cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Knowledge of self-myofascial release among allied health students in the United States: A descriptive survey.

Abstract Background University and collegiate education of the human myofascial system is commonly taught in basic science courses such as anatomy. Allied health programs may expand upon these concepts by teaching interventions such as myofascial release in clinical education courses. Self-myofascial release (SMR) with a device such as a foam roller is an emerging intervention that has become popular among clinicians and active individuals. Currently, it's unknown if allied health programs provide SMR education. Purpose The purpose of this study was to survey and document responses in the knowledge of SMR among allied health students. Methods 12 undergraduate and graduate allied health programs in the United States were sent a 12-question electronic survey that represented three areas: 1) respondent demographics and beliefs, 2) experience with SMR, 3) future practice and education. Descriptive data including response frequency and percentage was calculated and reported for the 12 questions. Results A total of 502 students from the different allied health programs completed the survey which represented a 33.00% response rate (502/1521). Approximately, half of respondents (49.6%, N = 249) reported learning about SMR in their degree program and the other half (50.40%, N = 253) report receiving no education. Most respondents (>50%) currently use or have used an SMR device and believe that SMR produces therapeutic benefits. Furthermore, most respondents (≥50%) had an idea of how they would integrate SMR into their future practice and where to purchase an SMR device. Conclusion A more global consensus on education for emerging therapeutic intervention such as SMR is needed in order to standardize and develop best teaching practices in allied health. This study highlighted the difference among allied health programs in the United States. This research should be a starting point for future survey research on this topic.
Poster: Towards Safe Refactoring for Intelligent Parallelization of Java 8 Streams

The Java 8 Stream API sets forth a promising new programming model that incorporates functional-like, MapReduce-style features into a mainstream programming language. However, using streams correctly and efficiently may involve subtle considerations. In this poster, we present our ongoing work and preliminary results towards an automated refactoring approach that assists developers in writing optimal stream code. The approach, based on ordering and typestate analysis, determines when it is safe and advantageous to convert streams to parallel and optimize parallel streams.
Multi-Vehicle Motion Planning for Search and Tracking

We present a vision-based search and rescue system which uses a unmanned aerial vehicle(UAV) swarm to search and track missing personnel/animals. A major benefit of multiple-vehicle search operation is the extended coverage due to the "bridging" effect between the vehicles, which allow a larger and further search area that is beyond the reach of a single vehicle. The challenge here is to plan the UAV swarm's motion paths while maintain the communication links between vehicles during the flight. Our path planning method uses a two-tie search algorithm to approximate the optimum paths for n-UAV search. The integrated vision pipeline and target recognition subsystem is evaluated with emulated UAVs and image sensors.
The Other (’s) Skepticism: Levinasian Reflections on Maternal Ethics and Feminist Politics

The essay begins by examining how much of feminist theory today remains tethered to “the skeptical problematic.” I argue that this tethering entangles feminists in unnecessary epistemological questions, ones which import into feminist theory an impulse to sovereignty and totalizing thinking. The cost of this impulse is the reduction of alterity into an epistemological schema of difference, as well as an obscuring of the political practices by which women affirm political freedom and ethical responsibility. Navigating various feminist authors with the critical lens of Emmanuel Levinas, I attempt to recuperate and refigure skepticism as an ethical phenomenon (rather than simply an epistemological problem), one which can serve as an opening for innovative forms of feminist praxis that affirm, rather than cover over, the alterity of the Other. I conclude by specifying a form of praxis that exemplifies the figuring of skepticism as an ethical issue by turning towards the practice of “entrustment” articulated by the Milan Women’s Bookstore Collective.
The Ethical Implications of Mandatory Computer Ownership for Students

Many universities, colleges, and schools are contemplating mandatory computer ownership policies for undergraduate students. Review of these policies and the rhetoric employed in debate over such policies leaves some with strong misgivings. I suggest that seemingly widely held social values and a number of suspect assumptions underlie such policies, the questions raised by both their supporters and detractors, and the answers offered in response to those questions. Moreover, I identify four serious ethical concerns linked to mandatory computer ownership policies. Therefore, I argue that social science educators and practitioners have an ethical responsibility to resist such policies.
Conspiracy Theories: Public Arguments as Coded Social Critiques: a Rhetorical Analysis of the Twa Flight 800 Conspiracy Theories

If we wish to more folly account for how conspiracy theories function in twenty-first century America, then we must be able to move beyond treating conspiracy theories solely as flawed arguments. T...
Research Acts in Art Practice

This article argues that art practice is a creative and critical form of human engagement that can be conceptualized as research. Conceptions of research are critiqued that raise questions about the purposes of artistic and educational inquiry and the institutional and political influences that shape them. Notions of arts-based research, arts-informed research, and practice-based research are compared according to their policies, practices and methods. In framing art practice as research, various research acts are described that circumscribe the forms, agencies and actions that are part of the theoretical, structural, interpretive and critical traditions found in the visual arts. These research acts are creative and critical; feature complex forms of imagination and intellect; and make use of processes and procedures that draw from many traditions of inquiry. Consequently, it is argued that art practice can be conceptualized as a form of research that can be directed towards a range of personal and public...
Visualization-assisted binning of metagenome assemblies reveals potential new pathogenic profiles in idiopathic travelers' diarrhea.

