cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Morphology and Composition of Cholesterol-Rich Micellar Nanostructures Determine Transmembrane Protein (GPCR) Activity

We examined model mixed micelles consisting of the nonionic surfactant n-dodecyl-β-D-maltoside, 3-(3-cholamidopropyl)-dimethylammoniopropane sulfonate, and the cholesterol derivative cholesteryl hemisuccinate (CHS) to identify micellar properties that are correlated with the in vitro conformational stability and activity of the human adenosine A2a receptor, a G-protein coupled receptor. Small-angle neutron scattering was used to determine micellar structure and composition as a function of concentration of the various components, and radioligand binding was used as a sensitive probe for receptor activity. Micelles adopted an oblate ellipsoidal morphology and exhibited a reduction in size and change in curvature upon addition of CHS. Our results show a strong correlation between the number of CHS monomers per micelle and the activity of the receptor reconstituted in those micelles. Micelles that yield optimal human adenosine A2a receptor stability closely mimic the cholesterol composition and thickness of mammalian membranes. Thus, successful reconstitution of the receptor is dependent on both specific lipid-protein interactions and the geometry of the micelle environment.
On the probability that subset sequences are minimal

Abstract Let [ n ] denote {1,2,…, n } and let ω =( ω ( i )) p i =1 be a p-sequence of k-sets of [ n ]. If there is an element x i in ω ( i ) that is not in any other ω ( j ) with j ≠ i , then we call x i a representative of ω ( i ). If every entry of ω has t representatives, then we say that ω is ( n , p , k , t )-minimal. In this paper, we give a lower bound for the probability that ω is ( n , p , k , t )-minimal and we give the expected number of entries of ω with at least t representatives. These computations have practical applications. In some probabilistic group testing procedures, e.g., DNA library screening, they are used to analyze the likelihood of identifying the positives objects in a population.
Effect of CdSe Nanoparticles on the Growth of Te Nanowires: Greater Length and Tortuosity and Nonmonotonic Concentration Effect

Improved control over nanowire (NW) geometry and composition offers multiple benefits for design material and devices, including uses in complex nanoelectronic circuits, facilitating their organization on substrates, providing more efficient charge transport over large distances, and greater mechanical strength. Te NWs have many interesting thermoelectric, piezoelectric, conducting, and photoconducting properties and are highly reactive with numerous chemicals, allowing Te NWs to be used as templates for NWs of other compositions. Te NWs are made in this work from CdTe nanoparticles (NPs) by slow oxidation. Te NWs with average lengths of 6.63 ± 1.07 μm and aspect ratios of 50 were initially formed. Unexpectedly, the presence of CdSe NPs results in a drastic increase in the length, aspect ratio, and tortuosity of the Te NWs. We believe that Se2− is being incorporated into the Te seeds as elemental Se, fouling them and reducing the number of viable Te seeds, which allows longer Te NWs to form. Excessive amo...
Co-impregnation of rhodium into alumina honeycombs with acids and salts

Abstract The co-impregnation of rhodium with acid and salt co-impregnants into γ-alumina honeycombs has been investigated. Quantitative electron probe microanalysis (EMPA) revealed both egg-shell and egg-white internal catalyst distributions. The type of internal rhodium distribution produced was found to depend strongly upon the degree to which the co-impregnant dissociates in aqueous solution. Highly dissociating co-impregnants were found to be relatively ineffective in influencing the resulting internal catalyst profile. It is proposed that co-impregnant adsorption to the support takes place via an ion exchange mechanism. This work shows that only nondissociated co-impregnant species could undergo this ion exchange reaction and adsorb to the support. The data revealed that a strong link exists between the degree of co-impregnant dissociation and how far the rhodium could be driven beneath the external surface of the support. A correlation is presented which enables the EPMA internal rhodium distributions to be quantitatively tied to the pK value and size of the co-impregnant molecule.
Distinct physiologic and neuronal responses to decreased leptin and mild hyperleptinemia.

Leptin acts on specific populations of hypothalamic neurons to regulate feeding behavior, energy expenditure, and neuroendocrine function. It is not known, however, whether the same neural circuits mediate leptin action across its full biologic dose-response curve, which extends over a broad range, from low levels seen during starvation to high levels characteristic of obesity. Here, we show that the characteristic fall in leptin with fasting causes a rise in neuropeptide Y (NPY) messenger RNA (mRNA), as well as a fall in POMC and cocaine and amphetamine-regulated transcript (CART) mRNAs. Sc infusion of leptin sufficient to maintain plasma levels within the physiologic range during the fast prevents changes in the expression of these peptides, as well as changes in neuroendocrine function, demonstrating that multiple neural circuits are highly sensitive to small changes in leptin within its low physiologic range. In contrast, a modest elevation of plasma leptin above the normal fed range by constant sc in...
Electronic excited states in conjugated polymers

