cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Preparation of Short RNA by In Vitro Transcription

Short RNA oligomers are required in many biochemical and biophysical studies. In vitro transcription using T7 RNA polymerase can produce a large amount of specific RNA sufficient for structural studies in a more economical way than chemical synthesis. Here, we provided protocols optimized for the synthesis of very short RNA of 10-20 nucleotides in length by in vitro transcription. These RNA oligomers can be purified conveniently by gel filtration chromatography. We also described how to study RNA and protein binding by gel filtration chromatography.
Correlations between pulmonary artery pressures and inferior vena cava collapsibility in critically ill surgical patients: An exploratory study

Introduction: As pulmonary artery catheter (PAC) use declines, search continues for reliable and readily accessible minimally invasive hemodynamic monitoring alternatives. Although the correlation between inferior vena cava collapsibility index (IVC-CI) and central venous pressures (CVP) has been described previously, little information exists regarding the relationship between IVC-CI and pulmonary artery pressures (PAPs). The goal of this study is to bridge this important knowledge gap. We hypothesized that there would be an inverse correlation between IVC-CI and PAPs. Methods: A post hoc analysis of prospectively collected hemodynamic data was performed, examining correlations between IVC-CI and PAPs in a convenience sample of adult Surgical Intensive Care Unit patients. Concurrent measurements of IVC-CI and pulmonary arterial systolic (PAS), pulmonary arterial diastolic (PAD), and pulmonary arterial mean (PAM) pressures were performed. IVC-CI was calculated as ([IVC max − IVC min]/IVC max) × 100%. Vena cava measurements were obtained by ultrasound-credentialed providers. For the purpose of correlative analysis, PAP measurements (PAS, PAD, and PAM) were grouped by terciles while the IVC-CI spectrum was divided into thirds ( Results: Data from 34 patients (12 women, 22 men, with median age of 59.5 years) were analyzed. Median Acute Physiologic Assessment and Chronic Health Evaluation II score was 9. A total of 76 measurement pairs were recorded, with 57% (43/76) obtained in mechanically ventilated patients. Correlations between IVC-CI and PAS (rs = −0.334), PAD (rs = −0.305), and PAM (rs = −0.329) were poor. Correlations were higher between CVP and PAS (R2 = 0.61), PAD (R2 = 0.68), and PAM (R2 = 0.70). High IVC-CI values (≥66%) consistently correlated with measurements in the lowest PAP ranges. Across all PAP groups (PAS, PAD, and PAM), there were no differences between the mean measurement values for the lower and middle IVC-CI ranges (0%-65%). However, all three groups had significantly lower mean measurement values for the ≥66% IVC-CI group. Conclusions: Low PAS, PAD, and PAM measurements show a reasonable correlation with high IVC-CI (≥66%). These findings are consistent with previous descriptions of the relationship between IVC-CI and CVP. Additional research in this area is warranted to better describe the hemodynamic relationship between IVC-CI and PAPs, with the goal of further reduction in the reliance on the use of PACs.
Evaporation of liquid droplets on solid substrates. II. Periodic substrates with moving contact lines

The model in Part I is adapted for curved substrates. For periodic substrates, apparent contact angle is periodic and ``apparent stick-slip'' motion is observed. For quasiperiodic substrates, apparent contact angle is no longer periodic and contact line dynamics is not limited to apparent stick-slip.
Catholic Doctrine and Nuclear Dogmatics

Martin Luther once wrote, "If I preach the Gospel fully and completely, and in every particular, only excepting the besetting issue of the age, I might as well not preach it at all." Some idea like this may have been what led the National Conference of Catholic Bishops to prepare their pastoral letter on nuclear weapons.1 The fear of nuclear holocaust has, for millions of people, indeed become the besetting issue of the age. The nuclear rhetoric of the Reagan Administration has stirred controversy at home and abroad. The Physicians for Social Responsibility and similar organizations have explained in wellpublicized conferences precisely what the medical consequences of a nuclear attack might be. Thousands of Americans, in town meetings and referenda, have voted for a nuclear freeze. Hundreds of thousands have marched in New York and many European cities. The bishops must have been asked repeatedly what position the Roman Catholic Church takes on all this.2 Furthermore, the bishops may have realized that, for the sake of consistency, their outspoken opposition to abortion as the unjust taking of human life had to be matched by a defense of the innocents who would die in a nuclear exchange. The time being ripe, the bishops appointed a committee to prepare a pastoral letter on modern war, thereby initiating a slow, painstaking process during which the committee held fourteen meetings and met with strategic weapons experts, ethicists, and officials of the U.S. government. Pastoral letters such as this are published only occasionally and are disseminated to both laity and clergy. Their importance is derived in part
Anomaly detection and target prioritization in planetary imagery via the automated global feature analyzer (AGFA): Progress towards a driver for autonomous C4ISR missions

