cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Physical and Chemical Characteristics and Volatility of PM in the Proximity of a Light-Duty Vehicle Freeway

Abstract Volatility properties of ultrafine particles were analyzed next to State Route 110 (Pasadena freeway CA), a light-duty vehicle freeway where heavy-duty traffic is prohibited. In addition, mass concentration and chemical composition of particulate matter (PM) were measured in coarse, accumulation, and ultrafine modes. On weekdays from 17 May to 4 June 2004, measurements were performed in two locations, one very close to the freeway (within 2.5 m from the curb) and one at a distance of about 50 m from the freeway. For measurement of mass and chemical composition, the study employed in each location a micro-orifice uniform deposit impactor (MOUDI) and a modified high-volume sampler. Both instruments sampled with the same size cutpoints: a coarse mode from 2.5 to 10 μm, an accumulation mode from 0.18 to 2.5 μm, and an ultrafine mode of particles less than 0.18 μm in aerodynamic diameter. Alternately, a tandem differential mobility analyzer (TDMA) was used at the two sites. A heater between the two DM...
Evaluation of mitoxantrone cardiac toxicity by nuclear angiography and endomyocardial biopsy: an update

Sixty-six patients who underwent endomyocardial biopsy for detection of mitoxantrone (Novantrone®; dihydroxyanthracenedione) cardiac toxicity were evaluated. All but one had breast cancer, 29 had received prior doxorubicin and 29 of the 37 patients who had not had prior doxorubicin received it or another anthracycline subsequently. Endomyocardial biopsy was carried out initially after four courses of chemotherapy with increasing intervals thereafter. Although cardiac ejection fraction was determined before each course of chemotherapy, our data are limited to cardiac ejection fractions from our own institution which were repeated approximately every four courses. Endomyocardial biopsy changes consisting of dilatation of the sarcoplasmic reticulum with vacuole formation, and myofibrillar dropout are similar to the early changes of anthracycline cardiomyopathy.
The Effect of Selected Insecticides on Growth and Egg Production When Administered Continuously in the Feed

Abstract THE toxicity of ingested chlorinated hydrocarbon insecticides to chicks and laying hens has been studied by a number of investigators (Woodward et al., 1944; Rubin et al., 1947; Rosenberg and Adler, 1950; Eden, 1951; Arant, 1952; Sherman and Rosenberg, 1953, 1954; and others). The toxicity of some of the organic phosphate insecticides to poultry has also been investigated (Gaafar and Turk, 1956; Harding and Quigley, 1956; Helbacka et al., 1958; and others). However, most of these investigations were for the purpose of determining the effect of these insecticides on poultry accidentally ingesting contaminated litter, feed, or water. More recently chemicals have been intentionally fed to chickens for the purpose of controlling house fly (Musca domestica L.) larvae infesting poultry manure. Quisenberry et al. (1958) fed Polybor 3 and Trolene (ronnel) in the laying mash of hens and observed the effect on the fly population. They reported that Polybor 3 gave …
The status of complementary and alternative medicine education in U.S. physician assistant programs.

Background: Many Americans use complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). Medical educators have responded by incorporating CAM education into their curricula. Research has reported on the number and types of CAM therapies included in physician assistant (PA) curricula, but information on the purposes, methods, and practice of CAM education is lacking. Purpose: This study was designed to identify the content, methods, purpose, and orientation to CAM education in PA curricula. Methods: An online survey of all accredited physician assistant programs in the United States addressing content, teaching methods, instructor qualifications, and core competencies was administered. Results: Response rate was 68%: 77% of PA programs included CAM education in their curriculum; 93% stated it was required. The median number of CAM therapies included in the curriculum was 10. Reasons for including CAM were increased use by patients (79%), complementary medicine in the medical literature (66%), and faculty interest or ...
Food Habits of Young Spots in Nursery Areas of the Cape Fear River Estuary, North Carolina

Abstract The food of 1,026 young spots Leiostomus xanthurus (9–124 mm standard length) collected from marsh and tidal creek habitats in the Cape Fear River estuary included 53 categories. Nondetrital categories were grouped as microzooplankton, macrozooplankton, benthos, or fish. Microzooplankton and benthos had the highest percent occurrences; benthos made up the greatest volume. Volume of food consumption was greatest during night and in the marsh. Spots change from planktivorous feeders as postlarvae to benthic feeders as juveniles; this transition is a critical period during which spots obtain most of their food in marsh habitats. Marsh habitat is vital to the continued production of spot in many estuarine systems.
Resistance of C3H/HeJ mice to lethal challenge with herpes simplex virus.

