cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Long-term outcomes in kidney transplant recipients with end-stage kidney disease due to anti-glomerular basement membrane disease.

Anti-glomerular basement membrane (GBM) disease causes rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis and end-stage kidney disease (ESKD). Studies of post-transplant outcomes in patients with ESKD due to anti-GBM disease in the United States are lacking. To better characterize outcomes of transplant recipients with a history of anti-GBM disease, we examined patient survival and graft survival among recipients with anti-GBM disease compared with IgA nephropathy at a single center in the United States. We analyzed patient survival, graft survival, disease recurrence, and malignancy rates for kidney transplant recipients with ESKD due to biopsy-proven anti-GBM disease who underwent kidney transplantation at our center between 1994 and 2015. 26 patients with biopsy-proven anti-GBM disease and 314 patients with IgAN underwent kidney transplantation from 1994 to 2015. The incidence of graft loss was 6.2 per 100 person-years for anti-GBM disease, which was similar to IgAN (4.08 per 100 person-years, p = .09). Patient mortality for anti-GBM was 0.03 per 100 person-years, similar to IgAN (0.02 per 100 person-years, p = .12). Disease recurrence occurred in one of the 26 anti-GBM patients. Four out of 26 patients (15%) developed malignancy, most commonly skin cancer. Long-term graft and patient survival for patients with ESKD due to anti-GBM was similar to IgAN after kidney transplantation.
The Effect of Behavioral Probability Weighting in a Sequential Defender-Attacker Game

We consider a setting consisting of two sites, and a sequential game between a defender and an attacker who are responsible for securing and attacking the sites, respectively. Each site has a value to the defender, and an associated probability of successful attack, which can be reduced via security investments in that site by the defender. The attacker targets the site that maximizes the expected loss for the defender (after the investments). While prior work has studied the security investments in such scenarios, in this work we consider what happens when the defender exhibits characteristics of bounded-rationality that have been identified by behavioral economics. In particular, humans have been shown to perceive probabilities in a nonlinear manner, typically overweighting low probabilities and underweighting high probabilities. We characterize how such nonlinear probability weighting affects the security investments made by the defender, and bound the inefficiency of the equilibrium investments under behavioral decision-making, compared to a non-behavioral optimal solution.
A stabilizer free weak Galerkin finite element method for parabolic equation

Abstract In this article, a stabilizer free weak Galerkin (SFWG) finite element method for a parabolic partial differential equation is proposed. The goal of using the SFWG method is to make the numerical implementation easier and more efficient. The optimal rate of convergence is derived in both H 1 and L 2 norms. Numerical experiments are performed to verify the theoretical results.
Proximal contact with Latino immigrants and immigration attitudes

The growth of the Latino community has increased levels of contact between this minority group and the predominately white majority. How does exposure to immigrants impact attitudes towards immigra...
Parameterizing ‘Return Effort’ and ‘Return Effort Cost’ Within Venture Capital Markets

Typically, studies of efforts of economic agents do not distinguish between efforts that directly generate returns (`return effort') and efforts that facilitate demonstration of return effort, that is, `return effort cost'. This study provides formal theoretical evidence that a distinguishing of return effort from return effort cost produces rational explanations for two seemingly contradictory effects, namely, that venture capitalists (VCs) simultaneously are characterized by each of `too much effort' or `too little effort'. In stated respect, the formal theoretical model demonstrates that whereas VCs' portfolio returns are strictly convex in return effort, simultaneously, they are, in relation to return effort cost, strictly concave. In aggregate then, portfolio returns are, in relation to effort, characterized by strict concavity. In presence of rationality of ubiquity of a `too much money chasing deals' phenomenon, VCs overinvest, yet simultaneously, arrive at portfolio returns that are lower than first-best; hence arrival at inference of `too much effort'. This is a unilateral `level effect' that induces a second-best performance-effort curve, which resides just below the unattainable first-best curve. Cross-sectionally, with VCs located on the second-best curve, return effort is shown to be confluent with `richness' of VCs' investment opportunity sets. The model explicitly rules out increase of effort with riskiness of projects, establishes effort increases with richness of investment opportunity sets. Under the erroneous assumption that optimal effort is conditioned on project-specific risk, as opposed to the continuum of investment opportunity set risk, VCs appear to exert `too little effort'. Given, however, that `too little effort' is ubiquitous, every optimal realization for effort is characterized by `too little effort'. Study findings provide evidence for importance of adoption of equilibrium approaches to modeling of efforts of economic agents within different markets.
The type species of Bronchocela Kaup, 1827 and lectotype designations for Agama cristatella Kuhl, 1820 and Agama gutturosa Merrem, 1820 (Squamata: Iguania: Agamidae).

