cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Regulation of RAMP expression in diseases.

Receptor-activity modifying proteins (RAMPs) belong to a single family of transmembrane proteins. RAMPs determine ligand specificity of G-protein coupled receptors; calcitonin receptor and the calcitonin-receptor like receptor (CLR). To date, three members of RAMP family (RAMP-1, -2, -3) have been identified. The co-expression of RAMP-1 with CLR constitutes the calcitonin gene related peptide receptor whereas the association of the RAMP-2 or RAMP-3 with CLR forms the adrenomedullin (AM) receptor. Alterations in signaling and subcellular distribution of G-protein coupled receptors can be responsible for the regulation of many disease conditions. These changes may be mediated by the different isoforms of RAMPs associated with such receptors. In this chapter, we describe the differential responses associated with upregulation of RAMPs in disease conditions. For instance, the upregulation of all three RAMP isoforms contributes to the cardioprotective effects of the CLR/RAMP ligands. On the other hand, strong evidence exists for the involvement of AM in various cancers and that its action is mediated by the upregulation of RAMP isoforms, RAMP-2 and -3. Though limited, a few studies have been reported on the differential response associated with the upregulation of RAMP in other disease conditions such as sepsis, liver cirrhosis, glomerulonephritis, Type 1 diabetes and Parkinson’s disease. Thus, the regulation of RAMP expression is involved in the pathophysiology associated with various diseases.
Pappus’ Texts on Cube Duplication

The preceding chapters have surveyed the ancient texts of the Heronian and Philonian methods of cube duplication. While these texts have been transmitted in many places, our principal sources are the two collections of versions preserved in works of Pappus and Eutocius. We now examine these, beginning with Pappus’ texts in the present chapter and Eutocius’ in the next, for the insight they provide on the commentators’ use of sources.
Pressure Effects on the Kinetics of High Speed Chemically Reacting Flows

The selection of fuels and engines for high speed flight vehicles will depend on the requirements of significant maneuverability such as orbital transfer on lift-off from ground into the desired trajectory. Operation will therefore include the entire altitude range from the conventional continuum aerodynamic regime to the rarefied gas, near vacuum regime. Efficient combustion must be achieved at both subsonic and supersonic conditions, depending upon the flight mode, and combustion pressures for the different modes may vary significantly.
Continuous Platform to Generate Nitroalkanes On-Demand (in situ) using Peracetic Acid-Mediated Oxidation in a PFA Pipes-in-Series Reactor.

The synthetic utility of the aza-Henry reaction can be diminished on scale by potential hazards associated with the use of peracid to prepare nitroalkane substrates and the nitroalkanes themselves. In response, a continuous and scalable chemistry platform to prepare aliphatic nitroalkanes on-demand using the oxidation of oximes with peracetic acid and direct reaction of the nitroalkane intermediate in an aza-Henry reaction is reported. A uniquely designed pipes-in-series plug-flow tube reactor addresses a range of process challenges, including stability and safe handling of peroxides and nitroalkanes. The subsequent continuous extraction generates a solution of purified nitroalkane, which can be directly used in the following enantioselective aza-Henry chemistry to furnish valuable chiral diamine precursors with high selectivity, thus completely avoiding isolation of the potentially unsafe low-molecular-weight nitroalkane intermediate. A continuous campaign (16 h) established that these conditions were ef...
Network telemetry: towards a top-down approach

Network telemetry is about understanding what is happening in the current network. It serves as the basis for making a variety of management decisions for improving the performance, availability, security, and efficiency of networks. However, it is challenging to build real-time and fine-grained network telemetry systems because of the need to support a variety of measurement queries, handle a large amount of traffic for large networks, while staying within the resource constraints at hosts and switches. Today, most operators take a bottom-up approach by passively collecting data from individual devices and infer the network-wide information they need. They are often limited by the monitoring tools device vendors provide and find it hard to extract useful information. In this paper, we argue for a top-down approach: We should provide a high-level declarative abstraction for operators to specify measurement queries, programmable measurement primitives at switches and hosts, and a runtime that translates the high-level queries into low-level API calls. We discuss a few recent works taking this top-down approach and call for more research in this direction.
Funnel control for nonlinear systems with arbitrary relative degree using high-gain observers

We propose a new algorithm for controlling the transient behavior of the tracking error for nonlinear systems with arbitrary relative degree. In tracking problems, the transient behavior of the error is more important than the behavior of its derivatives. We introduce a concept of virtual output, which converts an arbitrary relative degree system into a relative degree one system. The virtual output is chosen in such a way that the difference between the virtual output and the tracking error can be made arbitrarily small all the time. Assuming that the state derivatives are not available for feedback we use a high-gain observer to estimate the derivatives and construct the virtual output.
Low fetal fraction of cell-free DNA predicts placental dysfunction and hypertensive disease in pregnancy.

