cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Exploring attitudes of adolescents and caregivers towards community-based delivery of the HPV vaccine: a qualitative study

Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination among adolescents is an important strategy to prevent cervical and other cancers in adulthood. However, uptake remains far below the Healthy People 2020 targets for the US. Given the barriers to population-level vaccination policies and challenges to incorporating additional action items during clinical visits, we sought to explore alternative delivery mechanisms, specifically delivery of the vaccine in community settings. We conducted six focus groups (three with adolescents aged 11–14 who had not received the HPV vaccine and three with caregivers of adolescents meeting those criteria) from Black, Latino, and Brazilian communities in Massachusetts. We utilized a framework analysis approach that involved a multi-stage coding process employing both prefigured and emergent codes. Initial interpretations were refined through consultation with an advisory board. Adolescents and caregivers expressed a range of concerns about the HPV vaccine and also described interest in learning more about the vaccine, emphasizing the importance of a relationship with a trusted provider as a facilitator of vaccine acceptance. Regarding community-based delivery of the vaccine, reactions were mainly negative. However, adolescents and caregivers noted that receiving information in community settings that could seed a conversation with a trusted provider would be welcome. Interestingly, the notion of a trusted provider seemed to extend broadly to practitioners linked to the trusted main provider. The study highlights an opportunity for increasing HPV vaccination among some racial and ethnic minority populations by leveraging trusted community organizations to provide information and seed conversations with a potentially broad group of trusted providers. A task-shifting approach, or reliance on staff with fewer formal credentials, may offer opportunities to support vaccination in resource-constrained settings.
Direct Arylation of Simple Arenes with Aryl Bromides by Synergistic Silver and Palladium Catalysis.

The direct, catalytic arylation of simple arenes in small excess with aryl bromides is disclosed. The developed method does not require the assistance of directing groups and relies on a synergisti...
Mechanics of the small punch test: a review and qualification of additive manufacturing materials

The small punch test (SPT) was developed for situations where source material is scarce, costly or otherwise difficult to acquire, and has been used for assessing components with variable, location-dependent material properties. Although lacking standardization, the SPT has been employed to assess material properties and verified using traditional testing. Several methods exist for equating SPT results with traditional stress–strain data. There are, however, areas of weakness, such as fracture and fatigue approaches. This document outlines the history and methodologies of SPT, reviewing the body of contemporary literature and presenting relevant findings and formulations for correlating SPT results with conventional tests. Analysis of literature is extended to evaluating the suitability of the SPT for use with additively manufactured (AM) materials. The suitability of this approach is shown through a parametric study using an approximation of the SPT via FEA, varying material properties as would be seen with varying AM process parameters. Equations describing the relationship between SPT results and conventional testing data are presented. Correlation constants dictating these relationships are determined using an accumulation of data from the literature reviewed here, along with novel experimental data. This includes AM materials to assess the fit of these and provide context for a wider view of the methodology and its interest to materials science and additive manufacturing. A case is made for the continued development of the small punch test, identifying strengths and knowledge gaps, showing need for standardization of this simple yet highly versatile method for expediting studies of material properties and optimization.
The Eritrean Commercial Code and the UNCITRAL Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency

On gaining independence from Ethiopia in 1993, Eritrea provisionally retained the Ethiopian legal codes drafted in the 1950s and early 1960s. Determined to redraft the codes, the Eritrean government hired Professors John A. (Andy) Spanogle and the author to redraft the Commercial Code. This paper analyzes the draft of Book 6 (insolvency). As a general matter, the draft treats the insolvent debtor more leniently and simplifies both the institutional structure and insolvency procedures. The paper pays particular attention to the Eritrean draft’s treatment of the Model Law and Legislative Guide prepared by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL). While the UNCITRAL texts inspired the draft’s provisions on cross-border insolvency, the draft makes both substantive and stylistic changes. The paper concludes by questioning whether the UNCITRAL work offers very much to countries like Eritrea, with less-developed economies and antiquated bankruptcy laws.
Average Cost Optimality in Partially Observed Lost-Sales Inventory Systems

We consider a partially observable inventory system in which the inventory level can only be observed when it reaches zero, the unmet demand is lost, and replenishment orders must be decided so as to minimize the long-run average cost. This problem has an infinite-dimensional state space and is therefore difficult to analyze. We prove the existence of an average-cost optimal policy, using the so-called vanishing discount factor approach. As a main methodological contribution, we provide a way to verify the key condition -- the uniform boundedness of the relative discounted value function -- for the partially observed system. To accomplish that we construct -- for the partially observed system -- a valid policy which in a certain sense "copies" the actions of another policy for the process with a different initial state. To our best knowledge, this paper is the first dealing with inventory models with partially observable inventory levels under the long-run average cost criterion.
A bio-inspired localization-free stochastic coverage algorithm with verified reachability.

