cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Studies on the renal concentrating mechanism. I. Role of vasopressin.

Abstract The ability of the kidney to form a concentrated urine at low rates of solute excretion as measured by osmotic UP ratio was studied during moderate dehydration in 5 essentially normal men. After 18 hours of water deprivation the osmotic UP ratios showed irregular variations which were not correlated with the serum total solute concentration and did not take the form of a diurnal rhythm. The osmotic UP ratio was measured after 18 to 22 hours of water deprivation on repeated occasions in 3 normal young men and found to vary between 3.6 and 4.3. This value was not increased by administration of vasopressin. The relationship between vasopressin dose, free water clearance, and osmotic UP ratio was examined in the same subjects after hydration. Although free water clearance became negative when vasopressin was given in doses of 18 to 26 mu. per hour, the highest osmotic UP ratios were not achieved until 42 to 100 mu. per hour was infused. UP ratios were then 3.7 to 4.1, values similar to those found in the same subjects during moderate dehydration.
Leninists and Political Inequalities

Successful revolutionaries become rulers and bureaucrats. In the latter roles, Leninists have engaged in practices like those in all political systems, particularly authoritarian ones, insofar as political inequalities are preserved. Political inequalities imply a differentiation of access to power in policy making, and thus exist in all polities. But Marxism, more than any other modern political notion, raises the promise of socio-economic and political ‘progress’, usually seen as greater equality. In that emphasis on equality lies the presumed intimacy between party and people, between elites and masses.
Electrochemical Water Oxidation Catalysis Beginning with Co(II) Polyoxometalates: The Case of the Precatalyst Co4V2W18O6810–

The question is addressed of whether the cobalt polyoxometalate (Co-POM) precatalyst Co4V2W18O6810– (hereafter Co4V2W18) is a stable, homogeneous water oxidation catalyst under electrochemically driven conditions and in 0.1 M pH 5.8 and 8.0 NaPi buffer as well as pH 9.0 sodium borate (NaB) buffer. This question is of considerable interest since Co4V2W18 has been reported to be highly stable and a 200-fold faster water oxidation catalyst than its P congener Co4P2W18O6810– (hereafter Co4V2W18), for reasons that were not specified. The nature of the true water oxidation catalyst with Co4V2W18 as the starting material is of further fundamental interest because a recent report reveals that the 51V NMR peak at ca. −507 ppm assigned by others to Co4V2W18 and used to argue for its solution stability is, instead, correctly assigned to the highly stable cis-V2W4O194–, in turn raising the question of the true stability of Co4V2W18 under water oxidation catalysis conditions. A battery of physical methods is used to a...
Is the Journey from the 'In Box' to the 'Out Box' a Straight Line: The Prosecution of Low Level Criminality in Germany

The defining challenge facing German prosecution offices today is reconciling the tension that exists between prosecutors’ historical mandate to serve as “guardians of the law” and their institutional position as members of an institution with limited resources. During the past three decades, the tension between the prosecution service’s normative mission to objectively investigate and prosecute criminal activity and increasingly severe resource constraints has transformed the law and practice of German criminal procedure. Although German legal scholars have long championed the system’s commitment to restricting prosecutorial discretion, in recent years the scope of prosecutors’ discretionary decision-making authority has widened dramatically. This development is particularly stark with respect to low-level crimes where prosecutors perform a critical gate keeping role. Since the mid-1970’s, prosecutors and judges have struggled to find ways to manage high criminal case loads while maintaining their fidelity to the core principles of an inquisitorial “truth” finding process. To prevent backlogs, German prosecutors have developed case processing processes that conserve resources and promote efficiency. In a world with finite resources, strategies that privilege case processing efficiency theoretically enable prosecution offices to reserve the full truth finding case investigation and prosecution process for the most serious cases. In this chapter I argue that, this drive for efficiency, when coupled with a corresponding increase in prosecutorial discretion, currently threatens to irrevocably undermine the guiding principles of German criminal procedure.
Classes of Intimate Partner Violence From Late Adolescence to Young Adulthood

Researchers do not agree on how intimate partner violence (IPV) emerges and changes from adolescence to young adulthood. This may be because change in these behaviors varies across individuals. The present study uses a longitudinal, person-centered approach to examine whether there are multiple classes or patterns of change in the perpetration of IPV during the transitional period from adolescence (age 18) to young adulthood (age 25) using data collected annually from a community sample of 484 participants. Latent class analysis was the analytic approach used. Results revealed three patterns for psychological IPV (Little-to-None, Minor/Increasing, and Extensive/Increasing) and two patterns for physical IPV (Little-to-None and Extensive). Patterns varied greatly in number of representatives, although they were more balanced in size for psychological than physical IPV. Variations in IPV behaviors were also revealed across classes, although as expected in a community sample, minor forms of IPV were more common than severe forms. In addition, classes differed in demographic and relationship status variables. These findings suggest that IPV may occur in multiple distinct patterns as opposed to one average pattern across a population. This suggests that interventions for IPV may need to be geared to differences in patterns to enhance their efficacy.
Enslavement and institutionalized care: the politics of health in nineteenth-century St Croix, Danish West Indies

