cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of antimitotic agents by quantitative comparisons of their effects on the polymerization of purified tubulin.

Most antimitotic compounds have highly specific interactions with tubulin, the major protein component of microtubules. It is, therefore, often desirable to characterize interactions of these agents with tubulin. In particular, quantitative comparisons between new and old (“standard”) agents, between different classes of agent, and between structural analogs (e.g., for a structure-activity relationship study) are important. Because antimitotic drugs have a variety of effects on tubulin and bind at multiple distinct sites on the protein, the tubulin assembly reaction is probably the only universally applicable reaction that can be analyzed. In my laboratory, we use the assembly of purified tubulin induced by higher concentrations of monosodium glutamate as our basic assay system. This report presents a detailed description of our current routine assay, including the effects of a variety of reaction components on the reaction. In addition, the variety of effects that reaction components can have on the quantitative results obtained with drugs, using the colchicine site drug combretastatin A-4 as a model compound, is described.
Auxin increases the hydraulic conductivity of auxin-sensitive hypocotyl tissue.

The ability of water to enter the cells of growing hypocotyl tissue was determined in etiolated soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) seedlings. Water uptake was restricted to that for cell enlargement, and the seedlings were kept intact insofar as possible. Tissue water potentials (ψw) were measured at thermodynamic equilibrium with an isopiestic thermocouple psychrometer. ψwwas below the water potential of the environment by as much as 3.1 bars when the tissue was enlarging rapidly. However, ψw was similar to the water potential of the environment when cell enlargement was not occurring. The low ψw in enlarging tissue indicates that there was a low conductivity for water entering the cells.
Prolactin and systemic lupus erythematosus: prolactin secretion by SLE lymphocytes and proliferative (autocrine) activity.

Accumulated evidence suggests that prolactin (PRL) is an important immunoregulator and might have a role in the pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Moreover, a PRL-like molecule is secreted by normal human lymphocytes and acts as an autocrine growth factor for lymphoproliferation. The objective of this study was to explore the PRL-like peptide production by peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from patients with SLE.We investigated the PRL secretion by PBMC from six female SLE patients and nine normal subjects (5 women and 4 men). Ficoll-Hypaque isolated PBMC (1 X 106 cells/ml) were cultured with and without maximal stimulatory doses of PHA (1 mg/ml) or PWM (1/200). At 72 h of culture supernatants were harvested and used to determine PRL immunoreactivity by a radioimmunoassay (NIDDK-reagents). Cell extracts and concentrated supernatants were prepared to determine PRL by Western blot analysis (NIDDK-reagents).SLE non-stimulated PBMC secreted significantly higher levels of PRL than norm...
Osteoblast migration on poly(α-hydroxy esters)

We investigated the migration of rat calvaria osteoblast populations on poly(α-hydroxy ester) films for up to 14 days to determine effects of substrate composition and culture conditions on the migratory characteristics of osteoblasts. Initial osteoblast culture conditions included cell colonies formed by seeding a high (84,000 cells/cm2) or low (42,000 cells/cm2) density of isolated osteoblasts on the polymer films, and bone tissue cultures formed by plating bone chips directly on the substrates. High density osteoblast colonies cultured and allowed to migrate and proliferate radially on 85:15 poly(DL-lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) films, 75:25 PLGA films, and tissue culture polystyrene controls demonstrated that the copolymer ratio in the polymer films did not affect the rate of increase in substrate surface area (or culture area) covered by the growing cell colony. However, the rate of increase in culture area was dependent on the initial osteoblast seeding density. Initial cell colonies formed with a lower osteoblast seeding density on 75:25 PLGA resulted in a lower rate of increase in culture area, specifically 4.9 ± 0.3 mm2/day, versus 14.1 ± 0.7 mm2/day for colonies seeded with a higher density of cells on the same polymer films. The proliferation rate for osteoblasts in the high and low density seeded osteoblast colonies did not differ, whereas the proliferation rate for the osteoblasts arising from the bone chips was lower than either of these isolated cell colonies. Confocal and light microscopy revealed that the osteoblast migration occurred as a monolayer of individual osteoblasts and not a calcified tissue front. These results demonstrated that cell seeding conditions strongly affect the rates of osteoblast migration and proliferation on biodegradable poly(α-hydroxy esters). © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Surface modification of AISI 410 stainless steel using laser engineered net shaping (LENSTM)

Abstract Surface modification of AISI 410 martensitic stainless steel was carried out by laser surface-melting using laser engineered net shaping (LENSTM). The microstructures of laser surface-melted specimens showed varying amount of retained austenite depending on the processing parameters. The refinement and high strength of austenite as a result of increased scan speed and decreased laser power resulted in high amount of retained austenite in the final microstructure. Laser surface-melting of AISI 410 martensitic stainless steel at optimized processing parameters resulted in fine martensite with minimum retained austenite, leading to a 55% increase in the surface hardness compared to the hardness of conventionally heat treated samples. The inherent advantage of laser surface-melting using LENSTM is to control simultaneously both location and microstructure leading to better service performance of components.
An Investigation of the Effects of Layer Thickness on the Fracture Behavior of Layered NiAl/V Composites