Dependence on constant availability to an external localization service is often unreliable and infeasible in mobile robots. In this paper, we take inspiration from a continuous fish motion model, the Persistent Turning Walker (PTW), to devise a strategy which is able to achieve 2D and 3D coverage in an unknown environment in the absence of a localization service, such as a Global Positioning System (GPS). This is achieved by converting the continuous-time dynamical system into a Discrete-Time Markov Chain (DTMC) which is then shown to exhibit strongly connected properties that are verifiable through numerical methods. The aforementioned proposed framework can also be used to study the continuous-time dynamics of other biological systems and evaluate their properties. The performance of the PTW model is also compared with two existing random search strategies, Simple Random Walks (SRW) and Correlated Random Walks (CRW) by using analytical bounds, simulation results, and statistical tests. The simulation results show that the proposed PTW algorithm covers a given search-space at a faster rate compared to the CRW and SRW models. Hence, the PTW may be effectively used as a coverage strategy by mobile robots in underwater or underground environments where the availability of a GPS cannot be guaranteed at all times.
Jones, Drones and Homes: How Ancient Property Doctrine Can Expand Notions of Privacy

This note explores the majority opinion in United States v. Jones, which held that warrantless GPS tracking of a car for 28 days was a search within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment. Since 1967 Fourth Amendment searches had been evaluated by whether the technique violated reasonable expectations of privacy. However, the majority opinion in Jones articulates a new test: whether the technique is a physical intrusion to constitutionally enumerated area, with the intent to obtain information, that would have been recognized as a search at the time of the Founding. This note faithfully applies this new test to fly-over cases (in the context of domestic drones) and trash searches to determine if the majority in Jones might alter the Court's analysis of previously settled areas of Fourth Amendment jurisprudence and expand Fourth Amendment protections. While Justice Alito’s concurrence feared that the majority opinion would constrict privacy rights, this note concludes that when the Jones holding is applied to certain categories of Fourth Amendment searches — ancient property doctrine will actually increase individual privacy protections from modern law enforcement surveillance techniques.
Deoxyribonucleic Acid Base Composition of the Yeastlike and Mycelial Phases of Histoplasma capsulatum and Blastomyces dermatitidis

The base composition in moles percent guanine plus cytosine (%GC) of both nuclear and mitochondrial deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) isolated from the yeastlike and mycelial phases of the dimorphic fungal pathogens Histoplasma capsulatum and Blastomyces dermatitidis was determined by techniques of thermal denaturation and CsCl buoyant density gradient equilibrium centrifugation. The mean observed values for GC content of nuclear DNA from H. capsulatum and B. dermatitidis were 47.3 and 48.2%, respectively. What is speculated to be mitochondrial DNA was found to be 34.0% for H. capsulatum and 34.3% for B. dermatitidis. Thermal denaturation curves for Blastomyces DNA indicated a bimodality in thermal denaturation profiles, thereby suggesting a significant mitochondrial DNA contamination. Mitochondrial DNA appeared to represent a smaller percentage of the total DNA prepared from Histoplasma, and was not observed consistently to affect%GC values as determined by thermal denaturation profiles. On the basis of the now known perfect stage of B. dermatitidis (Ajellomyces dermatitidis) as a member of the family Gymnoascaceae, the close approximation of%GC content of nuclear DNA of this fungal organism with that of H. capsulatum suggests possible phylogenetic relationship. It is suggested that the just reported, but as yet unclassified, perfect stage of H. capsulatum may be found to be phylogenetically a primitive form of the Gymnoascaceae.
Structures for polyinosinic acid and polyguanylic acid

X-ray-diffraction analysis of oriented, partially crystalline fibres of polyinosinic acid has resulted in a new molecular model. This model consists of four identical polynucleotide chains related to one another by a fourfold rotation axis. The coaxial helices are righthanded (screw symmetry 23(2)) and have an axial translation per residue h=0.341nm and a rotation per residue t=31.3 degrees . Incorporated in the model are standard bond lengths, bond angles and C-2-endo furanose rings. The nucleotide conformation angles, determined by linked-atom least-squares methods, are orthodox and the fit with the X-ray intensities is good. Each hypoxanthine base is linked to two others by hydrogen bonds involving O-6 and N-1. Further stability may arise from intrachain hydrogen bonds between each ribose hydroxyl group and the phosphate oxygen O-3. If guanine were to be substituted for hypoxanthine in an isogeometrical molecular structure, additional hydrogen bonds could be made between every N-2 and N-7.
JCL Roundtable: Gender differences in reduction of CVD in response to lipid-lowering drugs

The Roundtable in this issue of the journal has to do with a very important topic that has generated much debate and confusion over the years. Do women and men need and receive the same type and intensity of drug therapy to appropriately reduce the incidence of major vascular events? Second, do women respond to lipid-lowering medications with similar changes in lipoprotein levels and with equivalent reduction in major cardiovascular clinical events? I am very pleased to have 3 experts in different aspects of this issue. Dr Rachel Mackey is a cardiovascular epidemiologist in the University of Pittsburgh who is now actively involved in analyzing large data sets from community-based observational studies. Dr Thomas Pearson has many years of cardiovascular experience in clinical trials and observational studies that go to the issues faced by physicians in practice. He is the current Executive Vice President for Research and Education at the University of Florida Health Science Center. Dr Carl Orringer is a professor at the University of Miami School of Medicine who has years of experience in teaching preventive cardiology.
Structure and Function of the Lungs and the Airways