Abstract We re-examine the subgap neutral and charged soliton absorptions in polyacetylene and the 2 1 A g state in finite polyenes within the context of a simple Peierls-Hubbard model. Our motivation is to determine the origin of the optical gap in trans-polyacetylene and to determine the magnitude of the effective on-site Coulomb repulsion. We conclude that this term lies between 2.25 t 0 and 2.75 t 0 , where t 0 is the nearest neighbor one-electron hopping integral.
Motivational Consequences of Perceived Velocity in Consumer Goal Pursuit

Abstract The authors explore the interplay between consumers' progress levels toward attaining a goal and the perceived velocity in progressing toward the goal to determine consumers' motivation for further goal pursuit. The authors propose that when progress toward attaining a goal is low, consumers are primarily concerned about the question “Can I get there?” Thus, a high (vs. low) perceived velocity in progressing suggests greater expectations of goal attainment, resulting in greater motivation for pursuing the goal. However, when consumers have achieved sufficient progress and are approaching the end point, their attainment of the goal is relatively secured, so they become more concerned about the question “When will I get there?” and focus more on whether they are effectively reducing the remaining discrepancy so that they can attain the goal quickly. In this case, a low (vs. high) perceived velocity in progressing elicits greater motivation because it suggests that continued effort is needed to ensu...
The Racial Gap in Confidence in Science: Explanations and Implications

African Americans, compared to Whites, are starkly underrepresented in scientific and technological professions, are especially reluctant to participate as research subjects, and they express attit...
Effect of Up-regulating Individual Steps in the Reverse Cholesterol Transport Pathway on Reverse Cholesterol Transport in Normolipidemic Mice

Cholesterol acquired by extrahepatic tissues (from de novo synthesis or lipoproteins) is returned to the liver for excretion in a process called reverse cholesterol transport (RCT). We undertook studies to determine if RCT could be enhanced by up-regulating individual steps in the RCT pathway. Overexpression of 7α-hydroxylase, Scavenger receptor B1, lecithin:cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT), or apoA-I in the liver did not stimulate cholesterol efflux from any extrahepatic tissue. In contrast, infusion of apoA-I·phospholipid complexes (rHDL) that resemble nascent HDL markedly stimulated cholesterol efflux from tissues into plasma. Cholesterol effluxed to rHDL was initially unesterified but by 24 h this cholesterol was largely esterified and had shifted to normal HDL (in mice lacking cholesteryl ester transfer protein) or to apoB containing lipoproteins (in cholesteryl ester transfer protein transgenic mice). Most of the cholesterol effluxed into plasma in response to rHDL came from the liver. However, an even greater proportion of effluxed cholesterol was cleared by the liver resulting in a transient increase in liver cholesterol concentrations. Fecal sterol excretion was not increased by rHDL. Thus, although rHDL stimulated cholesterol efflux from most tissues and increased net cholesterol movement from extrahepatic tissues to the liver, cholesterol flux through the entire RCT pathway was not increased.
Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Is Associated With Higher Rate of Locoregional Recurrence for Patient Achieving Less Than a pCR Following Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy, Surgery, and Radiation Therapy

interval with higher incidence of visceral metastasis including lung, liver, and brain. Few reports have suggested similar rates of loco-regional failure compared with receptor positive subtypes. We undertook this retrospective study to analyze the demographic characteristics and pattern of failures in TNBC breast cancer. Materials/Methods: Tumor registry queries identified 476 patients with TNBC diagnosed between 1996 and 2011. Demographic and clinical information including age, race, menopausal status, stage, insurance status and tumor characteristics were collected after obtaining IRB approval. Information regarding sites of failure was collected. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to compute local failure-free survival (LFFS) and distal failure-free survival (DFFS) probabilities with p values for group comparisons computed using the log-rank statistic. Fisher’s exact test was used to compare frequencies for categorical variables. Results: Fifty-eight percent of patients (nZ 275) were between 41 and 60 years, with 20% (n Z 93) and 23% (n Z 103) being 40 and > 61 years, respectively. Forty-nine percent (n Z 231) patients were white, 47% (n Z 223) were AA and 4% was others. Fifty-five percent (n Z 262) were premenopausal and 83% (n Z 396) had grade 3 tumors. Stage II (48%, n Z 230) was most frequent stage at diagnosis followed by stage III (28%, n Z 131), stage I (19%, n Z 91) and stage IV (5%, n Z 24). Twenty-eight percent (nZ 133) had lymphovascular invasion versus 65% with none and 7% not reported. Ninety-three percent of the patients received either neoadjuvant or adjuvant chemotherapy, 93% patients received surgery including mastectomy or lumpectomy and 73% was treated with radiation. The 2, 5, and 8-year Kaplan-Meier LFFS: DFFS was 77%:73%, 64%:62% and 58%:56%, respectively. Black and white patients did not differ statistically with respect to OS (p Z 0.38), LFFS (p Z 1.0), or DFFS (p Z 0.77). Sixty-five (14%) patients failed locally either with IBTR or CW, 20 (4%) failed in the regional lymphatics. Lung (n Z 83, 17%) was the most frequent distant failure site followed by liver in 50 (11%), brain in 53 (11%), and bone in 53 (11%). Fifty-nine patients (12%) failed in nonregional lymph nodes. Additionally, 22 (5%) patients failed in skin or soft tissue outside breast or chest wall. AA and white patients did not differ statistically with respect to failure sites. Conclusions: Survival and failure site outcomes for AA and white patients did not differ in this large series of TNBC cases. Lung is the predominate site of distant failure and few patients failed in the regional lymph nodes. Even beyond 5 years, the probability of failing locally or distally continues to occur steadily. Author Disclosure: S. Prasad: None. T.M. Zagar: None. S. James: None. P. Walker: None. R. Raab: None. J. Efird: None. T. Biswas: None.
New access to indolizidine and pyrrolizidine alkaloids from an enantiopure proline: total syntheses of (-)-lentiginosine and (1R,2R,7aR)-dihydroxypyrrolizidine.

