cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Reflections on Being Biliterate: Lessons from Paraprofessionals

Abstract The purpose of this study is to examine the strengths that biliterate paraprofessionals bring to the teaching workforce. Paraprofessionals, such as teachers' aides, are commonly used in classes for English-language learners. Because of the pending teacher shortage for English-language learners, a variety of teacher preparation programs have been developed to certify paraprofessionals as teachers. Little research, however, has been conducted about these programs or the teachers who are becoming certified in them. The participants of this study included 10 bilingual/bicultural paraprofessionals who were enrolled in the Bilingual Teacher Pathways program at a large western university. The data sources for this interpretive study were journal entries, interviews, class discussions, and memos. Data were primarily analyzed using the constant comparative method. The analysis of the data indicates that the biliterate paraprofessionals have unique strengths that fall into four categories: A personal under...
PROFILE MODIFICATION AND HOT-ELECTRON TEMPERATURE FROM RESONANT ABSORPTION AT MODEST INTENSITY

Resonant absorption is investigated in expanding plasmas. The momentum deposition associated with the ejection of hot electrons toward low density via wave breaking readily exceeds that of the incident laser radiation and results in significant modification of the density profile at critical density. New scaling of hot-electron temperature with laser and plasma parameters is presented.
Needs Assessment for Certified Nursing Assistants Providing Personal Care

Home health care allows individuals to receive care in a home setting rather than a medical facility. This increasingly popular alternative to health care has many benefits; however, providing health care in a home setting involves unique challenges and difficulties for the health care providers, such as certified nursing assistants (CNAs). Human factors interventions and technological supports may ease difficulties home health care providers experience performing caregiving tasks. However, for such interventions to be effective there is a need to understand patient care within the context of a home environment. The purpose of this research was to conduct a needs assessment to identify 1) personal caretask characteristics, including the context in which they are carried out, and 2) challenges encountered during these tasks. Eight CNAs participated in structured interviews where in they were asked to describe difficulties and frustrations experienced when performing the tasks of toileting, bathing, and transfer. The results were categorized as patient- or provider-based difficulties, as well as along dimensions related to the environment, device design, and social influences. These data provide an understanding of the complexity of each task, and a means of highlighting areas of difficulty to provide guidance for designers of assistive technologies and other supportive interventions.
Personality traits and effectiveness of presentation of product information in e-business systems

Consumer interaction with product information is one of the critical components in business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce environments. Online consumers' characteristics can be expected to play an important role when designing how product information is presented in such e-commerce environments. We suggest that online consumers' personality traits impact effectiveness of the presentation of product information on e-commerce sites and the extent to which the various e-commerce environments are effective. In this article, we propose and empirically validate relationships among online consumers' personality traits, product information presentation richness and on-line consumer behaviour in e-commerce environments. Results show that effectiveness of product information presentation varies by online consumers' psychological types, and that rich product information presentation significantly influences the online buying behaviour of intuitive types, and feeling types, rather than sensing and thinking types. Discussion of the results and their implications for theory and practice as well as limitations and future research directions are presented.
The Influence of Supervisory Neglect on Subtypes of Emerging Adult Substance Use After Controlling for Familial Factors, Relationship Status, and Individual Traits

ABSTRACTBackground: This study is the first to explore how child supervisory neglect influences patterns of substance use among young adults. This study investigated patterns of substance use among males and females, 18 to 24 years old, after controlling for adolescent parental drinking, living with parents, relationship status, delinquency, and depression. Methods: The study sample (N = 10,618) included individuals who participated in Waves I (1994–1995) and III (2001–2002) of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health). The study used latent class analysis to ascertain how patterns of substance use emerged as distinct classes. Results: For both males and females, we identified the following 4 classes of substance use: (1) heavy polysubstance use, (2) moderate polysubstance use, (3) alcohol and marijuana, and (4) low-use substance use patterns. Multinomial logistic regression indicated that, for both males and females 18 to 24 years old, experiencing supervisory neglect, being depre...
When Prefetching Works, When It Doesn’t, and Why

In emerging and future high-end processor systems, tolerating increasing cache miss latency and properly managing memory bandwidth will be critical to achieving high performance. Prefetching, in both hardware and software, is among our most important available techniques for doing so; yet, we claim that prefetching is perhaps also the least well-understood.Thus, the goal of this study is to develop a novel, foundational understanding of both the benefits and limitations of hardware and software prefetching. Our study includes: source code-level analysis, to help in understanding the practical strengths and weaknesses of compiler- and software-based prefetching; a study of the synergistic and antagonistic effects between software and hardware prefetching; and an evaluation of hardware prefetching training policies in the presence of software prefetching requests. We use both simulation and measurement on real systems. We find, for instance, that although there are many opportunities for compilers to prefetch much more aggressively than they currently do, there is also a tangible risk of interference with training existing hardware prefetching mechanisms. Taken together, our observations suggest new research directions for cooperative hardware/software prefetching.
Concentrations of glutamic acid in cerebellar cortex and deep nuclei of normal mice and Weaver, Staggerer and nervous mutants.

