cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
50th Anniversary Perspective: There Is a Great Future in Sustainable Polymers

It is likely that a half-century ago even enthusiastic and optimistic proponents of the synthetic polymer industry (Mr. McGuire included) could not have predicted the massive scale on which synthetic polymers would be manufactured and used today. Ultimately, the future success of this industry will rely on the development of sustainable polymers—materials derived from renewable feedstocks that are safe in both production and use and that can be recycled or disposed of in ways that are environmentally innocuous. Meeting these criteria in an economical manner cannot be achieved without transformative basic research that is the hallmark of this journal. In this Perspective we highlight five research topics—the synthesis of renewable monomers and of degradable polymers, the development of chemical recycling strategies, new classes of reprocessable thermosets, and the design of advanced catalysts—that we believe will play a vital role in the development of sustainable polymers. We also offer our outlook on sev...
The International Baccalaureate Career Programme: a case study of college and career readiness policy goals

AbstractThe International Baccalaureate (IB) is noted in school reform policy circles as the gold standard of academic excellence. While the presence of IB as a sought-after education vendor has grown in the past decade, the organization has attempted to shake off its image as an elite agency serving only private international schools with its longstanding liberal arts curriculum. As such its turn toward the public sector in the United States with a credential for vocational students appears perplexing and out of step with its product brand, but the newer Career Programme (CP) is marketed as meeting the needs of applied learners in secondary schools. This paper offers a case study of two schools in one US state that adopted the CP, generating IB school enrollments from among talented vocational students while elevating its ranking on the college and career readiness (CCR) score, an annual assessment of postsecondary success. The CCR policy reformers advocate curricular improvements so that all students re...
Lost in translation: RP and GATA1 mutations in DBA.

In this issue of Blood, O’Brien and colleagues1 demonstrate impaired growth of circulating red-cell progenitor cells ex vivo from patients with Diamond-Blackfan anemia (DBA) with ribosomal protein (RP) or GATA1 mutations. Distinct transcriptional profiles in erythroid cells from patients with RP and GATA1 mutations indicate potential mechanisms underlying dysregulation of translation.1
Personality in Dogs

Dogs have an ever-increasing presence in our lives from being a child’s best friend to detecting roadside bombs to guiding people with visual impairments. Examining the personalities of these animals can help us to better understand them. This chapter reviews many topics related to dog personality, beginning by examining the structure of dog personality. Studies have found that dog personality consists of two to more than five dimensions with little consensus as to the optimal number of dimensions needed to best describe dog personality. This chapter then examines the reliability and validity of dog personality assessments. Finally, this chapter reviews the evidence for various genetic, biological, and environmental factors related to dog personality and concludes that what we currently know is largely mixed. Future studies on dog personality should further examine several personality dimensions and factors likely associated with dog personality.
Using Wireless Pedometers to Measure Children’s Physical Activity: How Reliable is the Fitbit Zip?

The purpose of this study is to examine the reliability of wireless pedometers in measuring elementary school children’s physical activity. Activity measurement using a wireless pedometer Fitbit Zip TM was compared to activity measurement using Yamax Digi-Walker TM SW701 for a group of randomly selected 25 children in Grades 3, 4, and 5. Fitbit Zip TM wireless pedometers were found to have an appropriate degree (Nunnally & Bernstein, 1994) of accuracy and reliability compared to the Yamax Digi-Walker TM SW701 pedometer. The Fitbit Zip TM wireless pedometer collected more step counts than the Yamax Digi-Walker TM SW701 pedometer; however, the difference was not statistically significant. Participants reported that they preferred wearing the Fitbit Zip TM to the Yamax Digi-Walker TM SW701 because the Fitbit Zip TM was more comfortable to wear and less likely to fall off. Participants also reported being more motivated to move while wearing the Fitbit Zip TM .
Exercise-Induced Alterations in Skeletal Muscle, Heart, Liver, and Serum Metabolome Identified by Non-Targeted Metabolomics Analysis.