The agamid genus Bronchocela Kaup, 1827 comprises 13 species of diurnal, arboreal lizards distributed from India east through Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, to Papua New Guinea (Diong & Lim 1998; Hallermann 2005; Grismer et al. 2015). Once occupying this entire range, B. cristatella’s distribution has now been restricted to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, southern Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Papua New Guinea (Hallermann 2005). My intention here is to: 1) clarify the type species of the genus-group name Bronchocela; 2) resolve the valid name for the taxon under consideration; 3) designate lectotypes for Agama cristatella Kuhl, 1820 and Agama gutturosa Merrem, 1820, and; 4) discuss the type locality for the taxon under consideration.
Calibrating quantum chemistry: A multi-teraflop, parallel-vector, full-configuration interaction program for the Cray-X1

We describe an efficient parallel and vector algorithm for solving huge eigen-vector problems in quantum chemistry. An automatically adaptive, single-vector, iterative diagonalization method was also developed to reduce the memory requirement and avoid an I/O bottleneck. Our initial full-configuration interaction calculation solved for an eigenvector with 65 billion coefficients and was performed on 432 MSPs of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory Cray-X1. One matrixvector multiplication took about 4 minutes, with 25 iterations being required for a tightly converged result. The aggregate performance was 3.4TFLOP/s (62% of peak speed).
Interactive physically-based sound simulation

The realization of interactive, immersive virtual worlds requires the ability to present a realistic audio experience that convincingly compliments their visual rendering. Physical simulation is a natural way to achieve such realism, enabling deeply immersive virtual worlds. However, physically-based sound simulation is very computationally expensive owing to the high-frequency, transient oscillations underlying audible sounds. The increasing computational power of desktop computers has served to reduce the gap between required and available computation, and it has become possible to bridge this gap further by using a combination of algorithmic improvements that exploit the physical, as well as perceptual properties of audible sounds. My thesis is a step in this direction. My dissertation concentrates on developing real-time techniques for both sub-problems of sound simulation: synthesis and propagation. Sound synthesis is concerned with generating the sounds produced by objects due to elastic surface vibrations upon interaction with the environment, such as collisions. I present novel techniques that exploit human auditory perception to simulate scenes with hundreds of sounding objects undergoing impact and rolling in real time. Sound propagation is the complementary problem of modeling the high-order scattering and diffraction of sound in an environment as it travels from source to listener. I discuss my work on a novel numerical acoustic simulator (ARD) that is hundred times faster and consumes ten times less memory than a high-accuracy finite-difference technique, allowing acoustic simulations on previously-intractable spaces, such as a cathedral, on a desktop computer. Lastly, I present my work on interactive sound propagation that leverages my ARD simulator to render the acoustics of arbitrary static scenes for multiple moving sources and listener in real time, while accounting for scene-dependent effects such as low-pass filtering and smooth attenuation behind obstructions, reverberation, scattering from complex geometry and sound focusing. This is enabled by a novel compact representation that takes a thousand times less memory than a direct scheme, thus reducing memory footprints to fit within available main memory. To the best of my knowledge, this is the only technique and system in existence to demonstrate auralization of physical wave-based effects in real-time on large, complex 3D scenes.
Mechanism of transcription of bacteriophage S13: II. Inhibition of phage-specific transcription by nalidixic acid

Abstract Nalidixic acid has been thought to be a specific inhibitor of DNA synthesis with no effect on RNA and protein synthesis. We find, however, that, in the presence of nalidixic acid, messenger RNA synthesized by phage S13 during a short pulse with [ 3 H]uridine is reduced to 20% of its normal level. The inhibition of DNA synthesis and the resultant reduction in the number of DNA templates available for transcription is not the cause of the inhibition of messenger synthesis, because phage mutants already blocked in DNA replication show the same degree of sensitivity to the drug as the wild type. Nalidixic acid does not enhance degradation of the phage mRNA. By determining the sizes of phage-specific mRNA, we infer that nalidixic acid does not prematurely terminate nascent mRNA chains nor is it specific for certain promoter sites. A spontaneous mutant of Escherichia coli C resistant to 100 μg of the drug per ml shows normal DNA synthesis and phage transcription suggesting that a common step affects both processes. To explain the inhibitory action of nalidixic acid on phage transcription it is proposed that a metabolic product of the drug may behave like an intercalating agent.
Perception of xeroderma pigmentosum support group members of xeroderma pigmentosum lifestyle impact.

Summary Xeroderma pigmentosum (XP) is a genetic condition, which can cause an extreme sensitivity to sunlight and an increased risk of skin cancer due to errors in DNA repair. An online survey was administered to a convenience sample of participants who were members of an online support group for XP patients and their families to determine common symptoms and quality of life. The Dermatologic Life Quality Index (DLQI) or the Children's Dermatologic Life Quality Index (CDLQI) was used depending on patient age. A total of four patients and two parents of young patients completed our survey. Quality of life as measured through the DLQI and CDLQI was moderately affected.
Begriffsmischung Und Metapher (Blending and Metapher)

Widespread metaphors such as "he exploded" project physical categories to emotional phenomena. The traditional two-domain model of metaphor postulates that in such cases the source domain enables the understanding of the target domain. The authors prove that this model is sufficient to explain culturally entrenched metaphors, but fails to cope with more creative cases. They propose a more sophisticated multi-space model of conceptual projection which contains the blend as an additional domain. The power of this model is demonstrated by several analyses, e.g., of the "Grim Reaper," the "Birth Stork," the desktop metaphor of man-machine interaction as well as the decapitated speaker in Dante's Inferno.
The Modular Inversion Hidden Number Problem

