cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Corporate Socially Irresponsible Behavior and Its Spillover Effect: The Role of Upstream Versus Downstream Positions in the Supply Chain: An Abstract

Does a scandal lead to a decline in firm financial performance? Previous studies have shown inconclusive results for the relationship between a firm’s corporate social performance (CSP) and financial performance. Based on signaling theory, I hypothesize that the strength of this relationship depends on the position of the firm in the supply chain. Specifically, I propose that the actions of firms positioned in the downstream end of the supply chain are more visible to consumers than those from firms upstream the supply chain. Consequently, the link between CSP and financial performance will be stronger for firms in the downstream, rather than upstream, the supply chain. In addition, I contend that the spillover effect from irresponsible social behaviors will also be stronger for firms downstream rather upstream the supply chain.
A flexible simulation model aimed to improve inpatient units in health care

In the past few decades, simulation in healthcare has gained immense attention from researchers because of its ability to detect problems that help in the improvement of the facility. It is important for any healthcare to know how many beds, nurses, and therapist they need in their facility to improve their service. In this research, we have created a customized object that is used to design simulation model for progressive care unit in a hospital. The objective of this research is to a make a flexible simulation model that can easily be extended and re used to make simulation model for any facility. The simulation model built would help the health care personnel in determining the number of beds, therapists and nurses in their facility.
Contingency in philosophy and history, 1650–1800

This essay traces the history of a narrative and historiographic tension, of the inevitability that only appears after the fact. It offers a history of ‘contingency’, the modern affect that accompa...
Automatic Packaging of Miniaturized Circuits

This paper reviews the effort to utilize the advanced capabilities of semiconductor device fabrication and component interconnection techniques in the manufacture of digital computers. By taking advantage of the characteristics of these new devices and interconnections, substantial savings can be realized in manufacturing cost. If other potential advantages of this packaging capability are to be gained, it is important that all aspects of machine design, production, and maintenance be considered as an integrated whole.
Comparisons of brucellosis between human and veterinary medicine

Brucellosis is the world’s most widespread zoonosis, but also ranks as one of the seven most neglected diseases, according to the World Health Organization. Additionally, it is recognized as the wo...
Tracking Cell Transplants in Femoral Osteonecrosis with Magnetic Resonance Imaging: A Proof-of-Concept Study in Patients.

Purpose: Osteonecrosis is a devastating complication of high-dose corticosteroid therapy in patients with cancer. Core decompression for prevention of bone collapse has been recently combined with the delivery of autologous concentrated bone marrow aspirates. The purpose of our study was to develop an imaging test for the detection of transplanted bone marrow cells in osteonecrosis lesions. Experimental Design: In a prospective proof-of-concept clinical trial (NCT02893293), we performed serial MRI studies of nine hip joints of 7 patients with osteonecrosis before and after core decompression. Twenty-four to 48 hours prior to the surgery, we injected ferumoxytol nanoparticles intravenously to label cells in normal bone marrow with iron oxides. During the surgery, iron-labeled bone marrow cells were aspirated from the iliac crest, concentrated, and then injected into the decompression track. Following surgery, patients received follow-up MRI up to 6 months after bone marrow cell transplantation. Results: Iron-labeled cells could be detected in the access canal by a dark (negative) signal on T2-weighted MR images. T2* relaxation times of iron-labeled cell transplants were significantly lower compared with unlabeled cell transplants of control patients who were not injected with ferumoxytol (P = 0.02). Clinical outcomes of patients who received ferumoxytol-labeled or unlabeled cell transplants were not significantly different (P = 1), suggesting that the added ferumoxytol administration did not negatively affect bone repair. Conclusions: This immediately clinically applicable imaging test could become a powerful new tool to monitor the effect of therapeutic cells on bone repair outcomes after corticosteroid-induced osteonecrosis.
Nobel Lecture: LIGO and gravitational waves III*

The 2017 Nobel Prize for Physics was shared by Rainer Weiss, Barry C. Barish, and Kip S. Thorne. These papers are the text of the address given in conjunction with the award.
Preoperative Workup of GERD

Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a condition that develops when the reflux of stomach contents causes troublesome symptoms and/or complications. Due to the wide range of presentation in GERD patients with esophageal and/or extraesophageal syndromes that are common symptoms but often overlapping those of other upper gastrointestinal and cardiopulmonary disorders, a systematic approach to the preoperative workup of these patients must be undertaken to identify objective evidence of esophageal reflux prior to surgery. The workup should include upper endoscopy, barium esophagram, manometry and pH study with very few exceptions. Only after successful objective identification of pathologic acid exposure should surgery be pursued for select patients.
Relationship of Activity Patterns to Acute Mountain Sickness in South Pole Workers

