cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Individual variation in cerebral cortex size and neuron number does not predict behavioral ability in the rat

Abstract Are there neuroanatomical explanations for interindividual variation in behavior? Open field behavior, attention to novelty, response flexibility, and rat reasoning were measured in thirty-nine adult male Long-Evans rats. After behavioral assessment, brain weight, cerebral hemisphere volume, cerebral cortex volume, cerebral cortex neuron number, and cerebral cortex neuron density were measured and compared to behavioral performance. Only non-significant correlations were found for the behavioral measures and cerebral cortical neuron number and neuron density. Cerebral cortex neuron number and neuron density may not be important determinants of interindividual differences for these behaviors in the rat. The measured behaviors do appear to be influenced by a general cognitive factor and by brain weight. The biological basis of the previously observed behavior-brain weight relationship remains undetermined.
Is the discrimination of motion-path length unique?

Discrimination of the extent of a motion path may present a special problem since the discrimination calls on memory for changing position and involves pursuit movements of the eye. To determine how these factors affect judgment, discrimination of extents represented by motion paths, successively appearing endpoints, and simultaneously present endpoints was compared under a variety of eye-movement conditions: fixation, pursuit, and saccadic. Discrimination was assessed by the method of adjustment and also by the method of magnitude estimation. Discrimination of motion path extent was found to be as accurate as discrimination of an interspace demarcated by simultaneously presented points or by successively presented points. This was true for brief single presentations of the extents as well as for repeated exposures to the extents. The findings were applied to the analysis of the perception of velocity and the perception of extent.
Bartter's Syndrome in a 74‐Year‐Old Woman: Response to Anti‐Inflammatory Agents

The occurrence of Bartter's syndrome is described in a 74-year-old woman with a fractured hip. She showed hypokalemia and elevated levels of plasma renin and aldosterone. Only with difficulty did large doses of potassium supplementation raise the serum potassium level. After discontinuation of the exogenous potassium, there was a good response to treatment with antiinflammatory agents such as indomethacin and aspirin.
Regulatory considerations when developing biological products

The Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, whose regulatory authority includes monoclonal antibodies, cytokines, vaccines, toxins and somatic cellular therapies, communicates to sponsors issues for consideration in the development of biological products through the publication of “Points to Consider” and “Guideline” documents. This paper summarizes the available “Points to Consider” and “Guideline” documents and outlines recommendations from these documents for characterizing the cells used to produce biological products.
PedsQL relates to function and behavior in very low and normal birth weight 2- and 3-year-olds from a regional cohort.

To compare PedsQL scores in young children who were very low (≤1,500 g) or normal birth weight (>2,500 g) and to examine the relationship of the PedsQL score to behavioral and functional scores. The PedsQL, Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist and the PEDI functional scales were telephone administered to parents of a regional cohort of 672 very low birth weight and 455 normal birth weight children, 2- and 3-years old. PedsQL scales were regressed on behavior, function and health conditions. Mean (SD) overall PedsQL score was 91 (8.4) for normal birth weight and 87 (12) for very low birth weight children, and changed little when standardized to the race/ethnicity and maternal education of corresponding Wisconsin births. Mobility function and the CBCL explained 58% of the variance in PedsQL, but the relationship was curvilinear. The PedsQL is sensitive to health problems of very low birth weight in young children. The PedsQL is quite strongly related to mobility and behavior problems, but scales these differently than do standard instruments. Parents either do not think of subtle issues with child function and behavior without specific prompting or do not perceive them as problems affecting quality of life.
Toward a conceptualization of retrohippocampal contributions to learning and memory.

A wealth of data supports the notion that the hippocampus binds objects and events together in place and time. In support of this function, a cortical circuit that includes the retrosplenial cortex (RSC) and various structures in the parahippocampal region is thought to provide the hippocampus with essential information regarding the physical and temporal context in which the object/event occurs. However, it remains unclear if and how individual components of this so-called ‘where’ circuit make unique contributions to processing context-related information. Here we focus on the RSC and the postrhinal cortex (POR; homologous with parahippocampal cortex (PHC) in primates), two of the most strongly interconnected components of the where pathway and the foci of an increasing amount of recent research. Much of the behavioral evidence to date suggests that RSC and POR/PHC work closely together as a functional unit. We begin by briefly reviewing studies that have investigated the involvement of RSC and POR/PHC in contextual and spatial learning, both of which involve learning associations and relationships between the individual stimuli that compose an environment (i.e., where information). However, we propose that potential differences have been overlooked because most studies to date have relied on behavioral paradigms and experimental approaches that are not well suited for distinguishing between different aspects of information processing. We then consider the anatomical differences between RSC and POR/PHC and emerging behavioral evidence that gives rise to a working model of how these regions may differentially contribute to hippocampal-dependent learning and memory. We then discuss experimental designs and behavioral methods that may be useful in testing the model. Finally, approaches are described that may be valuable in probing the nature of information processing and neuroplasticity in the myriad of local circuits that are nested within the where pathway.
Inductivism and Probabilism