A summary of airway structural components with diagrams of the lung and conducting airways (trachea, bronchial divisions). The cellular structure of the conducting airways is presented in a table. The action of pharmacologic agents (drugs) on the physiology of airway function is discussed.
A Novel Bioluminescent Tumor Model of Human Renal Cancer Cell Lines: An In Vitro and In Vivo Characterization

Purpose: Bioluminescent imaging permits sensitive in vivo detection and quantification of cells engineered to emit light. We developed a bioluminescent human renal cancer cell line for in vitro and in vivo studies.Material and Methods: The 2 human renal cell carcinoma cell lines SN12-C and SN12-L1 were stably transfected to constitutively express luciferase using a retroviral shuttle. The bioluminescent signal was correlated with tumor cell numbers in vitro. Parental and transfected cells were compared by growth kinetics and histology. Tumor burden after heterotopic injection in immune deficient mice was monitored up to 39 days. The kinetics of the bioluminescent signal was evaluated for 1 to 60 minutes following luciferin injection.Results: Bioengineered renal cancer cell lines stably expressed luciferase. The growth kinetics of the cells in vitro and the histology of tumors resulting from implantation of these cells were unaffected by retroviral transfection with the luciferase gene. As few as 1,000 cel...
Visiting Hours in the ICU: Finding the Balance among Patient, Visitor and Staff Needs

TOPIC. Visiting hours. PURPOSE. To explore the experience of nurses who have been identified as experts at working with visitors in a critical care setting. METHODS. A qualitative research design incorporating in-depth interviews of eight intensive care nurses, limited participant observation, and a review of selected documents was used to investigate how expert nurses incorporate visitors into their daily practice. CONCLUSION. Incorporating visiting family members in to the plan of care is complex and requires balancing the visitors’ needs for information and access to a loved one with the nurse's need to safely manage the care of a critically ill individual.
Bayesian approach to inventory control of new parts

Abstract The specific real world problem of concern is the inventory control of repair parts for new weapon systems. The initial forecast of demand is based on engineering estimates. This forecast is updated as demand experience accrues. An algorithm implementing a dynamic programming formulation is developed and used as a research tool to obtain insights into how the opportunity to improve the demand forecast impacts the optimum inventory control parameters.
Impact of Gender and Age on Outcomes of Tibial Artery Endovascular Interventions in Critical Limb Ischemia

Background Female sex and older age are known risk factors for adverse outcomes in peripheral artery disease. This study reports on the outcomes of tibial artery endovascular intervention (TAEI) by age and gender in patients treated for critical limb ischemia. Methods All TAEIs for tissue loss or rest pain (Rutherford classes 4, 5, and 6) from 2004 to 2010 were retrospectively reviewed. Patient demographics, comorbidities, intervention sites, complications, and outcome measurements, including limb salvage, wound healing, and patency, were recorded for each patient. Data were analyzed by gender and age using Fisher exact test, multivariate logistic regression, and Cox proportional hazards regression. Results Two hundred twenty-one limbs (201 patients, 40% female) were treated for critical limb ischemia (74% with tissue loss, 26% with rest pain). Mean age of the patients was 73.3 years (39% were aged ≥80 years). Comorbidities and indications for intervention were comparable. Isolated TAEI was performed in 46% of the limbs, whereas multilevel interventions were performed in 54%. Mean follow-up period was 8.7 ± 7.3 months. Complications were comparable between genders and ages (P = not significant [NS]). Limb salvage rate was 88% and was comparable by gender (P = NS). Major amputation was less frequent in octogenarians (6% vs. 16%, P = 0.03). Neither gender nor age was a predictor of limb loss (P = NS), but renal insufficiency was (hazard ratio = 2.81, 95% confidence interval = 1.14–6.90, P = 0.02). Age ≥80 years was a predictor of impaired wound healing (hazard ratio = 1.57, 95% confidence interval = 1.04–2.37, P = 0.03), but gender was not (P = NS). Overall primary patency rate was 62% at 1 year and was similar in women and octogenarians (P = NS). Overall reintervention rate was 53% at 1 year and was higher in women (65% vs. 46%, P = 0.03), but was not affected by age (P = NS). Conclusions TAEI outcomes do not appear to be adversely affected by gender or age. Limb salvage appears equivalent in octogenarians, with amputations occurring less frequently. Women also appear to have outcomes similar to men after TAEIs, but may require repeat interventions to achieve equivalent limb salvage rates.
A Prospective Randomized Trial Comparing Subatmospheric Wound Therapy With a Sealed Gauze Dressing and the Standard Vacuum-Assisted Closure Device

