cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Isolation of polypeptide chains with heme from the extracellular hemoglobin of Amphitrite ornata (Polychaeta, Annelida).

1. 1. From the extracellular hemoglobin of Amphitrite ornata four constituent polypeptide chains containing heme and designated AI, AII, BI and BII according to the elution order were obtained by DE52-cellulose ion-exchange chromatography with dithiothreitol (DTT) as a reducing reagent. 2. 2. The NH2-terminal sequences for the chains are AI, Asp-Ser-Asn-Ala; AII, Glu-Tyr-Thr; BI, Asp-Phe-Asn-Thr; and BII, Asp-Ser-Glu. 3. 3. Each of the isolated chains showed spectra similar to those of vertebrate hemoglobins, and they bound oxygen reversibly. 4. 4. Acid urea polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis separated four bands, corresponding to the isolated chain, from the intact extracellular hemoglobin reduced with DTT. 5. 5. These results and our failure to detect an appreciable amount of non-heme protein suggest that the extracellular hemoglobin of A. ornata is composed of four polypeptide chains, each containing a heme.
Cancer mortality in New York City for country-of-birth, religious, and socioeconomic groups.

Abstract An analysis is presented of age-adjusted mortality by sex for the various sites of cancer for country-of-birth groups of the 25–64-year-old non-Puerto Rican white population of New York City, 1949–1951, classified jointly by religious group and socioeconomic class. Comparisons are also made of the cancer rates in the migrants, the home country, and the United States. Some of the new findings of interest for cancer of all sites are: Within country-of-birth groups there is for males the consistent pattern of high rates for Catholics, intermediate rates for Protestants, and low rates for Jews. Among females there tends to be a pattern of high rates for Jews, intermediate rates for Protestants, and low rates for Catholics. Consistently for males and in almost all instances for females, the rates of Jews in the various country-of-birth groups are closer to one another than they are to the rates of non-Jews in the corresponding country-of-birth group. Within country-of-birth groups there is a rather consistent upward progression of rates with decreasing socioeconomic class for each religious group in males and for Catholics and Protestants in females. The high rate among high socioeconomic U. S.-born Jewish females is a decided reversal from this pattern. Among the sites contributing to this reversal are cancers of the breast and the ovary and lymphomas and leukemias.
Measuring urban forestry performance and demographic associations in Massachusetts, USA

The United States Forest Service measures successful management of the urban forest by the number of communities that have achieved some or all of four parameters described by the Community Accomplishment Reporting System. The four parameters address whether a community has: (1) a management plan, (2) professional staff, (3) urban forestry ordinances/policies, and (4) an advocacy/advisory organization. We surveyed tree wardens in the Massachusetts’ communities to determine how many communities met each parameter, as well as other indicators of urban forest management. Nearly all responding communities met 1 performance parameter, but only 15% met all 4 parameters. Communities with greater population were more successful in achieving the parameters than those with smaller population.
Update on rhythm mapping and catheter navigation

Purpose of review Rhythm mapping in electrophysiology is a critical step in the catheter ablation of arrhythmia substrates. The past decade has seen major advances in the technology used by electrophysiologists to visualize and treat arrhythmias. This review will summarize the most recent developments in three-dimensional electroanatomic mapping and in catheter navigation. Recent findings Three-dimensional contact and noncontact mapping systems have a proven efficacy in multiple clinical studies. Advances in technology have led to the integration of imaging and mapping to produce an increasingly realistic representation of arrhythmias. These systems have been used both to improve success in the treatment of arrhythmias and to enhance our understanding of cardiac electroanatomy and electrophysiology. Additionally, remote catheter mapping technology, although not widely used in pediatrics, may be an important tool to decrease procedural risks to both the patient and physician. Summary Technological developments have occurred rapidly over the past several years. Three-dimensional electroanatomic mapping has proven to be a key tool for the success of complex arrhythmia ablations, especially in patients with congenital heart disease. The integration of imaging technology and arrhythmia mapping technology has greatly enhanced the understanding and visualization of arrhythmias. Remote catheter navigation may become an important tool to improve safety.
Different HLA antigen associations for the functionally active and inactive products of the complement C4F1 allele.