A new approach to the synthesis of indolizidine and pyrrolizidine skeletons is reported. (−)-Lentiginosine and (1R,2R,7aR)-dihydroxypyrrolizidine have both been synthesized in 13 steps from di-O-isopropylidene-d-mannitol. The common key intermediate is (−)-dihydroxyproline benzyl ester 10.
Iran's pieta: motherhood, sacrifice and film in the aftermath of the IranIraq war

The Iran–Iraq war, which took place from 1980 to 1988, was one of the longest and bloodiest conventional wars in the history of the last century. The war was also the largest mobilization of the Iranian population and was achieved primarily by producing and promoting a culture of martyrdom based on religious themes found in Shi'i Islam. It was the war that created and consolidated what we know today as the Islamic republic of Iran. For years there have been two popular public discourses in post-war Iran: the secular discourse, which is to evade, to ignore, to escape to the Caspian; and then the state's discourse, of the strong, mourning women and the heroic martyrs. It is the group of women who exist betwixt the dominant discourses of the secular versus the religious and the idea of womanhood versus motherhood that I am interested in exploring here by looking at the most recent work of a secular female filmmaker, Rakhshan Bani-Etemad.
WE-G-134-09: Quantitative Assessment by Measurement and Modeling of Mobile Target Elongation in Cone-Beam Computer Tomographic Imaging

Purpose: To assess quantitatively elongation of mobile targets in cone‐beam CT (CBCT) imaging by measurement and modeling. A mathematical model was derived that predicts the measured lengths of mobile targets and its dependence on target size and motion patterns in CBCT imaging. Method and Materials: Three tissue‐equivalent targets of differing sizes were inserted in an artificial thorax phantom to simulate lung lesions. Respiratory motion was mimicked with a mobile phantom that moves in one‐dimension along the superior‐inferior direction at a respiration frequency of 15 cycles per minute for eight different ranges of motion (0–40 mm). The phantom was imaged with CBCT using a kV on‐board imager mounted on a TrueBeam Varian linear accelerator. The target lengths were measured on CBCT images with different motion patterns. A mathematical model was derived to quantify the variations in target lengths and its dependence on phantom motion parameters in CBCT. Predictions of the model were verified by comparison with measurement of the lengths of mobile targets in CBCT images. Results: The model predicts that target lengths increased linearly with increase in speed and amplitude of phantom motion in CBCT. The measured lengths of mobile targets imaged with CBCT agreed with the calculated lengths within half‐slice thickness spatial resolution. The maximal length of a mobile target was independent of the frequency and phase of motion. Elongation of mobile targets was similar in half‐fan and full‐fan CBCT for similar motion patterns as long as the targets remained within the imaging view. Conclusion: Mobile targets elongated linearly with phantom speed and motion amplitude in CBCT imaging. The model introduced in this work assessed quantitatively the variation in target lengths induced by motion which may be a useful tool to consider elongations of mobile targets in CBCT applications in diagnostic imaging and radiotherapy.
Polya's Enumeration Formula by Example

(1974). Polya's Enumeration Formula by Example. Mathematics Magazine: Vol. 47, No. 5, pp. 248-256.
Pre-college activities to promote positive perception of engineering and engineering technology careers

Most countries in this global economy thrive on technological advancement. There is an insatiable appetite for the latest technology and do not mind spending exorbitant amounts of money each year to satisfy such appetite. Unfortunately, there is not similar passion to encourage young people to pursue careers in engineering and technology. The gap between the demand for engineers and the supply required by industry is growing and is not being filled by our own talent pool1. The problem of attracting students to engineering has been a topic largely debated, and many initiatives have been implemented. At Western Michigan University's College of Engineering and Applied Sciences (CEAS) there is a Summer Institute for Technology, “Design-Engineering-Technology: Enlightened Trial and Error” which is a 2-week simulated design engineering program for high school students. This engineering camp has as a goal to expose participant to engineering disciplines, and to provide them an opportunity to interact with engineering professionals and practitioners in a simulated engineering product design process. This product development process is valuable because it corresponds with the type of interpersonal communication, problem-solving, and conflict resolution skills that leading firms and industry seek from new employees. This paper presents and discuss the activities carried out during the camp, and provides as well the results of an evaluation done during the latest offering of the camp. The evaluation is based on a pre- and post-surveys administered to the participants with the specific goal to find out their initial perception of engineering/technology, and if that initial perception changed after the 2-week activities. Statistical results indicated that the participants' perceptions of engineering were significantly influenced. Furthermore, female participants' perceptions were significantly influenced to consider a career in engineering. Therefore, pre-college activities do have the potential for a positive outcome when promoting engineering and technology as a career to young people. But well-designed and well implemented activities that expose participants to exciting and challenging experiences are important. Other activities and findings are presented and discussed.
Direct bonding of unerupted teeth for orthodontic movement