OBJECTIVE Two methods of subatmospheric pressure wound therapy--wall suction applied to a sealed gauze dressing (GSUC) and the vacuum-assisted closure device (VAC)--were compared in hospitalized patients at University of Chicago Medical Center. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA VAC therapy is widely used, but can be expensive and difficult to apply; it also fails in some patients. METHODS A randomized prospective study of 87 patients (N = 45 in the GSUC arm and N = 42 in the VAC arm) was undertaken between October 2006 and May 2008. The study comprised patients with acute wounds resulting from trauma, dehiscence, or surgery. RESULTS Demographics and wound characteristics were similar in both groups. There were significant reductions in wound surface area and volume in each group. In the GSUC group, the reductions in wound surface area and volume were 4.5%/day and 8.4%/day, respectively (P < 0.001 for both), and in the VAC group, this was 4.9%/day and 9.8%/day, respectively (P < 0.001 for both). The reductions in wound surface area and volume were similar in both groups (P = 0.60 and 0.19, respectively, for the group-by-time interaction). The estimated difference (VAC - GSUC) was 0.4% (95% confidence interval: -1.0, 1.7) for wound surface area and 1.4% (95% confidence interval: -0.7, 3.5) for volume. The mean cost per day for GSUC therapy was $4.22 versus $96.51 for VAC therapy (P < 0.01) and the average time required for a GSUC dressing change was 19 minutes versus 31 minutes for a VAC dressing change (P < 0.01). The sum of pain intensity differences was 0.50 in the GSUC group compared with 1.73 for the VAC group (P = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS GSUC is noninferior to VAC with respect to changes in wound volume and surface area in an acute care setting. In addition, GSUC dressings were easier to apply, less expensive, and less painful.
Spectrum formation in supernovae : numerical techniques

The study combines several novel techniques for spectrum simulation in the Eddington computer program which solves the comoving frame equation of transfer coupled with the statistical and radiative equilibrium equations. One of these is a generalization of the accelerated lambda iteration (ALI) scheme to include an approximate frequency-derivative operator. This greatly enhances the convergence rate of ALI in optically thick, high-velocity shear flows. Another is a partial linearization technique which is capable of efficiently solving a very large number of rate equations on a moderately sized computer. An expansion opacity and emissivity approximation is derived which makes it possible to determine the effect on the transfer and statistical equilibrium of a very large number of lines not explicitly represented in the frequency grid and additionally to treat line-blanketing from species not explicitly included in the rate equations. The utility of these techniques is illustrated with models of two supernovae.
Studies of phase separated copolymer blends using thermally stimulated currents and dielectric spectroscopy

Abstract Thermally stimulated currents (t.s.c.s) and a.c. dielectric spectroscopy were used to study poly(butylene terephthalate) (PBT) and blends of PBT with segmented copoly(ester-ether) elastomers. The high sensitivity of t.s.c. and a.c. dielectric techniques as compared to d.s.c. was useful for the study of these blends where the elastomer phase was present at only 20%. The techniques together cover a frequency range of ∼5 × 10−3–105 Hz allowing detailed characterization of amorphous relaxations in these phase separated blends. Two separate glass transitions for the PBT/copoly(ester-ether) blends were observed, unchanged from the original pure components, indicating that they are immiscible and that ester exchange during processing was minimal. Peak assignments are made using a new analysis scheme by comparing activation energies (Ea) determined by the t.s.c. thermal sampling technique with predicted values using the activated states equation. With this method all values of Ea agree with the zero activation entropy prediction except those measured in the vicinity of glass transitions.
Stereospecificity of the allosteric NADH dehydrogenase from Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Abstract The electron chain-linked, allosteric NADH dehydrogenase from Mycobacterium tuberculosis is a 4-B NADH specific enzyme, and does not catalyze NADH-H2O H-exchange. AMP activation of this dehydrogenase does not affect the stereospecificity of the H removal from NADH and has no effect on the lack of NADH-H2O H-exchange. A soluble, AMP-sensitive NADH-menadione oxidoreductase can be extracted from the particulate NADH oxidase complex. This soluble diaphorase, as well as the soluble NADH-nitro-blue tetrazolium oxidoreductase present in cell-free extracts of this microorganism are also 4-B NADH specific enzymes and do not catalyze the NADH-H2O H-exchange reaction; this is taken as further proof that the soluble diaphorases from M. tuberculosis are derived from the membrane-bound NADH oxidase complex.
Induction of vascular relaxation by hydroperoxides.

Summary Hydrogen peroxide, tert-butyl hydroperoxide, cumene hydroperoxide, and 3-chloroperoxybenzoic acid (CPB) and 15-HPETE relaxed, in a concentration dependent manner rat aortic rings contracted with PGF 2α (1×10 −5 ). Relaxation is not inhibited by either indomethacin (2×10 −5 M), a cyclo-oxygenase inhibitor or eicosatetraynoic acid (1×10 −5 M), a dual cyclo-oxygenase and lipoxygenase inhibitor. Rings with intact endothelium relaxed to a greater degree on exposure to CPB and 15-HPETE. Methylene blue, a soluble guanylate cyclase inhibitor (1×10 −5 M) blocked the relaxation elicited by the five peroxides, whereas both superoxide dismutase (scavenger of superoxide anion) and mannitol (scavenger of hydroxyl radical) have no effect. We conclude that relaxation of vascular smooth muscle is a general property of peroxides and that the endothelium may in some instances facilitate this effect.
Zero loci of differential modular forms

