cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Assessing the Digital Divide Among Low-Income Perinatal Women: Opportunities for Provision of Health Information and Counseling

Abstract Objectives: Technology-based health interventions may provide a means to reach low-income perinatal women and improve outcomes for both mother and infant, yet little is known about technology access and interest among this population. This study explored interest, attitudes, and concerns regarding technology to deliver health information and interventions. Methods: Between May and October 2014, a cross-sectional study of 161 low-income pregnant and/or postpartum mothers (up to 1 year) was conducted, assessing attitudes and behaviors regarding the current use of devices and receptivity to interventions delivered through devices. Participants (ages 18–41) were pregnant or postpartum and able to read and comprehend English. Women were recruited from waiting areas at two urban clinics affiliated with the local health department in a Midwestern city in the United States. Surveys included 46 questions and were completed at the time of invitation. Descriptive statistics, independent sample t test, or ch...
Do Resources Matter For Employee Stress? It Depends On How Old You Are

Abstract This study sought to understand the age-based differences in the usefulness of job resources in relation to employee stress. We extended Conservation of Resources theory by integrating two lifespan development models (Selection-Optimization-Compensation and Socio-emotional Selectivity theories) to argue that job resources would be differentially beneficial – or harmful when lacking – to the stress of older and younger workers. Utilizing time-lagged data, we examined the moderating role of age in the relationship between baseline work-related resources from the job (skill variety), supervisor (leader-member exchange), and organization (procedural fairness) and perceived stress at the 12-month follow-up in a sample of U.S. construction workers ( N = 243). As hypothesized, our findings indicated that the relationship between these three job resources and perceived stress was stronger for older workers. Specifically, when resources were high in the workplace, both older and younger workers reported lower levels of stress. However, when these resources were low, older workers experienced greater stress compared to their younger colleagues. These findings support that age is a boundary condition of job resources – stress link, and highlight the importance of understanding the needs and motivation of employees of different ages is key to maintaining worker well-being.
Hetero-ConvLSTM: A Deep Learning Approach to Traffic Accident Prediction on Heterogeneous Spatio-Temporal Data

Predicting traffic accidents is a crucial problem to improving transportation and public safety as well as safe routing. The problem is also challenging due to the rareness of accidents in space and time and spatial heterogeneity of the environment (e.g., urban vs. rural). Most previous research on traffic accident prediction conducted by domain researchers simply applied classical prediction models on limited data without addressing the above challenges properly, thus leading to unsatisfactory performance. A small number of recent works have attempted to use deep learning for traffic accident prediction. However, they either ignore time information or use only data from a small and homogeneous study area (a city), without handling spatial heterogeneity and temporal auto-correlation properly at the same time. In this paper we perform a comprehensive study on the traffic accident prediction problem using the Convolutional Long Short-Term Memory (ConvLSTM) neural network model. A number of detailed features such as weather, environment, road condition, and traffic volume are extracted from big datasets over the state of Iowa across 8 years. To address the spatial heterogeneity challenge in the data, we propose a Hetero-ConvLSTM framework, where a few novel ideas are implemented on top of the basic ConvLSTM model, such as incorporating spatial graph features and spatial model ensemble. Extensive experiments on the 8-year data over the entire state of Iowa show that the proposed framework makes reasonably accurate predictions and significantly improves the prediction accuracy over baseline approaches.
Embraced by the Demon: The Perils of Immediate Experience

The phenomenon of near-death experiences shows a way in which James’ investigations into unusual mental states have engendered other creative, if not also controversial, scientific projects. Also considered are the visions of Swedenborg, who not only claimed to see angels and demons but classified them in interesting physiological ways. According to him, heaven and hell exist in the form of a human body, and this spiritual-somatic connection likely was influential on James, who was a physician as well as a philosopher of religion.
Web-Conferencing Based Education: An Empirical Comparison with Face-to-Face Education

The advancement of technology and the widespread availability of the Internet have enabled web-conferencing based education. This research examines the relative efficacy of a web-conferencing based learning environment using Adobe Connect versus the traditional face-to-face classroom learning environment. Two instructional strategies – interactive versus direct – in these learning environments and their effects on perceived learning and satisfaction are studied. Our findings suggest that there is an interaction effect of learning environment and instructional strategy. In the interactive instructional sessions, students in a web-conferencing based learning environment experienced a higher level of classroom interactivity than those in a face-to-face classroom environment. Also, in the interactive instructional sessions, students in the webconferencing based learning environment experienced higher perceived learning and satisfaction than those in the face-toface learning environment. No significant difference is observed between the direct instructional sessions of the two environments.
Beliefs, values, and practices of Mexican immigrant families towards language and learning in toddlerhood: Setting the foundation for early childhood education

