cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Conceptualizations of Intrinsic Motivation

If one were to spend a short while observing a child, he would undoubtedly be delighted by the child’s inquisitiveness. Children keep picking things up, smelling them, tasting them, feeling them, and asking, “What’s this?” They seem to have an insatiable curiosity. Aristotle (980) recognized this when he stated, “All men by nature desire to know.” He was, in essence, postulating an intrinsic motivation to learn.
Progressive Values in the Women's Ku Klux Klan

Few scholars come across original documents or declarations of the Women’s Ku Klux Klan. In fact, most Americans are unaware that during the revival of the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920’s, women were not only active participants but also created their own branch of the Invisible Empire. The evidence we do have of the Women’s Klan reveals that the organization and the Klan itself had similar aims, but the women’s branch grew to encompass a wider variety of values and beliefs. For a more thorough understanding of the Women’s Klan one needs to examine the historical backdrop of the 1920’s and, in particular, the Progressive movement. Both the efforts to create the WKKK and the beliefs espoused by its members reflect the Progressive movement’s pattern of intervention into society to ameliorate its problems and uphold Victorian moral values. This article is available in Constructing the Past: http://digitalcommons.iwu.edu/constructing/vol9/iss1/6 Constructing the Past 21 Progressive Values in the Women’s Ku Klux Klan Jackie Hill I, the undersigned, a true and loyal citizen of the United States of America, being a white woman of sound mind and a believer in the tenets of the Christian religion and the principles of “pure Americanism,” do most respectfully apply for affiliation in the Ladies of the Invisible Empire. 1 Few scholars come across original documents or declarations of the Women’s Ku Klux Klan. In fact, most Americans are unaware that during the revival of the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920’s, women were not only active participants but also created their own branch of the Invisible Empire. The evidence we do have of the Women’s Klan reveals that the organization and the Klan itself had similar aims, but the women’s branch grew to encompass a wider variety of values and beliefs. For a more thorough understanding of the Women’s Klan one needs to examine the historical backdrop of the 1920’s and, in particular, the Progressive movement. Both the efforts to create the WKKK and the beliefs espoused by its members reflect the Progressive movement’s pattern of intervention into society to ameliorate its problems and uphold Victorian moral values. Progressivism of the early twentieth century encompassed a wide range of interests, reforms, and ideas; however, all of the organizations and individuals within the movement felt the need to intervene in a “corrupted” industrial society to uphold certain cultural values. Most of these reformers, although called “progressive,” glorified conservative Victorian ideals. The purity of women was one of the values that Progressive leaders sought to protect. Jane Addams’ settlement house reforms and D.W. 1 “Women Klan Members Reveal Family Life,” New York Times, October 1, 1922, http://www.proquest.com.
Facility location for a hybrid manufacturing/remanufacturing system with carbon costs

This thesis addresses inventory management and facility location for a hybrid manufacturing/remanufacturing system where remanufacturing lead-time is different from production lead-time. We also investigate the impact of potential government regulation for carbon emission generated by transportation on a closed-loop supply chain (CLSC) network design. A two-stage optimization procedure is proposed in two cases of the different lead-times: The first stage optimizes the decisions on production and remanufacturing levels in each period based on a specific inventory management policy; the second stage optimizes the number and locations of factory, warehouse and collection centers. In a case of larger remanufacturing lead-time, the network is configured with a single plant, warehouse and collection center in the regions which minimize each investment considering the transportation cost. In the other case of larger production lead-time, the network is designed with multiple collection centers. With the consideration of the carbon emission cost, each storage facility first is located in the region closed to a plant with the highest investment, but as the emission cost increases, all facilities are centralized in the network to reduce the transportation costs. The proposed method results in lower combined costs of facility investment, holding inventory, transportation, and carbon emissions than a method that assumes equal manufacturing and remanufacturing lead-times.
Waiting for Paternity: Interpersonal and Contextual Implications of the Timing of Fatherhood

The aim of this study was to examine the effects of life-span contextual variation on father-child relationships. Sixty families in which both parents were either younger than 26 or older than 29 when they began childbearing, and whose child was between the ages of 3 and 5 at the time of the study participated. Videotaped observations of father-child play were collected. Questionnaires were also administered to fathers, assessing their marital satisfaction, work-home compatibility, and social network attributes. Older fathers established stronger connections to extra-familial contexts and displayed greater reliance on verbal mechanisms to engage children during play. Younger fathers maintained a more traditional style of fathering and engaged their children through physical stimulation. The implications of these findings for models of father-child relationships were explored.
Der Zusamenhang zwischen Tornados und Trailern

