cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Premedication prior to PEG-asparaginase is cost-effective in pediatric patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Background PEG-asparaginase is critical in pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) therapy but is highly immunogenic. Severe allergic reactions lead to substitution of further PEG-asparaginase with Erwinia. Erwinia is associated with more frequent dosing, increased expense, and limited availability. Premedication may reduce rates of allergic reactions. Procedures This Markov model evaluated the cost-effectiveness of three strategies: premedication plus therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM), TDM alone, and no premedication or TDM. We modeled two scenarios: a standard-risk (SR) B-ALL patient receiving two asparaginase doses and a high-risk (HR) patient receiving seven asparaginase doses. The model incorporated costs of asparaginase, premedication, TDM and clinic visits, and lost parental wages associated with each additional Erwinia dose. We incorporated a five-year time horizon with a societal perspective. Outcomes were Erwinia substitutions avoided and differences in quality-adjusted life years (QALYs). Probabilistic and one-way sensitivity analyses evaluated model uncertainty. Results In both scenarios, premedication was the least costly strategy. In SR and HR scenarios, premedication with monitoring resulted in 8% and 7% fewer changes to Erwinia compared with monitoring alone and 3% and 2% fewer changes compared with no premedication/monitoring, respectively. Premedication resulted in the most QALYs gained in the SR patients. Individual variation of model inputs did not change premedication/monitoring favorability for either scenario. In probabilistic sensitivity analyses, premedication/monitoring was favored in >87% of iterations in both scenarios. Conclusion Compared with other strategies, premedication use and asparaginase level monitoring in children with B-ALL is potentially cost-saving.
Monetary policy decision-making by committee: Why, when and how it can work

Abstract This paper updates and extends existing surveys on the economics of monetary policy decision-making by committee. The paper bridges the relevant literature on monetary policy decision-making and central bank communication, and it combines theoretical contributions with an empirically oriented practitioner’s view. Drawing on studies from the last two decades, the paper recaps the arguments for monetary policy-making by committee, highlights its trade-offs and considers remedies for the downsides of this form of decision-making, with a focus on transparency and communication. The paper applies these insights to a case study of the European Central Bank’s present decision-making environment. It puts a spotlight on recent phenomena such as dissent and non-consensual decision-taking which are less well captured by the literature on the euro area so far. The paper closes by identifying key priorities for a research agenda on the design and process of monetary policy-making in the euro area.
Culture, Agency Costs, and Governance: International Evidence on Capital Structure

We examine the impact of two defining social characteristics (individualism and risk aversion) and their interaction with governance and firm agency problems on capital structure in the G20 countries. With a sample of roughly 13,000 firms from 1995 to 2009, we show that higher levels of individualism are associated with increased firm use of debt and lower cost of capital, whereas higher risk aversion has the opposite effects. All else equal, better firm-level governance substantially reduces these cultural effects, as does larger firm size, and less research-intensity at the firm. To address endogeneity concerns, we use a propensity score matching procedure and show that our results continue to hold. Our results are also robust to alternative measures of culture, firm-level governance and agency costs, debt cost of capital, bankruptcy risk, identification concerns, and other country level effects.
Am I an All-American Girl? An Autocritography of Ethnicity, Gender, and Acculturation via Margaret Cho’s All-American Girl (1994–1995)

All-American Girl (AAG) premiered on ABC in 1994. The show fictionalized Margaret Cho’s popular stand-up routines that mocked intergenerational cultural conflicts and was the first sitcom to feature an all-Asian cast. The show was pulled after 19 episodes, and many scholars have critiqued the show’s representation of Korean-Americans and Asian-Americans in the years since, but few have investigated the show as a first-generation American narrative. Using this lens, this autocritography demonstrates (1) how AAG normalized the intergenerational relationships between women at different stages of acculturation, (2) the insights AAG—and by extension, Cho—offered regarding the American family on television compared to contemporary programing, and (3) how my experiences as a first-generation American woman led me to a nuanced reading of the program.
Enhanced Dependence of Fetal Mouse Neurons on Trophic Factors after Taxol Exposure in Organotypic Cultures