The concentrations of several free amino acids including glutamate were measured in cerebellar cortex and deep nuclei, and in cerebral cortex, from three neurological mutant mice, two of which lose most granule cell neurons in the cerebellar cortex (Weaver and Staggerer), and one of which loses cerebellar Purkinje cells (nervous). (1) In Weaver and Staggerer, glutamate concentration was reduced to less than two-thirds of control values in both cerebellar cortex, where granule cells with all their axonal and dendritic processes reside, and in cerebellar deep nuclei where no granule cells are found. (2) No other amino acids, including aspartate, were significantly reduced in cerebellar cortex and deep nuclei of either granuloprival mutant at 3 weeks of age. (3) Glutamate concentration was normal in the cerebral cortex of Weaver and Staggerer mice. (4) Glutamate concentration was normal in cerebella of heterozygous Weaver animals, in which 10–20% of the granule cells are missing. (5) Glutamate was not reduced in either cerebellar cortex or deep nuclei of the Purkinje cell deficient mutant, nervous; only GABA, the Purkinje cell transmitter, was reduced significantly and only in the deep nuclei. (6) An incidental finding was that the Staggerer mutation, previously recognized to modify CNS structure only in the cerebellar cortex, causes a reduction of deep nuclear weight and protein to 30% of normal. No reductions were found in weight or protein in the deep nuclei of Weaver mutant mice. We conclude that glutamate reduction in an area of cerebellum distant from granule cells and their processes cannot be explained by the absence of granule cells alone, and may indicate that a glutamate-utilizing component of cerebellar cortex and deep nuclei has become modified secondary to the granule cell deficit.
The Stability and Response of a Flexible Rod in a Quick Return Mechanism: Large Crank Case

Abstract The response and stability of a flexible rod, rigid crank quick return mechanism is investigated without a small crank restriction. A Galerkin's approach was found to be too computationally intensive, due to the moving boundary and complex mode shapes, and thus unsuitable for monodromy based parametric resonance stability investigations. A simple set of polynomial modes were developed. Although requiring more modes than the Galerkin method to obtain the same accuracy, polynomial modes require less computation time for stability investigations. A free-free (time independent) mode method was used to obtain non-linear dynamical and constraint equations. The method was found to be the most accurate and least computationally expensive for response; however, these equations were non-linear and not suitable for stability investigations.
The discursive construction of care when there is no care to be found: Organizational life (re)framed by those on the socio‐economic margins facing job loss

At the same time that low‐wage workers in the changing US health care systems are facing under‐ and unemployment, organizational scholars are engaged in a healthy discussion of the impact of layoffs on various organizational stakeholders. Through a feminist ethics lens and an ethnographic in‐depth interviewing methodology, this case study expands that work by exploring how 55 low‐wage workers in a state mental health hospital facing closure make sense of their experiences of impending job loss. The collected narratives illuminate how the workers interpret the (un)ethical behaviors of the organizational decision makers and how the workers author a (re)framing of their experiences through an attention to care. Explicated from the workers’ descriptions is a perspective about standpoint and open communication that offers organizational scholars and practitioners a foundation from which to expand approaches to communicating with workers in an environment of organizational closure.
High-Density Myoelectric Pattern Recognition Toward Improved Stroke Rehabilitation

Myoelectric pattern-recognition techniques have been developed to infer user's intention of performing different functional movements. Thus electromyogram (EMG) can be used as control signals of assisted devices for people with disabilities. Pattern-recognition-based myoelectric control systems have rarely been designed for stroke survivors. Aiming at developing such a system for improved stroke rehabilitation, this study assessed detection of the affected limb's movement intention using high-density surface EMG recording and pattern-recognition techniques. Surface EMG signals comprised of 89 channels were recorded from 12 hemiparetic stroke subjects while they tried to perform 20 different arm, hand, and finger/thumb movements involving the affected limb. A series of pattern-recognition algorithms were implemented to identify the intended tasks of each stroke subject. High classification accuracies (96.1% ± 4.3%) were achieved, indicating that substantial motor control information can be extracted from paretic muscles of stroke survivors. Such information may potentially facilitate improved stroke rehabilitation.
Location-Dependent Signaling of the Group 1 Metabotropic Glutamate Receptor mGlu5

Although G protein–coupled receptors are primarily known for converting extracellular signals into intracellular responses, some receptors, such as the group 1 metabotropic glutamate receptor, mGlu5, are also localized on intracellular membranes where they can mediate both overlapping and unique signaling effects. Thus, besides “ligand bias,” whereby a receptor’s signaling modality can shift from G protein dependence to independence, canonical mGlu5 receptor signaling can also be influenced by “location bias” (i.e., the particular membrane and/or cell type from which it signals). Because mGlu5 receptors play important roles in both normal development and in disorders such as Fragile X syndrome, autism, epilepsy, addiction, anxiety, schizophrenia, pain, dyskinesias, and melanoma, a large number of drugs are being developed to allosterically target this receptor. Therefore, it is critical to understand how such drugs might be affecting mGlu5 receptor function on different membranes and in different brain regions. Further elucidation of the site(s) of action of these drugs may determine which signal pathways mediate therapeutic efficacy.
A Role for Myosin VI in Retinal Pigment Epithelium Phagocytosis

Retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cell phagocytosis of shed photoreceptor rod outer segments (ROS) is vital for retinal function. We examined the role of myosin VI in this process by utilizing micron-diameter plastic beads as a proxy for ROS waste. When placed in the extracellular medium, the beads were phagocytosed by a cultured human RPE cell line (ARPE-19). At the same time, these cells were made to over-express myosin VI with perturbed motor function. We observed that the rates of trafficking of beads within the cell were significantly reduced in the presence of the perturbed myosin VI compared to control cells, indicating that myosin VI plays a role, either directly or indirectly, in RPE phagocytosis.
Ideal Gas thermodynamic properties of simple alkanols

The ideal gas thermodynamic properties [C p 0 , S 0(T) −S 0(0) and H 0(T)-H0(0)] of methanol (CH3OH), ethanol (C2H5OH), 1-propanol (CH3CH2CH2OH), and 2-propanol [(CH3)2CHOH] over the temperature range 0 to 1500 K at 1.01325-bar (1-atm) pressure are calculated by the statistical mechanical method, employing the recent molecular and spectroscopic constants. The internal rotational contributions to the thermodynamic properties caused by the presence of -CH3, -C2H5, and -OH rotors in these molecules are evaluated using an internal rotational partition function formed by the summation of internal rotational energy levels for each rotor. In the calculation of the thermodynamic properties of ethanol (g) and 1-propanol (g), we adopted a molecular model that the vapor of each compound contains an equilibrium mixture of trans and gauche isomers. The existence of such isomers was observed spectroscopically in recent years. Our calculated results, such as C p 0 and S 0(T) ****-S 0(0), agree with available experimental values.
How to safeguard money with performance bonds

Abstract The performance bond is defined as a surety bond guaranteeing faithful fulfillment of a contract. The author discusses both the advantages and the disadvantages of utilizing such a bond in the acquisitions programs of medium- or large-sized libraries.
Possible Axial Couplings of the New Resonances

The possibility is raised that the new meson resonances are of weak origin and measurements are proposed which can clarify this issue. Experimental situations are found where the forward-backward asymmetry is sizable. Theoretical expectations for the longitudinal polarization of the muon and decay modes of the resonances are discussed.
Effect of morphine tolerance and abstinence on the binding of [3H]MK-801 to brain regions and spinal cord of the rat

The effect of chronic administration of morphine to rats on the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors labeled with [3H]MK-801, a non-competitive antagonist, was determined in brain regions and spinal cord. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were rendered tolerant to and physically dependent on morphine by subcutaneous implantation of 6 morphine pellets during a 7-day period. Each pellet contained 75 mg of morphine free base. Animals serving as controls were similarly implanted with placebo pellets. This procedure resulted in the development of a high degree of tolerance and physical dependence on morphine. Two sets of rats were used. In one, the pellets were left intact at the time of sacrifice (tolerant) and in the other the pellets were removed 16 h prior to sacrificing (abstinent). The binding constants, Bmax and Kd values of [3H]MK-801 were determined in cortex, hippocampus, hypothalamus, corpus striatum, midbrain and spinal cord. In the absence of glycine and glutamate, [3H]MK-801 bound to tissue membranes at a single high affinity site. The Bmax and Kd values of [3H]MK-801 were not altered in any of the tissues of the morphine abstinent rats. The Bmax value of [3H]MK-801 was significantly decreased in cerebral cortex of morphine tolerant rats as compared to their placebo controls but the Kd values did not change. In other brain regions and spinal cord of morphine tolerant rats and their placebo controls, the Bmax and Kd values of [3H]MK 801 did not differ.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Role of radiotherapy in the treatment of cancer of the tongue. A retrospective analysis on TNM-staged tumors treated between 1958 and 1968.

A total of 154 patients with carcinoma of the tongue received a course of radiation therapy between the years 1958 and 1968. Of these, 112 were previously untreated and 42 had tumors which had been treated previously and persisted. Of these, 20 are alive without disease, 22 died of intercurrent disease without recurrence, 11 of second primary tumors, and 101 of cancer. Thirty-four of the 42 patients with recurrence and 67 of 112 previously untreated patients died of cancer. Tumors of limited extent without lymph node metastases were controlled by irradiation in 67% of patients (18 of 27 T1T2N0 lesions). Nine of 27 patients with T1T2N0 lesions and 10 of the 22 patients with T3T4N0 lesions died of cancer of tie tongue. The 5-year survival depended on the extent of the primary tumor varying between 67% for patients with T1N0 to 6 for T4N0 lesions. When the nodes in the neck became clinically involved, the local control rate and the survival rate decreased. However, the majority of patients with an isolated, small, mobile upper cervical node may be cured with radiation therapy (14 of 22 patients with N1 lesions had local control of neck nodes with radiation therapy and only one required radical neck dissection). However, seven of these developed local recurrence in the tongue. Fourteen of the 22 died of cancer. Patients with multiple, bilateral, or fixed cervical nodes have a poor prognosis. We recommend interstitial radiation therapy in early cancers of the tongue, and external high energy beam with supplemental interstitial radiation therapy in the more advanced cases. Weekly examinations of irradiated tumor are carried out to determine if there is any sign of reactivation. If so, radical surgery is performed provided the tumor is operable.
Non-linear viscoelasticity and viscoplasticity of isotactic polypropylene