Abstract The genetic polymorphism of the fourth component of human complement. C4, was studied in 945 unrelated Caucasian individuals. A third allele of the C4F (Rodgers) locus, termed C4F 1 was demonstrated. This allele is characterized using immunofixation electrophoresis, by the presence of an additional fast-moving anodal band of C4 which distinguishes it clearly from the common C4F variant. The allelic frequencies fit the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium assuming three alleles at the C4F locus: C4F, C4f 0 , and C4F 1 . The functional activity of the C4F variants was investigated using a specific hemolytic overlay technique for C4. It was found that in almost all individuals (75 out of 78), the C4F 1 allele codes for a functionally inactive C4 product only when it occurs on an HLA-B17 positive haplotype but that the same allele codes for a functionally active fast variant of C4 when it occurs on an HLA-B37 positive haplotype (18 out of 18). Very strong genetic linkage disequilibrium was observed for the C4F 1 allele with HLA-B17 and B37. The active and inactive C4F 1 variant also has marked nonrandom gametic association to different alleles of the of locus and to HLA-C locus determinants. No further variants of the C4S (Chido) locus have been identified so far. Rodgers (Rg) typing by the plasma inhibition test of anti-Rg antiserum has shown that plasma from individuals homozygous for the C4F 1 allele is only able to partially inhibit anti-Rg whereas all C4F positive individuals totally inhibited the reaction.
Effect of Hormone Replacement, Alendronate, or Combination Therapy on Hip Structural Geometry: A 3‐Year, Double‐Blind, Placebo‐Controlled Clinical Trial

This study examined the effect of hormone replacement, alendronate, or combination therapy on hip structural geometry in 373 postmenopausal women over 3 years. We found that antiresorptive agents alone or in combination result in improvement in parameters of hip structural geometry and BMD. These data provide additional information regarding potential mechanisms for fracture reduction with antiresorptive therapy. Introduction: Fracture reduction is only partially explained by increased BMD. The aim of this study was to examine changes in structural geometry of the hip, derived from DXA in postmenopausal women after treatment with antiresorptive agents. Materials and Methods: This was a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial of 373 women over the age of 65 years, who were randomized to hormone replacement therapy, alendronate, combination therapy, or placebo for 3 years. The outcomes included the DXA-derived hip structure analysis program by Beck, which is an engineering interpretation of the DXA data. The indices included cross-sectional area, section modulus (a measure of bending strength), outer diameter, cortical thickness, and buckling ratio (an index of cortical bone stability). Properties were measured in cross-sectional regions traversing the femur at the narrowest point on the femoral neck, the intertrochanteric region, and the proximal shaft. Results: In the femoral neck, improvement in the hip structure analysis indices were generally significantly greater with combination therapy than either monotherapy; increases were also greater at the intertrochanter compared with hormone replacement therapy. For example, the section modulus at the intertrochanter and narrow neck increased 10.6% and 10.3%, respectively, with combination therapy, 9.1% and 7.3% with alendronate, 5.8% and 6.9% with hormone replacement therapy, and 3.4% and 3.2% with placebo (p < 0.01 across the four groups). Buckling ratio increased, suggesting decreased stability in the placebo group, whereas there was either no change or significant improvements (p < 0.05) in each active treatment group. Conclusions: We conclude that changes in the distribution of bone mass underlying the improvements in density with antiresorptive agents in combination or alone have positive effects on structural strength and stability at the proximal femur. This study provides additional information on the potential mechanisms for fracture reduction with antiresorptive agents.
A REVALUATION OF ASPIRIN (ASA) INDUCED HEMOLYSIS ASSOCIATED WITH ERYTHROCYTE GLUCOSE-6-PHOSPHATE DEHYDROGENASE (G6PD) DEFICIENCY

ASA has been implicated as a causative hemolytic agent in some individuals with G6PD deficiency. Gentisic acid (GA), the one known oxidant metabolite of salicylate, stimulated the haxosemonophosphate (HMP) shunt of normal RBC's. This effect, however, was seen at GA concentrations greater than 2 mM (equivalent to a minimum salicylate level of 20 mM or 350 mg%). At therapeutic salicylate concentrations of 2 mM (35 mg%) and/or with 0.2 mM GA, no effect on the resting or ascorbate-stimulated HMP shunt was noted. G6PD deficient RBC's incubated with 0.2 mM GA and/or 2.0 mM salicylate manifested no significant sulfhemoglobin formation or glutathione oxidation. Noninfected, afebrile G6PD deficient Black males given ASA (50 mg/kg/day × 4 days) had no significant changes in hemoglobin, hematocrit, reticulocytes or bilirubin. These studies suggest it is unlikely that therapeutic doses of ASA would be hemolytic in Black G6PD deficient patients. Most cases of ASA-associated hemolysis more probably are related to the reason the drug is given (ie, infection) rather than the drug per se. Instead of arbitrarily excluding this useful drug from G6PD deficient individuals, a similar ASA tolerance test done under close observation would seem a more reasonable approach for detecting ASA sensitivity.
Accuracy of continuum electrostatic calculations based on three common dielectric boundary definitions.

