cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Mu opioid receptor modulation in the nucleus accumbens lowers voluntary wheel running in rats bred for high running motivation

The exact role of opioid receptor signaling in mediating voluntary wheel running is unclear. To provide additional understanding, female rats selectively bred for motivation of low (LVR) versus high voluntary running (HVR) behaviors were used. Aims of this study were 1) to identify intrinsic differences in nucleus accumbens (NAc) mRNA expression of opioid-related transcripts and 2) to determine if nightly wheel running is differently influenced by bilateral NAc injections of either the mu-opioid receptor agonist D-Ala2, NMe-Phe4, Glyo5-enkephalin (DAMGO) (0.25, 2.5 μg/side), or its antagonist, naltrexone (5, 10, 20 μg/side). In Experiment 1, intrinsic expression of Oprm1 and Pdyn mRNAs were higher in HVR compared to LVR. Thus, the data imply that line differences in opioidergic mRNA in the NAc could partially contribute to differences in wheel running behavior. In Experiment 2, a significant decrease in running distance was present in HVR rats treated with 2.5 μg DAMGO, or with 10 μg and 20 μg naltrexone between hours 0-1 of the dark cycle. Neither DAMGO nor naltrexone had a significant effect on running distance in LVR rats. Taken together, the data suggest that the high nightly voluntary running distance expressed by HVR rats is mediated by increased endogenous mu-opioid receptor signaling in the NAc, that is disturbed by either agonism or antagonism. In summary, our findings on NAc opioidergic mRNA expression and mu-opioid receptor modulations suggest HVR rats, compared to LVR rats, express higher running levels mediated by an increase in motivation driven, in part, by elevated NAc opioidergic signaling.
MO‐F‐304‐02

With the current Maintenance of Certification (MOC) requirement for a practice quality improvement (PQI) project every 3 years, we all (well, most of us) find ourselves searching for projects that are both manageable and likely to have a positive impact on our clinical practice. In this session we will walk through the use of the Plan, Do, Study, Act (PDSA) cycle to address a common finding in practices where fluoroscopically guided interventions (FGI) are performed: variation in procedural doses among physicians. We will also examine strategies to secure physician support using carrots, not sticks. Learning Objectives: 1. Review the PDSA cycle and its application to PQI. 2. Discuss strategies for action in the example presented. 3. Examine strategies for successful group PQI projects. A. Kyle Jones: Owner, FluoroSafety Joseph R. Steele: Consultant, FluoroSafety
Oxidative damage to mitochondria and aging

Oxidative damage has been implicated to be a major factor in the decline in physiologic function that occurs during the aging process. Because mitochondria are a primary site of generation of reactive oxygen species, they have become a major focus of research in this area. Increased oxidative damage to mitochondrial proteins, lipid and DNA has been reported to occur with age in several tissues in a variety of organisms. Decreased activity of electron transport chain complexes and increased release of reactive oxygen species from the mitochondria with age suggest that alterations in mitochondrial function occur with age as a consequence of increased oxidative damage. In addition, age-related alterations in the mitochondrial pathway of apoptosis, which could have profound affects on the physiological function of a tissue, could arise from oxidative damage to mitochondria. Alterations in mitochondrial turnover with age could also contribute to an increase in the number of dysfunctional mitochondria with age.
Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support in acute coronary syndromes complicated by cardiogenic shock.

Background Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) complicated by shock is associated with high mortality despite the use of percutaneous support devices. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) offers cardiopulmonary support but its safety and efficacy in the ACS setting is still under investigation. Methods We reviewed the clinical characteristics and course of 18 consecutive patients who received femoral veno-arterial ECMO in the cardiac catheterization lab for severe shock due to ACS at our center between 2007 and 2013. Results The average age was 59.9 years, 72.2% male. Of the 18 patients, 83% had a ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction, of which 55% had a left main or left anterior descending artery occlusion. Thirteen patients received stents, three were referred for coronary artery bypass grafting alone, and two received balloon angioplasty. All patients received aspirin, a thienopyridine (either clopidogrel or ticagrelor), and heparin. Five patients received a glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitor during the catheterization. The average length of ECMO was 3.2 ± 2.5 days, length of stay was 23.4 days, and 67% survived to discharge. Seventeen of eighteen patients (94%) required at least one blood transfusion and use of blood products was significantly higher in the group receiving glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors [19 U of packed red blood cells (PRBC) vs. 8.2 U (P = 0.003)]. Conclusions In patients with severe shock or refractory ventricular arrhythmias due to ACS, VA-ECMO likely offers an alternative form of biventricular support albeit with significant resource utilization and morbidity. A better understanding of how to manage patients with ACS requiring VA-ECMO support including the associated morbidities such as bleeding is necessary. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Bias estimation for optical sensor measurements with targets of opportunity