Abstract In order to enhance the cultural responsivity of supports offered by ECE programs to the rising numbers of children from Latino backgrounds, a foundational understanding of the culturally-nuanced beliefs, values, and reported practices of Latino families towards early language and learning is needed. The purpose of this qualitative study was to provide this information for the largest subgroup of young Latinos in the US: children of Mexican immigrant families from lower-income homes. Thirty-Five Mexican mothers of toddler-aged children participated in semi-structured interviews to gather information on children’s everyday socialization experiences. Themes relevant to children’s development were identified for each of the components of the activity setting framework (Gallimore, Goldenberg, & Weisner, 1993): underlying cultural values and beliefs regarding language and learning, activity types, activity participants, activity goals, and social scripts of the activities. The findings offer new information on how families support early development of children’s communication skills, in particular, and also align with and extend previous research with Mexican families. Moreover, several strengths of families in supporting development were revealed, including a focus on tight-knit families that supported collective child rearing, conduct and social behavior, personal identities, educational success, language learning, and Spanish and English language acquisition. This study has implications for ECE programs that serve families of Mexican immigrant origin, in terms of addressing families’ strengths in ways that appreciate their sociocultural and linguistic backgrounds and best prepare their children for the expectations of the mainstream educational system in the US.
Characterization of a Knudsen force based vacuum sensor for N2H2O gas mixtures

Abstract Radiometric phenomena can arise in gas flows in which the local molecular mean free path is in the same order as the temperature gradient length scale. The forces exerted on immersed bodies by such rarefied flows are known as Knudsen (or thermophoretic) forces and can play a major role in nonisothermal microflows. In this work, the direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method is used to numerically characterize the force and thermal mechanisms on a second generation Microscale In-Plane Knudsen Radiometric Actuator (MIKRA) designed for gas pressure and composition sensing. First, a brief verification analysis of the present DSMC solver in reproducing the thermal conductivity for the gas species of interest – nitrogen and water vapor – is carried out. The geometric impact of the gap between MIKRA beams is then investigated for pure N2 environments. In addition, the beam heat transfer coefficients for N2 H2O binary mixtures are extracted from the DSMC data and a dimensionless correlation is proposed for predicting the corresponding Knudsen forces. These results are intended to assist in the operation and design of the MIKRA device.
Taxonomic reasoning

In formalizing knowledge for common sense reasoning, one often needs to partition some domain. An instance of this from the Blocks World is the statement "All blocks are either held, on the table, or on another block." Although we can write this axiom in predicate calculus or in clause form for input to a theorem prover, such representations are highly space inefficient. In this paper we present a generalized clause form that allows for the compact representation of arbitrary partitions, along with a set of corresponding inference rules. Additionally, a theorem prover implementing these rules is described that demonstrates their utility with certain kinds of common sense rule bases.
Who Will Speak For The Slender Man?: Dialogism and Dilemmas in Character Copyright

This Essay responds to Professor Cathay Smith’s Article, Beware the Slender Man: Intellectual Property and Internet Folklore, and suggests what the law of character copyright can learn from the legal complications and ambiguities surrounding intellectual property ownership of Internet folklore. Specifically, the essay explores the dialogic nature of character creation and the overlapping relationship between character and genre to highlight ways in which collectively-created characters are at particular risks for chilling claims of private ownership.
Recent Developments in Dendritic Spaces and Related Topics

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the extension and unification of dendritic spaces. It discusses other classical characterizations of dendrites that lead to the definitions of dendrite-like spaces in the setting of connected Hausdorff spaces, and this gives rise to an extensive hierarchy whose inter-relationships are studied. The investigation is marked by its heavy reliance on the order-theoretic techniques suggested by the cutpoint partial order.
Diophantine Undecidability of Function Fields of Characteristic Greater than 2, Finitely Generated over Fields Algebraic over a Finite Field

Let F be a function field of characteristic p > 2, finitely generated over a field C algebraic over a finite field Cp and such that it has an extension of degree p. Then Hilbert's Tenth Problem is not decidable over F.
Male Compensatory Consumption in American History

The overcompensation thesis posits that men react to gender insecurities by demonstrating their masculinity in extreme ways, some of which include highly gendered forms of consumer behavior known a...
Vertex-minimal planar graphs with a prescribed automorphism group

For a positive integer m, let $${\mathbb {Z}}_m$$ denote the cyclic group of order m. In this article, we discuss the orders of vertex-minimal planar graphs with prescribed automorphism group $${\mathbb {Z}}_m$$ . Previously, Marusic investigated the case when m is odd, and Archer et al. considered the case when m is a power of 2. When m even and not a power of 2, Marusic conjectured the order of a vertex-minimal planar graph with $$\mathbb Z_m$$ -symmetry in 1980; here, we prove his conjecture. Consequently, our results completely establish the minimal orders of planar graphs with automorphism group $${\mathbb {Z}}_m$$ . We conclude this article by discussing the orders of vertex-minimal planar graphs with a dihedral symmetry group.
Results of metallographical diagnostic examination of Navy half-watt thermoelectric converters degraded by accelerated tests

To verify the 15-year reliability of the Navy half-watt radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG), bismuth-telluride thermoelectric converters were submitted to testing at high temperatures which accelerated the degradation and caused failure of the converters. Metallographic diagnostic examination of failed units verified failure mechanisms. Results of diagnostic examinations are presented.
Contribution of Leuconostocaceae to CO2-mediated bloater defect in cucumber fermentation.