We investigate the influence of three common definitions of the solute/solvent dielectric boundary (DB) on the accuracy of the electrostatic solvation energy ΔGel computed within the Poisson Boltzmann and the generalized Born models of implicit solvation. The test structures include small molecules, peptides and small proteins; explicit solvent ΔGel are used as accuracy reference. For common atomic radii sets BONDI, PARSE (and ZAP9 for small molecules) the use of van der Waals (vdW) DB results, on average, in considerably larger errors in ΔGel than the molecular surface (MS) DB. The optimal probe radius ρw for which the MS DB yields the most accurate ΔGel varies considerably between structure types. The solvent accessible surface (SAS) DB becomes optimal at ρw ~ 0.2 A (exact value is sensitive to the structure and atomic radii), at which point the average accuracy of ΔGel is comparable to that of the MS-based boundary. The geometric equivalence of SAS to vdW surface based on the same atomic radii uniformly increased by ρw gives the corresponding optimal vdW DB. For small molecules, the optimal vdW DB based on BONDI + 0.2 A radii can yield ΔGel estimates at least as accurate as those based on the optimal MS DB. Also, in small molecules, pairwise charge-charge interactions computed with the optimal vdW DB are virtually equal to those computed with the MS DB, suggesting that in this case the two boundaries are practically equivalent by the electrostatic energy criteria. In structures other than small molecules, the optimal vdW and MS dielectric boundaries are not equivalent: the respective pairwise electrostatic interactions in the presence of solvent can differ by up to 5 kcal/mol for individual atomic pairs in small proteins, even when the total ΔGel are equal. For small proteins, the average decrease in pairwise electrostatic interactions resulting from the switch from optimal MS to optimal vdW DB definition can be mimicked within the MS DB definition by doubling of the solute dielectric constant. However, the use of the higher interior dielectric does not eliminate the large individual deviations between pairwise interactions computed within the two DB definitions. It is argued that while the MS based definition of the dielectric boundary is more physically correct in some types of practical calculations, the choice is not so clear in some other common scenarios.
Open surgical treatment of post-traumatic elbow contractures in adolescent patients.

The results of surgical treatment of post-traumatic elbow contractures in adolescence have been conflicting in the literature. Twelve adolescent patients (mean age 16.7 years, range 13-21) that had open release of post-traumatic elbow contractures were followed-up for a mean of 18.9 months (range 10-42 months). All releases were performed through a lateral approach (sparing the lateral ulnar collateral ligament) with anterior joint release (in twelve) supplemented by posterior release (in four patients). An additional medial approach was used in three patients. In three patients the radial head was excised. A mean gain of 54° in the flexion-extension arc was observed at final follow-up and all patients achieved a functional ROM of at least 100°. The patients maintained 93% of the motion that was achieved intraoperatively. No patient lost motion. Open release in adolescent patients with post-traumatic elbow contractures and no intarticular incongruence or erosion, yielded satisfactory results, similar to those achieved in adults.
Excitation spectrum as a resource for efficient two-qubit entangling gates

Physical systems representing qubits typically have one or more accessible quantum states in addition to the two states that encode the qubit. We demonstrate that active involvement of such auxiliary states can be beneficial in constructing entangling two-qubit operations. We investigate the general case of two multistate quantum systems coupled via a quantum resonator. The approach is illustrated with the examples of three systems: self-assembled InAs/GaAs quantum dots, NV centers in diamond, and superconducting transmon qubits. Fidelities of the gate operations are calculated based on numerical simulations of each system.
Characteristics of ZnSe aspheric beam shaper for CO2 laser

CO2 laser material processing is now being used increasingly in the area of electronics, specifically, for drilling micro holes (min. (phi) 50 micrometers ) in printed circuit. This has become possible through the use of galvanometer mirrors and Aspheric ZnSe f-theta lenses. ZnSe is a good infrared material because of wide transmission. We have succeeded in producing aspheric lenses by using a Single Point Diamond Turning (SPDT) lathe. Distribution of laser beam intensity mainly based on Gaussian distribution is non- uniform. Therefore, the rise great demand for uniform intensity distribution in the fields of heat processing. To obtain higher uniformity, attempts have to be made to convert non-uniform Gaussian distribution into top-hat shaped uniform intensity distribution for smoothly bending laser beams. In this study we propose it is possible to allow the surfaces of a lens to perform more than one function (the center portion functions as a concave lens and the rim portion functions as a convex lens). The Aspheric ZnSe beam shaper consists of two aspheric lenses. First one converts Gaussian profile to uniform irradiation, Second one performs phase matching (compensation). We design this optical component with our special method based on the optical ray tracing. The most important optical property, wave front distortion were measured by infrared interferometer. And we also show the intensity distribution through after beam shaper with high power CO2 laser (>100 W).© (2001) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
A Comparison of Methods for Nonparametric Estimation of Item Characteristic Curves for Binary Items

This study compares the performance of three nonparametric item characteristic curve (ICC) estimation procedures: isotonic regression, smoothed isotonic regression, and kernel smoothing. Smoothed isotonic regression, employed along with an appropriate kernel function, provides better estimates and also satisfies the assumption of strict monotonicity. As the number of items and the sample size increase, the kernel smoothing and smoothed isotonic regression ICC estimation procedures yield similar results across all conditions.
Purchasing leverage considerations in the outsourcing decision

