cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Trait and State Differences in Working Memory Capacity

Everyday, we use the limited resources of working memory (WM) across situations. For example, we use them as we drive to work attempting to create and maintain a list of tasks and meetings for the day. In this situation, imagine that an unexpected phone call informs us that two meetings have been rescheduled: a first one for a different time today and a second one for tomorrow. After receiving this message, we attempt to update our newly created task list within WM to incorporate the new meeting times. At the same time, we resist interference from the new information we have received from the recent phone call and from other thoughts that this call has brought to mind. Bear in mind that all this happens while we are driving a car, a task that is entirely different from creating, maintaining, and updating our schedule for the day. Some of us manage these tasks simultaneously without much effort, whereas some of us cannot perform this sequence successfully, forgetting half of today’s tasks or making the wrong turn. To complicate this picture, individual differences in managing information in WM partly stem from temporary states of mind that influence a successful management of the task at hand. Let us imagine that the driver had to prepare a talk for one of today’s meetings and spent the whole night preparing. In addition, she might have had an argument with her spouse in the morning. Thus, she might have experienced sleep deprivation, stress, anxiety, and fatigue, which are additional factors that often worsen our ability to utilize WM.
The Kinked Demand Curve, Facilitating Practices, and Oligopolistic Coordination

Consider a modified Bertrand pricing game in which all n producers sell at the lowest of their n independently announced prices. For identical producers dominant, individual pricing strategies lead to the the monopoly price, with a similar conclusion following for the generalization to n asymmetric firms.
Medicaid Benefits For Addiction Treatment Expanded After Implementation Of The Affordable Care Act.

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) established a minimum standard of insurance benefits for addiction treatment and expanded federal parity regulations to selected Medicaid benefit plans, which required...
Survival Analysis Evaluating Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation and Mechanical Ventilation as a Bridge to Lung Transplantation

Purpose Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is underutilized as bridge to lung transplantation (LTx) when compared to conventional mechanical ventilation (MV) in patients with end-stage lung failure. We sought to evaluate short-term outcomes in lung transplant recipients requiring preoperative advanced life support. Methods We retrospectively reviewed UNOS database to identify primary adult LTx recipients (1/2008 to 6/2017) who had no support (NO), MV, ECMO or both MV and ECMO (MVE) prior to LTx. Baseline characteristics were compared via chi-square and ANOVA. One-year survival was compared among the four groups using the Kaplan-Meier method and multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression for one-year survival was conducted to adjust for potential confounders. Results Of 16,392 recipients, there were 204 (1.2%) ECMO, 719 (4.4%) MV, and 350 (2.1%) MVE prior to transplant, with survival depicted in Fig 1. The NO cohort was older (57y) compared to MV (52y), ECMO (48y), and MVE (45y), p Conclusion Short-term survival utilizing ECMO as a bridge to LTx is favorable. Further evaluation into patient selection and direct comparison to conventional MV is warranted.
Advancing Global Health and Medicine Through the Energy of Youth: A Research Team Burning Bright:

More than a decade ago, tasked with the creation of an undergraduate research team in the field of integrative health and wellness, the discovery was made that undergraduate study is the perfect ve...
Elucidating the molecular circuitry of autoimmunity.

Novel single-cell profiling technologies have delineated the cellular and molecular landscapes that dominate the joints in rheumatoid arthritis and the skin and kidneys in systemic lupus erythematosus, shedding light on potential pathogenic mechanisms.
A Whole-Cell Screen for Adjunctive and Direct Antimicrobials Active against Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae.

Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) are an emerging antimicrobial resistance threat for which few if any therapeutic options remain. Identification of new agents that either inhibit CRE o...
Public Health Insurance Expansion for Immigrant Children and Interstate Migration of Low-Income Immigrants

