cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Aseptic and Bacterial Meningitis: Evaluation, Treatment, and Prevention

The etiologies of meningitis range in severity from benign and self-limited to life-threatening with potentially severe morbidity. Bacterial meningitis is a medical emergency that requires prompt recognition and treatment. Mortality remains high despite the introduction of vaccinations for common pathogens that have reduced the incidence of meningitis worldwide. Aseptic meningitis is the most common form of meningitis with an annual incidence of 7.6 per 100,000 adults. Most cases of aseptic meningitis are viral and require supportive care. Viral meningitis is generally self-limited with a good prognosis. Examination maneuvers such as Kernig sign or Brudzinski sign may not be useful to differentiate bacterial from aseptic meningitis because of variable sensitivity and specificity. Because clinical findings are also unreliable, the diagnosis relies on the examination of cerebrospinal fluid obtained from lumbar puncture. Delayed initiation of antibiotics can worsen mortality. Treatment should be started promptly in cases where transfer, imaging, or lumbar puncture may slow a definitive diagnosis. Empiric antibiotics should be directed toward the most likely pathogens and should be adjusted by patient age and risk factors. Dexamethasone should be administered to children and adults with suspected bacterial meningitis before or at the time of initiation of antibiotics. Vaccination against the most common pathogens that cause bacterial meningitis is recommended. Chemoprophylaxis of close contacts is helpful in preventing additional infections.
Semantics of Traumatic Causation

something less than all of the observed factors in formulating an impression. When the witness expresses himself about the observed phenomenon, he further abstracts by selecting only a portion of his impressions about which he makes any attempt to communicate. The listener abstracts further, and his faculties absorb even fewer of the original characteristics. At some or all of these stages, additional characteristics may be consciously or unconsciously added which tend to make the subsequent stages even further from the original facts. The law recognizes this process as one of the justifications for exclusion of hearsay testimony, since the reported facts are less reliable as they pass to persons beyond the original observer. Thus, oral description of simple observations is subject to incompleteness and inaccuracy. "I see a red apple" communicates only a small portion of the real facts and describes those facts in a greatly oversimplified (consequently inaccurate) fashion. Manifestly, expression of mental comparisons between objects is still less accurate. And inferential comparisons of intangibles, such as those required to discuss "cause and effect" relationships, are among the most nebulous mental evaluations. The verbalization of those evaluations is at best a poor expression of statistical averages when compared with the facts originally observed and the mental processes applied to those facts. This means that a physician is truly hard pressed to reach a conclusion about causality with any degree of accuracy as to its mathematical probability. His verbal statement of that mental analysis is still
THE PATTERN AND MECHANISM OF MITOCHONDRIAL TRANSPORT IN AXONS

Mitochondria in nerve axons display motility behavior that is as distinctive as their metabolic function. Unlike many other classes of organelles, mitochondria undergo net movement that is the sum of movements in both the anterograde and retrograde directions, and their net velocity is strongly influenced by their recruitment between stationary and motile states. They recently became the first specific class of organelle shown to be capable of moving along either microtubule or F-actin tracks in the axon, indicating that they probably use a diversity of molecular motors. Although we still know relatively little about how the movement of specific classes of axonal organelles is coordinated with their function in the neuron, in the case of mitochondria it is at least clear that their transport delivers them to regions of the neuron where ATP consumption is likely to be high, and disperses them when local energy needs change. In addition, although mitochondria contain both anterograde and retrograde motor activities, the modulation of their motility necessary to achieve these redistributions seems to rely largely upon regulation of the anterograde motor activity alone. A further element in the regulation of their motility and distribution is the apparent "docking" of mitochondria to microtubules or neurofilaments, a phenomenon which may serve to stabilize their distribution once regulated motility has moved them to appropriate sites. This review considers the current state of knowledge in these areas with an emphasis on the pattern of regulation of motility and how it underlies the role of mitochondria as the aerobic ATP source of the neuron.
Cloning and Sequencing of Sperm Antigens Involved in Oocyte Interaction: Clinical applications in infertility and immunocontraception

Sperm-zona pellucida (ZP) recognition and binding constitutes the most important event in the fertilization process and the molecules involved at this site are attractive candidates for the contraceptive vaccine development (CVD). The extensive research indicates that there are four sperm surface proteins that bind to oocyte ZP3 in humans and they belong to four molecular regions of 94 kD, 63 kD, 51 kD and 14-18 kD, respectively (Mol Reprod Develop 1994; 39: 397-408). Our laboratory is actively engaged in cloning and sequencing of the cDNAs encoding for these sperm proteins and investigating the applications of recombinant proteins in CVD and infertility. Presently, the cDNAs encoding for the 14-18 kD proteins, designated NZ-1 and NZ-2, respectively, (Mol Reprod Develop 1997; 48: 449-457; ibid, 1998; 51: 176-183) and the 51 kD protein, designated fertiliztion antigen (FA-1) (Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 1997; 94: 4704-4709) have been cloned and sequenced. Antibodies to the recombinant proteins showed a block/inhibition of sperm-ZP binding in the in vitro assays. Active immunization with the recombinant FA-1 antigen caused a reversible (up to 8-9 months) inhibition in fertility of female mice by raising a sperm/testis-specific immune response. FA-1 antigen is also involved in human immunoinfertility. The recent clinical trial being conducted at the University of Michigan indicates that it will have clinical application in the treatment of immunoinfertile man. These findings suggest that the recombinant sperm antigens when used in a single formulation, will generate an antisperm vaccine that is strongly immunogenic and highly efficacious for contraception.
Restructuring Exponential Family Mixture Models

