cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Seasonal changes in temperature acclimatization of the house sparrow, passer domesticus

Abstract 1. 1. Lower limits of temperature tolerance in acclimatized house sparrows was greatest in January (−25°C) and least in August (0°C). The loss of tolerance was gradual in the spring (3°C/month), but the gain in tolerance was rapid in the autumn (6°C/month). 2. 2. The weight of body feathers increased 70 per cent following molt which coincided with a gain in cold tolerance of 12°C. 3. 3. The birds were significantly fatter and the fatty acids more unsaturated in the winter than in the summer. 4. 4. Oxygen consumption of brain and muscle tissue in vitro increased in the winter while that of liver tissue declined.
Cutaneous metastasis of prostatic adenocarcinoma: a cautionary tale

With the exception of skin cancer, prostatic adenocarcinoma represents the most common cancer among men in the United States and the second most common cause of cancer mortality. Mortality is often associated with metastatic disease, which in the case of prostatic adenocarcinoma typically involves bones and only rarely affects the skin. Although clinical history and examination, laboratory tests and routine pathology can suggest the prostate as a source of metastatic disease, immunohistochemistry – specifically, for prostate-specific antigen (PSA) – is often used to help establish the diagnosis. We report a case of cutaneous metastatic prostatic adenocarcinoma presenting in the inguinal region of a 78-year-old man 5 years after his initial diagnosis. The case is unusual in that the clinical appearance mimicked a vascular proliferation and in that the metastatic prostatic adenocarcinoma failed to express PSA. Rather, expression of prostatic acid phosphatase was observed. Rattanasirivilai A, Kurban A, Lenzy YM, Yaar R. Cutaneous metastasis of prostatic adenocarcinoma: a cautionary tale.
Stress and Bruxism: A Critical Review and Report of Cases

A critical review is presented of the relationship of stress to bruxism. The review is divided into the following sections: terminology, diagnosis, incidence, etiology, and therapy. Two case reports of subjects in which hypnosis and meditation were used for therapy are given. In regard to the studies, most of them were either uncontrolled or poorly controlled. Nevertheless, it is apparent that stress is etiologically implicated in the onset and maintenance of bruxism. Of the three types of bruxism, acute bruxism is the least deleterious, being situationally-related and short-lived. Nocturnal bruxism is predominantly of the auditory, grinding type. Although it is related to occlusal interferences, stress exacerbates the condition. Diurnal bruxism is usually considered to be of the silent, clenching type. It is generally reported to be stress-initiated and maintained. Indications are that relaxation therapy is effective in the amelioration of all types of bruxism. Future, well-designed and controll...
Mechanism and evolution of cytosolic Hedgehog signal transduction

Hedgehog (Hh) signaling is required for embryonic patterning and postnatal physiology in invertebrates and vertebrates. With the revelation that the primary cilium is crucial for mammalian Hh signaling, the prevailing view that Hh signal transduction mechanisms are conserved across species has been challenged. However, more recent progress on elucidating the function of core Hh pathway cytosolic regulators in Drosophila, zebrafish and mice has confirmed that the essential logic of Hh transduction is similar between species. Here, we review Hh signaling events at the membrane and in the cytosol, and focus on parallel and divergent functions of cytosolic Hh regulators in Drosophila and mammals.
Detection of adriamycin-induced cardiotoxicity in cultured heart cells with technetium 99m-SESTAMIBI.

Adriamycin, a broad-spectrum cytotoxic agent useful in cancer chemotherapy, is limited by a dose-dependent cardiomyopathy mediated in part by disruption of mitochondrial energetics. Hexakis(2-methoxyisobutyl isonitrile)technetium(I)(99mTc-SESTAMIBI) is a gammaemitting radiopharmaceutical with myocellular accumulation properties dependent on mitochondrial membrane potential. To test the hypothesis that99mTc-SESTAMIBI could monitor Adriamycin-induced alterations in cardiac energetics, cultured chick heart cells were treated with Adriamycin and99mTc-SESTAMIBI tracer kinetics were determined. Concentration- and time-dependent depression of99mTc-SESTAMIBI accumulation was evident within 60 min of treatment. The apparentKi for acute Adriamycin inhibition of tracer accumulation was 82 μM. After 24 h of treatment, Adriamycin concentrations as low as 0.1 μM demonstrated detectable inhibitory effects. The apparentKi for this subchronic Adriamycin inhibition of99mTc-SESTAMIBI accumulation was 18 μM. Subchronic concentration-dependent increases in adriamycin-induced myocellular injury as reflected by lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release correlated inversely with decreases in99mTc-SESTAMIBI accumulation. These data further support a contribution from altered mitochondrial energetics to Adriamycin-induced injury and establish a pharmacological foundation for pursuing the possibility of noninvasive imaging of chronic Adriamycin cardiotoxicity in cancer patients using99mTc-SESTAMIBI.
Functional importance of a pair of conserved glutamic acid residues and of Ca(2+) binding in the cbb(3)-type oxygen reductases from Rhodobacter sphaeroides and Vibrio cholerae.