Abstract Fermented cucumber bloater defect, caused by the accumulation of microbiologically produced carbon dioxide (CO2), creates significant economic losses for the pickling industry. The ability of Leuconostocaceae, indigenous to cucumber, to grow and produce CO2 during a fermentation and cause bloater defect was evaluated. Leuconostocaceae grew and produced over 40% CO2 in cucumber juice medium, used as a model for cucumber fermentation. The inoculation of Leuconostocaceae to 5 Log CFU/g in cucumber fermentations brined with 25 mM calcium chloride and 6 mM potassium sorbate resulted in no significant differences in bloater defect, colony counts from MRS and VRBG agar plates or the fermentation biochemistry; suggesting an inability of the inoculated bacterial species to prevail in the bioconversion. Acidified cucumbers were subjected to a fermentation inoculated with a Leuconostoc lactis starter culture after raising the pH to 5.9 ± 0.4. CO2 was produced in the acidified cucumber fermentations to 13.6 ± 3.5% yielding a bloater index of 21.3 ± 6.4; while 8.6 ± 0.8% CO2 and a bloater index of 5.2 ± 5.9 were observed in the non-inoculated control jars. Together the data collected demonstrate that Leuconostocaceae can produce enough CO2 to contribute to bloater defect, if not outcompeted by the leading lactic acid bacteria in a cucumber fermentation.
CPAP Adherence, Mortality, and Progression-Free Survival in Interstitial Lung Disease and OSA.

Background OSA, a common comorbidity in interstitial lung disease (ILD), could contribute to a worsened course if untreated. It is unclear if adherence to CPAP therapy improves outcomes. Research Question Does adherence to CPAP therapy improve outcomes in patients with concurrent interstitial lung disease and OSA? Study Design and Methods We conducted a 10-year retrospective observational multicenter cohort study, assessing adult patients with ILD who had undergone polysomnography. Subjects were categorized based on OSA severity into no/mild OSA (apnea-hypopnea index score Results Of 160 subjects that met inclusion criteria, 131 had OSA and were prescribed CPAP. Sixty-six patients (41%) had no/mild untreated OSA, 51 (32%) had moderate/severe untreated OSA, and 43 (27%) had treated OSA. Subjects with no/mild untreated OSA did not differ from those with moderate/severe untreated OSA in mean survival time (127 ± 56 vs 138 ± 93 months, respectively; P = .61) and crude mortality rate (2.9 per 100 person-years vs 2.9 per 100 person-years, respectively; P = .60). Adherence to CPAP was not associated with improvement in all-cause mortality risk (hazard ratio [HR], 1.1; 95% CI, 0.4-2.9; P = .79) or PFS (HR, 0.9; 95% CI, 0.5-1.5; P = .66) compared with those that were nonadherent or untreated. Among subjects requiring supplemental oxygen, those adherent to CPAP had improved PFS (HR, 0.3; 95% CI, 0.1-0.9; P = .03) compared with nonadherent or untreated subjects. Interpretation Neither OSA severity nor adherence to CPAP was associated with improved outcomes in patients with ILD except those requiring supplemental oxygen.
Making-Do on the Margins: Organizing Resource Seeking and Rhetorical Agency in Communities During Grassroots Entrepreneurship:

Innovation and entrepreneurship are important yet understudied pathways in the technical and professional communication (TPC) literature for studying how underresourced people enact agency given we...
Congenital Scoliosis of the Pediatric Cervical Spine: Characterization of a 17-Patient Operative Cohort.

Background Congenital cervical scoliosis is rare, and there is a paucity of literature describing surgical outcomes. We report surgical outcomes in a 17-patient cohort with surgical correction for congenital cervical scoliosis and identify risk factors associated with complications. Methods Data were retrospectively collected from a single-center cohort of 17 consecutive patients (9 boys, 8 girls) receiving surgical deformity correction for congenital cervical scoliosis. The mean age at surgery was 7.1±3.4 years with an average follow-up of 3.6±1.1 years. Results There were 24 operations performed on 17 patients, and 4 complications (17%) were reported in the series, including one each of pressure ulcer, asystole, vertebral artery injury, and pseudarthrosis. The mean preoperative major curve angle was 36±20 degrees, which improved to 24±14 degrees (P=0.02). The mean operative time was 8±2 hours with a mean estimated blood loss of 298±690 mL. Halo-gravity traction was used in 5 patients and 6 cases were staged with anterior/posterior procedures. Conclusions Congenital scoliosis of the cervical spine is a complex process. The spinal deformity of this nature can be managed successfully with carefully planned and executed surgical correction. Level of evidence Level IV-retrospective review.
Insect decline in the Anthropocene: Death by a thousand cuts

