cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Measures of skeletal muscle calcium channels and acetylcholine receptors in thyroidectomized rats.

Hypothyroidism frequently presents with muscle complaints. No consistent histopathology nor electrophysiology explains these symptoms and signs. As well, no previous study shows specific changes in components of the nerve-muscle synapse nor excitation-contraction coupling in adult muscles, but changes are seen in hormone-treated embryonic myoblasts. In this study, adult male Holtzman rats underwent thyroidectomy and their age-matched euthyroid controls were simultaneously subjected to sham operation. Thirty days post-operative, animals were sacrificed for anterior tibialis muscles harvest. Muscle dihydropyridine type calcium channel (isradipine) and acetylcholine receptor ($aL-bungarotoxin) binding were measured and compared between experimental treatment groups. There were no significant differences in either the affinity or density of isradipine binding. However, hypothyroid muscles showed a nearly 50% reduction in acetylcholine receptor density when compared to control muscles. Thyroidectomy is associa...
Divalent cations and the molecular state of brain acetylcholinesterase (E.C. 3.1.1.7.)

Abstract Freshly solubilized (by EDTA treatment) mammalian brain acetylcholinesterase appears as two molecular weight species of approximately 80,000 and 330,000. With time, the smaller form converts to an intermediate 230,000 apparent molecular weight species. This conversion has been shown to be prevented by low concentrations of certain divalent cations, but not influenced by other ions which also can interact with postulated peripheral anionic binding sites on acetylcholinesterase.
Objective Structured Video Examinations (OSVEs) for geriatrics education

The Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) and the Wisconsin Geriatric Education Center (WGEC) are committed to developing educational materials for primary care physicians in training. In response to the opportunity created by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) competency mandate, an MCW-led interdisciplinary working group has developed competency-linked video-based assessment tools for use in primary care residency training programs. Modeled after the Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCE), used as part of the medical licensing examination process, we created geriatric-focused Objective Structured Video Examinations (OSVEs) as a strategy to infuse geriatrics into residency training. Each OSVE tool contains a 1-3 minute video trigger that is associated with a series of multiple choice and/or constructed response questions (e.g., fill in the blank). These questions assess residents' understanding of video-demonstrated ACGME competencies including professionalism, systems-based practice, communication, and practice-based learning. An instructor's guide and scoring key are provided for each tool. Response to the OSVEs has been overwhelmingly enthusiastic including greater than 90% commitment by statewide faculty to use the tools in residency training.
Time-dependent inhibition of protein farnesyltransferase by a benzodiazepine peptide mimetic.

Protein farnesyltransferase (FTase) and protein geranylgeranyltransferase-I (GGTase-I) catalyze the prenylation of proteins with a carboxy-terminal tetrapeptide sequence called a CaaX box, where C refers to cysteine, “a” refers to an aliphatic residue, and X typically refers to methionine, serine, or glutamine (FTase), or to leucine (GGTase-I). Marsters and co-workers [(1994) Bioorg. Med. Chem. 2, 949−957] developed inhibitors of FTase with cysteine and methionine attached to an inner hydrophobic benzodiazepine scaffold. We found that the most potent of these compounds (BZA-2B) resulted in the time-dependent inhibition of FTase. The Ki of BZA-2B for FTase, which is the dissociation constant of the initial complex, was 79 ± 13 nM, and the Ki*, which is the overall dissociation of inhibitor for all enzyme forms, was 0.91 ± 0.12 nM. The first-order rate constant for the conversion of the initial complex to the final complex was 1.4 ± 0.2 min-1, and that for the reverse process was 0.016 ± 0.002 min-1. The la...
Airborne Lidar Measurements of the Soufriere Eruption of 17 April 1979

At the time of the Soufriere, St. Vincent, volcanic eruption of 17 April 1979, a NASA P-3 aircraft with an uplooking lidar (light detection and ranging) system onboard was airborne 130 kilometers east of the island. Lidar measurements of the fresh volcanic ash were made approximately 2 hours after the eruption, 120 kilometers to the northeast and east. On the evening of 18 April, the airborne lidar, on a southerly flight track, detected significant amounts of stratospheric material in layers at 16, 17, 18, and 19.5 kilometers. These data, and measurements to the north on 19 April, indicate that the volcanic plume penetrated the stratosphere to an altitude of about 20 kilometers and moved south during the first 48 hours after the eruption.
Package-Aware Scheduling of embedded workloads for temperature and Energy management on heterogeneous MPSoCs

In this paper, we present PASTEMP, a solution for Package Aware Scheduling for Thermal and Energy management using Multi- Parametric programming in heterogeneous embedded multiprocessor SoCs (MPSoCs). Based on the current thermal state of the system and current performance requirements of the workload, PASTEMP finds thermally safe and energy efficient voltage/frequency configurations for the cores on a MPSoC. The tasks are assigned to the cores depending on their performance demand and the current voltage/frequency of the core. The voltage/frequency settings of the cores are chosen through an optimization process which is based on the instantaneous thermal model we introduce to decouple the effect of package temperature from the temperature changes caused by the power consumption of the cores. To be able to find the best voltage/frequency settings at runtime, we use multi-parametric programming to separate the optimization into offline and online phases. According to our experimental results, compared to similar DTM techniques, PASTEMP results in up to 23% energy saving and 26% throughput improvement and reduces the deadline misses to more than a half while meeting all thermal constraints.
Haloacetic Acids in Canadian Lake Waters and Precipitation