Abstract Objective To examine the association of low fetal fraction of cell-free DNA (cfDNA) with placental compromise and adverse perinatal outcomes. Materials and methods This was a retrospective cohort utilizing a sample of convenience including 639 women undergoing cfDNA screening at our institution from January 2013 to January 2017. Low fetal fraction was defined as less than the 25th percentile. Indicators of placental compromise were examined individually and as a composite outcome, including hypertensive disease of pregnancy, intrauterine growth restriction, abruption, and oligohydramnios. Neonatal outcomes, including preterm delivery, low Apgar scores, and small for gestational age, also were examined. We calculated risk ratios (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Results Low fetal fraction was associated with placental compromise (RR 1.6 [CI 1.1–2.2]), hypertensive disease of pregnancy (RR 1.6 [CI 1.003–2.6]), and preeclampsia with severe features (RR 3.3 [CI 1.2–8.9]). Low fetal faction was not associated with preterm delivery, low Apgar scores, or small for gestational age. Conclusions Low fetal fraction of cfDNA among asymptomatic women may serve as a predictor of subsequent placental dysfunction and hypertensive disease.
Outcome of prolonged video-EEG monitoring in a new VA monitoring unit.

Abstract Background and objective For patients with refractory seizures or seizure-like activity, prolonged inpatient video-electroencephalography (EEG) (v-EEG) is standard of care to guide diagnosis and management. The purpose of this study was to describe the outcome of v-EEG in a new Veterans' Administration (VA) hospital epilepsy monitoring unit (EMU). Methods We reviewed all prolonged (> 24 h) inpatient v-EEGs performed in our EMU (2 beds) at the James A Haley VA in Tampa, FL over a five-and-a-half-year period (11/2013–07/2019). A total of 216 prolonged v-EEGs were performed. The patient population consisted of adult veterans (185 males, 31 females) ranging from 21 years to 89 years old (mean 52.5). The duration of monitoring ranged from 24 h to 9 days (mean 3.6 days). Results Of the 216 studies, 39 (18%) exclusively had epileptic seizures (ES). Of these, 37 (95%) had focal seizures, and 2 (5%) had generalized seizures. Of the 37 cases with focal seizures, all but 2 had clear ictal changes on EEG. Eighteen (8.5%) EEG studies revealed interictal epileptiform abnormalities without a clinical event. Sixty-eight (31.5%) of the v-EEGs had exclusively nonepileptic events (NEE). Of these, 27 (12.5%) were psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES), and 41 (19%) were other NEE. Ninety-one (42%) of the studies were inconclusive, either because of lack of events captured (63) or because the events recorded were not the patient's typical episodes (27). Significance Compared to non-VA series, we found a lower proportion of PNES, and a higher proportion of inconclusive studies.
Association of elevated red cell distribution width and overall survival in multiple myeloma.

8534Background: The most widely used multiple myeloma (MM) staging system, the Revised International Staging System (R-ISS), is based on lactate dehydrogenase, albumin, cytogenetics, and beta-2 mic...
Computational Etymology and Word Emergence

We developed an extensible, comprehensive Wiktionary parser that improves over several existing parsers. We predict the etymology of a word across the full range of etymology types and languages in Wiktionary, showing improvements over a strong baseline. We also model word emergence and show the application of etymology in modeling this phenomenon. We release our parser to further research in this understudied field.
Abstract 6263: Hypoxia-targeting prodrug approach for multimodal chemotherapy and immunogenic cell death in aggressive triple negative breast cancer

Immune checkpoint blockade molecules, including antibodies against PD-1 and PD-L1 have gained much clinical recognition in the past few years. These strategies include harnessing the host9s immune system to invade cancer cells by inhibiting the interaction between PD-1 and its ligand, PD-L1, thereby facilitating the activation of CD8+ T cells to mount an attack on cancer cells. Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) accounts for 10-20% of the total breast carcinoma cases. There is no FDA-approved targeted therapy for TNBC due to lack of the major biomarkers: estrogen, progesterone and HER-2. TNBC is difficult to treat, with a high rate of metastasis to nearby organs. We have identified the role of a hypoxia biomarker, carbonic anhydrase IX (CAIX) in proliferation and metastasis of TNBC. Based on this observation, we developed a CAIX-targeted Doxorubicin (Dox) prodrug nanoparticle, abbreviated as CAIX-Dox-NP. CAIX-Dox-NP can deliver the chemotherapeutic, Dox payload selectively in hypoxic tumor microenvironment, thus reducing Dox-associated cardiotoxicity. Most of the advanced stages TNBC solid tumors present themselves with oxygen-deficient, vascularized and matrix-rich core which is impermeable to most of the chemotherapy drugs. CAIX-Dox-NP has the ability to penetrate deep into the TNBC and kill epithelial tumor cells as well as tumor-growth promoting T-cells. CAIX-Dox-NP showed greater penetration in the core of hypoxic TNBC spheroid. Recent studies showed that Immunogenic Cell Death (ICD) has vital role in resurrecting the CD8+ T-cells mediated tumor killing. Combination of anti-PD-1 with inducers of ICD like Dox accentuate the ability of CD8+ T cells in killing of cancer cells. Our approach is to utilize CAIX-Dox for achieving CAIX-mediated targeted delivery and multimodal chemotherapy in addition to induction of ICD. Preliminary studies with CAIX-Dox has profound effect of killing TNBC cells, 4T1, through induction of early phase apoptosis. The Western Blot analysis in 4T1 treated with CAIX-Dox has proved the significant upregulation of ICD biomarkers, HMGB1 and calreticulin, by greater than 3-fold compared to control. To improve the bioavailability of CAIX-Dox, we developed CAIX-Dox-NP that can hitchhike on the circulating plasma albumin. The nanoparticles travel to the tumor and deliver the CAIX-Dox at the hypoxic core of TNBC, resulting in induction of apoptosis and ICD. Inspired from this outcome, we are developing a model for coculture of cancer and T-cells for evaluating if CAIX-Dox treatment can reeducate T-cells in killing cancer cells through ICD pathway. Citation Format: Ketki Bhise, Samaresh Sau, Mohd Ahmar Rauf, Arun K. Rishi, Arun K. Iyer. Hypoxia-targeting prodrug approach for multimodal chemotherapy and immunogenic cell death in aggressive triple negative breast cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research 2020; 2020 Apr 27-28 and Jun 22-24. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2020;80(16 Suppl):Abstract nr 6263.
Do Better Operative Reports Equal Better Surgery? A Comparative Evaluation of Compliance With Operative Standards for Cancer Surgery.