Abstract Observations are reported in tensile tests with constant cross-head speeds (ranging from 5 to 200 mm/min), relaxation tests (at strains from 0.02 to 0.08), creep tests (at stresses from 15.0 to 25.0 MPa) and recovery tests (after straining up to the maximal strains ranging from 0.04 to 0.12 and subsequent retraction) on isotactic polypropylene at room temperature. A constitutive model is derived for the time- and rate-dependent responses of a semicrystalline polymer at isothermal deformation with small strains. A polymer is treated as an equivalent heterogeneous network of chains bridged by temporary junctions (entanglements, physical cross-links and lamellar blocks). The network is thought of as an ensemble of meso-regions linked with each other. The viscoelastic behavior of the ensemble reflects thermally-induced rearrangement of strands (separation of active strands from temporary junctions and merging of dangling strands with the network). To describe the viscoplastic response, the entire plastic deformation is split into the sum of two components: one of them is associated with sliding of junctions in the non-affine network of chains, while the other accounts for coarse slip and fragmentation of lamellar blocks. Stress–strain relations and kinetic equations for the plastic strains are developed by using the laws of thermodynamics. The constitutive equations involve five material constants that are found by fitting the observations. Fair agreement is demonstrated between the experimental data and the results of numerical simulation.
The preparation and clinical administration of lyophilized platelet material to children with acute leukemia and aplastic anemia.

Summary Lyophilized platelet material has been administered intravenously to patients with secondary thrombocytopenia without toxic or thromboembolic sequelae. Defective prothrombin consumption has been corrected by this platelet preparation, but its effects on hemostasis, although suggestive, require further investigation. The safety and stability of this material indicate the possibility of making various platelet factors, such as the antifibrinolysin, antiheparin, and thromboplastin-generating activity, readily available.
Comment on "Chromosomal Instability and Tumors Promoted by DNA Hypomethylation" and "Induction of Tumors in Mice by Genomic Hypomethylation"

Eden et al . ([ 1 ][1]) and Gaudet et al . ([ 2 ][2]) reported increased tumorigenesis in mice with DNA hypomethylation and attributed these results to increased chromosomal instability. Both Gaudet et al . ([ 2 ][2]) and Lengauer ([ 3 ][3]) caution that these results could have negative
On Constructing Confidence Intervals for a Standardized Mean Difference in Meta-analysis

Abstract Under the random effects model for meta-analysis, confidence intervals for the overall effect are typically constructed using quantiles of the standard normal distribution. We discuss confidence intervals based on both the standard normal distribution and the t-distribution, in conjunction with several methods of estimating the heterogeneity variance for a standardized mean difference, and we compare the empirical coverage probabilities of the intervals using simulation. The coverage probabilities of intervals based on an approximate t-statistic are higher than the coverage probabilities for the standard normal intervals, and are very close to the specified confidence level even for small meta-analysis sample size. Moreover, intervals based on the approximate t-statistic appear relatively robust to different methods of estimating the heterogeneity variance, unlike the normal intervals. Thus, we conclude that confidence intervals based on the t-statistic are superior to the standard normal confide...
Printed in Great Britain Mandobius regalis gen. et sp.n. (Copepoda: Poecilostomatoida: Lichomolgidae) associated with the coral Pectinia lactuca in New Caledonia

A new genus, Mandobius gen.n, containing a new species, M. regalis sp.n., is associated with the coral Pectinia lactuca in New Caledonia. The new copepod differs conspicuously from the allied genus Paramolgus in having only one seta on the first segment of the first antenna, in the formula 1,11,3 for the third segment of the endopodite of leg 1, and in the formula 11,1,5 for the third segment of the exopodite of leg 4.
Subsonic and Transonic Dynamic Stability Characteristics of the X-33