The factors that lead to selective degeneration of specific types of neurons in many neurological disorders to the embryonic and mature organism are unknown. Appel (1981) has suggested that degenerative disorders such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Parkinson’s disease, and Alzheimer’s disease may all result from the “lack of a neurotrophic hormone which is elaborated or stored in the synaptic target of the affected neurons and exerts a specific effect by acting in a retrograde fashion. These neurotrophic hormones would be of vital importance to survival of neurons during development, to their sprouting during regeneration, and to their maintenance throughout the life cycle” (see also reviews in Varon and Bunge, 1978; Thoenen and Barde, 1980). Removal of a limb during embryonic development enhances the extent of “programmed” motoneuron death (Hamburger, 1975; Prestige and Wilson, 1974; Oppenheim et al., 1978; Lamb, 1981), whereas addition of supernumerary limbs increases motoneuron survival (Hollyday and Hamburger, 1976). Tissue-culture analyses have provided further evidence of specific neurotrophic factors derived from target tissues that enhance survival, neurite extension, and neurotransmitter-synthetic enzymes in presynaptic neurons, e.g., skeletal-muscle factors on cultured ventral spinal cord cholinergic neurons (Giller et al., 1973, 1977; Bennett et al., 1980; Smith and Appel, 1981, 1982, 1983; Appel, 1981), striatal factors on cultured substantia nigra dopaminergic neurons (Hemmendinger et al., 1981 Prochiantz et al., 1971; Appel, 1981), hippocampal factors on cultured septal cholinergic neutrons (Appel, 1981). And tectal factors on cultured retinal ganglion cells (Nurcombe and Bennett, 1981; Smallheiser et al., McCaffery et al., 1982) (see also Chapter 16 and 17). On the basis of these developmental studies in situ and in vitro, Appel (1981) suggested that “the primary manifestation of ALS, Parkinson disease and Alzheimer disease may be failure of the target tissue to supply the necessary [specific] neurotrophic hormone” to the presynaptic ventral-horn motoneurons, substantia nigra cells, and septal cells, respectively, resulting in selective degeneration of these neurons.
Cytokine induced synthesis of nitric oxide from L-arginine: a cytotoxic mechanism that targets intracellular iron

A cytokine inducible high output nitric oxide synthase was recently identified. It is induced by cytokines in macrophages as well as in nonmacrophage cell types. It is a product of the cell-mediated immune response and probably has multiple functional roles. Current experimental results suggest that cytokine induced synthesis of nitric oxide from L-arginine has a role in the defense of the intracellular environment against intracellular microbes. Nitrosylation of intracellular iron, particularly nonheme iron, appears to be a major biochemical fate of nitric oxide synthesized by the cytokine inducible nitric oxide synthase. This results in inhibition of redox enzymes that have nonheme iron essential for catalytic activity. Because nitric oxide is paramagnetic (has an unpaired electron) it can readily react with dioxygen and the superoxide anion to yield toxic products. As a result, the balance between beneficial and deleterious redox reactions involving nitric oxide must be tightly regulated by currently unidentified mechanisms.
The strain energy density function

Failure prediction deals with the forecast of conditions involving material damage that tends to decrease the capability of structural members to support load. With the added influence of moisture and temperature, the situation becomes more complicated because their interaction with mechanical stresses must also be considered. This concern arises since almost all materials will degrade to some extent when undergoing diffusion and/or mechanical deformation. The idea that material damage alters the apparent behavior of solids has been widely appreciated by those working in the areas of material characterization and structure design. The rate of damage should preferably be controlled and sufficiently slow to allow a useful lifetime of the component.
Pneumosinus dilitans and meningioma: a case series and review of the literature

Pneumosinus dilitans (PSD) is enlargement of the sinuses of the skull base and is frequently seen with meningiomas. Identifying PSD on imaging can assist with operative planning and preparation. Meningiomas associated with PSD are not more commonly high grade, and complete resection is frequently possible.
Chapter 10 Forecasting with Many Predictors

Abstract Historically, time series forecasts of economic variables have used only a handful of predictor variables, while forecasts based on a large number of predictors have been the province of judgmental forecasts and large structural econometric models. The past decade, however, has seen considerable progress in the development of time series forecasting methods that exploit many predictors, and this chapter surveys these methods. The first group of methods considered is forecast combination (forecast pooling), in which a single forecast is produced from a panel of many forecasts. The second group of methods is based on dynamic factor models, in which the comovements among a large number of economic variables are treated as arising from a small number of unobserved sources, or factors. In a dynamic factor model, estimates of the factors (which become increasingly precise as the number of series increases) can be used to forecast individual economic variables. The third group of methods is Bayesian model averaging, in which the forecasts from very many models, which differ in their constituent variables, are averaged based on the posterior probability assigned to each model. The chapter also discusses empirical Bayes methods, in which the hyperparameters of the priors are estimated. An empirical illustration applies these different methods to the problem of forecasting the growth rate of the U.S. index of industrial production with 130 predictor variables.
Power supply rejection for common-source linear RF amplifiers: theory and measurements

This paper describes an estimation of the distortion products that arise from power supply noise mixing with the RF signal in a common-source amplifier configuration. Classical Volterra-series system analysis is extended to use on a multiple-input system and the second order supply ripple sidebands are predicted relative to the magnitudes of the input signal and supply ripple. The analysis is shown to be in good agreement with BSIM3v3 simulation and lab measurements in 180nm CMOS: ripple sidebands match within 1-2dBc for a wide range of output power.
Equity Returns at the Turn of the Month

The turn-of-the-month effect in U.S. equities is found to be so powerful in the 1926–2005 period that, on average, investors received no reward for bearing market risk except at turns of the month. The effect is not confined to small-capitalization or low-price stocks, to calendar year-ends or quarter-ends, or to the United States: This study finds that it occurs in 31 of the 35 countries examined. Furthermore, it is not caused by month-end buying pressure as measured by trading volume or net flows to equity funds. This persistent peculiarity in returns remains a puzzle in search of an answer. See comments and response on this article.
Relationship of blood flow and oxygen consumption to ischemic injury in the canine small intestine.