Travelers’ diarrhea (TD) is often caused by enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli, enteroaggregative E. coli, other bacterial pathogens, Norovirus, and occasionally parasites. Nevertheless, standard diagnostic methods fail to identify pathogens in more than 40% of TD patients. It is predicted that new pathogens may be causative agents of the disease. We performed a comprehensive amplicon and whole genome shotgun (WGS) metagenomic study of the fecal microbiomes from 23 TD patients and seven healthy travelers, all of which were negative for the known etiologic agents of TD based on standard microbiological and immunological assays. Abnormal and diverse taxonomic profiles in TD samples were revealed. WGS reads were assembled and the resulting contigs were visualized using multiple query types. A semi-manual workflow was applied to isolate independent genomes from metagenomic pools. A total of 565 genome bins were extracted, 320 of which were complete enough to be characterized as cellular genomes; 160 were viral genomes. We made predictions of the etiology of disease for many of the individual subjects based on the properties and features of the recovered genomes. Multiple patients with low-diversity metagenomes were predominated by one to several E. coli strains. Functional annotation allowed prediction of pathogenic type in many cases. Five patients were co-infected with E. coli and other members of Enterobacteriaceae, including Enterobacter, Klebsiella, and Citrobacter; these may represent blooms of organisms that appear following secretory diarrhea. New “dark matter” microbes were observed in multiple samples. In one, we identified a novel TM7 genome that phylogenetically clustered with a sludge isolate; it carries genes encoding potential virulence factors. In multiple samples, we observed high proportions of putative novel viral genomes, some of which form clusters with the ubiquitous gut virus, crAssphage. The total relative abundance of viruses was significantly higher in healthy travelers versus TD patients. Our study highlights the strength of assembly-based metagenomics, especially the manually curated, visualization-assisted binning of contigs, in resolving unusual and under-characterized pathogenic profiles of human-associated microbiomes. Results show that TD may be polymicrobial, with multiple novel cellular and viral strains as potential players in the diarrheal disease.
6 Schooling Adolescents

School in the Life of Adolescents The Middle Grades: Welcome to “Real School” Accountability: A Brief Digression High School: Welcome to the Attainment Structure The Way Forward Conclusions Keywords: school; middle grades; accountability; high school; attainment structures; attainment; performance; college
Impacts of Small-Scale Urban Encroachment on Air Temperature Observations

AbstractA field experiment was performed in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, with four instrumented towers placed over grass at increasing distances (4, 30, 50, 124, and 300 m) from a built-up area. Stations ...
Ready, willing and able: a model to explain successful use of feedback

Educators have long noticed differences in how students receive and use feedback. Despite the development of best practice guidelines, some learners in the health professions still struggle to incorporate corrective feedback. To date, little research has been done to examine learner characteristics and how those traits might explain differences in feedback-related behavior. A qualitative study using a constructivist, grounded theory approach was conducted to examine the behaviors and learner characteristics that contribute to successful use of feedback. Medical and physician assistant students in their clinical years at one academic health center were interviewed to determine how they used feedback to learn. An overarching theory was developed to explain the process used by students who successfully used feedback. Participants needed to be ready, willing, and able to learn from feedback. Readiness required the learner to hear the corrective feedback without negative emotion and understand how to use the criticism. Willingness required a valuing process that resulted in meaning making. It also required motivation and a growth mindset. Able learners needed to utilize strategic learning behaviors to incorporate feedback into practice change. Barriers to feedback use included emotional interference, inability to create a positive narrative around the feedback encounter and understand it as part of a larger context, and the inability to utilize adaptive learning strategies. The paper considers important education theories, such as Self-regulated Learning and Achievement Goal Theory-theories that should be incorporated into future research.
Dilution and Concentration of Pharmaceutical Solutions and Other Physical Mixtures

This chapter is essentially divided in two parts, that is, dilutions in drug compounding and dilutions in drug analysis, which are more useful to individuals engaged in research projects and laboratory work. The concept of dilution is first explained using a mass balance equation that was generated based on the fact that the mass of a substance is preserved during dilution processes implicated in compounded drug preparations. This same equation is then used to calculate the concentration of drugs in pharmaceutical products prepared by diluting a known amount of drug with other excipients or to calculate concentration of drugs in patient’s dose. The concept of the dilution factor is introduced to cope with problems that deal with the construction of calibration curves for quantitative drug analysis in dosage forms and biological fluids. In the second part of the chapter, it is made clear that dilution is usually made by reducing the mass of the drug present in the original stock solution while keeping the final volume of the diluted solutions constant. Many stimulating dilution problems taken from the field of pharmaceutics, clinical chemistry, criminology, and biotechnology are included at the end of the chapter for you to practice and become quantitatively proficient in the subject.
Of House or Bush: The Cultural Psychodynamics of Infanticide in Northern Ghana