SummaryIn vitro replication of herpes simplex virus (HSV) in murine spleen cells requires simultaneous cell stimulation with a B-cell mitogen such as lipopolysaccharide (LPS). As expected, spleen cells of LPS-unresponsive C3H/HeJ mice did not support HSV replication in LPS-pretreated cultures, while spleen cells from closely related but LPS-responsive C3HeB/FeJ did. More importantly, the C3H/HeJ strain was found to be intrinsically resistant to HSV infection in vivo. After intraperitoneal (ip) inoculation, HSV was 50-120 times more virulent for C3HeB/FeJ mice than for the C3H/HeJ strain. This resistance appeared to be due to a failure of HSV to replicate in C3H/HeJ peritoneal cells, since after ip infection with HSV, recovery of virus was higher and more consistent from peritoneal exudate cells of C3HeB/FeJ mice than from C3H/HeJ mice. In addition, no difference in lethality was observed between these two strains after a direct intracerebral inoculation of HSV. This observation that LPS-unresponsive mice ...
Coupling of crystalline colloidal arrays with intrinsically conductive polymers: Reflection-type electrochromic devices

Abstract The attenuation of the reflected light from a polystyrene (PS) polymerized crystalline colloidal array (PCCA) is achieved through the electrochemical switching of the electrochromic material polyaniline-poly(2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonicacid) (PANI-PAMPS). For this purpose, layered electrochromic devices (ECDs) were fabricated that employed a PS PCCA film, acting as both a reflecting substrate and polymeric electrolyte, and the conducting polymer PANI-PAMPS, which served as the electrochromic layer. The resulting ECDs exhibited the attenuation of reflectance peak at the stop band position of the PCCA with a 3% of reflectance contrast ratio.
Irving Fisher and the Contribution of Improved Longevity to Living Standards

It is not widely recognized that conventional measures of national income and output exclude the value of improvements in the health status of the population. The present study discusses the theory of the measurement of national income, proposes a new concept called "health income" that can be used to incorporate improvements in health status, and applies the theory to data for the United States over the 20 th century. It concludes that accounting for improvements in the health status would, over the twentieth century in the United States, make a substantial difference to our measures of economic welfare. *William D. Nordhaus is Sterling Professor of Economics at Yale University. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and is on the research staffs of the Cowles Foundation and of the National Bureau of Economic Research. He serves on the Congressional Budget Office Panel of Economic Experts and is Chair of the Advisory Committee for the Bureau of Economic Analysis. From 1977 to 1979, he was a member of the President's Council of Economic Advisers, and from 1986 to 1988 he served as the Provost of Yale Uni- versity. The present research was supported by the National Science Foundation. The author is grateful for research support of Joseph Boyer and for helpful comments from William Brainard, David Cutler, Angus Deaton, Robert Gordon, and T. N. Srinivasan.
Extracellular superoxide enhances 5-HT induced murine pulmonary artery vasoconstriction

Accumulating evidence suggests that changes in both 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) receptor activity and in the levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) play an important role in regulating pulmonary ar...
A Beam Model for Tire Critical Speeds

Abstract A brief review of tire critical speeds is given using the beam under tension as a physical model. In its most common form, this model visualizes the critical speed as that speed just sufficient to sustain a continuous sinusoidal bending wave in the tire tread band. A number of studies have been published modifying this concept by the introduction of material damping, centrifugal effects, and other characteristics, some of which aid in explaining the fact that the wave pattern observed experimentally is local and decays rapidly away from the contact patch. This paper presents a different view of the wave pattern needed for a critical speed to exist, namely that a naturally occurring local wave can arise independent of material damping and that as a practical fact, material damping may have little to do with the onset of the phenomenon. A discussion on the effect of tire design variables on critical speed is given based on the expressions derived here.
A comparison of children with serious emotional disturbance served in residential and school settings

The National Adolescent and Child Treatment Study (NACTS) was designed to study children identified and served by the public mental health and special education systems as seriously emotionally disturbed. Children (N=812) and their parents (N=740) participated in the first wave of data collection in this longitudinal study. Subjects lived in six states, with approximately half in psychiatric residential treatment centers and the other half in public school special education programs. A multi-method, multi-source methodology was employed. The sample is characterized by externalizing problems, poor adaptive functioning, and substantial academic deficits. Residential children were more likely to have blended families, were more likely to have previously received residential treatment, and had higher rates of conduct disorder, anxiety, and attention deficit disorder, as measured by the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children. The two groups did not differ on intelligence, age of onset, or rates of schizophrenia or depression. The data suggest the presence of greater at-risk factors in the residential group and different paths of entry into special education and residential treatment programs.
Perforation of the colon in high-dose corticosteroid therapy of pemphigus

A patient with rapidly progressive pen-tphigus vulgaris treated for 1 month with massive doses of prednisone died of perforation of the colon. Corticosteroid therapy may predispose to colonic perforation, possibly at sites of diverticula, and signs and symptoms may be masked. A high index of suspicion is required to establish the diagnosis without life-threatening delay.
Hierarchic system of QSAR models (1D–4D) on the base of simplex representation of molecular structure

In this work, a hierarchic system of QSAR models from 1D to 4D is considered on the basis of the simplex representation of molecular structure (SiRMS). The essence of this system is that the QSAR problem is solved sequentially in a series of the improved models of the description of molecular structure. Thus, at each subsequent stage of a hierarchic system, the QSAR problem is not solved ab ovo, but rather the information obtained from the previous step is used. Actually, we deal with a system of solutions defined more exactly. In the SiRMS approach, a molecule is represented as a system of different simplex descriptors (tetratomic fragments with fixed composition, structure, chirality and symmetry). The level of simplex-descriptor detail increases consecutively from 1D to 4D representations of molecular structure. It enables us to determine the fragments of structure that promote or interfere with the given biological activity easily. Molecular design of compounds with a given level of activity is possible on the basis of SiRMS. The efficiency of the method is demonstrated for the example of the analysis of substituted piperazines affinity for the 5-HT1A receptor.
Catalytically active geometry in the reversible circularization of 'mini-monomer' RNAs derived from the complementary strand of tobacco ringspot virus satellite RNA.

