cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
ENERGY ADDITION METHOD FOR THE ELECTROTHERMAL RAMJET

Abstract The electrothermal ramjet is a ramjet-in-tube device that has been proposed for accelerating masses to high speeds for applications such as direct space launch and hypersonic projectile studies. The electrothermal ramjet is similar to the ram accelerator, though one difference is that heat is to be added to the propellant electrically rather than via combustion. This article presents a method for adding heat to the propellant in the electrothermal ramjet configuration via magnetically balanced traveling arc discharges. Calculations indicate that current and magnetic field requirements for this method are within attainable ranges and that electrical heat addition should provide advantages over combustion heat release under certain conditions.
Induced optical activity following the binding of warfarin, indomethacin, 4-hydroxycoumarin and salicylic acid to human serum albumin.

Abstract Warfarin, 4-hydroxycoumarin, indomethacin and salicylic acid have previously been reported to show no induced optical activity on binding to human serum albumin (HSA). The binding of these drugs to HSA has been reinvestigated at higher protein concentrations by circular dichroism (CD) and all give induced Cotton effects, which in the case of the weaker acids, warfarin, 4-hydroxycoumarin and indomethacin, show considerable pH dependency.
Design optimization of a pneumatic-powered drilling tool thrust assembly

AbstractThe petroleum industry is dependent on developing more efficient means of drilling oil and gas wells. A prototype of a new design has been recently demonstrated which places the drilling power source (a pneumatic turbine) down-hole with the drilling bit. However, the thrust assembly shaft used to connect the power source to the bit was not optimally designed. Because of constraints placed on the geometry of the thrust assembly, severe stress raisers exist and these cannot be predicted by traditional analytical means. The conflicting requirements for increasing air flow through the internal passages in the thrust shaft while maintaining the torque-carrying capacity were studied to develop the guidelines for optimizing the thrust assembly.
Chondrogenic differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cell aggregates via controlled release of TGF‐β1 from incorporated polymer microspheres

Aggregate culture is a useful method for inducing chondrogenic differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSC) in a three-dimensional in vitro culture environment. Conventional aggregate culture, however, typically requires repeated growth factor supplementation during media changes, which is both expensive and time-intensive. In addition, homogenous cell differentiation is limited by the diffusion of chondrogenic growth factor from the culture medium into the aggregate and peripheral cell consumption of the growth factor. We have engineered a technology to incorporate growth factor-loaded polymer microspheres within hMSC aggregates themselves. Here, we report on the system's capacity to induce chondrogenesis via sustained delivery of transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1). Cartilage formation after 3 weeks in the absence of externally supplied growth factor approached that of aggregates cultured by conventional methods. Chondrogenesis in the central region of the aggregates is enabled at TGF-β1 levels much lower than those required by conventional culture using exogenously supplied TGF-β1, which is likely a result of the system's ability to overcome limitations of growth factor diffusion from cell culture media surrounding the exterior of the aggregates. Importantly, the inclusion of growth factor-releasing polymer microspheres in hMSC aggregates could enable in vivo chondrogenesis for cartilage tissue engineering applications without extensive in vitro culture. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res, 2010
THE FATALISTIC IMAGINATION AND THE CONTINUED SALIENCE OF RELIGION IN THE MODERN WORLD: A TEST OF RESOURCE COMPENSATION/RESOURCE AMPLIFICATION HYPOTHESES USING CROSSNATIONAL DATA

The resource compensation hypothesis predicts that religiosity will serve as a cognitive buffer against structural constraints whereby more religious individuals will exhibit lower levels of fatalism than their less religious counterparts. The resource amplification perspective, on the other hand, predicts that religiosity will foster a sense that otherworldly forces control life's outcomes, leading to higher levels of fatalism. Using a precise measure of fatalism from the two most recent waves of the World Values Survey, a comparative examination of three Latin American countries, South Africa, and the United States is carried out. With Mexico as the sole exception, findings from ordered logistic regression models suggest that higher levels of religiosity are associated with lower levels of fatalism, supporting the resource compensation hypothesis. Implications for longstanding debates over the salience of modern religion are considered. An important and underappreciated cognitive function provided by th...
Influence of substrate composition on human embryonic stem cell differentiation and extracellular matrix production in embryoid bodies

Stem cells reside in specialized niches in vivo. Specific factors, including the extracellular matrix (ECM), in these niches are directly responsible for maintaining the stem cell population. During development, components of the stem cell microenvironment also control differentiation with precise spatial and temporal organization. The stem cell microenvironment is dynamically regulated by the cellular component, including stem cells themselves. Thus, a mechanism exists whereby stem cells modify the ECM, which in turn affects the fate of the stem cell. In this study, we investigated whether the type of ECM initially adsorbed to the culture substrate can influence the composition of the ECM deposited by human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) differentiating in embryoid bodies, and whether different ECM composition and deposition profiles elicit distinct differentiation fates. We have shown that the initial ECM environment hESCs are exposed to affects the fate decisions of those cells and that this initial ECM environment is constantly modified during the differentiation process.
Transabdominal follicular aspiration for oocyte retrieval in patients with ovaries inaccessible by transvaginal ultrasound

