cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Are Performance Weights Beneficial? Investigating the Random Expert Hypothesis

Expert elicitation plays a prominent role in fields where the data are scarce. As consulting multiple experts is critical in expert elicitation practices, combining various expert opinions is an important topic. In the Classical Model, uncertainty distributions for the variables of interest are based on an aggregation of elicited expert percentiles. Aggregation of these expert distributions is accomplished using linear opinion pooling relying on performance-based weights that are assigned to each expert. According to the Classical Model, each expert receives a weight that is a combination of the expert’s statistical accuracy and informativeness for a set of questions, the values of which are unknown at the time the elicitation was conducted. The former measures “correspondence with reality,” a measure of discrepancy between the observed relative frequencies of seed variables’ values falling within the elicited percentile values and the expected probability based on the percentiles specified in the elicitation. The later gauges an expert’s ability to concentrate high probability mass in small interquartile intervals. Some critics argue that this performance-based model fails to outperform the models that assign experts equal weights. Their argument implies that any observed difference in expert performance is just due to random fluctuations and is not a persistent property of an expert. Experts should therefore be treated equally and equally weighted. However, if differences in experts’ performances are due to random fluctuations, then hypothetical experts created by randomly recombining the experts’ assessments should perform statistically as well as the actual experts. This hypothesis is called the random expert hypothesis. This hypothesis is investigated using 44 post-2006 professional expert elicitation studies obtained through the TU Delft database. For each study, 1000 hypothetical expert panels are simulated whose elicitations are a random mix of all expert elicitations within that study. Results indicate that actual expert statistical accuracy performance is significantly better than that of randomly created experts. The study does not consider experts’ informativeness but still provides strong support for performance-based weighting as in the Classical Model.
Análisis proyecto del Servicio Nacional de Menores en materia educativa para infractores de ley frente a estándares internacionales de Reinserción Social

This research gives a global contrast to the social reintegration of law enforcement, under national juvenile delinquency regulations 20,084. In the face of this, the Servicio Nacional de Menores (SENAME) implements, through its plans, programs focused on different axes to promote the rehabilitation process. Education is one of them, and its importance lies in handing over the tools that will strengthen children's ability to face the world once their sentence is served. In this context, the main objective is to analyze SENAME's educational program for law enforcement violators against international standards of social reintegration. This is done through a model of documentary analysis in which a context is first carried out on legislative issues and international standards, and then evidence of whether the latter are met. It is concluded that the State of Chile, in its obligation as a facilitator of social rights and the low record in studies related to minor law violators, only complies with the formal educational structure. .
Coronary heart disease risk: Low-density lipoprotein and beyond

Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality world-wide and has been characterized as a chronic immunoinflammatory, fibroproliferative disease fueled by lipids. Great advances have been made in elucidating the complex mechanistic interactions among risk factors associated with CHD, yielding abundant success towards preventive measures and the development of pharmaceuticals to prevent and treat CHD via attenuation of lipoprotein-mediated risk. However, significant residual risk remains. Several potentially modifiable CHD risk factors ostensibly contributing to this residual risk have since come to the fore, including systemic inflammation, diabetes mellitus, high-density lipoprotein, plasma triglycerides (TG) and remnant lipoproteins (RLP), lipoprotein(a) (Lp[a]), and vascular endothelial dysfunction (ED). Herein, we summarize the body of evidence implicating each of these risk factors in residual CHD risk.
Modeling Individual Defiance of COVID-19 Pandemic Mitigation Strategies: Insights From the Expanded Model of Deterrence and Protection Motivation Theory

The governmental responses to the COVID-19 pandemic include concerns for both public health and formal social control. Government leaders asked the public to help mitigate the spread of the virus b...
High Resolution Ancestry Deconvolution for Next Generation Genomic Data

As genome-wide association studies and genetic risk prediction models are extended to globally diverse and admixed cohorts, ancestry deconvolution has become an increasingly important tool. Also known as local ancestry inference (LAI), this technique identifies the ancestry of each region of an individual9s genome, thus permitting downstream analyses to account for genetic effects that vary between ancestries. Since existing LAI methods were developed before the rise of massive, whole genome biobanks, they are computationally burdened by these large next generation datasets. Current LAI algorithms also fail to harness the potential of whole genome sequences, falling well short of the accuracy that such high variant densities can enable. Here we introduce Gnomix, a set of algorithms that address each of these points, achieving higher accuracy and swifter computational performance than any existing LAI method, while also enabling portable models that are particularly useful when training data are not shareable due to privacy or other restrictions. We demonstrate Gnomix (and its swift phase correction counterpart Gnofix) on worldwide whole-genome data from both humans and canids and utilize its high resolution accuracy to identify the location of ancient New World haplotypes in the Xoloitzcuintle, dating back over 100 generations. Code is available at https://github.com/AI-sandbox/gnomix
Distracted Banks and Public Debt Pricing

Bank attention plays an important role in the pricing of corporate debt. Prior studies show that bank loans serve as certification and monitoring mechanisms that signal firm quality to bond markets. To separate continuous monitoring effects from certification effects, we develop a measure of bank distraction that makes use of exogenous shocks to unrelated parts of the bank loan portfolio. Firms whose bank lenders are more distracted have higher credits spreads, especially when distraction is caused by negative attention-grabbing events. The effect is stronger in lower-rated bond issues and when default risk and information asymmetry are high. Strong bond covenant protections amplify the importance of bank distraction. Overall, our findings suggest that a temporary decrease in bank monitoring due to unrelated attention-shifting shocks creates negative externalities in the public debt market.
The omission of intentional primary site radiation following transoral robotic surgery in 59 patients: No local-regional failures.