The effects of vanadium layer thickness (100, 200 and 400 {micro}m) on the resistance-curve behavior of NiAl/V microlaminates are examined in this paper. The fracture resistance of the NiAl microlaminates reinforced with 20 vol.% of vanadium layers is shown to increase with increasing vanadium layer thickness. The improved fracture toughness (from an NiAl matrix toughness of {approximately}6.6 MPa{radical}m to a steady-state toughness of {approximately}15 MPa{radical}m obtained from finite element analysis) is associated with crack bridging and the interactions of cracks with vanadium layers. The reinitiation of cracks in adjacent NiAl layers is modeled using finite element methods and the reinitiation is shown to occur as a result of strain concentrations at the interface between the adjacent NiAl layers and vanadium layers. The deviation of the reinitiated cracks from the pure mode I direction is shown to occur in the direction of maximum shear strain. Toughening due to crack bridging is also modeled using large-scale bridging models. The intrinsic toughness levels of the microlaminates are also inferred by extrapolating the large scale bridging models to arbitrarily large specimen widths. The extrapolations also show that the small-scale bridging intrinsic toughness increases with increasing vanadium layer thickness.
Surpassing the Limit: Keyword Clustering to Improve Twitter Sample Coverage

Social media services have become a prominent source of research data for both academia and corporate applications. Data from social media services is easy to obtain, highly structured, and comprises opinions from a large number of extremely diverse groups. The microblogging site, Twitter, has garnered a particularly large following from researchers by offering a high volume of data streamed in real time. Unfortunately, the methods in which Twitter selects data to disseminate through the stream are either vague or unpublished. Since Twitter maintains sole control of the sampling process, it leaves us with no knowledge of how the data that we collect for research is selected. Additionally, past research has shown that there are sources of bias present in Twitters dissemination process. Such bias introduces noise into the data that can reduce the accuracy of learning models and lead to bad inferences. In this work, we take an initial look at the efficiency of Twitter limit track as a sample population estimator. After that, we provide methods to mitigate bias by improving sample population coverage using clustering techniques.
CNS lesions in neonatal isoimmune thrombocytopenia.

• We treated two siblings with classic neonatal isoimmune thrombocytopenia and porencephalic cysts in whom the CNS lesions occurred in a vascular distribution, for which there is no clear explanation. Whether the CNS vasculature is injured by the immune process at certain susceptible sites in larger vessels or whether there is a thrombotic process occurring at sites of vascular injury is speculative. This observation suggests that vascular factors are involved in the development of CNS lesions in this condition.
Role of Oxidative Stress in HIV-1-Associated Neurocognitive Disorder and Protection by Gene Delivery of Antioxidant Enzymes

HIV encephalopathy covers a range of HIV-1-related brain dysfunction. In the Central Nervous System (CNS), it is largely impervious to Highly Active AntiRetroviral Therapy (HAART). As survival with chronic HIV-1 infection improves, the number of people harboring the virus in their CNS increases. Neurodegenerative and neuroinflammatory changes may continue despite the use of HAART. Neurons themselves are rarely infected by HIV-1, but HIV-1 infects resident microglia, periventricular macrophages, leading to increased production of cytokines and to release of HIV-1 proteins, the most likely neurotoxins, among which are the envelope glycoprotein gp120 and HIV-1 trans-acting protein Tat. Gp120 and Tat induce oxidative stress in the brain, leading to neuronal apoptosis/death. We review here the role of oxidative stress in animal models of HIV-1 Associated Neurocognitive Disorder (HAND) and in patients with HAND. Different therapeutic approaches, including clinical trials, have been used to mitigate oxidative stress in HAND. We used SV40 vectors for gene delivery of antioxidant enzymes, Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase (SOD1), or glutathione peroxidase (GPx1) into the rat caudate putamen (CP). Intracerebral injection of SV (SOD1) or SV (GPx1) protects neurons from apoptosis caused by subsequent inoculation of gp120 and Tat at the same location. Vector administration into the lateral ventricle or cisterna magna protects from intra-CP gp120-induced neurotoxicity comparably to intra-CP vector administration. These models should provide a better understanding of the pathogenesis of HIV-1 in the brain as well as offer new therapeutic avenues.
Dental Health Behaviors, Dentition, and Mortality in the Elderly: The Leisure World Cohort Study

In the last decade the effect of oral health on the general health and mortality of elderly people has attracted attention. We explored the association of dental health behaviors and dentition on all-cause mortality in 5611 older adults followed from 1992 to 2009 (median = 9 years) and calculated risk estimates using Cox regression analysis in men and women separately. Toothbrushing at night before bed, using dental floss everyday, and visiting the dentist were significant risk factors for longevity. Never brushing at night increased risk 20-35% compared with brushing everyday. Never flossing increased risk 30% compared with flossing everyday. Not seeing a dentist within the last 12 months increased risk 30-50% compared with seeing a dentist two or more times. Mortality also increased with increasing number of missing teeth. Edentulous individuals (even with dentures) had a 30% higher risk of death compared with those with 20+ teeth. Oral health behaviors help maintain natural, healthy and functional teeth but also appear to promote survival in older adults.
Localization of A-kinase through anchoring proteins