Objective To investigate the efficacy of ultrasound-guided transabdominal follicular aspiration when the ovaries are not accessible transvaginally. Design Retrospective case-control study. Setting University-hospital based in vitro fertilization (IVF) clinic. Patient(s) 69 women undergoing transabdominal follicular aspiration for oocyte retrieval, including 12 cases of mixed abdominal/vaginal aspiration, compared with controls matched by age, follicle number, and year of procedure undergoing standard transvaginal aspiration. Intervention(s) Transabdominal follicular aspiration when one or more ovaries could not be retrieved via standard transvaginal aspiration. Main Outcome Measure(s) Total and mature oocytes retrieved, damaged oocytes, fertilization rate, embryo number and quality, and clinical and ongoing pregnancy rates. Result(s) Cases of transabdominal aspiration had slightly fewer oocytes retrieved, but no statistically significant differences were found for damaged oocytes, fertilization rates, embryo number and quality, or pregnancy rates. In 12 years, one complication requiring hospitalization was noted. Conclusion(s) This study demonstrates that transabdominal ultrasound-guided follicular aspiration is safe and efficacious, yielding clinical results in women with significant ovarian displacement, comparable with results achieved by transvaginal aspiration in women with normally positioned ovaries. Transabdominal ultrasound-guided aspiration should be the modality of choice when the ovaries are not accessible transvaginally.
Stimulation of guinea pig macrophage pinocytosis by lipopolysaccharides (LPS): Evidence that LPS acts directly on the macrophage☆

Abstract Bacterial lipopolysaccharide can enhance the pinocytosis of horseradish peroxidase in guinea pig macrophages. This increased uptake can be seen as early as 6 hr after incubation in a spinner suspension culture. An equivalent amount of enhanced pinocytosis can be seen if plated, washed peritoneal exudate macrophages are used. Plated guinea pigs PECs, washed five times, were examined for the presence of B cells, and none were found. Thus, LPS appears to stimulate the macrophage directly and does not require a lymphocyte intermediary. The active stimulatory moiety appears to be lipid A, which can be blocked by preincubation of LPS with polymyxin B.
Effect of tocopherol on carotene conversion.

SummaryIncreased amounts of tocopherol in tissues of rats did not affect the formation of vit. A from injected carotene, as determined by growth and tissue vit. A studies.
Studies of Cortisol Metabolism in a Case of the Hypertensive Form of Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia: Demonstration of the Absence of 11β-Dehydroxylation1

Cortisol-4-C14 was administered on 2 occasions to a child with the hypertensive form of CAH, once before and once during ACTH administration. Five 11-deoxy C21-OH steroids (S, DHS, THS, DOC, THDOC) were isolated from the urines excreted following the cortisol-4-C14 administrations and were shown to be devoid of radioactivity. This finding demonstrated the absence of 11β-dehydroxylation in the patient and showed that the large amounts of 11-deoxy C21-OH steroids excreted did not result from metabolic transformation of cortisol or its metabolites. Cortisol secretion rates determined by the in vivo isotope dilution method were 2.0 and 1.8 mg/day before and during exogenous ACTH stimulation, respectively. These figures were interpreted as indicating maximal endogenous ACTH stimulation of the patient's adrenal glands under control conditions.
Malaria control through anti-mosquito measures in Italy

Abstract The Malaria Experiment Station at Rome (Stazione Sperimentale per la Lotta Antimalarica) has during the last four years carried on experiments in malaria control in certain Italian communities using (1) anti-larval measures alone, (2) anti-larval measures combined with intensive quininization, and (3) intensive quininization alone. In every case, the anti-larval measures were less expensive than the treatment of the malaria previously carried on in the community, and in four years produced an almost complete disappearance of endemic malaria which was not accelerated by the concomitant treatment of chronic carriers. Intensive quininization alone has not in two years produced any diminution in the parasite or spleen indices, although it has reduced the size of the largest spleens and has somewhat diminished the amount of malignant tertian and quartan fevers. Medical assistance to the malarious sick and the prevention of transmission through anti-mosquito measures are both necessary, and should be carried on simultaneously; but they have different aims, and one is not a substitute for the other. The intensity of malaria in a locality bears a definite relationship to the density of anophelines in human habitations, and responds rapidly to changes in the latter ; but the measure of contact between anophelines and man is a factor which varies widely in different regions with the same species, and with different species in the same region. The use of larvicides should not take the place of permanent measures to abolish anopheline breeding whenever these are possible, but larvicides (especially Paris green) should be used to hold malaria in check until definite measures can be applied ; and, where this is impracticable, communities may successfully and economically employ larvicides in an annual campaign against anopheline larvae for an indefinite period of time.
The Escherichia coli polB locus is identical to dinA, the structural gene for DNA polymerase II. Characterization of Pol II purified from a polB mutant.