It is considered a truism that not all inferences are deductive. Arguments which compel assent, granted their premisses, are said to be limiting cases of the more general class of those whose premisses support their conclusions inconclusively. Such arguments are variously labelled ‘inductive’, ‘informative’, or ‘probable’. The conclusions of deductive arguments from true premisses are invariably true, while conclusions of probable arguments from true premisses are said to be ‘for the most part true’.1 One speaks also of ‘arguments by analogy’, ‘statistical syllogisms’, and the like — terms which further argue that induction and deduction are but two sides of the same inferential coin.
Electrocardiographic and serum potassium changes in fatal hyperthermia

Abstract Although electrocardiographic records obtained during various types of febrile states have often been described, there have been very few studies concerned with the electrocardiographic changes occurring during fatal hyperthermia. In a recent investigation of the cardiovascular effects of hyperthermia produced by dinitrophenol, large doses of Dicumarol, and by externally applied heat, marked electrocardiographic changes were consistently observed. 1 In these preceding experiments, anestheti ed dogs in an advanced state of hyperthermia were observed through progressive changes to fatal termination. The characteristic electrocardiographic pattern associated with the hyperthermia consisted of extreme sinus tachycardia, heightened T waves, S-T depression, and, terminally, disappearance of the P wave, widening of the QRS complex, and ventricular fibrillation or cardiac arrest. As most of these changes resemble the effects produced by high serum potassium levels, the present study was primarily under-taken in order that serum potassium levels could be determined in similar hyperthermia experiments and correlated with the electrocardiographic changes. Additionally, the course of study was designed so that other blood chemical and cardiovascular changes produced by hyperthermia could be observed and their influence on the electrocardiogram similarly evaluated.
Law, Ideology, and Strategy in Judicial Decision Making: Evidence from Securities Fraud Actions

Legal academics and political scientists continue to debate whether the legal, attitudinal, or strategic model best explains judicial decision making. One limitation in this debate is the high-court bias found in most studies. This article, by contrast, examines federal district court decisions, specifically interpretations of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Initial interpretations of the Act articulated distinct liberal and conservative positions. The data compiled here support the hypothesis that the later emergence of an intermediate interpretation was the result of strategic statutory interpretation rather than simply judges acting consistently with their ideological preferences, although there is some evidence that judges adopting the most conservative interpretation of the Act were acting consistently with the attitudinal model. There is weaker evidence to support the legal model, an unsurprising result given the severe test the study design creates for that model.
Magnesium, ADP, and actin binding linkage of myosin V: evidence for multiple myosin V-ADP and actomyosin V-ADP states.

The [Mg2+] dependence of ADP binding to myosin V and actomyosin V was measured from the fluorescence of mantADP. Time courses of MgmantADP dissociation from myosin V and actomyosin V are biphasic with fast observed rate constants that depend on the [Mg2+] and slow observed rate constants that are [Mg2+]-independent. Two myosin V−MgADP states that are in reversible equilibrium, one that exchanges nucleotide and cation slowly (strong binding) and one that exchanges nucleotide and cation rapidly (weak binding), account for the data. The two myosin V−MgADP states are of comparable energies, as indicated by the relatively equimolar partitioning at saturating magnesium. Actin binding lowers the affinity for bound Mg2+ 2-fold but shifts the isomerization equilibrium ∼6-fold to the weak ADP binding state, lowering the affinity and accelerating the overall rate of MgADP release. Actin does not weaken the affinity or accelerate the release of cation-free ADP, indicating that actin and ADP binding linkage is magnesi...
Left Out: Pragmatism, Exceptionalism, and the Poverty of American Marxism, 1890-1922

"Why is there no socialism in the United States?" This age-old question, writes Brian Lloyd, can best be dealt with by rephrasing it. In this provocative rethinking of American radicalism, Lloyd asks instead: "What happened to Marx's methods and concepts when American radicals tried to put them into practice?" To answer this question, Lloyd offers a detailed analysis of the Marxian doctrine that Debs-era socialists tried to understand and put to use in changing American society. He highlights the amiable relationship that developed between Marxism and pragmatism, showing how this courtship ultimately impoverished the radicals who cultivated it. Trying to gain a foothold in the struggle to shape American society and social science in the early 20th century, Marxists invigorated American liberalism while at the same time placing themselves on the fringe of liberal discourse and rendering themselves irrelevant. Whether in the name of Darwin or Dewey, those who claimed to be squaring Marxism with "American reality" succeeded only in creating American verions of the petty bourgeois socialism that Marx had castigated in 1848. The poverty of American Marxism, Lloyd concludes, was above all an ideological condition - the result of radicals' having imbibed far too little, rather than too much, of the Marxism of Marx.
Motility in the colonial and multicellular Volvocales: structure, function, and evolution