The CAMP signaling pathway-it seems so simple. A hormone binds its receptor, the receptor activates adenylate cyclase via an intermediary G protein, and CAMP is liberated from the intracellular face of the plasma membrane. This first part is relatively straightforward, but the next two steps in the process require a more sophisticated level of molecular organization. First of all, CAMP activates the CAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA) by binding to the regulatory subunits (R) of the dormant PKA holoenzyme and causes the release of the active catalytic subunit (C). Then comes the mysterious part. Although PKA is a multifunctional enzyme with a broad substrate specificity, hormonal activation of the kinase somehow permits preferential phosphorylation of specific target substrates. Added to this, PKA key substrates are themselves localized in distinct cellular compartments. For example, phosphorylation of membrane-bound neurotransmitter receptorion channels modulates the flow of ions into the cell, while phosphorylation of nuclear transcription factors (e.g. CAMP response element binding protein) alters the activity of certain genes. One hypothesis to account for the selectivity of PKA action is that individual effecters activate particular pools of the kinase which is anchored to subcellular structures. Support for PKA anchoring is provided by evidence that hormonal activation promotes CAMP accumulation in distinct cellular compartments (1) and that PKA subunits are differentially localized (2). Moreover, a family of A-kinase anchor proteins (AKAPs) have been identified which function to tether the type II PKA to specific subcellular structures (3). The scope of this minireview is to focus on recent advances made in several laboratories on discerning the subcellular location of PKA and on the characterization of AKAPs.
A public choice theory of the Great Contraction: Further evidence

In recent issues of this journal, perhaps no other paper has inspired as intense interest as our (Anderson, Shughart and Tollison, 1988) challenge to the Friedman-Schwartz (1963) "mistake theory" of the Great Contraction. In that article we advanced an hypothesis of Fed behavior grounded in the political self-interests of the banking system's regulators and their overseers in Congress. Specifically, we argued that the Fed obtained two important benefits from the massive contraction in the money supply over which it presided between late 1929 and the middle of 1930. First, because of the differentially higher failure rates of nonmember banks during this period, the proportion of the commercial banking industry under the Fed's control increased dramatically. The second benefit came in the form of a change in the Fed's method of finance which freed the Board of Governors from the normal congressional budgetary process. Putting the Great Contraction in interest-group terms, we suggested that during 1929-1933, the Fed was acting rationally as the agent of congressmen serving on important oversight committees who, in turn, were representing the interests of the member banks in their states and districts. We tested this hypothesis using bank failure rate data across states and found that, holding other things equal, the failure rates of nonmember banks in the early 1930s were significantly higher in states with representation on the House Banking
Radial Deformations Induced by Groundwater Flow on Deep Circular Tunnels

The magnitude and distribution of ground deformations around a tunnel are often monitored during construction and provide key information about ground-support interaction and ground behavior. Thus it is important to determine the effects of different parameters on ground deformations to accurately and effectively evaluate what contributes to ground and support behavior observed during excavation. This paper investigates one such relation: the effects of seepage on radial deformations. A number of numerical analyses have been conducted with the following assumptions: deep circular unsupported tunnel, elastic ground, isotropic far field stresses, dry ground or saturated ground with steady-state water seepage. The analyses cover a wide range of tunnel sizes, effective stresses, and pore pressures. Results from the numerical simulations confirm previous analytical solutions for normalized radial deformations behind the face (i.e. on the tunnel side of the face) of a tunnel excavated in dry ground, and have been used to propose a new analytical formulation for normalized radial displacements ahead and behind the tunnel face for both dry and saturated ground with water flow. Water seepage substantially increases the magnitude and distribution of the normalized radial deformations ahead of the face and at the tunnel face, but does not change much the displacement distribution behind the tunnel face.
Buyer Reactions to Ethical Beliefs in the Retail Environment

Abstract Research into the ethical conduct of marketers is an increasingly popular topic. At the same time, a substantial amount of recent patronage theory has been devoted toward developing a better knowledge of roles played by shopping emotions evoked by various environmental cues. The study described in this manuscript attempts to blend these two research streams by investigating how interacting with a salesperson generates ethical perceptions that shape consumer emotions. Several hypotheses are developed and tested. They model the influence of three moral philosophical dimensions (moral equity, contractualism and relativism) on affective responses and future purchase intentions. Implications for marketing academicians and practitioners are discussed, and areas for future research are presented.
p53 transcriptional activity is selectively suppressed by estrogen in SNP309 mdm2 overexpressing breast cancer cells.

CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium: 2008 Abstracts Abstract #4065 p53 is a tumor suppressor frequently inactivated in cancers. Mdm2 targets p53 for proteasomal degradation via E3 ubiquitin ligase activity and represses p53 transcriptional activity by co-localization with p53 on the chromatin. Mdm2 overexpression is associated with estrogen signaling in breast cancer. To investigate estrogen-associated tumorigenesis and p53 pathway suppression, we examined estrogen receptor positive and p53 wild-type breast cancer cell lines, MCF-7 and ZR-75-1. MCF-7 cells are heterozygous for the mdm2 gene single nucleotide polymorphism from T to G at position 309 (SNP309 T/G) and ZR-75-1 are SNP309 homozygous T/T. Cells that carry the G-allele overexpress Mdm2. We found that in the presence of estrogen, the transcriptional activity of p53 in MCF-7, but not in ZR-75-1 cells, was selectively compromised. When MCF-7 cells were treated with the DNA-damaging drug etoposide or the Mdm2 antagonist Nutlin-3, transcription of p53 target genes p21, mdm2, puma and gadd45 was upregulated. However in the presence of estrogen, transcription of puma and gadd45, and not of mdm2 or p21, was downregulated. In ZR-75-1 cells, we did not observe selective inhibition of p53 transcriptional activity in the presence of estrogen. Importantly, we could potentiate p53 transcriptional activity by adding mdm2 siRNA in the presence of estrogen. The coordination between suppression of p53 transcriptional activity and mdm2 SNP309 genotype suggests that estrogen downregulates the p53 response in breast cancer cells by selecting for cells that overexpress Mdm2. This suggests that downregulating Mdm2 in ER+ breast cancer cells could be a beneficial therapeutic approach. This work was supported by The Breast Cancer Research Foundation and was facilitated by grant number RR-03037 from the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR), a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Citation Information: Cancer Res 2009;69(2 Suppl):Abstract nr 4065.
COMPOSITION AND PROPERTIES OF EXTRUDED, TEXTURIZED POULTRY MEAT

Hand deboned leg and thigh tissues from broilers and mechanically de-boned broiler neck meats were extruded and texturized using a dry heat process. During heat processing of all meat tissues, there was a significant (P< 0.05) reduction of moisture content and significant increases in fat and protein levels as heating time increased. Meat strands from the texturization process became firm, possessing structural integrity as determined by the binding strength among meat tissue particles and strand resistance to shearing. Significant (P < 0.05) increases were observed in tissue water-holding capacity and emulsion stabilizing capacity although salt-soluble protein extractability was significantly (P < 0.01) reduced by the heating during texturization
Recursive estimation of origin-destination matrices from input/output counts

Abstract The application of recursive prediction error techniques to the problem of estimating origin-destination patterns from input and output volume counts is described. Each algorithm deals with the special case where route choice between origin and destination can be ignored. A gradient algorithm developed by Cremer and Keller (1983) turns out to be a special case of a family of methods described by Ljung and Soderstrom (1983). After describing how the methods developed in Ljung and Soderstrom (1983) could be modified so that the resulting estimates satisfy natural constraints, a number of algorithm possibilities are tested. Generally, those algorithms employing Gauss-Newton search directions appear superior to gradient-based methods, while the constraining procedures improve accuracy.
West Nile Virus Meningoencephalitis in an Immunocompetent Adolescent

This report describes a case of West Nile virus meningoencephalitis in a previously healthy adolescent. Clinical features included fever, altered mental status, and speech difficulty, with subsequent hyperesthesia, ataxia, and motor weakness, all of which eventually resolved completely. Magnetic resonance imaging was remarkable for focal abnormalities in the right temporal and bilateral parietal white matter, as well as the corpus callosum.
Analysis of malate dehydrogenase isozymes from anuran amphibian ovary by isoelectric focusing.

The isozyme patterns of ovarian malate dehydrogenase (MDH) from various anuran amphibian species were analyzed by isoelectric focusing (IEF). Extensive variability was observed in both the soluble (sMDH) and mitochondrial (mMDH) patterns with as few as two and as many nine bands being visualized in different species. The mean pIs for sMDH ranged from 4.5 to 8.3 and those for mMDH fell between 5.1 and 8.2. The sMDHs are considerably more heat labile in Rana species living in northern latitudes compared to those from southern states. Inhibition with p-chloromercuribenzoate (PCMB) revealed the importance of sulfhydryl groups for the activity of sMDHs, while the functional requirement for these groups in mMDHs appears to be of lesser importance. Observations from these studies lend support to the accumulating evidence that Rana pipiens from such southern locations as New Mexico may have undergone speciation.
Size dependence of structural metastability in semiconductor nanocrystals

The kinetics of a first-order, solid-solid phase transition were investigated in the prototypical nanocrystal system CdSe as a function of crystallite size. In contrast to extended solids, nanocrystals convert from one structure to another by single nucleation events, and the transformations obey simple unimolecular kinetics. Barrier heights were observed to increase with increasing nanocrystal size, although they also depend on the nature of the nanocrystal surface. These results are analogous to magnetic phase transitions in nanocrystals and suggest general rules that may be of use in the discovery of new metastable phases.
“Why Don't They Learn English?”: Separating Fact From Fallacy in the U.S. Language Debate

