cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Triple Modulation FT-IR Spectrometry for Surface Analysis in the Far Infrared Region

Although several spectroscopic techniques yield analytical information about species adsorbed on flat surfaces, most of the more sensitive measurements require the sample to be placed in a high vacuum and/or only yield the elemental composition of the surface. Infrared spectrometry is not limited by either of the above constraints but does have the disadvantage of relatively poor sensitivity. Most previous measurements of the infrared spectra of adsorbed species on flat substrates have been above 700 cm-1 so that only the intramolecular vibrations of the adsorbate can be observed. Of equal importance, but very infrequently studied, are the intermolecular vibrational modes of the sorbed species and the metal substrate. Measurement of the frequency of these bands should yield direct information on the strength of the interaction between the adsorbate and the adsorbent.
A potential role for resveratrol as a radiation sensitizer for melanoma treatment

Abstract Background Radiotherapy (XRT) is used to improve local control of melanoma and for palliation of metastatic disease. Clinical use of XRT for melanoma is often limited by extent of disease and the relative radioresistance of melanoma may limit the effectiveness of XRT. Our group and others have previously shown that resveratrol (RSV) enhances radiation sensitivity in radioresistant prostate cancer cell lines. Material and Methods In this study, the effects of XRT in combination with RSV on radioresistant melanoma lines, SK-Mel-5 and HTB-65, were evaluated by assessment of proliferation and apoptosis. Clonogenic assay, comparison of proliferating cell nuclear antigen staining, Quick Cell Proliferation assay, terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) staining and caspase-3 activity assay were used to assess proliferation and apoptosis, as appropriate. Results We found that the percentage of colonies, proliferating cell nuclear antigen + cells and the optical density value of melanoma cells were decreased after addition of RSV to XRT (XRT/RSV). TUNEL + cells and the relative caspase-3 activity in melanoma cells were increased after addition of RSV to XRT (XRT/RSV). We investigated the possible molecular mechanisms of decreased proliferation and increased apoptosis by using reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemical staining. The anti-proliferative effect of XRT/RSV correlated with decreased expression of pro-proliferative molecule cyclin B, cyclin D, cdk2 and cdk4. The pro-apoptotic effect of XRT/RSV correlated with decreased expression of the anti-apoptotic molecule FLIP, Bcl-2, and survivin. Conclusion These data suggest that RSV enhances radiation sensitivity of melanoma cells by inhibiting proliferation and promoting apoptosis. Resveratrol may have a potential role as a radiation sensitizer for melanoma treatment.
Experiences with ethylene diamine tetraacetate for the determination of calcium in the blood

Es wurde eine Titrations-Methode in Kombination mit einem Colorimeter zur direkten Bestimmung von Calcium im Serum mit Athylendiamin-tetraacetat beschrieben und auf ihre Fehlerquellen hingewiesen.
Surgical management of primary tumors of the cervical spine: surgical considerations and avoidance of complications

AbstractObjective:Primary cervical spinal tumors are rare tumors of the spine and are associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Such tumors include multiple myeloma, chordomas, giant cell tumors, hemangiomas, osteosarcomas, chondrosarcomas, synovial sarcomas, aneurysmal bone cysts (ABC), hemangiomas, eosinophilic granulomas, osteoid osteomas, and osteoblastomas. We review the surgical decision-making process and identify critical key steps for surgical complication avoidance. We also present case illustrations demonstrating such pathological diagnoses and surgical treatments performed.Methods:We retrospectively review the literature regarding the most common primary cervical spinal tumors that have undergone surgical resection with or without adjuvant treatment.Results:En bloc resection of primary cervical tumors resulted in significantly increased progression-free survival and overall survival. From the limited data, adjuvant treatment with proton-beam therapy for chordomas has potential benef...
Comparisons of the behavior of (111) and (001) interphase boundaries in CuAg and CuAgAu alloys

Abstract Monte Carlo simulation, in conjunction with the embedded atom method, has been used to model the composition and structure of semicoherent (111) interphase boundaries separating Cu-rich from Ag-rich phases in binary CuAg and ternary CuAgAu alloys. The results are compared with those obtained from previous simulations of (001) interphase boundaries in the same alloys. Whereas the (001) interface had been found to decompose into {111} microfacets with a periodicity related to the period of the misfit dislocations lying in the interface, interfaces with the (111) orientation are found to be stable. The segregation of Au in ternary CuAgAu alloys, which appears weak at the (001) interface because of the distribution of Au over the surface of the microfacets, is found to be considerably stronger at the (111) interface. Finally, the results obtained lead to the conclusion that instability of the (001) interface to faceting is driven primarily by the opportunity for interfacial energy reduction, and not by compositional interactions associated with the presence of interfacial dislocations.
Vaccinology, immunology, and comparative pathogenesis of measles in the quest for a preventative against AIDS.