Importance Federal policy changes in 2002 and 2009 led some states to expand public health insurance coverage to non–US-born children and pregnant women who are lawful permanent residents during their first 5 years of residency in the United States. In other states, there were concerns that insurance expansion could attract immigrants to relocate to gain free health insurance coverage. Objective To examine whether expansion of public health insurance to non–US-born, lawful permanent resident children and pregnant women during their first 5 years of residency is associated with increased interstate migration among these groups. Design, Setting, and Participants This difference-in-differences analysis included data on 208 060 immigrants from the American Community Survey from 2000 through 2016, with analysis including all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The study sample included 2 treatment groups that became eligible under the expanded coverage: lawful permanent resident adults with at least 1 non–US-born child younger than 18 years (n = 36 438) and lawful permanent resident women of reproductive age (n = 87 418). Control groups that remained ineligible under the expanded coverage included lawful permanent resident adults without non–US-born children (n = 171 622), lawful permanent resident single men (n = 56 142), and lawful permanent resident postreproductive women (n = 15 129). A difference-in-differences design compared migration rates between eligible and ineligible immigrant groups before and after insurance coverage expansions. Data analysis was performed from November 3, 2018, to May 31, 2019. Exposures Public health insurance coverage for immigrant women and children who were lawful permanent residents within 5 years of residency. Main Outcomes and Measures Migration to a health expansion state from any other state and from a neighboring state. Results Of 208 060 immigrants (47% women in the weighted sample; mean [SD] age, 32.97 [12.94] years; 63% Hispanic), the mean (SD) annual move rate across the entire sample was 3% (17%). Expansion of public health insurance to non–US-born children or pregnant women within their first 5 years of residency was not associated with interstate movement for health care benefits. Coverage expansion for non–US-born children of lawful permanent residents was not associated with a change in the rate of in-migration higher than 1.78 percentage points or lower than –1.28 percentage points. The corresponding estimate for coverage expansion of lawful permanent resident pregnant women was a change higher than 1.38 percentage points and lower than –1.20 percentage points. Conclusions and Relevance The results suggest that states considering expanding health care benefits coverage to recently arrived immigrant children and pregnant women may be unlikely to experience in-migration of these persons from other states, which has important implications for understanding short- and long-term program costs.
Determination of Fault Probabilities for ARAIM

Two critical parameters for advanced receiver autonomous integrity monitoring are the probability of satellite fault and the probability of constellation fault. This paper provides specific definitions for each of these fault types. We describe how these faults are evaluated and how to estimate their probability occurrence. Providing a precise definition of what constitutes a fault is essential so that all observers are able to agree on whether or not one has occurred.
Administrative Tasks in Special Education

A survey was conducted of the functional tasks of special education administrations in 100 randomly selected public school districts with pupil polulations between 13,000 and 30,000. An instrument ...
20 – Photoinitiated Polymerization

Photoinitiators absorb light in the ultraviolet-visible spectral range, generally 250–450 nm, and convert this light energy into chemical energy in the form of reactive intermediates, such as free radicals and reactive cations, which subsequently initiate polymerization. Photoinitiated polymerization and crosslinking of monomers, oligomers and polymers constitute the basis of important commercial processes with broad applicability, including photoimaging1–3 and UV curing of coatings4–7 and inks.5–8 In addition to photoinitiators, photocrosslinking may also be accomplished with photocrosslinking agents and photocrosslinkable polymers, which are discussed in ‘Photocrosslinking’, Chapter 5 in Volume 6 of this series.
Topology optimization of 2D structures with nonlinearities using deep learning

Abstract The field of optimal design of linear elastic structures has seen many exciting successes that resulted in new architected materials and structural designs. With the availability of cloud computing, including high-performance computing, machine learning, and simulation, searching for optimal nonlinear structures is now within reach. In this study, we develop convolutional neural network models to predict optimized designs for a given set of boundary conditions, loads, and optimization constraints. We have considered the case of materials with a linear elastic response with and without stress constraint. Also, we have considered the case of materials with a hyperelastic response, where material and geometric nonlinearities are involved. For the nonlinear elastic case, the neo-Hookean model is utilized. For this purpose, we generate datasets composed of the optimized designs paired with the corresponding boundary conditions, loads, and constraints, using a topology optimization framework to train and validate the neural network models. The developed models are capable of accurately predicting the optimized designs without requiring an iterative scheme and with negligible inference computational time. The suggested pipeline can be generalized to other nonlinear mechanics scenarios and design domains.
Shared proteomic effects of cerebral atherosclerosis and Alzheimer's disease on the human brain

Cerebral atherosclerosis contributes to dementia via unclear processes. We performed proteomic sequencing of dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in 438 older individuals and found associations between cerebral atherosclerosis and reduced synaptic signaling and between RNA splicing and increased oligodendrocyte development and myelination. Consistently, single-cell RNA sequencing showed cerebral atherosclerosis associated with higher oligodendrocyte abundance. A subset of proteins and modules associated with cerebral atherosclerosis was also associated with Alzheimer's disease, suggesting shared mechanisms.
Urology Individual Critical Task List: Creation and Validation of a Simulation Curriculum