Abstract Escherichia coli DNA polymerase II (Pol II) is a member of the group B, “α-like” family of DNA polymerases. Pol II is encoded by the damage-inducible dinA gene and exhibits SOS induction under the control of Lex A repressor. The polB gene was originally designated as the structural gene for Pol II based on the absence of detectable Pol II activity in cell lysates prepared from a strain containing the mutant polB100 allele. Because polB and dinA mapped at different chromosomal locations, it remained an open question whether polB, in addition to lexA, might be involved in regulating the expression of Pol II. We have cloned and sequenced the polB100 mutant allele, including adjacent surrounding sequences, and have expressed the mutant dinA gene from Pol B100 on a high copy number plasmid. Our sequence data reveal that polB and dinA represent the same gene and that the original transduction mapping of polB was inaccurate. We purified the mutant Pol B100 polymerase and show that it retains 5 to 10% of the wild-type level of polymerase activity. The Pol B100 mutation, Gly401 → Asp401, is not located within any of the five conserved domains that define group B polymerases. Pol B100 retains a wild-type level of 3′ → 5′ exonuclease activity. We suggest that the normal level of exonucleolytic proofreading associated with the mutant Pol B100 enzyme may explain the repeated failures, over the past two decades, to detect phenotypes in polB mutant strains.
Five confidence intervals of the closed population size in the capture-recapture problem under inverse sampling with replacement

In the capture-recapture problem for two independent samples, the traditional estimator, calculated as the product of the two sample sizes divided by the number of sampled subjects appearing commonly in both samples, is well known to be a biased estimator of the population size and have no finite variance under direct or binomial sampling. To alleviate these theoretical limitations, the inverse sampling, in which we continue sampling subjects in the second sample until we obtain a desired number of marked subjects who appeared in the first sample, has been proposed elsewhere. In this paper, we consider five interval estimators of the population size, including the most commonly-used interval estimator using Wald's statistic, the interval estimator using the logarithmic transformation, the interval estimator derived from a quadratic equation developed here, the interval estimator using the χ2-approximation, and the interval estimator based on the exact negative binomial distribution. To evaluate and compare the finite sample performance of these estimators, we employ Monte Carlo simulation to calculate the coverage probability and the standardized average length of the resulting confidence intervals in a variety of situations. To study the location of these interval estimators, we calculate the non-coverage probability in the two tails of the confidence intervals. Finally, we briefly discuss the optimal sample size determination for a given precision to minimize the expected total cost. (© 2004 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
The impact of comorbidities on hormone use. After the 2000 release of the Women's Health Initiative.

OBJECTIVE: Determine the impact of fracture, coronary disease, and diabetes on changes in rates of discontinuation and initiation of estrogen therapy with (EPT) and without (ET) progestin, before (September 1, 1999 to June 30, 2002, baseline) versus 5 months after (follow-up) release of the Women’s Health Initiative EPT trial results (WHI). DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Observational cohort; 169,586 women 40 to 80 years old from 5 U.S. HMOs. METHODS: We used pharmacy data to identify ET and EPT users. A woman was a user any month she filled ≥ 1 estrogen prescription and in subsequent months based upon the number of pills/patches dispensed. We used inpatient and outpatient claims to identify fracture January 1, 1999 to June 30, 2002 and pharmacy data to identify disease-based groups of medications for diabetes and cardiovascular disease. MEASURES: EPT/ET prevalence, initiation, and discontinuation rates. RESULTS: Baseline to follow-up EPT and ET prevalence declined 45% and 22%, respectively, with no difference by comorbidity. Follow-up EPT initiation was half the baseline rate irrespective of comorbidity. Compared to baseline, follow-up EPT discontinuation rates increased among women with diabetes (relative risk [RR], 6.9; 95% confidence interval [CI], 5.6 to 8.4), cardiovascular disease (RR, 5.5; 95% CI, 4.9 to 6.2), fracture (RR, 3.8; 95% CI, 2.4 to 5.7), and no comorbidity (RR, 4.4; 95% CI, 3.9 to 4.9). The RRs for follow-up versus baseline EPT discontinuation were higher among women with diabetes (P<.01) and cardiovascular disease (P<.01) versus women without these comorbidities. ET discontinuation rates among these same groups were elevated 2- to 2.8-fold. CONCLUSIONS: Diabetes and cardiovascular disease were associated with higher EPT discontinuation rates post-WHI compared to women without comorbidity; comorbidity had little impact on changes in prevalence or initiation of ET/EPT after release of the WHI.
X- and Y-cells in the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus of the owl monkey (Aotus trivirgatus)

The owl monkey, as do other mammals, has X- and Y-cells in its lateral geniculate nucleus. X-cells are found in the parvocellular laminae; Y-cells, in the magnocellular laminae.
Personalizing Learning Processes in Agricultural Economics