This study aimed to evaluate the influence of physical activity on incidence of acute mountain sickness (AMS) by continuous activity monitoring in a free-living sample of South Pole workers over the initial 72 h at altitude exposure of 2,840 m (9,318 ft). Body Media activity monitors were worn by 47 healthy participants. AMS was defined by the Lake Louise symptom questionnaire. Venous blood samples were taken at sea level and approximately 48 h after high altitude exposure. AMS incidence was 34% (n=16/47) over the first 48 h and 40% (n=19/47) over 72 h. On day 2 at high altitude, individuals with AMS demonstrated a significantly greater increase in the percent change in physical activity metrics from baseline: total energy expenditure 19±13 vs. 5±7%, total steps 65±51 vs. 10±18%, metabolic equivalent of tasks 21±13 vs. 7±13%, and time spent performing moderate to vigorous physical activity 114±79 vs. 26±27% for individuals with AMS vs. no AMS, respectively, p
“Double syringe!”: Using a popular TV show argument to illustrate the differences of objective and interpretive paradigmatic perspectives in action

Metatheoretical perspectives, and their role in influencing the research process, can be difficult for undergraduate students to grasp. The communication field brings together myriad approaches to ...
Stochastic Model Predictive Control of Autonomous Systems with Non-Gaussian Correlated Uncertainty

Many systems such as autonomous vehicles and quadrotors are subject to parametric uncertainties and external disturbances. These uncertainties can lead to undesired performance degradation and safety issues. Therefore, it is important to design robust control strategies to safely regulate the dynamics of a system. This paper presents a novel framework for chance-constrained stochastic model predictive control of dynamic systems with non-Gaussian correlated probabilistic uncertainties. We develop a new stochastic Galerkin method to propagate the uncertainties using a new type of basis functions and an optimization-based quadrature rule. This formulation can easily handle non-Gaussian correlated uncertainties that are beyond the capability of generalized polynomial chaos expansions. The new stochastic Galerkin formulation enables us to convert a chance-constraint stochastic model predictive control problem into a deterministic one. We verify our approach by several stochastic control tasks, including obstacle avoidance, vehicle path following, and quadrotor reference tracking.
Which Side Are You On? 20th Century American History in 100 Protest Songs

The Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., understood the role of music as an important crowd motivator. Raised in the black church, he experienced jubilee songs and gospel hymns within congregational s...
Induction of apoplast phenolics in pepper (Capsicum annuum) leaves in response to pathogenic bacteria

Abstract The objective of this study was to corroborate, in pepper, the response of tobacco to induce apoplast phenolics upon bacterial inoculation. Leaves of Bell peppers (Capsicum annuum), 6–8 weeks old, were inoculated with bacteria and analyzed for apoplast phenolics after different periods of incubation. Pseudomonas syringae pv. tabacci, 108 cfu ml−1, induced numerous phenolics to accumulate in the leaf apoplast after 24 h. UPLC-UV chromatograms revealed about 15 UV-peaks, some containing several components. Using this bacterial isolate, it was found that all the fully developed leaves on a single plant had a similar phenolic response based on magnitude and composition of the phenolics. Between plants, the phenolic composition was also similar, although there was more variability. The magnitude of response was proportional to the bacterial concentration between 105-108 cfu ml−1. Plants inoculated with water or P. fluorescens, a saprophyte, had a negligible response. When pepper plants were inoculated with different bacterial pathogens, P. s. pv. tomato and pv. syringae, there were differences in the magnitude and composition of the phenolics after 24 h. A time course showed that phenolic accumulation was underway by 7 h and appeared to peak by 24 h. The bacterial induction of apoplast phenolics in pepper, described here, corroborates the similar response previously described for tobacco. The preliminary characterization by UPLC-UV/MS suggests the apoplast phenolics found in pepper are structurally different from those in tobacco. However, the similar timing and location of the responses in both plants would suggest that their roles in the plant bacterial interaction are also similar. Further investigation of the redox and bioactivity properties of these apoplast phenolics is needed.
Automated content analysis across six languages.

Corpus selection bias in international relations research presents an epistemological problem: How do we know what we know? Most social science research in the field of text analytics relies on English language corpora, biasing our ability to understand international phenomena. To address the issue of corpus selection bias, we introduce results that suggest that machine translation may be used to address non-English sources. We use human translation and machine translation (Google Translate) on a collection of aligned sentences from United Nations documents extracted from the Multi-UN corpus, analyzed with a “bag of words” analysis tool, Linguistic Inquiry Word Count (LIWC). Overall, the LIWC indices proved relatively stable across machine and human translated sentences. We find that while there are statistically significant differences between the original and translated documents, the effect sizes are relatively small, especially when looking at psychological processes.
A 617 TOPS/W All Digital Binary Neural Network Accelerator in 10nm FinFET CMOS

A 10nm digital Binary Neural Network (BNN) chip implements 1b activations and weights for compute density of 418TOPS/mm2 and memory density of 414KB/mm2. The chip achieves an energy efficiency of 617TOPS/W by leveraging Compute Near Memory (CNM), parallel inner product compute, and Near-Threshold Voltage (NTV) operation. The digital BNN design approaches the energy efficiency of analog in-memory techniques while also ensuring deterministic, scalable, and precise operation.
Accuracy of genomic selection and long-term genetic gain for resistance to Verticillium wilt in strawberry.

