cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Tidal Waves from the Recent Aleutian Earthquake: ABSTRACT

On April 1, 1946, a sudden movement of the ocean bottom in the Aleutian deep started a train of sea waves which were picked up on tide gauges as far away as Australia and South America. Great damage was done to all of the north coasts of the Hawaiian Islands and the waves surged to heights as great as 55 feet in some places of convergence. Investigation of the five main Hawaiian islands showed relationships between high water marks and submarine topography. Also the height was greatly influenced by the existence of coral reefs and lagoons along the shore. Investigations in Hawaii have been compared with determinations by the Japanese in the 1933 tidal waves to devise a means of forecasting the relative danger of different situations from future tidal waves. Personal experiences during the tidal wave are given along with accounts of other observers. End_of_Article - Last_Page 2088------------
Single edge-crack stress intensity factor solutions

Weight function arguments and a boundary collocation technique are used to re-examine the stress intensity factor solutions to several classic two-dimensional linear elastic single edge-crack configurations. Limits to applicability and the solutions to the three and four-point bend, pure bending, eccentrically loaded tension, and other boundary condition problems are extracted from the solution to the uniformly loaded single edge-cracked configuration. A simple representation of the asymptotic behavior is proposed and a common expression that captures the full range of crack length to specimen width ratio is presented.
THE BACTERIAL EXAMINATION OF SAUSAGES AND ITS SANITARY SIGNIFICANCE.

D URING the last decade considerable attention has been directed to the question of gpure food and its sanitary distribution .not only by reason of government inspection, but also because of an increasing public demand for pure food. For many years German officials have recognized the possible danger to public health from improperly prepared or handled sausages. French and English sanitarians have also recognized the importance of this question and have conducted some experimental work to ascertain the extent of the danger; but in the United States there seems to have been little or no work reported on sausages. The nature of sausages and the finely ground meats composing them have led to much speculation on the part of consumers as to the quality and kinds of meat that might be used. Sausages are pgpularly reputed to contain anything from good pork and beef down to horse, dog and cat meat, as well as bread, flour, and other starchy substances. The presence of partially decayed meat may be effectively covered up by high seasoning, salting and smoking as well as by preservatives. Probably the most common adulterant added to sausages is starch either in the form of old bread or corn starch. OstertAg* reports that in Germany it is customary to add 2 per cent. of starch to all "brllhwurst' and even as high as 5-8 per cent. The manufacturers prefer. not to consider this as an adulterant, but claim that it is added to bring the "combining power" of the sausage to a proper point so that less shrinkage will occur in cooking and more food value be retained. The custom of rapidly fattening hogs is said by Ostertag to produce a fat that cooks away more than does that in hogs more slowly fattened, and the small amount of starch added only restores the swelling capacity of the muscle albumin and is hence not considered an adulterant. The use of uncooked and visceral sausages, which are especially likely to contain pathogenic bacteria, has made the sausage problem in Germany of more importance than it is elsewhere. Lungs, spleen, liver and brains are often used in German sausages in large amounts. It is well known that pathogenic organisms are particularly likely to occur in the spleen and liver, while the keeping quality of the sausages are at the same time reduced by their use. Savaget classes the danger from sausage poisoning under three heads: 1. From toxins produced by the ordinary bacteria of decomposition. This poisoning is generally not severe. 2. From infection with members of
A novel diagnostic for time-resolved spectroscopic argon and lithium density measurements

Abstract A new diagnostic technique for determining neutral gas and metal vapor densities over a wide pressure range with high time resolution is described. A compact, current-stabilized hollow cathode/anode discharge is use to ionize the gas and/or trace impurity to be analyzed. We report proof-of-principle operation of the diagnostic in a well characterized argon discharge in the pressure range 6.7–265 Pa. The intensity ratio of neutral and singly ionized argon lines (IAr I/IAr II) is shown to increase monotonically with the neutral argon density. In a second experiment, absolute neutral lithium vapor densities have been measured using this diagnostic.
Screening adolescents for problem drinking: performance of brief screens against DSM-IV alcohol diagnoses.

Objective: The performance of three brief screens, the CAGE, TWEAK and Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), was evaluated against a DSM-IV diagnosis of alcohol abuse or dependence in an adolescent sample. Method: Adolescents (13-19 years old) who presented to an emergency department for treatment of an injury, and who tested negative for blood alcohol concentration at time of admission, were administered a structured diagnostic interview and modified versions of the CAGE, TWEAK and AUDIT. Results: Of the 415 adolescents for whom complete data were available, 18% met criteria for a DSM-IV alcohol use disorder according to the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children (version 2.3). Teens who reported alcohol use in the last year (n = 261, 58% male, 71% white) were included in analyses that compared the performance of the three screening instruments. Receiver Operating Characteristic analysis indicated that the AUDIT demonstrated the best performance across the range of its cut-scores, with o...
Opportunities for the development and use of biomarkers.