Dynamic stability testing was conducted on a 2.5% scale model of the X-33 technology demonstrator sub-orbital flight-test vehicle. This testing was conducted at the NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) l6-Foot Transonic Wind Tunnel with the LaRC High-speed Dynamic Stability system. Forced oscillation data were acquired for various configurations over a Mach number range of 0.3 to 1.15 measuring pitch, roll and yaw damping, as well as the normal force due to pitch rate and the cross derivatives. The test angle of attack range was from -2 to 24 degrees, except for those cases where load constraints limited the higher angles of attack at the higher Mach numbers. A variety of model configurations with and without control surfaces were employed, including a body alone configuration. Stable pitch damping is exhibited for the baseline configuration throughout the angle of attack range for Mach numbers 0.3, 0.8, and 1.15. Stable pitch damping is present for Mach numbers 0.9 and 0.6 with the exception of angles 2 and 16 degrees, respectively. Constant and stable roll damping were present for the baseline configuration over the range of Mach numbers up to an angle of attack of 16 degrees. The yaw damping for the baseline is somewhat stable and constant for the angle of attack range from -2 to 8 degrees, with the exception of Mach numbers 0.6 and 0.8. Yaw damping becomes highly unstable for all Mach numbers at angles of attack greater than 8 degrees.
Neonatal estrogen exposure alters the transforming growth factor-beta signaling system in the developing rat prostate and blocks the transient p21(cip1/waf1) expression associated with epithelial differentiation.

Exposure of male rats to estrogens during the neonatal period retards prostate branching morphogenesis, blocks epithelial differentiation, and predisposes the adult prostate to hyperplasia and dysplasia. The mechanism of neonatal estrogenization is not well understood. The present study evaluated transforming growth factor-β (TGFβ) in the neonatally estrogenized ventral prostate to determine whether this paracrine/autocrine factor may in part mediate the effects of estrogen on the developing prostate gland. Immunocytochemistry using antibodies against active TGFβ1 and its latency-associated peptide localized this molecule to the periductal smooth muscle cells in the developing prostate. Although neonatal estrogenization increased the accumulation of total and active TGFβ1 in the smooth muscle layer as early as day 6 of life, it was physically separated from the epithelial ducts by a proliferating layer of fibroblasts surrounding the basement membrane. RT-PCR demonstrated that alterations in TGFβ1 levels w...
User interface of a nonvisual table navigation method

It is fervently hoped that the World Wide Web will become a new information resource for the blind. However, although the use of tables on the Web has been increasing, the currently available talking Web browsers basically read tables horizontally, making it very hard for blind users to understand them. We therefore propose a method that allows users to navigate through a table both horizontally and vertically. Our method is characterized by three features: a table cursor, a table pointer, and a cell-jumping key. In this paper, we describe the user interface of our method, report the results of our evaluation tests, and offer some conclusions.
Body weight and ABO blood types: Are AB females heavier?

Four samples from widely separated and culturally distinct populations-U.S. college students, Mennonites, Egyptian villagers, and Brazilian migrants-are examined for evidence of a relationship between ABO blood type and body weight. Overall, the results do not support the existence of such a relationship, although they do offer further support to the possibility that females of AB blood type are consistently the heaviest phenotype. © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Diagnostic accuracy of fine-needle aspiration and frozen section in nodular thyroid disease.

Abstract Objective: To assess the diagnostic accuracy of fine-needle aspiration (FNA) and frozen section (FS) in nodular thyroid disease. Setting: Tertiary care academic medical center. Study Design: Retrospective review of 139 consecutive patients undergoing surgery for nodular thyroid disease. FNA and FS sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy were calculated with respect to permanent section histology. Results: Among 63 patients with an FNA interpreted as either benign (n = 38) or malignant (n = 25), FNA was accurate (sensitivity 89%, specificity 97%, accuracy 94%). FS identified only one case of carcinoma missed by FNA. Among 76 patients with a “suspicious” FNA, FS was reasonably accurate (sensitivity 67%, specificity 100%, accuracy 89%), but was deferred in 50% of cases. Conclusion: Given high FNA accuracy, more selective use of FS is suggested. Significance: The study results will assist with intra-institutional patient counseling and intraoperative decision-making with respect to FNA and FS results in patients with nodular thyroid disease. (Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 2001;124:531-6.)
Radiation exposure to angiographer during coronary arteriography using the U arm image amplifier.

Radiation exposure to the angiographer was measured using thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLD), commercial film badges, and appropriate ionization survey meters. Data were collected during 47 coronary artery examinations with the lead overleaf. During a single coronary examination, the angiographer receives 0.9 mR to the lens and 2.8 mR to the hand. The calculated yearly exposure to the angiographer performing 10 examinations per week is 450 mR to the lens, 9% of the maximum permissible dose (MPD), and 1400 mR to the hand, 2% of the MPD. Exposure rates for the left anterior oblique (LAO) and right anterior oblique (RAO) projections during cine and fluoroscopy were taken at the position occupied by the angiographer. Scatter radiation is 5-10 times greater in the LAO projection. The second trial was monitored during 18 coronary artery examinations minus the lead overleaf. A significant decrease in radiation exposure was accomplished through the use of the lead overleaf.
Computer-assisted enhancement permits the use of five nanometer gold probes in low magnification transmission electron microscopy

An economical procedure using computer-assisted enhancement of 5 nm gold colloids is described. The procedure can be used with any electron dense markers, and can be used with archival electron micrographs.
Thermal stability of kudzu root (Pueraria Radix) isoflavones as additives to beef patties

Kudzu root, Pueraria radix, extracts are a rich source of isoflavones. This study investigates the thermal stability of Pueraria radix extracts as a natural nutraceutical supplement in beef patties. The extract contained puerarin, diadzin, genistin, ononin, daidzein, glycitein, calycosin, genistein, formononetin and biochanin A; however, puerarin, daidzein and glycitein were the main components. The isoflavones concentrations in the spiked beef patties with kudzu root extracts were unaffected by cooking.
Frequency and fracture morphology of the posteromedial fragment in bicondylar tibial plateau fracture patterns.