Variational KL (varKL) divergence minimization was previously applied to restructuring acoustic models (AMs) using Gaussian mixture models by reducing their size while preserving their accuracy. In this paper, we derive a related varKL for exponential family mixture models (EMMs) and test its accuracy using the weighted local maximum likelihood agglomerative clustering technique. Minimizing varKL between a reference and a restructured AM led previously to the variational expectation maximization (varEM) algorithm; which we extend to EMMs. We present results on a clustering task using AMs trained on 50 hrs of Broadcast News (BN). EMMs are trained on fMMI-PLP features combined with frame level phone posterior probabilities given by the recently introduced sparse representation phone identification process. As we reduce model size, we test the word error rate using the standard BN test set and compare with baseline models of the same size, trained directly from data. Index Terms: KL divergence, variational approximation, variational expectation-maximization, exponential family distributions, acoustic model clustering.
The Initiating and Promoting Activity of Chemicals Isolated from Drinking Waters in the Sencar Mouse: A Five-City Survey

Means of properly evaluating the carcinogenic risk posed by organics in drinking water are of utmost concern to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). While rodent lifetime exposure and human epidemiological studies serve as the only generally accepted means, the cost and time involved are highly prohibitive. In addition, formulation of human epidemiological data requires human exposure of sufficient magnitude to allow separation of confounding factors from the relationship in question. Since a major part of EPA’s regulatory activities is directed towards preventing significant increases in the carcinogenic risk to the population, quick and reliable investigative methodology is a necessity. Short-term bioassays can be used to identify most potential problems and to provide an initial risk assessment.
Using a social marketing approach to develop Healthy Me, Healthy We: a nutrition and physical activity intervention in early care and education

Although social marketing principles have been successfully employed in school-based interventions to prevent obesity, use in early care and education (ECE) settings has been limited. This paper describes the use of the social marketing approach to develop an ECE-based intervention that encourages an ECE provider-parent partnership to improve the quality of preschool children's diets and their level of physical activity. A six-step social marketing approach for public health interventions guided the development of this ECE-based intervention. These steps were as follows: (i) initial planning, (ii) formative research, (iii) strategy development, (iv) program development, (v) implementation, and (vi) monitoring and evaluation. During this process, we reviewed current literature, conducted focus groups with ECE providers and parents, developed a detailed conceptual model and content map, created and tested the campaign concept, and developed final campaign materials along with strategies for its implementation. The final intervention resulting from this process was an 8-month campaign known as Healthy Me, Healthy We. The campaign is delivered by the child care center and includes branded materials for use in the classroom and at home. The final campaign is being evaluated in a cluster-randomized trial. Healthy Me, Healthy We offers an innovative approach to promoting healthy eating and physical activity during early childhood, a key developmental period, that leverages partnership between ECE providers and parents to affect behavior change.
The microbiota-derived metabolite indole is an endogenous regulator of autophagy

Autophagy is an evolutionarily conserved cellular mechanism that is crucial for promoting cell survival, pathogen clearance, and homeostasis. Dysregulated autophagy destabilizes GI tract homeostasis, promotes Crohn’s Disease, and perturbs the microbiota, a prominent feature during gut inflammation. Classically, energy substrate starvation induces cellular autophagy, yet host dietary intake makes the GI tract nutritionally abundant. Thus, the discrete gut signals able to induce autophagy and overcome the cues from a fully energy replete environment remain largely unknown. Here we demonstrate that indole, a strictly microbiota-derived metabolite, induces autophagy at a level comparable with the canonical autophagy-inducer rapamycin. Consistent with the induction of autophagy, indole-conditioned dendritic cells exhibited increased LC3-II expression and puncta formation, enhanced bacterial killing, and reduced inflammasome activity. Indole effects were largely similar to rapamycin yet also distinct, suggesting a complementary mechanism of action for these molecules. Both indole and rapamycin suppressed mTOR signaling and IL-1beta production, suggesting a functional link. Unlike rapamycin, we have reported indole is a ligand of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR), yet regulation of autophagy by indole was AhR-independent. To our knowledge, this is the first evidence of a tryptophan microbiota metabolite functioning as a regulator of autophagy. These findings reveal novel biology by which the microbiota regulates gut autophagy and has therapeutic implications in inflammatory and autophagy-mediated disorders.
Parent-Teen Group versus Dyadic Treatment for Adolescent ADHD: What Works for Whom?

