cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Sex and Age Differences in Serum Potassium in the United States

An association between low serum potassium and prolongation of the electrocardiographic QT interval and cardiac arrhythmia has been known for some time (1)(2)(3). High serum potassium has also been found to be independently associated with increased cardiovascular mortality (4). However, population distributions of serum potassium have not been published recently, and as a result, physicians may not appreciate the prevalence of abnormal concentrations in the population. Knowledge of the prevalence of abnormal serum potassium concentrations is important when prescribing diuretics or drugs that are arrhythmogenic in the presence of hypo- or hyperkalemia. This report describes the distribution by age and sex of serum potassium concentrations in the US population and provides data on the prevalence of abnormal concentrations. The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) is a nationwide probability sample of the noninstitutionalized civilian population of the US. NHANES has been conducted on a periodic basis since the early 1970s. Baseline data collection usually includes a medical history, standardized medical examination, dietary assessment, laboratory tests, and anthropometric measurements. Serum potassium was measured in participants of the third survey (NHANES III), which was performed during the period 1988–1994. Frozen sera were collected and sent for analyses to the CDC. Potassium values were obtained only …
Microbial fuel cells under extreme salinity: performance and microbial analysis

Environmental context The treatment of extremely saline, high-strength wastewaters while producing electricity represents a great opportunity to mitigate environmental effects and recover resources associated with wastes from shale oil and gas production. This paper demonstrates that extreme halophilic microbes can produce electricity at salinity up to 3- to 7-fold higher than sea water. Abstract Many industries generate hypersaline wastewaters with high organic strength, which represent a major challenge for pollution control and resource recovery. This study assesses the potential for microbial fuel cells (MFCs) to treat such wastewaters and generate electricity under extreme salinity. A power density of up to 71mWm–2 (318mWm–3) with a Coulombic efficiency of 42% was obtained with 100gL–1 NaCl, and the capability of MFCs to generate electricity in the presence of up to 250gL–1 NaCl was demonstrated for the first time. Pyrosequencing analysis of the microbial community colonising the anode showed the predominance of a single genus, Halanaerobium (85.7%), which has been found in late flowback fluids and is widely distributed in shale formations and oil reservoirs. Overall, this work encourages further research to assess the feasibility of MFCs to treat hypersaline wastewaters generated by the oil and gas industry.
Microtable arrays for culture and isolation of cell colonies

Cell microarrays with culture sites composed of individually removable microstructures or micropallets have proven benefits for isolation of cells from a mixed population. The laser energy required to selectively remove these micropallets with attached cells from the array depends on the microstructure surface area in contact with the substrate. Laser energies sufficient to release micropallets greater than 100 μm resulted in loss of cell viability. A new three-dimensional culture site similar in appearance to a table was designed and fabricated using a simple process that relied on a differential sensitivity of two photoresists to UV-mediated photopolymerization. With this design, the larger culture area rests on four small supports to minimize the surface area in contact with the substrate. Microtables up to 250 × 250 μm were consistently released with single 10-μJ pulses to each of the four support structures. In contrast, microstructures with a 150 × 150-μm surface area in contact with the substrate could not be reliably released at pulse energies up to 212 μJ. Cassie-Baxter wetting is required to provide a barrier of air to localize and sequester cells to the culture sites. A second asset of the design was an increased retention of this air barrier under conditions of decreased surface tension and after prolonged culture of cells. The improved air retention was due to the hydrophobic cavity created beneath the table and above the substrate which entrapped air when an aqueous solution was added to the array. The microtables proved an efficient method for isolating colonies from the array with 100% of selected colonies competent to expand following release from the array.
Recent Developments in Understanding the Role of Aqueous Humor Outflow in Normal and Primary Open Angle Glaucoma.

Primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) is the second leading cause of blindness in the world’s rapidly aging population. POAG is characterized by progressive degeneration of neural structures in the posterior segment, often associated with a concomitant elevation of intraocular pressure (IOP). Changes in IOP are believed to be caused by a disruption in the normal outflow of aqueous humor (AH). This article reviews recent research associated with normal and POAG AH outflow. Novel findings elucidating biochemical and pathological changes in the ocular tissues affected in POAG are presented. Stem cell research, identification of lymphatic markers, and increased use of mouse models give researchers exciting new tools to understand AH outflow, changes associated with POAG, and identify underlying causes of the disease.
Maintaining friendships in early stage dementia: Factors to consider

