cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Sympathetic responses of the heart and adrenal medulla in developing Dahl hypertensive rats

Functional development of the sympathetic nervous system was examined in inbred Dahl salt-sensitive (S/JR) and salt-resistant (R/JR) rats by assessing cardiac and adrenal medullary responses to insulin-induced hypoglycemia at 2, 4, 8, 12, and 16 days of age. Heart ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) activity and adrenal catecholamine content were measured in pups of the two strains 3 hours after administration of either saline or insulin. The centrally mediated increase in sympathetic outflow caused by insulin-induced hypoglycemia was attended by induction of heart ODC activity and depletion of adrenal epinephrine (EPI). No significant differences were found overall between R/JR and S/JR strains with regard to either heart ODC activity or adrenal epinephrine. This was true for basal values obtained from saline-injected pups as well as for measures from insulin-injected pups. Functional innervation of the heart was present in pups of both strains as early as 2 days of age, while in the adrenal medulla a significant response to stimulation was not detected until 8 days of age. While the susceptibility for hypertension in the salt-sensitive animals may well be linked to increased sympathetic tone, the present findings indicate that S/JR rats do not have an accelerated development or a hyperresponsiveness of sympathetic input to either the heart or the adrenal medulla during the pre-weanling period.
A ONE-MODEL APPROACH TO CONGESTION IN DATA ENVELOPMENT ANALYSIS

Abstract Standard data envelopment analysis approaches to congestion require two models (Eur. J. Oper. Res. 132 (2001) 62). Here, we introduce a single model that can be used in place of such two-model approaches to evaluate congestion, identify its sources and estimate its levels.
Recent advances in high pressure and temperature rheological studies

Rheological studies at high pressure and temperature using in-situ X-ray diffraction and imaging have made significant progresses in recent years, thanks to a combination of recent developments in several areas: (1) advances in synchrotron X-ray techniques, (2) advances in deformation devices and the abilities to control pressure, temperature, stress, strain and strain rates, (3) theoretical and computational advances in stress determination based on powder and single crystal diffraction, (4) theoretical and computational advances in modeling of grain-level micromechanics based on elasto-plastic and visco-plastic self-consistent formulations. In this article, we briefly introduce the experimental techniques and theoretical background for in-situ high pressure, high temperature rheological studies, and then review recent studies of rheological properties of major mantle materials. Some currently encountered issues have prompted developments in single-crystal quasi-Laue diffraction for complete stress tensor determination and textural evolution of poly-phased composites based on X-ray microtomography. Future prospects are discussed.
A Case of Survival after Cardiac Arrest and 3½ Hours of Resuscitation

Although survival rates after cardiac arrest remain low, new techniques are improving patients' outcomes. We present the case of a 40-year-old man who survived a cardiac arrest that lasted approximately 3½ hours. Resuscitation was performed with strict adherence to American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology Advanced Cardiac Life Support guidelines until bedside extracorporeal membrane oxygenation could be placed. A hypothermia protocol was initiated immediately afterwards. The patient had a full neurologic recovery and was bridged from dual ventricular assist devices to a total artificial heart. On hospital day 160, he underwent orthotopic heart and cadaveric kidney transplantation. On day 179, he was discharged from the hospital in ambulatory condition. To our knowledge, this is the only reported case in which a patient survived with good neurologic outcomes after a resuscitation that lasted as long as 3½ hours. Documented cases of resuscitation with good recovery after prolonged arrest give hope for improved overall outcomes in the future.
Correlates of Rapid-Guessing Behavior in Low-Stakes Testing: Implications for Test Development and Measurement Practice

Previous research has shown that rapid-guessing behavior can degrade the validity of test scores from low-stakes proficiency tests. This study examined, using hierarchical generalized linear modeling, examinee and item characteristics for predicting rapid-guessing behavior. Several item characteristics were found significant; items with more text or those occurring later in the test were related to increased rapid guessing, while the inclusion of a graphic in a item was related to decreased rapid guessing. The sole significant examinee predictor was SAT total score. Implications of these results for measurement professionals developing low-stakes tests are discussed.
Increased expression of GAPDH protein is not indicative of nitrosative stress or apoptosis in liver of starved rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

Short-term starvation has been linked to in vivo protein degradation in liver of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). However, it is unclear whether this proposed increase in protein degradation is followed by programmed cell death (apoptosis) in liver of starved trout. A preliminary study in our laboratory revealed an isoform of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) protein that increased 4.5-fold in liver of starved trout. GAPDH is a glycolytic enzyme involved in other cellular functions, including apoptosis. Increased intracellular nitric oxide (NO) promotes nuclear translocation of GAPDH that is associated with increased apoptosis in mammals. If GAPDH protein is associated with apoptosis in rainbow trout, it could potentially be used as a biomarker of cellular stress in liver of teleost fish species. The purpose of this study was to determine whether increased GAPDH protein expression in liver of starved rainbow trout is associated with NO-induced apoptosis. Targeted proteomic analysis using multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) was used to determine the level of GAPDH in nuclear and cytoplasmic fractions and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in cell lysates. Dot blot and DNA fragmentation analyses were conducted to evaluate protein S-nitrosylation and apoptosis, respectively. Results showed that cytoplasmic GAPDH was 3.4-fold higher in liver of starved versus fed rainbow trout but could not be detected in nuclear fractions. Starvation significantly reduced hepato-somatic index but had no effect on iNOS protein expression, protein S-nitrosylation, or apoptosis. Our results indicate that starvation promoted significant reduction in liver mass that was not associated with increased apoptosis or NO-induced stress and that greater GAPDH concentration in liver of starved rainbow trout was located primarily in the cytoplasm.
Kinetic properties of the triplet states of methylene blue and other photosensitizing dyes.

