cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Does Inadequate Prenatal Care Contribute to Growth Retardation among Second-born African-American Babies?

The authors evaluated the relation between adequacy of prenatal care and risk of delivery of full term small-for-gestational-age (SGA) infants. Data were derived from maternally linked birth certificates for 6,325 African-American women whose first two pregnancies ended in singleton, full term live births in Georgia from 1989 through 1992. The authors used stratified analysis to assess the effect of prenatal care on the risk of having an SGA baby in the second pregnancy among women with and without an SGA baby in their first pregnancy. The group of women with a history of SGA birth may be more likely to include persons for whom SGA delivery is related to factors, such as genetics, that are not amenable to intervention by prenatal care. Inadequate prenatal care was not associated with the risk of SGA delivery among women who had previously delivered an SGA baby. In unadjusted analyses, inadequate prenatal care was associated with an increased risk of delivering a full term SGA baby in the second pregnancy among women whose first baby was not SGA (risk ratio = 1.28; 95% confidence interval: 1.05, 1.55). The association did not persist when data were adjusted for confounding variables (odds ratio = 1.11; 95% confidence interval: 0.89, 1.38). Regardless of outcome in the first pregnancy, adequate prenatal care did not reduce the risk of full term SGA birth among second pregnancies in this population.
Effect of Osmolalities Comparable to Those of the Renal Medulla on Function of Human Polymorphonuclear Leukocytes

The effect of hyperosmolality on human polymorphonuclear-leukocyte (PMN) migration, aggregation, adhesion, phagocytosis, and intracellular killing of bacteria was studied to determine whether hyperosmolality comparable to that present in the renal medulla suppressed these functions directly or only as a result of inhibition of complement. Hypertonic sodium chloride or sucrose appeared to suppress migration, aggregation, and adhesion of PMNs directly, because both inhibited these functions at osmolalities that did not inactivate complement. Furthermore, it was found that leukocyte functions that were maintained in plasma freed of complement activity by chelating agents were abolished by the addition of hypertonic sucrose. Intracellular killing of bacteria was impaired by hypertonic sodium chloride, urea, or sucrose. Certain functions of leukocytes were enhanced at osmolalities of 300-400 milliosmols/kg. Aggregation, adhesion, and migration of PMNs were more sensitive to osmotic suppression than was phagocytosis, suggesting that increased susceptibility of the renal medulla to infection might result primarily from osmotic inhibition of leukocyte delivery to the site of infection.
Epitaxial GaAs on Si: Progress and Potential Applications

Recent successes, such as the demonstration of a 1K SRAM, have established epitaxial GaAs on Si substrates as a promising technology rather than a device designer’s dream. For the first time we can seriously consider combining the individual electronic and optical properties of GaAs and Si within a single epitaxial structure. Applications for GaAs on Si range from those that simply utilize the Si as a low-cost, large-areapassive substrate with superior strength and thermal conductivity to the long-sought multifunction integrated circuits where Si and III–V components are integrated within a single monolithic chip. This paper will attempt to provide a realistic appraisal of the potential applications of epitaxial GaAs on Si with emphasis on the special demands imposed by each application and barriers that must be circumvented.
Job Satisfaction in Cancer Prevention and Control: A Survey of the American Society of Preventive Oncology

The American Society for Preventive Oncology (ASPO) was established in 1976 as a professional organization concerned with preventive oncology. Since that time, ASPO has evolved to address not only new scientific areas that have developed, but also the changing needs of its members in terms of
Cellular and intercellular transport pathways in exchange vessels.

The endothelium of lung alveolar capillaries is of the continuous type, that of airway exchange vessels (capillaries and pericytic venules) includes both continuous and fenestrated types. Water and small lipophilic solutes penetrate via the endothelial cells (cell membrane pathway) as well as through intercellular junctions. Hydrophilic solutes are limited to junctional pathways and cytoplasmic vesicles. Permeation of hydrophilic solutes is progressively restricted with increasing molecular size, as by a sieve, with many openings 8 nm and a few 40 to 60 nm wide. In response to local tissue injury or to certain chemical mediators, larger junctional pathways may be opened, greatly increasing permeability to large molecules. Both alveolar capillaries and airway exchange vessels exhibit this response, but the effective stimuli may differ (e.g., alveolar capillaries are insensitive to histamine and bradykinin). Hydrophilic solutes are transported by diffusion, convection, and vesicular exchange (transcytosis). For small ions and molecules (radii 2 nm). Fenestrated endothelia have higher hydraulic conductivities and are more permeable to small ions and molecules than are continuous endothelia. However, their permeabilities to plasma proteins are about the same. Lung alveolar capillary endothelium has lower hydraulic conductivity and lower solute permeabilities than do other continuous endothelia (heart, skeletal muscle). Airway exchange vessel endothelium has about the same permeability to serum albumin as alveolar capillary endothelium.
An Empirical Method to Derive Distances to Stellar Clusters