This compelling book examines the often cited but poorly supported claims that immigrants fail to learn English, and the mistaken belief that immigrant communities cling to their heritage languages. The author reveals that, on the contrary, English is being learned at a rapid pace while heritage languages are disappearing quickly from family use. She shows us how current assumptions have a pervasive influence on language policy in the United States. Ultimately, the author argues for an educational approach that effectively embraces immigrant communities as they tackle the obstacles to language learning in the United States. This unique volume offers a short, readable introduction to these issues suitable for nonspecialists as well as educators, researchers, and other professionals.
Supplementing Barth on Jews and Gender: Identifying God by Anagogy and the Spirit

Karl Barth leaves room by his own principles for further, even different thinking about Jews and gender (and, as a corollary, about homosexuality) than he records in the Dogmatics. Now that Marquardt, Klappert, Sonderegger, Soulen, and others have offered sympathetic critiques from a generally Barthian point of view, and Eberhard Busch has exhaustively laid to rest any biographical questions of Barth’s relation to the Jewish people in his 1996 book, Unter dem Bogen des einen Bundes: Karl Barth und die Juden 1933–1945, the way lies open to carry forward Barth’s theological critique of nineteenth century theology and of abstraction further into the areas of Jews and gender, and to propose constructive pneumatological and exegetical supplements to his thinking. Barth’s thinking on women and men, like his thinking on Jews, labors, for all its promise in its time, under a defect he calls abstraction. Barth faulted Calvin for abstracting both elect human beings and the electing God from Jesus Christ, whom Barth called the elect human being and the electing God in one. Yet on the election of the community Barth did not entirely escape the abstraction. In the manner of Augustine’s Retractions, Barth wrote to Maruardt toward the end of his life that he had been so busy with (theological) Israel that he had had no time for the Jews. Does Barth, as Marquardt and Sonderegger suggest, throw up despite himself a conceptual screen onto which he at once projects an abstraction (“Israel”) and behind which he hides actual human beings (“the Jews”), a screen resistant to the blowing of the Spirit? Do the concepts “ man” and “ woman” form a similar conceptual screen, dating from Schleiermacher’s dialogue Christmas Eve, in which men and women (like Christians and Jews) have essentially different responses to the incarnation of Jesus Christ? Das ewig M??nnliche and das ewig Weibliche, inherited from German romanticism, see to run afoul of Barth’s trinitarian particularism, as does “ Israel”. Yet further application of Barth’s own principles, including more attention to the Spirit, leaves him more options in his treatment of Jews and gender, and richer exegesis – including exegesis by anagogy.
Comparison of Tone Mode Measurements for a Forward Swept and Baseline Rotor Fan

A forward swept fan, designated the Quite High Speed Fan (QHSF), was tested in the NASA Glenn 9- by 15-foot Low Speed Wind Tunnel to investigate its noise reduction relative to a baseline fan of the same aerodynamic performance. The design objective of the QHSF was a 6 dB reduction in Effective Perceived Noise Level relative to the baseline fan at the takeoff condition. The design noise reduction was to be a result of lower levels of multiple pure tone noise due to the forward swept rotor, and lower rotor/stator interaction tone noise from a leaned stator. Although the design 6 dB reduction was observed in far-field measurements, the induct mode measurements revealed the reasons for goals. All of the noise reduction was from the blade passing tone and its harmonics and most of this was unexpectedly from rotor/strut interaction modes. The reason for large differences in rotor/strut noise sources could not be determined with certainty. The reductions in the multiple pure tone noise for the forward swept rotor were not observed. this reduction were not the ones related to the design
Asymptotic Conditions and Perturbation Theory

The formulation of field theories based on few postulates but not using Lagrangian, Hamiltonian, or field equations has been investigated by many authors. In such a theory the coupled integral equations for Green's functions play the role of a substitute for field equations and serve to determine various physical quantities from the theory. In this paper we give a general prescription for the systematic solution of the coupled integral equations in perturbation theory.
The management of bladder exstrophy: the Manchester experience.

Abstract Aim : Bladder exstrophy (BE) is a severe congenital malformation with life-long implications. This article discusses the current surgical management and describes the development of the nationally commissioned bladder exstrophy service in Manchester, UK. Methods Outcome of BE surgery in Manchester was retrospectively reviewed. A Medline search was also undertaken and the published outcomes reviewed for the Modern Staged Repair of Bladder Exstrophy (MSRE), the Complete Primary Repair of Exstrophy (CPRE), and Radical Soft-Tissue Mobilisation (RSTM). Results Sixty-seven infants with BE were treated in the period 2000–2012. Twenty-six infants underwent primary closure during the neonatal period, and in twenty-one this was successful. The remaining forty-one infants underwent delayed closure, and all were successful. Twenty-six children underwent MSRE, and continence with urethral micturition was achieved in sixteen (62%) (ten alone and six with urethral clean intermittent catheterisation). A further five (19%) are continent following bladder neck closure, cystoplasty, and continent diversion. Seven (26%) of the twenty-six patients are completely dry overnight. Twenty infants underwent primary ureteric reimplantation, and none have renal scarring. By contrast, renal scarring (unilateral n=fourteen; bilateral n=five) was found in nineteen of thirty-seven infants who did not undergo reimplantation. Conclusions Specialised experience has allowed demonstrable improvement in bladder exstrophy outcomes throughout the period of the study.
Middle-Class Adolescents: Self-Reported Delinquency and Youth Culture Activities*