This paper provides a solution for bias estimation of multiple passive sensors using common targets of opportunity. The measurements provided by these sensors are assumed time-coincident (synchronous) and perfectly associated. Since these sensors provide only line of sight (LOS) measurements, the formation of a single composite Cartesian measurement obtained from fusing the LOS measurements from different sensors is needed to avoid the need for nonlinear filtering. The evaluation of the Cramer-Rao Lower Bound (CRLB) on the covariance of the bias estimate, i.e., the quantification of the available information about the biases, combined with simulations, shows that this method is statistically efficient, even for small sample sizes.
Visualizing Human Movement in Attribute Space

This chapter introduces a new method for visualizing the paths of point features moving across geographic space. It draws inspiration from two separate strands of research within Geographic Information Science. One relates to a renewed interest in the central notion of time geography, space-time paths, and the growing technological ability to determine such paths with high spatial and temporal resolution using the Global Positioning System (GPS). The second trend influencing the proposed methodology concerns methods for modeling multidimensional attribute data. Spatialization is one such approach. The chapter proposes to project a space-time path onto the spatialized representation of n-dimensional attributes associated with geographic features encountered along the path. First, a spatialized representation of geographic features based on their attributes is derived through the self-organizing map (SOM) method. Then, a spatio-temporal trajectory is projected on the SOM, leading to the visual emergence of an attribute space trajectory. This is implemented in two experiments, one involving long-distance travel on Interstate highways, the other concerned with journey-to-work paths in an urban environment.
CD27high/KLRG1low CD8+ T cells that persist throughout MCMV infection are highly expansive and have the ability to reestablish MCMV immunity (VIR4P.1011)

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a herpesvirus that establishes life-long latency in 60-80% of Americans. Constant immune surveillance is necessary to prevent viral reactivation from latency and results in the accumulation of functional CMV-specific CD8+ T cells (CD8s) over time, a process termed memory inflation. As such, CMV reactivations remain a clinical concern for immunosuppressed patients and reconstituting CMV immunity is critical for the long-term prevention of CMV disease. Understanding the maintenance of memory inflation may reveal novel approaches to restore CMV immunity. Previous work has shown that the majority of inflationary CD8s express a terminally-differentiated “effector” (TEFF) phenotype, have a short half-life and appear unable to sustain long-term CMV immunity. Interestingly, inflationary populations also include a minor subset of CD8s that express a “memory” phenotype (TM). Utilizing the murine model, MCMV, our data showed that the minor TM population was responsible for the majority of the inflationary population’s expansive capacity following transfer into naive mice and MCMV challenge. In addition, transferred TM cells produced both TM and TEFF progeny, which inflated and persisted in the recipients. Critically, when TM cells were transferred into chronically-infected mice, they survived and produced TEFF CD8s if host immunity was lost. Thus, TM CD8s appear to be a crucial component for the establishment and maintenance of CMV immunity.
A multimedia laboratory

This paper describes multimedia work stations used in an undergraduate electrical engineering laboratory. The work stations are DSP96000 IBM PC-based and are used for digital signal processing DSP, speech processing, image processing, and graphics applications. The experiments conducted in two undergraduate courses are presented. The first is a one-semester, three-credit-hour digital signal processing course and the second is a one-semester, three-credit-hour senior design course.
Queue management with multiple delay and loss priorities for ATM switches

The asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) technique has been widely accepted as a flexible and effective scheme to transport various traffic over the future broadband network. To fully utilize network resources while still providing satisfactory quality of service (QOS) to all network users, prioritizing users' traffic according to their service requirements becomes necessary. During the call setup, each service can be assigned a service class determined by a delay priority and a loss priority. A queue manager in ATM network nodes will schedule ATM cells' departing and discarding sequence based on their delay and loss priorities. Most queue management schemes that have been proposed so far only consider either one of these two priority types. The present authors' queue manager treats multiple delay and loss priorities simultaneously. Moreover, a cell discarding strategy, called push out which allows the buffer to be completely shared by all service classes, has been adopted in the queue manager. the authors propose a practical architecture to implement the queue manager, facilitated by a new VLSI chip, an enhanced version of the existing sequencer VLSI chip. >
The epidemiology of large-bowel cancer.

Publisher Summary The epidemiology of large-bowel cancer is characterized by (1) large intercountry differences in risk, (2) anatomic- and segment-specific patterns of risk, (3) sex-specific patterns of risk, and (4) a disease response modulated by the events in adult life linked with migration to a new environment. This chapter identifies profitable areas for the epidemiological studies of large-bowel cancer. It describes the demographic factors and environmental and host factors of large-bowel cancer, along with the experimental aspects of colorectal cancer. It considers references to the recent cancer registry data and the comparative studies of intestinal polyps in high- and low-risk populations. The information so obtained from the references confirms the interactions among risk level, sex ratios, and anatomic localization that help to formulate the epidemiologic model. Analytical epidemiology includes two relatively new options—namely, the identification of a precursor and the availability of populations at low, intermediate, and high risks. Study of patients with precursor lesions point to diet and other etiologic factors present before habits are changed by the patient as a result of the necrosis and ulceration of the intestinal mucosa brought about by a carcinomatous growth.
GLUTAMATE-GATED INHIBITORY CURRENTS OF CENTRAL PATTERN GENERATOR NEURONS IN THE LOBSTER STOMATOGASTRIC GANGLION