INTRODUCTION Individual critical task lists (ICTLs) are skills identified by the U.S. Army for the maintenance of combat readiness in each military occupational specialty, including physicians. These lists vary by medical and surgical specialties and are being utilized by leaders to determine individual deployment capability. The lists for urologists include broader tasks that are not routinely performed in a urology practice. Our goal was to create a simulation curriculum to train urologists and to perform validation testing. MATERIALS AND METHODS Urology staff and residents at a single military treatment facility underwent a simulation event of urology ICTLs: chest tube, needle decompression, intubation, cricothyroidotomy, and extended focused assessment with sonography for trauma. The simulation was broken down into a pretest, cognitive acquisition, in-person training with subject matter experts for skills acquisition, and a posttest. Content validity questionnaires were administered to participants after the training session. Cognitive acquisition consisted of a series of videos demonstrating task execution and in-person demonstration of tasks and clinical scenarios of when they would be needed. In-person simulation was performed on training mannequins and a sonography simulation trainer. RESULTS There were a total of nine participants: three residents and six staff urologists, ranging from postgraduate year 2 to more than 10 years out of residency. The total simulation time was 120 min, including 30 min for pretest and viewing of videos. Knowledge-based questions improved from pretest to posttest significantly (mean of 1.2 to 0.1, P < .001). Confidence performing tasks improved significantly on all tasks (P ≤ .01). All participants felt the simulation to be beneficial and had more comfort with the tasks. CONCLUSIONS The novel urology ICTL curriculum using simulation is a feasible and well-received way to keep competency on these tasks and maintain readiness. Face and content validity was established for the urology ICTL simulation curriculum, and the curriculum is exportable to equip urologists at other facilities for the urology ICTLs and for deployments, where life-saving interventions may be necessary from urologists that may be outside their ordinary scope of practice.
The Geography of Opioid Use Disorder: A Data Triangulation Approach.

Opioid use disorder is complex and not easily quantified among US populations because there are no dedicated reporting systems in place. We review indicators of opioid use disorder available at the state and county (human immunodeficiency virus [HIV] diagnoses among people who inject drugs, hepatitis C diagnosis in people <50 years, opioid overdose death rates, and opioid prescription rate). The interpretation of the ecological results and the visualization of indicators at the local level will provide actionable insights for clinicians and public health officials seeking to mitigate the consequences of opioid use disorder at the patient and community levels.
Mina Loy, twentieth-century photography, and contemporary women poets: by Linda A. Kinnahan, London and New York, Routledge, 2017, $175.00 (hardcover), $47.95 (paperback), $43.16 (eBook), 282 pages, ISBN:9781472489197

In Mina Loy, Twentieth-Century Photography, and Contemporary Women Poets, Linda Kinnahan argues for a new approach to Mina Loy that reads her poetry in relation to emergent photographic technology ...
Fluctuations in population densities inform stability mechanisms in host-parasitoid interactions

Population dynamics of host-parasitoid interactions has been traditionally studied using a discrete-time formalism starting from the classical work of Nicholson and Bailey. It is well known that differences in parasitism risk among individual hosts can stabilize the otherwise unstable equilibrium of the Nicholson-Bailey model. Here, we consider a stochastic formulation of these discrete-time models, where the host reproduction is a random variable that varies from year to year and drives fluctuations in population densities. Interestingly, our analysis reveals that there exists an optimal level of heterogeneity in parasitism risk that minimizes the extent of fluctuations in the host population density. Intuitively, low variation in parasitism risk drives large fluctuations in the host population density as the system is on the edge of stability. In contrast, high variation in parasitism risk makes the host equilibrium sensitive to the host reproduction rate, also leading to large fluctuations in the population density. Further results show that the correlation between the adult host and parasitoid densities is high for the same year, and gradually decays to zero as one considers cross-species correlations across different years. We next consider an alternative mechanism of stabilizing host-parasitoid population dynamics based on a Type III functional response, where the parasitoid attack rate accelerates with increasing host density. Intriguingly, this nonlinear functional response makes qualitatively different correlation signatures than those seen with heterogeneity in parasitism risk. In particular, a Type III functional response leads to uncorrelated adult and parasitoid densities in the same year, but high cross-species correlation across successive years. In summary, these results argue that the cross-correlation function between population densities contains signatures for uncovering mechanisms that stabilize consumer-resource population dynamics.
National Health Insurance, Health Policy, and Infection Control: Insights from Taiwan

Despite its exclusion from the World Health Organization (WHO) and its geographic proximity to China, Taiwan has been doing relatively well in responding to the COVID-19 outbreak. The democratic developmental and welfare state that emerged in Taiwan’s industrial transformation and democratization and the collective memory of SARS have helped the country to cope with the COVID-19 crisis. The Taiwanese case shows that a society does not need an authoritarian state to respond to a public health crisis. The Taiwanese case further demonstrates the critical importance of building a welfare state, which takes a long time, tremendous resources, and political and societal will to accomplish.
“They See You’re a Girl if You Pick a Pink Robot with a Skirt”: A Qualitative Study of How Children Conceptualize Data Processing and Digital Privacy Risks

As children become frequent digital technology users, concerns about their digital privacy are increasing. To better understand how young children conceptualize data processing and digital privacy risks, we interviewed 26 children, 4 to 10 years old, from families with higher educational attainment recruited in a college town. Our child participants construed apps’ and services’ data collection and storage practices in terms of their benefits, both to themselves and for user safety, and characterized both data tracking and privacy violations as interpersonal rather than considering automated processes or companies as privacy threats. We identify four factors shaping these mental models and privacy risk perceptions: (1) surface-level visual cues, (2) past digital interactions involving data collection, (3) age and cognitive development, and (4) privacy-related experiences in non-digital contexts. We discuss our findings’ design, educational, and public policy implications toward better supporting children in identifying and reasoning about digital privacy risks.
Privacy Preserving Text Representation Learning Using BERT.