The Automated Global Feature AnalyzerTM (AGFATM) is a generically applicable automated sensor-data-fusion, feature extraction, feature vector clustering, anomaly detection, and target prioritization framework. AGFATM operates in the respective feature space delivered by the sensor(s). In this paper we provide an overview of the inner workings of AGFATM and apply AGFATM to planetary imagery, representative of past, current, and future planetary missions, to demonstrate its automated and objective (i.e., unbiased) anomaly detection and target prioritization (i.e., region-of-interest delineation) capabilities. Imaged operational areas are locally processed via a cascade of image segmentation, visual and geometric feature extraction, agglomerative clustering, and principal components analysis. Resulting clusters are labeled based on relative size and location in feature space. Anomalous regions may be considered immediate targets for follow-up in-situ investigation by local robotic agents, which can be directed via autonomous telecommanding, e.g., as part of a Tier-Scalable Reconnaissance mission architecture. These capabilities will be essential for driving fully autonomous C4ISR missions of the future, since the speed of light prohibits “real time” Earth-controlled conduct of planetary exploration beyond the Moon.
A unified model for the effective elastic response of inhomogeneities with finite sliding

Abstract A model for predicting mean elastic field over volume of a single spherical inhomogeneity encountering interfacial sliding along with elastic deformation is developed in this paper. Based on non-dimensional parametric study using finite element, our proposed semi-analytic model provides closed form solution for two non-linear coefficients necessary for computing average relaxation activity. Using such non-linear relationship for local relaxation law resulted in 7–18 times improvement in accuracy compared to existing models in estimating average strain for tensile and shear far-field loading respectively with only a few percentages of error. Besides being useful for a wide range of property mismatch between matrix and inclusion, it offers the uniqueness to be accurate over 5 to 6 orders of magnitude range of interfacial compliance factors spanning the spectrum from perfectly bonded to free-sliding interface. Additionally, we complement the study by an analysis of sliding energy distribution. Energy equivalency of the mechanics of sliding problem is found by showing closely similar trend between sliding energy and elastic field relaxation pattern. The interplay between sliding energy at interface and elastic energy is showed to provide significant insight on physical understanding of how sliding mechanism happens and what are its influencing parameters. This new approach can lead to further development for polycrystalline problems where grain boundary sliding is an active mechanism.
Jihād, Gender, and Religious Minorities in the Siyar Literature: the Diachronic View

'Siyar' in Islamic law refers to the law of nations or international law. This study focuses on five siyar works composed between the 2nd/8th and 7th/13th centuries in order to compare and analyze their content diachronically in connection with two specific topics. The first topic is concerned with changing juridical conceptualizations of the role of the combative or military jihād in the Muslim polity’s relations with non-Muslim ones during this period. The second has to do with the evolution of siyar rules governing the treatment of non-Muslim and female participants in the military jihād, especially in the matter of the division of spoils. Four of these works represent the four major Sunnī madhāhib while the fifth is an early work predating the formation of these schools of law. Comparison of the content of these works allows us to draw certain conclusions about the nature and purview of the military jihād, as progressively articulated by jurists during the period under discussion. One of the major conclusions to be drawn from this study is that the combative jihād became an exclusively masculine and Muslim activity and effectively excluded women and non-Muslims from participation in it after the 2nd/8th century.
Summary of Lesions

A diverse group of patients with congenital heart disease and other cardiovascular disorders may be referred for exercise testing in a pediatric exercise physiology laboratory. Although the results of cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) are not diagnostic of any particular disorder, a number of patterns characteristic of the various congenital and other cardiovascular disorders can be identified.
A GPU-Based Implementation of ADMIRE

Multipath and off-axis scattering are two of the primary mechanisms for ultrasound image degradation. To address their impact, we have proposed Aperture Domain Model Image REconstruction (ADMIRE). This algorithm utilizes a model-based approach in order to identify and suppress sources of acoustic clutter. The ability of ADMIRE to suppress clutter and improve image quality has been demonstrated in previous works, but its use for real-time imaging has been infeasible due to its significant computational requirements. However, in recent years, the use of GPUs for general-purpose computing has enabled significant acceleration of compute-intensive algorithms. This is due to the fact that many modern GPUs have thousands of computational cores that can be utilized to perform massively parallel processing.Therefore, in this work, we have developed a GPU-based implementation of ADMIRE. The computations were distributed across two GPUs, and speedups of almost three orders of magnitude were achieved when compared to a serial CPU implementation. The frame rate depends upon various imaging parameters, and we demonstrate this using a small cyst simulation dataset and a large in-vivo kidney dataset. However, even for the large dataset, the implementation still provides the ability to process multiple frames of data per second. Due to this, it has the capability to serve as a real-time imaging framework.
Clinical characteristics of 12 cases with methylmalonic acidemia

