cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Transplantation of tectal tissue in rats. I. Organization of transplants and pattern of distribution of host afferents within them

We have examined the maturation of tectal tissue transplanted from fetal rats to the midbrain of newborns and have characterized the distribution of host retinal and cortical afferents within the transplants. The transplants develop characteristic internal order and connections which distinguish them from either embryonic cortex or retina placed in the same region. Host retinal afferents project to clearly circumscribed regions, where they synapse mainly on small dendrites or dendritic spines, and only rarely on vesicle-containing profiles. The retinorecipient areas contain few stained axons in neurofibrillar preparations and are almost always located at the surface of the transplant. There is very little overlap in the input from the two eyes into a single transplant even though the projections from each eye may lie adjacent to one another. Cortical afferents spread more broadly in the transplants, but are largely absent from areas of optic termination and from other more deeply located regions with sparse fiber staining properties. The observations suggest that when placed close to its normal location, tectal tissue can develop a number of features characteristic of normal superior colliculus. Appreciation of the internal order of the transplants makes it possible to investigate the cortical and retinal afferent pathways usingmore » physiological techniques.« less
University of Maryland Early Dissertations for Doctor of Medicine (1813–1889): Challenges and Rewards of a Digitization Project

The Health Sciences and Human Services Library holds in its Historical Collections dissertations required for obtaining the degree of Doctor of Medicine at the University of Maryland (UM) during the 19th century. A project to digitize these dissertations for inclusion in the UM Digital Archive began in 2011, thanks to an award from the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, Southeastern/Atlantic Region. This article presents challenges encountered, as well as rewards and learning experiences gained during this digitization project, especially in the assignment of accurate metadata, and in the assessment of scanning quality.
Convective Instability by Active Stress

Composition-dependent stress fields in continuous and mechanically isolated material can, it is shown, initiate and maintain conversion of chemical to kinetic energy. Though the process is analogous to natural convection, neither the body force of the well-known buoyancy mechanism nor the singular inhomogeneity and anisotropy of the interfacial tension mechanism is required. In the cases examined, the material is represented by the constitutive relation for incompressible Newtonian fluid augmented by an active stress which must be anisotropic or nonlinear in concentration gradients (or other, equivalent gradients) in accordance with the oft-misquoted Curie principle. The concentration gradients are supposed to be sustained by steady chemical reaction (or an equivalent transformation process) throughout the material and by exchange with surroundings. Conventional linear analysis of asymptotic stability is used to identify types of stress/concentration-gradient coupling that can render a quiescent state of reaction and diffusion unstable when concentration gradients exceed critical values. It is found that both deviatoric (pure shear) and antisymmetric active stress can support two-dimensional convective instability in a cylinder of material in which the quiescent state is circularly symmetric. Certain cases of stationary instability are solved exactly. Others involving both stationary and oscillatory instability are treated by a new version of the Galerkin method. The results establish the possibility of generating fluid motion by mechanochemical means in continuous material having appropriate subcontinuum structure. Whatever their relevance to protoplasmic movement in biological systems they do contain challenges for experimental and theoretical fluid mechanics and related areas of rheology and chemistry.
Successful Strategies for Integrating High School Students into a Graduate Research Group

A series of pedagogical approaches are presented that have proven effective in integrating seven high school students over a period of six years into an active graduate research program. Students working independently on their own research projects have successfully explored a wide range of topics including hemoproteins, bioconjugation chemistry, drug delivery, perfusion chromatography, cyclic voltammetry, electronic absorption spectroscopy, and resonance Raman spectroscopy. Their original research contributions have been presented at regional and national American Chemical Society conferences and have been published as peer-reviewed technical papers. All student participants to date have been graduated from high school and have matriculated on scholarship at area colleges and universities where they continue to be successful academically and where the majority has selected science-related majors.
Role of TCR specificity in CD4+ CD25+ regulatory T-cell selection.

CD4 + CD25 + regulatory T cells play a crucial role in preventing autoimmune disease and can also modulate immune responses in settings such as transplantation and infection. We have developed a transgenic mouse system in which the role that T-cell receptor (TCR) specificity for self-peptides plays in the formation of CD4 + CD25 + regulatory T cells can be examined. We have shown that interactions with a single self-peptide can induce thymocytes bearing an autoreactive TCR to undergo selection to become CD4 + CD25 + regulatory T cells and that thymocytes bearing TCRs with low affinity for the selecting peptide do not appear to undergo selection into this pathway. In addition, thymocytes with identical specificity for the selecting self-peptide can undergo overt deletion versus abundant selection to become CD4 + CD25 + regulatory T cells in response to variations in expression of the selecting peptide in different lineages of transgenic mice. Finally, we have shown that CD4 + CD25 + T cells proliferate in response to their selecting self-peptide in the periphery, but these cells do not proliferate in response to lymphopenia in the absence of the selecting self-peptide. These studies are determining how the specificity of the TCR for self-peptides directs the thymic selection and peripheral expansion of CD4 + CD25 + regulatory T cells.
Nuclear and cytoplasmic contributions to dehydrogenase phenotypes in hybrid frog embryos