Background We assessed locoregional control with omission of intentional primary site radiation after transoral robotic surgery (TORS) and quantified nontargeted primary site dose. Methods Following Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval, patients treated with primary TORS resection for squamous cell carcinomas of the oropharynx were reviewed. Patients with cT1-2 tumors, >2 mm margins, in whom the surgeon resected the primary without revising specimen-driven margins, qualified for omission of primary site radiation. Results From 2014 to 2019, 112 patients met criteria. Fifty-nine (52%) patients did not receive radiation targeting the primary site; of whom, 22 received no radiation. In this group, there were no local failures; mean age was 58 years and median follow-up was 25 months. Thirty-seven patients received adjuvant radiation targeting the neck, mean bystander dose to the primary site was 28.8 Gy (range, 13.3-50.6 Gy). Conclusion In a 59 patient population, omission of radiation to the primary site after TORS resulted in no locoregional failures.
14 – Micromechanics Applications

In recent years, considerable interest has developed in the micromechanical modeling of solids.. It is because many materials have heterogeneous microstructures that play a dominant role in determining macro-deformational behavior. Materials where this occurs include multiphase fiber and particulate composites, soil, rock, concrete, and various granular materials. These materials have microstructures that occur at a variety of length scales from meters to nanometers, and general interest lies with the case where the length scale is smaller than other characteristic lengths in the problem. The response of such heterogeneous solids shows strong dependence on the micromechanical behaviors between different material phases. The response of many heterogeneous materials has indicated dependency on micro-scale length parameters and on the additional micro-structural degrees of freedom. Solids exhibiting such behavior include a large variety of cemented particulate materials, such as particulate composites, ceramics, and various concretes. This concept can be qualitatively illustrated by considering a simple lattice model of such materials. Using such a scheme, the macro load transfer within the heterogeneous particulate solid is modeled using the microforces and moments between adjacent particles. Depending on the microstructural packing geometry, this method establishes a lattice network that can be thought of as an interconnect series of elastic bar or beam elements interconnected at particle centers. Thus, the network represents in some way the material microstructure and brings into the model micro-structural dimensions, such as the grid size.
Comparative proteomics of Drosophila indirect flight muscle and tergal depressor of the trochanter to determine expression of troponin isoforms

Stretch activation (SA) is a delayed increase in force generation in response to muscle stretch that occurs to various degrees in all muscle types. The mechanism behind SA is unknown, but likely involves a thin filament mechanism. Therefore, more information about thin filament proteins involved in muscle contraction is needed. Results comparing muscles with very high and almost no SA capabilities show a preliminary difference in troponin I (TnI); however, tests with higher resolution and specificity are planned to further elucidate the connection between key muscle proteins and SA.
An Empirical Examination of Multidimensional Effort in Tournaments

We provide explicit empirical tests of worker-incentive models in which individuals can devote costly e¤ort to increasing their own output and to decreasing their opponentsoutput. The predictions of incentive theory on this dimension have previously remained untested because systematic evidence of sabotage activities by workers is, by nature, di¢ cult to obtain. In this investigation we exploit an incentive change that took place in European soccer league tournaments and various forms of sabotage activities that are systematically recorded. Moreover, we also use the fact that the same teams were simultaneously playing a di¤erent tournament in which there was no change in the reward spread between winners and losers. The evidence we uncover from this unique dataset is consistent with the predictions of the sabotage-based theory of tournaments. In particular, we nd that the increase in the spread between winning and losing led to a signi cant increase in both sabotage e¤ort and creative e¤ort; that this increase did not increase total production; and that the increase in sabotage was larger in stronger teams, which normally engage in less sabotage activities, while the increase in creative e¤ort was larger for weaker teams, which normally engage less in creative e¤ort. These results suggest that multidimensional effort models hold a great deal of promise for enhancing our understanding of the incentive e¤ects of these reward systems. We thank Je¤ Campbell, Judy Chevalier, Tom Hubbard, and Canice Prendergast and participants in the University of Chicagos ELO workshop for useful comments and discussions. The second author also thanks Sam Peltzman and the George J. Stigler Center for their hospitality and nancial support. We are grateful to Michael Suh for excellent research assitance. Emails: luis.garicano@gsb.uchicago.edu, ipalacios@brown.edu.
Recurrent wavelet networks