We study a class of problems called Modular Inverse Hidden Number Problems (MIHNPs). The basic problem in this class is the following: Given many pairs 〈xi, MSBk((α + xi)-1 mod p)〉 for random xi ∈ Zp the problem is to find α ∈ Zp (here MSBk(x) refers to the k most significant bits of x). We describe an algorithm for this problem when k > (log2 p)/3 and conjecture that the problem is hard whenever k < (log2 p)/3. We show that assuming hardness of some variants of this MIHNP problem leads to very efficient algebraic PRNGs and MACs.
Introduction to recombinant-DNA technology

Recombinant-DNA technology is now commonly used in virtually every aspect of the biological sciences. The purpose of this brief exposition is to provide an outline of the approaches used to identify genes, to isolate the gene of interest, to amplify the gene if necessary, and to clone genes. A short introduction to the principles of separating very large genes is provided, along with a description of an approach to propagating and cloning these large genes.
Early adolescents’ “crushing”: Pursuing romantic interest on a social stage

Bredow, Cate, and Huston hypothesize that individuals initiate romantic relationships by engaging in four stages—deciding whether another is attractive, whether to approach that person, how best to initiate contact, and how to build rapport once contact is made. It is unclear, however, whether this model applies to early adolescents’ pursuits of romantic relationships. It is equally unclear whether factors that are a large part of adolescents’ lives, specifically peers and electronic communication, play a role when early adolescents initiate romantic contact. To address these lacunas, we conducted same-sex and same-age focus groups with sixth and eighth graders. Using a grounded theory approach, our findings revealed that these youth made strategic choices to be noticed by potential partners; sixth graders engaged in play-like behaviors, eighth grade girls flirted, and eighth grade boys planned ways to cross paths with girls at school. These early adolescents also texted and used peers to see whether thei...
In Situ Vitrification an Innovative Melting Technology for the Remediation of Contaminated Soil

The remediation of contaminated sites is an increasingly serious problem in industrialised countries. There is a growing need for efficient techniques for remedial actions, especially for on-site treatment of hazardous waste sites.
The ganglion-stimulating effects of some amino-acid esters.

1 The effects of some amino-acid esters possessing both muscarinic and nicotinic activity have been investigated on the cat superior cervical ganglion. The compounds were applied to the ganglion in vivo by close intra-arterial injection and responses were measured by contraction of the nictitating membrane or by recording post ganglionic compound action potentials. 2 The esters, like carbachol, produced effects which were blocked by hexamethonium and reduced by atropine. Pretreatment with an anticholinesterase agent had no effect on the response and the chronically denervated ganglion was, if anything, slightly more sensitive to the drugs. 3 Effects of standard muscarinic and nicotinic drugs were also studied and the results support the view that both muscarinic and nicotinic receptors are present in the ganglion. 4 From the results of this investigation it appears that the amino-acid esters and carbachol produce their effects by interacting with post synaptic receptors in the ganglion. This is in contrast to other results in the literature which suggest that the receptors might be presynaptic. Further studies are required to resolve this difference.
Evaluation of Warm Mix Asphalt Mixtures Containing RAP Using Accelerated Loading Tests

This paper presents the results of a study that was conducted to evaluate the performance and constructability of warm mix asphalt (WMA) mixtures containing reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP). Four sections were constructed at the indoor Accelerated Pavement Loading Facility at Ohio University. Aspha-min, Sasobit, and Evotherm WMA mixtures were used in the wearing course layer of the first three sections. In addition, the fourth section had a conventional hot mix asphalt (HMA) mixture, which was used as a control. Temperature was monitored during the production, placement, and compaction of WMA and HMA mixtures. Furthermore, emission tests were conducted at the asphalt plants during the production of each of the evaluated mixtures. Falling weight deflectometer (FWD) and rolling wheel tests were conducted at different temperatures on all evaluated sections. The results of this study showed that emissions were reduced during the production of the Aspha-min and Sasobit WMA mixtures by at least 50 % for volatile organic compounds, 60 % for carbon monoxide, 20 % for nitrogen oxides, and 83 % for sulfur dioxide, when compared to the control HMA mixture. In addition, although WMA mixtures were produced and compacted at much lower temperatures, they achieved better field densities than the control HMA mixture. The FWD test results showed that at 40°F (4°C) test temperature, the control HMA mixture had significantly lower stiffness than that of the WMA mixtures. However, the FWD stiffness measurement of the HMA and the WMA mixtures were statistically indistinguishable at the intermediate and high test temperatures of 70°F (21.1°C) and 104°F (40°C), respectively. Finally, the rolling wheel test results indicated that the three WMA sections, especially the Evotherm section, exhibited more rutting than the control HMA section during the post primary compaction stage. However, the rutting rate of the HMA section was higher than those of the WMA sections in the secondary stage, which suggests that the rutting difference may slowly be mitigated.
Assessing the Contractility of Human ips Derived Cardiomyocytes with Arrays of Microposts