To improve the quality of cancer operations, the American College of Surgeons published Operative Standards for Cancer Surgery, which has been incorporated into Commission on Cancer (CoC) accredita...
Assessment of the Financial Health of Rural Hospitals After Implementation of the Georgia Rural Hospital Tax Credit Program.

Importance In 2016, Georgia implemented the Rural Hospital Tax Credit Program, which allows taxpayers to receive a tax credit for contributions to qualifying rural hospitals in the state. Empirical evidence of the program's association with the viability of the state's rural hospitals is needed. Objective To examine the association of the tax credit program with the financial health of participating rural hospitals. Design, Setting, and Participants This longitudinal cross-sectional study used hospital financial data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for 2015 to 2019. A difference-in-differences analytic approach was used to examine the association of the tax credit program with rural hospital financial health. Study participants included Georgia rural hospitals eligible to participate in the program. Comparison hospitals were selected from the southern states of Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. Exposures Hospital participation in the Georgia Rural Hospital Tax Credit Program. Main Outcomes and Measures The primary outcome of the study was financial health measured with total margin, days cash on hand, debt-asset ratio, and average age of plant as well as a Financial Strength Index (FSI), which combined the previous measures to assess overall financial strength. Results The analytical sample included a balanced panel of 136 hospitals, with 47 Georgia Rural Hospital Tax Credit Program participants (18 [38%] critical access hospitals; 5 [11%] system affiliated; mean [SD] bed count, 60 [47]; mean [SD] Medicare inpatient mix, 52% [16]) and 89 comparison hospitals (43 [48%] critical access hospitals; 24 [27%] system affiliated; mean [SD] bed count, 52 [41]; mean [SD] Medicare inpatient mix, 67% [18]). Two years after implementation, program participation was associated with a 23% increased probability of good or excellent financial health (b = 0.23; 95% CI, 0.10-0.37; P < .001) and a 6.7-point increase in total margin (b = 6.67; 95% CI, 3.61-9.73; P < .001). Conclusions and Relevance These early findings suggest that the Georgia Rural Hospital Tax Credit Program is associated with improvements in hospital financial health; however, additional studies are needed to assess the program's long-term impact on the financial sustainability of Georgia's rural hospitals.
;Even the Republican 'Skinny' Relief Bill Failed: How Is Such Unnecessary Suffering Justified?'

Republicans shouldn’t be immune from being called out for their inconsistency. Let’s not forget they once said cutting taxes on the wealthy would incentivize them to work harder.
FLUOROMETRIC AND ELECTROCHEMICAL METHODS FOR ASSAY OF BIOLOGICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL SUBSTANCES

The isolation, purification, and analytical use of enzymes from microbial sources are described: L-lysine decarboxylase fromE. coli, L-methionine ammonia lyase fromPseudomonasovalis, nitrate reductase fromChlorella vulgaris, nitrite reductase fromAzotobacter chroococcum, sulfate reductase fromDesulvibrio desulficans, and creatininase fromPseudomonas. Both electrochemical, fluorometric, and spectrophotometric methods are proposed for the assay of enzyme activity, and specific, sensitive, fast, and inexpensive methods are described for the assay of 10-1-10-1 M concentrations of L-lysine, L-methionine, nitrate, nitrite, creatinine, and triglycerides.
Sacral Neurostimulation: InterStim