Inhibitory glutamatergic neurotransmission is an elemental “building block#x201D; of the oscillatory networks within the crustacean stomatogastric ganglion (STG). This study constitutes the initial characterization of glutamatergic currents in isolated STG neurons in primary culture. Superfusion of 1 mM L-glutamate evoked a current response in 45 of 65 neurons examined. The evoked current incorporated two kinetically distinct components in variable proportion: a fast desensitizing component and a slower component. The current was mediated by an outwardly rectifying conductance increase and reversed at -48.8 +/- 5.3 mV. Reducing the external chloride concentration by 50% deflected the glutamate equilibrium potential (Eglu) by +14 mV, while increasing external potassium threefold shifted Eglu by up to +6 mV. Ibotenic acid fully activated both components of the glutamate response. Saturating concentrations of glutamate completely occluded neuronal responses to ibotenic acid, indicating that ibotenic acid was activating the same receptor(s) as glutamate. Millimolar concentrations of quisqualic acid, kainate, AMPA, and NMDA each failed to evoke any response. Picrotoxin (10(-4)M) completely blocked the glutamate response. Niflumic acid (100 microM) blocked > 80% of the desensitizing component and congruent to 50% of the sustained component. Reduction or elimination of extracellular calcium did not abolish the response. This study extends the ionic and pharmacological analysis of glutamatergic conductances in STG neurons. The currents described are consistent with glutamatergic inhibitory synaptic and agonist-evoked responses previously described in situ. We discuss their pharmacology, ionic mechanisms, and functional significance.
The Cultural Turn in Sociology: Can It Help Us Resolve an Age‐Old Problem in Understanding Decision Making for Health Care?

Culture has long affected individuals' response to problems. A classic puzzle in the sociology of health and illness is discrepancy between theory and research regarding cultural beliefs and knowledge of medical care service use. "Utilization research," examining individuals' responses to the onset of health problems, has not consistently affected culture on the uptake of formal treatment. First, while ethnographic research often describes how culture shapes illness behaviors, survey-based studies rarely find significant beliefs or predispositions once "need" is controlled. Second, in quantitative studies, individuals report supportive treatment beliefs or predispositions to use services but low utilization levels, reinforcing claims about lack of utility of cultural ideologies in health-care decision making. We ask whether innovations in the sociology of culture and cognition provide theoretical scaffolding to conceptualize and measure culture in health service utilization. Rather than estimating effect of cultural beliefs on health-care decisionmaking, we question the measurement of cultural beliefs in understanding service use. Examining data from the General Social Survey, we focus on how approaches to culture might explain the paradox of high cultural predispositions and low actual use. Children with mental health problems provide a comparison between suggestions and endorsements. Suggestions, sources of care offered by individuals in response to a case description without any other social cues, align with new cultural approaches, and are measured by responses to open-ended questions about what should be done for the child described (with clinical criteria for ADHD, major depression, asthma, or "daily troubles"). Endorsements, requiring less cognitive work and cultural resistance, align with traditional conceptualizations of culture, and are measured by closed-ended questions that ask respondents to agree or disagree with seeking help from different treatment options placed later in the survey. Suggestions reveal cultural predispositions to use services corresponding closely to reported utilization levels; endorsements reveal high, unrealistic cultural predispositions to use services. Further, suggestions are associated with sociodemographics that proxy culture (e.g., race), while endorsements are associated only with perceived need.
Impact of a structured review session on medical student psychiatry subject examination performance

Introduction: The National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) subject examinations are used as a standardized metric for performance in required clerkships for third-year medical students. While several medical schools have implemented a review session to help consolidate knowledge acquired during the clerkship, the effects of such an intervention are not yet well-established. An improvement in NBME psychiatry examination scores has previously been reported with a single end-of-clerkship review session, but this was limited by a small sample size and the fact that attendance at the review session was optional, leading to likely selection bias. Methods: A 1.5-hour structured review session was conducted for medical students in the last week of each 4-week psychiatry clerkship between September 2014 and July 2015. Students were required to attend unless excused due to scheduling conflicts. Scores on the NBME psychiatry subject exam were compared with those of students taking the examination in the corresponding time period in each of the previous two academic years. Results: 83 students took the exam during the experimental period, while 176 took the exam during the control period. Statistically significant improvements were found in mean score (p=0.03), mean for the two lowest scores in each group (p<0.0007), and percentage of students scoring 70 or less (p=0.03). Percentage of students achieving the maximum possible score (99) was higher in the experimental group, but did not reach significance (p=0.06). Conclusions: An end-of-clerkship review session led to increased mean scores on the NBME psychiatry subject examination, particularly for students at the lower end of the score range. Future research should investigate the impact of such an intervention in other specialties and other institutions.
Tradition, tourism, and the cultural show: Malaysia's diversity on display