Haloacetic acids (HAAs) were measured in lake water and precipitation in distinct geographical areas of Canada with the objective of determining prevailing levels and source regions of these phytotoxins. This included surface water samples from the Great Lakes and four lakes in widely separated geographical areas of Canada. These lakes had levels dependent on the degree of isolation from human activity, with the more isolated lakes having HAA concentration generally of <100 ng/L. Surface water from Lake Superior was sampled at 11 sites during two separate cruises. This lake had HAA levels of <100 ng/L except for dichloroacetic acid which generally was the most abundant of all the HAAs. Two sites from each of the other Great Lakes were sampled, one close to the inflow of the lake and the other close to the outflow. These HAA concentrations were generally 10 times greater than in Lake Superior. For precipitation, the HAA levels were variable (<10−to 2400 ng/L) in daily event samples from seven sites situate...
Addressing thin film thickness metrology challenges of 14nm BEOL layers

In this paper we discuss the impact of these two effects on the film thickness measurement and describe our approach to develop a film stack model and recipe which accounts for the underlying stack as well as Chemical Mechanical Planarization (CMP) variation. We also describe the verification and production implementation of this model using mass production data.
Combinatorial optimization in facility layout

Abstract This research provides the means of a realistic or a close to realistic layout development using practical constraints and objectives. An experimental system, FLUKES, is constructed based on the method for testing purpose. FLUKES uses these factors not only for the evaluation of layout, but also for the search to solution. This system develops optimized layouts within the boundary of the practical factors.
Microbial resolution of 2-hydroxy-3-nitropropionic acid for synthesis of optically active isoserine.

The biocatalytic stereoselective hydrolysis of 2-hydroxy-3-nitropropionic acid esters was studied. Forty enzymes and three hundred microorganism strains were examined for their ability to hydrolyze ethyl 2-hydroxy-3-nitropropionic acid. Nocardia globerula IFO13150 gave n-butyl (R)-2-hydroxy-3-nitropropionate with a 92% enantiomeric excess (ee) and the corresponding carboxylic acid with a 92%ee, which was easily converted to (S)-isoserine, a useful β-amino acid.
N — H bond stretching in histidine complexes: a solid-state NMR study

N — H bond lengths in imidazolium–carboxylate pairs were studied as models for enzyme active site motifs. The bond lengths were measured using ‘2D 2f-DipShift,’ a solid-state NMR method wherein the N,H dipolar coupling is determined using heteronuclear dipolar spinning sideband patterns. Like the situation for compressed O — H ··· O systems, some complexes exhibit very short N ··· O distances and weaker N,H dipolar coupling. The weaker time-average N,H dipolar coupling for systems with short N ··· O hydrogen bonds can be most likely associated with an altered potential well for the proton, or a ‘stretched’ covalent bond, although other interpretations involving a double well potential are discussed. The range or variation in average bond lengths seen in this study is much narrower than that previously reported for O — H ··· O systems (1.01–1.07 u A for N — H vs 1.0–1.3 u A for O — H bonds). Copyright  2001
Photosensitization of SnO2/ZnO semiconductors with zinc-phthalocyanine

Abstract Zinc-phthalocyanine with tyrosine substituent (ZnPcTyro) was attached to different nanocrystalline semiconductors (SnO2 and ZnO) via carboxylic acid group, the interaction of zinc-phthalocyanine with colloidal ZnO and SnO2 was studied by absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy. The apparent association constant for the association between ZnPcTyro and SnO2/ZnO is ranged from (3.7 ± 0.2) × 105 M−1 to (6.7 ± 0.2) × 104 M−1 with a degree of association ranged from 85% to 95%. The presence of the tyrosine group in ZnPcTyro affects solubility of the dye and affects the aggregation behavior of the dye. Anchoring of the dye complex to the nanocrystalline semiconductors enables ultrafast injection of electrons from the excited state into the conduction band of semiconductors. Maximum incident photon-to-current conversion of 0.84–1% at 600 nm and photon-to-current conversion efficiency of around 37% and 43% was obtained for ZnPc-sensitized-SnO2 and ZnPc-sensitized-ZnO.
Phosphonium ionenes from well-defined step-growth polymerization: Thermal and melt rheological properties