Neural networks have been established as a general approximation tool for fitting nonlinear models for input/output data. On the other hand, the wavelet decomposition is a powerful tool for functional approximation. In this paper we improve upon the connection between these two fields. A fast supervised learning algorithm is presented. Inspired by the real time recurrent learning algorithm (RTRL) of Williams and Zipser (1989), the algorithm learns more rapidly than typical implementation of backpropagation, while achieving improved generalization. Furthermore, unlike most traditional functional approximators, the algorithm is well suited for use in real time adaptive signal processing. As an illustration the algorithm is applied to the prediction of a chaotic time series and identification of a complex nonlinear dynamic system. >
How Teen Mothers Describe Dating Violence

ABSTRACT Objective To present voices of young women who were pregnant or new parents as they shared their thoughts on the risks, behaviors, and prevention of teen dating violence (TDV). Design Descriptive, qualitative analysis. Setting Focus groups in schools designed expressly for the needs of young women who are pregnant and parenting. Participants Twenty-six young mothers participated in one of three focus groups. Methods Focus groups explored perceptions of several dimensions of intimate partner violence within the context of pregnancy and parenting. A semi-structured interview guide provided the medium to delve into young mothers' thoughts and perspectives about TDV. Results Data were organized in four major typologies: describing TDV, increasing the risk, why violence, and prevention of TDV. Conclusions This analysis provides important insights into young mothers' lives when teen parenting and violence intersect. Rich data provide the foundation to expand awareness and inform programs and policies designed to address TDV in young women who are pregnant and parenting. Findings may be used by nurses to assess risk, identify teens in violent relationships, and provide for understanding of TDV from the perspectives of young women who are pregnant and parenting.
Mass Spectrometry for Planetary Science

Attaining a satisfactory understanding of the origin and evolution of the solar system and life within it are among the primary scientific goals of current and future planetary missions. One important clue to understanding these questions is the chemical and isotopic composition of atmospheric and surface volatile materials. Sample-return missions may one day become the method of choice for carrying out detailed laboratory studies of these materials. Until then, however, highquality in situ measurements of volatiles will be essential to improving our current knowledge and to providing context and support for future missions. Small (1 kg), high-performance (M/ΔM>10 3 ), space-qualified mass spectrometers are the only known method for quantitative analysis that is capable of delivering the isotopic, atomic, and molecular composition of trace amounts (<10 -13 moles/gram) of sample materials. Of particular interest is the identification of biomarker molecules to roughly that level on Mars. These are very difficult performance goals in their own right, but they are more so when increasingly constrained mission resources are taken into account. The current state-of-the-art in space-borne mass spectrometry is examined by defining a quality metric proportional to (performance/resources). The metric suggests that future requirements and constraints represent significant technical challenges. This paper briefly examines historical progress in planetary mass spectrometry before moving to the principles of particle optics that govern spectrometer design and implementation. Several alternative methods are examined, but only four are examined in detail: quadrupole, ion trap, magnetic, and time-of-flight spectrometry. This choice reflects both past successes and the promise of the methodology for future adaptations.
Can competitive insurers improve network security

The interdependent nature of security on the Internet causes a negative externality that results in under-investment in technology-based defences. Previous research suggests that, in such an environment, cyber-insurance may serve as an important tool not only to manage risks but also to improve the incentives for investment in security. This paper investigates how competitive cyber-insurers affect network security and user welfare. We utilize a general setting, where the network is populated by identical users with arbitrary risk-aversion and network security is costly for the users. In our model, a user's probability to incur damage (from being attacked) depends on both his security and the network security. First, we consider cyber-insurers who cannot observe (and thus, affect) individual user security. This asymmetric information causes moral hazard. If an equilibrium exists, network security is always worse relative to the no-insurance equilibrium. Though user utility may rise due to a coverage of risks, total costs to society go up due to higher network insecurity. Second, we consider insurers with full information about their users' security. Here, user security is perfectly enforceable (zero cost). Each insurance contract stipulates the required user security and covers the entire user damage. Still, for a significant range of parameters, network security worsens relative to the no-insurance equilibrium. Thus, although cyber-insurance improves user welfare, in general, competitive cyber-insurers may fail to improve network security.
A Study of NVH Vehicle Testing Variability

At certain key stages in the vehicle development process, prototype vehicles are available for NVH testing. This testing fulfills two functions: primarily it is used to assess the status of the vehicle to the program NVH performance targets, but it also provides an opportunity to validate the vehicle SEA model. These single vehicle test events provide a snapshot of the NVH performance but do not provide any understanding of the variability of the NVH performance, which is due to many factors: components, build or assembly and test setup variability. SEA models can be used to estimate the vehicle level variability, if the variability of the interior components is understood, but there is limited data available to confirm the accuracy of these predictions. In this paper we examine the repeatability and reproducibility through a standard gage R&R study of Engine Noise Reduction (engine NR) and Tire NR testing. We also examine the variation in NR from vehicle-to-vehicle through testing on six compact sedans of the same vehicle line. A more limited chassis dynamometer study on three of the six vehicles is also presented to look at typical running vehicle measures such as articulation index, loudness and overall SPL for tire and powertrain noise. Although the sample population is small, we have extracted estimates of variation in body noise reduction due to test setup, actual component and build variation and the implications for predicting variability through SEA models.
Exploring the structure of a possible light scalar nonet