Abstract This article explores the cultural show as a site of creative cultural production. It focuses on cultural shows performed at national, state, and grassroots levels in Malaysia (with an emphasis on the city of Malacca). No longer performed strictly for tourists, the cultural show has become both a primary icon of national multiculturalism and a forum in which meaning is contested and identity negotiated. On the one hand, the government uses cultural shows to display (and contain) ethnic diversity; on the other hand, minorities use them as a subversive vehicle to express and maintain difference.
NSF reauthorization bill sails through house

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Authorization Act of 1994, HR 3254, soared through the House in early May by a vote of 396-22, but awaits further action by the House appropriators and the Senate. For fiscal year 1995, the bill authorizes $3.15 billion or an overall funding hike of 5% for NSF, which is about $50 million less than President Clinton's request.
Meteorite fusion crust variability

Two assumptions commonly employed in meteorite interpretation are that fusion crust compositions represent the bulk-rock chemistry of the interior meteorite and that the vesicles within the fusion crust result from the release of implanted solar wind volatiles. Electron microprobe analyses of thin sections from lunar meteorite Miller Range (MIL) 05035 and eucrite Bates Nunataks (BTN) 00300 were performed to determine if the chemical compositions of the fusion crust varied and/or represented the published bulk rock composition. It was determined that fusion crust compositions are significantly influenced by the incorporation of fragments from the substrate, and by the composition and grain size of those minerals. Because of compositional heterogeneities throughout the meteorite, one cannot assume that fusion crust composition represents the bulk rock composition. If the compositional variability within the fusion crust and mineralogical differences among thin sections goes unnoticed, then the perceived composition and petrogenetic models of formation will be incorrect. The formation of vesicles within these fusion crusts were also compared to current theories attributing vesicles to a solar wind origin. Previous work from the STONE-5 experiment, where terrestrial rocks were exposed on the exterior of a spacecraft heatshield, produced a vesicular fusion crust without prolonged exposure to solar wind suggesting that the high temperatures experienced by a meteorite during passage through the Earths atmosphere are sufficient to cause boiling of the melt. Therefore, the assumption that all vesicles found within a fusion crust are due to the release of implanted volatiles of solar wind may not be justified.
Four concepts for resilience and the implications for the future of resilience engineering

The concept of system resilience is important and popular—in fact, hyper-popular over the last few years. Clarifying the technical meanings and foundations of the concept of resilience would appear to be necessary. Proposals for defining resilience are flourishing as well. This paper organizes the different technical approaches to the question of what is resilience and how to engineer it in complex adaptive systems. This paper groups the different uses of the label ‘resilience’ around four basic concepts: (1) resilience as rebound from trauma and return to equilibrium; (2) resilience as a synonym for robustness; (3) resilience as the opposite of brittleness, i.e., as graceful extensibility when surprise challenges boundaries; (4) resilience as network architectures that can sustain the ability to adapt to future surprises as conditions evolve.
Varenicline ameliorates nicotine withdrawal-induced learning deficits in C57BL/6 mice.

Varenicline a partial agonist for α4β2 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) and full agonist for α7 nAChRs, has been approved for the treatment of smoking cessation. While recent clinical trials support the efficacy of varenicline for managing global nicotine withdrawal symptoms and for smoking cessation, varenicline effects on specific withdrawal-associated behaviors in animal models have not been tested. In mice and humans, withdrawal from chronic nicotine disrupts cognitive processing; in mice, this can be measured by changes in contextual fear conditioning. To elucidate potential mechanisms underlying the clinical efficacy of varenicline, the present study evaluated the effects of varenicline on contextual fear conditioning when administered alone and when administered 24 hours after withdrawal from chronic nicotine administration (6.3 mg/kg/day). Varenicline (0.01, 0.1, 1.0 mg/kg) had no effect on contextual fear conditioning when administered alone. However, varenicline dose-dependently prevented nicotine withdrawal-associated deficits in contextual fear conditioning. These data demonstrate that varenicline reverses nicotine withdrawal-induced deficits in an animal model and suggest that varenicline may be effective at treating nicotine withdrawal-associated deficits in learning and memory.
Effects of in Vivo and in Vitro Acid Environments on Activity of Pregastric Esterase

Abstract Abomasal samples were collected at 0, 30, 60, 120, and 180 minutes post-feeding from a rumen-fistulated calf fed nonfat milk. Abomasal pH decreased progressively with time after feeding. Lipolytic activity, presumably due to pregastric esterase, was apparent in all samples; however, activity was considerably less in samples taken 180 minutes post-feeding. In another trial, nonfat sham-fed milk, collected by way of an esophageal fistula, was subjected in vitro to acid conditions of pH 4.0, 3.5, 3.0, 2.5, and 2.0 for intervals of 15, 30, 60, 120, and 180 minutes. The pH of each preparation was then adjusted to 6.1 and incubated at 37 C with evaporated milk. Lipolytic activity of samples subjected to pH 4.0, 3.5, and 3.0 was about 65% of the control, irrespective of time held at these levels of acidity. Samples subjected to pH 2.5 and 2.0 lost nearly all of their lipolytic activity irrespective of time interval.
Diffusion of water through the arthropopd cuticle: Thermodynamic consideration of the transition phenomenon

