cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Expression of CCAAT/Enhancer Binding Proteins (C/EBP) is Associated with Squamous Differentiation in Epidermis and Isolated Primary Keratinocytes and is Altered in Skin Neoplasms

The epidermis is a stratified squamous epithelium composed primarily of keratinocytes that undergo sequential changes in gene expression during differentiation. CCAAT/enhancer binding proteins (C/EBP) are members of the bZIP family of DNA binding proteins/transcription factors. Northern analysis demonstrated that C/EBPα, C/EBPβ, and C/EBPδ mRNA are expressed in mouse epidermis and their mRNA levels were generally greater than those observed in other tissues known to express high levels of C/EBP. Western analysis of isolated epidermal cell nuclei demonstrated the presence of a 42 and 30 kDa C/EBPα protein and 35 kDa C/EBPβ protein. Immunohistochemical localization of C/EBPα and C/EBPβ in intact interfollicular epidermis revealed that C/EBPβ expression is exclusive to the nuclei of a three-cell cluster of suprabasal keratinocytes that is morphologically consistent with the central column of the epidermal proliferative unit, and that C/EBPα is expressed in the nuclei and cytoplasm of suprabasal keratinocytes and weakly expressed in a perinuclear manner in some basal keratinocytes. In squamous cell carcinomas the expression of C/EBPα and C/EBPβ was greatly diminished as both the intensity of nuclear staining and the number of cells expressing C/EBPα and C/EBPβ were reduced. In isolated primary mouse keratinocytes, calcium-induced differentiation was accompanied by specific temporal changes in the expression of C/EBPα, C/EBPβ, and C/EBPδ mRNA and C/EBPα and C/EBPβ protein. These results implicate a role for the C/EBP family in the regulation of genes involved in or specifically expressed during the process of squamous differentiation in epidermis.
Time constants and feedback transfer functions of EBR-II subassembly types☆

Abstract Time constants, feedback reactivity transfer functions and power coefficients are calculated for stereotypical subassemblies in the EBR-II reactor. These quantities are calculated from nodal reactivities obtained from a reactor kinetic code analysis for a step change in power. Due to the multiplicity of eigenvalues, there are several time constants for each nodal position in a subassembly. Compared with these calculated values are analytically derived values for the initial node of a given channel.
Discrepancies between capillary glucose measurements and traditional laboratory assessments in both shock and non-shock states after trauma

Abstract Introduction The purpose of this study was to analyze the accuracy of capillary blood glucose (CBG) against laboratory blood glucose (LBG) in critically ill trauma patients during the shock state. Methods All critically ill trauma patients admitted to the Surgical Intensive Care Unit at the Los Angeles County + University of Southern California Medical Center requiring blood glucose monitoring from January 2007 to December 2008 were included. Accuracy of CBG was compared against LBG during shock and non-shock states. Shock was defined as either systolic blood pressure Results During the 2-y study period, a total of 1215 patients were admitted to the Surgical Intensive Care Unit. Overall, the mean age was 38.4 ± 20.9 y, 79.6% (967) were male, and 75.0% (911) sustained blunt trauma. A total of 1935 paired samples of CBG and LBG were included in this analysis (367 during shock and 1568 during non-shock). During shock, the mean difference between CBG and LBG levels was 13.4 mg/dL (95% CI, −15.4 to 42.2 mg/dL), and the limits of agreement were −27.1 and 53.9 mg/dL. A total of 136 CBG values (37.1%) differed from the LBG values by more than 15%. During non-shock, the mean difference between CBG and LBG levels was 12.6 mg/dL (95% CI, −19.9 to 32.5 mg/dL), and the limits of agreement were −20.6 and 45.8 mg/dL. A total of 639 CGB values (40.8%) differed from the LBG values by more than 15%. Agreement was lowest among hypoglycemic readings in both shock and non-shock states. Conclusion There is poor correlation between the capillary and laboratory glucose values in both shock and non-shock states.
The voluntary contributions mechanism with real time revisions

Experimental results are presented showing the effects of allowing real time revisions of voluntary contributions for the provision of a public good. Four public good payoff functions are examined, each of which generates specific equilibria. Evidence of increased provision of the public good is demonstrated for: (i) the case in which revisions are limited to increases and a provision point exists, and also (ii) when there is a high initial marginal return from the public good.
Intersecting Orbifold Planes and Local Anomaly Cancellation in M-Theory

Abstract A systematic program is developed for analyzing and canceling local anomalies on networks of intersecting orbifold planes in the context of M-theory. Through a delicate balance of factors, it is discovered that local anomaly matching on the lower-dimensional intersection of two orbifold planes may require twisted matter on those planes which do not conventionally support an anomaly (such as odd-dimensional planes). In this way, gravitational anomalies can, in principle, tell us about (twisted) gauge groups on subspaces which are not necessarily ten-, six- or two-dimensional. An example is worked out for the case of an S 1 Z 2 × T 4 Z 2 orbifold and possible implications for four-dimensional physics are speculated on.
Superimposition of thyroid hormone regulation on gonadotropin secretion.