We first review the work of the Syracuse group, which uses an effective chiral Lagrangian approach, on meson-meson scattering. An illustration providing evidence for the existence of a strange scalar resonance of mass around 900 MeV is given. An attempt to fit this $\kappa (900)$ together with a similarly obtained $\sigma (560)$ and the well known $a_0(980)$ and $f_0(980)$ into a nonet pattern suggests that the underlying structure is closer to a dual quark-dual antiquark than to a quark-antiquark. A possible mechanism to explain a next higher-in mass scalar meson nonet is also discussed. This involves mixing between $q{\bar q}$ and $qq{\bar q} {\bar q}$ states.
A theoretical analysis of the electrochemical noise during the induction period of pitting corrosion in passive metals: Part 2. The current noise associated with halide nucleus formation in the passive film

Abstract The formation of halide nuclei in the passive film during the induction period of pitting corrosion in passive metals is discussed using a stochastic model concerning the growth/diminishing processes of the hemispherical metal halides inside the metal oxide film. It was assumed that the electrochemical noise occurs owing to the formation of halide nuclei in the passive film, prior to pitting corrosion. From the stochastic analysis a distribution function was obtained for the size of the halide nuclei that form inward into the passive film. The survival probability of pit initiation, the specific parameter of pitting corrosion, was calculated as a function of time, and good correspondence was obtained with the reported experimental results. Also, the noise level was determined as the uncertainty of the distribution function for the radii of the halide nuclei. The calculated noise level was found to be appreciable and can then cause the electrochemical noise during the induction time.
Gough, Harrison G

Harrison Gough, born in 1921, is professor emeritus in the Department of Psychology at the University of California at Berkeley, where he served on the faculty from 1949 until his retirement in 1986. He received the B.A. in sociology from the University of Minnesota (1942), then enlisted in military service, subsequently returning to Minnesota and completing the Ph.D. in 1949. His mentors at Minnesota included Paul Meehl. Keywords: cross-cultural psychology; measurement in psychology; personality; psychometric testing
Helping Substitute Teachers Contribute to School Effectiveness.

(1986). Helping Substitute Teachers Contribute to School Effectiveness. The Clearing House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas: Vol. 59, No. 8, pp. 359-362.
Polus: Growing Storage QoS Management Beyond a 4-Year Old Kid

Policy-based storage management has been advertised as the silver bullet to overcome the complexity that limits the amount of storage that can be managed by system administrators. Key to this approach are: a mechanism to specify quality of service (QoS) goals; a canonical virtual model of storage devices and operations; and the mapping of the high level QoS goals to low level storage device actions. In spite of prior research and industrial standards the latter problem results in complex, manual, error-prone processes that burden system administrators and prevent the widespread acceptance of policy-based storage management. This paper proposes the Polus framework which specifically addresses this open problem.Polus removes the need for system administrators to write code that maps the QoS goals to low level system actions. Instead, it generates this mapping code by using a combination of rule-of-thumb specification mechanism, a reasoning engine and a learning engine to change the implementation paradigm of policy-based storage management. This paper also provides a quantitative analysis of the Polus framework within the context of a storage area network (SAN) file system to verify the feasibility of this new approach.
Weak ferromagnetism in CaB 6

We have combined the results of magnetization and Hall effect measurements to conclude that the ferromagnetic moments of lightly doped ${\mathrm{CaB}}_{6}$ samples display no systematic variation with electron doping level. Removal of the surface with acid etching substantially reduces the measured moment, although the Hall constant and resistivity are unaffected, indicating that the ferromagnetism largely resides on and near the sample surface. Electron microprobe experiments reveal that Fe and Ni are found at the edges of facets and growth steps, and on other surface features introduced during growth. Our results indicate that the weak ferromagnetism previously reported in undoped ${\mathrm{CaB}}_{6}$ is most likely of extrinsic origin.
Exploring the relationship between commitment profiles and work attitudes, employee withdrawal, and job performance

Four commitment profiles, based on levels of commitment to the organization and the career, were used to explore the relationship between distinct patterns of commitment and work-related outcomes w...
Bursting the Biofuel Bubble: Comparative Dynamics of Transitions to Freedom from Oil

The remarkable recent surge of interest in biofuels, we argue, can be traced to the publication of a World Bank report in 2005, highlighting the contribution biofuels might make to meeting needs for transportation fuels, as well as to development in countries growing feedstocks. But the resulting bubble of enthusiasm, at least with respect to agricultural biofuels, seems to have burst at the beginning of 2008. Among alternative explanations of why this happened, we favor the view that international organizations, particularly environmental and developmental NGOs, forced a fundamental reappraisal of biofuels policy, certainly in Europe. We then ask whether enthusiasm for various magic bullet or technological breakthrough solutions is a basic dynamic of energy system transformation. We are more impressed with the argument that radical transitions of the kind needed to secure freedom from oil are much longer-term processes of cumulative causation. It is an open question whether such processes can be treated as endogenous to the economic system and be left to work largely through markets or whether they should be managed and guided through more interventionist policies.
Steroid-induced adipogenesis in a pluripotential cell line from bone marrow.