Current approaches to the prevention and control of AIDS by vaccines and by chemotherapy have failed to provide satisfactory solutions to this important medical problem and have failed, in addition...
Effects of Isolation Stress on Peripheral Leucocytes of Female Albino Mice

ZISKIND1 has reported paranoid psychoses, mental abnormalities, anxiety states and depressions in humans due to prolonged solitary confinement or isolation stress. Zuckerman et al.1 have similarly demonstrated the stressful effects of acute, short-term periods (3 h) of total and partial perceptual isolation in man. Little has been done to define the endocrinological consequences of isolation stress. Few investigators have recognized the possibilities of the use of isolation to produce abnormalities of behaviour or emotion in laboratory animals. Scott and Marston2 and Keller and Umbreit3 have found that solitary confinement produced a rapid, violent, head-shaking response in mice when an area at the back of the head was touched lightly with apointed object. Other investigators4,5 have also reported aggressive behaviour and ferocity in isolated mice. Barnes6 has used the inhibition of head-twitching and convulsive responses caused by isolation to evaluate the tranquillizing, sedative and anti-epileptic effects of various drugs.
Effect of 6-hydroxydopamine pretreatment on spontaneous convulsions induced by barbital withdrawal

Follwing withdrawal from chronic barbital administration, 6-hydroxydopamine pretreated rats show a greater number and an earlier onset of spontaneous convulsive seizures than do rats pretreated with the saline-ascorbic acid vehicle.
L-glutamic acid decarboxylase in non-neural tissues of the mouse.

— Low levels of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and of glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) activity have been detected in mouse kidney, liver, spleen and pancreas. Quantitation of both 14CO2 and [14C]GABA produced in radiometric assays from [U-14CJglutamic acid has shown that measurement of 14CO2 evolution alone is not, in all cases, a valid estimate of true GAD activity. As evidenced by increased ,14CO2 production upon addition of NAD and CoA to assay mixtures, radiometric assay of GAD activity in crude homogenates may yield 14CO2 via the coupled reactions of glutamic acid dehydrogenase and a-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase. The addition of 1 mM aminooxyacetic acid (AOAA) to assays of kidney homogenates inhibited [,14C]GABA production 92 per cent while 14CO2 production was inhibited only 53 per cent. No evidence was found to confirm the reported existence of a second form of the enzyme, GAD II. previously described by Haber el al. (Haber B., Kuriyama K. & Roberts E. (1970) Biochem. Pharmac. 19, 1119-1136). Based on sensitivity-to AOAA and chloride inhibition, the GAD activity in mouse kidney is. apparently, indistinguishable from that of neural origin.
Chemistry of Pyrrolo[1,2-a]indole- and Pyrido[1,2-a]indole-Based Quinone Methides. Mechanistic Explanations for Differences in Cytostatic/Cytotoxic Properties

In the present study we investigate pyrido[1,2-a]indole- and pyrrolo[1,2-a]indole-based quinones capable of forming quinone methide and vinyl quinone species upon reduction and leaving group elimination. Our goals were to determine the influence of the 6-membered pyrido and the 5-membered pyrrolo fused rings on quinone methide and vinyl quinone formation and fate as well as on cytostatic and cytotoxic activity. We used the technique of Spectral Global Fitting to study the fleeting quinone methide intermediate directly. Conclusions regarding quinone methide reactivity are that carbonyl O-protonation is required for nucleophile trapping and that the pKa value of this protonated species is near neutrality. The abnormally high protonated carbonyl pKa values are due to the formation of an aromatic carbocation species upon protonation. The fused pyrido ring promotes quinone methide and vinyl quinone formation but slows nucleophile trapping compared to the fused pyrrolo ring. These findings are explained by the presence of axial hydrogen atoms in the fused pyrido ring resulting in more steric congestion compared to the relatively flat fused pyrrolo ring. Consequently, pyrrolo[1,2-a]indole-based quinones exhibit more cytostatic activity than the pyrido[1,2-a]indole analogues due to their greater nucleophile trapping capability.
Folding Pathway And Free Energy Landscape Of Villin Headpiece Subdomain HP35 Studied by String Method

The string method with swarm of trajectories is applied here to find the most probable folding pathways of the 35-residue villin headpiece subdomain (HP35). The converged pathway, represented by 61 discrete images, fully characterizes the mechanism of HP35 folding. The three alpha helices in HP35 exhibit distinct patterns of formation, and each forms at a different stage in the folding process. The one-dimensional free energy profile is computed by integrating the mean force along the folding pathway and roughly two major energy barriers are observed. The biggest folding energy barrier is estimated to be 4.1 kcal/mol and the second one about 3.3 kcal/mol. The two major free energy barriers divide the whole folding process into three metastable states, namely the unfolded, native and a partially folded state in between, which is characterized by an aromatic core including residue Phe6, Phe10 and Phe17. This three-state picture is consistent with the biphasic kinetics inferred from previous laser temperature jump experiments and a recent computational study using temperature replica exchange MD simulations. Markov states model (MSM) is then built to estimate the rate of folding. We find that folding time scale implied from MSM is much faster than experimental folding time, although good Markovian behavior is observed in present model. Possbile reasons for this difference and alternative ways to improve the MSM are discussed.
Projection of tooth pulp afferents to the cat trigeminal nucleus caudalis