Based on a (V − K)0 Barnes—Evans relation and accurately-determined radii for the components of eclipsing binary systems, we define three empirical relationships that can be combined to estimate distances to stars. Comparison with Hipparcos trigonometric parallaxes shows that the method provides errors of about 15% for a single star, when reddening is absent, which can be reduced by a factor of ten when applied to young clusters with ~ 100 stars of the appropriate spectral types.
Design of superconducting magnetic bearings with high levitating force for flywheel energy storage systems

Hybrid superconducting magnetic bearing (SMB), using YBCO high temperature superconductors (HTS) coupled with permanent magnets, has been implemented into a flywheel energy storage (FES) system prototype. The hybrid SMB design uses permanent magnets to levitate the rotor weighing 19 kg and superconductors to stabilize the inherently unstable magnet-magnet interactions. The SMB bearings are brought into action under convenient field-cooled conditions. Spin-down performance of the constructed FES prototype was tested under a moderate vacuum. >
Time‐dependent modeling of field‐aligned current‐generated ion transients in the polar wind

The time evolution of field-aligned current-generated transient features in the high-latitude ionosphere is investigated. Ionospheric return currents generate significant downward heavy ion flows in the topside ionosphere with peak values well exceeding 10 to the 8th sq cm/s. When the return current ceases, the polar ionosphere rapidly returns to its previous equilibrium state. During the recovery phase of the return current event, an upward propagating heavy ion transient is formed, which is mainly characterized by a relatively short O(+) upwelling event. On the other hand, the H(+) escape flux remains relatively constant (within 10-20 percent) during field-aligned current events. It is also found that upward currents generate a transient heavy ion outflow, which exceeds the ambient H(+) escape flux by a factor of 3 to 5, depending on the duration and strength of the field-aligned current event.
Role of PKA in the Timing of Developmental Events in Dictyostelium Cells

The cyclic AMP (cAMP)-dependent protein kinase, PKA, is dispensable for growth of Dictyostelium cells but plays a variety of crucial roles in development. The catalytic subunit of PKA is inhibited when associated with its regulatory subunit but is activated when cAMP binds to the regulatory subunit. Deletion of pkaR or overexpression of the gene encoding the catalytic subunit, pkaC, results in constitutive activity. Development is independent of cAMP in strains carrying these genetic alterations and proceeds rapidly to the formation of both spores and stalk cells. However, morphogenesis is aberrant in these mutants. In the wild type, PKA activity functions in a circuit that can spontaneously generate pulses of cAMP necessary for long-range aggregation. It is also essential for transcriptional activation of both prespore and prestalk genes during the slug stage. During culmination, PKA functions in both prespore and prestalk cells to regulate the relative timing of terminal differentiation. A positive feedback loop results in the rapid release of a signal peptide, SDF-2, when prestalk cells are exposed to low levels of SDF-2. The signal transduction pathway that mediates the response to SDF-2 in both prestalk and prespore cells involves the two-component system of DhkA and RegA. When the cAMP phosphodiesterase RegA is inhibited, cAMP accumulates and activates PKA, leading to vacuolation of stalk cells and encapsulation of spores. These studies indicate that multiple inputs regulate PKA activity to control the relative timing of differentiations in Dictyostelium.
Isotropic-nematic phase separation and demixing in mixtures of spherical nanoparticles with length-polydisperse nanorods

An extension of Onsager theory is developed to simulate isotropic–nematic phase separation in a mixture of spheres with length-polydisperse system of rods. This work is motivated by recent experimental data on nanorod liquid crystals. Prior theoretical investigations indicate that both polydispersity and the presence of spheres should increase the biphasic–nematic phase transition, that is, the nematic cloud point. Results indicate that the phase diagrams undergo drastic changes depending upon both particle geometry and rod length polydispersity. The key geometric factor is the ratio between the sphere diameter and the rod diameter. In general, length fractionation is enhanced by the addition of spheres, which may be experimentally advantageous for separating short nanorods from a polydisperse population. Simulation results also indicate that the nematic cloud and shadow curves may cross one another because of the scarcity of spheres in the shadow phase. In general, these results do indicate that the nematic cloud point increases as a function of sphere loading; however, in certain areas of phase space, this relationship is nonmonotonic such that the nematic cloud point may actually decrease with the addition of spheres. This work has application to a wide range of nanoparticle systems, including mixtures of spherical nanoparticles with nanorods or nanotubes. Additionally, a number of nonspherical particles and structures may behave as spheres, including crumpled graphene and tightly coiled polymers. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys, 2012
475: Does delivery indication affect neonatal respiratory complications in the late preterm period?

