cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Studies on 1-carbadethiacephems, part I: Synthesis of 1-carbadethia-2-oxocephem 4-carboxylate

The title compound has been prepared via the novel reaction of an acylmalonic ester with 4-acetoxy-2-azetidinone followed by phosphorane ring closure. A new enol-ether cyclisation giving 1-carbadethia-4-methyl-2-oxocephems is described.
Highly-iodinated fullerene as a contrast agent for X-ray imaging

The first fullerene-based X-ray contrast agent (CA) has been designed, synthesized, and characterized. The new CA is an externally functionalized derivative of C60 that is conceptually based on contemporary X-ray CA, all of which use iodine as the X-ray attenuating vehicle and are based on the 2,4,6-triiodinated-benzene-ring substructure. Using a modified Bingel-type reaction, a single addend containing 6 iodine atoms and 8 protected hydroxyl groups was appended to C60 followed by the addition of 4 more addends each containing 4 protected hydroxyl groups. Final deprotection afforded the highly water-soluble (>460 mg/mL), non-ionic, highly-iodinated (24% I) fullerene for application as an X-ray contrast agent.
Preparation and characterization of human monoclonal antibodies directed against the hepatitis B virus surface antigen

The hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) is highly immunogenic and induces an antibody response which is protective in vivo against hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. Human monoclonal antibodies specific for HBsAg were produced, which could have potential therapeutic applications. Lymphocytes obtained from a vaccinated donor were stimulated in vitro and fused with the human myeloma cell line GM 4672, and eight hybridomas were obtained. Three of these clones, which reacted in an ELISA against the HBsAg vaccine, were expanded, subcloned and further analyzed. The subclones E7C2, C4C10, and D5B2 were able to bind to different HBsAg preparations, which express various subtypes, and recognized the major HBsAg peptides in Western blot analysis. Cross-inhibition experiments showed that E7C2, C4C10 and D5B2 are directed against the same epitope and have an affinity constant ranging from 5 X 10(7) to 3.3 X 10(9) M. Furthermore, these antibodies stained the surface and cytoplasm of the HBsAg-secreting cell lines PLC/PRF/5 and 4.10. The production of immunoglobulins varies from 0.3 to 1.3 micrograms/ml/10(6) and has remained stable over a period of 8 months. These human monoclonal antibodies, which appear to be directed against an antigenic determinant common to all HBsAg subtypes, could be useful in the study of HBV-related liver diseases as well as in their diagnosis and experimental therapy.
Escherichia coli Isolate for Studying Colonization of the Mouse Intestine and Its Application to Two-Component Signaling Knockouts

The biology of Escherichia coli in its primary niche, the animal intestinal tract, is remarkably unexplored. Studies with the streptomycin-treated mouse model have produced important insights into the metabolic requirements for Escherichia coli to colonize mice. However, we still know relatively little about the physiology of this bacterium growing in the complex environment of an intestine that is permissive for the growth of competing flora. We have developed a system for studying colonization using an E. coli strain, MP1, isolated from a mouse. MP1 is genetically tractable and does not require continuous antibiotic treatment for stable colonization. As an application of this system, we separately knocked out each two-component system response regulator in MP1 and performed competitions against the wild-type strain. We found that only three response regulators, ArcA, CpxR, and RcsB, produce strong colonization defects, suggesting that in addition to anaerobiosis, adaptation to cell envelope stress is a critical requirement for E. coli colonization of the mouse intestine. We also show that the response regulator OmpR, which had previously been hypothesized to be important for adaptation between in vivo and ex vivo environments, is not required for MP1 colonization due to the presence of a third major porin.
Rabbit reticulocyte ribosomes and Krebs ascites supernatant: a mixed system dependent upon added mRNA.

Abstract Ribosomes isolated from rabbit reticulocytes are made dependent upon added rabbit globin mRNA by suspension and incubation under protein synthetic conditions in ribosome-free extracts of Krebs ascites cells. The usual rabbit reticulocyte ribosomal pattern, which contains an extensive polysomal region, is converted to one exhibiting essentially no polysomes. Endogenous protein synthesis in the preincubated mixed system (Fraction P (K/R)), but not in the preincubated homologous Krebs ascites cell system (Fraction P (rmK/rmK)), is inhibited by heparin and aurin tricarboxylic acid, known inhibitors of initiation of protein synthesis. In the absence of added mRNA, the Fraction P (K/K) system synthesizes several Krebs ascites cell proteins, while the Fraction P (K/R) system synthesizes exclusively globin. Fraction P K/R), which combines the advantages of both the rabbit reticulocyte lysate and the Krebs ascites cell-free protein synthetic systems, allows ready identification both of possible mRNAs and of newly synthesized proteins.
Narrow-boiling distillates of coal liquefaction products: 2. Heat capacities