The goal of this study was to evaluate the comparative efficacy of 2 clinic-based psychosocial treatment modalities for adolescent attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and identify chara...
Complex Chiari malformation: using craniovertebral junction metrics to guide treatment

The complex Chiari, characterized by abnormal craniocervical bony anatomy in addition to Chiari tonsillar herniation, is a relatively recent addition to the concepts surrounding the Chiari literature. The primary findings of complex Chiari include craniocervical kyphosis and retroflexed odontoid, both of which can be described with radiographic measurements. This manuscript will outline the background literature regarding Chiari craniocervical morphometrics and supply an algorithm for the general management of complex Chiari patients.
Must We Leave Our People Unprotected Against an Attack

The American people are constantly bombarded by NEWS. The evening paper, the 6 o’clock news on television, magazines, journals, bulk mail, and numerous other sources constantly tell us about everything (?) that is going on in the world. But there are some things that just don’t get told.
Serious leisure is social: Things to learn from the social world perspective

In this article, the social world perspective (SWP) is discussed to address the concern that current serious leisure (SL) studies focus predominantly on individual experiences while overlooking the...
Certainty, Uncertainty, or Indifference? Examining Variation in the Identity Narratives of Nonreligious Americans:

Much research in social science concludes that uncertainty surrounding individual beliefs and identities is negative and anxiety-inducing, and that people are continuously searching for certainty. ...
SOCIAL NETWORKS AND NEIGHBORHOOD SATISFACTION OF AFRICAN AMERICAN OLDER ADULTS: AN ATLANTA STUDY OF RELOCATION

Atlanta was the first major city to offer federally-funded public housing and it is one of the first to demolish it. Unlike other cities undergoing public housing transformation through demolition under Housing for People Everywhere Program (HOPE VI), the Atlanta Housing Authority (AHA) targeted senior housing as part of the demolition process. Investigators conducting the Urban Health Initiative (UHI) study collected three waves of data (baseline, 6-month post-relocation, and 24-month post-relocation) from relocated seniors and a comparison group of seniors who aged-in-place. To understand the interactions between public housing residents and varied components of their environments, including social networks and neighborhood satisfaction, I will use place attachment theory to frame my research, as sense of place is rooted within the interplay of community cultural wealth components. I will also use aging-in-place theory, which refers to individuals’ ability to grow old in their own homes and communities, while adjusting to needed modifications associated with aging and mobility. Analysis of Covariance will be applied to understand the relationship between social networks, relocation, and neighborhood satisfaction among older adults who age-in-place, compared to those who relocated.
Professional development of Latinx engineers on hidden curriculum: An exploratory study

This work-in-progress exploratory study presents the perceptions and expressions of Latinx (a gender-neutral term for individuals from Latin American origins) engineers when learning about hidden curriculum (HC). HC represents the lessons learned in educational or working settings that are not necessarily communicated formally. HC is typically used to help administrators and educators to uncover the unseen or unrecognizable issues of a given environment, in an effort to identify inclusive and diverse strategies for success of their students and employees. Developing critical consciousness, or the process of gaining knowledge about the systems and institutionalized structures, developing a sense of agency, and taking action against the forces that perpetuate those structures is important when challenging the HC. In collaboration with the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE), the research team served as both instructors and researchers in a professional development (PD) session to teach a group of 45 Latinx engineering faculty, postdoctoral fellows, and graduate students from across the United States about how to uncover HC and strategies needed to translate these concepts in their instruction and other responsibilities as engineering educators. As a follow-up, a subset of attendees from the original PD, completed a mixed-method survey about HC. Using the frameworks of HC, engineering identity, and critical literacy, the research group analyzed the written qualitative responses. Results suggested that Latinx faculty had a slight change in their awareness about HC but mainly did not transcend to levels where critical consciousness could be achieved. Also, faculty expressed a disconnect between the culture of engineering at their institutions and their overall sense of belonging and empowerment needed to enact meaningful change.
Abstract A75: Mithramycin evicts SWI/SNF from chromatin to induce epigenetic reprogramming in rhabdoid tumor

The text of this abstract has not been printed at the request of the authors due to intellectual property matters. Citation Format: Maggie H. Chasse, Benjamin K. Johnson, Elissa A. Boguslawski, Katie M. Sorensen, Ian Beddows, Zachary Madaj, Gabrielle E. Foxa, Kristin J. Rybski, Susan M. Kitchen-Goosen, Bart O. Williams, Timothy J. Triche Jr., Patrick J. Grohar. Mithramycin evicts SWI/SNF from chromatin to induce epigenetic reprogramming in rhabdoid tumor [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on the Advances in Pediatric Cancer Research; 2019 Sep 17-20; Montreal, QC, Canada. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2020;80(14 Suppl):Abstract nr A75.
Retargeted and Stealth-Modified Oncolytic Measles Viruses for Systemic Cancer Therapy in Measles Immune Patients