complications in the late preterm period? Erin Dickert, Erol Amon, Thinh Nguyen, Sara Leibovitz, Jeffrey Gavard Saint Louis University, Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women’s Health, Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Saint Louis, MO, Saint Louis University, Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women’s Health, St Louis, MO, Saint Louis University, Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women’s Health, Saint Louis, MO OBJECTIVE: Determine if delivery indication in the late preterm period affects neonatal respiratory outcomes. STUDY DESIGN: We reviewed 145 mother-infant cohorts at our institution admitted January to June 2010 who subsequently delivered late preterm (34 to 36 weeks gestation). Statistical analyses were performed for 18 obstetrical variables to evaluate outcomes based on delivery indication. Deliveries were categorized as “spontaneous” if preterm labor or PROM with labor occurred. All others were classified as “indicated”. This was further divided into “hard” (non-reassuring fetal heart rate tracing, bleeding, severe pre-eclampsia and PROM with chorioamnionitis) and “soft” (oligohydramnios, PROM, and positive lung maturity) indications. RESULTS: The mean GA at admission was 34 5/7 weeks with a range of 29-36 weeks. Mean maternal age 26.2 years and 55 % were Caucasian. The most common reasons for admission were PPROM (44%) and preterm labor (26%). 52% delivered spontaneously, 27% were delivered for iatrogenic “hard” indications, and 21% with iatrogenic “soft” indications. Infants required delivery room resuscitation 25.7% of the time with an increased proportion at 34 weeks versus later gestational ages. Respiratory complications included RDS, need for respiratory intervention and surfactant use. Infants with respiratory complications were more likely to be African-American (p 0.01), require tocolysis (p 0.001), and be a younger gestational age (p 0.001). However, after controlling for gestational age, respiratory complications were not significantly different between groups based on delivery indication. A three day increase in gestational age would reduce respiratory complications by 94.4%. CONCLUSION: Respiratory complications are some of the most common complications attributed to late preterm birth. In this cohort, the indication for delivery did not predict respiratory complications. However, the data supports previous research that respiratory complications are more likely at earlier gestational ages. If possible, delaying delivery by just a few days will significantly decrease respiratory complications.
Status of high temperature superconductor magnet R&D at BNL

We report the status and test results of the high temperature superconductor (HTS) cable and magnet R&D at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL). If successful, this enhances the performance and reduces the cost of operation of magnets that must absorb a large amount of energy. The need for developing this technology has been seen in a number of high field magnet applications for high energy colliders, and a medium field application in the proposed rare isotope accelerator (RIA). The likelihood of the future use of HTS is improving because of the availability of longer and more uniform length tapes and cables and because of the ongoing construction and test experience at BNL and elsewhere. The design of a super-ferric quadrupole, that must survive the very high radiation environment of RIA, and operate at 20-40 K, is also presented.
Warpage analysis of organic substrates for 2.1D packaging

2.1D packaging is a potential low cost alternative to 2.5D packaging. Instead of using silicon/glass interposers, in 2.1D package, a high-density wiring layer is on the chip side of the substrate acting as an interposer. One of the challenges for 2.1D packaging is the thermal deformation of organic substrates due to their highly asymmetric structure. In this report, we analyzed the thermal warpage of 2.1D substrates by finite element method. The analyses are done on a 3-2-3 build-up layer structure with high-density wiring layers on the chip mounting side, since it has potential applications as multi-chip package products. The analysis showed that the warpage of the test substrate is 250µm for the substrate of 47.5mm×47.5mm in size. The adjustment of the Cu loading ratio of the back build-up layers only reduces the warpage by 17%. We propose a structure in which a circuitry layer and an insulating via layer are added to the back side of the substrate for the warpage reduction. The thickness of the circuitry layer is set equal to the total thickness of the high density circuitry layers. The thickness of via layer is also set equal to the total thickness of the insulating layers between the high-density wiring layers. However we found that the optimum Cu loading ratio for the adjustment circuitry layer is lower than the average Cu loading ratio for the high-density wiring layers by 20 to 40 %. The analysis showed that the proposed substrate structure reduces the warpage significantly.
Integrating Ontological Knowledge and Textual Evidence in Estimating Gene and Gene Product Similarity

With the rising influence of the Gene Ontology, new approaches have emerged where the similarity between genes or gene products is obtained by comparing Gene Ontology code annotations associated with them. So far, these approaches have solely relied on the knowledge encoded in the Gene Ontology and the gene annotations associated with the Gene Ontology database. The goal of this paper is to demonstrate that improvements to these approaches can be obtained by integrating textual evidence extracted from relevant biomedical literature.
A Dickensian Interlude in Galdós’ Rosalía

The homage to Dickens contained in the ‘Nuevos viajes’ essay of Memorias de un desmemoriado includes Galdos’ famous quotation declaring the English writer to be his ‘maestro mas amado’.1 Galdos further acknowledges in this essay that during his ‘aprendizaje literario’ he not only was an avid reader of Dickens’ work, but also was the anonymous translator of the serialized Pickwick Papers which began publication in La Nacion in 1868. During this early stage of Galdos’ career (around 1872), he also wrote and abandoned the manuscript of a novel which only recently has come to light. A portion of this early endeavour was found by Walter Pattison and published as a preliminary version of Gloria.2 Alan Smith later discovered additional fragments and reconstructed the manuscript nearly in its entirety.3 In the absence of a title page, Smith named the novel Rosalia after its heroine who, like the female protagonist of Gloria, falls in love with a foreigner of a different religious faith who comes into her life due...
Elijah Watt Sells Award: A Study Of Previous Winners

This paper reports the results of a survey of winners of the Elijah Watt Sells award. We ask them about the determinants of their success, which might be useful to other students preparing for the CPA exam. The winners graduated from different universities, not necessarily the ones ranked top, and almost all of them participated in a review course. Winners mentioned motivation and many hours of study as factors that determined their success. We also find different characteristics among male and female respondents in terms of age and work experience at the time of the exam.
Hemagglutinins of human parotid and submandibular secretions.