Stem cell derived cardiomyocytes enable studies on heart repair, disease modeling, drug screening, and questions of fundamental biology. Here, we report on the development of an in vitro platform for assessing the contractile performance of stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes. Human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs) were seeded onto elastomeric micropost arrays coated with laminin, fibronectin, or collagen IV, in order to characterize the contractile force, velocity, and power produced by these cells. We assessed contractile function of the hiPSC-CMs by tracking the deflection of each of the microposts underneath an individual cell, with high-speed optical microscopy (A). Immunofluorescent staining of these cells was used with the microposts to assess their spread area, nucleation, and sarcomeric structure (B). We found that this technique was able to track the twitch movement of individual hiPS-CMs with sufficient temporal resolution to determine maxima in force (C), velocity (D), and power (E); as well as that hiPSC-CMs on laminin-coated posts demonstrated higher attachment (F), spread area (G), and contractile force (H) than those seeded on fibronectin or collagen IV coatings. Therefore, these results suggest that future studies using this platform employ laminin-coated microposts.View Large Image | View Hi-Res Image | Download PowerPoint Slide
Tunnel transistors for energy efficient computing

Tunnel transistor (TFET) is a potential steep slope device enabling supply voltage scaling. TFET is explored at the device and circuit level. Hetero-junction TFET is demonstrated with high drive current and high on-off current ratio. Hetero-junction TFETs with scaled device geometry can outperform Si FinFET at Vcc<;0.3V. Design considerations of TFET based circuits for logic and SRAM applications are investigated and performance benchmarked with Si FinFET technology.
Analysis of demand conditions associated with reluctant speech

An analysis of five demand conditions affecting the reluctant speech of a preschool child was conducted in the classroom. Results indicated that demand conditions that did not permit escape from academic demand tasks, ignored mute responses, prompted answers and enthusiastically praised verbal responses resulted in higher rates of speech. Further, replication of these procedures across escape conditions resulted in increased speech rates that approximated those of a non-mute peer in the same classroom. Follow-up data at 8 months indicated that in the classroom the subject spoke more often to more people using a greater number of words, subsequent to analysis and intervention. The classroom teacher also reported a marked improvement in speech rate and quality and considered the time spent in analysis worthwhile. The study provides a model for further analysis of conditions associated with reluctant speech.
MEDICAL GEOGRAPHY: SOME UNSOLVED PROBLEMS

Because medical geography is a dynamic and developing area of thought, a number of conceptual and empirical problems are, as yet, relatively unexplored. This essay constitutes an attempt to delimit these problems, which include the application of geographical analysis to ascertaining disease causation, the prediction of future disease patterns and disease diffusion, and evaluation of the importance of maximizing geographical access to health care facilities.
A customized standard of large size for gestational age to predict intrapartum morbidity.

Objective The purpose of this study was to determine whether a customized standard of large-for-gestational age (LGA) identifies pregnancies with increased perinatal risk. Study Design We evaluated 7510 estimates of fetal weight to generate a fetal growth curve. Next, we analyzed the gestational age at delivery, physiologic and pathological variables from 5072 pregnancies to predict birthweight, and calculated a customized ideal birthweight and cutoff for LGA. In a separate analysis of 32,271 pregnancies, rates of macrosomia-related adverse outcomes were compared in pregnancies that had been identified as LGA by a customized standard (LGA cust ) and those pregnancies that had been identified as LGA or macrosomic by conventional standards. Results LGA cust pregnancies carried increased risk of shoulder dystocia, third- or fourth-degree laceration, and cephalopelvic disproportion. LGA cust pregnancies that did not meet conventional criteria for LGA/macrosomia were at increased risk of all measured outcomes. Conclusion A customized standard of LGA identifies a previously unrecognized population that is at increased risk of perinatal morbidity.
The evaluation of abdominal masses in children with emphasis on noninvasive methods. A roentgenographic approach.

Intravenous urography with total body opacification, and tomography as required, often give the most information toward evaluating abdominal masses in children. Ultrasonography is a noninvasive procedure which defines normal structures and differentiates cystic and solid tumors. The combination of these studies gives sufficient information about renal tumors to plan for possible surgery. Arteriography is not necessary for the diagnosis of Wilms' tumor, nor its surgical or medical management. Pseudotumor of the kidney is due to focal cortical hyperplasia. It can be diagnosed by nephrotomography, renal arteriography, or renal scanning. The latter method is the most accurate and has the lowest morbidity. Aortography is advisable in the evaluation of a patient with pheochromocytoma in an attempt to locate multiple tumors. Determining the extent of abdominal neuroblastoma by angiography and lymphangiography does not appear to influence the mode of therapy, nor the survival rate; therefore, invasive diagnostic procedures do not appear to be indicated in neuroblastoma. Angiography is necessary in the evaluation of liver cancer. If one lobe is determined to be free of disease, lobectomy is a possible cure. Splenic cysts and choledochal cysts can be diagnosed by noninvasive methods such as ultrasonography or radioisotope scanning. Arteriography and percutaneous opacification are not necessary to make these diagnoses.
Prevalence of α-helical form in avian lens proteins