Verticillium wilt, a soil-borne disease caused by the fungal pathogen Verticillium dahliae, threatens strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa) production worldwide. The development of resistant cultivars has been a persistent challenge, in part because the genetics of resistance is complex. The heritability of resistance and genetic gains in breeding for resistance to this pathogen have not been well documented. To elucidate the genetics, assess long-term genetic gains, and estimate the accuracy of genomic selection for resistance to Verticillium wilt, we analyzed a genetically diverse population of elite and exotic germplasm accessions (n = 984), including 245 cultivars developed since 1854. We observed a full range of phenotypes, from highly susceptible to highly resistant: 50% were classified as moderately to highly susceptible. Broad-sense heritability estimates ranged from 0.70-0.76, whereas narrow-sense genomic heritability estimates ranged from 0.33-0.45. We found that genetic gains in breeding for resistance to Verticillium wilt have been negative over the last 165 years (mean resistance has decreased over time). We identified several highly resistant accessions that might harbor favorable alleles that are either rare or non-existent in modern populations. We did not observe the segregation of large-effect loci. The accuracy of genomic predictions ranged from 0.38-0.53 among years and whole-genome regression methods. We show that genomic selection has promise for increasing genetic gains and accelerating the development of resistant cultivars in strawberry by shortening selection cycles and enabling selection in early developmental stages without phenotyping.
Coach supported teaming: enhancing functioning to improve outcomes for students with and without disabilities

Meeting the academic and behavioral needs of students with and without disabilities and improving educational outcomes requires effective school-based and special education teaming. Yet, more often...
The Effect of Soluble Fiber Dextrin on Subjective and Physiological Markers of Appetite: A Randomized Trial.

Obesity is a leading public health problem throughout the world. The development of foods that increase satiety and reduce food may aid weight management. This study determined the effect of consuming soluble fiber dextrin (SFD) on appetite, appetitive hormones, breath hydrogen and food intake in adults. Forty-three participants completed this study. For each treatment, 50% of the SFD was provided in liquid form as part of breakfast and 50% in solid form as a morning snack. Appetite questionnaires, blood and breath samples were collected immediately before breakfast and at regular intervals during the test session. The participants consumed an ad libitum lunch meal, afternoon snack and dinner meal, and the amount eaten was recorded. Following dinner, participants left the laboratory but were required to keep a diet diary for the remainder of the day. Breath hydrogen concentration was significantly higher following the consumption of SFD compared to control (p 0.05). Moreover, consuming foods containing SFD had no effect on subjective appetite or food intake (p > 0.05). Consuming foods containing SFD increased breath hydrogen but did not influence food intake, appetite or appetitive hormones. However, the limitations of this study may have individually or collectively masked an effect of SFD on food intake and appetite.
A randomized trial of physical activity for cognitive functioning in breast cancer survivors: Rationale and study design of I can! improving cognition after cancer.

INTRODUCTION Difficulties with cognition are extremely common among breast cancer survivors and can significantly impact quality of life, daily functioning, and ability to return to work. One promising intervention is increasing physical activity, as it has been effective in improving cognition in non-cancer populations. Few physical activity intervention trials with cognition outcomes have included cancer survivors. This project builds upon our previous work indicating that increased physical activity can improve objectively measured processing speed and self-reported cognition among breast cancer survivors. METHODS The I Can! study will examine whether a physical activity intervention improves cognition among 250 post-treatment breast cancer survivors (Stages I-III, <5 years post-treatment) who are reporting cognitive difficulties. This 2-arm randomized controlled trial comparing a 6-month physical activity intervention (Exercise Group) to a health & wellness attention-comparison condition (Health & Wellness Group) will examine intervention effects on cognition (at 3 and 6 months) and maintenance of effects at 12 months. The primary aim is to investigate the impact of exercise on objectively measured processing speed and self-reported cognition. Secondary aims are to investigate maintenance of cognitive changes and examine candidate biological mechanisms and psychological mediators. CONCLUSION The I Can! study will contribute to the scientific, public health, and survivorship intervention literature by providing new information on the impact of physical activity for cognitive impairment in breast cancer survivors. Findings from this study will inform guidelines for physical activity to improve the lives of millions of breast cancer survivors.
Enterocele manifesting as recurrent anterior rectal prolapse: A case report.