Step-growth polymerization of ditertiary phosphines with dibromoalkanes enabled the synthesis of novel phosphonium ionenes. In situ FTIR spectroscopy monitored the increase in absorbance as a function of time at 1116 cm−1, which corresponded to the polymeric P+–Ph stretch. Aqueous size-exclusion chromatography (SEC) provided absolute molecular weights and confirmed expected molecular weight growth for difunctional, step-growth polymerization. Phosphonium ionenes exhibited improved thermal and base stability compared to ammonium ionenes, which was attributed to the propensity of the ammonium cation towards Hofmann elimination. Melt rheology examined phosphonium ionene viscous flow and the influence of charge density on melt viscosity as a function of shear rate and temperature. Time–temperature superposition (TTS) resulted in both master curves and pseudomaster curves depending on phosphonium ionene composition. Two primary relaxations occurred: (1) onset of long-range segmental motion at Tg, and (2) relaxation attributed to electrostatic interactions. Higher charge densities shifted these two relaxations to longer time scales and increased flow activation energies. Phosphonium ionenes also readily bound pDNA effectively (± ratios of 1), and base stability suggested applications in energy generation.
The role of libraries in economic restructuring

Abstract This article describes some of the ways in which libraries, both academic and public, can become key players in the process of economic restructuring and development. In Eastern Europe, for example, we have seen powerful waves of political and economic change sweeping over one country after another, demanding that long-standing economic theories be revised and old ways of conducting business be reconsidered. New schools of business and management, modelled on Western schools of business, are coming into existence. In all of these processes, the primacy of the need for information to support transition and growth is unassailable. This article discusses some of the information needs of modern economic life and argues that support for libraries and the training of librarians in the skills to develop business-related libraries, easily accessible by communities of users, is crucial to the health of business education programs, the communities of small businesses and, therefore, to the general economic health of a country.
Surgical patient outcomes after the increased use of bilateral lung transplantation.

Objectives Despite the potential limitation of organ availability, several surgical groups have advocated preferential bilateral lung transplantation because of its demonstrated long-term survival advantage. Comparative results for single and sequential double lung transplantation performed at a single center are evaluated to determine whether such a policy improves patient outcome. Methods A retrospective analysis of demographic and outcome data for patients undergoing lung transplantation was performed. Patients were grouped as single or double lung recipients and segregated into diagnostic categories according to the lung allocation scoring system. Era terciles were chosen on the basis of year of transplant, operating surgeon, and transplant volume. Results Between November 1990 and September 2005, 344 lung transplant procedures were performed in 339 patients. Over three time periods evaluated, the proportion of patients undergoing double lung transplant procedures increased. Overall survivals at 3 months and 1, 3, and 5 years were 89%, 79%, 60%, and 52%, respectively. After adjusting for lung recipient characteristics, survival after double lung transplantation was improved when compared with single lung transplantation ( P = .020). Overall patient survival among the three time periods was not significantly different at 30 days and 1 and 3 years despite increasing maximal donor organ ischemia times. Conclusions In this single-center study, despite longer median allograft ischemic times, as well as greater patient acuity as determined by listing diagnosis, overall early and midterm patient survival has remained higher than nationally reported figures. Bilateral lung transplantation in eligible patients is the procedure of choice.
An advanced entropy-based feature with a frame-level vocal effort likelihood space modeling for distant whisper-island detection

Effective entropy based feature for whisper island detection.Vocal effort clustering of neutral and whisper speech; 100% detection for whisper.Explore distance captured whisper speech detection and clustering.Sustained whisper detection performance obtained for distance speech. A challenging research problem which has received limited attention in the speech research community is whisper-island detection. Effective whisper island, or VECP-Vocal Effort Change Point, detection is the first step needed to ensure the engagement of effective subsequent speech processing steps to address whisper. In this study, we first propose an improved entropy-based feature from a previous study which is integrated within a model-less whisper-island detection algorithm. The improved 3-D WhID feature shows better discrimination properties between whisper and neutral speech, resulting in a 0.00% MDR (miss detection rate), lower FAR (false alarm rate), MMR (mismatch rate) and collectively a reduced MES (multi-error score). With improved VECP detection results and no need for a prior trained GMM, the BIC-based vocal effort clustering algorithm attains a 100% detection rate of whisper-islands. In this study, a more challenging task of distant whisper-island detection is also addressed using a proposed frame-based vocal effort likelihood space modeling algorithm (model-base). A corpus named UT-VE-III consisting of spontaneous and read whisper embedded neutral speech using a microphone array from various distances in a real-world conference room is developed. For the whisper embedded neutral speech of UT-VE-III at 1-m, 3-m and 5-m distance using a Lavalier microphone and distant microphone, the proposed algorithm sustains consistent performance for VECP detection and whisper classification rates.
Unnatural oscillon lifetimes in an expanding background

Abstract We consider a classical toy model of a massive scalar field in 1 + 1 dimensions with a constant exponential expansion rate of space. The nonlinear theory under consideration supports approximate oscillon solutions, but they eventually decay due to their coupling to the expanding background. Although all the parameters of the theory and the oscillon energies are of order one in units of the scalar field mass m, the oscillon lifetime is exponentially large in these natural units. For typical values of the parameters, we see oscillon lifetimes scaling approximately as τ ∝ exp ( k E / m ) / m where E is the oscillon energy and the constant k is on the order of 5 to 15 for expansion rates between H = 0.02 m and H = 0.01 m .
Evaluation of long-term consequences in behavioral and/or neural function following neonatal chlordecone exposure.