The colonial Volvocales are often said to be composed of Chlamydomonas-like cells, but there are substantial differences in motility and flagellar apparatus construction between the unicellular forms and the individual members of a colony or spheroid. These changes appear to be required for effective organismal motion and might possibly limit the rate at which new colonial forms evolve from unicellular ones. The flagellar-beat envelopes in colonial members are modified such that they beat in the same direction and in parallel planes with their effective strokes at right angles to the cellular anterior-posterior axis. These changes result from a series of developmental events of the flagellar apparatus of the colonial forms while the colony is still an embryo. Differences in the flagellar-apparatus structure in the members of the Goniaceae and Volvocaceae are not obviously correlated with the traditional placement of these algae in a simple volvocine lineage. Effective colonial motion clearly requires precise positioning and rotational orientation of the cells within the colony. Almost any arrangement where the cells are placed with rotational symmetry within the colony results in colonial progression with rotation. Such rotational symmetry is present from the time of embryogenesis. The mechanism that leads to organismal steering in behavioral responses (e.g., phototaxis) must likewise differ between colonial and unicellular forms. In at least some cases, this appears to result from changes in beat frequency in some parts of the spheroid, but changes in beat direction cannot be ruled out for all forms.
TRH: Cardiovascular and sympathetic modulation in brain nuclei of the rat

The cardiovascular and sympathetic effects of TRH in discrete cardiovascular-related brain nuclei were studied. Microinjections of TRH were made into the nucleus preopticus medialis (POM) of conscious rats and the nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS) of pentobarbitone-anesthetized, artificially respired rats. POM injections (1 microliter, 0.8-80 nM) elicited dose dependent pressor and tachycardic responses which were accompanied by increased levels of norepinephrine (NE) and epinephrine (EPI) in the plasma. These pressor/tachycardic effects of TRH were also elicited in adrenal demedullated (ADM-x) rats, but completely abolished in ADM-x rats pretreated with bretylium (30 mg/kg, IA). NTS injections (0.1 microliter, 30 and 150 nM) had a short depressor effect on blood pressure (BP) and a delayed increase in heart rate (HR). From these findings we suggest that the POM, a central nucleus in the AV3V region, may be an important forebrain site for autonomic regulation by TRH, mediated through the sympathetic nervous system.
Failure recovery algorithms for multimedia servers

In this paper, we present two novel disk failure recovery methods that utilize the inherent characteristicsof video streams for efficient recovery. Whereas the firstmethod exploits the inherent redundancy in video streams(rather than error-correcting codes) to approximately reconstruct data stored on failed disks, the second method exploitsthe sequentiality of video playback to reduce the overheadof online failure recovery in conventional RAID arrays. Forthe former approach, we present loss-resilient versions ofJPEG and MPEG compression algorithms. We present aninherently redundant array of disks (IRAD) architecture thatcombines these loss-resilient compression algorithms withtechniques for efficient placement of video streams on diskarrays to ensure that on-the-fly recovery does not imposeany additional load on the array. Together, they enhance thescalability of multimedia servers by (1) integrating the recovery process with the decompression of video streams,and thereby distributing the reconstruction process acrossthe clients; and (2) supporting graceful degradation in thequality of recovered images with increase in the number ofdisk failures. We present analytical and experimental resultsto show that both schemes significantly reduce the failurerecovery overhead in a multimedia server.
Heterologous fertilization to characterize spermatozoa of the genus Bos.

Abstract Advances in assisted reproductive techniques, specifically, development of protocols for production of in vitro matured, fertilized and cultured domestic bovine embryos, offer opportunities to apply these techniques to nondomestic bovidae in species preservation. Domestic bovine oocytes were inseminated with nondomestic bovine spermatozoa. Effects of heparin concentration, sperm concentration and their interaction on total and normal in vitro fertilization rates and on subsequent embryo development were evaluated. In different replications, semen from 3 Bos bison , 2 Bos gaurus , 1 Bos grunniens , and 1 Bos javanicus bulls was used. Treatment of spermatozoa included 2 heparin levels (2 and 8 μg/mL) and 3 sperm concentrations (1, 3 and 5 × 106/mL). The B. grunniens bull exhibited excessive polyspermy in all treatments; therefore, 1 replicate was completed using 2 levels of heparin (0 and 1 μg/mL) and 2 sperm concentrations (1 and 2 ×106/mL). After 18 to 22 h, cumulus cells were removed from presumptive zygotes, and a portion thereof was compressed between a slide and coverslip and fixed in acetic acid: ethanol solution. Light microscopy was used to visualize pronuclei and the second polar body as a determinant of fertilization. Remaining presumptive zygotes were placed into embryo culture medium, and blastocyst development was assessed on Days 7 and 8 (fertilization=Day 0). Percentages of total and normal fertilization and of blastocyst formation were analyzed by a logistic regression model, isolating effects due to bull, heparin and sperm concentration, and to their interaction. Work presented here suggests that, just as in Bos taurus , the nondomestic bulls in the Bos species seem to have individual heparin and sperm concentration requirements for successful IVF. We conclude that each bull, domestic or nondomestic, needs to be evaluated individually. Preliminary sperm characterization using domestic cattle oocytes would result in a greater potential for generating purebred embryos of the desired species should scarce female gametes become available.
Contrasting effects of exogenous 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D [1,25-(OH)2D] versus endogenous 1,25-(OH)2D, induced by dietary calcium restriction, on vitamin D receptors.