Background: The metabolic and physiologic responses to exercise are increasingly interesting, given that regular physical activity enhances antioxidant capacity, improves cardiac function, and protects against type 2 diabetes. The metabolic interactions between tissues and the heart illustrate a critical cross-talk we know little about. Methods: To better understand the metabolic changes induced by exercise, we investigated skeletal muscle (plantaris, soleus), liver, serum, and heart from exercise trained (or sedentary control) animals in an established rat model of exercise-induced aerobic training via non-targeted GC-MS metabolomics. Results: Exercise-induced alterations in metabolites varied across tissues, with the soleus and serum affected the least. The alterations in the plantaris muscle and liver were most alike, with two metabolites increased in each (citric acid/isocitric acid and linoleic acid). Exercise training additionally altered nine other metabolites in the plantaris (C13 hydrocarbon, inosine/adenosine, fructose-6-phosphate, glucose-6-phosphate, 2-aminoadipic acid, heptadecanoic acid, stearic acid, alpha-tocopherol, and oleic acid). In the serum, we identified significantly decreased alpha-tocopherol levels, paralleling the increases identified in plantaris muscle. Eleven unique metabolites were increased in the heart, which were not affected in the other compartments (malic acid, serine, aspartic acid, myoinositol, glutamine, gluconic acid-6-phosphate, glutamic acid, pyrophosphate, campesterol, phosphoric acid, creatinine). These findings complement prior studies using targeted metabolomics approaches to determine the metabolic changes in exercise-trained human skeletal muscle. Specifically, exercise trained vastus lateralus biopsies had significantly increased linoleic acid, oleic acid, and stearic acid compared to the inactive groups, which were significantly increased in plantaris muscle in the present study. Conclusions: While increases in alpha-tocopherol have not been identified in muscle after exercise to our knowledge, the benefits of vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) supplementation in attenuating exercise-induced muscle damage has been studied extensively. Skeletal muscle, liver, and the heart have primarily different metabolic changes, with few similar alterations and rare complementary alterations (alpha-tocopherol), which may illustrate the complexity of understanding exercise at the organismal level.
The Effects of Climatic Variations and Agricultural Practices on Barley Yields

In most agricultural regions of Ecuador, the year-to-year variations in agricultural output are largely determined by climatic variability, and farm productivity is at severe risk from climatic extremes such as drought, flooding and frost. For example, during the 1979–1980 crop growing season, severe drought conditions led to widespread crop failures and economic losses. A report from the Food and Agriculture Organization stated: “Dry conditions prevailing since September 1979 severely affected agricultural production in large areas of the Coastal and Sierra regions. Food crops sown in October 1979 are almost entirely lost and about 1 million people need assistance ...” (FAO, 1980). In the 1982–1983 season, coastal crops were lost due to El Nino-event flooding. Most recently, in January 1985, a dry spell adversely affected sowing of many crops in the coastal area of Ecuador (MAG-INAHMI, 1985).
Practicing Islam: knowledge, experience, and social navigation in Kyrgyzstan

David W. Montgomery’s Practicing Islam offers an important venue for understanding Islam in this Central Asian country. Drawing on Barthian theory of knowledge (Barth 2002), the author argues that ...
Implementing streaming simplification for large labeled meshes

Data capture technologies like airborne LIDAR produce extremely large models of digital terrain, which must be simplified to be useful. Garland and Heckbert's quadric error metric in conjunction with edge contraction gives a greedy approach to simplify a mesh that can fit in memory; we adapt it to work with boundaries and labels (e.g., object ID, ground vs. building, or some discrimination between parts of the mesh that is to be preserved during simplification). More importantly, we apply it to streaming meshes, suggested by Isenburg, which are represented as an intermixed sequence of vertices, triangles, and finalization tags indicating the last use of any vertex. These tags essentially document spatial locality in the stream. We discuss the engineering decisions that allow our algorithm to achieve fast, high-quality simplification of gigabyte datasets using a small memory footprint.
A Recursive Algorithm for Smoothing by Spline Functions

The problem dealt with in this paper is that of smoothing a set of noise corrupted measurements of an unknown signal. Here we interpret this smoothing problem as an optimal curve-fitting problem arising in approximation theory, and develop a recursive procedure for fitting smoothing splines. While the amount of computation needed for a non-recursive method increases rapidly with the number of data points, for this recursive algorithm it increases linearly with the number of data points. In addition, the algorithm is made adaptive to local data structure by estimating the parameter of an unknown original signal.
African Hemorrhagic Fevers Caused by Marburg and Ebola Viruses

Marburg and Ebola viruses are morphologically and genetically similar, immunologically distinct rod-shaped agents in the family Filoviridae. They produce acute hemorrhagic fever in man.(41a) Although other viruses cause a rather similar disease in Africa and differential diagnosis of a sporadic case cannot be made on clinical grounds, the syndrome associated with infection by these two agents is sufficiently unique and unvarying to distinguish it from yellow fever, Lassa fever, and other infections whenever a cluster of cases occurs. For this reason, the term African hemorrhagic fever (AFHF), rather than Marburg or Ebola disease, is used here to refer to clinical infection caused by either virus. Explosive emergence, high mortality, nosocomial secondary transmission, and ecological mystery have combined to draw worldwide attention to these infections.
Making Dirty Land Clean: An Analysis of New York City's Voluntary Cleanup Program

