cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Hypoxia-driven immunosuppression: A new reason to use thermal therapy in the treatment of cancer?

Hypoxia within the tumour microenvironment is correlated with poor treatment outcome after radiation and chemotherapy, and with decreased overall survival in cancer patients. Several molecular mechanisms by which hypoxia supports tumour growth and interferes with effective radiation and chemotherapies are now well established. However, several new lines of investigation are pointing to yet another ominous outcome of hypoxia in the tumour microenvironment: suppression of anti-tumour immune effector cells and enhancement of tumour escape from immune surveillance. This review summarises this important information, and highlights mechanistic data by which hypoxia incapacitates several different types of immune effector cells, enhances the activity of immunosuppressive cells and provides new avenues which help 'blind' immune cells to detect the presence of tumour cells. Finally, we discuss data which indicates that mild thermal therapy, through its physiologically regulated ability to alter vascular perfusion and oxygen tensions within the tumour microenvironment, as well as its ability to enhance the function of some of the same immune effector activities that are inhibited by hypoxia, could be used to rapidly and safely release the tight grip of hypoxia in the tumour microenvironment thereby reducing barriers to more effective immune-based therapies.
SU-E-T-665: Investigation of Uniform Planning Margin for Intensity Modulated Proton Therapy of Pediatric Brain Tumors

Purpose: Determine if a uniform planning target volume (PTV) margin can be used for intensity modulated proton therapy (IMPT) of centrally located pediatric brain tumors and determine the most appropriate value. Methods: Treatment planning data from three pediatric patients with centrally located brain tumors were used in this study. For each patient, two IMPT plan types, a 3 field multi‐field‐optimized (MFO) and a 3 field single‐field‐optimized (SFO), and a 5 field IMRT plan were created for 7 uniform PTV margins that ranged from 0 to 10mm. The IMPT plans did not use robust optimization. For all plan types, the target coverage was held constant (98% of CTV received 54Gy and 95% of PTV received >53Gy) and normal tissue doses were minimized. Four error types, each with numerous variations, were simulated and their effect were recorded. The four error types were: systematic plan position error, systematic field position error, systematic range error, and random position error. Results: Regarding normal tissues, there was no notable difference between MFO and SFO, both were substantially better than IMRT, e.g. mean cochlea dose was 14Gy for IMRT with 3mm margin and 5Gy for the IMPT plans. In general, smaller margins gave better normal tissue sparring. For both IMPT plan types and IMRT, PTV margins less than 3mm lead to target coverage deficits under the various errors. For position errors, the IMPT and IMRT plans gave similar results as a function of margin size. For density and systematic field errors, the SFO plans maintained target coverage better than MFO. Conclusions: A uniform PTV margin is not suitable for MFO planning. However, a uniform PTV margin of 3mm is appropriate for SFO planning when considering the above uncertainties (excluding large errors). At 3mm, which is also required for IMRT, the SFO plans had superior normal tissue sparing. Varian Medical Systems
Flexible truck modeling and investigation of coupling between rigid and flexible dynamics

Inclusion or omission of flexible frame effects in truck models is often based on intuition or assumption. Flexibility is typically incorporated via a computationally costly finite element model, or a linear lumped-parameter or modal expansion model that assumes small motions. In the latter case, the number of modes to retain is rarely determined systematically.A pitch-plane bond graph model is presented which includes longitudinal dynamics and transverse frame vibration. Large rigid body motions are allowed, onto which small flexible vibrations are superimposed. Motive forces can be defined to propel the truck forward over varying terrain, including hills. Frame flexibility is incorporated using modal expansion of a free-free beam.The model is then subjected to a power-based proper modeling method and response surface analysis to determine the number of required flexible modes, and the range of validity of a rigid model. Frame flexibility could not be neglected for outputs such as payload acceleration that were directly related to transverse frame vibration. Retaining the first bending mode but eliminating higher modes gave acceptable errors regardless of road roughness or load. Retaining the first and second bending modes gave negligible error for all combinations of parameters in the study.
Impairment and disability: Their relation during stroke rehabilitation

