cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Gene Regulation in Melanoma Metastasis

The molecular changes associated with the transition of melanoma cells from radial growth phase (RGP) to vertical growth phase (VGP, metastatic phenotype) are not very well defined. We previously demonstrated that expression of the cell surface adhesion molecule MCAM/MUC18 correlates directly with the metastatic potential of human melanoma cells. In addition, the progression of human melanoma towards the metastatic phenotype is associated with loss of expression of the tyrosine-kinase receptor c-KIT. We found that both genes MCAM/MUC18 and c-KIT, are regulated by the transcription factor AP-2 and that metastatic melanoma cells do not express AP-2. Re-expression of AP-2 in highly metastatic cells decreased their tumorigenicity and inhibited their metastatic potential in nude mice, while expression of dominant-negative AP-2 gene (AP- 2B) augmented their tumor growth in vivo. The AP-2 transfected cells displayed down regulation of MCAM/MUC18 and MMP-2 and re-expression of the c-KIT receptor. Because AP-2 also regulates other genes that are involved in the progression of human melanoma, such as E-cadherin, p21/WAF-1, HER-2, Bc1-2, IGF-R1, FAS/APO-1 and the thrombin receptor (PAR-1), we propose that loss of AP-2 is a critical event in the development of malignant melanoma. The progression of human melanoma from RGF to VGP is also associated with over expression of the transcription factors CREB and ATF-1. We found that CREB/ATF-1 may act as survival factors for melanoma cells. In addition, some of the genes regulated by AP-2 such as MCAM/MUC18, MMP-2 and FAS/APO-1 are also regulated by CREB/ATF-1. It is therefore feasible that the balance between AP-2 and CREB/ATF-1 expression is among the factors determining the acquisition of the metastatic phenotype in human melanoma.
Mycophenolic acid for psoriasis: A review of pharmacology, long-term efficacy, and safety

In previous studies of up to 2 years' duration, mycophenolic acid has been shown to be an effective psoriasis suppressant. As the result of questions raised regarding the possible immunosuppressive and carcinogenic potentials of the drug, in addition to its apparent acute gastrointestinal side effects, widespread clinical trials were discontinued in 1977. We were given the unique opportunity of continuing to administer the drug on a compassionate-use basis to 85 patients for up to 13 years. In this review we report continued efficacy without dose escalation. Gastrointestinal side effects, prominent in the early years of the study, became infrequent. Although 11.6% of the patients developed uncomplicated zoster, no clinical evidence of immunosuppression was noted. The seven malignant neoplasms that arose in six of the patients were not unusual considering the age of the study population. Six patients died of conditions believed to be unrelated to drug therapy. We continue to believe that mycophenolic acid is an effective drug for the treatment of moderate to severe psoriasis and that the risks of its long-term administration are acceptable. With appropriate clinical and laboratory monitoring it can be given safely to patients who cannot take methotrexate and who may not be candidates for PUVA, retinoids, or other systemic chemotherapy.
Urban Legends: A Collection of International Tall Tales and Terrors

Reviewed Medium: book Year: 2007 Pages: 376 Publisher: Greenwood Publishing Group ISBN: 978-0-313-33952-3 (hard cover). Prices: $85.00 USD(hard cover).
Approaches to Plant Hydrogen and Oxygen Isoscapes Generation

Our understanding of the δ2H and δ18O of plant water and tissues ranges from model descriptions of multiple fractionating processes and mechanistic drivers, to primarily observational relationships often described by simple regression relationships. Plant hydrogen and oxygen isoscapes are therefore produced with a range of model sophistications and demonstrate some of the diversity of approaches to producing and utilizing isoscapes in general. Leaf water is central to much of plant H & O isoscape modeling. It affects the atmosphere at large scales by influencing atmospheric CO2 and O2 δ18O, and the biosphere at a range of scales through its influence on the isotopic composition of plant organic compounds. Leaf water isoscapes have therefore been produced as part of efforts to understand atmospheric gas isotopic composition and also have the potential to contribute to other areas where spatial variation in plant-derived organic compound isotope ratios is of interest. For example, improving our understanding of the isotope ratios of cellulose or n-alkanes improves their utility for paleoreconstructions. Spatially-explicit models of food isotope ratios may improve the use of animal isotope ratios to infer migration patterns. Finally, plant hydrogen and oxygen isoscapes can yield forensic information for a variety of products, including food, drugs, or other plant-derived materials. Given this wide range of applications, we discuss approaches to producing plant H & O isoscapes that vary in their complexity depending on the level of mechanistic understanding, data availability, and the question being pursued.
MRI of the mandible.