Abstract Limitations m understanding the relationship between occupational and environmental exposures and disease present opportunities for using biological markers to fill gaps in knowledge. Three situations can be identified that could foster the development and use of biomarkers, where epidemiological evidence is (1) definitive, (2) equivocal, and (3) lacking. When there is clear epidemiological evidence of disease risk given an exposure, biomarkers could be used to identify high- and low-risk subsets of a cohort that might benefit from differential practices such as counseling about job risks, varying frequency and intensity of medical surveillance, and using protective equipment. Biomarkers could also be used to test the effectiveness of environmental controls. Assessment of blood lead in bridge workers and purified protein derivative (PPD) testing in health care workers illustrates biomarkers that have been used to evaluate control efforts. When epidemiological evidence is equivocal, a broad and consistent database on intermediate biomarkers in the path between exposure and disease could provide a compelling case as to whether a substance should be treated as hazardous. The case of ethylene oxide illustrates this situation: the epidemiological evidence of risk of lymphohematopoietic cancer is equivocal but there is an informative database on genetic and cytogenetic changes in various species consistent with carcinogenicity. Biomarker data also can be used to assist in the interpretation of inconclusive epidemiological information as is illustrated in the case of styrene where markers provide a mechanistic rationale for the epidemiologic findings. When there is little or no epidemiological evidence of risk in an exposure situation, such as around hazardous waste operations or with new technologies, biological markers can serve as early warning indicators of exposure or risk. In such cases it is important to have an underlying biological theory and an appropriate epidemiological study design if the principal results are to be of value in indicating risk and preventing disease.
Disciplining ‘natives’: Prisons and prisoners in early nineteenth century India

(1987). Disciplining ‘natives’: Prisons and prisoners in early nineteenth century India. South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies: Vol. 10, No. 2, pp. 29-45.
Crouching towhee, hidden scrub-jay: California towhees, Melozone crissalis, attack conspecific mobbing partners while assaulting a western scrub-jay, Aphelocoma californica

Abstract We describe an encounter of eight territorial California towhees (Melozone crissalis), alternately engaged in mobbing a western scrub-jay (Aphelocoma californica) and vigorous conspecific attack and display. We additionally characterize a previously unreported crouching posture adopted by the towhees while surrounding the scrub-jay and hypothesize that this posture communicates submissiveness to conspecific owners of a territory. We suggest that this behavioral sequence resulted from a conflict between cooperation among pairs and defense of resources among pairs, wherein behaviors consistent with both were exhibited nearly simultaneously.
Distinct δ T cell receptor repertoires in monozygotic twins concordant for coeliac disease

One of the hallmarks of coeliac disease, both active and treated, is an increased number and proportion of γ/δ intraepithelial T lymphocytes in the small intestinal mucosa, and an increased number of γ/δ T cells in the small intestinal mucosa of coeliac disease patients has been associated with the inheritance of specific HLA class II DQ alleles. Nonetheless, the contribution of genetic factors to the development of the T cell receptor (TCR) δ repertoire in coeliac disease is not known. We have assessed the contribution of genetic factors to development of the TCR δ repertoire in coeliac disease, by characterizing the junctional diversity of TCR δ transcripts expressed in the intestine and peripheral blood of a pair of monozygotic (MZ) twins concordant for coeliac disease. TCR Vδ1, Vδ2 and Vδ3 transcripts from small intestinal and colon biopsies, and from peripheral blood mononuclear cells, were amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and the complementarity determining region (CDR)3 domains of TCR δ transcripts were analysed by denaturing PAGE and direct nucleotide sequencing. The repertoire of TCR δ transcripts and CDR3 amino acid motifs in the intestine and peripheral blood of MZ twins concordant for coeliac disease exhibited no overlap. The TCR δ repertoire in each twin was oligoclonal, and complexity of the junctional regions of their TCR δ transcripts was typical of the repertoire in healthy adults. Thus, genetically identical individuals with coeliac disease have distinct, non-overlapping TCR δ repertoires. Moreover, genetic factors that determine disease susceptibility do not appear to select for specific TCR δ sequences or CDR3 amino acid motifs.
Erosion of corrosion-resistant surface treatments on alloy steels

Abstract Protective coatings of both diffused and sprayed-on types are being used to protect chemical process plant and boiler combustor surfaces from elevated temperature corrosion. An investigation was conducted to determine the small solid particle erosion behavior of such coatings at room and elevated temperatures. It was determined that no single coating performed in a superior manner to the others and that hardness was not a factor in establishing the erosion resistance. The erosion rates decreased as the temperature increased from 20 to 500°C. All the coatings reached steady state erosion rates after 50–150 g of erodent particles had impacted their surfaces.
Discovery of a nebula around PSR1957 + 20