Abstract 1. |The justification for the use of saturation deficit to correct measured cuticular permeabilities for thermally-induced changes in diffusion gradients is shown to be specious. 2. (2)|Thermodynamic considerations reveal that diffusion gradients are linearly increasing functions of temperature under the conditions used in cuticular permeability studies. 3. (3)|At temperatures below the melting point of the epicuticlar lipids, thermally-induced changes in cuticular permeability are accurately described by a simple Boltzmann temperature function. 4. (4)|Abrupt transitions in the physical state of arthropoid cuticular lipids that have been reported for many specieis are probably artifacts.
SYNTHESIS AND ELECTROCHEMICAL OXIDATION OF BRIDGED RUTHENIUM/PLATINUM COMPLEXES OF 1,10-PHENANTHROLINE-5,6-DIOLATE

Abstraction of chloride from (PPh3)2Pt(O,O‘-PhD-N,N‘)Ru(PPh3)2Cl2 (1) in the presence of two-electron donor ligands L results in a series of cationic Pt/Ru complexes, [(PPh3)2Pt(O,O‘-PhD-N,N‘)Ru(PP...
The early conception factor (ECF) lateral flow assay for non-pregnancy determination in the mare.

Abstract The horse early conception factor (ECF) test is designed for qualitative determination of the ECF glycoprotein in the mare that has conceived. The objectives of this study were to determine the performance of the horse ECF test for the detection of the non-pregnant mare, and to determine the agreement among subjects or "readers" regarding the interpretation of the test. Blood samples from 60 mares were collected on Days 0, 5, 8, 11 and 18 following ovulation. Pregnancy status diagnosed with the ECF test was compared (2×2 table) to pregnancy status diagnosed by palpation per rectum and ultrasound examination on Day 18 following ovulation. Three readers interpreted the ECF test outcome independently. Two laboratories independently interpreted the ECF test outcome from the same serum samples. Agreement was tested by κ coefficient. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and accuracy ranged from 0.74 to 0.84, 0.14 to 0.33, 0.62 to 0.66, 0.33 to 0.44 and 0.57 to 0.60, respectively. Agreement between readers was substantial (0.60 κ κ =0.28). Agreement between laboratories was fair ( κ =0.28). We concluded that non-pregnancy status cannot be determined by the ECF test in the early pregnant mare with high accuracy.
Program Evaluation of a Special Education Day School for Conduct Problem Adolescents.

A procedure for program evaluation of a special education day school is described, and empirical evidence of its application in a school for conduct problem adolescents is reported. Use of the procedure enables a program evaluator to: (a) identify the priority evaluation information needs of a school principal and school staff, (b) involve those persons in evaluation design and implementation, and (c) determine the utility of the evaluation for program decision-making purposes.
Women in Genoese commenda contracts, 1155–1216

An examination of the earliest notarial documents preserved in the State Archive of Genoa reveals that Genoese women were regular and active participants in their city's commercial operations through the use of the popular commenda partnership contract. In fact, women recorded investments in nearly one-quarter of over 4000 surviving contracts dating from 1155 to 1216. Nearly three-quarters of all women named in commenda contracts were investing their own property within the act and most of the remainder were proctoring investments for someone else. Women's individual investments were, on the average, less than half as large as men's, and women tended to concentrate their commercial involvement into long-distance trade rather than local or regional ventures. Study of family investment patterns reveals two especially important connections involving women. Women married to travelling merchants invested their husbands' property during their spouses' long periods of absence, and widows sought to increase both ...
Treatment of Relapsed Carcinoma of the Ovary with Single-Agent Paclitaxel Following Exposure to Paclitaxel and Platinum Employed as Initial Therapy

Abstract Objectives. The aim of this study was to evaluate the ability of paclitaxel to achieve a second clinical response in patients with recurrent epithelial ovarian carcinoma who responded to standard therapy with platinum and paclitaxel in the initial setting. Methods. Thirty-four patients with epithelial ovarian who demonstrated a complete response to paclitaxel and platinum in the initial treatment setting were retreated with paclitaxel as a single agent for relapse of their disease. Paclitaxel was given at a dose of 135–175 mg/m 2 over 3 h at 21-day intervals. Fifteen patients had platinum-resistant disease and 19 had potentially platinum-sensitive disease. Response was documented by physical examination, serial serum CA125 measurement, or radiologic evaluation. Results. An objective response to paclitaxel retreatment was demonstrated in 15 patients (44%), with a median progression-free interval (PFI) of 8.6 months (range 4–17 months). An additional 14 patients (41%) demonstrated disease stabilization, with a median PFI of 7.4 months (range 3–13 months). Overall, retreatment with paclitaxel was well tolerated, with minimal cumulative toxicities, despite repetitive dosing. Conclusion. These results demonstrate that patients with ovarian cancer who relapse after initial treatment with paclitaxel often have disease that is still responsive to the agent. Given its relative lack of cumulative toxicity, retreatment with paclitaxel as a single agent is a reasonable therapeutic option for patients with recurrent ovarian cancer.
Some functional characteristics of avoidance of timeout from response-dependent food presentation in rats