Abstract Objectives: To describe the association between impairment and disability during stroke rehabilitation and to examine the effects of rehabilitation by studying the degree of disability reduction experienced by stroke patients who did not have significant reductions in impairment levels. Design: Statistical analysis of items from a database of prospectively collected information on stroke patients admitted for rehabilitation. Setting: Large urban academic freestanding rehabilitation facility. Participants: Four hundred two patients consecutively admitted for comprehensive acute stroke inpatient rehabilitation. Main Outcome Measures: The National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) was used to measure impairment and the Functional Independence Measure (FIM SM ) was used to measure disability. Motor and cognitive subscales of the FIM SM instrument were evaluated. Raw NIHSS and FIM SM scores were converted to linear measures using Rasch analysis. Methods: Relationships were studied between converted NIHSS and the two FIM SM subscales for admission, discharge, and change scores using linear regression analysis. In a second analysis, two groups of patients were identified; the 342 patients who experienced no substantial reduction of impairment comprised the "no impairment reduction (NIR) group," and the 60 patients who had a significant reduction of impairment level comprised the "impairment reduction (IR) group." Multivariate analysis of variance was used to determine and compare the amount of change in motor and cognitive FJM SM measures over time for each of the two groups. Results: NIHSS correlated significantly with motor and cognitive FIM SM subscores for admission, discharge, and change measures; R 2 values ranged between .02 and .36. Both the NIR group and the JR group experienced significant decreases in disability during rehabilitation. The differences in discharge FIM SM measures between the two groups were relatively small. Conclusions: Although stroke-related impairment and disability are significantly correlated with each other, reduced impairment level alone does not fully explain the reduced disability that occurs during rehabilitation. Even patients without substantial impairment reduction demonstrate disability reduction during rehabilitation, suggesting that rehabilitation has an independent role in improving function beyond that explained by neurologic recovery alone.
Predatory and non-predatory borings in echinoids from the upper Ocala Formation (Eocene), North-Central Florida, U.S.A

Abstract Predation is one of the more likely types of biotic interactions to be preserved in the fossil record, because a physical record of the event is usually left behind in the form of borings, bite traces, shell repair, or rejuvenated anatomy. The other types of interactions, such as symbiosis (commensalism, parasitism, mutualism), are less obvious unless some physical record of the association is preserved. In spite of their enormous paleoecological potential, we still know very little about symbiotic and predator-prey relationships for most groups of fossil marine organisms, especially echinoids. Sixty-five speciments belonging to five species of irregular echinoids from the Ocala Limestone (Upper Eocene, north-central Florida) were examined for evidence of boring activity. Eight types of borings were delineated based on morphological characteristics and the distribution of the types on the echinoid tests mapped. These data suggest that five types of boring activity are present, which include symbiosis and predation. Three categories of predator-prey relationship are present: (1) a species-specific (non-random) gastropod-echinoid association that may have resulted from coevolution, (2) opportunistic predation by gastropods on echinoids encountered by change and (3) gastropod attacks in which the intended victim was not the echinoid, but rather, another organism encrusting the echinoid test. Not all of the gastropod borings represent predation. One species of echinoid contains clusters of borings that resemble those made by Recent symbiotic gastropods suggesting that a coevolved symbiotic relationship between echinoids and gastropods may have been established as early as the Eocene. Finally, probable annelid borings are also present and if the host were alive at the time of infestation, may represent a symbiotic relationship also, but one that was facultative. Alternatively, the annelid borings may represent the simple use of the empty echinoid test as a suitable substrate for the annelid to bore into, in which case, no biotic interaction exists between the two organisms.
Synergistic down-regulation of signal transduction and cytotoxicity by tiazofurin and quercetin in human ovarian carcinoma cells.

Abstract Ovarian carcinoma is one of the most common causes of cancer death in women. Tiazofurin, a C-nucleoside, arrests the cell cycle at S phase and reduces the activities of PI (phosphatidylinositol) utilizing enzymes in signal transduction by depleting cellular GTP concentration. Quercetin (QN), a flavonoid, attacks the cell cycle at the G 1 and S phase boundary and mainly inhibits PI kinase (1-phosphatidylinositol 4-kinase, EC 2.7.1.67) activity in the signal transduction pathway. Because tiazofurin and QN attack different biochemical targets and arrest different phases of the cell cycle, we tested the hypothesis that the two drugs might be synergistic against human carcinoma cells. In human ovarian carcinoma OVCAR-5 cells in growth inhibition assay, the IC 50 s (drug concentration that inhibits 50% of cell proliferation) for tiazofurin and QN were (mean ± SE) 13 ± 1.2 and 66 ± 3.0 μM; in clonogenic assays they were 6 ± 0.5 and 15 ± 1.2 μM, respectively. When tiazofurin was added to cells followed 12 h later by QN, synergism was observed in both growth inhibition and clonogenic assays. The combination also yielded synergistic reduction of IP 3 (inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate) concentration in the cells which may explain, at least in part, the synergistic action of tiazofurin and QN in OVCAR-5 cells. The protocols yielding synergism may have implications in the clinical treatment of human ovarian carcinoma.
Use of local climatic data to determine if weather precludes the operation of an air medical system

Abstract Introduction: Weather is one of many factors that affect safety in an air medical program. Syracuse, New York, has notoriously bad weather, and some have questioned whether an air medical service is practical given central New York's climate. This study was undertaken to determine the extent to which the area's climate could be expected to limit the availability of an air medical service. Methods: CAMTS weather minimums for rotor-wing programs were compared with 1996–1997 hourly weather observations from the Northeastern Regional Climate Center (NRCC) and sunrise/sunset data from the United States Naval Observatory to determine how frequently weather conditions could be expected to preclude an air medical response in the greater Syracuse area. Results: Exactly 17,544 hourly observations were made. CAMTS weather minimums would have precluded local flights for 606 (3.5%) of these hours and cross-country flights for 1111 (6.3%) hours. Cross-country flights were more likely to be precluded than local flights ( P = .001), and both local and cross-country flights were more likely to be precluded at nighttime than in the daytime ( P = .001). All flights were more likely to be precluded during winter months than during summer months ( P = .000). Conclusion: The weather in central New York generally does not preclude the operation of an air medical services system.
A new sequence-specific endonuclease from Streptococcus faecalis subsp. zymogenes.

