cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effects of positive AMPA receptor modulators on calpain-mediated spectrin degradation in cultured hippocampal slices

Abstract Positive modulators of AMPA receptors (AMPAr), also known as ampakines, are allosteric effectors of the receptors and have been extensively studied in past years due to their potential use as treatment for various diseases and ailments of the central nervous system such as mild cognitive impairment, schizophrenia, and Alzheimer's disease. Ampakines have been shown to improve performance on memory tasks in animals and in human subjects, an effect linked to their ability to increase agonist-mediated ion influx through AMPAr, thus leading to enhanced synaptic responses and facilitation of long-term potentiation (LTP) induction at glutamatergic synapses. As LTP is associated with calpain activation and spectrin degradation, we determined the effects of ampakine treatment of cultured hippocampal slices on spectrin degradation. Calpain activation was evaluated by determining the levels of the 145–150 kDa degradation products of spectrin. Our data indicated that incubation of hippocampal slices with some, but not all positive modulators of AMPA receptors resulted in enhanced spectrin degradation, an effect that was blocked by a calpain inhibitor. In addition, an antagonist of AMPAr but not of NMDAr blocked ampakine-induced spectrin degradation. These results indicate that prolonged treatment with selected ampakines leads to spectrin degradation mediated by activation of the calcium-dependent protease calpain.
Using Goodman to Explore Historical Representation

AbstractSeveral authors argue that historical works should be viewed as relatively complex and autonomous constructions that are of interest in their own right. In the paper I follow this general approach to history and provide an analysis of historical representation inspired mainly by Nelson Goodman’s observations about symbols. In Languages of Art, Goodman makes a number of interesting claims regarding pictorial representation, exemplification and expression, which could be employed to clarify certain semantic questions of history. He convincingly shows that there are two important questions about any representation: What is the representation about and what kind of representation is it? In the paper I make use of this two-questions point in order to explore the semantics of historical representation. In particular, this point helps to emphasize that historical works are not simple reports about past events but rather symbols revealing what kinds of representations they are, i.e. what they exemplify or express.
Regulatory Requirements for PET Drug Production

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued the final rule for title 21 of Code of Federal Regulations part 212 regarding the regulations on current good manufacturing practice for PET drugs. The regulations are intended to ensure that PET drugs meet the safety and quality assurance requirements of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. The new regulation became effective December 12, 2011, but the FDA used regulatory discretion to allow new drug applications and abbreviated new drug applications to be filed until June 12, 2012, without interruption of the existing PET drug production for human use. The production of PET drugs for both clinical use and clinical research use are outlined in this continuing education module, including an overview of specific requirements for compliance. Additionally, FDA preapproval inspections and postapproval reporting requirements are reviewed.
Gender Biases in Probation Officers: Attributions of Juvenile Delinquency

In recent years a controversy has developed over the extent of gender discrimination in the juvenile justice system. This article focuses specifically on how male and female probation officers attempt to explain the reasons for male and female delinquency. Independent observers ranked open-ended responses from probation officers along several causal dimensions. Peer conformity was given as the major explanation for both male andfemale delinquency. However, delinquent girls were seen as rebelling against traditional norms, while delinquent boys were regarded as conforming to gender roles. Both male and female probation officers judged same sex minors as having a lower self-esteem. It is suggested that there is an interactive effect of the sex of the probation officer and the minor on attributions. These interactions may result in differential treatment.
Small size at birth and later diabetic pregnancy.

Objective: To determine whether small size at birth was associated with an increased risk of diabetes in pregnancy. Methods: Linked birth cohorts were evaluated: that of women born at 37–44 weeks’ gestation in 1974, and that of their offspring born 1995–1996, at which time birth certificate data included a checkbox for maternal diabetes. The risk for diabetes was calculated for both a small for gestational age (SGA) group, defined as less than the tenth percentile for gestational age, and an appropriate for gestational age (AGA) group. Results: The relative risk for diabetes in pregnancy among the group that had been small at birth was 3.6 compared with the larger group. This was significant at the P < .001 level. Conclusion: A woman’s risk of diabetes during pregnancy is increased if she herself was small at birth.
Multipartite entanglement, quantum-error-correcting codes, and entangling power of quantum evolutions

We investigate the average bipartite entanglement, over all possible divisions of a multipartite system, as a useful measure of multipartite entanglement. We expose a connection between such measures and quantum-error-correcting codes by deriving a formula relating the weight distribution of the code to the average entanglement of encoded states. The multipartite entangling power of quantum evolutions is also investigated.
Electron Self-Energy Calculation Using a General Multi-Pole Approximation

We present a method for calculating the inverse of the dielectric matrix in a solid using a band Lanczos algorithm. The method produces a multi-pole approximation for the inverse dielectric matrix with an arbitrary number of poles. We discuss how this approximation can be used to calculate the screened Coulomb interaction needed for electron self-energy calculations in solids.
Immunostimulatory activity of major membrane protein-II from Mycobacterium leprae.