Objective To investigate the clinical characteristics of methylmalonic acidemia. Methods Methylmalonic acidemia diagnosis and treatment of 12 cases of clinical data were collected, the clinical manifestations, laboratory examinations, gas chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry analysis of the measurement results of urine organic acids, blood gas analysis, glucose, lactic acid, ammonia and other characteristics were sumarized, and the clinical features and outcome of the situation were also sumarized. Results 1 year old first visit eight cases,12 cases,8 cases from rural areas;12 cases of major treatment complained of anorexia, poor spirit hospitalized one case; respiratory infection hospitalized five cases; seizure hospitalized three cases; weight gain admission,one case; vomiting admitted three cases, three cases of drowsiness, coma admitted one case, the movement behind the main complaint admitted two cases. After hospitalization check urine organic acid analysis found significantly increased methylmalonic acid, respectively, while ammonia, lactic acid increased, high blood sugar,high uric acid,low albumin, urine protein abnormalities, abnormal urine ketone bodies,abnormal increased anion gap, video science and abnormal electrophysiological examination. Diagnosed with methylmalonic acidemia, according to the case were given VitB12, betaine, folic acid, L-carnitine, limiting protein intake and other treatment. Symptomatic treatment improved in seven patients, two patients were lost; automatically discharged one case, two cases of death. Conclusion Methylmalonic acidemia based on clinical characteristics, so early detection, early diagnosis, early treatment will help to improve prognosis. Key words: Methylmalonic acid; Clinical features; Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry
Review of advances in microwave and millimetre-wave NDT&E: principles and applications.

Microwave and millimetre-wave non-destructive testing and evaluation (NDTE Zoughi 2000 Micr...
Submodular sketches of single-cell RNA-seq measurements

Single-cell RNA-seq (scRNA-seq) datasets now routinely profile tens of thousands to millions of cells. These data are invaluable for finding important subpopulations of cells and for closely studying the mechanics of gene expression. However, as these datasets become larger, they become more difficult to analyze. Analyzing and sharing massive single-cell RNA-seq datasets can be facilitated by creating a "sketch" of the data---a selected subset of cells that accurately represent the full dataset. In this work, we use an existing benchmark to demonstrate the utility of submodular optimization in efficiently creating high quality sketches of scRNA-seq data.
A method for validating depth-resolved biodistributions in topically-stained specimen with multi-channel fluorescence cryo-imaging

Fluorescent contrast agents targeted to cancer biomarkers are increasingly being explored for cancer detection, surgical guidance, and response monitoring. Efforts have been underway to topically apply such biomarker-targeted agents to freshly excised specimen for detecting cancer cell receptors on the surface as a method for intraoperative surgical margin assessment, including dual-probe staining methods introduce a second ‘non-specific’ optical agent as a control to help compensate for heterogeneous uptake and normalize the imaging field. Still, such specimen staining protocols introduce multifaceted complexity with unknown variables, such as tissue-specific diffusion, cell-specific binding and disassociation rates, and other factors, affecting the interpreted cancer-biomarker distribution across the specimen surface. The ability to recover three-dimensional dual-probe biodistributions throughout whole-specimens could offer a ground-truth validation method for examining topical staining uptake behaviors. Herein, we report on a novel method for characterizing dual-probe accumulation with 3D depth-profiles observed from a dual-probe fresh-specimen staining experiment.
Patient posture correction and alignment using mixed reality visualization and the HoloLens 2

PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to develop and preliminarily test a radiotherapy system for patient posture correction and alignment using mixed reality (MixR) visualization. The write-up of this work also provides an opportunity to introduce the concepts and technology of MixR for a medical physics audience who may be unfamiliar with the topic. METHODS A MixR application was developed for on optical-see-through head-mounted display (HoloLens 2) allowing a user to simultaneously and directly view a patient and a reference hologram derived from their simulation CT scan. The hologram provides a visual reference for the exact posture needed during treatment and is initialized in relation to the origin of a radiotherapy device using marker-based tracking. The system further provides marker-less tracking that allows the user tofreely navigate the room as they view and align the patient from various angles. The system was preliminarily tested using both a rigid (pelvis) and nonrigid (female mannequin) anthropomorphic phantom. Each phantom was aligned via hologram and accuracy quantified using CBCT and CT. RESULTS A fully realized system was developed. Rigid registration accuracy was on the order of 3.0 ± 1.5 mm based on the performance of three users repeating alignment five times each. The lateral direction showed the most variability among users and was associated with the largest off-sets (approximately 2.0 mm). For nonrigid alignment, the MixR setup outperformed a setup based on three-point alignment and setup photos, the latter of which showed a difference in arm position of 2 cm and a torso roll of 6-7°. CONCLUSIONS MixR visualization is a rapidly emerging domain that has the potential to significantly impact the field of medicine. The current application is an illustration of this and highlights the advantages of MixR for patient setup in radiation oncology. The key feature of the system is the way in which it transforms nonrigid registration into rigid registration by providing an efficient, portable, and cost-effective mechanism for reproducing patient posture without the use of ionizing radiation. Preliminary estimates of registration accuracy indicate clinical viability and form the foundation for further development and clinical testing.
Nuclear Weapons and Strategy: US Nuclear Policy for the Twenty-First Century