In northern Ghana, the Nankani people describe how disabled or ill children and those whose births coincide with tragic events are spirit children sent from the bush to cause misfortune and destroy...
Incumbency or Innovation: Why a Collective Agency View of Cross- Border Payments Means Private Blockchains Cannot Prevail

International payments are not like domestic payments. Whereas domestic payments are quick, cheap, and taken for granted, international payments are often slower, more expensive, and the cause of a great deal of irritation. One of the key players in the payments industry, both domestic and international, is SWIFT. SWIFT’s role is often misunderstood, not merely because of its role behind the scenes, rather than at the payment terminal or in the bank branch. But what most don’t realize, is that there is something unique about SWIFT that makes it integral specifically to cross-border payments. Such payments, this Note argues, requires a collective agent to uphold the entire cross-border payments network. Once this is accepted (as it aught to be), challengers to SWIFT, despite potential technological advancements, are shown to be an inadequate replacement.
Vortex Beam Generation and Mode Conversion using Spiral-phase Transmitarrays

This paper presents a concept to generate vortex beams and their inter-mode conversion into each other using transmit arrays (TAs) consisting of circularly polarized elements. The novel circularly polarized unit-cell operates between 22.5-23.5 GHz of the ka-band. The novel presented unit cell has a compact profile and composed of three identical metallic sections which are placed on top and between a double-layer dielectric substrate. The designed TAs are composed of 12 × 12 elements, in which each unit-cell is rotated individually in order to generate the related phase distribution of the desired vortex mode. Through rotation of the unit-cells a full 360-degree spiral phase progression on the TA can be obtained. Using several TAs with different phase distributions, the mode of the resultant propagating vortex wave can be changed in space. The simulated results for vortex beams of modes 1, 2, and 3 show desirable inter-mode conversion.
Space–time and spatial geodesic orbits in Schwarzschild geometry

Geodesic orbit equations in the Schwarzschild geometry of general relativity reduce to ordinary conic sections of Newtonian mechanics and gravity for material particles in the non-relativistic limit. On the contrary, geodesic orbit equations for a proper spatial submanifold of Schwarzschild metric at any given coordinate-time correspond to an unphysical gravitational repulsion in the non-relativistic limit. This demonstrates at a basic level the centrality and critical role of relativistic time and its intimate pseudo-Riemannian connection with space. Correspondingly, a commonly popularised depiction of geodesic orbits of planets as resulting from the curvature of space produced by the Sun, represented as a rubber sheet dipped in the middle by the weighing of that massive body, is mistaken and misleading for the essence of relativity, even in the non-relativistic limit.
Association of Demographic and Disability Characteristics With Total PROMISE Expenditure: Wisconsin PROMISE Findings—Brief Report:

The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine whether demographic and disability variables predict total health care expenditure of Wisconsin PROMISE. The findings are intended to assist in ...
Late-life depression and increased risk of dementia: a longitudinal cohort study

Late-life depression (LLD) is associated with an increased risk of developing dementia; however, it is not known whether individuals with a history of LLD exhibit a more rapid rate of cognitive decline. We aimed to determine whether those with LLD experienced faster cognitive decline compared with never-depressed control (NDC) participants from the community and whether stratification of LLD into early-onset depression (EOD) and late-onset depression (LOD) subtypes revealed differing rates and domain-specific expression of cognitive decline. We conducted a prospective, longitudinal study where 185 participants with LLD (remitted) and 114 NDC were followed for 5 years on average. EOD was defined as having first lifetime depressive episode at <60years and LOD at ≥60years. Every year, participants underwent comprehensive neuropsychological assessment. Composite scores for each cognitive domain were calculated through averaging standardized scores across tests. LLD compared to NDC demonstrated significant baseline impairment but did not decline more rapidly. EOD were significantly impaired in attention/processing speed and global cognitive function at baseline but did not experience more rapid decline as compared to NDC. Those with LOD compared to both NDC and EOD performed worse in all domains at baseline and experienced more rapid decline in verbal skills and delayed memory ability. Our findings suggest that baseline impairment may lower the threshold for those with LLD to develop dementia. EOD and LOD may represent distinct phenotypes of cognitive impairment with differing neural substrates. LOD may represent a distinct phenotype with a more rapid decline in verbal skills and delayed memory.
The Buck Creek‐Boreas River Adirondack watershed monitoring program

The Buck Creek‐Boreas River Adirondack Watershed Monitoring Program, located in the Adirondack region of New York State, United States, combines the monitoring of headwater streams, soils, and vegetation based on a watershed design. Continuous monitoring of six watersheds is linked to the sampling of more than 400 additional Adirondack streams between 2003 and 2019 for chemical analysis of 14 constituents throughout the highly valued Adirondack ecoregion that covers an area of more than 24 000 km². Much of this landscape has a low capacity for acid buffering, but due to spatial variation in geologic features, some areas are moderately to well acid buffered. This program includes data that extends back to the early 1980s and is ongoing. The focus of the program is on the watersheds of headwater Adirondack streams. Soil, vegetation and stream data are used to better understand environmental effects on the linkages of these ecosystem components. Documentation of the long‐term responses of Adirondack ecosystems to environmental disturbances such as acid rain, climate change and other unforeseen factors is the primary objective of the program.
An Assessment of the Information Literacy Skills of Students in Nigerian Universities