Abstract The less abundant polarity of the satellite RNA of tobacco ringspot virus, designated sTobRV(-)RNA, contains a ribozyme and its substrate. We demonstrate that the ribozyme can catalyze the ligation of substrate cleavage products and that oligoribonucleotides, termed 'mini-monomers' and containing little more than covalently attached ribozyme and substrate cleavage products, circularized spontaneously, efficiently and reversibly. The kinetics of ligation and cleavage of one such mini-monomer was consistent with a simple unimolecular reaction at some temperatures. Evidence suggests that the circular ligation product includes a 5 bp stem that is connected to a 4 bp stem by a bulge loop. Reduction of the bulge loop to one nt is expected to place the 4 and 5 bp helices in a nearly coaxial, rather than an angled or parallel, orientation. Such molecules did not circularize in a unimolecular reaction but did when incubated with second, trans-acting oligoribonucleotides that had either the original or a substituted 4 bp helix. These results suggest that a bulge loop that is too small prevents formation of geometry essential for unimolecular ligation. We suggest the term 'paperclip' to represent the arrangement of RNA strands in the region of sTobRV(-)RNA that participates in the cleavage and ligation reactions.
A note on the bonding, optical spectrum and composition of tetrahedrite

Tetrahedrites of composition (Cu, Ag)10(Cu2, Fe, Zn)2(Sb, As)4S13 or Cu12Sb14/3S13 have 208 valence electrons per unit cell and are expected to be semiconductors. The bands are full in these cases, whereas compositions towards the classical formula Cu12Sb4S13 (204 valence electrons per unit cell) have only partially filled bands and are therefore expected to be metallic. These predictions are supported by new optical absorption spectra of tetrahedrites with 205 and 208 valence electrons per unit cell. The gap between valence and conduction bands of the semiconductor is about 1.7 (±0.2) eV. A further prediction based on a nearly-free electron model is that 208 valence electrons per unit cell represent a compositional limit for tetrahedrites, and that the stability increases as compositions approach this limit. Existing data indicate an exponential increase in the number of occurrences as the limit is approached.
Dietary threonine requirement of juvenile hybrid striped bass (Morone chrysops♀×M. saxatilis♂)

Two growth studies were conducted to determine the dietary threonine requirement of reciprocal cross hybrid striped (sunshine) bass. Semipurified diets were prepared with crystalline amino acids and lyophilized fish muscle to supply 350 g crude protein kg−1 diet. The basal diet contained 4.9 g threonine kg−1 from fish muscle, and test diets were supplemented with graded levels of L-threonine. In the first experiment, fish initially averaging ≊ 9.8 g each were fed diets containing threonine levels of 4.9, 7.5, 10.0, 12.5, 15.0 and 17.5 g kg−1 dry diet for 7 weeks. Weight gain, feed efficiency and protein efficiency ratio (PER) were significantly (P < 0.01) influenced by dietary threonine level. Based on weight-gain responses, a threonine requirement (± SE) of 8.4 (± 0.8) g kg−1 dry diet was determined, and dietary threonine levels of 10.0 g kg−1 diet or greater resulted in the highest levels of free threonine in plasma. Based on the results of the first experiment, a second feeding trial was conducted with diets containing threonine levels of 4.9, 6.5, 8.0, 9.5, 11.0 and 12.5 g kg−1 dry diet. Fish initially averaging ≊ 3.0 g each were fed each diet for 8 weeks. Weight gain, feed efficiency and PER values of fish were markedly improved, with increases in dietary threonine up to 8.0 g kg−1 dry diet. Regression analysis of weight gain, feed efficiency and PER data using the broken-line model resulted in threonine requirement estimates of 9.7, 8.5 and 8.6 g kg−1 dry diet, respectively. Based on these data, the threonine requirement of juvenile sunshine bass was determined to be ≊ 9.0 g kg−1 dry diet or 26 g kg−1 of dietary protein.
The influence of parasitic water mites on the instantaneous death rate of their hosts

The effect of 2 species of water mites on the instantaneous death rate of their hosts was measured on the basis of laboratory experiments. In both parasite-host association — the parasitic water mite Hydryphantes tenuabilis on the aquatic insect host Hydrometra australis and the parasitic water mite Arrenurus pseudotenuicollis on the mosquito Anopheles crucians — the effect of mite load on the instantaneous death rate of the host appeared to be linear. Also, the impact of a single parasite on the host's death rate was apparently related to the ratio of parasite to host body weight. The results of this study are in general agreement with recent theoretical investigations of the regulation of host populations by parasites.
Growth and Bone Development in Channel Catfish Fed 17-α-Methyltestosterone in Production Ponds