The effects of neonatal exposure of rats to chlordecone, during the major postnatal period of neuroendocrine differentiation were assessed after the animals matured to 90 days of age. On day 4 postpartum, pups received a s.c. injection of either DMSO vehicle or chlordecone (1 mg/pup) dissolved in DMSO. The neonatal exposure produced a significant sex-dependent alteration in adult body weight; chlordecone-exposed males were lighter than vehicle-exposed controls and chlordecone-exposed females were heavier than vehicle-exposed controls. Behavioral tests sensitive to neonatal chlordecone exposure during preweaning development--i.e., spectral analysis of movement, activity, and auditory startle responsiveness--gave no statistically significant evidence for residual effects of the early organochlorine treatment. When challenged with harmine, a known tremorogen with putative effects on olivocerebellar pathways, chlordecone-exposed males were less responsive than vehicle-exposed littermates in a spectral analysis of movement. The movement spectrum of chlordecone-exposed females was not differentially sensitive to the harmine challenge. However, subsequent evaluation of the auditory startle reflex indicated that harmine interacted with the neonatal treatment and sex of the animal; chlordecone-exposed males were less responsive and chlordecone-exposed females more responsive than same sex vehicle-exposed littermates. The responsiveness to a d-amphetamine challenge, expressed as a ratio of baseline activity in a pre- and post-test design, suggested the chlordecone-exposed males gave an exaggerated response to the drug challenge. Collectively, these findings suggest that the neonatal chlordecone exposure had a significant organizational effect on the development of behavioral and/or neural function. These findings also suggest the predictive utility of early behavioral tests; that is, long-term alterations were noted in each component of the toxicological syndrome previously identified during preweaning development.
Megakaryocyte growth and development factor is a potent growth factor for primitive hematopoietic progenitors in the human fetus.

Megakaryocyte growth and development factor (MGDF), or thrombopoietin, has received considerable attention as a therapeutic agent for treating thrombocytopenia or for its use in the ex vivo culture of hematopoietic stem cells. MGDF is known to support the growth of a broad spectrum of hematopoietic precursors obtained from adult or neonatal tissues, but its effects on the growth of fetal progenitors and stem cells has not been studied. Human CD38+CD342+ progenitors and CD38−CD342+ cells, a population that contains stem cells, were isolated from midgestation liver and grown under defined conditions with MGDF and various cytokines known to support the growth of primitive hematopoietic precursors. In clonal assays of colony-forming cells (CFCs), MGDF supported the growth of 15–25% of candidate stem cells when combined with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor, granulocytemacrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), flk-2/flt3 ligand, or stem cell factor. MGDF was observed to strongly support the early stages of hematopoiesis and expansion of high proliferative potential CFCs. More mature progenitors were expanded nearly 78-fold in 1 wk of culture with MGDF+SCF+GM-CSF. MGDF alone was also found to support the short-term (2 d) survival of CD38−CD342+ high proliferative potential CFCs. The effects of MGDF were more modest on CD38+CD342+ progenitors with only additive increases in colony formation being observed. These findings suggest that MGDF administration in fetuses and neonates may strongly affect the growth and mobilization of primitive hematopoietic progenitors and that MGDF may find use in the ex vivo growth and expansion of fetal stem cells.
Boundary elements and surface plasmons

We present an elementary introduction to the boundary element method (BEM). We use the BEM to calculate the electromagnetic field enhancements in the vicinity of metallic wires of arbitrary cross‐section. The local electric field shows resonant peaks, as a function of the frequency of incident radiation, at the natural frequencies of the electronic plasma in the wires. We consider the effect of the shape of the cross‐section of the wire on the resonant frequency, the proximity effect due to neighboring wires, and the influence of a substrate. The calculations are performed using enhanced continuity conditions at the boundaries. We discuss the advantages of such an approach. The field enhancements are predicted for a number of geometries. © 1996 American Institute of Physics.
Nonlinear observer based force control of electro-hydraulic actuators

This paper presents a nonlinear observer based force control of single-rod hydraulic actuators. An observer based force control of electrohydraulic (EH) cylinders is proposed that does not require the cylinder position and velocity information. By treating the effect of cylinder position and velocity on the pressure dynamics as perturbation to the control model, we employ the perturbation observer concept to estimate the effect of piston motion and design a robust force control algorithm. The proposed method improved both the steady state and transient performance compared with traditional PID method. Simulation and experimental results are presented.
Universal instabilities of radio-frequency traps.