The Study investigated the information literacy skills of Library and Information Science students in Delta State University, Abraka and Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Edo State, Nigeria. Information literacy instruction is yet to be accorded its correct place in the programmes of study in higher educational institutions. The study adopted a survey approach and a questionnaire structure on a 3-point Likert scale was used for data collection. The sample for the study was 148 (300 level) students. Frequency count and mean statistics were used for data analysis. It was found that the library and information students were information literate, but the researcher was not unmindful of Dunning-Kruger Effect on this finding. Inability of departments to make Information Literacy a compulsory course (100L - final year) for students and inability of lecturers to give students complex take home work (term papers, assignments, seminars) that could be used for the assessment of their information literacy skills were the greatest challenges. The solutions to the problems amongst others are Faculty members and librarians teaching the course should be more pragmatic in course delivery having standards and contemporary trends in mind; and adequate financial provision to libraries in order to enable constant organization of literacy programmes.
Delivering the message: How a novel technology enabled the rapid development of effective vaccines.

This year's Lasker∼Debakey Clinical Research Award honors Katalin Kariko and Drew Weissman for the development of a therapeutic technology based on nucleoside-modification of messenger RNA, enabling the rapid development of the highly effective COVID-19 vaccines.
Effects of fentanyl on acute locomotor activity, behavioral sensitization, and contextual reward in female and male rats.

Abstract Background Although fentanyl has gained widespread prominence, there remains a lack of knowledge on this opioid synthetic agonist, particularly related to sex effects. Therefore, we conducted behavioral tests in female and male rats to measure drug abuse-related responses to fentanyl hypothesizing sex-specific responses. Methods Using female and male rats, we measured the effects of acute or repeated administration of fentanyl (20 μg/kg) on locomotor activity (LMA) and behavioral sensitization in an open field test. We further measured contextual-reward and associated locomotor activity during training in a conditioned place preference (CPP) paradigm using a low (4 μg/kg) or high (16 μg/kg) dose of fentanyl. Vaginal lavage samples were collected from female rats in the CPP study, and the estrous phase was determined based on the cytological characterization. Results Female, but not male, rats showed elevated LMA in response to acute fentanyl and behavioral sensitization to repeated administration of fentanyl. Fentanyl produced significant CPP in both sexes, but it was more potent in males. Finally, our secondary investigation of the estrous cycle on fentanyl-CPP suggests that non-estrus phases, likely reflecting high estradiol, may predict the degree of fentanyl preference in females. Conclusions Fentanyl was more potent and/or effective to produce LMA and LMA sensitization in females but more potent to produce CPP in males. Furthermore, the role of sex in fentanyl responses varied across endpoints, and sex differences in LMA were not predictive of sex differences in CPP.
Lightweight, Thermally Conductive Liquid Metal Elastomer Composite with Independently Controllable Thermal Conductivity and Density

Lightweight and elastically deformable soft materials that are thermally conductive are critical for emerging applications in wearable computing, soft robotics, and thermoregulatory garments. To overcome the fundamental heat transport limitations in soft materials, room temperature liquid metal (LM) has been dispersed in elastomer that results in soft and deformable materials with unprecedented thermal conductivity. However, the high density of LMs (>6 g cm-3 ) and the typically high loading (⩾85 wt%) required to achieve the desired properties contribute to the high density of these elastomer composites, which can be problematic for large-area, weight-sensitive applications. Here, the relationship between the properties of the LM filler and elastomer composite is systematically studied. Experiments reveal that a multiphase LM inclusion with a low-density phase can achieve independent control of the density and thermal conductivity of the elastomer composite. Quantitative design maps of composite density and thermal conductivity are constructed to rationally guide the selection of filler properties and material composition. This new multiphase material architecture provides a method to fine-tune material composition to independently control material and functional properties of soft materials for large-area and weight-sensitive applications.
Thermoelastic and Dynamic Phenomena in Seals.

