cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Control of Gene Expression of Glutathione Peroxidase-1 and Other Selenoproteins in Rats and Cultured Cells

In summary, there are six control points for gene expression. Studies with rats clearly indicate that tissue type, gender, and pregnancy/lactation all can have dramatic effects on transcription, but there is no evidence for Se regulation of transcription. Severe mineral deficiencies can elicit modest down-regulation of GPX1 transcription, apparently secondary to the primary deficiency. Expression of GPX1 does not appear to be controlled by nuclear RNA processing or rate of nuclear export. In the cytoplasm, the specific and unique control point for GPX1 expression is the regulation of GPX1 mRNA stability by Se status. In addition, the availability of Sec-tRNAoSec for translation clearly regulates protein synthesis of GPX1;this step in translation is the major control point for regulation of synthesis of the other selenoproteins, as the mRNA levels for the other selenoproteins are not appreciably down-regulated when Se status is marginal. Lastly, it appears that Se status has no effect on rates of selenoprotein turnover.
Using F-18 FDG PET/CT for post-operative surveillance of cutaneous melanoma recurrence

1268 Objectives: F-18 FDG PET/CT has been widely used in staging, prognostication, and follow-up of cutaneous melanoma. However, there is no consensus as to how the F-18 FDG PET/CT should be used for post-operative surveillance, and very few reports addressing this topic are available. This study aims to investigate the value of F-18 FDG PET/CT exam in post-operative follow-up in cutaneous melanoma. Methods: Data from 92 patients (mean age=63.1±16.8 years, female n=43) with Stages I to IV cutaneous melanoma underwent wide local excision (WLE) and sentinel lymph node dissection (SLND) from 2004 to 2017 was analyzed. These cases completed follow-up and had at least two F-18 FDG PET/CT scans following surgery. Positive findings of PET/CT were compared to pathology, MRI, CT, ultrasound, as well as clinical follow-up. Changes of clinical management due to positive PET/CT findings were also investigated. Results: In the surveillance period between 5 and 154 months, 54 out of 59 cases with positive post-operative PET/CT were confirmed as tumor recurrence by pathology, in which 213 scans out of total 599 PET/CT were positive. Sensitivity (94%), specificity (79%), positive predictive value (86%) and negative predictive value (91%) of PET/CT were calculated. The rate of tumor recurrence was 57.7% for pathologically positive sentinel lymph nodes (SLN) biopsy, while the rate was 37.9% for those without SLN metastasis at the time of WLE. In 53 out of 54 patients the confirmed positive PET/CT results led to changes of clinical managements including surgery, radiation therapy, and immunotherapy. Conclusions: Post-operative F-18 FDG PET/CT surveillance is valuable for monitoring recurrence of cutaneous melanoma with high sensitivity and negative predictive value, and can help guide clinical managements.
Developing a composite indicator to prioritize tree planting and protection locations

Trees provide numerous ecosystem services to benefit human health, and many cities have launched tree planting and management programs to increase tree populations and optimize tree locations through diverse tree priority schemes. Existing tree priority schemes are typically local-specific, expert-driven, and tree-planting-focused. In this study, a framework that captures interactions among the environment, tree and human demographic information is built. This framework provides a composite indicator, namely a tree priority planting or priority protection index (PPI), that can be integrated within a decision support system such as i-Tree Landscape to provide nationally consistent and locally relevant ways to strategically optimize tree planting and management locations across the entire United States. Three scenarios with the human health concerns are tested in a case study of New York City. The analyses are conducted at the census block group scale that is the finest-level scale available at i-Tree Landscape. The resulting PPI maps are analyzed using spatial statistics and compared against each other to investigate the impacts of alternative investments of limited public resources. The results show that: (1) tree priority patterns change greatly with alternative objectives; (2) adding more indicators to build PPIs lead to more diverse tree priority patterns as high (or low) values of different indicators are often not geographically coincident; (3) incorporating more indicators may not necessarily provide more useful information because the influences of individual indicators may be reduced and diluted by a higher level of aggregation; and (4) disaggregating PPIs may reveal corresponding contributions of individual indicators. Applying the proposed framework to build PPIs has important implications for tree priority effort, scientific exploration, education, and public engagement.
Differential Pricing of 5G Network Slices for Heterogeneous Customers

5G wireless networks promise to enable new kinds of cellular use cases, by offering different network slices to users with different needs. While pricing network bandwidth is relatively straightforward when all users care about data rate, more sophisticated pricing strategies are likely to emerge when some of the customers acquire a network slice with the desire to optimize for a different metric. We consider how a 5G wireless provider may set per-class differential prices to maximize its profit when offering different network slices to different classes of customers. We formulate the problem using fundamental economic principles and present a Drift-Plus-Penalty algorithm to solve the problem in a dynamic setting. We show, through simulation and analysis for a two-class network with latency and throughput-oriented customers, that some surprising phenomena may occur under certain conditions, such as an overall reduction of total resources sold when the relative number of latency-oriented customers grows.
Quality metrics for head and neck cancer treated with definitive radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy.