L'auteur analyse les temoignages de jeunes gens d'un niveau socio-economique moyen quant aeur leur vision du monde et a leur conduite personnelle. Cette analyse porte a croire que ces jeunes partageraient un univers culturel qui leur est propre, la civilisation de la jeunesse des strates sociales moyennes. Ce qui marque cette civilisation des jeunes, c'est l'importance des jeunes filles, des voitures, du sport et du desir de s'amuser. Si la delinquance est repandue dans ce monde juvenile, celle des plus jeunes se distingue cependant de celle des plus âges: on pose les actes qui contribuent a l'expression de son role social et ce rolle dlffere selon l'âge, Quand le chercheur construit une echelle unidimensionnelle des comportements deviants, la delinquance y exhibe une qualite de sociabilite plutot que la persecution d'autrui et I'aggressivite. L'eventail etendu des activites permises aux jeunes de classe moyenne, comme l'esprit de concurrence au seln de leur groupe, favorise sans doute une certaine recherche, un savoir-faire dans la delinquance. On note, d'autre part, chez les jeunes un engoument variable pour le geste interdit. Ceci pourrait s'expliquer par leur acceptation differenciee des activites legitimes qui font aussi partie de la culture juvenile.
The association between pH level and corneal recovery from induced edema.

Corneal acidosis has been shown to reduce corneal hydration control (CHC) as measured by the rate, expressed as the percent recovery per hour (PRPH), at which the thickness of the cornea decreases exponentially after an increased hydration load. Since the effect of pH on corneal function is of scientific interest and may have clinical implications, we explored the relationship between pH and PRPH in greater detail by examining the effect of different stromal pH levels on corneal hydration control. Corneal edema was induced using a 90-min exposure to wearing a hypoxic contact lens (CL). Following removal of the CL, random assignment over four eye-test combinations of either 0, 3, 5, and 7% CO2 were made while pH and corneal thickness were monitored using slit lamp fluorophometry and optical pachometry to measure corneal pH and corneal thickness, respectively. From these measurements we determined the pH-dose/PRPH relationship. The average stromal pH ± 1SD resulting from exposure to either the 0, 3, 5, and ...
Decoding the Large-Scale Structure of Brain Function by Classifying Mental States Across Individuals

Brain-imaging research has largely focused on localizing patterns of activity related to specific mental processes, but recent work has shown that mental states can be identified from neuroimaging data using statistical classifiers. We investigated whether this approach could be extended to predict the mental state of an individual using a statistical classifier trained on other individuals, and whether the information gained in doing so could provide new insights into how mental processes are organized in the brain. Using a variety of classifier techniques, we achieved cross-validated classification accuracy of 80% across individuals (chance = 13%). Using a neural network classifier, we recovered a low-dimensional representation common to all the cognitive-perceptual tasks in our data set, and we used an ontology of cognitive processes to determine the cognitive concepts most related to each dimension. These results revealed a small organized set of large-scale networks that map cognitive processes across a highly diverse set of mental tasks, suggesting a novel way to characterize the neural basis of cognition.
A Preliminary Study of the Utility of the Brief Hospice Inventory

The increasing number of palliative care patients necessitates a simple, reliable instrument to routinely measure outcomes among hospice patients. We tested the utility of the Brief Hospice Inventory (BHI) to assess outcomes of hospice patients and estimations of patients' outcomes by nurse caregivers. In a prospective study, 145 home-based hospice patients were enrolled in the study from VistaCare Hospice. During the first week of admission, patients and nurse caregivers completed the BHI, which assessed patients' symptoms, satisfaction with care, and quality of life. Factor analysis supported a two-factor structure for the BHI for patients and caregivers, including a symptom subscale and quality of life subscale. Patients with severe symptoms showed improvement on the symptom subscale, but not the quality of life subscale, during the first 2 weeks after admission. The BHI shows utility in measuring hospice patients' symptom severity and quality of life over time.
Stimulation of human and rat alveolar macrophages by urban air particulates: effects on oxidant radical generation and cytokine production.

A number of epidemiological studies have associated increased cardiopulmonary mortality and hospital admissions with episodes of high particulate air pollution. Inhaled particles, with a mass median aerodynamic diameter 167 μg/ml were also cytotoxic. Subcytotoxic concentrations of OFA induced a strong immediate chemiluminescence response by AM. A small but significant chemiluminescence response was induced by two out of three UAP tested, while no chemiluminescence was generated in response to DD. The magnitude of particle-induced chemiluminescence was not predictive of a cytokine response by either human or rat AM. TNF and IL-6 production was strongly induced by UAP over a range of noncytotoxic concentrations of particles. OFA induced only small amounts of TNF in a subset of human AM preparations, but not in rat AM. The AM cytokine response to UAP was partly inhibitable by polymyxin B, but not by the iron chelator deferoxamine, indicating that endotoxins but not transitional iron were cytokine-inducing moieties in the tested UAP preparations.
ELECTRIC POTENTIAL AND ACTIVITY OF CHOLINE ESTERASE IN THE ELECTRIC ORGAN OF ELECTROPHORUS ELECTRICUS (LINNAEUS).