Abstract A new sequence-specific endonuclease, SfaI, has been partially purified from Streptococcus faecalis subsp. zymogenes. SfaI recognizes the tetranucleotide sequence and cleaves it at the sites indicated by the arrows.
Revolutions, Samurai, and Reductons: The Parodoxes of Change and Continuity in Iran and Japan

This paper assesses policies for managing cultural diversity in Iran and Japan, with particular focus on the treatment of women as a cultural minority. Following social reducton theory, the distinction between rates of cultural change at macro- and microlevels is highlighted. It is argued that macro political and economic changes have taken place fairly rapidly, but micro changes in everyday social practices have changed much more slowly. The latter, it is argued, are structured by social reducton systems, which can act to slow down societal change. This insight is used to cast light on the situation of women and other minorities in North America. Language: en
The evolution of the mating system of the Carpenter bee Xylocopa varipuncta(Hymenoptera: Anthophoridae)

The Carpenter bee, Xylocopa varipuncta, appears to have evolved a dispersed lek mating system. Males leave the natal nest in the late afternoon in March and April to hover for periods of up to two hours in the crowns of non-flowering trees growing in desert washes. Females and other males occasionally visit a hovering male, probably drawn by a sex pheromone. Resident males repel intruders of the same sex and attempt to induce females to alight on foliage, where mating occurs. The hovering territories do not contain nests, or potential nest sites, or food resources for females. Lek territoriality may have evolved in this species because nests are difficult to locate and the food-plants are evenly dispersed over a large area, making economical defence of patches of this resource unfeasible. Males are left with the option of demonstrating social dominance to potential mates through control of a superior landmark territory.
Study of the impact of riveting sequence, rivet pitch, and gap between sheets on the quality of riveted lap joints using finite element method

Sheet metal parts are widely used in the assembly of aircraft. The most common method of joining sheet metal parts is through riveting. There are many parameters associated with a riveting process that affect the quality of rivets and the integrity of the final assembled product. This paper presents a study on the effect of some controllable process parameters in riveting (i.e., the sequence of riveting, distance between rivets (pitch), and gap between sheets) on the quality of riveted lap joints and the formed rivets. The study is performed on a one eight-inch nominal diameter flat head Tinner rivet and 0.064-in.-thick aluminum sheet. Finite element simulation is used as a means of modeling and analysis of the riveting process. Statistical design of experiment is employed to analyze the simulation data. A good combination of riveting process parameters is found which minimizes the residual stress in sheets and rivets, bulging and material growth in sheets, and which reduces the chances of postriveting clearance in a riveted lap joint.
Antiretrovirals reach more people in poor countries but many still lack access, UNAIDS says

Almost one million more people in poor countries with HIV/AIDS received antiretroviral drugs in 2007 than in 2006, bringing the total to almost three million. But an estimated 6.7 million in need were still unable to access life saving AIDS drugs, a United Nations report has said. Peter Piot, executive director of UNAIDS, said that the increase in antiretroviral treatment was “a step forward to universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care, and support.” The number of people receiving antiretrovirals in sub-Saharan Africa at the end of 2007 is estimated to have reached 2.1 million, 30% of the people …
HORMONAL EFFECTS ON THE NUCLEIC ACID AND PHOSPHOLIPID TURNOVER OF RAT LIVER AND THYMUS

Within the last decade pioneer work by Scandinavian investigators (Caspersson, 1940; Caspersson and Schultz, 1940; Euler and Hevesy, 1942; 1944; Andreasen and Ottensen, 1944; 1945; and Hevesy, 1946) has correlated the turnover of nucleic acids with the rate of growth of certain tissues. Similar findings have also been reported by Brues and his coworkers (1942; 1944), and by Marshak et al. (1941; 1945), working with isolated nuclei. The work of Claude (1943; 1944) has also shown the close connection with growth ofnucleic acids and phospholipids in several relatively separate components of cytoplasm. It is well known that hyperthyroid animals possess significantly heavier livers than do normal ones, that the administration of adrenal steroids and of pituitary adrenocorticotropic hormone causes a marked decrease in thymus weight, and that hypophysectomized animals do not gain weight whereas the same animals gain more than normal growing animals if treated with growth hormone.
Contractors' and Agency Decisions and Policy Implications in A+B Bidding