The present study focuses upon effects of thyroid hormone on the secretion of FSH and LH in the absence of steroid regulation. Groups of rats were ovariectomized 16 days after thyroidectomy or sham-thyroidectomy. Blood was collected by decapitation at frequent intervals after ovariectomy and FSH, LH and TSH concentrations determined by radioimmunoassay. Both gonadotropin assays were found to be free from interference by TSH. From 5 to 30 days after ovariectomy serum FSH and LH concentrations of athyroidovariectomized rats were 50–180% higher than those found in euthyroid-ovariectomized rats. Daily administration of thyroxine (5 μg/100 g body wt/day) to athyroid rats from the day of ovariectomy, resultedin serum levels of FSH, LH and TSH similar to those found in euthyroid-ovariectomized rats. Treatment of athyroid-ovariectomized rats with a single injection of 3 μg thyroxine/100 g body wt resulted in a significant depression by 24 hr after injection of serum LH and TSHconcentrations below those found in s...
Deal with It We Must: Education, Social Justice, and the Curriculum of Hip Hop Culture

Although hip hop culture has been one of the most significant urban youth movements over the last three decades, it has only recently gained attention within the educational literature as a force to be reckoned with. And even then, much of the literature seeks to understand how hip hop can be used to engage students in the official school curriculum. In contrast, in this paper, the author looks critically at hip hop's curricular dimensions; that is, what hip hop might teach educators not only about the way in which the last three generations of young urban dwellers negotiate identity and difference across cycles of urban blight and ongoing educational disenfranchisement but also about the limitations and possibilities of our work as educators. Drawing on curriculum theory and critical race theory, the author contends that an important part of re-imagining the relationship among education, social justice, and hip hop culture is beginning with a critical awareness of how the curriculum of hip hop culture co...
Variable-interval and fixed-interval schedule preferences in pigeons as a function of signaled reinforcement and schedule length

Pigeons were reinforced for pecking on two concurrent chain schedules. The terminal links consisted of a variable-interval or an arithmetically equivalent fixed-interval schedule. For half the subjects a brief response-independent change in key color signaled reinforcement. This procedure eliminated the differences in predictability of reinforcement between the two terminal link schedules. Tested over several variable-interval and fixed-interval schedule values, the pigeons’ preference for the variable-interval link varied directly with the absolute value of the arithmetic mean but independently of the signal presentation.
Infrared-optical double resonance and thermal modulation spectroscopy of the tris(2,2′bipyridine) ruthenium(II)cation

Abstract Both double resonance and thermal modulation techniques produced a signal from the title compound at ≈2 K. The thermal modulation results are interpreted in terms of a forbidden electronic excited state of A 1 symmetry lying lowest, followed by an allowed level of E symmetry that is populated during the heat pulse and decays radiatively to the ground state. The double resonance results are interpretable either as a genuine E a A 2 excited state transition or as a thermal modulation induced emission. Both results corrobate previous assignment of the electronic excited states.
Maximum a Posteriori Estimation of Position in Scintillation Cameras

We derive the form of the maximum likelihood (ML) estimate of the location of the scintillation point given the photomultiplier counts in an Anger Scintillation camera. This estimate is also Maximum a Posteriori (MAP) if the prior probability density on the scintillation point is uniform in the object plane. The form of the estimate suggests the possibility of an optical filtering implementation. We note that the ML estimate implies a solution that is remarkably similar to the "optimum position arithmetic" derived by Tanaka, et al.
Peek: context sharing on request with notifications

Ever wondered if it was a good time to call your spouse, child, or friend? Do you sometimes just want to know if they are on their way to meet you? With Peek you can request the activity state (e.g. walking, in-vehicle, at-rest) and location of a phone when needed. Context is sent back automatically to people on the phone owner's pre-approved Peek contact list. The person being peeked at receives a notification that provides awareness of who peeked at them and when.
Chondrocytes provide a model for in-situ confocal microscopy and 3D reconstructions

Hyaline cartilage is composed of chondrocytes that reside in lacunae surrounded by extracellular matrix molecules. Microscopic and histochemical features of cartilage have been studied with many techniques. Many of these techniques can be time consuming and may alter natural cartilage characteristics. In addition, the orientation and order of sectioned tissue must be maintained to create 3D reconstructions. We show that confocal laser scanning microscopy may replace traditional methods for studying cartilage.
Sustained viral gene delivery through core-shell fibers