The cbb3-type cytochrome c oxidases are members of the family of heme-copper proton pumping respiratory oxygen reductases. The structure of the cbb3-type oxidase from Pseudomonas stutzeri reveals that, in addition to the six redox-active metal centers (two b-type hemes, three c-type hemes, and CuB), the enzyme also contains at least one Ca2+. The calcium bridges two propionate carboxyls at the interface between the low-spin heme b and the active-site heme b3 and, in addition, is ligated to a serine in subunit CcoO and by a glutamate in subunit CcoN. The glutamate that is ligated to Ca2+ is one of a pair of glutamic acid residues that has previously been suggested to be part of a proton exit pathway for pumped protons. In this work, mutations of these glutamates are investigated in the cbb3-type oxidases from Vibrio cholerae and Rhodobacter sphaeroides. Metal analysis shows that each of these wild-type enzymes contains Ca2+. Mutations of the glutamate expected to ligate the Ca2+ in each of these enzymes (E...
Recent Advances in hGH Clinical Research

While hundreds of studies are currently being conducted with growth factors in a variety of areas, there are at least four major areas where significant contributions to medicine and health care of individuals can be accomplished in the future. These areas include the establishment of true benefit and risk for longterm use of hGH therapy for the treatment of short stature in a variety of conditions. They include the identification of medical need for replacement therapy in adults with growth hormone deficiency. The possibility that growth hormone may significantly improve recovery in patients from serious wounds, malnutrition or catabolic states remains to be proven. Finally, the effect of growth hormone therapy on other body systems, such as the reproductive system, the immune system, or bone, is only beginning to be delineated. Clinical investigators are encouraged to maximize their research efforts through well designed and well controlled studies in their areas of interest.
Microstructural Modification of a Cast Iron by Magnetic Field Processing

The current study deals with the microstructural modification of a nodular cast iron during solidification under the influence of high magnetic fields (up to 18 tesla).
Phosphate-free sea water for reagent blanks in chemical analyses

Abstract In comparing the methods of Wooster and Rakestraw (1951) and Murphy and Riley (1962) for phosphate analysis in sea water, we found the former to have a small, systematic positive error associated with the use of distilled water for the reagent blank (a ‘hidden blank’ according to Jones and Spencer (1963)). The error was eliminated by preparing blanks from sea water that had been rendered ‘phosphate-free’ by brief contact with phosphorus-deficient diatoms. Neither analytical method hydrolysed appreciable amounts of the soluble, non-phosphate phosphorus present in the sea water samples we analysed. The diatom Phaedactylum tricornutum Bohlin assimilated a significant fraction of the nonphosphate phosphorus present in the sea water samples we studied, but not all of it. Extracellular phosphatases were produced by P. tricornutum; the extent to which such extracellular enzymes may influence phosphate determinations is not known. Hydrous zirconium oxide removes phosphate from sea water. However, it also removes other polyvalent ions and therefore it may be less satisfactory than algae for preparing sea water reagent blanks.
Twenty-seven Year Old Jack-up Converted to a MOPU in 122 Days

The conversion of the 27-year-old jack up MODU Gulftide to a Mobile Offshore Production Unit (MOPU) was accomplished on a very fast-track schedule at a US Gulf Coast shipyard. The reactivation of the long-term stacked rig, its conversion, mobilization to West Africa and installation were accomplished in a period of less than six months during the spring and summer of 1995. This paper outlines the requirements for this type of conversion process, review the permitting, classification, flagging and certification involved, and describes the principal activities and workscope in detail associated with the conversion project, dry-tow mobilization and installation. The general approaches taken to this conversion and the project management techniques applied to it proved highly successful and are suitable for application to a wide range of similar projects.
Osteopontin Expression by Osteoclast and Osteoblast Progenitors in the Murine Bone Marrow: Demonstration of Its Requirement for Osteoclastogenesis and Its Increase After Ovariectomy

Osteoclast development requires cell-to-cell contact between hematopoietic osteoclast progenitors and bone marrow stromal/osteoblastic support cells. Based on this, we hypothesized that osteopontin, an adhesion protein produced by osteoclasts and osteoblasts, plays a role in osteoclastogenesis. Using in situ hybridization, we demonstrate that cells expressing the osteopontin messenger RNA (mRNA) appear after 3 days of culturing murine bone marrow cells. The number of these cells increases thereafter, reaching a peak on day 5. In the same cultures, cells expressing alkaline phosphatase (AP) or tartrate resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP), phenotypic markers for osteoblastic and osteoclast-like cells, respectively, appeared subsequent to the appearance of the osteopontin-positive cells. By means of a combination of in situ hybridization and histostaining, it was shown that the osteopontin mRNA was localized in 30–50% of the AP-positive or the TRAP-positive, as well as in nonspecific esterase (NSE)-positive, c...
Maturation of the visual evoked response in the dog

Abstract Dogs 1–28 days of age were exposed to flashes of white light and the visual evoked response (VER) recorded by means of topical scalp electrodes. The earliest VER was a long-latency negative wave which appeared at 10 days postnatally. The electroretinogram (ERG) was also recorded and a small negative wave appeared at 10 days postnatally. At day 14, the short-latency negative wave of the VER appeared. A double-negative wave was then present at day 14. The b-wave of the ERG was first recordable at day 15, and at day 16 the positive-negative complex of the VER was first observed. The latencies of the VER progressively decreased from day 16 to day 28 as did those of the ERG.
Healthy birth weight results in higher vitamin A storage in neonate piglets administered high-dose supplements