Manche amerikanischen Bundesstaaten haben starker unter Tornados und Hurrikans zu leiden als andere. So soll nach Ansicht fuhrender Meteorologen beispielsweise Kansas deshalb so haufig von Tornados heimgesucht werden, weil der Verlauf der Rocky Mountains, die weite, ebene Prarielandschaft und die vorherrschende Windrichtung zusammenwirken und so ihre Entstehung fordern.1 Die Experten irren. Ihre Analyse ist unvollstandig und berucksichtigt nicht die verbreitete Vorstellung, das Tornados einfach am haufigsten in den Bundesstaaten auftreten, in denen es viele Groswohnwagen, sogenannte Trailer oder Mobile Homes, gibt2 (siehe Abbildung 1). Im folgenden versuche ich, die Richtigkeit dieser und anderer gangiger Ansichten uber Tornados nachzuweisen und, falls moglich, mit Zahlen zu belegen.
Strategies for Successful Survivorship Care Plan Implementation: Results From a Qualitative Study

Introduction:Care for US cancer survivors is often fragmented, contributing to poor health outcomes. Care and outcomes may improve when survivors and follow-up care providers receive survivorship care plans (SCPs), written documents containing information regarding cancer diagnosis, treatment, surveillance plans, and health promotion. However, implementing SCPs is challenging. As such, we sought to identify strategies for successfully implementing SCPs.Methods:We measured SCP implementation using performance data from cancer programs participating in the American Society of Clinical Oncology Quality Oncology Practice Initiative, an oncologist-led quality assessment and improvement program. We used semistructured interviews with cancer program employees (eg, physicians) to identify strategies for successfully implementing SCPs by comparing approaches in cancer programs that, according to Quality Oncology Practice Initiative performance indicators, developed and delivered SCPs to a relatively small proporti...
Mitogen activated protein kinases function as a cohort during a plant defense response

Mitogen activated protein kinases (MAPKs) play important signal transduction roles. However, little is known regarding they influence the gene expression of other family members and the relationship to a biological process. Transcriptomics have identified MAPK gene expression occurring within root cells undergoing a defense response to a pathogenic event in the allotetraploid Glycine max. Functional analyses are presented for its 32 MAPKs revealing 9 have a defense role, including homologs of Arabidopsis thaliana MAPK (MPK) MPK2, MPK3, MPK4, MPK5, MPK6, MPK13, MPK16 and MPK20. Defense signaling occurring through pathogen activated molecular pattern (PAMP) triggered immunity (PTI) and effector triggered immunity (ETI) have been determined in relation to these MAPKs. Five different types of gene expression relate to MAPK expression, influencing PTI and ETI gene expression and proven defense genes including an ABC-G transporter, 20S membrane fusion particle components, glycoside biosynthesis, carbon metabolism, hemicellulose modification, transcription and secretion. The experiments show MAPKs broadly influence defense MAPK gene expression, including the co-regulation of parologous MAPKs and reveal its relationship to proven defense genes.
Microsciurus santanderensis (Rodentia: Sciuridae)

Microsciurus santanderensis (Hernandez-Camacho, 1957) is a sciurid commonly called the Santander dwarf squirrel. M. santanderensis is a small tree squirrel with orange and black mixed fur and is 1 of 4 species in the genus Microsciurus. Endemic to Colombia, South America, in forests at elevations up to 3,800 m, M. santanderensis is listed as “Data Deficient” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, and more research is needed to determine its conservation needs.
Emergency room closed reduction versus in situ splinting in the treatment of paediatric supracondylar humerus fractures.

Abstract Purpose Displaced supracondylar humerus fractures are treated with open or closed reduction and percutaneous pinning. In 2012, our management of patients with a displaced fracture changed ...
Identifying Hot Spots in Electronics Packages with a Sensitivity-Coefficient Based Inverse Heat Conduction Method

Inverse heat conduction methods can be used to estimate the location and intensity of heat sources in electronics, but often there is a tradeoff in computational cost and accuracy of the retrieved heat fluxes and temperatures. This is exacerbated when the exact size and locations of heat sources within the device are unknown. This paper demonstrates the applicability of an inverse sensitivity coefficient method to locate hotspots and estimate associate hot spot temperatures for a commercial electronics package. The sensitivity coefficients are computed with a steady-state, 3-D finite volume model in FloTHERM. In this work, the locations and sizes of the heat sources are not initially known, thus, we impose a grid of potential heater source locations on one surface, and activate the heaters located under the hot spots visible in the temperature profile. The inverse model is validated with the results of a “numerical experiment” (i.e., solving the direct problem in FloTHERM and using the temperature maps as input to the inverse solver) and used to identify hot spots in a commercial device using temperature maps acquired experimentally with infrared microscopy. While demonstrated here for a microelectronic device, this method is broadly applicable to other systems where the distribution of heat generation is unknown and limited only temperature measurements are experimentally possible including batteries and manufacturing processes.
Determination of Acrolein-Associated T1 and T2 Relaxation Times and Noninvasive Detection Using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance and Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy

An estimated 3.3 million people are living with a traumatic brain injury (TBI)-associated morbidity. Currently, only invasive and sacrificial methods exist to study neurochemical alterations following TBI. Nuclear magnetic resonance methods—magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and spectroscopy (MRS)—are powerful tools which may be used noninvasively to diagnose a range of medical issues. These methods can be utilized to explore brain functionality, connectivity, and biochemistry. Unfortunately, many of the commonly studied brain metabolites (e.g., N-acetyl-aspartate, choline, creatine) remain relatively stable following mild to moderate TBI and may not be suitable for longitudinal assessment of injury severity and location. Therefore, a critical need exists to investigate alternative biomarkers of TBI, such as acrolein. Acrolein is a byproduct of lipid peroxidation and accumulates following damage to neuronal tissue. Acrolein has been shown to increase in post-mortem rat brain tissue following TBI. However, no methods exist to noninvasively quantify acrolein in vivo. Currently, we have characterized the T1 and T2 of acrolein via nuclear magnetic resonance saturation recovery and Carr–Purcell–Meiboom–Gill experiments, accordingly, to maximize the signal-to-noise ratio of acrolein obtained with MRS. In addition, we have quantified acrolein in water and whole-brain phantom using PRESS MRS and standard post-processing methods. With this potential novel biomarker for assessing TBI, we can investigate methods for predicting acute and chronic neurological dysfunction in humans and animal models. By quantifying and localizing acrolein with MRS, and investigating neurological outcomes associated with in vivo measures, patient-specific interventions could be developed to decrease TBI-associated morbidity and improve quality of life.
Posting, texting, and related social risk behavior while high

Background: Posting on social media can have lasting consequences in one's social life and career. Research has not yet focused on social media or more modern forms of communication as social risk factors for individuals high on drugs. This study aims to examine prevalence and correlates of engaging in social media posting and related behavior while high. Methods: We examined data from 872 adults (39.8% female) who were surveyed entering electronic dance music (EDM) parties in New York City and reported lifetime illegal drug use. Participants were asked whether they were ever high on a drug while (1) posting on social media, (2) calling or texting someone, and (3) being in a photo. Those answering affirmatively were also asked whether they later regretted the behavior. We examined demographic and drug-related correlates of these behaviors. Results: Of the participants, 34.3% posted on social media while high (with 21.4% regretting it), 55.9% had texted or called someone while high (with 30.5% regretting it), and 47.6% had been in a photo while high (with 32.7% regretting it). Females and young adults (ages 18-24) were at high risk for posting on social media while high and at higher risk for engaging in more of these behaviors. Past-month marijuana users in particular were at increased risk for engaging in each of these behaviors. Conclusion: Engaging in these behaviors while high on drugs appears to be prevalent, and prevention and harm reduction efforts should seek to prevent or reduce likelihood of social harm that can result from such situations.
Total-Body 68Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT for Bone Metastasis Detection in Prostate Cancer Patients: Potential Impact on Bone Scan Guidelines

Our purpose was to determine the relationship between serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level categories ( 20 ng/mL) and the incidence of bone metastases detected by total-body 68Ga-prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA)-11 PET/CT and to assess if expanding the 68Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT imaging field to include the vertex and lower extremities (total-body acquisition) affects bone metastasis detection rates and patient management. Methods: This was a retrospective analysis of 388 prostate cancer patients enrolled in 5 prospective studies (NCT02940262, NCT03368547, NCT03042312, NCT04050215, and NCT03515577). All underwent 68Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT scans acquired from vertex to toes for primary staging (n = 93/388, 24%), biochemical recurrence (BCR) localization (n = 225/388, 58%), or restaging metastatic disease (M1) before or during systemic therapy (n = 70/388, 18%) between September 2017 and May 2018. Results: In total, 321 of 388 patients (83%) had a positive 68Ga-PSMA-11 study. PSMA-positive bone lesions were found in 105 of 388 (27%) patients, with an incidence that was positively associated with serum PSA level (<10 ng/mL, 21%; 10-20 ng/mL, 41%; ≥20 ng/mL, 41%; P < 0.001). This association was maintained for all 3 indications: initial staging, BCR, and restaging M1. Bone metastases occurred most frequently in restaging M1, followed by BCR and initial staging. Bone metastasis incidence was not significantly associated with National Comprehensive Cancer Network risk score (P = 0.22). The average number of PSMA-positive regions also increased with serum PSA level (P < 0.001). Eighteen of 388 (5%) and 18 of 388 (5%) had lesions above the superior orbital ridge and below the proximal third of the femur, respectively. There was only 1 of 388 patients (0.26%) in whom the total-body PET acquisition had an impact on management. Conclusion: Bone metastases as assessed with 68Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT are prevalent even in patients with low serum PSA levels. Therefore, current guidelines for bone assessments in prostate cancer patients should be revisited because 68Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT may provide additional information for accurate bone staging at low serum PSA levels. Including the total body (from vertex to toes) in 68Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT imaging revealed additional bone lesions in 6% of patients, but without significantly affecting patient management.
Unanswered Questions About Clinical Ethics Expertise.