BACKGROUND The standardization of quality measures has been key in advancing the aims of the National Quality Forum established to improve health outcomes. METHODS The National Cancer Database was used to identify eligible patients. Two quality metrics were evaluated including time to treatment initiation (TTI) and chemotherapy in locoregionally head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). RESULTS TTI was significantly associated with mortality reflected by a hazard ratio (HR) of 1.13 for 60-90 days of TTI (95% CI 1.08-1.17), 1.19 for >90 days of TTI (95% CI 1.13-1.26). Patients with locoregionally advanced HNSCC had an 87% adherence to chemotherapy, which correlated with reduced mortality (HR 0.57; 95% CI 0.55-0.59). Patients treated at high quality centers had a 9% increase in survival (HR 0.91; 95% CI 0.88-0.93). CONCLUSION We identified that both TTI and chemotherapy for locoregionally advanced HNSCC meet criteria for valid quality metrics potentially suitable for national adoption.
Nuclear quantum effects on the quasiparticle properties of the chloride anion aqueous solution within the GW approximation

Photoelectron spectroscopy experiments in ionic solutions reveal important electronic structure information, in which the interaction between hydrated ions and water solvent can be inferred. Based on many-body perturbation theory with GW approximation, we theoretically compute the quasiparticle electronic structure of chloride anion solution, which is modeled by path-integral $ab\phantom{\rule{4pt}{0ex}}initio$ molecular dynamics simulation by taking account the nuclear quantum effects (NQEs). The electronic levels of hydrated anion as well as water are determined and compared with the recent experimental photoelectron spectra. It is found that NQEs improve the agreement between theoretical prediction and experiment because NQEs effectively weaken the hybridization of the between the ${\mathrm{Cl}}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ anion and water. Our study indicates that NQEs plays a small but non-negligible role in predicting the electronic structure of the aqueous solvation of ions of the Hofmeister series.
Wells Fargo: An Examination of a Corporate Scandal and the Economic Impact on the Value of the Stock

Throughout the past 20 years, there has been an uptick in corporate scandals (Harrison & Wicks, 2021). In light of recent scandals that are part of our daily news feed, there is an impetus to do more research on why and how executive leaders continue to perpetuate these misdeeds and what impact, if any, these scandals have on the overall financial status in relationship to the stock activity Wells Fargo (WFC) is one of the companies that was engulfed in massive scandal (Cavico & Mujtaba, 2017) and will be the main spotlight for this paper. This paper will highlight and draw parallels between WFC fake account scandal and the effects that this activity had on their stock activity before, during, and afterward. An in-depth analysis is needed to see if there are any correlations between how a power-house company, such as WFC falls from grace to greed, and what economic impact the shameful conduct has on the company’s stock prices. The theoretical analysis further seeks to investigate whether there is a causal relationship between corporate governance transgressions and the negative effects on large-scale stock performance. This paper will attempt to show how the market reacted to the predacious behavior of WFC.
State Spending on Public Benefit Programs and Child Maltreatment.

BACKGROUND To determine the association between states’ total spending on benefit programs and child maltreatment outcomes. METHODS This was an ecological study of all US states during federal fiscal years 2010–2017. The primary predictor was states’ total annual spending on local, state, and federal benefit programs per person living ≤100% federal poverty limit, which was the sum of (1) cash, housing, and in-kind assistance, (2) housing infrastructure, (3) child care assistance, (4) refundable Earned Income Tax Credit, and (5) Medical Assistance Programs. The main outcomes were rates of maltreatment reporting, substantiations, foster care placements, and fatalities after adjustment for relevant confounders. Generalized estimating equations adjusted for federal spending and estimated adjusted incidence rate ratios (IRRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). RESULTS States’ total spending was inversely associated with all maltreatment outcomes. For each additional $1000 states spent on benefit programs per person living in poverty, there was an associated −4.3% (adjusted IRR: 0.9573 [95% CI: 0.9486 to 0.9661]) difference in reporting, −4.0% (adjusted IRR: 0.903 [95% CI: 0.9534 to 0.9672]) difference in substantiations, −2.1% (adjusted IRR: 0.9795 [95% CI: 0.9759 to 0.9832]) difference in foster care placements, and −7.7% (adjusted IRR: 0.9229 [95% CI: 0.9128 to 0.9330]) difference in fatalities. In 2017, extrapolating $1000 of additional spending for each person living in poverty ($46.5 billion nationally, or 13.3% increase) might have resulted in 181 850 fewer reports, 28 575 fewer substantiations, 4168 fewer foster care placements, and 130 fewer fatalities. CONCLUSIONS State spending on benefit programs was associated with reductions in child maltreatment, which might offset some benefit program costs.
Oxide layer delamination: An energy dissipation mechanism during high-velocity microparticle impacts