A proposed intervention for newborn infants in countries with suspected vitamin A (VA) deficiency is to administer 50,000 IU retinyl palmitate at birth to reduce mortality risk. However, no studies have investigated birth weight effects. In this study, low birth weight (LBW; 1.5 kg, n = 18) from VA-depleted sows were dosed with 25,000 or 50,000 IU retinyl palmitate (26.2 or 52.4 µmol retinol equivalents) at birth to compare VA reserves. Blood was collected at varying times (n = 3–5/time/dose), and piglets were killed at 12 or 24 h for blood, liver, kidneys, spleen, lungs, adrenal gland, and intestinal contents. HBW piglets had significantly higher birth, death, and organ weights than LBW (P < 0.0001 for all). HBW and LBW piglets, which received VA, had higher liver and kidney VA concentrations (0.18 ± 0.09, 0.24 ± 0.10 µmol/g liver and 13.4 ± 4.1, 14.2 ± 4.5 nmol/g kidney, respectively) than controls (n = 10) (0.051 ± 0.01 µmol/g liver and 1.01 ± 0.4...
TEAM: integrated, process-based wind-erosion model

Abstract TEAM (Texas Tech Erosion Analysis Model) is a process-based mathematical model that predicts detachment, movement, and deposition of soil particles associated with wind processes. TEAM also simulates the suspension and movement of dust above and downwind from eroding sites. The development of TEAM has been from an educational perspective to teach principles of soil physics, mathematical modeling, soil erosion, and conservation practices. TEAM is relatively easy to calibrate for a given site and is robust enough to deal with both agricultural and industrial conditions. It works for pure or nearly pure sand as found in desert and beach environments. It also works for agricultural soils with and without vegetative or residue covers. Early components of TEAM were used during Operation Desert Storm to develop stabilization treatments for sand barriers. Later, it was evaluated and adopted by the US Department of Energy in 1996 to develop a safety plan for cleaning up a Superfund site contaminated with nuclear and other contaminates. It generally predicts the rate (mass per unit width per unit time) or amount (mass per unit width for total storm duration) of soil movement with an R 2 of 0.8 or better for field applications.
Methodology for assessing thioarsenic formation potential in sulfidic landfill environments

Abstract Arsenic leaching and speciation in landfills, especially those with arsenic bearing waste and drywall disposal (such as construction and demolition (C&D) debris landfills), may be affected by high levels of sulfide through the formation of thioarsenic anions. A methodology using ion chromatography (IC) with a conductivity detector was developed for the assessment of thioarsenic formation potential in sulfidic landfill environments. Monothioarsenate ( H 2 AsSO 3 - ) and dithioarsenate ( H 2 AsS 2 O 2 - ) were confirmed in the IC fractions of thioarsenate synthesis mixture, consistent with previous literature results. However, the observation of As S x - (x = 5–8) in the supposed trithioarsenate ( H 2 AsS 3 O - ) and tetrathioarsenate ( H 2 AsS 4 - ) IC fractions suggested the presence of new arsenic polysulfide complexes. All thioarsenate anions, particularly trithioarsenate and tetrathioarsenate, were unstable upon air exposure. The method developed for thioarsenate analysis was validated and successfully used to analyze several landfill leachate samples. Thioarsenate anions were detected in the leachate of all of the C&D debris landfills tested, which accounted for approximately 8.5% of the total aqueous As in the leachate. Compared to arsenite or arsenate, thioarsenates have been reported in literature to have lower adsorption on iron oxide minerals. The presence of thioarsenates in C&D debris landfill leachate poses new concerns when evaluating the impact of arsenic mobilization in such environments.
Hadron collisions at high transverse momentum

Abstract Recent experiments at the CERN ISR measuring hadron collisions at high transverse momenta (pT), show clear deviations from the sharp exponential cut-off observed at small pT. We show that the cross sections fall as a power of pT as expected from point-like interactions of the hadrons, similar to those observed in electroproduction experiments. From simple parton-model calculations we estimate (in agreement with the data) that pp → π0 + anything falls as pT−8 at contstant incident energy and grows as s2 at fixed pT. Within the same model large-angle pp elastic scattering should scale as d σ d T ( pp → pp )=s −10 F( cos θ) . Although not conclusive, the present data strongly suggest such behavior.
Potentiometric Determination of Overlapping Dissociation Constants

The dissociation constants of polyprotic acids can be determined potentiometrically by defining a variable, P, as the average number of protons dissociated. The proton balance equation for the titration of these acids with base led to a general expression which could be solved graphically or through the use of linear regression or nonlinear regression analysis. Experimental data for a number of acids and for a series of simulated titration curves were analyzed using the three methods. The graphical solution was found to be applicable in all instances. As the ratio of K1 to K2 for diprotic acids increased from 50 to 1000, the value of K2 estimated by the use of linear regression became progressively worse and finally could not be determined at all. In all instances, the value of K1 was determined to within a relative error of 0.5%. In all instances in which nonlinear regression analysis was used, the values for K1 were determined to within 0.3% and those for K2 were determined to within 0.02%. This technique requires an initial estimate of each constant. These initial estimates are then refined in an iterative procedure until satisfactory convergence is obtained. The digital computer program used in this work is unique in that initial estimates are obtained within the computer program itself. The program also determines the total number of dissociable protons. This latter property can be extremely useful for compounds with an unknown number of acidic sites.
Total synthesis of (±)-arteannuin B

Abstract The title compound has been synthesized beginning with 4-methyl-2-cyclohexen-1-one, using intramolecular hydroxyl-directed reactions to achieve regio- and stereoselectivity at important stages.
Catheter ablation for cardiac arrhythmias.