Abstract We examined the antigenicity of an immunomodulatory protein, major membrane protein (MMP)-II, from Mycobacterium leprae , since host defense against M. leprae largely depends on adaptive immunity. Both unprimed and memory T cells from healthy individuals were stimulated by autologous MMP-II-pulsed monocyte-derived dendritic cells (DCs) to produce IFN-γ. The DC-mediated IFN-γ production was dependent on the expression of MHC, CD86, and MMP-II antigens. Memory T cells from paucibacillary (PB) leprosy more extensively responded to MMP-II-pulsed DCs than T cells from healthy individuals, while comparable IFN-γ was produced by unprimed T cells. Memory T cells from multibacillary leprosy, which are normally believed to be anergic, were activated similarly to those from healthy individuals by MMP-II-pulsed DCs. These results suggest that memory T cells from PB leprosy are primed with MMP-II prior to the manifestation of the disease, and MMP-II is highly antigenic in terms of activation of adaptive immunity.
Single Reactor Route to Polar Superlattices. Layer-by-Layer Self-Assembly of Large-Response Molecular Electrooptic Materials by Protection−Deprotection

Protection−deprotection of silyl-derivatized surface hydroxyl groups represents a new, “one-pot” strategy for the layer-by-layer construction of polar, covalently interlinked electrooptic molecular superlattices. These, siloxane-based multilayer structures are shown to be smooth, adherent, and structurally regular and to exhibit excellent electrooptic/nonlinear optic responses with χ(2)zzz ∼ 220 pm/V and r33 ∼ 80 pm/V without electric field poling. This all “wet-chemical” self-assembly approach should be readily amenable to automation.
Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty of congenital coarctation of the aorta

Two cases of successful dilatation of congenital coarctation of the aorta using the Gruntzig technique are reported. In a 3-week-old boy and an 11-month-old girl, systolic gradients across the narrowed areas were lowered from 50 to 8 mm Hg and from 23 to 8 mm Hg. Although the femoral pulses later disappeared in the younger patient, surgery was avoided. The second patient's gradient has remained minimal for 8 months and no surgery has been performed.
Direct demonstration of transcriptional activation of collagen gene expression in systemic sclerosis fibroblasts: Insensitivity to TGFβ1 stimulation

Lesional fibroblasts propagated from the skin of patients with scleroderma, when compared to normal fibroblasts, show increased synthesis of several collagens and increased levels of their corresponding mRNAs. Using constructs (COL1A2/CAT) containing the promoter for the alpha 2 (I) collagen gene in transient transfection assays with matched pairs of scleroderma and normal skin fibroblasts, we observed higher transcriptional activity of the COL1A2 gene in scleroderma fibroblasts and, in contrast to normal fibroblasts, no further expression was observed in the presence of TGFβ1. Analysis of the expression of COL1A2 promoter deletion constructs indicates that the TGFβ responsive element functional in normal fibroblasts and the sequence involved in intrinsic upregulation of COL1A2 gene expression in scleroderma fibroblasts are both located between bp -376 (Bgl II) and bp -108 (Sma I) sites. These data may indicate that intrinsic upregulation of extracellular matrix genes in scleroderma fibroblasts utilizes a TGFβ dependent pathway.
Sleep deprivation impairs memory, tau metabolism, and synaptic integrity of a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease with plaques and tangles.

Several studies have highlighted the frequency of sleep disturbances in Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, whether they are secondary to the disease or per se increase its risk remains to be fully investigated. The aim of the current investigation was to study the effect of sleep deprivation (SD) on the development of AD phenotype in a transgenic mouse model with plaques and tangles, the 3xTg mice. We evaluated the functional and biological consequences on 3xTg mice that underwent 4 hours sleep restrain per day for 8 weeks. Compared with controls, behavioral assessment showed that SD-treated mice had a significant decline in their learning and memory. Although no differences were detected in the levels of soluble amyloid-β peptides, the same animals displayed a decrease in tau phosphorylation, which associated with a significant increase in its insoluble fraction. In addition, we observed that SD resulted in lower levels of postsynaptic density protein 95 and increased glial fibrillary acidic protein levels. Finally, although total levels of the transcription factor cellular response element binding protein were unchanged, its phosphorylated form was significantly diminished in brains of sleep-deprived mice when compared with controls. Our study underlines the importance of SD as a chronic stressor, which by modulating biochemical processes influences the development of memory impairments and AD neuropathologies. Correction of SD could be a viable therapeutic strategy to prevent the onset or slow the progression of AD in individuals bearing this risk factor.
Exclusion principle effect on the pair distribution function in the composite boson approach to the theory of liquid 4He

Abstract When the many-boson Hamiltonian and state vectors of liquid 4 He are derived by an appropriate canonical transformation starting with the many-electron, many-nucleus state space, one automatically obtains a kinematical “Fermi hole” factor in the pair distribution function.
Can Any Stationary Iteration Using Linear Information Be Globally Convergent