We studied the effect of steroids on the differentiation of a pluripotential mesenchymal cell with use of a cell line (D1) from mouse bone-marrow stroma. The cells were treated with increasing (10-9, 10-8, and 10-7-molar) concentrations of dexamethasone for increasing durations ranging from forty-eight hours to twenty-one days. The appearance of triglyceride vesicles in the cells indicated that this treatment had induced the differentiation of the cell into adipocytes. The number of cells that contained the triglyceride vesicles and the expression of a fat-cell-specific gene, 422(aP2), increased with longer durations of exposure to dexamethasone and with higher concentrations of the steroid. Treatment with dexamethasone also diminished the expression of α1 type-I collagen mRNA and osteocalcin mRNA. The data indicate that dexamethasone stimulates the differentiation of cells in bone-marrow stroma into adipocytes as well as the accumulation of fat in the marrow at the expense of expression of type-I collagen and osteocalcin mRNA, thereby suppressing differentiation into osteoblasts. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Steroid-induced adipogenesis by bone progenitor cells in marrow may influence the development of osteonecrosis. It is therefore important to consider the investigation of a treatment, such as the inhibition of the metabolism and accumulation of fat in marrow, that can prevent the onset of osteonecrosis.
Effect of respiratory phases on MR lung signal intensity and lung conspicuity using segmented multiple inversion recovery turbo spin echo (MIR-TSE).

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of respiratory phase on signal intensity of the lung. Lung images were obtained from eleven healthy human volunteers using a multiple inversion recovery segmented turbo spin echo sequence (MIR-TSE). MIR exploits the difference in T(1) between different tissues to effectively null signal contributions from fat and muscle for improved visualization of the lung. The volunteers were asked to perform breath-holding on end inspiration or end expiration. There was a significant decrease in signal intensity of the lung with average SNR of 7.3 +/- 0.9 vs. 14.4 +/- 0.8 for coronal slices, and 9.5 +/-1.5 vs. 16.0 +/-2.4 for sagittal breath-hold images acquired during end inspiration compared with end expiration. It is concluded that MRI of the lungs should be performed during end expiration in order to optimize image quality.
On the thermodynamics of adsorption on heterogeneous surfaces

A heterogeneous surface is modeled as a collection of independent adsorption sites. The adsorption properties of a site are completely described by the energy and entropy of adsorption. If there is a very large number of adsorption site types on the surface (continuous distribution of sites in the limit), one has to consider their bi-dimensional distribution on the entropy/energy plane. It is shown how this distribution can be converted into the conventional one-dimensional distribution of adsorption sites in the free energy of adsorption, which can be determined from an experimental isotherm by the known methods of the theory of adsorption on heterogeneous surfaces. It is also shown how one can obtain from two free energy distributions at different temperatures the entropy and the energy distributions as well as the entropy/energy relationship for different adsorption sites on a heterogeneous surface. The entropy/energy relationship can serve as a test for consistency of experimental data.
Hepatitis B virus contains pre-S gene-encoded domains.

One of the open reading frames on hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA comprises the coding region (designated the env gene) for the virus envelope proteins. Studies on messenger RNA transcription suggest that this gene has the potential to code for three related proteins1: (1) a protein of 226 amino acids identified as a major protein constituent of the HBV envelope, termed S-protein; (2) a protein with 55 additional amino acids at the N-terminal coded for by a portion of the env gene upstream of the S-gene (pre-S); (3) a protein corresponding to the entire env gene (pre-S + S). Synthetic peptides from the N-termnals of proteins (2) and (3), and antisera to them have been used to study the occurrence and properties of pre-S sequences. The results presented here provide unambiguous evidence that all three env encoded proteins are present in HBV particles; synthetic peptides corresponding to the gene encoding pre-S are highly immunogenic and can be used in diagnostic tests for detection in human sera of antibodies preferentially recognizing HBV; such antibodies, specific for pre-S determinants, are elicited during hepatitis B infection and by immunization with HBV proteins (2) and (3); the hepatitis B vaccine licensed in the United States does not contain pre-S proteins; and the pre-S proteins of the HBV envelope contain domains specifically recognized by liver cells. These findings suggest that pre-S determinants are important in virus-neutralizing responses and should be present in HBV vaccines.
Second-Year Alcoholism Treatment Outcome Evaluation with a Focus on Mexican-American Patients

This is an evaluation of an Alcohol Treatment Unit with a focus on a comparison of Mexican-American and Anglo-American outcomes. Social adjustment on a target cohort of 75 was measured on a standard rating instrument (SAI) 2 years after discharge from the hospital. The overall successfulness of the program was 39%; the validity of the Treatment Difficulty Scale (a composite index of anticipated treatment difficulty) was demonstrated for both ethnic groups and both first and second year outcome results; and the average stability of first year findings of SAI components as compared to second year results was shown to be 79%. Use of a standardized index of pretreatment patient characteristics was recommended to facilitate comparative program evaluation research.
Ammonia permeability of the soybean nodulin 26 channel.