Unit activity was recorded extracellularly from cat medullary neurons following electrical stimulation of the canine tooth pulp. Response characteristics of the neurons quickly stabilized at specific suprathreshold stimulus intensities but such properties as spike latency, interspike interval and spike density varied systematically as intensity was raised to maximally effective values. Receptive fields were principally unilateral. The majority included both canines and extended into other oro-facial areas. Suppression of a pulpal response could be effected by preceding tooth stimulation with a conditioning stimulus applied to some other point in the receptive field of the responding cell at an appropriate interstimulus interval. In contrast, a pulpal response could be enhanced by presenting two stimuli successively to the same canine at such intervals. Similar enhancing effects followed simultaneous stimulation of spatially segregated loci in a field. The pulp-responsive neurons were localized histologically in, or in the immediate vicinity of, the nucleus caudalis of the spinal trigeminal complex where the possibility of their existence has been questioned previously. Most of the cells were situated along the ventromedial border of the nucleus, a region reported to contain other pain-related neurons with trigeminal fields.
Family discord, parental depression, and psychopathology in offspring: ten-year follow-up.

ABSTRACT Objective To determine the independent effects of parental depression and family discord on offspring psychopathology among children at high and low risk of depression. Method Family discord factors were assessed when subjects were approximately 17 years old, and offspring diagnoses were assessed about 20 years later. Parental and offspring psychopathology was assessed by interviewers blind to parents' clinical status. The following dimensions of family discord were assessed: poor marital adjustment, parent child discord, low family cohesion, affectionless control, and parental divorce. Results Most family discord factors were associated with parental depression. Among children of depressed parents, none of the measures of family discord had a statistically significant association with offspring major depressive disorder or anxiety disorders. Among children of nondepressed parents, parental affectionless control was associated with an almost fivefold increased risk of major depressive disorder (odds ratio [OR] = 4.8; p ≤ .05) and with more than a 14-fold increased risk of substance use disorders (OR = 14.3; p ≤ .01). Conclusions Parental depression is associated with family discord and is a consistent risk factor for offspring major depressive disorder and anxiety disorders, as shown over a 20-year follow-up of offspring of depressed and nondepressed parents. Family discord factors may be a risk factor for major depressive disorder and substance use disorders in offspring of nondepressed parents.
Health information for gay men on the internet

The groundbreaking publication in April 2001 of the Healthy People 2010 Companion Document for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Health supplement to the nation's Healthy People 2010 prevention agenda marked a crucial milestone for gay men, as well as other sexual minorities in the United States. Based on work done by the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association and scholars at Columbia University, this policy document outlined the most pressing health concerns for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) people. This article identifies those health concerns specific to gay men, and provides a review of highly select Web resources targeting this population.
Learning from artificial glaciers in the Himalaya: design for climate change through low-tech infrastructural devices

In the face of global climate change, radical design proposals present a rare optimistic perspective for future environmental adaptation, and ultimately, human survival. Artificial glaciers in the Himalaya illustrate just one of the many innovative landform designs that have recently emerged as a response to climate change challenges. These projects for climate change adaptation represent a new genre of design work that could have considerable implications for the profession of landscape architecture. As cities and towns confront the volatile environmental conditions of the twenty-first century, the broad reach and disciplinary expertise of landscape architecture could provide valuable design thinking around climate change geoengineering, adaptation, and mitigation. However, while large-scale infrastructural projects, such as artificial glaciers, appear to mediate the negative effects of climate change in the short term, these solutions may only provide temporary relief from the larger crisis of a warming...
Afterword: States of Time

W^L a & e know no time when we were not as now," ^^M^m Satan raises his proud boast to Abdiel in book ^m ym 5 of John Milton's Paradise Lost, "Know none ___before us, self-begot, self rais'd / By our own quick'ning power..." (859-61). Thus at one end of the spectrum of the modern drama of the subject and the state, a rebellious claim to the priority of the time of nonsubordinated collective life (the life of the "we," the life of "us") over and before and simultaneous with the time of sovereignty: a claim that the Hobbesian political theory beginning to assert its hegemony at the moment of Milton's writing can be understood?then, as now?to have charged itself with ren dering not merely "outlaw" but, in a term Rita Barnard's superb contribution to this collection renders newly resonant, "unimagin able." As Barnard, citing J. M. Coetzee's Diary of a Bad Year, notes: "[I]t is characteristic of the novelist that the temporality?the plot structure, if you will?of our subjection should be of interest. When exactly did we voluntarily accede to the rule of the state? Can we imagine an alternative to it? The safest answer is to say that we can not: we are, as Coetzee declares, 'born subject.'" If, as Barnard thus indicates, the capacity to render "the origins of the state ... sensu stricto unimaginable" may be taken as integral to the grammar of that Hobbesian political theory whose enduring power Coetzee's narrator unhappily acknowledges, then so too should the corollary imperative be taken as crucial to the state's arcana imperii: the imper ative to hold equally unimaginable and equally outlaw what Satan asserts to be true?that in the contest with the sovereignty of the state, there is a time outside sovereignty, and that that time is, and always has been, "now."
The decomposition kinetics of disilane and the heat of formation of silylene