Using standard tools of nonlinear dynamics we analyze recently discovered instabilities of radio-frequency charged-particle traps. In the cw-driven cylindrical Kingdon trap the instabilities occur at the two values ${\ensuremath{\eta}}_{3}^{*}=3.613 046 7\dots{}$ and ${\ensuremath{\eta}}_{4}^{*}=4.431 124 4\dots{}$ of the trap's control parameter $\ensuremath{\eta}$. Analytical estimates based on the theory of Mathieu functions predict ${\ensuremath{\eta}}_{3}^{*}=\ensuremath{\pi}\sqrt{(363\ensuremath{-}32{\ensuremath{\pi}}^{2})∕(66\ensuremath{\pi}\sqrt{6}\ensuremath{-}48{\ensuremath{\pi}}^{2})}=3.692 392 2\dots{}$ and ${\ensuremath{\eta}}_{4}^{*}=(\sqrt{\ensuremath{\pi}}∕2){[(363\ensuremath{-}32{\ensuremath{\pi}}^{2})∕(\sqrt{1089+48{\ensuremath{\pi}}^{2}}\ensuremath{-}12\ensuremath{\pi})]}^{1∕2}=4.496 546 6\dots{}$. The kicked Kingdon trap, an analytically solvable model, predicts ${\ensuremath{\eta}}_{3}^{*}=\frac{1}{3}\sqrt{105}=3.415 650 2\dots{}$ and ${\ensuremath{\eta}}_{4}^{*}=\sqrt{17}=4.123 105 6\dots{}$. We show that similar instabilities occur in the two-particle Paul trap and the cw-driven spherical Kingdon trap.
Gonadotroph-rich cell lines derived from pituitary clonal cells (2A8) grafted under the kidney capsule

Gonadotroph-rich cell lines were established from multipotential pituitary clonal cells (2A8) which were implanted under kidney capsule of hypophysectomized female rats. These cell lines secrete gonadotrophins (FSH and LH) continuously over two months after establishment; LHRH stimulated the secretion of hormones into the culture medium. Many of the cells reacted immunohistochemically to antiserum to FSH or LH, while a small number reacted to antiserum to prolactin or TSH. They did not contain normal secretory granules such as those of gonadotrophs in vivo.
Unmet needs in the treatment of autoimmunity: From aspirin to stem cells

As rheumatologic diseases became understood to be autoimmune in nature, the drugs used to treat this group of conditions has evolved from herbal or plant derived anti-inflammatory agents, such as salicylates, quinine and colchicine to the many recently approved biological response modifiers. These new drugs, especially the anti-tumor necrosis factor agents, have shown remarkable efficacy in autoimmune diseases, and there are new agents under investigation that will provide additional treatment options. In between, the world was introduced to cortisone and all of its derivatives, as chemical synthesis led to better, more efficacious drugs with lesser side effects. Disease modifying anti-rheumatic agents have actually been around since the first half of the 20th century, but only began to be used in the treatment of autoimmune diseases in the 1970s and 1980s. One advantage is that they have been invaluable in their ability to offer "steroid sparing" to decrease the adverse effects of steroids. Research over the past decade has resulted in a new class of drugs that influence cytokine regulatory pathways such as the Janus associated kinase inhibitors. The promise of personalized medicine now permeates current research into new pharmacological agents for the treatment of autoimmune disease. The new appreciation for the gene-environment interaction in the pathogenesis of most diseases especially those as heterogeneous as autoimmune diseases, has led to our focus on targeted therapies. Add to that the new knowledge of epigenetics and how changes in DNA and histone structure affect expression of genes that can play a role in immune signaling, and we now have a new exciting frontier for cutting edge drug development. The history of treatment of autoimmune diseases is really only a little over a century, but so much has changed, leading to increasing lifespans and improved quality of life of those who suffer from these ailments.
The direct titration of water-soluble sulfide in estuarine muds of Montsweag Bay, Maine

Abstract The use of an antioxidant buffer allows potentiometric titrations of dissolved sulfide, providing cadmium or lead rather than silver is used as titrant. The method yields a measure of water-soluble as contrasted with acid-soluble sulfide. The vertical distribution of water-soluble sulfide has been determined in eight sediment cores from Montsweag Bay, Maine. Concentration profiles are characterized by one or two distinct maxima near the surface at depths ranging from 30 cm in areas of slow sedimentation, to 120 cm in areas of rapid sediment accumulation. Concentrations of sulfide at the maxima range from 1 to 8 moles sulfur per cubic meter of in situ mud, or from 0.6 to 4. millimoles sulfur per liter of pore water. The sulfide-rich upper portion of the mud is poorly consolidated and custardy in texture. As they are likely to be resuspended during proposed channel modifications, it is appropriate to inquire as to the oxidative demand of these sediments arising from their hydrogen sulfide content alone. Using a conservative estimated mean of 5 moles sulfide/m 3 -mud, it is shown that a mixing ratio of less than 30 volumes of oxygen saturated seawater per volume of mud will render the water anoxic.
Agenda Pushers: Re-Evaluating the Measurement of Attitudes Towards Lesbians and Gay Men

This paper suggests a new conceptual framework for understanding and assessing negatively valenced attitudes towards gay men and lesbians. It distinguishes between conceiving of gay men and lesbians as individuals marked by isolated and sinful behavior and as members of a group marked illegitimate and secret power. The paper provides a first step in measuring this phenomenon. I fielded original survey questions to form a new anti-gay attitude scale that hinges on this group versus individual distinction. I then use exploratory factor analysis to evaluate the appropriateness of scaling these items together. I model the demographic and socio-economic variables associated with respondents’ scale scores and model policy preference for same-sex marriage using the scale as the predictor of interest. Finally, I compare the anti-gay attitude scale with pre-existing scales that measure attitudes towards other minority groups. While I find mixed support for the individual versus group factor in the scale, I demonstrate that modeling same-sex marriage policy preference with my scale fits the data better and has more predictive power than standard individual-level models in political science.
Children of Treated Substance-abusing Mothers: A 10-year Prospective Study