Abstract The relationship of blood flow and oxygen uptake to ischemic intestinal injury was investigated by measuring the clearance of 131 I-albumin from the blood to the lumen of isolated, perfused segments of canine jejunum. Reductions in blood flow for 2 h to various levels confirmed the previously demonstrated relationship of oxygen uptake to blood flow, i.e., oxygen uptake was flow-independent at blood flows above 30 ml/min · 100 g, and flow-dependent at levels below this. Blood flows above this threshold did not change the level of albumin clearance seen under control conditions (0.022 ± 0.003 ml/min · 100 g). However, increases in the mucosal permeability to albumin were seen after blood flow was reduced to levels where oxygen uptake was decreased by more than 50%. These findings indicate that the ability of the small intestine to maintain oxygen consumption during low flow states may be an important factor in providing protection from ischemic injury, even during prolonged periods of hypoperfusion.
Regulation of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase synthesis in Syrian hamster C100 cells by mevinolin, 25-hydroxycholesterol, and mevalonate: the role of posttranscriptional control.

C100 is a baby hamster kidney cell line that expresses high levels of HMG-CoA reductase relative to its parental cell line SV28. In this study the effects of the oxysterol 25-hydroxycholesterol and mevalonate on the mRNA level and rate of synthesis for HMG-CoA reductase were evaluated in C100 cells treated with mevinolin, a competitive inhibitor of HMG-CoA reductase. The addition of 25-hydroxycholesterol to the cell culture medium resulted in a fourfold decrease in both the rate of synthesis and mRNA level for HMG-CoA reductase. Mevalonate at a concentration of 0.4 mM, when added to mevinolin-treated C100 cells, produced no apparent reduction in HMG-CoA reductase mRNA levels and only a small (25%) decline in HMG-CoA synthesis. Mevalonate (0.4 mM) added to 25-hydroxycholesterol-treated cells resulted in no further reduction in the HMG-CoA reductase mRNA level when compared to cells treated with 25-hydroxycholesterol alone, but produced an additional 30-fold decrease in the rate of HMG-CoA reductase synthesis. Degradation of HMG-CoA reductase was rapid in the presence (t1/2=1.34 h) or absence (t1/2=1.17 h) of mevinolin and was not changed significantly by adding either 25-hydroxycholesterol, alone (t1/2=1.30 h) or both 25-hydroxycholesterol and mevalonate (t1/2=1.30 h) to mevinolin-treated cells. This study demonstrates that mevalonate and 25-hydroxycholesterol act synergistically in the presence of mevinolin to achieve a greater degree of suppression in the rate of HMG-CoA reductase synthesis than can be accounted for by their individual effects on HMG-CoA reductase mRNA. In addition, the data suggest that mevalonate affects the synthesis of HMG-CoA reductase at a yet unidentified posttranscriptional control site.
Dopamine and serotonin metabolites in rat cerebroventricular fluid following withdrawal of haloperidol or electroshock treatment.

Levels of the dopamine metabolites dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC) and homovanillic acid (HVA) and of the major serotonin metabolite 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) were determined in the CSF of rats at various times after repeated electroshock treatment (EST) or chronic administration of haloperidol. The acidic metabolites were analyzed in 25 μl CSF using HPLC with an electrochemical detector. A significant decrease in the CSF levels of DOPAC and HVA was found 4 days after the last administration of chronic haloperidol, EST, or both. The decrease in the level of the dopamine metabolites indicated a slower dopamine turnover, which might have resulted from hypersensitivity of presynaptic dopamine receptors after these treatments. Rats treated with haloperidol also showed an increase in 5-HIAA levels, possibly due to enhanced serotonin turnover. The 5-HIAA increase following haloperidol was prevented by a concurrent administration of EST, suggesting attenuation by EST of the haloperidol-induced enhancement of serotonin turnover.
Single Cell Electroporation using a Nanopore

A nanopore is the ultimate analytical tool with single molecule sensitivity. Going beyond analysis, synthetic biology also demand tools capable of reprogramming a cell's genetic code. Conventional electroporation lacks biomolecular specificity resulting in low cell viability and non-uniform transfection. We developed a single molecule specific and highly efficient strategy transfection single cells. Figure (a) illustrates the new nanopore-electroporation-tool (NEP): A confocal micrograph showing the silicon nitrate membrane with nanopore (b). The membrane separates the cis microfluidic channel from the trans. On the cis-side, 20 kbp double-stranded DNA intercalated with YOYO dye is conveyed via the microfluidic to the membrane. Inside the trans channel an E. coli cell is placed using optical tweezers in close proximity to the pore_so close that the field emanating from it affects cell membrane potential causing it to electroporate; consequently the bacteria fluoresces (a) and is subsequently encapsulated in hydrogel (c). With precise engineering of the geometry molecules such as ions, proteins or RNA can infuse into the gap between membrane and cell, or directly into the cell via electroporation. A pore so close to the cell offers the opportunity to both transfect the cell and measures its secretome simultaneously.View Large Image | View Hi-Res Image | Download PowerPoint Slide
Distributed source processing with linear nested arrays