The static system decomposition kinetics of disilane (, 538–587 K and 10–500 Torr), are reported. Reaction rate constants are weakly pressure dependent, and best fits of the data are realized with RRKM fall-off calculations using logA1,∞ = 15.75 and E1,∞ = 52,200 cal. These parameters yield AHf0(SiH2)298 = (63.5 − Eb, c) kcal mol,−1 where Eb, c is the activation energy for the back reaction at 550 K, M = 1 std state. Five other silylene heat-of-formation values (ranging from 63.9 – Eb, c to 66.0 - Eb, c kcal mol−1) are deduced from the reported decomposition kinetics of trisilane and methyldisilane, and from the reported absolute and relative rate constants for silylene insertions into H2 and SiH4. Assuming Eb, c = 0, an average value of ΔHf0(SiH2) = 64.3 ± 0.3 kcal mol−1 is obtained. Also, a recalculation of the activation energy for silylene insertion into H2, based in part on the new disilane decomposition Arrhenius parameters, gives (0.6 + Eb, c) kcal mol−1, in good agreement with theoretical calculations.
Cerebral arteriovenous malformation presenting as visual deterioration in a child

A rare case of visual loss as the presenting feature of a central arteriovenous malformation involving the vein of Galen is reported. A 5-year-old girl with a history of deteriorating vision for the past 6 months was examined. Ocular examination showed a left hemianopia, left optic atrophy, and dilated vessels of the right optic disc. MRI revealed a massive deep-seated central arteriovenous malformation involving the vein of Galen. The mechanism of visual loss is likely to be a combination of ischaemic optic atrophy associated with a steal phenomenon and direct compression of the right optic radiation.
Children Negotiating Korean American Ethnic Identity Through Their Heritage Language

Abstract This preliminary study provides an interpretive reading of focus group interviews of four Korean American children in the Phoenix metropolitan area. It examines how these Korean American children are negotiating their ethnic identity as Korean Americans while learning Korean as a heritage language. It shows that maintaining heritage language is important to Korean American children in terms of helping them have a positive ethnic identity. This study provides a viewpoint on learning heritage language and ethnic identity from the perspectives of young Korean Americans.
Negative muon capture in noble gas mixtures

Abstract We have determined the probabilities of atomic negative muon capture in binary mixtures of the gases He, Ne, Ar, and Kr at partial pressures near five atmospheres. Relative capture rates were deduced from measured muonic X-ray yields.
Oncogenetic Tree Model of Somatic Mutations and DNA Methylation in Colon Tumors

Over two decades, the model of molecular events in colon cancer has evolved from a schematic of a linear path (Vogelstein et al., 1988; Fearon and Vogelstein, 1990; Kinzler and Vogelstein, 1996) to a concept of a more complex set of contributing pathways resulting in heterogeneous tumors (Smith et al., 2002; Wong et al., 2007). The Vogelstein model estimated the sequence of events over time and provided a useful visual schematic. More recent data on somatic alterations in colon cancer continue to support the conceptual model that one alteration can predispose to a subsequent specific alteration (Samowitz et al., 2001b, 2005, 2007; Smith et al., 2002; Iacopetta et al., 2006). For example, several independent data sets are in agreement that mutations of the BRAF gene are much more frequent among tumors exhibiting CpG island methylation phenotype (CIMP) than in tumors without CIMP (Kambara et al., 2004; Nagasaka et al., 2004; Samowitz et al., 2005; Li et al., 2006). Fearon and Vogelstein described their model as a "preferred sequence", recognizing that the earlier events were not always essential for the later ones to occur (Fearon and Vogelstein, 1990). As the number of recognized somatic alterations has increased, a linear sequence no longer seems an adequate description of the pathways. A classification tree modeling approach identified three colon tumor categories that explained much of the clustering of somatic mutations and DNA methylation (Shen et al., 2007). Other modeling strategies can be applied as tools to further explore the timing and relations of somatic events in colon carcinogenesis. Oncogenetic tree modeling applies an algorithm to data on somatic alterations to infer a model of the sequence of genetic events in tumor progression (Desper et al., 1999). A tree structure illustrating relationships among alterations is produced by an algorithm applied to the data, without a priori specification of pathways or groups. The oncogenetic tree approach assumes that there may be multiple pathways, or branches, of alterations in evolution of the tumor. The modeling objective is to define pathways, not to place tumors in mutually exclusive categories. The model allows that more than one carcinogenic pathway may have taken place in an individual tumor. This model has been applied to analysis of comparative genomic hybridization data describing gain or loss of chromosomal regions for several tumor types (Desper et al., 1999; Jiang et al., 2000; Radmacher et al., 2001; Huang et al., 2002; Rennstam et al., 2003; Huang et al., 2004; Cremer et al., 2005; Gunawan et al., 2007; Jiang et al., 2007), but to our knowledge has not been applied to colon cancer, nor to data on mutation and methylation of specific genes. We examine application of this model to existing data describing somatic mutations, DNA methylation, and microsatellite instability (MSI) in colon cancer.
An asymmetry in niche conservatism contributes to the latitudinal species diversity gradient in New World vertebrates