Abstract Laser Raman spectra of the intact capsulated living lenses from chick and pigeon are reported. Evidence is presented that the First Important Soluble Crystallin (FISC) protein exists chiefly in the α-helical conformation, in contrast with the lens proteins from bovine and dogfish (mixtures of β-pleated and unordered structures). The occurrence of this low thiol protein in the α-helical form may explain the failure of the bird lens to develop cold cataract or a firm nucleus. The circular dichroism (CD) curve of chick lens proteins also indicate the presence of α-helical form. The overall “helix-forming potential” as calculated by the method of Chou and Fasman is high, supporting our Raman spectroscopic conclusion.
Kinetics of propylene polymerization catalyzed by α-titanium trichloride–diethylaluminum chloride

The kinetics of propylene polymerization catalyzed by α-titanium trichloride–diethyl-aluminum chloride in heptane diluent were studied. Initiation and transfer processes were followed by using C14-labeled (C2H5)2AlCl. There was no important termination process in this system. The initial C14 activity found in the polymers gave the concentration of active ethyl groups on the surface, [C]. The propagation step was first order in [monomer] and [C], with an activation energy of 13.0 kcal. mole−1; kp at 50°C. was 0.426 ± 0.018 l. mole−1 sec.−1. There were two transfer processes: (1) Rtr1 = ktr1[C] − [(C2H5)2AlCl]1/2, with an activation energy of 18.6 kcal. mole−1, and a value of ktr1 at 50°C. of 6.54 × 10−5 mole−1/2 sec.−1; and (2) Rtr2 = ktr2 [C] [α-TiCl3], with an activation energy of 7.6 kcal. mole−1, and a value of ktr2 at 50°C. of 9.45 × 10−4 l. mole−1 sec.−1. These kinetic data were used to calculate number-average molecular weights Mn, which agreed well with the ones obtained directly from the C14 specific activity in the polymer. Furthermore, fractionation of four polypropylene samples gave values of Mn in agreement with those obtained above. At low temperatures, [C] is sensitive to the Al/Ti ratios. This dependence was interpreted as the result of an equilibrium between an active complex containing (C2H5)2AlCl and a much less active complex containing (C2H5)AlCl2. At higher temperatures, [C] is insensitive to the Al/Ti ratios, and polymerization to give amorphous polymers becomes important. Qualitative information was obtained about the processes which give amorphous polymers.
Transcription Processing at 1,N2-Ethenoguanine by Human RNA Polymerase II and Bacteriophage T7 RNA Polymerase

The DNA lesion 1,N(2)-ethenoguanine (1,N(2)-epsilon G) is formed endogenously as a by-product of lipid peroxidation or by reaction with epoxides that result from the metabolism of the industrial pollutant vinyl chloride, a known human carcinogen. DNA replication past 1,N(2)-epsilon G and site-specific mutagenesis studies on mammalian cells have established the highly mutagenic and genotoxic properties of the damaged base. However, there is as yet no information on the processing of this lesion during transcription. Here, we report the results of transcription past a site-specifically modified 1,N(2)-epsilon G DNA template. This lesion contains an exocyclic ring obstructing the Watson-Crick hydrogen-bonding edge of guanine. Our results show that 1,N(2)-epsilon G acts as a partial block to the bacteriophage T7 RNA polymerase (RNAP), which allows nucleotide incorporation in the growing RNA with the selectivity A>G>(C=-1 deletion)>>U. In contrast, 1,N(2)-epsilon G poses an absolute block to human RNAP II elongation, and nucleotide incorporation opposite the lesion is not observed. Computer modeling studies show that the more open active site of T7 RNAP allows lesion bypass when the 1,N(2)-epsilon G adopts the syn-conformation. This orientation places the exocyclic ring in a collision-free empty pocket of the polymerase, and the observed base incorporation preferences are in agreement with hydrogen-bonding possibilities between the incoming nucleotides and the Hoogsteen edge of the lesion. On the other hand, in the more crowded active site of the human RNAP II, the modeling studies show that both syn- and anti-conformations of the 1,N(2)-epsilon G are sterically impermissible. Polymerase stalling is currently believed to trigger the transcription-coupled nucleotide excision repair machinery. Thus, our data suggest that this repair pathway is likely engaged in the clearance of the 1,N(2)-epsilon G from actively transcribed DNA.
Chronic nicotine inhibits inflammation and promotes influenza infection

Epidemiological data suggest an association between smoking, respiratory infections, and impaired wound healing. Inflammation is critical in the body's defense against pathogens and in the wound-healing process. Although nicotine is used to treat some inflammatory conditions, the mechanism of this action is largely unknown. To determine how nicotine affects inflammation, rats and mice were exposed to nicotine via miniosmotic pumps, and the inflammatory response to turpentine or influenza virus was assessed. Results showed that while nicotine suppressed the migration of leukocytes to the inflammation/infection site, it increased the influenza titer in the lung. The decreased inflammation correlated with lower chemotaxis/chemokinesis of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) toward formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 without affecting the density of their respective receptors. However, nicotine suppressed the chemokine-induced Ca(2+) response in PBMC, indicating impaired chemokine signaling. Thus, because nicotine suppresses leukocyte migration, it might contribute to the delayed wound healing and increased incidence of respiratory infections among smokers.
Existing and novel biological therapeutics in suicide prevention.