Abstract The break-up of microparticle surface oxides is needed to generate a clean metal-metal contact for metallurgical bonding during impact events such as seen in cold-spray. However, the mechanism by which this occurs is not clear. Using a laser-induced particle impact tester, we conduct site-specific experiment of single Cu microparticle impacts on a polished Cu substrate and characterize the impact sites. We observe that oxide layers on the particles begin to delaminate at velocities high enough to cause jetting of the substrate around the periphery of the impact site. We show that the energy cost of such delamination is ∼30% of the energy needed to slow and stop particle as it bonds to the substrate, with the remainder being associated with the jetting process and bonding itself. At higher velocities, the oxide barrier is broken up to permit metallurgical bonding. Closer to the particle south-pole where hoop strain is low, oxide layers break up with few gaps and thus no metallurgical bonding is observed. Away from the south-pole where larger strains develop, oxide breakup permits intermittent bonding by the extrusion of bare metal into the gaps between oxide islands. These observations provide new insights towards understanding impact-induced metallurgical bonding during cold-spray process.
Programming the gradient projection algorithm

The gradient projection method of numerical optimization which is applied to problems having linear constraints but nonlinear objective functions is described and analyzed. The algorithm is found to be efficient and thorough for small systems, but requires the addition of auxiliary methods and programming for large scale systems with severe nonlinearities. In order to verify the theoretical results a digital computer is used to simulate the algorithm.
Whale Oil Pesticide: Natural History, Animal Resources, and Agriculture in Early Modern Japan

Ōkura Nagatsune, a prolific agricultural writer in nineteenth-century Japan, devoted an entire treatise to the promotion of whale oil as an insecticide for rice crops. This treatise is an example of how agricultural improvement efforts in early modern Japan depended on the practical understanding of animals and plants developed by scholars of Japanese natural history (honzōgaku). In the Tokugawa period, what are today seen as distinct disciplines and types of scholarship were highly interconnected. Furthermore, the push to optimize agricultural production was closely linked to the expansion of the resource base into new areas, including Japanese coastal waters. Ōkura’s text is an instructional manual intended to promote rationalized agriculture, but by including natural history descriptions of the whales from which the insecticidal oil was extracted, it also demonstrates some of the ways that the less apparently practical areas of natural history were a necessary part of agricultural improvement.
Biblical evidence from Obadiah and Psalm 137 for an Edomite treaty betrayal of Judah in the sixth century B.C.E.

Centrandose en Abdias y el Salmo 137, este articulo proporciona evidencia biblica de un rompimiento de tratado edomita a Juda durante la crisis babilonica de ca. 588–586 a.C. Despues de establecer un contexto que incluye el uso de los tratados en el antiguo Cercano Oriente, para establecer las expectativas para las relaciones politicas, y la probabilidad de que Edom puedo operar como una entidad politica en el Negev judaita durante el ataque babilonico, este articulo demuestra que la poetica de Abdias incluye una concentracion de forma y contenido invertido (un motivo de reversion) que apunta a un rompimiento de tratados. Las modificaciones de Abdias a Jeremias 49, un texto con paralelismos tematicos y terminologicos cercanos, evidencia un rompimiento de tratado edomita a Juda. Por otra parte, el estudio muestra que Abdias esta repleto de alusiones a tratados. Un estudio del Salmo 137, en comparacion con los textos de tratados arameos de Sefire, revela que este Salmo complejo tambien evidencia un rom pimiento de tratado por parte de Edom e incluye elementos apropiados para las maldiciones de los tratados. El articulo concluye con una discusion de los datos parciales de algunos otros textos biblicos, una critica de la opinion de que Edom era inocente durante la crisis babilonica, y la sugerencia de que este rompimiento de tratado puede haber contribuido a la produccion de un material biblico anti-edomita
SGLT2 Inhibitors for Type 2 Diabetes

Publisher Summary This chapter summarizes the biological rationale, the clinical trials, and the preclinical research of sodium glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors. Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a progressive disease characterized by hyperglycemia, increased peripheral insulin resistance, and declining insulin secretion. Given the difficulty in achieving sufficient glycemic control for many diabetic patients using current therapies, there is an unmet medical need for new antidiabetic agents, especially insulin-independent therapies. Blocking glucose reabsorption in the kidney and lowering blood glucose levels through glucose excretion into the urine provide a novel insulin-independent therapy. Filtered plasma glucose is reabsorbed in the renal tubule mainly by SGLT2 and reenters the systemic circulation. Recent Phase II and Phase III clinical data of SGLT2 inhibitors and genetic studies of SGLT2 mutations in humans have provided strong evidence for SGLT2 as a promising new target for treating diabetes. This potential new therapy may be used as a monotherapy or in combination with existing therapies to achieve an additive effect in controlling blood glucose levels. Inhibition of renal glucose reabsorption by SGLT2 inhibitors and subsequent glucose excretion into urine is a unique mechanism of action to lower blood glucose levels. Recent clinical data demonstrate that this potential new insulin-independent antidiabetic therapy can not only reduce hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels as effectively well as existing therapeutic agents but also confer other beneficial features, such as body weight loss and low propensity for causing hypoglycemia. Overall, the available data show that SGLT2 inhibitors have demonstrated good benefit-risk profiles in human clinical trials.
Scaling dimensions in hidden Kerr/CFT correspondence