The Tropical Niche Conservatism hypothesis is a leading explanation for why biodiversity increases towards the equator. The model suggests that most lineages have tropical origins, with few dispersing into temperate regions. However, biotas are comprised of lineages with differing geographical origins, thus it is unclear whether lineages that originated on different continents will exhibit similar patterns of niche conservatism. Here, we summarised biogeographical patterns of New World vertebrates and compared species diversity patterns between families that originated in North and South America. Overall, families with southern origins exhibit niche conservatism with many lineages restricted to the Neotropics, whereas many northern-origin families are distributed across the Neotropics and the Nearctic. Consequently, northern lineages have contributed to high tropical biodiversity, but southern lineages have contributed relatively little to temperate biodiversity in North America. The asymmetry in niche conservatism between northern and southern lineages is an important contributor to the biodiversity gradient.
Analytical foundations of current-feedback amplifiers

Current-feedback amplifiers (CFAs), also called transimpedance amplifiers, are a special type of operational amplifier (op-amp) which exploit clever circuit topologies in conjunction with high-speed complementary bipolar processes in order to achieve extremely fast dynamics, such as gain-bandwidth products in the gigahertz range and settling times to 0.1% in the 10 ns range. The analytical foundations of CFAs are discussed. Specific topics include CFA dynamics, second-order effects, noise in CFAs, and application considerations. >
Mineralogy and geothermobarometry of magmatic epidote-bearing dikes, Front Range, Colorado

Epidote phenocrysts (Ps 19-24 ) in Laramide-age, porphyritic dacite dikes in the Front Range of Colorado prove that epidote can crystallize directly from a magma. The dikes are high-K, calc-alkaline dacites and rhyodacites (SiO 2 = 64%-70%). Phenocryst assemblages consist of combinations of epidote, plagioclase (An 53-19 ), biotite [Fe 3+ / Fe total = 0.25; Mg/(Mg + Fe 2+ ) = 0.42-0.55], quartz, aluminous amphibole (Al total = 2.4-3.0 per formula unit), igneous garnet (And 2-6 Gros 13-27 Spess 2-13 Pyr 7-26 Alm 51-60 ), igneous muscovite, and sanidine. Holocrystalline, aphanitic groundmasses consisting mainly of quartz, plagioclase, and alkali feldspar comprise 60%-75% of the dike rocks and require that epidote grew early in the crystallization sequence. Petrographic and microprobe data distinguish three types of magmatic epidote phenocrysts, with different petrogenetic connotations implied by each type. Type I epidote occurs as euhedral phenocrysts, up to 8 mm long, with low content of allanite component ( Thermobarometric calculations provide empirical evidence that epidote is stable in silicic, calc-alkaline magmas at high total pressure, high water content, and high oxygen fugacity. The dacitic magmas originated by partial melting at temperatures above 800 °C. Temperatures (±50 °C) ranged from 800 to 880 °C during early phenocryst growth down to 620 to 670 °C during groundmass crystallization. Phenocrysts formed at pressures between 7.2 ± 1.0 and 12 ± 2.0 kbar. Oxygen fugacity was within the magnetite stability field at two log units (±1.0) below the hematite-magnetite buffer. H 2 O fugacity calculations give values ranging from 3.4 to 16 kbar, depending on how annite activity in biotite is modeled. The occurrences of types I and III epidote combined with geobarometry give a minimum pressure of epidote stability in the dike magmas of 8.0 ± 1.0 kbar. These results agree with experimental evidence and with conditions inferred for the crystallization of magmatic epidote in large, Cordilleran plutons. Phenocrysts in the dikes were preserved in conditions outside their stability limits by rapid emplacement and quenching in shallow-level dikes.
A Statistical Model for Wind Power Forecast Error and its Application to the Estimation of Penalties in Liberalized Markets

The problem of accurately forecasting wind energy has garnered a great deal of attention in recent years. There are always some errors associated with any forecasting methodology. Although it is sometimes assumed that the forecast errors are Normally distributed, it is a special case arising from the geographical dispersion of wind resources, as shown in this paper. The distribution of the forecast error needs to be examined individually for every wind farm to determine the impact of this error on trading energy in electricity markets. This paper addresses the problem of modeling the distribution of the forecast errors associated with Persistence forecasts at the level of a single wind farm, and develops a novel, mixed distribution-based model to approximate the distribution of these errors. The model is then used to estimate the penalties for imperfectly forecast energy injections in the short-term markets. The results from the application of this model to trading are further used to assess the feasibility of energy storage in hedging against imperfect forecasts.
Cracks in American Apartheid: The Political Impact of Prejudice among Desegregated Whites