Sacral neurostimulation (SNS) is a minimally invasive, reversible treatment option that has been approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for patients with urgency/frequency and urge incontinence refractory to medical therapy. SNS may work through somatic afferents to modulate bladder and sphincter function. A test stimulation trial using an external neurostimulator can help identify patients who are most likely to respond to the procedure. In this chapter, we examine the indications for SNS and the options for a test stimulation using either temporary or permanent leads. The implantation procedure and previous studies on outcomes after SNS are discussed in addition to cost considerations.
A Compact Parallel Plate Water Capacitor

A low inductance high energy density parallel plate water capacitor has been designed for driving currents through an inductive load. The design is an extension of the ZFX parallel plate water capacitor (350 kJ, 750 kV) in which the field enhancement at the edge of the plates is eliminated by using thick structures that are fully radiused at the ends. The new concept uses thin plates with the enhancement reduced by placing a plastic field attractor (PFA) at the edge of the plate. This approach has been successfully tested on a small scale (250 J, 890 kV) module, and a full scale system (340 kJ, I MV) has been designed and is under construction. This water capacitor is inexpensive, mechanically simple, easy to maintain, and very compact. In fact it would be almost nine times smaller than a single coaxial line with the same performance.
Local Government Use of Mediation for Resolution of Public Disputes

Public disputes’ are difficult to resolve at best and often lead to serious conflict or protracted litigation. This article will focus on: (1) a discussion of the usual decision-making process followed by local city councils when confronted with public issues; (2) an introduction to the use of mediation for the resolution of public disputes: what it is, how to use it, and what its key advantages are; (3) an examination of two areas (redevelopment and halfway house proposals) as examples where mediation might be used to resolve very difficult public issues; and (4) a brief discussion of how to prepare for a mediation session. Its purpose is: (1) to de-mystify this ADR technique for those who have not yet been introduced to mediation at all; (2) to provide some specific guidance for parties and attorneys entering a mediation process; and (3) to advocate for a more widespread use of mediation in local government public disputes. The use of ADR, particularly focused in this article on the mediation option, can help planners, policymakers, and attorneys ensure that they craft the best solutions for complex public disputes.
Defending the First Amendment from Antidiscrimination Laws

Of late, leading legal scholars have argued that the First Amendment should not stand in the way of restrictions on freedom of expression intended to alleviate discrimination. A powerful, normative defense of the First Amendment from the competing claims of the antidiscrimination agenda is therefore greatly needed. This Essay, based on several chapters of You Can't Say That! The Growing Threat to Civil Liberties from Antidiscrimination Laws (Cato Institute 2003), seeks to provide the outlines of such a defense. Part I of this Essay argues that an unregulated marketplace of ideas is preferable to government restrictions on freedom of expression, not because the marketplace of ideas is efficient and always leads to benign results, but because the alternative of government regulation is far worse. Part II of this Essay defends the ability of judges to enforce a relatively neutral conception of freedom of expression from Stanley Fish and others who argue that "there is no such thing as free speech." Fish and his allies ignore cultural and social incentives and restraints that prevent judges from simply voting in favor of their preferred political outcomes. Part III of this Essay critiques scholars who argue that courts should tolerate partial restrictions on freedom of expression until certain egalitarian goals are met. Such views rely on a naive conception of politics that bears little relation to how political markets actually work. Part IV of this Essay argues that if the courts were to allow the First Amendment to be subordinated to antidiscrimination concerns, authoritarianism would inexorably follow - a conclusion supported by experience with speech restrictions on college campuses and, recently, in Canada. This Essay concludes by pointing out that those legal scholars who are most eager to restrict the First Amendment are ironically among those most in need of its protections.
Targeted disruption of the mouse topoisomerase I gene by camptothecin selection

Topoisomerase I has ubiquitous roles in important cellular functions such as replication, transcription, and recombination. In order to further characterize this enzyme in vivo, we have used gene targeting to inactivate the mouse Top-1 gene. A selection protocol using the topoisomerase I inhibitor camptothecin facilitated isolation of embryonic stem cell clones containing an inactivated allele; isolation of correctly targeted clones was enhanced 75-fold over that achieved by normal selection procedures. The disrupted Top-1 allele is embryonic lethal when homozygous, and development of such embryos fails between the 4- and 16-cell stages. Both sperm and oocytes containing the inactive allele maintain viability through the fertilization point, and thus gene expression of topoisomerase I is not required for gamete viability. These studies demonstrate that topoisomerase I is essential for cell growth and division in vivo. The Top-1 gene was also shown to be linked to the agouti locus.
Critical Cultural Awareness and Diversity in Nursing: A Minority Perspective

With the advent of globalization and migration, the significance of culture in our daily lives has become more acute. Cross-cultural interactions have grown exponentially; from multinational corporations to aviation, people from different cultures interact, some interactions more successful than others. These interactions have resultant outcomes, be they in the form of an efficient and successful business or the sentinel event of an aviation accident. A quick survey of any hospital in the San Francisco Bay Area alone will find great diversity, with more than 110 languages spoken.1 The increase in multicultural interactions in healthcare has made care provision more complicated. There has been much attention given to organizational culture, team development, and effective communication. Similarly, there is the call for patient-centered care, which must incorporate cultural needs and respect for patient wishes; providers must work on becoming "culturally competent." Indeed, there is much attention given to the importance of culture. Yet, too frequently, one still encounters the reality of cultural ethnocentrism. It is especially disturbing when ethnocentrism rears its ugly head in healthcare.
Regioregular head-to-tail poly(4-alkylquinoline)s: Synthesis, characterization, self-organization, photophysics, and electroluminescence of new n-type conjugated polymers