For most cardiac arrhythmias, medical therapy with antiarrhythmic drugs is not completely effective. In addition to poor or sporadic efficacy, such drugs can be associated with many bothersome and rarely fatal side effects, proarrhythmia, cost, and inconvenience. For this reason, nonpharmacologic interventions, initially using a surgical approach and more recently with catheter ablation, have played an increasingly important role in the management of cardiac arrhythmias. Catheter ablation involves the use of an electrode catheter to destroy small areas of myocardial tissue or conduction system, or both, that are crucial to the initiation or maintenance of cardiac arrhythmias. Arrhythmias most likely to be amenable to cure with catheter ablation are those that have a focal origin or involve a narrow, anatomically defined isthmus. Since the 1980s, catheter ablation has evolved from a highly experimental technique to first-line therapy for many cardiac arrhythmias. During the 4-year period from 1989 to 1992, the number of patients undergoing catheter ablation procedures in the United States increased more than 30-fold from an estimated 450 procedures in 1989 to 15,000 procedures in 1993. 91 This evolution in the role of catheter ablation reflects, in large part, a change in the energy source used during catheter ablation procedures. Before 1989, catheter ablation was performed primarily with high-energy direct-current shocks. Typically a multipolar electrode catheter was positioned in the heart and attached to a standard defibrillator. Under general anesthesia, 360 J of direct-current energy was delivered between the distal electrode and a patch placed on the patient's chest. This energy produced an explosive flash, heat, and increased pressure. Myocardial injury resulted from heat, barotrauma, and direct electric injury. More recently, direct-current energy has been replaced with radiofrequency energy as the preferred energy source during catheter ablation procedures. This article reviews the current state of knowledge about the technique, indications, and results of catheter ablation for the treatment of cardiac arrhythmias.
Contraindicated medication use in dialysis patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention.

Main Outcome Measures In-hospital bleeding and death. Results Five thousand eighty-four patients (22.3%) received a contraindicated antithrombotic; of these patients, 2375 (46.7%) received enoxaparin, 3261 (64.1%) received eptifibatide, and 552 (10.9%) received both. Compared with patients who did not receive a contraindicated antithrombotic, patients who did had higher rates of inhospital bleeding (5.6% vs 2.9%; odds ratio [OR], 1.93; 95% confidence interval [CI],1.66-2.23) and death (6.5% vs 3.9%; OR, 1.68; 95% CI, 1.46-1.95). After multivariable adjustment, patients receiving contraindicated antithrombotics had significantly higher risks of in-hospital bleeding (OR, 1.66; 95% CI, 1.43-1.92) and death (OR, 1.24; 95% CI, 1.04-1.48). In 10158 patients matched by propensity scores, receipt of contraindicated antithrombotics remained significantly associated with inhospital bleeding (OR, 1.63; 95% CI, 1.35-1.98) but not in-hospital death (OR, 1.15; 95% CI, 0.97-1.36). Conclusions In a sample of dialysis patients undergoing PCI, 22.3% received a contraindicated antithrombotic medication. In propensity-matched analysis, receipt of these medications was significantly associated with an increased risk of in-hospital major bleeding.
A model for MeV Cn track damage in YIG

An experiment by groups at Ecole Polytechnique and Institute de Physique Nucleaire (Orsay) used high resolution TEM to study the morphology of MeV C_(60) and C_(20) tracks in Y_3Fe_5O_(12) (YIG). Their data consist of measurements of latent track radii, total track lengths, and the length over which the radius remains constant. The one parameter in the model presented here is determined separately from the tracks of MeV/amu heavy ions in YIG; thus, the model uses no free parameters for fitting the C_n data. The predicted track radii, the total track lengths, and the lengths with constant radius agree with the data to within ±10%. The extension of this model to other details of track morphology will also be discussed.
Ranitidine versus cimetidine in the healing of erosive esophagitis