1. Technology and Deterrence in the New World Order 2. Can Missile Defenses Overturn Deterrence? 3. Conventionalizing U.S. and Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces 4. Nuclear Proliferation and Causal Explanation: Who's Right, and What's at Stake? 5. Israeli Nuclear Deterrence: Survival and Danger
Evolution of Biomineralization Systems within the Cephalopoda

Chemical data from unaltered nautiloid and ammonoid shells for a period of 300 million years serve to document several aspects of change in physiochemical systems of these groups: 1) ammonoids were more efficient than coeval coiled nautiloids in the precipitation of aragonite 2) the Sr and Mg chemistry of early ammonoid skeletons was much difference than later descendents, and 3) the shell chemistry of early nautiloids is not markedly different from their modern descendent, Nautilus.
A Case Study of the Perversion Files: An Application of Lanning and Dietz "Commonly Misunderstood Phenomena".

The fight against child sexual abuse has been hindered by the refusal of many public organizations to release information or to report allegations of misconduct. Brought to the public’s attention only when the accused is a well-known person, organizations designed to support children in many aspects of their lives have allowed for decades of abuse to go unchecked. In October of 2012, the Oregon Supreme court ordered the Boy Scouts of American (BSA) to release 14,500 pages of confidential files detailing sexual abuse allegations from 1959 to 1985. The so-called “perversion files” are the single largest collection of information on alleged perpetrators of sexual molestation against youth. The BSA data represented a unique opportunity to examine demographic information from a large sample of purported sexual offenders from across the country over a vast period of time. Additionally, the sexual offenders were not exclusively located in the criminal justice system since BSA officials referred only a small percentage of offenders to law enforcement. The study analyzed a random sample to ascertain description of the actions used by the individuals identified in the perversion files. These were then analyzed to explain why these individuals might have gone unnoticed or their actions unreported by the BSA volunteers.
A Review of: “From Despair to Hope: HOPE VI and the New Promise of Public Housing in America's Cities”

From Despair to Hope: HOPE VI and the New Promise of Public Housing in America's Cities is a star-studded, edited reader about one of the most successful urban redevelopment initiatives of the past...
Of Communism, Treason, and Addiction: An Evaluation of Novel Challenges to the Military's Anti-Gay Policy

A recent wave of decisions have held unconstitutional the exclusion of lesbians, bisexuals,and gay men in the military when the only evidence of same-sex "conduct" is the service member's self-identification as gay. These courts, as well as some pro-equality commentators, have drawn upon three criminal law models by characterizing same-sex orientation as akin to a status and a form of political expression.The first model relies upon Robinson v. California and Powell v. Texas, in which the Supreme Court announced the constitutional impermissibility of criminalizing the status of addiction to narcotics and alcohol. In the context of military litigation, this model posits the constitutional impermissibility of criminalizing the status of same-sex orientation. The latter two models depend upon a characterization of same-sex orientation-particularly "coming out," disclosing one's gay identity-as akin to a form of political expression. The second model is an analogy to the Supreme Court's restrictions upon the criminalization of subversive advocacy pursuant to statutes such as the Smith Act and the Subversive Activities Control Act. The final model looks to the development of the American law of treason, with its rejection of the early English law of constructive treason, which permitted conviction based upon one's thoughts alone. Because these three models may be gaining favor as precedent among courts holding the military's discharge policy unconstitutional, pursuing an in-depth examination of their implications is urgent.The Author argues that, although at first glance these models may appear to be enticing bases for overturning the exclusionary policy, pro equality advocates should not rely on them for two principal reasons. As a matter of doctrine, any value as precedent collapses under the weight of closer scrutiny; as a historical matter, gay persons have been and may continue to be associated with the stigmatized groups found in each model.Part I of this Article considers the 1994 Directives and the ways in which it targets sexual orientation despite President Clinton's claim of a status versus conduct bifurcation. Parts II-IV examine, respectively, the analogies to Robinson and Powell, subversive advocacy, and treason decisions. Each part looks, first, to the doctrinal strengths and weaknesses when applied 'to the 1994 Directives and, second, to the historical associations that may (mis)inform judicial decisionmaking.
A Secondary Market Test of the Merits of Class Action Securities Litigation: Evidence from the Reputation of Corporate Directors