The focus of this study is on the A+B transportation procurement mechanism, which uses the proposed cost (A component) and the proposed time (B component) to score contractors’ bids. Empirical studies have shown that this mechanism shortens project durations. We use normative models to study the effect of certain discretionary parameters set by state transportation agencies on contractors’ equilibrium bidding strategies, winner selection, and actual completion times. We model the bidding environment in detail including multi-dimensional bids, contractors’ uncertainty about completion times, and reputation cost. The latter refers to a private penalty that accrues to tardy contractors from increased cost of posting bonds and reduced prospects of winning future projects. Our model explains why contractors may skew line-item bids and why winners frequently finish earlier than bid. It has several policy implications as well. For example, we recommend that agencies set the daily incentive, disincentive, and road user cost to be equal and not cap incentives. This is a departure from current practice, where incentives are often capped and weaker than penalties. Furthermore, we show that agencies may be justified in setting daily road user cost strictly smaller than the true cost of traffic disruption during construction.
Energy Depletion Inhibits Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinase/Akt Signaling and Induces Apoptosis via AMP-activated Protein Kinase-dependent Phosphorylation of IRS-1 at Ser-794

Energy depletion activates AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and inhibits cell growth via TSC2-dependent suppression of mTORC1 signaling. Long term energy depletion also induces apoptosis by mechanisms that are not well understood to date. Here we show that AMPK, activated by energy depletion, inhibited cell survival by binding to and phosphorylating IRS-1 at Ser-794. Phosphorylation of IRS-1 at this site inhibited phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/Akt signaling, suppressed the mitochondrial membrane potential, and promoted apoptosis. Of the treatments promoting energy depletion, glucose deprivation, hypoxia, and inhibition of ATP synthesis in the mitochondria stimulated phosphorylation of IRS-1 at Ser-794 via an LKB1/AMPK-dependent manner, whereas oxidative stress and 2-deoxyglucose stimulated phosphorylation at this site via a Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase kinase β/AMPK axis. These data define a novel pathway that cooperates with other adaptive mechanisms to formulate the cellular response to energy depletion.
Regeneration dynamics of Tsuga canadensis in the southern Appalachian Mountains, USA

Tsuga canadensis is often considered a foundation species because of its influence on the biological and ecological processes of upland forest systems. With hemlock woolly adelgid (Adelges tsugae; HWA)-induced mortality of T. canadensis in southern Appalachian upland forests, there is a crucial need to understand the regeneration dynamics of this tree species. This research was conducted within mature T. canadensis forests of Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP) prior to widespread HWA infestation. Tsuga canadensis regeneration abundance is lower than has been reported in more northern locales, but varies widely among sites in the southern Appalachian Mountains. Ordination results suggest landscape-scale patterns of regeneration abundance that are influenced by gradients in understory Rhododendron maximum cover, soil sand and nutrient content. Regression models reinforce the observed gradients in regeneration abundance. Sites with abundant T. canadensis regeneration have less R. maximum cover, soil sand and litter depth, but more soil nutrient availability. Tsuga canadensis seedlings and saplings tend to be spatially aggregated at the 14 × 21 m plot scale. Sites with spatially aggregated seedlings and saplings have greater canopy openness and more species with gap affinity. This research elucidates associations between successful T. canadensis regeneration and site factors such as soil nutrient availability and canopy dynamics. More forest surveys are required to understand the conditions necessary for successful T. canadensis regeneration. Land managers involved in forest restoration efforts may have to utilize appropriate silvicultural techniques conjoined with R. maximum removal operations to regenerate T. canadensis in southern Appalachian upland forests.
QSAR Estimates of Excited States and Photoinduced Acute Toxicity of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons

Abstract Direct calculation of the energy of excited states for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons using semi-empirical methods on a supercomputer were inadequate in explaning spectrosopic data or measured phototoxicity. The energy difference between frontier orbitals HOMO-LUMO gap of “average” excited state structures of the PAHs correlated with the measured excited state energies and their observed photoinduced toxicity. The multi-linear relationship between phototoxicity and hypothetical triplet state HOMO-LUMO gap is similar to that based on ground state structures. This molecular descriptor discriminated phototoxic PAHs into a narrow range of approximately 6.2+ mn;0.4 eV. Chemicals with a HOMO-LUMO gap in the triplet state greater than 7.1 eV were not phototoxic in simulated sunlight. Chemicals with gaps less than 5.8 eV are likely to be unstable in water and degrade too rapidly to enable determination of photoinduced potency to aquatic organisms. Several preliminary structure-phototoxicity relationshi...
A Narrow Escape

The old hag enters my room, wearing a threadbare overcoat and woolen cap. Shocked from sleep, I struggle to sit, but my bones are flattened lead tubes, my lips stitched and drawn tight. The leg that touches my wife’s back, numb.
Electroabsorption studies on GaAs asymmetric coupled quantum wells