Abstract Frogs in the Rana pipiens group including R. palustris and geographic races of R. pipiens form viable diploid hybrids which develop through metamorphosis. There are differences in electrophoretic mobilities of several enzymes among the frogs used for hybridization. After electrophoresis of extracts of hybrid frog embryos on starch gel the maternal, paternal, and possible hybrid molecules are detected with appropriate specific enzyme staining. In early embryos only the maternal type enzymes are present. In viable diploid hybrids the paternal form and a ‛hybrid” molecule of 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase (6PGD) are detected by stage 17 ½ (late tail bud). Similarly, evidence of gene expression for the B subunit of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) is seen at stage 18 ½ (muscular movement). Expression of the gene for soluble isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH-s) is seen by stage 19 (heart beat). A nuclear gene controls mitochondrial malate dehydrogenase (MDH-m), and its expression is also evident by stage 19 heart beat). A maternal effect on each of the enzyme phenotypes persists even after these events; in the case of LDH and MDH, until after stage 25 (feeding tadpole). Androgenetic haploid hybrids show a range of development. The homologous combinations show the typical haploid syndrome but develop to the feeding stage. Heterologous combinations show more severe symptoms; some arrest at neurula stages, but others develop through hatching. In androgenetic haploid hybrids the paternal (nuclear) forms of the dehydrogenases studied appear at the same time as the diploid controls. This occurs even though the haploids are grossly abnormal and retarded in morphogenesis. Since the maternal genome was not present in such haploid embryos, the maternal effect on enzyme phenotypes clearly must be cytoplasmic in origin. No hybrid enzymes (composed of both maternal and paternal type subunits) are detected in androgenetic haploid hybrids. This and other evidence is consistent with the idea that the maternal effects are due to enzymes present in the egg prior to fertilization, not to continued synthesis directed by stable messenger RNA. It also indicates that the degradation of maternal (cytoplasmic) enzymes in vivo does not yield subunits capable of reaggregation with newly synthesized subunits to form active enzymes.
Effects of Inhaled Atropine in Chronic Bronchitis

COMMUNICATIONS TO THE EDITOR 491 block and thus the diagnostic yield is too low to use this test in asymptomatic patients. These data further confirm our conclusion that preoperative electrophysiologic studies should not be recommended in preoperative patients with bifascicular block. Finally, we agree that preoperative patients with unstable angina or recent myocardial infarction are at high risk of infarction, reinfarction and, perhaps, CHB; however, since in our series no patient had unstable angina or recent myocardial infarction (in the preceding six months), actually we have no available data to indicate a more precise management of these patients.
Molecular Engineering in Homogeneous Catalysis: One-Phase Catalysis Coupled with Biphase Catalyst Separation. The Fluorous-Soluble HRh(CO){P[CH2CH2(CF2)5CF3]3}3 Hydroformylation System

The hydroformylation of decene-1 was studied in the presence of the fluorous-soluble P[CH2CH2(CF2)5CF3]3 modified rhodium catalyst at 100 °C and 1.1 MPa of CO/H2 (1:1) in a 50/50 vol % toluene/C6F11CF3 solvent mixture, which forms a homogeneous liquid phase at and above 100 °C. P[CH2CH2(CF2)5CF3]3 was selected on the basis of a semiempirical calculation of the electronic properties of P[(CH2)x(CF2)yCF3]3 (x = 0, y = 2, 4 and x = 0−5, y = 2) and prepared by the reaction of PH3 with CH2CH(CF2)5CF3. The solution structure of HRh(CO){P[CH2CH2(CF2)5CF3]3}3 (1) in C6F11CF3 is similar to that of HRh(CO)(PPh3)3 (2) in toluene and HRh(CO){P(m-C6H4SO3Na)3}3 (3) in water. High-pressure NMR of 1 under 2.1−8.3 MPa of CO/H2 (1:1) revealed that 1 is in equilibrium with HRh(CO)2{P[CH2CH2(CF2)5CF3]3}2 (4). Kinetic studies show that the reaction is first order in both rhodium and decene-1. While the reaction is inhibited by P[CH2CH2(CF2)5CF3]3, the normal/iso (n/i) ratio of the aldehyde increases with increasing phosphine ...
Split dose thallium-201 dipyridamole imaging: a new technique for obtaining thallium images before and immediately after an intervention.