SummaryHuman parotid fluid, submandibular fluid, and serum were assayed for tetanus and diphtheria antibodies. Significant increases in serum diphtheria and tetanus antibody titers occurred subsequent to toxoid administration. The antibody titers of pure parotid and submandibular saliva, however, remained constant. Saliva appears to contain a heterogenic substance which is able to agglutinate cells from horse, rabbit, dog, sheep, and man regardless of blood type or Rh factor.
What Limits Magnetic Polaron Energies in DMS

Magnetic polarons are ferromagnetic spin clusters created by the exchange interaction of a carrier spin (electron or hole) with localized spins imbedded in a semiconductor lattice. They were first studied in magnetic semiconductors [1]; more recently, there have been extensive investigations [2] of polaron behavior in diluted magnetic semiconductors (DMS), such as Cd 1−x Mn x Te. DMS are favorable media for magnetic polaron studies because they have simple s-p bands and excellent optical properties. Two types of magnetic polarons have been identified in DMS - the bound magnetic polaron (BMP), whose carrier is localized by an impurity [3], and the free polaron (FP) consisting of a carrier trapped by its own, self-consistently-maintained, exchange potential [4].
Dissecting the Energetics of Hydrophobic Hydration of Polypeptides

The energetics of water proximal to apolar groups is analyzed from a statistical perspective in the realistic context of polypeptide hydration. Analysis of a series of molecular dynamics simulations of a 16-residue polypeptide in water reveals a correlation between hydrogen bond energy and local packing when there is overcoordination of the water molecules around hydrogen bonds. We show that the origin of the greater strength of hydrogen bonds in the hydrophobic hydration shell when compared to bulk water correlates with the depletion of water nearest neighbors around apolar moieties. The water molecules in the hydrophobic hydration shell sample the hydrogen bonding patterns present in comparable relatively low coordination regions of bulk water. We also find that for hydrophobic hydration shell water molecules the probability distribution of hydrogen bond energies is independent of the number of hydrogen bonds formed with other water molecules inside and outside the polypeptide hydration shell. This lack of correlation of hydrogen bond energy with hydrogen bond number leads to a remarkably accurate simplified statistical model for the energetics of hydrophobic hydration.
Status and Consumer′s Knowledge of Nutritional Labelling of Food in Market in Chengdu

Objective To investigate the status of nutritional labelling of common food and consumer's knowledge of nutritional labelling in Chengdu. Method The status of nutritional labelling of 291 kinds of food packages from 10 categories in seven large supermarkets were investigated, and 366 consumers were randomly selected and interviewed with a questionnaire. The data were analyzed in SPSS13.0. Results The overall labelling rate of food nutrition was 47.1%, and a lot of food(42.3%) only marked ≤3 kinds of nutrition. There was a comparatively great difference on nutritional labelling rate among different kinds of foods, and names and units of nutrients labelled were not uniform. 62.4% consumers would purchase the foods with the nutritional labelling, and 85.2 % consumers argued that the government should take measures to uniform nutritional information printed on food packages. Conclusion The current food labelling in the supermarket is not normative, and the government should take steps in the legislation of food nutritional labelling. The knowledge of consumers to food nutritional labelling is poor, and the government and media should enhance relative propaganda and education to consumers.
Evaluation On Uncertainty Of The Method Of Detecting Manganese Content In Drinking Water By Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometry

Objective To study the uncertainty of measurement of manganese(Mn) Content in drinking water by flame atomic absorption Spectrometry(AAS),and provide evidence for the measurement of Mn Content in drinking water.Methods According to the requirement of the JJF1059-1999 "Evaluation and Expression of Uncertainty in Measurement",the uncertainty of measurement of Mn Content in drinking water by AAS was analyzed and judged.ResultsAccording to the determined results of AAS,The Mn Content in drinking water was 1.11mg/L,the uncertainty was 0.032,the expanded uncertainty was 0.036 mg/L(K=2),the most important resource of the uncertainty emerged from drawing the work curve.ConclusionThe AAS method had a certain value for determining the uncertainty of the measurement of Mn Content in drinking water.
The effect of growth temperature on the nanoscale biochemical surface properties of Yersinia pestis