Abstract We report the results of electroabsorption measurement on GaAs asymmetric coupled quantum wells done at low temperature (4 K) and at room temperature (300 K). Rapid quenching and enhancement of excitonic absorption peaks is achieved at relatively low bias electric fields of the order 10 kV/cm. This is explained in terms of level anti-crossing and the subsequent switching of intrawell (spatially direct) and interwell transitions (spatially indirect) as the lowest lying conduction energy levels of the two wells are brought to resonance.
Electronic coherence in metals: Comparing weak localization and time-dependent conductance fluctuations

Quantum corrections to the conductivity allow experimental assessment of electronic coherence in metals. We consider whether independent measurements of different corrections are quantitatively consistent, particularly in systems with spin-orbit or magnetic impurity scattering. We report weak localization and time-dependent universal conductance fluctuation data in quasi-one- and two-dimensional AuPd wires between 2 and $20\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{K}$. The data inferred from both methods are in excellent quantitative agreement, implying that precisely the same coherence length is relevant to both corrections.
Femtochemistry of Norrish type-I reactions: IV. Highly excited ketones--experimental.

Femtosecond dynamics of Norrish type-I reactions of cyclic and acyclic ketones have been investigated in real time for a series of 13 compounds using femtosecond-resolved time-of-flight mass spectrometry. A general physical description of the ultrafast processes of ketones excited into a high-lying Rydberg state is presented. It accounts not only for the results that are presented herein but also for the results of previously reported studies. For highly excited ketones, we show that the Norrish type-I reaction is nonconcerted, and that the first bond breakage occurs along the effectively repulsive S_2 surface involving the C-C bond in a manner which is similar to that of ketones in the S_1 state (E. W.-G. Diau et al. ChemPhysChem 2001, 2, 273-293). The experimental results show that the wave packet motion out of the initial Franck-Condon region and down to the S_2 state can be resolved. This femtosecond (fs) internal conversion from the highly excited Rydberg state to the S_2 state proceeds through conical intersections (Rydberg-valence) that are accessed through the C=O stretching motion. In one of these conical intersections, the internal energy is guided into an asymmetric stretching mode. This explains the previously reported pronounced nonstatistical nature of the reaction. The second bond breakage involves an excited-state acyl radical and occurs on a time scale that is up to one order of magnitude longer than the first. We discuss the details regarding the ion chemistry, which determines the appearance of the mass spectra that arise from ionization on the fs time scale. The experimental results presented here, aided by the theoretical work reported in paper III, provide a unified picture of Norrish reactions on excited states and on the ground-state potential energy surfaces.
Faith in the Family: the Practice of Religion By the Gonzaga

The internal correspondence of the Gonzaga of Mantua—about 7, 000 letters exchanged amongst three generations (1418-1484)—affords considerable evidence as to the practice of religion in an aristocratic Italian family. For most of the Gonzaga, faith was a matter of routine observances and charitable gestures. Responsibility for religious concerns was divided: Gonzaga women were expected to pray for relatives and the family as a whole; those Gonzaga men who became ecclesiastics were expected to afford the family access to Church wealth. Only in the event of a family death did the Gonzaga articulate their religious faith. This faith was orthodox, stoic, and humanistic. Concern centered not on the one who had just died, but on the survivors—and the integrity of the family unit.
Hormonally induced mammary growth and lactation in the absence of the thyroid.

It has been reported (Lyons and collaborators, 1953 and in press) that the administration of estrone, progesterone, lactogenic hormone and growth hormone to hypophysectomized-gonadectomized rats with or without adrenals induces complete lobulo-alveolar mammary growth, and that after such a regimen lactation may be initiated by continued injections of lactogenic hormone and growth hormone, with the addition of cortisone or hydrocortisone acetate. However, the role of the thyroid was undetermined in these experiments; such animals, since they have been hypophysectomized, can be considered hypothyroidal, but they cannot properly be considered athyroidal. Even when the thyroid has been removed, some residual effect of circulating thyroid hormone may still be evident for several weeks postoperatively, and furthermore, complete surgical removal of all visible thyroid tissue from the adult rat never warrants the assumption that no thyroid tissue remains. In recent years radio-iodine, which has been used to test ...
Characterization of a Human Homologue of Proteolysis-Inducing Factor and Its Role in Cancer Cachexia

Cachexia is an important cause of secondary morbidity and mortality in patients with cancer. Previous studies have suggested that cancer-associated cachexia may be due in part to tumor-specific production and secretion of a glycosylated peptide, proteolysis-inducing factor, originally identified in a murine cancer cachexia model. We report here the cloning of a human cDNA that generates a peptide having high-sequence homology to this proteolysis-inducing factor. Constitutive expression of human proteolysis-inducing factor is low or absent in most normal human tissues but appears to be elevated in some human tumors. Stable forced expression of human proteolysis-inducing factor in multiple murine and human cell lines results in a secreted protein, but no glycosylation of the protein is detected. In addition, tumor xenografts engineered to overexpress human proteolysis-inducing factor protein do not induce cachexia in vivo. These findings raise important questions as to potential cross-species differences in protein sequence and processing of murine proteolysis-inducing factor and human proteolysis-inducing factor, as well as the nature of the relationship between human proteolysis-inducing factor and the development of cancer cachexia.
Disposable screen-printed electrodes for monitoring hydrazines