The past two decades have witnessed a resurging emphasis on the study of self as a concern of American education, a concern that had almost disappeared in the wake of the behavioristic tide generated by Watson and his followers in the 1920s. Today, numerous theorists and practitioners contend that selfconcept theory and self-concept activities are vital ingredients in the educative process. Maslow, Rogers, Combs, and Purkey, among others, have related well the dynamics of self to motivation and behavior. Combs (1962, 1965) suggested that teacher preparation be based on a perceptual, self-concept approach, and at the University of Florida in 1969 he spearheaded an experimental program emphasizing the development of sensitivity, empathy, and capacity for effective interaction in teacher trainees. The scarcity of such efforts, however, led Purkey to observe that "little has been done to equip teachers . . . with simple clinical techniques and instruments which would enable them to be more sensitive to their students" (pp. 57-58). What little has been done consists almost exclusively of preservice preparatory programs for teachers at the elementary and secondary levels. A distinct departure, perhaps the first of its kind in preservice and in-service preparatory programs for teachers at the junior and senior college level, was the "Humanistic Approach to Learning" model and program, introduced and implemented at the University of Florida in 1971 and continuing from Texas Tech University under the title "Personalizing the Learning Climate." Since 1971, more than 2,100 preservice and in-service college teachers and administrators have participated in the seminars and workshops of the program. The participants have been introduced to current self-concept theories, have experienced clinical tecnhniques, and have responded to instruments designed to increase their sensitivity and awareness of themselves, putting them in a better position to help build positive and realistic selfconcepts in their students. The instruments administered to these participants are, for the most part, forced-rankorder instruments dealing with attitudes toward personal values and with key questions related to their roles as college teachers. An analysis of the rank-order a teacher assigns the various structured responses offered in a list of terms or statements provides insight into specific attitudes and values of the teacher; the instruments are similarly revealing when directed at and administered to students. The
Cricothyroidotomy vs. sternal tracheotomy for challenging airway anatomy

Although tracheotomies are the standard procedure for elective surgical airways, some patients present with challenging anatomy. In circumstances of abnormal skeletal deformities, such as kyphoscoliosis, the airway is also often tortuous and access to the trachea may be difficult. In the situation of severely distorted tracheal anatomy, where access to the trachea may require a mediansternotomy, a cricothyroidotomy may be the safer option. This article details the technique involved in approaching a substernal larynx and stomatizing a cricothyroidotomy for a patient who required a long-term surgical airway secondary to severe kyphoscoliosis from Proteus syndrome and failure to extubate.
Policy refinement of network services for MANETs

In this paper, we describe a framework for a refinement scheme located in a centralized policy server that consists of three components: a knowledge database, a refinement rule set, and a policy repository. The refinement process includes two successive steps: policy transformation and policy composition. Our refinement scheme takes policies written in our logic-based abstract policy language as input and generates low level rules directly implementable by individual enforcement points. We provide concrete policy examples in a coalition scenario that forms a mobile ad hoc network (MANET). We demonstrate policy composition using a distributed firewall scheme named ROFL (ROuting as the Firewall Layer) and access control list as enforcement mechanisms.
An HMO Chief Executive Officer On Medicaid Managed Care

Managed care can offer real value to Medicaid patients. However, states that rush into managed care without first working out the details can end up with real problems.
International Labor Problems

THIS group of publications covers a wide range of subjects: two of them deal with French labor problems, one with the international organizations of labor, another with the role of American trade unions in these international organizations. The voluminous study edited by Kornhauser, Dubin, and Ross is a symposium consisting of some fortyodd contributions by almost as many authors dealing with strikes and -to a considerably lesser extent-other forms of industrial conflict, primarily in the United States. Four of the essays, however, and a number of references in some of the others are devoted to foreign societies. The two works by Lewis Lorwin and John Windmuller supplement each other in some respects, at least for the period covered in the Windmuller study, I940 to I953. Lorwin's book, however, has a far wider time span and wider horizons. After a few brief introductory chapters dealing with the origins of the international labor movement, it covers in some detail the years from i9i8 to i929, and then with great care the developments between I930 and roughly I953. While the history of the movement up to I929 was the subject of Lewis Lorwin's wellknown and excellent previous book, Labor and Internationalism (New York, I929), this volume represents new research into the events of more than two decades. As a source of information, The International Labor Movement is unique and invaluable. Nowhere else, except by going back to original source material, can the American student obtain the wealth of in-
Optimal dynamic tomography for wide-sense stationary spatial random fields

Dynamic tomography is concerned with the image formation of a temporally changing object from its line integral projections. The problem remains challenging because of its high dimensionality. In this paper, we identify a sufficient class of dynamic tomography problems that can be solved by a state estimator that requires only linear shift-invariant filtering operations. This class includes rigid-body motion, common in biomedical imaging scenarios. The new state estimator is far less computationally demanding than classic methods such as the Kalman filter. Whereas the Kalman filter requires O(N2) memory storage and O(N3) processing for anN-dimensional problem, the state estimator derived in this work requires only O(N) storage and O(N logN) processing.
Generation of NBr() by the reaction of N3 radicals with Br atoms: a flow reactor source for quenching rate constant measurements