Abstract Introduction and importance An enterocele is a true herniation of small bowel through the rectovaginal septum, most commonly occurring transvaginally. Although the prevalence of enterocele is not as low as previously thought, enteroceles manifesting transrectally or with rectal prolapse are exceedingly rare and without established surgical guidance. Case presentation A medically complex, oxygen-dependent patient presented with full fecal incontinence and transrectal enterocele associated with recurrent anterior rectal prolapse. This was diagnosed via defecography and repaired under regional anesthesia through an open transabdominal approach of posterior cul-de-sac obliteration, uterosacral ligament vaginal vault suspension and simplified ventral suture rectopexy. Surgical planning was determined through a multidisciplinary care-conference, with preference for an approach with minimal respiratory compromise and repair durability. Short-term, this patient has complete resolution of bulge symptoms, and improved fecal continence. Clinical discussion In addition to history and examination, dynamic imaging of the pelvic floor, specifically defecography, is particularly useful in identifying enteroceles that present as a component of pelvic organ or anorectal prolapse. As there are no established standard surgical treatment approaches for these rare conditions, surgeons must consider several points prior to proceeding: the repair of the defect, the symptoms the repair targets, and repair durability. Conclusions Complete assessment and specialist consultation should be pursued prior to surgical repair for anorectal pathology. For this patient, an open transabdominal native tissue repair under regional anesthesia was successful, emphasizing that approaches to surgical correction of such rare presentations must be individualized.
Natural history of the aortic root in Tetralogy of Fallot after repair

Abstract Background Aortic root dilation is described in tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) but few studies have examined the longitudinal trajectory of aortic root size over time. This study aims to evaluate changes in aortic root dimension across age in patients with repaired TOF and examine associated clinical characteristics. Methods Retrospective single-center study of TOF patients derived from a historical research cohort with up to 4 serial echocardiograms. Aortic dimensions at the annulus, sinus, and sinotubular junction (STJ) were measured and converted to Pediatric Heart Network Z-scores. Fractional polynomial regression models were fitted to describe aortic size across age after adjusting for age, sex, elevated blood pressure, and aortic valve morphology. Association of clinical variables with aortic size were examined using multivariate regression models. Results There were 126 patients (35% female, age 12.0 years [range 8.0–18.9] at first echo) with 426 echocardiograms. Age at last echo was 19.4 years [range 10.4–26.9]. Aortic annulus size was stable, whereas sinus and STJ size progressively increased with age. Male sex and pulmonary atresia were associated with increase in aortic root dimensions whereas age at repair, 22q11.2 deletion, and arch anomaly were not. Conclusions In children and young adults with TOF, the aortic annulus, sinus, and STJ are dilated compared to healthy peers. Aortic size was stable at the annulus but there was progressive increase beyond that associated with somatic growth at the sinus and most notably at the STJ. Male sex and pulmonary atresia were associated with increased aortic root dimensions.
Why States Should Consider Expanding Sales Taxes To Services, Part 1

This essay explores the general case for why states should consider expanding their sales tax bases to include more services as a response to the fiscal challenges of the COVID-19 crisis.
The Indigo Story

The airline passenger industry in India was a mess in 2013, but the low-cost carrier IndiGo was making money. This relatively new company had managed to work against the odds and grab market share from longer-established flyers. Still, the weak rupee, depreciated by 15%, was sending a chill wind through the aviation sector, and growth plans would have to include opening new destinations. This meant hiring more employees, opening more ticketing stations, and increasing costs. Could the airline continue its climb, or would it be prudent to prepare for a hard landing? Excerpt UVA-OM-1505 Dec. 10, 2013 THE INDIGO STORY: “ON TIME, HASSLE FREE” For us, not only was the sector difficult, but the physical infrastructure bottlenecks when we started 5 years ago complicated the problem even more. The third element was the customer perception of low-cost airlines—delayed or cancelled flights, dirty planes etc. So it wasn't about a one billion dollar idea—there was a series of small innovations. —Aditya Ghosh, president, IndiGo With a recent government bailout of India's national carrier, a once thriving independent airline looking as if it were close to folding, fuel prices at a long-time high, and even higher debt levels among carriers, the airline passenger industry in India was a mess. Yet there was one low-cost carrier (LCC) that was making money in 2013: InterGlobe Aviation or more simply IndiGo. This relatively new company had managed to work against the odds and grab market share from longer-established flyers. Still the weak rupee, depreciated by 15%, was sending a chill wind through the aviation sector, and growth plans would have to include opening new destinations, which would mean hiring more employees, opening more ticketing stations, and increasing costs. Could the airline continue its climb or would it be prudent to prepare for a hard landing? . . .
One outstanding path from A to B

What does it mean for an individual to be ‘important’ or for a connection to be ‘outstanding’? The answer depends on context, as Sarah Shugars and Samuel V. Scarpino explain.
Disarming PI(4,5)P2 in the plasma membrane.

Phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PI(4,5)P2) is involved in lipid-mediated intracellular signalling and the regulation of events such as cytoskeletal reorganization and membrane trafficking. An inducible PI(4,5)P2 depletion system is now available for examining its function in plant cells.
Market Structure and Gender Disparity in Health Care: Preferences, Competition, and Quality of Care

This paper considers the relationship between market structure and health outcomes in a setting where patients have stark preferences: urology patients disproportionately match with a urologist of the same gender. In the United States, however, fewer than 6% of urologists are women despite women constituting 30% of patients. We explain a portion of this disparity with a model of imperfect competition in which urology groups strategically differentiate themselves by employing female urologists. These strategic effects may influence women's health, as markets without a female urologist have a 7.3% higher death rate for female bladder cancer, all else equal.
Drivers of Sustainable Innovation: Exploratory Views And Corporate Strategies

Various forces drive corporate commitment to sustainable innovation including: (a) external stimuli, (b) business opportunities, and (c) a business orientation toward corporate social responsibility. The depth of corporate response to these drivers is shaped by how the managing team of a corporation views the relationship between economic growth and the environment. This paper examines associations between key drivers of sustainable innovation and three alternative views of the economic growthenvironment relationship. We also examine three contrasting modes of corporate response (i.e. compliance, commitment and resistance) to those drivers and suggest directions for further research on the corporate practice of sustainable innovation.
Can DNA polymerase I (Klenow fragment) serve as a model for other polymerases

Abstract Recent protein-sequence comparisons suggest that a small number of important active-site residues may be conserved between all polymerases, even those of different classes.
Culture, Self-Orientation, and Reward Structure Effects: Measuring Cheating Behaviors in China and the USA

The research presented examines the roles of nationality, self-orientation, and reward conditions on students' willingness to cheat on a test linked to small financial rewards. Two country cultures are examined with China representing a collectivist culture and the United States representing an individualist culture.A self-construal measurement survey was administered in the first part of the study to examine dominant self-orientation (interdependent versus independent). Next, a between-subject experiment was conducted to measure cheating behavior both when rewards for performance are shared by the team and when rewards for performance are just for the individual. The results suggest that group incentives encourage more cheating behavior than individual incentives in both cultures. However, examining the role of individual self-orientation allowed us to observe differences in cheating behavior both within cultures and between cultures.
Understanding infanticide in context: Mothers who kill, 1870-1930 and today

As a result of these conditions [poverty, stigma, joblessness, the absence of daycare, etc.], the mother very frequently seeks to relieve herself of the child's care by turning heaven and earth to get rid of it honorably, and if this fails, abandons it or takes its life.I
Modeling and Simulation for RF Propagation

This chapter contains sections titled: The Fading Channel The ITU M.1225 Multipath Fading Profile for Mobile WiMAX Practical Fading Model Implementations??????-?????? WiMAX Example RF Propagation Simulators Propagation and Fading Simulations??????-??????Lessons Learned ]]>
A Role for High-Performance Computing in Surgery

Publisher Summary This chapter provides an effective way to implement and deliver the computation, which is to code using explicit message-passing, and to execute the code on a distributed-memory computer. New capacities for acquiring, processing, and communicating digital data have already begun a revolution in surgery. The new focus is on a broad and ever widening set of digital data to more completely describe the patient, the disease, the machines in the operating room, the surgical team, and other hospital processes. The results can be more effective intervention and reduced net cost of intervention. Already, effective intervention often cannot be completed without first at least obtaining digital information from automated scans of a patient before surgery. Successful outcomes increasingly depend on managing and exploiting an exploding base of digital data. It outlines a role where one can apply a high-performance computer to obtain summaries of the three dimensional extent of lesions, and other clinically-relevant structures. It then delivers these summaries to workstations at the clinical site in time to provide a basis for planning, for rehearsal, and for guidance during surgery. From a business perspective, projecting the cost of future computing hardware is low risk compared to the risk in predicting clinical utility. Clinical experience now can reduce the risk in business plans, allowing industry to have product ready to exploit new computing hardware soon after it becomes available.
Variations in upper crustal structure due to variable mantle temperature along the Southeast Indian Ridge

[1] There is a systematic variation in axial morphology and axial depth along the Southeast Indian Ridge (SEIR) with distance away from the Australian Antarctic Discordance, an area of cold uppermost mantle. Since spreading rate (72–76 mm/yr) and mantle geochemistry appear constant along this portion of the SEIR, the observed variations in axial morphology and axial depth are attributed to a gradient in mantle temperature. In this study, we report results from a multichannel seismic investigation of on-axis crustal structure along this portion of the SEIR. Three distinct forms of ridge crest morphology are found within our study area: axial highs, rifted axial highs, and shallow axial valleys. Axial highs have a shallow (∼1500 m below seafloor (bsf)) magma lens and a thin (∼300 m) layer 2A along the ridge crest. Rifted axial highs have a deeper (∼2100 m bsf) magma lens and thicker (∼450 m) layer 2A on-axis. Beneath shallow axial valleys, no magma lens is imaged, and layer 2A is thick (∼450 + m). There are step-like transitions in magma lens depth and layer 2A thickness with changes in morphology along the SEIR. The transitions between the different modes of axial morphology and shallow structure are abrupt, suggesting a threshold-type mechanism. Variations in crustal structure along the SEIR appear to be steady state, persisting for at least 1 m.y. Portions of segments in which a magma lens is found are characterized by lower relief abyssal hills on the ridge flank, shallower ridge flank depths, and at the location of along-axis Mantle Bouguer Anomaly (MBA) lows. The long-wavelength variation in ridge morphology along the SEIR from axial high segments to the west to axial valley segments to the east is linked to the regional gradient in mantle temperature. Superimposed on the long-wavelength trend are segment to segment variations that are related to the absolute motion of the SEIR to the northeast which influence mantle melt production and delivery to the ridge.
COMPARATIVE HAEMODYNAMIC EFFECTS OF TUBOCURARINE AND METOCURINE IN THE DOG