Effects of feeding 17-α-methyltestosterone (MT) to channel catfish (Icralurus punctatus) grown to harvestable size in earthen ponds were examined. Channel catfish fingerlings (mean weight, 14.4 g), stocked in 0.04 ha ponds (7,410 fish/ha) were fed diets containing MT at concentrations of 0, 2.5, and 10 mg/kg for 123 days. Weight gain by fish fed the control diet (0 MT) was higher (P < 0.05) than that of fish fed the treated diets. Increasing the dietary concentration of MT reduced weight gain further (P < 0.05). Both male and female fish fed MT had enlarged and thickened heads, and their skins were dark. Their dorsal and pectoral spines were short and the tips, which are normally very sharp, were soft and blunt. Weight of the rib bones per unit of length decreased (P < 0.05) as MT was added to the diet. Breaking strength of the ribs (force required to break the bone at its midpoint) measured by an Instron shear press, was less (P < 0.05) for fish fed MT than for control fish. The ratio of calcium to phosphorus in bones was lower (P < 0.05) in fish fed MT. These results indicate that feeding MT at these doses (2.5 mg/kg or above) to channel catfish suppresses growth rate and reduces size and strength of bones.
Removal of Heavy Metal Ions from Aqueous Solutions Using Lignocellulosic Fibers

Abstract Spruce, coconut coir, sugarcane bagasse, kenaf bast, kenaf core, and cotton were tested for their ability to remove copper, nickel and zinc ions from aqueous solutions as a function of their lignin content. The fibers were analyzed for sugar and lignin content and extracted with di-ethyl ether, ethyl alcohol, hot water, or 1% sodium hydroxide. The order of lignin content in un-extracted fibers is coconut coir > spruce > kenaf core > bagasse > kenaf bast > cotton. The fiber with the highest level of heavy metal removal was kenaf bast that had a very low level of lignin, showing that removal of heavy metals does not correlate with lignin content. Cotton, with about 1% lignin, was very low in metal ion sorption while all of the fibers containing lignin did remove heavy metal ions showing that lignin does play a role in metal ion sorption. Extraction with the various solvents removed different cell wall components and did change heavy metal sorption that indicates that cell wall chemistry and archite...
Regulation of cardiomyocyte apoptosis by redox-sensitive transcription factors.

Abstract Reperfusion of ischemic myocardium results in apoptotic cell death and DNA fragmentation. Several transcription factors are known to regulate the apoptotic cell death. This study sought to examine the regulation of cardiomyocyte apoptosis by these transcription factors. Isolated working rat hearts were divided into six groups: control, 15 min ischemia, 60 min ischemia, 15 min ischemia followed by 2 h reperfusion, ischemic stress adaptation by subjecting the hearts to four cyclic episodes to 5 min ischemia, each followed by 10 min of reperfusion, and adaptation followed by 15 min ischemia and 2 h reperfusion. Redox-regulated transcription factors, NFκB and AP-1 and the expression of two anti- and pro-apoptotic genes, Bcl-2 and p53 were determined. The results demonstrated NFκB and AP-1 progressively and steadily increased as a function of the duration of ischemia. In the adapted heart, NFκB binding remained high while AP-1 binding was lowered to almost baseline value. The anti-oxidant gene, Bcl-2 was downregulated in the ischemic/reperfused heart, but upregulated in the preconditioned myocardium. Significant induction of the expression of p53 occurred after ischemia and reperfusion. Apoptotic cells were barely detected in the adapted myocardium which was subjected to the same ischemia/reperfusion protocol. The results demonstrate for the first time differential regulation of cardiomyocyte apoptosis by pro- and anti-apoptotic transcription factors and genes as a function of different durations of ischemia and reperfusion.
A study on functionally graded HA coatings processed using ion beam assisted deposition with in situ heat treatment

Abstract A new generation of calcium phosphate coatings with less than 1 μm thickness and graded crystallinity through the thickness of the film has been processed using ion beam assisted deposition (IBAD) and in situ heat treatment. Microstructural analysis of the film confirmed a gradual decrease of the grain size and crystallinity towards the surface, leading to nano-scale grains and eventually amorphous layer at the surface. The mechanical properties and adhesion bonding of the film have been evaluated using microscratch and nanoindentation tests and, in general, functionally graded HA films deposited using our IBAD system together with in situ heat treatment demonstrated higher modulus and hardness values than sputter-deposited films with the same thickness as well as those appearing in the literature for sintered HA. Scratch test results of both sets of samples revealed that crack formation is more common in sputter-deposited HA film than in the functionally graded HA film deposited using IBAD and in situ heat treatment. We anticipate that the functionally graded hydroxyapatite films will provide improved tissue–implant interfaces for orthopedic and dental implants.
An apology for the “New Atheism”