We summarize outcomes for several pharmacologic and neurostimulatory approaches that have been considered potential treatments to reduce suicide risk, namely, by reducing suicide deaths, attempts, and ideation in various clinical populations. Available treatments include clozapine, lithium, antidepressants, antipsychotics, electroconvulsive therapy, and transcranial magnetic stimulation. The novel repurposing of ketamine as a potential suicide risk–mitigating agent in the acute setting is also discussed. Research pathways to better understand and treat suicidal ideation and behavior from a neurobiological perspective are proposed in light of this foundation of information and the limitations and challenges inherent in suicide research. Such pathways include trials of fast-acting medications, registry approaches to identify appropriate patients for trials, identification of biomarkers, neuropsychological vulnerabilities, and endophenotypes through the study of known suicide risk–mitigating agents in hope of determining mechanisms of pathophysiology and the action of protective biological interventions.
Saturn's rings through a microscope - Particle size constraints from the Voyager PPS scan

The Voyager-2 photopolarimeter PPS experiment obtained the highest resolution of any ring observation of Saturn, profiling the variation of optical depth in radial steps of about 100 meters. A detailed treatment of the PPS statistics is presented here, and it is shown how these statistics can be related to the particle size distribution. An expression for the excess noise in the scan due to large particles is obtained, and the observed noise is used to constrain the upper end of the size distribution through the rings. It is shown that the Cassini Division and the C Ring have the smallest proportion of large particles, while the A ring has the largest proportion.
Effect of pH-sodium lauryl sulfate combination on solubilization of PG-300995 (an anti-HIV agent): a technical note.

Solubilization of PG-300995 has been achieved using SLS at low pH. However, at a pH where both the solute and surfactant are ionized, desolubilization can occur owing to the formation of an insoluble estolate salt. This salt can be solubilized by higher concentrations of SLS.
Benefits of in situ propellant utilization for a Mars sample return mission

Previous Mars rover sample return mission studies have shown a requirement for Titan 4 or STS Space Shuttle launch vehicles to complete a sample return from a single Mars site. These studies have either used terrestrial propellants or considered in situ production of methane and oxygen for the return portion of the mission. Using in situ propellants for the return vehicles reduces the Earth launch mass and allows for a smaller Earth launch vehicle, since the return propellant is not carried from Earth. Carbon monoxide and oxygen (CO/O2) and methane and oxygen (CH4/O2) were investigated as in situ propellants for a Mars sample return mission and the results were compared to a baseline study performed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory using terrestrial propellants. Capability for increased sample return mass, use of an alternate launch vehicle, and an additional mini-rover as payload were included. CO/O2 and CH4/O2 were found to decrease the baseline Earth launch mass by 13.6 and 9.2 percent, respectively. This resulted in higher payload mass margins for the baseline Atlas 2AS launch vehicle. CO/O2 had the highest mass margin. And because of this, it was not only possible to increase the sample return mass and carry an additional mini-rover, but was also possible to use the smaller Atlas 2A launch vehicle.
Neutrophil activation as a mechanism of tissue injury.

Abstract CSA is capable of causing granulocyte/granulocyte interactions that lead to clumping, vasoocclusion, and the extension of infarctive damage in patients with coronary artery disease. Employing a new rheologic procedure, laser transillumination of thin vascular beds, one directly observes in vivo granulocyte aggregation in the mesentery of the rat. Nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) were shown to stop granulocyte agglomeration and to limit the extension of experimental myocardial infarcts in the cat. There may be application for NSAIDs for myocardial infarction in humans. NSAIDs block granulocyte aggregation to both a traditional activated complement and a complement activated by cryoglobulins. Patients with severe cryoglobulinemic cutaneous vasculitis who failed on steroids responded to NSAID administration.
Isolation of skeletal muscle cell membrane and some of its properties.