— The long-lived (> 1 μsec) transients formed in the flash excitation of the representative photosensitizers methylene blue, eosin Y and pyrene have been investigated and various criteria have been used to distinguish between triplet state intermediates and chemical intermediates. Previous assignments of the triplet transients of methylene blue appeared less secure in view of the photochemical reactivity of this dye and its lack of phosphorescence. Earlier assignments of monomeric and dimeric triplet transients of methylene blue are substantiated, however, by the observations that the rate constant for quenching by oxygen is approximately 1/9th diffusion controlled and the formation rates are commensurate with singlet decay rates and by the observation of triplet-triplet annihilation. Additional evidence in support of monomer triplet assignments for methylene blue and eosin Y is provided by the effect of heavy atom quenchers Cs+, Hg2+ and T1+ on decay rates. Due to chemical reactivity, quenching by I−appears less suitable as a diagnostic test for triplet state intermediates. The effect of N3−, which is known to quench singlet oxygen molecules and to alter the course of photosensitized oxidations, on the triplet decay of methylene blue, eosin Y and pyrene is also investigated.
Dilemmas in evaluation: implications for administrators of social action programs.

This paper suggests four basic questions that administrators of social action programs should consider in making decisions about program evaluation: Evaluation for what? For whom? By whom? At what cost? In addition, the authors introduce a notion of differential evaluation for different stages of program development.
Monte Carlo calculations with fermions: The Schwinger model

Abstract An algorithm for Monte Carlo simulation of lattice gauge theories with fermions is presented. The method is applied to the Schwinger model with two flavors of massless fermions, formulated on a two-dimensional euclidean lattice. Preliminary results of the Monte Carlo iteration of this system are presented, with special emphasis on the behavior of the Wilson loop and bilocal chiral correlation functions such as 〈 ψ (1 + γ 5 )ψ(x) ψ (1 − γ 5 )ψ(y)〉 .
Redundant interconnections for fault-tolerant digital optical computing

We show how multilayer optical-interconnect-based digital logic systems can be made fault-tolerant by distributed redundancy tech- niques implementable at the gate level, while incurring the expense of an increased number of gates with greater individual fan-in and fan-out. We demonstrate that braided logical interconnections between redundantly doubled, tripled, and quadrupled NOR gates enable the correction of device and interconnection errors. We present an extrapolated error analysis for the quadding, doubling, and tripling schemes, which shows the quadratic and cubic dependence of the system error on device error rates, in comparison with the linear relationship of a nonredundant sys- tem. Because the interconnections between the braided circuits are quite regular, they appear to be very amenable to optical implementations, and with the appropriate choice of device topology employing sparse device placement they are compatible with the regular, layered structure of conventional shift-invariant digital optical computer interconnects, without a penalty in circuit depth or latency. We show device topologies and interconnection architectures for the optical implementation of a fault-tolerant quadded programmable two-shuffle interconnection system that use holographic shift-invariant interconnects. Using these redundant optical logic schemes with only moderate device error probabilities, ex- tremely low system error rates can be achieved. © 1999 Society of Photo- Optical Instrumentation Engineers. (S0091-3286(99)01303-3) Subject terms: optical interconnects; optical computing.
Biochemical studies in a patient with chromatin-negative Klinefelter's syndrome.

Abstract The metabolism of [ 3 H]dehydroepiandrosterone and [4- 14 C]progesterone by homogenates of testicular tissue obtained from a patient with the features of chromatin-negative Klinefelter's syndrome has been studied in vitro . In these conversion studies, [ 3 H] Δ 5 -androsten-3 β ,17 β -diol was the only metabolite detected in the incubates. When minced testicular tissue was incubated, a small amount of testosterone was produced in vitro , and no significant rise occurred in the presence of human chorionic gonadotrophin. By contrast, the patient's plasma testosterone level was below the normal male range, and showed a marked rise following administration of human chorionic gonadotrophin. These studies suggest a 3-β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenaseisomerase deficiency in this disorder and demonstrate that the capacity of the testis to secrete testosterone in vitro is extremely small and unresponsive to human chorionic gonadotrophin.
Aldol condensation of butanal over alkali metal zeolites