Eighteen patients with abnormalities of the mandible and two normal volunteers were studied with MRI. Correlation was made with MR, CT, plain X-rays, clinical examination, and surgical findings when possible. In primary tumors of the mandible, MR was able to differentiate between solid and cystic lesions. In the cases of secondary invasion of the mandible by malignant tumors, MR was able to demonstrate replacement of the normal high signal bone marrow by low signal tumor. In some cases, the extent of marrow involvement shown on MR and confirmed at surgery was significantly underestimated by clinical examination, plain films, and CT. From this limited experience, it appears that MR may play an important role in imaging pathology of the mandible.
On the validity of pair truncation for rotational nuclei A pseudo-SU(3) model

Abstract The validity of the S- and D-pair description of low-energy collective states is examined in a pseudo-SU(3) model. A direct comparison of the exact eigenstates with states constituting the SD subspace reveals for which levels in the low-energy bands S- and D-pairs are indeed important components. It is found that the ground-band levels have a significant and reasonably constant SD content for all angular momenta up to and including the IBM cutoff. However, for the lowest excited K = 0 and K = 2 bands, SD components do not play a dominant role.
Pulmonary Medicine, Applications of Biomedical Engineering to

Pulmonary medicine is concerned with preventing and treating diseases that affect the lungs as well as the entire respiratory system, i.e., the muscles that create the pressures needed to bring air into and out of the lungs, as well as the sensors and the respiratory neurons that set the level and pattern of breathing. The respiratory system provides oxygen for body metabolic needs and rapidly removes in the form of carbon dioxide the acids produced as a result of metabolic processes. It is functionally and structurally linked to other systems such as the cardiovascular and renal system, which also act to maintain tissue oxygenation and acid–base balance. The lung is the primary interface of the respiratory system with the outside world, and because breathing involves the daily exchange of almost 7500 L of air containing microorganisms and injurious particles, the lung is the part of the respiratory system most commonly affected by disease. However, disease can affect any part of the respiratory system. Unchecked, some respiratory diseases lead to respiratory failure characterized by hypoxia and elevated levels of carbon dioxide. In addition, intermittent hypoxia and hypercapnia can occur during sleep as a consequence of episodic upper airway obstruction. Bioengineering applies the basic scientific approaches of biology, physics, chemistry, and engineering to the medicine of the respiratory system to develop mathematical models, which describe and explain pathophysiological processes and develop instruments and diagnostic processes to treat or support the respiratory system. Keywords: respiratory disease; acute respiratory failure; chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; asthma; sleep apnea
Cytokine regulation of experimental intestinal inflammation in genetically engineered and T-lymphocyte reconstituted rodents

Phenotypically similar intestinal inflammation and systemic wasting develops following overexpression or targeted deletion of several key immunoregulatory molecules and transfer of lymphocyte subsets into immunodeficient recipients. Although many of these recently described models of intestinal inflammation have not been thoroughly investigated, several consistent features are present which provide important insights into the role of cytokines in the pathogenesis of intestinal inflammation: (i) entirely distinct genetic alterations of cytokine expression and T-lymphocyte activity can lead to phenotypically similar intestinal inflammation, suggesting that human inflammatory bowel disease could have marked genetic heterogeneity; (ii) dysregulation of any of a number to immunoregulatory molecules can result in intestinal inflammation, illustrating the complexity of the mucosal immune response; (iii) active immunosuppression is critical to maintaining mucosal homeostasis; (iv) interferon-gamma and CD4+ lymphocytes, probably of the TH1 phenotype, are required for progression of chronic intestinal inflammation; (v) monokines are consistently upregulated, but tumour necrosis factor blockade is only partially protective. These models represent powerful new tools to understand better the basic mechanisms of mucosal immunoregulation and to develop novel therapeutic approaches of enhancing endogenous immunosuppressive pathways and blocking key regulatory cytokines and cells.
Revisiting graft-versus-host disease models of autoimmunity: new insights in immune regulatory processes.

Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) commonly occurs when immunocompetent donor cells attack a genetically disparate host. GVHD occurs primarily after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (BMT) and remains a significant cause of morbidity, thus limiting the efficacy of this treatment. GVHD can exist as two distinct clinical entities: acute (affecting multiple solid organs) and chronic (presenting with solid organ pathology but also with autoimmune-like sequelae) (1, 2). New means to reduce the toxicity but retain the antitumor potential of BMT include donor lymphocyte infusions, nonmyeloablative conditioning, and the use of G-CSF to mobilize peripheral blood stem cells, all of which have led to significant reductions in the occurrence of acute GVHD (1). Unfortunately, with the decline of acute GVHD, chronic GVHD is emerging as a dominant complication in BMT (1, 2). Researchers examining GVHD have used numerous model systems, which has often resulted in confusion in extrapolating results from one model to another. GVHD models differ from one another with respect to three key features: the extent and type of conditioning or cytoreductive treatment of the recipient using total body irradiation or chemotherapy; the extent of genetic disparity between donor and host; and the purity, type, and number of donor cells transferred. These three variables have a dramatic impact on the type and extent of the resulting GVHD.
Antimony―Carbon bond activation in a Pt(II) complex: The crystal structure of [Pt(9S3)(SbPh3)(Ph)](PF6)·CH3NO2