Abstract As outsourcing has increased, an unanticipated problem has come to light for many manufacturers: as they reduce their purchase volume with their materials and parts suppliers for inputs to items that are now outsourced, these manufacturers lose their volume and price leverage for the inputs. As a result, they may have to pay more for parts and materials that they continue to buy from suppliers. In addition, the contract manufactures to whom they outsource may also be paying a higher material/part price or may get a lower price by consolidating volume from a number of customers, but may retain the volume discount as part of their profit. This paper uses the transaction cost literature to explore how purchasing can best manage the potential loss of volume/purchase leverage for the inputs to items that are outsourced. In exploring this issue, case studies are used to demonstrate both unsuccessful and successful attempts at managing this loss of purchasing leverage. A prescriptive framework is developed that suggests how to best manage the risk of losing purchasing leverage when outsourcing. This framework considers the relative volume of the buyer and the contractor, the level of trust, and the concerns of the supplier regarding its price visibility.
Genetic and population studies of quantitative levels of adenosine triphosphate in human erythrocytes.

The mean content of ATP in red cells of American Negroes is significantly less than the mean level in American Caucasians. This is compatible with the hypothesis that the quantitative level of ATP in red cells may be involved in selective processes related to falciparum malaria. There is no evidence of a sex effect on levels of ATP in either population. Family studies conducted in both populations indicate that the quantitative level of red cell ATP is at least partially inherited. Studies of a number of biochemical characteristics of red cells have been conducted in an effort to elucidate the mechanism of genetic and biochemical control of quantitative levels of erythroeytic ATP. These studies have been negative. Although other studies have demonstrated that thalassemia trait influences the level of red cell ATP, the presence of sickle cell trait or G-6-PD deficiency, the other two systems postulated to be involved in malaria protection, did not result in significant differences in mean red cell ATP content.
ftd: an exact frequency to time domain conversion for reduced order RLC interconnect models

Recursive convolution provides an exact solution for interfacing reduced-order frequency domain representations with discrete time domain models of piecewise linear voltage waveforms. The state-space method is more efficient, but not exact, and can sometimes produce large time domain errors. This paper presents a new algorithm, ftd (frequency to time domain), for incorporating linear frequency domain macro-models into time domain simulators. ftd provides accuracy equivalent to recursive convolution with efficiency that is superior to the state-space methods.
Labor Unions and Affordable Housing An Uneasy Relationship

Labor unions in the United States were involved in producing and advocating for affordable housing in the period after World War II, when labor wielded legislative, electoral, and economic power both nationally and locally. That involvement now has ceased almost completely. This article uses historical analysis to explore how labor unions influenced national housing policies and programs in the postwar United States, and considers how the labor and housing movements do and could collaborate today to meet the current pressing need for affordable housing, through alliances between organized labor and community groups in support of better housing and more unionized construction jobs.
Financial terrorists and the offshore outsourcing of tax return preparation

Shifting the process of tax preparation overseas to India and other countries has become more popular in recent years for many reasons including cheaper labour, reduction of seasonal labour needs, and the ability to have services performed around the clock due to time zone differences. Outsourcing can have a positive effect on a firm through increased efficiency and the ability to offer a wider variety of services to clients by having the more basic and time consuming tax preparation tasks completed outside of the USA. However, there are certainly some downsides to off-shoring tax preparation services including the lack of control over the foreign company’s personnel as well as the danger of identity theft. This paper suggests that with the current status of relationships between western and other countries, with no legal jurisdictions overseas, it is very dangerous to have so much information of taxpayers to be sent offshore. If such information is obtained by the financial terrorists, it could have devastating consequences for the home countries. We use the current status of outsourcing tax return preparation and how this unregulated outsourcing could end up helping terrorists.
The National Blood Resource Program adenine experience.

The National Blood Resource Program of the National Heart and Lung Institute supported 11 studies of adenine as a red blood cell preservative for a period of three years. The goal of the program was to obtain additional needed data on adenine as a preservative to support its licensure by the regulatory agencies. The National Blood Resource Program projects were designed to supplement the research financed by the military and the pharmaceutical industry. Studies of red blood cells, plasma proteins, and platelets were included in the program. Red blood cell antigenicity was studied. Studies of plasma proteins and platelets demonstrated the lack of adverse effects of adenine. General studies of red blood cell preservation, platelet preservation, and red cell freezing were also completed under the adenine contract program.
Computer calculation of eclipse functions

Abstract The direct comparison of individual observed light losses in a binary system and theoretical expressions for the same quantities on the Russell Model can be performed on a digital computer provided with routines for the various alpha functions. A broader use of these routines requires a constant fractional accuracy for them. This objective greatly complicates the programming because of the properties of the generating equations.
INCREASING THE SOLUBILITY AND DEGRADABILITY OF FOOD PROCESSING BIOSOLIDS