Disposable amperometric sensors for hydrazines have been fabricated by a judicious tailoring of the surface of screen-printed electrodes. Strong electrocatalytic action towards the oxidation of hydrazines is achieved by incorporating cobalt phthalocyanine within the carbon inks or by covering the printed surface with a mixed valent ruthenium cyanide coating. The electrocatalytic behavior, sensor optimization and analytical performance are reported. The new sensor strips should facilitate on-site environmental and industrial monitoring of hydrazine compounds.
Exploring A New Family Form – The Shared Time Family

This is a report of a study in the state of Wisconsin of a random sample of 590 divorced mothers and fathers who shared the physical care of their children and 590 who had traditional mother custody. It examines three areas: (1) the social characteristics of the families in the survey - their education, occupations, income and family composition; (2) the living conditions of the families: residential stability and adequacy, the formation of a new family, the work hours and childcare arrangements they had, and the health of parents and children; and (3) family relationships including fathers’ contact with their child and parental relationships and disagreements. The report concludes that parents who share the care of their child post-divorce do not differ greatly from those who have traditional mother custody. The report cautions that it should not be taken as an endorsement of, or a recommendation for, a statutory presumption of shared custody on divorce. The influence of the law in changing gender roles is limited.
The effects of dinoflagellate bioluminescence on the swimming behavior of a marine copepod1

The horizontal swimming patterns of groups of Acartia hudsonica were tracked and described using a video-computer system. The patterns were compared in the presence of clones of bioluminescent and nonbioluminescent Protogonyaulax tamarensis. Bioluminescent dinoflagellates increased the number of high-speed swimming bursts by the copepods and thus decreased the amount of slow-speed swimming characteristic of their grazing behavior. With bioluminescent dinoflagellates, swimming paths were less circuitous and swimming speeds higher. This behavior may tend to move copepods away from bioluminescent dinoflagellates in nature. Both changes in swimming behavior should result in reduced grazing by the copepods on bioluminescent dinoflagellates.
A Mitochondrial Power Play in Lymphoma

Deregulated energetics is a hallmark of malignancy, but metabolic heterogeneity among individual tumors is unknown. A study by Caro et al. in this issue of Cancer Cell demonstrates that a subset of lymphomas is defined by reliance on mitochondrial energy generation and is selectively killed when this pathway is impaired.
Non-consensus DNA sequences function in a cell-type-specific enhancer of the mouse class II MHC gene Aα

Class II MHC proteins play central roles in controlling immune cell repertoire and responses. These roles depend on precise regulation of the level and cell-type specificity of class II gene expression. Instances of both coordinate and non-coordinate regulation of the multiple class II genes have been described. A 1.3 kb region of the class II MHC gene A alpha has previously been shown to activate transcription in a cell-type specific fashion that correlated with the expression of A alpha. The mouse A alpha gene differs from other class II MHC genes in that its conserved X region also contains the CRE/ATF DNA motif TGACGTCA. Substitution mutations were introduced into the 1.3 kb region such that the CRE/ATF (X2) motif was altered, but not the adjacent X1 or Y box motifs. Controls confirmed that these mutations eliminated the binding of nuclear proteins to the CRE/ATF motif and reduced transcriptional activity as much as mutation of the Y box. In addition, a new positive transcription element was identified far upstream from the conserved X-Y region, centered on position -970. The sequence of this region does not resemble previously described transcription elements or other MHC class II 5' flanking sequences. The activity of this element was absolutely dependent on the presence of the X-Y region. These data are most consistent with a model in which functionally important sequences unique to a single class II MHC gene can be intimately interposed between conserved MHC transcription elements, and non-consensus elements upstream from the conserved region contribute to control of A alpha.
Stress Concentration of a Microvoid Embedded in an Adhesive Layer during Stress Transfer

AbstractThis paper presents an elastic solution for one microvoid embedded in an adhesive layer close to a stiff bonding surface, which can be approximated as a semiinfinite domain with a fixed boundary. A Green’s function for a force in a semiinfinite solid with a fixed boundary condition is used to derive the stress field. By using the equivalent inclusion method, the microvoid has been replaced by the adhesive, but an eigenstrain is introduced to simulate the material mismatch. Through the stress equivalent condition, the eigenstrain is solved, and the stress concentration caused by the microvoid is evaluated considering the stress transfer caused by shear and tensile forces. A uniform normal stress and uniform shear stress are applied in the far field. The formulation is verified with finite-element simulation and can be extended to the case of multiple microvoids.
Effects of exercise and nutritional intake on sleep architecture in adolescents.