Ranitidine 150 mg twice daily (BID) is an approved therapeutic approach for relieving the symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease. Ranitidine 150 mg four times daily (QID) and cimetidine 800 mg BID are indicated for endoscopically diagnosed erosive esophagitis. This 12-week, randomized, multicenter trial involving 696 patients compared ranitidine 150 mg BID and ranitidine 150 mg QID with cimetidine 800 mg BID in healing erosive esophagitis. Healing rates, as determined by endoscopy, at 4, 8, and 12 weeks were comparable with ranitidine 150 mg BID (38%, 56%, and 71%, respectively) and cimetidine 800 mg BID (37%, 52%, and 68%, respectively), as were reductions in heartburn frequency and antacid consumption. However, ranitidine 150 mg QID produced significantly higher healing rates (49%, 67%, and 77%, respectively) and greater reductions in heartburn frequency and antacid consumption than cimetidine 800 mg BID. All treatment regimens were well tolerated. Thus ranitidine 150 mg BID is as effective as cimetidine 800 mg BID, and ranitidine 150 mg QID is more effective than cimetidine 800 mg BID in healing erosive esophagitis and reducing heartburn frequency and antacid consumption.
Prevention and control of influenza: Role of vaccine

A major component in the prevention and control of influenza should be the use of killed influenza vaccines. These vaccines became possible after the first discovery of human strains of influenza virus in the 1930s. The ensuing decades have seen marked improvement in the available inactivated vaccines. Current vaccines have excellent reliability and assured potency, and they contain the proper antigens to match the frequent changes in circulating influenza viruses. Killed vaccines work by inducing serum antibodies against the hemagglutinin and neuraminidase of the vaccine strains, with sufficient antibodies ensuring protection against infection. The antibody responses to current vaccines appear to be adequate in all age groups. Although antibody responses are depressed in patients receiving chemotherapy or immunosuppressants, current vaccines do provide protection for most populations. Vaccines prevent the manifestations of disease by about 30 to 70 percent in all populations, and they reduce deaths in high-risk individuals by about 60 to 87 percent. Local adverse reactions to vaccine are quite common, but not severe. Fever, also somewhat common, usually does not last beyond 48 hours. Neurologic complications have not been observed since the use of the swine influenza vaccine of 1976. Killed vaccines should be given annually in the fall, but they can be given up to and during an outbreak. Target groups for vaccines have been defined by the Centers for Disease Control. In recent years, these groups have included physicians and nurses who give care to patients at risk for complications of influenza.
9th Caribbean Geological Conference

The ninth in a series of Caribbean Geological Conferences, which are held every 3 or 4 years, took place in Santo Domingo, capital of the Dominican Republic, from the 15th to 26th of August 1980. The conference, which was sponsored by the government of the Dominican Republic and the Universidad Catolica Madre y Maestra, was preceded by 2 days of field trips and was opened by President Antonio Guzman on the evening of the 17th of August. Generous support was provided by Alcoa Exploration Co., Falconbridge Dominicana, and Rosario Dominicana. Geologists and geophysicists from 25 countries presented about 130 papers on a wide variety of topics ranging from geophysics to paleontology. While the whole Caribbean area was discussed, there was special emphasis on the northern Caribbean and Hispaniola, as befitted the site of the conference. The contribution of workers from the Direccion General de Mineria was particularly notable.
Prevention of pulmonary embolus with vena caval umbrella. Results in 150 patients.

Abstract A simple technique for effectively interrupting the inferior vena cava in patients with pulmonary emboli was introduced in 1968. The effectiveness of this method was evaluated in 150 patients having vena caval umbrella insertion following diagnosis of pulmonary embolism. These patients have been followed from two months to three years. The untoward sequelae and complications of insertion have been few. There have been 3 instances of documented pulmonary emboli occurring after insertion of the vena caval umbrella. Postoperative vena cavograms were obtained in 16 patients, and the patency was determined. The incidence of significant postoperative sequelae was directly related to the presence of preexisting venous disease. Only 1 death was directly attributed to vena caval umbrella insertion. Mortality figures reflect the fact that many of the patients were critically ill. The mortality in most cases was due to the underlying disease and not directly related to caval interruption itself.
Self-harm behavior and no-suicide contracting in psychiatric inpatient settings.

Although negotiation of no-suicide contracts is common practice, research regarding the outcomes of contracting is inadequate. The purpose of this retrospective review of medical records was to examine how no-suicide contracting affected the likelihood of self-harm behavior in psychiatric inpatient settings. Thirty-one patients (4.8%) engaged in self-harm behaviors representing 2.64% of all patients admitted to both study settings during the 6 (1/2)-month period from which data were collected. Approximately half of those patients expressed suicidal intent. Logistic regression analysis suggested that patients with no-suicide contracts and with higher levels of restriction had a significantly higher likelihood of self-harm behavior (OR = 7.43 and 2.47, respectively, p = .005). Consistency of nursing assignment is likely associated with a lower probability of self-harm (OR = .07) but p.068 when this variable was included in the model. Prevention of self-harm behaviors by the use of no-suicide contracting is not shown. Negotiation of a contract is likely a reflection of staff assessment that the patient was at high risk for suicide. These findings confirm the need for thorough, ongoing assessment of suicidal risk, whether or not a patient has agreed to a no-suicide contract.
Unemployment in LDCs: Worker heterogeneity, screening, and quantity constraints

Abstract Unemployment in many less developed countries is characterized by a significant urban-rural wage differential coexisting with high urban unemployment. This may be consistent with optimization when there is imperfect information about a worker's ability, and abilities are heterogeneous. Firms know only the average quality of workers in the labour pool. High urban wages induce immigration of workers from rural areas, improving the average quality of the urban labour pool which has been depleted of high ability workers by previous screening. Hence, both sides of the market way find high non-market-clearing wages optimal. Quantity constraints from imperfect capital markets may strengthen this effect.
Large-bipolaron transport and cuprate superconductors.