Five poly(4-alkylquinoline-2,6-diyl)s (P4AQs), having 100% head-to-tail regioregularity, were synthesized, characterized, and explored as emissive and electron transport materials in polymer light-emitting diodes. The organic solvent (chloroform, tetrahydrofuran, methylene chloride, etc.) soluble poly(4-alkylquinoline)s had reversible electrochemical reduction with an electron affinity (2.6 eV) that was independent of alkyl chain length. X-ray diffraction studies showed that solution-cast films of regioregular P4AQs have self-organized lamellar structures with an interchain π-stacking distance of 3.9−4.1 A and an interlayer d-spacing that varied linearly from 13.4 A for butyl to 22.3 A for tridecyl side chains. The new poly(4-alkylquinoline)s emit blue light at 423−426 nm in dilute chloroform solution and yellow light at 542−557 nm in the solid state. Yellow electroluminescence with a luminance of up to 86 cd/m2 and an external quantum efficiency of up to 0.6% was observed for the P4AQs as emissive materi...
Technique for quantifying the duration of intravenous anesthetic effect

Background : Several recent studies have analyzed the relationship between pharmacokinetic parameters and the rate of decrease in concentration after discontinuation of a continuous drug infusion. Although these studies have clarified our understanding of those aspects of pharmacokinetics most relevant to anesthesia practice, they do not directly address the issue of the duration of drug effect, which will be a function of both pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic variables. This paper extends these concepts by presenting a method to unify pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics in a measure of duration of drug effect that is applicable when the drug effect is assessed in a binary, response/no response fashion. Methods : The parameter proposed to quantify duration of drug effect is the area under the curve expressing probability of drug effect as a function of time after the agent is discontinued. This parameter is denoted the mean effect time. It is calculated using the logistic (or Hill) equation to relate the probability of drug effect to drug concentration, which in turn can be calculated as a function of time by pharmacokinetic simulation. Mean effect times were calculated for sufentanil, alfentanil, propofol, and midazolam using the logistic equation describing recovery and by assuming that drug blood concentrations during maintenance of anesthesia were sufficient to reduce the probability of responsiveness to surgical stimulation to 10% (C 90 ). Published pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic parameters were used for these calculations. These results were compared to the relevant decrement times (as defined in this paper, the time required for the concentration to decrease from C 90 to the concentration at which 50% of patients are responsive and/or able to maintain adequate ventilation, denoted C 50 ). It was assumed that C 90 and C 50 were independent variables. Results : Mean effect times for midazolam and propofol, for which the steepness parameter 6 for recovery (responsiveness and adequate ventilation) is less than 4, are significantly greater than the decrement time. Mean effect times for sufentanil and alfentanil (6 = 6 and 10, respectively) are close to decrement times. The discrepancy between mean effect time and decrement time becomes greater as the duration of drug administration increases. The incorporation of pharmacokinetic variability into the calculations had little effect on the results. Conclusions : Context-sensitive half-times or other decrement times have been shown to be the most useful measures of the kinetics of drug concentrations. Mean effect time may be a useful concept for understanding the recovery from drug effects.
Retinal Gene Therapy: Current Progress and Future Prospects

Clinical trials treating inherited retinal dystrophy caused by RPE65 mutations had put retinal gene therapy at the forefront of gene therapy. Both successes and limitations in these clinical trials have fueled developments in gene vectors, which continue to further advance the field. These novel gene vectors aim to more safely and efficiently transduce retinal cells, expand the gene packaging capacity of AAV, and utilize new strategies to correct the varying mechanisms of dysfunction found with inherited retinal dystrophies. With recent clinical trials and numerous pre-clinical studies utilizing these novel vectors, the future of ocular gene therapy continues to hold vast potential.
The relationship between binocular and monocular visually evoked potentials elicited by uniform field stimulation

We elicited binocular and monocular VEPs using sinusoidally modulated uniform fields. The amplitudes and phases of the first and second harmonics were used to compare the binocular VEP to the monocular VEPs and their vector sum. We found that 1) binocular VEP first and second harmonic phases are more stable as contrast increases than monocular VEP phases, 2) the binocular VEP first and second harmonic amplitudes are greater than those of monocular VEPs, 3) the binocular VEP first harmonic amplitude is greater than the vector sum of the left and right monocular VEPs, but 4) the binocular VEP second harmonic amplitude equals the vector sum of the monocular VEPs.
Succinic dehydrogenase activity in the cestode Hymenolepis nana.