Abstract : An analysis of a seal model is made where the rotating element has both fixed tilt and two-lobe waviness. The stator is assumed to be gimbal mounted and to have inertial mass. Hydrodynamic lubrication is assumed, following the short bearing or narrow seal model. Conditions are examined where the stator precesses in synchronism with the rotor rotation. Particular interest is given to operating conditions where such behavior appears to degenerate. (Author)
Launching the insider trading revolution: SEC v. Capital Gains Research Bureau

This paper examines the Supreme Court's decision in SEC v. Capital Gains Research Bureau and its effect on the development of the law of insider trading. Capital Gains broke ground both in its approach to interpreting the federal securities laws, as well as its willingness to incorporate fiduciary principles into the law of insider trading. The opinion's influence was short-lived, however, as the Supreme Court reverted to a more textualist approach in securities cases only a decade after Capital Gains was decided.
CRACR2A encodes a novel Ca2-binding Rab GTPase important for T cell receptor signalling (IRM10P.748)

Ca2+ signalling is important for T cell stimulation and its impairment leads to immune deficiency. In T cells, Ca2+ entry is mediated by CRAC (Ca2+-release activated Ca2+) channels that consist of the pore component, Orai1 and the endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ sensor, STIM1. We recently identified CRACR2A (CRAC channel regulator 2A) as an interacting partner of Orai1 and STIM1. Here we investigate the role of a novel isoform of CRACR2A that is predominantly expressed in immune cells. CRACR2A contains multiple functional domains including Ca2+-binding motifs and a C-terminal Rab GTPase domain. Different from small Rab GTPases, CRACR2A utilized a two-step activation mechanism of GTP binding and T cell receptor (TCR) stimulation to mediate its translocation into the immunological synapse. Defect in GTP binding or hydrolysis activity results in loss and gain of function respectively. CRACR2A played a predominant role in Ca2+ and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signalling pathways. Furthermore, CRACR2A-deficient T cells showed impairment in Th1 differentiation. In support of these data, mice with T cell-specific deletion of CRACR2A showed a strong resistance to experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis. Previously, small GTPase has been shown to play an important role in TCR signaling. Our study identifies the unexpected usage of a large Rab GTPase as a molecular switch to regulate TCR signalling pathways.
Vertical dry adhesive climbing with a 100× bodyweight payload

The ability to carry large payloads could greatly increase the applications of small, low cost climbing robots. We present a linear inchworm gait that uses a single powerful actuator to climb. To make this gait possible, we leveraged two new methods of achieving controllable, anisotropic adhesion (one method produces over 200 times stronger adhesion in the preferred direction). With controllable, anisotropic adhesion, the gait is robust to missed steps. In addition, the gait provides a stance in which the robot can rest without requiring power. An autonomous 9 gram robot is able to climb a smooth vertical surface at 3 mm/s, while hoisting more than a kilogram. We also present a scaled down version of the robot, which is considerably smaller than any previous dry adhesive climbing mechanism. It is actuated by externally powered Shape Memory Alloy, weighs 20 mg, and is capable of hoisting 500 mg. These climbers show that a large hoisting ability while climbing can be achieved using dry adhesives, and the presented concepts could aid in the development of autonomous, highly functional, small robots.
introduction to power analysis

This chapter discusses the concepts involved in power analysis. It presents the methods for accomplishing the two major kinds of power analysis, which can be applied to the null hypothesis tests. There are four major parameters involved in power analysis, such as the significance criterion, the sample size, the population effect size, and power. These four parameters are mathematically related in such a way that any one of them is an exact function of the other three. The chapter discusses how power analysis of significance tests of the Pearson r of a sample proceeds quite simply. The test of the difference between the means of two independently drawn random samples is probably the most frequently performed test in the behavioral sciences. The chapter also presents the techniques for determining power that make possible the planning of efficient experiments designed to yield more conclusive statements if H O is not rejected.
THE RELATIVISTIC HEAVY ION COLLIDER (RHIC) CRYOGENIC SYSTEM AT BROOKHAVEN NATIONAL LABORATORY: REVIEW OF THE MODIFICATIONS AND UPGRADES SINCE 2002 AND PLANNED IMPROVEMENTS

Brookhaven National Laboratory continues its multi-year program to improve the operational efficiency, reliability, and stability of the cryogenic system, which also resulted in an improved beam availability of the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). This paper summarizes the work and changes made after each phase over the past four years to the present, as well as proposed future improvements. Power usage dropped from an initial 9.4 MW to the present 5.1 MW and is expected to drop below 5 MW after the completion of the remaining proposed improvements. The work proceeded in phases, balancing the Collider's schedule of operation, time required for the modifications and budget constraints. The main changes include process control, compressor oil removal and management, elimination of the use of cold compressors and two liquid-helium storage tanks, insulation of the third liquid-helium storage tank, compressor-bypass flow reduction and the addition of a load turbine (Joule-Thomson expander) with associat...
Obesity and Psychotropics

Weight gain is on the rise in the United States as is the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders. These two phenomena are distinctly separate but tend to overlap in that most psychotropic agents approved for use in the United States are associated with the potential to induce weight gain. Metabolic disorders such as diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, and hypertension are also on the rise and often associated with weight gain and clearly associated with certain psychotropic medications. This article serves to provide a succinct review regarding the epidemiology, etiology, and treatment options for psychotropic-induced obesity.
Developmental stage-specific antigens during mouse embryogenesis.