Twenty unerupted teeth were successfully exposed and bracketed with use of a direct bonding technique. A quick-setting adhesive and good suction technique ensured a dry field. The use of direct bonding of brackets for both palatally and labially positioned unerupted teeth is discussed. A surgical technique, in which a quick-setting adhesive is used, is described.
TAISHU DANKO: AGENCY FOR CHANGE IN A JAPANESE UNIVERSITY

One of the unique features of the Japanese student movement in the latter half of the 1960's was the resort to a procedure for mass bargaining called taishu danko. The term itself derives from a similar term for the practice of collective bargaining in labor-management negotiations, but there the resemblance ends. Taishu danko has been described as a "public dialogue of uncompromising nature participated in by a mass of students and a great many faculty members and administrators. "1 This is a pale description in contrast to the striking variety of accounts which one hears from those who have seen a danko, or who have been caught up in one as a principal (as one of us was). From our own invoLvement in a series of these meetings at the International Christian University near Tokyo in 1969, we are suspicious of any dogmatic generalizations about them. We do not know of any agreed-upon definition.
Detection of intracellular superoxide formation in endothelial cells and intact tissues using dihydroethidium and an HPLC-based assay

Recently, it was demonstrated that superoxide oxidizes dihydroethidium to a specific fluorescent product (oxyethidium) that differs from ethidium by the presence of an additional oxygen atom in its...
24 Cerebro-Hepato-Renal Syndrome. A Newly Recognized Familial Disorder

A familial disorder, consisting of congenital abnormalities of the central nervous system, the liver, and kidneys has been observed. The predominant features of the disorder are severe, generalized hypotonia; a characteristic, narrow face with hypertelorism, epicanthic folds, prominent forehead, and open metopic suture; hepatomegly with development of jaundice and hypoprothrombinemia; and cortical renal cysts. Less constant findings include moderately low birth weight, brain maldevelopment, minor skeletal defects, cardiac maldevelopment, and possibly eye and genital anomalies. These children died in infancy.
Similarity Grouping of Curves

The grouping of curves was investigated by measuring the time taken to count the disparate figures in a display and by ratings When line curvature was the only differentiating property, the grouping of the disparate figures was poor. Grouping of disparate figures corresponded to the judged similarities of the background and disparate figures when the similarity judgments varied with stimulus differences measured in terms of discriminability but not when similarity judgments varied with stimulus differences measured in terms of the sameness of the transformation which applied to the background figures produced the disparate figures. The results are interpreted as supporting the hypothesis that similarity grouping is based on the response of the visual system to extra-foveal stimulus differences in a patterned visual field when attention is not concentrated or focused.
Resilience of the national airspace system structure: A data-driven network approach

In the context of air transportation growth, it has become essential to better manage the rising congestion levels and their potential ripple effects throughout the entire airspace. The present paper aims at examining the resilience of the National Airspace System. Through a data-based network model, the main choke points of the system are identified and their importance is quantified for better monitoring of congestion growth and propagation. The study relies on data-mining and network science techniques to analyze sector-level traffic patterns. The dynamic aspects of time and traffic load are examined and the notion of core subnetwork is discussed. Finally, the robustness of the network is studied under different attack strategies, highlighting potential vulnerabilities.
Bacterial chemotaxis: A survey

Chemotactic bacteria likeE. coli respond to chemical gradients. The translational movements of individual cells can be traced. These are coupled to the rotation of the cell body. Both types of motions are regular in temporal attractant or repellent gradients. A corresponding regularity is observed for bacterial populations in spatial gradients. The distribution of a bacterial population is space and time may be described by a diffusion equation linked to the motions of single cells.
Perturbed magnetic-field phase slip for tokamaks