All known globally convergent iterations for the solution of a nonlinear operator equation ƒ(x) = 0 are either nonstationary or use nonlinear information. It is asked whether there exists a globally convergent stationary iteration which uses linear information. It is proved that even if global convergence is defined in a weak sense, there exists no such iteration for as simple a class of problems as the set of all analytic complex functions having only simple zeros. It is conjectured that even for the class of all real polynomials which have real simple zeros there does not exist a globally convergent stationary iteration using linear information.
Simplified Calculational Procedure for Determining the Amount of Intercepted Sunlight in an Imaging Solar Concentrator

In imaging solar concentrators, the solar radiation incident on a receiver surface depends upon both the overall concentrator shape and the angular distribution of light rays (sunshape) that reach the receiver. Calculation of the amount of sunlight incident on the receiver usually requires sophisticated computer programs. A simplified calculational procedure is presented to solve this problem for both one- and two-dimensional concentrators, with the results presented in graphical form. The procedure first determines the amount of sunshape broadening resulting from optical scattering caused by reflector or glazing materials, surface slope errors, or other ''mechanical'' factors such as tracking errors or vibrations. These optical effects are combined into an effective error cone which is convoluted with measured sunshapes in order to obtain effective, broadened sunshapes. Broadened sunshapes for a variety of effective error-cone distributions are calculated and presented. It is found that when the root-mean-square (RMS) width of the effective error cone is greater than approximately two times the RMS width of the incident sunshape, the broadened sunshape can be adequately described by a circular normal distribution. A specific example is included which illustrates the calculational procedure discussed in the paper.
Rat Growth Hormone Receptor/Growth Hormone-Binding Protein mRNAs with Divergent 5′-Untranslated Regions Are Expressed in a Tissue-Specific Manner

In the rat, the growth hormone receptor (GH-R) gene generates two transcripts, one encoding the transmembrane GH-R, and a shorter one encoding the GH-binding protein (GH-BP). These transcripts exhibit a high degree of heterogeneity in their 5'-untranslated regions (5'-UTRs). Some of the exons encoding these 5'-UTR variants may be flanked by distinct promoter regions whose activity would result in the tissue-specific expression of the GH-R gene. To assess this possibility, we used single-sided polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification to characterize 5'-UTR variants in rat GH-R cDNAs, and by using 5'-UTR-specific probes, we determined their pattern of expression in several tissues. Besides two previously described variants (V1 and V2), three new 5'-UTR variants were identified, extending 56 nucleotides (V3), 135 nucleotides (V4), and 209 nucleotides (V5) upstream of the ATG translation initiation codon. The expression of GH-R and GH-BP transcripts was clearly tissue specific. In the liver, GH-BP mRNA was the predominant transcript, whereas in other tissues, there was equivalent expression of both transcripts or predominant expression of GH-R mRNA. With respect to the tissue distribution of the 5'-UTR variants in particular, variants V1 and V5 exhibited a pattern of expression closely resembling that seen with an exon 2 probe, with the overall expression of variant V1 being much higher than that of variant V5. The V2 species was exclusively expressed in liver. Variant V3 was expressed at low levels in liver, muscle, heart, and kidney; in muscle and heart, it was preferentially associated with GH-BP transcripts. Variant V4, although present in liver, was more abundant in extrahepatic tissues and predominantly found in GH-R mRNA transcripts. Southern blot analyses were consistent with exon 2 and the exons encoding the V1 and V2 sequences being in proximity, with the other 5'-UTR sequences being encoded by exons located further upstream of exon 2. These findings support the concept that different 5'-UTR variants are the result of the different promoters acting in a tissue-specific manner. The association of specific 5'-UTR variants with either GH-R or GH-BP transcripts raises the possibility that the alternative splicing process that generates GH-BP mRNA in the rat might be controlled by the 5'-flanking region regulating the expression of specific leader exons.
Pretraining enhances mnemonic training in elderly adults.

Abstract One hundred twenty-eight elderly adults were recruited to assess the effects of affective judgment, imagery, and relaxation pretraining on mnemonic training. Participants were assigned to one of the following conditions: (1) visual imagery and affective judgment pretraining plus mnemonic training, (2) visual imagery pretraining only plus mnemonic training, (3) relaxation pretraining plus mnemonic training, (4) nonspecific pretraining plus mnemonic training, (5) nonspecific pretraining only, and (6) wait list. Subjects were tested at three times: prior to training (Time 1), following pretraining (Time 2), and at the conclusion of mnemonic training (Time 3). Although those receiving active pretraining plus mnemonics did not differ from one another at Time 3, they recalled more than those with no active pretraining. The results suggest that for mnemonics to be effective they should be coupled with active pretraining techniques.
PNW region holds joint meeting

The twenty-ninth AGU Pacific Northwest Regional Meeting was held September 15–16, in Fairbanks, Alaska. This was the first time that the meeting was held in Alaska, which, incidently, has the highest per capita AGU membership in the United States. The thirty-third meeting of the Alaska Science Conference (AAAS) was convened jointly (September 16–18) with the AGU meeting. Approximately 550 participants attended the AAAS portion and presented 220 papers; about 150 attended the AGU segment and presented 63 papers. Carl Benson chaired a joint plenary session on ‘Geophysics of Alaska's South Coast.’
Out with the Old, In with the New: Best Practices for Replacing Library Signage