Abstract The reaction between azide radicals (N3) and Br atoms is shown to produce electronically excited NBr( a 1 Δ ) molecules in a room temperature flow reactor. This chemical system provides adequate concentration of NBr( a 1 Δ ) so that this molecule can be systematically studied. The yield of NBr( b 1 Σ + ) is minor. The quenching reactions of NBr(a) with HCl, HBr, HI, NH3, Br2, CF2Br2, and O2 were examined; the rate constants are (22±5)×10−14, (280±30)×10−14, (2300±200)×10−14, (35±3)×10−14, (2600±300)×10−14, (37±6)×10−14, and (230±30)×10−14 cm3 molecule−1 s−1, respectively.
Estimates of surface roughness derived from synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data

Radar remote sensing data provide a unique perspective on the Earth's crust and the processes that have influenced its evolution. Physically based models are required, however, to relate the geophysical quantities being measured by the radar sensor to useful geologic information. Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data over the Cima volcanic field in the Mojave Desert of California are quantitatively connected with microtopography through inversion of a radar backscatter model. Changes in surface roughness inferred from the derived microtopography are modeled and found to be consistent with aeolian mantling as surfaces age. Estimated rates of aeolian deposition for the Cima area are compared to the Lunar Crater volcanic field in Nevada. Rates of deposition appear to be higher at Cima volcanic field, most likely because of its proximity to Soda Lake, the main source of the aeolian material. >
INTERPRETING RUPTURE IN ORAL MEMORY: THE REGIONAL CONTEXT FOR CHANGES IN WESTERN SERENGETI AGE ORGANIZATION (1850–1895)

The A. argues that the apparent discrepancies between oral tradition and other kinds of historical evidence in the western Serengeti, Tanzania, result from a rupture in time and space. As people were incorporated into a metaethnic region to the east dominated by the Maasai in the last half of the nineteenth century, they created new ways of calculating time and organizing space based on new kinds of age-sets. Within this larger context of widespread disasters the small, unconsolidated western Serengeti ethnic groups that are known as Nata, Ikoma, Ishenyi and Ngoreme formed their identities. New generational and gender contests of power came into play as western Serengeti peoples responded creatively to the pressures of the late nineteenth century by mobilizing their own internal cultural resources.
Low Skilled Immigration and Work-Fertility Tradeoffs Among High Skilled US Natives.

Fertility and labor force participation are simultaneous outcomes of a single time-allocation decision. Empirical work by economists has largely focused on identifying a causal effect of childbearing on employment using a variety of mechanisms to provide variation in fertility that is exogenous to other determinants of family and work decisions. However, a parallel demographic literature is devoted to understanding the extent and determinants of the tradeoff (or “role incompatibility”) that women face in their allocation of time between working and parenting (Karin L. Brewster and Ronald R. Rindfuss 2000). The most often used measure of role incompatibility is the correlation between fertility and female labor force participation (FLFP). Cross-country research focuses on the substantial differences in family policies, child care availability, unemployment rates, stability of labor contracts, and gender norms that may result in international differences in the correlation between childbearing and work (Brewster and Rindfuss 2000; Alicia Adsera 2004). Although numerous studies continue to document a negative individual-level relationship between childbearing and FLFP, the within country correlation between the two has weakened substantially in the past 50 years, especially in the United States (Henriette Engelhardt, Tomas Kogel, and Alexia Prskawetz 2004). We argue that a partial explanation for this phenomenon is the steady stream of low skilled immigration, which increased the affordability of child rearing for high skilled US natives. We start by writing a statistical model that allows the fertility-FLFP correlation, a macro concept, to be interpreted in terms of individual fertility and work decisions. We then examine variation across US metropolitan areas over time to assess the degree to which low skilled, mostly Hispanic immigrant inflows attenuated the negative correlation between childbearing and FLFP among college educated non-Hispanic natives. This differentiation by skill and ethnicity allows us to draw on a commonly used instrumental variables approach to isolate a causal channel of influence of immigrants on the outcomes of natives via the cost of local household services. Finally, we describe how our estimates of the effect of low skilled immigration on the correlation coefficient can be used to calculate concrete impacts on joint childbearing and labor force participation outcomes.
Social Capital and Local Economic Development: Implications for Community Social Work Practice

Summary Although the concept of social capital has direct relevance to community practice, it is not widely known in social work. This paper defines the concept, traces the development of social capital theory, and examines ways in which community social workers can promote local economic development by enhancing social capital. It contends that community social workers can make a major contribution to local economic development by implementing projects that mobilize social capital and promote the material well-being of local people.
Kinetic Characterization and Molecular Docking of a Novel, Potent, and Selective Slow-Binding Inhibitor of Human Cathepsin L