New York City’s Voluntary Cleanup Program (VCP) is the city’s primary brownfield remediation program, providing oversight and support for developers to clean up properties with actual or potential contamination. This policy brief sheds light on this city program to incentivize remediation and redevelopment of contaminated sites. Based on research and interviews with government officials, program participants, and other experts, the policy brief provides a detailed overview of how the program works and the incentives it provides to property owners to enroll. The brief also analyzes data pulled from over 1,000 documents from the Office of Environmental Remediation (OER). It reports the number and location of sites that have participated in the VCP, the uses that are expected to follow site cleanup, and demographic and housing market conditions in the neighborhoods where the sites are concentrated. The brief finds that VCP sites are very concentrated in certain neighborhoods — over 66% are located in 10 community districts, and Greenpoint/Williamsburg alone is home to 24.6% of sites. The concentration of VCP sites in certain areas of the city suggests that their redevelopment may be part of larger trends or changes in those areas, though this research only reports correlation between site remediation and these trends, and does not assess causal relationships. For example, of the 10 community districts in the city with the most VCP sites, five of them (Williamsburg/Greenpoint, Bedford Stuyvesant, Mott Haven, Astoria, and Morrisania) are on the list of “gentrifying neighborhoods” identified by the NYU Furman Center in its 2016 report, based on rapid rent growth in previously low-income neighborhoods. The brief also finds that the neighborhoods with the most VCP sites have experienced a relative increase in median household income since 2010, compared to other neighborhoods in the city. The policy brief also makes recommendations to strengthen the program and discusses the implications of the research for other states and localities considering similar programs. Recommendations include strengthening liability protections for the program’s enrollees, having comprehensive inventories of the brownfields in the jurisdiction, and assessing whether cleanup programs are spurring redevelopment.
“The Spirit of Our Rural Countryside”: Toward an Extracurricular Pedagogy of Place

While place-based pedagogies and place-conscious education have received a great deal of attention in community literacy, these studies have often focused on classroom efforts at engaging students in their communities. This article articulates an extracurricular pedagogy of place through a historical study of a network of creative writing groups in mid-century rural Wisconsin. Rather than thinking of place-conscious education as something that emerges from the classroom, the work of these writers suggests that scholars and educators in community literacy look instead for place-based literacies already at work in our communities.
Tunable Hydrogen Release from Amine–Boranes via their Insertion into Functional Polystyrenes

Polystyrene-g-boramine random copolymers are dihydrogen reservoirs with tunable dehydrogenation temperatures, which can be adjusted by selecting the boramine content in the copolymers. They display a unique dihydrogen thermal release profile, which is a direct consequence of the insertion of the amine-boranes in a polymeric scaffold, and not from a direct modification of the electronics or sterics of the amine-borane function. Finally, the mixture of polystyrene-g-boramines with conventional NH3 -BH3 (borazane) allows for a direct access to organic/inorganic hybrid dihydrogen reservoirs with a maximal H2 loading of 8 wt %. These exhibit a dehydrogenation temperature lower than that of either the borazane or the polystyrene-g-boramines taken separately.
Selectivity of afferent microstimulation at the DRG using epineural and penetrating electrode arrays

Objective We have shown previously that microstimulation of the lumbar dorsal root ganglia (L5-L7 DRG) using penetrating microelectrodes, selectively recruits distal branches of the sciatic and femoral nerves in an acute preparation. However, a variety of challenges limit the clinical translatability of DRG microstimulation via penetrating electrodes. For clinical translation of a DRG somatosensory neural interface, electrodes placed on the epineural surface of the DRG may be a viable path forward. The goal of this study was to evaluate the recruitment properties of epineural electrodes and compare their performance with that of penetrating electrodes. Here, we compare the number of selectively recruited distal nerve branches and the threshold stimulus intensities between penetrating and epineural electrode arrays. Approach Antidromically propagating action potentials were recorded from multiple distal branches of the femoral and sciatic nerves in response to epineural stimulation on 11 ganglia in four cats to quantify the selectivity of DRG stimulation. Compound action potentials (CAPs) were recorded using nerve cuff electrodes implanted around up to nine distal branches of the femoral and sciatic nerve trunks. We also tested stimulation selectivity with penetrating microelectrode arrays implanted into ten ganglia in four cats. A binary search was carried out to identify the minimum stimulus intensity that evoked a response at any of the distal cuffs, as well as whether the threshold response selectively occurred in only a single distal nerve branch. Main results Stimulation evoked activity in just a single peripheral nerve through 67% of epineural electrodes (35/52) and through 79% of the penetrating microelectrodes (240/308). The recruitment threshold (median = 9.67 nC/phase) and dynamic range of epineural stimulation (median = 1.01 nC/phase) were significantly higher than penetrating stimulation (0.90 nC/phase and 0.36 nC/phase, respectively). However, the pattern of peripheral nerves recruited for each DRG were similar for stimulation through epineural and penetrating electrodes. Significance Despite higher recruitment thresholds, epineural stimulation provides comparable selectivity and superior dynamic range to penetrating electrodes. These results suggest that it may be possible to achieve a highly selective neural interface with the DRG without penetrating the epineurium.
A Sub-μA Quiescent Current Power Management System with SAR-based Adaptive MPPT for Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting

We report on the design of a low quiescent current, high-efficiency power management circuit for piezoelectric (PZE) energy harvesting using a 180 nm CMOS process. The system includes: (i) an active bias-flip rectifier to convert the AC output of the PZE energy harvester to DC, (ii) an inductor-based DC-DC boost converter with maximum power point tracking (MPPT) to boost the rectified voltage to a higher pre-defined value, (iii) a constant current battery charging module for charging a small Li-ion rechargeable battery, which is used as the energy storage element. The MPPT is implemented by a successive approximation (SAR)-controlled digital to analog converter (DAC), which is used as the current reference for the constant current battery charging module. This proposed MPPT method can adaptively adjust to different PZE harvesters (size, output voltage). The active bias-flip rectifier has 99.2% power conversion efficiency (PCE) and can boost the total amount of energy harvested from conventional rectifiers by more than 4 times. The step-up converter has 90.6% PCE, and the charging module can output 0-12.8 μA under control of the 5-bit current DAC.
Chapter 22 – Chemical Intoxications

In this chapter, the potential hazards associated with manufactured chemicals in foods will be discussed. Of course, not all foodborne disease outbreaks of chemical etiology will be reported to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Reporting is not mandated. Some of the illnesses are either mild and short-lived or difficult to ascribe to particular manufactured chemicals in foods. Thus incomplete reporting of acute intoxications associated with foodborne chemicals of manufactured origin is a certainty. Also the CDC does not attempt to define cause-and-effect relationships between manufactured chemicals in foods and chronic diseases, such as cancer.
Chapter 3 – TREES

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the generating functions for rooted trees, trees, forests, oriented trees, homeomorphically irreducible trees, identity trees, unicyclic graphs, functional digraphs, cacti, and 2-trees. The first few coefficients of many of these generating functions can also be found in Sloane's book of sequences. It is impossible to enumerate trees without first enumerating rooted trees. Therefore, the Polya method is used to obtain the generating function for rooted trees. Thereafter, a dissimilarity characteristic theorem is applied to Otter to relate this function to the series that counts trees. Usually, the generating function for the rooted variety is determined first by using PET. Thereafter, a dissimilarity characteristic theorem provides the means for expressing the series for unrooted trees in terms of that for rooted trees.
Incidence Trends of Central-Line–Associated Bloodstream Infections in Acute-Care Hospitals, NHSN, 2009–2018

Background: Central-line–associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) are an important cause of healthcare-associated morbidity and mortality in the United States. CLABSI surveillance in the CDC NHSN began in 2005 and has been propelled by state CLABSI reporting requirements, first introduced in 2005, and subsequently by the CMS requirements for intensive care units (ICUs) in 2011 and select ward locations in 2015. Although trend analyses were previously reported, no recent assessment of the NHSN CLABSI incidence rate changes has been performed. In this analysis, we evaluated trends in CLABSI rates in nonneonatal ICUs and all wards reported from acute-care hospitals. Methods: CLABSI rates, including blood stream infections attributed to mucosal barrier injury reported to the NHSN from 2009 to 2018, were analyzed. To evaluate trends in CLABSI incidence and to account for the potential impact of definitional changes in catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) that indirectly impacted CLABSI rates, as well as the CMS mandate for select wards, we conducted an interrupted time-series analysis using negative binomial random-effects modeling with an interruption in 2015. ICUs and ward locations were analyzed separately. Models were adjusted for patient care location type and hospital-level characteristics: hospital type, medical affiliation, teaching status, bed size, number of ICU beds, and average length of inpatient stay. Random intercept and slope models were used to account for differential baseline incidence and trends among reporting hospitals. Results: The overall crude incidence of CLABSI per 1,000 central-line days decreased from 1.6 infections in 2009 to 0.9 infections in 2018, except for an increase in 2015. Similar trends were observed by location type. Among the ICUs, adjusted CLABSI incidence decreased by 10% annually in 2009–2014, increased nearly 29% in 2015, and thereafter decreased at an average of 6.8% per year. Among the wards, adjusted CLABSI incidence decreased at an average of 7.9% annually, except for a 29.3% increase in 2015. Conclusions: Substantial progress has been made in reducing CLABSIs in both ICUs and wards over the last 10 years. Indirect effects of CAUTI definitional changes may explain the immediate increase in ICUs, whereas the CMS mandate may explain the similar increase in wards in 2015. Despite this increase, these findings suggest that policies and practices aimed at prevention of CLABSI have likely been effective on a national level. Funding: None Disclosures: None
From company town to company village: CSR and the management of rural aspirations in eastern India’s extractive economies

In India's contemporary model of extractive industry, the Company Town has been replaced by the ‘company village.' Private sector firms throughout India's mineral belt now occupy sectors that were,...
Liquid biopsy versus tumor biopsy for clinical-trial recruitment

Studies demonstrate the efficacy of screening by liquid biopsy for enrollment in clinical trials of precision cancer therapy.
Safety and Efficacy of Apixaban and Rivaroxaban for the Treatment of Upper Extremity Deep Vein Thrombosis