Abstract Biosolids (BS) from food processing plants are usually put on land or in landfills. They contain nutrients and could be fed to animals, but low digestibility is a limitation. Lab tests were conducted to evaluate treatments that might increase digestibility of BS. Biosolids were extruded or treated with chemicals and filtered; residues were incubated with proteases. Dry matter disapperance (DMD), measured as weight loss of treated material following filtration, was considered an indicator of digestibility. The DMD of extruded BS (31–35%) was greater than oven-dried BS (20–27%). Increasing extruder temperature or speed increased DMD by small but significant amounts. Chemical treatment of BS with HCL, AP and NaOH significantly increased DMD to 60–70%; increases were larger than responses to extrusion. Responses were attained differently; on one hand, for HCL and AP treatments, about 50% of the increase in DMD was due to solubilization and 50% due to degradation. On the other hand, NaOH acted almost completely by solubilization. Increased DMD infers that BS should have increased digestibility when fed to animals, but feeding studies are needed for substantiation.
Segregation Analysis of Blood Pressure and Body Mass Index in a Rural US Community

3 Abstract To assess evidence for a gene with large effect on systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and body mass index (BMI), we conducted segregation analyses on 261 nuclear families collected from a rural Caucasian community in Michigan. The families were ascertained through a hypertensive proband. Each phenotype was adjusted for significant covariate effects (e.g., gender and age). We used class D regressive models to conduct the segregation analyses. Our analysis results support the segrega- tion of a major gene for BMI, but not for SBP or DBP. A recessive locus ef- fect provided the best explanation for BMI where ∼43% of the variance of BMI was due to this gene. Elevated or high blood pressure (HBP) and obesity (OB) are significant risk fac- tors for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and essential hypertension. They are also the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in Western societies (McGill 1996). An estimated 55% of adults are classified as overweight, and obesity is as- sociated with increased morbidity and mortality from several chronic diseases (Dorn et al. 1997; Taubes 1998). Blood pressure and obesity level are complex quantitative traits, thought to be influenced by a variety of physiological, behav- ioral, and sociocultural factors (Ward 1983; Ward 1990). As a result, the identifi- cation of susceptibility genes that contribute to HBP and OB will be difficult. We have undertaken segregation analyses to determine the likelihood that a gene with large effect influences blood pressure and obesity level. The analyses can be seen as a precursor to the actual identification of genes by means of linkage and/or as- sociation analyses. It is also important to assess the degree to which any single
Application of structural rigidity analysis to assess fidelity of healed fractures in rat femurs with critical defects.

Approximately 6 million fractures occur each year in the United States, with an estimated medical and loss of productivity cost of $99 billion. As our population ages, it can only be expected that these numbers will continue to rise. While there have been recent advances in available treatments for fractures, assessment of the healing process remains a subjective process. This study aims to demonstrate the use of micro-computed tomography (μCT)-based structural rigidity analysis to accurately and quantitatively assess the progression of fracture healing over time in a rat model. The femora of rats with simulated lytic defects were injected with human BMP-2 cDNA at various time points postinjury (t = 0, 1, 5, 10 days) to accelerate fracture healing, harvested 56 days from time of injury, and subjected to μCT imaging to obtain cross-sectional data that were used to compute torsional rigidity. The specimens then underwent torsional testing to failure using a previously described pure torsional testing system. Strong correlations were found between measured torsional rigidity and computed torsional rigidity as calculated from both average (R2 = 0.63) and minimum (R2 = 0.81) structural rigidity data. While both methods were well correlated across the entire data range, minimum torsional rigidity was a better descriptor of bone strength, as seen by a higher Pearson coefficient and smaller y-intercept. These findings suggest considerable promise in the use of structural rigidity analysis of μCT data to accurately and quantitatively measure fracture-healing progression.
A Novel Catalyst Geometry for Automobile Emission Control

Abstract The catalytic control of automobile exhaust pollutants (hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides) is now a common practice in the United States and Japan, and there are strong indications that the technology may be introduced in other parts of the world in the coming years. The simultaneous conversion of all three of the above pollutants is achieved by the near-stoichiometric operation of noble metal catalysts which are supported either on alumina particles or on alumina-washcoated cordierite monoliths, A summary of the developments which lead to this technology can be found, e. g., in Hegedus and Gumbleton [1] and references therein.
Depth Distribution Of Swelling In Ion‐Bombarded Stainless Steels

SUMMARY Nickel ion bombardment has been extensively used to simulate and study swelling caused by neutron irradiation induced void formation in stainless steels. We have developed techniques to utilize the variations in displacement damage with depth from the ion-bombarded surface to obtain swelling measurements for differing total displacement doses and dose rates from a single specimen. These techniques are not only cost effective, but have the advantage of conserving scarce material in those experiments involving specimens bombarded after prior reactor irradiation. Nickel ions accelerated to 5 MeV have a range of about 1400 nm in stainless steel with the peak displacement damage occurring at a depth from the surface of approximately 900 nm. Thus, TEM examination of the microstructure at successive depths to 900 nm allows measurement of void swelling at various displacement doses. We accomplish this by stepped removal of the material in the plane normal to the incident ion beam. The ion entry surface is successively partially masked with lacquer and then ion milled to various depths. The foils are then perforated at the various depths by backthinning electrochemically. Results are presented which show the dose dependence of swelling obtained in this way for AISI 316 stainless steel bombarded to 115 dpa with up to 35% swelling. The results are compared and contrasted with dose dependencies of swelling obtained from examination of specimens separately bombarded to different peak doses up to 115 dpa.
Children's and Parents' Visual Perception of Physicians