Nature is under siege. In the last 10,000 y the human population has grown from 1 million to 7.8 billion. Much of Earth’s arable lands are already in agriculture (1), millions of acres of tropical forest are cleared each year (2, 3), atmospheric CO2 levels are at their highest concentrations in more than 3 million y (4), and climates are erratically and steadily changing from pole to pole, triggering unprecedented droughts, fires, and floods across continents. Indeed, most biologists agree that the world has entered its sixth mass extinction event, the first since the end of the Cretaceous Period 66 million y ago, when more than 80% of all species, including the nonavian dinosaurs, perished. Ongoing losses have been clearly demonstrated for better-studied groups of organisms. Terrestrial vertebrate population sizes and ranges have contracted by one-third, and many mammals have experienced range declines of at least 80% over the last century (5). A 2019 assessment suggests that half of all amphibians are imperiled (2.5% of which have recently gone extinct) (6). Bird numbers across North America have fallen by 2.9 billion since 1970 (7). Prospects for the world’s coral reefs, beyond the middle of this century, could scarcely be more dire (8). A 2020 United Nations report estimated that more than a million species are in danger of extinction over the next few decades (9), but also see the more bridled assessments in refs. 10 and 11. Although a flurry of reports has drawn attention to declines in insect abundance, biomass, species richness, and range sizes (e.g., refs. 12⇓⇓⇓⇓⇓–18; for reviews see refs. 19 and 20), whether the rates of declines for insects are on par with or exceed those for other groups remains unknown. There are still too … [↵][1]1To whom correspondence may be addressed. Email: david.wagner{at}uconn.edu. [1]: #xref-corresp-1-1
Radiation Characteristics of Cranial Leaky Lamb Waves

We numerically and experimentally investigate the dispersion properties of leaky Lamb waves in the cranial bone. Cranial Lamb waves leak energy from the skull into the brain when propagating at speeds higher than the speed of sound in the surrounding fluid. The understanding of their radiation mechanism is significantly complicated by the geometric and mechanical characteristics of the cortical tables and the trabecular bone (diploe). Toward such understanding, we here analyze the sub-1.0 MHz radiation angle dispersion spectrum of porous bone phantoms and parietal bone geometries obtained from $\mu $ CT scans. Our numerical results show that, when diploic pores are physically modeled, leakage angles computed from time transient finite-element analyses correspond to those predicted by an equivalent three-layered fluid-loaded waveguide model. For the bone geometries analyzed, two main leaky branches are observed in the near-field dispersion spectrum: a fast wave radiated at small angles, which is related to the fastest fundamental Lamb mode supported by the cranial bone, and a slower wave radiated at larger angles. This observation is also confirmed by experimental tests carried out on an immersed parietal bone.
Spatial Association of Respiratory Health with Social and Environmental Factors: Case Study of Cook County, IL

Background People who live with respiratory diseases like asthma are more likely at risk of serious illness. Spatial analytic techniques allow for discovering areas of concern and finding correlates of asthma prevalence. Objective There is growing interest in disentangling the impacts of socioeconomic and environmental factors on respiratory health, their spatial correlation, and the demographic profile of people at risk of respiratory diseases. It is important to know how people with asthma are geographically distributed and what social and environmental factors correlate with asthma. Thereby, the purpose of the study is to describe socioeconomic factors associated with asthma prevalence in Cook County, IL, and to identify the significant risks and the protective factors to control asthma. Data and Methods Data obtained from CDC 2018 SVI, ACS, the City of Chicago Data Portal, HealthData.gov, and ESRI. In this paper, we illustrate the usefulness of geospatial regression analysis in the analysis and presentation of spatially distributed asthma prevalence among the population with disabilities, minorities with the language barrier, nonwhite population, age 17 and younger, and age 65 and older in the census tracts of Cook County, IL where Chicago Metropolitan Area located. In addition, we map the spatial variation of asthma prevalence with variation in the tree canopy, access to medical centers, air quality, and household quality. Lastly, we used bivariate mapping to illustrate the spatial distributions of residential land use and tree covers. Results Our findings show a good correlation between asthma and socioeconomic and physical factors including age 17 and younger, age 65 and older, population with disabilities, a minority with the language barrier, tree canopy, access to medical centers, air quality, and household quality. The aged 65 and older, 17 and younger, and people with disabilities are found to have a higher asthma prevalence in areas around the industrial corridors in southeast and west sides of Cook County, IL. Results may guide further decisions in planning for asthma research and intervention, especially for identifying vulnerable areas and people.
Postprandial concentration of circulating branched chain amino acids are able to predict the carbohydrate content of the ingested mixed meal.