The in-plane electronic transport of large bipolarons that move within parallel conducting sheets is considered. The Coulomb interactions between the heavy bipolarons in this planar system produce a distinctive spectrum for collective excitations. Transport of the quasiparticles associated with the collective excitations is treated via the conventional Boltzmann transport theory. However, the scattering of the heavy quasiparticles by acoustic phonons is taken to be analogous to the distinctive scattering of individual large polarons. In particular, as with strong-coupling (adiabatic) large polarons, the scattering time is taken to be proportional to the quasiparticle effective mass. The resistivity, the Hall effect, and the thermoelectric power are determined with this scheme. With a constant density of carriers, the resistivity is proportional to the temperature. The Hall number, the number of carriers deduced from the reciprocal of the Hall constant, exceeds the true carrier density by a ratio that rises linearly with temperature. In addition, the thermoelectric power falls in magnitude and ultimately changes sign as the temperature is raised. These unusual transport properties, as well as the ir conductivity, are consistent with the observed behaviors of the high-${\mathit{T}}_{\mathit{c}}$ cuprate superconductors.
Evaluation of the performance of three turbulence closure models in the prediction of confined swirling flows

Abstract The performance of three different turbulence closure models in the prediction of turbulent swirling flows is presented. The models evaluated are: a nonlinear k -ϵ Model (NKEM), the Reynolds Stress Transport Model (RSTM), and the Algebraic Stress Model (ASTM). A decomposition of the Reynolds stresses into the isotropic (eddy viscosity) part and the deviatoric part is applied to avoid numerical instability. A bounded streamwise differencing scheme is used to discretize the convection terms in the governing equations, which substantially reduces the numerical diffusion and eliminates oscillation errors in the solution. Four different swirling flows of varying complexity are simulated. Comparisons of predictions with the experiments show clearly the superiority of the RSTM and the ASTM over the NKEM. The RSTM and ASTM provide good agreement with measured mean velocity profiles. However, the turbulent stresses are over- or underpredicted. The NKEM yields unsatisfactory prediction of the mean velocities and turbulent stresses.
Competing Chinese Names for God: The Chinese Term Question and Its Influence upon Korea

This paper discusses the theological discourses of Roman Catholicism and Protestantism on the Chinese terms for God and their influence upon the term question in Korea. The term question in China is important to Korea, not only because the former became the linguistic and theological background of the latter in Sino-centric East Asian culture, and because all Chinese terms were imported to Korea and had competed with Korean Protestant terms, but also because theologies and discourses developed in China were used in the controversy in Korea. The paper discusses four groups: Roman Catholics in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries (the Shangdi-Tianzhu Camp and the Tianzhu Camp), British and American Protestants (the Shangdi Camp and the Shen Camp), British Anglicans (the Tianzhu Camp), and Scottish Presbyterians (the Shangdi-Hananim Camp) in the nineteenth century.
Equilibrium and transient climatic warming induced by increased atmospheric CO2

The change in the Earth's equilibrium global mean surface temperature induced by a doubling of the CO2 concentration has been estimated as 0.2 to 10 K by surface energy balance models, 0.5 to 4.2 K by radiative-convective models, and 1.3 to 4.2 K by general circulation models. These wide ranges are interpreted and quantified here in terms of the direct radiative, forcing of the increased CO2, the response of the climate system in the absence of feedback processes, and the feedbacks of the climate system. It is the range in the values of these feedbacks that leads to the ranges in the projections of the global mean surface warming. The time required for a CO2-induced climate change to reach equilibrium has been characterized by an e-folding time τe with values estimated by a variety of climate/ocean models as 10 to 100 years. Analytical and numerical studies show that this wide range is due to the strong dependence of τe on the equilibrium sensitivity of the climate model and on the effective vertical thermal diffusivity of the ocean model. A coupled atmosphere-ocean general circulation model simulation for doubled CO2 suggestes that, as a result of the transport of the CO2-induced surface heating into the interior of the ocean, τe ≅ 50 to 100 years. Theoretical studies for a realistic CO2 increase between 1850 and 1980 indicate that this sequestering of heat into the ocean's interior is responsible for the concomittant warming being only about half that which would have occurred in the absence of the ocean. These studies also indicate that the climate sytem will continue to warm towards its as yet unrealized equilibrium temperature change, even if there is no further increase in the CO2 concentration.
WISP-2 Gene in Human Breast Cancer: Estrogen and Progesterone Inducible Expression and Regulation of Tumor Cell Proliferation