Yersinia pestis, the causative agent of plague, has been responsible for several recurrent, lethal pandemics in history. Currently, it is an important pathogen to study owing to its virulence, adaptation to different environments during transmission, and potential use in bioterrorism. Here, we report on the changes to Y. pestis surfaces in different external microenvironments, specifically culture temperatures (6, 25, and 37 °C). Using nanoscale imaging coupled with functional mapping, we illustrate that changes in the surfaces of the bacterium from a morphological and biochemical standpoint can be analyzed simultaneously using atomic force microscopy. The results from functional mapping, obtained at a single cell level, show that the density of lipopolysaccharide (measured via terminal N-acetylglucosamine) on Y. pestis grown at 37 °C is only slightly higher than cells grown at 25 °C, but nearly three times higher than cells maintained at 6 °C for an extended period of time, thereby demonstrating that adaptations to different environments can be effectively captured using this technique. This nanoscale evaluation provides a new microscopic approach to study nanoscale properties of bacterial pathogens and investigate adaptations to different external environments.
Andrés Di Tella and Argentine Documentary Film

This chapter analyzes the filmic trajectory of well-known Argentine documentarian Andres Di Tella. The author places Di Tella’s work in dialogue with the most important social and political events of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. More importantly, however, he shows how Di Tella’s work reflects a more general development of Argentine documentary filmmaking at the turn-of-the-millennium: particularly the emergence of the “subjective turn” and the subsequent return to the political. The chapter therefore reads Di Tella’s cinema as a barometer for the evolution and diversity of Argentine documentary filmmaking over the past thirty years.
Nations and Nationalisms Historically

Most historians accept that nationalism was first harnessed as an instrument of politics at the time of the French Revolution — staged in the name of les peuples francais — and the wars waged by Napoleon shortly afterwards. But the antecedent, more protracted process of nation-making that led up to the events in France has proved a murkier subject. In ancient Rome the word natio meant birth or descent; Cicero, for example, had the aristocracy in mind when employing natio. By the twelfth century it referred to a racial group, and for Adrian Hastings ‘[t]here is in fact overwhelming evidence that “nation” was regularly used in the Middle Ages in the Vulgate sense of a people distinct by “language, laws, habits, modes of judgment and customs” — to use an almost defining phrase of Bernard, first Norman Bishop of St David’s, when describing the Welsh as a “nation” to the Pope about 1140’.1 But the word was devoid of any real political significance.
Adaptive Poisson Regression Modeling of Univariate Count Outcomes

This chapter formulates and demonstrates adaptive fractional polynomial modeling of means and dispersions for repeatedly measured count outcomes, possibly converted to rates using offsets. Marginal modeling extends from the multivariate normal outcome context to the multivariate count/rate outcome context. However, due to the complexity in general of computing likelihoods and quasi-likelihoods (as needed to account for non-unit dispersions) for general multivariate marginal modeling, generalized estimating equations (GEE) techniques are often used instead, thereby avoiding computation of likelihoods and quasi-likelihoods. This complicates the extension of adaptive modeling to the GEE context since it is based on cross-validation (CV) scores computed from likelihoods or likelihood-like functions, but a readily computed extended likelihood is formulated for use in adaptive GEE-based modeling of multivariate count/rate outcomes. Conditional modeling also extends to the multivariate count/rate outcome context, both transition modeling and general conditional modeling. In contrast to marginal GEE-based modeling, conditional modeling of means for multivariate count/rate outcomes with unit dispersions is based on pseudolikelihoods that can be used to compute pseudolikelihood CV (PLCV) scores on which to base adaptive transition and general conditional modeling of multivariate count/rate outcomes. These marginal and conditional models can be extended to model dispersions as well as means. Example analyses of these kinds are presented of the post-baseline seizure rates per day over time for patients with epilepsy in terms of the baseline seizure rate, clinic visit, and treatment group (prescribed the drug progabide versus a placebo).
From Łódź to Litzmannstadt: German Pasts and Holocaust Sites in Post-Communist Poland

Since 1989, politicians and activists in the Polish city of Łodź have deployed the city’s German past in countervailing ways. On the one hand, the local search for a multicultural heritage has fostered the reemergence of the “Good German” narrative in tourism materials. On the other hand, renewed efforts in Łodź and in Poland more generally to stress German culpability for the Holocaust have contributed to the city’s privileging of the term Litzmannstadt Ghetto over Łodź Ghetto . Viewed from the perspective of local, national, and international agendas, the rediscovery of Litzmannstadt as a term and a concept reveals the interrelated and contested nature of German and Jewish legacies in contemporary Polish politics.
Capacity for Empathy and Emotional Contagion in Those With Psychopathic Personalities

People with psychopathic traits are sometimes adept at recognizing the emotions of others and using this knowledge in anti-social ways. However, data from incarcerated psychopaths suggest that they are incapable of true empathy. In this paper, we describe three studies that link psychopathic personality to emotional contagion and empathy, and we offer suggestions for reconciling the seemingly conflicting data. While most studies of psychopathic personality assess incarcerated respondents, the resulting data may not be generalizable to non-criminals; participants in these studies were recruited from the general population. The research confirms that empathy and emotional contagion are positively correlated and that each is negatively correlated with psychopathy, as expected. Unique to these studies is the finding that, when instructed, those with psychopathic traits can easily “catch” the emotions of others via the steps of the emotional contagion pathway, thus implying their capacity for empathy. However, without instruction, those with psychopathic traits did not automatically catch others’ emotions.
Fluoroethoxy-1,4-diphenethylpiperidine and piperazine derivatives: Potent and selective inhibitors of [ 3 H]dopamine uptake at the vesicular monoamine transporter-2