This study explores the effects of Danish colonial healthcare policy on enslaved people in St Croix, Danish West Indies. After the slave-trade ban in 1803, colonial administrators and planters impl...
Multiple Losses in the Elderly: An Ecological Approach:

The elderly person is likely to have to deal with a multiplicity of losses in several significant areas. Proper intervention from the environment can help elderly clients cope with necessary losses...
Evaluating the impact of pushing voice-driven interaction pipelines to the edge

With the releases of Alexa Voice Services and Google Home, voice-driven interactive computing has quickly become commonplace. Voice interactive applications incorporate multiple components including complex speech recognition and translation algorithms, natural language understanding and generation capabilities, as well as custom compute functions commonly referred to as skills. Voice-driven interactive systems are composed of software pipelines using these components. These pipelines are typically resource intensive and must be executed quickly to maintain dialogue-consistent latency; consequently, voice interaction pipelines are usually computed in the cloud. However, for many cases, cloud connectivity may not be practical and thus require these voice interactive pipelines be executed at the edge. In this paper, we evaluate the feasibility of pushing voice interaction pipelines to resource constrained edge devices. Driven by the goal of enabling voice-driven interfaces for first responders during emergencies when connectivity to the cloud is impractical, we characterize the end-to-end performance of a complete open source voice interaction pipeline for four different configurations ranging from entirely cloud-based to completely edge-based. We then identify and evaluate several optimizations, such as caching and customized acoustic models that enable voice-driven interaction pipelines to be fully executed at computationally-weak edge devices at lower response latencies than using high-performance cloud resources.
Varying the exposure period and duration of neuroactive pharmaceuticals and their metabolites modulates effects on the visual motor response in zebrafish (Danio rerio) larvae

Abstract Pharmaceuticals and personal care products are emerging contaminants that are increasingly detected in surface waters around the world. Despite the rise in environmental detections, measured concentrations are still typically low, raising the importance of environmental risk assessments that focus on ecologically relevant sublethal endpoints, such as altered behavior. Neuroactive pharmaceuticals, like mental health medications, pain killers, etc., may be particularly potent in this regard as they are specifically designed to cause behavioral changes without causing physiologic impairment in mammalian systems. We screened 15 different popular neuroactive pharmaceuticals, ranging from antidepressants (including 3 major antidepressant metabolites), anxiety medications, and pain killers, under three different exposure scenarios (repeated, late acute and early transient exposure) to look for behavioral effects in larval zebrafish using the visual motor response (VMR). Drugs were screened at 0, 1, 10, and 100 μg/L in the repeated exposure scenario, and at 0 and 100 μg/L in the late acute and early transient exposure scenarios. Eight of the 15 compounds tested, specifically the antidepressants amitriptyline, fluoxetine, nor-fluoxetine, paroxetine, sertraline, nor-sertraline, venlafaxine, and the antipsychotic drug haloperidol decreased swimming activity by 25% to 40% under repeated exposure conditions. Five of the compounds (amitriptyline, fluoxetine, nor-fluoxetine, paroxetine, and sertraline) also significantly decreased activity by 17% to 31% in the late acute exposure paradigm. Three compounds (fluoxetine, paroxetine and venlafaxine) significantly altered swimming activity with early transient exposure, however creating a hyperactive response and increasing activity from 24% to 28%, while haloperidol significantly decreased activity by 31%. This paper is, to our knowledge, the first to screen so many neuroactive pharmaceuticals, including major metabolites, in parallel under multiple exposure conditions. We show that antidepressants most consistently alter VMR swimming activity. Additionally, we show that major antidepressant metabolites can potentially alter behavior as much as their parent compounds. Furthermore, we show that the magnitude and direction of behavioral effect is dependent on the exposure duration and period, indicating that a more diverse experimental approach might be needed to more accurately assess the risk these compounds pose to the environment.
Transplant community perceptions of the benefits and drawbacks of alternative quality metrics for regulation.

Background There is concern that the metrics currently used to regulate transplant centers, one-year patient and graft survival, may have adverse consequences including decreasing higher risk donor organ acceptance and transplant volume. This raises questions about whether alternative measures would be more appropriate. Methods We surveyed American Society of Transplant Surgeons (ASTS) and American Society of Transplantation (AST) members (n = 270) to characterize perceptions of several metrics that are used for regulation, are publicly reported, or have been suggested elsewhere, regarding their effectiveness, amenability to risk adjustment, and predicted effects on volume, mortality, and waitlist size. Results Respondents rated one-year patient and graft survival the most effective measure of quality of care (mean scores = 7.44, 7.31, respectively, out of 10) and most amenable to risk adjustment (mean scores = 6.26, 6.13, respectively). Most respondents believed alternative metrics would not impact their center's volume, waitlist size, or one-year transplant mortality. However, some did predict unintended consequences; for example, some believed using one-year waitlist mortality, one-year mortality of patients listed, or one-year mortality of patients referred for transplant would decrease the number of transplants performed (48.6%, 46.7%, and 48.3% of respondents, respectively). Discussion Despite previously published concerns with existing regulatory metrics, most participants did not believe any metrics would outperform one-year patient and graft survival.
Protective and Pathogenic Effects of Interferon Signaling During Pregnancy