Corporations in the United States have come under intense scrutiny for how they report their finances. Enforcement of financial regulation in the United States depends on both the actions of the SEC and private citizens. Because of limited enforcement resources, the SEC argues that private suits are necessary to police corporate behavior and ensure firms obey security laws. Critics of shareholder suits argue that the majority of cases are frivolous and impose a heavy cost on firms while providing little in the way of deterrence. This study utilizes a secondary market to examine the merits of shareholder class actions. Specifically, it examines the reputational penalty paid by officers and directors accused of fraud. Given the amount of discretion and hidden information implicit in corporate management, directors have a considerable interest in maintaining a reputation for trustworthiness. I examine the market for new outside directorships. If private securities class actions are meritorious, directors and officers should pay a reputational penalty when they sit on a board of a company where the officers and directors are accused of fraud. There is little evidence of a negative impact associated with allegations of fraud. Using various definitions of board positions as a proxy for the reputation of directors who are accused of fraud, I find that the net number of board positions is consistently increased. Only shareholder class actions in the top quartile of settlements or in which the SEC has initiated a case do directors appear to suffer a reputational penalty when a board they serve on is accused of fraud. The results call into question the merits of private securities class actions.
THE INNERVATION OF THE PROXIMAL INTERPHALANGEAL JOINT AND ITS APPLICATION IN NEURECTOMY

In an anatomic study of 64 fingers, we demonstrated that the proximal interphalangeal joint is innervated by branches of the palmar digital nerves. The number of articular branches ranges from two to four and their origins from the digital nerve are between 2 and 8 mm from the proximal interphalangeal joint. In a clinical series of 24 neurectomies in 21 patients, there was a significant improvement in pain and range of motion in 22 fingers. We conclude that neurectomy is a therapeutic option in the treatment of osteoarthritis of the proximal, interphalangeal joint.
Dietary restriction and walking reduce fat deposition in the midthigh in obese older women

Background: It is suggested that fat deposition within midthigh muscle, represented by low-density lean tissue, increases with deconditioning and obesity and is associated with risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD) in women. Objective: We determined the effects of a 6-mo weight loss and walking (3 times/wk) program (WL+AEX) on midthigh low-density lean tissue and glucose and lipid metabolism in 24 sedentary, obese [body mass index (kg/m 2 ): 32 ± 1 (x ± SEM)] postmenopausal women aged 58 ± I y. Design: Total body fat and fat-free mass were measured by using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Intraabdominal fat (IAF), subcutaneous abdominal fat (SAF), midthigh fat, midthigh muscle, and midthigh low-density lean tissue areas were measured by using computed tomography. Glucose and insulin responses were determined with a 3-h oral-glucose-tolerance test. Results: Body weight decreased 8% (P < 0.001) and maximal aerobic capacity increased 8% (P < 0.001) with the weight loss and walking program. Total body fat decreased by 15% (P < 0.001) whereas fat-free mass did not change. IAF and SAF decreased by 18% and 16%, respectively (P < 0.001). Midthigh fat and midthigh low-density lean tissue decreased by 16% and 18%, respectively (P < 0.001), and midthigh muscle area increased by 7% (P < 0.05). Fasting plasma insulin decreased by 12% and total glucose and insulin areas under the curve decreased by 6% and 24%, respectively (P < 0.05). HDL-cholesterol concentrations increased 8% (P < 0.05) and triacylglycerol concentrations decreased 19% (P < 0.001). Conclusion: Increased physical fitness and weight loss reduce midthigh low-density lean tissue and improve glucose and lipid metabolic risk factors for CVD in obese postmenopausal women.
Nanophotonic devices and circuits

Advances in nanoscale fabrication techniques in dielectric and metallic material systems has opened up new opportunities in photonics and plasmonics for solving long standing problems in information systems and telecommunication systems. In this talk, we discuss some of the metamaterials and devices that recently have been demonstrated in our lab. These include metamaterials with space variant polarizability to realize on-chip, frequencyselective resonators and Bragg gratings, as well as metal-semiconductor-dielectric nanolasers.
Solid core liposomes with encapsulated colloidal gold particles

Solid core liposomes with encapsulated colloidal gold particles were prepared through four major steps: Preparation of prevesicles with encapsulated solid cores of agarose-gelatin by emulsification of agarose-gelatin sol in organic solvent containing emulsifiers followed by cooling. Extraction of lipophilic components from prevesicles to obtain microspherules of agarose-gelatin. Introducing colloidal gold particles into microspherules and coating with protein molecules. Encapsulation of colloidal gold-bearing microspherules with the modified organic solvent spherule evaporation method for preparation of liposomes (Kim et al. (1983) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 728, 339-348 and Kim et al. (1984) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 812, 793-801). Electron micrographs showed that if liposomes were prepared by using a lipid mixture containing dioleoylphosphatidylcholine/cholesterol/dioleoylphosphatidylglycerol/tri olein (molar ratio 4.5:4.5:1:1), there was only a single continuous bilayer membrane for each solid core liposome. However, if no triolein was added to the lipid mixture, it would cause the formation of multilamellar liposomes. In both cases, there were hundreds to thousands of colloidal gold particles within each solid core liposome.
Complementation of DNA repair defect in xeroderma pigmentosum cells of group C by the transfer of human chromosome 5