Abstract The liquid phase heat capacities of narrow-boiling-range distillates from coal liquefaction products were predicted using group contribution, corresponding states and curve-fitting procedures. These predictions were compared to experimentally determined values. The results indicate that the accuracy of the correlations can be ranked in the following order: groupcontribution >curvefits >correspondingstates. The success of the group contribution approach can be attributed to the structural information that is incorporated into the correlation. Using the group contribution method, one can estimate liquid heat capacities of the narrow-boiling range distillates with an overall accuracy of 8% using data from only 1H n.m.r. and elemental analysis.
A three-dimensional steady-state tumor system

Abstract The growth of tumors can be modeled as a free boundary problem involving partial differential equations. We consider one such model and compute steady-state solutions for this model. These solutions include radially symmetric solutions where the free boundary is a sphere and nonradially symmetric solutions. Linear and nonlinear stability for these solutions are determined numerically.
High electron mobility InAsSb grown on InP using Sb surfactant

High electron mobility and low defect density InAsSb lattice-matched to AlSb has been successfully grown on InP substrates by gas source molecular beam epitaxy using a Sb surfactant buffer layer structure. High electron mobility transistors based on this heterostructure have been demonstrated.
Genome-Destabilizing Effects Associated with Top1 Loss or Accumulation of Top1 Cleavage Complexes in Yeast

Topoisomerase 1 (Top1), a Type IB topoisomerase, functions to relieve transcription- and replication-associated torsional stress in DNA. We investigated the effects of Top1 on genome stability in Saccharomyces cerevisiae using two different assays. First, a sectoring assay that detects loss of heterozygosity (LOH) on a specific chromosome was used to measure reciprocal crossover (RCO) rates. Features of individual RCO events were then molecularly characterized using chromosome-specific microarrays. In the second assay, cells were sub-cultured for 250 generations and LOH was examined genome-wide using microarrays. Though loss of Top1 did not destabilize single-copy genomic regions, RCO events were more complex than in a wild-type strain. In contrast to the stability of single-copy regions, sub-culturing experiments revealed that top1 mutants had greatly elevated levels of instability within the tandemly-repeated ribosomal RNA genes (in agreement with previous results). An intermediate in the enzymatic reaction catalyzed by Top1 is the covalent attachment of Top1 to the cleaved DNA. The resulting Top1 cleavage complex (Top1cc) is usually transient but can be stabilized by the drug camptothecin (CPT) or by the top1-T722A allele. We found that increased levels of the Top1cc resulted in a five- to ten-fold increase in RCOs and greatly increased instability within the rDNA and CUP1 tandem arrays. A detailed analysis of the events in strains with elevated levels of Top1cc suggests that recombinogenic DNA lesions are introduced during or after DNA synthesis. These results have important implications for understanding the effects of CPT as a chemotherapeutic agent.
Transcriptional Activity among High and Low Risk Human Papillomavirus E2 Proteins Correlates with E2 DNA Binding

The full-length E2 protein, encoded by human papillomaviruses (HPVs), is a sequence-specific transcription factor found in all HPVs, including cancer-causing high risk HPV types 16 and 18 and wart-inducing low risk HPV types 6 and 11. To investigate whether E2 proteins encoded by high risk HPVs may function differentially from E2 proteins encoded by low risk HPVs and animal papillomaviruses, we conducted comparative DNA-binding and transcription studies using electrophoretic mobility shift assays and cell-free transcription systems reconstituted with purified general transcription factors, cofactor, RNA polymerase II, and with E2 proteins encoded by HPV-16, HPV-18, HPV-11, and bovine papillomavirus type 1 (BPV-1). We found that although different types of E2 proteins all exhibited transactivation and repression activities, depending on the sequence context of the E2-binding sites, HPV-16 E2 shows stronger transcription activity and greater DNA-binding affinity than those displayed by the other E2 proteins. Surprisingly, HPV-18 E2 behaves more similarly to BPV-1 E2 than HPV-16 E2 in its functional properties. Our studies thus categorize HPV-18 E2 and BPV-1 E2 in the same protein family, a finding consistent with the available E2 structural data that separate the closely related HPV-16 and HPV-18 E2 proteins but classify together the more divergent BPV-1 and HPV-18 E2 proteins.
Association of Interleukin-6 and Hypoaldosteronism in Patients with Cancer

To the Editor: Patients with cancer may have a variety of metabolic and immunologic abnormalities that are thought to be caused by different humoral factors secreted by the tumors and are called pa...
Carbon dioxide, water vapor and sensible heat exchanges of a grain sorghum canopy

With the aid of eddy correlation instrumentation, the components of the energy budget and CO2 flux were measured over grain sorghum grown at Mead, Nebraska. Diurnal patterns of sensible heat, latent heat, CO2 and momentum flux are examined for typical days. On a mostly clear day when the crop leaf area index was 3.7, net radiation reached a mid-day peak of 560 W m-2, while sensible and latent heat fluxes peaked at 50 and 460 W m-2, respectively. The peak CO2 flux occurring just prior to solar noon was 1.5 mg m-2(ground area) s-1. CO2 flux (respiration from plants, soil and roots) in the early evening was about -0.28 mg m-2 (ground area) s-1.
Effects of limb disability on lousiness in mice. I. Preliminary studies.