1. If the concentration of choline esterase is determined at different sections from the head to the caudal end of the electric organ of Electrophorus electricus (Linneaus) S-like curves are obtained. These curves are essentially the same as those which show the number of electric discs per centimeter and the E.M.F. per centimeter. 2. In the organ of Hunter the concentration of the enzyme does not differ from that in the adjacent parts in the main organ. This again coincides with the observations on the number of plates per centimeter in this organ. 3. The concentration of the enzyme was determined in different parts of the brain and the spinal cord and compared with that in a gold fish. The concentrations here are of the same order, but in the spinal cord of the eel the concentration is even lower than in the gold fish. As the cell bodies of the nerves innervating the electric organ in the spinal cord, these results do not lend support to the assumption of a special concentration of the enzyme in these nerves. 4. In the muscles adjacent to the electric organ an enzyme concentration has been found which is of the order of that in the electric tissue itself and much higher than in ordinary striated muscles. 5. The suitability of the organ for the preparation of enzyme solutions has been investigated and compared with that of the organ of Torpedo.
ViPA: A computer program for vector projection analysis of normal vibrational modes of molecules

Abstract We describe a program designed to give a quantitative comparison of the normal vibrational modes of similar molecules by using calculated force constant matrices. The program uses the normal modes of one molecule to form a basis set to describe the normal modes of a second, similar molecule. Vibrational projection analysis, a specific application of vector projection analysis, is thus used to determine a percentage similarity by calculating the dot product between each of the 3 N normal modes of one molecule and the 3 N ′ normal modes of the other and virtually automates the assignment of normal mode descriptions for one molecule to another, structurally similar molecule. The ViPA program for Vibrational Projection Analysis can accomodate molecules with different numbers of atoms and different orientations, and it can calculate vibrational frequencies and modes of isotopically substituted molecules. The program has been used to compare normal modes of molecules which differ by perturbations of their masses (e.g., isotopic substitutions), their force constants (e.g., different oxidation states, electronic states, or non-covalent contacts) or both (e.g., chemical substitution), as well as to compare the results of calculations using different quantum chemical methods and/or basis sets. Although the program currently uses force constant matrices from the quantum chemistry program Gaussian94, potential applications of the method include analyzing normal modes from molecular mechanics or molecular dynamics calculations, comparing modes calculated by different methods, and perhaps calculating Franck-Condon factors. Thus, the vibrational projection analysis concept is not limited to small molecules, but will prove useful for ordered periodic solids as well as proteins, and perhaps disordered polymers and liquids too.
Not Just Another Pretty Face Sex Roles, Locus of Control and Cosmetics Use

Despite the voluminous literature on the physical attractiveness variable, little research has considered the psychosocial processes involved in self alterations of appearance (i.e., grooming behavior). The present study examined individual differences in a largely sex-specific facet of grooming, facial cosmetics use among women. Seventy-five female college students completed the Cash Cosmetics Use Inventory, which assesses the quantity and the situational-dispositional pattern of cosmetics use. Subjects completed personality measures of sex-role identity, sex-role attitudes, social self-esteem, and locus of control. Higher-quantity users were found to be more sex-typed on bipolar but not unipolar sex-role identity, somewhat more profeminist in attitudes, and less external in locus of control for achievement success. Women who were more situationally variable in their pattern of use did not differ in sex-role identity but were more liberal in sex-role attitudes and more internal vis-a-vis affiliative outc...
Cautiousness in adulthood as a function of age and payoff structure

Eighteen young (mean age = 21.50; SD = 2.23) and 18 older (mean age = 68.17; SD = 3.13) adults participated in a vocabulary task involving varying degrees of risk with a payoff structure that varied either directly or inversely with risk. In contrast to prior research using constant payoff structures, the results did not indicate that older adults are more cautious than young adults. Further, for both age groups, risk-taking is a function of payoff structure. The data clearly question the generalization that the elderly are more cautious than young adults and suggest that risk, as a concept, should not be considered independently of payoff. Language: en
Evaluation of Cougar Population Estimators in Utah

Abstract Numerous techniques have been proposed to estimate or index cougar (Puma concolor) populations, but few have been applied simultaneously to populations with reliable estimates of population size. Between 1996 and 2003, we evaluated the relative efficacy and accuracy of multiple estimation and index techniques for populations at 2 locations in Utah, USA: Monroe Mountain and the Oquirrh Mountains. We used radiotagging followed by intensive monitoring and repeated capture efforts to approach a complete enumeration of the populations. We used these benchmarks to evaluate other population estimates (Lincoln–Petersen mark–recapture, helicopter-survey probability sampling, catch-per-unit-effort) and indices (scent-station visits, track counts, hunter harvest). Monitoring over 600 scent-station-nights using different attractants June–September in 1996 and 1997 yielded a single cougar visit. Summer track-based indices reflected a 54–69% reduction in population size on the Monroe site and a numerically sta...
Electronic Spectrum of Propadienylidene (H2C=C=C:) and its Relevance to the Diffuse Interstellar Bands