The eclipsing binary pular PSR1957 + 20 is presumed to have been spun up to its present rotation period of 1.6 ms by an earlier episode of accretion. We report here the discovery of an Hα emission nebula around PSR1957 + 20, the first nebula to be found around a 'recycled', and thus ancient, pulsar. We suggest that the Hα emission arises in shocks driven into the interstellar medium by a relativistic wind from the pulsar. The nebular spectrum shows similarities to fast shocks in young supernova remnants like Tycho; the absence of the usual optical forbidden lines is explained by models of the excitation of neutral atoms drifting into the post-shock region, but the large observed Balmer decrement (I(Hα)/I(Hβ)≳12) is more mysterious. Between 1% and 10% of the rotational luminosity is absorbed in the region outlined by the Hα emission, with the bulk of the relativistic wind flowing away from the pulsar. This nebula adds to a growing number of pulsar wind nebulae, like the one around PSR1951 + 32 in CTB80 (ref. 3).
Labor Force Supply Decisions of Rural Low-Income Mothers

Employment is crucial to the economic well-being of families. Using a multi-state sample of 412 rural low-income mothers, our study identifies factors influencing two employment decisions they make: labor force entry and number of hours supplied. A logistic regression model correctly predicted 80% of mothers’ work participation decisions. Employed mothers were older, better educated, and less likely to suffer from depression; as well as, more likely to have a driver’s license and receive child care assistance and the Earned Income Tax Credit. An estimated labor supply function explained 33% of the variation in hours worked by the 208 employed rural mothers. Higher wages, availability of health insurance, and overtime benefits predicted the number of hours they were willing to work.
Mental nerve neuropathy: A symptom of Waldenström's macroglobulinemia

The uncontrolled production of immunoglobulins in Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia, a neoplastic plasma cell disorder, results in hyperviscosity of blood and multisystem organ derangement. Previously reported orofacial manifestations have been limited to osteolytic lesions of the jaw, ulcerations of the mucosa and tongue, gingival bleeding, and enlargement of salivary and lacrimal glands. Mental nerve anesthesia resulting from IgM deposition on the myelin sheath is a previously unreported early warning sign of advancing disease. Its occurrence heralds the need for aggressive medical management.
Single Event Upset Immune Integrated Circuits for Project Galileo

Tests and analysis showed that bipolar chips in the attitude control computer of the Galileo spacecraft would likely cause catastrophic mission failure due to single particle upset. This paper describes the design and testing of CMOS replacements which are speed compatible with the bipolar parts and have upset immunity in excess of the mission requirement (upset LET threshold > 37 MeV/mg/ cm2).
Rent Rigidity, Asymmetric Information, and Volatility Bounds in Labor Markets

Abstract Two thirds of US unemployment volatility is due to fluctuations in workers' job-finding rate. In search and matching models, aggregate productivity shocks generate such fluctuations: via inputs in the matching technology, they affect the rate at which workers and firms come into contact. Quantitatively, this mechanism has been found to be negligible in a calibrated textbook model, but also more than sufficient if wages are completely rigid. We study a weaker concept of rigidity based on worker rents (wages in excess of the value of unemployment). We show that volatility is subject to an upper bound if worker rents are weakly procyclical, thus at best rigid. Quantitatively, with Rent Rigidity, the mechanism accounts for at most 20% of the variance of the job-finding rate. In light of this result we reexamine the question whether asymmetric information on gains from trade amplifies fluctuations. We analyze a series of bargaining solutions, and conclude that asymmetric information at best makes rents rigid. Our analysis provides a unifying perspective on a very lively debate.
Inquiry-Guided Learning in Sociology

This paper is based on a workshop of the same name presented at the 2007 American Sociological Association meetings. The purpose of the workshop and this article is to focus attention on teaching m...
First and Second Ionization Potentials, Reactions, and Surface Collisions of C60 and Related Clusters

The physical and chemical properties of large carbon clusters, Cn(n>40), have been studied extensively over the past six years. The spherical nature of these clusters has been debated and inferred from both experimental and theoretical studies until the recent isolation and subsequent spectroscopic identification of bulk C60 and C70. Although the n=60 and 70 cluster ions are anomalously abundant (“magic numbers”) in the mass spectra and are proposed to be highly symmetric species, the other “magic number” clusters have yet to be isolated.
“Just Cause” or Just Politics?: U.S. Panama Invasion and Standardizing Qualitative Tests for Diversionary War

This article investigates the 1989 U.S. invasion of Panama using qualitative tests for diversionarywar proposed by another researcher, Ryan C. Hendrickson. The author finds that this use of force was likely a “type” of diversionary war, in that it was likely motivated by a need to solve “domestic political problems” rather than to achieve strategic goals. Several proposals to further develop qualitative tests for diversionary war are advanced.
Decoupled software pipelining creates parallelization opportunities

Decoupled Software Pipelining (DSWP) is one approach to automatically extract threads from loops. It partitions loops into long-running threads that communicate in a pipelined manner via inter-core queues. This work recognizes that DSWP can also be an enabling transformation for other loop parallelization techniques. This use of DSWP, called DSWP+, splits a loop into new loops with dependence patterns amenable to parallelization using techniques that were originally either inapplicable or poorly-performing. By parallelizing each stage of the DSWP+ pipeline using (potentially) different techniques, not only is the benefit of DSWP increased, but the applicability and performance of other parallelization techniques are enhanced. This paper evaluates DSWP+ as an enabling framework for other transformations by applying it in conjunction with DOALL, LOCALWRITE, and SpecDOALL to individual stages of the pipeline. This paper demonstrates significant performance gains on a commodity 8-core multicore machine running a variety of codes transformed with DSWP+.
Isotope labelling as a probe for free-radical reactions during dibenzyl ether thermolysis

