cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Toxoplasma Gondii Actin Assembles via Isodesmic Polymerization

The protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii relies on actin polymerization for motility and host cell invasion. Despite this strict requirement for actin filaments, T. gondii actin (TgACTI) remains largely unpolymerized in vivo and recombinant TgACTI only forms short filaments in vitro. TgACTI has several amino acid substitutions when compared with muscle actin, and our previous work showed that these changes significantly diminish the lateral contacts and interactions within the actin filament. The net result is that the two strands of the filament assemble with less cooperativity and not surprisingly this has significant effects on the polymerization kinetics. Here we show that the highly unusual characteristics of TgACTI result from isodesmic polymerization rather than the nucleation-elongation kinetics of conventional eukaryotic actins. TgACTI polymerization kinetics lack a lag phase and critical concentration, and all of the results from dynamic light scattering, dilution induced depolymerization, and sedimentation can be fit using a single pair of kinetic rate constants. These findings expand the repertoire of how actin functions in cell motility and offer clues about the evolution of self-assembling, stabilized protein polymers.
Multipurpose Professional Growth Sequence: The Catwalk Problem as a Paradigmatic Example.

Abstract An important concern in mathematics teacher education is how to create learning opportunities for prospective and practicing teachers that make a difference in their professional growth as educators. The first purpose of this article is to describe one way of working with prospective and practicing teachers in a graduate mathematics education course that holds promise for positively influencing the way teachers think about mathematics, about student learning, and about mathematics teaching. Specifically, I use the “catwalk” task as an example of how a single problem can serve as the basis for a coherent sequence of professional learning experiences. A second purpose of this article is to provide background information that contextualizes the subsequent two articles, each of which details the positive influence of the catwalk task sequence on the authors’ professional growth.
A far ultraviolet photometer for space research

Far UV photometer for space research, isolating specific bands by combining spectral response of individual solar blind photocathodes with thin metallic films transmission qualities
Neurotrophins protect against cytosine arabinoside-induced apoptosis of immature rat cerebellar neurons.

Neurotrophin-induced neuroprotection against apoptosis was investigated using immature cultured cerebellar granule cells (CGC) from newborn rat pups. Apoptotic cell death induced by treatment with cytosine arabinoside (AraC) was confirmed by DNA fragmentation and quantified by cell survival assays. AraC was most effective in inducing apoptosis when added to CGC on the day of culture preparation, while less or no effect was observed when added at 24 or 48 h after plating, respectively. Pretreatment of CGC cultures for 24 h with brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) or neurotrophin-4 (NT-4), but not neurotrophin-3 (NT-3), robustly protected against AraC neurotoxicity. K252a, an inhibitor of the tropomyosin-related kinase (Trk) tyrosine kinase receptor family which showed no toxicity by itself, blocked BDNF protection of AraC-induced apoptosis in a concentration-dependent manner. Neither protein kinase C activation nor inhibition mimicked or affected BDNF protection against AraC neurotoxicity. BDNF, but not NT-3, treatment of immature CGC caused a marked, but transient activation of Akt through phosphatidylinositol (PI) 3-kinase. The neuroprotective effects of BDNF were suppressed by pretreatment with LY 294002 (a PI 3-kinase inhibitor). BDNF neuroprotection was also preceded by activation of mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) and suppressed by two MAPK/ERK (MEK)-selective inhibitors, PD 98059 and U-0126. Moreover, inhibitors of PI 3-kinase and MEK potentiated AraC-induced neurotoxicity. These results show that neurotrophins protect against AraC-induced apoptosis, at least in part, through TrkB-mediated activation of the PI 3-kinase/Akt and MEK signaling pathways.
Factors associated with experiences of stigma in a sample of HIV-positive, methamphetamine-using men who have sex with men.

Background While methamphetamine users report high rates of internalized or self-stigma, few studies have examined experiences of stigma (i.e., stigmatization by others) and its correlates.
Adult proxy responses to a survey of children's dermal soil contact activities.

Contaminated site cleanup decisions may require estimation of dermal exposures to soil. Telephone surveys represent one means of obtaining relevant activity pattern data. The initial Soil Contact Survey (SCS-I), which primarily gathered information on the activities of adults, was conducted in 1996. Data describing adult behaviors have been previously reported. Results from a second Soil Contact Survey (SCS-II), performed in 1998–1999 and focused on children's activity patterns, are reported here. Telephone surveys were used to query a randomly selected sample of U.S. households. A randomly chosen child, under the age of 18 years, was targeted in each responding household having children. Play activities as well as bathing patterns were investigated to quantify total exposure time, defined as activity time plus delay until washing. Of 680 total survey respondents, 500 (73.5%) reported that their child played outdoors on bare dirt or mixed grass and dirt surfaces. Among these “players,” the median reported play frequency was 7 days/week in warm weather and 3 days/week in cold weather. Median play duration was 3 h/day in warm weather and 1 h/day in cold weather. Hand washes were reported to occur a median of 4 times per day in both warm and cold weather months. Bath or shower median frequency was seven times per week in both warm and cold weather. Finally, based on clothing choice data gathered in SCS-I, a median of about 37% of total skin surface is estimated to be exposed during young children's warm weather outdoor play.
3α-Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenase Type III Deficiency: A Novel Mechanism for Hirsutism