It has been proposed that a hidden conformal field theory (CFT) governs the dynamics of low frequency scattering in a general Kerr black hole background. We further investigate this correspondence by mapping higher order corrections to the massless wave equations in a Kerr background to an expansion within the CFT in terms of higher dimension operators. This implies the presence of infinite towers of CFT primary operators with positive conformal dimensions compatible with unitarity. The exact Kerr background softly breaks the conformal symmetry and the scaling dimensions of these operators run with frequency. The scale-invariant fixed point is dual to a degenerate case of flat spacetime.
Numerical Simulation of 2D Electrothermal Flow Using Boundary Element Method

Microfluidics and its applications to Lab-on-a-Chip have attracted a lot of attention. Because of the small length scale, the flow is characterized by a low Re number. The governing equations become linear. Boundary element method (BEM) is a very good option for simulating the fluid flow with high accuracy. In this paper, we present a 2D numerical modeling of the electrothermal flow using BEM.In electrothermal flow the volumetric force is caused by electric field and temperature gradient. The physics is mathematically modeled by (i) Laplace equation for the electrical potential, (ii) Poisson equation for the heat conduction caused by Joule heating, (iii) continuity and Stokes equation for the low Reynolds number flow. We begin by solving the electrical potential and electric field. The heat conduction is caused by the Joule heating as the heat generation term. Superposition principle is used to solve for the temperature field. The Coulomb and dielectric forces are generated by the electrical field and temperature gradient of the system. We analyze the Stokes flow problem by superposition of fundamental solution for free-space velocity caused by body force and BEM for the corresponding homogeneous Stokes equation. It is well known that a singularity integral arises when the source point approaches the field point. To overcome this problem, we solve the free-space velocity analytically. For the BEM part, we also calculate all the integral terms analytically. With this effort, our solution is more accurate. In addition, we improve the robustness of the matrix system by combining the velocity integral equation with the traction integral equation.Our purpose is to design a pump for the microfluidics system. Since the system is a long channel, the flow is fully developed in the area far away from the electrodes. With this assumption, the velocity profile is parabolic at the inlet and outlet of the channel. So we can get appropriate boundary conditions for the BEM part of Stokes equation. Consequently, we can simulate the electrothermal flow in an open channel.In this paper, we will present the formulation and implementation of BEM to model electrothermal flow. Results of electrical potential, temperature field, Joule heating, electrothermal force, and velocity field will be presented.© 2013 ASME
Effects of In-Game Virtual Direct Experience (VDE) on Reactions to Real-World Brands

As brand placement into video games becomes an increasingly popular marketing strategy, little research has examined the role that in-game virtual direct experience (VDE) with branded products plays in affecting recall of and attitudes toward the real-world brands. The current experiment employed the manipulation of performance features of the integral brand needed to play an auto-racing game (a Volkswagen car) to determine if players' VDE would translate into differences in real-world, brand-related outcomes. Results indicate that players who had an easier VDE exhibited greater recall of and attitudes toward the brand than did players who had a more difficult VDE. Effects generally were unique to the integral brand; peripheral brands were unaffected. Results are interpreted via the LC4MP model of memory, VDE and affect-transfer theory, and brand-placement prominence. Practical implications are discussed.
Evaluation of parameter sensitivity for portable embedded systems through evolutionary techniques

Power consumption and portability issues are becoming increasingly significant in embedded system architectures. Therefore, it is important that chip architects and integrated circuit designers focus on power and portability, they must also be conscious of choosing the right set of parameters for an embedded processor. An evolutionary approach to configure the parameters of an embedded processor can be used to address these issues. From a given set of parameters the design space is explored using a simple genetic algorithm. This paper investigates the sensitivity of these parameters as they change during the process of the genetic algorithm.
Testing Expansion in Bounded Degree Graphs

We consider the problem of testing graph expansion (either vertex or edge) in the bounded degree model [2]. We give a property tester that given a graph with degree bound d, an expansion bound �, and a parameter " > 0, accepts the graph with high probability if its expansion is more than �, and rejects it with high probability if it is "-far from a graph with expansion � 0 with degree bound d, where � 0 < � is a function of �. For edge expansion, we obtain � 0 = ( � 2 d ), and for vertex expansion, we obtain � 0 = ( � 2 d2 ). In either case, the algorithm runs in time
Nonlinear ride analysis of heavy vehicle using local equivalent linearization technique

A multi–degree–of–freedom ride model of a typical tractor–semitrailer configuration comprising of nonlinear suspension damping mechanisms is developed. A local equivalent linearisation technique based on energy balance is employed to obtain the ride response of the nonlinear vehicle model. The critical behaviour of vehicle suspension(s) lock–up due to high magnitude of Coulomb (dry) friction is modelled and incorporated in the analytical technique such that the nonlinear behaviour of the system can be effectively simulated by the equivalent linear system. The effectiveness of local equivalent linearisation technique is demonstrated by comparing it with respect to conventional numerical integration and statistical linearisation techniques. A comprehensive parametric study is performed to investigate the influence of vehicle suspension characteristics, vehicle geometry, speed, highway profile and trailer loading patterns.
Concomitant giant cell arteritis and secondary adrenal insufficiency