On account of its histamine releasing and ganglion blocking properties tubocurarine is known to have significant haemodynamic effects. Methylation of the compound produces metocurine and should decrease both histamine release and ganglionic blockade. The haemodynamic effects of these two compounds were compared in 10 mongrel dogs anaesthetized with chloralose and morphine. Haemodynamic measurements were made 2 min before and 2, 5, 10 and 20 min after administration of the drugs. Each animal received three doses of each drug with a 2-h rest period between doses: tubocurarine 0.35 (muscle twitch ED95), 0.7 and l.4mgkg−1 and metocurine 0.2 (2×ED95), 0.4 and 0.8 mg kg−1. All doses of tubocurarine produced an increase in heart rate (212, 197 and 212% of control respectively). The mean arterial pressure decreased significantly with 0.7 mg kg−1 (48% of control; P
The Use of Wye-Delta Transformations in Network Simplification

In network problems such as the maximum-flow problem and the minimum-route problem, it is often desirable to attempt to simplify the given network before applying the various algorithms available for its solution. This is especially true when the maximum flow or minimum route between a number of different pairs of points is desired. Various transformations are discussed that can lead to considerable simplification. In particular, it is shown that wye-delta transformations analogous to those used with electrical networks are available. The application of these transformations to the maximum-flow problem both with and without node capacities is discussed and it is shown that for the minimum-route problem dual transformations apply. The effect of the topological properties of a network on the usefulness of these transformations is examined briefly. The application of the transformations to two networks in the literature is shown.
Effect of cholera preventative treatments on reproductive performance of turkey hens.

Abstract Turkey hens were treated with either the Clemson University (CU) strain of P. multocida, chlortetracycline, bacterin, or no cholera preventative treatment during the growing period. This was followed by CU vaccination during the production period in all except an untreated control group and resulted in no significant differences (P These data indicate no adverse effect from treating turkey hens with CU vaccine during the production period.
A 3-portal laparoscopic ovariectomy technique in ewes

Abstract The aim of this study was to describe a three-portal laparoscopic ovariectomy technique in ewes. A novel three-portal laparoscopic ovariectomy technique was utilized in 40 ewes in a research setting. Surgical time, intra-operative, and post-operative complications were recorded for each ewe. Ovaries were successfully removed utilizing the three-portal laparoscopic technique in all ewes. Median surgical time was 18 min (mean 19 min, range 12–40 min). The surgical procedure had a rapid learning curve. The laparoscopic technique provided excellent access and visualization of the female reproductive organs in the ewe. A 3-portal laparoscopic ovariectomy can be safely and rapidly performed in ewes and may improve patient outcomes, including minimizing postoperative pain and incisional morbidity.
Purification of bovine adrenocortical and brain tubulin. A comparative study.

Abstract Microtubules from the cow adrenal cortex and brain were purified by three cycles of the temperature-dependent polymerization-depolymerization procedure. Whereas tubulin comprised approximately 8–10% of soluble brain protein, it comprised only 0.5–1.0% of the soluble adrenocortical protein. The partially purified tubulin from both sources gave similar results in the following studies: (1) [ 3 H]colchicine binding examined by Scatchard analysis revealed an apparent K a of 1 · 10 6 M −1 and a colchicine/tubulin molar binding ratio of 0.4–0.6; (2) tyrosylation studies using a specific tubulin-tyrosine ligase (which adds a tyrosine residue to the C-terminal glutamate or glutamine of the α-chain) in conjunction with carboxypeptidase A (which recovers the tyrosine) and (3) amino acid analysis. Examination of protein bands, in addition to the tubulin doublet of 55 000 molecular weight, on sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis revealed a difference between the two tubulin preparations. The adrenocortical preparation had protein bands corresponding to apparent molecular weights of 36 000, 60 000, and 68 000. In contrast the brain preparation had only proteins of molecular weights greater than 200 000 (these bands were absent in all adrenal preparations). It would thus appear that if proteins which copurify with tubulin through repeated cycles of polymerization-depolymerization play a role in either microtubule formation or function there is a distinct difference between neural and non-neural tissue.
Associations between gastropod shell characteristics and egg production in the hermit crab Pagurus longicarpus