Despite the heroic efforts and real achievements provided by the Civil Rights movement, the United States remains today a profoundly segregated society. Here we investigate whether racial isolation affects the extent to which prejudice becomes insinuated into the opinions white Americans express on matters of racial policy. Analyzing national survey data well suited to this question, we find that racial isolation generally enhances the impact of prejudice on opinion; that the political potency of prejudice increases insofar as racial isolation prevails in whites' everyday lives. In the conclusion of the article, we locate our results in the broader literature on segregation and draw out their implications for racial politics into the future.
Molecular Dynamics Simulation of Ion Emission from Nanodroplets of Ionic Liquids

The work reported here is motivated by a desire to fully understand the physics of colloidal thruster propulsion technology. Colloidal thruster technology is based on the electrostatic acceleration of small droplets and/or ions that are generated by feeding a conducting fluid through a small capillary and applying a large acceleration potential between the capillary and an extraction electrode. Maximum thrust is obtained when the device is operated in the droplet mode. However, by transitioning to an ion mode, the specific impulse can be greatly increased. Here, we use molecular modeling to study the dynamics of small droplets of ionic liquids (EMIM-BF4) in the presence of large external electric fields. Interatomic and molecular forces are described using a molecular mechanics force field, and the whole ion structure is included. Before an electric field is applied, minimization methods are used to determine the equilibrium structure of the droplet. An electric field is then applied and the resulting motions of droplets and individual ions are observed. In addition, the surface tension of the droplets is calculated from the dynamic simulations. Surface tensions calculated from the simulations agree with macroscopic experimental values within uncertainty. Thus, the results indicate that the Taylor expression for the critical electric field for droplet ionization is order-of-magnitude-correct.
THE ACCUMULATION OF ELECTROLYTES VI. THE EFFECT OF EXTERNAL pH

It would be natural to suppose that potassium enters Valonia as KCl since it appears in this form in the sap. We find, however, that on this basis we cannot predict the behavior of potassium in any respect. But we can readily do so if we assume that it penetrates chiefly as KOH. We may then say that under normal conditions potassium enters the cell because the ionic activity product (K) (OH) is greater outside than inside. This hypothesis.leads to the following predictions: 1. When the product (K) (OH) becomes greater inside (because the inside concentration of OH(-) rises, or the outside concentration of K(+) or of OH(-) falls) potassium should leave the cell, though sodium continues to enter. Previous experiments, and those in this paper, indicate that this is the case. 2. Increasing the pH value of the sea water should increase the rate of entrance of potassium, and vice versa. This appears to be shown by the results described in the present paper. It appears that photosynthesis increases the rate of entrance of potassium by increasing the pH value just outside the protoplasm. In darkness there is little or no growth or absorption of electrolytes. The entrance of potassium by ionic exchange (K(+) exchanged for H(+) produced in the cell), the ions passing as such through the protoplasmic surface, does not seem to be important.
Genetic Programming for Reward Function Search

Reward functions in reinforcement learning have largely been assumed given as part of the problem being solved by the agent. However, the psychological notion of intrinsic motivation has recently inspired inquiry into whether there exist alternate reward functions that enable an agent to learn a task more easily than the natural task-based reward function allows. This paper presents a genetic programming algorithm to search for alternate reward functions that improve agent learning performance. We present experiments that show the superiority of these reward functions, demonstrate the possible scalability of our method, and define three classes of problems where reward function search might be particularly useful: distributions of environments, nonstationary environments, and problems with short agent lifetimes.
"Mt. Dioxin"-a numerical problem to teach engineering ethics

This is a fictionalized case study involving an actual Superfund cleanup of an abandoned woodtreating facility adjacent to several African-American residential neighborhoods in southeastern United States. The ethical issues that are faced in making decisions involving insufficient data, which lies at the heart of the "Mt. Dioxin" case study, are presented from three different perspectives: Site Manager from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), who has to make decisions that affect the lives of "real" people; the regional EPA engineer who recommends policy and makes decisions guided by legislation; and an engineer working for a private consulting company contracted to excavate the contaminated soil, whose job depends on the employer. The case history, soil sampling data and excerpts from EPA documents are included, together with numerical as well as ethical problems. This case is suitable for a junior-level fluid mechanics class, or a senior-level course on ethics and professionalism.
Curriculum Alignment Research Suggests That Alignment Can Improve Student Achievement