The electronic spectrum of singlet propadienylidene (H2C=C=C:) matrix isolated in neon at 6 K was measured. Propadienylidene is the only member of the homologous series of neutral carbon chain molecules H2C(=C)n to be observed by electronic spectroscopy. The spectrum displays three electronic transitions: two in the visible ( 1A2 ← 1A1 and 1B1 ← 1A1) and one in the UV ( 1A1 ← 1A1). The longest wavelength transition ( 1A2 ← 1A1) is symmetry forbidden but is weakly seen in the spectrum via vibronic coupling with the 1B1 state. The other two transitions exhibit well-resolved vibrational progressions. The high density of absorptions in the visible region confirms earlier suggestions that the H2C(=C)n family of cumulene carbenes merits careful consideration as potential carriers of diffuse interstellar bands.
Inadequacy of effective Co2 as a proxy in simulating the greenhouse effect of other radiatively active gases

The use of an 'effective' CO2 concentration to simulate the combined greenhouse effect of CO2 and the trace gases CH4, N2O, CFC-11 and CFC-12 is open to question, because the radiative-forcing behaviour of CO2 is very different from that of these other gases. Model simulations show that different radiative forcing can lead to quite different climatic effects. The thermal infrared opacity of these trace gases therefore needs to be explicitly accounted for when attempting to predict the climate response to increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases.
The role of forgetting in the evolution and learning of language

Lewis signalling games illustrate how language might evolve from random behaviour. The probability of evolving an optimal signalling language is, in part, a function of what learning strategy the agents use. Here we investigate three learning strategies, each of which allows agents to forget old experience. In each case, we find that forgetting increases the probability of evolving an optimal language. It does this by making it less likely that past partial success will continue to reinforce suboptimal practice. The learning strategies considered here show how forgetting past experience can promote learning in the context of games with suboptimal equilibria.
Economic burden of healthcare-associated infections: an American perspective

Annually, approximately 2 million patients suffer with healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) in the USA, and nearly 90,000 are estimated to die. The overall direct cost of HAIs to hospitals ranges from US$28 billion to 45 billion. While the range is wide, HAIs are clearly expensive. In addition, most HAIs are thought to be preventable; however, published guidelines are not congruent. Important policy changes include mandating hospitals to publically report HAI rates and a federal pay-for-performance measure that will no longer allow Medicare to pay more for patients with HAIs. Further rigorous economic evaluations of specific interventions, as well as on evaluations of the policies, are required.
The development of visual-motor search and the use of redundant information

The purposes of these studies were to assess the generality of previously observed developmental trends in visual attention and to identify age changes in children’s use of redundant information in a visual-motor search task. In the first study, children and adults searched for and retrieved target letters in collections of colored plastic letters. The collections varied in the degree to which the colors of the targets were correlated with their shapes. Search times were faster in redundant conditions than in nonredundant conditions, and the search times increased further in speed over trials in most redundant conditions. Older subjects increased in efficiency of search earlier in the task than younger subjects did. In the second study, children of the three youngest age groups searched for target letters in three redundant conditions. There were age differences in how the children used redundancy to aid visual search. The youngest children used it best if they were told of its presence, whereas older children used it equally well if they discovered it themselves.
URANIUM DISTRIBUTION IN STONE METEORITES BY THE FISSION-TRACK TECHNIQUE.

Abstract Uranium distributions in a group of stone meteorites have been examined in situ on a microscale by the technique of fission track activation, using a thin plastic overlay to detect the tracks. Changes in uranium concentration by factors of 105 are observed over distances of ~10−2 cm. The non-uniformity in uranium content is such that in some samples regions of average uranium content are seldom found, making the usefulness of the term “average” doubtful. The ordinary chondrites of greater major element disequilibrium are found to have increased non-uniformity in uranium content from one chondrule to another and higher values of uranium in the chondrules relative to the matrix material.
Quantum-dot infrared photodetectors and focal plane arrays

We report our recent results about mid-wavelength infrared quantum-dot infrared photodetectors (QDIPs) grown by low-pressure metalorganic chemical vapor deposition. A very high responsivity and a very low dark current were obtained. A high peak detectivity of the order of 3×10 12 Jones was achieved at 77 K. The temperature dependent device performance was also investigated. The improved temperature insensitivity compared to QWIPs was attributed to the properties of quantum dots. The device showed a background limited performance temperature of 220 K with a 45° field of view and 300K background. The current device problems are a low quantum efficiency and a stronger than expected performance degradation as a function of operating temperature. Possible ways to improve the quantum efficiency and operating temperature are discussed.