We consider the problem of using linear nested arrays to estimate the direction of arrival (DOA) of spatially distributed sources and detect the source number, where we have more sources than the actual physical sensors. Angular spread, caused by the multipath nature of distributed sources, makes the commonly used point source assumption ineffective. In this paper, we establish the signal model for distributed sources using a nested array. Due to the characteristics of distributed sources, the regular spatial smoothing technique, which is used to exploit the increased degrees of freedom provided by the co-array, no longer works. We thus propose a novel spatial smoothing approach to circumvent this problem. Based on the analytical results, we construct corresponding DOA estimation and source number detection methods. The effectiveness of the proposed methods is verified through numerical examples.
Ridge waveguide probe for estimation of the scattering parameters of a device at millimeter- and sub-millimeter-wave frequencies

In this study, we investigate a novel approach for on-wafer testing of active and passive circuits at Y-band and higher. This represents an alternative approach to the conventional coaxial- or CPW-based probes used at lower frequencies. The measurements based on coaxial probes at these high frequencies are unreliable and non-repeatable due to the small size of the fragile probe tips. The small dimensions of coaxial probes are needed to avoid over-moding and radiation from the fingertips of the probe. However, at high MMW and sub-MMW frequencies manufacturing tolerances limits the minimum size of such coaxial probes which inevitably leads to unreliable mode conversion and probe radiation. Another limitation in utilization of coaxial probes is that the smooth physical connection of the probes with on-wafer lines is very hard to achieve due to the small dimensions of the probes and the lines. Besides, the probe tips tend to deform after a number of measurements resulting in unreliable measurements.
Native Christians: Modes and Effects of Christianity among Indigenous Peoples of the Americas

Aparecida Vilaca & Robin M. Wright (eds.). 2009. Native Christians: Modes and Effects of Christianity among Indigenous Peoples of the Americas. Farnham: Ashgate Publishing. 252 pp. As evidenced by ...
Nasal toxicity and dosimetry of inhaled xenobiotics: implications for human health.

Our Upper Airways and Our Ambient Air: A Historical Perspective Research Strategy for Assessing Human Risk from Inhaled Nasal Toxicants Nasal Toxicity: End Points of Concern in Humans Nasal Dosimetry, Lesion Distribution and the Toxicologic Pathologist: A Brief Review Nasal Dosimetry in Animals and Man: Mathematical and Physical Models Measurements of Uptake Modelling the Uptake of Gases by the Dog Nasal-Pharyngeal Region: Effects of Morphometric and Physiochemical Factors Chemically Induced Nasal Response in Humans and Rodents Spectrum of Responses Seen in Humans: Human Olfactory Epithelium: Normal Patterns and Types of Lesions Found in the General Population Implications for Human Health and Exposure Limits Management of Occupational Exposure Levels in the United States Evaluation of the Nasal Tract Lesions in Derivation of the Inhalation Reference Concentration for Hexamethylene Diisocyanate.
Electronic stopping of ions in the low velocity limit

Abstract The change in kinetic energy of an ion moving in an equilibrium electron gas is considered as a model for electronic stopping power. The exact small velocity limit is obtained for an ion of infinite mass. It is shown to be linear in the ion speed with a coefficient determined from the autocorrelation function for the force on the ion at rest in the equilibrium electron gas. The result has no limitations with respect to the ion charge, the electron coupling parameter, and the electron degeneracy parameter. Therefore it provides a firm basis for testing various theoretical approximations. Some comments are offered on the semiclassical limit, to provide a model appropriate for study via molecular dynamics simulation.
Techniques for Monitoring and Analysis of Environmental Tritium

Routine sampling techniques are acceptable for environmental tritium, although attention must be paid to the chemical and physical state of the tritium. Liquid scintillation and gas counting techniques are both acceptable for counting tritium, with gas counting being the most sensitive. Sensitivities for tritium can be increased greatly by electrolytic enrichment before counting.
Instruction effects in recognition memory

Ninety-six Ss listened to a list of 200 common nouns after receiving instructions to study various portions of the list by repeating each word as it was presented (REP), producing associations to the study items (ASSOC), thinking of the “dictionary meaning” of each word (DM), and visualizing the spelling of each word (VS). One-half of the Ss were tested for forced-choice recognition of the nouns; the other half of the Ss were asked to identify for each study item the particular study strategy that had been used. Contrary to expectations of the frequency theory of recognition memory, recognition errors were significantly fewer under ASSOC or DM instructions than under REP instructions. However, retention of the kind of encoding activity indicates that Ss have available other information than frequency by which to make a recognition decision.
Effect of Thermodynamic Interactions on Reactions at Polymer/Polymer Interfaces