Abstract 1. 1. TTC was used under aerobic and anaerobic conditions to demonstrate succinic dehydrogenase activity in the cestode, Hymenolepis nana. It was observed that there was not equal reduction of the dye in all proglottids comprising the strobila of an intact worm. Reduction was observed in proglottids which were punctured with a surgical needle. Methylene blue was also used to verify the presence of this dehydrogenase. Preliminary studies conducted qualitatively indicated that sodium malonate inhibited succinate oxidation and TTC reduction. 2. 2. Apparent individuality of proglottids of the same strobila was observed and discussed. It was suggested that there are permeability differences along the strobila and that there may be an active and selective absorption of carbohydrates by proglottids, possibly involving phosphorylation processes.
Effects of self-directed attention on performance and persistence among persons high and low in test anxiety

Recent theories of test anxiety hold that self-directed attention impairs the performances of test-anxious persons in evaluative situations. Researchers have not sought to experimentally validate the mediation of self-focus in this relationship, however. Two studies are reported that were intended to provide evidence on this point. The studies also integrate the impairment hypothesis with a broader model of self-regulation, in which self-focus is sometimes facilitating and sometimes debilitating, depending upon the person's expectancies of being able to perform adequately. In Experiment 1, subjects high and low in test anxiety attempted a series of anagrams in an evaluative situation. As predicted, rather than exerting a uniformly adverse effect, experimentally enhanced self-focus interacted with level of test anxiety, improving performances among low-anxious subjects, impairing them among the test-anxious. Subjects in Experiment 2 attempted an insoluble test item, while their persistence was unobtrusively monitored. Self-directed attention once again interacted with level of test anxiety, so as to increase persistence among low-anxious subjects and to decrease it among the test-anxious. In neither study was there strong evidence that the difference in responding to self-focus was mediated by expectancy of performing well. A general discussion addresses this issue, along with the following: the relationship between these studies and the earlier literature of test anxiety, the theoretical implications of the fact that self-focus had interactive effects, and the fact that the theoretical model predicting these effects was developed in the context of normal, rather than abnormal, behavior.
A novel peptide nanomedicine against acute lung injury: GLP-1 in phospholipid micelles.

Purpose Treatment of acute lung injury (ALI) observed in Gram-negative sepsis represents an unmet medical need due to a high mortality rate and lack of effective treatment. Accordingly, we developed and characterized a novel nanomedicine against ALI. We showed that when human glucagon-like peptide 1(7–36) (GLP-1) self-associated with PEGylated phospholipid micelles (SSM), the resulting GLP1-SSM (hydrodynamic size, ~15 nm) exerted effective anti-inflammatory protection against lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced ALI in mice.
Microwave curing effects on the 28-day strength of cementitious materials

Abstract Microwave energy can be applied on the curing of the cementitious materials because of their water content. Isothermal heating, achieved best by feedback temperature control, is required to investigate properly the temperature effects on the properties. Type I Portland cement mortars, some with additions of appropriate amounts of pozzolanic material, such as slag, silica fume, or class F fly ash, were cured isothermally with feedback temperature control at several temperatures. The curing times were determined by the instrumented penetration test, and 28-day compressive strengths were measured. Optimum curing conditions were found for 40 °C and 60 °C, but 80 °C was unsuitable for microwave curing.
Effects of intracerebroventricularly administered leptin on protein selection in the rat.

The effect of centrally administered rat leptin on selection of 5 and 30% protein diets was investigated in male Sprague-Dawley rats with indwelling i.c.v. cannulas. Leptin (0 vs 2.5 microg/day) was administered for 4 consecutive days, followed by an 8-day withdrawal period. Total intake was reduced to approximately 50% of that in the vehicle injected group during each day following leptin administration. Intake of both the 5 and 30% diets was reduced. Vehicle-treated rats selected a 13-15% CP diet. Diet selection in leptin-treated rats was not different during the first day, but on Days 2-4, leptin-treated rats selected a 10% CP diet. Intake began to normalize within 24-48 h after the last treatment, and was not different by Day 3 of the withdrawal period. Body weight was reduced by leptin treatment, and despite the normalization of food intake, did not recover during the withdrawal period. Rats were sacrificed at the end of the 8-day withdrawal period. Despite the reduction in body and carcass weights, liver, kidney, heart, and soleus muscle weights were not different between control and leptin-treated groups when expressed on an absolute or relative basis. However, epididymal and retroperitoneal fat pad weights were still reduced 56 and 78%, respectively, in rats that had been previously treated with leptin for 4 days and then not treated for 8 days. In addition, circulating T3 levels remained elevated in rats that had been treated with leptin. Centrally administered leptin has little effect on muscle mass, but had potent effects on intake of nonobese rats and a sustained effect on adipose tissue mass, thyroid hormone status, and body weight after withdrawal. Results from rats selecting between diets varying in protein content suggest that leptin may cause avoidance of protein.
Expanding the Playing Field: Public and Community Psychiatry Fellowship and Beyond