A technique for performing thallium-201 imaging after two separate injections of the tracer, closely spaced temporally, was developed (split dose thallium technique). Thirty patients were studied; 23 had significant coronary artery disease and 7 did not. With the patient supine at rest, 1.0 mCi of thallium was injected intravenously and imaging was performed in the anterior and 50° left anterior oblique projections for a preset time. Immediately after acquisition of the rest images, without moving the camera head, an infusion of dipyridamole commenced at 0.14 mg/kg per min for 4 minutes. Two minutes after stopping the infusion, 1.0 mCi of thallium was injected intravenously and 50° left anterior oblique and anterior projection images were acquired. Two and a half to 3 hours after the dipyridamole infusion, myocardial imaging was repeated in the two projections. Images of the same projection were realigned using a computer image registration approach. The rest image was then subtracted from the realigned dipyridamole image to produce an image representing perfusion during dipyridamole-induced hyperemia (subtraction image). The subtraction images were of adequate quality for interpretation in 29 of 30 patients. The subtraction and rest images were displayed side by side and each of six segments interpreted as demonstrating normal thallium activity, or transient, persistent or combined transient/ persistent defect. Of 45 stenosed coronary arteries, 84% demonstrated thallium defects in appropriate segments. Of 42 normal coronary arteries, 98% demonstrated normal activity in the corresponding segments of the thallium images. The overall sensitivity and specificity of the subtraction versus rest thallium image technique for coronary artery disease were 91 and 100%, respectively. This study demonstrates that a split dose thallium imaging technique allows technically adequate imaging before and immediately after dipyridamole within a relatively short period of time. Future applications of the technique may include the assessment of myocardial perfusion before and immediately after exercise, coronary angioplasty and coronary thrombolysis with streptokinase and the evaluation of the impact of pharmacotherapy on regional myocardial perfusion.
Race, Gender and Progress: Are Black American Women the New Model Minority?

Building on the “model minority” concept especially focusing on East and South Asian immigrants in the USA, this paper argues that increasing pertinent data continue to show that African American women are gradually becoming a model minority too, despite experiencing the most severe form of slavery, racism and gender discrimination than any other group or sub-group in the history of the USA. Among the increasing number of examples presented in this paper to support the claim that Black American women are becoming a model minority in the USA are: (1) relatively high college enrollment and degree attainment rates for black women; (2) fewer black females die per every 100,000 of their population than black males, white males and white females; (3) Higher proportion of black women are 100 years and over, compared to black males and whites; (4) Proportionally, fewer black females than black males, white males and white females commit suicide; (5) Proportionally, fewer black females than all males commit crimes; (6) Proportionally, due largely to black females, fewer blacks consume alcohol and illicit drugs than whites, etc.
Inhibition of p53 function prevents renin-angiotensin system activation and stretch-mediated myocyte apoptosis.

To determine whether stretch-induced activation of p53 is necessary for the up-regulation of the local renin-angiotensin system and angiotensin II (Ang II)-induced apoptosis, ventricular myocytes were infected with an adenoviral vector carrying mutated p53, Adp53m, before 12 hours of stretch. Noninfected myocytes and myocytes infected with AdLacZ served as controls. Stretching of Adp53m-infected myocytes prevented stimulation of p53 function that conditioned the expression of p53-dependent genes; quantity of angiotensinogen (Aogen), AT 1 , and Bax decreased, whereas Bcl-2 increased. Ang II generation was not enhanced by stretch. Conversely, stretch produced opposite changes in noninfected and AdLacZ-infected myocytes: Aogen increased twofold, AT 1 increased 2.1-fold, Bax increased 2.5-fold, and Ang II increased 2.4-fold. These responses were coupled with 4.5-fold up-regulation of wild-type p53. Stretch elicited comparable adaptations in p53-independent genes, in the presence or absence of mutated p53; renin increased threefold, angiotensin-converting enzyme increased ninefold, and AT 2 increased 1.7-fold. Infection with Adp53m inhibited myocyte apoptosis after stretch. Conversely, stretch increased apoptosis by 6.2-fold in myocytes with elevated endogenous wild-type p53. Thus, a competitor of p53 function interfered with both stretch-induced Ang II formation and apoptosis, indicating that p53 is a major modulator of myocyte renin-angiotensin system and cell survival after mechanical deformation.
Code Designs for MIMO Broadcast Channels

Recent information-theoretic results show the optimality of dirty-paper coding (DPC) in achieving the full capacity region of the Gaussian multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) broadcast channel (BC). This paper presents a DPC based code design for BCs. We consider the case in which there is an individual rate/signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) constraint for each user. For a fixed transmitter power, we choose the linear transmit precoding matrix such that the SINRs at users are uniformly maximized, thus ensuring the best bit-error rate performance. We start with Cover's simplest two-user Gaussian BC and present a coding scheme that operates 1.44 dB from the boundary of the capacity region at the rate of one bit per real sample (b/s) for each user. We then extend the coding strategy to a two-user MIMO Gaussian BC with two transmit antennas at the base-station and develop the first limit-approaching code design using nested turbo codes for DPC. At the rate of 1 b/s for each user, our design operates 1.48 dB from the capacity region boundary. We also consider the performance of our scheme over a slow fading BC. For two transmit antennas, simulation results indicate a performance loss of only 1.4 dB, 1.64 dB and 1.99 dB from the theoretical limit in terms of the total transmission power for the two, three and four user case, respectively.
The influence of beta-endorphin on testicular endocrine function in adult rats.