Signage is an essential way of communicating with users and is a vital way to alert patrons to important information, news, upcoming events, policies, and directions. Literature on library signage has emphasized the importance of consistency and clarity, to avoid clutter and contradictory messaging, and the need for buy-in from library staff, faculty and patrons. However, few scholarly studies address user preferences in signage. This article fills the void between theory and practice, and offers step-by-step details for revamping signage, specifically in an academic library. At the heart of the authors' thesis is that library signs are living documents. Libraries are always in the process of reinventing themselves, and library signage must adapt to the constant movement of a library “in motion.” If properly designed and well placed, library signage should help create a meaningful experience for its patrons. This study is a follow-up to the article, “Do You See the Signs?: Evaluating Language, Branding, a...
Mouth Stick Design for the Client With Spinal Cord Injury

This paper reviews literature on mouth sticks and presents information from a survey of occupational therapists specializing in the treatment of persons with spinal cord injuries. The review discusses the standards of mouth-stick design that have been established by dentists, but the survey suggests that occupational therapy practice is widely discrepant from these standards. The author suggests increased education for occupational therapists to provide knowledge of the key elements of oral safety, and increased collaboration between occupational therapists and dentists in mouth-stick design, fabrication, and training to assure quality care for all persons who require a mouth stick.
Cover crop effect on corn growth and yield as influenced by topography

The use of cover crops is reported to enhance ecosystem services, however their adoption by farmers has remained limited. A challenge to farmer uptake is high spatial and temporal variability in cover crop growth and performance. Since topography plays an important role in spatial processes that ultimately affect plant performance, it could be used to quantify cover crop spatial variability and cover crop contribution to a subsequent cash crop. We assessed the effects of topography and cover crop (red clover) biomass on corn yields. Hierarchical path analysis was used to identify direct and indirect relationships among topography, red clover biomass, and corn yield, while taking into account the effects of agricultural management practices, multiple years, and multiple experimental fields. We observed that topography contribute significantly to explaining the variability in both red clover biomass and corn yields. Higher red clover biomass was produced in flat areas, whereas higher corn yield was produced in areas with high curvature. Red clover biomass positively influenced corn yield, however, the magnitude of that effect varied both temporally and spatially. The effect of red clover on corn yields was significant only in the years with lowest precipitation; and its magnitude was more pronounced at summit and slope topographical positions. Therefore, a good cover crop stand will be most beneficial to subsequent corn crop at summit and slope positions. Accounting for variability in fields and years using a hierarchical model significantly improved analysis of the interactive relationships between topography, red clover, and corn; therefore we encouraged its use in agroecological research.
A fault-diagnostic expert system for walking draglines

Abstract Diagnostic expert systems can capture the repair knowledge of the best qualified human experts in a particular domain. By capturing this human expertise and making it available to all repair personnel, an expert system improve the ability to reduce trouble shooting and repair time. In this paper, a faultdiagnostic expert system for a dragline is presented. The dragline expert system developed in Prolog, has capabilities of diagnosing faults in 18 different components of a dragline. The expert system accepts descriptions of a problem, initiates a dialog to acquire dragline conditions, deduce additional information from its own knowledge base and proposes a solution.
Axes of projection: poetics of urbanisation and globalisation in the Americas

Modernist architecture in Latin America was originally intended to propel the region into the ‘developed First World’. Meanwhile, modernist architecture in Anglo-America has often served to consolidate the political-economic power of the ‘First World’, especially in the age of globalisation. This essay examines the First/Third World divide through two historical ‘moments’ of modernism, beginning in Brazil and ending in California. Brazilian modernism reached its apex with the construction of Brasilia (1955–1960), designed principally by two undisputed masters of Brazilian modernism, Lucio Costa and Oscar Niemeyer. The politico-economic ambitions of Brazil's modernist architecture, however, appear to have ended in failure. Rather than curing underdevelopment, modernism (and modernisation) may have exacerbated it. Yet for all modernism's failures, we should not assume that history has somehow left Brazil behind, as if Brazilian architecture were caught in some historical time-lag. In this essay I will test ...
The Case for Investigating Postpartum Depression in Lesbians and Bisexual Women