Few studies have evaluated the relationship between sleep architecture and body mass index (BMI), nutrition, and physical activity in children. This study determined the relationship between sleep architecture and diet and exercise. Three hundred nineteen Caucasian and Hispanic children aged 10 to 17 years participated in the follow-up assessment of the Tucson Children’s Assessment of Sleep Apnea study. The children and parents completed several questionnaires on dietary habits, amount of physical activity, and sleep habits. Subjects also underwent a home polysomnogram to characterize their sleep. Significant bivariate correlations were noted between stage II sleep percentage and the following: BMI (r = 0.246, p < 0.01), estimated total recreational energy expenditure (r = 0.205, p < 0.01), vigorous activity (r = 0.130, p = 0.009), and total estimated activity (r = 0.148, p = 0.009). In girls, significant correlations were noted between stage II percentage sleep and BMI score (r = 0.279, p < 0.01). Also in girls, significant negative correlation was noted between rapid eye movement (REM) sleep percentage and total fat intake (r = −0.168, p = 0.039). In boys, significant correlations were again seen between stage II percentage sleep and the following: BMI score (r = 0.218, p = 0.005), estimated total recreational energy expenditure (r = 0.265, p = 0.001), vigorous activity (r = 0.209, p = 0.008), and total estimated activity (r = 0.206, p = 0.010). When controlling for BMI percentile and age, significant bivariate correlation was also noted between REM sleep percentage and total fat intake (r = 0.176, p = 0.034) in boys. BMI and exercise were associated with increases in stage II sleep. In girls, total fat intake was associated with a reduction in REM sleep, while in boys (after controlling for BMI percentile and age), total fat intake correlated with REM sleep.
Is excess compensation associated with the amount and content of compensation-related risk disclosures in bank proxy statements?

We examine whether banks that paid higher levels of excess compensation prior to the financial crisis made more compensation-related risk disclosures in their proxy statements and made greater changes to their compensation practices following the financial crisis. If banks with higher excess compensation in 2006 perceive that excess compensation may be positively associated with risk-taking, then we expect, and find, that they made more risk disclosures associated with their compensation plans in the 2010 proxy statement and were more likely to take actions to reduce their plans’ potential to motivate greater risk-taking. Our results are consistent with the assertion that higher excess compensation banks were more likely to find that their compensation practices had motivated higher risk taking and consequently, made greater compensation related risk disclosures and made changes to their compensation practices to reduce the potential to motivate excessive risk taking.
Kinesio taping and the circulation and endurance ratio of the gastrocnemius muscle.

Context: Kinesio Tex tape is a therapeutic tape that is applied with the Kinesio-taping (KT) method and is theorized to increase circulation and subsequently improve muscle function. However, little research has been conducted to determine how KT affects performance. Objective: To determine the effect of KT on muscular endurance ratio, blood flow, circumference, and volume of the gastrocnemius muscle. Design: Randomized controlled clinical trial. Setting: Research laboratory. Patients or Other Participants: Sixty-one healthy, active people (23 men, 38 women; age ¼ 19.99 6 8.01 years, height ¼ 169.42 6 23.62 cm, mass ¼ 71.53 6 36.77 kg) volunteered to participate. They were assigned randomly to 1 of 3 groups: treatment KT, sham KT, and control. Intervention(s): Tape was applied based on group assignment. The treatment KT group received the ankle-tape technique as described in the KT manual. The sham KT group received 1 strip of Kinesio Tex tape around the circumference of the proximal gastrocnemius muscle. The control group did not receive tape application. Main Outcome Measure(s): The dependent variables were blood flow in blood perfusion units, volume of water displacement in milliliters, circumference of the gastrocnemius muscle in centimeters, and endurance ratio in joules measured before, 24 hours after, and 72 hours after the intervention. Separate repeated-measures analyses of variance were conducted for each dependent variable. Results: We found no group-by-test day interaction for endurance ratios (F4,116 ¼ 1.99, P ¼ .10). Blood flow, circumference, and volume measurements also yielded no differences among groups (F2,58 range, 0.02–0.51; P . .05) or test days (F2,116 range, 0.05–2.33; P . .05). Conclusions: We found KT does not enhance anaerobic muscle function measured by endurance ratio. The KT also did not affect circulation or volume of the gastrocnemius muscle in a healthy population.
Children's conceptions of brother and sister: Piaget replication study V.