Immune regulation at the maternal-fetal interface is complex due to conflicting immunological objectives: protection of the fetus from maternal pathogens and prevention of immune-mediated rejection of the semiallogeneic fetus and placenta. Interferon (IFN) signaling plays an important role in restricting congenital infections as well as in the physiology of healthy pregnancies. In this review, we discuss the antiviral and pathogenic effects of type I IFN (IFN-α, IFN-β), type II IFN (IFN-γ), and type III IFN (IFN-λ) during pregnancy, with an emphasis on mouse and non-human primate models of congenital Zika virus infection. In the context of these animal model systems, we examine the role of IFN signaling during healthy pregnancy. Finally, we review mechanisms by which dysregulated type I IFN responses contribute to poor pregnancy outcomes in humans with autoimmune disease, including interferonopathies and systemic lupus erythematosus.
A Prospective, Randomized Comparison of Duodenoscope Reprocessing Surveillance Methods.

Duodenoscope use in healthcare facilities has been associated with transmission of multidrug resistant pathogens between patients. To assist healthcare facilities in monitoring the quality of their duodenoscope reprocessing procedures and limit patient risk of infection, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) deployed voluntary interim duodenoscope sampling and culturing surveillance protocols in 2015. Though the interim methods were widely adopted, alternative surveillance protocols were developed and implemented at individual institutions. Here, we compared two sampling methods—the 2015 CDC interim protocol and an alternative protocol developed by the University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics (UWHC). We hypothesized that the UWHC protocol would detect a higher incidence of bacterial contamination from reprocessed duodenoscopes. A total of 248 sampling events were performed at UWHC. The CDC protocol (n = 129 sampling events) required culturing samples collected from each duodenoscope after brushing its terminal end and flushing its lumen with sterile water. The UWHC protocol (n = 119 sampling events) required culturing samples collected from each duodenoscope after swabbing its elevator, immersing its terminal end into broth and flushing its lumen with saline. With the CDC method, 8.53% (n = 11) of the duodenoscopes sampled were positive for bacterial growth with 15 isolates recovered. Using the UWHC method, 15.13% (n = 18) of cultures were positive for bacterial growth with 20 isolates recovered. The relative risk of identifying a contaminated duodenoscope using the CDC interim method, however, was not different than when using the UWHC protocol. Mean processing time (27.35 and 5.11 minutes, ) and total cost per sample event ($17.87 and $15.04) were lower using the UWHC method. As the UWHC protocol provides similar detection rates as the CDC protocol, the UWHC method is useful, provided the shorter processing time and lower cost to perform.
Predicting Patient Reported Outcomes of Cognitive Function Using Connectome-Based Predictive Modeling in Breast Cancer

Being able to predict who will likely experience cancer related cognitive impairment (CRCI) could enhance patient care and potentially reduce economic and human costs associated with this adverse event. We aimed to determine if post-treatment patient reported CRCI could also be predicted from baseline resting state fMRI in patients with breast cancer. 76 newly diagnosed patients (n = 42 planned for chemotherapy; n = 34 not planned for chemotherapy) and 50 healthy female controls were assessed at 3 times points [T1 (prior to treatment); T2 (1 month post chemotherapy); T3 (1 year after T2)], and at yoked intervals for controls. Data collection included self-reported executive dysfunction, memory function, and psychological distress and resting state fMRI data converted to connectome matrices for each participant. Statistical analyses included linear mixed modeling, independent t tests, and connectome-based predictive modeling (CPM). Executive dysfunction increased over time in the chemotherapy group and was stable in the other two groups (p 0.31, p < 0.002). Support vector regression with a radial basis function (SVR RBF) showed the highest performance for executive dysfunction and memory function (r = 0.68; r = 0.44, p’s < 0.001). Baseline neuroimaging may be useful for predicting patient reported cognitive outcomes which could assist in identifying patients in need of surveillance and/or early intervention for treatment-related cognitive effects.
Cerium Oxide Nanoparticles: Potential for Revolutionizing Treatment of Diseases

Cerium oxide nanoparticles are highly efficacious and regenerative free radical scavengers that have the potential for treatment of human disease. Their relevance to human disease, mechanism of action, and parameters critical to move this nanopharmaceutical from bench to bedside are addressed in this chapter.
Going in and Out of Style: The Beatles and the Sixties Rock Canon in the Twenty-First Century

This essay argues that recent reevaluations of the 1960s popular music canon and the Beatles’ catalog therein reflect changes in the cultural priorities of twenty-first-century America. These chang...
Critical Role of Confinement in the NMR Surface Relaxation and Diffusion of n-Heptane in a Polymer Matrix Revealed by MD Simulations.