This study examined children of substance-abusing mothers approximately 10 years after mothers' admission to drug abuse treatment, and identified maternal characteristics that may be risk factors for child behavior problems on the Child Behavior Checklist. Data were obtained from 396 mothers who were included in a sample consecutively admitted to 44 treatment programs in 13 California counties during 2000-2002. The Addiction Severity Index was administered at both intake and follow-up. Each mother reported on one child 6-17 years of age. All of the children had been exposed to drugs, either in utero or postnatally. At follow-up about 22% of the children demonstrated borderline or clinical range problem behaviors. Child behavior problems were related significantly to the mothers' ethnicity (lower among Hispanics relative to white), and problem severity in family/social relationship and mental health, marginally related to her prior medical/health problem, and not related to severity of alcohol, drug, legal and employment problems. Assisting mothers to address their family/social relationship and psychological problems may have an added value to prevent or reduce behavioral problems of their children. Language: en
Poor outcome in steroid-refractory graft-versus-host disease with antithymocyte globulin treatment

Treatment of acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) has relied on high-dose steroids, but less than 50% of patients show durable remission. Antithymocyte globulin (ATG) has become a standard salvage therapy. We now report our experience with ATG for the treatment of steroid-refractory GVHD in 69 patients treated from January 1, 1980, to May 1, 1999. Patients with GVHD were given an overall grade using standard criteria. Overall responses were similar to those in previously published literature. However, long-term survival for this group of patients was dismal. Of the 69 patients treated with ATG for steroid-refractory GVHD, only 3 (5%) are currently alive. The median survival of these patients by GVHD grade was 4.1 months for grade 2, 3.6 months for grade 3, and 2.7 months for grade 4. The age range of the surviving patients was 3 to 25 years. Only 5% of the deaths were due to relapse, with the remaining deaths due to GVHD, infection, and/or organ failure. In conclusion, ATG treatment can produce objective responses in patients with aGVHD, but these responses do not result in long-term survival. Given the poor survival rates of patients treated with ATG for steroid-refractory GVHD, treatment with ATG as standard therapy should be reconsidered. Patients with steroid-refractory GVHD should be enrolled in clinical study until there are data to support a standard salvage therapy.
The resolution effect in the gamma-neutrino angular correlation experiment

Abstract A procedure for understanding the resolution effect in the gamma-neutrino angular correlation experiment is discussed. It emphasizes the importance of the energy calibration of the detection system or multichannel analyzer. It is shown that information about the range effect in the gamma-neutrino angular correlation experiment could be extracted easily from the Doppler gamma spectrum.
Antibody response to nonstructural proteins of hepatitis A virus following infection.

The nonstructural proteins of hepatitis A virus (HAV), produced during active virus replication, are alternative antigens that could be used to differentiate disease from inactivated vaccine-induced antibodies. An assay based on immune precipitation of proteins translated from transcripts of the P2 region of viral cDNA was used to evaluate the development of antibodies after natural infection or vaccination. Antibodies against P2 proteins were found in all sera from clinical cases of hepatitis A following the acute phase. Chimpanzees vaccinated with inactivated or cell-adapted HAV had no detectable antibodies against P2 products, either before or after wild type virus challenge. A serosurvey of sera positive for total anti-HAV (HAVAB, Abbott Laboratories, North Chicago) suggested that some individuals had no detectable antibodies to the P2 antigen by immune precipitation. These results were attributed to the lower sensitivity of the immunoprecipitation assay, since antibodies to capsid proteins, as measured by immunoprecipitation, were also not detected in most of these sera. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Plasma changes in micronutrients following a multivitamin and mineral supplement in healthy adults

Objective: To estimate the micronutrient (riboflavin, folate, vitamin C, vitamin B12, iron, zinc and copper) bioavailability in healthy adults from a multi-micronutrient dietary supplement to assess the possible influence on it by the tablet disintegration properties and by the relative intestinal permeability of subject.Methods: The bioavailability of seven micronutrients from a single brand of multi-micronutrient dietary supplement was measured on two separate occasions in the presence of a standardized test meal in 15 healthy adult subjects. Each subject visited the Metabolic Research Unit on four separate randomized occasions for an absorption test. One test measured the intestinal permeability. The other three tests measured the postprandial changes in plasma or serum concentrations after consuming a test meal alone (control:placebo effect), or the test meal with either whole or crushed and powdered dietary supplements. 15 healthy Caucasian adult volunteers, aged 42 ± 14 years.Results: The 12 hour-po...
Hemispheric Asymmetry Profiles During Beginning Reading: Effects of Reading Level and Word Type