WISP-2 mRNA and protein was overexpressed in preneoplastic and cancerous cells of human breast. Statistical analyses show a significant association between WISP-2 expression and estrogen receptor (ER) positivity. In normal breast, the expression was virtually undetected. The studies showed that WISP-2 is an estrogen-induced early response gene in MCF-7 cells and the expression was continuously increased to reach a maximum level at 24 h. The estrogen effect was inhibited by a pure antiestrogen (ICI 182,780). Human mammary epithelial cells, in which WISP-2 expression was undetected or minimally detected, responded to 17β-estradiol by upregulating the WISP-2 gene after transfection with ER-α, providing further evidences that WISP-2 expression is mediated through ER-α. Overexpression of WISP-2 mRNA by estrogen may be accomplished by both transcriptional activation and stabilization. MCF-7 cells exposed to progesterone had a rapid but transient increase in WISP-2 expression, and PR antagonist RU38486 blocked this mRNA induction. In combination with estradiol, progesterone acted as an antagonist inhibiting the expression of WISP-2 mRNA. Moreover, disruption of WISP-2 signaling in MCF-7 cells by use of antisense oligomers caused a significant reduction in tumor cell proliferation. The results are consistent with the conclusion that WISP-2 expression is a requirement for breast tumor cells proliferation.
Somatostatin inhibits fusion of pituitary secretion vesicles with the plasma membranes

Summary Somatostatin has been found to inhibit secretion vesicle fusion with the iodinated ( 125 -I) inside-out plasma membrane vesicles (both were isolated from the anterior pituitaries). This effect of somatostatin was specific and dose-dependent (half-maximal effect at 10 −9 M). Calmodulin (10 uM), but not cyclic AMP, enhanced the fusion process between the two organelles and somatostatin inhibited calmodulin-stimulated fusion. These observations suggest that one facet of somatostatin action on hormone secretion may be its inhibition of secretion vesicle fusion with the plasma membrane.
Chemical and Electrochemical Reduction of Polyarene Manganese Tricarbonyl Cations: Hapticity Changes and Generation of Syn- and Anti-Facial Bimetallic η4,η6-Naphthalene Complexes

(η6-Naphthalene)Mn(CO)3+ is reduced reversibly by two electrons in CH2Cl2 to afford (η4-naphthalene)Mn(CO)3-. The chemical and electrochemical reductions of this and analogous complexes containing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) coordinated to Mn(CO)3+ indicate that the second electron addition is thermodynamically easier but kinetically slower than the first addition. Density functional theory calculations suggest that most of the bending or folding of the naphthalene ring that accompanies the η6 → η4 hapticity change occurs when the second electron is added. As an alternative to further reduction, the 19-electron radicals (η6-PAH)Mn(CO)3 can undergo catalytic CO substitution when phosphite nucleophiles are present. Chemical reduction of (η6-naphthalene)Mn(CO)3+ and analogues with one equivalent of cobaltocene affords a syn-facial bimetallic complex (η4,η6-naphthalene)Mn2(CO)5, which contains a Mn−Mn bond. Catalytic oxidative activation under CO reversibly converts this complex to the zwitterionic...
Novel synthesis and characterization of a collagen-based biopolymer initiated by hydroxyapatite nanoparticles

In this study, we developed a novel synthesis method to create a complex collagen-based biopolymer that promises to possess the necessary material properties for a bone graft substitute. The synthesis was carried out in several steps. In the first step, a ring-opening polymerization reaction initiated by hydroxyapatite nanoparticles was used to polymerize d,l-lactide and glycolide monomers to form poly(lactide-co-glycolide) co-polymer. In the second step, the polymerization product was coupled with succinic anhydride, and subsequently was reacted with N-hydroxysuccinimide in the presence of dicyclohexylcarbodiimide as the cross-linking agent, in order to activate the co-polymer for collagen attachment. In the third and final step, the activated co-polymer was attached to calf skin collagen type I, in hydrochloric acid/phosphate buffer solution and the precipitated co-polymer with attached collagen was isolated. The synthesis was monitored by proton nuclear magnetic resonance, infrared and Raman spectroscopies, and the products after each step were characterized by thermal and mechanical analysis. Calculations of the relative amounts of the various components, coupled with initial dynamic mechanical analysis testing of the resulting biopolymer, afforded a preliminary assessment of the structure of the complex biomaterial formed by this novel polymerization process.
An integrated framework for strategic information systems planning and development

Information has emerged as an agent of integration and the enabler of new competitiveness for today's enterprise in the global marketplace. However, has the paradigm of strategic planning changed sufficiently to support the new role of information systems and technology? We reviewed the literature for commonly used or representative information planning methodologies and found that certain insufficiencies exist. There are six major such methodologies and all of them seem to lack an ability to connect IS strategy to corporate strategy or IS planning to IS development. An integration of strategy with planning and development through enterprise information resources-which capture and characterize the enterprise-will shorten the response cycle for employing and deploying IS to achieve competitiveness. A reference model and the outline of a methodology is towards that end is proposed in this work.
Measurement of Plasma Testosterone and Δ4-Androstenedione Using Electron Capture Gas-Liquid Chromatography

ABSTRACT A method is presented for the estimation of testosterone and Δ4-androstenedione in human plasma. This consists of 1) extraction, 2) thin-layer chromatography (TLC), 3) formation of heptafluorobutyrates (HFB), 4) TLC of the HFB derivatives, and 5) GLC, using electron capture detection. Δ4-Androstenedione (Δ) is measured after enzymatic conversion to testosterone. This method is applicable at all levels of plasma testosterone and Δ4-androstenedione encountered in adults and can be completed in 3 days. Comparison with values obtained by a double-isotope method shows good agreement. The relative merits and disadvantages of electron-capture GLC are considered.
Electrical Stimulation Across the Midline and Between Basal Ganglion Nuclei