(1962). Children's Conceptions of Brother and Sister: Piaget Replication Study V. The Journal of Genetic Psychology: Vol. 100, No. 1, pp. 129-136.
Edison and the Pure Science Ideal in 19th-Century America

Between 1878 and 1882, key members of the American scientific community played an important role in Thomas A. Edison's work on electric lighting. Impressed by his abilities, these scientists came to regard Edison as a peer and led him to see himself as a scientific man. But Edison's high standing among scientists and the American public and his professed self-image as a scientist provoked America's noted experimental physicist, Henry A. Rowland, to make a "Plea for pure science" before the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1883.
The association between Barrett's esophagus and achalasia: two case reports and a review of the literature

The association between Barrett's esophagus and achalasia: two case reports and a review of the literature
High‐latitude ionospheric convection models derived from Defense Meteorological Satellite Program ion drift observations and parameterized by the interplanetary magnetic field strength and direction

[1] A series of new high-latitude ionospheric convection models have been constructed using Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) thermal ion drift measurements. The models are obtained by sorting cross polar cap electrostatic potentials into magnetic latitude/magnetic local time bins. A regression analysis of the potentials in each bin is then implemented for establishing the relationships to the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) for three seasons: summer, winter, and equinox. A linear modeling formula for the ionospheric electrodynamics (LIMIE) yields a convection response to the average solar wind (i.e., the “quasi-viscous” interaction) and to changes in the IMF By, Bz ≤ 0, and Bz > 0 components. The modeled convection is a superposition of the first two parameters with either the IMF Bz ≤ 0 or the Bz > 0 component. A global model is created by fitting the regression analysis results to a spherical harmonic function. The resulting DMSP-based ionospheric convection model (DICM) is fully parameterized by the IMF strength and direction. With this model, ionospheric convection patterns can be generated for any IMF configuration during quiet to moderate geomagnetic conditions. We compare the DICM model with other available high-latitude convection patterns organized by the IMF. The new elements in DICM are its quasi-viscous and separate IMF-dependent terms for both the northern and southern polar regions, which are not explicitly found in other ionospheric convection studies. The DICM's seasonal dependence and interhemispheric symmetry/asymmetry features show that the summer cross-polar potentials are 10–15% smaller than the winter potentials. The latter is in agreement with the seasonal dependence of field-aligned currents and with the voltage-current relationship required for the proper magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling.
Orthodontic-endodontic treatment planning of traumatized teeth

Occasionally, an orthodontic patient will accidentally traumatize a maxillaryanterior tooth before or during orthodontic treatment. In some situations, the trauma will be substantial and avulse the tooth. In other accidents, the tooth may not avulse, but the pulp becomes nonvital. If the pulp is devitalized, and the root has not fully formed, the apex of the root canal may be wide. In this situation, the endodontist may recommend apexification procedures to help close the apex before conventional obturation of the root canal. If the patient is currently undergoing orthodontic movement of the traumatized incisor, what effect will the tooth movement have on the success of the apexification? If the tooth were avulsed, replanted, and then ankylosed, should it be extracted? If so, when should the ankylosed incisor be removed? What effect will further facial growth have on the ankylosed tooth and the potential to achieve a successful esthetic restoration? The answers to these questions are important during the interdisciplinary treatment planning of the patient with traumatized teeth. This article will elucidate the endodontic-orthodontic considerations for patients with traumatized anterior teeth.
Reconstruction of one-third plus of the auricular circumference.

Reconstruction of one-third of the auricular circumference is possible by the judicious use of staged cutaneous and chondrocutaneous flaps taken from the remaining portion of the same ear
Cannabis Cue Reactivity and Craving Among Never, Infrequent and Heavy Cannabis Users

Substance cue reactivity is theorized as having a significant role in addiction processes, promoting compulsive patterns of drug-seeking and drug-taking behavior. However, research extending this phenomenon to cannabis has been limited. To that end, the goal of the current work was to examine the relationship between cannabis cue reactivity and craving in a sample of 353 participants varying in self-reported cannabis use. Participants completed a visual oddball task whereby neutral, exercise, and cannabis cue images were presented, and a neutral auditory oddball task while event-related brain potentials (ERPs) were recorded. Consistent with past research, greater cannabis use was associated with greater reactivity to cannabis images, as reflected in the P300 component of the ERP, but not to neutral auditory oddball cues. The latter indicates the specificity of cue reactivity differences as a function of substance-related cues and not generalized cue reactivity. Additionally, cannabis cue reactivity was significantly related to self-reported cannabis craving as well as problems associated with cannabis use. Implications for cannabis use and addiction more generally are discussed.
Fracture strength, elastic modulus and Poisson's ratio of polycrystalline 3C thin-film silicon carbide found by microsample tensile testing

Abstract This paper reports the measurement of elastic modulus, fracture strength, and Poisson's ratio of thin-film 3C polycrystalline silicon carbide determined by microsample tensile tests. The tensile specimens had a gage width of 600 μm, gage length of 4 mm, and gage thicknesses of 20–40 μm. A custom-built microsample tensile testing machine was used to conduct the tests and strain was measured with a laser-based direct strain measurement system. Twenty-three tests were completed on two sets of material with two different grain textures. Results of the microsample tensile tests show an average elastic modulus of 428 GPa, Poisson's ratio of 0.24 and fracture strength of 0.49 GPa for batch 1. Batch 2, a material with a different texture, resulted in an average elastic modulus of 448 GPa, Poisson's ratio of 0.17 and fracture strength of 0.81 GPa. In addition to differences in average values, variations were also seen in the Weibull characteristics of the two differently textured materials.