The mechanism behind the NMR surface-relaxation times (T1S,2S) and the large T1S/T2S ratio of light hydrocarbons confined in the nanopores of kerogen remains poorly understood and consequently has ...
Pre-Trade Hedging

The extent to which derivatives markets affect the prices of their underlying stocks has long been of interest. Issuers of structured equity products (SEPs) based on common stocks hedge their liabilities by trading in the underlying common stocks. For some products, the hedging trades raise the underlying stock prices of the underlying stocks by an average of 100 basis points on the pricing dates of the SEPs. This is direct evidence that derivatives hedging has important impacts on the prices of even very large and liquid stocks. These results also provide new estimates of the price impact of trades for large-capitalization U.S. common stocks.
LVSEM Surface Sampling, Preparation, Peak Overlap, Convergent Analysis and Covering up the FESTEM Aperture Charging Problem

Surfaces The majority of the SEM secondary electron signal (SE) comes from the first few (<2nm) nanometers of the surface. The quality of the outermost few atomic layers of an exposed and reactive sample can therefore have a profound effect on image contrast. With light elements and low voltages the SE signal is dominated by scattering at the point of incidence of the primary probe, but more generally there is a significant contribution to surface SE generation by primary electrons backscattered from deeper in the sample. With the advent of very low voltage EDS, and the application of more conventional surface science methods, we learn that even without a coating the surface of a sample may be atypical of the bulk (Fig. 1). Contamination of an otherwise clean surface occurs by transport of the sample through the air, leading to oxidation, hydrocarbon accumulation, and occasionally to rather more dramatic pyrophoric effects.
Real World Experience of Daratumumab: Evaluating Lymphopenia and Adverse Events in Multiple Myeloma Patients

Multiple myeloma (MM) is an incurable disease with a limited life expectancy of five years from diagnosis. Uncontrolled disease or infections are the main causes of mortality. Daratumumab, a monoclonal antibody against CD38, is approved to treat patients with MM. Its target, CD38, is expressed not only on MM cells but also on common lymphoid precursors and subsets of normal lymphocytes. Daratumumab-induced lymphopenia is common, but its clinical significance is understudied. In this study, we report the baseline characteristics, rates of severe lymphopenia, infections, and clinical trajectory of multiple myeloma patients (n = 100) treated with daratumumab-based regimens at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center. We discover high rates of infections, hospital utilization, and severe lymphopenia and identify risks factors for severe lymphopenia, such as low pretreatment absolute lymphocyte count (ALC) values. Severe lymphopenia persists in 23% of patients, resulting in worst survival outcomes. Our data underline the importance of monitoring ALC and consider future use of prophylactic measures or alternative regimens in subsets of MM patients.
Early acquisition of threat conditioning in a selectively-bred anxiety-like rat phenotype: regulation by maternal presence and FGF2

Abstract Temperament is an innate, stable predisposition towards particular emotional and behavioral responses. In humans, certain temperaments are associated with a heightened risk of developing anxiety later in life. Non-human animals, including rodents, also exhibit innate, stable dispositions; these are referred to as behavioral phenotypes. The interaction between behavioral phenotype and early life adverse events is critical for the development of maladaptive anxiety. Rodent studies of typically developing animals have identified a number of mechanisms that protect against aversive experiences in early life. One such mechanism is an early life quiescence of threat learning, which protects against the effects of stress and facilitates safety and attachment learning. However, little is known about the factors that alleviate the effects of early life aversive events on phenotypes vulnerable to pathological anxiety. Here, we examined threat learning and the stress response in selectively-bred infant rats that show an anxiety-like phenotype relative to typically developing animals. We investigated the potential roles of maternal presence and the anxiolytic neurotrophic factor fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2) in regulating threat learning and the stress response in infant anxiety-like phenotype animals. We observed that rats selectively-bred for anxiety-like behaviors could acquire conditioned freezing earlier in life than typically developing animals. FGF2 administration on postnatal day 1 (PND 1) and maternal presence during threat conditioning were both capable of suppressing this early emergence of conditioned freezing. However, neither FGF2 nor maternal presence during threat conditioning were associated with reduced corticosterone levels during threat conditioning. Our results suggest that although an anxiety-like phenotype may be associated with early threat learning, environmental factors (such as maternal presence) and pharmacological intervention (such as modulation of the FGF2 system) may be capable of counteracting that early aversive learning. Interventions in vulnerable infants may thus decrease the impact of aversive events.
The Bird and Eye: Kinship with Birds as Proto-ecofeminist Discourse of Liberation in George Meredith’s The Egoist