Objectives:Bicondylar tibial plateau fracture management remains therapeutically challenging, partly because of multiplanar articular comminution. This study was performed to evaluate the frequency and morphologic characteristics of the posteromedial fragment in this injury pattern.Design:Retrospect
Growth factor regulation of cell cycle progression in mammary epithelial cells

Growth factors are among the critical positive and negative regulators of cell proliferation for normal mammary/breast epithelial cells and for breast cancer cells. The mechanisms by which specific growth factors regulate the cell cycle in mammary/breast epithelial cells is beginning to be understood for several growth factor families, including the epidermal growth factor, insulin-like growth factor, and transforming growth factor-beta families. A critical issue for understanding how growth factors regulate the cell cycle in vivo is how individual factors interact with other growth factors or hormones to enhance or inhibit specific molecular targets in the cell cycle machinery. This review addresses what is currently known about how growth factors regulate the cell cycle in mammary/breast epithelial cells both individually and in coordination with other growth regulators.
Locomotor activity in morphine-treated rats: effects of and comparisons between cocaine, procaine, and lidocaine.

Abstract The effects of cocaine, procaine, and lidocaine on open field and spontaneous (actophotometer) locomotor activities were assessed and compared in rats (1) treated acutely with morphine (single injection), (2) made dependent on morphine (SC pellets), (3) implanted with morphine and withdrawn at the time of peak dependence, and (4) implanted SC with lactose-containing pellets (sham). Cocaine-induced (10 or 30 mg/kg) open field and spontaneous locomotor activities were significantly greater in each of the four groups than those of the corresponding groups administered saline. Procaine (50 or 100 mg/kg) significantly reduced open field locomotor activity in all morphine-treated rats and spontaneous locomotor activity in acute rats. Lidocaine (30 mg/kg) significantly depressed spontaneous locomotor activity in acute rats. Upon comparison of the activities induced by the three local anesthetics, open field locomotor activity of sham-implanted rats was greater following cocaine (10 or 30 mg/kg) than following procaine (50 or 100 mg/kg). Only morphine withdrawn rats manifested greater activity following cocaine (10 mg/kg) than following either procaine (50 mg/kg) or lidocaine (10 mg/kg); activities were equivalent in dependent and acute rats. In contrast, cocaine-induced (30 mg/kg) open field locomotor activity of all morphine-treated rats was greater than either procaine- (100 mg/kg) or lidocaine- (30 mg/kg) induced activities. Spontaneous locomotor activity of all groups except acute morphine was greater following both doses of cocaine than following both doses of either procaine or lidocaine. In acute rats, only cocaine (10 mg/kg) induced greater activity than the other local anesthetics. Thus, stimulation of locomotor activity following cocaine treatment is a pharmacological property unique to cocaine and not shared by either procaine or lidocaine. Further, the data indicate that the methods selected for assessing locomotor activity may not give comparable results.
Synthesis and Anticonvulsant Evaluation of Some New 2-Benzylsuccinimides

A series of 2-benzylsuccinimides (4a-f) were prepared for evaluation as potential anticonvulsants. Primary (Phase I) screening of these compounds indicated that succinimides 4d and 4e, containing lipophilic (+ π), electron-withdrawing (+ cr) phenyl substituents, were the most effective in controlling seizures induced by maximal electroshock (MES) and subcutaneous pentylenetetrazol (scMet). Compounds 4a, 4c, and 4d showed activity against scMet-induced seizures equal to that of their 2-phenylsuccinimide analogues and were somewhat more effective in the MES test. In quantitative (Phase II) testing, when administered ip in mice, 4d and 4e both demonstrated anticonvulsant potency superior to that of the prototype drug (ethosuximide) by the MES and scMet assays. However, they also exhibited greater neurotoxicity than ethosuximide in the rotorod test.
Toward a common framework for computing e-government index

Benchmarking and rankings are common practices to gauge the status or standing and assess the progress of entities such as institutions and countries with respect to a characteristic or variable. Countries are often ranked with respect to, among other things, their economic, human, and technological development. Benchmarking tools such as the e-Government index serve as useful tools for policy makers. Given the importance any benchmarking and ranking is given when devising policies regarding information and communication technologies and allocating resources to implement those technologies by institutions and countries, an objective framework to produce the rankings is paramount. A ranking is as good as the frameworks used to produce it. Despite their wider use, some of the current procedures used for e-Government index computation have limitations. For instance, they do not differentiate between websites that provide static information and fully fledged portals. This paper compares four frameworks, points out their limitations and strengths, and proposes ways to address their limitations.
Abstract B255: Discovery and validation of a novel class of small molecule inhibitors of the CDC7 kinase: Modulation of tumor cell growth in vitro and in vivo