Abstract White mice that suffer paralysis of one or more limbs as a sequel of rabies infection develop excessive louse infestations, lacerations, and areas of depilation. The development of large populations of lice on mice disabled by amputation of both rear limbs indicates that this paralytic sequel of rabies had a marked effect on the degree of parasitism. Low level amputation permits depilation by rubbing, but laceration occurs only rarely. In spite of the demonstration of relationship between disability and parasitosis there are other unknown factors which affect the degree of infestation.
Mental Health Court Outcomes by Offense Type at Admission

Using a statewide database of mental health court (MHC) defendants, this study examines criminal justice outcomes by target arrest offense type. Findings suggest that defendants with a felony are less likely to complete MHC but those who do are at no greater risk of recidivism post-exit than those with a misdemeanor. In terms of jail days, both completers and noncompleters with a felony had reductions in jail days; however, misdemeanor defendants, especially those who did not complete MHC, had increases. We discuss why MHC supervision may sometimes have a negative effect and offer recommendations on how courts might modify supervision.
Secondary extremity compartment syndrome.

Background: Abdominal compartment syndrome has been reported to occur after fluid resuscitation in injured patients, even in the absence of intra-abdominal injuries. This report describes a set of patients who developed the secondary extremity compartment syndrome (SECS) in uninjured extremities after resuscitation for other injuries. Methods: This study was a retrospective chart review of all trauma patients developing SECS at a Level I trauma center. Data are mean ± SD. Results: From 1996 to 2001, 10 patients (8 men, age 31 ± 13 years, Injury Severity Score of 29 ± 17, and 3 with penetrating trauma) from a series of 11,996 trauma admissions developed SECS after resuscitation for other injuries. The mean number of extremities developing the SECS per patient was 3.1. This included compartment syndromes in 10 upper extremities and in 12 lower extremities that did not have any apparent injuries (i.e., contusions, fractures, or vascular injuries). After evaluation by the trauma team, abdominal silos were needed in 7 of the 10 patients also, and the mortality in patients with the SECS was 70%. Conclusion: SECS is a rare complication of the postresuscitation systemic inflammatory response syndrome, is associated with significant morbidity, and may be a marker for mortality. SECS should be ruled out by measurement of compartment pressures in uninjured and injured extremities in patients with severe diffuse edema after resuscitation for injury.
Screening Behavior in Brothers And Sons of Men with Prostate Cancer

ABSTRACTPurpose: We identified factors associated with screening behavior in the brothers and sons of men with prostate cancer.Materials and Methods: We contacted 837 men with prostate cancer to invite their 40 to 70-year-old brothers or sons to participate in this study. We mailed the brothers and sons who contacted us a survey to explore sociodemographic and medical characteristics, prostate cancer family history, prostate cancer knowledge, self-efficacy, barriers to screening, perceived benefits, perceived vulnerability and medical support.Results: Of the 138 candidates who participated in the study 86 (62%) had undergone prostate specific antigen and digital rectal examination within the last 2 years. Men older than 50 years, those who had discussed prostate cancer screening with their physician, those with good knowledge of recommended screening frequency and those with no co-morbidity had undergone screening more often than others.Conclusions: Physician support and prostate cancer screening knowledg...
A PHYTOL‐SUBSTITUTED CHLOROPHYLL C FROM EMILIANIA HUXLEYI (PRYMNESIOPHYCEAE)1

A nonpolar chlorophyll c-like pigment was isolated by semi-preparative high performance liquid chromatography from the coccolithophorid Emiliania huxleyi (Lohm.) Hay and Mohler. The visible absorption spectrum of this pigment was similar to that of chlorophyll c2. However, its nonpolar chromatographic properties were quite different from those of the relatively polar chlorophylls c2 and c3 in E. huxleyi and similar to those of chlorophyll a. Analyses by gas chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry showed that the nonpolar character of this new chlorophyll c was due to the presence of phytol, most likely on the acid side chain of the porphyrin macro-cycle. This is the first example of a phytol-substituted chlorophyll c-like pigment.
Myocardial Lesions Produced by Digitalis in the Presence of Hyperthyroidism: An Experimental Study

Calculated therapeutic doses of digitalis and its derivatives did not produce demonstrable microscopic changes in the myocardium of experimental animals. Toxic doses of digitalis (twice a therapeutic dose) induced myocardial lesions in animals. In those animals with experimentally induced mild to moderate hyperthyroidism, calculated therapeutic doses of digitalis did produce myocardial lesions. Toxic doses of digitalis administered to animals with mild to moderate hyperthyroidism caused extensive degenerative changes in the myocardium or promptly killed the animals without associated microscopic lesions.
Transition-metal fluoride ions, MFn+, from gas-phase reactions of nascent laser-ablated M+ with fluorocarbons