As individuals who have been active in national efforts to define standards for clinical ethics practice, we had high hopes for Brummet and Salter’s article entitled “Taxonomizing Views of Clinical...
Structure and Function Analysis of DNA Monolayers Created from Self-Assembling DNA-Dendron Conjugates.

Short sequences of DNA immobilized on gold surfaces can be used to capture an array of target molecules because of their high level of specificity. Depending on the nature of the target molecules, ...
GadE regulates fliC gene transcription and motility in Escherichia coli

Background Escherichia coli (E. coli) express flagella to ascend human urinary tracts. To survive in the acidic pH of human urine, E. coli uses the glutamate decarboxylase acid response system, which is regulated by the GadE protein. Aim To determine if growth in an acidic pH environment affected fliC transcription and whether GadE regulated that transcription. Methods A fliC-lacZ reporter fusion was created on a single copy number plasmid to assess the effects of acidic pH on fliC transcription. Further, a ΔgadE mutant strain of a uropathogenic E. coli was created and tested for motility compared to the wild-type strain. Results Escherichia coli cells carrying the fliC-lacZ fusion displayed significantly less fliC transcription when grown in an acidic pH medium compared to when grown in a neutral pH medium. Transcription of fliC fell further when the E. coli was grown in an acidic pH/high osmolarity environment. Since GadE is a critical regulator of one acid response system, fliC transcription was tested in a gadE mutant strain grown under acidic conditions. Expression of fliC was derepressed in the E. coli gadE mutant strain grown under acidic conditions compared to that in wild-type bacteria under the same conditions. Furthermore, a gadE mutation in a uropathogenic E. coli background exhibited significantly greater motility than the wild-type strain following growth in an acidic medium. Conclusion Together, our results suggest that GadE may down-regulate fliC transcription and motility in E. coli grown under acidic conditions.
The unexpected American origins of sexology and sexual science: Elizabeth Osgood Goodrich Willard, Orson Squire Fowler, and the scientification of sex:

In spite of the fact that the term ‘sexology’ was popularized in the United States by Elizabeth Osgood Goodrich Willard and that the term ‘sexual science’—which is usually attributed to Iwan Bloch ...
The Component Architecture of Open MPI: Enabling Third-Party Collective Algorithms*

As large-scale clusters become more distributed and heterogeneous, significant research interest has emerged in optimizing MPI collective operations because of the performance gains that can be realized. However, researchers wishing to develop new algorithms for MPI collective operations are typically faced with significant design, implementation, and logistical challenges. To address a number of needs in the MPI research community, Open MPI has been developed, a new MPI-2 implementation centered around a lightweight component architecture that provides a set of component frameworks for realizing collective algorithms, point-to-point communication, and other aspects of MPI implementations. In this chapter, we focus on the collective algorithm component framework. The “coll” framework provides tools for researchers to easily design, implement, and experiment with new collective algorithms in the context of a production-quality MPI. Performance results with basic collective operations demonstrate that the component architecture of Open MPI does not introduce any performance penalty.
How Retroactivity Affects the Behavior of Incoherent Feedforward Loops

An incoherent feedforward loop (IFFL) is a network motif known for its ability to accelerate responses and generate pulses. It remains an open question to understand the behavior of IFFLs in contexts with high levels of retroactivity, where an upstream transcription factor binds to numerous downstream binding sites. Here we study the behavior of IFFLs by simulating and comparing ODE models with different levels of retroactivity. We find that increasing retroactivity in an IFFL can increase, decrease, or keep the network's response time and pulse amplitude constant. This suggests that increasing retroactivity, traditionally considered an impediment to designing robust synthetic systems, could be exploited to improve the performance of IFFLs. In contrast, we find that increasing retroactivity in a negative autoregulated circuit can only slow the response. The ability of an IFFL to flexibly handle retroactivity may have contributed to its significant abundance in both bacterial and eukaryotic regulatory networks.
Advancing carbon management through the global commoditization of CO2: the case for dual-use LNG-CO2 shipping

Rising anthropogenic CO2 emissions and global temperatures are a technological, social, and political challenge. These necessitate deep decarbonization through carbon management strategies for sust...
The Effect of Strategic Orientation and Gender on Survival: A Study on Potential Mass Merchandising Suppliers

While a market orientation is associated with superior performance (Narver and Slater, 1990; Kara et al., 2005), it may not be the only approach for small manufacturers (Noble et al., 2002). Our study examines whether two other orientations - production and marketing - influence the survival rate for small manufacturers wanting to supply the mass merchandising marketplace. We also investigate the impact of gender-related preferences on the continued existence of these firms.The sample for this study consisted of 1,690 small, independently-owned manufacturers who participated in an evaluation program in order to become a supplier for a major mass merchandiser. Results showed that surviving firm owners placed more emphasis on production than marketing activities, while non-surviving firm owners did the opposite. When gender was considered, male-owners showed similar preferences as the general sample, but the reverse was true for female entrepreneurs. We conclude that an exclusive focus on a market orientation may be counterproductive to a firm's long-term success. For small manufacturers in the mass merchandising industry, both a production and marketing orientation are needed to survive.
Effect of Sunlight Versus Shade on the Magnitude of Presence of Forensically Important Species of Diptera in Northeastern Trinidad.