The biological actions of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D (1,25-(OH)2D) are mediated by specific binding of the hor- mone with an intracellular vitamin D receptor, which ultimately regulates expression of genes within the target tissues. The quantity of vitamin D receptors varies between target tissues and within target tissues, depending on the physiological state of the animal. One factor that can modulate tissue vitamin D receptor content is 1,25-(OH)2D. In the present study performed in male rats, exogenous administration of 36 ng 1,25-(OH)2D3/ day for 7 days increased plasma 1,25-(OH)2D concentrations 5- fold above those in control rats (to 261 ± 17 pg/ml). Compared with those in control rats, 1,25-(OH)2D3 treatment resulted in a 1.5-fold increase in duodenal vitamin D receptor content (351 ± 16 vs. 520 ± 21 fmol/mg protein) and a 3-fold increase in renal vitamin D receptor content (60.3 ± 5.2 vs. 193.8 ± 22.7 fmol/mg protein). The effects of endogenously produced 1,25-(OH)2D on tissue vitamin D receptor content were studied by feeding rats either a 0.02% or 1% calcium diet for 2, 7, 14, or 21 days. Rats fed the low calcium diet exhibited plasma 1,25-(OH)2D concen- trations similar to (day 7) or exceeding (days 14 and 21) those achieved by exogenous administration of 1,25-(OH)2D3, yet duo- denal vitamin D receptor content was not up-regulated by die- tary calcium restriction at any time point. The renal vitamin D receptor content of calcium restricted rats was 20-38% lower (P < 0.05) than that in rats fed a calcium-replete diet 7, 14, and 21 days after initiation of the dietary treatments. These data sug- gest that under physiological conditions, increased plasma con- centrations of 1,25-(OH)2D do not result in up-regulation of tissue vitamin D receptor concentrations, and that dietary cal- cium restriction must induce some factor(s) that results in down- regulation of vitamin D receptors in the kidney. (Endocrinology 126: 1031-1035, 1990)
Hepatic angiomyolipoma: Is fat in the liver friend or foe?

Angiomyolipoma (AML) of the liver is a very uncommon benign neoplasm composed of vessels, muscle, and variable amounts of fat (ranging from 5-90% of the tumor), indistinguishable histologically from renal angiomyolipoma [1]. For the majority of radiologists, knowledge of AML is based upon the renal variety. The radiologic appearance of AML in the kidney, its association with tuberous sclerosis, and its potential for rupture, causing massive retroperitoneal hemorrhage, are well known. However, the fact that AML can involve the liver either in association with tuberous sclerosis or spontaneously is not common knowledge. This is due to the rarity of hepatic AML, limited to only 5-10% of tuberous sclerosis cases and a few cases of spontaneous AML reported (approximately 45, primarily in the pathologic literature). The five papers on hepatic AML included in the current issue of Abdominal Imaging allow us to study with cross-sectional imaging a series of eight new cases, including six spontaneous AMLs and two in association with tuberous sclerosis. This almost doubles the number of published cases with cross-sectional imaging from 12 to 20 and adds three new cases with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to a single case [2-13]. If one combines the data from these five papers, there is interesting new information both in the clinical and imaging arenas. It appears that hepatic AMLs are predominately seen in women (all four cases of spontaneous AML and two out of three AMLs in tuberous sclerosis). The clinical picture is, as expected, related to size. Large AMLs are painful, while small ones are discovered incidentally. Interestingly enough, despite the enormous size of some of the AMLs described in this issue of Abdominal Imaging, no rupture has ever been recorded of a hepatic AML. In one of the cases, a patient with tuberous scle-
An Evaluation and Placement Technique: The Branched Program Achievement Test.

Abstract A Branched Program Achievement Test was administered to students enrolled in four levels of French at the University level. This article explains briefly the unique features of the BPAT and presents data that (1) validate the strategy as a simple means to evaluate achievement, and (2) demonstrate its potential as a means to place an experienced student into an ongoing curriculum.
Business value of partner’s IT intensity: value co-creation and appropriation between customers and suppliers