Alkali metal zeolites and metal oxides were used for the aldol condensation of n-butanal to 2-ethyl-2-hexenal. The order of activity at 150 °C and 1 atm. was: CsNaY > NaY > LiNaY > MgO >Al2O3. Selectivity to 2-ethyl-2-hexenal was 100% for both pure and mixed isomer feed. Infrared spectroscopic studies showed that stable catalysts were produced by propene pretreatments which blocked Lewis acid sites. Adsorption of ammonia and carbon dioxide on CsNaY during aldol condensation of n-butanal causes a decrease in rate. This result, along with the order of activity, suggests that the presence of both acid and basic sites produce higher activity than strongly basic MgO.
Impact of Renal Dysfunction on Outcomes of Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery Results From the Society of Thoracic Surgeons National Adult Cardiac Database

Background— Although patients with end-stage renal disease are known to be at high risk for mortality after coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery, the impact of lesser degrees of renal impairment has not been well studied. The purpose of this study was to compare outcomes in patients undergoing CABG with a range from normal renal function to dependence on dialysis. Methods and Results— We reviewed 483 914 patients receiving isolated CABG from July 2000 to December 2003, using the Society of Thoracic Surgeons National Adult Cardiac Database. Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) was estimated for patients with the use of the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease study formula. Multivariable logistic regression was used to determine the association of GFR with operative mortality and morbidities (stroke, reoperation, deep sternal infection, ventilation >48 hours, postoperative stay >2 weeks) after adjustment for 27 other known clinical risk factors. Preoperative renal dysfunction (RD) was common among CABG...
From DIY Computers to Illegal Copies: The Controversy over Tinkering with Microcomputers in Taiwan, 1980&#x2013;1984

In the early 1980s, tinkerers assembling and modifying microcomputers opened up this black-boxed technology and helped popularize microcomputers in Taiwan. Such activities, however, prompted copyright suits between Apple Computer and Taiwanese computer manufacturers. This article delineates the debate around those suits and examines how this practice shaped new social meanings of microcomputers in Taiwan.
Stimulus selection and the number of stimulus components

The number of word components in the compound stimuli of paired-associate lists were varied, and the words within a compound were presented either in a constant or in a variable order from trial to trial. The number of components, above one, had no appreciable effect on the difficulty of learning, and the variable order lists were more difficult than the constant order. Recall with the word components as cues showed that the amount of selection decreased with the variable order lists as the number of components increased. With the constant order lists, selection tended to remain constant as number of components increased. This was interpreted as the result of the availability of a rule for selection in the constant order conditions.
Laboratory Investigation of Parameters Affecting CO2-Foam Mobility in Sandstone at Reservoir Conditions

In CO{sub 2} floods the large viscosity contrast between the reservoir and injected fluids induces an unfavorable mobility ratio that results in early breakthrough and consequently decreases oil sweep efficiency. There is evidence that the presence of an aqueous surfactant solution will produce a foam with CO{sub 2}. This not only controls the gas mobility but may also selectively reduce the gas mobility through regions of differing permeabilities. This could be a very favorable phenomenon in EOR processes if it occurs in the reservoir. The purpose of this study is to evaluate foam application from these perspectives. This study concerns a series of steady-state CO{sub 2}-foam flow experiments in Berea sandstone cores at typical reservoir conditions. The effects on foam mobility of flow rate, foam quality, surfactant type, surfactant concentration, and rock permeability were investigated. Four commercial surfactants (Chevron Chaser{trademark} CD1040, CD1045, CD1050 and Shell Enordet 2001) at 500 ppm and 2500 ppm concentrations (in 2 wt% brine) were used. In each run the contribution of each parameter on foam mobility was evaluated independently.
Thermal emission from a multiple scattering model of Saturn's rings

Abstract Models of Saturn's B ring have been investigated which include the shadowing mechanism, realistic phase functions for the ring particles, and the effects of multiple scattering and a particle size dispersion. These models are based on the assumption that the rings form a layer many particles thick. A power law relation dn ∝ ϱ−s is used for the size dispersion law of the ring particles, where dn is the number of particles with radii between ϱ and ϱ + dϱ. In the calculation of the infrared brightness temperature of the rings, the effect of mutual heating among the ring particles is considered quantitatively for the first time. The parameters of the polydisperse s = 2 model can be chosen to satisfy both optical (λ ≲ 1.1 μ) and infrared data, but the situation could be much clarified if a good phase curve for the rings were available in the red, if the ring brightness were known accurately for λ > 1 μ, and if it could be established whether the ring particles are rotating synchronously.
Description of immature stages of Anastrepha interrupta, A. limae, and A. grandis (Diptera: Tephritidae).