Publisher Summary The important role of cell surface molecules in regulating developmental processes has been assumed, but experimental evidence has been scarce. Immunological methods offer, perhaps, the best approach to the study of such molecules and this chapter summarizes the results obtained so far and offers some suggestions for future experimentation. It also describes several xenogeneic, allogeneic, and syngeneic antisera, with the common property that they all react with some or all stages of early mouse development. These antisera cross-react most notably with teratocarcinoma stem cells and sperm and with various other cell types as well. Probably all antisera described in the chapter are polyspecific and their range of specificities partially overlapped. None of these antisera react with embryos alone, with the possible exception that some are raised by syngeneic immunization with embryos. Activation of the embryonic genome occurs very early in mouse development, possibly immediately after fertilization and certainly after two divisions. It is, therefore, possible to study the activity of developmental genes in a very simple structure that is composed of only a few cells and in which gene activity directs basic events such as the separation of the embryo into its embryonic part.
Comparison of the Effects of Clozapine, Risperidone, and Olanzapine on Ketamine-Induced Alterations in Regional Brain Metabolism

The ability of subanesthetic doses of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) antagonists to induce positive, negative, and cognitive schizophrenia-like symptoms suggests that reduced NMDA receptor function may contribute to the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. An increasing body of evidence indicates that antipsychotic drugs, especially those with "atypical" properties, can antagonize the effects of NMDA antagonists in a variety of experimental paradigms. We demonstrated previously that clozapine, the prototype of atypical antipsychotics, but not haloperidol, the typical antipsychotic, blocked ketamine-induced alterations in brain metabolism. In this study, effects of clozapine were compared with two of the newer atypical antipsychotic drugs, risperidone and olanzapine, on ketamine-induced alterations in regional [(14)C]2-deoxyglucose (2-DG) uptake. A subanesthetic dose of ketamine (25 mg/kg) induced robust increases in 2-DG uptake in limbic cortical regions, hippocampal formation, nucleus accumbens, and basolateral amygdala. Pretreatment of rats with risperidone (0.3 mg/kg) before ketamine administration did not alter the effects of ketamine. These data suggest that novel pharmacological properties may contribute to the effects of clozapine in this model, in addition to the well characterized actions at D(2) and 5HT(2A) receptors. In contrast to the results with risperidone, olanzapine blocked ketamine-induced increases in 2-DG uptake. However, a higher dose of olanzapine (10 mg/kg) was required to completely block the effects of ketamine than would be expected if D(2) and 5HT(2) receptor blocking properties of the drug were solely responsible for its action. The results suggest that the ketamine challenge 2-DG paradigm may be a useful model to identify antipsychotic drugs with atypical characteristics and to explore mechanisms of atypical antipsychotic action.
Institutionally-Induced Attribution Errors: Their Composition and Impact on Citizen Satisfaction with Local Government Services

Citizens can make mistakes in evaluating the quality of public services by misattributing responsibility for service provision. Both the traditional reform approach and the public choice theory suggest that such errors are systematically influenced by the structure of political institutions, albeit in nearly the opposite manner. To explore these competing hypotheses, this study develops a typology of evaluative errors which citizens might make and a method for decomposing evaluations into their "true" and "biased" elements, which are combined with survey data in a comparison group research design to assess the impact of metropolitan fragmentation/consolidation on citizen evaluations of government.
Effect of stress relief temperature and cooling rate on pressure vessel steel welds

Abstract The compositions of the matrices of welds in a pressure vessel steel have been determined by atom probe tomography after a series of stress relief treatments. The weld had a bulk composition of Fe–0.29 at.% Cu–1.69 at.% Mn–0.54 at.% Ni–0.69 at.% Si–0.25 at.% Mo–0.08 at.% Cr–0.38 at.% C–0.022 at.% P–0.017 at.% S and was characterized in the as-welded state, after stress relief treatments of 24 h at 650 °C, 24 h at 610 °C, and 100 h at 580 °C followed by slow cooling to room temperature and after 24 h at 650 °C and 24 h at 610 °C followed by fast cooling to room temperature. Lower stress relief temperatures and slower cooling of the material from the stress relief temperature to room temperature both reduce the copper level in the matrix and should lead to less embrittlement during service in a nuclear reactor.
Structure and Reactivity of (η-C5R5)Mo(NO)2−Halide, −Halomethyl, and −Alkyl Complexes: Consecutive Aerobic Methylene and Nitrosyl Ligand Oxidation

Cp‘Mo(NO)2(CH2X) complexes are isolated in 80−90% yield after the treatment of the Cp‘Mo(NO)2X complexes in CH2Cl2 with ethereal diazomethane in the presence of Cu powder (Cp‘ = η-C5H5 (Cp), η-C5(CH3)5 (Cp*); X = Cl, Br). The Cp‘Mo(NO)2(CH2I) derivatives are obtained in over 90% yield by treating the Cp‘Mo(NO)2(CH2Cl) derivatives with NaI in THF. Four new halomethyl complexes have been characterized by X-ray crystallography and are compared to the related CpMo(NO)2Br, Cp*Mo(NO)2Cl, and Cp*Mo(NO)2(CH3) derivatives. The structural data and IR data indicate the donor properties of the halomethyl ligands to be intermediate between halide and alkyl ligands. The Cp‘Mo(NO)2(CH2X) complexes react initially with O2 to give CH2O and the regeneration of the parent Cp‘Mo(NO)2X complexes. The Cp‘Mo(NO)2Cl complexes react with O2 after an induction period to give the well-known Cp‘MoO2Cl complexes, NO2, NOCl, and N2O. Exposure of CpCr(NO)2(CH(CH3)Br) to 18O2 gives 18OCH(CH3) and 16O-labeled CpCr(NO)2Br. The Cp‘Mo(NO)2−...
Are snRNPs involved in splicing