As many as 19.2% of new mothers suffer from major or minor postpartum depression (PPD) within 3 months of childbirth (Gavin et al., 2005). With approximately one third of lesbians between the ages of 18 and 44 giving birth (Gates, Badgett, Macomber, & Chambers, 2007), the prevalence of PPD among them is not inconsequential. Already facing a surfeit of vulnerabilities based on their sexual orientation, namely heterosexism (i.e., nonheterosexual delegitimization; Herek, 1990) from their families, service providers, and the larger society, the prevalence among lesbian mothers may be even higher, an assertion supported by the findings of Ross, Steele, Goldfinger, and Strike (2007), discussed later. Despite these glaring statistics, disproportionately little is understood about PPD among lesbians. A search in eight psychological, sociological, and medical research databases using the keywords “postpartum or postnatal” and “depress*” and “lesbian,” and limited only to scholarly, peerreviewed works, yielded just seven hits, all published within the last 6 years. Clearly, more scholarship on this issue is needed. PPD is clinically defined as the onset of a major depressive episode, as part of a mood disorder, within 4 weeks of childbirth (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). (The postpartum onset specifier can also be applied to a manic or mixed episode and to brief psychotic disorder. However, our focus here is on the postpartum onset of depression.) A major depressive episode is characterized, among other criteria, by at least five of nine depressive symptoms (e.g., depressed mood, anhedonia, significant change in weight or appetite, sleep disturbance) manifesting within a 2-week period (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). PPD is typically identified using various formal screening methods. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS; Cox, Holden, & Sagovsky, 1987), for example, is widely used and
Effect of allelic heterogeneity on the power of the transmission disequilibrium test.

Due in part to an influential paper by Risch and Merikangas [(1996) Science 273:1516-1517], which suggested that disequilibrium tests would have greater power to detect genes of small effect than would linkage tests, interest in the use of the Transmission Disequilibrium Test (TDT) as an analysis tool for genomewide studies is steadily growing. However, the paper by Risch and Merikangas made several simplifying assumptions. One such assumption was that the underlying gene showed allelic homogeneity, and another was that the allele being measured was the actual susceptibility allele. Here we investigate the effect of allelic heterogeneity on the power of the TDT using multiplicative, additive, dominant, and recessive modes of inheritances in the context of a genomewide study. We further distinguish two cases: first, that the marker alleles are the actual susceptibility alleles, and second, that alleles are measured at a marker linked to the disease gene with zero recombination. We consider two family structures, either a single affected offspring (SAO) and two parents, or an affected sib-pair (ASP) and two parents. We find that, as expected, the power of the TDT declines as the number of susceptibility alleles at the locus being tested increases and the effect on power can be substantial. When a linked marker is measured rather than a susceptibility allele itself, sample sizes reach unattainable levels when as few as two susceptibility alleles are present. Across all the models we consider, the required number of families for a TDT with ASP sampling varies from 19 to over a million families. Thus, the TDT may not be an optimal test in the context of genomic screens under more biologically realistic assumptions.
The human CD94 gene encodes multiple, expressible transcripts including a new partner of NKG2A/B

CD94/NKG2A is an inhibitory receptor expressed by natural killer (NK) cells and a subset of CD8+ T cells. Ligation of CD94/NKG2A by its ligand HLA-E results in tyrosine phosphorylation of the NKG2A immunoreceptor tyrosine-based inhibitory motifs, and recruitment and activation of the SH2 domain-bearing tyrosine phosphatase-1, which in turn suppresses activation signals. The nkg2a gene encodes two isoforms, NKG2A and NKG2B, with the latter lacking the stem region. We identified three new alternative transcripts of the cd94 gene in addition to the originally described canonical CD94Full. One of the transcripts, termed CD94-T4, lacks the portion that encodes the stem region. CD94-T4 associates with both NKG2A and NKG2B, but preferentially associates with the latter. This is probably due to the absence of a stem region in both CD94-T4 and NKG2B. CD94-T4/NKG2B is capable of binding HLA-E and, when expressed in E6-1 Jurkat T cells, inhibits TCR mediated signals, demonstrating that this heterodimer is functional. Coevolution of stemless isoforms of CD94 and NKG2A that preferentially pair with each other to produce a functional heterodimer indicates that this may be more than a serendipitous event. CD94-T4/NKG2B may contribute to the plasticity of the NK immunological synapse by insuring an adequate inhibitory signal.
Simple and rapid assay for acetaminophen and conjugated metabolites in low-volume serum samples

Abstract The use of marker compounds for estimating drug metabolic capacity or pharmacokinetic parameters is common in the biological sciences. Often small laboratory animals are used and thus sample size is a limiting concern. In this report, we describe an assay we developed for measuring the concentration of acetaminophen and its conjugated metabolites in low-volume serum samples. Acetaminophen and metabolites were removed from 10 μl serum samples by a single-step 6% (v/v) perchloric acid deproteination using theophylline as internal standard. Samples were separated in a pH 2.2 sodium sulfate–acetonitrile mobile phase at a flow-rate of 1.5 ml/min on a 15 cm octadecylsilyl column at room temperature. Analytes were detected at a wavelength of 254 nm. The resulting chromatograms showed no interfering peaks from endogenous serum components. The concentration ranges measured were 1.56–200 μg/ml for acetaminophen and acetaminophen sulfate and 3.91–500 μg/ml for acetaminophen glucuronide. The assay was linear in the range of concentrations analyzed. The intra-day and inter-day coefficient of variation ranged from 0.4 to 8.2% and 0.2 to 12.3% for acetaminophen, 0.5 to 12.9% and 0.3 to 16.1% for acetaminophen glucuronide, and 0.4 to 8.1% and 0.2 to 14.3% for acetaminophen sulfate, respectively. Results from the experiments show that acetaminophen and its conjugated metabolites can easily and reproducibly be measured in low-volume serum samples and thus may offer an additional method to measure these compounds when the volume of biological samples may be limited.
BTB Review of Current Scholarship: Israelite Settlement of Canaan: a Peaceful Internal Process - Part 1