Descriptions are given for the third instar of Anastrepha interrupta Stone, and for the third instar and puparium of A. limae Stone for the first time. The egg, puparium, and second instar of A. grandis (Macquart) are described for the first time, and the third instar is redescribed with new details.
An Automated Suction Lysimeter for Improved Soil Water Sampling

Leaching of chemicals (e.g., ferƟ lizers, manure, pesƟ cides, and petroleum products) from urban regions and areas impacted by human development is one of the main sources of underground nonpoint-source polluƟ on. Most methods of soil water sampling are not capable of extracƟ ng representaƟ ve soil water samples to determine leaching volume and solute concentraƟ ons since they fail to create normal leaching condiƟ ons in the soil. Thus the volume of soil-water collected, as well as its solute concentraƟ on, may not be accurately esƟ mated. Sixteen units of cost eff ecƟ ve and accurate automated lysimeters were designed and installed to measure post-harvest nitrate leaching from a rye (Secale cereale L.) cover crop fi eld during the falls and winters of 2007 to 2009. Major parts of the electronic system were electronic controller, data logger memory, digital clock and its baƩ ery backup circuit, relays, LCD display and electronic signal condiƟ oning interfaces for amplifying, off -seƫ ng, and digiƟ zing the signals from vacuum sensors. The electronic system was designed to monitor soil tension every second with accuracy of 1 cm and apply the proper amount of sucƟ on to the sampling media (ceramic pl ate). Hourly data from soil tension and vacuum applied to the system were collected and stored by each unit. A safety system was designed for protecƟ ng the vacuum pump against unexpected major vacuum leakage events. The controller can be easily reprogrammed for diff erent performance strategies. The automated lysimeter showed an accurate and reliable performance in both lab and fi eld condiƟ ons. Ambient soil matric pressure and matric pressure above the samplers indicated a strong linear correlaƟ on which confi rms that the lysimeter was successful in maintaining the sampler vacuum in equilibrium with soil.
Reading the Skies: A Cultural History of English Weather, 1650-1820

From the time of Aristotle until the late 18th century, meteorology meant the study of "meteors" - spectacular objects in the skies beneath the moon, which included everything from shooting stars to hailstorms. In "Reading the Skies", Vladimir Jankovic traces the history of this meteorological tradition in Enlightenment Britain, examining its scientific and cultural significance. He interweaves classical traditions, folk/popular beliefs and practices, and the increasingly quantitative approaches of urban university men to understanding the wonders of the skies. He places special emphasis on the role that detailed meteorological observations played in natural history and chorography, or local geography; in religious and political debates; and in agriculture. Drawing on a number of archival sources, including correspondence and weather diaries, as well as contemporary pamphlets, tracts, and other printed sources reporting prodigious phenomena in the skies, this book should interest historians of science, Britain, and the environment.
Prokaryotic Diacylglycerol Kinase and Undecaprenol Kinase

Prokaryotic diacylglycerol kinase (DAGK) and undecaprenol kinase (UDPK) are the lone members of a family of multispan membrane enzymes that are very small, lack relationships to any other family of proteins-including water soluble kinases-and exhibit an unusual structure and active site architecture. Escherichia coli DAGK plays an important role in recycling diacylglycerol produced as a by-product of biosynthesis of molecules located in the periplasmic space. UDPK seems to play an analogous role in gram-positive bacteria, where its importance is evident because UDPK is essential for biofilm formation by the oral pathogen Streptococcus mutans. DAGK has also long served as a model system for studies of membrane protein biocatalysis, folding, stability, and structure. This review explores our current understanding of the microbial physiology, enzymology, structural biology, and folding of the prokaryotic DAGK family, which is based on over 40 years of studies.
Understanding how input matters: verb learning and the footprint of universal grammar.

Studies under the heading “syntactic bootstrapping” have demonstrated that syntax guides young children’sinterpretationsduringverblearning.Weevaluatetwohypothesesconcerningtheoriginsof syntacticbootstrappingeffects.The“universalist”view,holdingthatsyntacticbootstrappingfallsout from universal properties of the syntax‐semantics mapping, is shown to be superior to the “emergentist” view, which holds that argument structure patterns emerge from a process of categorization and generalization over the input. These theories diverge in their predictions about a language in which syntacticstructureisnotthemostreliablecuetoacertainmeaning.InKannada,causativemorphology isabetterpredictorofcausativemeaningthantransitivityis.Hence,theemergentistviewpredictsthat Kannada-speaking children will associate causative morphology (in favor of transitive syntax) with causative meaning. The universalist theory, however, predicts the opposite pattern. Using an act-out task, we found that 3-year-old native speakers of Kannada associate argument number and not morphological form with causativity, supporting the universalist approach. q 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
Three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy and dose escalation: Where do we stand?

Three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy is an effective means of delivering high doses of radiation with enhanced precision. Several institutions have gained substantial experience using this modality for patients with clinically localized prostate cancer. Reports from these centers have demonstrated not only excellent tolerance despite the administration of higher radiation doses, but improved biochemical and local control outcomes as well. Meticulous attention to treatment technique and dose volume histogram analysis are critical for the safe implementation of these higher doses. The emergence of intensity-modulated treatment planning has provided the opportunity at our institution to further escalate the radiation dose to 86.4 Gy while still respecting the surrounding normal tissue tolerance. Phase I studies will need to continue to define more clearly the maximal dose of radiation that can be delivered safely with this modality. Current studies indicate a direct correlation between dose and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) relapse-free survival response for patients with intermediate and high-risk prognostic features. These patients likely represent the ideal cohort for future studies designed to investigate the impact of dose on biochemical and disease-free survival outcome.
Validation of and delay variation in total ionizing dose hardened standard cell libraries