We have examined the effect of monomer structure on amine−anhydride reactions at a polymer−polymer interface. The thermodynamic interaction parameter χ was varied by changing the backbone chemical structure, holding molecular weight constant. To eliminate the effects of mixing, experiments were performed with bilayer thin films of end-functional polymers. Using a combination of size exclusion chromatography with fluorescent labeling, we measured the extent of reaction of anhydride-terminal poly(methyl methacrylate) and polystyrene with amine-functional polystyrene, polybutadiene, poly(ethylene/ethylethylene), and poly(dimethylsiloxane). Interfacial structure was observed by atomic force microscopy. Both the conversion to block copolymer and the degree of interfacial roughening are suppressed with increasing χ. This suppression may be related to reduced solubility of the reactive homopolymers in the formed block copolymer and to decreased interfacial volume for reactions to occur. Viscosity does not play a...
EUS-guided rendezvous for the treatment of pancreaticopleural fistula in a patient with chronic pancreatitis and pancreas pseudodivisum

Pancreatic duct (PD) disruption can result from acute and chronic pancreatitis, abdominal trauma, pancreatic malignancy, and surgery. Conservative management involves pancreatic rest with either hyperalimentation or nasojejunal feeding, initiation of somatostatin analogues, and/or pancreatic enzyme supplements. Unfortunately, medical therapy may be ineffective. Transpapillary stent placement is a safe and effective technique for managing ductal disruption. However, conventional stent placement may be difficult because of altered anatomy, PD strictures, and difficult cannulation. EUS-guided rendezvous has been reported for antegrade access to both the biliary duct and PD. We report a case of chronic pancreatitis with pancreas pseudodivisum complicated by ductal disruption and a pancreaticopleural fistula, subsequently treated with EUS-guided rendezvous and stent placement after failed conventional ERCP and medical therapy.
Polyselenide formation in borosilicate glasses

Several mechanisms are presented for the formation of polyselenide ions (Sex2−) in a reference alkali borosilicate melt. Such ions exist in selenium-containing melts as intermediates in the redox equilibrium between elemental selenium and selenide ions under relatively reducing conditions. Molecular selenium can also be reduced to polyselenide ions by iron (Fe2+) or uranium (U5+) under somewhat more oxidizing conditions in the melt. Even though polyselenides exist in low concentration in the melt, they greatly affect the resulting optical properties by imposing an amber coloration. The redox mechanism for the formation of polyselenides by the reduction of elemental selenium in glass melts is in opposition to that for the formation of polysulfides which relies on the oxidation of sulfide ions by iron, vanadium, or uranium redox couples.
Effects of Ammonium Nitrate, Urea, and Sodium Nitrate on Mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis) Survivorship

Abstract. Nitrogenous pollutants are commonly found in freshwater ecosystems due to fertilizer and chemical runoff from farm land and industrial waste. Nitrogenous compounds can result in toxic effects on aquatic vertebrates and invertebrates. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of ammonium nitrate, urea, and sodium nitrate on mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis) survivorship. Ammonium nitrate had a significant negative effect on survivorship, but urea and sodium nitrate had no effect on survivorship. This suggests that mosquitofish may be susceptible to ammonia pollution, but probably can tolerate most environmentally relevant exposures to urea and nitrate.
A simple method for the determination of feedback shift register connections for delayed maximal-length sequences

A fast and simple method for computing the feedback shift register connections of a delayed maximal-length sequence is presented. The method is to utilize the modified recurrence relationships repeatedly. This method can be easily programmed on a computer or permits hand computation.
ACTH1-24 blocks opiate - induced analgesia in the rat.

Abstract Samples of 1 μl containing 15 μg of morphine sulfate with or without 1 μg of synthetic ACTH were injected into the fourth ventricle of rats. The inclusion of ACTH eliminated the analgesic effect of morphine as evaluated by the tail-flick test, both in restrained and in unrestrained, lightly sedated animals. The same result was obtained when β-endorphin was used to bring about analgesia. Since the effect of the peptides was shown to be mediated by central actions alone, the results are discussed in light of the brain ACTH/β-endorphin system.
The distribution among ophidian venoms of a toxin isolated from the venom of the Mojave rattlesnake (Crotalus scutulatus scutulatus)

A toxin analogous to Mojave toxin or protein K′ was isolated from venom of the Mojave rattlesnake (Crotalus s. scutulatus) by anion exchange and gel permeation chromatography. This toxin has an apparent native molecular weight of 20,000 – 22,000, a subunit molecular weight of 14,000 and a pI of 4.9 – 5.0. The i.p. ld50 is 0.094 mg/kg for mice. A wide variety of ophidian venoms (crotaline, viperine, elapid, hydrophid and colubrid) were examined for the presence of this toxin using Ouchterlony, immunoelectrophoresis, ELISA and Western transfer. High concentrations were found in 4 of 6 C. scutulatus venom samples, 2 of 3 C. durissus samples and samples from C. viridis concolor and C. tigris. A moderate concentration was found in 1 of 3 C. durissus samples and low to trace concentrations in 1 C. durissus sample, 1 C. scutulatus sample, 2 of 12 C. atrox samples and a Trimeresurus flavoviridis sample, the latter being the only instance of detection of the toxin in a snake other than a rattlesnake. The toxin appears in at least two phylogenetic lines of rattlesnakes, and its geographic distribution in North American rattlesnake species resembles a mosaic.
Elevated Verbal IQ and Idiopathic Precocious Sexual Maturation