This chapter argues that George Meredith’s 1879 novel The Egoist constructs a proto-ecofeminist discourse of liberation for its protagonist, Clara Middleton, by presenting in her a growing awareness of kinship with birds and her ability to gaze on them and the world with open eyes. The novel uses both literal and metaphorical birds to frame this kinship, including moments when Clara feels empathy for birds and when another character with a strong interest in them provides the ultimate means of freeing Clara from her unwanted engagement. Bird metaphors and Meredith’s dialogue with the Darwinian concept of sexual selection also create a method of mocking Sir Willoughby Patterne, Clara’s suitor who believes he can win her by becoming irresistibly attractive to her biological female sexuality, and casting his scientific pretensions as blind. Although only proto-ecofeminist, as Clara is the only female character in the novel to be truly liberated by animal kinship, Meredith’s writing demonstrates the potential of linking animals and women together as a tool for freedom rather than oppression.
The editor’s field – There is a space between…

the title and the objectives which can be separated by several paragraphs. However, although separated by space they are not separated by intent or reason for doing the work. The abstract, introduc...
Social Complexity and the Middle Preclassic Lowland Maya

Intensified social complexity emerged in some parts of the lowland Maya region during the Middle Preclassic period (800–300 BC). Though data for Middle Preclassic complexity remain very thin, states may have formed in the Mirador Basin and other areas that exhibit settlement hierarchy, evidence of centralized administration, and specialization. However, these developments have been obscured by a shift from a more cooperative to a more competitive system during the Late Preclassic period (300 BC–AD 200). Unilinear thought has confused this change in organization with a shift toward greater complexity. Such positions incorrectly assume that divine kingship and its accouterments are a baseline for complexity. Judging Middle Preclassic period complexity according to Classic period developments is dubious given the cooperative–competitive oscillations; the tendency in the Maya area for states to have been secondary with longstanding interactions among Chiapas, Pacific Coast, Isthmian, and the Gulf Coast areas; and internal innovations. New data are needed to characterize early complexity in the Maya lowlands on its own terms.
The Ways of Science Through the Lens of the Woodward-Hoffmann Rules. The Stories Begin*.

This is Paper 1 in a 27-paper series on the history of the development of the Woodward-Hoffmann rules, also known as the Principle of Conservation of Orbital Symmetry. In addition to presenting an outline of this series, this manuscript provides a short overview of the chemical problem eventually solved by the Woodward-Hoffmann rules is presented.
The Society of Pediatric Psychology (Section 5), 1968/1980—

The Society of Pediatric Psychology is an interest group concerned with the delivery of psychological services to children in nonpsychiatric medical settings and research in child health psychology. It began as an organization in 1968 but did not become an official Division 12 section until 1980. Before that it was loosely affiliated with Section 1, the other child-oriented group in the division.
Non-Prevailing Parties Who Bring Successful Actions under Consumer Protection Statutes

Many federal statutes provide for the recovery of attorney's fees for the plaintiff. These statutes use a variety of phrases to indicate when a plaintiff is entitled to such fees. Some statutes give fees to "prevailing parties," others give fees to plaintiffs who "substantially prevail." Both the Fair Credit Reporting Act' (Credit Act) and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act2 (Debt Act) (collectively "Acts") authorize attorney's fees for plaintiffs who bring "successful actions."' There is currently a circuit split regarding whether an action is successful if a court finds that a defendant violated one of the duties outlined in the Acts but also finds that the consumer was not injured by this violation. Three circuits have held that the plain language of these Acts demands that a plaintiff prove damages before being entitled to recover attorney's fees.4 Three other circuits have ruled that an award of attorney's fees is mandatory in most cases where a consumer proves a violation, regardless of whether she also proves damages.5 The Seventh Circuit has recently held that a Supreme Court case, Buckhannon Board & Care Home, Inc v West Virginia Department of Health & Human Resources,6 should serve as a controlling precedent.7 In Buckhannon, the Court defined the term "prevailing party" to require an
The development of descending spinal connections. Studies using the North American opossum.

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the development of descending spinal connections. The opossum is a good model for developmental studies. The development of the opossum's nervous system is quite protracted in comparison to that of placental mammals. The opossum's hindlimbs are little more than buds at birth and do not become motile for 7–10 days postnatally. The development of hindlimb motility and the influence of descending pathways on that motility can be divided into three stages: (1) stage I begins at birth (or conception) and ends when spontaneous hindlimb movements first appear (postnatal day 7–10), (2) stage II begins with the onset of hindlimb motility and ends approximately 20 days later (50–60 mm snout-rump length) when that motility can be altered by transecting the spinal cord at thoracic levels, and (3) stage III begins when hindlimb movements can first be affected by thoracic transection and continues until the animal can support its weight and ambulate (90–120 mm S-R length, estimated to have been 60–75 days in the pouch). Axons from the reticular formation, raphe nuclei, coeruleus complex, vestibular nuclei, and red nucleus invade most of the lumbosacral areas innervated in the adult animal before transecting them produces noticeable change in hindlimb motility.
The Effectiveness of Blended Learning