Two populations (salt marsh and seagrass bed) of the hermit crab Pagurus longicarpus were sampled to examine associations between shell characteristics and egg production. Multivariate statistical analyses controlled for crab size and time of year, variables that otherwise could be confounded with shell effects. Although correlations between shell characteristics and reproduction existed in both populations, generalizations could not be made because associations varied within and between populations. Shell species was not associated with a female's reproductive state (i.e., whether or not she was barren when sampled) in either population. In the seagrass population, medium-large and large females occupying severely damaged or fouled shells were half as likely to be reproductive as females occupying other shell conditions. However, there was no association between shell condition and reproductive state for small and small-medium females in the seagrass population or among all females in the salt marsh population. In the seagrass population, small through medium-large reproductive females occupied shells more similar to their predicted shell size, regardless of whether the occupied shell was relatively small or large, than nonreproductive females. In contrast, relative shell sizes of reproductive and nonreproductive females were similar for large females in the seagrass population and all females in the salt marsh population. Clutch sizes were enhanced for females occupying Polinices duplicatus shells or shells larger than their predicted shell size in the seagrass population. Relative shell size also was associated with clutch size in the salt marsh population, but crabs occupying shells similar to their predicted shell size had the largest clutches.
Reduction of maternal nest building in female mice by testosterone propionate treatment.

The administration of testosterone propionate (TP) to nulliparous mice between Days 13-18 of gestation resulted in a reduction of maternal nest building as assessed by measuring the amount of nesting material brought into the home cage. Nest building, evoked in nulliparae by the presence of young, was also significantly reduced by TP treatment. In addition, the administration of TP concurrently with progesterone prevented the latter from eliciting nest building.
Marginal Maximum A Posteriori Item Parameter Estimation for the Generalized Graded Unfolding Model

A marginal maximum a posteriori (MMAP) procedure was implemented to estimate item parameters in the generalized graded unfolding model (GGUM). Estimates from the MMAP method were compared with thos...
In situ Nanoindentation Study of Plastic Co-deformation in Al-TiN Nanocomposites

We performed in situ indentation in a transmission electron microscope on Al-TiN multilayers with individual layer thicknesses of 50 nm, 5 nm and 2.7 nm to explore the effect of length scales on the plastic co-deformability of a metal and a ceramic. At 50 nm, plasticity was confined to the Al layers with easy initiation of cracks in the TiN layers. At 5 nm and below, cracking in TiN was suppressed and post mortem measurements indicated a reduction in layer thickness in both layers. The results demonstrate the profound size effect in enhancing plastic co-deformability in nanoscale metal-ceramic multilayers.
Changes in cytotoxicity and viability of immune lymphocytes after X-irradiation.

Abstract The effect of X-irradiation on cytolytic immune lymphocytes was studied in vitro. The splenic lymphocytes of C57BL mice immunized against mastocytoma P815-X2 cells of DBA/2J mice were irradiated and the sequential change in cytotoxicity against the tumor cells was measured by the 51Cr release method in vitro. From the extent of 51Cr release, the relative numbers of cytolytic lymphocytes (lytic unit) were then calculated. The change in viability was also measured by the trypan blue exclusion method at various time intervals after irradiation. A slight but statistically significant decrease in the number of lytic units was observed immediately after irradiation with doses higher than 125 rad. The number of lytic units declined exponentially at a dose-dependent rate so that almost no cytotoxicity could be detected later than 10 hr post-irradiation with 500 rad. The shape of the dose-effect curve suggested that the cytotoxic immune lymphocytes from the spleen are heterogeneous with respect to radiosensitivity. The viability of lymphocytes did not change for 2 hr after irradiation with 75–500 rad, but declined during 2–7 hr after irradiation and then slowly thereafter. A small portion of the lymphocytes was still viable 10 hr after irradiation with 500 rad, suggesting the presence of relatively radioresistant lymphocytes in the spleen. The variance in the rate of changes in the cytolytic function and viability of immune lymphocytes suggested that the decrease in the cytolytic ability of lymphocytes following irradiation is due to qualitative as well as quantitative changes in the immune lymphocyte population.
Prosthetic Replacement of the Proximal Interphalangeal Joint

The first proximal interphalangeal joint (PIPJ) replacements were hinged devices allow-ing only single-axis motion. Newer implant arthroplasties of the PIPJ have anatomically designed proximal phalangeal and middle phalangeal components. Constrained devices have typically lead to failure at the hinge mechanism or the prosthetic bone interface. A need to create balanced forces across the joint was the rationale behind the semicon-strained PIPJ prosthesis, which uses an anatomic design. Limitations of the silicone PIPJ implant include its lack of resistance to valgus loading at the index and long digits during the pinch maneuver. It is generally believed that a PIPJ surface replacement arthro-plasty that preserves the collateral ligaments will achieve greater PIPJ stability.
Anti-lipopolysaccharide monoclonal antibodies inhibit macrophage TNF messenger RNA synthesis in vitro.