Abstract The positive-ion products of the direct reaction of nascent (energetic) laser-ablated metal ions (M + ) with fluorocarbons were determined by time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Several lanthanide, second- and third-row transition-metal ions were studied to provide a survey of reactivities. Whereas Pt + , Au + and Al + were apparently inert, the other M + ions studied — Ce + , Eu + , Tb + , Dy + , Ho + , Er + , Yb + , Zr + , Hf + , Nb + , Ta + and W + - reacted to varying degrees, abstracting atoms from the reactant gas to produce metal fluoride ions, MF n + . The relative metal-ion reactivities generally closely paralleled those of the corresponding metals, and the product distribution - the values of n in MF n + - reflected essential aspects of the elemental chemistries. Thus the oxidation state in the largest fluoride ions revealed the highest normally accessible oxidation states: MF n + were formed up to n = 2, 3, 4 and 5 for Ho, Hf, Ta and W, respectively. Significant discrepancies in product distributions were found between some homologous M + ; reactivity variations across the lanthanide series reflected specific electronic configurations. The results are pertinent to processes which occur in mass spectrometer ion sources and pulsed laser deposition, and the technique is applicable to the microscale study of scarce or radioactive elements.
Transmission electron microscopy characterization of fluorescently labelled amyloid β 1-40 and α-synuclein aggregates

Fluorescent tags, including small organic molecules and fluorescent proteins, enable the localization of protein molecules in biomedical research experiments. However, the use of these labels may interfere with the formation of larger-scale protein structures such as amyloid aggregates. Therefore, we investigate the effects of some commonly used fluorescent tags on the morphologies of fibrils grown from the Alzheimer's disease-associated peptide Amyloid β 1-40 (Aβ40) and the Parkinson's disease-associated protein α-synuclein (αS). Using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), we verify that N-terminal labeling of Aβ40 with AMCA, TAMRA, and Hilyte-Fluor 488 tags does not prevent the formation of protofibrils and amyloid fibrils of various widths. We also measure the two-photon action cross-section of Aβ40 labelled with Hilyte Fluor 488 and demonstrate that this tag is suitable for use with two-photon fluorescence techniques. Similarly, we find that Alexa Fluor 488 labelling of αS variant proteins near either the N or C terminus (position 9 or 130) does not interfere with the formation of amyloid and other types of αS fibrils. We also present TEM images of fibrils grown from αS C-terminally labelled with enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP). Near neutral pH, two types of αS-EGFP fibrils are observed via TEM, while denaturation of the EGFP tag leads to the formation of additional species. We demonstrate that several small extrinsic fluorescent tags are compatible with studies of amyloid protein aggregation. However, although fibrils can be grown from αS labelled with EGFP, the conformation of the fluorescent protein tag affects the observed aggregate morphologies. Thus, our results should assist researchers with label selection and optimization of solution conditions for aggregation studies involving fluorescence techniques.
Amino acids: metabolism, functions, and nutrition

Recent years have witnessed the discovery that amino acids (AA) are not only cell signaling molecules but are also regulators of gene expression and the protein phosphorylation cascade. Additionally, AA are key precursors for syntheses of hormones and low-molecular weight nitrogenous substances with each having enormous biological importance. Physiological concentrations of AA and their metabolites (e.g., nitric oxide, polyamines, glutathione, taurine, thyroid hormones, and serotonin) are required for the functions. However, elevated levels of AA and their products (e.g., ammonia, homocysteine, and asymmetric dimethylarginine) are pathogenic factors for neurological disorders, oxidative stress, and cardiovascular disease. Thus, an optimal balance among AA in the diet and circulation is crucial for whole body homeostasis. There is growing recognition that besides their role as building blocks of proteins and polypeptides, some AA regulate key metabolic pathways that are necessary for maintenance, growth, reproduction, and immunity. They are called functional AA, which include arginine, cysteine, glutamine, leucine, proline, and tryptophan. Dietary supplementation with one or a mixture of these AA may be beneficial for (1) ameliorating health problems at various stages of the life cycle (e.g., fetal growth restriction, neonatal morbidity and mortality, weaning-associated intestinal dysfunction and wasting syndrome, obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, the metabolic syndrome, and infertility); (2) optimizing efficiency of metabolic transformations to enhance muscle growth, milk production, egg and meat quality and athletic performance, while preventing excess fat deposition and reducing adiposity. Thus, AA have important functions in both nutrition and health.
Experiential Religion: A Faith Formation Process for Children with Autism

Families of children diagnosed with autism face multiple challenges in finding faith formation opportunities that are sensitive to their child's unique communication, social–emotional, cognitive, and sensory needs. By embracing the biblical understanding of the word “know”, we are reminded that “knowing God” calls forth a “whole-body way of knowing” that transcends our cognitive understanding of who God is. For children with autism, this knowing means creating opportunities in which they come to know God through experiencing God. Using focusing procedures, the construct of experiential religion proposes that it is only in the primacy of feelings and within the process of experiencing that a bodily felt relating to the divine is possible (Shea, 1987). A faith-formation process is proposed that integrates the focusing dynamic with best practices in teaching children with autism.
Radioimmunoassay for measurement of bovine α-lactalbumin in serum, milk and tissue culture media