High throughput screening of compounds comprising the Memorial Sloan Kettering chemical library resulted in several confirmed hits against the recombinant Cdc7:Dbf4 heterodimeric kinase, a key regulator in the initiation of DNA replication and the G1 to S phase transition. Chemoinformatic analysis of the hits revealed an enrichment in one chemical cluster made up of several naturally occurring compounds, of which the most potent compound, CKI‐7, was selected for further investigation. First, CKI‐7 was found to be a non competitive inhibitor for ATP and prompted us to prolife it against a panel of 200 known kinases in order to assess its selectivity profile. The results were as predicted and very few kinases were specifically affected. Second, CKI‐7 cytotoxic activity was assessed against a panel of well established cancer cell lines representing both hematopoietic and solid tumor malignancies as well as against a panel of primary hematopoietic cells derived from leukemia patients (both chemotherapy naive and relapsed/refractory samples) and was found to be a very effective agent with potencies in the low nanomolar range. Subsequent studies using an isogenic pair of cell lines with one over expressing the Bcl_xL anti‐apoptotic protein further confirmed the induction of the intrinsic apoptotic pathway via caspase‐3 activation in the absence and attenuation of the activity in the presence of Bcl_xL. This was further demonstrated through standard cell cycle synchronization studies revealing that exposure to the Cdc7 inhibitor results in an S phase arrest, cell cycle dependent caspase‐3 activation, and apoptotic cell death. This cell death is the direct result of Cdc7 kinase inhibition by CKI‐7 as demonstrated using a Cdc7 substrate biomarker assay. Third, the physicochemical properties of this class of naturally occurring compounds also prompted us to investigate their effect on several multidrug resistence (MDR) over‐expressing cell lines. We found that CKI‐7 was not a substrate for the efflux pumps demonstrating that this novel compound can overcome a major mechanism of chemotherapy resistence in human tumor cells. Based of the above observations, in vivo dose‐dependent anti‐tumor activity of CKI‐7 was subsequently demonstrated in a SCID‐Beige mouse systemic tumor model utilizing a recently isolated Philadelphia chromosome positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia cell line (PhALL3.1) in addition to melanoma and non small cell lung cancer xenograft models. Taken together, our data confirm that Cdc7 is a new promising target for cancer therapy, and that the newly discovered inhibitor CKI‐7, a naturally occurring selective small molecule inhibitor of this enzyme, is an equally promising novel cancer therapeutic agent. Citation Information: Mol Cancer Ther 2009;8(12 Suppl):B255.
Measuring and Improving Low-Level Image Quality

Low-light images often suffer from noise or blur artifacts. By estimating the degradation process, it is possible to improve image quality. I will discuss recent work in both measuring and improving image quality.
Stochastic Resonance with Images and Spatially Correlated Stochastic Patterns

We consider 8bit grey scale images as two-dimensional input signals. After the addition of stochastic patterns the resultant grey value matrix is two-state filtered with a global threshold. Depending on the threshold value non-dynamical stochastic resonance (SR) or suprathreshold stochastic resonance (SSR) conditions can be set up. Both phenomena are quantified appropriately through the transin- formation and illustrated by application to a sample image. Key issue of our in- vestigation will be the idea that the signal reconstruction is enhanced by not using spatially uncorrelated noise patterns but stochastic patterns which reflect features of the input. We exemplify this notion by employing stochastic Swift-Hohenberg patterns for both the input signal and the additional noise fields.
Differential diagnosis of thyroid nodules with ultrasound elastography based on support vector machines

A fine needle aspiration (FNA) biopsy is the standard procedure of choice for differentiating between benign and malignant thyroid nodules, and ∼300,000 thyroid FNA biopsies are performed in the U.S. each year. However, FNA is invasive, costly and uncomfortable for patients. Furthermore, a large percentage (∼70%) of these FNAs turn out to be benign. In this paper, we present a non-invasive and automatic approach for differentiating benign and malignant thyroid nodules with ultrasound elastography based on support vector machines (SVM) with biased penalties. We used the elastography data of 98 thyroid nodules (16 malignant and 82 benign) from 92 subjects previously acquired with a clinical ultrasound machine, Hitachi Hi Vision 5500. We conducted the leave-one-out cross-validation (LOOCV) in evaluating the performance of our classification method. Our goal was to obtain the maximum geometric mean (MGM) of sensitivity and specificity. The results show that our method was able to get MGM of 90.1% with the sensitivity of 93.8% and the specificity of 86.6%.
High-Stakes Testing and the Moral Decisions of Leaders