Abstract The complex [Pt(9S3)(SbPh3)(Ph)](PF6) forms directly from [Pt(9S3)(SbPh3)2](PF6)2 during the room temperature crystallization of the latter in nitromethane. The crystal structure shows a five-coordinate Pt(II) center containing the tridentate thiacrown ligand, a Sb donor from the triphenylstibine ligand, and a σ-coordinating phenyl group. The phenyl group forms via Sb–C bond cleavage from one of the SbPh3 ligands in the bis complex.
Conformation, motion, and base-to-base excitation energy transfer in DNA

Absorption and fluorescence spectra of the DNA duplex decamer d[CTGA(2AP)TTCAG]2 have been measured as a function of temperature. Emission is dominated by the 2-aminopurine (2AP) base. A fluorescence excitation band near 260 to 270 nm disappears near the duplex melting temperature but reappears at higher temperatures, indicating singlet-singlet energy transfer occurs between normal DNA bases and the 2AP base in the B-helical conformation and to a lesser extent in the structurally-mobile melted conformation. The efficiency of transfer is 4 to 5% at 4 degree(s)C under the assumption of a single acceptor; preferential transfer to a low-fluorescence conformation of 2AP would imply no more than a two-times greater transfer efficiency. Emission spectra excited at 260 nm (energy transfer band), 330 nm (basepaired conformation of 2AP) and 305 nm (nonpaired 2AP conformation) appear to indicate transfer occurs from normal DNA bases to both 2AP conformers.© (1994) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Implementation of a Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorder Screening Program in Northern Arizona

Proposed Change With 400,000 infants born in the United States every year to mothers who are depressed, perinatal mood and anxiety disorders are the most underdiagnosed, underreported, and undertreated complications of childbirth. Universal screening has not yet been mandated within the United States, which leaves many organizations struggling to meet the recognized needs of this vulnerable population with little guidance. In an effort to provide education, screening, and referral resources to pregnant women in rural, northern Arizona, a community-centered, interdisciplinary program was developed in a hospital setting that initiated perinatal mood and anxiety disorder screening. Implementation, Outcomes, and Evaluation This was achieved by first gathering a nurse-lead multidisciplinary team to evaluate current screening, education, and referral practices as well as financial resources. This information was compared with current evidence-based practice and a plan was developed that would facilitate the availability of screening for all newly delivered mothers, education for mothers and staff, and improved availability of referral resources, including a grantfunded support group. In the first 4 months of the program, 300 mothers were screened, nearly 60 women were found to be at risk of the perinatal mood and anxiety disorder, and the support group was thriving.
A Novel Murine Model of Established Staphylococcal Bone Infection in the Presence of a Fracture Fixation Plate to Study Therapies Utilizing Antibiotic-laden Spacers after Revision Surgery

Mice are the small animal model of choice in biomedical research due to the low cost and availability of genetically engineered lines. However, the devices utilized in current mouse models of implant-associated bone infection have been limited to intramedullary or trans-cortical pins, which are not amenable to treatments involving extensive debridement of a full-thickness bone loss and placement of a segmental antibiotic spacer. To overcome these limitations, we developed a clinically faithful model that utilizes a locking fracture fixation plate to enable debridement of an infected segmental bone defect (full-thickness osteotomy) during a revision surgery, and investigated the therapeutic effects of placing an antibiotic-laden spacer in the segmental bone defect. To first determine the ideal time point for revision following infection, a 0.7 mm osteotomy in the femoral mid-shaft was stabilized with a radiolucent PEEK fixation plate. The defect was inoculated with bioluminescent Staphylococcus aureus, and the infection was monitored over 14 days by bioluminescent imaging (BLI). Osteolysis and reactive bone formation were assessed by X-ray and micro-computed tomography (micro-CT). The active bacterial infection peaked by 5 days post-inoculation, however the stability of the implant fixation became compromised by 10–14 days post-inoculation due to osteolysis around the screws. Thus, day 7 was defined as the ideal time point to perform the revision surgery. During the revision surgery, the infected tissue was debrided and the osteotomy was widened to 3 mm to place a poly-methyl methacrylate spacer, with or without vancomycin. Half of the groups also received systemic vancomycin for the remaining 21 days of the study. The viable bacteria remaining at the end of the study were measured using colony forming unit assays. Volumetric bone changes (osteolysis and reactive bone formation) were directly measured using micro-CT image analysis. Mice that were treated with local or systemic vancomycin did not display gross pathology at the end of the study. While localized vancomycin delivery alone tended to decrease the bacterial burden and osteolysis, these effects were only significant when combined with systemic antibiotic therapy. This novel mouse model replicates key features of implant-associated osteomyelitis that make treatment extremely difficult, such as biofilm formation and osteolysis, and imitates the clinical practice of placing an antibiotic-laden spacer after infected tissue debridement. In addition, the model demonstrates the limitations of current PMMA spacers and could be an invaluable tool for evaluating alternative antimicrobial treatments for implant-associated bone infection.
Computing an interior point for inequalities using linear optimization

Abstract The problem of finding the middle of a feasible region defined by solutions to a set of linear inequalities is considered. The solution of this problem is formulated as a primal-dual pair of linear optimization problems whose solutions can be obtained using linear programming computations.
Reflection Interference Contrast Microscopy Combined with Scanning Force Microscopy Verifies the Nature of Protein-Ligand Interaction Force Measurements