Abstract The theory of p-adic modular forms initiated by Serre, Dwork, and Katz (p-Adic Properties of Modular Schemes and Modular Forms, Lecture Notes in Mathematics, Vol. 350, Springer, Berlin, 1973) “lives” on the complement (in the p-adic completion of the appropriate modular curve) of the zero locus of the Eisenstein form Ep−1. On the other hand, most of the interesting phenomena in the theory of differential modular forms (J. Reine Angew. Math. (520) (2000) 95) take place on the complement of the zero locus of a fundamental differential modular form called fjet. We establish that the zero locus of the reduction modulo p for p not congruent to one modulo 12 of the Eisenstein form Ep−1 is not contained in the zero locus of the reduction modulo p of the differential modular form fjet implying that the theory of differential modular forms is applicable in certain situations not covered by the theory of p-adic modular forms.
Evaluation of new in vitro diagnostic test procedures in clinical microbiology.

In vitro diagnostic products (IVDs) for infectious diseases are becoming available commercially at an ever-increasing rate. Aggressive marketing of such products often creates pressure on the laboratory to use IVDs, sometimes even before independent evaluations can be published in peer-reviewed scientific journals.IVDs potentially offer simplicity and speed, particularly in detecting microorganisms that have fastidious growth requirements or that are simply not cultivable with currently available methodology. In some instances, IVDs may obviate the need for culture of more common microorganisms and may thereby allow testing to be done in physicians' offices and perhaps ultimately in the home.
Analyzing unsaturated flow patterns in fractured rock using an integrated modeling approach

Characterizing percolation patterns in unsaturated fractured rock has posed a greater challenge to modeling investigations than comparable saturated zone studies, because of the heterogeneous nature of unsaturated media and the great number of variables impacting unsaturated flow. This paper presents an integrated modeling methodology for quantitatively characterizing percolation patterns in the unsaturated zone of Yucca Mountain, Nevada, a proposed underground repository site for storing high-level radioactive waste. The modeling approach integrates a wide variety of moisture, pneumatic, thermal, and isotopic geochemical field data into a comprehensive three-dimensional numerical model for modeling analyses. It takes into account the coupled processes of fluid and heat flow and chemical isotopic transport in Yucca Mountain's highly heterogeneous, unsaturated fractured tuffs. Modeling results are examined against different types of field-measured data and then used to evaluate different hydrogeological conceptualizations and their results of flow patterns in the unsaturated zone. In particular, this model provides a much clearer understanding of percolation patterns and flow behavior through the unsaturated zone, both crucial issues in assessing repository performance. The integrated approach for quantifying Yucca Mountain's flow system is demonstrated to provide a practical modeling tool for characterizing flow and transport processes in complex subsurface systems.
Was Kekule's Mind Brainbound? The Historiography of Chemistry and the Philosophy of Extended Cognition."

This article examines the revisionist role that current debates and philosophical positions on extended cognition might play for the historian of science, and uses as its case study August Kekule’s formulation of the benzene molecule’s structure, including the dreams that Kekule reported as the origin of his model. It builds on the notion of engaging philosophical positions through the historiography of nineteenth-century chemistry, but also examines some of the implications of the history of science for extended cognition. While an extended cognition approach to Kekule’s use of graphics and visual materials is promising, I argue that there is less usefulness for the idea of collective cognition. Instead I advocate using detailed historical studies to test theories of extended cognition.
How does the mitogenic insulin-like growth factor I receptor differ from the metabolic insulin receptor?

Under normal physiological conditions, insulin regulates intermediary metabolism by interacting with insulin receptors in liver, fat and muscle cells. The insulin-like growth factors (IGF-I and IGF-II
Electrovac compactification of gauged d = 7 supergravity

Abstract Solutions of the classical field equations of gauged N = 2, d = 7 supergravity are found, even if the scalar field potential has no critical points. This leads to the splitting of the seven-dimensional spacetime to a product (AdS) 2 × M 2 × M 3 , where M 2 and M 3 may be compoct or noncompact. For a wide range of parameter values, compactification on S 3 from d = 7 to d = 4 occurs. For none of these solutions supersymmetry is preserved.
Trisodium Phosphate Treatment of Pork Carcasses

Pork skin samples, naturally contaminated or inoculated with Salmonella typhimurium, were treated with varying levels of trisodium phosphate (TSP). Aerobic plate counts (APC) of the samples were unaffected by treatment; however, S. typhimurium was reduced (P < 0.05). Using levels most effective for reducing S. typhimurium on skin, TSP was investigated for use on whole pork carcasses during slaughter/processing and did not affect APC of pork carcasses. Due to a lack of detectable presence, any effects of TSP on native Salmonella contamination of pork carcass surfaces could not be determined. TSP had negligible effect on visual pork color, texture or odor.
Differential G protein—mediated coupling of neurotransmitter receptors to Ca2+ channels in rat dorsal root ganglion neurons in vitro