Measles viruses (MV) are rapidly inactivated by anti-measles neutralizing antibodies, which has limited their clinical performance as oncolytic agents. Here, by substituting the H and F surface glycoproteins of MV with those from the homologous canine distemper virus (CDV) and engineering the CDV H attachment protein to target EGFR or CD38, we generated a fully retargeted MV capable of resisting neutralization by measles-immune human serum. The resultant recombinant MVs encoding retargeted CDV envelope glycoproteins had similar growth kinetics as the control MV, showed the expected engineered receptor specificities for cell entry, intercellular fusion, and target cell killing, and were blind to native CDV receptors. In contrast to the control MV, recombinant MVs incorporating CDV F and H glycoproteins retained full infectivity when exposed to high concentrations of pooled measles-immune human serum. Comparing viruses bearing MV or CDV glycoproteins in the SKOV3ip.1 model, only the virus bearing an EGFR-retargeted CDV envelope glycoprotein complex was capable of limiting tumor growth and extending the survival in measles immune mice. MV, "stealthed" and retargeted using engineered CDV surface glycoproteins, may be a promising platform to advance for systemic cancer therapy in measles immune patients.
Intravenous tranexamic acid reduces blood loss and transfusion requirements after periacetabular osteotomy.

Aims Tranexamic acid (TXA) has been shown to reduce blood loss and transfusion requirements in patients undergoing orthopaedic surgery. There remains a lack of prospective evidence for the use of T...
Neonatal blood culture inoculant volume: feasibility and challenges.

Background Clinicians often express concerns about poor sensitivity of blood cultures in neonates resulting from inadequate inoculant volumes. Our objective was to determine the inoculant volume sent for neonatal sepsis evaluations and identify areas of improvement. Methods Single-center prospective observational study of infants undergoing sepsis evaluation. Blood volume was determined by clinician documentation over 21 months, and additionally by weighing culture bottles during 12 months. Adequate volume was defined as ≥1 mL total inoculant per evaluation. For first-time evaluations, local guidelines recommend sending an aerobic-anaerobic pair with 1 mL inoculant in each. Results There were 987 evaluations in 788 infants. Clinicians reported ≥1 mL total inoculant in 96.9% evaluations. Among 544 evaluations where bottles were weighed, 93.4% had ≥1 mL total inoculant. Very low birth weight infants undergoing evaluations >7 days after birth had the highest proportion of inadequate inoculants (14.4%). Only 3/544 evaluations and 26/1011 bottles had total inoculant Conclusions Obtaining recommended inoculant volumes is feasible in majority of neonates. Measuring inoculant volumes can focus improvement efforts and improve test reliability. Impact Clinicians express concern about the unreliability of neonatal blood cultures because of inadequate inoculant volume. We investigated over 900 evaluations and found >90% of evaluations have ≥1 mL inoculant. Monitoring adequacy of blood culture technique can identify areas of improvement and may allay concerns about blood culture reliability. Current recommendations for adequate inoculant volume for blood cultures are met in a majority of neonates. Areas of improvement include preterm late-onset sepsis evaluations and distribution techniques during inoculation.
Large-scale solar-thermal desalination

Summary Solar-thermal desalination technologies could provide a sustainable path toward achieving high-volume (millions of gallons per day) desalted water in remote and inland regions. Yet, efficient integration between solar capture and desalination remains a critical challenge. Integration challenges are accentuated when exploring solar-thermal technologies such as concentrating solar, due to the temperature mismatch, which often exists between solar capture and conversion technologies and desalination technologies. Here, we highlight the potential opportunities for large-scale solar-thermal desalination plants. We also identify the critical metrics of success that are necessary for large-scale solar-thermal desalination plants. Furthermore, we evaluate and detail how performance and cost can be agumented through hybridizing desalination systems by using exergy cascade utilization principals.
Explicit soft computing model to predict the undrained bearing capacity of footing resting on aggregate pier reinforced cohesive ground