The role of beta-endorphin in testicular steroidogenesis is poorly understood. To address this issue, we treated adult hypophysectomized rats intratesticularly with either saline-50% polyvinylpyrrolidone (SAL-PVP) or human beta-endorphin (0.5 microgram/testis; a total of 1 microgram/rat/day) in SAL-PVP for 3 days. Testicular injections were made under ether anesthesia. On Day 3, rats also received injections (s.c.) of either SAL-PVP or 5 micrograms beta-endorphin in SAL-PVP to minimize the dilution of ether in the testis. One hour later, rats were treated (i.p.) with either saline or ovine LH (25 micrograms/rat). One hour after saline or LH injection, blood was obtained via heart puncture for determination of plasma progesterone (P), androstenedione (A-dione), and testosterone (T) levels. The effects of beta-endorphin (50 ng, equivalent to 13.9 pM; or 250 ng, equivalent to 69.6 pM) on P and androgen secretions in vitro were also examined. Intratesticular injections of beta-endorphin significantly (p less than 0.025) decreased the T response to LH treatment, but failed to affect plasma P and A-dione levels. Response of P to LH treatment was increased (p less than 0.005) in medium containing testicular fragments exposed to 250 ng (69.6 pM) beta-endorphin. However, beta-endorphin attenuated LH effects on A-dione and T production in vitro. These studies demonstrate that beta-endorphin inhibits T secretion, possibly because of its effect on the synthesis of T precursors. Thus, testicular beta-endorphin modulates the endocrine function of the testis in adult rats.
Anoxic injury-associated cerebral hyperperfusion identified with arterial spin-labeled MR imaging.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Anoxic brain injury is a devastating result of prolonged hypoxia. The goal of this study was to use arterial spin-labeling (ASL) to characterize the perfusion patterns encountered after anoxic injury to the brain. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixteen patients with a history of anoxic or hypoxic-ischemic injury ranging in age from 1.5 to 78.0 years (mean, 50.3 years) were analyzed with conventional MR imaging and pulsed ASL 1.0–13.0 days (mean, 4.6 days) after anoxic insult. The cerebral perfusion in each case was quantified by using pulsed ASL as part of the standard stroke protocol. Correlation was made among perfusion imaging, conventional imaging, clinical history, laboratory values, and outcome. RESULTS: Fifteen of the 16 patients showed marked global hyperperfusion, and 1 patient showed unilateral marked hyperperfusion. Mean gray matter (GM) cerebral blood flow (CBF) in these patients was 142.6 mL/100 g of tissue per minute (ranging from 79.9 to 204.4 mL/100 g of tissue per minute). Global GM CBF was significantly higher in anoxic injury subjects, compared with age-matched control groups with and without infarction (F2,39 = 63.11; P CONCLUSION: Pulsed ASL can dramatically demonstrate and quantify the severity of the cerebral hyperperfusion after a global anoxic injury. The global hyperperfusion probably results from loss of autoregulation of cerebral vascular resistance.
Design of tri-band reconfigurable active RFID antenna

In this paper, a compact multifunctional antenna capable of operating at three separate frequency band is presented. Three sub level antennas are designed on the same ground plane layer and additional techniques are applied to achieve a wide band operation for each frequency band. In what follows, the antenna design process is first described and then the measurement results are presented and discussed.
“Every ‘Never’ I Ever Said Came True”: Transitions from opioid pills to heroin injecting

Abstract This qualitative study documents the pathways to injecting heroin by users in Philadelphia and San Francisco before and during a pharmaceutical opioid pill epidemic. Data was collected through in-depth, semi-structured interviews (conducted between 2010 and 2012) that were, conducted against a background of longer-term participant-observation, ethnographic studies of street-based drug users and dealers in Philadelphia (2007–12) and San Francisco (1994–2007, 2012). Philadelphia and San Francisco were selected for their contrasting political economies, immigration patterns and source type of heroin. In Philadelphia the ethnographers found heroin injectors, usually white users, who had started their opiate using careers with prescription opioids rather than transitioning from other drugs. In both Philadelphia and San Francisco, most of the young heroin injectors interviewed began, their drug-use trajectories with opioid pills – usually Percocet (oxycodone and acetaminophen), generic short acting oxycodone or, OxyContin (long-acting oxycodone) – before transitioning to heroin, usually by nasal inhalation (sniffing) or smoking at first, followed by injecting. While most of the Philadelphia users were born in the city or its suburbs and had started using both opioid pills and heroin there, many of the San Francisco users had initiated their pill and sometimes heroin use elsewhere and had migrated to the city from around the country. Nevertheless, patterns of transition of younger injectors were similar in both cities suggesting an evolving national pattern. In contrast, older users in both Philadelphia and San Francisco were more likely to have graduated to heroin injection from non-opiate drugs such as cannabis, methamphetamine and cocaine. Pharmaceutical opioid initiates typically reported switching to heroin for reasons of cost and ease-of-access to supply after becoming physically and emotionally dependent on opioid pills. Many expressed surprise and dismay at their progression to sniffing and subsequently to injecting heroin. Historically and structurally these users found themselves caught at the intersection of two major developments in the opiate supply: (1) an over 500% increase in opiate pill prescription from 1997 to 2005 resulting in easy access to diverted supplies of less stigmatized opiates than heroin and (2) a heroin supply glut, following the US entry of Colombian-sourced, heroin in the early 1990s, that decreased cost and increased purity at the retail level. A nationwide up-cycle of heroin use may be occurring among young inner city, suburban and rural youth fueled by widespread prescription opioid pill use.
Fibrinogen depletion attenuates Staphyloccocus aureus infection by preventing density-dependent virulence gene up-regulation.