Extract: Eight boys and 27 girls with idiopathic sexual precocity were examined for IQ, with results as follows : On Wechsler subtests, special quotients were obtained for Verbal Comprehension (Information + Comprehension + Similarities + Vocabulary), Perceptual Organization (Block Design + Object Assembly) and Arithmetic, with results as follows : The Mean Verbal-Performance IQ discrepancy was most marked in those with high IQs: The Verbal-Performance IQdiscrepancy appeared to be independent of age and duration of precocity. However, children under five (and therefore tested with the Stanford-Binet which does not yield separate V-P scores) had a lower mean IQ (M = 101 ; SD = 28.5) than the older children—which suggests that high verbal ability was not yet in evidence. In three cases of serial testing over a twelve year span, the IQremained Superior or Very Superior, except that the final IQ in one patient, at age 20, had fallen from 133 at age 8 ½ and 123 at age 15 ¾ to 115. The overweighting with six IQs above 130 was accounted for by six local children, three of whom were siblings. Speculation: One may conjecture that idiopathic sexual precocity confers on a child a possible advantage in social exposure and participation with older agemates, which in turn confers an advantage in intellectual growth, particularly in the growth of verbal intelligence. This advantage shows up in a Verbal IQ superior to Performance IQ which, once established, is maintained into adulthood. I t is not like the temporary advantage of statural superiority that is terminated by premature epiphyseal closure. Whether or not the syndrome of idiopathic precocious puberty tends to induce high IQ, Verbal or Performance, is a question that cannot be properly answered from the present findings. Quite possibly it does. Yet, if such be the case for some children, then it is equally the case that it is not so for others. There are some on whom no intellectual advantage is conferred, for low IQ and mental retardation also concur with precocious puberty.
Inhibition of RNA chain initiation in E. coli core RNA polymerase with 2-hydroxy-5-nitrobenzyl bromide.

Abstract The modification of E. coli core RNA polymerase with 2-hydroxy-5-nitrobenzyl bromide (Koshland's Reagent) resulted in the benzylation of 6 out of 13 cysteines, and 10 out of 20 tryptophans in the polymerase, and occurred with an 8% decrease in its [θ]220. The modification resulted in a maximal inhibition of 60% of the RNA chains on both calf thymus and micrococcal DNA templates. γ-32P-ATP studies showed the inhibition occurred at RNA chain initiation. This study raises the possibility that the modified core polymerase may synthesize specific RNA(s).
Optimum Size and Location of Shunt Capacitors for Reduction of Losses on Distribution Feeders

New generalized procedures are developed for optimizing the net savings associated with reduction of power and energy losses through shunt capacitor placement on primary distribution feeders. These procedures are applied to realistic problems to facilitate their immediate use by the electric utility distribution system designer. It is shown that a basic principle, called here "The Equal Area Criterion", offers significant computational and physical insight into numerous problems outside the bounds of studies previously reported and widely accepted in industry
Automatic content-based temporal alignment of image sequences with varying spatio-temporal resolution

Many applications use multiple cameras to simultaneously capture imagery of a scene from a rigid, moving camera system over time. Multiple cameras often provide unique viewing angles but also additional levels of detail of a scene at different spatio-temporal resolutions. However, in order to benefit from this added information the sources must often be temporally aligned. As a result of cost and physical limitations it is often impractical to synchronize these sources via an external clock device. Most methods attempt synchronization through the recovery of a constant scale factor and offset with respect to time. This limits the generality of such solutions. We present an unsupervised method that utilizes a content-based clustering mechanism in order to temporally align multiple non-synchronized image sequences of different and varying spatio-temporal resolutions. We show that the use of temporal constraints and dynamic programming adds robustness to changes in capture rates, field of view, and resolution.
Streaming data analytics via message passing with application to graph algorithms

Abstract The need to process streaming data, which arrives continuously at high-volume in real-time, arises in a variety of contexts including data produced by experiments, collections of environmental or network sensors, and running simulations. Streaming data can also be formulated as queries or transactions which operate on a large dynamic data store, e.g. a distributed database. We describe a lightweight, portable framework named PHISH which provides a communication model enabling a set of independent processes to compute on a stream of data in a distributed-memory parallel manner. Datums are routed between processes in patterns defined by the application. PHISH provides multiple communication backends including MPI and sockets/ZMQ. The former means streaming computations can be run on any parallel machine which supports MPI; the latter allows them to run on a heterogeneous, geographically dispersed network of machines. We illustrate how streaming MapReduce operations can be implemented using the PHISH communication model, and describe streaming versions of three algorithms for large, sparse graph analytics: triangle enumeration, sub-graph isomorphism matching, and connected component finding. We also provide benchmark timings comparing MPI and socket performance for several kernel operations useful in streaming algorithms.
Design and testing of some automatic sample introduction valves for liquid chromatographs

Abstract Three types of sample introduction valves for liquid chromatographs were compared for performance with on-column manual sample loading. Two of the valves were of the rotary sliding chamber type, representing short and long chamber versions. The third was a commercial sample loop type. The purpose of these tests was to provide a basis for construction of an automated sample introduction system. The comparison was made on an ion-exchange amino acid analyzer. Performance was evaluated by the technique of resolution measurement used in gas chromatography. The performance of each of the valves was equivalent and closely approached the resolution obtained with manual sample loading.
Towards a clinical tool for automatic intelligibility assessment