Aggregate pier has been frequently suggested as a traditional solution to enhance the undrained bearing capacity and reduce settlement of footings resting on cohesive ground. However, there is no widely accepted method that can be utilized to accurately estimate the ultimate undrained bearing capacity of this system due to the complexity of the interaction between the soil and the aggregate pier. In addition, all of the available empirical correlations for this problem have been proposed using traditional regression analysis with no attempts to use advanced soft computing techniques to propose an explicit mathematical formulation. In this research, this gap in knowledge has been addressed by employing the genetic algorithm multi-objective evolutionary regression analysis to propose a novel explicit mathematical model to predict the undrained bearing capacity of footing on aggregate pier reinforced ground. The new soft computing model scored mean absolute error, root mean square error, mean, percentage of predictions with accuracy of 80% and coefficient of determination of 71.08, 97.00, 1.00, 87, and 0.91, respectfully for the training subgroup data and 92.81, 105.33, 1.1, 86, and 0.93, respectfully for testing subgroup data. In addition, the new model was found to predict the ultimate undrained bearing capacity with lower error compared to the available empirical correlations. Finally, a parametric study has been conducted using the new model to provide an insight into the factors that influence the undrained bearing capacity of footing reinforced with aggregate pier and to give additional confidence in the model’s robustness.
Overcoming the COVID-19 Pandemic for Dementia Research: Engaging Rural, Older, Racially and Ethnically Diverse Church Attendees in Remote Recruitment, Intervention and Assessment

Background Access to cognitive screening in rural underserved communities is limited and was further diminished during the COVID-19 pandemic. We examined whether a telephone-based cognitive screening intervention would be effective in increasing ADRD knowledge, detecting the need for further cognitive evaluation, and making and tracking the results of referrals. Method Using a dependent t-test design, older, largely African American and Afro-Caribbean participants completed a brief educational intervention, pre/post AD knowledge measure, and cognitive screening. Results Sixty of 85 eligible individuals consented. Seventy-percent of the sample self-reported as African American, Haitian Creole, or Hispanic, and 75% were female, with an average age of 70. AD knowledge pre-post scores improved significantly (t (49) = -3.4, p Conclusion Remote engagement is feasible for recruiting, educating, and conducting cognitive screening with rural older adults during a pandemic.
Measuring Success of Adaptive Management Projects

Examples linking natural resource management with improved ecological health are few compared to the dominant narrative of environmental degradation—more robust evaluation and reporting of these successes may increase the scope and scale of future natural resource management and conservation efforts. In many cases, critical research on how to evaluate a given management paradigm lags significantly behind the wave of experimentation and promotion of the approach and this appears to be the case with adaptive management, as well. For these reasons, a critical evaluation of efforts to measure success in adaptive management seems timely. Its use as a natural resource management technique is widespread and growing, with a demonstrated commitment to the approach in natural resource management and conservation literature, agency direction, and in statutory language, as exemplified by the numerous examples of adaptive management projects.
Using Student Development Theories to Explain Student Outcomes

This chapter explains the current research on student development theories by exploring three critical aspects associated with theoretical outcomes that are researched in the general higher education literature. The first aspect is to clarify how theory is used, defined, and interpreted in higher education research. This leads to a discussion on how student development is currently understood and the evolution of theories that explain student behavior. And finally a discussion is presented on how student development theories can be used in research on college students to gain a more nuanced view of student outcomes and to explain findings in the context of developmentally appropriate practices. The conclusion presents ideas on how future research can be oriented toward a better understanding of how students develop.
Is There a Demand for Pain and Suffering Coverage

There is a large literature on this question, almost all of which avers that economic theory rules out the possibility of demand for insurance coverage of nonpecuniary losses on a priori grounds. There is little hard evidence, and much controversy over the interpretation of what evidence there is (see, e.g., Croley and Hanson, "The Nonpecuniary Costs of Accidents: Pain-and-Suffering Damages in Tort Law," Harvard Law Review, 1995). Nevertheless, the American Law Institute's Reporter has accepted that view into the recommendations for the new Restatement of Torts. This paper argues that the existence or nonexistence of demand for pain and suffering coverage is a purely empirical issue and policy recommendations should view it as such. The underlying economic theory is too weak to support such a recommendation without, at least, some supporting evidence. I argue first that even taken on its own terms, orthodox theory omits various possible contingencies, such as pre- and post-mishap utility curves that cross, that some writers such as Ellen Smith Pryor, The Tort Law Debate, Efficiency, and the Kingdom of the Ill: A Critique of the Insurance Theory of Compensation, 79 Va. L.R. 91 (1993), point out are sometimes valid. Second, I argue that as a matter of economic theory, it is odd to rule out demand for anything without evidence, inasmuch as economics generally holds that there is no accounting for taste. It turns out, on close inspection, that the literature generally descends from Cook and Graham, The Demand for Insurance and Protection: The Case of Irreplaceable Commodities, 91 Q.J.Econ. 143 (1977), whose "equalized marginal utility" view in turn descends directly from the controversial "independence axiom" implicit in the original work of Von Neumann and Morgenstern and made explicit by other authors in the 1940s. A result with such a disputable base, and no other evidence, is a poor basis for a policy recommendation. Still further, I offer two economic models in which the demand for pain and suffering coverage cannot be ruled out. The first (see appendix, below) is based on the expected utility model, allowing for the lag between entering an insurance agreement and the realization of the random event. The second is a simpler diagrammatic version, which bypasses the expected utility model altogether, inspired by Mishan, "Choices Involving Risk: Simple Steps toward an Ordinalist Analysis," 86 Econ. J. 759 (1976). In both models, it may be optimal for a person to over- or underinsure pain and suffering relative to the strict position taken by the orthodox view. The point is not that to claim that there is or is not demand for this insurance, but merely to demonstrate that economic theory, by itself, cannot answer the question.
Montesquieu on Nature and Law: A Preface to the Understanding of the Spirit of the Laws