Context: Dihydrotestosterone (DHT), the primary active androgen in peripheral target tissues, is metabolized by 3α-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type III (3α-HSD), encoded by the AKR1C2 gene, forming 5α-androstane-3α,17β-diol (3α-diol). 3α-HSD may play a role in the pathogenesis of hirsutism. Objectives: Our objective was to evaluate the role of 3α-HSD in hirsutism by comparing 1) tissue levels of active androgens, 2) relative gene expression of AKR1C2, and 3) activity of 3α-HSD in genital skin from normal and hirsute women. Design: Genital skin was obtained from normal and hirsute women. After homogenization, testosterone (T) and DHT levels were quantified by conventional RIA. From isolated RNA, relative expression of AKR1C2 was determined by real-time PCR. In addition, minced genital skin was incubated with [3H]DHT, and the product, [3H]3α-diol, was quantified by radio-HPLC. Setting: The study took place at an inner-city hospital. Patients: Patients included women undergoing posterior colporrhaphy. Main ...
A hierarchical evolutionary algorithm for multiobjective optimization in IMRT.

Purpose: The current inverse planning methods for intensity modulated radiation therapy IMRT are limited because they are not designed to explore the trade-offs between the competing objectives of tumor and normal tissues. The goal was to develop an efficient multiobjective optimization algorithm that was flexible enough to handle any form of objective function and that resulted in a set of Pareto optimal plans. Methods: A hierarchical evolutionary multiobjective algorithm designed to quickly generate a small diverse Pareto optimal set of IMRT plans that meet all clinical constraints and reflect the optimal trade-offs in any radiation therapy plan was developed. The top level of the hierarchical algorithm is a multiobjective evolutionary algorithm MOEA. The genes of the individuals generated in the MOEA are the parameters that define the penalty function minimized during an accelerated deterministic IMRT optimization that represents the bottom level of the hierarchy. The MOEA incorporates clinical criteria to restrict the search space through protocol objectives and then uses Pareto optimality among the fitness objectives to select individuals. The population size is not fixed, but a specialized niche effect, domination advantage, is used to control the population and plan diversity. The number of fitness objectives is kept to a minimum for greater selective pressure, but the number of genes is expanded for flexibility that allows a better approximation of the Pareto front. Results: The MOEA improvements were evaluated for two example prostate cases with one target and two organs at risk OARs. The population of plans generated by the modified MOEA was closer to the Pareto front than populations of plans generated using a standard genetic algorithm package. Statistical significance of the method was established by compiling the results of 25 multiobjective optimizations using each method. From these sets of 12‐15 plans, any random plan selected from a MOEA population had a 11.3%0.7% chance of dominating any random plan selected by a standard genetic package with 0.04%0.02% chance of domination in reverse. By implementing domination advantage and protocol objectives, small and diverse populations of clinically acceptable plans that approximated the Pareto front could be generated in a fraction of 1 h. Acceleration techniques implemented on both levels of the hierarchical algorithm resulted in short, practical runtimes for multiobjective optimizations. Conclusions: The MOEA produces a diverse Pareto optimal set of plans that meet all dosimetric protocol criteria in a feasible amount of time. The final goal is to improve practical aspects of the algorithm and integrate it with a decision analysis tool or human interface for selection of the IMRT plan with the best possible balance of successful treatment of the target with low OAR dose and low risk of complication for any specific patient situation. © 2010 American Association of Physicists in Medicine. DOI: 10.1118/1.3478276
Properties of certain algebras between L∞and H∞

The main result of this paper is that if F is a closed subset of the unit circle, then (H∞ + LF∞)H∞ is an M-ideal of L∞H∞. Consequently, if ƒ ∈ L∞ then ƒ has a closest element in H∞ + LF∞. Furthermore, if ¦F¦ >0 thenL∞(H∞ + LF∞) is not the dual of any Banach space.
Rock-avalanche characteristics in dry climates and the effect of flow into lakes: Insights from mid-Tertiary sedimentary breccias near Artillery Peak, Arizona

Rock-avalanche deposits can be significant components of aggradational sequences formed in dry climates. Features distinguishing such deposits from their closest counterparts, debris-flow deposits, reflect the higher energies and shear strengths associated with rock-avalanche lobes, and their tendency to generate their own matrix through pulverization associated with the failure event. Evaluation of sedimentary breccias in Oligocene-Miocene strata deposited under dry climatic conditions in west-central Arizona indicates that many are of rock-avalanche origin. Some are sufficiently large to have represented large rock avalanches (that is, sturzstroms) at the time of emplacement and display features consistent with descriptions of such lobes. Some rock-avalanche deposits interbedded with lacustrine sediments represent initially subaerial lobes that flowed into lakes. These bodies locally are intruded by substrate-derived injection structures and contaminated by lakebed mud; mud contamination was initially concentrated along the bases of lobes but affected a progressively greater proportion of the flows with increasing subaqueous runout. Contaminated portions of rock-avalanche lobes exhibit features consistent with decreased shear strength, and thoroughly contaminated lobes appear to have transformed into slow-moving, slurry-like flows that experienced internal cycling of debris.
Pattern of olfactory bulb innervation returns after recovery from reversible peripheral deafferentation.