Fellowship training in public and community psychiatry has been shown to both extend career tenure and promote leadership attainment. While starting and sustaining a successful fellowship involves overcoming several hurdles, a successful fellowship can serve as a foundation for developing a viable academic division. Case Western Reserve University has redesigned and expanded its public and community psychiatry fellowship. At the same time, it has retained several fellowship graduates by developing a division of public and community psychiatry with a unique academic identity. This model could serve as a blueprint for other programs looking to establish or expand similar programs.
FLPMA: A Decade of Management Under the ELM Organic Act

This article assesses the impact on public land management policy in the west following a decade's experience under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA). The assessment first describes the political and institutional forces that converged to produce the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) Organic act and then identifies three major policy innovations found in the Act. In conclusion, the article assesses the impact of these policy innovations of FLPMA on management of the public lands.
On an alternative representation for a wide class of binary relations

It is shown that any antireflexive binary relation which is either transitive or symmetric can be represented by a specific tree structure whose nodes are of maximum order 3. The relationship between this representation and an analogous representation for a narrower class of relations (previously called “splitting”) is discussed. Algorithms are developed for obtaining the tree structures from a matrix representation.
Oxidant Stress during Simulated Ischemia Primes Cardiomyocytes for Cell Death during Reperfusion

Ischemia-reperfusion injury induces oxidant stress, and the burst of reactive oxygen species (ROS) production after reperfusion of ischemic myocardium is sufficient to induce cell death. Mitochondrial oxidant production may begin during ischemia prior to reperfusion because reducing equivalents accumulate and promote superoxide production. We utilized a ratiometric redox-sensitive protein sensor (heat shock protein 33 fluorescence resonance energy transfer (HSP-FRET)) to assess oxidant stress in cardiomyocytes during simulated ischemia. HSP-FRET consists of the cyan and yellow fluorescent protein fluorophores linked by the cysteine-containing regulatory domain from bacterial HSP-33. During ischemia, ROS-mediated oxidation of HSP-FRET was observed, along with a decrease in cellular reduced glutathione levels. These findings were corroborated by measurements using redox-sensitive green fluorescent protein, another protein thiol ratiometric sensor, which became 93% oxidized by the end of simulated ischemia. However, cell death did not occur during ischemia, indicating that this oxidant stress is not sufficient to induce death before reperfusion. However, interventions that attenuate ischemic oxidant stress, including antioxidants or scavengers of residual O2 that attenuate/prevent ROS generation during ischemia, abrogated cell death during simulated reperfusion. These findings reveal that, in isolated cardiomyocytes, sublethal H2O2 generation during simulated ischemia regulates cell death during simulated reperfusion, which is mediated by the reperfusion oxidant burst.
POETIC: Interactive solutions to alleviate the reversal error in student-professor type problems

The reversal error-reversing the relationship between two variables in a mathematical word problem-is a long-standing issue in mathematics education, despite its apparent simplicity. In this paper, we describe and study POETIC, an interactive web-based environment we developed to teach users to avoid the reversal error. POETIC uses two types of novel interactive visualization, called the Test-Case and Room-Metaphor approaches. To verify the effectiveness of these approaches, we conducted crowdsourcing-based comparison studies with 200 participants and found that both approaches significantly decreased the frequency of reversal errors for certain types of word problems. Our results show that interactive visualization of equations can reduce the occurrence of the reversal error.
Limnology and Amino-Acid Content of Some Lake Deposits in Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, and Louisiana

Sedimentary features and amino-acid content are described for several lakes in the Anoka sand plain, east-central Minnesota, other lakes in Minnesota, Flathead Lake, Montana, Pyramid Lake, Nevada, and Catahoula Lake, Louisiana. The limnology of the Anoka Sand Plain lakes is related to the characteristics of the “gray” sandy calcareous Mankato drift of the Des Moines lobe which underlies much of the sand plain; the “red,” less calcareous, Superior lobe drift which forms the eastern border of, and patches within, the sand plain has less effect on the lakes. The scarcity of varved Recent lake deposits in Minnesota is believed to result in large part from the reworking activity of benthonic organisms. As a result, measurements of some properties of the mixed bottom materials have little chronologic significance. Free amino acids are rare or absent in the lake sediments, but amino acids ranging from less than 2 ppm to more than 4000 ppm on a wet-weight basis were obtained in acid hydrolysates of the sediments. The amino acids probably occur as glutelin or scleroprotein types of proteins, as peptides, or tied to humic-acid substances in these sediments. Neutral peat deposits and well-humified organic lake deposits yield neutral and acidic amino acids in approximate proportions of 6:1; alkaline bogs and well-humified organic marls yield neutral and acidic amino acids in proportions of about 3:1; acid peats contain basic amino acids in addition to neutral and acidic types. Incompletely humified lake deposits yield variable proportions of all three types of amino acids. To the extent that the amino acids were involved in microbiological transformations in the accumulating deposits, the observed proportions of the ammo acids are believed to be related to their Zwitter ion properties. Lake sediments of low organic content generally yield small amounts of neutral amino acids but typically lack acidic or basic ammo acids.
Chaotic motions in a weakly nonlinear model for surface waves