Various environmental factors can affect the duration of dipteran life cycles, a cycle important in forensic entomology when determining the time of colonization, which could be a time of death estimate. The amount of sunlight a carrion receives can influence the magnitude of presence of Diptera. In order to investigate, FTD2 disposable fly traps were used in lieu of carrion and were placed in direct sunlight and under shade for a total of 5 days between approximately 0700 and 1730. Diptera were collected and counted daily. Monitors of Ambient Light Intensity (MALI) sensors were used to determine the amount of sunlight a trap received by counting pulses of light outside a preset lux meter minimum or maximum. Shaded traps collected higher numbers of flies as time progressed while traps placed in direct sunlight collected fewer. A Fisher Exact test was used, and it was determined that there was a statistically significant trend that the flies preferred the shaded traps over the sunlit. Further trials and emphasis on ultraviolet radiation could be beneficial in determining a more statistically significant trend.
Modeling carrier mobility in graphene as a sensitive probe of molecular magnets

Carrier mobility in graphene on a GaAs substrate and its change due to the adsorption of molecular magnets, ${\mathrm{Mn}}_{12}$ and $[{\mathrm{Mn}}_{3}{]}_{2}$, on the surface of graphene, is calculated from first principles. Phonon limited mobility is also calculated for comparison. For ${\mathrm{Mn}}_{12}$ adsorption on graphene, the mobility is compared for different organic ligands of ${\mathrm{Mn}}_{12}$ $(\text{\ensuremath{-}}\mathrm{H}, \text{\ensuremath{-}}{\mathrm{CH}}_{3}, \mathrm{and} \text{\ensuremath{-}}\mathrm{CH}{\mathrm{Cl}}_{2})$, while for $[{\mathrm{Mn}}_{3}{]}_{2}$ dimers, the mobility is calculated for different linkers that yield the ferromagnetic and anti-ferromagnetic configurations of $[{\mathrm{Mn}}_{3}{]}_{2}$, as well as for different orientations of the molecule. Significant changes in carrier mobility due to the adsorption of the molecules and due to differences in linkers suggest mobility measurement as a possible sensitive probe of magnetic molecules.
Effectiveness of the Ophthalmological Training Component of the STOMP (Simulation Training for Operational Medical Providers) Curriculum.

Introduction Simulation has been used in medicine to train clinicians to manage a variety of clinical scenarios. A key adaptation of the use of simulation in military healthcare occurred in 2015 with the development of the STOMP (Simulation Training for Operational Medical Providers) curriculum, a specific curriculum designed for the intern (PGY-1) trained physicians being sent into the military to practice primary care. Despite showing the curriculum's influence on self-perceived comfort scores, no study has determined whether simulation is an effective means of improving general medical officer (GMO) physicians' skills compared to other traditional styles of education. Specifically, this study sought to determine whether simulation-based education (SBE) of ophthalmologic skills improves GMO physicians' clinical performance, as compared to traditional didactic-based instruction. Methods The study, conducted at Naval Medical Center Portsmouth, included GMO physicians who were enrolled in the 2019 STOMP class. Following a brief overview of the study, GMO physicians who elected to participate in the study were randomized to either SBE or lecture-based training for three commonly used ophthalmological procedures: slit lamp exam, tonometry, and corneal foreign body removal. After completing the simulation and lecture-based education training sessions, participants' procedural performance was evaluated utilizing a locally developed performance checklist, and completion time for each of the three procedures was recorded. Data were analyzed using the t-test and Mann-Whitney test. A significance level of 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. Results Of the 50 consented participants, 46 completed the study. The mean overall completion scores for the performance checklists were significantly higher for the SBE group (n=26) compared to the lecture group (n=20) [80% (95% CI 78-82%) vs 41% (95% CI 35-47%), respectively]. Time to completion of the individual tasks was also significantly shorter for the SBE group compared to the lecture group (with mean differences ranging from 27 to 126 seconds, all p Conclusions Simulation-based training appeared to be more effective at teaching three ophthalmological procedures (slit lamp exam, tonometry, and corneal foreign body removal) to GMO physicians compared to didactic-based instruction alone.
Letter to the editor regarding 'the correlation of force-velocity-power relationship of a whole-body movement with 20 m and 60 m sprint'.