A ring oscillator based test structure with special power multiplexing to allow accurate active and standby (leakage) power measurements with minimal test chip pin count is presented. This structure is used to validate radiation hardened by design (RHBD) standard cell library gates for TID hardness and delay. Additionally, the performance of standard commercial two-edge gates and their annular counterparts are also compared experimentally. The gate delay and energy per transition is shown to be significantly increased for some RHBD gates over their two-edge counterparts. Large ring oscillator delay variations are also shown, even with all test die from the same wafer.
Moving Beyond Slogans Possibilities for a More Connected and Humanizing "Counter-recruitment" Pedagogy in Highly Militarized Urban Schools

Urban high schools have become increasingly militarized spaces, particularly after the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act and the unprecedented recruitment campaign of the military post 9/11. As a response, anti-war activists and community organizations have launched “counter-recruitment” campaigns to educate students and communities of the realities of military service and “recruit” students away from the military. While these efforts have provided a much-needed response to the increased militarization of schools, they have not always employed liberatory means. This paper offers a critical analysis of certain counter-recruitment actions that employ what Freire (1970/1993) calls the “banking” approach, through the reflective narratives of the authors. The paper also proposes critical consciousness-raising through the example of a digital-storytelling project in a high school classroom, where students were able to tell their stories, gain academic skills and engage critically with topics such as poverty, violence, war and militarism.
Pneumonectomy for benign disease: analysis of the early and late outcomes

RESULTS: There were 32 patients, 19 men (59%) and 13 women, with a mean age of 48 years (17–78). Indications for pneumonectomy included pulmonary tuberculosis in 10 patients (31%), chronic septic lung disease in seven (22%), invasive opportunistic infections in five (16%), fibrosing mediastinitis in four (12%) and other in six (19%). Pneumonectomies were left-sided in 17 (53%) and right-sided in 15 patients; nine (28%) were completion pneumonectomies. Intraoperatively, intrapericardial isolation was performed in 21 (66%) patients and extrapleural dissection in seven (22%); bronchial reinforcement was performed in 25 (78%). Operative mortality occurred in two (6%) patients. Major complications occurred in 12 (38%) patients; no patient developed bronchopleural fistula or postpneumonectomy empyema requiring intervention. Overall 5-year survival was 75% (95% CI 56.2–87.9), with a mean follow-up of 99 months. CONCLUSIONS: Pneumonectomy for benign disease is a high-risk procedure performed for a variety of indications. A detailed operative technique is of the utmost importance to minimize postoperative morbidity and mortality. Despite an increased perioperative risk, the long-term outcomes can be especially satisfactory. Pneumonectomy for benign disease should continue to be a treatment option for carefully selected patients.
Emotional targets: evaluative categorization as a function of context and content.

article i nfo Article history: Event-related potential (ERP) studies of early evaluative categorization have often used variants of an oddball paradigm to assess attention to targetstimulias a function of content (i.e.,valence)and context (e.g., presentation among non-targets differing in valence). However, most previous studies have not fully crossed content and con- text, and have not examined the time-course of these effects. The purpose of the current study was to investigate thesetwoissuesinanefforttofurtherclarifythenatureofevaluativecategorizationasreflected inthe late positive potential (LPP). Pleasant, neutral, and unpleasant images served as both targets and non-targets in an emotional oddball task. Results indicate additive effects of emotional content and target status on the early portion of the LPP; however, the LPP did not differ between pleasant and unpleasant stimuli. Only target status modulated the later portion of the LPP, suggesting different contributions of cognitive-affective processes over time during eval- uative categorization.
Autocatalytic gold plating process for electronic packaging applications

An autocatalytic electroless gold process suitable for electronic packaging applications, particularly wirebonding needs, is described. This process yields high purity, nonporous soft gold of any thickness that meets or exceeds all military specifications. The process can be used for a wide variety of organic laminates (FR4, multifunctional epoxies), circuitized either subtractively or additively, in addition to ceramic substrates. A description of the process flow, bath parameters, bath performance, and resulting metallurgy will be described. The process acts as an excellent follow on to the conventional electroless nickel/immersion gold surface finishing systems currently practiced by the industry. Rate, purity, hardness, and wirebond data as a function of bath life (metal turnovers) will be discussed. The plating rate can be tuned between 1.5 and 2.5 /spl mu/m/h. The resulting deposit remains pure (>99.93%) and soft ( 50 /spl mu/m) separated by small spaces (>45 /spl mu/m) without loss of line definition or bridging. The bath exhibits excellent throwing power. Drilled PTHs with aspect ratios as high as 15:1 (hole diameter of 0.03 mm, length of 0.45 mm) can be uniformly plated.
Plasma Apolipoprotein B-48, Hepatic Apolipoprotein B mRNA Editing and Apolipoprotein B mRNA Editing Catalytic Subunit-1 mRNA Levels Are Altered in Zinc-Deficient Rats