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the child's and parents' visual perception of physicians. To do this, 50 children and their parents were asked which physician they preferred, when shown eight pairs of photographs. Four characteristics were tested twice, white coat versus no white coat, smile versus stern face, cartoon posters versus no posters, and standing versus stooping. We found that both children and parents preferred the smiling physician and the physician with cartoon posters on the wall. Surprisingly 54% of children preferred the physician in the white coat, whereas only 35% of parents preferred the white coat. Sixty-eight percent of children also preferred the standing physician compared with only 41% of parents. There was little correlation between the parent's and child's answers. The results did not differ significantly with age, gender, or number of hospitalizations. In conclusion our study did not confirm the popular belief that children are afraid of physicians in white coats, although children did strongly prefer physicians who smiled and those with cartoon posters on the wall.
Racial/ethnic residential segregation and self-reported hypertension among US- and foreign-born blacks in New York City.

Background Research examining the association of residence in racially segregated neighborhoods with physical and mental health outcomes among blacks is mixed. Research elucidating the relationship between segregation and hypertension has been limited. This study examines the association between segregation and hypertension among US- and foreign-born blacks in New York City (NYC). Methods Individual-level data from the NYC Community Health Survey (n = 4,499) were linked to neighborhood-level data from the US Census and Infoshare Online. Prevalence ratios (PRs) for the association between segregation and self-reported hypertension among US- and foreign-born blacks were estimated. Results After adjusting for individual- and neighborhood-level covariates, segregation was not associated with hypertension among US-born blacks or foreign-born blacks under 65 years of age. Older foreign-born blacks in highly segregated areas had a 46% lower probability (PR = 0.54; 95% confidence interval, 0.40-0.72) of reporting hypertension than older foreign-born blacks residing in low segregation areas. Conclusions In this NYC-based sample, no association between segregation and hypertension was observed among US-born or younger foreign-born blacks; however, our results suggest possible benefits of segregation for older foreign-born blacks. Further studies should determine whether this association is observed in other cities and identify factors that may mitigate against the adverse effects of segregation.
Effective project management with PMCP on application system (AS)

The application system (AS) provides a powerful VM/MVS host based facility to automate the tasks required to manage and control projects. The front-end menu-driven application, project management control package (PMCP), simplifies and organizes the functions AS provides for project management. PMCP provides an online method for recording and organizing project activity information, generating schedules with recommended start and end dates, recording activity progress, and project reporting both statistically and graphically. The functions provided in PMCP are utilized for the planning and execution of a sample project. PMCP on AS initially generates schedules based on effort, resources, relationships, and calendars. It facilitates progress tracking and schedule revisions. Progress reporting can be done with activity reports, Gantt charts, or graphic plots. >
Noise and vibration damping with latex interpenetrating polymer networks

Damping systems based on interpenetrating polymer networks (IPN's) provide noise and vibration attenuation over broad temperature and frequency ranges. Semicompatible latex IPN's are employed in both extensional and constrained layer configurations. The damping behavior of IPN's of compositions poly(ethyl methacrylate)/poly(n-butyl acrylate) [PEMA/PnBA], poly(ethyl methacrylate–co–ethyl acrylate)/poly(n-butyl acrylate–co–ethyl acrylate) [P(EMA–co–EA)/P(nBA–co–EA)], and poly(vinyl chloride)/poly(butadiene–co–acrylonitrile) [PVC/P(B–co–AN)] were investigated and compared to both commercially available materials and to theory. The damping of both the PEMA/PnBA and the P(EMA–co–EA)/P(nBA–co–EA) IPN's in a constrained layer configuration was significantly better, over a broad temperature range of −10° to 60°C, than the commercial materials. In addition, the P(EMA–co–EA)/P(nBA–co–EA) IPN was found to be effective in damping phenolic-impregnated Kevlar cloth laminates. A reduction of 10 dB in impact noise resulted with a 6–8% by weight layer inserted between the Kevlar-phenolic panels. The relationship between the peak damping temperature of a constrained layer system to maximum tan δ along with that of an extensional damping system to maximum E″ was also demonstrated. Although the amount of damping predicted by the theory approached that found experimentally, sufficient differences existed such that the exact detail of the damping curve was not described.
Writing Integrative Literature Reviews: Guidelines and Examples:

The integrative literature review is a distinctive form of research that generates new knowledge about the topic reviewed. Little guidance is available on how to write an integrative literature review. This article discusses how to organize and write an integrative literature review and cites examples of published integrative literature reviews that illustrate how this type of research has made substantive contributions to the knowledge base of human resource development.
Symmetric Varactor in 130-nm CMOS for Frequency Multiplier Applications

A symmetric varactor (SVAR) in 130-nm digital complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) for frequency multiplier applications with the maximum cutoff frequency of ~320 GHz and a dynamic cutoff frequency of ~125 GHz is demonstrated. To demonstrate the generation of odd-order harmonics and suppression of even-order ones, an SVAR was measured at the pumping frequency of 900 MHz. The measured third-order harmonic power is more than 25 dB higher than that for the second order. Harmonic balance simulations showed that the SVAR pumped by a 50-GHz signal source can generate a 150-GHz third-harmonic output signal with 15.8-dB minimum conversion loss at the input power of 7.8 dBm. The SVAR can be integrated with other (CMOS) components to generate millimeter-wave signals.
Synthesis of α-hydroxytamoxifen and its 4-hydroxy analog

(2003). SYNTHESIS OF α-HYDROXYTAMOXIFEN AND ITS 4-HYDROXY ANALOG. Organic Preparations and Procedures International: Vol. 35, No. 2, pp. 231-238.
Membrane raft–lysosome redox signalling platforms in coronary endothelial dysfunction induced by adipokine visfatin

Aims The adipokine visfatin, produced during obesity, has been reported to participate in the development of cardiovascular disease associated with metabolic syndrome. The present study was designed to test a hypothesis that visfatin causes coronary endothelial dysfunction through lysosome trafficking and fusion to cell membranes, membrane raft (MR) clustering, and formation of redox signalosomes. Methods and results By using confocal microscopy, it was found that visfatin, but not adiponectin, stimulated NADPH oxidase (NOX) subunits, gp91 phox aggregation in MR clusters and p47 phox translocation to these MR clusters in bovine coronary arterial endothelial cells (CAECs), leading to activation of NOX with a 2.5-fold increase in O2·− production. A signalling lipid, ceramide, was found to be enriched in such membrane MR–NOX complexes of CAECs. Lysosomal fluorescent dye (FM1-43) quenching and de-quenching revealed that visfatin induced the fusion of lysosomes to cell membranes and incorporation of acid sphingomyelinase and its product, ceramide, in such MR–NOX signalling platforms. Functionally, visfatin significantly attenuated endothelium-dependent vasodilation in small coronary arteries (by 80%), which was blocked by lysosomal function inhibitor and MR disruptors. Conclusion These results suggest that lysosome-associated molecular trafficking and consequent ceramide accumulation in cell membrane may mediate the assembly of NOX subunits and their activation in response to adipokine visfatin in CAECs, thereby producing endothelial dysfunction in coronary circulation.
Somatic City: Laughter and Civic Imaginings

This article is about the New York City circus company Circus Amok and its experiments in civic imaginings. The essay explores the relationship between the circus, civic belonging, urban citizenship, and the role of the moving body in public spaces such as park spaces. Circus Amok is an experimental theater group interested in bringing political critique to people in the city through free circus performances.
Congenital perisylvian syndrome: MRI and glucose PET correlations.

Congenital perisylvian syndromes are late migration/cortical organization disorders associated with distinctive clinical and imaging features. The clinical, magnetic resonance imaging, and 2-deoxy-2-[18F] fluoro-d-glucose (FDG) positron emission tomography scan findings of six children (age range: 3.2-16.7 years; 5 males) with congenital perisylvian syndrome were evaluated. The patients presented with heterogenous neurologic impairments, depending upon the involved hemisphere and the extension of perisylvian malformation. Two manifested bilateral malformation and four manifested unilateral. The characteristic MRI finding consisting of a vertically oriented sylvian fissure continuous with the central and postcentral sulcus was associated with variable extension of bordering polymicrogyric cortex. The positron emission tomography scans of all patients revealed perisylvian metabolic abnormalities corresponding to the magnetic resonance imaging–defined abnormality. Variable extent of abnormal glucose metabolism was also observed in areas with normal magnetic resonance imaging features. All patients with unilateral magnetic resonance imaging abnormality exhibited abnormal glucose metabolism also in the contralateral side. The two patients with bilateral malformation had more extensive positron emission tomography abnormalities than the morphologic anomalies on MRI. Although MRI remains the diagnostic gold standard to detect the lesion, positron emission tomography scan is helpful to evaluate the full functional extension of the cortical anomaly, thereby contributing to the definition of the clinical severity of the syndrome.
Polyhedral-based data reuse optimization for configurable computing