A novel small molecule thiocarbazate (PubChem SID 26681509), a potent inhibitor of human cathepsin L (EC 3.4.22.15) with an IC(50) of 56 nM, was developed after a 57,821-compound screen of the National Institutes of Health Molecular Libraries Small Molecule Repository. After a 4-h preincubation with cathepsin L, this compound became even more potent, demonstrating an IC(50) of 1.0 nM. The thiocarbazate was determined to be a slow-binding and slowly reversible competitive inhibitor. Through a transient kinetic analysis for single-step reversibility, inhibition rate constants were k(on) = 24,000 M(-1)s(-1) and k(off) = 2.2 x 10(-5) s(-1) (K(i) = 0.89 nM). Molecular docking studies were undertaken using the experimentally derived X-ray crystal structure of papain/CLIK-148 (1cvz. pdb). These studies revealed critical hydrogen bonding patterns of the thiocarbazate with key active site residues in papain. The thiocarbazate displayed 7- to 151-fold greater selectivity toward cathepsin L than papain and cathepsins B, K, V, and S with no activity against cathepsin G. The inhibitor demonstrated a lack of toxicity in human aortic endothelial cells and zebrafish. In addition, the thiocarbazate inhibited in vitro propagation of malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum with an IC(50) of 15.4 microM and inhibited Leishmania major with an IC(50) of 12.5 microM.
Assessing the Basis for a Culture of Peace in Contemporary Societies

The culture of peace promoted by the United Nations may provide a set of global norms that are needed for a peaceful world. However, the bases for the culture that is advocated rest on a liberal conception rather than empirical data. Does empirical evidence support the coherence of these bases, or are there flaws in how the culture of peace is conceived? In an attempt to answer this question, objective indicators were selected to represent each of the presumed bases for a culture of peace. These indicators were correlated with one another, and a factor analysis examined the extent to which the data cohered and could be accounted for by a single ‘peacefulness’ factor. The results suggest that four different peace factors need to be distinguished. These are correlated with different indices of peace and may be used to assess the relative peacefulness of different nation-states. The data, together with a consideration of the literature on peaceful cultures, suggest that a global culture of peace may require ...
Post-Disaster Social Justice Group Work and Group Supervision

This article discusses post-disaster group counseling and group supervision using a social justice orientation for working with post-disaster survivors from underserved populations. The Disaster Cross-Cultural Counseling model is a culturally responsive group counseling model that infuses social justice into post-disaster group counseling and group supervision. The importance and the methodology for incorporating ongoing intensive group supervision to support group counseling social justice interventions and related countertransference issues that emerge in traumatic situations will be presented.
Endorsperm Development of Maize Defective Kernel (dek) Mutants. Auxin and Cytokinin Levels

Abstract To provide insight into the regulatory roles of auxin and cytokinin in endosperm development, defective kernel ( dek ) mutants of maize ( Zea mays L.) were examined. The mutants dek 6, dek 18 and dek 26 had substantially lower indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) levels than wild-type counterparts while dek 8, dek 12 dek 24 had higher IAA levels than wild-type counterparts. The mutant dek 6 had a somewhat lower zeatin level than its wild-type counterpart. The mutation-induced changes in IAA levels and effects of exogenously-applied auxin were not consistently related to changes in numbers of nuclei per endorsperm; however, there was a correspondence between auxin level in endosperm and nuclear diameter, which is proportional to the extent of post-mitotic DNA synthesis (endoreduplication). We conclude that auxin may be involved in stimulating endoreduplication.
An EHR-Based Multi-Site Recruiting System for Clinical Trials

Optimizing screening and evaluation process is essential in maximizing recruiting potential participants into clinical trials. We developed a clinical recruiting system used in the management of human research studies whereby recruiting for various protocols are conducted at multiple sites by different groups with process interdependencies. The system is developed based on a multi-tier architecture with a series of real-time and on-demand decision support systems to increase the efficiency of screening and evaluation of participants during a recruiting process. It simulates various conditions by using derivation rules and recruiting templates for automatic generation of checklists in order to recommend the optimum selection rules based on existing participants' data and is seamlessly integrated into our large human research information system, a comprehensive electronic health record (EHR) system for research participants.
Ammoniun Chloride Acidosis

The administration of 6 to 8 Gm. of enteric coated ammonium chloride daily for 7 to 45 days to 6 patients resulted in severe, and in 2 instances nearly fatal, acidosis. Five of the 6 patients had congestive heart failure and one, subacute glomerulonephritis; each of the 5 patients with congestive failure had organic renal disease. The clinical manifestations, differentiation from the low salt syrndrome and the therapy are discussed.
Cancers in Children Infected With the Human Immunodeficiency Virus