Although viral gene transfer is efficient in achieving transgene expression for tissue engineering, drawbacks of virus dissemination, toxicity and transient gene expression due to immune response have hindered its widespread application. Many tissue engineering studies thus opt to genetically engineer cells in vitro prior to their introduction in vivo. However, it would be attractive to obviate the need for in vitro manipulation by transducing the infiltrating progenitor cells in situ. This study introduces the fabrication of a virus-encapsulated electrospun fibrous scaffold to achieve sustained and localized transduction. Adenovirus encoding the gene for green fluorescent protein was efficiently encapsulated into the core of poly(e-caprolactone) fibers through co-axial electrospinning and was subsequently released via a porogen-mediated process. HEK 293 cells seeded on the scaffolds expressed high level of transgene expression over a month, while cells inoculated by scaffold supernatant showed only transient expression for a week. RAW 264.7 cells cultured on the virus-encapsulated fibers produced a lower level of IL-1 β, TNF-α and IFN-α, suggesting that the activation of macrophage cells by the viral vector was reduced when encapsulated in the core-shell PCL fibers. In demonstrating sustained and localized cell transduction, this study presents an attractive alternative mode of applying viral gene transfer for regenerative medicine.
Oxidative stress in the regulation of normal and neoplastic hematopoiesis.

Abstract Recent evidence suggests that oxidative stress contributes significantly to the regulation of hematopoietic cell homeostasis. In particular, red blood cells and hematopoietic stem cells are highly sensitive to deregulated accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Unchecked ROS accumulation often leads to hemolysis, that is, to destruction and shortened life span of red blood cells. In addition, the process of erythroid cell formation is sensitive to ROS accumulation. Similarly, ROS buildup in hematopoietic stem cells compromises their function as a result of potential damage to their DNA leading to loss of quiescence and alterations of hematopoietic stem cell cycling. These abnormalities may lead to accelerated aging of hematopoietic stem cells or to hematopoietic malignancies. Antioxid. Redox Signal. 10, 1923–1940.
Stepping Into the Fray: When Do Mediators Mediate?

In this article, I analyze the conditions that promote the request, offer, and occurrence of mediation between enduring rivals. Although the mediation literature has devoted considerable attention to the form that mediation takes, the approaches that mediators use, and the conditions under which it is successful, little attention has been given to the conditions under which mediation is most likely to occur. The results of the analysis point to a disconnect among enduring rivalries between the factors that the literature highlights as promoting mediation success and those that promote the onset of mediation. This disconnect is particularly apparent in the conditions that prompt third-parties to offer mediation.
Urethral pressure changes in women with detrusor instability

Detrusor instability has for years been thought to be due to a primary bladder pathology in 90% of cases. The remaining 10% were attributed to neurologic disorders. The simultaneous measurement of urethral and bladder pressures in patients with detrusor instability revealed two different patterns. The first was characterized by uninhibited bladder contractions followed by urethral relaxation. The second consisted of detrusor contraction preceded by urethral relaxation. The presence of involuntary urethral pressure changes exceeding 15 cmH2O was defined as urethral instability. These observations have important therapeutic implications. Bladder instability secondary to an unstable urethra does not respond to anticholinergic therapy as well as primary detrusor instability. Better results are obtained by increasing the tone of the urethral sphincter with alpha-adrenergic drugs. Therefore, it is important to identify the chronological sequence of bladder and urethral pressure changes, in order to plan adequate therapy for patients with detrusor instability.
Innovation and heterogeneous knowledge in managerial contact networks

Innovation, particularly in a dynamic environment, is crucial to a firm’s competitiveness. We test the hypothesis that managers’ performance, particularly their innovativeness, is related to the diversity of knowledge to which they are exposed in their interactions with colleagues. In a study of 106 managers in a high technology company, we find their performance benefits from increasing diversity of knowledge among their contacts. However, the effect of knowledge heterogeneity depends on the presence of sparse local networks. The joint influence of heterogeneity and sparse network structure is stronger for managerial innovation than for a more general measure of managerial performance. This suggests that the link between knowledge heterogeneity and performance relies on a process of knowledge synthesis involved in the generation of new ideas, with sparse networks affording managers the local autonomy needed for their development and implementation.
Measurements of erosion mechanisms from solid and liquid materials in PISCES-B

Abstract PISCES-B is a steady-state linear-plasma simulator facility dedicated to the study of plasma–material interactions. This paper will summarize recent experiments conducted in PISCES in the areas of: plasma–liquid-metal interactions, the flux dependence of the chemical erosion of graphite, and surface modification to tungsten samples exposed to high-fluence plasmas. Enhanced erosion of liquid-metal samples exposed to plasma is observed for both lithium and gallium samples. The surface stratification of liquid-metals is discussed as a possible explanation. The importance of correction terms in the interpretation of the chemical erosion measurements from graphite samples is then emphasized. And finally, surface analysis of tungsten samples, after deuterium plasma bombardment, has revealed microscopic damage in the surface at ion energies below the sputtering threshold energy. This damage appears to be due to pockets of deuterium gas forming within the tungsten and subsequently rupturing.
Sin, sex, and democracy: Antigay rhetoric and the Christian right