There is a rapid increase in the use of enterprise technologies, such as enterprise portals, CRM, RFIDs, and partner interface systems. Often defined as Enterprise 2.0 technologies, social communication technologies, such as blogs and wikis are further increasing the range of ITs used by firms. Greater use of these Enterprise 2.0 technologies is changing the ways organizations transact with partners, as IT systems become predominant means to communicate, coordinate, analyse, conceptualize, and respond. As these technologies increase the information content of work, IT intensity of firms is becoming an increasingly important asset for doing business. To leverage enterprise technologies, firms are increasing IT intensity by making greater investments in more modular, user-friendly, integrated, and customized ITs. Greater IT intensity changes how a firm transacts business and inter-organizational relationships. However, the effects of increased IT intensity on inter-organizational relationships are not clear. In this study, we address this gap and assess how a firm’s IT intensity influence inter-organizational value. Using the data from customer-supplier dyads, we examine partner-related value creation, co-creation, and appropriation of value between firms within customer-supplier relationships. Using the Compustat database as our source of financial information from publicly-traded firms, we identify 5868 unique dyadic pairs of customer-supplier over the period 1991 to 2005 and hypotheses are tested using a sample of 15,028 customer-supplier dyad-years. IT spending for each firm is based on data available from InformationWeek magazine. Our results indicate that a partner’s IT usage co-creates value for both partners. We show a strong positive relation between customer and supplier IT spending intensity and corresponding profitability— measured as the firm’s excess gross profit relative to industry levels — for both customer and supplier firms as well as the combined dyad. Also, contrary to views that larger customers exploit smaller suppliers, our study finds that an increased IT intensity enhances the probability of value being generated for both the partners in a dyad.
Alloy induced inhibition of fatigue crack growth in age-hardenable Al–Cu Alloys

Abstract Environmental fatigue crack propagation (EFCP) is alloy-inhibited in under aged Al–Cu–Mg and peak aged Al–Cu–Li alloys stressed in pure aqueous chloride solution. Counter to H diffusion and H-embrittlement rate limited step considerations which predict fatigue crack growth rate ( da / dN ) to be either independent of fatigue loading frequency ( f ) or increase with decreasing f , da / dN declines with decreasing f . The mechanism for such alloy induced inhibition and decreasing da / dN with decreasing f is reduced crack tip H production and uptake due to stabilization of the native aluminum passive film resulting from: (1) dissolution of anodic Cu-containing GP zones or precipitates (Al 2 CuLi or Al 2 CuMg) by dealloying, (2) crack surface Cu enrichment, and (3) enhanced crack wake cathodic reaction kinetics on Cu enriched sites that increase crack solution pH. Peak aged Al–Zn–Mg–Cu alloy 7075 does not exhibit alloy induced inhibition because the predominant anodic phase, Mg(Cu,Zn) 2 , does not provide a source for Cu surface enrichment. Alloy induced inhibition is similar to ion-assisted inhibition by molybdate or chromate addition into bulk chloride solution which provides an alternate path to stabilize a crack tip passive film. Both alloy-induced and ion-assisted inhibition of EFCP are promoted by reduced f and crack tip strain rate which favor repassivation of the crack tip passive film over film rupture.
Advanced simulation output analysis for a single system

This paper reviews advanced statistical methods for analyzing output data from computer simulations of single systems. In particular, it focuses on the problems of choosing initial conditions and estimation of steady-state system parameters. The estimation techniques include the replication/deletion approach, the regenerative method, variations of the batch means method, the autoregressive method, the spectral estimation method, and the standardized time series method.
Protection of mice against lethal challenge with 2009 H1N1 influenza A virus by 1918-like and classical swine H1N1 based vaccines.

The recent 2009 pandemic H1N1 virus infection in humans has resulted in nearly 5,000 deaths worldwide. Early epidemiological findings indicated a low level of infection in the older population (>65 years) with the pandemic virus, and a greater susceptibility in people younger than 35 years of age, a phenomenon correlated with the presence of cross-reactive immunity in the older population. It is unclear what virus(es) might be responsible for this apparent cross-protection against the 2009 pandemic H1N1 virus. We describe a mouse lethal challenge model for the 2009 pandemic H1N1 strain, used together with a panel of inactivated H1N1 virus vaccines and hemagglutinin (HA) monoclonal antibodies to dissect the possible humoral antigenic determinants of pre-existing immunity against this virus in the human population. By hemagglutinination inhibition (HI) assays and vaccination/challenge studies, we demonstrate that the 2009 pandemic H1N1 virus is antigenically similar to human H1N1 viruses that circulated from 1918–1943 and to classical swine H1N1 viruses. Antibodies elicited against 1918-like or classical swine H1N1 vaccines completely protect C57B/6 mice from lethal challenge with the influenza A/Netherlands/602/2009 virus isolate. In contrast, contemporary H1N1 vaccines afforded only partial protection. Passive immunization with cross-reactive monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) raised against either 1918 or A/California/04/2009 HA proteins offered full protection from death. Analysis of mAb antibody escape mutants, generated by selection of 2009 H1N1 virus with these mAbs, indicate that antigenic site Sa is one of the conserved cross-protective epitopes. Our findings in mice agree with serological data showing high prevalence of 2009 H1N1 cross-reactive antibodies only in the older population, indicating that prior infection with 1918-like viruses or vaccination against the 1976 swine H1N1 virus in the USA are likely to provide protection against the 2009 pandemic H1N1 virus. This data provides a mechanistic basis for the protection seen in the older population, and emphasizes a rationale for including vaccination of the younger, naive population. Our results also support the notion that pigs can act as an animal reservoir where influenza virus HAs become antigenically frozen for long periods of time, facilitating the generation of human pandemic viruses.
Personal exposures to PM2.5 mass and trace elements in Baltimore, MD, USA