As a charter school faces continued poor performance and the need to show drastic improvement in its data, school leaders are faced with a moral dilemma. To help the schools testing data, leaders consider being selective with whom they test. They consider whether they can help the short-term outcomes of the school while risking later consequences for the school and its students. This case exposes the dilemma of leaders trying to keep the doors of the school open while being pulled to do the right thing for the students they currently serve.
Contemporary Surgical Management of Cardiac Paragangliomas

Background Cardiac paragangliomas are an extremely rare subset of chromaffin cell tumors that develop from neural crest cells. Methods Between March 2004 and October 2010, 7 male patients from our two institutions who underwent surgical resection of cardiac paraganglioma were retrospectively reviewed. Results In 5 patients, paragangliomas originated from the roof of the left atrium, and in 2 patients, they originated from the aortic root. Hospital mortality was 14%. Conclusions Complete surgical resection remains the mainstay of therapy and can be curative, but carries a significant risk of intraoperative bleeding and usually requires cardiopulmonary bypass and often complex resection techniques, including cardiac autotransplantation.
A bandwidth tracking technique for a 65nm CMOS digital phase-locked loop

This paper presents a technique to achieve the bandwidthtracking ability of digital PLLs used for clock generation in large digital systems. The technique uses replica delay cells in the DCO and the PD for ≫100× range of operating frequency. Measurement results show a near constant damping factor and the tracking of the loop bandwidth to reference frequency over 2× of core oscillation frequencies (2.5GHz–5.0GHz) and reference frequencies from 19.5MHz to 312MHz without calibration.
Analysis of coupling impedance bench measurements using Bethe's diffraction theory

In this paper we study the validity of coupling impedance bench measurements, comparing two of the most commonly used formulas to the result obtained applying a modified version of Bethe's theory of diffraction to a lumped impedance in a coaxial beam pipe. The equations found provide a quantitative expression for the influence of the wire thickness used in the measurement of the real and imaginary part of the longitudinal impedance. The precision achievable in an actual measurement is therefore discussed. The method presented can also be applied in the presence of distributed impedances as well as to the analysis of transverse impedance measurements.
Function of a STIM1 homologue in C. elegans: evidence that store-operated Ca2+ entry is not essential for oscillatory Ca2+ signaling and ER Ca2+ homeostasis.

1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3)-dependent Ca2+ signaling regulates gonad function, fertility, and rhythmic posterior body wall muscle contraction (pBoc) required for defecation in Caenorhabditis elegans. Store-operated Ca2+ entry (SOCE) is activated during endoplasmic reticulum (ER) Ca2+ store depletion and is believed to be an essential and ubiquitous component of Ca2+ signaling pathways. SOCE is thought to function to refill Ca2+ stores and modulate Ca2+ signals. Recently, stromal interaction molecule 1 (STIM1) was identified as a putative ER Ca2+ sensor that regulates SOCE. We cloned a full-length C. elegans stim-1 cDNA that encodes a 530–amino acid protein with ∼21% sequence identity to human STIM1. Green fluorescent protein (GFP)–tagged STIM-1 is expressed in the intestine, gonad sheath cells, and spermatheca. Knockdown of stim-1 expression by RNA interference (RNAi) causes sterility due to loss of sheath cell and spermatheca contractile activity required for ovulation. Transgenic worms expressing a STIM-1 EF-hand mutant that constitutively activates SOCE in Drosophila and mammalian cells are sterile and exhibit severe pBoc arrhythmia. stim-1 RNAi dramatically reduces STIM-1∷GFP expression, suppresses the EF-hand mutation–induced pBoc arrhythmia, and inhibits intestinal store-operated Ca2+ (SOC) channels. However, stim-1 RNAi surprisingly has no effect on pBoc rhythm, which is controlled by intestinal oscillatory Ca2+ signaling, in wild type and IP3 signaling mutant worms, and has no effect on intestinal Ca2+ oscillations and waves. Depletion of intestinal Ca2+ stores by RNAi knockdown of the ER Ca2+ pump triggers the ER unfolded protein response (UPR). In contrast, stim-1 RNAi fails to induce the UPR. Our studies provide the first detailed characterization of STIM-1 function in an intact animal and suggest that SOCE is not essential for certain oscillatory Ca2+ signaling processes and for maintenance of store Ca2+ levels in C. elegans. These findings raise interesting and important questions regarding the function of SOCE and SOC channels under normal and pathophysiological conditions.
Analysis of a bent-dipole

We review the optimized properties of a bent-dipole by modeling the radiator with a methods of moment (MOM) code in order to determine its useful bandwidth, its free-space gain patterns, and its over a ground gain patterns. This antenna can be useful at low frequencies (HF band, 2–30MHz), where a half wavelength dipole may be too big or mechanically too complex to set up. A bent-dipole has been optimized by modeling and fabricated for the 9–38 MHz bands with approximately half the size of a 9-M Hz dipole (7 m vs. 16 m). A "bent-monopole" can also be obtained by splitting the antenna in half and feed it over a suitable ground plane.