Complementation of DNA excision repair defect in xeroderma pigmentosum cells of group C (XP-C) has been achieved by the transfer of human chromosome 5. Individual human chromosomes tagged with a selectable marker were transferred to XP-C cells by microcell fusion from mouse-human hybrid cell lines each bearing a single different human chromosome. Analysis of the chromosome transfer clones revealed that introduction of chromosome 5 into XP-C cells corrected the DNA repair defect as well as UV-sensitive phenotypes, while chromosomes 2, 6, 7, 9, 13, 15, 17, and 21 failed to complement. The introduced chromosome 5 in complemented UVr clones was distinguished from the parental XP-C chromosomes by polymorphism for dinucleotide (CA)n repeats at two loci, D5S117 and D5S209. In addition, an intact marked chromosome 5 was rescued into mouse cells from a complemented UVr clone by microcell fusion. Five subclones of a complemented clone that had lost the marked chromosome 5 exhibited UV-sensitive and repair-deficient phenotypes identical to parental XP-C cells. Concordant loss of the transferred chromosome and reappearance of XP-C phenotype further confirmed the presence of a DNA repair gene on human chromosome 5.
UROPHARMACOLOGY: VII. GANGLIONIC STIMULATING AND BLOCKING AGENTS

A classification of the various ganglionic stimulants and blockers is presented, and their pharmacologic effects on the urinary bladder and urethra are discussed. Ganglionic stimulating drugs are of considerable interest in investigational work but are not presently used therapeutically. Ganglionic blockers include hexamethonium, tetraethylammonium, mecamylamine emepronium, pentolinium, chlorisondamine, and pemipidine. Of the numerous ganglionic blocking drugs that have appeared on the therapeutic scene, only mecamylamine, pentolinium, and trimethaphan are currently official.
Cardiac protection by ischaemic preconditioning is not mediated by myocardial stunning

Objective: Previous studies have shown that cardiac protection by ischaemic preconditioning wanes before contractile function recovers; thus stunning is insufficient to cause preconditioning. To test whether reduced contractile effort is necessary for preconditioning induced protection, the effect on myocardial infarct size of restoring contractile function with dobutamine was examined in preconditioned and control dogs. Methods: In two experimental groups (groups P and P+D), preconditioning was produced by four 5 min occlusions of the left anterior descending coronary artery, each separated by 5 min of reperfusion. Contractile function was assessed by sonomicrometry 5 min after completion of the preconditioning protocol. In group P+D, dobutamine (average dose = 5 μg·kg−1·min−1) was then infused intravenously to restore systolic shortening to baseline. The artery then was reoccluded for 40 min of sustained ischaemia followed by 4 d of reperfusion. Two additional groups of non-preconditioned control dogs (groups C and C+D) also underwent 40 min of coronary occlusion and 4 d of reperfusion. Group C+D received a dobutamine infusion beginning 15 min before and during the 40 min occlusion to match the dobutamine received in group P+D, whereas group C received normal saline. Results: Preconditioning caused mild postischaemic contractile dysfunction (50% decrease in systolic shortening) which was easily reversed by dobutamine treatment. Dobutamine also increased both the rate-pressure product and the left ventricular dP/dt in both treated groups (C+D and P+D). Histological infarct size was 12.3(SEM 2.0)% of the area at risk in the untreated control group (n=ll), and was reduced to 4.4(1.7)% in the untreated preconditioning group (n=8; p<0.05). Dobutamine increased non-preconditioned infarct size (group C+D) to 22.1(3.4)% (n=7; p<0.05). Infarct size in the dobutamine treated preconditioning group (P+D) was not significantly different from infarct size in group P (n=8), at 6.1(2.5%). Conclusions: In preconditioned hearts, dobutamine restored postischaemic contractile function but did not increase infarct size significantly. Thus reduced contractile effort is not required for the cardioprotective effect on ischaemic preconditioning. Cardiovascular Research 1993; 27 :585-592
LocalEyes: accessible GPS and points of interest

Most current GPS devices are inaccessible for blind and low-vision users and the few that are tend to be expensive and highly specialized [2]. LocalEyes uses less expensive, multi-purpose smart phone technology and freely available data sources to provide an accessible GPS application that will increase a user's independence and ability to explore new places alone.
The interface of preclinical evaluation with clinical testing of antiepileptic drugs: role of pharmacogenomics and pharmacogenetics

Despite the release of eight antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) during the last decade, the incidence of pharmacoresistant epilepsy has changed relatively little. Predicting efficacy and safety of AEDs in people with epilepsy from acute seizure models in rodents is difficult and risky. It is becoming increasingly clear that genetic polymorphisms play an integral role in variability in both antiepileptic drug pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics. The publication of the human genome and increasing sophisticated and powerful genetic tools offers new methods for screening drugs and predicting deadly idiosyncratic side effects. In this review the use of pharmacogenomic and pharmacokinetic techniques in the development and monitoring of antiepileptic drug therapy is reviewed. Genetic techniques have the potential of identifying novel drug targets, predicting drug response, and identifying individuals at risk for serious idosyncratic reactions.
Biological diversity under development: a study of the co-production that is biological diversity