While the title of Montesquieu's greatest oeuvre, The Spirit of the Laws, identifies the subject of the work, it nevertheless remains obscure. Many presume to know what law is. The title, however, will prompt most readers to ask: What is the spirit of the laws? Insofar as the title implies the existence of a relation between spirit and law, it also implies that knowledge of what both spirit and law are is a necessary precursor to understanding it. Montesquieu's choice of title, then, should lead any reader who ponders it to raise three philosophic questions: What is law? What is spirit? And, what is their relation? The reader sensitive to the distinction in which philosophy is said to originate - that between nature and law - sees the question of nature lurking in the others. That nature is a foremost concern of the work is hinted at by Montesquieu's use of the word and its derivatives in the book and chapter headings. Thus, to the three questions above is added a fourth: What is nature? The following essay is an attempt to sketch Montesquieu's answers to these four questions as he presents them in both the preface and the first book of The Spirit of the Laws.
Multiday recordings from olfactory bulb neurons in awake freely moving rats: spatially and temporally organized variability in odorant response properties.

Chronic single-unit recordings were obtained from the mitral celllayer of the olfactory bulbs of awake freely moving rats placed in anodorant stream. Over periods up to five days, 618 recordings from 186single neurons were obtained. Responses of individual neurons werefound to be quite variable over time, although this variability wasbelow chance and was not incremental. The responses of nearbyneurons were more similar than expected by chance but less similarthan individual neurons recorded at different times. However,responses of spatially well-separated neurons were more differentthan chance over short time periods. During rapid sniffing,single-unit responses became more variable, and the spatialorganization of responses became less apparent. These results suggestthat neuronal responses in the olfactory bulb are generally quitevariable over time, with this variability increasing during periodsof rapid sniffing. These results are interpreted in the context of adistributed, centrally modulated model of olfactoryprocessing.
On fairness in distributed job scheduling across multiple sites

Coordinated scheduling across multiple sites over the grid has become a possibility due to grid technologies such as Globus and the Silver meta-scheduler. This would allow user jobs to be transparently executed at remote sites across the grid, instead of a particular local cluster. Previous research has shown this type of job distribution to be beneficial in terms of average metrics such as loss of capacity and turnaround time. This research has sparked interest in implementing such schemes, for example on the Cluster Ohio system. However, an issue that has not been addressed is that of fairness - will jobs at less loaded sites be significantly adversely affected by the distributed scheduling schemes? Trace based simulations show that indeed, there can be considerable unfairness to the less loaded sites when previously proposed distributed scheduling schemes are used. We assess approaches to enhance fairness to jobs at local sites and show that they improve fairness while also providing very good overall performance.
The Department as Double Agent: The Call for Department Change and Renewal

The well-known and respected Pew Foundation recently suggested four prerequisites for departmental change and renewal—a dedication to teamwork, collective dialogue and inquiry about effective teaching, a commitment to quality control and rewarding collective goals, and the leadership of a purposeful chair (Pew Foundation, 1996, pp. 7-9). Many realities that surround academic programs work against these critical conditions for renewal: conflicting faculty interests, turbulent environments, unclear institutional goals, to name a few. This paper examines teamwork, teaching, quality, and leadership as means to mitigate the contradictions and enhance department renewal.
Conceptual Modeling of Information Systems

It is claimed that Information Systems can be developed more easily, and can be used in a more natural way, by concentrating on the semantics of the application domain. This brief review paper presents a list of general features which characterize languages that can be used for this purpose (called “conceptual modeling languages”), and distinguish them from more traditional approaches to developing database-intensive application programs. The paper considers both programming languages and languages for specifying requirements, and includes discussion of the modeling of entities, activities, and of open issues.
Composition, Internal Structures, and an Hypothesis of Formation for Drumlins, Waukesha County, Wisconsin, U.S.A.