Abstract Pyrolysis of dibenzyl ether (DBE) in tetralin-d12 allowed discrimination between possible free radical and concerted reaction mechanisms. Pyrolysis product spectra contained both α-deuteriotoluene and perprotiotoluene, relative fractions of which were determined, by complementary 1H and 13C n.m.r. analyses, to vary with the initial ratio of tetralin-di12 to DBE. Mathematical extrapolation to DBE pyrolysis at infinite dilution indicated that its thermolysis in tetralin-d12 was entirely via free radical mechanisms.
Functional-anatomical studies on sperm release evoked by electrical stimulation of the olfactory tract in goldfish

Abstract Sperm release was evoked by electrical stimulation of the olfactory tracts in male goldfish. Thresholds as low as 5 μA were obtained using suction electrodes while slightly higher currents were necessary using metal electrodes (lowest thresholds of 15–20 μA). Several control procedures were carried out to insure that current-spread to nearby structures was not responsible for the evoked responses. Testing olfactory tract stimulation following transection of one or more divisions of the olfactory tract revealed that connections to the olfactory bulb and pathways involving the lateral olfactory tract were not necessary for the stimulation effect, whereas the medial olfactory tract appears to be both sufficient and necessary for mediation of evoked sperm release. The results are discussed with respect to possible involvement of each of the 3 known functional components constituting the medial olfactory tract: (1) secondary olfactory afferents; (2) olfactory efferents; and (3) fibers of the terminal nerve. The possibility that female sex pheromones normally influence central sperm release mechanisms via pathways in the medical olfactory tract is also considered.
Leukocyte emigration and migration in the vagina following mating in the rabbit

Within 45 minutes after mating in the rabbit, numerous heterophil leukocytes adhere to the endothelium of venules in the vagina. Initial association appears to occur via small protuberances from the leukocyte which fit into small indentions in the endothelial cell. Following adherence, leukocytes flatten and pass between endothelial cells. A regular intercellular space separates the leukocyte from the endothelial cells. Leukocytes subsequently migrate through the connective tissue to the epithelium. By three hours postcoitus, the region beneath the basement lamina of the vaginal epithelium is crowded with numerous juxtaposed leukocytes. Leukocytes subsequently migrate between epithelial cells into the vaginal lumen where they actively engulf spermatozoa. Spermatozoa appear to be ingested head first. Numerous small filaments are observed in the leukocyte cytoplasm in the region adjacent to the sperm head. Degranulation of azurophyl granules follows sperm uptake. The leukocyte response can be elicited either by spermatozoa (from the epididymis) or by semen (from vasectomized bucks), but is not elicited by ovulation (with human chorionic gonadotropin). It is suggested that the response may be initiated because the vagina does not distinguish between semen, spermatozoa and bacterial infection.
A Cost-Effectiveness Framework for Profiling the Value of Hospital Care:

Provider profiling and performance-based incentive programs have expanded in recent years but need a theoretical framework for measuring and comparing the ``value'' of clinical care across medical providers. Cost-effectiveness analysis provides such a framework but has rarely been used outside of the treatment choice context. The authors present a profiling framework based on cost-effectiveness methods and illustrate their approach using data on in-hospital survival and the cost of care for a heart attack from a sample of Massachusetts hospitals during fiscal year 2003. They model each outcome using hierarchical models that allow performance to vary across hospitals as a function of a latent quality effect and an effect of case mix. They also estimate incremental outcomes by conditioning on each hospital's pair of random effects, using indirect standardization to estimate ``expected'' outcomes, and then taking their difference. Incremental cost and effectiveness outcomes are combined using incremental net...
Social Status and Risky Health Behaviors: Results From the Health and Retirement Study

Objectives. We focus on a hypothesized mechanism that may underlie the well-documented link between social status and health-behavioral health risks. Methods. We use longitudinal data from representative samples of 6,106 middle-aged and 3,636 older adults from the Health and Retirement Study to examine the relationships between social status-including early life social status (e.g., parental schooling), ascribed social status (e.g., sex, race-ethnicity), and achieved social status (e.g., schooling, economic resources)and behavioral health risks (e.g., weight, smoking, drinking, physical activity) to (1) assess how early life and ascribed social statuses are linked to behavioral health risks, (2) investigate the role of achieved factors in behavioral health risks, (3) test whether achieved status explains the contributions of early life and ascribed status, and (4) examine whether the social status and health risk relationships differ at midlife and older age. Results. We find that early life, achieved, and ascribed social statuses strongly predict behavioral health risks, although the effects are stronger in midlife than they are in older age. Discussion. Ascribed social statuses (and interactions of sex and race-ethnicity), which are important predictors of behavioral health risks even net of early life and achieved social status, should be explored in future research.
"Weaving balance into life": Development and cultural adaptation of a cancer symptom management toolkit for Southwest American Indians.