Given a set of rotating helical current filaments within a cylindrical plasma and a set of fixed magnetic-field detectors at the edge of the plasma, a mathematical model is used to investigate the observable effect of rotation or longitudinal motion in the intervening plasma. If the soft-X-ray signals from magnetic islands indicate the instantaneous position of the helical current filaments within the plasma, then the phase difference between the X-ray signal and the magnetic fluctuations should provide a diagnostic of tokamak plasma rotation. The relative motion between the islands and the electron fluid is measured by the 'slip' S(r) = ω – kvz(r) – mvΘ(r)/r, where ω is the rotation frequency of the islands and is the electron fluid velocity. – The plasma velocity and the Hall effect are added to Rosenbluth's reduced equations to compute the phase difference between the island position and the perturbed magnetic field at the edge of the plasma as a function of the slip for a variety of resistivity profiles. The current profile within the islands is taken from the non-linear computer results of White, Monticello, Rosenbluth and Waddell. – Comparison with experiment indicates essentially locked electron fluid and mode motions, i.e. S(r) 0.
Terrestrial evidence for a two-stage mid-Paleocene biotic event

Abstract Marine records of the Paleocene indicate a series of hyperthermal events characterized by significant climatic and carbon cycle variability, but there are few comparable continental records. The mid-Paleocene biotic event (MPBE) is a recently described interval defined by a rapid negative carbon isotope excursion and major short-term changes in marine ecosystems, but it is as yet unclear whether the event was globally important. Here we present the first terrestrial paleoenvironmental record of the MPBE based on paleosols that document rapid and short-lived increases in temperature and precipitation and resultant shifts in plant assemblages concomitant with substantial carbon isotope excursions. The new record indicates that carbon cycle changes during the early late Paleocene may have resulted in a two-stage transient hyperthermal event that caused a significant perturbation to both the regional climate and terrestrial ecology of South America in addition to the major biotic event (MPBE) previously recognized in marine records. Overall, this suggests that the MPBE may have been a global climate event with far-reaching environmental impacts in both the marine and terrestrial realms.
Efficient storage and management of radiographic images using a novel wavelet-based multiscale vector quantizer

Due to the huge volumes of radiographic images to be managed in hospitals, efficient compression techniques yielding no perceptual loss in the reconstructed images are becoming a requirement in the storage and management of such datasets. A wavelet-based multi-scale vector quantization scheme that generates a global codebook for efficient storage and transmission of medical images is presented in this paper. The results obtained show that even at low bit rates one is able to obtain reconstructed images with perceptual quality higher than that of the state-of-the-art scalar quantization method, the set partitioning in hierarchical trees.
Doing consumption and sitting cars: adolescent bodies in suburban commercial spaces

Compared to the studies of the relationship between young people and urban public space, the way middle-class youths counterparts navigate suburban landscapes is understudied. This paper focuses on different ways young people's bodies adapt, explore, negotiate, and resist the behavioral norms associated with various parts of commercial space in an American planned suburb. The analysis of the data collected through ethnographic fieldwork and focus groups shows that the middle-class teenagers use street literacy as a means of navigating public space. The findings from the study indicate that the young people view commercial space as adult-centered and regulated. Nevertheless, the study also finds two general ways in which adolescents express their identities through location and performance of their bodies; in accordance to the adult-centered norms of commercial space or against such norms. The conclusion suggests that suburban middle-class teenagers experience a unique set of constraints and opportunities,...
Structure and reactivity of iron(II) complexes of a polymerizable bis-phosphine ligand

Abstract Iron(II) complexes of 1,2-bis(diallylphosphino)ethane (TAPE) were explored as a possible route to polymeric materials that would reversibly bind N2 and H2. A new synthetic route to the TAPE ligand was developed. Starting with the trans-Fe(TAPE)2Cl2 complex, a series of iron(II) complexes was synthesized having the general formula FeL2(A)(B) where L = TAPE and (A)(B) = (Cl)(CH3CN); (CH3CN)(CH3CN); (H)(CH3CN) and (H)(Cl). These substitution reactions of the trans-Fe(TAPE)2Cl2 complex were easily monitored using both 31P NMR and UV–Vis spectroscopy, and the product complexes were crystallographically characterized as having trans stereochemistry. Structural metrics of the complexes are most similar to complexes with 1,2-bis(diethylphosphino)ethane (DEPE). At atmospheric pressure, dinitrogen does not bind to the iron when the trans ligand is chloride. Isolation of the nitrogen adduct when the trans ligand is hydride was complicated by a novel intramolecular hydrogenation of the pendant allyl groups of the phosphine ligand.
An Explicit Request for Minitheories in the Psychology of Religion and Spirituality

Minitheories aim to understand relatively specific phenomena, in contrast to larger scale or grand theories that aim to be comprehensive, inclusive theories of the psychology of religion. By focusing on more narrow phenomena or questions, minitheories allow clearer delineation of concepts, facilitate attention to questions that drive interest in the psychology of religion and enhance the applicability of the findings, support investigation of diverse topics, accelerate scientific progress, and help the psychology of religion connect with other areas of psychology. Risks of a minitheory approach include dispersion of effort, hobbling development of promising grand theories, generating a disconnected hodgepodge of findings, and deemphasizing the importance of theory. The advantages of minitheories can be strengthened and the risks decreased by explicitly tying each study to the larger intellectual and theoretical context, intentionally connecting minitheory-driven studies to each other, and valuing theoreti...
Bone Graft Harvesting From Distant Sites: Concepts and Techniques