Staphylococcus aureus undergoes a density-dependent conversion in phenotype from tissue-adhering to tissue-damaging and phagocyte-evading that is mediated in part by the quorum-sensing operon, agr , and its effector, RNAIII. Contributions of host factors to this mechanism for regulating virulence have not been studied. We hypothesized that fibrinogen, as a component of the inflammatory response, could create spatially constrained microenvironments around bacteria that increase density independently of bacterial numbers and thus potentiate quorum-sensing-dependent virulence gene expression. Here we show that transient fibrinogen depletion significantly reduces the bacterial burden and the consequential morbidity and mortality during experimental infection with wild-type S. aureus , but not with bacteria that lack expression of the quorum-sensing operon, agr . In addition, it inhibits in vivo activation of the promoter for the agr effector, RNAIII, and downstream targets of RNAIII, including α hemolysin and capsule production. Moreover, both in vitro and in vivo, the mechanism for promoting this phenotypic switch in virulence involves clumping of the bacteria, demonstrating that S. aureus responds to fibrinogen-mediated bacterial clumping by enhancing density-dependent virulence gene expression. These data demonstrate that down-modulation of specific inflammatory components of the host that augment bacterial quorum sensing can be a strategy for enhancing host defense against infection.
Control of transient phase for discrete event simulation using computational steering

Traditional steps in a discrete event manufacturing simulation are to prepare input variables, select simulation parameters, run the simulation and review the results after the execution is completed. In a new approach proposed, we utilize an interactive simulation to obtain improved solutions and instant feedback from the proposed production system. A computational steering tool is provided to give the user an increased control of the simulation. This interactive tool gives the user power to view the simulation results dynamically and to control the simulation in real-time. A case study that uses computational steering to reduce the length of the transient phase in steady-state analysis of simulation is presented.
Crystal structure of the p38α-MAPKAP kinase 2 heterodimer

The p38 signaling pathway is activated in response to cell stress and induces production of proinflammatory cytokines. P38α is phosphorylated and activated in response to cell stress by MKK3 and MKK6 and in turn phosphorylates a number of substrates, including MAPKAP kinase 2 (MK2). We have determined the crystal structure of the unphosphorylated p38α-MK2 heterodimer. The C-terminal regulatory domain of MK2 binds in the docking groove of p38α, and the ATP-binding sites of both kinases are at the heterodimer interface. The conformation suggests an extra mechanism in addition to the regulation of the p38α and MK2 phosphorylation states that prevents phosphorylation of substrates in the absence of cell stress. Addition of constitutively active MKK6-DD results in rapid phosphorylation of the p38α-MK2 heterodimer.
Reducing Alcohol Use Among 9th Grade Students: 6 Month Outcomes of a Brief, Web-Based Intervention

This study tested a brief, Web-based personalized feedback program aimed at reducing alcohol use and alcohol-related consequences among 9th grade students (N=513). RESULTS indicated no differences between the control group and intervention group on either frequency of drinking or alcohol-related consequences at the 6-month follow-up. Reductions in alcohol use and the associated consequences found at the 3-month follow-up were not sustained across the academic year. RESULTS indicate that brief, Web-based feedback programs may not be sufficient to provide a sustained impact on alcohol use and alcohol-related consequences over time, suggesting either booster sessions or adjunctive interventions, such as parent-based interventions, may be warranted for this age group. Language: en
The Evolution of Judicial Autonomy in Argentina: Establishing the Rule of Law in an Ultrapresidential System

This article uses a diachronic study of Argentina to explain how the nascent democracies of Latin America build the rule of law. The changing relationship between Argentina's executive and judicial branches demonstrates that the construction of the rule of law is not a linear process. There have been periods of regression away from, as well as progress towards, the rule of law. This article uses party competition to explain Argentina's varying levels of judicial inde- pendence. The rule of law results from a balance of power between at least two political parties, neither of which has monolithic control, meaning that no highly disciplined party sustains control of both the executive and legislative branches. Competitive politics creates a climate in which an autonomous judiciary can emerge.
SPECIAL ARTICLE Clinical Implications of Blood Rheology Studies

Blood viscosity is dependent on the shear rate at which it is measured. Reversible red cell aggregation is largely a function of fibrinogen-red cell interaction at normal hematocrits. Red cell aggregation is the basis for the anomalous rheological behavior of blood, since a considerable fraction of the shear stress applied to blood flowing at low shear rates is required to break up the aggregates accounting for the greater shear stress required to produce a given shear rate of low magnitude. Erythrocyte sedimentation rate is also a measure of red cell aggregation and has been used as an indicator of the "suspension stability" of blood. The tendency for red cell aggregation is greatest during periods of low flow states and is maximum when the blood is standing still. At such times, a certain shear stress, the yield stress, must be applied to overcome the reversible red cell-fibrinogen bond, causing the blood to "yield" or begin to flow. Manipulation of blood viscosity and yield shear stress, by hemodilution or fibrinogen dilution are readily accomplished, and experimental studies indicate that these rheological alterations have circulatory and metabolic significance.
Ties That Bind? Race and Networks in Job Turnover