The integration of a stand-alone scanning force microscope (SFM) scanner with a reflection interference contrast microscope (RICM) makes it possible to measure directly the separation distance between the SFM probe and the sample surface. The SFM-RICM combination, when applied to the force measurements between ligand-derivatized SFM probe and a protein receptor-derivatized surface, showed that the anomalous force discontinuities often observed for such interacting pairs were indeed a real behavior characteristic of a particular experimental configuration. Apart from small discrepancies due to transient damping, commercially available cantilevers did behave in an ideal mechanical fashion, thus indicating that protein-ligand unbinding events were occurring at distances much larger than their maximum extended length. This external verification of separation distance requires a closer examination of the physical events occurring upon detachment of the surfaces. An alternative interpretation of such force measurements is proposed here in which the protein and/or ligand immobilization chemistry is called into question.
A processor for high-frequency burst signals

Describes the design, development, and application of a digital electronic processor for measuring the frequency of the burst signals typically produced by laser Doppler velocimeters. The processor has an extremely large dynamic range with an upper frequency limit of 100 MHz and a dead time (processing time after acquisition of single burst) of less than 10 μs. It employs precision to amplitude converters to determine the period of the Doppler signal, resulting in a frequency measurement error of less than one percent over the entire range. Although developed primarily for laser velocimeter application, this instrument can be used in any situation where the frequency of burst signals containing only a few cycles must be determined.
Using a three-dimensional optical simulation to investigate uncertainty in image-based dimensional measurements

Many advanced dimensional measurements exist that incorporate two-dimensional images of the object to be measured, such as structured-light measurements and photogrammetry. The measurements are quite complex and often suitable calibration artifacts are not available; consequently, a traceable uncertainty analysis is difficult. Advanced optical simulation packages can be used to assess important aspects of the uncertainty. These packages can simulate a virtual object to be measured, simulate a virtual camera, and trace rays as they leave a light source, scatter from the object, propagate through the camera, and arrive at the camera image plane. The result is a virtual image of the object whose dimensions are known. The virtual image(s) can then be processed as part of a dimensional measurement and the results compared to the known dimensions of the object. This allows different uncertainty aspects to be isolated and explored. It can be used to validate and understand the current methods of estimating measurement uncertainty, explore optimal measurement conditions, and/or test data analysis algorithms. These types of measurements involve a camera calibration process and the technique can also be used to check this step. This paper demonstrates the approach as applied to a photogrammetry measurement of a box.
Vibrationally resolved photoelectron spectroscopy of BO- and BO2-: a joint experimental and theoretical study.

We report a photoelectron spectroscopy and computational study of two simple boron oxide species: BO- and BO2-. Vibrationally resolved photoelectron spectra are obtained at several photon energies (355, 266, 193, and 157 nm) for the 10B isotopomers, 10BO- and 10BO2-. In the spectra of 10BO-, we observe transitions to the 2Σ+ ground state and the 2Π excited state of 10BO at an excitation energy of 2.96 eV. The electron affinity of 10BO is measured to be 2.510 ± 0.015 eV. The vibrational frequencies of the ground states of 10BO- and 10BO and the 2Π excited state are measured to be 1725 ± 40, 1935 ± 30, and 1320 ± 40 cm-1, respectively. For 10BO2-, we observe transitions to the 2Πg ground state and two excited states of 10BO2, 2Πu, and 2Σu+, at excitation energies of 2.26 and 3.04 eV, respectively. The electron affinity of 10BO2 is measured to be 4.46 ± 0.03 eV and the symmetrical stretching vibrational frequency of the 2Πu excited state of 10BO2 is measured to be 980 ± 30 cm-1. Both density functional and ...
Designed signaling aptamers that transduce molecular recognition to changes in fluorescence intensity

We have engineered aptamers that contain fluorescent reporters and that signal the presence of cognate ligands in solution. Two different anti-adenosine “signaling aptamers”, one made from RNA and one from DNA, can selectively signal the presence of adenosine in solution. Increases in fluorescence intensity reproducibly follow increases in adenosine concentration, and can be used for quantitation. The facile methods we have developed can potentially be used for generating a wide variety of signaling aptamers for use in sensor arrays.
Preventing Women's Sexual Risk Behaviors During Travel

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are a global concern. Although several countries have tracked the incidence of STIs acquired during travel to foreign countries, the United States lags behind in this practice. Nevertheless, there is evidence from the US and several countries that women engage in sexual risk behaviors during travel whether domestic or foreign, thereby placing themselves at risk for contracting STIs. Guidelines for assessment, prevention, and travel-related supplies and resources are discussed.
Hyperhomocysteinemia from trimethylation of hepatic phosphatidylethanolamine during cholesterol cholelithogenesis in inbred mice.