Abstract A small library of fluoroethoxy-1,4-diphenethyl piperidine and fluoroethoxy-1,4-diphenethyl piperazine derivatives were designed, synthesized and evaluated for their ability to inhibit [3H]dopamine (DA) uptake at the vesicular monoamine transporter-2 (VMAT2) and dopamine transporter (DAT), [3H]serotonin (5-HT) uptake at the serotonin transporter (SERT), and [3H]dofetilide binding at the human-ether-a-go-go-related gene (hERG) channel. The majority of the compounds exhibited potent inhibition of [3H]DA uptake at VMAT2, Ki changes in the nanomolar range (Ki = 0.014–0.073 µM). Compound 15d exhibited the highest affinity (Ki = 0.014 µM) at VMAT2, and had 160-, 5-, and 60-fold greater selectivity for VMAT2 vs. DAT, SERT and hERG, respectively. Compound 15b exhibited the greatest selectivity (>60-fold) for VMAT2 relative to all the other targets evaluated, and 15b had high affinity for VMAT2 (Ki = 0.073 µM). Compound 15b was considered the lead compound from this analog series due to its high affinity and selectivity for VMAT2.
Board Risk Committees: Insurer Financial Strength Ratings and Performance

Abstract We hypothesize and find that the existence of a board risk committee is positively related to A.M. Best’s Financial Strength Ratings, a measure widely used in the insurance industry to assess financial health. Using a sample of insurance firms from 2007 to 2013, we measure the impact of board risk committees on financial strength ratings and performance after controlling for various factors such as corporate governance characteristics. We find that firms with board risk committees report higher financial strength ratings, but only in the post-financial crisis period. Also, the formation of a board risk committee is positively associated with an increase in financial strength ratings from the year prior to committee formation to the year after committee formation. Further, we find that the presence of a board risk committee is not related to short-run firm performance benefits and that it takes five years for the presence of a board risk committee to be associated with future performance. Overall, our results provide evidence suggesting board risk committees are effective and beneficial from the standpoint of rating agencies and long-term financial performance.
Allergic Disease of the Eye

Allergic eye disease is a bilateral immune-mediated process of the ocular surface that occurs in up to 25 % of the population of developed countries. Four entities are described as having at least in part some portion of their pathogenesis emanating from mast cell activation: seasonal allergic conjunctivitis (SAC), atopic keratoconjunctivitis (AKC), vernal keratoconjunctivitis (VKC), and giant papillary conjunctivitis (GPC). SAC and GPC are non-vision threatening whereas AKC and VKC may lead to vision loss. The severe forms of allergic disease, AKC and VKC have an immune-mediated pathogenesis as well as mast cell activation. GPC is considered iatrogenic due to the presence of an ocular surface foreign body such as contact lens or an exposed suture. Treatment of allergic eye disease may be as simple as administration of artificial tears or topical antihistamines through to as complex as the need for topical or oral steroids as well as immunomodulatory therapy. Contact dermatitis may occur in the periocular region. The periocular form of contact dermatitis is most commonly associated with topical ophthalmic pharmaceutical agents. Antiviral and glaucoma medications are some of the more common medications implicated. In vivo conjunctival provocation testing is an ocular equivalent of skin testing to determine sensitivity to specific antigens. This may be used experimentally to develop a reproducible human model of allergic eye disease and has been utilized to test new pharmaceutical agents.
Electron Stopping Powers for Transport Calculations

The reliability of radiation transport calculations depends on the accuracy of the input cross sections. Therefore, it is essential to review and update the cross sections from time to time. Even though the main interest of my group at NBS is in transport calculations and their applications, we find ourselves spending almost as much time on the analysis and preparation of cross sections as on the development of transport codes. Stopping powers, photon attenuation coefficients, bremsstrahlung cross sections, and elastic-scattering cross sections in recent years have claimed our attention, (see, for example, Chapters 2 and 4)*. This chapter deals with electron stopping powers (with emphasis on collision stopping powers), and reviews the state of the art as reflected by Report 37 of the International Commission on Radiation Units and Measurements2.
Bacterial and Snake Venom Phospholipases: Enzymatic Probes in the Study of Structure and Function in Bioelectrically Excitable Tissues