The olfactory epithelium (OE) is unusual in its ability to regenerate and reinnervate its target, the olfactory bulb (OB), after deafferentation. To address the question of whether olfactory receptor neuron (ORN) axons preserve their topographic organization when they reestablish synaptic contact with the OB, the authors examined the pattern of ORN axon reinnervation into the bulb of adult H-OMP-lacZ-6 transgenic mice during and after recovery from chemical deafferentation. In the H-OMP-lacZ-6 mouse strain, lacZ expression is limited to a subset of ORNs that are distributed bilaterally in the OE and project primarily to a few glomeruli in the ventromedial region of the OB. The OE was lesioned by intranasal irrigation with Triton X-100, and the distribution of 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl-β-D-galactopyranoside (X-gal)-stained cells was examined in the OE along with β-galactosidase-immunoreactive (β-gal-ir) axonal processes in the OB after short (1 week), intermediate (3 week), and long (6–7 weeks) recovery times. One week after the lesion, immunostaining for β-gal and olfactory marker protein was virtually eliminated in the bulb. After 3 weeks of recovery, β-gal-containing axons appeared to target many of the same locations innervated in bulbs of unlesioned mice. The region that received the highest density of axonal innervation in controls, however, contained only a few processes at that time. After 6–7 week recovery periods, the pattern of X-gal staining in the OE and β-gal-ir axons in the OB closely resembled that of unlesioned mice. These results demonstrate that the topographic distribution of ORNs in the OE and the pattern of axon innervation in the OB can be reconstituted after chemical deafferentation. J. Comp. Neurol. 421:362–373, 2000. © 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
A Single Case Study: treating Migraine Headache with Acupuncture, Chinese Herbs, and diet:

Background:Acupuncture is an often sought-out treatment modality for migraine. The World Health Organization lists headache as one of the several conditions treated effectively by acupuncture.Case ...
MR-TRIAGE: Scalable multi-criteria clustering for big data security intelligence applications

Security companies have recently realised that mining massive amounts of security data can help generate actionable intelligence and improve their understanding of Internet attacks. In particular, attack attribution and situational understanding are considered critical aspects to effectively deal with emerging, increasingly sophisticated Internet attacks. This requires highly scalable analysis tools to help analysts classify, correlate and prioritise security events, depending on their likely impact and threat level. However, this security data mining process typically involves a considerable amount of features interacting in a non-obvious way, which makes it inherently complex. To deal with this challenge, we introduce MR-TRIAGE, a set of distributed algorithms built on MapReduce that can perform scalable multi-criteria data clustering on large security data sets and identify complex relationships hidden in massive datasets. The MR-TRIAGE workflow is made of a scalable data summarisation, followed by scalable graph clustering algorithms in which we integrate multi-criteria evaluation techniques. Theoretical computational complexity of the proposed parallel algorithms are discussed and analysed. The experimental results demonstrate that the algorithms can scale well and efficiently process large security datasets on commodity hardware. Our approach can effectively cluster any type of security events (e.g., spam emails, spear-phishing attacks, etc) that are sharing at least some commonalities among a number of predefined features.
Headache-free controls? Evidence of headaches in individuals who deny having headaches during diagnostic screening.

In the course of two studies investigating whether individuals with recurrent tension headache differ from headache-free controls in the frequency and appraisal of stressful life events, subjects were asked to complete a headache diary for I week. Subjects in the headache-free control group were screened twice and reported having infrequent headaches (two or less per month). However, 13 of 38 control subjects reported multiple headache days on their headache diaries. These subjects also reported a greater frequency of stressful events and a greater stress impact score. These results suggest that a careful screening of control subjects may be necessary in studies theft examine differences between subjects with recurrent headache and headache-free controls. There is also some evidence that the inclusion of these subjects in a control group may bias the sample, making it less likely to find between-group differences.
Slow relaxation of the spin doublet decamethylferrocenium cation as a probe for spin on organo-polycyanides, new organoferromagnets

The contributions of Mossbauer spectroscopy and susceptibility studies to the discovery of a variety of new and some cases unprecedented magnetic behavior in polymeric charge transfer salts are highlighted.
Artificial Crosses of Western North American Silenes