Because hyperhomocysteinemia can occur in cholesterol gallstone disease, we hypothesized that this may result from trimethylation of phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), which partakes in biliary phosphatidylcholine (PC) hypersecretion during cholesterol cholelithogenesis. We fed murine strains C57L/J, C57BL/6J, SWR/J, AKR/J, PE N-methyltransferase (PEMT) knockout (KO), PEMT heterozygous (HET), and wildtype (WT) mice a cholesterol/cholic acid lithogenic diet (LD) for up to 56 days and documented biliary lipid phase transitions and secretion rates. We quantified plasma total homocysteine (tHcy), folate, and vitamin B12 in plasma and liver, as well as biliary tHcy and cysteine secretion rates. Rate-limiting enzyme activities of PC synthesis, PEMT and cytidine triphosphate: phosphocholine cytidylyltransferase (PCT), S-adenosylmethionine (SAM), and S-adenosylhomocysteine (SAH) were measured in liver homogenates. Other potential sources of plasma tHcy, glycine N-methyltransferase (GNMT) and guanidinoacetate N-methyltransferase (GAMT), were assayed by gene expression. Plasma tHcy and PEMT activities became elevated during cholelithogenesis in gallstone-susceptible C57L, C57BL/6, and SWR mice but not in the gallstone-resistant AKR mice. Persisting in C57L mice, which exhibit the greatest Lith gene burden, these increases were accompanied by elevated hepatic SAM/SAH ratios and augmented biliary tHcy secretion rates. Counter-regulation included remethylation of Hcy to methionine concurrent with decreased folate and vitamin B12 levels and Hcy transsulfuration to cysteine. Concomitantly, methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (Mthfr), betaine-homocysteine methyltransferase (Bhmt), and cystathionine-β-synthase (Cbs) were up-regulated, but Gnmt and Gamt genes were down-regulated. PEMT KO and HET mice displayed biliary lipid secretion rates and high gallstone prevalence rates similar to WT mice without any elevation in plasma tHcy levels. Conclusion: This work implicates up-regulation of PC synthesis by the PEMT pathway as a source of elevated plasma and bile tHcy during cholesterol cholelithogenesis. (HEPATOLOGY 2011;)
Humanizing the multiple‐choice test with partial credit

We describe an innovative method for machine‐grading precalculus students: the partial‐credit, multiple‐choice test (PCMCT). Our scheme is to assign partial credit to any wrong multiple‐choice answer for which we can ascribe partially correct reasoning. This permits us to accumulate additional information about the extent of a student's incomplete understanding. We add the assigned partial credit to arrive at our final measure of a student's total knowledge—the student's grade. In comparison with the standard multiple‐choice test (MCT), the PCMCT judiciously avoids the necessity to scale scores—an educationally unsound but common practice with MCTs. In addition, the PCMCT turns out to be better at distinguishing uneducated guessing than the MCT. We conducted student surveys in our pre‐calculus classes and found that most students believed the PCMCT is a more accurate measure of their knowledge than the MCT. We also uncovered the remarkable result that most students are less math‐anxious when taking the PC...
Ma(r)king essence-ecofeminism and embodiment

This paper argues that ecofeminism can consolidate its tradition of elucidating the interconnections between different oppressions by expanding upon its philosophy of the body. By looking at the ways in which particular bodies become 'marked', and so devalued, ecofeminism can point towards various unexpected and creative coalitions. Here I concentrate especially upon two intertwined sets of markings, namely those related to aesthetic discourses and those related to discourses of Western reason. I argue that both of these ultimately revolve around notions of control of the body as being constitutive of Western ideas of human identity. Moreover, I want to affirm that those ideas which encourage us to devalue certain bodies stem from discourses related to nature and animality. Through considering how ecofeminism might re-think embodiment, I argue for an alternative conception which stresses the inherent vulnerability and agency of human embodiment.
High-Frequency Integrated Point-of-Load Converters: Overview

This overview paper focuses on state-of-the-art technologies and trends toward the integration of point-of-load (POL) converters. This paper encompasses an extended survey of literature ranging from device technologies and magnetic materials to integration technologies and approaches. This paper is organized into three main sections. 1) Device technologies, including the trench MOSFET, lateral MOSFET, and gallium nitride (GaN) high electron mobility transistor, are discussed along with their intended applications. The critical role of device packaging to highfrequency integration is also assessed. 2) Magnetic materials: In recent years, a number of new magnetic materials have been explored to facilitate magnetic integration for high-frequency POL converters. These data are collected and organized to help selecting magnetic material for various frequency ranges. 3) Integration methods, which are defined with the focus on magnetic integration techniques and approaches. Two integration levels are classified, namely wafer level and package level. Detailed information is presented for each integration level to identify suitable current scale and frequency range. Three-dimensional integration, which uses magnetic component as a substrate, is one of the promising integration methods. By using an integrated GaN device and a low-profile low-temperature cofired ceramic inductor substrate, the power density of the latest 20-A 5-MHz 3-D integrated POL converter is demonstrated as high as 1100 W/in3, which is a factor of 10 improvements compared to industry products at the same current level.
The Effects of Gestational Age and Pregnancy Planning Status on Obstetrical Nurses’Perceptions of Giving Emotional Care to Women Experiencing Miscarriage