We evaluated how right- and the left-temporal lobe activation of first (1st LR), second (2ndLR), and third (3rdLR) level readers (N = 60; Age = 6–9 years) varied with reading level, word characteristics, and cognitive abilities by using electroencephalogram measurements while the children read high-frequency/high-imageability, high-frequency/low-imageability, and nonsense words. The ANOVA showed significant interaction effects: 1stLR had greater right-hemispheric activation than 3rdLR, who had greater left-hemispheric activation; for nonsense words, 1stLR had lower left-hemisphere activation than that of 2ndLR and 3rdLR. The electroencephalogram (EEG) measure of hemispheric asymmetry indicated a developmental effect on lateralized activity in the temporal lobes of beginning readers during word reading.
Coulomb interactions in particle-beam systems

The interactions due to the Coulomb force between the constituents of charge particle beam systems have long been explored, with emphasis on the effect of the axial component known as `Boersch effect'. Fewer attempts have been made to quantitatively describe the lateral effects, the bulk space charge effect, which can be compensated by lens adjustment, and the stochastic effect due to the statistical interaction between individual particles. It leads to a non- compensatable, current dependent image blur and is at the root of the failure of direct-write e- beam lithography to become a viable technology for semiconductor manufacturing. It is a key limiting factor of throughput: As throughput goes up with the beam current, so do the interactions and consequently the image blur. Therefore the availability of a theory and/or computer program is essential to predict the interaction effects, before any hardware is built. We give a brief revue of the relevant literature, with emphasis on the treatment of the trajectory displacement effect, the exploration of applicability and limitation of analytical theories, and the application of numerical computer simulation to various system configurations to show the trends and dependencies of particle interactions.© (1995) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Conditions for protected polymorphism in subdivided plant populations: 1. Uniform pollen dispersal

Abstract Pollen and seed migration patterns are not the same in most plant populations, and the differences affect conditions for protection of alleles. We analyzed conditions for protectedness when pollen is freely exchanged along all demes, while seeds are deposited within the female parents' deme. Protectedness was analyzed at the boundary of fixation and necessary conditions were derived. If no selection among female genotypes exists, then simple average heterozygote superiority in the males can guarantee protection. However, regardless of the form of selection in females, simply doubling the male heterozygote superiority can still guarantee protectedness. Conditions for guaranteeing protectedness with female selection were also derived but are more complicated. The effect of inter-demic variability on protectedness of a biallelic polymorphim is studied for a particular method of reducing the variances of the selection values. It is shown that decreasing the variance of the female selection values also decreases protectedness. This is not necessarily true for the male selection values.
Focal cerebellar dystrophy caused by transplacental administration of methylnitrosourea.

Abstract Methylnitrosourea (MNU), 20 mg/kg, was given IP to CD-1 mice on day 16 of pregnancy and the offspring examined at 3 and 5 weeks of age. In addition to a general reduction in brain size in all specimens, there were focal alterations in cerebellar architecture. Specifically, the granule cells of the anterior lobe and vermis were reduced in number and ectopic in localization. There were concomitant changes in the localization of the Purkinje cells suggesting changes in migration influences. These experiments used a short-lived (15 minute), direct-acting DNA alkylating agent to produce focal cerebellar damage. MNU therefore, appears to be a promising tool for examining regional developmental abnormalities in the central nervous system.
Electroanatomically guided catheter ablation of ventricular tachycardias causing multiple defibrillator shocks.

SRA, J., et al.: Electroanatomically Guided Catheter Ablation of Ventricular Tachycardias Causing Multiple Defibrillator Shocks. With conventional techniques, RF catheter ablation is difficult in patients with unstable VT or with multiple VTs. The feasibility of RF catheter ablation guided by three-dimensional electroanatomic mapping technique in patients whose implanted ICD continued to deliver multiple shocks due to VT despite use of antiarrhythmic medications was assessed in 19 patients (15 men, 4 women; mean age [± SD] 70 ± 7 years). All had a prior history of MI and subsequently had received an ICD due to VT. During the 12-week preablation period, these patients received 31 ± 15 shocks (range 4–62 shocks) due to refractory monomorphic VTs. An electroanatomic mapping technique using the CARTO system was performed to delineate scar tissue. RF catheter ablation was then performed at appropriate sites identified by pacemapping and by substrate mapping. Seventeen patients were on amiodarone at the time of ablation. Twenty-seven VTs were documented clinically, and 45 were induced during electrophysiological evaluation. Of the 45 tachycardias induced, 38 VTs were targeted for ablation. Catheter ablation was performed during sinus rhythm in 31 episodes and during VT in 7 episodes. During a mean follow-up of 26 ± 8 weeks (range 18–48 weeks), 13 (66%) patients had no recurrence of VT (P < 0.0001) and antiarrhythmic drugs were discontinued or the number of medications reduced in 17 patients (P < 0.0001). Electroanatomic mapping is helpful in identifying sites for catheter ablation in highly symptomatic patients with refractory VT associated with myocardial scarring.
The Emergence of Middle-Class Deviant Subcultures: The Case of Swingers