Introduction Self-management of cancer symptoms has the potential to decrease the suffering of cancer survivors while improving their health and quality of life. For many racial/ethnic groups, culturally appropriate self-management instruction is not readily available. This paper reports on the first symptom management toolkit developed for American Indian cancer survivors.
A STATISTICAL APPROACH TO ESTIMATING DRIVER RESPONSIBILITY IN TWO-CAR CRASHES

Abstract A statistical model is developed relating driver age distributions in one-car and two-car crashes to the probability that both of the drivers in a two-car crash are similarly responsible for the crash as are drivers in a single-car crash. The model is applied to (a) passenger car crashes in the years 1975–1980 involving a driver fatality, compiled in the U.S. Fatal Accident Reporting System (FARS), and (b) all police-reported crashes occurring in North Carolina in 1979, supplied by the North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center. Appropriate national and North Carolina driver license data are used to estimate exposure to potential crashes as a function of driver age. The model is found to provide an adequate fit to observed driver age distribution in two-car crashes for both data sets. The results obtained from this fit to the model equations indicate that for two-car crashes involving a driver fatality, both drivers contribute to the responsibility for the crash in about 40% of cases, but for less severe two-car crashes, only one of the two involved drivers is generally responsible.
Early word-learning entails reference, not merely associations

Recent years have witnessed a resurgence of classic tensions concerning the fundamental nature of human knowledge and the processes underlying its acquisition. This tension, especially evident in research on the acquisition of words and concepts, arises when researchers pit one type of content against another (perceptual versus conceptual) and one type of process against another (associative versus theory-based). But these dichotomies are false; they rest upon insufficient consideration of the structure and diversity of the words and concepts that we naturally acquire. As infants and young children establish categories and acquire words to describe them, they take advantage of both perceptual and conceptual information, and relate this to both the (rudimentary) theories they hold and the statistics that they witness.
The efficiency and fidelity of 8-oxo-guanine bypass by DNA polymerases δ and η

A DNA lesion created by oxidative stress is 7,8-dihydro-8-oxo-guanine (8-oxoG). Because 8-oxoG can mispair with adenine during DNA synthesis, it is of interest to understand the efficiency and fidelity of 8-oxoG bypass by DNA polymerases. We quantify bypass parameters for two DNA polymerases implicated in 8-oxoG bypass, Pols delta and eta. Yeast Pol delta and yeast Pol eta both bypass 8-oxoG and misincorporate adenine during bypass. However, yeast Pol eta is 10-fold more efficient than Pol delta, and following bypass Pol eta switches to less processive synthesis, similar to that observed during bypass of a cis-syn thymine-thymine dimer. Moreover, yeast Pol eta is at least 10-fold more accurate than yeast Pol delta during 8-oxoG bypass. These differences are maintained in the presence of the accessory proteins RFC, PCNA and RPA and are consistent with the established role of Pol eta in suppressing ogg1-dependent mutagenesis in yeast. Surprisingly different results are obtained with human and mouse Pol eta. Both mammalian enzymes bypass 8-oxoG efficiently, but they do so less processively, without a switch point and with much lower fidelity than yeast Pol eta. The fact that yeast and mammalian Pol eta have intrinsically different catalytic properties has potential biological implications.
Nasal methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus colonization is associated with increased wound occurrence after major lower extremity amputation

Objective Wound occurrence (WO) after major lower extremity amputation (MLEA) can be due to wound infection or sterile dehiscence. We sought to determine the association of nasal methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) colonization and other patient factors with overall WO, WO due to wound infection, and WO due to sterile dehiscence. Methods The medical records of all patients undergoing MLEA from August 1, 2011, to November 1, 2013, were reviewed. Demographic data, hemoglobin A1c level, albumin concentration, dialysis dependence, peripheral vascular disease (PVD), nasal MRSA colonization, and diabetes mellitus (DM) were examined as variables. The overall WO rate was determined, and the cause of WO was categorized as either a sterile dehiscence or a wound infection. Results Eighty-three patients underwent 96 MLEAs during a 27-month period. The rates of overall WO, WO due to infection, and WO due to sterile dehiscence were 39%, 19%, and 19%, respectively (1% developed a traumatic wound). On univariate analysis, PVD, MRSA colonization, DM, and dialysis dependence were all associated with higher rates of overall WO ( P P = .03) and WO due to wound infection (11% vs 45%; P P Conclusions Nasal MRSA colonization is associated with higher rates of overall WO and WO due to wound infection. DM and PVD are associated with higher rates of overall WO and WO due to sterile dehiscence but are not associated with WO due to wound infection. Further studies addressing the effect of nasal MRSA eradication on postoperative wound outcomes after MLEA are warranted.
Transcriptional Profiling of Human Placentas from Pregnancies Complicated by Preeclampsia Reveals Disregulation of Sialic Acid Acetylesterase and Immune Signalling Pathways