In recent years, a series of bestselling atheist manifestos by Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins, and Christopher Hitchens has thrust the topic of the rationality of religion into the public discourse. Christian moderates of an intellectual bent and even some agnostics and atheists have taken umbrage and lashed back. In this paper I defend the New Atheists against three common charges: that their critiques of religion commit basic logical fallacies (such as straw man, false dichotomy, or hasty generalization), that their own atheism is just as “faith-based” as the religious beliefs they criticize, and that their expressed disrespect for religious belief is immoral.
Order – parameter profiles in ferroic phase transitions

Abstract In a ferroic phase transition, the group – subgroup relationships and irreducible representations involved can be used to predict the number and characteristics of individual homogeneous domains that arise in the transition. These characteristics can be extended to twin structures and their diperiodic symmetry classification. In the continuum approximation, this grouptheoretical approach allows the construction of the Landau – Ginzburg free energy, from which equations describing the order-parameter profiles can be obtained. Some details of these profiles will be discussed, including how they relate to terms in the free energy. Lead orthovanadate, Pb3(VO4)2, will be the prototype for the discussion.
High-Speed Civil Transport Design Space Exploration Using Aerodynamic Response Surface Approximations

A method has been developed to generate and use polynomial approximations to the range and cruise drag components in a highly constrained, multidisciplinary design optimization of a high-speed civil transport (HSCT) cone guration. The method improves optimization performance by eliminating the numerical noise present in the analyses through the use of response surface methodology. In this implementation quadratic polynomials are e t within variable bounds to data gathered from a series of numerical analyses of different aircraft designs. Because the HSCT optimization process contains noise and suffers from a nonconvex design space even when noise is e ltered out, multiple optimization runs are performed from different starting points with and without the response surface models in order to evaluate both their effectiveness as surrogate functions and as a design exploration tool. The alternative method used is variable complexity modeling (VCM). It is shown that response surface methodology facilitates design space exploration, allowing improvements in terms of both convergence performance and computational effort when multiple starting points are required, although using VCM usually produces better e nal designs.
Signaling Participation Through Relational Communication A Test of the Leader Interpersonal Influence Model

This study tests four hypotheses derived from the Leader Interpersonal Influence Model, which examines leaders' ability to adapt communicator styles that enhance problem-solv ing effectiveness in small groups. University students participated as leaders in problem- solving groups made up of confederates. The findings indicate that the two primary dimensions of leaders' communicator style are dominance and supportiveness. Addition ally, the results show that effective leaders displayed a wider repertoire of communicator styles than ineffective leaders. Also, within an experimental situation that demands strong direction, dominance was highly correlated with effectiveness for directive leaders, and both dominance and supportiveness were highly correlated with effective ness for participative leaders. Lastly, the findings reveal that leaders' relational com munication must exceed a minimal threshold before obtaining desired responses from group members. Implications for management are outlined and suggestion...
Distribution of DSM-II diagnoses in a child psychiatric setting

While DSM-II contains more diagnostic categories related specifically to children than did the earlier DSM-I, clinical utilization studies of the various categories have not been extensive. The present study reports data on the distribution of diagnoses of childhood disorders and analyzes relationships among several diagnostic categories and subject variables. Results indicate that clinicians are using a wide range of DSM-II diagnoses for childhood disorders, including some which were intended for use with adults as well as those which were designed specifically for children. Transient Situational Disorders and Behavior Disorders are assigned almost equally to two-thirds of the sample. Chi-square analyses revealed a relationship between diagnostic categories and subject variables of age and sex. These data suggest that boys, particularly between the ages of 6 and 13, are more frequently than girls categorized as Behavior Disorder, and that the Transient Situational Disorder category is overutilized for adolescents, both male and female.
Effects of early experience on female behavioural and reproductive development in rhesus macaques.

A growing body of research on humans suggests that exposure to a stressful family environment or father absence from home during childhood is associated with early female puberty and greater interest in infants among adolescent girls. This effect may be mediated by early exposure to harsh and inconsistent maternal care, but the mechanisms by which maternal care affects female reproductive maturation are not known. The present study reports sex differences in interest in infants among juvenile rhesus macaques similar to those observed in human adolescents. Furthermore, juvenile females that were exposed to harsh and inconsistent maternal care in infancy showed higher interest in infants than controls. Evidence from cross-fostered females indicated that these effects resulted from early experience and not genetic inheritance from the mother. There were no significant differences in female age at first conception in relation to the quality of maternal care received during infancy. Macaque females exposed to harsh and inconsistent maternal care in infancy tended to have higher cortisol responses to stress and to corticotropin-releasing hormone than controls in the first three years of life. Furthermore, females with higher cortisol responses to stress exhibited higher interest in infants. These findings suggest that some of the effects of early parental care on female reproductive maturation may be mediated by developmental changes in the activity of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis.
Persistent Dysregulation of IgA Production and IgA Nephropathy in the B6C3F1 Mouse Following Withdrawal of Dietary Vomitoxin (Deoxynivalenol)