BACKGROUND The amount of the macronutrients protein and carbohydrate (CHO) in a mixed meal is known to affect each other's digestion, absorption, and subsequent metabolism. While the effect of the amount of dietary protein and fat on the glycemic response is well studied, the ability of postprandial plasma amino acid patterns to predict the meal composition is unknown. OBJECTIVE To study the postprandial plasma amino acid patterns in relation to the protein, CHO, and fat content of different mixed meals and to investigate if these patterns can predict the macronutrient meal composition. DESIGN Ten older adults were given 9 meals with 3 different levels (low, medium, and high) of protein, CHO, and fat in different combinations, taking the medium content as that of a standardized western meal. We monitored the postprandial plasma response for amino acids, glucose, insulin, and triglycerides for 8 h and the areas under the curve (AUC) were subsequently calculated. Multiple regression analysis was performed to determine if amino acid patterns could predict the meal composition. RESULTS Increasing meal CHO content reduced the postprandial plasma response of several amino acids including all branched chain amino acids (BCAA) (leucine; q < 0.0001, isoleucine; q = 0.0035, valine; q = 0.0022). The plasma BCAA patterns after the meal significantly predicted the meal's CHO content (leucine; p < 0.0001, isoleucine; p = 0.0003, valine; p = 0.0008) along with aspartate (p < 0.0001), tyrosine (p < 0.0001), methionine (p = 0.0159) and phenylalanine (p = 0.0332). Plasma citrulline predicted best the fat content of the meal (p = 0.0024). CONCLUSIONS The postprandial plasma BCAA patterns are lower with increasing meal CHO content and are strong predictors of a mixed meal protein and CHO composition, as are plasma citrulline for the fat content. We hypothesize that postprandial plasma amino acid concentrations can be used to predict the meal's macronutrient composition.
Machine Learning Identifies Stool pH as a Predictor of Bone Mineral Density in Healthy Multiethnic US Adults.

Background A variety of modifiable and non-modifiable factors such as ethnicity, age, and diet have been shown to influence bone health. Previous studies are usually limited to analyses focused on the association of a few a priori variables or on a specific subset of the population. Objective Dietary, physiological, and lifestyle data were used to identify directly modifiable and non-modifiable variables predictive of bone mineral content (BMC) and bone mineral density (BMD) in healthy U.S. men and women using machine learning models. Methods Ridge, lasso, elastic net, and random forest models were used to predict whole-body, femoral neck, and spine BMC and BMD in healthy U.S. men and women ages 18-66 y, BMI 18-44 kg/m2 (n = 313) using non-modifiable anthropometric, physiological, and demographic variables, directly modifiable lifestyle (physical activity, tobacco use) and dietary (via food frequency questionnaire) variables, and variables approximating directly-modifiable behavior (circulating 25-hydroxycholecalciferol and stool pH). Results Machine learning models using non-modifiable variables explained more variation in BMC and BMD (highest R2 = 0.75) compared to when using only directly modifiable variables (highest R2 = 0.11). Machine learning models had better performance compared to multivariate linear regression, which had lower predictive value (highest R2 = 0.06) when using directly modifiable variables only. BMI, body fat %, height, and menstruation history were predictors of BMC and BMD. For directly modifiable features, betaine, cholesterol, hydroxyproline, menaquinone-4, dihydrophylloquinone, eggs, cheese, cured meat, refined grains, fruit juice, and alcohol consumption were predictors of BMC and BMD. Low stool pH, a proxy for fermentable fiber intake, was also predictive of higher BMC and BMD. Conclusion Modifiable factors, such as diet, explained less variation in the data compared to non-modifiable factors, such as age, sex, and ethnicity in healthy U.S. men and women. Low stool pH predicted higher BMC and BMD.Clinical trial: registered on clinicaltrials.gov (Identifier: NCT02367287).
Survival benefit of the homologous kidney allograft in simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplants and its potential protective role

The superior death-censored graft survival of the pancreas allograft in simultaneous pancreas kidney transplants (SPK) over pancreas alone transplants (PTA) has long been recognized. Using data from the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (SRTR) and a high-volume pancreas transplant program, we investigated the possible protective role of the kidney allograft in SPK transplants. We analyzed 19 043 primary pancreas transplants between 2000 and 2020, including 735 transplants performed at the University of Minnesota. SPK transplants demonstrated a superior death-censored graft survival over pancreas after kidney (PAK) and simultaneous pancreas and living donor kidney (SPLK) transplants, which both demonstrated better survival than PTA transplants. This effect was not affected by mode or duration of renal replacement therapy prior to transplant. Furthermore, we found that HLA match at the B-locus between the prior kidney and current pancreas allografts demonstrated a protective effect (HR .54; 95% confidence interval .29-1.00), with a 2-antigen match demonstrating superior death-censored graft survival to a 1- or 0-antigen match. We propose that a homologous kidney allograft in SPK transplants affords protection to the pancreas allograft-likely through a combination of better surveillance for rejection and direct immunoprotection offered by the same-donor kidney.
Evaluation of antiretroviral drug concentrations in minimally invasive specimens for potential development of point of care drug assays

Point-of-care (POC) tests for antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) could help improve individual adherence. This study sought to define the utility of urine, blood, and buccal swabs as minimally invasive sp...
The Other as Real, Imagined, and Political

The figure of the “other” is foundational to sociological theorizing in part because an “other” is required for the constitution of the self and the social, and in part because questions of inequality have often been the mainstay of sociological thinking. In this chapter, I review four different “starting points” in classical theory for conceptualizing the “other,” as real, imagined, and political: Simmel’s stranger; Freud’s super-ego and Marx’s theory of alienation; Mead’s “generalized other”; and DuBois’s “double consciousness.” I trace how contemporary theorists have taken up these classic theories and given them new insight, and I contemplate the resonances between the concepts.
Ab Initio versus CNDO barrier calculations