The availability of user generated textual data in different activities online, such as tweets and reviews has been used in many machine learning models. However, the user generated text could be a privacy leakage source for the individuals’ private-attributes. In this paper, we study the privacy issues in the user generated text and propose a privacy-preserving text representation learning framework, \({DP}_{BERT}\), which learns the textual representation. Our proposed framework uses BERT to extract the sentences embedding to learn the textual representation that (1) is differentially private to protect against identity leakage (e.g., if a target instance in the data or not), (2) protects against leakage of private-attributes information (e.g., age, gender, location), and (3) maintains the high utility of the given text.
Relation of Maximum Back and Leg Strength to Back and Leg Strength Endurance

Abstract A back and leg dynamometer based on a strain gauge technique, designed for measuring and recording both maximum strength and strength endurance is described. Data collected by use of this back and leg dynamometer showed that (1) individuals with the greater maximum strength have a greater absolute strength endurance index, (2) stronger individuals maintain a smaller proportion of their maximum back and leg strength than those with less initial strength, and (3) the development of strength endurance is not directly proportional to the development of maximum strength.
Athletes trained using stable compared to unstable surfaces exhibit distinct postural control profiles when assessed by traditional and nonlinear measures.

Athletes are assumed to exhibit better balance than non-athletes; however, few studies have examined the role of different types of sports on balance measures. Two athlete groups that experience divergent sport-specific balance training are stable- (i.e. basketball) and unstable-surface athletes (i.e. surfers). The purpose of this study was to quantify the effect of stable- compared to unstable-surface sports on postural stability. METHODS: Eight non-athletes (NON), eight stable-surface athletes (SSA) and eight unstable-surface athletes (USA) performed five 20-s quiet standing trials while ground reaction forces were recorded. Approximate entropy (ApEn), total excursion and root mean square distances (RMS) of the center of pressure position were calculated. Univariate ANOVAs with post hoc tests were conducted for each variable. RESULTS: ApEn values were lower in SSA compared to NON in the ML direction (p=0.012) and USA had lower ApEn values compared to SSA in the AP direction (p=0.036). The USA had smaller AP RMS compared to SSA (p=0.002) while the USA had greater ML RMS (p=0.008) and resultant RMS values compared to SSA (p=0.025). DISCUSSION: These data suggest that USA and SSA may exhibit direction-specific differences in balance strategy due to feedback paradigm. Language: en
The accuracy of electrocardiographic Q waves for the detection of prior myocardial infarction as assessed by a novel standard of reference.

Background: The electrocardiogram (ECG) is valuable for the identification of prior myocardial infarction (MI) in individuals participating in epidemiologic studies or undergoing screening examinations. Although the Minnesota Code, a set of criteria for the interpretation of ECGs in such situations, is commonly used to identify MI in these settings, its accuracy is incompletely understood. Hypothesis: We sought to test the accuracy of the Minnesota Code Q and QS criteria for MI against a new standard of reference, the presence of a perfusion defect on a resting myocardial scintigraphic image. Methods: The resting myocardial scintigrams of all patients studied in our nuclear cardiology laboratory during 7 consecutive months were screened for the presence of perfusion defects. For each patient with such a defect, two individuals examined on the same day, who had no perfusion defect, were selected as controls. Electrocardiograms recorded within 30 days of the scintigraphy were read blindly by two of the authors using the Minnesota Code criteria for Q or QS waves indicative of MI. Results: For 214 patients selected on the basis of their scintigraphic findings, a satisfactory ECG recorded within a month of the scintigraphy was also available. The overall sensitivity of the Q or QS criteria was 0.58 and the specificity was 0.75. As might be expected when only the most stringent criteria were applied, sensitivity was least and the specificity best. Conclusions: As in previous studies, in which necropsy material served as the standard of reference, sensitivity of the Q and QS criteria contained in the Minnesota Code is relatively modest and specificity is reasonable but not outstanding.
Questions of Numerical Condition Related to Polynomials

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the numerical condition related to polynomials. Polynomials permeate much of classical numerical analysis, either in the role of approximators, or as gauge functions for a variety of numerical methods, or in the role of characteristic polynomials of one kind or another. It seems appropriate, therefore, to study some of their basic properties as they relate to computation. It is found that one particular aspect of polynomials, namely, the extent to which they, or quantities related to them, are sensitive to small perturbations. Condition numbers, such as those proposed, cannot be expected to do more than convey general guidelines as to the susceptibility of the respective maps to small changes in their domains. By their very definition, they reflect worst case situations and, therefore, are inherently conservative measures. It is important to note that exponential growth of the condition is also observed for piecewise polynomial functions, if represented in terms of normalized B-splines. The basis consisting of the Lagrange polynomials for Chebyshev nodes, therefore, is optimally conditioned among all Lagrangian bases, and indeed among all polynomial bases, in the sense of attaining the optimal growth rate.
Schottky emitter high holding voltage ESD clamp in BCD power technology

A holding voltage boosting methodology for NPN ESD clamp was proposed. By simply changing emitter contact from Ohmic to Schottky, Vh can be increased about 10V without degrading its Ron and It2 level. TCAD simulation is used to explain the mechanism and simulated TLP are well matched with silicon results.
Equal Access and Equal Protection: The View from the U.S.