To assess whether vomitoxin-induced dysregulation of IgA production and IgA nephropathy are reversible, relevant immunologic parameters were compared among experimental groups of B6C3F1 mice that were fed: (1) 25 ppm vomitoxin in AIN-76A semipurified diet for 24 weeks (treatment group), (2) 25 ppm vomitoxin for 8 weeks and then control diet for 16 weeks (withdrawal group), and (3) control diet for 24 weeks (control group). Levels of serum IgA and microhematuria index in the treatment group were elevated after 4 to 8 weeks and continued to increase with further vomitoxin exposure. IgA immune complexes and mesangial IgA deposition, as quantitated by interactive laser cytometer image analysis, were also increased with toxin exposure at Weeks 8, 16, and 24, whereas IgM, IgG, and complement component C3 deposition were unaffected or depressed. Serum IgA, microhematuria index, and mesangial IgA deposition in withdrawal mice remained elevated over those of the controls at Weeks 16 and 24 but were less than those of the treatment group. Cell recovery from Peyer's patches (PP) as well as the percentages of IgA+ and CD4+ cells in PP and spleen at Weeks 16 and 24 were greater in treatment mice than in controls, but only the percentage of IgA+ cells in PP was elevated in the withdrawal mice at these the same time points. When IgA secretion by unstimulated and LPS-stimulated splenic lymphocytes was used as the measure of systemic production, it was elevated in both treatment and withdrawal mice at Weeks 16 and 24. The results indicated that experimental dysregulation of IgA production and IgA nephropathy persisted up to 4 months after a discrete period of dietary vomitoxin exposure, but that the severity of these effects did not increase in a progressive fashion.
Lessons learnt from the snow emergency management of winter season 2008–2009 in Piemonte

Abstract. The winter season 2008–2009 has been characterized by heavy snowfalls over the western Alps. The snowfalls have been exceptional because of their earliness, persistence, intensity and territorial spread. The impact on the regional environment and territory has been relevant, also from the economical point of view, as well as the effort of the people involved in the forecasting, prevention and fighting actions. The environmental induced effects have been shown until late spring. Several snowfall events affected also the plains and the main towns, causing social impacts. The purpose of this work is to describe the overall effects of the anomalous snowfalls and the emergency response by the local government and institutions to face the hazard scenario and mitigate the risk for people, properties and environment. Arpa Piemonte (Regional Agency for Environmental Protection) gave the technical support to the snow emergency management borrowing the expertise acquired during the heavy hydrological events occurred in the Piemonte region and contributing to minimize losses. A short list of recommendations came out from the experience, as well as the technical tools and products, all highlighting the emergency preparedness relevance.
MOCSYN: multiobjective core-based single-chip system synthesis

In this paper we present a system synthesis algorithm, called MOCSYN, which partitions and schedules embedded system specifications to intellectual property cores in an integrated circuit. Given a system specification consisting of multiple periodic task graphs as well as a database of core and integrated circuit characteristics, MOCSYN synthesizes real-time heterogeneous single-chip hardware software architectures using an adaptive multiobjective genetic algorithm that is designed to escape local minima. The use of multiobjective optimization allows a single system synthesis run to produce multiple designs which trade off different architectural features. Integrated circuit price, power consumption, and area are optimized under hard real-time constraints. MOCSYN differs from previous work by considering problems unique to single-chip systems. It solves the problem of providing clock signals to cores composing a system-on-a-chip. It produces a bus structure which balances ease of layout with the reduction of bus contention. In addition, it carries out floorplan block placement within its inner loop allowing accurate estimation of global communication delays and power consumption.
Asymmetry and Symmetry in the Beauty of Human Faces

The emphasis in the published literature has mostly been on symmetry as the critical source for beauty judgment. In fact, both symmetry and asymmetry serve as highly aesthetic sources of beauty, whether the context is perceptual or conceptual. The human brain is characterized by symbolic cognition and this type of cognition facilitates a range of aesthetic reactions. For example, both art and natural scenery contain asymmetrical elements, which nevertheless render the whole effect beautiful. A further good case in point is, in fact, human faces. Normally, faces are structurally left-right symmetrical content-wise but not size-wise or function-wise. Attractiveness has often been discussed in terms of content-wise full-face symmetry. To test whether or not attractiveness can be gleaned only from the presence of left-right full-faces we tested half faces. Three separate groups of participants viewed and rated the attractiveness of 56 full-faces (women’s and men’s), their 56 vertical left hemi-faces and 56 vertical right hemi-faces. We found no statistically significant differences in the attractiveness ratings of full- and hemi-faces (whether left or right). Instead, we found a strong and significant positive correlation between the ratings of the hemi- and full-faces. These results are consistent with the view that the underpinning of human facial beauty is complex and that bilateral symmetry does not constitute a principle factor in beauty assessment. We discuss that the highly evolved human brain, compared to other animals, as well as symbolic and abstract cognition in humans enable a wide variety of aesthetic reactions.
Characteristics of Estradiol-Binding Macromolecules in Fetal and Adult Guinea Pig Brain Cytosols