Abstract The peptides neuropeptide Y (NPY) and bradykinin (BK) both inhibited Ca 2+ currents in rat dorsal root ganglion neurons (DRG) in vitro. The effects of both peptides were completely blocked by treatment of cells with pertussis toxin. Based on antigenic determinants, DRG cells contained at least two pertussis toxin substrates, α o (M r , 39kd) and α i2 (M r 40 kd). We examined the ability of three purified bovine α subunits (identified with antibodies as α o , α 1 , and α 2 ) to reconstitute the inhibitory effects of NPY and BK. Reconstitution of NPY effects occurred according to the potency series α o > α i1 ⪢ α i2 . However, in the case of BK all three G proteins were approximately equally effective. Whereas complete reconstitution of NPY effects could be obtained with α o , no single a subunit produced complete reconstitution of BK. Combinations of α o and α i2 , however, were able to completely reconstitute the effects of BK. Thus several G proteins can effect the regulation of Ca 2+ channels in these cells. However, neurotransmitters may be selective in the G proteins or combinations of G proteins utilized to achieve this regulation.
Edge Effects on Lizards and Frogs in Tropical Forest Fragments

Abstract: We investigated whether forest-pasture edges affect the distribution of an assemblage of small vertebrate ectotherms in a consistent and predictable manner. We describe the abundance and distribution of two species of anoline lizards ( Norops) and five species of leaf-litter frogs ( Eleutherodactylus) along the edges and in the interiors of nine forest fragments near Las Cruces, Costa Rica. Over 4 months, we surveyed 44 pairs of plots by visual encounter. In each pair of plots, one was immediately adjacent to the pasture and the second was within the forest “interior.” Both plots of a pair were searched simultaneously. This block design controlled for the effects of weather, topography, and searcher ability. The distribution of all species was highly variable with respect to edges. Only two species of frogs, Eleutherodactylus podiciferus and E. cruentus, were significantly more abundant in interior plots than in edge plots, although not consistently so. Both species of Norops lizards were more abundant along forest edges during the dry season. Both Norops species and several Eleutherodactylus species, however, appeared to become more abundant in the forest interior after the onset of the wet season, suggesting a seasonal edge effect. In Norops polylepis, the most abundant anole, rates of ectoparasitism were lower along edges than in forest interiors. The magnitude of the edge effect on any one species was not influenced by the size of fragments or by the distance of the interior plot from the nearest edge. We believe that edge effects should not be defined by the distance to which they are detected. Rather, they should be viewed as highly dynamic in space and time; taxa appear to respond to different components of edge effects according to their particular biological requirements.
Creation of an instrument maintenance program at W. M. Keck Observatory

Until a few years ago, the W. M. Keck Observatory (WMKO) did not have a systematic program of instrument maintenance at a level appropriate for a world-leading observatory. We describe the creation of such a program within the context of WMKO’s lean operations model which posed challenges but also guided the design of the system and resulted in some unique and notable capabilities. These capabilities and the flexibility of the system have led to its adoption across the Observatory for virtually all PM’s. The success of the Observatory in implementing the program and its impact on instrument reliability are presented. Lessons learned are reviewed and strategic implications discussed.
Inflation Dynamics in New EU Member States: The Czech Case

The reduction of inflation to an average EU level is the necessary precondition for any new EU member state to join the Euro area. Inflation in the Czech Republic is analyzed by using both monetarist P-star and the hybrid New Keynesian Phillips curve models. It appears that in the Czech case the P-star model is a somewhat better description of the Czech inflationary process.
Effect of prolonged infusion of ritodrine on uteroplacental blood flow and cardiac output distribution in unanesthetized pregnant guinea pigs.

Abstract The effects of ritodrine, 15 μg · min −1 · kg −1 administered intravenously, on the maternal circulation and uteroplacental blood flow were investigated in eight chronically catheterized pregnant guinea pigs near term. Cardiac output and its distribution were measured by means of the radionuclide-labelled microsphere technique before, and after 2 and 6 h of infusion of ritodrine. Ritodrine produced a sustained elevation of cardiac output to 135 and 137% of the control value after 2 and 6 h, respectively. The carcass and gastrointestinal tract together accounted for the greatest portion of the extra blood flow, 77 and 84% at the times of the two flow measurements during treatment. After 2 h of ritodrine, mean placental blood flow was reduced to 85% of the control level (n.s.), uteroplacental vascular resistance was 127% of its initial value (n.s.), and the placental fraction of cardiac output had decreased from 18 to 12% ( P P
The role of the brain in the metaphorical mathematical cognition

Rips et al. appear to discuss, and then dismiss with counterexamples, the brain-based theory of mathematical cognition given in Lakoff and Nunez (2000). Instead, they present another theory of their own that they correctly dismiss. Our theory is based on neural learning. Rips et al. misrepresent our theory as being directly about real-world experience and mappings directly from that experience.
Compartmentalization of the matrix formed by nucleus pulposus and annulus fibrosus cells in alginate gel