This paper, prepared for the MidEast Legal Seminar Series, explores the relationship between equality and the rule of law, as manifested by the American experience. After offering a working definition of the rule of law, the paper explores how various forms of equality affect the rule of law, and vice-versa. It then discusses the relationship between equal access to law and social support for the rule of law. Finally, it considers how social groups learn about and protect their legal claims and other interests.
The Radio-Infrared Correlation within Galaxies

A comparison of the distributions of 60μm infrared and 20cm radio continuum emission within spiral galaxies reveals a broad correlation between the two, which is modulated by a slow decrease in the 60μm-to-20cm ratio with increasing radius. Using these results, we propose a physical model for understanding the tight correlation between far-infrared and non-thermal radio luminosities in star-forming galaxies. This approach suggests that the basic constraint implied by the correlation is a tight coupling between the sources of the dust-heating photons and those of cosmic-ray electrons. Among spiral galaxies, we require in addition a universal relation whereby magnetic field strength scales with gas density to a power l/3≤β≤2/3.
Detection by Northern analysis of α1-adrenergic receptor gene transcripts in the rat

In Northern blots of total cellular and poly(A+) RNA isolated from rat liver, renal cortex, spleen, and brain probed with a full-length cDNA encoding the hamster α1-adrenergic receptor, hybridization was observed to two distinct mRNAs, at ~3.3 kb and ~2.7 kb. Only the ~2.7 kb mRNA species was visualized in Northern blots of total cellular and poly(A+) RNA isolated from cardiac ventricular muscle. From screening a rat heart cDNA library with the full-length hamster α1-adrenergic receptor cDNA, a 632 base pair cDNA was isolated. Based upon its high degree of identity, 86% at the nucleotide level, with the hamster α1-adrenergic receptor cDNA, this cDNA was considered to include the 3' end of the rat α1-adrenergic receptor. When used as a probe in Northern blots of liver RNA, both the ~ 3.3 kb and ~ 2.7 kb mRNAs were visualized. Both mRNA species were expressed in fetal as well as adult liver, but steady-state levels of each gene transcript were ~ 3-fold higher in adult compared to fetal liver. Finally, results from Southern analysis of restriction enzyme fragments of genomic DNA suggest that the two gene transcripts may be products of a single gene.
Aging, the fishy side: an appreciation of Alex Comfort's studies.

Abstract Many years ago, Alex Comfort experimentally refuted Bidder’s hypothesis that fish potentially were immortal. Later morphological and physiological studies, together with observations from fish populations in the wild, revealed that fish age in a way similar to that in other vertebrates. More recently, assessments of the age of fish have been revised, and have shown that some species live much longer than was estimated. These findings, together with the difficulties of demonstrating any increase in the rate of mortality with age in the long-lived, heavily exploited populations of fish, revived Bidder’s ideas. I briefly review some of the more recent literature, and conclude that there is no evidence to suggest that fish are exceptional; like other vertebrates, sooner or later they grow old and die.
The use of intermolecular potential functions in fitting pressure induced spectra

An example is presented which demonstrates the importance of using physically realistic derivatives of the intermolecular potential when fitting pressure-induced spectra. The use of nonrealistic derivatives may mask second-order temperature effects in the theory. As the temperature decreases, the intermolecular potential may have an important angular dependence.
Government debt, learning and the term structure

Abstract Does a change in the public׳s holdings of government debt affect the term structure of interest rates? Empirical analysis using a VAR model indicates that a rise in these holdings of the real debt-to-GDP ratio increases both the three-month and ten-year U.S. nominal yields in a statistically significant manner. The maturity composition of debt is also found to matter: innovations in holdings of long-term debt affect the term structure, while increases in short-term debt affect inflation expectations. These effects of changes in holdings of debt on the yield curve can be derived in a general equilibrium model in which the government issues exponentially-maturing riskless debt, financed by lump-sum taxes, and the optimizing agents are adaptive learners. On calibrating the average maturity of debt in the model to match that of U.S. Treasury debt since the 1980s, I find that positive innovations in government debt lead to increases in asset yields. This is because agents do not learn the principle of Ricardian equivalence exactly, and perceive increases in holdings of government bonds as a rise in their net wealth. Imposing rational expectations on the agents eliminates this channel, and changes in holdings of government debt have no effect on yields. The learning model also implies that as the real debt-to-GDP ratio increases, and the average maturity of debt becomes longer, the agents become less likely to learn that Ricardian equivalence holds.
Identification of a Conserved Switch Residue Responsible for Selective Constitutive Activation of the β2-Adrenergic Receptor