Estradiol-binding characteristics of brain and plasma were studied in fetal guinea pigs and of brain, pituitary and plasma in adult female guinea pigs. Results offl Vitro binding experiments with H-estradiol indicate that cytosol prepared from the adult brain contains at least two popula- tions of estradiol-binding macromolecules. One is concentrated within cytosol from pooled hypo- thalamus-preoptic area-amygdala (HPA) and seems to resemble the soluble estradiol "receptor" found in corresponding regions of the rat brain, in terms of its affinity for estradiol, ability to bind RU2858 (a synthetic steroidal estrogen) and behavior on sucrose density gradients. The second population of estradiol-binding macromolecules was observed in cerebral cortex (CTX) as well as HPA cytosols, and can be distinguished from the first by its lower affinity for estradiol and its apparent lack of affinity for RU2858. Pituitary cytosol seems to contain only the higher affinity estradiol-binding molecules. Intravenously injected H-estradiol was concentrated in nuclear frac- tions of HPA and pituitary but not to an appreciable extent in CTX nuclear fractions, indicating that the lower affinity soluble binding material is not transferred to the cell nucleus in vivo. In vitro estradiol-binding properties of fetal guinea pig brain cytosol are qualitatively similar to those of adult brain cytosol, but the concentration of the lower affinity binding sites seems to be higher in the fetus. Both adult and fetal plasmas contain macromolecules that bind H-estradiol in vitro, forming complexes that migrate to the ".�4S region of sucrose density gradients. These plasma bind- ing sites, unlike those of brain and pituitary cytosol, do not seem to be saturated by 1#{128}16M un- labeled estradiol, and they presumably represent serum albumin. it therefore seems unlikely that a fetal-specific estradiol-binding protein, comparable to rat alphafetoprotein, is present in fetal guinea pig brain or plasma, and the problem of how fetal guinea pig tissues might be protected against circulating endogenous estrogens remains unresolved.
Regression of pathologic changes induced by the long-term administration of contraceptive steroids to rodents

The induction of pathologic changes with hormone steroids has been studied in rodents, although comprehensive studies are lacking on the potential reversibility of these lesions. For these purposes, groups of rats were treated with quingestanol acetate and quinestrol, a progestogen-estrogen combination, for 50 weeks and observed for a subsequent 30-week period. Treatment resulted in a significant body weight gain suppression and reduction of food consumption which recovered after withdrawal. Other significant treatment-related effects were hair loss, ataxia due to pituitary enlargement, mammary chain masses with histologic adenocarcinoma, lens opacities, ovarian atrophy with follicular arrest, and uterine atrophic changes with suppurative inflammation throughout 50 weeks. Cessation of treatment did not effect hair loss or lens opacities, while mammary chain masses decreased in size and in incidence; mammary gland tumors showed regressive changes including the disappearance of adenocarcinoma, and the incidence of ataxia diminished together with reduced pituitary weights. Chromophobe cell hyperplasia with decreased eosinophils and acidophils and hemorrhage into the pituitary was observed up to 50 weeks and the tinctorial affinity of basophils and acidophils returned after withdrawal. Ovaries and uteri, which become atrophic and sustained chronic suppurative inflammation in the treatment phase, showed reduction of inflammatory reaction and disappearance of suppuration after withdrawal, and endometrial regeneration occurred with luteal cells seen in the ovaries. These results revealed the regressive characteristics of some of the mammary gland carcinomas as well as steroid-induced endocrine and pathologic lesions other than tegumentary and ocular changes in rats receiving high levels of steroids for prolonged periods of time.
Personality tests at the crossroads: A response to Morgeson, Campion, Dipboye, Hollenbeck, Murphy, and Schmitt (2007).

Despite widespread and growing acceptance that published personality tests are valid predictors of job performance, Morgeson et al. (2007) propose they be abandoned in personnel selection because average validity estimates are low. Our review of the literature shows that Morgeson et al.'s skepticism is unfounded. Meta-analyses have demonstrated that published personality tests, in fact, yield useful validity estimates when validation is based on confirmatory research using job analysis and taking into account the bidirectionality of trait–performance linkages. Further gains are likely by use of narrow over broad measures, multivariate prediction, and theory attuned to the complexities of trait expression and evaluation at work. Morgeson et al. also suggest that faking has little, if any, impact on personality test validity and that it may even contribute positively to job performance. Job applicant research suggests that faking under true hiring conditions attenuates personality test validity but that validity is still sufficiently strong to warrant personality test use in hiring. Contrary to Morgeson et al., we argue that the full value of published personality tests in organizations has yet to be realized, calling for programmatic theory-driven research.
The Role of State Policy in Renewable Energy Development

State policies can support renewable energy development by driving markets, providing certainty in the investment market, and incorporating the external benefits of the technologies into cost/benefit calculations. Using statistical analyses and policy design best practices, this paper quantifies the impact of state-level policies on renewable energy development in order to better understand the role of policy on development and inform policy makers on the policy mechanisms that provide maximum benefit. The results include the identification of connections between state policies and renewable energy development, as well as a discussion placing state policy efforts in context with other factors that influence the development of renewable energy (e.g. federal policy, resource availability, technology cost, public acceptance).
ATP-Binding Cassette Transporter 1 Participates in LDL Oxidation by Artery Wall Cells