Ab initio SCF-LCAO-MO calculations of the barriers to internal rotation have been performed for N2H4 and N2F4 using a small basis of gaussian functions. A single rotamer is predicted for N2H4 at 94‡ with cis and trans barriers of 9.64 and 3.67 kcal/mole. For N2F4 there are two stable forms (64‡ and 180‡), the trans configuration being more stable by 1.5 kcal/mole. The computed barrier separating gauche from trans N2F4 is 5.7 kcal/mole. CNDO and INDO barrier curves agree qualitatively but not quantitatively. The barrier curves are best reflected by the sums of all overlap populations across the N-N bonds.
Thermodynamics of the Rate of Binding of Ouabain to the Sodium, Potassium-Adenosine Triphosphatase

Abstract The binding of [3H]ouabain to sodium and potassium ion-activated adenosine triphosphatase in the presence of [magnesium, ATP, sodium, and potassium] adheres to first order kinetics over a wide range of monovalent cation concentrations and over a temperature range of 0–37°. The kinetic data fit an equation of the type [see PDF for equation] The thermodynamic quantities calculated for Ki, the dissociation constant for potassium for the site which modulates the rate of ouabain interaction, were ΔH0 = -13.6 Cal per mole and ΔS0 = -27.1 cal per mole deg. The thermodynamic quantities calculated for Ka, the dissociation constant for sodium for this same site, were ΔH0 = 4.1 Cal per mole and ΔS0 = 21.7 cal per mole deg. These values indicate that a restricted orientation of the receptor is required for binding of potassium and that the binding leads to a stable complex. In contrast, sodium binding has a large positive entropy. These differences suggest that the site has a size restriction for the binding of the cations. The activation energy for the rate of ouabain binding in the presence of [magnesium, ATP plus sodium] was 21.2 ± 1.0 Cal per mole and is quite close to the values of the activation energy of [3H]ouabain binding that occurs in the presence of [magnesium plus ATP] (Ea = 23.4 ± 0.8 Cal per mole) and in the presence of [magnesium plus inorganic phosphate] (Ea = 22.8 ± 1.5 Cal per mole). This is consistent with the concept that a single conformation of the glycoside receptor is required for drug interaction. Lack of curvature in the Arrhenius plots suggests that, in contrast to the hydrolysis of ATP, ouabain binding is not influenced by the fluidity of the lipid matrix.
Determination of Protein Contacts by Chemical Cross‐Linking With EDC and Mass Spectrometry

This unit describes a method for analyzing protein complexes by chemically cross-linking closely positioned amino acids. The cross-linked products are isolated by SDS-PAGE and the bands of interest are excised. Proteins in the excised gel piece are digested with trypsin and the resulting peptides recovered. Chemically bonded peptides are distinct from the multitude of unmodified single peptides by the presence of two carboxy-terminal ends. The protocol also describes incorporation of 18O at the carboxy-terminal ends and purification and preparation of the peptide mixture for mass spectroscopy. Keywords: protein contacts; cross-links; isotopic exchange; mass spectrometry
Immunology in the Clinic Review Series; focus on allergies: basophils as biomarkers for assessing immune modulation

Allergen-specific immunotherapy is an effective clinical treatment for hypersensitivity to many allergens. Studies of basophils during immunotherapy have provided insight into underlying immune mechanisms and support the potential use of basophil activation as a biomarker of clinical outcomes. This review examines the evidence for different pathways of basophil modulation associated with various forms of immunotherapy. Better understanding the molecular mechanisms of basophil activation and desensitization and the relationship between suppression of these effector cells to clinical outcomes holds promise for further development and improvement in potential therapies for allergic diseases.
New glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase mutations from various ethnic groups

Seven new mutations that produce glucose 6 phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency are described. Three are in variants that were biochemically characterized and described previously, while four were found in samples that had not been characterized biochemically. Several of the mutations affect the amino acids that are mutated in other G6PD variants. As had been noted previously, variants that are associated with nonspherocytic anemia are located either near the glucose 6 phosphate or the NADP binding sites. Variants more distant from these sites are not associated with chronic hemolysis.
Capillary electrophoretic chiral separations using cyclodextrin additives: III. Peak resolution surfaces for ibuprofen and homatropine as a function of the pH and the concentration of β-cyclodextrin