Guided by archaeological research, traditional scholarly models for the Israelite settlement of Canaan, namely processes of infiltration, invasion and revolution have been gradually losing ground to models of peaceful settlement. Part 1 of this BTB Review of Current Scholarship critiques the earlier models, which highlighted the distinctive nature of Israelite religion, and supported a biblical theologies characterized by either/or ethical decisions, social reform and even revolution. Part 2 in a subsequent issue will review the more recent trend which emphasizes the evolutionary nature of cultural and religious development.
Does induction chemotherapy have a role in the management of nasopharyngeal carcinoma? Results of treatment in the era of computerized tomography.

Abstract Purpose: To assess the outcomes of patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) whose treatment was determined by computerized tomography (CT) and/or magnetic resonance imaging staging and to analyze the impact of induction chemotherapy and accelerated fractionated radiotherapy. Methods and Materials: The analysis is based on 122 of 143 previously untreated patients with NPC treated with radiation therapy at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center between 1983 and 1992. Excluded were 4 patients treated with palliative intent, 4 children, 12 patients not staged with CT, and 1 patients who died of a cerebrovascular accident prior to completion of treatment. The stage distribution was as follows: AJCC Stage I2; Stage II7, Stage III12, Stage IV101; T115; T233, T322; T452; N032; N110; N247, N332, Nx1. Fifty-nine (48%) patients has sqamous cell carcinoma; 63 (52%) had lymphoepitheliomas, undifferentiated NPC or poorly differentiated carcinoma, NOS (UNPC). Sicty-seven patients (65 with Stage IV disease) received induction chemotherapy. Fifty-eight patients (24 of whom had induction chemotherapy) were treated with the concomitant boost fractionation schedule. The median follow-up for surviving patients was 57 months. Results: The overall actuarial 2- and 5-year survival rates were 78 and 68%, respectively. Forty-nine patients (40%) has disease recurrence. Thirty-three (27%) had local regional failures; 19 at the primary site only, 8 in the neck and 6 in both. Local failure occurred in 31% of patients staged T4 compared to 13% of T1–T3 ( p = 0.007). Sixteen patients failed at distant sites alone. Among Stage IV patients the 5-year actuarial rates for patients who did and did not receive induction chemotherapy were as follows: overall survival: 68 vs. 56% p = 0.02), freedom from relapse; 64 vs. 37% ( p = 0.01), and local control: 86 vs. 56% ( p = 0.009). The actuarial 5-year distant failure rate in patients with UNPC who were treated with induction chemotherapy and controlled in the primary and neck was 13%. In patients who did not receive chemotherapy, the acturial 5-year local control rates for patients treated with concomitant boost or conventional fractionation were 66 and 67%, respectively. Conclusions: While not providing conclusive evidence, this single institution experience suggests that neoadjuvant chemotherapy for Stage IV NPC patients improves both survival and disease control. Recurrence within the irradiated volume was the most prevalent mode of failure and future studies will evaluate regimens to enhance local regional control.
Collision-induced fragmentation of triatomic ions

Abstract A method for identifying energy states of the products of ion dissociations using ion kinetic energy spectrometry is described. The reactant triatomic ions at relative translational energies of 8 keV are allowed to undergo collision-induced dissociation and the positions of the peak maxima of the kinetic energy spectra are used to measure the excitation energy acquired by the ion during the vertical transition from the ground ionic state to the reactive surface. The kinetic energy released on fragmentation is determined from the peak shape and subtracted from the energy of the energized ion to fix the energy of the products. The large range of energies usually released suggests that reaction generally occurs on a repulsive surface. The following product states are deduced for the reactions listed: Except for the HCN+ reaction, the reacting states correlate with ground state diatomic ions and ground state diatomic molecules, although the neutral atoms and atomic ions are not necessarily formed in the ground electronic states. The assigned product states formed by collisional excitation correlate with reacting states which are spin allowed. Without exception, larger kinetic energy releases are associated with the process for which the positive charge resides with the diatomic fragments. The COS+ ion reacts via three pathways to give CS+ , S+ and CO+ as the charged fragments. The first two reactions are unexceptional. The last reaction is apparently due to COS+ in an electronically excited state reached prior to collision since the measured kinetic energy loss corresponds to an excitation energy which is 3.8 eV less than that required to reach the dissociation limit leading to CO+ + S in their ground electronic states.
1269 POSSIBLE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MATERNAL ANESTHESIA AND NEONATAL JAUNDICE: EFFECT IN VITRO OF ANESTHETICS ON THE NEONATAL RED CELL