In a recent study, EPA found a significant relationship between PM2.5 mass measurements at a community site and personal exposure samples in a Towson, MD retirement facility. This manuscript builds upon the mass concentration results by evaluating the exposure relationships with the elemental composition of the PM2.5 mass. Daily community, outdoor, and indoor PM2.5 were measured with a URG Versatile Air Pollutant Sampler (VAPS). Daily personal and apartment PM2.5 samples were collected with a Marple Personal Exposure Monitor (PEM). Only subjects with the most complete data records (n=10) were used in this analysis. Significant differences were found between the VAPS and PEM samplers for PM2.5 elemental composition, so all subsequent analyses were conducted independently for each of the data sets. Both the VAPS and PEM samples were analyzed with energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (XRF). In addition, the VAPS samples were analyzed for pH, major ions, and elemental/organic carbon. The spatial correlation coefficients between the community and outdoor monitor, and the indoor infiltration rates were calculated for several PM2.5 constituents calculated from the VAPS samples including sulfate, nitrate, trace element oxides, soil, and NaCl. The spatial correlations for most PM2.5 constituents were good (e.g. sulfate (r2=0.99)), with the exception of soil (r2=0.40). Infiltration rates of the PM2.5 constituents were determined by linear regression analysis and varied according to particle size. Infiltration rates ranged from 0.41 (r2=0.98) for sulfate to 0.09 (r2=0.83) for nitrate. Outdoor, central indoor, apartment, and personal exposures PEM samples were also evaluated using a linear mixed effects model and median Pearson correlation coefficients. The modeling results indicate that personal exposures to PM2.5 and sulfate were strongly associated with outdoor concentrations. Conversely, personal exposures to soil and trace element oxides were not significantly correlated to outdoor concentrations.
A Conserved Downstream Element Defines a New Class of RNA Polymerase II Promoters

Although many TATA-less promoters transcribed by RNA polymerase II initiate transcription at multiple sites, the regulation of multiple start site utilization is not understood. Beginning with the prediction that multiple start site promoters may share regulatory features and using the P-glycoprotein promoter (which can utilize either a single or multiple transcription start site(s)) as a model, several promoters with analogous transcription windows were grouped and searched for the presence of a common DNA element. A downstream protein-binding sequence, MED-1 (Multiple start site Element Downstream), was found in the majority of promoters analyzed. Mutation of this element within the P-glycoprotein promoter reduced transcription by selectively decreasing utilization of downstream start sites. We propose that a new class of RNA polymerase II promoters, those that can utilize a distinctive window of multiple start sites, is defined by the presence of a downstream MED-1 element.
Aberrant, ectopic expression of VEGF and VEGF receptors 1 and 2 in malignant colonic epithelial cells. Implications for these cells growth via an autocrine mechanism.

Abstract Vascular endothelial growth factor A (referred to as VEGF) is implicated in colon cancer growth. Currently, the main accepted mechanism by which VEGF promotes colon cancer growth is via the stimulation of angiogenesis, which was originally postulated by late Judah Folkman. However, the cellular source of VEGF in colon cancer tissue; and, the expression of VEGF and its receptors VEGF-R1 and VEGF-R2 in colon cancer cells are not fully known and are subjects of controversy. Material and methods We examined and quantified expression of VEGF, VEGF-R1 and VEGF-R2 in three different human colonic tissue arrays containing sections of adenocarcinoma ( n = 43) and normal mucosa ( n = 41). In human colon cancer cell lines HCT116 and HT29 and normal colon cell lines NCM356 and NCM460, we examined expression of VEGF, VEGF-R1 and VEGF-R2 mRNA and protein, VEGF production and secretion into the culture medium; and, the effect of a potent, selective inhibitor of VEGF receptors, AL-993, on cell proliferation. Results Human colorectal cancer specimens had strong expression of VEGF in cancer cells and also expressed VEGF-R1 and VEGF-R2. In vitro studies showed that human colon cancer cell lines, HCT116 and HT29, but not normal colonic cell lines, express VEGF, VEGF-R1 and VEGF-R2 and secrete VEGF into the medium up to a concentration 2000 pg/ml within 48 h. Furthermore, we showed that inhibition of VEGF receptors using a specific VEGF-R inhibitor significantly reduced proliferation (by >50%) of cultured colon cancer cell lines. Conclusions Our findings support the contention that VEGF generated by colon cancer cells stimulates their growth directly through an autocrine mechanism that is independent of its primary function in the induction of angiogenesis.
CATALYST REGENERATION KINETICS VIA THERMOGRAVIMETRIC ANALYSIS