District of Columbia Public Schools, a school district aiming to improve proficiency rates by 2017, is experimenting with a new teaching technique called blended learning. Proficiency rates from 2008-2012 of 3 and 5 grade students, grouped by race, gender, and high and low users of blended learning, will be analyzed in order to determine if blended learning should be used to accomplish the goals of the school district.
Night Vision: Blind Characters in John Gardner's Fiction

American novelist and teacher John Gardner (1933-1982) grew up near the New York State School for the Blind in Batavia, a town that boasted a large and vibrant blind community up into the 1970s. This experience is surely why his novels include blind characters with fully imagined histories and inner lives, an extreme rarity in literary history. Esther Clumly in The Sunlight Dialogues, for example, is not only the presiding spirit of the novel but also a rounded and dynamic major character with a realistic blind-school background and a web of friends and community. What's remarkable is how Gardner controls the distance between his own views — that blind people are numerous, competent, interesting, and yet essentially ordinary — and those of his characters, some of whom find blind people frightening, pitiable, freakish, or stupid. This controlled distance creates tension, depth, and, sometimes, irony.
Mechanisms of clearance of immune complexes from peritubular capillaries in the rat

These experiments evaluated extraglomerular sites of renal immune complex (IC) deposition and specific features of host capability to remove these IC. Ex vivo perfusion of rat kidneys with the endothelium binding lectin concanavalin A (con A) followed by rabbit anti con A IgG results in a subendothelial IC nephritis in glomerular capillaries (GC) and diffuse IC formation with complement (C3) deposition in peritubular capillaries (PC). Histologic, immunofluorescence, and ultrastructural studies were performed at 10 minutes and 1, 4, and 24 hours after perfusion. At 10 minutes, strong linear binding of con A, rabbit IgG, and rat C3 to the endothelium was detected by immunofluorescence in both GC and PC. In GC this was followed by endothelial cell swelling and denudation (1 hour) with platelet and neutrophil infiltration and formation of subendothelial IC deposits which persisted at 4 and 24 hours. In contrast, some PC endothelial swelling was also present at 10 minutes and 1 hour, but ICs (IgG, con A, C3) were capped and shed into capillary lumina at 1 to 2 hours with complete clearance of IC by 4 hours. Selective neutrophil depletion, by antisera and irradiation, and complement depletion with cobra venom factor, delayed clearance of PC IC by several hours but complete clearance of IC with restored structural integrity of PC was still achieved by 24 hours. Platelet depletion had no effect on PC IC clearance. These studies demonstrate a model for study of PC IC. Such a model may aid our understanding of lupus nephritis in which extensive GC IC deposits associated with severe inflammatory injury may coexist with PC deposits. Efficient clearance of IC in PC compared with GC may be due to differences in hemodynamic forces, amounts of IC formed in each of these sites, differences in binding of IC to subendothelial basement membrane, or phenotypic specialization of the endothelium lining these two different capillary beds.
Depression in Multiple Sclerosis

Standardized interview techniques, diagnostic criteria, and rating scales were used to assess 50 moderately disabled multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. Fifty-four percent met lifetime Research Diagnostic Criteria for major depression, with a significant increase in the rate from before to after the onset of MS symptoms. The MS patients were significantly more depressed than other medical patients described in the literature. Major depressions were associated with steroid-treated exacerbations and a history of major depression. Symptoms of depression may be easily confused with those of MS, resulting in inadequate diagnosis and treatment.
Acid-base behavior in supercritical water: β-naphthoic acid-ammonia equilibrium

Equilibrium constants for the reaction of β-naphthoic acid and ammonia, KBHA, were measured with UV-vis spectroscopy in water from 25°C to 400°C. At high density KBHA decreases with temperature, the normal behavior for an exothermic reaction of a stronger acid and base to a weaker acid and base. At low density, the reaction becomes endothermic as the solvation of the ionic products becomes weaker. These data were combined with literature results for the dissociation of water and ammonia to determine equilibrium constants for the dissociation of β-naphthoic acid and the reaction of β-naphthoic acid and OH- Whereas the density (and dielectric constant) of water have only a modest effect on the isocoulombic reaction of β-naphthoic acid and OH-, they have a large effect on all of the other reactions which are ionogenic.
STUDIES ON ENDOTHELIAL REACTIONS : IV. THE ENDOTHELIUM IN EXPERIMENTAL GENERAL MILIARY TUBERCULOSIS IN RABBITS.