Gram-negative bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS, endotoxin) directly stimulates macrophages to produce tumor necrosis factor (TNF). TNF, in turn, produces a constellation of adverse effects that includes hypotension, systemic acidosis, arterial hypoxemia, and death. Transcription of the TNF gene occurs within minutes of LPS stimulation and appears to be a critical control point in the synthesis and secretion of TNF protein by macrophages. We hypothesized that murine monoclonal antibody (mAb) 8G9 directed against Escherichia coli 0111:B4 LPS would provide protective capacity against an E. coli 0111:B4 bacterial challenge in vivo and would concurrently inhibit LPS-induced synthesis of TNF mRNA and secretion of TNF protein in vitro. E. coli 0111:B4 LPS was used to stimulate a macrophage-derived cell line (RAW 264.7) to produce TNF in the presence or absence of mAb 8G9. Media alone and LPS without 8G9 mAb served as controls against which the effect of 8G9 mAb was compared. Total cellular RNA was purified and analyzed by a Northern blotting technique utilizing a radiolabeled cDNA probe specific for TNF mRNA. TNF mRNA levels from each sample were quantitated by autoradiograph densitometry. Pretreatment with mAb 8G9 provided protective capacity against an intraperitoneal E. coli 0111:B4 bacterial challenge in vivo when compared with saline pretreatment alone (22% versus 90% mortality respectively, P < 0.05). Preincubation of LPS with mAb 8G9 resulted in a significant inhibition of LPS-induced TNF mRNA synthesis (63 ± 20%, P < 0.01) and TNF protein secretion (88 ± 10%, P < 0.001) in vitro. We concluded that inhibition of LPS-induced TNF synthesis and secretion by mAb 8G9 is a key mechanism by which mAb 8G9 provides protection during gram-negative bacterial sepsis.
KINEMATIC CONSTRAINTS FOR INFINITELY RISING REGGE TRAJECTORIES.

A kinematic constraint on the energy dependence of infinitely rising Regge trajectories is established. Under quite general conditions it is shown that asymptotically $\ensuremath{\alpha}(s)\ensuremath{\le}C{s}^{\frac{1}{2}}$, provided that certain channels couple to high-spin Regge recurrences. The implications of this result for dynamical models of ever-rising trajectories and for the decay rates of resonances are discussed in the light of experimental indications that $\ensuremath{\alpha}(s)\ensuremath{\sim}\mathrm{Cs}$.
An unusual failure of a laryngoscope handle.

To the Editor: A 22-year-old male with hyperhidrosis presented for general anesthesia for a scheduled bilateral video-assisted thoracoscopy and sympathectomy. During the laryngoscopy, the handle of the Rusch (Sulzbach, Germany) laryngoscope blade separated at the weld line (a 3 Macintosh blade was used to place a double lumen endotracheal tube) (Fig. 1). As a result, the patient’s trachea was intubated with a backup laryngoscope handle and 3 Macintosh blade, both of which had been previously inspected. In retrospect, the failure of the weld line could have been caused by a number of factors; such as, a hairline fracture, subtle damage if the handle was previously dropped, repeated disinfection with germicidal disposable wipes (PDI Sanicloth), or repeated cleaning with soap and water. This particular laryngoscope handle had been in service for approximately three years. There are reports of other cases of laryngoscopy failure due to blade malfunction. In one case, the blade separated at the weld line causing the handle to impact the patient’s incisors, and metal parts entered the mouth. In another report, blade disruption also occurred during laryngoscopy and led to separation of the attachment hinge. Incorrect assembly of the laryngoscope has placed the light source on the wrong side of the blade. In another case, the hinge pin on the handle that the blade hooks onto was reported missing, hence, the blade failed to attach properly. There have also been reported failures resulting in the ingestion of the blade’s light bulb. It would not appear that a blade with a fibreoptic light source would be at risk of losing a bulb, since the fibreoptic channel is imbedded in the blade. The case reported here illustrates that pressure should be applied to the blade as part of the equipment inspection, in addition to checking the blade and handle assembly for proper functioning and appropriate light intensity. Regardless of the most meticulous inspection, a second laryngoscope handle and blade should always be available as backup.
Increased Neutralization Sensitivity of CD4-Independent Human Immunodeficiency Virus Variants

Naturally occurring human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) variants require the presence of CD4 and specific chemokine receptors to enter a cell. In the laboratory, HIV-1 variants that are capable of bypassing CD4 and utilizing only the CCR5 chemokine receptor for virus entry have been generated. Here we report that these CD4-independent viruses are significantly more sensitive to neutralization by soluble CD4 and a variety of antibodies. The same amino acid changes in the HIV-1 gp120 envelope glycoprotein determined CD4 independence and neutralization sensitivity. The CD4-independent envelope glycoproteins exhibited higher affinity for antibodies against CD4-induced gp120 epitopes but not other neutralizing ligands. The CD4-independent envelope glycoproteins did not exhibit increased lability relative to the wild-type envelope glycoproteins. The utilization of two receptors apparently allows HIV-1 to maintain a more neutralization-resistant state prior to engaging CD4 on the target cell, explaining the rarity of CD4 independence in wild-type HIV-1.
Professionalism: Teachers Taking the Reins

It is essential that teachers take a proactive look at their profession and themselves to strengthen areas of professionalism over which they have control. In this article, the author suggests strategies that include collaborative planning, reflectivity, growth in the profession, and the examination of certain personal characteristics.