Dear Sports Biomechanics Editorial Team,I write to point out theoretical and methodological errors that compromise the results and interpretations published recently in the study reported by Singh ...
Pulse Voltage Measurement

Ultrafast pulses can be measured by a resistive divider or a capacitive divider (Sect. 17.1). In terms of the ease of construction and characterization, the resistive divider is a better choice. The divider is typically consisted of a high value resistor and a 50 Ω resistor, designed to match the impedance of a standard coaxial cable. The configuration and related issues of such a divider is discussed in Sect. 17.2. With robust resistors, the divider can be used to measure high voltage, nanosecond pulses. For shorter pulses, a coaxial structure that houses resistors with low inductance can be used. One such a resistor divider for subnanosecond pulses is shown in Sect. 17.3.
MECHANISMS OF ACTION OF SUBSTANTIA NIGRA AND ADRENAL MEDULLA GRAFTS

Loss of the dopaminergic neurons of the substantia nigra (SN) and concomitant degeneration of the nigrostriatal dopamine system has been linked to the clinical syndrome of Parkinson’s disease (Bernheimer et al., 1973). Although brain tissue transplantation techniques have now been applied to several experimental models, it is the nigrostriatal system that has been the most extensively studied. Two brain grafting techniques have been found to produce a long-term alleviation of consequences of SN lesions in experimental models of Parkinson’s disease: intracerebral adrenal medulla grafts, and embryonic SN grafts. The two techniques appear to operate through different mechanisms. SN grafts produce dopamine-containing neurites which reinnervate the striatum. Adrenal medulla grafts, on the other hand, do not significantly reinnervate the striatum.
Macrophage-Tumor Cell Fusions from Peripheral Blood of Melanoma Patients

Background While the morbidity and mortality from cancer are largely attributable to its metastatic dissemination, the integral features of the cascade are not well understood. The widely accepted hypothesis is that the primary tumor microenvironment induces the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition in cancer cells, facilitating their escape into the bloodstream, possibly accompanied by cancer stem cells. An alternative theory for metastasis involves fusion of macrophages with tumor cells (MTFs). Here we culture and characterize apparent MTFs from blood of melanoma patients. Methods We isolated enriched CTC populations from peripheral blood samples from melanoma patients, and cultured them. We interrogated these cultured cells for characteristic BRAF mutations, and used confocal microscopy for immunophenotyping, motility, DNA content and chromatin texture analyses, and then conducted xenograft studies using nude mice. Findings Morphologically, the cultured MTFs were generally large with many pseudopod extensions and lamellipodia. Ultrastructurally, the cultured MTFs appeared to be macrophages. They were rich in mitochondria and lysosomes, as well as apparent melanosomes. The cultured MTF populations were all heterogeneous with regard to DNA content, containing aneuploid and/or high-ploidy cells, and they typically showed large sheets (and/or clumps) of cytoplasmic chromatin. This cytoplasmic DNA was found within heterogeneously-sized autophagic vacuoles, which prominently contained chromatin and micronuclei. Cultured MTFs uniformly expressed pan-macrophage markers (CD14, CD68) and macrophage markers indicative of M2 polarization (CD163, CD204, CD206). They also expressed melanocyte-specific markers (ALCAM, MLANA), epithelial biomarkers (KRT, EpCAM), as well as the pro-carcinogenic cytokine MIF along with functionally related stem cell markers (CXCR4, CD44). MTF cultures from individual patients (5 of 8) contained melanoma-specific BRAF activating mutations. Chromatin texture analysis of deconvoluted images showed condensed DNA (DAPI-intense) regions similar to focal regions described in stem cell fusions. MTFs were readily apparent in vivo in all human melanomas examined, often exhibiting even higher DNA content than the cultured MTFs. When cultured MTFs were transplanted subcutaneously in nude mice, they disseminated and produced metastatic lesions at distant sites. Conclusions and Hypothesis Apparent MTFs are present in peripheral blood of patients with cutaneous melanomas, and they possess the ability to form metastatic lesions when transplanted into mice. We hypothesize that these MTFs arise at the periphery of primary tumors in vivo, that they readily enter the bloodstream and invade distant tissues, secreting cytokines (such as MIF) to prepare “niches” for colonization by metastasis initiating cells.
The Eight Days

What is it, what's the matter with you, whispered the man in the gray overcoat. Nothing. Dizzy for a moment. I'm okay. Again he raised the barrel, felt the cold metal of the sight pressing into his cheek. He trained the crosshairs on Karl's door. The night air was chill and heavy, and a few cars hissed on the wet street below. Suddenly a figure in white turned the corner. He tried to make out the face.
Barbarism and Religion: Isaac de Beausobre: heresy, philosophy, history