The genus Silene (Caryophyllaceae) is well represented in western North America. Of the forty-five native perennials on the continent, thirty-three occur west of the Cordilleran axis. The rarity with which one encounters taxonomically difficult silenes in western ,North America attests to the sharp morphological discontinuities separating most of the species. Hitchcock and Maguire (1947), however, in their monograph of the North American species, state that "interspecific' relationships within Silene are difficult to interpret. While there are readily recognizable and natural alignments, many species and groups seem to be polyphyletic and their relationships to be reticulate." Thus, although the species themselves are uncomplicated taxonomically, questions relative to the evolutionary history of such a well-marked array of species immediately appear. Has, for instance, genetic isolation kept pace with morphological divergence? Can evidence from cytology and from artificial interspecific hybridization contribute to a scheme of relationship for the western North American species? For the past several years, I have been attempting to answer these and other questions by getting information on the crossability and interfertility, as well as correlative information on the morphology and ecology of North American silenes. Chromosome numbers on all but eight species have been published elsewhere (Kruckeberg 1954, 1960). Twelve interspecific crosses involving eight western North American species (Kruckeberg 1955), were uniformly successful but the hybrids were all sterile to a high degree. Both homoploid and heteroploid2 hybrids exhibited considerable meiotic irregularity during microsporogenesis. The results reported in the 1955 paper were admittedly preliminary, as onlly a small proportion of the native western species were involved. Since that time, all but five of the 33 western species have been intercrossed at least to some extent. The results of the more extensive hybridization program, including data on more than 200 hybrids, are to be presented in this paper. All parent plants used in the hybridization program were collected in the wild. Table 1 gives the origin and chromosome number of the plants in the living collection; 34 taxa are represented. Parent plants were grown in the greenhouse either from roots or seeds collected in the field. The tap roots are usually thick and long, bearing a simple or multicipital caudex that produces one to several flower-bearing or vegetative stems; collected roots often do not last more than a year in cultivation. Plants grown from seed are longer lived; they commonly flower in the first year. All hybridizations were made in the greenhouse, usually in insect-proof cages. Silenes are easy to hybridize. The flowers are large and borne in open, simple or compound cymes. Species with perfect flowers are protandrous; the ten stamens are exserted in two successive sets. Both sets can be removed at once; stigmas are receptive later the same day or the following day. For "wide"
A Pilot Study of Antithrombin III Supplementation during Neonatal Extracorporeal Support (ECLS). † 219

A Pilot Study of Antithrombin III Supplementation during Neonatal Extracorporeal Support (ECLS). † 219
Affective and semantic priming: Effects of mood on category accessibility and inference

Abstract When a person can be described by both a positive and a negative trait, a perceiver's mood may influence which trait category is accessed for subsequent inferences about the person's behavior. A positive mood should prime the positive trait category and activate knowledge associated with it. As a result, the person should be perceived as more likely to engage in behaviors implied by the positive trait category. Similar predictions can be made about the effects of negative mood. Two studies tested these hypotheses. In Study 1, positive, neutral, or negative moods were induced through exposure to brief stories with happy, neutral, or sad content. Then, in an allegedly unrelated experiment, subjects read about four stimulus persons, each described by a positive and a negative trait category (e.g., moody and warm), and rated the likelihood that the targets would engage in behaviors applicable to the positive trait, behaviors applicable to the negative trait, and behaviors that were simply positive and negative but not applicable to either trait. Positive mood increased the likelihood estimates of behaviors applicable to the positive trait category, while negative moods increased the likelihood estimates of behaviors applicable to the negative trait category. The likelihood estimates for behavior nonapplicable to either trait category were unaffected by subjects' mood. Study 2, using a facial feedback technique and using somewhat richer stimuli, replicated the findings of Study 1 for negative mood and suggests that the effect is mediated by moods increasing the accessibility of mood congruent trait categories. The implications of the results for research on category accessibility and on moods are discussed.
An electron microscopic investigation of glycogen and mitochondria in developing and adult rat spinal motor neuropil

The number of glycogen particles contained in synaptic boutons and the relative bouton volume occupied by mitochondrial profiles have been determined for the spinal motor neuropil (C6 spinal cord segment) of perinatal and adult rats. This study shows that the bouton glycogen content is much greater in perinatal specimens than in adult specimens. Conversely, the mitochondrial volume fraction of boutons progressively increases during development to reach its peak in adult specimens. These data appear to be in good agreement with the evidence of biochemical studies which show that aerobic metabolic pathways are progressively added to anaerobic mechanisms during the ontogeny of the C.N.S. In addition, the developmental period when boutons (as well as other parts of neurons) contain numerous glycogen particles corresponds to the time when the animals can survive relatively long periods of anoxia or ischemia. This relationship is discussed and it is suggested that aneuronal deposition of glycogen in perinatal animals — in contrast to the adult situation of anastrocytic one — may be an important factor in the greater resistance of perinatal mammals to anoxia and ischemia.
Mobile robot navigation and scene modeling using stereo fish-eye lens system