Intervertebral disc cells cultured in alginate gel are capable of reforming in alginate, a matrix that consists of two compartments: a rim of metabolically active cell-associated matrix and a more abundant, but metabolically less active, further removed matrix. At any one age and in most species, the cell-associated matrix formed by a nucleus pulposus or annulus fibrosus cell cultured in this way is less abundant than that formed by an articular chondrocyte. In both the cell-associated matrix and further removed matrix, the ratio of aggrecan to collagen is significantly higher in the case of nucleus pulposus than of annulus fibrosus, a feature that also distinguishes the matrices of the nucleus pulposus and annulus fibrosus in vivo. Nucleus pulposus and annulus fibrosus cells from older donors show a decreased ability to reform a cell-associated matrix rich in aggrecan. There is, however, some evidence that gene therapy and/or exposure of the cells to defined stimulatory factors can help overcome some of these age-related limitations. This contention is supported by recent evidence that nucleus pulposus and annulus fibrosus cells from adult donors can be manipulated to form, using the recently developed alginate-recovered chondrocyte system, a resilient tissue that bears many of the characteristics of the tissue in which these cells reside in vivo.
Treatment of an overactive gag reflex: Two cases

Two cases are presented in which avoidance of dental work was caused by an overactive gag reflex rather than fear. Subjects were able to demonstrate increased control of gagging in the laboratory, and to complete a series of dental visits immediately after treatment and again at 6 or 12 month follow-up. Assessment and treatment strategies which were developed with these subjects are described.
Improving the Uniqueness of Surface Wave Inversion Using Multiple-Mode Dispersion Data

The use of multiple-mode dispersion data in surface wave inversion to derive shear-wave velocity ( vs ) profiles has increased in the past decade as the inclusion of higher mode data can improve the accuracy of the inversion results. However, the error associated with nonuniqueness in the multiple-mode inversion has not been clarified and quantified. This research focuses on the attempt to improve the accuracy of multiple-mode surface wave inversion result by optimizing the use of multiple-mode dispersion data to reduce the error associated with the nonuniqueness in inversion. In this research, an alternative approach was used where inversion of surface wave dispersion data was performed using three distinct modes. Four different vs profiles, representing regular and irregular cases, were used, and multiple-mode dispersion data were synthesized from these profiles using the dynamic stiffness matrix method as the theoretical model. The dispersion data were then inverted using the Levenberg–Marquardt method...
The scale of landscape fragmentation affects herbivore response to vegetation heterogeneity.

Using alternating bands of weeds and broccoli I experimentally manipulated vegetation composition and the spatial scale at which the landscape was fragmented in a factorial design. This experimental approach allowed me to distinguish the effect of spatial scale from that of simple crop heterogeneity on crop herbivores. The importance of scale depended on which insect species were examined. Cabbage aphids (Brevicoryne brassicae) were influenced by vegetation composition at all tested scales of fragmentation; cabbage butterflies (Pieris rapae) were not affected by scale or by composition and flea beetles (Phyllotreta cruciferae) revealed a striking dependence on scale of fragmentation as well as an interaction between scale and composition. This approach shows the importance of dissecting out the effects of scale from other aspects of landscape manipulation, and emphasizes the challenge of developing a theory that will enable prediction of species–specific responses to scale.
National Culture and Information Technology Product Adoption

AbstractNational culture is likely to play a role in Information Technology (IT) adoption. Data from a large scale study of national culture are used to predict the adoption of six information technologies -- PC, Telephone, Cell Phone, Fax, the Internet, and Pager — over a ten year period in thirty one nations. The results show that even after controlling for national economic and social differences, national cultural dimensions significantly predict most IT product adoptions.
A generalized variational formulation

In 1971, B. Vujanovic [I] gave a variational formulation for a broad class of parabolic partial differential equations. Although the formulation was quite unconventional, he and his co-workers [2, 31 have shown that there are numerous applications to be made with excellent results. Following the example of Vujanovic, a generalized variational formulation is given in this paper. This generalized formulation is applicable to any class of equations. Two important examples and a discussion of applications are given. Among Vujanovic’s concerns was the simple heat conduction equation
The impact of genetic background and Bid on the phenotype of Bcl-2-deficiency in mice

How a central apoptosis mechanism could be modulated during a specific developmental or homeostatic process to comply with the specific needs of a particular tissue is poorly understood. Bcl-2 is a key anti-apoptosis regulator and its deletion resulted in multiple defects in mice, indicating its broad involvement in development and homeostasis of various tissues. We found that the severity and extensiveness of the defects could be greatly influenced by the genetic background of the mice. Hence, Bcl-2-deficient mice predominantly on C57BL/6 background had the most severe presentation with increased embryonic lethality, whereas Bcl-2-deficient mice predominantly on 129/SvJ background had a significantly minor phenotype. In particular, the 129/SvJ background could almost completely rescue the polycystic kidney disease phenotype of the Bcl-2 deficiency, resulting in normal renal functions. These observations would be consistent with the assumption that the C57BL/6 background is more pro-death while the 129/SvJ background is more pro-survival. Concurrent deletion of Bid, a BH3-only molecule, in either genetic background, could significantly increase the birth rate of the Bcl-2 deficient progenies and lessen lymphocytopenia, although the double knockout mice still developed the polycystic kidney diseases. Overall, our work indicates that the phenotype of Bcl-2 deficiency can be affected by multiple genetic elements, resulting in tissue-specific modulations of the cell death program during development and cellular homeostasis.
Alterations in Surface Ultrastructure and Anionic Sites of Rat Dimethylhydrazine-Induced Intestinal Tumors