This article seeks to clarify the role of race and social networks in job turnover. Analyses using the personnel records of roughly 300 entry level workers in a private organization investigate the extent to which social networks in the job attainment process affect turnover. Specifically, I examine what occurs when the social network contact is from inside versus outside of the company, when the contact is white or minority, and when a contact and applicant share a race or when they do not. Referrals from current employee contacts reduce voluntary turnover while referrals from nonemployees do not provide a turnover advantage. White and minority contacts yield similar levels of job turnover and both generate lower levels of turnover than noncontacts, a finding that lends partial support to social capital theory. Finally, I find modest support for homophily theory; compared to race-mismatched contact-applicant dyads, race-matched dyads have lower levels of voluntary turnover but similar levels of involuntary turnover. The results illustrate the lasting effects of race-based social networks. I propose suggestions for designing research that can further our understanding of the mechanisms allegedly at work in the race, social network, and job turnover relationship. Keywords: homophily theory, job turnover, race, social capital theory, social networks.
2,2′ : 6′,2′‐Terpyridine

2,2′ : 6′,2′-Terpyridine intermediate: 22.5 g (0.1 mol) of 3,3-bis(methylthio)-1-(2-pyridinyl)-2-propen-1-one intermediate: 4′-(methylthio)-2,2′ : 6′,2″-terpyridine product: 2,2′ : 6′,2″-terpyridine Keywords: annulation, heterocyclic-[M,N]; cyclization, condensation; desulfurization; reduction, miscellaneous; tetrahydrofuran; tetrahydrofuran, purification
International service learning in midwifery and nursing education.

The health of women and childbearing families is a global concern that must be addressed if we are to be successful in ensuring healthy families. Numerous strategies have been suggested to increase appreciation for the global factors that influence maternal and child health and the overall health status of a community. Inclusion of cultural content in courses offered in educational programs and provision of clinical learning experiences in diverse communities have commonly been used in midwifery and nursing education. This article reviews the concept of service learning and its application in a course that provides an opportunity for students to participate in an international immersion program. Evaluation of the course found that participants increased their knowledge and skills in providing reproductive health care, developed appreciation for the knowledge and skills of traditional birth attendants, and expanded their worldview of women and families in communities.
High-Order Compact Schemes for Plasma Wave Simulation

Summary form only given. A high-order finite-difference code has been developed with the ability to simulate waves in plasmas coupling Maxwell equations with fluid species equations. Originally developed to examine the radio blackout problem, the code utilizes 6-th order finite-differences with 10-th order filters in space and 4-th order Runge-Kutta in time in order to minimize the number of grid points while retaining the fidelity of the solution. The code also uses multiple overlapping grids allows for solving complex configurations in parallel.
On supervisory policies that enforce liveness in completely controlled Petri nets with directed cut-places and cut-transitions

The process of synthesizing a supervisory policy that enforces liveness in a Petri net (PN), where each transition can be prevented from firing by an external agent, can be computationally burdensome in general. We consider PNs that have a directed cut place or a cut-transition. A place (transition) in a connected PN is said to be a cut place (cut-transition) if its removal will result in two disconnected component PNs. A cut place is said to be a directed cut-place, if in the original PN, all arcs into this cut place emanate from transitions in only one of the two disconnected component PNs. The authors show there is a supervisory policy that enforces liveness in the original PN if and only if similar policies exist for two PNs derived from the disconnected components obtained after the removal of the directed cut-place (cut-transition). The utility of this observation in alleviating the computational burden of policy synthesis is illustrated via example.
Influence of thermal treatment on the conductivity of PEDT films

Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDT) has attracted a great deal of interest during the last decade. Many industrial processes involve thermal procedures. and investigating the influence of thermal treatment on the conductivity of PEDT is thus important to understand some problems in real manufacturing processes. In this study, substrate-supported PEDT films were prepared by a chemical oxidative process. The PEDT films were heated at a temperature between 100 and 300/spl deg/C for different treatment times. The heating was conducted in either air or N/sub 2/ atmosphere to study the moisture and oxygen effects on PEDT during thermal treatment. The conductivity of the PEDT films was measured during the heating process and after the thermal treatment. The influence of treatment temperature on film conductivity was investigated.
Associations Between Employees’ Work Schedules and the Vocational Consequences of Workplace Injuries