Three male and three female rats were first trained to respond on a Random-Interval 15-s schedule on one (food) lever in a rodent operant conditioning chamber. They were then exposed to a condition in which food could only be obtained during a timein period which lasted 10 s or longer dependent upon whether or not subjects pressed another (avoidance) fever. If subjects did not press the other level during the 10-s timein, a 50-s timeout was presented during which food could not be obtained. Subjects first had the opportunity to avoid timeout presentation by pressing the avoidance level during timein or to escape the timeout by pressing the lever during timeout. A changeover delay of 2-s prevented food presentation immediately following avoidance lever-food lever sequences. All subjects pressed the avoidance lever to avoid or escape timeout, but only one of the subjects consistently pressed the avoidance lever when escape was no longer available. One more subject acquired consistent avoidance responding after reexposure to the avoidance/escape and avoidance only conditions. The four remaining subjects were then exposed to a signalled avoidance procedure in which a 5-s stimulus change preceded timeout presentation. Three of the subjects came to respond reliably on the avoidance lever when switched back to the unsignalled avoidance procedure. One of the subjects never acquired consistent avoidance responding. Functional control by the avoidance contingency was demonstrated during the final two experimental conditions in which the contingencies associated with the avoidance lever were systematically removed and reintroduced.
Welfare analysis under uncertainty

This article extends Bergsonian welfare analysis to an environment of uncertainty where preferences are not expected utility and may even be state-inconsistent. Given state-inconsistent preferences, the familiar notion of ex ante efficiency is also state-inconsistent. Other efficiency and welfare concepts achieve state consistency by ignoring entirely the prospective preferences of consumers. The framework developed in this article allows welfare judgments to be state-consistent while respecting prospective and conditional preferences. The theory is called inclusive welfare. An application to optimum insurance subsidies illustrates the practical use of the concept.
Dendritic Cells (DC) Facilitate Detachment of Squamous Carcinoma Cells (SCC), While SCC Promote an Immature CD16 + DC Phenotype and Control DC Migration

In the inflammatory mucosal microenvironment of head and neck SCC (HNSCC), DC express CD16 and are usually in direct contact with tumor cells. Mucosal and inflammation-associated DC develop from monocytes, and monocyte-derived DC are used in HNSCC immunotherapy. However, beyond apoptotic tumor cell uptake and presentation of tumor antigens by DC, HNSCC cell interactions with DC are poorly understood. Using co-cultures of monocyte-derived DC and two established HNSCC cell lines that represent well- and poorly-differentiated SCC, respectively, we found that carcinoma cells induced significant increases in CD16 expression on DC while promoting a CD1a+CD86dim immature phenotype, similar to that observed in HNSCC specimens. Moreover, HNSCC cells affected steady-state and CCL21-induced migration of DC, and these effects were donor-dependent. The CCL21-induced migration directly correlated with HNSCC-mediated effects on CCR7 and CD38 expression on DC-SIGN-high DC. The dominant pattern seen in six out of nine donors was the increase in steady-state and CCL21-induced DC migration in co-cultures with HNSCC, while the reverse pattern, i.e., decreased DC migration in co-cultures with SCC, was identified in two donors. A split in migratory DC behavior, i.e. increase with one HNSCC cell line and a decrease with the second cell line, was observed in one donor. Remarkably, the numbers of live detached HNSCC cells were orders of magnitude higher in DC-HNSCC co-cultures than in parallel HNSCC cell cultures without DC. This study provides novel insights into the effects of DC-HNSCC interactions relevant to the tumor microenvironment.
The metallicity of thin films and overlayers

Abstract Thin-film materials, normally considered metals, can exhibit behavior that is very nonmetallic. There is an increasing body of experimental information that this phenomenon is quite general at submonolayer coverages. With increasing coverage and/or temperature there is a nonmetal to metal transition. This unusual behavior can occur even for films deposited on metal surfaces. Insight and identification of this electronic phase transition originates from several experimental probes of metallicity. Among the several techniques that have now been applied to this problem are angle-resolved photoemission, core level photoemission, resonant photoemission, inverse photoemission, high resolution electron energy loss, scanning tunneling microscopy, electron and atom beam scattering and optical techniques such as second harmonic generation and optical conductivity. These techniques are often consistent and suggestive of a many body transition that can, in some respects, be discussed in the context of the Mott–Hubbard transition. The results lead to the interesting speculation that many metal overlayers may be nonmetallic. A number of aspects of the nonmetal to metal transition in thin films and overlayers can be compared with measurements probing the metallicity of free clusters.
The effect of halothane on systemic venous reactivity.

Abstract The effect of halothane on systemic venous reactivity was determined in dogs during brief periods of total circulatory arrest. Venous “tonus” and the reflexly induced caval pressure elevations following total circulatory arrest were reduced following halothane. The depression of venous reactivity was greater in the venous bed drained by the inferior vena cava. The studies suggest that cardiovascular instability during administration of this anesthetic may be due in part to altered reactivity of the systemic venous bed.
More Than "Getting Us Through:" A Case Study in Cultural Capital Enrichment of Underrepresented Minority Undergraduates.