Adrenal insufficiency when associated with giant cell arteritis (GCA) is typically the consequence of treatment with exogenous glucocorticoids. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of ...
Acquisition of Grammatical Gender in French: L2 Learner Accuracy and Strategies

L'A. presente et examine les resultats de trois etudes effectuees sur trois groupes d'etudiants du superieur 1 er cycle etudiant le francais L 2 afin d'identifier les prises de decision et les strategies employees pour determiner le genre des noms, selon la phonetique et les terminaisons
Defense mechanisms in females as a function of sex-role orientation

Female college (N = 44) students completed the Defense Mechanisms Inventory (DMI) and the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI). As predicted, low masculinity on the BSRI was associated with high Turning Against Self on the DMI. High masculine Ss indicated greater willingness to attack objects of frustration, while those low in masculinity indicated a similar tendency in their fantasy, but not actual behavior. Implications of sex-role orientation as it relates to aggressive/assertive behavior are discussed.
Characterization of single voltage-gated Na+ and Ca2+ channels in apical dendrites of rat CA1 pyramidal neurons.

1. We have used dendrite-attached patch-clamp techniques to record single Na+ and Ca2+ channel activity from the apical dendrites (up to 350 microns away from soma) of CA1 pyramidal neurons in rat hippocampal slices (ages: 2-8 weeks). 2. Na+ channels were found in every patch examined (range: 2 to > 20 channels per patch). Channel openings, which had a slope conductance of 15 +/- 0.3 pS (mean +/- S.E.M.), began with test commands to around -50 mV and consisted of both early transient channel activity and also later occurring prolonged openings of 5-15 ms. All Na+ channel activity was suppressed by inclusion of TTX (1 microM) in the recording pipette. 3. Ca2+ channel activity was recorded in about 80% of the patches examined (range: 1 to > 10 channels per patch). Several types of channel behaviour were observed in these patches. Single channel recordings in 110 mM BaCl2, revealed an approximately 10 pS channel of small unitary current amplitude (-0.5 pA at -20 mV). These channels began activating at relatively hyperpolarized potentials (-50 mV) and ensemble averages of this low voltage-activated (LVA) channel activity showed rapid inactivation. 4. A somewhat heterogeneous population of high voltage-activated, moderate conductance (HVAm; approximately 17 pS), Ca2+ channel activity was also encountered. These channels exhibited a relatively large unitary amplitude (-0.8 pA at 0 mV) and ensemble averages demonstrated moderate inactivation. The HVAm population of channels could be tentatively subdivided into two separate groups based upon mean channel open times. 5. Less frequently, HVA, large conductance (27 pS) Ca2+ channel activity (HVA1) was also observed. This large unitary amplitude (-1.5 pA at 0 mV) channel activity began with steps to approximately 0 mV and ensemble averages did not show any time-dependent inactivation. The dihydropyridine Ca2+ channel agonist Bay K 8644 (0.5 or 1 microM) was found to characteristically prolong these channel openings. 6. omega-Conotoxin MVIIC (10 microM), did not significantly reduce the amount of channel activity recorded from the LVA, HVAm or HVA1 channel types in dendritic patches. In patches from somata, omega-conotoxin MVIIC was effective in eliminating a significant amount of HVAm Ca2+ channel activity. Inclusion of 50 or 100 microM NiCl2 to the recording solution significantly reduced the amount of channel activity recorded from LVA and HVAm channel types in dendritic patches. A subpopulation of HVAm channels was, however, found to be Ni2+ insensitive. Dendritic HVA, channel activity was unaffected by these low concentrations of Ni2+.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Acid mine drainage treatment with rotating biological contactors

A pilot scale rotating biological contactor (RBC) was set up near a coal mine at Hollywood, Penn. to evaluate ferrous iron, Fe(II), oxidation. Acid drainage from this mine entered the treatment unit which consisted of four sets of plastic disks affixed to a rotating central shaft. As the disks rotated half immersed in the flowing mine water, iron-oxidizing bacteria, presumed to be Thiobacillus ferrooxidans, colonized the disk surfaces with an average population of 70,000 cells/cm/sup 2/ and mediated the transformation of Fe(II) to the less soluble ferric state, Fe(III). Kinetics of microbial Fe(II) oxidation were established during an eleven month period of continuous pilot operation and were found to follow a concentration dependent first order relationship. Operating at an optimum disk rotation rate and hydraulic loadings of 2.7 and 5.4 gal/day-ft/sup 2/ (0.11 and 0.22 m/sup 3//day-m/sup 2/) resulted in the oxidation of an average 240 mg/liter influent Fe(II) to produce effluent Fe(II) of 2 and 5 mg/liter, respectively. The RBC appears potentially useful as a first step in the total treatment of acid mine drainage.
Is Political Correctness Infiltrating Business Management