Cynthia Burack, Albany, NY, State University of New York Press, 2008, xxxiv+187 pp., (paperback) ISBN: 978-0-7914-7406-8 On the one hand, Cynthia Burack's Sin, sex, and democracy is aimed at reader...
The Exploitation of Gestalt Principles by Magicians

Magicians exploit a host of psychological principles in deceiving their audiences. Psychologists have recently attempted to pinpoint the most common psychological tendencies exploited by magicians. This paper highlights two co-occurring principles that appear to be the basis for many popular magic tricks: accidental alignment and good continuation.
Late Classic Lowland Maya Political Organization and Central-Place Analysis: New insights from the Upper Belize Valley

Between 1984 and 1989, the San Diego State University Mopan–Macal Triangle Project carried out six extended seasons of fieldwork oriented toward documenting the internal sociobehavioral structure and organization of a representative Classic period community in the southern Maya Lowlands. The project also undertook to delineate the spatial boundaries of several such contiguous communities and to test a selected set of alternative models for Classic period political organization at the local and regional levels. This article summarizes our approach to understanding political organization and presents our preliminary conclusions: a model of the so-called segmentary state type as recently espoused by several researchers best approximates the reality of internal political organization at the single polity level during the Late Classic period of the southern Maya Lowlands.
Computation of heteroazeotropes. Part I: Theory

Abstract This paper describes an algorithm for the computation of the homogeneous and heterogeneous azeotropes present in a multicomponent mixture. The approach (which is an extension of an approach developed by Fidkowski, Malone and Doherty (1993, Computers and Chemical Engineering , 17 , 1141–1155) for the computation of homogeneous azeotropes) is independent of the representation of the nonideality of the system and the topology of the liquid–liquid region. Furthermore, the approach can be readily extended to handle any number of liquid phases in equilibrium. The second paper in this series discusses how the approach can be used to compute efficiently changes in equilibrium structure with parameters such as pressure (i.e., the appearance and disappearance of azeotropes and heteroazeotropes) and contains several numerical examples of the approach described in this paper.
Dark matter : theoretical perspectives

I both review and make the case for the current theoretical prejudice: a flat Universe whose dominant constituent is nonbaryonic dark matter, emphasizing that this is still a prejudice and not yet fact. The theoretical motivation for nonbaryonic dark matter is discussed in the context of current elementary-particle theory, stressing that (i) there are no dark-matter candidates within the "standard model" of particle physics, (ii) there are several compelling candidates within attractive extensions of the standard model of particle physics, and (iii) the motivation for these compelling candidates comes first and foremost from particle physics. The dark-matter problem is now a pressing issue in both cosmology and particle physics, and the detection of particle dark matter would provide evidence for "new physics." The compelling candidates are a very light axion (10(-6)-10(-4) eV), a light neutrino (20-90 eV), and a heavy neutralino (10 GeV-2 TeV). The production of these particles in the early Universe and the prospects for their detection are also discussed. I briefly mention more exotic possibilities for the dark matter, including a nonzero cosmological constant, superheavy magnetic monopoles, and decaying neutrinos.
Expanding Bioshield: A Call for Caution

The Bioshield Initiative seeks to stimulate development of new drugs and vaccines to prevent and treat diseases caused by biological agents likely to be used by terrorists, and recent proposals have sought to expand patent protections in this context. To the extent that patent protections are needed as part of the incentive structure for new drug and vaccine development, it may be better to strengthen patent protections on nonterror-related drugs and vaccines to avoid production capacity problems, as well as follow-up research and development problems. However, at the same time, both practical and ethical considerations argue that the good that might be achieved through expanded patent protections come at costs that make this strategy unacceptable.
Structural and Biological Characterization of Antimony(V) Polyamines

Abstract The condensation of organoantimony(V) dihalides with diamines forming antimony(V) polyamines employing the interfacial technique is described. Structural characterization was accomplished by employing elemental analysis, light-scattering photometry, infrared spectroscopy, control reactions, and mass spectroscopy. The products exhibit mild inhibition to a wide range of bacteria and to HeLa, BHK-21, and L929 cancer-related cell lines.
SOME OBSERVATIONS MADE IN 1887 ON DANAIS ARCHIPPUS, Fabr

Mr. Scudder, in his “Butterflies,” p. 136, says of this species: It is the longest lived of our butterflies. It leaves its winter quarters later in the season than other hibernating butterflies, and continues upon the wing until July and August, laying eggs all the time, so that the insect may be found in all its earlier stages most of the summer.
GOODNESS-OF-FIT TESTS FOR THE SKEW-NORMAL DISTRIBUTION