Bony augmentation of the moderately to severely resorbed alveolus in preparation for endosseous dental implant placement can be challenging for the oral and maxillofacial surgeon. Autogenous bone remains the gold standard for alveolar grafting. Multiple extraoral bone graft sources can be used to help meet this challenge, including the iliac crest, proximal tibia, and calvarium. This article reviews the anatomy, harvest techniques, and morbidity associated with each of these donor sites.
Influence of polysaccharide structure on dextran adsorption by montmorillonite

Abstract Two dextrans of similar molecular weight (⩾2 × 10 6 ) but containing different structural linkages (B-215F: 95% α-1→ 6 and 5% α-1→ 3 and Polytran: 75% β-1→ 3 and 25% β-1→ 6) were adsorbed on Na-montmorillonite. Adsorption isotherms showed strong, H-2-type (high-affinity. Langmuir mono-layer adsorption) clay-dextran interactions for both polymers. Maximum adsorption of the Polytran dextran (60 mg 100mg clay) was 33 per cent greater than that of the B-512F dextran (44.5 mg 100mg clay) for comparative equilibrium systems. Stable clay-Polytran complexes containing up to 47% dextran were prepared. Excess Na 2 SO 4 (0.1 m ) did not affect the quantity of dextran adsorption by montmorillonite at the 15% dextran concentration. Acid hydrolysis and modified Pregl method-C analyses did not quantitatively recover adsorbed dextran from complexes containing more than 13 mg of dextran adsorbed per 100 mg of clay. Loss on ignition determinations were in good agreement with the difference measurements of dextran adsorption, suggesting that part of the C was expelled as something other than CO 2 in the ignition determinations. The maximum adsorption segment for Polytran was much smaller than the individual molecule. In contrast, the maximum adsorption segment for the B-512F dextran appeared to be the same magnitude as the individual polymer molecule. Adsorption segment length was regarded as a manifestation of the relative proportions of primary and secondary alcohol groups of the molecules.
Intelligence, Where to Look, Where to Go?

The first issue of the Journal of Intelligence is devoted to a discussion based on the following two questions: 1. What are the most important scientific issues in the domain of human intelligence? 2. What are the most promising new ideas and approaches in the study of human intelligence? [...]
Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid intake through fish consumption and prostate specific antigen level: Results from the 2003 to 2010 national health and examination survey

The etiology of prostate cancer is uncertain, but intake of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFAs) may play a role. We evaluated prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels with fish consumption (the primary source of n-3 PUFAs) and calculated PUFA intake. Serum PSA concentrations were available from 6018 men who participated in the 2003–2010 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Fish consumption was calculated via 30-day Food Frequency Questionnaire data, whereas n-3 PUFA intake was calculated from 24-h dietary recalls. We employed multivariable logistic and linear regression models to evaluate the association of these exposure variables with PSA levels while controlling for relevant covariates. PSA levels were lower in men who ate more breaded fish, but no other types of fish consumption or n-3 PUFA intake were associated with PSA levels. Our findings provide little evidence for a role of fish or n-3 PUFA consumption in influencing PSA levels.
The Evolution of International Law: colonial and postcolonial realities

Abstract The colonial and postcolonial realities of international law have been obscured by the analytical frameworks that governed traditional scholarship on the subject. This article sketches out a history of the evolution of international law that focuses in particular on the manner in which imperialism shaped the discipline. It argues that colonialism, rather than being a peripheral concern of the discipline, is central to the formation of international law and, in particular, its founding concept, sovereignty. It argues that international law has always been animated by the civilising mission, the project of governing and transforming non-European peoples, and that the current war on terror is an extension of this project.
COMPETITION AND MODELS OF MARKET STRUCTURE IN LINER SHIPPING.

Is liner shipping dominated by malevolent monopolies who extort shippers? Or does performance (i.e. facilitating global trade) justify the conduct of liner operators? This controversy has confounded policy‐makers and academics right from the very origin of liner shipping and continues today. In the light of the unique characteristics of liner shipping, the paper examines all postulated industrial organization models of market structure in liner shipping. It was found that the classical and neoclassical models of competition, though certainly valuable as normative standards, were insufficient for real‐world analyses of liner shipping. The attempt to use the theory of workable competition was not fruitful primarily due to the idiosyncratic view of what is workably competitive. This was followed by a review of orthodox and contemporary models of market structure in liner shipping, viz. the monopoly cartel model, the rationalization model, the neo‐Chicago/UCLA model, the empty core model, the normal‐cost pric...
The story between the pinstripes: interviewing for internal medicine residencies.