Friendships and the importance of social connectiveness play a critical role in aging well, regardless of gender, race, social class, or impairment. Yet, dementia takes its toll on social relationships, and many friends withdraw and ‘disappear’, because they can no longer bear to see the changes that are taking place in their diagnosed friend. The dementia care literature documents this abandonment; however, this study examines the opposite occurrence. In order to understand more clearly the role of long-term friendships and how such friendships remain and continue, despite the diagnosis of dementia, this qualitative study examines in depth eight people in the early stages of dementia who have been able to maintain strong friendships despite the diagnosis. Factors that seem to play important roles are: (1) the importance of the friendships, (2) factors affecting the quality of the relationships, (3) mutually beneficial relationships, (4) core values, (5) acceptance and disclosure, and (6) recognition of s...
The Need for Heroes

In a play about Galileo, Bertold Brecht has one of his characters comment bitterly after Galileo's recantation that "unhappy is a land that breeds no heroes." The reply by Galileo is "unhappy is a land that needs heroes."
Long-term effects and interactions of dietary vitamins C and E on growth and reproduction of yellow perch, Perca flavescens

Abstract This study was conducted to examine the effects of dietary vitamin C and/or E and their interaction on growth and reproductive performance in yellow perch. Yellow perch juveniles were divided into four treatments with triplicate groups and fed with one of four semi-purified diets for 32 weeks. The experimental diets were formulated to contain no or high vitamin E levels (160 mg/ kg) without or with vitamin C supplementation (250 mg/kg) designated as diets –C –E, – C + E, + C – E, or + C + E, respectively. The growth rates and survival of yellow perch fed with + C — E and + C + E diets were significantly higher than the fish fed with — C — E diet. Total- and dehydro-ascorbate concentrations in liver and testis increased in response to its dietary supplementation. The α-tocopherol concentration in sperm was significantly affected by dietary supplementation of vitamin C. Gonadosomatic index of males was lower in the fish fed with — C — E diet compared to that of fish fed with other diets. Hatching rates of embryos obtained from testing sperm viability was significantly improved in fish fed with the diets sufficient in vitamin C (82 ± 7%) compared to the fish fed with the — C — E diet (59 ± 7). This study indicates that supplementation of dietary vitamin C and E increase growth rate, and semen quality can be improved by dietary vitamin C supplementation within one maturation cycle, and vitamin C may spare sperm vitamin E depending on vitamin E stores in tissues.
Poly(aryleneethynylene)s

Poly(aryleneethynylene)s (PAE) are easily synthesized, chemically stable, and color-responsive towards their surroundings. These superbly chromic polymers are attractive as active transducers in sensors and advanced organic electronic devices. PAEs are generally fluorescent with emission maxima ranging from 420-600 nm, and can be either water- or organo-soluble. PAEs from linear building blocks are rigid rod molecules and display a host of supramolecular arrangements in solution and in the solid state. The poly(para-phenyleneethynylene)s (PPE) are lyotropic or thermotropic smectic liquid crystalline. In the solid state, PPEs display lamellar supramolecular structures that lead to distinct stranded nanoscale morphologies. The spectroscopy and the optical properties of the PAEs and in particular of the PPEs are dominated by their conformation, which is influenced by solid-state packing, solvent, temperature and other factors. The presence of twisted and planar forms and their interconversion leads to attractive structure/property relationships; PAEs are of use as ingredients for advanced supramolecular materials.
Centromeric protein B null mice are viable with no apparent abnormalities.

Abstract The centromere protein B (CENP-B) is a centromeric DNA/binding protein. It recognizes a 17-bp sequence motif called the CENP-B box, which is found in the centromeric region of most chromosomes. It binds DNA through its amino terminus and dimerizes through its carboxy terminus. CENP-B protein has been proposed to perform a vital role in organizing chromatin structures at centromeres. However, other evidence does not agree with this view. For example, CENP-B is found at inactive centromeres on stable dicentric chromosomes, and also mitotically stable chromosomes lacking α-satellite DNA have been reported. To address the biological function of CENP-B, we generated mouse null mutants of CENP-B by homologous recombination. Mice lacking CENP-B were viable and fertile, indicating that mice without CENP-B undergo normal somatic and germline development. Thus, both mitosis and meiosis are able to proceed normally in the absence of CENP-B.
NOISE ANALYSIS IN STUDIES OF PROTEIN DYNAMICS AND MOLECULAR TRANSPORT

Understanding the role of noise at cellular and higher hierarchical levels depends on our knowledge of the physical mechanisms of its generation. Conversely, noise is a rich source of information about these mechanisms. Using channel-forming protein molecules reconstituted into artificial 5-nm-thick insulating lipid films, it is possible to investigate noise in single-molecule experiments and to relate its origins to protein function. Recent progress in this field is reviewed with an emphasis on how this experimental technique can be used to study low-frequency protein dynamics, including not only reversible ionization of sites on the channel-forming protein molecule, but also molecular mechanisms of 1/f-noise generation. Several new applications of the single-molecule noise analysis to membrane transport problem are also addressed. Among those is a study on antibiotic translocation across bacterial walls. High-resolution recording of ionic current through the single channel, formed by the general bacterial porin, OmpF, enables us to resolve single-molecule events of antibiotic translocation.
Hedgehog Signaling Promotes Medulloblastoma Survival via BclII