Given a set of data, one of the statistical issues is to see how well the data fit into a postulated model. This technique necessitates the corresponding table of the probability distribution for the proposed model. In this paper, we present the table for skew normal distributions with different values of skew factor λ. The table presented makes it workable to examine whether skew normal distribution is an appropriate model for a set of data. Two conventional testing methods are discussed, one is Kolmogorov-Smirnov test and the other one is Pearson's χ2 test. An example in medical study and a simulation example are included to illustrate the use of the table.
Vertical differential displacements at a pad/sapphire interface during polishing

This paper describes the results of measurements of the vertical displacement between a polishing pad and a sapphire disk surface. Those experiments were intended to simulate silicon/pad interaction as it occurs in the chemical-mechanical polishing of integrated circuits. Results show that the pad is suctioned into the sapphire surface so that the measured displacement is negative by up to 7 μm. Capillarity associated with the surface roughness of the pad is able to account for approximately 4 μm of this negative displacement.
TRANSFORMATIONAL‐GENERATIVE THEORIES OF LANGUAGE AND THE ROLE OF CONDITIONING IN LANGUAGE LEARNING

At face value, the application of some aspects of transformational-generative theories of language to second language pedagogy would seem to preclude the use of conditioning. These theories, however, do not debar conditioning from learning certain aspects of language. In fact, some specialists concerned with foreign language pedagogy recommend the use of conditioning for the learning of surface features of languages. The central question, then, is not whether conditioning should be used in second language learning and teaching but to what extent it should be used. Tentatively, it would seem that elements of universal grammar could be dedutively presented to the student in an effort to provide cognitive mediation between the surface features of the native and target languages. Conditioning could then be used to give the student control of the surface forms of the target language.
Effect of percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty on circulating endothelin levels

Percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) is frequently associated with vasoconstriction involving large vessels as well as microcirculation, but the potential mechanisms remain poorly defined. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that endothelial disruption during PTCA is associated with an increase in circulating levels of endothelin, a potent endothelium-derived vasoconstrictor peptide. Circulating levels of endothelin and other potential vasoactive mediators such as atrial natriuretic factor, epinephrine and norepinephrine were measured immediately before and after PTCA in 23 patients with coronary artery disease. Although there was no change in the endothelin levels after angiography alone (43 +/- 5 vs 44 +/- 7 pg/ml, p = 0.5), there was a significant increase after PTCA (32 +/- 8 to 37 +/- 10 pg/ml, p < 0.005). The increase in endothelin was associated with a significant increase in atrial natriuretic factor (78 +/- 57 to 129 +/- 131 ng/ml, p = 0.01) and a decrease in epinephrine and norepinephrine levels (111 +/- 64 to 59 +/- 36 pg/ml, p = 0.005, and 1,131 +/- 500 to 811 +/- 311 pg/ml, p = 0.003, respectively). Circulating levels of endothelin did not correlate with the percent coronary stenosis before or after PTCA or the presence or absence of angiographically visible thrombus. These findings suggest that endothelial injury during PTCA may be associated with increased circulating levels of endothelin and its counter-regulatory hormone, atrial natriuretic factor, and also with a reciprocal decrease in epinephrine and norepinephrine levels. Thus, these humoral changes may modulate changes in coronary vascular tone after PTCA.
Angiogenic growth factors correlate with disease severity in young patients with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease

Renal cysts, pain, and hematuria are common presentations of autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) in children. Renal function, however, is typically preserved in these patients despite increased renal volume. Since angiogenesis has been implicated in promotion of renal cyst growth in ADPKD, we measured the serum level of various angiogenic factors and early renal structural changes and cardiovascular parameters in 71 patients with ADPKD, with a mean age of 16 years. Renal structure and left ventricular mass index were measured by magnetic resonance imaging or by echocardiogram. Renal function was assessed by creatinine clearance and urinary protein excretion. Serum growth factor levels were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Because of skewed distributions, the various parameters are reported as log 10 . Serum log 10 vascular endothelial growth factor was positively correlated with renal and cardiac structure, but negatively with creatinine clearance. Serum angiopoietin 1 levels significantly correlated with structural change in both the kidney and the heart and with urinary protein. Thus, the correlation between angiogenic growth factors with both renal and cardiac disease severity is compatible with a possible role for angiogenesis in the early progression of disease in ADPKD.
New Visions for Suburbia: Reassessing Aesthetics and Place-making in Modernism, Imageability and New Urbanism