Paired unipolar electrodes were introduced into the pulvinar and ventrolateral thalamic nuclei in 3 patients. Stimulation was applied in 1 patient in an attempt to alter the vegetative state after a c
Optical Coherence Microrheology using Spherical and Rod-like Microrheological Probes

Processing of light scattering signals from spherical and rod-like probes in optical coherence tomography provides frequency-dependent viscoelasticity of complex fluids, constituting a novel optical coherence microrheological tool.
TEST RELIABILITY AS A FUNCTION OF ANSWER SHEET MODE

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of using separate, machine scorable answer sheets on the number of marking errors made by third-, fourth-, and sixth-grade students. Half of the Ss at each grade level answered in the test booklet (AIB), and half answered on separate answer sheets (SAS). The number of marking errors for the SAS group was approximately three times as great as for the AIB group at each grade level. This indicates that test standardization information must specify the answer sheet mode used to collect normative data. Since the development of the automated scoring device there has been an almost universal shift to the separate "IBM" type answer sheet as a vehicle for the collection of responses on group tests. This type of answer sheet is occasionally used with third graders and routinely employed with fourth graders and beyond. The issue of concern here is the effect of this type of answer sheet on test performance and, in particular, the performance of children at the intermediate elementary level. The separate answer sheet (SAS) response mode would seem to require somewhat greater facility in encoding, short term memory, and motor coordination than does the "answer in the booklet" mode (AIB). Specifically, when the student answers in the booklet, he need only select the correct alternative and mark it. However, when using the SAS it appears as though he must go through a sequence of operations, something like the following: select the correct alternative, then identify the alternative's code and item number, retain that code and number while he transfers his attention from the booklet to the SAS, locate the appropriate item row, select the appropriate alternative and then mark that alternative. The apparently greater complexity of the SAS task may adversely influence both performance level and accuracy or reliability. Research in this area seems to have been directed exclusively at the effects of response mode on rate or level of performance but not accuracy or reliability. Cashen and Ramseyer'(1969) compared level of performance under SAS and AIB response modes for first, second and third graders using the California Test of Mental Maturity. They found mean raw score "differences between marking format conditions decreased from 23.67 to 10.79 to 3.32 for students in grades one through three respectively [p. 155]." The differences between performance levels for the third graders was not statistically significant, but the differences at the other two levels were. Miller and Minor (1961), using students at the fourth, eighth and college levels, compared nine forms of the IBM answer sheet varying with regard to attitude of slots, location of response members, and nature of the slot boundaries. Level of performance was found to be related to answer sheet type with the greatest differential effect at the fourth grade. Similarly, Hayward (1966), using three forms of SASs with fourth and eighth graders, reports a significant effect upon level of performance due to answer sheet mode.
Justifying Materials Selection for Reinforced Concrete Structures. II: Economic Analysis

To optimize value, design engineers often need to make decisions on what materials should be used in a reinforced concrete (RC) bridge structure exposed to potentially corrosive environments. Part I of this paper series provided a methodology by which design engineers can easily identify sensitive variables affecting the service life of RC structures exposed to potentially corrosive environments. However, a material that significantly improves the resistance to corrosion may not add real value if the cost of the material is too high. The costs of materials that extend the service-life are not well established during the design process and designers are often in a quandary on how to select materials that optimize project value. Instead of estimating the costs of these durable materials that enhance the service life, this paper provides a methodology that examines the inverse question: How much more could a RC structure constructed with durable material cost, relative to the cost of the same structure constructed with conventional materials, and still be more economical?
Two‐dimensional separations of the genome and proteome of neuroblastoma cells

Two-dimensional (2-D) electrophoretic methods have been available that allow separation of the protein constituents of a cell population. It has also become feasible to electrophoretically separate in two dimensions and to display DNA fragments derived from genomic digests. Through the appropriate choice of restriction enzymes, the functional component of the genome that encompasses CpG islands can be preferentially visualized in 2-D gels. The same computerized approach for the analysis of 2-D patterns can be applied to investigations at either the protein or DNA levels. Our group has utilized 2-D electrophoresis to investigate both protein and DNA changes in cancer. The emphasis to date has been on the identification of proteins, the abundance of which is related to specific biological features of the tumors analyzed and of DNA fragments encompassed in genomic amplifications, as the latter commonly contain growth-related genes. Findings derived from our analysis of neuroblastoma tumors and cell lines using 2-D approaches are reviewed. Data for four proteins observed in 2-D gels are presented because of our demonstrated association of these proteins with differentiation and proliferation properties of neuroblastoma. At the genomic level, the detection of amplifications using 2-D gels has necessitated an understanding of the variability displayed by multi-copy genomic fragments, which we have accomplished to a large part and which we present. An important benefit of 2-D approaches is the efficiency of scale and the ease with which abundant proteins or multicopy genomic fragments can be detected, identified and quantitatively analyzed.