We present an autonomous mobile robot navigation system using stereo fish-eye lenses for navigation in an indoor structured environment and for generating a model of the imaged scene. The system estimates the three-dimensional (3D) position of significant features in the scene, and by estimating its relative position to the features, navigates through narrow passages and makes turns at corridor ends. Fish-eye lenses are used to provide a large field of view, which images objects close to the robot and helps in making smooth transitions in the direction of motion. Calibration is performed for the lens-camera setup and the distortion is corrected to obtain accurate quantitative measurements. A vision-based algorithm that uses the vanishing points of extracted segments from a scene in a few 3D orientations provides an accurate estimate of the robot orientation. This is used, in addition to 3D recovery via stereo correspondence, to maintain the robot motion in a purely translational path, as well as to remove the effects of any drifts from this path from each acquired image. Horizontal segments are used as a qualitative estimate of change in the motion direction and correspondence of vertical segment provides precise 3D information about objects close to the robot. Assuming detected linear edges in the scene as boundaries of planar surfaces, the 3D model of the scene is generated. The robot system is implemented and tested in a structured environment at our research center. Results from the robot navigation in real environments are presented and discussed.
Integrated Function of the Respiratory Pigment Hemocyanin in Crabs

A large number of factors are now known to influence the oxygen affinity of hemocyanins in crabs. In this article I review several case studies in which a number of different variables, including pH, CO2, calcium ions, lactate, urate, dopamine, and temperature, act together on hemocyanin oxygen affinity to bring about adaptive changes in oxygen transport. These changes act in tandem with ventilatory and cardiovascular adjustments to stabilize oxygen uptake during hypoxia or to increase oxygen uptake during exercise in a swimming crab. It is important, however, that the effects of the different modulators be examined at very low concentrations, where their effects are large, to assess their importance in resting crabs where their concentrations may be low. Temperature effects among hemocyanins in crabs are variable and the magnitude may be inversely related to the magnitude of the Bohr effect. Several examples are presented of acclimation effects where oxygen affinity increases significantly at cold temperatures. The acclimation response may be important in partially regulating the metabolic responses of crabs to seasonal changes in temperature.
Elastic and inelastic scattering of 29 MeV 3He by 24Mg

Abstract Absolute differential cross sections of 29 MeV 3 He nuclei elastically and inelastically scattered from 24 Mg are presented and compared with optical-model and DWBA calculations.
Long-term reproducibility of responses to programmed cardiac stimulation in spontaneous ventricular tachyarrhythmias.

Abstract Programmed electrical stimulation (PES) of the heart has been used to initiate and terminate ventricular tachyarrhythmias under controlled conditions in patients in whom these arrhythmias have occurred spontaneously. The long-term reproducibility of the response to programmed cardiac stimulation in patients with ventricular arrhythmias is unknown. Seventeen patients with previously documented spontaneously occurring ventricular tachyarrhythmias were evaluated: 5 with nonsustained ventricular tachycardia (VT), 10 with sustained VT and 2 with ventricular fibrillation. The underlying cardiac diagnosis was atherosclerotic coronary heart disease (CAD) in 11 patients, dilated cardiomyopathy in 2 patients, congenital heart disease in 1 patient and no structural heart disease in 3. All patients underwent PES in the absence of antiarrhythmic drug treatment, and patients with inducible VT underwent serial electrophysiologic-pharmacologic testing in an attempt to suppress the arrhythmia. All 17 patients were reexamined with PES at a mean of 18 months (range 2 to 42) after their initial electrophysiologic study, during which time none had a myocardial infarction or intervening cardiac surgery. Repeat electrophysiologic studies, performed in the absence of antiarrhythmic agents, were undertaken because of drug intolerance, availabillty of new drugs, recurrent arrhythmia or preoperative reevaluation. All 11 patients with CAD had inducible VT on both the first and second electrophysiologic evaluation. Of the 6 patients with no CAD, only 1 had inducible VT on both occasions. Thus, long-term reproducibility of PES-induced VT in patients with stable CAD appears to be high.
A note on values and multilinear extensions

An axiomatic formulation is given of a class of values for cooperative games. This class includes the Shapley value and the Banzhaf index, and is related to the multilinear extension of a game.
Response function of a strongly interacting Fermi gas in a virial expansion

The dynamic response functions of a strongly interacting fermion gas in a homogeneous space are investigated in a virial expansion to second order. The density response function exhibits transition from atomic to molecular response, as the interaction strength increases and the system undergoes BCS to Bose-Einstein condensate crossover. The qualitative features of density and spin response agree with measurements from the Bragg spectroscopy experiments. The virial response is exact at low density and high temperature, therefore providing a benchmark for many-body response.
On the controllability of some singularly perturbed nonlinear systems

Abstract The controllability of a large scale dynamic system which depends singularly upon a small parameter λ is considered. When λ = 0, the large scale system degenerates into a reduced order subsystem representing its slow dynamics while neglecting the fast phenomena. Another subsystem, often called a boundary layer system, represents the fast dynamics. In this paper sufficient conditions are established under which the controllability of the overall large scale system is inferred from the same property of the two subsystems.
Endocrine Factors Affecting Weight and Ascorbic Acid Content of Rat Preputial Glands.