The AIDS epidemic continues unabated in Africa, Asia, and South America, and since patients survive longer, the number of chronically immunocompromised individuals is increasing in Europe and the United States. The number of children with HIV infection who will ultimately develop a malignancy is not known. Currently, tumors represent about 2% of the AIDS-defining events in children in the United States, but the incidence might be different in developing countries. The most common tumors in HIV-infected children are non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, smooth muscle tumors (leiomyosarcomas), and Kaposi’s sarcoma (only in Africa). This article provides an overview of epidemiology and clinical and pathological presentations, as well as preliminary data regarding treatment options in children with HIVassociated malignancies. The Oncologist 1999;4:309-317
Nanostructure changes in lung surfactant monolayers induced by interactions between palmitoyloleoylphosphatidylglycerol and surfactant protein B

Developing synthetic lung surfactants to replace animal extracts requires a fundamental understanding of the roles of the various lipids and proteins in native lung surfactant. We used Brewster angle microscopy (BAM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and Langmuir isotherms to study the influence of palmitoyloleoylphosphatidylglycerol (POPG) in monolayers of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine and palmitic acid mixtures with or without dSP-B1-25, a peptide dimer based on the first 25 amino acids of surfactant protein B (SP-B). At surface pressures between 30 and 40 mN/m, only monolayers containing POPG and dSP-B1-25 showed plateaus in the isotherm similar to those in Survanta, a bovine extract replacement lung surfactant that contains native SP-B and SP-C proteins. BAM images show distinct morphological changes in the fluid phase during these plateaus, while AFM images of deposited monolayers show that multilayer structures, which we named “nanosilos”, form in the fluid phase at the plateau. These nanosilos are from 50 to 300 nm in diameter and from 5 to 8 nm in height and are similar to those observed in deposited Survanta monolayers. We propose that POPG and SP-B interact to stabilize the monolayer composition by trapping POPG in three-dimensional surface-associated aggregates at high surface pressures, preventing the irreversible loss of POPG and SP-B to the subphase.
Linear Programming Applied to Cost Minimizing Farm Management Strategies

This paper illustrates use of minimum cost linear programming techniques with reference to a Great Plains wheat farm. It compares the optimum organization of enterprises developed by minimum cost and profit maximizing strategies of management on the same farm and discusses interrelationships between results of these two models. In general, the minimum cost technique may be used to provide the research worker with knowledge of a wider range of possible outcomes than profit maximizing models used alone and hence may be more useful in a predictive sense than profit maximizing techniques. Application of the minimum cost technique to other problems to which it is especially well suited is also discussed.
Find the butterfly: a social media based arterial incidents detection and causality analysis system

Traditional statistical analysis on speed, volume, and occupancy has dominated the field of Arterial Incident Management Study (AIMS). However, few previous works have focused on investigating into the causality of the incidents. In this paper, we present ButterFly, a social media based arterial incident detection and analysis system. The proposed system is dedicated to identify the traffic incident from a novel perspective and discover causalities between traffic incidents. The main functionalities of the proposed system include: 1) Traffic incident detection based on userinput social media contents, 2) Transportation incidents storyline generation, and 3) Traffic incidents causalities analysis and visualization. We demonstrate the system by considering the Washington DC area as our experimental environment. ButterFly is targeted to provide effective and convenient real-time and historical traffic incidents analysis interfaces for transportation management agencies and academies. Our proposed system, integrated with multiple social media resources, can greatly broaden the visions for traffic incidents analysis.
On Blocks of N Consecutive Integers

(1969). On Blocks of N Consecutive Integers. The American Mathematical Monthly: Vol. 76, No. 1, pp. 48-49.
Don't tread on my specialty hospital.

In previous articles, I described how general service hospitals (GSHs) have worked to thwart the rise of specialty hospitals to preserve the former’s market control. I received some comments that are emblematic of the arguments made by GSHs in response to specialty hospitals. Many of these arguments have been around for some time and have been addressed, in part, in a report by then secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Michael Leavitt. Using the secretary’s findings, when available, and my thoughts as well, I respond to these arguments. Specialty hospitals, frequently physician owned, focus on a specific medical field—often lucrative fields such as orthopedics, cardiology, surgery, and women’s care. GSHs, in contrast, are full-service entities and are generally “nonprofit” institutions. GSHs claim to make their most profit from cardiac, orthopedic, and general surgical services. GSHs often argue that competitive arguments should not be used to justify specialty hospitals because the health care market is highly regulated—and therefore not competitive—and consumers are often ill informed. Market competition, however, does exist and should be considered in the health care field. Hospitals routinely put out television and print advertisements promoting quality, services, and physicians. This is a direct appeal to consumers—using competitive market forces for business. Moreover, consumers often access beneficial and informative data on hospital quality; insurance companies often post comparative hospital data on their Web sites; Medicare provides comparative data among medical facilities; and legislation has promoted betterinformed health care consumers. And all of this is good if it’s done properly. GSHs also argue that physician owners of specialty hospitals excessively refer patients to their own institutions relative to their peers at GSHs. The secretary of the HHS administration disagrees with the assertion that:
Early Adolescents' Responses Upon Witnessing Peer Victimization: A Cross-Culture Comparison Between Students in Taiwan and the United States