Our recent extended peak resolution equation of capillary electrophoresis has been combined with the multiple equilibria-based electrophoretic mobility model of chiral separations to describe peak resolution as a function of the composition of the background electrolyte (pH and the β-cyclodextrin concentration) and a function of the operating variables (effective portion of the applied potential, dimensionless electroosmotic flow coefficient). Using the previously determined model parameters, the resolution surfaces were calculated for a Type I chiral separation (ibuprofen), and a Type III chiral separation (homatropine). In Type I separations resolution can be obtained only over a narrow pH range in the vicinity of the pKa value, and above a minimum value, the concentration of β-cyclodextrin plays a lesser role. In Type III separations, the pH- and β-cyclodextrin concentration-dependent resolution surface has two lobes, on which the migration order of the enantiomers is opposite. This can be an advantage in trace component analysis. In both Type I and Type III separations, peak resolution varies strongly with the dimensionless electroosmotic flow coefficient when its value is changed in the − 1 to 1 range. The loci of the pH-dependent and the β-cyclodextrin concentration-dependent resolution maxima do not shift significantly when the dimensionless electroosmotic flow coefficient is changed. This fact provides the analyst with an additional resolution enhancement tool that does not alter the selectivity of the separation. The utility of the model and its theoretical predictions has been demonstrated by comparing measured and calculated Rs values for ibuprofen and homatropine.
Abstract 314: Determinants of Endothelial Dysfunction in Peripheral Artery Disease: Importance of Kidney Disease

OBJECTIVES: Peripheral artery disease (PAD) and chronic kidney disease are both associated with endothelial dysfunction. Renal insufficiency may contribute to the progression of endothelial dysfunction in PAD patients, increasing their morbidity and mortality. We hypothesized that worsening renal function (RF) is associated with impaired endothelial function (EF) in patients with PAD. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study of PAD patients presenting to a vascular surgery clinic. Brachial artery flow-mediated vasodilation (FMD) was done to assess EF. RF was determined by calculating estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). Linear regression was performed to assess the relationship between EF and RF in claudicants. RESULTS: 115 claudicants with eGFR ≥ 30ml/min participated in this study. Mean age was 69 ± 8 years, 97% were male, and 77% were Caucasian. Comorbidities included hypertension (90%), dyslipidemia (83%), coronary artery disease (41%) and diabetes mellitus (36%). Mean ABI was 0.71 ± 0.15 and...
The Science of Social Influence : Advances and Future Progress

Chapter 1. Anthony R. Pratkanis, Social Influence Research. Chapter 2. Anthony R. Pratkanis, Social Influence Analysis: An Index of Tactics. Chapter 3. Eric S. Knowles & Dan Riner, Omega Approaches to Persuasion: Overcoming Resistance. Chapter 4. Elliot Aronson, The Use of Dissonance in Self-persuasion. Chapter 5. Dariusz Dolinski, Emotional See-saw. Chapter 6. Jerry Burger, Fleeting Attraction and Compliance with Requests. Chapter 7. Noah Goldstein & Robert B. Cialdini, Using Social Norms as a Lever of Social Influence. Chapter 8. Paul Nail & Geoff MacDonald, On the Development of the Social Response Context Model. Chapter 9. Christie Struckman & Marlene E. Turner, Social Influence in Groups. Chapter 10. Carsten K. W. De Dreu, Minority Dissent, Attitude Change, and Group Performance. Chapter 11. Nicholas DiFonzo & Prashant Bordia, Toward a Dynamic Social Impact Theory of Rumors: Individual and Network Level Factors in Spread. Chapter 12. Roderick Kramer, Self-defeating Influence Behavior: A Social Cognitive Analysis of Leader Misuse of Power. Chapter 13. Brad J. Sagarin & Sarah W. Wood, Resistance to Influence
Pundit: Intelligent Recommender of Courses

In this paper the authors describe Pundit, a course recommendation and search tool at Teachers College, Columbia University. The alpha prototype employs a novel combination of data retrieval and data mining approaches to recommend courses to users based on a match between their profiles and course contents. We utilize course management system and library e-reserves data to collect information about course content that is indexed and then matched with user profiles. In conclusion, we define an evaluation function that was used to determine the quality of recommendations.
Relationships between organizational support, customer orientation, and work outcomes: A study of frontline bank employees

Purpose – This paper seeks to examine the nature of relationships between six organizational support mechanisms, a personal resource, and selected psychological and behavioral work outcomes. A related objective of the study is to uncover whether these relationships exhibit similar patterns between employees with different characteristics.Design/methodology/approach – Data for the study were collected from the employees of a large bank in New Zealand. Usable responses were obtained from 530 employees.Findings – Results show that supervisory support is most closely associated with psychological work outcomes. On the other hand, job performance is more susceptible to influences of service technology and empowerment. Also customer orientation, as a personal resource, impacts job performance.Research limitations/implications – Using multiple‐informants (e.g. measuring frontline employees' job performance on the basis of their supervisors' or customers' assessments) would help minimize common‐method variance. T...
RELATIVE HUMIDITY AND THE KILLING OF BACTERIA: THE SURVIVAL OF SERRATIA MARCESCENS DEHYDRATED BY CONCENTRATED GLYCEROL AND SUCROSE SOLUTIONS.