A sensitive, specific radioimmunoassay for bovine alpha-lactalbumin (alpha-la) suitable for measurement of serum, tissue culture media and milk was developed. alpha-La was not detected in serum from prepubertal male or female cattle, but was detected as early as 60 d of gestation in nulliparous Holstein heifers, the level being greatly increased during the last one third of gestation. Serum from cross bred beef heifers contained less alpha-la and it was not detected until late gestation. Concentrations of alpha-la in serum samples from pregnant multiparous Holstein cows decreased at drying-off and subsequently increased just before parturition. Secretion of alpha-la by mammary tissue explants from steroid-primed prepubertal Holstein heifers was induced by the addition of bovine prolactin, ovine prolactin or human growth hormone to tissue culture media.
Integrity Testing, Personality, and Design: Interpreting the Personnel Reaction Blank

Companies and organizations use integrity tests to screen job applicants, and the fakability of these tests remains a concern. The present study uses two separate designs to analyze the fakability of the Personnel Reaction Blank (PRB) and the personality constructs related to integrity test scores. The results demonstrate that the PRB can be successfully faked. Moreover, a within-participants design resulted in significantly greater faking than the between-participants design. The personality constructs conscientiousness, agreeableness, and neuroticism were significantly correlated with honest scores on the PRB, and there was a significant negative correlation between conscientiousness and magnitude of faking.
Seasonal Nitrogen Cycles on Pluto

A thermal model, developed to predict seasonal nitrogen cycles on Triton, has been modified and applied to Pluto. The model was used to calculate the partitioning of nitrogen between surface frost deposits and the atmosphere, as a function of time for various sets of input parameters. Volatile transport was confirmed to have a significant effect on Pluto's climate as nitrogen moved around on a seasonal time scale between hemispheres, and sublimed into and condensed out of the atmosphere. Pluto's high obliquity was found to have a significant effect on the distribution of frost on its surface. Conditions that would lead to permanent polar caps on Triton were found to lead to permanent zonal frost bands on Pluto. In some instances, frost sublimed from the middle of a seasonal cap outward, resulting in a "polar bald spot". Frost which was darker than the substrate did not satisfy observables on Pluto, in contrast to our findings for Triton. Bright frost (brighter than the substrate) came closer to matching observables. Atmospheric pressure varied seasonally. The amplitudes, and to a lesser extent the phase, of the variation depended significantly on frost and substrate properties. Atmospheric pressure was found to be determined both by Pluto's distance from the sun and by the subsolar latitude. In most cases two peaks in atmospheric pressure were observed annually: a greater one associated with the sublimation of the north polar cap just as Pluto receded from perihelion, and a lesser one associated with the sublimation of the south polar cap as Pluto approached perihelion. Our model predicted frost-free dark substrate surface temperatures in the 50 to 60 K range, while frost temperatures typically ranged between 30 to 40 K. Temporal changes in frost coverage illustrated by our results, and changes in the viewing geometry of Pluto from the Earth, may be important for interpretation of ground-based measurements of Pluto's thermal emission.
A copula regression model for estimating firm efficiency in the insurance industry

This article considers the estimation of insurers’ cost-efficiency in a longitudinal context. The current practice ignores the tails of the cost distribution, where the most and least efficient insurers belong to. To address this issue, we propose a copula regression model to estimate insurers’ cost frontier. Both time-invariant and time-varying efficiency are adapted to this framework and various temporal patterns are considered. In our method, flexible distributions are allowed for the marginals, and the subject heterogeneity is accommodated through an association matrix. Specifically, when fitting to the insurance data, we perform a GB2 regression on insurers total cost and employ a t-copula to capture their intertemporal dependencies. In doing so, we provide a nonlinear formulation of the stochastic panel frontier and the parameters are easily estimated by likelihood-based method. Based on a translog cost function, the X-efficiency is estimated for US property-casualty insurers. An economic analysis p...
A further study of the effect of propranolol on the blockade of alpha adrenergic receptors.

Abstract The results reported herein have shown that the pressor responses of adrenergic agonists possessing only an alpha stimulatory property (oxymetazoline) were not restored to significant values after phenoxybenzamine and propranolol blockade. However, when the agonists property of oxymetazoline was combined with the beta stimulatory property of isoproterenol, significant recovery of the pressor response was noted after alpha and beta blockade. The results indicated that the pressor activity of the oxymetazoline plus isoproterenol mixture seemed to mimic the actions of a known alpha and beta agonist: epinephrine. The data also showed that time affected the antagonism of phenoxybenzamine by propranolol and of significance was the consistent finding that the phenoxybenzamine-in-uced alpha blockade reappeared after the effects of propranolol had worn off. These data provide further proof that only the agonists possesiing both alpha and beta stimulatory activities can undergo the reversal after alpha receptor blockade. It is therefore postulated that the antagonism between alpha and beta blocking agents is associated with the activation of residual alpha receptors not blocked by phenoxybenzamine rather than the hypothesis of competitive displacement of phenoxybenzamine by propranolol.
Religiosity, Spirituality, and Marital Relationships of Parents Raising a Typically Developing Child or a Child With a Disability:

In order to discover if differences or relationships exist between religiosity, spirituality, and marital relationships, 111 parents raising a child with a disability (CWD) and 34 parents raising typically developing children independently completed self-report questionnaires assessing religiosity, spirituality, and marital relationships. Parents raising typically developing children scored higher on private and public religiosity and marital satisfaction than parents raising a CWD; mothers scored higher on religiosity variables than fathers. Mothers' ratings of spirituality and family type (disability or typically developing child) predicted their ratings of marital conflict. Higher spirituality and raising typically developing children were associated with higher ratings of marital satisfaction for both mothers and fathers. However, spirituality also moderated the relationship between private/public religiosity and marital satisfaction only for fathers. This information helps improve interventions for families raising CWD and adds to the literature on the interplay of religiosity/spirituality/marital relationship.
An electron-microscopic study of the bone-remodeling sequence in the rat

A detailed chronological electron-microscopic study of the bone remodeling sequence has been performed in the rat based on a previously described model (Tran Van et al. 1982) in which the remodeling activity is synchronized. This allowed the observation of the cellular and extracellular events during the bone remodeling process, including the activation of the sequential process and the reversal phase, intermediate between osteoclastic resorption and osteoblastic formation. Most important is the fact that throughout the whole process cells with the morphological characteristics of mononuclear phagocytes have been observed in proximity or in contact with the bone surface and/or the various bone cells. Coated pits (receptor-mediated endocytosis) are frequently observed in close apposition ot bone spicules and gap junctions are frequent between the cells. These observations suggest that, besides being likely candidates as osteoclast precursors, mononuclear phagocytes may play an important role in bone remodeling.
EFFECTS OF PRECONDITIONING ON THE ELASTIC BEHAVIOR OF SKIN UNDER COMPRESSIVE LOADING

In physiological loading conditions, the skin tissues are, sometimes, loaded compressively. The mechanical characteristics of skins in tension have been studied intensively, while those in compression have not been studied thoroughly. Previous studies suggested that, in order to obtain repeatable mechanical parameters, the skin sample should be properly preconditioned in the tensile tests. The present study is to investigate if the skin sample should be preconditioned in the compressive tests. Pigskins were used in the present study. Compression tests were performed in confined and unconfined loading configurations and at four different loading speeds (0.5, 1.0, 40, and 400 μm/s). Our results show that skin samples should be preconditioned in compressive tests, to obtain repeatable mechanical parameters. The necessary number of the loading cycles in the preconditioning treatment for compressive testing is less than that for tensile testing. Our findings indicate that the skin samples reach repeatable mechanical behavior after 3–4 loading cycles, independent of the loading rate and loading configurations (confined or unconfined compressions).
In-situ stress measurement of molybdenum/silicon multilayers and low-stress multilayers for extreme-ultraviolet lithography

We developed an in-situ stress monitoring system using variable electrostatic capacitance with a Si wafer cantilever as the moveable electrode of a parallel capacitor. The stress behaviors during the deposition of thick molybdenum (Mo) single layers, conventional molybdenum/silicon (Mo/Si) multilayers and low-stress multilayers (Mo/Si multilayers modified using sub-multilayering and ion beam polishing (IBP)) were observed. In the case of a Mo single layer, at an early stage of deposition to about 40 Angstroms thickness the partial stress was tensile, and after that the partial stress became compressive. In the case of conventional Mo/Si multilayers, a modulation of stress was observed. After Mo-layer deposition the partial stress became tensile, whereas after Si-layer deposition it became compressive, leading to a compressive total stress. In the case of the low-stress multilayers that we developed, we observed the suppression of compressive stress changes of the Si-layer after the IBP of the Mo surface. The control of the partial stress changes of each layer will make it possible to control the total stress of multilayers.© (2001) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Perfluoro-2,3-dialkyoxaziridines: a novel effective oxidizing agents

Abstract It has been found that perfluoro-2,3-dialkyloxaziridines (1) can be used for oxidation of unsaturated and sulfur containing compounds. Action of 1 on olefines of different structure leads to the formation of the corresponding oxides Reaction between 1 and sulfides proceeds smoothly at −40 °C and gives only the corresponding sulfoxides R=Ph-, PhCH2− R′= CH3, -CH2Cl, -CH2C(O)OH, -CH2SiMe3, -CH2N3. Further oxidation of sulfoxides by 1 results in the formation of the corresponding sulfones in high yields
Serotonin Syndrome With Standard-Dose Vilazodone (Viibryd ® ) Monotherapy

There is a deficiency in published literature describing serotonin syndrome with standard vilazodone (Viibryd®) treatment. This is the case of a 28-year-old female with anxiety treated with vilazodone. Prior to the initiation of vilazodone, vital signs were normal and the patient exhibited no signs of excessive serotonin. The patient was prescribed vilazodone with the appropriate 2-week titration per the FDA-approved prescribing information. During the first week, the patient reported excessive perspiration and gastrointestinal symptoms. On day 17 of vilazodone therapy, the patient reported a major neurologic reaction and discontinued vilazodone. The patient was diagnosed with possible serotonin syndrome. Symptoms of elevated serotonin, including hyperhidrosis and nausea, did not resolve until 2 weeks after discontinuation of therapy. In this case, the patient developed early warning signs of excessive serotonin in the periphery and eventually a potential life-threatening neurologic adverse event on vilazodone monotherapy. Practitioners should counsel on early warning signs of excessive serotonin and the potential for serotonin syndrome, even with a single serotonergic agent. J Med Cases. 2014;5(11):567-569 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.14740/jmc1956w
Current-voltage-time characteristics of aluminum/polyimide/p+-silicon structures