The relative roles of cell surface shedding and electronegative charge as determinants of metastatic capacity were studied in experimentally produced intestinal tumors. The ultrastructural organization and distribution of anionic sites on the luminal plasma membrane surface components were examined in small intestinal and colonic tumors induced in male Sprague-Dawley rats with 1,2-dimethylhydrazine. The overall distribution of negatively charged groups was demonstrated with ruthenium red staining. Compared to normal epithelial cells, neoplastic cells revealed evidence of decreased cell surface shedding as manifested by decreased numbers of membrane-bound bodies, and an increased quantity of glycocalyx. Malignant cell surfaces were directly exposed to the intestinal lumen as a result of losing the enteric surface coat covering. The exposed microvilli appeared damaged with shortening and blunting. The glycocalyx and surface coat both reacted strongly with ruthenium red indicating the presence of anionic sites. As a result of surface coat loss, the malignant cell surface components revealed an overall decrease in net negative charge. These alterations in cell surface component ultrastructure and electronegative charge appear to be consistent with the low capacity for chemically induced rat intestinal tumors to metastasize.
A federal voting mechanism to solve the fiscal-externality problem

Abstract Fiscal externalities arise whenever several countries choose independently some tax or regulation policy. This results into a severe loss for everybody if the taxed or regulated factor is very mobile (for example, this implies a bias toward little or no capital taxation if capital can move easily toward the lowest tax rate). Federalism would induce voters to internalize these externalities but implies full harmonization, which harms countries whose most-preferred policy is too far from the federal median (which may lead them not to enter the federation in the first place). We study a natural, intermediate mechanism between full independence and full federalism introducing flexible divisions of the surplus generated by the removal of these externalities: in the first stage, voting takes place in each country simultaneously in order to choose a federal policy; in the second stage, each country decides through voting whether to adopt the federal policy or to leave the federation, in which case it chooses its own policy and possibly pays a fixed cost to the remaining federation. Even if the fixed cost is null, the federal voting stage acts as a commitment device and softens the inefficiency of full independence by allowing voters to internalize the undesirable effects of federal break-up in stage 2. Moreover the fixed cost can be chosen so that situations where harmonization is desirable get self-selected. As a result, every country always benefits from entering this mechanism combining the benefits of common decision-making with those of flexibility.
Normal sulfobromophthalein retention in established liver disease

The aim of this investigation was to quantify individual indices of sulfobromophthalein (BSP) transport and metabolism in patients with documented liver disease and normal results of the standard BSP retention tests. With the use of bolus-injection and constant-infusion technics, the kinetics of BSP removal were elucidated by determinations reflecting the hepatic functions of uptake, conjugation, storage, and transport maximum (Tm) for biliary excretion. The results in 5 patients with hemochromatosis, 9 with Wilson's disease, and 6 with portal cirrhosis, all with normal BSP retention, were compared with results in 12 cirrhosis patients with abnomal BSP retention and 29 control subjects without clinical or laboratory evidence of liver disease. Among the patients with normal BSP retention, fractional clearance and storage were significantly decreased (p<0.02), whereas Tm and conjugation were normal. Normal results of standard BSP retention tests in established liver disease are sometimes explained as being caused by the dilution effect of an expanded plasma volume, as previously reported. The present investigation has delineated another mechanism, wherein the hepatic injury is such that, with mild impairment of uptake and storage, maintenance of normal Tm was sufficient for the efficient removal of BSP.
Associations between Family Environment, Parenting Practices, and Executive Functioning of Children with and without ADHD.

We examined the relationships between executive functioning, family environment, and parenting practices in children diagnosed with ADHD as compared to children without ADHD. Participants were parents (N = 134) of 6- to 12-year-old ADHD and non-ADHD-diagnosed children. Compared to the control group, parents of children diagnosed with ADHD reported their children as exhibiting greater problems with behavioral control and metacognitive abilities, and described their family environments as less organized and higher in family conflict. Family environment and parenting practices were not correlated with behavioral control or metacognitive abilities in children with ADHD. In children without ADHD, higher levels of family cohesion, organization, and expressiveness, and lower levels of family conflict, were significantly correlated with greater behavioral control. Higher levels of family cohesion and organization were significantly and positively associated with regulation of metacognitive abilities in children without ADHD. In general, aspects of the family environment and parental limit setting appear to be associated with the development of executive functions in children not diagnosed with ADHD; however, family environment and parenting practices were not associated with executive functions in children diagnosed with ADHD.