Bateman, J. B. (U.S. Army Biological Laboratories, Fort Detrick, Frederick, Md.) and F. Elizabeth White. Effect of relative humidity on the survival of Serratia marcescens in concentrated glycerol and sucrose solutions. J. Bacteriol. 85:918–926. 1963.—The effects of sucrose and glycerol upon the ability of Serratia marcescens to grow when restored to a normal medium after exposure to solutions of these substances were examined, with special attention to the prevailing thermodynamic activity of water in these solutions as a factor of supposed primary importance in influencing survival or death of cells. The data were notable for the absence of any zones of instability such as those found when the water activity is changed by exposure of washed cells to water vapor at controlled relative humidities (RH). The cells survived indefinitely at room temperature in concentrated sucrose solutions; in glycerol solutions of equilibrium RH values from 20 to 90, the first-order decay constants were about 0.03 to 0.1 hr−1. These results, considered together with the contrasting phenomenon of narrow lethal humidity zones found in vapor-phrase equilibration experiments, were explained generally in terms of competitive interactions involving concentrated intrinsic and adventitious solutes, the cell water, and the organized structures of the cell, whose integrity was considered to depend ultimately upon the net effect of these various interactions.
Liver in the cerebro-hepato-renal syndrome: Defective bile acid synthesis and abnormal mitochondria

Abstract Two infants with the cerebro-hepato-renal syndrome (Zellweger's disease) exhibited cholestasis and progressive liver damage. Because abnormalities of mitochondrial structure and function have been reported in this condition, we examined the bile acids for evidence of defects in the mitochondrial phase of bile acid synthesis, namely, oxidation of the cholesterol side chain to form C-24 bile acids. The presence of increased amounts of the C-27 bile acid intermediates (trihydroxycoprostanic acid, varanic acid, and dihydroxycoprostanic acid) were noted and identified by gas-liquid chromatography-mass spectroscopy confirming that a defect in the mitochondrial pathways for bile acid side chain cleavage is involved in this entity. The clinical course, liver histopathology, and hepatocyte ultrastructural abnormalities suggest that these bile acids may reflect an underlying mitochondrial dysfunction in this disease and possibly may contribute to the progressive hepatic lobular fibrosis observed in these patients.
The role of eye movements in depth from motion parallax during infancy

Motion parallax is a motion-based, monocular depth cue that uses an object's relative motion and velocity as a cue to relative depth. In adults, and in monkeys, a smooth pursuit eye movement signal is used to disambiguate the depth-sign provided by these relative motion cues. The current study investigates infants' perception of depth from motion parallax and the development of two oculomotor functions, smooth pursuit and the ocular following response (OFR) eye movements. Infants 8 to 20 weeks of age were presented with three tasks in a single session: depth from motion parallax, smooth pursuit tracking, and OFR to translation. The development of smooth pursuit was significantly related to age, as was sensitivity to motion parallax. OFR eye movements also corresponded to both age and smooth pursuit gain, with groups of infants demonstrating asymmetric function in both types of eye movements. These results suggest that the development of the eye movement system may play a crucial role in the sensitivity to depth from motion parallax in infancy. Moreover, describing the development of these oculomotor functions in relation to depth perception may aid in the understanding of certain visual dysfunctions.
Planning urban highway reconstruction with traffic demand affected by construction schedule

This paper introduces an integrated approach to the development of construction and traffic management plans for the reconstruction of high-volume urban freeways. The Devore project, which rebuilds a 4.2 km stretch of the deteriorated concrete pavement (truck lanes) on Interstate-15 (I-15) in San Bernardino County in southern California, is used as a case study. Alternative closure timing, closure duration, and number of closed lanes were compared to identify the best rehabilitation strategy for the Devore reconstruction project. The perspectives of construction schedule, traffic inconvenience (road user cost and maximum delay), and agency costs were considered. The analysis concluded that full closure of one roadbed with counter-flow traffic during repeated three or four continuous weekdays, utilizing round-the-clock reconstruction operations, was the best strategy for both the public and the sponsoring agency. A delay in the start of construction from Spring to Fall 2004 is expected to cause a 5% seasonal traffic increase, which will result in a $4.5 million increase in road user cost and a 20% increase in maximum queue delay per closure.
From Diaspora to Empire: Enrico Corradini's Nationalist Novels

In a time when Italians find themselves having to deal with the "problem" of immigrants, it is important to remember other times, when Italy was a "proletarian nation," 1 from which other, more prosperous countries extracted the most indispensable element for the development of their economies: human labor at low cost. The massive exodus of Italian citizens—over 14 millions between 1876 and 1915—(Baily 27) represented a challenge for the newly unified nation, with which the ruling classes tried to deal in different and often contradictory fashions. Liberal economists and politicians at the turn of the century perceived emigration as a precious outlet ("una valvola di sfogo") which helped to keep a healthy balance in the body politic of the nation: emigration was often compared to blood letting, a medical procedure commonly used to discharge the excess of blood which may otherwise upset normal bodily functions. Moreover, Italians abroad contributed considerably to national economy with the money they sent home to their families. Neverthe- less, policymakers became increasingly concerned about the absence of a strong sense of "italianita" among emigrants and their children, who did not seem to preserve, while living abroad, a close connection with the motherland. Therefore, one of the challenges for the Italian 1 The term was often used by Corradini. See his essay "Le nazioni proletarie e il nazionalismo" in the volume "Il nazionalismo italiano" pp. 27-49. See also Pascoli's famous speech "La grande proletaria si e mossa."