Using the averaging method and a perturbation technique originally due to Melnikov (1963), we show that an N -degree-of-freedom model of weakly nonlinear surface waves due to Miles (1976) has transverse homoclinic orbits. This implies that Smale horseshoes, and hence sets of chaotic orbits, exist in the phase space. In this particular example, an irregular ‘sloshing’ of energy between two modes of oscillation results. We briefly discuss the relevance of our results to recent experimental work on parametrically excited surface waves.
Developmental and Individual Differences in Girls' Sex-Typed Activities in Middle Childhood and Adolescence

Girls' time in sex-typed leisure activities was studied across 2 years in middle childhood (n = 98, M = 8.2 years in Year 1), early adolescence (n = 106, M = 11.7 years), and middle adolescence (n = 86, M = 14.9 years). In annual home interviews, White middle-class girls, mothers, and fathers rated their gendered attitudes, interests, and personality qualities, and saliva samples were used to assess testosterone; activity data were collected in 7 nightly phone interviews. Girls spent more time in feminine than masculine activities except in early adolescence. Girls' and parents' personalities and interests predicted sex-typed activities at each developmental period, but associations between testosterone and activities emerged only in middle childhood. The everyday activities of children and youth are significant developmental phenomena (Bronfenbrenner, 1979). Children's activities reflect affordances and constraints in the social ecology as well as in children's personal predilections. Furthermore, the social, physical, and cognitive demands of daily activities have implications for children's developing abilities, interests, and social relationships and, in turn, for their opportunities and choices later in life (Bronfenbrenner, 1979; Larson & Verma, 1999). The significance of daily activities is evident in research on gender development: Sex typing in children's activities emerges earlier and is more pervasive than sex typing in other gendered domains such as personality style or cognitive schemas (Huston, 1985), and several studies have documented links between involvement in stereotypically masculine and feminine free-time activities (e.g., sports and building toys vs. handicrafts and doll play) and children's
A Fiber Optic Sensor Sensitive To Normal Pressure And Shear Stress

A fiber optic lever sensing technique that can be used to measure normal pressure as well as shear stresses is discussed. This method uses three unequal fibers combining small size and good sensitivity. Static measurements appear to confirm the theoretical models predicted by geometrical optics and dynamic tests performed at frequencies up to 10 kHz indicate a flat response within this frequency range. These sensors are intended for use in a low speed wind tunnel environment.© (1986) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
The Environmental Determinants of Foreign Direct Manufacturing Investment: An Ex Post Empirical Analysis

This article uses the techniques of quantitative cross-national research to explore the relationship between foreign direct investment (FDI) and the economic, social, and political aspects of the environment. Although a strong relationship is found between flows of FDI and market related variables, no relationship can be established between FDI and variables based upon political event data. The findings are consistent with a view of political discontinuities as necessary but not sufficient conditions for business risk.
The alk-i-enyl ether and alkyl ether lipids of bovine heart muscle.

Abstract Choline phosphatides and ethanolamine phosphatides as well as neutral alkoxylipids and triglycerides were isolated from a lipid extract of bovine heart muscle. The constituent alk- i -enyl glycerol ethers, alkyl glycerol ethers and fatty acids of these lipid classes were analyzed after selective acidic or enzymatic hydrolysis. Comparative analyses of the aliphatic moieties at the 1 and 2 positions of the phosphatides revealed a pronounced similarity of the three classes of choline phosphatides, whereas significant differences between the various ethanolamine phosphatides were encountered. Alk- i -enyl diglycerides and alkyl diglycerides differed in the composition of their aliphatic moieties from each other, from the triglycerides and from the phosphatides.
Synthesis and evaluation of two positron-labeled nitric oxide synthase inhibitors, S-[11C]methylisothiourea and S-(2-[18F]fluoroethyl)isothiourea, as potential positron emission tomography tracers.

In an effort to develop a tracer for probing inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) levels in vivo utilizing positron emission tomography, we have synthesized and evaluated two positron-emitting iNOS selective inhibitors: S-[11C]methylisothiourea (1b) and S-(2-[18F]fluoroethyl)isothiourea (3b). Prior to fluorine-18 labeling, the nonradioactive fluoro derivative S-(2-fluoroethyl)isothiourea (3a) was prepared and determined to have a 9-fold higher selectivity for iNOS compared to endothelial NOS (eNOS). Radiochemical synthesis of both compounds, in high radiochemical purity and at high specific activity, was accomplished by the S-alkylation reaction of labeled precursors (11CH3I or 18FCH2CH2OTf) with thiourea. An in vitro model, J774 macrophage cell line, was used to assess the uptake of radiolabeled iNOS inhibitor in response to iNOS induction at the cellular level. Increased cell uptake of these two labeled compounds at stimulated iNOS levels, as well as blocking under controlled in vitro conditions, was...