Apolipoprotein B (apoB) exists as two major isoforms and serves as an obligatory component of lipid-rich plasma lipoprotein particles. Apolipoprotein B mRNA editing is a zinc-dependent, site-specific cytidine deamination that determines whether the apoB-100 or apoB-48 isoform is synthesized. The objective of this work was to examine whether dietary zinc levels affect apoB mRNA editing in vivo. Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned to zinc-deficient (ZD, <0.5 mg Zn/kg diet), zinc-adequate (ZA, 30 mg Zn/kg diet) or zinc-replenished (ZDA, ZD rats fed the ZA diet for last 2 d) dietary groups for 18 d. The ratio of plasma apolipoprotein B-48 (apoB-48) to total apoB was significantly lower in zinc-deficient compared with zinc-adequate rats. Primer extension analysis indicated a modest but significant reduction in hepatic apoB mRNA editing in ZD rats compared with that of the ZA group. In ZDA rats, hepatic apoB mRNA editing and the percentage of plasma apoB-48 to total apoB were not different from ZA rats. The mRNA abundance of hepatic apobec-1 (apoB mRNA editing catalytic subunit 1) was significantly lower in ZD and ZDA rats than in ZA rats. In summary, the plasma ratio of apoB-48 to total apoB protein as well as hepatic apoB mRNA editing and hepatic apobec-1 mRNA levels were reduced in rats consuming a zinc-deficient diet. These data suggest that one or more components of apoB metabolism may be influenced by dietary zinc status.
Can a multivariate QTARCH combined with technical indicators estimate returns in the commodity futures markets

Investigates the ability of a new class of conditional heteroscedasticity threshold models called QTARCH (Qualitative Threshold AutoRegressive Conditional Heteroscedasticity) developed by Gourieroux and Monfort (1992) to estimate conditional returns and variances of futures on commodities. The model is based on information contained in past returns and in technical indicators popular among traders. The methodology is applied to futures on Deutschmark, Sugar, the S&P500 and T-Bill using closing prices. Our results suggest that technical indicators used with a QTARCH methodology can significantly predict future returns and variance.
Attitudes towards students who plagiarize: a dental hygiene faculty perspective.

The purpose of this study was to examine baccalaureate dental hygiene faculty members’ attitudes and practices regarding student plagiarism. An email containing a link to a thirty-two-item survey was sent to fifty-two baccalaureate dental hygiene program directors in the United States; thirty of those agreed for their faculty members to participate. Of the 257 faculty members who received the survey link, 106 completed the survey, for a response rate of 41.2 percent. The responding faculty members reported thinking plagiarism is a rising concern in their dental hygiene programs (54.5 percent, 54/99). The majority said they check for plagiarism on student class assignment/projects (67.1 percent, 53/79). For those who did not check for plagiarism, 45.8 percent (11/24) stated it took “too much time to check” or it was “too hard to prove” (16.6 percent, 4/24). The most frequent form of student plagiarism observed by the respondents was “copying directly from a source electronically” (78.0 percent, 39/50). Most respondents reported checking for plagiarism through visual inspection (without technological assistance) (73.0 percent, 38/52). Of those who said they use plagiarism detection software/services, 44.4 percent (16/36) always recommended their students use plagiarism detection software/services to detect unintentional plagiarism. For those faculty members who caught students plagiarizing, 52.9 percent (27/51) reported they “always or often” handled the incident within their dental hygiene department, and 76.5 percent (39/51) said they had never reported the student’s violation to an academic review board.
Splenic Pseudoaneursym as the Cause of Recurrent Gastrointestinal Bleeding in a Woman With Diffuse Scleroderma

A 67-year-old woman with a 15-year history of intestinal scleroderma presented with recurrent melena. Upper endoscopies revealed a healing, non-bleeding, large gastric ulcer. After the third bleed, angiography demonstrated bleeding from a splenic artery pseudoaneurysm adjacent to the gastric ulcer. Scleroderma patients are at risk of bleeding from esophagitis or gastric arteriovenous malformations, while splenic artery pseudoaneurysms are primarily attributed to pancreatitis and trauma. This is the first reported case of gastrointestinal bleeding from a splenic artery pseudoaneurysm in a patient with intestinal scleroderma and a large gastric ulcer.
Kupffer cells and alcoholic liver disease

Liver disease is a major cause of illness and death worldwide. A central component in the complex network leading to the development of alcoholic liver disease is the activation of Kupffer cells by endotoxin and other soluble mediators. Alcohol consumption induces a state of "leaky gut increasing plasma and liver endotoxin levels. When Kupffer cells become activated, they interact with a complex of proteins located on the extracellular membrane signaling to produce a wide array of soluble factors, including cytokines, chemokines, growth factors, cyclooxygenase and lipoxygenase metabolites, and reactive oxygen species such as superoxide anion, hydrogen peroxide, and nitric oxide, all of which provide physiologically diverse and pivotal paracrine effects on all other liver cell types and, ultimately, liver injury. Kupffer cells are also central to the liver homeostatic response to injury as upon cellular degenerative changes, they immediately respond to the insult and release mediators to orchestrate inflammatory and reparative responses. Thus, the homeostatic responses are initiated by Kupffer cell-derived mediators at the cellular level and underlie the liver s defense and reparative mechanisms against injury. In order to understand better the role of Kupffer cells in the onset of liver injury, animal models in which Kupffer cells are inactivated, and cell culture settings (e.g. co-cultures) are being used with promising results that advance our understanding of alcoholic liver disease.
Rapid Ice Margin Fluctuations during the Younger Dryas in the Tropical Andes