Abstract Background: Patients with upper extremity deep vein thrombosis (UE-DVT) have unique risk factors determining their incidence and recurrence, and were not included in the large clinical trials leading to drug approval for rivaroxaban and apixaban. There is no published data examining the safety or efficacy of direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) for UE-DVT. Objective: Using the Mayo Clinic registry, we evaluated the safety and effectiveness of rivaroxaban and apixaban for the treatment of UE-DVT. Methods: Consecutive patients treated with rivaroxaban or apixaban for UE-DVT, enrolled into Mayo Clinic Venous Thromboembolism (VTE) Registry between March 1, 2013 and April 30, 2017, were followed prospectively for safety and efficacy. Clinical, demographic and imaging data were collected from each participant at the time of study recruitment. Recurrent VTE, bleeding complications, and death were assessed at 3-month intervals. For subjects unable to return at 3 months, clinical status was assessed by written questionnaire. For unreturned questionnaires, a scripted phone interview was performed. The study was approved by Mayo Clinic Institutional Review Board. Results: Of the 875 subjects with venous thromboembolism in the registry, 37 had UE-DVT and least 3 months of follow up and 20 were treated with rivaroxaban or apixaban. Three subjects had additional sites of VTE other than UE-DVT (1 with pulmonary embolism, 1 with lower extremity deep vein thrombosis, and one with both). The mean age was 57.7 years (standard deviation [SD] 15.2), mean BMI was 30.8 (SD 9.2), and 12 (60.0%) were male (Table 1). Nine (45%) subjects had catheter-associated UE-DVT, 10 (50.0%) had a diagnosis of malignancy, 7 (35.0%) were receiving chemotherapy, 2 (10.0%) had recent surgery ( Conclusion: In our ongoing registry of subjects with VTE at Mayo Clinic, treatment of UE-DVT with rivaroxaban or apixaban appears to be safe and effective. Further research and a larger sample size are needed to determine the safety and effectiveness of DOACs for UE-DVT relative to other anticoagulants and lower extremity DVT. Download : Download high-res image (233KB) Download : Download full-size image Disclosures McBane: Bristol Myers Squibb: Other: Research grant for cancer associated VTE.
Emerging gastritides

The purpose of this review is to highlight two types of gastritis that have recently received much greater attention: lymphocytic gastritis and the gastritis associated with Crohn’s disease. Lymphocytic gastritis is a distinctive pattern of inflammation that resembles that seen in celiac disease and lymphocytic colitis. It is associated with a diverse and unusual group of disorders in their own right, as well as having a possible relationship (real or phantom) with H. pylori infection. With respect to Crohn’s disease, there is a growing recognition that, much more common than gastric granulomas, is the existence in one third or more of patients of a highly focal non-H. pylori gastritis. This recognition may help secure the diagnosis of Crohn’s disease where it is equivocal, especially in children, in whom follow-up radiography and endoscopy cannot be done as readily as in adults.
Atypical Presentation of Descending Aortic Dissection in an Acute Heart Failure Patient.

Aortic dissection is relatively uncommon, but often presents with acute severe chest or back pain and acute hemodynamic compromise and is associated with high mortality. We present a case of aortic dissection with an atypical presentation in a heart failure patient and the challenges encountered to make the diagnosis. The patient was a 54-year-old African American female who presented with progressively worsening exertional dyspnea and orthopnea for three days and sensation of indigestion and bloating. The patient denied any recent history of chest pain and she was initially admitted for heart failure exacerbation. Her admission chest x-ray showed severe cardiomegaly with a prominence of pulmonary vascular but there was a borderline widening of mediastinum measuring 8.2 cm. Physical exam showed unequal dorsalis pedis pulses (fainter on the right side) and systolic blood pressure difference of more than 20 mmHg between bilateral upper extremities. Computed tomography angiography (CTA) of chest, abdomen, and pelvis confirmed the diagnosis of dissection of thoracic and abdominal aorta extending from the left subclavian artery to the femoral artery. The patient was managed with labetalol drip and later transferred to a tertiary center for an elevated level of care where the endovascular intervention was performed. The patient then followed up with a vascular clinic for serial CTA and heart failure clinic for optimization of core measures. In conclusion, this case highlights the importance of clinical suspicion of aortic dissection and discusses the various clinical presentations of aortic dissection and its management. Being a highly fatal condition, prompt diagnosis is extremely important and is often life-saving. Therefore, it is important for physicians to be aware of atypical presentations of aortic dissection to initiate timely interventions to avoid catastrophic complications.
Impact of the contemporary environment on denitrifying bacterial communities

Abstract To engineer a microbial ecosystem, an understanding of the relative influence of legacy effects versus the contemporary environment on the microbial community is required. In this work, the influence of these factors on both the denitrifying bacterial community structure and the overall bacterial community structure was assessed through comparison of agricultural soils, denitrifying bioreactors, and natural and constructed wetlands. Terminal restriction fragment analysis (tRFLP) of the nosZ gene and automated ribosomal intergenic spacer analysis (ARISA) were used. The results suggest distinct communities are characteristic of soil, bioreactors, and wetlands and show a strong influence of the contemporary environment on the bacterial and denitrifying bacterial communities in the bioreactors.
How Super are Video Supers? A Test of Communication Efficacy:

Interest in the role of video supers—superimposed video presentations of verbal information—has grown among consumers, advertisers, the television networks, and public policymakers, as supers have ...
Methods for the Cleavage of the Large Subunit of Na,K-ATPase and the Resolution of the Peptides Produced

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the methods used for the cleavage of the large subunit of Na,K-ATPase and the resolution of the peptides produced. Currently, there are a number of radiochemical reagents available that are capable of labeling covalently various positions within the tertiary structure of native Na,K-ATPase. Examples of these are affinity reagents for the cardiac glycoside site and the MgATP site, as well as lipid-soluble carbene and nitrene precursors that modify portions of the protein within the phospholipid bilayer. To locate within the sequence the particular amino acids that is modified by each of these reagents, methods must be developed to cleave the protein into fragments, identify those fragments that are labeled, and determine where within the fragment the radio label is located. Conditions are described for the digestion of the large chain of Na, K-ATPase with trypsin or cyanogen bromide or fragmentation of aspartyl-proline bonds in dilute acid. Methods have been developed to separate the peptides in these digests.
Kinetic phosphorescence analysis to quantify europium and terbium

The ability to accurately quantify europium and terbium may be confounded by the presence of other lanthanides when using spectroscopic techniques such as optical emission spectroscopy, especially at microgram and sub microgram levels. Kinetic phosphorescence analysis (KPA) offers a method to avoid these interferences during measurement of trace levels. This study examined analysis parameters using KPA for europium and terbium by testing the effects of different acids, molarities, and the use of a complexing agent to determine the ideal conditions and limits of detection for each analyte in matrices containing various mixtures of lanthanides.
Cirrhosis of the Liver in Long-Term Marrow Transplant Survivors

Patients who survive hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) have multiple risk factors for chronic liver disease, including hepatitis virus infection, iron overload, and chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). We studied 3,721 patients who had survived 1 or more years after HCT at a single center and identified patients with histologic or clinical evidence of cirrhosis. Risk factors for the development of cirrhosis were evaluated and compared with a group of matched control subjects. Cirrhosis was identified in 31 of 3,721 patients surviving 1 or more years after HCT, 23 of 1,850 patients surviving 5 or more years, and in 19 of 860 patients surviving 10 or more years. Cumulative incidence after 10 years was estimated to be 0.6% and after 20 years was 3.8%. The median time from HCT to the diagnosis of cirrhosis was 10.1 years (range, 1.2 to 24.9 years). Twenty-three patients presented with complications of portal hypertension, and 1 presented with hepatocellular carcinoma. Thirteen patients have died from complications of liver disease, and 2 died of other causes. Three patients have undergone orthotopic liver transplantation. Hepatitis C virus infection was present in 25 of 31 (81%) of patients with cirrhosis and in 14 of 31 (45%) of controls (P = .01). Cirrhosis was attibutable to hepatitis C infection in 15 of 16 patients presenting more than 10 years after HCT. There was no difference in the prevalence of acute or chronic GVHD, duration of posttransplant immunosuppression, or posttransplant marrow iron stores between cases and controls. Cirrhosis is an important late complication of hematopoietic cell transplantation and in most cases is due to chronic hepatitis C. Long-term survivors should be evaluated for the presence of abnormal liver function and hepatitis virus infection.
The relative retention of strontium and calcium in human bone tissue.

Samples of human rib, milk, vegetables, and dairy cattle feed were collected from five regions in the United States. These samples were analyzed for strontium and calcium by emission spectrographic teehniques. A retention factor between cows' milk and the feed used to produce this milk was determined to be 0.13 plus or minus 0.03. A human bone retention factor of 0.18 plus or minus 0.05 was determined by comparing the strontiumcalcium ratio observed for the human rib samples and the ratio estimated for the respective diets. The application of these values to the determination of the maximal radiostrontium level in human bone to be expected from the present level of fall-out contamination is discussed. (auth)
The Fredholm Alternative for Functional Differential Equations of Mixed Type

We prove a Fredholm alternative theorem for a class of asymptotically hyperbolic linear differential difference equations of mixed type. We also establish the cocycle property and the spectral flow property for such equations, providing an effective means of calculating the Fredholm index. Such systems can arise from equations which describe traveling waves in a spatial lattice.
Sense and Reference

Many philosophers of language believe that sense and reference are two essential components of linguistic meaning. The reference of an expression is (roughly) that which the expression is used to talk about; the sense of an expression is (roughly) the criterion an entity must satisfy in order to be the reference of that expression. The intuitive, nontechnical notion coming closest to the notion of ‘sense’ is that of meaning. Keywords: meaning; proposition; names; definite descriptions; indexicals
Modulation of mast cell function by TIM-3 signaling (HYP3P.351)