1. Lymphocytes were usually the first cells to migrate out into the plasmic clot from explanted pieces of lymph nodes. 2. Their paths of migration were irregular but in general they proceeded away from the explant. 3. The lymphocytes migrated at rates varying from 0.03 to 0.0013 mm. per minute. The rate of any one varied from minute to minute, and they often came to rest for varying lengths of time. 4. The migrating lymphocytes were very much elongated, with the nucleus always near the anterior end. The elongated tail contained the endoplasm with a few granular mitochondria and usually a few granules which took up neutral red. 5. The lymphocytes in cultures made from normal and pathological lymph nodes in auto and homoplasma showed no differences.
Abstract LB-165: The role of sphingolipid metabolism in the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia

Proceedings: AACR 103rd Annual Meeting 2012‐‐ Mar 31‐Apr 4, 2012; Chicago, IL While significant progress has been made in understanding the genetics of AML, treatment still consists of induction therapy that is toxic and not tolerated by the elderly. In this study we show in cell culture models that manipulating sphingolipid metabolism may provide a potential mechanism to increase the efficacy of induction therapy, thus possibly allowing the use of lower doses of cytotoxic chemotherapy while maintaining efficacy. Recently thousands of papers have revealed that sphingolipid metabolism has a major role in determining how a diverse group of cell types, including myeloid malignancies, respond to a variety of stresses, particularly chemotheraputics, through production of the pro-apoptotic lipid ceramide. Conversely, a downstream ceramide metabolite, sphingosine-1-phosphte (S1P), has been shown to have the opposite effect, promoting survival, multi-drug resistance, and proliferation. We hypothesize that through the use of small molecules that inhibit the metabolism of ceramide and the formation of S1P we can decrease the apoptotic threshold of leukemic cells. To investigate this we used inhibitors to two enzymes that metabolize ceramide, the ceramidase inhibitor, LCL-385, and the glucosylceramide synthase inhibitor, PDMP, as well as the sphingosine kinase inhibitor, SKI, alone and in combination with daunorubicin and cytarabine in common AML cell culture models, HL-60 and HEL. We found that at low nanomolar concentrations each of these inhibitors alone dramatically decreases proliferation and increases apoptosis in both cell types in a dose dependant manner. Most importantly, through analysis with the Chou and Talalay combination index model, we have shown that each of these molecules works synergistically with daunorubicin and cytarabine (see table below). This data highlights the importance of sphingolipid metabolism in the response of AML cells to chemotherapy and as a potential synergistic target for induction therapy. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr LB-165. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-LB-165
Temporal changes in rates and reasons for medical induction of term labor, 1980-1996.

Abstract Objective: This study was undertaken to assess temporal changes in rates and reasons for medical induction of term labor. Study Design: A retrospective medical record review was conducted on a population-based cohort of 1293 women with term deliveries. Results: The rate of medical labor induction increased from 12.9% in 1980 to 25.8% in 1995. Stated indications also changed, with a 2-fold increase in induction for postdate gestation, a 23-fold increase in induction for macrosomia, a 15-fold increase in elective induction, and a 22-fold decline in induction for premature rupture of membranes. The average gestational age at delivery of postdate pregnancies declined from 41.9 weeks in 1980 to 41.0 weeks in 1995. By 1995, the average maternal length of stay and the percentage of cesarean deliveries were higher among women with induced labor at term than among those with spontaneous labor at term. Conclusion: Induction of term labor has almost doubled in prevalence during the past 15 years. The most common indications are elective induction and postdate pregnancy, often applied to gestations of 40 to 41 weeks' duration. (Am J Obstet Gynecol 2001;184:611-9.)
Velocity dependent total scattering cross sections for metastable helium on He, Ne, and Ar

Abstract Single beam attenuation measurements of total scattering cross sections have been made for the title interactions using a computer not only to process the data, but to control the target gas pressure in the collision cell and thereby minimize errors due to long term drift in metastable beam intensity. The method produces results in agreement with previous work.
Odd waveguide mode quasi-phase matching with angled and staggered gratings.

Angled and staggered gratings are used for quasi-phase matching of antisymmetric TM10 modes in periodically poled lithium niobate waveguides with high efficiency. Control of the symmetry of the nonlinear coefficient d adds a new degree of freedom in the choice of which waveguide modes will interact in a quasi-phase-matched device.
Durability of hydrophobic coatings for superhydrophobic aluminum oxide

Abstract Robust and easily produced superhydrophobic surfaces are of great interest for mechanical applications, including drag reduction and MEMS. We produce novel superhydrophobic surfaces with several different coatings and tested the durability of each of these coatings with respect to long term immersion in water in order to determine the most long-lasting surface preparation. A pair of combinations of spin on polymers, surface features, and adhesion promoters was found that provide long term durability.
Evaluating research productivity: a case study of the rice scientists in India and Sri Lanka