Many of a cell’s most vital processes are associated with its membrane systems: plasma, mitochondrial, nuclear, and so on. The characteristic function of bioelectrically excitable tissue such as nerve and muscle, i.e., the conduction of an electrical signal, is accomplished by the rapid and reversible alteration of the electrical potential across their plasma membranes. In addition to this specialized property, electrically excitable membranes are also the site of maintenance of selective cellular permeability, active transport processes, and numerous other functions which are characteristic of all cells. If we are to understand how a nerve, muscle, or synapse can carry out these multiple activities, we must first attain a better understanding of the organization and functioning of the major constituents of their plasma membranes. Those of us working with membranal phospholipids like to believe the quote of Thudichum (1884), that pioneer in phospholipid chemistry who said that “Phosphatides are the centre, life and chemical soul of all bioplasm…”. It has, however, been difficult to prove specific functions for phospholipids in the nervous system, even though phospholipids do have an active metabolism and rapid turnover both in brain and peripheral nerves (Ansell, 1973; Hawthorne, 1973). If phospholipids were just the inert cement of the membranes, one would wonder what this metabolism accomplishes. In quantitative terms phospholipids are the major lipid constituent of bioelectrically excitable tissues.
Clinical Implications of Heparin

The one clinical use for heparin (among the many suggested) that has remained unchallenged for the last quarter-century is its potential effectiveness as an antithrombotic agent.
Creativity and Responsibility

In the popular imagination, creative individuals are often seen as oblivious to the ties of responsibility that hobble lesser mortals. They tend to be depicted as arrogant and insensitive, disdaining social values and obligations. In part this image has been the unintended result of Europe’s emancipation from the weight of tradition that followed the humanistic turn of the Renaissance.
Prolegomenon to a Realistic Philosophy of Science

The theoretical path from natural science to the philosophy of science proceeds along the outlines of the logic of science. But the “philosophy of science” is something more than the “logic of science.” We have attempted to explicate some aspects of the logical structure of science, especially with reference to its methodological and epistemological rationale, in the two preceding chapters. And in that context it was noted that our theoretical analyses contained certain logical consequences for the philosophy of science in general. Generally speaking, two things point toward a reconstruction in the philosophy of science: One of these factors consists of the interpretation of the phenomena of gestalt psychology and genetic psychology (as well as functional psychology); and the other factor consists of the synthetic integration of the ramifications of the epistomological conceptions which we have discerned at the foundation of empirical psychology. The objective of this last chapter, then, will be to sketch the prolegomenon to a reconstruction in the philosophy of science from the standpoint of phenomenological realism.
Partial Penectomy for Dry Penile Gangrene in a Patient With Penile Calciphylaxis

Penile calciphylaxis is a difficult urologic condition to manage. First described by Wood et al in 1997, penile calciphylaxis is a rare cause of penile gangrene.1 One study found the overall mortality rate associated with penile calciphylaxis to be 64%, with a mean time to death of 2.5 months.2 Additionally, no statistically significant difference in survival has been seen between patients treated with penectomy and those treated nonoperatively.3 We report a case of penile calciphylaxis in a patient treated with partial penectomy with scrotoplasty who has survived greater than 1 year without any complication or progression of disease.
Companion Cyborgs: Untethering Discourses About Wolf-Hybrids

Wolf hybrids present a case study for deconstructing and critiquing how the nature/culture dualism permeates discourses about and constitutes human relationships with “wild” and “domestic” animals....
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study: Impact of Changes From DSM-IV to DSM-5.

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), used to diagnose psychiatric disorders, was revised to DSM-5 in 2013. Changes were made to the criteria for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), a disorder with a lifetime prevalence of 1% to 3% in children.1 Prior revisions to OCD criteria (from DSM-III to DSM-IV) resulted in lower reported prevalence rates,2 but this is not yet clear with DSM-5. In DSM-5, the definition of obsessions was broadened (Table 1), and the requirement that obsessions cause marked anxiety or distress was removed. Thus we examined rates of OCD within the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study3 using both DSM-IV and DSM-5 criteria.
The Laurentian Great Lakes: A Biogeochemical Test Bed

The Laurentian Great Lakes are vast, spatially heterogeneous, and changing. Across these hydrologically linked basins, some conditions approach biogeochemical extremes for freshwater systems anywhe...
Further analysis of CCN data at a mid-Antarctica Peninsula field site

Abstract Observations of very low atmospheric cloud condensation nuclei occurred about 10% of the daytime sampling periods at Palmer Station during February 1994. These measurements were not only observed following typical nuclei reducing weather events or phenomena. We do advocate the need and worthiness for a more comprehensive study to assess the frequency of low nuclei concentrations. The comprehensive study would include concurrent CCN activity spectra, individual nuclei or aerosol morphology and corresponding chemical composition, meteorology, atmospheric chemistry, and radiation measurements made simultaneously at least at Palmer. The study will contribute to the understanding of such very low nuclei event occurrence, to a more quantified assessment of their climatic relevance for this region, and to the development of a more viable aerosol measurement system. A suggested functional definition for a viable aerosol measurement system is provided.
Partial discharge diagnosis algorithm for multi-source ultrasound detection based on time series integration