An important, yet under-explored, problem in speech processing is the automatic assessment of intelligibility for pathological speech. In practice, intelligibility assessment is often done through subjective tests administered by speech pathologists; however research has shown that these tests are inconsistent, costly, and exhibit poor reliability. Although some automatic methods for intelligibility assessment for telecommunications exist, research specific to pathological speech has been limited. Here, we propose an algorithm that captures important multi-scale perceptual cues shown to correlate well with intelligibility. Nonlinear classifiers are trained at each time scale and a final intelligibility decision is made using ensemble learning methods from machine learning. Preliminary results indicate a marked improvement in intelligibility assessment over published baseline results.
DSCVR: designing a commodity hybrid virtual reality system

This paper presents the design considerations, specifications, and lessons learned while building DSCVR, a commodity hybrid reality environment. Consumer technology has enabled a reduced cost for both 3D tracking and screens, enabling a new means for the creation of immersive display environments. However, this technology also presents many challenges, which need to be designed for and around. We compare the DSCVR System to other existing VR environments to analyze the trade-offs being made.
Detection, occurrence, and prophylactic treatment of borderline ketosis with propylene glycol feeding.

Summary Milk ketones were determined by a new test at weekly intervals for 132 cows freshening in two herds in one year and for 61 cows in two herds for a second year. If the milk ketones exceeded 2 mg/100ml during the first year, alternate cows were treated daily with 12oz propylene glycol for ten days, or served as controls. The cows were controls or fed propylene glycol (4 or 8 oz/day) from the time of calving during the second year's study. Milk ketones in excess of 2 mg/100ml occurred in 49% of the population during the first 30 days postpartum. Propylene glycol lowered milk ketones an average of 0.6 mg/100ml over the entire population and increased milk production 1 lb/cow/day for the first 60 days postpartum. These over-all differences were not significant at the 5% probability level, although significant differences did occur within herds. Three cows given intraruminal doses of 2lb propylene glycol were used to demonstrate a rumen disappearance half-time of 1 hr. Subsequent blood levels ranged as high as 57 mg/100ml. Ruminal destruction of propylene glycol was small. Metabolism trials with four cows demonstrated that body retention of propylene glycol exceeded 99% even when 5.4 lb/day was fed. Excretion of propylene glycol in milk was less than 0.1% of the dose (below detection limits).
Masking release for low- and high-pass-filtered speech in the presence of noise and single-talker interference

Speech intelligibility was measured for sentences presented in spectrally matched steady noise, single-talker interference, or speech-modulated noise. The stimuli were unfiltered or were low-pass (LP) (1200 Hz cutoff) or high-pass (HP) (1500 Hz cutoff) filtered. The cutoff frequencies were selected to produce equal performance in both LP and HP conditions in steady noise and to limit access to the temporal fine structure of resolved harmonics in the HP conditions. Masking release, or the improvement in performance between the steady noise and single-talker interference, was substantial with no filtering. Under LP and HP filtering, masking release was roughly equal but was much less than in unfiltered conditions. When the average F0 of the interferer was shifted lower than that of the target, similar increases in masking release were observed under LP and HP filtering. Similar LP and HP results were also obtained for the speech-modulated-noise masker. The findings are not consistent with the idea that pitch conveyed by the temporal fine structure of low-order harmonics plays a crucial role in masking release. Instead, any reduction in speech redundancy, or manipulation that increases the target-to-masker ratio necessary for intelligibility to beyond around 0 dB, may result in reduced masking release.
Memories of winter: vernalization and the competence to flower

The promotion of flowering in response to a prolonged exposure to cold temperatures (i.e. winter) is a useful adaptation for plant species that flower in the spring. This promotion is known as vernalization and results in a permanent memory of cold exposure. While the physiology of vernalization has been extensively studied in many species, the molecular mechanism of vernalization remains largely unknown. Recent studies, however, have revealed some of the molecular events that create the requirement for vernalization. In Arabidopsis, naturally occurring late-flowering ecotypes and plants containing late-flowering mutations in the autonomous floral-promotion pathway are relatively late flowering unless cold treated. The vernalization requirement of these late-flowering ecotypes and autonomous-pathway mutants is largely created by an upregulation of the floral inhibitor FLOWERING LOCUS C (FLC). After cold treatment, as imbibed seeds or young seedlings, FLC transcript levels are downregulated and remain low for the remainder of the plant's life, but return to high levels in the next generation. Plants containing a constitutively expressed 35S:FLC construct remain late flowering after cold treatment, indicating that FLC levels must be downregulated for vernalization to be effective. Thus the epigenetic downregulation of FLC appears to be a major target of the vernalization pathway and provides a molecular marker of the vernalized state.
UV stabilization route for melt-processible PAN-based carbon fibers