A cysteine-to-phenylalanine mutation of residue 116 in the third transmembrane domain of the β2-adrenergic receptor caused selective constitutive activation of Na+/H+ exchange through a pathway not involving cAMP. This selectivity was identified by comparing binding and signaling characteristics of wild-type (WT)versus C116F mutant receptors transiently transfected into COS-1 cells. Indicating constitutive activity, ligand binding to the C116F mutant showed a 78-fold higher than WT affinity for isoproterenol and a 40-fold lower than WT affinity for ICI 118551. Although agonist-independent activation of cAMP production was not exhibited by the C116F mutant, a constitutive stimulation of the Na+/H+ exchanger (NHE1) was observed. This was identified by measuring either basal intracellular pH (pHi) or rate of pHi recovery from cellular acid load. Due to a higher rate of H+ efflux through NHE1, C116F transfectants exhibited a significantly higher pHi (7.42) than did WT transfectants (7.1). Furthermore, the rate of pHi recovery from acid load facilitated by NHE1 was 2.1-fold faster in mutant transfectants than in WT transfectants. The lower rate seen in the WT case was stimulated by epinephrine, and the higher rate seen in the mutant case was inhibited by ICI 118551. These findings, which show that a C116F mutation of the β2-adrenergic receptor evokes selective constitutive coupling to NHE1 over cAMP, form the basis of our prediction that multiple and distinct activation states can exist in G protein-coupled receptors.
High Resolution Time-of-Flight Electronics System

A new electronics system for time-of-flight measurements has been developed to meet the performance requirements of the Mark II Detector for operation at the PEP Storage Ring of the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center. This system incorporates high resolution time measurements with the capability to correct systemic errors from the scintillator and photomultiplier tubes. The correction technique involves making three measurements on each photomultiplier signal every storage ring beam interaction. Two timing measurements are made relative to the beam interaction time with different discriminator threshold level settings. The charge integral of each photomultiplier pulse is also recorded. These multiple measurements allow computer correction of errors due to discriminator walk with pulse amplitude, timing errors due to scintillator light attenuation and spread, and finite risetime limitations of the photomultiplier and cabling. The system can be quickly reset after each beam interaction if there is no trigger, thus eliminating any need for delay cables in photomultiplier signal cabling. The electronics designed for the new time-of-flight system is the subject of this paper.
Characterization of the electrically evoked compound action potential of the vestibular nerve.

Objective:We recorded intraoperative and postoperative electrically evoked compound action potentials (ECAPs) in rhesus monkeys implanted with a vestibular neurostimulator. The objectives were to correlate the generation of slow-phase nystagmus or eye twitches induced by electrical stimulation of th
Interaction of Cationic Proteins and Polypeptides with Biocompatible Cationically-Anchored PEG Brushes

Polyetheylene glycol (PEG) brushes, for instance, physically tethered to a surface via the adsorbing portion of a PEG-containing copolymer, are a popular protein-resistant surface treatment. Though physisorbed brushes might be displaced by competing species, they continue to dominate diagnostic chips and other applications. In this work, we examine the interactions of two cationic species, poly l-lysine (PLL) and lysozyme, with a popular type of PEG brush, formed by the adsorption of a graft copolymer of PLL–PEG on negative silica. Here, 20K molecular weight (MW) PLL comprises the main backbone that adsorbs to the silica and the PEG side chains (2K or 5K, in different samples) form tethers. This work examines variations in brush heights and densities, still confining the study to brush architectures (near 30% functionalization of the PLL by PEG side chains) that completely prevent the adsorption of blood proteins such as fibrinogen and albumin. It is found that lysozyme adsorbs to interfaces passivated wi...
The future of controlled randomized experiments: A briefing

In 1970-73, the Social Science Research Council convened meetings of scholars, civil servants, executives, service providers and others to summarize their experience in evaluating ameliorative social programs. A product of this effort was Social Experimentation (Riecken, Boruch, Campbell, Caplan, Glennan, Pratt, Rees, and Williams, 1974). The book, and more important, those who contributed to it influenced the technology of randomized field experiments and how contemporary projects and programs are evaluated. The task here is not to document to use of the book or the value of the work of those who contributed to it. The task here, thanks to Dr. Midge Smith, initiator of this collection of papers, is to speculate about the future of randomized controlled field tests for planning and evaluation. To forecast. Take a whack at predicting the course of events. This essay takes as the “initial conditions,” in the jargon of physics and engineering, the state of the art as represented in Social Experimentation. This is an idiosyncratic choice. But one must choose what is at one’s back in looking to a horizon. The forecast knowledge base for this essay includes the contributions made by colleagues in the United States and other countries between 1974 and 1994. All of their work cannot be cited. I apologize in advance for being unable to prepare the 100 page bibliography that might do justice to them. What follows are conjectures, for the next decade, about the use of controlled randomized experiments for planning and evaluating social programs. The predictions are put bluntly, this essay being conceived as a briefing rather than a disquisition.
Tonicity of resuscitative fluids influences outcome after spinal cord injury.