Summary1. The normal level of ascorbic acid in the preputial glands of the young male rat is 60 mg %. 2. Adrenalectomy (3 wks) induces preputial gland hypertrophy, which is partially prevented by DCA. 3. Severe stress produces a depletion of preputial ascorbic acid, which is accentuated in hypothyroid animals. 4. Hypophysectomized rats (24 hr) have a level of preputial ascorbic acid which is 78% that of controls.
Estimating Causal Effects from Family Planning Health Communication Campaigns Using Panel Data: The ``Your Health, Your Wealth'' Campaign in Egypt

Background Health communication campaigns – involving mass media and interpersonal communication - have long been utilized by national family planning programs to create awareness about contraceptive methods, to shift social norms related to fertility control, and to promote specific behaviors, such as the use of condoms, injectable methods or permanent sterilization. However, demonstrating the effectiveness of these campaigns is often complicated because the infeasibility of experimental designs generally yields statistically non-equivalent samples of campaign-exposed and unexposed individuals. Methods Using data from a panel survey of reproductive age women in Egypt, we estimate the effects of the multimedia health communication campaign “Your Health, Your Wealth” (“Sahatek Sarwetek”) on precursors to contraceptive use (e.g., spousal communication, birth spacing attitudes) and on modern contraceptive use. Difference-in-differences and fixed effects estimators that exploit the panel nature of the data are employed to control for both observed and unobserved heterogeneity in the sample of women who self-report recall of the messages, thereby potentially improving upon methods that make no such controls or that rely solely on cross-sectional data. Findings All of the estimators find positive effects of the “Your Health, Your Wealth” campaign on reproductive health outcomes, though the magnitudes of those effects diverge, often considerably. Difference-in-differences estimators find that exposure to the campaign increases the likelihood of spousal discussions by 14.4 percentage points (pp.) (SE = .039, p<0.001) but has no effect on contraceptive use. In contrast, the fixed effects, instrumental variables estimator, controlling for unobserved heterogeneity, finds a large, statistically significant effect on modern contraceptive use (27.4 pp., SE = 0.135, p = 0.043). Conclusions The difficulties of evaluating family planning communication programs may be surmountable using panel data and analytic methods that address both observed and unobserved heterogeneity in exposure. Not controlling for such effects may lead to substantial underestimates of the effectiveness of such campaigns.
The projection of the lateral geniculate nucleus to area 17 of the rat cerebral cortex. V. Degenerating axon terminals synapsing with Golgi impregnated neurons.

The sites of termination of afferents from the lateral geniculate nucleus to layer IV and lower layer III in area 17 of the rat visual cortex have been determined by use of a combined degeneration—Golgi/EM technique. Degeneration of geniculocortical axon terminals was produced by making lesions in the lateral geniculate body. After the animals had been allowed to survive for two days, the ipsilateral visual cortex was removed and impregnated by the Golgi technique. Suitably impregnated neurons and their processes in layer IV and lower layer III were then gold-toned and deimpregnated for examination in the electron microscope. A search was made for synapses between degenerating axon terminals and the gold-labelled postsynaptic neurons. Geniculocortical synapses were found to involve: (1) the spines of basal dendrites, as well as those of proximal shafts and collaterals of apical dendrites of layer III pyramidal neurons; (2) the spines of the apical dendritic shafts and collaterals of layer V pyramidal neurons; (3) the perikaryon and dendritic spines of a sparsely-spined stellate cell; and (4) the perikaryon and dendrites of a smooth, bitufted stellate cell. In view of this variety of postsynaptic elements it is suggested that all parts of the perikarya and dendrites of neurons contained in layer IV and lower layer III which are capable of forming asymmetric synapses can be postsynaptic to the thalamic input. Finally, an analysis of the known neuronal interrelations within the rat visual cortex is presented.
Innervation of the maxillary vibrissae in mice as revealed by anterograde and retrograde tract tracing

Vibrissae are a unique sensory system of mammals that is characterized by a rich and diverse innervation involved in numerous sensory tasks with the potential for species-specific differences. In the present study, indocarbocyanine dyes (DiI and PTIR271) and confocal microscopy were combined to study the innervation of the mystacial vibrissae and vibrissa-specific sensory neuron distribution in the maxillary portion of the trigeminal ganglion of the mouse. The deeper regions of the vibrissa cavernous sinus (CS) contained a dense plexus of free nerve endings, possibly of autonomic fibers. The superficial part of this sinus displayed a massive array of corpuscular endings. Innervation in the region of the ring sinus consisted of Merkel endings and different morphological variances of lanceolate endings. The region of the inner conical body had a circular plexus of free nerve endings. In addition to confirming previous observations obtained by a variety of other techniques and ultrastructural studies, our studies revealed denser terminal receptor endings in a different distribution pattern than previously demonstrated in studies using the rat. We also revealed the distribution of sensory neurons in the trigeminal ganglion using retrograde tracing with fluorescent tracers from two nearby vibrissae. We determined that the populations of sensory neurons innervating the two vibrissae were largely overlapping. This suggests that the somatotopic maps of vibrissal projections reported at the different levels in the neuraxis are not faithfully reproduced at the level of the ganglion.
The rotational spectrum of nitric acid: The first five vibrational states