The regeneration of a commercial hydrotreating catalyst was investigated by means of a thermo-balance reactor. The kinetics of combustion of carbonaceous deposits were measured over a wide range of conditions. The rate controlling mechanism changed from the intrinsic chemical kinetics to pore diffusion as operating variables were changed. The thermogravimeiric method proved to be a quick and reliable means of measuring catalyst regeneration kinetics.
Evidence of work related and incentive payments in gubernatorial pay

The usual caveat applicable to such exploratory study also applies to this one, i.e. the results should be viewed as mere association and does not imply causality. However, the results are interesting and consistent with a causal argument presented here. We find some support to the monitoring arguments presented in the paper and the ways such monitoring information may be produced. Our evidence is also consistent with the argument that in the high competition states, the executive power may be viewed as a necessary productive input, while in low competition states such powers could be viewed as alternative ways of allocating political dividends which could be traded with monitory compensation.
Early Mammalian Development: Nucleoside Transport and RNA Synthesis

For studying early development, the mouse embro provides a convenient experimental model. Of particular interest is the transition from the cleavage (day 2) to the blastocyst (day 3) stage of development, a period of concurrent morphologic and molecular change. In addition to striking alterations in the activities of several enzymes, there is a marked change in the capacity of embryos incubated in vitro to take up uridine, a nucleoside precursor of RNA. The incorporation of 3H-uridine into the acid soluble pool follows Michaelis-Menten kinetics, and the maximal uptake (Vmax) is 8-fold greater in day 3 than in day 2 embryos. During the same time there is also an increase in the incorporation of 3H-uridine into embryos. During the same time there is also an increase in the incorporation of 3H-uridine into embryonic RNA. To distinguish a reak increase in RNA synthetic capacity from an apparent increase resulting from greater precursor uptake, embryos were incubated in the presence of varying concentrations of 3H-uridine. In day 3 embryos, saturation of the RNA synthetic system occurs prior to saturation of the transport system, and incorporation of uridine into RNA is independent of precursor concentration ≥ 1 μM. However, this is not the case in day 2 embryos: uridine incorporation into RNA parallels the uptake of uridine into the acid soluble pool. Therefore, it appears that the low rate of uridine incorporation into RNA by day 2 embryos is at least partially attributable to the low rate of precursor uptake. since preimplantation mouse embryos develop in vitro in the absence of uridine, the physiological role of the uridine transport system during this period is uncertain. Nonetheless, the preimplantation change in uridine transport is a striking developmental phenonmenon and may be important in preparing the embryo for the utilization of exogenous nutrients during postimplanatation growth and development.
Catecholamine biosynthesis in vascular tissue.

Die Umwandlung von Tyrosin in Katecholamin wurde in verschiedenen Blutgefassen untersucht. Die Katecholamin-Biosynthese erfolgte am schnellsten in der Arteria mesenterica sup. (0,6 μg/g/h), was zehnmal hoher liegt als diejenige in der Aorta oder in der Arteria pulmonalis.
The Impending Appearance of Comet Tempel–Tuttle and the Leonid Meteors

Abstract Using the available observations in 1699, 1865–1866, and 1965, an orbit has been recomputed for periodic comet 55P/Tempel–Tuttle, the parent body of the Leonid meteors. The comet's motion was numerically integrated back in time for two millennia and ephemerides were computed for each perihelion return. Chinese observations of the comet in 1366 are well represented, and possible (but not definite) observations of the comet in October 1234 and January 1035 have been identified. The Leonid meteors have been observed since AD 902. Prior to the eighth century, no Leonid meteors should have been visible because the comet's orbit passed too far outside that of the Earth. By using previously recorded accounts of the Leonid meteor showers and storms as a guide, predictions for the forthcoming Leonid displays in November of 1996–1999 are provided. The 1998 and 1999 events hold the most promise for an impressive Leonid meteor display, although there seems little likelihood that the great storms of 1833 and 1966 will be repeated at this apparition.
VELOCITIES OF CHANGE OF A BUILT ENVIRONMENT, 1880–1980 Evidence from the Photoarchives of Austin, Texas

Velocity of change is introduced as a measure of the dynamism of the built environment relevant to the relationship of cultural process and built form. Whereas previous studies have addressed, implicitly, velocity of change for particular urban processes, this paper attempts to develop methods for evaluating broad sections of the built environment based on the transcription and comparison of photographs available from archival and contemporary collections, a relatively neglected source of detailed information. Much can be learned from the analysis of the photographic imagery of cities. It permits measurement of change across areas of the cityscape larger than those occupied by individual buildings or defined by ground plans and cadastral units. Indices sensitive to alterations of the built environment are developed and applied to photographic archives of Austin, Texas. The results of preliminary calibrations are reported and the potential and limitation of these techniques are discussed.
Evaluation of SPOT HRV simulation data for Corps of Engineers applications

Abstract During the summer of 1983 three Corps of Engineers project sites were overflown as part of the SPOT (Systeme Probatoire d'Observation de la Terre) High Resolution Visible (HRV) simulation campaign. The three sites were Chesapeake Bay, Maryland, Berlin Lake, Ohio, and Lac qui Parle, Minnesota. Multispectral imagery data at a 20-m resolution for three spectral bands (0.50–0.59 μm, 0.61–0.68 μm, 0.79–0.89 μm) were obtained for each of the sites. The data were analyzed for use in dredging, recreation resource management, water quality, and wildlife habitat applications.
Urine protein biomarkers for the diagnosis and prognosis of necrotizing enterocolitis in infants.