OBJECTIVE: This investigation was designed to test the hypothesis that the tonicity of resuscitative fluids administered after spinal cord injury influences the magnitude of secondary injury and, therefore, outcome. METHODS: Rat spinal cords were compressed with 50 g of weight for 5 minutes to produce injury. After spinal cord injury, the animals were randomized into three experimental groups. Group 1 (n = 10) received no fluid resuscitation after spinal cord injury. Group 2 (n = 6) received 5 ml/kg of intravenously administered Ringer's lactate 1 minute after the removal of compression. Group 3 (n = 7) was treated with 5 ml/kg of intravenously administered 7.5% hypertonic saline 1 minute after the removal of compression. Neurological outcome was assessed daily for 10 days using the Basso, Beattie, and Bresnahan locomotor rating scale. Histological evaluations of the spinal cord were obtained on Day 10. RESULTS: The average number of recovery days before the rats were able to spontaneously void their bladders was significantly less (P < 0.05) in the hypertonic saline-treated group. Spontaneous hindlimb movement also occurred sooner in the hypertonic saline-treated animals. The average neurological score was significantly higher (P < 0.05) in the hypertonic saline-treated group during each of the 10 days of recovery. Histological evaluation supported the finding of attenuation of injury in the hypertonic saline-treated animals. CONCLUSION: The results of this investigation with a chronic model of spinal cord injury support the contention that hypertonic saline treatment may provide protection to the spinal cord after mechanical injury.
c-CBL is not required for leukemia induction by Bcr-Abl in mice

Bcr-Abl tyrosine kinase activity is essential for the pathogenesis of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). A number of Bcr-Abl substrates have been identified, but it is not clear which of these substrates are required for Bcr-Abl to transform cells. The multifunctional protein c-Cbl is one of the most prominently tyrosine-phosphorylated proteins in Bcr-Abl-expressing cells. Using cell lines and mice with homozygous disruption of the c-CBL locus, we investigated the role of this protein for Bcr-Abl-driven transformation. We find that although c-Cbl−/− fibroblast cell lines show a deficit in Bcr-Abl transformation compared to wild-type (Wt) cells, this deficit was less pronounced in c-Cbl−/− B cells derived from murine bone marrow. Most importantly, in a transplantation model of CML, Bcr-Abl was capable of inducing fatal leukemia in mice in the absence of c-Cbl protein. Our results indicate that c-Cbl is dispensable for Bcr-Abl-induced leukemogenesis in mice.
Some Factors in the Selection of Media

(1977). Some Factors in the Selection of Media. Programmed Learning and Educational Technology: Vol. 14, No. 3, pp. 223-231.
Approaches and challenges to engineering seed phytate and total phosphorus

Abstract About 75% of seed total phosphorus (P) is found in a single compound, phytic acid (myo-inositol-1,2,3,4,5,6-hexakisphosphate or InsP6). Phytic acid is not efficiently utilized by monogastric animals (poultry, swine, fish), which creates phosphorus management and environmental impact problems in animal production. Phytic acid also functions as an antinutrient when consumed in human and animal diets. These problems can be addressed via feed or food supplementation with P and other minerals or phytase, or more efficiently and sustainably at their source by crop breeding or bioengineering of low-phytic acid/high-available P crops. However, since phytic acid and its synthetic pathways are central to a number of metabolic, developmental and signaling pathways important to plant function and productivity, low-phytate can translate into low-yield or stress susceptibility. The biological functions of phytic acid and identification of genetic resources and strategies useful in engineering high-yielding, stress-tolerant low-phytate germplasm will be reviewed here. One promising approach that can avoid undesirable outcomes due to impacts on phytic acid metabolism is to engineer “high-phytase” seeds. In contrast to the issue of seed phytic acid, there has been relatively little interest in seed total P as a trait of agricultural importance. However, seed total P is very important to the long-term goal of sustainable and environmentally friendly agricultural production. Certain low-phytate genotypes are also “low-total P”, which might represent the ideal seed P trait for nearly all end-uses, including uses in ruminant and non-ruminant feeds and in biofuels production. Future research directions will include screening for additional genetic resources such as seed total P mutants.
Improvement of EPA method 8330: complete separation using a two-phase approach