Objective— We have previously reported that products of the lipoxygenase pathway, hydroperoxyoctadecadienoic acid and hydroperoxyeicosatetraenoic acid, as well as cholesterol linoleate hydroperoxides, collectively termed seeding molecules, are removed by apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I) from the artery wall cells and render low density lipoprotein (LDL) resistant to oxidation by human artery wall cells. The mechanisms by which oxidized lipids are transported and/or transferred to lipoproteins and the pathways by which apoA-I facilitates their removal remain unclear. ATP-binding cassette transporter 1 (ABCA1) is known to facilitate the release of cellular phospholipids and cholesterol from the plasma membrane to apoA-I and high density lipoprotein. Therefore, we evaluated whether ABCA1 participates in LDL oxidation. Methods and Results— In this report, we show that (1) chemical inhibitors of ABCA1 function, glyburide and DIDS, block artery wall cell–mediated oxidative modification of LDL, (2) inhibition of ABCA...
PS1-25: The Impact of HPV Vaccination Upon Optimal Cervical Cancer Screening Strategies

Background/Aims The availability of human papillomavirus (HPV) testing and vaccination raises questions regarding the cost-effectiveness of current cervical cancer screening recommendations. The United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) strongly recommends screening for cervical cancer in women who have been sexually active and have a cervix (A Recommendation). The USPSTF found good evidence from that screening with cervical cytology (Pap smears) reduces incidence of and mortality from cervical cancer. The USPSTF has made no recommendations regarding the use of a human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine while the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommends routine vaccination of all females aged 11–12. Direct evidence regarding the impact of the HPV vaccine and the optimal strategy for cervical screening is limited.
A Stochastic, Psychometric Valuation Model for Personnel Selection Systems*

This paper describes a method for the valuation of personnel selection systems that is based on contributions from accounting, utility theory, psychometric techniques, Markov processes, labor economics, and present-value analysis. The model developed here can be used by managers to assess the usefulness of proposed selection procedures. It extends previous work in the area by including both the stochastic nature of the employment process and the time value of the associated costs and benefits.
THE REASSURANCE FACTOR IN POLICE PATROL

In addition to its more obvious functions, police patrol also has the function of citizen reassurance-providing feelings of safety that a citizen experiences when he knows that a police officer or patrol car is nearby. Since this function is highly related to both visibility and awareness, it is svggested that in locations of both cognitive centrality and high density, fixed posts be established that would both serve the reassurance function and provide another communication link between the police and the public. Recent studies by Milgram. Sommer, Hall, and Lynch have all contributed to our understanding of what Milgram calls “the congnitive map of the city,” and this concept can be utilized in the pursuit of safety.
Reactions of transition-metal η1-propargyl complexes with sulfur dioxide and sulfur trioxide: transition-metal–carbon bond cleaving reactions of the cycloadducts which yield 1,2-oxathiole-2-oxides and -2,2-dioxides

Abstract The preparation of several cyclopentadienyl iron dicarbonyl and triphenylphosphine manganese tetracarbonyl η1-2-alkynyl complexes are reported. The [3+2] cycloaddition reactions of these complexes with sulfur dioxide and sulfur trioxide yielded transition-metal substituted 1,2-oxathiolene-2-oxides and 1,2-oxathiolene-2,2-dioxides, respectively. One of the η1-propargyl complex SO3 cycloadducts has been characterized by X-ray crystallography. The transition metal can subsequently be cleaved from the oxathiole-oxide and dioxide containing complexes to produce a variety of new sulfur containing heterocycles.
Fine-tuning of secondary arbor development: the effects of the ecdysone receptor on the adult neuronal lineages of the Drosophila thoracic CNS

The adult central nervous system (CNS) of Drosophila is largely composed of relatively homogenous neuronal classes born during larval life. These adult-specific neuron lineages send out initial projections and then arrest development until metamorphosis, when intense sprouting occurs to establish the massive synaptic connections necessary for the behavior and function of the adult fly. In this study, we identified and characterized specific lineages in the adult CNS and described their secondary branch patterns. Because prior studies show that the outgrowth of incumbent remodeling neurons in the CNS is highly dependent on the ecdysone pathway, we investigated the role of ecdysone in the development of the adult-specific neuronal lineages using a dominant-negative construct of the ecdysone receptor (EcR-DN). When EcR-DN was expressed in clones of the adult-specific lineages, neuroblasts persisted longer, but we saw no alteration in the initial projections of the lineages. Defects were observed in secondary arbors of adult neurons, including clumping and cohesion of fine branches, misrouting, smaller arbors and some defasciculation. The defects varied across the multiple neuron lineages in both appearance and severity. These results indicate that the ecdysone receptor complex influences the fine-tuning of connectivity between neuronal circuits, in conjunction with other factors driving outgrowth and synaptic partnering.