Late Wisconsin-age drumlins west of Milwaukee are clustered atop uplands bounded by discrete scarps. Gravel operations within the uplands have exposed drumlin cores of undeformed till and outwash beds which are truncated at the sides of the drumlin. In a few areas, clastic dikes, faults, overturned bedding and shear folds disturb the original layering. The drumlin shapes are blanketed with a basal till 1–3 m thick (“retreat” till) which truncates all internal structures. This till covering cannot be distinguished from the youngest truncated till (“advance” till). Truncation of all of these structures shows that these drumlins are erosional forms carved from pre-existing drift. Apparently, during erosion under compressive flow, some beds became unstable and initiated large-scale movements of material into the drumlin from beneath the drumlin form. Failure and mobilization of the finer-grained beds may have been due to increased pore pressures, differing stages of dilatancy, or differing bulk densities. A growth relationship for drumlins may exist that is based upon the rates of material moving into the drumlin from below and rates of erosion of the drumlin form.
Understanding transformational leadership–employee performance links: The role of relational identification and self-efficacy

We examined how employee perceptions of relational identification with the supervisor and self-efficacy mediate the relationship between transformational leadership and supervisor-rated performance. Performance is used here to refer to the individual's ability to be creative, innovative, inspiring, and take on challenging tasks to achieve organizational goals for the greater good. Using a sample of 426 employees and their 75 immediate supervisors from a large automobile dealership, hierarchical linear modelling results revealed that relational identification with the supervisor mediated the relationship between transformational leadership and self-efficacy, which was then positively related to employee performance. Implications for future research, theory, and practice are discussed.
The attenuation of prostaglandin-induced luteolysis in decidual tissue-bearing pseudopregnant rats.

Decidual tissue (DT)-bearing pseudopregnant (PSP) rats, in contrast to hysterectomized PSP rats, were resistant to a luteolytic regimen of either PGF2α or PGE2 when examined for the duration of PSP diestrus. The PG treatments, however, caused a marked fall in the serum progesterone levels on days 10 and 12, although the levels in DT-bearing rats on day 10 were significantly higher than in the hysterectomized rats.
Virus-specific T-cell-mediated cytotoxicity across the H-2 barrier to virus-altered alloantigen.

ALTHOUGH the biological function of the structures coded in the major murine histocompatibility (H–2) gene complex is poorly understood, some of these structures are crucially involved in most, if not all, cell-mediated immune functions1,2. To express their immunological function, thymus-derived lymphocytes (T cells) from conventional mice and the cells with which they interact must share part of the H–2 gene complex. T helper cells and bone marrow-derived lymphocytes (B cells) usually must be compatible for the I region of H–2 (ref. 3) to act cooperatively in T-cell dependent antibody responses. This region codes for Ia cell surface antigens and immune response (Ir) genes. Also, delayed type hypersensitivity to fowl γ-globulin can be transferred adoptively to intact mice only within I-region compatible donor–recipient combinations4. Distinct from these models, virus-immune T cells lyse virus-infected target cells in vitro only when both are compatible at the K and/or D regions of H–2 (refs 5–7). I-region compatibility is neither necessary nor sufficient on its own. Also T-cell-mediated lysis of chemically modified targets8 and cytotoxicity against cells expressing either the minor histocompatibility antigens9 or the male Y antigen10 are similarly restricted.
Can multiaxial diagnosis predict future use of psychiatric hospitalization

Demographic and diagnostic intake data on about 10,000 patients at a public psychiatric facility were used to assess whether information recorded on various DSM-III axes could predict the frequency of patients' psychiatric hospitalizations over a follow-up period. Compared with patients who had been hospitalized only once or not at all, patients with three or more hospitalizations during the study period were more likely to be single and black and to come from lower social classes. They were more likely to have an axis I diagnosis of an alcohol-related disorder, a substance use disorder, or a psychotic disorder. When samples from the patient groups were matched on key demographic variables and primary axis I diagnosis, the multiaxial resources of DSM-III were not helpful in predicting future use of hospitalization. The results reinforce the importance of axis I diagnosis and demographic characteristics in assessing course and prognosis.
A truncated plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 protein blocks the availability of heparin-binding vascular endothelial growth factor A isoforms.

We have made deletions of the porcine plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) gene to obtain recombinant truncated PAI-1 proteins to examine functions of the PAI-1 isoforms. We previously reported that one recombinant truncated protein, rPAI-123, induces the formation of angiostatin by cleaving plasmin. The rPAI-123 protein is also able to bind urokinase plasminogen activator and plasminogen and then reduce the amount of plasmin that is formed. We have now prepared three different truncated rPAI-1 proteins and demonstrate that PAI-1 conformations control the release of heparin-binding vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) isoforms. The rPAI-123 isoform can regulate the functional activity of heparan sulfate-binding VEGF-A isoforms by blocking the activation of VEGF from heparan sulfate. The rPAI-123 conformation induced extensive apoptosis in cultured endothelial cells and thus reduced the number of proliferating cells. The rPAI-123 isoform inhibited migration of VEGF-stimulated sprouting from chick aortic rings by 65%, thus displaying a role in anti-angiogenic mechanisms. This insight into anti-angiogenic functions related to PAI-1 conformational changes could provide potential intervention points in angiogenesis associated with atherosclerotic plaques and cancer.
Reformulation of a new vancomycin analog: An example of the importance of buffer species and strength