Transmembrane, immunoglobulin and mucin domain-3 (Tim-3) is an inducible negative regulator of Th1 function and anti-tumor immune responses. Recent studies found that Tim-3 is constitutively expressed on mast cells and that an anti-Tim-3 pAb enhanced secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines by antigen-stimulated bone marrow-derived mast cells (BMMC). However, the mechanism(s) by which Tim-3 modulates mast cell function are unknown. Here we show that Tim-3 enhances FcϵRI-derived signals to co-stimulate NF-AT, AP1, NF-κB, and IL-6 promoter transcriptional activation. This activity requires specific tyrosines in the Tim-3 cytoplasmic tail. Furthermore, various antibodies to Tim-3 significantly enhanced IgE+Ag-stimulated tyrosine phosphorylation and up-regulated BMMC cytokine secretion. Conversely, we observed impaired IgE+Ag-dependent activation of mast cells in which Tim-3 expression was knocked down. Using BMMC generated from Nur77-GFP reporter mice, we found that cross-linking Tim-3 synergizes with the antigen receptor FcϵRI to enhance Nur77-GFP expression. Our work suggests that Tim-3 acts proximal to the antigen receptor, leading to enhancement of the NF-κB, NF-AT, and AP-1 pathways. Thus, these studies are consistent with Tim-3 being a positive regulator of mast cell function. Mast cells contribute to both innate and adaptive immune responses, so Tim-3 may serve as an important modulator of mast cell effector functions in autoimmune and allergic diseases.
A novel centrosome-associated protein with affinity for microtubules.

We have identified a novel mammalian protein, MIR1, with microtubule-binding activity. MIR1 is a relative of MID1/midin, the protein implicated in Opitz G/BBB syndrome. In tissue culture cells, MIR1 is enriched at the centrosome. MIR1 dissociates from centrosomes at the G2/M transition and is recruited back to spindle poles during anaphase. When overexpressed during interphase, MIR1 binds along microtubule filaments, which become stabilized, bundled and detached from the centrosome. In mitosis, overexpressed MIR1 dissociates from microtubules but still affects the normally focused localization of γ-tubulin in spindle poles. Tight binding to microtubules in interphase appears to require an oligomeric state of MIR1, and phosphorylation in mitosis at predicted cyclin-dependent kinase (cdk) sites weakens the interaction.
Polarized electron sources

Polarized electron sources for high energy accelerators took a significant step forward with the introduction of a new laser-driven photocathode source for the SLC in 1992. With an electron beam polarization of >80% and with /spl sim/99% uptime during continuous operation, this source is a key factor in the success of the current SLC high-energy physics program. The SLC source performance is used to illustrate both the capabilities and the limitations of solid-state sources. The beam requirements for future colliders are similar to that of the SLC with the addition in most cases of multiple-bunch operation. A design for the next generation accelerator source that can improve the operational characteristics and at least minimize some of the inherent limitations of present sources is presented. Finally, the possibilities for producing highly polarized electron beams for high-duty-factor accelerators are discussed.
Interdiffusion in the CaF2‐YF3 System

An electron microprobe interdiffusion study was made in single crystals between 1200° and 1331°C over the solid-solution compositional range 0 to 20 mol% YF3 in CaF2. At constant temperature, the value of δ, the interdiffusion coefficient, increased approximately exponentially with increasing YF3 content. As YF3 content increased, the temperature dependence of δ decreased. Extrapolation of δ to 0% YF3 combined with consideration of the defect formation mechanism at mite dilution allowed estimation of the impurity diffusion coefficient for Y in essentially pure CaF2.
A Dated Cruciform Artifact

Excavations at a site on the outskirts of San Bias, on the south-central coast of Nayarit, Mexico (1967-8) yielded an obsidian cruciform artifact in stratigraphic context, associated with artifacts of the locally defined San Blas complex. Radiocarbon analysis of marine shell samples collected above, below, and two meters to the north of the obsidian cruciform, has produced raw determinations of 2675±80, 2640±85, and 2605±80 radiocarbon years respectively. This is one of the rare instances in which a cruciform has been found in fairly reliable dated context, adding to present under-standings of cruciform date as well as distribution, potentially important for problems of West Mexico-American Southwest prehispanic contacts.
Peer Acceptance and Self Concept of Black Students in a Summer Gifted Program

Few studies have investigated the social and emotional adjustment of high ability black youth in gifted programs. In the present study, thirty-five high ability black students (ages 9 to 15) who we...
Depression treatment with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors for the postacute coronary syndrome population: a literature review.

