 2 -Itô random processes

Fliess operators with deterministic inputs have been studied since the late 1970's and are well understood. When the inputs are stochastic processes the theory is less developed. There have been several interesting approaches for Wiener process inputs. But the interconnection of systems is not well-posed in this context, and this limits their use in applications. This paper has two specific goals. The first goal is to describe the theoretical framework under which a Fliess operator can be driven by a class of L 2 -Ito random processes. The second goal is to derive a sufficient condition for the stochastic convergence of the series which defines the corresponding output process.
ACCOUNTING AND THEORIES OF ORGANIZATIONS: SOME PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS.

Abstract In this paper historical perspectives of organizations and organizational theories provide a framework from which questions and issues are raised about how accounting systems and the roles they serve have developed and their relationships to activities of coordination and control. Critical to this framework is that it defines the roles of accounting as problematic aspects of the social and organizational context. The historical perspective of organizations casts some light on the significant role which accounting played in the advancement of the scientific management philosophy and, in turn, on how this philosophy provided structural support for the simultaneous advancement in business and government of centralized and rationalized economic production and political decision making. The historical perspective of organizational theories argues that while applied organizational perspectives offer the basis for the advancement of applied accounting theories, sociological perspectives offer a more detached analysis of organizations and society as a means for analyzing and understanding accounting as well. In particular, the classical sociological perspectives of Marx and Weber explicitly recognize the centrality of issues of social control and coordination in organizations, thus providing meaningful intellectual approaches and traditions from which to study accounting. The paper concludes by raising several themes which are intended to enhance the dialogue between accounting and organizational researchers.
Paradigmatic Choices in Evaluation Methodology

Some writers state that experimental research mustform the core of all evaluation. Others counter that experrmental studies tend not to be used, and urge reliance on more subjective and process-oriented research methods. If we accept the premise that the "hard-science" and "anthropological" approaches are truly paradigms of evaluatron research, the resultant issue is which approach to use m specific cases. The present report rejects the "competing paradigms" thesis, and argues that there is a solid middle ground. It suggests why that ground should be used, and considers how the two approaches can be mixed to surt particular research settings .
Students’ and Teachers’ Application of Surface Area to Volume Relationships

The National Science Education Standards emphasize teaching unifying concepts and processes such as basic functions of living organisms, the living environment, and scale (NRC 2011). Scale includes understanding that different characteristics, properties, or relationships within a system might change as its dimensions are increased or decreased (NRC 2011). One such relationship involves surface area to volume which is a pervasive concept that can be found throughout different sciences. This concept is important for students to not only understand the association of the two, but to also be able to apply this relationship in science contexts. The purpose of this study is to investigate the factors that influence the understanding surface area to volume relationships. This study examined middle school students’, high school students’, and science teachers’ logical thinking skills (including proportional reasoning), visual-spatial skills, and understandings of surface area to volume relationships. Regression results indicated that participants’ reasoning abilities and components of visual-spatial skills could be possible predictors for one’s ability to understand surface area to volume relationships. Implications for teaching scale concepts such as surface area to volume relationships in the science classroom are discussed.