Interview after interview, it is the same pastries, the same information session, the same suits, the same emergency room. Only instead of selling kitchen knives or used cars, I'm selling myself—no...
Vancomycine et arrêt cardiorespiratoire chez le nourrisson

Resume La vancomycine est un antibiotique tres utilise et globalement bien tolere. Cependant, il existe une toxicite potentielle, non mentionnee dans les fiches therapeutiques, liee a l'injection rapide de ce produit, avec risque de survenue d'arret cardiorespiratoire. Observations Deux nourrissons de 5 et 12 mois ont ete admis en reanimation apres un arret cardiorespiratoire survenant au decours d'une injection en bolus de vancomycine a posologie excessive. Ces patients ont gueri sans sequelles apres une prise en charge cardiorespiratoire. Commentaires Deux mecanismes physiopathogeniques sont incrimines: le choc anaphylaxique et la toxicite directe cardiovasculaire. Ces mecanismes sont doseet vitesse d'injection-dependants et procedent d'une probable sensibilite interindividuelle. Ces collapsus sont reversibles apres la mise en route immediate d'une ventilation assistee et d'une expansion volemique. La prevention de ces accidents repose sur le respect des modalites d'administration recommandees et l'information des personnels soignants. Chez les patients ayant presente un effet indesirable apres injection de vancomycine, un traitement antihistaminique parait avoir un effet preventif.
An unusual case of laryngeal mask airway obstruction

To the Editor: A healthy 46-yr-old woman was booked for bunion surgery under general anesthesia. After the iv induction of anesthesia, a #4 laryngeal mask airway (LMA) was inserted uneventfully but ventilation was impossible. The LMA was removed and the patient was ventilated easily by facemask. The LMA was noted to have a foreign object in the lumen. Another LMA was inserted and the patient was ventilated without difficulty. No desaturation occurred throughout the incident. The patient made an uneventful recovery. The LMA was totally obstructed by a cylindrical plastic plug, which we were able to push out the mask end with a stylet (Figure). A visit to our sterilization department revealed the cause. The object was a plastic cap on the stainless steel posts of the “Utility Rack Insert” (Getinge, Castle corporation). The sterilizing process had recently been changed to mount the LMA vertically; connector end first, onto the plastic capped posts before the wash cycle. When finished the mask was removed – apparently taking the cap with it. It was then packaged in a sterile bag with a transparent window for steam autoclaving. After the incident, the caps were easily removed from the posts and discarded. Sterilizing techniques were changed to prevent a recurrence. A closer inspection of the LMA would have detected the plug but, if situated near either end, this would be less obvious. It could have been disastrous for the patient if the object had been forced out through the LMA bars into the patient’s airway. There are other reports of foreign objects in LMA’s after sterilization1–3 including one where an entire steel cleaning post was found in the LMA.4 This report highlights the danger of inventing new processes or using a tool for a purpose it was not intended and the importance of a “pre-flight” inspection of all airway equipment.
Using agent technology to move from intention-based to effect-based models

Following current modeling paradigms, most processes are captured in the form of modeling a desired intent, often using success probabilities. In addition, only special roles that entities are intended to play are modeled. For effect-based modeling, the unintended but nonetheless resulting effects are as important as the intended effects, and they are therefore modeled. Also, un inspected actions based on alternative roles are important. Using agents to not only represent influencers and targets but also the processes, it becomes possible to capture all effects and move from ?what I intended to accomplish? to ?what I really accomplished,? including side and secondary effects. The agent architecture and a prototype for this effect-based model are presented in this paper.
Yersinia pestis Yop secretion protein F: Purification, characterization, and protective efficacy against bubonic plague

Abstract Yersinia pestis is a gram-negative human pathogen that uses a type III secretion system to deliver virulence factors into human hosts. The delivery is contact-dependent and it has been proposed that polymerization of Yop secretion protein F (YscF) is used to puncture mammalian cell membranes to facilitate delivery of Yersinia outer protein effectors into host cells. To evaluate the potential immunogenicity and protective efficacy of YscF against Y. pestis , we used a purified recombinant YscF protein as a potential vaccine candidate in a mouse subcutaneous infection model. YscF was expressed and purified from Escherichia coli by immobilized metal-ion affinity chromatography and protein identity was confirmed by ion trap mass spectrometry. The recombinant protein was highly α-helical and formed relatively stable aggregates under physiological conditions. The properties were consistent with behavior expected for the native YscF, suggesting that the antigen was properly folded. Ten mice were inoculated subcutaneously, administered booster injections after one month, and challenged with 130 LD 50 of wild type Y. pestis CO92. Six animals in the vaccinated group but none in the control group survived the challenge. The vaccinated animals produced high levels of specific antibodies against YscF as determined by Western blot. The data were statistically significant ( P = 0.053 by two-tailed Fisher’s test), suggesting that the YscF protein can provide a protective immune response against lethal plague challenge during subcutaneous plague infection.
READING SPEED AND MEMORY FOR PROSE1