Introduction This study examines the effect of long-hour work schedules and nonstandard shift work (e.g., night and evening shifts) on the ability of injured workers to maintain productive employment following a workplace injury. Methods Analyses were based on 13 years of data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed with one of ten nonstandard schedules as the independent variable and a particular vocational consequences as the dependent variable. Vocational consequences included being unable to perform normal job duties, temporary job reassignment, working less than full time, filing a workers’ compensation claim, and quitting or being fired because of the injury. Covariates in the regression model included age, gender, occupation, industry, and region. Results The most prominent effects of working a nonstandard schedule were a increased risk of being fired (OR = 1.81; 1.15–2.90 CI 95%), quitting (OR = 1.68; 1.20–2.36 CI 95%), or being unable to work full time (OR = 1.33; 1.08–1.64 CI 95%) following an injury, compared to injured workers in conventional schedules. Schedules involving overtime and long working hours generally had a greater impact on vocational consequences following a workplace injury than did schedules involving night, evening, and other nonstandard shift work. Conclusions Occupational rehabilitation professionals need to consider the specific type of work schedule when developing effective return-to-work plans for injured workers. Special precautions need to be taken for workers returning to schedules that involve more than 12 h per day, 60 h per week, and long commutes.
Interactions among the transcription factors Runx1, RORγt and Foxp3 regulate the differentiation of interleukin 17–producing T cells

The molecular mechanisms underlying the differentiation of interleukin 17-producing T helper cells (T(H)-17 cells) are still poorly understood. Here we show that optimal transcription of the gene encoding interleukin 17 (Il17) required a 2-kilobase promoter and at least one conserved noncoding (enhancer) sequence, CNS-5. Both cis-regulatory elements contained regions that bound the transcription factors RORgammat and Runx1. Runx1 influenced T(H)-17 differentiation by inducing RORgammat expression and by binding to and acting together with RORgammat during Il17 transcription. However, Runx1 also interacts with the transcription factor Foxp3, and this interaction was necessary for the negative effect of Foxp3 on T(H)-17 differentiation. Thus, our data support a model in which the differential association of Runx1 with Foxp3 and with RORgammat regulates T(H)-17 differentiation.
Adverse Effect Monitoring: Opportunity for Patient Care and Pharmacy Practice

ABSTRACT Objectives To present an adverse effect monitoring tool with theoretical, practical, and data-supported explanation and justification for use in pharmacy practice for the purpose of building patient-pharmacist partnerships and improving medication-management outcomes. Design Randomized pretest-posttest experimental design. Setting Ambulatory patients in three multidisciplinary cancer clinics. Patients 74 patients who were beginning chemotherapy. Interventions A calendar for daily adverse drug event tracking by ambulatory patients was adapted from The WriteTrack : Personal Health Tracker and provided to those assigned to the intervention group, who were asked to record symptoms and possible adverse drug events during their first two chemotherapy cycles. Patient reports of self-monitoring activities were gathered through posttests (n = 74) and semistructured interviews (n = 7). Main Outcome Measures Self-reported use and perceived usefulness of the tool. Results A total of 88.4% of the experimental group (38 of 43 individuals) reported using the monitoring tool to keep written track of adverse effects, while 38.7% of the control group (12 of 31 individuals) reported keeping some form of written record of their experiences. A total of 65.8% of those in the intervention group found patterns in their adverse effects, 47.4% indicated they took the calendar to the clinic to help them recall events, and 26.3% reported using the calendar at the clinic to show their health care team what was happening. Experimental group subjects most often shared the adverse effect monitoring information with nurses alone (23.7%). Patients using the diary indicated that it had a high degree of utility and value and that they would use it again and recommend it to other patients with cancer. Conclusion A system for adverse effect monitoring by patients in the context of cancer drug management was acceptable and useful, and pharmacists could incorporate this tool into their daily practice with minimal effort, time, and expense. Patients' self-documented symptoms and adverse effects can be valuable data when used to help tailor medication regimens to improve clinical status while satisfying patients' personal priorities.
Social cognition in the breadbasket: The effect of schematic information about farmers on farmers’ and nonfarmers’ memory for stories

Three experiments investigated farmers’and nonfarmers’ perceptions about farmers and the effects of these schemata on memory for a story about a character who was or was not identified as a farmer. Experiment 1 identified dimensions on which farmers’ and nonfarmers’ perceptions about farmers differed significantly. This information was used to construct stories, used in Experiments 2A and 2B, about a businessman facing bankruptcy. Half of the stories described Robert in a manner consistent with the farmers’ schema about farmers; the other half described him in a manner consistent with the nonfarmers’ schema about farmers. Another variable, label, identified Robert as a farmer or small businessman or did not identify his occupation. The results showed several complex interactions of the subjects’ schema information, the label, and the content of the story, both under conditions of immediate testing and 2 days later.
The Yeast LATS/Ndr Kinase Cbk1 Regulates Growth via Golgi-dependent Glycosylation and Secretion