Obstetrical nurses (N = 292) were surveyed regarding the influence of gestational age and pregnancy planning on nurses' emotional care for women who had experienced miscarriage. Three measures of emotional care were used as the dependent variables: emotional seriousness, priority of care and emotional support. Both gestational age and whether the pregnancy was planned or unplanned had a significant effect on the nurses' perceptions of emotional seriousness and priority of care. Planning status was significant in the nurses' perception of emotional support.
Acoustic waves in the early universe

Acoustics waves in the cosmology connect the astronomically large and the astronomically small. The largest acoustic waves in the Universe are the baryon acoustic oscillations that can be seen on the sky in the Cosmic Microwave Background anisotropy and in the current distribution of galaxies with a wavelength of 8 yottameters, nearly one billion lightyears. The sound travel distance in the 400,000 years prior to the Universe becoming transparent becomes one half of this wavelength, and then the expansion of the Universe stretched all distances by a factor of 1000. Precise measurements of these signals reveal the baryon density (0.4 yoctograms per cubic meter), the dark matter density (2 yg per cubic meter), and the radius of curvature of the Universe (more than 700 yottameters).
Domain average engineering in ferroics

In a domain average engineered sample of a multidomain ferroic, the sample is divided into a very large number of domains, representing m domain states where m is less than the theoretically allowed maximum number n of domain states. The response to external fields is described by tensorial properties averaged over all the involved domain states. We have developed a program to classify subsets of m < n domain states which can arise in a ferroic phase transition. We calculate properties of these subsets of domain states, including the symmetry of the subset, the subset domain polarizations and magnetizations, and, if they exist, the poling directions which gives rise to the subsets of domain states.
Parental Satisfaction After Open Versus Robot Assisted Laparoscopic Pyeloplasty: Results From Modified Glasgow Children's Benefit Inventory Survey

Purpose: Since its inception, robot assisted laparoscopic pyeloplasty has rapidly become the minimally invasive surgical intervention of choice for treating ureteropelvic junction obstruction at our institution. The large initial investment in robot assisted surgery is frequently justified by its association with improved optics and instrument articulation, decreased postoperative pain, shorter length of hospitalization and improved cosmesis. However, there are no data specifically showing patient satisfaction with robot assisted laparoscopic pyeloplasty compared to traditional open surgery.Materials and Methods: A previously validated satisfaction survey (Glasgow Children's Benefit Inventory) with 14 additional questions specifically addressing postoperative satisfaction was mailed to all parents (as patient proxy) of children who had undergone open or robot assisted laparoscopic pyeloplasty between January 2006 and December 2008.Results: A total of 78 parents responded (response rate 70%). All responses...
Effect of stochastic income and credit cards on friedman's rule

Bewley [Em, 1983] conjectured that if uncertainty is introduced in Friedman's [The Optimum Quantity o f Money and Other Essays, 1969] model, deflation will exceed the rate of time preference, violating Friedman's rule. Taub [IER, 1989] showed that Bewley's conjecture is true if an economy is subject to an aggregate, stationary, autoregressive shock [see Mukherji, IER, 1992 for the corrected result]. The objective of this paper is to test the robustness of Taub's corrected result to changes in money's role. To this end, the cash-in-advance restriction is replaced by a credit card that delays payment in cash for an arbitrary period of time. This is an important exercise because cash-in-advance restrictions often qualitatively influence results. Consider an economy identical to that in Taub [1989]. Instead of cash, goods are bought with credit cards. Credit card bills arrive j periods later ( j is any positive integer) and are paid with money carried over from the previous period. Individuals derive utility from consuming the good and paying credit card bills in full, as indicated by the following utility function:
Thermophilic Bacillus coagulans requires less cellulases for simultaneous saccharification and fermentation of cellulose to products than mesophilic microbial biocatalysts.

Ethanol production from lignocellulosic biomass depends on simultaneous saccharification of cellulose to glucose by fungal cellulases and fermentation of glucose to ethanol by microbial biocatalysts (SSF). The cost of cellulase enzymes represents a significant challenge for the commercial conversion of lignocellulosic biomass into renewable chemicals such as ethanol and monomers for plastics. The cellulase concentration for optimum SSF of crystalline cellulose with fungal enzymes and a moderate thermophile, Bacillus coagulans, was determined to be about 7.5 FPU g−1 cellulose. This is about three times lower than the amount of cellulase required for SSF with Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Zymomonas mobilis, or Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis whose growth and fermentation temperature optimum is significantly lower than that of the fungal cellulase activity. In addition, B. coagulans also converted about 80% of the theoretical yield of products from 40 g/L of crystalline cellulose in about 48 h of SSF with 10 FPU g−1 cellulose while yeast, during the same period, only produced about 50% of the highest yield produced at end of 7 days of SSF. These results show that a match in the temperature optima for cellulase activity and fermentation is essential for decreasing the cost of cellulase in cellulosic ethanol production.
Foreign aid and economic growth: New evidence from a panel data approach for five South Asian countries