Abstract The conduction properties of aluminum/polyimide/p+-silicon structures using PIX-1400, PIQ-13 and PIQ-13 with an aluminum oxide based coupler were investigated. The current-voltage-time characteristics exhibit both charging and transport components with current levels in the femtoampere range. The charging component obeys a power law relationship for electron injection from both the aluminum and silicon. The charging current decay rates were found to be different for the three type devices because of differences in the chemical structure of the polyimides and the polyimide/coupler combination, and were nonsymmetric with respect to injecting electrode presumably due to differences in energy barrier heights. Charge transport mechanisms may account for previously reported differences in the electrical characteristics of pn diodes passivated with these polyimides. Discharging of the PIQ-13 coupler samples was much more difficult than for the other two type structures possibly due to charge trapping in the coupler and/or at the interfaces associated with the coupler.
Some Probabilities Available from Desk Calculators and Their Relation to Tables

Abstract Modern desk calculators compute distribution functions for many of the standard tabled distributions. Two such machines and some of their capabilities are discussed. Generally more is available from the calculators than is found in voluminous tables. One of the biggest advantages of the machines over tables arises from their capacity to compute probabilities for the two parameter F distribution, a set of values that is cumbersome to tabulate.
Beliefs about and responses to childhood ear infections: a study of parents in Eastern North Carolina

Middle ear infection, also known as otitis media (OM), is a major public health problem among American children. Although clinical and epidemiological aspects of OM have been intensely studied, cultural factors that may be contributing to the problem of OM have received less attention. This article presents findings from an ethnographic study exploring beliefs about OM and responses to the illness among parents from eastern North Carolina. In-depth interviews were conducted with a convenience sample of nine mothers in order to learn more about parents' explanatory models of OM, the source of their beliefs, and how they respond to the illness. A survey instrument based on their statements was then constructed and administered to a convenience sample of 79 parents. The survey consisted of belief statements about OM, as well as questions pertaining to sources of beliefs, the home management of the disease, and the effects of the illness on families. A cultural consensus analysis of responses to belief statements indicates that parents shared a common model of OM. Beliefs about risks, symptoms, and causes of OM were similar to the current biomedical model of the illness, but their divergent beliefs about the diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of OM could lead to unnecessary use of health care services. Clinicians, family, and friends were reported to be important sources of information about OM. Parents also reported using similar home management strategies and care seeking behaviors to minimize the impact of the illness on their children and families. While these findings need to be replicated in studies with larger, more representative samples, this study suggest that ethnographic approaches may provide new insights into the cultural dimension of the problem of OM.
Object-oriented parallel processing with Mentat

Abstract Mentat is an object-oriented parallel processing system that addresses three problems endemic to parallel computing, the difficulty of writing parallel programs, the difficulty achieving portability of those programs, and the difficulty exploiting contemporary heterogeneous architectures. Mentat is a complete parallel application development environment consisting of the Mentat Programming Language (MPL) compiler, a run-time system that supports dynamic data dependence detection, a complete post mortem debugger, resource management and accounting capabilities, and various utilities to aid the programmer and system administrator. This paper provides a basic introduction to the philosophy behind Mentat and the MPL, and then focuses on application performance. The objective is to give the reader insight into how Mentat performs on different classes of applications. For each of four applications we sketch the implementation and present performance results.
Providing survivability against jamming attack for multi-radio multi-channel wireless mesh networks

Built upon a shared wireless medium, wireless mesh network is particularly vulnerable to jamming attacks. The ability to recover from attacks and maintain an acceptable level of service degradation is a crucial aspect in the design of a wireless mesh network. To address this issue, this paper investigates the network restoration solutions via the joint design of traffic rerouting, channel re-assignment, and scheduling over a multi-radio multi-channel wireless mesh network. Efficient routing and channel assignment schemes can relieve the interference caused by both the normal network nodes and the jamming nodes. Therefore, based on the necessary conditions of schedulability, we first formulate the optimal network restoration problem as linear programming problem, which gives an upper bound on the achievable network throughput. After we solve the LP problems, we have a set of flows assigned to edges that have been assigned to different channels. And based on the LP solutions, we provide a greedy scheduling algorithm using dynamic channel assignment, which schedules both the network traffic and the jamming traffic. And we further provide a greedy static edge channel assignment algorithm, where a channel is assigned to an edge at the beginning and will remain fixed over all time slots. In particular, we consider two strategies, namely global restoration and local restoration, which can support a range of tradeoffs between the restoration latency and network throughput after restoration. To quantitatively evaluate the impact of jamming attacks during and after restoration, we define two performance degradation indices, transient disruption index (TDI) and throughput degradation index (THI). Finally, extensive performance evaluations are performed to study the impact of various jamming scenarios in an example wireless mesh network.
Effects of indomethacin, 5,8,11,14-eicosatetraynoic acid, and p-bromophenacyl bromide on lysosomal enzyme release and superoxide anion generation by human polymorphonuclear leukocytes