Soybean nodulin 26 (nod26), a member of the aquaporin superfamily, is the major protein component of the symbiosome membrane that encloses nitrogen-fixing bacteroids in root nodules. Previous work has demonstrated that nod26 facilitates the transport of water and glycerol, although a potential additional role as a channel for fixed ammonia efflux has been hypothesized. In the present study it is shown that recombinant nod26 reconstituted into proteoliposomes facilitates NH3 transport in an Hg2+-sensitive manner with a reduced activation energy, hallmarks of protein-facilitated transport characteristic of aquaporins. Comparison of the predicted single-channel transport rates of nod26 suggests a 4.9-fold preference for ammonia compared to water.
Synthesis, characterization, and in vitro quantitation of N-7-guanine adducts of diepoxybutane

Diepoxybutane (DEB) is an important metabolite of 1,3-butadiene (BD), a high-volume industrial chemical classified as a probable human carcinogen. Rodent inhalation studies show strikingly high sensitivity of mice to carcinogenic effects of butadiene compared to rats, which has been linked to differences in metabolism. Both species convert BD to 3,4-epoxy-1-butene (EB), but mice further oxidize a significantly greater part of EB to DEB. DEB is a potent bifunctional genotoxic agent which is 100-fold more mutagenic than EB and is likely to be involved in BD-induced carcinogenesis. Identification of specific BD-induced DNA adducts is critical to understanding the mechanism of its biological activity. We have previously described reactions of EB with guanine and adenine as nucleobases, nucleosides, and constituents of DNA. In this work, DEB-induced guanine adducts were isolated and structurally characterized by UV spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, and nuclear magnetic resonance. When guanosine was reacted with DEB in glacial acetic acid followed by hydrolysis in hydrochloric acid, three products were isolated: N-7-(2',3',4'-trihydroxybut-1'-yl)guanine (DEB-Gua I, major adduct), N-7-(2',4'-dihydroxy-3'-chlorobut-1'-yl)guanine (DEB-Gua II), and N-7-(2',3'-dihydroxy-4'-acetoxybut-1'-yl)guanine (DEB-Gua III). We suggest initial formation of the N-7-(2'-hydroxy-3',4'-epoxybut-1'-yl)guanine intermediate followed by nucleophilic substitution at the 3',4'-epoxy ring with hydroxide, chloride, or acetate anions to give DEB-Gua I, II, or III, respectively. DEB-Gua I and the epoxy intermediate were also isolated from hydrolysates of DEB-exposed calf thymus DNA (CT DNA). N-7-Guanine adducts are known to undergo spontaneous and enzymatic depurination producing apurinic sites. If not repaired before DNA replication, apurinic sites can give rise to mutations and ultimately cancer. The extent of alkylation at the N-7 of guanine in DEB-exposed DNA (58.7 +/- 1.1 adducts/10(3) normal guanines) was similar to that previously reported for CT DNA exposed to EB at the same molar ratio. Since EB and DEB appear to induce comparable levels of overall DNA alkylation at the conditions applied in this work, other factors, such as formation of DNA cross-links by DEB but not EB or differences in repair of EB and DEB adducts, may be responsible for the differences in mutagenicity.
Operative results in endomyocardial fibrosis.

Abstract Endomyocardial fibrosis (EMF) is a disease of unknown etiology characterized by progressive fibrosis and obliteration of the right ventricular (RV) or left ventricular (LV) cavities and often associated with atrioventricular valve incompetence. Patients with EMF have a poor prognosis. Surgical treatment usually results in clinical and hemodynamic improvement. 1–6 In this study we present pre- and postoperative clinical and noninvasive follow-up in 15 consecutive patients with EMF.
Azotomycin--toxicologic, biochemical and pharmacologic studies in mice.