The method based on ultrasound detection is commonly used in the scenes of on-line monitoring and live detection for partial discharge of power equipment. However, due to the different detection time, detection type and monitoring mode, the ultrasound detection data is isolated. Based on the condition, a partial discharge diagnosis algorithm for multi-source ultrasound detection based on time series integration is designed. Based on different types of ultrasonic amplitude maps, ultrasonic waveform maps, ultrasonic phase maps, ultrasonic flight maps, and ultrasonic audio sound maps of power equipment, the algorithm designs different single-map diagnosis algorithms according to different features of ultrasound maps. The time series integration is acted for diagnosis results of multiple maps in the same source of partial discharge, and an integration learning algorithm based on Adaboost is designed. Through training and learning, the source type of the partial discharge is obtained to achieve the effective diagnosis of the partial discharge signal. Compared with the traditional diagnosis algorithm for partial discharge based on single type and single map, this method with strong robustness can adapt to different partial discharge recognition scenes based on ultrasound detection, and effectively improves the accurate recognition for PD type of power equipment.
State-space Modeling of Multi-mode-controlled Induction Motor Drive

The theory of switched systems which focuses on stability and control synthesis of systems with multiple modes or different dynamics, has gained significant attention from control theorists, computer scientists, and practicing engineers. Switching between motor controllers due to sensor faults, faster response, or targeted dynamics, open a new dimension of shaping a motor drive's performance. There are three main types of control strategies for induction motor drives: constant volts per hertz (V/f) control, field-oriented control (FOC), and direct torque control (DTC). Multi-mode-controlled induction motor drive can be modelled as a switched system where each control mode results in different motor dynamics. In this paper, a comprehensive state-space model of an induction motor drive under different control mode is developed11This work is supported by the National Science Foundation under Award 1752297.. Detailed analysis as well as simulation results are included to demonstrate the validity of the state-space representation for induction motor under different mode.
Funding Stem Cell Research: The Convergence of Science, Religion & Politics in the Formation of Public Health Policy

The controversy over the funding of stem cell research by the federal government is used as a case study for examining how policy choices are made in the field of public bioethics. This article examines the manner in which the decision to fund stem cell research has been influenced by the convergence of evolving scientific knowledge, conflicting religious values, and the role of elected officials in a representative democracy. The article begins by reviewing the current state of scientific knowledge concerning adult stem cells, embryonic stem cells, induced pluripotent stem cells, and the process of direct cell re-programming. Because each of these four areas of regenerative medicine possess advantages and disadvantages as a potential source of medical treatment, it appears that non-scientific considerations explain the decisions of policymakers to favor or disfavor particular types of research. Next, the article surveys the official positions of major religious faiths in the United States in regards to stem cell research, and concludes that there are a variety of differing religious perspectives concerning both the moral status of the embryo and our society’s affirmative obligation to heal the sick. In addition, the article discusses the bifurcated funding landscape for stem cell research, whereby individual states and the federal government both currently provide some measure of research support. Finally, this article concludes by asserting two neutral principles that should guide elected officials in the future when they consider whether to fund medical research in controversial areas: 1) the federal government should be the preferred source of funding for basic medical research and 2) government funding decisions should not favor one religious perspective over another.
Geographical Perspectives on Riverbank Erosion, Charlands, and Floodplains

Based on two-dimensional planform data on channel area and distance, interpreted from non-sequential snapshots of the Google Earth satellite imagery, the main objective of this study is to analyze spatial variations in morphological instabilities in major rivers of Bangladesh. The results indicate that while riverbank erosion is a pervasive problem in all of the major rivers of Bangladesh, there are significant spatial variations in densities of channel bars from one river section to another. It further relates such channel instabilities to longer-term lateral channel migration responsible for successive bank erosion and accumulation of charlands and floodplains.
Membrane traffic in sphingolipid storage diseases.

In this review, we summarize our studies of membrane lipid transport in sphingolipid storage disease (SLSD) fibroblasts. We recently showed that several fluorescent SL analogs were internalized from the plasma membrane predominantly to the Golgi complex of normal cells, while in ten different SLSD cell types, these lipids accumulated in endosomes and lysosomes (The Lancet 1999;354: 901–905). Additional studies showed that cholesterol homeostasis is perturbed in multiple SLSDs secondary to SL accumulation and that mistargeting of SL analogs was regulated by cholesterol (Nature Cell Biol 1999;1: 386–388). Based on these findings, we hypothesize that endogenous sphingolipids, which accumulate in SLSD cells due to primary defects in lipid catabolism, result in an altered intracellular distribution of cholesterol, and that this alteration in membrane composition then results in defective sorting and transport of SLs. The importance of SL/cholesterol interactions and potential mechanisms underlying the regulation of lipid transport and targeting are also discussed. These studies suggest a new paradigm for regulation of membrane lipid traffic along the endocytic pathway and could have important implications for future studies of protein trafficking as well as lipid transport. This work may also lead to important future clinical developments (e.g. screening tests for SLSD, new methodology for screening drugs which abrogate lipid storage, and possible therapeutic approaches to SLSD).