Abstract Preincubation of cytochalasin B-treated, human polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN) with indomethacin (a cyclo-oxygenase inhibitor), 5,8,11,14-eicosatetraynoic acid (ETYA) (a lipoxygenase/cyclo-oxygenase inhibitor), or p -bromophenacyi bromide (BPB) (a phospholipase A 2 inhibitor) resulted in dose-dependent inhibition of lysosomal enzyme release elicited by the chemotactic peptide N -formylmethionylleucylphenylalanine (FMLP); 50 per cent inhibition was seen at approximately 50, 12, 8 μM respectively. BPB also inhibited Superoxide anion generation. The effects of indomethacin and ETYA were dependent upon the type of stimulus presented to the cells. Lysosomal enzyme release stimulated by zymosan-treated serum and serum-treated zymosan was relatively unaffected by these two inhibitors. Indomethacin and ETYA did not appear to exert their effects by specific inhibition of prostaglandin and thromboxane synthesis; the inhibition offered by both agents was reversible, and aspirin had no similar inhibitory capacity. Our results indicate not only that indomethacin may exert effects independent of its inhibition of the cyclo-oxygenase pathway but also that products formed via phospholipase and lipoxygenase may be mediators of lysosomal enzyme release and superoxide anion generation.
Implicit modeling of nonpolar solvation for simulating protein folding and conformational transitions.

Accurate description of the solvent environment is critical in computer simulations of protein structure and dynamics. An implicit treatment of solvent aims to capture the mean influence of water molecules on the solute via direct estimation of the solvation free energy. It has emerged as a powerful alternative to explicit solvent, and provides a favorable compromise between computational cost and level of detail. We review the current theory and techniques for implicit modeling of nonpolar solvation in the context of simulating protein folding and conformational transitions, and discuss the main directions for further development. It is demonstrated that the current surface area based nonpolar models have severe limitations, including insufficient description of the conformational dependence of solvation, over-estimation of the strength of pair-wise nonpolar interactions, and incorrect prediction of anti-cooperativity for three-body hydrophobic associations. We argue that, to improve beyond current level of accuracy of implicit solvent models, two important aspects of nonpolar solvation need to be incorporated, namely, the length-scale dependence of hydrophobic association and solvent screening of solute–solute dispersion interactions. We recognize that substantial challenges exist in constructing a sufficiently balanced, yet reasonably efficient, implicit solvent protein force field. Nonetheless, most of the fundamental problems are understood, and exciting progress has been made over the last few years. We believe that continual work along the frontiers outlined will greatly improve one’s ability to study protein folding and large conformational transitions at atomistic detail.
The measurement of electrostrictive stresses in anodic barrier layers on aluminium by means of a membrane method

Abstract Electrostrictive stresses in barrier layers on aluminium were investigated by measuring the deformations of a clamped membrane electrode anodised on one side in aqueous ammonium borate electrolyte. If subsequent to a galvanostatic oxidation the forming voltage ϕ f , was kept constant for 2–16 h, the average electrostrictive stress component σ e observed in the voltage range ϕ f obeys a relation σ e ⋍ −27(ϕ/ϕ f ) 2 N/mm 2 . Its interpretation in terms of a simple model involving the density dependence of the permittivity of the oxide yields a Poisson ratio ν ⋍ 0.45. However, the compressive stresses rise progressively with ϕ 2 in the range 0.85 ϕ f f . This is due to additional compressive components caused by the ionic leakage currents appearing in this voltage range.
Coordinating actions in congestion games: impact of top–down and bottom–up utilities

Congestion games offer a perfect environment in which to study the impact of local decisions on global utilities in multiagent systems. What is particularly interesting in such problems is that no individual action is intrinsically “good” or “bad” but that combinations of actions lead to desirable or undesirable outcomes. As a consequence, agents need to learn how to coordinate their actions with those of other agents, rather than learn a particular set of “good” actions. A congestion game can be studied from two different perspectives: (i) from the top down, where a global utility (e.g., a system-centric view of congestion) specifies the task to be achieved; or (ii) from the bottom up, where each agent has its own intrinsic utility it wants to maximize. In many cases, these two approaches are at odds with one another, where agents aiming to maximize their intrinsic utilities lead to poor values of a system level utility. In this paper we extend results on difference utilities, a form of shaped utility that enables multiagent learning in congested, noisy conditions, to study the global behavior that arises from the agents’ choices in two types of congestion games. Our key result is that agents that aim to maximize a modified version of their own intrinsic utilities not only perform well in terms of the global utility, but also, on average perform better with respect to their own original utilities. In addition, we show that difference utilities are robust to agents “defecting” and using their own intrinsic utilities, and that performance degrades gracefully with the number of defectors.