This paper explores three controversial and large-scale attempts by architects to build more attractive suburban areas: Cumbernauld in Scotland (key designs constructed in the 1950s and 1960s), Irvine in California (key designs from the 1960s and 1970s onward), and Poundbury in England (key designs created in the 1980s and built from the 1990s on). They represent major approaches to the issue of aesthetics and place—modernism, humanistic imageability and legibility, and new urbanism or the Urban Villages Movement. The paper distinguishes between several terms relevant in assessing visual character: objective aesthetics, style, place and satisfaction. It is argued that all three developments conform to some principles of the visual and psychological aspects of good design; but these principles differ, resulting in criticisms from those promoting different styles.
Measurement of anelastic creep strains in Al-5.5 at.% Mg using a new technique: Implications for the mechanism of class I creep

Abstract The anelastic response of Al-5.5 at.% Mg has been studied in the Class I creep regime using stress change-strain transient experiments at 573 and 673 K. Conventional single drop experiments yield a nonlinear variation of total and back-extrapolated anelastic strain with stress reduction, while a linear response is found for stress increments. These results are inconsistent with the predictions of a new dislocation loop model for alloy type creep. An examination of the transient creep process using the loop model indicates that the anelastic backstrain and forward creep processes are not independent, and that the predicted anelastic response can be observed only for nearly complete unloadings. This analysis has led to the development of the constant reduced stress-dual drop experiment. The results of this new technique correlate well with the purely anelastic backstrain mechanism proposed in the loop model. This interpretation of the creep transient implies that measurements of internal stresses using the conventional single drop test are inaccurate, and suggests that the internal stress accounts for less than 10% of the applied stress for alloy type creep.
Adult physical activity behavior: a trend analysis.

One of the health objectives for the nation is to have 60% of adults 18-64 years regularly active in vigorous physical activity by 1990. In this paper an effort is made to determine whether American society is making satisfactory progress toward this goal. Two independent databases are analyzed: time diaries collected from a national sample of American adults in 1981; and the Simmons Market Research Bureau, Inc., survey undertaken in 1984. Participation of adults 25-64 in moderate to vigorous activities that included racquet sports, swimming, hiking, bicycling, skiing, jogging, outdoor gardening, skating, etc. is compared between the two time periods. After adjusting for social desirability bias the results indicated there were a similar number of non-participants of the activities analyzed in 1981 and 1984. There was, however, an increase in the number of adults participating occasionally in vigorous activity, although, there did not appear to be any increase in the number who were regularly active, i.e. at least 3 days/week. Thus, while there are indications that adults 25-64 years are adopting more vigorous activity, less than 20% were regular enough in 1984 for improvements in cardiovascular functioning to occur. Unless there were dramatic increases in the activity status of adults 18-24 years of age which was not assessed in this study, the 1990 goal is unlikely to be met.
The contribution of ER quality control to the biologic functions of secretory IgM

Secretory IgM provides a first line of defense against pathogens and is uniquely capable of enhancing the primary humoral immune response. Complement activation is especially important for these activities. Here, Padmalatha Reddy and Ronald Corley discuss how the 'quality control' mechanisms that regulate IgM assembly and secretion play important roles in the developmental progression of B cells and in B-cell function.
Socioeconomic Status and the Increased Prevalence of Autism in California

The prevalence of autism has increased precipitously—roughly 10-fold in the past 40 years—yet no one knows exactly what caused this dramatic rise. Using a large and representative dataset that spans the California birth cohorts from 1992 through 2000, we examine individual and community resources associated with the likelihood of an autism diagnosis over time. This allows us to identify key social factors that have contributed to increased autism prevalence. While individual-level factors, such as birth weight and parental education, have had a fairly constant effect on likelihood of diagnosis over time, we find that community-level resources drive increased prevalence. This study suggests that neighborhoods dynamically interact with the people living in them in different ways at different times to shape health outcomes. By treating neighborhoods as dynamic, we can better understand the changing socioeconomic gradient of autism and the increase in prevalence.
Gastrostomy with antireflux properties

The need for feeding gastrostomy seems to be increasing in children with neurological impairment and swallowing incoordination. Because gastrostomy can cause or increase gastroesophageal reflux, an antireflux procedure has been advocated at the time of gastrostomy placement in neurologically impaired children. A gastrostomy in the lesser gastric curvature with antirefluxing properties was performed in nine neurologically impaired children. All had severe swallowing incoordination with aspiration and malnutrition. Postoperatively none of the nine patients have demonstrated clinical evidence of vomiting or gastroesophageal reflux. This type of gastrostomy prevents the developement of gastroesophageal reflux by increasing the length of the intraabdominal esophagus and by increasing the acuity of the gastroesophageal angle of His. When compared with an antireflux procedure, it has less complications, shorter postoperative recovery, and is more economical.
Monoclonal antibodies identify a strain-specific epitope on the HN glycoprotein of Newcastle disease virus strain Australia-Victoria