The placenta plays an important role as a regulator of fetal nutrition and growth throughout development and placental factors contribute to gestational abnormalities such as preeclampsia. This study describes the genome-wide gene expression profiles of a large (n = 60) set of human placentas in order to uncover gene expression patterns associated with preeclampsia. In addition to confirming changes in expression of soluble factors associated with preeclampsia such as sFLT1 (soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1), sENG (soluble endoglin), and INHA (inhibin alpha), we also find changes in immune-associated signaling pathways, offering a potential upstream explanation for the shallow trophoblast invasion and inadequate uterine remodeling typically observed in pathogenesis of preeclampsia. Notably, we also find evidence of preeclampsia-associated placental upregulation of sialic acid acetylesterase (SIAE), a gene functionally associated with autoimmune diseases.
Associations between Dietary Fiber and Colorectal Polyp Risk Differ by Polyp Type and Smoking Status

The association of dietary fiber intake with colorectal cancer risk is established. However, the association may differ between cigarette smokers and nonsmokers. We evaluated this hypothesis in a large colonoscopy-based case-control study. Dietary fiber intakes were estimated by self-administered food frequency questionnaire. Unconditional logistic regression analysis was used to estimate ORs and 95% CIs with adjustment for potential confounders. Analysis also was stratified by cigarette smoking and sex. High dietary fiber intake was associated with reduced risk of colorectal polyps (P-trend = 0.003). This association was found to be stronger among cigarette smokers (P-trend = 0.006) than nonsmokers (P-trend = 0.21), although the test for multiplicative interaction was not statistically significant (P = 0.11). This pattern of association was more evident for high-risk adenomatous polyps (ADs), defined as advanced or multiple ADs (P-interaction smoking and dietary fiber intake = 0.09). Among cigarette smokers who smoked ≥23 y, a 38% reduced risk of high-risk ADs was found to be associated with high intake of dietary fiber compared with those in the lowest quartile fiber intake group (P-trend = 0.004). No inverse association with dietary fiber intake was observed for low-risk ADs, defined as single nonadvanced ADs. Cigarette smoking may modify the association of dietary fiber intake with the risk of colorectal polyps, especially high-risk ADs, a well-established precursor of colorectal cancer.
The yield of CH3S from the reaction of OH with CH3SSCH3

The products of the reaction of OH with CH3SSCH3 (DMDS) were investigated at 298 K using a flow tube reactor coupled to a photoionization mass spectrometer and a pulsed photolysis-pulsed laser induced fluorescence apparatus. The results from the former apparatus were semi-quantitative and showed that CH3S and CH3SOH are produced in the title reaction. The latter apparatus was used to quantify the yield of CH3S in the title reaction. The measured yield was 0.28 ± 0.20, independent of pressure and buffer gas, suggesting that products other than CH3S and CH3SOH are also important in this reaction. The quoted uncertainty is at the 95% confidence level and includes estimated systematic errors. © John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Surface Modification and Ablation of Insulators Using a Tunable, Picosecond Mid-Infrared Laser

Ultrashort-pulse lasers with fundamental wavelengths ranging from near-infrared to near-ultraviolet are increasingly being used for laser-induced surface modification of non-metallic solids. The relaxation of the initial electronic excitation into vibrational relaxation modes can produce efficient ablation and other desirable surface modifications with little collateral damage because the laser energy is deposited on a time scale much shorter than thermal diffusion times. Little is known, however, about how ultrashort pulses interact with insulators at wavelengths in the vibrational infrared. This paper describes surface modifications achieved by picosecond laser irradiation in the 2-10 μm range. The laser source was a tunable, free-electron laser (FEL) with 1-ps micro-pulses spaced 350 ps apart in a macropulse lasting up to 4 μs, with an average power of up to 3 W. This unusual pulse structure makes possible novel tests of the influences vs fluence and intensity, as well as the effects of resonant vibrational excitation. As model materials systems, we studied calcium carbonate, its isoelectronic cousin sodium nitrate, and fused silica. Particularly intriguing are surface modifications achieved by tuning the laser into vibrational resonances and overtones of the target materials, or by tailoring the energy content of the pulse. The mechanisms underlying these effects, and their implications for materials-modification strategies, are discussed.
Screening multiphase reactors for nonisothermal multiple reactions

A screening procedure developed synthesizes a multiphase reactor and the accompanying heat-transfer devices desired for a given reaction scheme. It is an extension of a procedure, previously described for isothermal systems with a single reaction to multiple reactions involving heat effects. The three key elements to this approach include a generic reactor model, an accompanying sensitivity model, and a knowledge base consisting of heuristics, as well as correlations on hydrodynamics, heat, and mass transport. The generic reactor model is extended to include various topologies and reactor constituent parts for heat and mass transfer. The sensitivity model quantifies the potential impact of various reactor parameters on reactor performance. The knowledge base is expanded to tackle multiple, nonisothermal reactions. In this procedure, reactor attributes and constituent parts are aggregated to form a reactor for the specific reaction under consideration. It is especially useful at the early stage of process development, when there is a great deal of uncertainty regarding reaction kinetics, and potential limitations of heat and mass transfer.
Wu San-kuei in 1644: A Reappraisal