A procedure is described for the isolation of empty tubular cell membrane-like structures from rat skeletal muscle. The procedure resulted in a purification of about 140-fold in terms of protein content per tube. The yield was about 20% in terms of total number of tubes recovered. The purest preparations contained about 65% protein, 15% lipid, and 3% carbohydrate on a dry-weight basis. Most of the lipid was phospholipid which became ether-extractable only on acidification. Most of the protein had the composition of collagen. That the membrane structure itself contained a collagen-like protein is suggested by the fact that the membranes were dissolved by collagenase or dilute acetic acid and showed a critical shrinkage temperature at 57–59°. A preliminary survey of enzyme activities found in the membrane fraction is reported. No evidence was obtained for binding of insulin or d -galactose by the purified membrane fraction.
Nussbaum: Love and Respect

This article details how Martha Nussbaum has heightened the potential tension between love and respect, flagged by Kant, by strengthening what each requires. She elaborates the particularism and disruptiveness of love while insisting on a cosmopolitanism of respect. The article suggests that dealing with this tension will require developing a more detailed theory of institutional justice, one that can extend to the international arena.
Integrating the Care of Multiply Handicapped Children

Dr. Bleck had prepared (at Ronnie Mac Keith's request) this report on the 1977 Durham meeting. Ronnie had for many years organised one large (for him, a large meeting consisted of 80 people) and several small study groups (20 to 30 people) each year. Durham was his last ‘large’ meeting. Having set up the conference, Ronnie regarded himself as one of the participants; he would never make an announcement and he wanted the participants to run their own meeting: he was simply the perfect host.
Buffer stocks and precautionary savings with loss aversion

Abstract This paper reexamines buffer stocks and precautionary savings in the presence of loss aversion. We assume that agents are disappointment averse, as in Gul [Econometrica, 59 (1991) 667–686]. We show that the concavity of the marginal utility continues to determine precautionary saving, but its effect is of a second order magnitude (proportional to the square of the coefficient of variation) compared to the first order effect (proportional to the coefficient of variation) induced by loss aversion. We show that a stabilization fund that is rather small when agents are maximizing the conventional expected utility, turns out to be rather large with loss aversion.
Semiporous Reinforcing Fillers for Composite Resins: I. Preparation of Provisional Glass Formulations

A conceptual means of obtaining improved bonding between filler particles and the polymeric binders of composites is presented. It involves preparing glass particles that separate into two interconnected vitreous phases when heated to an appropriate temperature, and then etching these to produce a porous surface layer. Candidate glass compositions were prepared and subjected to heat treatment in a gradient furnace. Compositions susceptible to phase separations were delineated.
Do symptoms of sluggish cognitive tempo in children with ADHD symptoms represent comorbid internalizing difficulties

Objective: Symptoms of sluggish cognitive tempo (SCT) are correlated with inattention and internalizing difficulties. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether symptoms of SCT refle...
The bifurcation of periodic orbits of one-dimensional maps

The bifurcation of C 1 -continuous families of maps of the interval or circle is studied. It is shown, for example, that period-tripling cannot occur. This yields topological properties of the stratification of C 1 ( I, I ) induced by the Sarkovskii order, and corresponding bifurcation properties.
Electrophysiological properties and morphology of hair cells isolated from the semicircular canal of the frog.

Hair cells isolated from the crista ampullaris of the frog (Rana pipiens) remained viable for up to 5 h and were studied using whole cell voltage- and current clamp recordings. Morphological characteristics of isolated crista hair cells were compared with hair cells studied in situ using light- and electron microscopy. While other labyrinthine hair cells such as mammalian inner and outer hair cells of the cochlea, saccular hair cells of the frog, and cochlear hair cells of the turtle typically have a cylindrical shape, the crista hair cells in the frog are predominantly bulbous, having a thin elongated trunk projecting from a spherical base just large enough to enclose the nucleus. This shape correlates well with the compressed packing configuration of hair cells of the crista ampullaris observed in situ in the histological material. The support cells often failed to separate adjacent hair cells, particularly the apical ends of the hair cells. Maximal cell density on the sensory epithelial ridge appears to be achieved by this arrangement. The mean resting membrane potential (Vz) of isolated crista hair cells was −44.8 mV. Cells with smooth surfaces and apparent opacity had the most negative Vz potentials. As the cells appeared to deteriorate, there was development of transparency and cell surface granulation. Such cells had more positive initial Vz values. Cells with Vz values more positive than −15 mV exhibited a distinct, contoured nucleus. Cells lacking these indicators of deterioration were characterized by input resistances of 1.9 ± 0.31 GΩ and membrane time constants of 13 ± 2.5 ms. A large complex outwardly rectifying current was identified which was abolished by substituting Cs+ for K+ in the internal solution. The outward K+ current had two major components: a fast tetraethylammonium (TEA)-insensitive, voltage dependent I(A)-type current which showed voltage dependent inactivation; and a TEA sensitive current which had characteristics of a calcium dependent IK(Ca)-type current. Transient changes (20 ms duration) in membrane potential mimicking that which could be produced by the transduction current during cilial displacement potently modulated the I(A) current. Depolarizing current pulses of greater than 63800 pA were required to elicit membrane voltage oscillations. The resulting membrane potential offset of at least 40 mV is well beyond the magnitude of hair cell receptor potentials making it unlikely that these oscillations would play a role in enhancing frequency selectivity. The presence of a long membrane time constant, a membrane stabilizing I(A) conductance and a relatively small IK(Ca) conductance explains the difficulty in eliciting oscillations in crista hair cells and may be related to the optimization of sensitivity of the hair cells for detecting cupular movement during angular acceleration.
Retail cutting characteristics for US Choice and US Select beef subprimals