Objectives To test the hypothesis that an exploratory proteomics analysis of urine proteins with subsequent development of validated urine biomarker panels would produce molecular classifiers for both the diagnosis and prognosis of infants with necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). Study design Urine samples were collected from 119 premature infants (85 NEC, 17 sepsis, 17 control) at the time of initial clinical concern for disease. The urine from 59 infants was used for candidate biomarker discovery by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry. The remaining 60 samples were subject to enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for quantitative biomarker validation. Results A panel of 7 biomarkers (alpha-2-macroglobulin-like protein 1, cluster of differentiation protein 14, cystatin 3, fibrinogen alpha chain, pigment epithelium-derived factor, retinol binding protein 4, and vasolin) was identified by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry and subsequently validated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. These proteins were consistently found to be either up- or down-regulated depending on the presence, absence, or severity of disease. Biomarker panel validation resulted in a receiver-operator characteristic area under the curve of 98.2% for NEC vs sepsis and an area under the curve of 98.4% for medical NEC vs surgical NEC. Conclusions We identified 7 urine proteins capable of providing highly accurate diagnostic and prognostic information for infants with suspected NEC. This work represents a novel approach to improving the efficiency with which we diagnose early NEC and identify those at risk for developing severe, or surgical, disease.
Perceived Authoritarianism in Self and Others by Male College Students and Police Officers

This study tested 62 police officers and 62 college males on their own authoritarianism and their estimates of the authoritarian beliefs of the other group. College students perceived police officers as much more authoritarian than the officers represented themselves as being (p < .0001). Officers were accurate in their estimations of students' authoritarianism, and there was no difference between officers and students in their characterizations of their own authoritarianism. The differences between these findings and those in much of the literature (especially that from the early 1970s) may be due to differences in police experience: Many of the officers in this sample had some college and thus direct experience with students. It may also be that officers are now being specifically chosen on the basis of less authoritarian attitudes. The results imply that rather than focusing on changing the attitudes of officers, police departments desiring better public relations might do well to concentrate on correcting public opinion.
FREQUENCY DEPENDENCE OF THE MAGNITUDE OF THERMAL STRESSES IN A FLAT PLATE SUBJECTED TO RAPID THERMAL CYCLING BY CONVECTIVE HEATING AND COOLING

Abstract A study was conducted of the effect of the thermal stresses in a plate subjected to thermal cycling by changes in ambient temperature involving convective heat transfer, at frequencies sufficiently high that thermal equilibrium (;i.e., temperature uniformity) is not achieved within each cycle. The results obtained indicate that at any specific value of the Biot number the magnitude of maximum thermal stress within any cycle decreases with increasing frequency. Furthermore, at any given frequency the magnitude of the peak stress exhibits its maximum value during the first cycle and decreases to a constant value from cycle to cycle with increasing number of cycles
Sodium Bicarbonate is Associated with an Increased Incidence of Contrast Nephropathy: A Retrospective Cohort Study of 7977 Patients at Mayo Clinic

Background and objectives: The role of sodium bicarbonate in preventing contrast nephropathy needs to be evaluated in clinical settings. Design, setting, participants, & measurements: We performed a retrospective cohort study at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, to assess the risk of contrast nephropathy associated with the use of sodium bicarbonate, N-acetylcysteine, and the combination of sodium bicarbonate with N-acetylcysteine from April 2004 to May 2005. Contrast nephropathy was defined as postexposure creatinine elevation of ≥25% or >0.5 mg/dl within 7 d of contrast exposure. Results: A total of 11,516 contrast exposures in 7977 patients had creatinine values available for review before and after contrast exposure. More than 90% of exposures to agents prophylactic for contrast nephropathy were available for analysis. Sodium bicarbonate was used in 268 cases, N-acetylcysteine was used in 616 cases, and both agents were used in combination in 221 cases of contrast exposure. After adjustment for total volume of hydration, medications, age, gender, prior creatinine, contrast iodine load, prior exposure to contrast material, type of imaging study, heart failure, hypertension, renal failure, multiple myeloma, and diabetes mellitus, use of sodium bicarbonate alone was associated with an increased risk of contrast nephropathy compared with no treatment (odds ratio 3.10, 95% confidence interval 2.28 to 4.18; P < 0.001). N-acetylcysteine alone and in combination with sodium bicarbonate was not associated with any significant difference in the incidence of contrast nephropathy. Conclusions: The use of intravenous sodium bicarbonate was associated with increased incidence of contrast nephropathy. Use of sodium bicarbonate to prevent contrast nephropathy should be evaluated further rather than adopted into clinical practice.