Many applications, such as medical imaging, generate intensive data traffic between the FPGA and off-chip memory. Significant improvements in the execution time can be achieved with effective utilization of on-chip (scratchpad) memories, associated with careful software-based data reuse and communication scheduling techniques. We present a fully automated C-to-FPGA framework to address this problem. Our framework effectively implements data reuse through aggressive loop transformation-based program restructuring. In addition, our proposed framework automatically implements critical optimizations for performance such as task-level parallelization, loop pipelining, and data prefetching.We leverage the power and expressiveness of the polyhedral compilation model to develop a multi-objective optimization system for off-chip communications management. Our technique can satisfy hardware resource constraints (scratchpad size) while still aggressively exploiting data reuse. Our approach can also be used to reduce the on-chip buffer size subject to bandwidth constraint. We also implement a fast design space exploration technique for effective optimization of program performance using the Xilinx high-level synthesis tool.
Neurobehavioral and health-related deficits in solvent-exposed painters

The health status of 133 solvent-exposed painters was evaluated using the Neurobehavioral Evaluation System (NES) and blood test results from a physical exam. The comparison group consisted of 51 sheetmetal workers, minimally exposed to solvents. Degree of solvent exposure was calculated using three different indices derived from questionnaire responses. Multivariate analyses, adjusted for age, alcohol consumption, and smoking, indicated that painters performed less well on the symbol digit learning and vocabulary tasks. Evidence was also found for a dose-effect relationship, particularly when several features of the work environment were considered in estimating exposure. Degree of solvent exposure predicted levels of serum lead, BUN, and SGOT. These findings indicate that questionnaire-based measures of solvent exposure can be useful predictors of neurobehavioral and health-related deficits. Verbal ability, often used by researchers as a measure of premorbid functioning, may be adversely affected by solvent exposure. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
A differential adhesion approach to the patterning of nerve connections

A model for the ordering of neuronal connections encompassing many facets of previous models is developed and tested against a wide range of data on the visual system of lower vertebrates (amphibia and fish). The goal of this paper is to establish that such a synthetic model can accommodate a wide range of data and reliably predict experimental results. This model makes two advances over previous efforts: (i) It predicts both minority and majority results for many of the experiments in which mixed results are obtained, and (ii) it reduces to behave as many of the previous models in some experimental settings. In addition, the model predicts different biochemical properties for cell-cell recognition than previously considered (i.e., homophilic adhesion). The model thus brings apparently disparate experimental results into a unified conceptual framework.
Ice sheets by volume

How big were the ice sheets at the height of the last glaciation, around 21,000 years ago? The best estimate yet comes from an analysis of the lower sea levels of the time, and will further understanding of how ice-sheet volume influences climate.
RelB/p52-mediated NF-κB signaling alters histone acetylation to increase the abundance of corticotropin-releasing hormone in human placenta

Corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) produced in the placenta may be part of a clock that regulates the length of human gestation. Maternal plasma CRH abundance exponentially increases as pregnancy advances. Glucocorticoid stimulates CRH expression in full-term human placenta by promoting noncanonical (RelB/p52 heterodimer-mediated) nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) pathway activity. Using dexamethasone to mimic glucocorticoid exposure, we found that an epigenetic switch mediated the glucocorticoid-induced expression of CRH as gestation advances. The amount of acetylated histone H3 lysine 9 (H3K9) associated with the CRH promoter was greater in cytotrophoblasts from full-term placenta than in those from midterm placenta. Knocking down the lysine acetyltransferase CBP reduced H3K9 histone acetylation and prevented dexamethasone-induced CRH expression. Unexpectedly, knocking down the histone deacetylase HDAC1 or pharmacologically inhibiting type I and II HDACs also decreased the expression of CRH yet increased the acetylation of H3K9 and other histone regions. Both CBP and HDAC1 bound at the CRH promoter in a complex with the RelB/p52 heterodimer in a mutually dependent manner; knocking down any one factor in the complex prevented binding of the others as well as the dexamethasone-induced CRH expression. Our results suggest that glucocorticoids induce a transcription complex consisting of RelB/p52, CBP, and HDAC1 that triggers a dynamic acetylation-mediated epigenetic change to induce CRH expression in full-term human placenta.
Causal Effect Heterogeneity

Individuals differ not only in background characteristics, often called “pretreatment heterogeneity,” but also in how they respond to a particular treatment, event, or intervention. A principal interaction of interest for questions of selection into treatment and causal inference in the social sciences is between the treatment and the propensity of treatment. Although the importance of “treatment-effect heterogeneity,” so defined, has been widely recognized in the causal inference literature, empirical quantitative social science research has not fully absorbed these lessons. In this chapter, we describe key estimation strategies for the study of heterogeneous treatment effects; we discuss recent research that attends to causal effect heterogeneity, with a focus on the study of effects of education, and what we gain from such attention; and we demonstrate the methods with an example of the effects of college on civic participation. The primary goal of this chapter is to encourage researchers to routinely examine treatment-effect heterogeneity with the same rigor they devote to pretreatment heterogeneity.