The effects of reading speed on the quantity and type of information recalled from text were investigated. Subjects read passages under payoff conditions emphasizing either fast reading or information retention. Free recalls were obtained and scored according to a proposition-based structural analysis of the text. Results in- dicate a trade-off between reading speed and information retention. Additionally, the information least likely to be extracted during slow reading is the information that is most susceptible to further recall decrement when reading is speeded up. Proposi- tions best recalled tend to express case relationships; propositions recalled most poorly express descriptive relationships. There are no differences in the number of recall errors or general cohesiveness of the recalls of fast and slow readers, but fast readers are not as likely to pick up relations that are implicit in the text. The implica- tions of these findings for the types of processing activities used by people reading quickly and slowly are discussed. A characteristic skill of the mature reader is the ability to adjust reading rate in response to the requirements of a reading task. In order to read efficiently, a learner must alter the manner in which s/he processes the material according to such factors as the quantity and type of information s/he wants to obtain, familiarity with the subject matter, and the difficulty level and type of material being read. Flexibility in controlling reading rate has been acknowledged as an important component of skilled reading by educators since the early part of the century (Buswell, 1937), and is a ma- jor concern of many reading curricula and reading research programs (Carillo & Sheldon, 1952; Harris, 1961; Harris, Herrick, McDonald & Rarick, 1965; Hill, 1964). The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of altering reading rate on the subsequent retention of what is being read. The results of the early research on reading speed indicated that people are relatively inflexible in their ability to adjust their rate to match reading purpose and material (Boyd, 1966; Herculane, 1961; Hill, 1964; Letson, 1959; McDonald, 1963; Rankin & Hess, 1970). However, the methods used hi these studies to produce changes in reading rate were generally inadequate, containing ambiguous instruc- tions and very general reading goals (Miller, 1978; Steinacher, 1971). Often the pur-
Hybrid finite-element/rigorous coupled wave analysis for scattering from three-dimensional doubly periodic structures

A new hybrid finite-element/rigorous coupled wave analysis formulation is presented for the modeling of electromagnetic wave interactions with doubly periodic structures. The structures under investigation are periodic in two dimensions and have a finite extent in the third dimension. The proposed model can handle structures that have material properties varying arbitrarily in any of the dimensions within the unit cell. Employment of Fourier series expansion and Floquet's theory in one of the periodic dimensions helps to reduce the dimension of the mesh. Results obtained from alternative methods are used to verify the proposed method's validity.
Recognition of a cervical cancer derived tumor cell line by a human papillomavirus type 16 E6 52-61-specific CD8 T cell clone

The E6 and E7 proteins of high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) types are thought to be the ideal sources of antigens for immunotherapy for cervical cancer since they are expressed by the tumors and not by normal cells. We recently described new HPV 16 epitopes, including the E6 52-61 peptide restricted by HLA class I molecule B57. Primary tumor cell lines were established from three HLA-B57 positive, HPV 16 positive cervical cancer patients, and their recognition by a E6 52-61 specific CD8+ T cell clone was determined using a chromium release assay and an IFN-gamma enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISPOT) assay. The recognition of homologous epitopes contained in other high-risk HPV types (18, 31, 33, 35, 39, 45, 51, 52, 56, 58, 59, 68, and 73) was also examined at the peptide level. A low level of killing of two of the tumor cell lines derived from the three patients was demonstrated using a chromium release assay. The level of killing of one of these tumor cell lines was enhanced upon treatment with IFN-gamma and/or the addition of antigen. This tumor cell line also induced measurable IFN-gamma secretion. The recognition of homologous epitopes from HPV 35, 39, 45, 51, and 73 was detected in an ELISPOT assay. Therefore, the HPV 16 E6 52-61 epitope appears to be at least weakly expressed by tumor cell lines derived from cervical cancer, and the HPV 16 E6 52-61-specific T cell clone can recognize homologous peptides derived from other high risk HPV sequences.
ALCOHOL PREVALENCE, ALCOHOL POLICIES, AND CHILD FATAL INJURY RATES FROM MOTOR VEHICLE CRASHES

In this study, we consider the effects of state alcohol policies on motor vehicle fatalities for children. While numerous studies have considered the effects of such policies on motor vehicle fatalities for the overall population, for teens, and for the elderly, their effects on fatalities among children in particular have not previously been studied. We use state-level cross-sectional time series data for 1982–2002. The dependent variable of interest is fatalities among child motor vehicle occupants (CMVO). Separate models are estimated for 0- to 4-yr-olds, 5- to 9-yr-olds, and 10- to 15-yr-olds, as well as for fatalities occurring during the day versus the night. We find that number of fatalities among CMVO is strongly correlated to alcohol use measured at the state level and that administrative license revocation policies and higher beer tax rates appear to consistently reduce such fatalities. For two of the three age groups, beer tax rates appear to reduce fatalities during the night rather than the day. However, zero tolerance and blood alcohol concentration limit laws do not seem to have any statistically significant effects on fatalities. (JEL I18, J13)
Feature-based Motion Analysis

A sequence of images of a dynamic scene m provide information about the structure of objects in the scene and about the motion of the objects or the observer. Two general classes of techniques have been applied to this problem called long- range and short-range methods. These are primarily distinguished by the distance between corresponding points in consecutive frames. This paper compares short-range and long- range techniques in general terms. The paper also presents results from a general feature based motion analysis system.