Discrete, stable small RNA molecules are found in the nuclei of cells1 from a wide variety of eukaryotic organisms2. Many of these small nuclear RNA (snRNA) species, which range in size from about 90 to 220 nucleotides, have been well-characterised biochemically3–6, and some sequenced7,8. However, their function has remained obscure. The most abundant snRNA species exist as a closely related set of RNA–protein complexes called small nuclear ribonucleoproteins (snRNPs)9. snRNPs are the antigens recognised by antibodies from some patients with lupus erythematosus (LE), an autoimmune rheumatic disease10,11. Anti-RNP antibodies from lupus sera selectively precipitate snRNP species containing Ula7 and Ulb9 RNAs from mouse Ehrlich ascites cell nuclei, whereas anti-Sm antibodies bind these snRNPs and four others containing U2 (ref. 8), U4, US and U6 (ref. 9) RNAs. Both antibody systems precipitate the same seven prominent nuclear proteins (molecular weight 12,000–32,000). All molecules of the snRNAs U1, U2, U4, U5 and U6 appear to exist in the form of antigenic snRNPs9. The particles sediment at about 10S and each probably contains a single snRNA molecule. Indirect immunofluorescence studies (refs 12, 13, and unpublished observations) using anti-RNP and anti-Sm sera confirm the nuclear (but non-nucleolar) location of the antigenic snRNPs. Here we present several lines of evidence that suggest a direct involvement of snRNPs in the splicing of hnRNA. Most intriguing is the observation that the nucleotide sequence at the 5′ end of U1 RNA exhibits extensive complementarity to those across splice junctions in hnRNA molecules.
Brainstorming and task performance in groups constrained by evidence

Abstract Group brainstorming is usually considered a task of divergent thinking, and the ideas produced in most research on brainstorming are counted and scored for creativity but put to no further use. We studied brainstorming by embedding it in a rule induction task that initially requires divergent thinking but increasingly requires convergent thinking as evidence accumulates across trials. We also tested whether brainstorming facilitated performance on the induction task itself. The experimental design was a 2 (nominal or interacting groups) × 3 (brainstorming early in the task, late in the task, or none) factorial. For brainstorming performance, nominal groups of 4 individuals outperformed face-to-face groups of 4 individuals. But as predicted from an analysis of the effects of constraining hypotheses by evidence, the advantage for nominal groups declined when brainstorming took place late in the task where there was a large amount of accumulated evidence to consider. Brainstorming did not generally affect performance on the induction task, although early group brainstorming resulted in more correct hypotheses than late group brainstorming. Group brainstorming was perceived as more effective than individual brainstorming by both interacting and nominal group members, a finding that extends the illusion of group productivity in brainstorming to tasks of convergent thinking.
In Situ Electrode Formation on a Nafion Membrane by Chemical Platinization

Three chemical techniques to platinize the surface of a Nafion polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) to form a Pt/PEM electrode have been studied. The resulting Pt/PEM composites were characterized visually by transmission electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy and electrochemically by (i) hydrogen adsorption to determine surface area, and (ii) the polarization characteristics for the oxidation of hydrogen. The Takenaka‐Torikai method was used in which a reductant diffuses through the membrane to contact and reduce platinic acid at the opposite face, and two variations of an impregnation‐reduction procedure were employed in which a cationic salt is first impregnated into the Nafion and subsequently the membrane is exposed to a reductant. A previously reported equilibrium impregnation method was modified such that the impregnation step was not carried to equilibrium and the concentration of the anionic reductant was significantly lowered. Upon judicious choice of the fabrication conditions, platinum deposited by the nonequilibrium impregnation ‐reduction procedure is concentrated in a thin (submicron), porous layer located predominantly within the membrane but near the surface where it is accessible to both gaseous reactants and a current collector. The metal distribution forms an electrode with a larger active surface area per unit weight of platinum and a better platinum utilization (mA/mg Pt for the hydrogen oxidation reaction) compared to Pt/PEM electrode prepared by the equilibrium impregnation‐reduction process or the Takenaka‐Torikai method. The chemical and physical processes which occur to affect the metal film formed in all three techniques are discussed.
The Gram-Sommerville and Gauss-Bonnet theorems and combinatorial geometric measures for noncompact polyhedra