A panel of monoclonal antibodies raised against the hemagglutinin-neuraminidase glycoprotein (HN) of the Australia-Victoria strain of Newcastle disease virus has been used to compare that strain and eight other strains of the virus. The ability of the antibodies to neutralize infectivity, inhibit hemagglutination and neuraminidase, and bind to purified virions in solid-phase radioimmunoassays was determined for each strain. Of the four antigenic sites delineated by these antibodies on the HN of the homologous strain, site 1 (that with the greatest neutralizing susceptibility), is apparently conserved in all the strains tested as revealed by neutralization assays. The least neutralizing site, number 4, is also conserved in most of the strains tested. Site 2, which lies at or near the neuraminidase site, appears to be conserved in the avirulent strains but not in the virulent strains. An antibody to site 3 is unable to bind to a significant extent to any of the heterologous strains tested, and thus recognizes a strain-specific epitope. Inhibition of hemagglutination and neuraminidase by antibodies to each site were also examined and the results suggest that antibodies to sites 1 and 2 may distinguish virulent and avirulent strains at least with respect to these functions.
The health and wealth of US counties: how the small business environment impacts alternative measures of development

In this paper, we evaluate the prospects of small business-driven job creation by assessing the link between small business and population health, an alternative measure of economic development. We combine two literatures from the social capital perspective of aggregate community well-being to model the effects of small-business concentration on aggregate measures of population health. We argue that entrepreneurial culture facilitates collective efficacy for a community and provides a problem-solving capacity for addressing local public health problems. Our analysis demonstrates that communities with a greater concentration of small businesses, ceteris paribus, have greater levels of population health. Implications for theory and research are discussed.
Empirical analysis of dayrate factors in offshore contract drilling, 2000–2010

The offshore contract drilling industry has been providing drilling services to exploration and production companies for over half a century, and during this time, a body of “common knowledge” has developed surrounding rig dayrates. The purpose of this paper is to critically review single factor impacts on dayrates and the empirical evidence to support/refute selected claims. Some of the claims can be tested, but many cannot be or are impacted to a significant degree by unobservable variables, and the assessment is limited by the availability of data and factor analysis. The effects of oil prices on rig demand are examined and the relationship between dayrates and oil prices, utilisation rates, rig specifications, contract length, ownership, contractor size, and well type are evaluated over the period 2000–2010 for selected time horizons, rig classes, and geographic regions. Oil prices explain a large proportion of the variation in the number of active rigs and average dayrates, while utilisation is a wea...
Human and murine natural killer cell activity may require lipoxygenation of arachidonic acid

Natural killing (spontaneous cell-mediated cytotoxicity) by either human blood cells or mouse spleen cells is reversibly inhibited by nordihydroquaiaretic acid or BW755C, agents that antagonize the lipoxygenation of arachidonic acid. Cultured mouse natural killer cells are similarly inhibited. These studies suggest that natural killing may be dependent on the lipoxygenation of arachidonic acid.
Non-Rutherford backscattering analysis of nitrogen content in titanium substrates

Abstract The cross section for 167° backscattering of 4He from 14N in the energy range from 4.5 to 9.0 MeV was measured. The targets were made by evaporating 500 A of zirconium on a carbon substrate and implanting with 1.3 × 1017 N2/cm2 at 33 keV. A large scattering resonance, approximately 80 times Rutherford and FWHM > 200 keV, was found at 8.81 MeV. Titanium samples were irradiated using pulsed excimer laser radiation at 248 nm in nitrogen gas at 1 atm. The nitrogen content was measured using the 14N alpha scattering resonance at 8.81 MeV. For fluences greater than 500 J/cm2, concentrations of nitrogen approaching that of TiN were observed. The thickness of the nitride layer is on the order of 0.35 μm.
Response of a harpacticoid copepod to a small-scale natural disturbance☆

Abstract Although several theories have been proposed to explain the manner in which natural disturbances participate in the organization of soft-bottom communities, they have seldom been tested. We examined the competitive-release hypothesis in a study of the response of the harpacticoid copepod Zausodes arenicolus Wilson to the disturbance created by the fecal mounds of the enteropneust Ptychodera bahamensis Spengel in a subtidal site in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Our approach involved field experiments, documenting the response of Zausodes to enteropneust fecal mounds and laboratory preference experiments designed to test the prediction that the reduction of competition in the disturbed patch caused the response. We found no evidence that competitive release caused Zausodes's response to the disturbance.
Comparing flow cytometric analysis and nucleolar organizer region enumeration in archival oral premalignant lesions