This paper is an attempt to deal theoretically with the emergence of the “swinging” subculture among otherwise conventional middle Americans, and further to suggest the theoretical implications of the study of “swinging” for an understanding of deviant subcultures. Focusing on the interrelationship between: (l) the marginal status of individuals new to the middle class, (2) the “overdetermined” nature of the sexual experience in American society, and (3) the extent to which certain types of deviance constitute functional alternatives to acceptable behavior, the paper offers a possible explanation for the coexistence of deviant commitments and conventional life styles.
The mechanism of corona and ultraviolet light‐induced self‐adhesion of poly(ethylene terephthalate) film

The ability of corona treatment to render polyethylene film self-adherent has been previously reported and the mechanism explained. A similar effect has now been found with corona-treated poly(ethylene terephthalate) film which adheres strongly to itself when joined under conditions of heat and pressure that give no adhesion with untreated film. Poly(ethylene terephthalate) films irradiated with short-wave UV light also become self-adherent. The behavior of the adhesive joints in both cases is the same as that reported for corona-treated polythylene film in that the joint strength is zero in the presence of hydrogen-bonding liquids, but recovers completely if the joint is allowed to dry undisturbed. Chemical and physical tests have shown that the adhesive bond is a hydrogen bond between the hydrogens of phenol groups created by corona or UV irradiation in one surface with carboxyl carbonyl groups in the other surface. Thin-layer chromatography of surface extracts from corona- and UV-treated films has shown the products of treatment to be practically identical for both types of treatment, supporting the conclusion that the mechanism of corona treatment resembles that of greatly accelerated photo-oxidation.
Optimal diagnostic questionnaires which allow less than truthful responses

This paper examines the problem of determining a sequence of questions, or a questionnaire, in order to optimally identify the unknown state of a system for the case where the answers to the questions asked are not necessarily truthful. The problem is modeled by a slight generalization of the partially observed Markov optimization problem for the special case where the underlying process is not allowed to change state during the period of questioning. In this formulation, each question is considered equivalent to a discrete memoryless channel and its associated channel matrix. Recent results in questionnaire theory and an application of restriction set theory to diagnosis are shown to be essentially equivalent to the case where all available channel matrices are deterministic, i.e., all questions receive truthful replies, and further results for this particular case are determined. When answers to questions are not necessarily truthful, a charge per question of the channel capacity of the associated channel and an appropriate terminal charge are shown to imply that the average cost of a questionnaire is bounded below by the Shannon entropy of a given a priori density, thus further exploring the relationship between optimal diagnostic questioning and information theory. Conditions sufficient for an optimal questionnaire to attain this lower limit are then presented.
Carbohydrate Metabolism of Trichomonads: Growth, Respiration, and Enzyme Activity in Four Species*

Tritrichomonas foetus, Pentatrichomonas gallinarum, and nasal and fecal forms of Trichomonas suis grew well in NIH Thioglycollate Broth with 1% beef serum, and produced acid end-products. Succinic acid was the major acid produced by T. foetus P. gallinarum, and the nasal T. suis, accounting for over 50% of the total acid for each. The fecal T. suis produced more lactic than succinic acid; about 45% of the total acid was not accounted for. Pyruvic acid was found in small amounts in all cultures. The lactic/pyruvic ratio was about 2.5 for the two swine forms, and about 1.0 for the other two. The nasal form of T. suis produced much more total acid than the others. O2 uptake, CO2 production, H2 evolution, and anaerobic acid formation varied with age of organism. Respiratory activity was highest at 12 hours but varied considerably thereafter. The nature of the buffer used in manometric experiments also affected the results. Glucose, mannose, fructose and galactose most stimulated respiration. Disaccharides were slowly utilized (lactose and sucrose were not used by P. gallinarum). In a few cases lactate, pyruvate, formate, and malate stimulated O2 uptake. Evidence was obtained for hexokinase, phosphohexoisomer-ase, phosphofructokinase, aldolase, and glucose-6-phcsphate dehydrogenase in all 4 organisms. Phosphoglucomutase was demonstrated in T. foetus and the fecal T. suis. T. foetus and P. gallinarum showed evidence of phosphoglyceromutase and enolase. T. suis (fecal) and P. gallinarum had malic dehydrogenase, and P. gallinarum gave evidence of “malic enzyme” activity. Formic dehydrogenase activity was marked in all and presumptive evidence for a formic hydrogenlyase system was obtained for T. foetus and P. gallinarum. Study of reactions involving pyruvate and malate (with a possible linkage to a hexose monophosphate shunt) might perhaps provide a key to a better understanding of trichmonad metabolism.
Plant virus movement protein dynamics probed with a GFP-protein fusion☆

A genetic fusion between the gene encoding green fluorescent protein (GFP) from the jellyfish Aequorea victoria, with that of the Ob-tobamovirus movement protein (MP) resulted in the expression of a fluorescent fusion protein (MP: :GFP) that was fully biologically active in mediating the cell-to-cell spread of the Ob-virus. The MP::GFP fusion was used to follow in planta the subcellular trafficking of MP. GFP-tagged MP was transiently expressed and found to be associated with several subcellular compartments and structures including trans-wall structures, presumably plasmodesmata, and filament structures. The MP::GFP fusion can be used to monitor MP association with host proteins and structures, and for the isolation of interacting host components.