This essay is an attempt to reassess the role played by Wu San-kuei during the crucial year of 1644.1 Traditionally ignored by historians or relegated to a minor role, the conventional wisdom has instead preserved the following now well established account of Wu's place in the Manchu conquest of China. When the rebel Li Tzu-ch'eng was marching eastward and advancing toward Peking, Emperor Ch'ung chen finally realized the danger of the threat. In early April he conferred upon Wu San-kuei and other able generals the title of earl; Wu was designated P'ing-hsi po (Earl who Pacified the West). The emperor further ordered Wu both to abandon the land east of the Shan-hai pass and to move the troops back to Peking to meet the threat posed by Li's advance toward Peking. Nevertheless, Wu temporarily ignored the order and delayed his march. When his troops eventually marched halfway to Feng-jun, on the 26th of April, Peking had already fallen into the hands of the rebels. Consequently, he marched back to the Shan-hai-kuan, a vital strategic town located at a pass at the east end of the Great Wall, to contemplate the next move. Meanwhile, Li Tzu-ch'eng sent a delegate to demand Wu's surrender, holding his father, the retired commander Wu Hsiang, as hostage. Wu considered complying with the demand but changed his mind upon learning that his favorite concubine, Ch'en Yuan-yuan, had also been seized. Outraged, he surrendered to the Manchus and invited them to suppress the rebellion.
Inhibition of Nitric Oxide and Antiphospholipid Antibody-Mediated Thrombosis

The antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is characterized by recurrent vascular thrombosis, thrombocytopenia, and fetal loss occurring in the presence of antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL). Along with arterial and venous thrombosis and pregnancy complications, patients with APS have an increased risk of myocardial infarction, stroke, and coronary artery disease, resulting from vascular cell dysfunction induced by aPL. Accumulating evidence to date indicates that interactions between circulating aPL and cell surface molecules of target cells, primarily endothelial cells and platelets, underlie the vascular disease phenotypes of APS. However, the molecular basis of APS is poorly understood. Nitric oxide produced by endothelial cells is a key determinant of vascular health that regulates several physiologic processes, including thrombosis, endothelial-leukocyte interaction, vascular cell migration, and the modulation of vascular tone. This review will discuss recent findings that indicate a novel mechanism by which aPL antagonize endothelial cell production of nitric oxide and thereby promote thrombosis.
Tune modulation due to synchrotron oscillations and chromaticity, and the dynamic aperture

A tracking study was done of the effects of a tune modulations, due to synchrotron oscillations and the tune dependence on momentum (chromaticity), on the dynamic aperture. The studies were done using several RHIC lattices and tracking runs of about 1/spl times/10/sup 6/ turns. The dynamic aperture was found to decrease roughly linearly with the amplitude of the tune modulation. Lower order non-linear resonances, like the 1/3 and 1/4 resonance are not crossed because of the tune modulation. Three different cases were studied, corresponding to RHIC lattices with different /spl beta/*, and with different synchrotron oscillation amplitudes. In each case, the tune modulation amplitude was varied by changing the chromaticity. In each case, roughly the same result, was found. The result found here for the effect of a tune modulation due to chromaticity may be compared with the result found for the effect of a tune modulation due to a gradient ripple in the quadrupoles. The effect of a tune modulation due to a gradient ripple appears to be about 4 times stronger than the effect of a tune modulation due to chromaticity and synchrotron oscillations.
Participation's Effects On Performance and Satisfaction: A Reconsideration Of Research Evidence

In this article I reanalyze a recent review of research on relationships between participation and performance or satisfaction; next I compare the results of this reanalysis with the findings of 10 other reviews. Despite ostensible differences among the initial findings of the 11 reviews, further analysis indicates that they all support the same conclusion: Research suggests that participation can have statistically significant effects on performance and satisfaction, but the average size of these effects is small enough to raise concerns about practical significance.
Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase Shp2 (Ptpn11) Plays an Important Role in Maintenance of Chromosome Stability

Both activating and inactivating mutations in protein tyrosine phosphatase Ptpn11 (encoding Shp2) are associated with tumorigenesis. However, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Here we demonstrate that Shp2 plays an important role in mitosis, dysregulation of which results in chromosome instability and cancer predisposition. Depletion of Shp2 compromised the mitotic checkpoint. Shp2-depleted cells exhibited a delay in mitotic entry and an earlier mitotic exit. Moreover, Shp2 deficiency caused defective kinetochore-microtubule attachment, chromosome misalignment, chromosomal congression defects, lagging chromosomes, and chromosome missegregation. Reintroduction of wild-type Shp2, but not a catalytically-deficient mutant, restored the checkpoint function and chromosome alignment at metaphase in Shp2-deficient cells, establishing a requirement for the catalytic activity of Shp2 during mitosis. Further analyses revealed that Shp2 was required for the optimal activation of the mitotic kinases PLK1 and Aurora B and thereby the proper kinetochore localization and phosphorylation of BubR1, a core mitotic checkpoint protein that is also critical for chromosome alignment. Together, our findings demonstrate a previously unrecognized role for Shp2 in the maintenance of chromosome stability and suggest a new mechanism by which dysregulation of Shp2 signaling contributes to malignancy development.
Agent-Based Modeling of Early Cultural Evolution