Radiocarbon dated lacustrine sequences in Peru show that the chronology of glaciation during the late glacial in the tropical Andes was significantly out-of-phase with the record of climate change in the North Atlantic region. Fluvial incision of glacial-lake deposits in the Cordillera Blanca, central Peru, has exposed a glacial outwash gravel; radiocarbon dates from peat stratigraphically bounding the gravel imply that a glacier advance culminated between ∼11,280 and 10,990 14C yr B.P.; rapid ice recession followed. Similarly, in southern Peru, ice readvanced between ∼11,500 and 10,900 14C yr B.P. as shown by a basal radiocarbon date of ∼10,870 14C yr B.P. from a lake within 1 km of the Quelccaya Ice Cap. By 10,900 14C yr B.P. the ice front had retreated to nearly within its modern limits. Thus, glaciers in central and southern Peru advanced and retreated in near lockstep with one another. The Younger Dryas in the Peruvian Andes was apparently marked by retreating ice fronts in spite of the cool conditions that are inferred from the ∂18O record of Sajama ice. This retreat was apparently driven by reduced precipitation, which is consistent with interpretations of other paleoclimatic indicators from the region and which may have been a nonlinear response to steadily decreasing summer insolation.
Metabolic Basis of Ethnic Differences in Diabetes Risk in Overweight and Obese Youth

The global pandemic of childhood obesity has led to increased risk for prediabetes and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Studies have shown decreased insulin sensitivity and/or secretion with increasing adiposity and consistently observed greater risk for T2DM in obese, non-Caucasian youth. In the current review we describe recent advances in understanding how obesity and metabolic status in children and adolescents confers various risk profiles for T2DM among Latinos, African Americans, Caucasians, Asians, and Native Americans. These possible determinants include ectopic fat distribution, adipose tissue inflammation and fibrosis, and elevated plasma levels of nonesterified free fatty acids. Future work should aim to elucidate the ethnic-specific pathophysiology of T2DM in order to develop and implement appropriate prevention and treatment strategies based on different ethnic profiles of diabetes risk.
Optimization of an Autonomous Weapon System's Operating Characteristic

Optimal employment of autonomous wide area search munitions or unmanned aerial vehicles is considered. The air vehicle searches a battle space for stationary targets in the presence of false targets and/or clutter. Control problems are formulated to achieve optimal scheduling of the control variables P TR, the probability of target report, which is a reflection of the sensor's threshold setting, and Q, the area coverage rate. These optimal control problem formulations yield solutions that maximize the probability of target attack, and constraints to also satisfy hard bounds on the probability of false target attacks may also be applied. Analysis has shown that the optimal solutions are sensitive to the particular relationship between the autonomous target recognition module's receiver operating characteristic parameter, c , and area coverage rate, Q . In this paper the relationship is developed from first principles for both passive and active sensors, and the optimal P TR and Q schedules are obtained.
Parents' empathic perspective taking and altruistic behavior predicts infants' arousal to others' emotions.

Empathy emerges in children’s overt behavior around the middle of the second year of life. Younger infants, however, exhibit arousal in response to others’ emotional displays, which is considered to be a precursor to fully developed empathy. The goal of the present study was to investigate individual variability in infants’ arousal towards others’ emotional displays, as indexed by 12- and 15-month-old infants’ (n = 49) pupillary changes in response to another infant’s emotions, and to determine whether such variability is linked to parental empathy and prosociality, as indexed via self-report questionnaires. We found that increases in infants’ pupil dilation in response to others’ emotional displays were associated with aspects of parental empathy and prosociality. Specifically, infants who exhibited the greatest arousal in response to others’ emotions had parents who scored highly on empathic perspective taking and self-reported altruism. These relations may have been found because arousal towards others’ emotions shares certain characteristics with empathic and prosocial dispositions. Together, these results demonstrate the presence of early variability in a precursor to mature empathic responding in infancy, which is meaningfully linked to parents’ empathic dispositions and prosocial behaviors.
Analyzing clinical trial outcomes based on incomplete daily diary reports