BEAUSOBRE AND GIBBON: THE OCCASIONAL PRESENCE Beausobre's Histoire de Manichee et du Manicheisme (1734–9) is an exception among Gibbon's sources for the Church before Constantine in that, unlike the works of Fleury, Tillemont, Le Clerc or Mosheim, it is not a historia ecclesiastica though it is a contribution to that field of study. That is to say, it is not a history of the Church as an organised body, divine and human; it has no narrative structure and does not, like Eusebius, Tillemont or as we shall see Mosheim, consider how such a history should be written in terms of the experiences the Church underwent and the characteristics it acquired as a result. There is nothing about the persecutions, or the transmission and construction of authority. What it has in common with the other histories Gibbon read is a concern with heresy, and therefore with orthodoxy, as phenomena whose presence in Christian history needs to be explained and understood; and it shares with other texts of the Protestant early Enlightenment a tendency to question this presence and lessen the rigour with which heresy and orthodoxy can be defined, condemned or upheld. The heresies (as he does not hesitate to call them) that concern Beausobre in the history of the second and third centuries are those known as ‘gnostic’ and described by Irenaeus, Epiphanius and other Fathers.
NASA's Morphing Project Research Summaries in Fiscal Year 2002

The Morphing project at the National Aeronautics and Space Agency's Langley Research Center is part of the Aerospace Vehicle Systems Program Office that conducts fundamental research on advanced technologies for future flight vehicles. The objectives of the Morphing project are to develop and assess advanced technologies and integrated component concepts to enable efficient, multi-point adaptability in air and space vehicles. In the context of the project, the word "morphing" is defined as "efficient, multi-point adaptability" and may include micro or macro, structural or fluidic approaches. The current document on the Morphing project is a compilation of research summaries and other information on the project from fiscal year 2001. The focus of this document is to provide a brief overview of the project content, technical results and lessons learned from fiscal year 2001.
An empirical investigation of the effect of accounting based debt covenants on the magnitude of the long window earnings response coefficient

This study empirically investigates the marginal security price responses to unexpected earnings and examines the effect of accounting based debt covenants on the magnitude of the long-window marginal security price responses. This study has two primary research objectives. The first objective is to improve measurement of the determinants of discount factor or demand rate of return (kit). The second objective is to provide additional evidence that return on equity is a positive function of the default risk of debt. The extension and improvement proposed by this study relies heavily on the Earnings Response Coefficient (ERC) literature that describes the price-informativeness of earnings to include appropriate control variables, firm size, reported accounting earnings, level of accruals. This research used three different matching techniques for control groups of non-violating firms in order to provide more powerful tests. This study examined the actual covenant violation, as a proxy for the default risk of debt. Three research hypotheses are generated based on the theoretical propositions of recent accounting based debt covenants, accounting choice, firm size, ERC, and differential information hypothesis literature. The major results of the study are as follows. The results support the notion that ERC is negatively related with the default risk of firm as measured by the actual violation of debt covenants after controlling for the effects of firm size and level of reported net income. However, test results fail to support the notion that ERC is negatively related with the default risk of firm when the firms are matched on the level of their accruals.
The RAP unit: A remote autoranging picoammeter

A digital instrument for remote acquisition of low-level current measurements is described. Primarily designed for operation with ionization chambers, this instrument provides the capability of local or remote operation over the current range from 10{sup {minus}11} to 10{sup {minus}4} A. It is capable of autoranging operation, or it can be placed in a hold'' mode where the range is specified. The digital communication link is an optically-isolated 60-mA current loop for noise-free operation, and the unit can be daisy-chained for multiple-unit communication. 10 figs.
Latent Class Analysis

Latent class analysis is a discrete variable analog of factor analysis. It attempts to explain associations by underlying categorical traits that are not directly observable. This article presents the latent class model, discusses its connection with loglinear models, and discusses model fitting and testing. Keywords: chi-square test; contingency table; EM algorithm; factor analysis; identifiability; multinomial distribution; Rasch model
Studies on the effect of 5-thio-d-glucose and 2-deoxy-d-glucose on myo-inositol metabolism☆

Abstract The influence of intraperitoneal injections of 2-deoxyglucose (2DG) (50 mg/kg body weight daily for 7 days) or 5-thio- d -glucose (5TG) (50 or 250 mg/kg body weight daily for 7 days) on myo-inositol metabolism in the mouse, particularly in regard to the male reproductive tract, was investigated. Exposure of male mice to either 5TG or 2DG significantly reduced sperm counts after 3–7 days of administration. 2DG was converted to the 6-phosphate in mouse testis and liver and myo-inositol levels were decreased significantly in both tissues, although lipid-bound myo-inositol levels were normal. 5TG injection caused hyperglycemia and, at 250 mg/kg body weight, significantly increased testicular glucose 6-phosphate and free but not lipid-bound myo-inositol levels. 5-Thio- d -glucose 6-phosphate was shown to be a competitive inhibitor (Ki = 3.3 × 10−4 M) of myo-inositol 1-phosphate synthase (EC 5.5.1.4) from rat testis in vitro. 5-Thio- d -glucose 6-phosphate, presumably the α-anomer, was a substrate for the reaction catalyzed by glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.49) from yeast.
Numerical simulation of temperature-dependent, anisotropic tertiary creep damage