“The imperative of political correctness has spread far beyond the humanities departments and law schools where it was born. In many ways — the panic between some politicians and pundits notwithstanding — it has been a good thing, despite flights of excess and episodes of downright silliness.”
Changes in basic proteins during sperm maturation in a plant, Marchantia polymorpha

Abstract Changes in nuclear proteins occurring in sperm development in the bryophyte Marchantia polymorpha have been traced by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Somatic histones in mature sperm are replaced by four smaller, highly basic proteins that migrate through gels at rates comparable to animal protamines. Amino acid analysis shows these proteins to have a combined arginine-lysine content of more than 40%, an amount comparable to the basic amino acid content of mammalian sperm. The evolutionary implications of these findings are discussed.
Circulating Inflammatory Cells Are Associated with Vein Graft Stenosis

Objective Infrainguinal autogenous vein grafts are especially prone to narrowing and failure, and both inflammatory and thrombotic pathways are implicated. Platelets and monocytes are the key thrombo-inflammatory cells that arrive first at sites of vascular injury. These cells have potent interactions that recruit and activate one another, propagating thrombotic and inflammatory responses within the vessel wall. We therefore hypothesized that elevated levels of platelet-monocyte aggregates (PMA) might be associated with stenosis, and could possibly discriminate between patients with or without vein graft stenosis. Methods Thirty-six vascular surgery patients were studied, in a stable quiescent period after infrainguinal autogenous vein graft bypasses for occlusive disease. Eighteen patients had hemodynamically significant graft stenoses confirmed by imaging, and 18 were free from stenosis. The level of PMA in whole blood was quantified after blood draw using two-color flow cytometry. Three measurements were made per sample: the basal, in-vivo level of aggregates (baseline PMA); the predisposition to spontaneously generate PMA (spontaneous PMA); and PMA generation by the addition of exogenous thrombin receptor-activating peptide (stimulated PMA). The baseline, in-vivo level of PMA was estimated by immediate flow analysis. The predisposition to spontaneously generate PMA was measured after in vitro incubation. Responsiveness to thrombin stimulation of the blood was quantified by the in vitro dose response to an exogenous thrombin receptor-activating peptide (sfllrn). Results Baseline PMA levels were similar in patients with vein graft stenosis vs nonstenosis (14.8% ± 3.2 vs 10.1% ± 1.5, respectively, mean ± SEM). However, patients with stenosis showed higher spontaneous PMA levels (58.5% ± 4.5 vs 28.3% ± 4.3; P Conclusions Platelet-monocyte reactivity may play a role in the development of vein graft stenoses. Those with/without stenosis differed primarily in their threshold, or predisposition to form aggregates (spontaneous PMA), while their basal circulating levels of PMA (baseline PMA) were similar. These measurements may unmask pathologic differences in thrombo-inflammatory responsiveness that are not apparent in basal measurements. Understanding the causes and mechanisms leading to abnormal platelet-monocyte responses may improve approaches to predicting or preventing vein graft stenosis.
LONG-TERM FOLLOWUP OF THE HEMATURIA-DYSURIA SYNDROME

Purpose: The hematuria-dysuria syndrome is the most common reported complication of gastrocystoplasty. We reviewed our cases of gastrocystoplasty to determine the long-term incidence and significance of the syndrome.Materials and Methods: We performed a retrospective study of 78 patients who underwent gastrocystoplasty at our institution between July 1989 and October 1994. A total of 72 of the 78 cases were evaluated within the last year to elicit symptoms of the hematuria-dysuria syndrome.Results: Spina bifida and bladder exstrophy were the most common diagnoses of patients undergoing gastrocystoplasty. There were 3 (4%) patients who required medications on a continuous basis to control symptoms of the hematuria-dysuria syndrome. However, using broad criteria 17 (24%) patients would be categorized as having the syndrome. Of these patients 9 did not require any medications and 4 occasionally took medications to control symptoms. A significant increase in the incidence of the hematuria-dysuria syndrome was...
Bladder Augmentation and the Risk of Carcinoma

Augmentation cystoplasty is the gold standard for increasing bladder capacity and improving bladder compliance in patients with refractory neurogenic bladder dysfunction. Significant long-term complications of this procedure do occur, however. The potential risk of bladder or bowel patch malignancy is concerning. The early literature has reviewed the associated risk involved with infectious sources of bladder dysfunction and augmentation. There is a paucity of data on outcomes of augmentation for noninfectious etiologies. This article reviews the pathophysiology, risk, and incidence rates as they correlate with bowel segment used, histology, risk factors, and screening recommendations for bladder augmentation–associated malignancies of noninfectious etiologies.
Signals and Systems II: Part II: Interpolation, decimation, complex signals, and Nyquist signaling

This six-part series is a minicourse, focused on system concepts, that is aimed at the gap between Signals and Systems and the usual first digital signal processing course. Part I discussed motivation, philosophy, and notation. This second article in the series focuses on oversampling in D/A conversion and the basics of decimation, complex signals, and Nyquist signaling.
Noise induced convulsions in mice.