A case study is presented assessing the impact of missing data on the analysis of daily diary data from a study evaluating the effect of a drug for the treatment of insomnia. The primary analysis averaged daily diary values for each patient into a weekly variable. Following the commonly used approach, missing daily values within a week were ignored provided there was a minimum number of diary reports (i.e., at least 4). A longitudinal model was then fit with treatment, time, and patient-specific effects. A treatment effect at a pre-specified landmark time was obtained from the model. Weekly values following dropout were regarded as missing, but intermittent daily missing values were obscured. Graphical summaries and tables are presented to characterize the complex missing data patterns. We use multiple imputation for daily diary data to create completed data sets so that exactly 7 daily diary values contribute to each weekly patient average. Standard analysis methods are then applied for landmark analysis of the completed data sets, and the resulting estimates are combined using the standard multiple imputation approach. The observed data are subject to digit heaping and patterned responses (e.g., identical values for several consecutive days), which makes accurate modeling of the response data difficult. Sensitivity analyses under different modeling assumptions for the data were performed, along with pattern mixture models assessing the sensitivity to the missing at random assumption. The emphasis is on graphical displays and computational methods that can be implemented with general-purpose software. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Crop Response Information for Water Institutions

Water institutions often fail to provide for the most socially efficient water use. The lack of appropriate types of crop water response information may contribute to such inefficiency. The role of institutions in water management and the nature of their information needs are discussed. A conceptual model is developed for modeling the agronomic-engineering-economic relationships in agricultural water demand. Even if appropriate models are quantified, however, crop water response information may not be used in institutional decision-making. Reasons are outlined for this non-use possibility.
The Creation of a Groundless Exception to the Dormant Commerce Clause: An Expansion on the Dissenting Opinion in Department of Revenue v. Davis

Most states exempt from state taxable income interest earned on in-state bonds. Some of those states, however, do not afford the same treatment to out-of-state bonds. This differential taxation scheme was the subject of the Supreme Court Case, Department of Revenue v. Davis, in which the Court upheld the disparate treatment of state-issued bonds.This article analyzes the Court’s rationale for upholding the differential tax system in light of prior precedent interpreting the dormant Commerce Clause of the Constitution. It is the author’s contention that the doctrine created in, United Haulers Ass'n v. Oneida-Herkimer Solid Waste Mgmt., the “government-entity” exception to the dormant Commerce Clause, and applied in, Davis, was created under a false distinction and therefore should never have come to light. Had the “government-entity” exception not existed, the differential tax scheme most likely would have been struck down as a violation of the dormant Commerce Clause.
Administrative Values and Public Personnel Management Reflections on Civil Service Reform

Civil service reforms implemented over the past 35 years in many countries around the world have relaxed traditional merit system rules, decentralized the personnel function, and augmented agency a...
Design of Base Support Isolator for ZW—3/7 Type of Oil-free Compressor

Aiming at the problem of great vibration and concomitant noise while the ZW—3/7 type of oil-free compressor is running, the dynamic model of compressor is built, based on the active vibration isolation theory and vibration causation analysis. The absolute transmissibility is calculated and damping coefficient is obtained. Helical spring and metal rubber which is one kind of poroelasticity material are assembled to act as the isolator's core element. Isolator's parameters are designed and simulation calculations are done using the finite element software Solidworks. It shows that the isolator design meets the requirements of intensity, stability and vibration isolation of the compressor.
Trial of Immune Globulin in Infant Botulism

A 5-year, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of the orphan drug Human Botulism Immune Globulin Intravenous (BIG-IV) in 122 infants in California with confirmed infant botulism (75 caused by type A Clostridium botulinum toxin, and 47 by type B toxin) was conducted at the California Department of Health Services, Richmond, CA; National Botulism Surveillance and Reference Laboratory, CDC and P, Atlanta; and Division of Biostatistics, University of California, Berkeley.
Going Beyond the Status Quo: A Longitudinal Self-Study of a School Based Science Teacher Preparation Program

This program level self-study focuses on what we learned from implementing a STEM teacher preparation program over 3 years, specifically regarding how to design an intensive school based experience in collaboration with teachers. The setting of this study was a graduate 1-year program that prepares STEM career changers or recent graduates for teaching in urban schools. Some of the key findings that emerged from this process of self-study include challenging the role of “experience” in shaping the learning of teacher candidates. Whereas some components of the program provided a bridge for integration between coursework and the school experiences, there were tensions between best practices emphasized in methods courses, and the realities of teaching. This chapter discusses how we changed our thinking about the seamless integration between coursework and school experiences and changes we made to the program in the process of studying our practice.
Studies on synthetic polypeptide antigens. V. A simple colorimetric reaction for determining gamma globulin content in antigen-antibody precipitates.

Abstract A simple colorimetric reaction for tryptophan has been adapted for use in determining the amount of γ-globulin in an antigen-antibody precipitate. The reaction is not interfered with by non-tryptophan-containing peptides or proteins. Values for the tryptophan content of unhydrolyzed rabbit and bovine γ-globulin and for unhydrolyzed bovine serum albumin emphasize the necessity for determining tryptophan content only on the intact protein and not on hydrolyzed material. The method has also been used to show that tyrosine-containing dipeptides do not bind non-specifically to γ-globulin to the extent of affecting the amount of γ-globulin determined by ultraviolet spectroscopy or Kjeldahl nitrogen.