This paper investigates the long-run relationship between foreign aid and economic growth using a panel data set comprising of five South Asian economies. Using the recently developed panel unit root tests, mean group and pooled mean group estimation techniques on cross-country panel data, the paper finds support of the theoretical hypothesis of a positive relationship between aid and GDP growth.
Voyager U.V. spectrometer observations of He 584 A dayglow at Jupiter

The intensity of Jupiter's He 584 A airglow has been measured by the Voyager UV spectrometers. The disk-averaged brightness is about 4 Rs and limb darkening is present. The intensity probably varies with longitude, the variation being out of phase with the H Lyman-alpha intensity bulge. Modelling of resonance scattering of the solar He 584 A line by Jupiter's atmosphere has shown that the hydrogen and helium emissions can be explained about equally well by at least two self-consistent scenarios involving the structure (temperature and eddy diffusion coefficient) and excitation of the atmosphere. All evidence points to a dramatic change of conditions in the Jovian atmosphere in the time between Pioneer and Voyager encounters.
Murrow and Friendly's Small World: Television Conversation at the Crossroads

Abstract Small World (1958–60), an Edward R. Murrow and Fred W. Friendly television production, brought together political and entertainment figures from around the world, boasting technological innovation and a high level of public affairs discourse. The author discusses critical reception, producers' ideals, cultural and historical context, and relationships to evolving notions of public service broadcasting.
The Effects of Retesting on the Mechanical Properties of Brain Tissue

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is one of the most important problems in biomechanical engineering, and there have been many experiments conducted in order to characterize the mechanical properties of brain tissue. However, obtaining fresh human brain tissue is difficult, if not impossible. Also, the sample preparation and testing protocols must be carried out with great delicacy because brain tissue is very soft and vulnerable to being deformed under a very small amount of load. Most importantly, according to several researchers, each sample must be tested only one time as the tissue may be damaged and its characteristics subsequently changed. This paper is intended to examine the amount of decay that can happen in material characteristics due to retesting. A stress relaxation test is conducted on the same samples of the swine brain tissue multiple times in small and large deformations. The mechanical properties of the substance are calculated before and after retesting, and the constants of the tissue, as mechanical characteristics, are determined and compared. Short- and long-term moduli, relaxation times and relaxation functions are calculated and compared to understand how much they decay after repeating the experiments. The results show that retesting does not significantly change the elastic part of the tissue characteristics, but the viscous behavior shows a relatively sizeable change. The ability to account for the material decay of the samples due to repetition of the experiments results in the need for fewer samples and less preparation time and effort.Copyright © 2013 by ASME
Characterization of water mobility and distribution in low- and intermediate-moisture food systems.

The mechanism of water uptake in low moisture cereals and cookies has been studied by NMR relaxometry and solid imaging technology implemented on a low-resolution benchtop NMR spectrometer. A comparison between classical MRI and SPRITE imaging are also presented to highlight the benefits of each technology. The spin lattice (T(1)) and spin spin (T(2)) relaxation times, the 1D and 2D SPRITE imaging, were determined on Smacks, corn flakes, chocolate chips cookies, soft caramel candies with a chocolate creme filler, and corn starch/water systems. The Smacks and corn flakes were studied based on the soaking time in milk, and the results showed that T(1) and T(2) decreased in the first 20 sec of soaking and then increased with the soaking time. For Smacks stored at different relative humidity, T(1) decreased during the first day of storage and then was relatively constant over storage time indicating that the system reached an equilibrium. 1D SPRITE profiles indicated an increase in signal intensity over storage time for cookies in 58% RH. However, the moisture uptake was insignificant indicating that the water mobility (and not the amount of water) changed due to various chemical interactions in the system (hydrogen bonding, starch retrogradation, glassy/rubbery equilibrium). The T(1) and T(2) of corn starch/water systems decreased as the concentration in starch increased and temperature increased from 30 degrees C to 60 degrees C. However, for temperatures higher than 60 degrees C, the relaxation times increased showing more mobility and flexibility of the polymer chains during gelatinization.
Augmented Langevin approach to fluctuations in nonlinear irreversible processes

A Fokker-Planck equation derived from statistical mechanics by M. S. Green (J. Chem. Phys. 20:1281 (1952)) has been used by Grabert et al. (Phys. Rev. A 21:2136 (1980)) to study fluctuations in nonlinear irreversible processes. These authors remarked that a phenomenological Langevin approach would not have given the correct reversible part of the Fokker--Planck drift flux, from which they concluded that the Langevin approach is untrustworthy for systems with partly reversible fluxes. Here it is shown that a simple modification of the Langevin approach leads to precisely the same covariant Fokker--Planck equation as that of Grabert et al., including the reversible drift terms. The modification consists of augmenting the usual nonlinear Langevin equation by adding to the deterministic flow a correction term which vanishes in the limit of zero fluctuations, and which is self-consistently determined from the assumed form of the equilibrium distribution by imposing the usual potential conditions. This development provides a simple phenomenological route to the Fokker--Planck equation of Green, which has previously appeared to require a more microscopic treatment. It also extends the applicability of the Langevin approach to fluctuations in a wider class of nonlinear systems.
Integration of features in depictions as a function of size.