The details of work on the nu(8) vibrational state, which arise from the NO2 out-of-plane vibration, are reported. For this state, over 210 transitions have been measured in the millimeter and submillimeter spectral region and analyzed with Watson's A-reduced centrifugal distortion Hamiltonian. Also included in this work is a comparison of all these spectra and an overview of the millimeter and submillimeter spectra associated with these states. Although at the high sensitivity available in laboratory experiments, many additional lines are observable, all arise from vibrational states whose populations are more than 100 times lower than the ground state. The most prominent of these are due to the states which give rise to the perturbed 2 nu(9) and nu(5) bands near 11 microns. These results provide a significant data base for both atmospheric remote sensing experiments and spectral analyses of data in other spectral regions, especially the IR.
How Can the Religious Experience of the Past Be Recovered? The Examples of Puritanism and Pietism

academic, that is "scientific," study. The historical branches of religious studies thereby face the challenge of "scientifically" recovering the religion of the past, of exploring and explaining the religiosity of human beings to whom direct inquiries can no longer be made. The historian of Christianity, for example, wants to know what it was like to live religiously in twelfth-century France, in fourth-century Rome, or in seventeenth-century New England. Imaginatively examining whatever artifacts he can find, he tries to create the richest possible account of what earlier men and women thought religiously, how they acted religiously, what they felt religiously. If he cannot literally bring them to life, he certainly tries to do so metaphorically; his own criteria of success demand that his creation be as accurate, as multi-faceted, as recognizably human as the evidence allows. In my estimation, academic historians of Christianity have been more successful at recovering the thought and actions (especially institutional and liturgical) of past Christians than at recovering their religious experience. This situation is understandable feelings, especially religious feelings, are difficult to subject to academic analysis but it is nonetheless regrettable.' One need not share with William James the assumption "that feeling is the deeper source of religion, and that philosophic and theological formulas are secondary products"2 to recognize the particular importance of personal experience in the religious life. Certainly experience is inherently subjective, certainly it usually borders on the ineffable. Yet time and again religious men and women have insisted that without firsthand experience their faith would be sterile and meaningless, and one can only accept their testimony. The historian who neglects religious experience because he feels uncomfortable with it is neglecting the very academic standards he seeks to protect.
Parataxic Distortion and Perceived Parenting

Abstract When a person experiences feelings of low self-acceptance and further attributes this low self-acceptance to the average person, a distortion in perception is said to exist. Harry Stack Sullivan termed this distortion “parataxic.” The present study attempted to find evidence of such a distortion. Once a person was identified as a “distorter” nine factors of perceived parenting were revealed by the subjects. These nine factors examined were nurturance, instrumental companionship, predictability of standards, affective punishment, achievement pressure, deprivation of privileges, principled discipline, protectiveness, and physical punishment. Distortion was found to be significantly related to low nurturance, less instrumental companionship, excessive protectiveness, greater achievement pressure, and excessive punishment by parents as perceived by the 220 subjects involved.
The enigmatic role of angiopoietin-1 in tumor angiogenesis

A tumor vasculature is highly unstable and immature, characterized by a high proliferation rate of endothelial cells, hyper-permeability, and chaotic blood flow. The dysfunctional vasculature gives rise to continual plasma leakage and hypoxia in the tumor, resulting in constant on-sets of inflammation and angiogenesis. Tumors are thus likened to wounds that will not heal. The lack of functional mural cells, including pericytes and vascular smooth muscle cells, in tumor vascular structure contributes significantly to the abnormality of tumor vessels. Angiopoietin-1 (Ang1) is a physiological angiogenesis promoter during embryonic development. The function of Ang1 is essential to endothelial cell survival, vascular branching, and pericyte recruitment. However, an increasing amount of experimental data suggest that Ang1-stimulated association of mural cells with endothelial cells lead to stabilization of newly formed blood vessels. This in turn may limit the otherwise continuous angiogenesis in the tumor, and consequently give rise to inhibition of tumor growth. We discuss the enigmatic role of Ang1 in tumor angiogenesis in this review.
Erythropoietin-induced congenital erythrocytosis: treatment with myelosuppressive agents and hookworm infestation

PATIENTS WITH POLYCYTHEMIA may need periodic phlebotomies because high blood viscosity and decreased flow enhance the risk of thrombosis and cerebrovascular accidents. ~4 We report a child with polycythemia resulting from autonomous erythropoietin overproduction, in whom phlebotomy therapy was hampered by absence of accessible peripheral veins; diverse therapeutic attempts to suppress erythropoiesis and increase red blood cell loss were used. CASE REPORT Plethora with otherwise normal physical findings was first noticed in this white girl at 2 months of age. Personal and family history were unremarkable. The only abnormal data in the hemogram were hematocrit 65% and hemoglobin 21.6 gm/dl. Irritability, insomnia, decreased activity, and persistent plethora prompted further medical attention at 9 months of age. Growth and development were normal, and physical examination yielded unremarkable findings except for plethoric appearance and mild splenomegaly. Hematocrit was 68%, and hemoglobin 29.8 gm/dl. The following studies all yielded normal or negative results: the remainder of the hemogram, arterial Po2, hemoglobin electrophoresis, hemoglobin 02 dissociation curve (both stripped and unstripped of organic phosphates), erythrocyte 2,3-diphosphoglycerate content, serum alpha fetoprotein and carcinoembryonic antigen concentrations, renal and liver function tests, intravenous pyelogram, sonograms of the heart, liver, and kidneys, chest radiograph, cardiac catheterization, renal and hepatic arteriograms, and a computed tomogram of the head. A red blood cell mass measurement by the standard ~Cr dilution method was 49 ml/kg (normal <32 ml). Bone marrow examination showed marked erythroid hyperplasia. Serum erythropoietin levels (kindly performed by Dr. J.
New precision measurement of the decay rate of singlet positronium.