Abstract Some non-numerical curvature functions are introduced for noncompact and unbounded polyhedcra in an affine space over an ordered field in this paper. With these functions the generalized Gram-Sommerville and Gauss-Bonnet theorems are obtained and are found to be dual. The Euler characteristic can be interpreted as a zero dimensional curvature measure on the space of polyhedra, and the higher dimensional geometric measures are similarly obtained. The usual numerical curvatures are naturally derived from the non-numerical curvature functions.
Parent vs. teacher reactions to problematic behavior of head start children

Studies of disciplinary responses to preschool children's transgressions often assume that subjects share the same degree of concern for the misbehavior under study. Individual differences in the strengths of different transgressions in eliciting disciplinary interventions were studied in 31 black mothers and 31 black teachers of Head Start children. Simulated situational urgency to discipline was measured by a Q-sort of 60 items depicting 10 types of misconduct observed in preschool classrooms. Attitudes of concern for the significances of the behaviors for the children's development were obtained through a separate rank-ordering procedure. Parents saw significantly more urgency in transgressions of social deportment. Teachers viewed aggressive and antisocial behaviors as more urgent, and tended to show closer agreement between intervention urgency and attitudes. Whereas teachers' interventions may be interpreted as responses to group child-care demands, the parents' concern for social deportment invites several interpretations. Language: en
Vascular targeting agents enhance chemotherapeutic agent activities in solid tumor therapy

The utility of combining the vascular targeting agents 5,6-dimethyl-xanthenone-4 acetic acid (DMXAA) and combretastatin A-4 disodium phosphate (CA4DP) with the anticancer drugs cisplatin and cyclophosphamide (CP) was evaluated in experimental rodent (KHT sarcoma), human breast (SKBR3) and ovarian (OW-1) tumor models. Doses of the vascular targeting agents that led to rapid vascular shutdown and subsequent extensive central tumor necrosis were identified. Histologic evaluation showed morphologic damage of tumor cells within a few hours after treatment, followed by extensive hemorrhagic necrosis and dose-dependent neoplastic cell death as a result of prolonged ischemia. Whereas these effects were induced by a range of CA4DP doses (10–150 mg/kg), the dose response to DMXAA was extremely steep; doses ≤ 15 mg/kg were ineffective and doses ≥ 20 mg/kg were toxic. DMXAA also enhanced the tumor cell killing of cisplatin, but doses > 15 mg/kg were required. In contrast, CA4DP increased cisplatin-induced tumor cell killing at all doses studied. This enhancement of cisplatin efficacy was dependent on the sequence and interval between the agents. The greatest effects were achieved when the vascular targeting agents were administered 1–3 hr after cisplatin. When CA4DP (100 mg/kg) or DMXAA (17.5 mg/kg) were administered 1 hr after a range of doses of cisplatin or CP, the tumor cell kill was 10–500-fold greater than that seen with chemotherapy alone. In addition, the inclusion of the antivascular agents did not increase bone marrow stem cell toxicity associated with these anticancer drugs, thus giving rise to a therapeutic gain. © 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Effect of Natural Organic Matter on Monochloramine Decomposition: Pathway Elucidation through the Use of Mass and Redox Balances

Monochloramine is often employed as a drinking water disinfectant for systems where free chlorine residuals are difficult to maintain or where disinfection byproduct formation is significant. Monoc...
Carbon dioxide capture by diamine-grafted SBA-15: A combined Fourier transform infrared and mass spectrometry study

The adsorption and desorption of CO2 on diamine-grafted SBA-15 have been studied by infrared spectroscopy coupled with mass spectrometry. Diamine was grafted onto the SBA-15 surface by the reaction of [N-(2-aminoethyl)-3-aminopropyl]trimethoxysilane with the surface OH. CO2 is adsorbed on the diamine-grafted SBA-15 as bidentate carbonate and bidentate and monodentate bicarbonates at 25 °C. Bidentate carbonate and monodentate bicarbonates are the major surface species formed and decomposed during the concentration-swing adsorption/desorption process at 25 °C. Temperature-programmed desorption revealed that the monodentate and bidentate bicarbonates bound stronger to the diamine-grafted SBA-15 surface than the bidentate carbonate. The amount of CO2 desorbed from the carbonate and bicarbonate between 30 and 120 °C is 2 times more than that of CO2 adsorbed/desorbed during each cycle of the concentration-swing adsorption/desorption. Desorption at 120 °C removes the majority of the captured CO2 and regenerates ...
Delineation of contiguous determinants essential for biological functions of the pre-S sequence of the hepatitis B virus envelope protein: its antigenicity, immunogenicity and cell-receptor recognition.

Summary The preS region of the hepatitis B virus (HBV) envelope protein has the following properties: (1) exposure on the surface of the virus; (2) high immunogenicity; (3) involvement in the reaction of the virus with cell receptors and (4) elicitation of antibodies protective against infection. Attempts to mimic B- and T-cell epitopes on the native protein by synthetic peptides were highly successful. This success depended on identification of those regions within the preS sequences which are the most important for biological function of the virus and for immunity, and on the synthesis of long peptides (20–40 residues) containing both B- and T-cell epitopes. Results presented here highlight those subregions of the preS sequence which are the most essential for the antigenicity and immunogenicity of HBV.