US Choice (Ch) and US Select (Se) beef subprimals from the rib, chuck, plate, loin, and round were obtained to conduct retail cutting tests. Subprimals were merchandised into bone-in or boneless retail cuts and associated components by experienced retail meat merchandisers. These Se subprimals had less (P < 0.05) trimmable fat than their Ch counterparts: ball tip, top sirloin, outside round, inside round, and ribeye. Se inside rounds, outside rounds, eye of rounds, boneless striploins, and ball tips had greater (P < 0.05) purge losses than the same cuts from Ch. The only subprimals where grade impacted total saleable yield were the top (inside) rounds (Ch = 80.13%, Se = 87.34%; P = 0.004) and outside rounds cut into roasts, steaks, and cubed steaks (Ch = 87.61%, Se = 90.28%; P = 0.05). Methods to increase retail yields from beef subprimals should consider minimizing purge and increasing cutting efficiencies in addition to reducing fat trim.
Unfolding dynamics of a β-sheet protein studied by mass spectrometry

The unfolding dynamics of cellular retinoic acid-binding protein I (CRABP I), an 18 kDa predominantly β-sheet protein, were studied by monitoring the hydrogen-deuterium (H-D) exchange reaction under various solution conditions. A bimodal charge state distribution was observed when a denaturing agent was added to the protein aqueous solution. These two populations exhibit different kinetics of H-D exchange, with the high charge state ions undergoing very rapid isotope exchange, while the low charge state protein ions exchange cooperatively but at much slower rates. Transiently populated intermediate states were detected indirectly using hydrogen exchange measurement in aqueous solution at various pHs. At pH 2.5 and room temperature, three distinct populations of CRABP I ions exist over an extended period of time, each corresponding to a specific degree of backbone amide hydrogen atom protection. Mass spectral data are complementary to hydrogen exchange measurements by NMR, since the former samples a much faster time-scale of dynamic events in solution.
Comparison of two methods of joint distraction for arthrodesis of the foot

A study was conducted to compare the efficacy of two methods of obtaining the joint exposure needed to perform arthrodesis or exploration of various joints of the foot. The investigation was performed by means of simulated arthrodesis in a cadaveric model. On each specimen, a single investigator performed standard incisions and dissection as typically performed for surgical arthrodesis of the first metatarsocuneiform, naviculocuneiform, medial intercuneiform, talonavicular, calcaneocuboid, and subtalar joints. Each joint was exposed and distracted once using the Tarsal Joint Distractor (Orthovation LLC, Sealy, Texas) and once using the Inge Laminar Spreader (K-Medic, Northvale, New Jersey). While a given joint was distracted, a calibrated digital photograph of the exposed joint was taken from an angle best representing the surgeon’s view of the articular space. Digital images were analyzed to calculate the maximum distance between articular surfaces and the total area of articular surfaces exposed while d...
The Role of Gravity Waves in Slowly Varying in Time Tropospheric Motions near the Equator

A mathematical theory was recently developed on the relationship between the dominant and gravity wave components of the slowly varying in time solutions (solutions varying on the advective timescale) corresponding to midlatitude mesoscale motions forced by cooling and heating. Here it will be shown that slowly varying in time equatorial motions of any length scale satisfy the same balance between the vertical velocity and heating as in the midlatitude mesoscale case. Thus any equatorial gravity waves that are generated will have the same time- and depth scales and the same size of pressure perturbations as the corresponding dominant component, a horizontal length scale an order of magnitude larger than that of the heat source, and an order of magnitude smaller velocity than the corresponding dominant component. In particular, in the large-scale equatorial case, when the heating has a timescale O(1 day), horizontally propagating gravity waves with a timescale O(1 day) and a length scale O(10 000 km) can be generated. But in the large-scale equatorial case when the heating has a timescale O(10 days), balanced pressure oscillations with a timescale O(10 days) are generated. It is also shown that if a solution of the diabatic system describing equatorial flows (and hence equatorial observational data in the presence of heating) is written in terms of a series of the modes of the linear adiabatic system for those flows, then a major portion of the dominant solution is projected onto gravity wave modes, and this result can explain the confusion over the relative importance of equatorial gravity waves.
New Hα Spectropolarimetry of NGC 4151: The Broad-Line Region-Host Connection

We have performed a careful decomposition of the broad Hα line profile of the bright, nearby Seyfert 1.5 galaxy NGC 4151 into multiple line-of-sight velocity components, in order to understand its polarization structure. Using the Stokes fluxes, Q × F and U × F, we then extracted the polarization properties of each fitted component. Assuming a simple scattering geometry, we can associate several components of the broad-line profile with specific large-scale morphological structures in the host galaxy, such as the radio jet, the central bar, and the dynamical axis. This implies that the broad-line region (BLR) of NGC 4151 is scattered along preferential axes defined by these structures, and suggests the existence of bulk flows along these directions. We propose that NGC 4151 is the result of a merger event. This provides a natural mechanism for coupling the BLR to the host galaxy, for example by streaming of material along the bar from the surrounding regions to the nucleus.