Es wird die Anzahl der Krampfanfalle bestimmt, die durch intensiven niederfrequenten (135 db, 300–4800 Hz) und hochfrequenten (132 db, 2–40 kHz) Schall bei Mausen ausgelost werden. Die Krampfschwelle ist bei hohen Frequenzen wesentlich geringer als bei niedrigen. Dieses Ergebnis stimmt mit Berichten, dass die optimale Sensitivitat von Nagetieren bei 12–25 kHz liegt, uberein.
Anatomic brain magnetic resonance imaging of the basal ganglia in pediatric bipolar disorder

Abstract Background Basal ganglia (BG) enlargement has been found in studies of adults with bipolar disorder (BPD), while the few studies of BPD youths have had mixed findings. The BG (caudate, putamen, globus pallidus, nucleus accumbens) is interconnected with limbic and prefrontal cortical structures and therefore may be implicated in BPD. Methods Sixty-eight youths (46 with BPD, 22 healthy controls) received neurological and psychiatric assessment, semi-structured interviews, and neuropsychological testing, followed by anatomic magnetic resonance imaging on a 1.5 Tesla scanner. After image segmentation, log BG volumes and asymmetry indices were analyzed using MANOVAs controlling for the effects of cerebral volume, age, sex, and diagnosis. These omnibus tests were followed by univariate linear regression models of each BG structure. Results Youths with BPD had a trend for larger right nucleus accumbens (NA) volumes ( p = 0.089). There were no significant group asymmetry differences, nor volume differences in the caudate, putamen, and globus pallidus. When analyzed separately by pubertal status, the prepubertal group had significantly larger total NA ( p = 0.035) versus healthy controls, while the pubertal group did not show significant differences in the NA versus healthy controls. Limitations The size of the control group is relatively small, possibly limiting our power to detect significant group differences. The inter-rater reliability for the NA is not as strong as the other structures; the finding of volume differences in this structure is preliminary and warrants replication. Conclusions Youths with BPD had larger right NA volumes; this enlargement was most pronounced in the prepubertal group. The differences between these findings and those seen in adult BPD imply a neurodevelopmental phenomenon.
Disentangling the proximate factors of deforestation: The case of the Monarch butterfly Biosphere Reserve in Mexico

Understanding the causes of environmental degradation can lead to more effective forest management. Often, the discussion about the causes of deforestation confuses issues across spatial and temporal scales. Such is the case in the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve (MBBR) in Mexico where various hypotheses compete to explain the deforestation observed there. This paper analyzes these hypotheses using the analytical approaches developed by the literature on environmental degradation and biodiversity loss. This paper first distinguishes between proximate factors and underlying socioeconomic forces. It then reviews recent deforestation studies to evaluate the relative impact of each proximate factor observed in the MBBR. Illegal logging stands out as the factor with the most empirical support. In contrast, agricultural clearing, while frequently cited as major driver of forest loss, has much less empirical backing. These conclusions update the deforestation diagnosis for this protected area and suggest that more attention should be directed at understanding the illicit timber trade. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The Language-Reading Relationship in Normal and Reading-Disabled Children

In this study, the word retrieval, phonological awareness, sentence completion, and narrative discourse processing skills of 93 reading-disabled and 93 normally achieving subjects from 8 to 14 year...
Causal attributions to effort and supervisory response to workplace accidents

Abstract LaCroix, D.V. and DeJoy, D.M., 1989. Causal attributions to effort and supervisory response to workplace accidents. Journal of Occupational Accidents, 11: 97–109. An experimental study was conducted to examine how those in supervisory roles differentiate between various internal and external causes in attributing responsibility and selecting remedies for workplace accidents. Special interest was with the hypothesized importance of causal attributions to effort in organizational settings. Subjects read industrial accident reports which varied in terms of causal locus (internal/external), causal stability (stable/unstable), and outcome severity (mild/severe). Internal causes produced greater worker responsibility and more worker-directed corrective actions; however, subjects did not “single out” effort in assigning responsibility or recommending corrective actions. Worker-directed remedies were also considered more appropriate when stable causes were involved. Outcome severity did not substantially affect either responsibility attribution or remedy selection. Ratings of the importance of the causal factors indicated that subjects “over-attributed” to effort and relied on this factor even when conflicting causal data were provided. Stable causes produced somewhat less optimistic expectations concerning future safety performance. Expectations were most optimistic when external causes and severe outcomes were involved. The implications of these findings for safety management are discussed.
Doppler spread measurements of indoor radio channel

The temporal variations caused by human movement or human-induced motion of the communication equipment, on the otherwise static indoor radio channel, are measured. For the reported narrowband measurements, a maximum Doppler spread of 6.1 Hz and a maximum RMS Doppler bandwidth of 0.87 Hz are observed.
Stability of Mannitol to Lactobacillus plantarum Degradation in Green Beans Fermented with Lactobacillus cellobiosus