The purpose of this research was to use our previously validated dynamic injection apparatus as a rapid method for screening pH-adjusted formulations of a new vancomycin analog, Van-An, for their potential to precipitate upon dilution. In 1 vial, Van-An was reconstituted according to the manufacturer’s instructions. In a separate vial, the Van-An formulation’s existing phosphate buffer species was supplemented with acetate buffer, which has a pKa in the desired range: between the pH values of the formulation (pH 3.9) and blood (pH 7.4). The formulations were injected using the dynamic injection apparatus into a flowing stream of isotonic Sorensen’s phosphate buffer at rates of 0.25, 0.5, 1, and 2 mL/min. The peaks obtained with the spectrophotometer were reproducible for each injection rate/formulation combination. For the phosphate-buffered formulation, the least amount of precipitation was obtained at the 0.25 mL/min injection rate. Acetate buffer was able to substantially reduce such precipitation, even at the highest injection rate. The opacity peaks for the formulation with the acetate addition were significantly smaller (P<.05) than those obtained for the unaltered formulation at all 4 injection rates. The results suggest that acetate is a better buffer species than phosphate for the pH range defined. Furthermore, we present evidence to support a generally applicable approach to screening new formulations of drug products that may be clinically useful for reducing the incidence of phlebitis in humans.
Reversible Switching of Liquid Crystalline Order Permits Synthesis of Homogeneous Populations of Dipolar Patchy Microparticles

The spontaneous positioning of colloids on the surfaces of micrometer-sized liquid crystalline droplets and their subsequent polymerization offers the basis of a general and facile method for the synthesis of patchy microparticles. The existence of multiple local energetic minima, however, can generate kinetic traps for colloids on the surfaces of the liquid crystal (LC) droplets and result in heterogeneous populations of patchy microparticles. To address this issue, here we demonstrate that adsorbate-driven switching of the internal configurations of LC droplets can be used to sweep colloids to a single location on the LC droplet surfaces, thus resulting in the synthesis of homogeneous populations of patchy microparticles. The surface-driven switching of the LC can be triggered by addition of surfactant or salts, and permits the synthesis of dipolar microparticles as well as "Janus-like" microparticles. By using magnetic colloids, we illustrate the utility of the approach by synthesizing magnetically-responsive patchy microdroplets of LC with either dipolar or quadrupolar symmetry that exhibit distinct optical responses upon application of an external magnetic field.
A conserved motif for the transport of G protein-coupled receptors from the endoplasmic reticulum to the cell surface

The structural determinants for the export trafficking of G protein-coupled receptors are poorly defined. In this report, we determined the role of carboxyl termini (CTs) of alpha2B-adrenergic receptor (AR) and angiotensin II type 1A receptor (AT1R) in their transport from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) to the cell surface. The alpha2B-AR and AT1R mutants lacking the CTs were completely unable to transport to the cell surface and were trapped in the ER. Alanine-scanning mutagenesis revealed that residues Phe436 and Ile433-Leu444 in the CT were required for alpha2B-AR export. Insertion or deletion between Phe436 and Ile443-Leu444 as well as Ile443-Leu444 mutation to FF severely disrupted alpha2B-AR transport, indicating there is a defined spatial requirement, which is essential for their function as a single motif regulating receptor transport from the ER. Furthermore, the carboxyl-terminally truncated as well as Phe436 and Ile443-Leu444 mutants were unable to bind ligand and the alpha2B-AR CT conferred its transport properties to the AT1R mutant without the CT in a Phe436-Ile443-Leu444-dependent manner. These data suggest that the Phe436 and Ile443-Leu444 may be involved in both proper folding and export from the ER of the receptor. Similarly, residues Phe309 and Leu316-Leu317 in the CT were identified as essential for AT1R export. The sequence F(X)6LL (where X can be any residue, and L is leucine or isoleucine) is highly conserved in the membrane-proximal CTs of many G protein-coupled receptors and may function as a common motif mediating receptor transport from the ER to the cell surface.
Interpersonal influence on online game choices

We examine online friends' influence on online game choices.We use a hazard model and data on 1668 players' gaming activities and friendships.Likelihood of adopting the game increases with the number of prior adopter friends.Close friends tend to exert larger influence on game adoption. Several theories stress the importance of interpersonal influence on an individual's adoption of a product or service. However, there has been little research that empirically examined how online friends influence an individual's online product choices. This study examines the effect of a game player's online friends who adopted a game earlier than the player on the likelihood that the player adopts the game. Two main factors considered in this study are: (1) the number of online friends who adopted a game earlier and (2) the strength of ties between the player and the player's online friends who adopted the game earlier. Using a hazard model with data on 1,668 game players' gaming activities and relational connections, we find (1) the likelihood that a player adopts a particular game increases the more her online friends adopted the game earlier, and (2) the influence of the prior adopter friends on the likelihood that a player adopts the game varies with the strength of ties between the player and her prior adopter friends. But the p-values of the coefficients for the corresponding independent variables are larger than the conventional cutoff point, 0.05. Possible causes for this statistical insignificance are discussed in the text.