Abstract Ultraviolet radiation-based stabilization routes were explored to produce carbon fibers from melt-processible PAN-based copolymers. An acrylonitrile/methyl acrylate (AN/MA) copolymer was melt-spun into fibers that were crosslinked using UV radiation. The fibers could then be stabilized by oxidative heat treatment, and subsequently carbonized. Physical and mechanical testing was performed to determine the degree of stabilization and the properties of the stabilized and carbonized fibers.
Methyl radical measurement by cavity ring-down spectroscopy

Abstract Cavity ring-down spectroscopy has been used to measure the absorbance of methyl radicals near 216 nm. The methyl radicals are generated by a hot tungsten filament heated to 2300 K in a mixture of 0.5% CH 4 in H 2 slowly flowing through the reactor at 20 Torr total pressure. CH 3 absorbances are detected with a noise-equivalent sensitivity of two parts in 10 5 using a narrow pencil of UV light 0.5 mm in diameter, which allows measurement of spatial profiles of CH 3 for column densities of 3×10 12 radicals/cm 2 (3×10 12 radicals/cm 3 ×1 cm absorption pathlength).
Glycoprotein purification on a high-capacity wheat germ lectin affinity column

Abstract A procedure is described for coupling wheat germ agglutinin to cyanogen bromide-activated Sepharose to yield a lectin affinity column of high capacity. Covalent linkage of the lectin to the insoluble matrix is carried out in the presence of a mixture of β-1,4-linked N-acetylglucosamine oligosaccharides prepared from chitin. The lectin-affinity column specifically recognizes glycoproteins containing N-acetylglucosamine residues with the capacity of binding 0.6–1.0 mg of ovomucoid per milliliter of gel. The affinity column is stable (as determined by ovomucoid binding) and shows little loss in binding capacity or specificity after repeated usage. Important characteristics for the use of this column to purify glycoproteins are described.
A statistical procedure for determining the association between weather and non-measurement biological data☆☆☆

Abstract A statistical procedure is presented which determines the significance of the association between weather recorded during groups of years characterized by discrete biological occurrences. For testing this procedure, the yield of winter wheat in Gallatin County, Mont. was grouped into 10 years with poor yields, 10 years with good yields and 20 years with normal yields. The analysis determines for the growing season when a significant excess or deficit of specific values of phototemperature, nyetotemperature, and precipitation occurs during the 10 poor-yield years and 10 good-yield years relative to the 20 normal years. The analytical procedure, in which the chi-square test is applied to accumulated frequencies of weather factors, appears to have merit as a first approximation in studies of the relation between weather and discrete biological occurrences.
The core protein of growth plate perlecan binds FGF-18 and alters its mitogenic effect on chondrocytes

Abstract Fibroblast growth factor-18 (FGF-18) has been shown to regulate the growth plate chondrocyte proliferation, hypertrophy and cartilage vascularization necessary for endochondral ossification. The heparan sulfate proteoglycan perlecan is also critical for growth plate chondrocyte proliferation. FGF-18 null mice exhibit a skeletal dwarfism similar to that of perlecan null mice. Growth plate perlecan contains chondroitin sulfate (CS) and heparan sulfate (HS) chains and FGF-18 is known to bind to heparin and to heparan sulfate from some sources. We used cationic filtration and immunoprecipitation assays to investigate the binding of FGF-18 to perlecan purified from the growth plate and to recombinant perlecan domains expressed in COS-7 cells. FGF-18 bound to perlecan with a Kd of 145 nM. Near saturation, ∼103 molecules of FGF-18 bound per molecule of perlecan. At the lower concentrations used, FGF-18 bound with a Kd of 27.8 nM. This binding was not significantly altered by chondroitinase nor heparitinase digestion of perlecan, but was substantially and significantly reduced by reduction and alkylation of the perlecan core protein. This indicates that the perlecan core protein (and not the CS nor HS chains) is involved in FGF-18 binding. FGF-18 bound equally to full-length perlecan purified from the growth plate and to recombinant domains I–III and III of perlecan. These data indicate that low affinity binding sites for FGF-18 are present in cysteine-rich regions of domain III of perlecan. FGF-18 stimulated 3H-thymidine incorporation in growth plate chondrocyte cultures derived from the lower and upper proliferating zones by 9- and 14-fold, respectively. The addition of perlecan reversed this increased incorporation in the lower proliferating chondrocytes by 74% and in the upper proliferating cells by 37%. These results suggest that perlecan can bind FGF-18 and alter the mitogenic effect of FGF-18 on growth plate chondrocytes.
Becoming a Blue Grass Teacher

“I don't like the color of your skin,” the matter-of-fact statement rang out from a curly haired four-year-old. In shock, my first instinct was to chastise her rudeness and quickly correct her inap...
International innovations in pediatric minimally invasive surgery: the Argentine experience

This is a presentation about innovations in pediatric minimally invasive surgery and a review of the Argentine experience. The most representative are (1) the thoracoscopic treatment of long gap esophageal atresia with novel techniques; (2) the nonsurgical and minimally invasive treatment of chest wall deformities, particularly of pectus carinatum; and (3) the use of magnetic surgical devices in classic laparoscopy and transumbilical surgery.