Mannitol, in fermented green bean juice, was converted to lactic acid by Lactobacillus plantarum when the initial pH was raised to 3.9. However, at pH 3.5, mannitol was stable to anaerobic degradation by a 106 CFU/ml inoculum of 19 strains of L. plantarum and four isolated homofermentative lactobacilli. Several strains were capable of limited mannitol degradation at an initial pH 3.7. Completely fermented beans were microbiologically stable for at least 6 months under anaerobic conditions at 27°C. It is possible that heterolactic acid-fermented vegetables are microbiologically stable provided fermentable sugars are removed and the pH is lowered below pH 3.7.
Appropriateness of Teachers' Test-Preparation Practices

What two standards can teachers and administrators use to decide whether a particular way of preparing students for a test is appropriate? How do five commonly used test-preparation practices stack up to these standards? How do educators and school board members view these five practices?
Flow and heat transfer of confined impingement jets cooling using a 3-D transient liquid crystal scheme

Abstract It has been shown that the heat transfer coefficients obtained from using the 1-D transient liquid crystal scheme are higher than those obtained from employing the 3-D scheme when surface heat transfer is highly nonuniform such as on a hot surface subject to jet impingement cooling. This is due to the fact that 1-D method does not include the lateral heat flows induced by local temperature gradients. The objective of this study is to provide a new database of heat transfer coefficient distribution on the jet impingement target surface in the confined cavity by employing a 3-D transient liquid crystal scheme. The study is performed with an 8 × 11 array of confined impinging jets with Reynolds numbers ranging from 1039 to 5175. The 1-D results are higher than the 3-D results with the local maximum and minimum heat transfer values being overvalued by about 15–20% and the overall heat transfer by approximately 12%. In addition, hot-film measurements of the flow structure are conducted to gain insight into the effects of cross-flow on heat transfer behavior. The surface mapping of heat transfer coefficient demonstrates a change from columnar pattern to a horizontal pattern and switching back to the columnar pattern as Reynolds number increased consecutively. This pattern switching is thought to be caused by the competition between jet penetration and the cross-flow buffering effect. A nonuniformity index is defined to provide a quantitative measure for cooling effectiveness for various cases. The results indicate that increased cross-flow degrades the heat transfer performance but increase uniformity.
An efficient multiscale model of damping properties for filled elastomers with complex microstructures

Abstract This work proposes an efficient framework for prediction of filled elastomer damping properties based on imaged microstructures. The efficiency of this method stems from a hierarchical multiscale modeling scheme, in which the constitutive response of subcell regions, smaller than a representative volume element (RVE), are determined using micromechanics; the resulting constitutive parameters then act as inputs to finite element simulations of the RVE, from which damping properties are extracted. It is shown that the micromechanics models of Halpin–Tsai and Mori–Tanaka are insufficient for modeling subcells with many filler clusters, and thus these models are augmented by an additional interaction term, based on stress concentration factors. The multiscale framework is compared to direct numerical simulations in two dimensions and extended to predictions for three dimensional systems, which include the response of matrix–filler interphase properties. The proposed multiscale framework shows a significant improvement in computational speed over direct numerical simulations using the finite element method, and thus allows for detailed parametric studies of microstructural properties to aid in the design of filled elastomeric systems.
Borsche–Drechsel cyclization

Also known as Borsche carbazole synthesis, is the two-step conversion of phenyl hydrazine and cyclohexanone derivatives to the corresponding carbazole. Cf. Fischer indole synthesis.
Nitrate Reduction in Seawater of the Deep Nitrite Maximum off PERU1

Nitrate-reducing bacteria were isolated from samples collected inside and outside the secondary nitrite maximum in oxygen-poor deep waters off the coast of Peru. Under anaerobic conditions at 20C in the laboratory, these bacteria reduced nitrate to nitrite in seawater enriched with 0.5 to 1.0 mg glucose/liter. Nitrate reduction also occurred in seawater supplemented only with 20 ,ug-atom Nose-N/liter and trace metals. Nitrite production generally was greatest during the first 24 hr while cell numbers were increasing. On continued incubation cells died, nitrate increased, and nitrite decreased. Dissolved organic carbon increased concurrently with the death of bacteria, indicating release of cell contents into the medium by lysis. Microbiological evidence is presented to show that the high nitrite concentrations in oxygen-poor deep waters of the secondary nitrite maximum arise from nitrate reduction,
Control of Hippelates Eye Gnats with Herbicidal Oils

Applications of herbicidal oils to weeds and cover crops 0-9 days before disking of the ground yielded excellent control of Hippelates collusor (Townsend), a highly pestiferous eye gnat species in California. H. dorsalis Loew and other pestiferous species of lesser importance also were controlled. H. hermsi Sabrosky, a nonpestiferous species, was controlled with the predisking oil treatments in most of the tests. Oil treatments made immediately after the disking of untreated weeds or crop residues also produced excellent control of H. collusor in most of the tests. The effectiveness of postdisking treatments decreased as the time interval between the disking and treatments increased. Control of H. hermsi and H. dorsalis was not satisfactory with the postdisking treatments, indicating a different oviposition behavior for these species as compared with H. collusor .