Abstract A biochemical basis was sought for the acute and cumulative toxicity of Azotomycin, (glutamine, N [1-[(1-carboxy-5-diazo-4-oxopentyl) carbamoyl]-5-diazo-4-oxopentyl]-, sodium salt), an antagonist of l -glutamine. Whereas mice can tolerate relatively large single doses of the drug, very small repeated doses are toxic. l -Asparaginase augments the toxicity of the latter regimen but not the former. Brain, liver, intestines and spleen are the organs principally damaged by Azotomycin. A systematic study of the synthesis and concentration of l -glutamine, l -asparagine and other metabolites in these organs has revealed that Azotomycin is also a powerful inhibitor of l -asparagine synthetase in vivo . A variety of murine organs have been shown to hydrolyze Azotomycin to yield 1 mole l -glutamic acid and approximately 2 moles 6-diazo-5-oxo- l -norleucine (DON). On this evidence it is suggested that DON, a classical antagonist of l -glutamine, is responsible for the toxicity of Azotomycin in these organs. When the analogue interfered more with the utilization than with the breakdown of l -glutamine, l -glutamine accumulated to a pathologic degree; this situation has been seen in liver. When both utilization and breakdown were curtailed to a similar degree, the steady state concentration of l -glutamine was maintained; this situation was seen in spleen, intestines and brain. In no case did Azotomycin inhibit the biosynthesis of l -glutamine.
The theoretical foundations of public affairs and political strategy: where do we go from here?

This paper argues that two of the obstacles facing the field are (1) the lack of a truly international perspective and (2) lack of coherence among studies. These obstacles are not necessarily the result of a lack of scholarship. Rather, the first is due to an ethnocentric bias on the part of western researchers and the second is due to the lack of an agreed taxonomy for business/government relations (BGR). The paper describes the characteristics of good classification systems (taxonomies) and suggests possible ways in which taxonomies could be developed. The paper concludes by arguing that the field should have multiple competing and complementary classification systems in order to promote rich and rigorous research. Such classification systems will allow researchers to build on the findings of previous work. Copyright © 2001 Henry Stewart Publications
Immunohistochemical demonstration of a mRNA-transport protein in rat liver putative preneoplastic foci.

Abstract A 65K protein, known for promoting nucleocytoplasmic mRNA transport in a cell-free system, was previously found in fetal and tumor cells of the rat. The primary objective of this study was to show specificity of immunohistochemical staining for the 65K protein in the livers of rats subjected to a hepatocarcinogenesis protocol. Altered hepatic foci were induced by feeding male weanling Sprague - Dawley rats 2-acetylaminofluorene (AAF) followed by a phenobarbital (PB) diet. It was shown, using polyclonal antibodies produced in rabbits, that the 65K protein was present in the cells of rat liver putative preneoplastic foci, with little or none being detected in the surrounding cells.
ARYLCYCLOPROPANE PHOTOCHEMISTRY - SUBSTITUENT EFFECTS ON THE PHOTOCHEMICAL CONVERSION OF 1,1-DIARYLCYCLOPROPANES TO 1,1-DIARYLPROPENES AND 1-ARYLINDANES

Abstract The rate of photochemical rearrangement of 1,1-diarylcyclopropanes to 1,1-diarylpropenes and 1-arylindanes is enhanced by electron-withdrawing groups on the aromatic rings and diminished by electron-donating groups.
Occupational injury, chronic low back pain and return to work.

Motivation for work, the level of physical disability, the duration of unemployment before rehabilitation, completion of an employment rehabilitation course, and unemployment in the general population are known to be the major determinants of an early return to stable employment among the economically active and chronically disabled adults. The type of main impairment causing chronic disability does not seem to be a major factor in predicting a successful outcome of rehabilitation. In a study of 311 men and 26 women with chronic low back pain (CLBP) who were discharged from three rehabilitation centres in the Greater London area, 88 (26.1%) of the patients attributed their CLBP to occupational injuries, 36 (10.7%) had sustained non-occupational injuries, and the remaining patients did not give a history of injury. The outcome was assessed in terms of an early return to stable employment during a one year period after discharge from the centres. A history of occupational injury appeared to have an adverse effect on the outcome, but non-occupational injuries appeared to have the opposite effect. This effect was probably a function of the level of physical disability and motivation. Other factors, such as age, social class, income, welfare benefits and compensation, did not make an independent contribution to the prediction of the outcome. Possible explanations for the apparent associations are discussed.
Cell Elongation Induces Laminin α2 Chain Expression in Mouse Embryonic Mesenchymal Cells: Role in Visceral Myogenesis

Bronchial smooth muscle (SM) mesenchymal cell precursors change their shape from round to spread/elongated while undergoing differentiation. Here we show that this change in cell shape induces the expression of laminin (LM) α2 chain not present in round mesenchymal cells. LM α2 expression is reversible and switched on and off by altering the cell's shape in culture. In comparison, the expression of LM β1 and γ1 remains unchanged. Functional studies showed that mesenchymal cell spreading and further differentiation into SM are inhibited by an antibody against LM α2. Dy/dy mice express very low levels of LM α2 and exhibit congenital muscular dystrophy. Lung SM cells isolated from adult dy/dy mice spread defectively and synthesized less SM α-actin, desmin, and SM-myosin than controls. These deficiencies were completely corrected by exogenous LM-2. On histological examination, dy/dy mouse airways and gastrointestinal tract had shorter SM cells, and lungs from dy/dy mice contained less SM-specific protein. The intestine, however, showed compensatory hyperplasia, perhaps related to its higher contractile activity. This study therefore demonstrated a novel role for the LM α2 chain in SM myogenesis and showed that its decrease in dy/dy mice results in abnormal SM.
Optical second-harmonic scattering from cylindrical particles