The problem of biodiversity loss is a complex issue involving multiple actors and knowledge forms. This article examines how this complexity is possible without fragmenting the issue and causing it to lose its meaning and legitimacy. Inspired by Jasanoff, the study aims to analyse the construction of biological diversity through a co-production perspective. This aim is achieved by focusing on three milestones in the history of the problem of biodiversity loss: launching the concept of biodiversity, establishing the Convention on Biological Diversity and founding the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. The study shows how biological diversity consists of a co-production of facts and values and how its differences make it a stable rather than unstable phenomenon. The study offers knowledge of the hybrid character of biodiversity and discusses the importance of trying to manage the complexity of biological diversity rather than reducing it through boundary work.
Government leadership to protect children from foster care "drift"

In the United States public concern about foster care drift is widespread. "Drift" means lengthy placement away from the natural family, without a clear goal to return the child or find some other permanent home. Concern is focused on the negative effect of lengthy foster care on the psychological health of the child, and also on the increasing cost of such placement. Recently, the federal government, in response to extensive testimony about these issues, passed landmark legislation designed to reduce foster care drift, the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Funding Act of 1980. Thus the government has now become a leader in child welfare planning. The law requires a reporting and tracking system so that no child already in placement becomes "lost in the system." In addition, all proposed foster placements are now hedged with requirements that there be clear purposes and goals to be achieved by such placements. In effect placements must be defended, tracked, and reviewed periodically. The new requirements pose a rebuke to the professions serving children which have failed to stem the increase in foster care, and to control and place a time limit on such interventions in the family. Federal leadership has created a political climate in child welfare planning. The regulations issued to implement the law in the Carter presidency differ from those of the current administration. The current policy of the government of the United States is to provide protection of the family from excessive foster care placements by child welfare agencies. This is support for greater autonomy for the family, a more conservative approach.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Just For Fun: Writing and Literacy Learning as Forms of Play

Abstract This article focuses on Ink, a Multiplayer Online Game (MOG) being developed at Michigan State University. The design of Ink reflects the developers’ understanding of writing pedagogy and rhetorical theory. Ink allows players to enter into complex rhetorical situations that include exigencies, audiences, and rhetorical purposes. The developers of Ink hope that placing players in these rhetorical situations will facilitate literacy learning while simultaneously providing a satisfying game experience. Players will hopefully learn while having fun. In order to test the effectiveness of Ink as a game and learning environment, the authors designed a small-scale preliminary study with a focus group of student playtesters. The study was designed to answer three fundamental questions: Will players write? Will players have fun? Will players learn? The study generated some evidence that the answer to all three questions is “yes.”
Technical Challenges to In-situ Remediation of Polluted Sites

Throughout the world, subsurface contamination has become a widespread and pervasive problem. Toxic chemicals such as heavy metals and organic compounds are commonly used in a myriad of industries. However, largely through inadvertent or accidental release, these chemicals are presently polluting sites across the United States. In order to protect public health and the environment, further pollution must be prevented and sites with existing contamination urgently need remediation. Unfortunately, remediating subsurface contamination has proved to be a daunting task. Heavy metals and organic compounds often coexist and their distribution within the subsurface is highly dependent on particle and macro-scale heterogeneities. Vast resources have been invested to develop efficient remediation technologies, yet very few of these technologies have been successful. In-situ remediation is often preferred due to minimal site disturbance, safety, simplicity, and cost-effectiveness. The effectiveness of in-situ remediation technologies depends largely on the contaminant chemistry and subsurface heterogeneities (including particle-scale heterogeneities such as fine-grained soils, soils with reactive minerals, and/or soils rich in organic matter as well as macro-scale heterogeneities such as irregular soil layers and/or lenses). Under such heterogeneous conditions, integrated electrokinetic remediation technology has great potential. As a safe and economical remedial option for so many contaminated sites, the application of integrated electrokinetic remediation offers enormous public health, environmental, and financial benefits.
Optical Radiation Hazards of Laser Welding Processes Part 1: Neodymium-YAG Laser

High power laser devices are being used for numerous metalworking processes such as welding, cutting and heat treating. Such laser devices are totally enclosed either by the manufacturer or the end-user. When this is done, the total laser system is usually certified by the manufacturer following the federal requirements of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 1040.10 and 10.40.11 as a Class I laser system. Similarly, the end-user may also reclassify an enclosed high-power laser into the Class I category following the requirements of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Z-136.1 (1980) standard. There are, however, numerous industrial laser applications where Class IV systems are required to be used in an unenclosed manner. In such applications, there is concern for both ocular and skin hazards caused by direct and scattered laser radiation, as well as potential hazards caused by the optical radiation created by the laser beam's interaction with the metal (i.e. the plume radiation). Radiant ene...
Do ‘global citizens’ need the parochial cultural other? Discourse of immersion in study abroad and learning-by-doing