Complete separation of the 14 nitroaromatic and nitramine analytes targeted in EPA Method 8330 was achieved using a 30 x 4.6 mm Bondesil CN guard column in series with a 250 x 4.6 mm Bondesil C18 column (5 microns particles). Consistent with Method 8330 specifications, the mobile phase in the separation was 1:1 methanol:water and the flow-rate was 1.5 ml min-1. The success of this two-phase system proved to be largely a consequence of the unique resolution afforded by the Bondesil C18 column: complete separation of the 14 explosives could not be achieved using other CN/C18 column combinations. Additionally, while Method 8330 calls for a 100-microliter injection loop, separation on the Bondesil CN/C18 system was possible only using a 20-microliter injection loop. The loss of resolution with larger injection volume appears to be a result of the injection solvent, methanol, modifying the composition of the mobile phase both in the CN guard column and in the initial portion of the C18 column. The current method nevertheless represents an improvement over Method 8330, which calls for both a screening and confirming analysis. By separating the 14 Method 8330 analytes in a single run, the two-phase approach can increase sample throughput by decreasing analysis times.
Uptake of Mn54 by the beach clam, Donax variabilus, (say 1822) from a resin buffered seawater system

Abstract The seawater chemistry of potentially toxic metals can affect their availability to marine organisms. Investigation of the relationship between metal chemistry and metal bioavailability has progressed slowly due to difficulties in controlling and measuring metal speciation in uptake media. Recent work with strong metal chelators such as NTA and EDTA has allowed a closer examination of how metal chemistry relates to biological accumulation and toxicity.1–3 However, the presence of a strong chelator at membrane transport sites and the possible alteration of microenvironments by strong chelators could create unnatural uptake behavior. This study presents another method for stabilizing metal chemistry in accumulation experiments. A cation exchange resin was used to study Mn54 accumulation by a small bivalve Donax variabilus. The resin proved an effective method for buffering manganese chemistry in seawater and could provide a useful tool to look for subtle effects present in other metal buffered seawater systems.
Dynamic flexibility in the light reactions of photosynthesis governed by both electron and proton transfer reactions

Plant photosynthesis performs the remarkable feat of converting light energy into usable chemical forms, which involves taming highly reactive intermediates without harming plant cells. This requires an apparatus that is not only efficient and robust but also flexible in its responses to changing environmental conditions. It also requires that the output of the energy-storing reactions be matched with the demands of metabolism. This article addresses the mechanisms by which this flexibility is achieved for short-term environmental changes. We argue that chloroplasts need two types of flexible mechanisms: one for modulating the output ratio of ATP:NADPH, which involves cyclic electron flux around photosystem I; and another for changing the regulatory sensitivity of the light-harvesting antenna to electron (and proton) flow.
Turn‐taking resources employed by congenitally blind conversers

It has been suggested that blind persons lack appropriate communicative social skills. One aspect of social skills is the ability to regulate interaction smoothly. The study examined turn‐taking resources utilized by congenitally blind persons. Conversational Analysis was employed to discover the turn‐taking resources used by six congenitally blind individuals in three dyads (i.e., one male, one female and one mixed dyad). The results were compared with past research on turn‐taking resources utilized by sighted conversers. Overall, the participants utilized the majority of focal resources reported in research on sighted individuals. However, non‐vocal resources deviated from those found in previous research on sighted conversers. Specifically, tactile resources were not used; self‐adaptors, gestures and posture shifts were seldom used; mechanistic movements of the head and atypical use of facial orientation were discovered. Possible implications of these finding are discussed.
Blue-green algae associated with ascidians of the Great Barrier Reef

IN the rich biota of reef communities, one of the best known symbiotic relationships is that of dinoflagellates known as “zooxanthellae” with corals and giant clams1–3. In contrast, the presence of algae in ascidians (sea squirts: Phylum Chordata, Subphylum Tunicata), although known for many years, has been studied very little. It is known that the association is confined to tropical ascidians in the family Didemnidae, but even the phylum to which the algae belong, or indeed whether the green cells in question are algae at all, has remained uncertain. During a recent expedition of the RV Alpha Helix to the Great Barrier Reef, we encountered several species of colonial asdidians containing large numbers of bright green, spherical cells. We have established by optical and electron microscopy that these green cells are blue-green algae; their association with primitive chordates represents a considerable extension of the known host range of these prokaryotes.
Measurement of chromium VI and chromium III in stainless steel welding fumes with Electron Spectroscopy for Chemical Analysis and Neutron Activation Analysis

Electron Spectroscopy for Chemical Analysis (ESCA) was explored as a means of studying the oxidation state of chromium in SMAC (coated electrode) stainless steel welding fume collected on Nucleopore filters in the laboratory. Chromium VI and III (as a percent of the total chromium) obtained from ESCA analysis was applied to results from Neutron Activation Analysis (NAA) to yield an average of 69 µg chromium VI per sample. Diphenylcarbazide/atomic absorption (DPC/AA) results are reported for samples submitted to an industrial laboratory. Possible chemical species and solubility of chromium VI in stainless steel fumes is discussed in light of analogy between the SMAC process and the manufacturing process for chromates.