The theory of optical second-harmonic (SH) scattering from finite cylinders of arbitrary size, orientation, and crystallographic structure is developed within the Rayleigh-Gans-Debye approximation for plane-wave excitation. Both cases of particles comprised of noncentrosymmetric and centrosymmetric media are examined. For particles comprised of noncentrosymmetric media, all nonlinear susceptibility elements share a common ``linear'' scattering form factor. For centrosymmetric media, the various nonlinear susceptibility components arising from the surface response experience different scattering form factors. Regardless of the type of media, SH scattering from finite cylinders may be described in terms of an effective nonlinear susceptibility tensor for the particle. Several essential aspects of the SH scattering process are analyzed, such as the radiation patterns and their dependence on particle orientation and input polarization, its chiral response, as well as the size and wavelength scaling for small particles.
Quantifying Reversible Oxidation of Protein Thiols in Photosynthetic Organisms

Photosynthetic organisms use dynamic post-translational modifications to survive and adapt, which include reversible oxidative modifications of protein thiols that regulate protein structure, function, and activity. Efforts to quantify thiol modifications on a global scale have relied upon peptide derivatization, typically using isobaric tags such as TMT, ICAT, or iTRAQ that are more expensive, less accurate, and provide less proteome coverage than label-free approaches—suggesting the need for improved experimental designs for studies requiring maximal coverage and precision. Herein, we present the coverage and precision of resin-assisted thiol enrichment coupled to label-free quantitation for the characterization of reversible oxidative modifications on protein thiols. Using C. reinhardtii and Arabidopsis as model systems for algae and plants, we quantified 3662 and 1641 unique cysteinyl peptides, respectively, with median coefficient of variation (CV) of 13% and 16%. Further, our method is extendable for the detection of protein abundance changes and stoichiometries of cysteine oxidation. Finally, we demonstrate proof-of-principle for our method, and reveal that exogenous hydrogen peroxide treatment regulates the C. reinhardtii redox proteome by increasing or decreasing the level of oxidation of 501 or 67 peptides, respectively. As protein activity and function is controlled by oxidative modifications on protein thiols, resin-assisted thiol enrichment coupled to label-free quantitation can reveal how intracellular and environmental stimuli affect plant survival and fitness through oxidative stress.
DESTRUCTION OF THE 3s STATE IN ATOMIC HYDROGEN BY FAST-ATOM IMPACT ON N$sub 2$, Ar, AND H .

Cross sections have been determined for the destruction of the $3s$ state in atomic hydrogen by 10-, 25-, and 35-keV hydrogen-atom impact on ${\mathrm{N}}_{2}$, Ar, and ${\mathrm{H}}_{2}$. The experimental values support the concept of two destruction mechanisms. One mechanism involves the collisional ionization of the excited atom, which has been treated quantitatively by Bates and Walker. The other mechanism involves electron capture by the fast-atom nucleus.
Update on glucocorticoid action and resistance

Extensive development of inhaled and oral glucocorticoids has resulted in highly potent molecules that have been optimized to target activity to the lung and minimize systemic exposure. These have proved highly effective for most asthmatic subjects, but despite these developments, there are a number of subjects with asthma who fail to respond to even high doses of inhaled or even oral glucocorticoids. Advances in delineating the fundamental mechanisms of glucocorticoid pharmacology, especially the concepts of transactivation and transrepression and cofactor recruitment, have resulted in better understanding of the molecular mechanisms whereby glucocorticoids suppress inflammation. The existence of multiple mechanisms underlying glucocorticoid insensitivity raises the possibility that this might indeed reflect different diseases with a common phenotype, and studies examining the efficacy of potential new agents should be targeted toward subgroups of patients with severe corticosteroid-resistant asthma who clearly require effective new drugs and other approaches to improved asthma control.
Dominance and affiliation as factors in the social organization of same-sex groups of elementary school children

Abstract The interactional patterns among first- and second- grade children in same-sex activity groups were analyzed in order to describe the relationships among several aspects of social organization and to examine the centrality of dominance and affiliation in social organization. Videotapes of one group of boys ( N = 12) and one group of girls ( N = 12) were coded. The results indicated that for both male and female groups, it was possible to specify dominance, leadership initiation, and leadership organization hierarchies. Moreover, there was a highly convergent pattern among multiple indicators of social organization centering on dominance and affiliation. However, the correlation patterns after controlling for social play suggested that the initially similar patterns were accounted for in different ways. Among the girls, the primary element linking the various dimensions was level of social play. Among the boys, there remained a smaller yet interrelated network indicating regularity in rank position for dominance, successful bids, recipient of requests, and number of play partners.