Measuring research productivity of the scientific community is important because it gives an insight to the research and development (RD presentations at workshops/ conference proceedings; books or chapters in books; technical reports etc. The patents and the awards received by the scientists are also considered as research productivity indicators. The present case study is aimed at evaluation of the research productivity of rice scientists in India and Sri Lanka through their publications and other research outputs. A questionnaire survey was administered among the scientists at the Central Rice Research Institute (CRRI), at Cuttack in the Orissa State of India and at the Rice Research and Development Institute (RRDI), at Batalagoda, Ibbagamuwa in Sri Lanka. This was supplemented by direct interviews with senior scientists and research administrators in the National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS) in both countries. The mean research productivity was found to be significantly higher (p≤1) for Indian rice scientists compared to the Sri Lankan rice scientists. The possible reasons for this difference that emerged from this study are as follows. a) Publication of research is the most essential criterion for promotion and career development of Indian scientists; b) Many Indian journals are available for publication of rice research; and c) The majority of Indian rice scientists hold PhD degrees which is essential for conducting independent research. The study also indicated a policy insight for training Sri Lankan rice scientists up to PhD level for higher research productivity. Keywords : India, research productivity, research publication, rice research, rice scientists, science policy, science & technology output, Sri Lanka. doi:10.4038/jnsfsr.v36i1.141 Journal of the National Science Foundation of Sri Lanka 36 (1) 59-68
The role of occupation numbers in HKS theory

The role of the occupation numbers for the density in calculations of the Hohenberg-Kohn-Sham or Hartree-Fock-Slater type is discussed in detail, with particular reference to multiplet problems. It is argued that, in general, fractional occupations should not be used even when holes exist below the Fermi level in the solution of the self-consistency equations.
THIN-LAYER CHROMATOGRAPHY OF RESIN ACID METHYL ESTERS.

Abstract A procedure has been developed in which all of the common pine resin acids may be cleanly separated by thin-layer chromatography of their methyl esters on alumina impregnated with silver nitrate.
Circular Numbers andn-set Partitions

Partitions ofn-sets and their associated Bell and Stirling numbers are well-studied combinatorial entities. Less studied is the connection between these entities and the moments of a Poisson random variable. We find a natural generalization of this connection by considering the moments of the circular random variables of ordernwhich are sums ofnindependent identically distributed Poisson random variables weighted equally about the unit circle. These are shown to have relationships to partitions of an-set whose blocks are of size divisible bym. From this a rich selection of combinatorial properties analogous to those of the striling numbers are explored. This includes Dobinski-type formulas, recurrence relations, and congruential properties. Some surprises are found in that form?3 the circular numbers are not unimodal and have no non-trivial recurrences in (n, k) of fixed ordernwith coefficients depending onk, yet they have many analogous congruential properties.
Immunological aspects of pregnancy: concepts and speculations using the sheep as a model

Abstract Experimental evidence from the sheep and other species is used to develop a hypothetical model of the mechanisms involved in protection of the ruminant placenta from maternal immunological attack. According to this model, the trophoblast is at risk of cytolysis mediated by cytolytic αβ-T cell receptor (TCR) + T cells and cells of the natural killer lineage. Destruction of trophoblast cells is inhibited through several processes. First, expression of major histocompatibility proteins on the trophoblast is limited. Moreover, several types of molecules are secreted locally that inhibit lymphocyte activation. These include molecules produced by the trophoblast (e.g. interferon-τ (IFN) and prostaglandin E 2 (PGE 2 )) and endometrium (e.g. PGE 2 and uterine milk proteins (UTMP)) as well as inhibitory cytokines such as transforming growth factor-β from activated luminal γδ TCR + cells. In addition to producing suppressor factors, activated luminal γδ TCR + lymphocytes may also secrete cytokines that stimulate placental growth and hormone secretion.
Alteration of permeability by fine particle processes

Permeability reduction and skin effect caused by water sensitivity of clay particles in petroleum reservoirs is a primary source of decreasing well performance. Therefore, it is of paramount interest to the petroleum industry to understand the fundamental mechanisms leading to skin development and to find ways to alleviate this problem. Numerous studies have been reported in the literature addressing some aspect of permeability reduction phenomena. The applicability of these studies is limited to particular cases considered. What is needed is a fundamental approach to describe the particulate processes which will allow for later extension and modification as more data become available and our understanding of various processes advances. In this respect, Civan and Knapp (1987) took the approach of phenomenological modeling, in which all governing phenomena were described based on fundamental conservation laws and principles. They considered the combined effects of formation swelling and migration and retention of fine particles in porous media during flow for prediction of the permeability reduction. Specifically, their study was limited to the case of injection of a suspension of fine particles to porous media. This model was tested and confirmed using the data of Hart et al. (1960), who studied the effect of injecting brine containing dead bacteria into Berea cores. In this study, the model of Civan and Knapp (1987) is extended to include the swelling and capture of clay particles from the pore surface by fluid shear. The extended model considers two distinct sources of particles: those directly generated within the porous media and others previously deposited in porous media from the flowing suspension of particles as shown in Fig. 1. Addition of this feature enables the model to simulate a wide variety of realistic cases involving particulate processes in petroleum reservoirs. This model is verified using the data of Hart et al. (1960), Gruesbeck and Collins (1982), and Khilar and Fogler (1983). In each case, however, some of the information required for simulation is missing. Therefore, the missing data are approximated based on the description of the experimental system and common knowledge available in the literature. Various model parameters are determined using the statistical parameter identification method described by Kerig and Watson (1986). It is shown that the model can reproduce the fundamental characteristics of the experimental measurements within the uncertainties of the experimental data.