Minority students continue to be underrepresented among those who seek graduate and professional degrees in the sciences. Much previous research has focused on academic preparation. Equally important, however, are the psychological–social barriers and lack of institutional support encountered by many minority students. We present a case study of a university-sponsored intervention program for minority science majors that addresses not only academics, but also socialization into the academic community, networking, and the ability to practice newfound skills and dispositions through undergraduate research. In examining this case, we suggest that concerted, formal efforts toward expanding habitus and thereby augmenting cultural and social capital may have positive effects for underrepresented minority (URM) college students’ academic and career prospects. Moreover, we argue that these differences complement the gains program participants make in academic preparedness, showing that attention to academics alone may be insufficient for addressing longstanding inequities in science career attainment among URM students.
Dietary protein and atherosclerosis

Interest in the effect of protein on lipid metabolism and atherosclerosis dates back to the first decade of this century. In the 1940s Meeker and Kesten showed that soy protein was more atherogenic for rabbits than casein. Carroll and his colleagues demonstrated that, in general, proteins of animal origin were more cholesterolemic for rabbits than were plant proteins, although there was a wide range of individual effects within both classifications. Carroll also showed that partial hydrolyzates of casein or soy protein were less cholesterolemic than the intact proteins. We have hypothesized that the lysine/arginine ratio (L/A) of the protein influences its effects on lipid metabolism. The L/A of casein is about 2 and that of soy about 1. Addition of enough arginine to casein to lower its L/A to 1 reduces its atherogenicity; adding enough lysine to soy isolate to raise its L/A to 2 enhances atherogenicity. The atherogenicities of fish protein (L/A, 1.44), casein (L/A, 1.94) and whole milk protein (L/A, 2.44) are correlated directly with their L/A (p<0.05). Other amino acids (methionine, glycine, arginine) have been shown to affect cholesterolemia. Casein lowers the excretion of steroids in rabbits and lengthens the turnover time of cholesterol. This may be the mechanism underlying the animal/vegetable protein effects.
The Interactive Effects of Race, Gender and School Composition on College Track Placement

This article investigates how organizational features of high schools interact with students' ascriptive characteristics to shape opportunities to learn. It advances previous research by examining the intersection of students' gender-by-race cohort with their high schools' racial composition on their Grade 12 English track placement in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. Using HLM with a sample of seniors, we find that school racial composition has significant effects on the track placement of different race-gender cohorts, and that schools' racial compositions interact with students' ascriptive characteristics in these processes. Net of prior achievement, track placements are influenced by individual and family characteristics, as well as school racial composition. Attending a racially imbalanced school affects students' chances of enrolling in college-prep tracks. Racially balanced high schools offer all students the greatest equality of access to college prep tracks.
The August 1972 solar-terrestrial events: Interplanetary magnetic field observations

Interplanetary-magnetic-field measurements made by Pioneers 9 and 10, HEOS 2, and Explorer 41 during early August 1972 are reviewed. It is noted that the two Pioneers were nearly radially aligned during the flare events, with Pioneer 9 at a distance of 0.78 AU from the sun and Pioneer 10 at a distance of 2.2 AU. The data obtained by Pioneer 9, Pioneer 10, and the two near-earth satellites are analyzed separately, and the major flare-associated shocks are identified. An attempt is made to identify corresponding shocks at the different locations and to determine their propagation velocities in the region between 0.8 and 2.2 AU. It is found that there was an obvious tendency for the average shock velocities to decrease with increasing radial distance from the sun and that the local velocities at the Pioneer locations were significantly smaller than the appropriate average values. A comparison of these local velocities indicates that there was a large deceleration of the shocks between the sun and some distance within 0.8 AU but little, if any, deceleration beyond that distance. A plot of average shock velocities from the sun to 1.0 AU as a function of longitude separation between the flares and Pioneer 9 is shown to suggest a pronounced deviation of the shock fronts from spherical symmetry.
Superresolution of atmospheric degraded imagery

This paper is concerned with methods for preprocessing a collection of atmospheric turbulence-degraded short-exposure imagery to improver the resolving power of estimation algorithms. In the first portion of our paper we redefine the method known as frame selection in the context of optimization estimation results. Several measure of image quality are compared against idealized standards demonstrating their relative effectiveness to highly rank the least degraded image frames. In particular, we find the Fisher information measure to be the most noise tolerant and robust frame-selection measure. Results from simulated imaging scenarios demonstrate the improved ability of a multiframe maximum a-posteriori estimator to resolve the passband object distribution as well as to further recover the lost spectral content residing beyond the diffraction limit.
Planar Scintigraphic Imaging of the Gastrointestinal Tract in Clinical Practice