Directionally -solidified (DS) Ni -base superalloys are commonly applied as turbine materials to primarily withstand creep conditions manifested in either marine -, air - or land based gas turbines components. The thrust for increased efficiency of these syste ms, however, translates into the need for these materials to exhibit considerable strength and temperature resistance. Accurate prediction of crack initiation behavior of these hot gas path components is an on -going challenge for turbine designers. Aside from the spectrum of mechanical loading, blades and vanes are subjected to high temperature cycling and thermal gradients. Imposing repeated start -up and shut -down steps leads to creep and fatigue damage. The presence of s tress concentrations due to cooli ng holes , edges, and sites sustain foreign object damage must also be taken into account. These issues and the interaction thereof can be mitigated with the application of high fidelity constitutive models implemented to predict material response under giv en thermomechanical loading history. In the current study, the classical Kachanov -Rabotnov model for tertiary creep damage is implemented in a general -purpose finite element analysis (FEA) software. The evolution of damage is considered as a vector -valued quantity to account for orientation -dependent damage accumulation. Creep deformation and rupture experiments on samples from a representative DS Ni -base superalloys tested at temperatures between 649 and 982°C and three o rientations (longitudinally -, tran sversely -oriented , and intermediately oriented ). The damage model coefficients corresponding to secondary and tertiary creep constants are characterized for temperature and orientation dependence. This advanced formulation can be implemented for modeling f ull -scale parts containing temperature gradients .
Thin film structure of symmetric rod-coil block copolymers

Poly(alkoxyphenylenevinylene-b-isoprene) (PPV-b-PI) rod−coil block copolymers demonstrate novel structures due to the rodlike PPV block. Thin films of the polymers self-assemble into lamellar microphases upon thermal annealing with the lamellae oriented primarily parallel to the substrate. The parallel lamellae show symmetric wetting of PI at both the substrate and vacuum interfaces. Grains of lamellae with parallel orientation are characterized by irregular polygon shapes and are bounded by defect regions where the lamellae are oriented out of the plane of the film. Grazing-incidence small-angle X-ray scattering (GISAXS) shows that these out-of-plane lamellae are strongly oriented perpendicular to the film. The perpendicular lamellae are much straighter than those typically observed in coil−coil block copolymers due to the high bending energy of the liquid crystalline rod nanodomains. Islands or holes form in the films, and domain spacings estimated from the island/hole heights are equal to the bulk doma...
A Unified Approach for Calculating Core Melt Frequency Caused by Internal and External Initiating Events

A unified approach for calculating the core melt frequency of a specific reactor caused by both internal and external accident initiators is demonstrated. Two classes of internal initiators are examined: transients, of which turbine trip is the chosen example; and loss-of-coolant events of various sizes. The concepts of hazard and fragility analysis first proposed for seismic risk analysis are linked to the frequencies of internal initiating events, and to the plant response as a function of the event intensity. Uncertainties are propagated using discrete probability distribution (DPD) arithmetic. Advantages of this approach include mathematical and conceptual consistency, and an improved uncertainty analysis, which are important considerations if risk studies are to be utilized in decision-making based on quantitative safety goals. 5 refs., 5 figs., 5 tabs.
Combining multiple nondestructive inspection images with a generalized additive model

In this paper, multiple nondestructive inspection (NDI) images are combined with a generalized additive model to achieve a more precise and reliable assessment of hidden corrosion in aircraft lap joints. Two inspection techniques are considered in this study. One is the conventional multi-frequency eddy current testing technique and the other is the pulsed eddy current technique. To characterize the thickness loss or equivalently to achieve a quantitative measure of corrosion, multiple NDI images are fused to produce a thickness map that reflected the amount of corrosion damage. These results are further compared with corresponding digital x-ray thickness maps, which are obtained by mapping the remaining thickness after the specimen is dissembled and all the corrosion products are cleaned. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed algorithms outperform the traditional calibration method aligned with a single testing approach.
Cranberry Proanthocyanidins Mediate Growth Arrest of Lung Cancer Cells through Modulation of Gene Expression and Rapid Induction of Apoptosis

Cranberries are rich in bioactive constituents purported to enhance immune function, improve urinary tract health, reduce cardiovascular disease and more recently, inhibit cancer in preclinical models. However, identification of the cranberry constituents with the strongest cancer inhibitory potential and the mechanism associated with cancer inhibition by cranberries remains to be elucidated. This study investigated the ability of a proanthocyanidin rich cranberry fraction (PAC) to alter gene expression, induce apoptosis and impact the cell cycle machinery of human NCI-H460 lung cancer cells. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States and five year survival rates remain poor at 16%. Thus, assessing potential inhibitors of lung cancer-linked signaling pathways is an active area of investigation.
Preoperative optimization of patients with liver disease.

Purpose of reviewRecent papers relevant to the preoperative evaluation and optimization of patients with severe liver disease will be discussed. The emphasis will be placed on cardiovascular, pulmonary, and renal complications. Other aspects such as preoperative management of hepatitis B and C, othe