Prinzmetal (1981) has argued that the visual system does not integrate features on the basis of their proximity to one another; rather, the visual system is likely to integrate features from the same perceptual group regardless of their proximity. The present paper examines this hypothesis by studying the effect, on judgments of 90° corners, of several geometric characteristics that can affect perceptual organization and can be spatially remote (parallel lines, enclosure, and regularity of line length). Results suggest that both parallel lines and enclosure can affect 90° corner judgments even when the parallel lines and enclosure lines are spatially remote from the corner judged. Regularity of line length was found to affect judgments only of small stimuli. The results partially support Prinzmetal’s hypothesis. Emergent features provide a better explanation of obtained results.
Characterization of the nitrosyl adduct of substrate-bound mouse cysteine dioxygenase by electron paramagnetic resonance: electronic structure of the active site and mechanistic implications.

Mammalian cysteine dioxygenase (CDO) is a non-heme iron metalloenzyme that catalyzes the first committed step in oxidative cysteine catabolism. The active site coordination of CDO comprises a mononuclear iron ligated by the Ne atoms of three protein-derived histidines, thus representing a new variant on the 2-histidine-1-carboxylate (2H1C) facial triad motif. Nitric oxide was used as a spectroscopic probe in investigating the order of substrate−O2 binding by EPR spectroscopy. In these experiments, CDO exhibits an ordered binding of l-cysteine prior to NO (and presumably O2) similar to that observed for the 2H1C class of non-heme iron enzymes. Moreover, the CDO active site is essentially unreactive toward NO in the absence of substrate, suggesting an obligate ordered binding of l-cysteine prior to NO. Typically, addition of NO to a mononuclear non-heme iron center results in the formation of an {FeNO}7 (S = 3/2) species characterized by an axial EPR spectrum with gx, gy, and gz values of ∼4, ∼4, and ∼2, re...
Rotation and isomerization of diphenylbutadiene and 4-(methanol)stilbene in supercritical CO2: A re-examination

The rates of excited-state rotation and isomerization of trans,trans-1,4-diphenylbutadiene (DPB) and 4-(methanol)stilbene (HMS) in supercritical CO 2 (T = 36 °C, p = 0.4-2ρ c ) were measured using time-resolved emission methods. These measurements were prompted by a discrepancy between rotation times recently simulated for these systems (Patel, N.; Biswas, R.; Maroncelli, M. J. Phys. Chem. B 2002, 106, 3306-3318) and earlier experimental results. The present data show the rotation times of the two solutes to be approximately equal and linear functions of (bulk) solvent density, consistent with the simulations. The rate of isomerization of HMS decreases approximately linearly with solvent density, whereas the isomerization of DPB is remarkably insensitive to density.
Semantic complexity in treatment of naming deficits in aphasia: evidence from well-defined categories.

Purpose Our previous work on manipulating typicality of category exemplars during treatment of naming deficits has shown that training atypical examples generalizes to untrained typical examples bu...
Eosinophilic myenteric ganglionitis with concomitant Hirschsprung's disease: Case presentation and review of the literature

Abstract The myenteric plexus and the submucosal plexus make up the enteric nervous system (ENS), and control intestinal motility, local perfusion and physiologic function. Local inflammation of the myenteric plexus, by lymphocytic or eosinophilic cells is associated with intestinal pseudo-obstruction. We describe the youngest reported case of eosinophilic myenteric ganglionitis (EMG), and the only reported case of EMG occurring with Hirschsprung's disease (HD). Recently, a term male neonate under our care failed to pass meconium and was diagnosed with both EMG and HD. He was treated with fecal diversion and dietary modification. He did not require anti-inflammatory medical therapy. He subsequently underwent resection of the colonic segment affected by HD, and his EMG resolved with dietary modification by the time of ostomy takedown. He continues to tolerate a regular pediatric diet, meets normal growth milestones, and requires no maintenance anti-inflammatory therapy for EMG.
ALTITUDINAL VARIATION IN HAWAIIAN METROSIDEROS

A B S T R A C T Hawaiian Metrosideios is a highly polymorphic complex that is distributed throughout the six major islands of the Hawaiian Island chain from tropical climates near sea level to altitudes up to 8,509 ft with frost. Its populations extend continuously over many areas with average annual precipitation ranging from 30 to 450 in. and with diverse edaphic and topographical features. The Hawaiian forms are probably all derived from one or a very small number of ancestral introductions that arrived within the last 20 million years by longdistance dispersal. Seeds collected from diverse altitudinal sites on the islands of Hawaii and Maui and grown under uniform greenhouse conditions at Honolulu show evidence of ecotypic differentiation along altitudinal gradients. Seedlings from these islands separated by 50 miles of ocean show parallelism in their altitudinal differentiation in plant height and leaf size, but with strongly overlapping variation from site to site. IN THE HAWAIIAN Islands the most prevalent native tree is a polymorphic taxon with ill-defined taxonomic boundaries, referred to here as the