Abstract Curriculum alignment research has developed showing the relationship among three alignment categories: the taught curriculum, the tested curriculum and the written curriculum. Each pair (for example, the taught and the written curriculum) shows a positive impact for aligning those results. Following this, alignment results from the Third International Mathematics and Science Study make the case that curriculum design needs to include alignment.
Influence of Caregiver and Provider Communication on Symptom Days and Medication Use for Inner-City Children With Asthma

Background. Effective pediatric guideline-based asthma care requires the caregiver to accurately relay the child’s symptom frequency, pattern of rescue and controller medication use, and level of asthma control to the child’s primary care clinician. Objective. This study evaluated the longitudinal effects of a caregiver-clinician asthma communication education intervention (ACE) relative to an asthma education control group (CON) on symptom days and controller medication use in inner-city children with asthma. Participants and Methods. 231 inner-city children with asthma, recruited from urban pediatric emergency departments (EDs) and community practices, were followed for 12 months. Data included number of symptom days and nights, ED visits, hospitalizations, presence of limited activity, and controller medication use over 12 months. Pharmacy records were used to calculate controller to total asthma medication ratios as a proxy of appropriate controller medication use. Multivariate logistic regression models were use dt o identify factors associated with number of symptom days and nights over the past 30 days at the 12-month follow-up. Results. Most caregivers rated the communication with their child’s clinician as high. Unadjusted and adjusted rates of symptom days and nights did not differ by group at follow-up. ACE children trended towards a higher controller to total medication ratio at 12 months as compared to CON children (mean ratio: ACE: 0.54, SD 0.3; CON, 0.45, SD 0.4; p = .07). Activity limitation due to asthma and persistent asthma severity were the only factors significantly associated with reporting any symptom day within the past 30 days, adjusting for treatment group, number of oral corticosteroid courses and number of clinician visits in the last 6 months, seasonality, insurance type, and controller to total asthma medication ratio covariates. Conclusion. A home-based caregiver asthma communication educational intervention was not associated with decreased symptom days. However, a trend was noted in higher controller to total medication ratios in the intervention group. Inner-city caregivers of children with asthma may require a health systems approach to help convey the child’s asthma health information to their clinician.
A New Actuation Approach for Human Friendly Robot Design

In recent years, many successful robotic manipulator designs have been introduced. However, there remains the challenge of designing a manipulator that possesses the inherent safety characteristics...
Negative regulation of T cell receptor-lipid raft interaction by cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated antigen 4.

Cytotoxic T lymphocyte–associated antigen 4 (CTLA-4) is an essential negative regulator of T cell activation. Recent evidence suggests that CTLA-4 association with the immunological synapse during contact with antigen-presenting cells is important for its inhibitory function. In the present study, we observed a direct interaction of CTLA-4 with the phosphorylated form of T cell receptor (TCR)ζ within the glycolipid-enriched microdomains associated with the T cell signaling complex. In this setting, CTLA-4 regulated the accumulation/retention of TCRζ in the signaling complex, as the lipid raft fractions from CTLA-4KO T cells contained significantly higher amounts of the TCR components when compared with wild-type littermates. In contrast, coligation of CTLA-4 with the TCR during T cell activation selectively decreased the amount of TCRζ that accumulated in the rafts. These results suggest that CTLA-4 functions to regulate T cell signaling by controlling TCR accumulation and/or retention within this a critical component of the immunological synapse.
A spectral boundary element approach to three-dimensional Stokes flow

A novel method is introduced for solving the three-dimensional Stokes equations via a spectral element approach to the boundary integral method. The accuracy and convergence of the method are illustrated through applications involving rigid particles, deformable droplets and interacting particles. New physical results are obtained for two applications in low Reynolds number flow: the permeability of periodic models of a porous membrane and the instability of a toroidal droplet subject to non-axisymmetric perturbations. Further applications are described in the companion paper (Higdon & Muldowney 1995).
Influence of Vitamin B-6 upon Reproduction and upon Plasma and Egg Cholesterol in Chickens

Vitamin B-6 deficiency in the laying hen causes an immediate anorexia, loss of body weight, greatly reduced body fat stores and severe effects upon primary and secondary sex characteristics resulting in severely reduced hatchability culminating in complete cessation of egg production. While inanition may have been largely responsible for involution of the ovaries and oviducts in the vitamin B-6 deficient hens, regression of combs and wattles appears to be a more specific sign of vitamin B-6 deficiency. Serum cholesterol levels of vitamin B-6-deficient hens were lower than those of hens receiving an adequate diet. Egg cholesterol values remained relatively constant regardless of dietary B-6 levels or of alterations in serum cholesterol. No ataxia or mortality was observed in vitamin B-6-deficient hens or roosters. The effects of vitamin B-6 deficiency were almost completely reversed upon repletion of the hens with adequate dietary vitamin B-6.
MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING FOR INTERDEPENDENCE

Every institution tracks its financial resources and expenditures through a variety of ledgers, budget reports, account summaries, and files known as management accounting systems. While meeting the legal needs of demonstrating accuracy and integrity in the use of resources, these systems should also provide library managers with sufficient financial information for planning, analysis, monitoring and review.
NICE guidelines on heart failure.