The discourse of immersion is prevalent but little analysed in the field of study abroad. Linked generally to learning-by-doing, this discourse has significance for ‘intercultural education’. Based on text analyses of three guidebooks on study abroad, this article suggests four effects of the discourse of immersion: It justifies study abroad as different from, if not better than, classroom learning and tourism. It emphasises the difference between students’ home and host cultures and constructs each society as internally homogeneous. It constructs study-abroad students’ home societies as globalised and their host societies as immobile and parochial, creating a hierarchy when globalisation is valorized. Finally, it exoticises the learning-by-doing ‘teachers’ – the host people – by portraying them as parochial ‘cultural others’. This article suggests an uneven process where the call for production of ‘global citizens’ through study abroad constructs host societies as parochial and risks reproducing a coloni...
Loss of Plasmid DNA Coding for β-Lactamase During Experimental Infection with Haemophilus influenzae Type b

Apparent R factor-negative segregation was documented during infection of infant monkeys with two of three strains of ampicillin-resistant Haemophilus influenzae type b. In vitro the bacterial population of one strain (A-Sm) uniformly produced beta-lactamase. All bacteria isolated from blood or cerebrospinal fluid from both animals inoculated with strain A-Sm produced the enzyme. In contrast, 98% and 96% of bacteria from two other strains produced beta-lactamase in vitro. After intranasal inoculation of infant Macacca mulatta with these two strains, bacteria isolated from blood and cerebrospinal fluid uniformly did not produce beta-lactamase. Loss of the beta-lactamase-producing phenotype was associated with loss of plasmid DNA. Strains containing a mixed population of bacteria may undergo spontaneous loss of plasmid DNA during experimental infection. It is suggested that in these strains the bacteria carrying plasmids are less virulent.
Roles of β-Turns in Protein Folding: From Peptide Models to Protein Engineering

Reverse turns are a major class of protein secondary structure; they represent sites of chain reversal and thus sites where the globular character of a protein is created. It has been speculated for many years that turns may nucleate the formation of structure in protein folding, as their propensity to occur will favor the approximation of their flanking regions and their general tendency to be hydrophilic will favor their disposition at the solvent-accessible surface. Reverse turns are local features, and it is therefore not surprising that their structural properties have been extensively studied using peptide models. In this article, we review research on peptide models of turns to test the hypothesis that the propensities of turns to form in short peptides will relate to the roles of corresponding sequences in protein folding. Turns with significant stability as isolated entities should actively promote the folding of a protein, and by contrast, turn sequences that merely allow the chain to adopt conformations required for chain reversal are predicted to be passive in the folding mechanism. We discuss results of protein engineering studies of the roles of turn residues in folding mechanisms. Factors that correlate with the importance of turns in folding indeed include their intrinsic stability, as well as their topological context and their participation in hydrophobic networks within the protein’s structure.
Color their prose gray

Though surrounded by fascinating and challenging subjects, too many engineers and scientists write dull reports and papers. More attention to verbs can help alleviate dullness and can promote such qualities as vividness, directness, force, and interest. Passive verb forms can be changed to active; combinations of passive verbs with other lifeless verbs can be reduced through subordination and elimination; and normalized verbs (verbs forced into noun functions) can be used as true verbs. An improved approach to technical writing is suggested.
Is lack of control over emotions, or over stressful life events, more important in disorders of emotion?

One central thesis of Barlow's review is that there exist at least four "disorders of emotion." In each case, a fundamental discrete emotion (fear/panic, sadness/depression, mania, or anger) is thought to occur periodically in vulnerable individuals in what often seems to be a highly unpredictable and/or uncontrollable fashion. The process of what ensues in some individuals who have unpredictable panic attacks is well known: If a cycle of anxious apprehension about the next possible panic attack begins, vulnerable individuals may go on from having occasional infrequent panic attacks to having full-blown panic disorder, with or without agoraphobia. What is novel about Barlow's theory is his proposal that parallel processes may occur with the other three fundamental emotions as well: Individuals with uncontrollable bouts of sadness/depression may develop "double depression," individuals with uncontrollable manic episodes may become depressed about their perceived inability to control their mania and develop "dysphoric mania," and individuals with uncontrollable bouts of anger may maintain an illusion of control over their emotions and experience the stress manifested as physiological disease states such as hypertension or cardiovascular disease. We find this proposal to be highly provocative. However, we also find several of the proposed parallels between the four "disorders of emotion" not entirely clear for reasons that we try to illustrate. In addition, we conclude with comments that expand on two other issues raised by Barlow's review.