Neonatal jaundice has been correlated with use of anesthetics in the mother. These membrane-active agents cross the placenta & lead to measurable blood levels in the newborn. We investigated the effect in vitro of 3 commonly used agents on filterability of neonatal red cells (RBC). Cord blood was obtained from 10 infants whose mothers had received no medication or anesthetics prior to or during labor. RBC were washed and resuspended to a hematocrit of 5% in pH 7.4 Kreb's phosphate buffer, & incubated for ½ hour at 37°C with either buffer or anesthetic agent (1 or 2 μg/ml). Filterability was tested using a modification of Teitel's method. For the 3 agents tested, no significant difference was seen in T1/2 at the 2 concentrations tested. At both 1&2 μg/ml, the T½ of bupivicaine-treated RBC was significantly prolonged when compared with buffer-treated RBC. These results complement available clinical information linking the use of bupivicaine with neonatal jaundice, and suggest that this agent may be adversely affecting the deformability of neonatal RBC, leading to premature red cell destruction.
Do commonly reported outcome measures reflect patient satisfaction after revision hip arthroplasty

The purpose of this study was to determine which commonly reported outcome measures best correlated with patient satisfaction after revision hip arthroplasty and to identify factors unrelated to hip status that may also play a role. From our institutional database, we identified 78 patients (80 hips) who underwent revision total hip arthroplasty and collected follow-up data. Patients with moderate or severe pain and those with limited walking ability reported significantly lower satisfaction scores. Harris hip score and patient-rated general health status were independently associated with patient satisfaction. Patient-rated anxiety and depression correlated inversely with satisfaction. Commonly reported outcome measures do reflect patient satisfaction after revision hip arthroplasty. However, satisfaction also appears to be influenced by psychologic factors.
Nearly Nonparametric Multivariate Density Estimates That Incorporate Marginal Parametric Density Information

When data analysts have multivariate data, often they have partial knowledge about the form of the marginal densities, but frequently they have little information about the bivariate and higher dimensional densities. This article provides nonparametric estimators that nearly equal the MLE estimates for the marginal densities while being close to the kernel nonparametric density estimates for the joint density estimates, provided that the assumption about the marginal densities is correct. The motivation for this article came from recollections of a 15-year-old conversation with Ingram Olkin where the problem at hand was how to model multivariate data with fixed marginals but with a flexible and rich multivariate structure.
Unions, politicians, and the public interest: Retrenchment in the public sector

The growth of the public sector that has continued nearly unabated since the end of World War II is coming to an end. This apparently will set the stage for a classic confrontation between public sector unions, vote-maximizing politicians, and the general public. Using an employment multiplier approach, we show that the conflict is largely illusionary. Because of a fortunate coincidence, retrenchment in the public sector is likely to be carried out so that no one group will be grievously offended.
Consensus and conformity

Abstract Group consensus was broken either by a partner agreeing exactly with the subject (Social Support) or by a dissenter giving a response even more incorrect than the group's (Extreme Dissent). Using the Crutchfield apparatus, 157 male and female subjects responded to visual, information, and opinion items. Results disclosed that Extreme Dissent, in comparison with a unanimous group, significantly decreased conformity on visual and information items but not on opinion items. Social Support, on the other hand, significantly reduced conformity on all three types of items. The results cast doubt on Asch's contention that breaking group consensus, per se, is responsible for the effectiveness of Social Support in reducing conformity.
Precipitation in the wake of cooling towers

Abstract A model is proposed for determining the conditions under which precipitation can occur from a natural draft cooling tower. Because the time scale for forming rain drops is large compared to the average residence time of droplets in the plume, there is no precipitation unless the wind forces the plume to mix with the aerodynamic wake of the tower and brings it to the ground. When this occurs, the small fog droplets in the plume will diffuse to the ground causing a light precipitation. A simple theory gives the heat transfer and the flux of water vapor emitted by the cooling tower. Equilibrium thermodynamics of mixing processes are used to calculate how much water vapor condenses as the plume is diluted with the surrounding air. Scaled experiments in a towing tank defined, in dimensionless variables, the conditions under which the plume will interact with the wake and strike the ground. A turbulent diffusion model combined with the thermodynamics of mixing is used to estimate the precipitation. These calculations showed that precipitation can be a tenth of a centimeter per hour when the temperature is as cold as −10°C. They also show that precipitation depends strongly on the relative humidity at warmer temperatures.
Exposure to low levels of jet-propulsion fuel impairs brainstem encoding of stimulus intensity