Objective After acute coronary syndrome (ACS), patients have a significantly higher incidence of depression compared to the average healthy adult. Depression is independently associated with poorer outcomes and heightens the morbidity and mortality risk in this susceptible population. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are a newer class of antidepressants recently investigated for use in this population. This article reviews the current research on the safety, efficacy, possible benefits, and limitations of this class of antidepressants for patients with post-ACS. Data sources Information was obtained through a literature search of the electronic databases CINAHL, EMBASE, Ovid Medline (R), and PubMed Plus during the months of January and February of 2007. Keywords searched included acute coronary syndrome, myocardial infarction, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, sertraline, paroxetine, fluoxetine, depressive disorder, major depression, and depression. Results were then limited to the English language, adult population, publication years 2002-2007, and primary research articles. The search was broadened to include years 2000-2002. Study selection Abstracts were reviewed for applicability. All studies meeting the criteria for research articles of SSRI use in depressed patients with post-ACS were included. This amounted to 6 articles. Data extraction Independent extraction was conducted by a single observer. Conclusions Recent research shows positive outcomes associated with the use of SSRIs for depressed patients with post-ACS. The greatest benefit from these medications appears to be in the recurrently and severely depressed subpopulations. Although the use of SSRIs in patients with post-ACS appears to be associated with a decrease in morbidity and mortality rates, large, randomized control trials are still needed to support this finding.
Ribosome Biogenesis in Skeletal Development and the Pathogenesis of Skeletal Disorders

The skeleton affords a framework and structural support for vertebrates, while also facilitating movement, protecting vital organs, and providing a reservoir of minerals and cells for immune system and vascular homeostasis. The mechanical and biological functions of the skeleton are inextricably linked to the size and shape of individual bones, the diversity of which is dependent in part upon differential growth and proliferation. Perturbation of bone development, growth and proliferation, can result in congenital skeletal anomalies, which affect approximately 1 in 3000 live births [1]. Ribosome biogenesis is integral to all cell growth and proliferation through its roles in translating mRNAs and building proteins. Disruption of any steps in the process of ribosome biogenesis can lead to congenital disorders termed ribosomopathies. In this review, we discuss the role of ribosome biogenesis in skeletal development and in the pathogenesis of congenital skeletal anomalies. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Role of the Nucleolus in Human Disease.
Lasers incorporating 2D photonic bandgap mirrors

Semiconductor lasers incorporating a 2D photonic lattice as a one end mirror in a Fabry-Perot cavity are demonstrated. The photonic lattice is a 2D hexagonal close-packed array with a lattice constant of 220 nm. Pulsed threshold currents of 110 mA were observed from a 180 μm laser.
Independent Familial Transmission of Alcoholism and Opiate Abuse

Interviews were conducted with 32 alcoholics, 72 opiate addicts, and 42 alcoholic-opiate addicts, and information was gained about the practices of their families. Alcoholism tended to cluster in families to a significant extent while, in contrast, alcoholism and opiate abuse did not occur in the same families significantly more or less often than expected by chance. Doubt is clearly cast on any unitary concept of addiction-proneness.
Mark A. Pollack and Gregory C. Shaffer. When Cooperation Fails: The International Law and Politics of Genetically Modified Foods

This book presents an engaging and thorough study of a seemingly intractable international trade dispute, primarily between the United States and Europe, over the dissemination of genetically engineered foods. The United States and several other countries have increasingly approved transgenic (also known as "genetically modified" or "GM") foods for public consumption, while the European Community (EC) has strongly resisted the introduction of this new technology. From 1998 to 2004, the EC imposed a moratorium on approvals for the marketing of transgenic foods in the EC. It continues to approve new marketing requests desultorily and to pursue an effective moratorium on the cultivation of transgenic species today, despite losing a challenge before the WTO Dispute Settlement Body brought by the United States. The multiple layers of this dispute provide the basis for an edifying study of the causes, dynamics, and consequences of international regulatory conflict. The United States and Europe have demonstrated unequal levels of trust in corporate ethics, the government's regulatory rigour, and the completeness and accuracy of scientific information on the health and environmental consequences of GM foods. Differing tort liability rules also provide dissimilar incentives for agribusinesses in the United States and Europe to take strong precautions against any health, safety, or environmental risks posed by their products or production methods. Different media events relating to food safety and technology have affected cultural expectations about biotechnology in the two regions. There are, moreover, multiple treaty and institutional regimes mediating the dispute, including inter alia the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Convention on Biological Diversity and Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, the World Health Organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization, and the Codex Alimentarius Commission (formed by the WHO and �
A Phoswich Detector With Compton Suppression Capability for Radioxenon Measurements

A phoswich detector with Compton suppression capability has been developed and tested for measuring xenon radioisotopes via a beta-gamma coincidence measurement technique. The phoswich detector has been designed with three scintillation layers. Beta-gamma coincidence events from radioxenon isotopes are identified when a coincidence energy absorption is detected in the first (BC-400) and second (CsI(Tl) crystal) scintillation layers. To identify and reject scattered photons from the CsI(Tl) crystal, the crystal is surrounded by a BGO scintillation layer. Our measurements show that the Compton suppression mechanism reduces the Compton continuum from 662 keV photons by 20-50% in the low-energy region of spectrum. Our beta-gamma coincidence measurements with 135Xe and 133Xe radioisotopes show energy resolutions (FWHM) of 13%, 46% and 24% for 250 keV, 30 keV and 80 keV gamma-ray peaks, respectively. In this paper, the detector design, assembly steps, digital pulse shape discrimination technique, and our recent measurements with radioactive lab sources and xenon radioisotopes are discussed.