examine cross-cultural differences in behavior upon witnessing peer victimization and the reasons behind the behavior, this study evaluated the responses of early adolescents from both the United States and Taiwan. Two questions were addressed: (1) Do adolescents in Taiwan and in the United States differ in their willingness to help peer victims, and/or in the endorsement of specific help and non-help behaviors when assessed with a vignette? And (2) do adolescents in Taiwan respond and reason about their responses in the same way as do U.S. early adolescents when they witness real-life victimization? Four-hundred seventy U.S. 6th graders attending three public middle schools within the Midwest United States and 731 Taiwanese 7th graders from one middle school in southern Taiwan completed a survey that contained both open-ended questions asking about real-life reports of witnessing peer victimization and a vignette assessing responses to a hypothetical victimization event. Similarities and differences were found in witness responses from adolescents in the two cultural groups. Taiwanese adolescents were more likely to offer comfort to the victim and U.S. adolescents more likely to tell the bully to stop. Cultural values of interdependence versus independence were reflected in the reasons behind witness responses. Suggestions regarding how anti-victimization intervention and prevention programs should be tailored when they are introduced across the two cultural contexts are discussed.
Abelson Kinase Acts as a Robust, Multifunctional Scaffold in Regulating Embryonic Morphogenesis

Abelson family kinases (Abls) are key regulators of cell behavior and the cytoskeleton during development and in leukemia. Abl's SH3, SH2, and tyrosine kinase domains are joined via a linker to an F-actin-binding domain (FABD). Research on Abl's roles in cell culture led to several hypotheses for its mechanism of action: 1) Abl phosphorylates other proteins, modulating their activity, 2) Abl directly regulates the cytoskeleton via its cytoskeletal interaction domains, and/or 3) Abl is a scaffold for a signaling complex. The importance of these roles during normal development remains untested. We tested these mechanistic hypotheses during Drosophila morphogenesis using a series of mutants to examine Abl's many cell biological roles. Strikingly, Abl lacking the FABD fully rescued morphogenesis, cell shape change, actin regulation, and viability, whereas kinase-dead Abl, although reduced in function, retained substantial rescuing ability in some but not all Abl functions. We also tested the function of four conserved motifs in the linker region, revealing a key role for a conserved PXXP motif known to bind Crk and Abi. We propose that Abl acts as a robust multidomain scaffold with different protein motifs and activities contributing differentially to diverse cellular behaviors.
Diagrams & Illustrative Graphics

Often the most complex and illustration-driven types of information graphics, diagrammatical graphics combine substantial amounts of textual information with detailed illustrations to dissect the important parts of objects or chronicle a chain of events. Diagrams require strong textual and visual reference materials, and graphics reporters may spend a good deal of time away from their desks conducting research for these types of storytelling devices. And, because they are generally illustration-driven, diagrams often require a bit more artistic ability on the part of the graphics reporter than other types of graphics. All in all, diagrams provide journalists with an opportunity to take the audience where cameras or reporters can't. They allow us to show how something happened, the process by which something occurs or the inner workings of both animate and inanimate objects.
Knowing and Being Known by One's Partner

We are, all of us, molded and remolded by those who have loved us, and though that love may pass, we remain none the less their work – a work that very likely they do not recognize, and which is never exactly what they intended. Francois Mauriac, The Desert of Love Perhaps there is no act more endearing than a partner's attempt to diligently, over time, get to know you and use that knowledge toward the enhancement of the relationship. This activity of questing to know another makes that other feel special, treasured, and cared about. Unfortunately, many of us may live out our lives having few if any experiences with others who made us feel this way. The most transcending thesis of this book is that minding offers just such experiences. Thus, at the heart of the minding process is the quest to know one's partner. At the outset of dating or casual relating, people seek this knowledge about one another for the purpose of determining how close they want to become to new acquaintances, or to gauge whether there is a possibility that they might eventually have the basis for a commitment. When a relationship involves minding, both partners continue to share this quest beyond the initial information gathering; they pursue it vigorously past the point of commitment and throughout the entire span of the relationship. In this chapter, we discuss why this knowing activity is a key part of minding and how it is carried out.
Microenvironmental Determinants of Stem Cell Fate

Within the developing embryo, undifferentiated cells make fate decisions en route to their assumption of an adult phenotype and biologic function. In simple model systems, such as Caenorhabditis elegans, the fate of each cell has been mapped to its final disposition, and as such, the decision tree can be investigated in detail for factors that modulate each lineage specification [70]. In more complex systems, including mammals, no such cell-specific decision tree exists. Nevertheless, much insight has been gained by studying the formation of specific organs and musculoskeletal units and their fate determinants.