Jet propulsion fuel-8 (JP-8) is a kerosene-based fuel that is used in military jets. The U.S. Armed Services and North Atlantic Treaty Organization countries adopted JP-8 as a standard fuel source and the U.S. military alone consumes more than 2.5 billion gallons annually. Preliminary epidemiologic data suggested that JP-8 may interact with noise to induce hearing loss, and animal studies revealed damage to presynaptic sensory cells in the cochlea. In the current study, Long-Evans rats were divided into four experimental groups: control, noise only, JP-8 only, and JP-8 + noise. A subototoxic level of JP-8 was used alone or in combination with a nondamaging level of noise. Functional and structural assays of the presynaptic sensory cells combined with neurophysiologic studies of the cochlear nerve revealed that peripheral auditory function was not affected by individual exposures and there was no effect when the exposures were combined. However, the central auditory nervous system exhibited impaired brainstem encoding of stimulus intensity. These findings may represent important and major shifts in the theoretical framework that governs current understanding of jet fuel and/or jet fuel + noise-induced ototoxicity. From an epidemiologic perspective, results indicate that jet fuel exposure may exert consequences on auditory function that may be more widespread and insidious than what was previously shown. It is possible that a large population of military personnel who are suffering from the effects of jet fuel exposure may be misidentified because they would exhibit normal hearing thresholds but harbor a "hidden" brainstem dysfunction.
Evolving epidemiology of human immunodeficiency viral (HIV) infection

Abstract Longitudinal follow-up of HIV infected children has shown that the cardiovascular system is frequently involved with left ventricular dysfunction as the common abnormality. In these children the clinical expression of cardiac disease may be occult because the disease course may be dominated by repeated intercurrent infections, interstitial lung disease and neurologic disease. However left ventricular dysfunction can progress to dilated cardiomyopathy, congestive cardiac failure and death. Appreciation of the global epidemiology of HIV disease leads to better understanding of the enormity of the epidemic and potential great increase of the incidence of pediatric acquired cardiovascular disease.
The Crumbling Infrastructure of Biodiversity: The Avian Example

The successful conservation of biodiversity depends in part upon an accurate assessment of the diversity to be preserved. This assessment is in the domain of systematics, taxonomy, and general comparative biology. Specimens play a central role in this science, and research collections thus represent the touchstone of biodiversity. The massive job of describing and understanding avian diversity is far from complete, yet the specimen basis for much-needed work is not being added to our collections; current holdings are inadequate. The dwindling influx of specimens is due primarily to opposition to collecting, which is fueled by (1) focusing conservation at the level of the individual; (2) unfamiliarity with population biology; (3) misunderstanding of scientific research; (4) typological thinking; and (5) misplaced morality. Specimen-based avian research has a long and scientifically strong history, and the benefits of this research have been extensive. Our research collections must serve as functional biological libraries. The majority of avian populations can easily withstand the relatively tiny levels of collecting required to keep this science vigorous. Insofar as avian conservation necessarily includes the preservation of a myriad of species comprising the ecosystems upon which birds rely, this problem has broad implications for the conservation of biodiversity. La conservacion exitosa de la biodiversidad depende en parte de la adecuada evaluacion de la diversidad que se pretende preservar. Esta tarea es del dominio de la sistematica, la taxonomia y la biologia general comparada. Los especimenes juegan un papel medular en estas ciencias y las colecciones por lo tanto representan una estimacion de la biodiversidad. El trabajo masivo de describir y entender la diversidad de las aves se encuentra aun lejos de estar completo y los especimenes base de este tan necesitado trabajo de continuidad no han sido agregados a nuestras colecciones; lo colectado a la fecha es aun inadecuado. La decreciente entrada de especimenes se debe principalmente a una oposicion a llevar a cabo colectas, esto es alimentado por: 1) enfocar la conservacion a nivel de individuo; 2) no estar familiarizados con la biologia poblacional; 3) malentendidos sobre la investigacion cientifica; 4) pensamiento tipologico; y 5) desubicacion moral. La investigacion de aves basada en especimenes tiene una historia larga y cientificamente bien fundada. Los beneficios de este tipo de investigacion han sido extensos. Nuestras colecciones de investigacion deben servir como bibliotecas biologicas funcionales. La mayoria de las poblaciones de aves pueden soportar facilmente los relativamente pequenos niveles de colecta requeridos para mantener vigorosa a esta ciencia. Puesto que la conservacion de aves necesariamente incluye la preservacion de una miriada de especies involucrando a los ecosistemas de los que las especies dependen, este problema conlleva implicaciones para la conservacion de la biodiversidad.
Toward optimization of the linker substructure common to transthyretin amyloidogenesis inhibitors using biochemical and structural studies.

To develop potent and highly selective transthyretin (TTR) amyloidogenesis inhibitors, it is useful to systematically optimize the three substructural elements that compose a typical TTR kinetic stabilizer: the two aryl rings and the linker joining them. Herein, we evaluated 40 bisaryl molecules based on 10 unique linker substructures to determine how these linkages influence inhibitor potency and selectivity. These linkers connect one unsubstituted aromatic ring to either a 3,5-X2 or a 3,5-X2-4-OH phenyl substructure (X = Br or CH3). Coconsideration of amyloid inhibition and ex vivo plasma TTR binding selectivity data reveal that direct connection of the two aryls or linkage through nonpolar E-olefin or −CH2CH2− substructures generates the most potent and selective TTR amyloidogenesis inhibitors exhibiting minimal undesirable binding to the thyroid hormone nuclear receptor or the COX-1 enzyme. Five high-resolution TTR·inhibitor crystal structures (1.4−1.8 A) provide insight into why such linkers afford i...