people living with heart failure in the UK, although the prevalence is steadily increasing due to ageing of the population and improved survival from acute cardiac disease such as myocardial infarction. The average age at diagnosis is 76 years, and considerable comorbidity is common. Despite advances in therapy many patients remain symptomatic, with breathlessness and fluid retention impairing their ability to do all they want. The prognosis of heart failure is serious ‐ 40% of people with a new diagnosis die within a year, with the annual mortality then dropping to 10% per year. 3 This prognosis is worse than for many cancers, but it is rarely discussed with patients and their families. Heart failure is responsible for 1‐ 2% of healthcare expenditure in most developed countries, and the UK is no exception. Around 70% of this cost relates to hospitalisations, which may be recurrent and prolonged. 2 Around 5% of medical emergency admissions are due to heart failure. Most people with heart failure will be seen in primary care 11 to 14 times per year, and are often prescribed many medications. 2 Recent pan-European surveys suggest that the quality of care for patients with heart failure in the UK lags behind that of many of our continental neighbours. 4,5
The cartilage collagens: a review of their structure, organization, and role in the pathogenesis of experimental arthritis in animals and in human rheumatic disease

This contribution reviews the structure and organization of collagen molecules found in cartilage and the roles that they may play in rheumatic diseases. Cartilage is unique in its physical properties and molecular composition, and contains sufficient amounts of types II, IX, X, and XI collagen to deem these molecules as "cartilage-specific." The vitreous body of the eye, a "cartilage-like" tissue is also rich in the same collagens but is type X deficient. Types VI and XII collagen are present in cartilage as well as noncartilaginous tissues. Types II, IX, and XI collagen are organized into matrix fibrils, where type II constitutes the bulk of the fibril, type XI regulates fibril size, and type IX facilitates fibril interaction with proteoglycan macromolecules. Genetic defects in these collagens can produce mild to severe developmental abnormalities, including spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia often accompanied by an accelerated form of osteoarthritis. Sensitization with collagen can produce experimental rheumatic diseases. Type II collagen induces an erosive polyarthritis in certain strains of rats, mice, and higher primates which can resemble rheumatoid arthritis and relapsing polychondritis. Type XI collagen is arthritogenic in rats but not mice; type IX induces autoimmunity in both species but not arthritis. Arthritis is initiated by complement fixing antibodies that bind to type II collagen in autologous cartilage, and the production of these antibodies is MHC restricted and T cell dependent. It is unclear whether T cells alone can induce arthritis, although they probably help sustain it. Mapping and characterizing the of T cell epitopes on type II collagen has resulted in the synthesis of small homolog and substituted peptides of type II collagen which suppress arthritis in an antigen-specific manner by a variety of routes, including mucosal. Moreover, collagen-induced arthritis has proven a valuable model to study the contribution of cytokines and other biological agents in the pathogenesis of joint injury and how they might be used to develop new therapies. Collagen autoimmunity has been implicated in the pathogenesis rheumatoid arthritis and polychondritis. Circulating antibodies to type II collagen are found in both diseases. Antibodies to types IX and XI collagen are also present in rheumatoid sera but are less prevalent. Rheumatoid cartilage and synovium contain antibodies to type II collagen at a prevalence far greater than serum, suggesting an intra-articular antigen-driven immune process. Although effective in animal models, attempts to treat rheumatoid arthritis with orally administered type II collagen have proven elusive. Different approaches using newer formulations and selected or modified oligopeptides remain to be tested and could prove effective in the treatment of the human rheumatic diseases.
Downregulation of Missing in Metastasis Gene (MIM) is Associated with the Progression of Bladder Transitional Carcinomas

Missing in metastasis (MIM) gene encodes a putative metastasis suppressor. However, the role of MIM in tumorigenesis and metastasis has not yet been established. Western blot analysis using a MIM specific antibody demonstrated that MIM protein is present at varying levels in a variety of normal cells as well as tumor cell lines. Immunohistochemical staining of adult mouse tissues revealed abundant MIM immunoreactivity in uroepithelial cells in the bladder, neuron Purkinje cells in the cerebellum, and megakaryocytes in the bone marrow and spleen in addition. MIM immunoreactivity also was found in human normal bladder transitional epithelial cells. However, the reactivity was not seen in 69 percent of human primary transitional cell carcinoma specimens. Over 51 percent of the tumors at low grade display MIM staining similarly to the normal cells, whereas only 16.7 percent of the tumors at high-grade with poor differentiation show faint or mild staining. Furthermore, full-length MIM protein is highly expressed in SV-HUC-L an immortalized normal transitional epithelial cell line, moderately expressed in T24 and poorly expressed in J82 and TCCSUP transitional cell carcinoma cells. This finding indicates that downegulation of MIM expression may correlate with the transition of tumor cells from distinct epithelium-like morphology to less differentiated carcinomas.