Saccharomyces cerevisiae Cbk1 is a LATS/Ndr protein kinase and a downstream component of the regulation of Ace2 and morphogenesis (RAM) signaling network. Cbk1 and the RAM network are required for cellular morphogenesis, cell separation, and maintenance of cell integrity. Here, we examine the phenotypes of conditional cbk1 mutants to determine the essential function of Cbk1. Cbk1 inhibition severely disrupts growth and protein secretion, and triggers the Swe1-dependent morphogenesis checkpoint. Cbk1 inhibition also delays the polarity establishment of the exocytosis regulators Rab-GTPase Sec4 and its exchange factor Sec2, but it does not interfere with actin polarity establishment. Cbk1 binds to and phosphorylates Sec2, suggesting that it regulates Sec4-dependent exocytosis. Intriguingly, Cbk1 inhibition causes a >30% decrease in post-Golgi vesicle accumulation in late secretion mutants, indicating that Cbk1 also functions upstream of Sec2-Sec4, perhaps at the level of the Golgi. In agreement, conditional cbk1 mutants mislocalize the cis-Golgi mannosyltransferase Och1, are hypersensitive to the aminoglycoside hygromycin B, and exhibit diminished invertase and Sim1 glycosylation. Significantly, the conditional lethality and hygromycin B sensitivity of cbk1 mutants are suppressed by moderate overexpression of several Golgi mannosyltransferases. These data suggest that an important function for Cbk1 and the RAM signaling network is to regulate growth and secretion via Golgi and Sec2/Sec4-dependent processes.
Evaluating the differential roles of the dorsal dentate gyrus, dorsal CA3, and dorsal CA1 during a temporal ordering for spatial locations task.

It has been demonstrated that the dorsal CA1 subregion of the hippocampus mediates temporal processing of information, that dorsal CA3 participates in the spatiotemporal processing of memory, and the dorsal dentate gyrus mediates spatial pattern separation. A temporal ordering of spatial locations task was developed to test the role of the dorsal dentate gyrus, CA3, and CA1 for the temporal processing of spatial information with either high or low levels of spatial interference. The results indicate that animals with dentate gyrus lesions showed difficulty performing the task at high levels of spatial interference, but were able to perform the task well when there was low spatial interference. Animals with lesions to CA3 did not show a preference for either spatial location presented during the study phase during the preference test, suggesting impaired spatiotemporal processing. Animals with lesions to CA1 showed a preference for a later presented spatial location over the earlier, the opposite preference to that shown by control animals.
Percutaneous endoscopic cecostomy in adults: a case series.

Background Percutaneous cecostomy is used to treat recurrent colonic pseudoobstruction or obstipation in children and adults with multiple medical comorbidities. Percutaneous endoscopic cecostomy is a potentially attractive alternative to surgical or fluoroscopic cecostomy placement. A few reports describe percutaneous endoscopic cecostomy for management of these problems in children, whereas there are no large series of percutaneous endoscopic cecostomy in adult patients describing the indications, complications, and outcomes. Objective Report our experience with percutaneous endoscopic cecostomy in adults. Design Case series. Setting Single tertiary referral center in the United States. Patients Five patients with recurrent colonic pseudoobstruction and 2 with chronic refractory constipation. Interventions Percutaneous endoscopic cecostomy. Results Eight cases of percutaneous endoscopic cecostomy were performed from May 2001 through October 2005: 6 for colonic pseudoobstruction and 2 for chronic constipation. Seven of 8 cases were successful and resulted in clinical improvement. One patient required surgical removal of the percutaneous endoscopic cecostomy tube at 4 days for fecal spillage resulting in peritonitis despite successful tube placement for chronic constipation. Removal of the cecostomy tube occurred in 3 of 6 cases of pseudoobstruction (the other 3 remain in place). In the other patient with chronic constipation, clinical improvement occurred, but the patient died of underlying illness 21 days after placement. No other serious complications occurred. Limitations Retrospective, single-center study. Conclusions Percutaneous endoscopic cecostomy is a viable alternative to surgically or fluoroscopically placed cecostomy in a select group of patients with recurrent colonic pseudoobstruction or chronic intractable constipation.
Palliative care as a quality improvement strategy for advanced, chronic illness.

Abstract:Palliative care is medical care that provides relief from suffering and support for the best possible quality of life for patients facing advanced chronic illness and for their families. Healthcare organizations use palliative care to improve quality of care, because it is an effective appr
Influence of Nitrogen on Electrochemical Passivation of High-Nickel Stainless Steels and Thin Molybdenum-Nickel Films

Abstract The influence of molybdenum and nitrogen on passivation of the nickel-bearing austenitic stainless steels (SS) Fe-20% Cr-20% Ni, Fe-20% Cr-20% Ni-6% Mo, and Fe-20% Cr-20% Ni-6% Mo-0.2% N in deaerated 0.1 M hydrochloric acid (HCl) + 0.4 M sodium chloride (NaCl) was investigated using electrochemical and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopic (XPS) analyses. Electrochemical analyses showed molybdenum and nitrogen improved passivation characteristics through an apparent synergism. Evidence was found of a compositional reorganization of SS in the atomic layers of the alloy immediately below the passive film. Nickel and molybdenum appeared to become enriched in proportions that suggested molybdenum-nickel intermetallic bonding. This was augmented by alloyed nitrogen, which strongly governed the elemental enrichment process. The possible nature of the bonding of these elements was reviewed with respect to the Engel-Brewer model of intermetallic bonding. Variable-angle XPS and electrochemical polarization an...