Flow cytometric analysis (FCA) and silver colloidal nucleolar organizer region-associated protein staining (AgNOR) have been used individually in assessing the histopathologic nature of various human tumors. However, few researchers have investigated the relationship between the two techniques in a single series. In a retrospective study, we examined 36 premalignant lesions of the oral cavity by FCA and AgNOR on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue submitted to the University of Tennessee, Memphis, oral pathology laboratory. Three categories of epithelial dysplasia were represented (9 mild. 9 moderate, 6 severe), as well as four epithelial hyperplasias without dysplasia, three squamous cell carcinomas, and five fibrous nodules as controls. Parameters recorded for each case included age. race, gender, site, light microscopic diagnosis (LMD). DNA index (DI), total proliferative index (TPI), S-phase (S), range of nucleolar organizer regions (RNOR), and mean number of nucleolar organizer regions (MNOR). The average maximum nucleolar organizer region count (AMXNOR) for each LMD category was also calculated. The objective of the study was to determine if FCA or AgNOR aided in the subjective LMD of oral premalignant lesions and if the parameters recorded for the specimens exhibited any positive correlation. The FCA results indicated an abnormal DI in 6 of the 24 dysplastic lesions. A positive partial correlation was seen between DI and MNOR (r = 0.434: P<0.012) and TPI and S (r = 0.774; P < 0.0001), holding gender and race constant. Additionally, the AMXNOR exhibited a slight tendency to increase for each increasing grade of dysplasia but this could not be confirmed statistically. The results indicate that there is a positive correlation between FCA and AgNOR but that neither FCA nor AgNOR were a diagnostic aid in grading oral mucosal dysplasia.
Airport Ground Access and Intermodal Interface

The airport ground transportation system is receiving increasing attention from airport authorities and regional transportation planning agencies. The need to plan for facilities at the airport and concern about the impact of traffic on streets and highways surrounding the airport, and about emissions generated by this traffic are forcing airports to consider strategies to reduce or mitigate ground access traffic. The 1991 Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act has caused transportation agencies at all levels to address the integration of different transportation modes, including coordination between the air and surface components of the transportation system. The range of ground access planning issues is reviewed, and three alternative strategies to improve intermodal connections at airports are discussed: new or upgraded rail links, off-airport terminals, and ground transportation centers at the airport. The planning and design issues that arise with each type of facility are addressed, as wel...
Time Dependent Analytical and Optical Studies of Heat Balanced Internal Combustion Engine Flow Fields.

Abstract : Comparison is made of the nonsteady combustion and flow processes predicted by the method of characteristics for time dependent compressible flow in a heat balanced engine with photographic records of combustion flow fields observed by high speed Fastex Schlieren and holographic interferometry. Pressure exchange and the accompanying mass transport are demonstrated analytically and observed optically. Qualitative agreement between the initial top dead center calculation and photographic evidence is seen. Schlieren and interferometer records give typical combustion flow field interactions through all strokes of an operating four stroke glass walled two dimensional engine. At least four models of time dependent combustion are identified over the entire power stroke and the influence of geometry on the control of combustion chamber pressure and temperature is discussed. (Author)
Molecular Dynamic Simulations of Apolipoprotein A-I peptide Mimetics

Coronary heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, claiming more lives than the next seven leading causes of death combined. High levels of high density lipoprotein (HDL) have been correlated with lower rates of coronary heart disease. Apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I), is the principle protein in HDL, is a 243-residue class A amphipathic alpha helix capable of binding a variable number of lipid molecules. ApoA-I mimetic peptides synthesized by Anantharamaiah et al. are 18-residue class A amphipathic helices. Although they have no sequence homology to apoA-I, the peptides bind to lipids in a manner similar to that of apoA-I (i.e. antiparallel double-belt on the edge of the lipid disc). Molecular dynamics simulations of the lipid-bound peptide mimetic 4F were performed for 30 ns in explicit water using CHARMM22/27 parameters. The peptides were arranged in a stacked and staggered conformation to determine if there was any difference in the stability of the belt structure of the peptides. In the initial model, 16 straight alpha-helical chains of 4F were placed around two leaflets of 108 dimyristoylphosphatidylcholines (DMPC). In both simulations all peptides remain in contact with the lipid. The staggered model gives a more circular shape while the stacked model distorts into an oval shape. The staggered model also has a lower conformational energy than the stacked model, indicating that peptide-lipid complexes in which the peptides are staggered may be the more stable form. Salt bridge analysis shows there are three additional salt bridge interactions formed that are not present in the stacked conformation. These interactions may be a contributing factor for the more stable form of the staggered conformation.
DiscWord: Learning Discriminative Topics

Topic modeling is a popular research topic and is widely used in text mining based applications. Many researchers realize that the learned topics in the LDA model, each as a multinomial distribution on the word vocabulary space, are often not intuitive in term of human recognition and communication. Based on our observation, given a topic, the most frequent words in it are usually less important than some words that are dedicated to it. In this paper, aiming at learning discriminative topics, we introduce a measure named word discriminability to capture a word's ability to identify different topics, and propose an iterative algorithm that is able to train and utilize word discriminability information during the topic learning process. Experimental results show that applying our method on the LDA topic model can improve its document classification accuracy significantly, the learned topics are more discriminative, and the top words of a topic are usually more representative.