The singlet decay rate has been measured using magnetic singlet-triplet state mixing for positronium formed in a ${\mathit{N}}_{2}$-isobutane gas mixture. We find ${\ensuremath{\lambda}}_{\mathit{s}}$=7990.9\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}1.7 \ensuremath{\mu}${\mathrm{s}}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}1}$. At 215 ppm this result is 6.5 times more accurate than the previous measurement [D. W. Gidley, A. Rich, E. Sweetman, and D. West], and is the first measurement sensitive enough to test the relative order ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\alpha}}}^{2}$ln\ensuremath{\alpha} term in the singlet decay rate calculation.
In defense of unrealistic assumptions

I argue that a theory's assumptions always are and ought to be unrealistic. Further, we should attempt to make them more unrealistic in order to increase a theory's fruitfulness. Many sociologists believe that a theory's assumptions ought to be empirically realistic. I contend that this criticism probably stems from the confusion of a theory's assumptions with its scope conditions. While Friedman's (1953) similar prescription is associated with the instrumentalist philosophy of science, I maintain that it is also consistent with the realist view if "unrealistic" is taken to mean "incomplete" rather than "untrue." I discuss a recent theory of the value of children by Friedman, Hechter, and Kanazawa (1994) to point out how assumptions differ from scope conditions and how empirically plausible and realistic hypotheses can be logically deduced from highly unrealistic assumptions. I then discuss Kollock's (1993a, 1993b) revision of Axelrod's (1984) Cooperation Theory as an example of when assumptions need to be revised.
Variegated color sensations from rod-cone interactions: Flicker-fusion experiments

Multicolored images were produced by the combination of two different color-separation images, one illuminated with 656 nm light and the other illuminated with 500 nm light. Flicker-fusion frequency measurements were used to identify the conditions in which the 500 nm light was below cone threshold. Under those conditions the multicolred images were shown to be generated by rod and long-wave cone interactions.
Treatment of oropharyngeal candidiasis in immunocompetent infants: a randomized multicenter study of miconazole gel vs. nystatin suspension. The Antifungals Study Group.

Background. Miconazole gel has previously been shown to be an effective treatment for oropharyngeal candidiasis (thrush) in immunocompetent infants. This study compares miconazole gel with the standard therapeutic agent, nystatin suspension, with regard to efficacy, optimal duration of therapy and safety. Design. Prospective multicenter, randomized, office-based open trial. Patients. Twenty-six pediatricians enrolled 227 immunocompetent infants with signs of oropharyngeal thrush. Subjects were randomly assigned to receive 25 mg of miconazole as oral gel four times daily or 100000 IU of nystatin as suspension four times daily after meals. All subjects were evaluated for safety. Fifteen patients whose thrush was not confirmed by culture were excluded from further analysis. The remaining 212 subjects were entered into an intention-to-treat analysis. Another 29 patients violated the study protocol; the remaining 183 subjects were evaluated for efficacy (per protocol analysis). Results. Clinical cure by Day 5 of treatment was demonstrated in 84.7% of the 98 subjects in the miconazole group and 21.2% of the 85 subjects in the nystatin group (P < 0.0001). By Day 8, the cumulative clinical cure rates were 96.9% (miconazole) and 37.6% (nystatin), respectively (P < 0.0001). By Day 12, 99.0% of subjects in the miconazole group and 54.1% of subjects in the nystatin group were clinically cured (P < 0.0001). Premature cessation of treatment at parents' request because of lack of clinical efficacy occurred in none of the infants treated with miconazole and in 6 infants treated with nystatin (P = 0.029). The oral yeast eradication rate on Day 5 was 54.1% with miconazole and 8.2% with nystatin (P < 0.0001). Clinical relapses of oropharyngeal thrush and side effects of the study drugs were observed with similar frequency in both study arms. Conclusions. Miconazole gel was significantly superior to nystatin suspension with regard to efficacy, rapidity of achieving cure and oropharyngeal yeast eradication. Relapses and side effects did not occur more frequently with miconazole than with nystatin. The results of this study indicate that miconazole gel is superior to nystatin suspension as the treatment for oropharyngeal candidiasis in immunocompetent infants.
STUDENT REACTIONS TO COURSE GRADES

(1968). Student Reactions to Course Grades. The Journal of Experimental Education: Vol. 36, No. 4, pp. 11-13.