Our conceptual model of hunter-gatherer search methods, vector voting, was developed based on a decision-making model. A multi-agent simulation model (currently adopted to be viewed as a game) was developed based on this model. Experiments are performed using this model and the results are analyzed to explore the impact of decision-making methods and resource sharing methods on population survival. The results suggest the fixed order strategies outperform equalitarian strategies head to head.
Localization of Ptr ToxA Produced by Pyrenophora tritici-repentis Reveals Protein Import into Wheat Mesophyll Cells

The plant pathogenic fungus Pyrenophora tritici-repentis secretes host-selective toxins (HSTs) that function as pathogenicity factors. Unlike most HSTs that are products of enzymatic pathways, at least two toxins produced by P. tritici-repentis are proteins and, thus, products of single genes. Sensitivity to these toxins in the host is conferred by a single gene for each toxin. To study the site of action of Ptr ToxA (ToxA), toxin-sensitive and -insensitive wheat (Triticum aestivum) cultivars were treated with ToxA followed by proteinase K. ToxA was resistant to protease, but only in sensitive leaves, suggesting that ToxA is either protected from the protease by association with a receptor or internalized. Immunolocalization and green fluorescent protein tagged ToxA localization demonstrate that ToxA is internalized in sensitive wheat cultivars only. Once internalized, ToxA localizes to cytoplasmic compartments and to chloroplasts. Intracellular expression of ToxA by biolistic bombardment into both toxin-sensitive and -insensitive cells results in cell death, suggesting that the ToxA internal site of action is present in both cell types. However, because ToxA is internalized only in sensitive cultivars, toxin sensitivity, and therefore the ToxA sensitivity gene, are most likely related to protein import. The results of this study show that the ToxA protein is capable of crossing the plant plasma membrane from the apoplastic space to the interior of the plant cell in the absence of a pathogen.
Further considerations on the complexity of digital simulators

The author discusses the relationship between the complexity of digital simulators and the complexity of the circuits on which those simulators have to operate. He considers very-large scale integrated (VLSI) circuits of increasing complexity; for those circuits, the dynamics is computed using a digital hardware simulator exploiting parallelism and executing pipelined operations. Two classes of digital circuits are investigated. For both of them it is shown that, given a theoretical simulator, even if the complexity of the simulator increases as fast as the complexity of the circuit, the complexity of the simulation, in terms of elementary computation steps, still increases. Disturbing effects and scaling down effects that may further increase the computational complexity are taken into account in the complexity analysis. >
Toxicological effects of ethanol on human health

Moderate ethanol consumption reduces stress and increases feelings of happiness and well-being, and may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease. Heavy consumption of alcohol, however, may cause addiction and increases all types of injury and trauma. Environmental and genetic factors are involved in susceptibility to alcoholism. Ethanol can lead to malnutrition, and can exert a direct toxicological effect due to its interference with hepatic metabolism and immunological functions. A causal effect has been observed between alcohol and various cancers. Cessation of alcohol consumption and balanced nutrition are recommended primary nonspecific therapeutic measures for alcoholics. Drug therapies for alcoholics suffering from liver injury has resulted in mixed results. In end-stage liver disease, liver transplantation may be considered.
Anisotropies in the gain of smooth pursuit during two-dimensional tracking as probed by brief perturbations.

Previous investigations suggest the gain of smooth pursuit is directionally anisotropic and is regulated in a task-dependent manner. Smooth pursuit is also known to be influenced by expectations concerning the target’s motion, but the role of such expectations in modulating feedback gain is not known. In the present work, the gain of smooth pursuit was probed by applying brief perturbations to quasi-predictable two-dimensional target motion at multiple time points. The target initially moved in a straight line, then followed the circumference of a circle for distances ranging between 180° and 270°. Finally, the path reverted to linear motion. Perturbations consisted of a pulse of velocity 50 or 100 ms in duration, applied in one of eight possible directions. They were applied at the onset of the curve or after the target had traversed an arc of 45° or 90°. Pursuit gain was measured by computing the average amplitude of the response in smooth pursuit velocity over a 100 ms interval. To do so we used a coordinate system defined by the motion of the target at the onset of the perturbation, with directions tangential and normal to the path. Responses to the perturbations had two components: one that was modulated with the direction of the perturbation and one that was directionally nonspecific. For the directional response, on average the gain in the normal direction was slightly larger than the gain in the tangential direction, with a ratio ranging from 1.0 to 1.3. The directionally nonspecific response, which was more prominent for perturbations at curve onset or at 90°, consisted of a transient decrease in pursuit speed. Perturbations applied at curve onset also delayed the tracking of the curved target motion.