In the last 30 years, nuclear medicine has paralleled other imaging fields with the development of 3-dimensional techniques, including single-photon emission computed tomography and positron emission tomography. However, conventional nuclear medicine planar scintigraphy remains a common procedure at most imaging centers. Gastrointestinal studies constitute a significant portion of these planar procedures. The most common gastrointestinal studies, including hepatobiliary, gastric emptying, and gastrointestinal bleeding evaluations, resemble their original protocol. However, serial improvements have optimized the diagnostic efficacy of these procedures. Conventional Technetium-99m sulfur colloid liver/spleen imaging and hepatic blood pool imaging with labeled red blood cells now mainly serve an adjunctive role in the evaluation of equivocal findings on computed tomography. Salivary gland imaging is a less commonly requested evaluation, but can be used to evaluate functional capacity in some disease entities.
Stretchable/printed RF devices via high-throughput, high-definability soft-lithography fabrication

In this paper, we introduce a novel method to fabricate stretchable RF devices in a high-throughput, high definability manner. Silicone with high elasticity and high hardness is used as both a dielectric substrate and a mold to replicate the pattern from silicon by soft-lithography. A silicone based electrically conductive adhesive (ECA) is used as the conducting material because of its low electrical resistivity (1.6×10-4 Ω.cm) and high elasticity (>500% elongation at break). This novel method is used to fabricate two antennas with different dimensions. The antenna has a high efficiency (|S11|> 30%) and the resonance can be tuned to desirable values according to the applied strain.
A Substance in Blood Lethal for Candida albicans.

WHILE performing investigations on the intra-leucocytic survival of Candida, we found that Candida tropicalis survived in whole human blood but Candida albicans did not. Results were similar for cell-free plasma and serum. In these investigations, 0.1 ml. of an inoculum of 107 Candida cells was added to 1 ml. of serum or plasma in siliconized tubes. The Candida-serum mixture was rotated at 37° C for 24 h. At 0, 6, and 24 h, Candida populations were determined by pour plate enumeration techniques. The serum was considered lethal for Candida if fungal census was reduced at least 10-fold at the 6- or 24-h periods when compared with the 0-h count.
Electronic Properties of Flat-Band Semiconductor Heterostructures

A new theory of the electronic properties of heterostructures is proposed. Linear combinations of Bloch waves, both propagating and evanescent, are matched across the interface. This leads to simple continuity conditions on the envelope functions, which can be used to solve any heterostructure problem. Calculated optical transitions in GaAs-AlGaAs and InAs-GaSb heterostructures show good agreement with experiment.
New diels-alder dimers of (1S,2R)-cis-1,2-Isopropylidene-dioxy-3-ethenylcyclohexa-3,5-diene

Abstract The acetonide of the cis -diol metabolite, 1,2-dihydroxy-3-ethenylcyclohexa-3,5-diene, produced from the oxidation of styrene by Pseudomonas putida strain 39D, underwent intermolecular stereoselective Diels-Alder dimerizations to form three different types of compounds.
Port Access Cardiac Operations Can Be Safely Performed With Either Endoaortic Balloon or Chitwood Clamp

Background Minimally invasive, right thoracotomy (port access) approaches to intracardiac operations (mitral valve, tricuspid valve, atrial septal defect, intracardiac tumors) are becoming increasingly accepted by surgeons, cardiologists, and patients alike. Standard techniques for cardioplegic arrest of the heart have included endoaortic balloons and Chitwood clamps. Concerns have been raised regarding the potential increased risk of vascular adverse events (embolization, dissection, stroke, lower extremity ischemia) associated with endoaortic balloon occlusion. We undertook this study to evaluate the vascular risk associated with endoaortic balloon use. Methods All patients undergoing minimally invasive, port access, right thoracotomy operations from 1998 to 2012 at our institution were retrospectively analyzed. Patients undergoing aortic occlusion with the Chitwood clamp (n = 189) were compared with patients undergoing occlusion with the endoaortic balloon (n = 875). Results There was no statistical difference in the rate of dissection between patients undergoing aortic occlusion with an endoaortic balloon (1.03%) and those receiving a Chitwood clamp (1.06%). Similarly, there was no difference in the rate of type A dissection between aortic occlusion strategies (endoaortic balloon = 0.57%, n = 5, vs Chitwood clamp = 1.06%, n = 2, p = 0.28). No difference in the incidence of stroke was identified between the endoaortic balloon and the Chitwood clamp (2.2% vs 2.1%, p = 1.0). Conclusions Minimally invasive cardiac operations using a peripheral cannulation strategy can be safely performed with minimal vascular adverse events incorporating either endoaortic balloon or Chitwood clamp aortic occlusion. As experience with the endoaortic balloon is gained, the incidence of vascular adverse events can be reduced to nearly negligible rates.
A Facile One-Pot Synthesis of 1-Thiacycloöctan-5-one 1-Oxide

Abstract The preparation of medium-sized heterocyclic rings by closure reactions of acyclic species has been limited to the Dieckman reaction,1 the acyloin reaction,2 lactone formation,3 and recently a three carbon ylide based ring expansion.4 We have been investigating the hydroboration-carbonylation of α,ω-bis-olefinic hetero-atom containing dienes and wish to report a facile one-pot synthesis of 1-thiacyclooctan-5-one 1-oxide (2) from allyl sulfide (1) using chloroborane-methyl sulfide.