Activation of the Hedgehog (Hh) pathway has been identified in several cancers, including medulloblastoma, but the mechanisms by which this pathway affects tumor survival and growth are incompletely understood. We investigated whether Hedgehog might promote survival of medulloblastoma cells via up-regulation of BclII. We found that mRNA levels of the Hedgehog pathway effector Gli1 were significantly associated with BclII expression in medulloblastoma and that Gli1 and BclII are both present in regions of decreased apoptosis in nodular medulloblastoma. Transient overexpression of Gli1 and Gli2 in medulloblastoma cultures induced a BclII transcriptional reporter and increased BclII protein levels, whereas stable overexpression of Gli1 was associated with increased BclII mRNA. The Hedgehog antagonist cyclopamine blocked expression of the Hh pathway targets PTCH1 and Gli1, lowered BclII levels, and increased apoptosis in DAOY and UW228 medulloblastoma cells. Apoptotic induction caused by cyclopamine could be rescued in part by enforced expression of Gli1 or BclII. Hh pathway blockade also sensitized medulloblastoma to the effects of the proapoptotic agent lovastatin. These data demonstrate that BclII is an important mediator of Hh activity in medulloblastoma and suggest new strategies for combined chemotherapeutic regimens.
Chang transformation for decoupling of singularly perturbed linear slowly time-varying systems

Chang transformation is a decoupling technique for singularly perturbed linear systems. However, for linear slowly time-varying systems, construction of the transformation requires solutions of Differential Riccati Equation (DRE) and Differential Sylvester Equations (DSE). In this paper, through the construction of a contraction mapping for the remainders R L and R H , Theorem 1 provides iterative solutions in an interval of the singular perturbation parameter e for the DRE and DSE, which are key steps for Chang transformation construction. Based on the iterative solutions, the concepts of pth-order approximated Chang transformation, decoupled system, pth-order approximated slow and fast systems are established, thereby facilitating the analysis in subsequent investigation on estimate of the Singular Perturbation Margin (SPM) for Linear Slowly Time-Varying systems and Nonlinear Slowly Time-Varying systems.
Problems in the Health Care of Dying Old Men: Complaints by their Widows

Complaints of older widows regarding their husbands' health care are investigated in this study. Sixty-four older widows were interviewed several years after their husbands' deaths. The deaths occurred in the early 1980s. Forty-six percent reported problems in the health care their husbands had received. Widows whose husbands had not known in advance that they were going to die were more likely to complain about their husbands' medical care than widows whose husbands had known in advance. Complaints were also related to the frequency of several symptoms of grief. The widows' complaints about their husbands' care focus on quality of care, perceived insensitivity on the part of health care professionals, lack of control over the death, and the organization of services.
Co-infection with Influenza: Do Not Forget Aspergillus in the Immunosuppressed Neutropenic Host

To the editor: We read the comprehensive grand rounds review by Chertow and Memoli1 with great interest. The authors appropriately point out the frequent bacterial pulmonary co-infections following severe influenza. As immunosuppression is a well-known risk factor for complicating influenza2, we would like to point out the vulnerability of these patients not only to conventional bacterial super-infections (such as pneumonia due to Staphylococcus aureus, Pneumococcal pneumoniae, or gram negative rods), but also to opportunistic fungi, especially Aspergillus species. Although invasive pulmonary necrotizing aspergillosis has been described as a following influenza in apparently immunocompetent hosts3, single institution studies, encompassing the era before4 and during the H1N1 influenza pandemic5, mostly point out the occurrence of invasive aspergillosis in hospitalized patients with hematologic cancer. The frequency of this post-influenza complication is not well captured in the existing literature but its implications are twofold in immunocompromised patients. First, increased awareness needs to be made for prompt diagnostic work up and pre-emptive antifungal therapy targeting invasive molds in patients with complicated influenza course and suggestive radiologic findings (e.g., cavitary lesions, nodules, air-crescent sign). Second, although it has been limited in use by national health system6 and not been studied specifically, intensifying antifungal prophylaxis with the use of mold-active triazoles and increased surveillance by non-culture based diagnostic tests, such as Aspergillus galactomannan, might have an impact for post-influenza invasive aspergillosis, a disease with historically high mortality rates.
Sappho's memory

Abstract Archaic lyric provided opportunities for reflection on civic power and community values before the invention of prose and the emergence of democracy in Athens with its attendant rhetorical practices. The fragments of Sappho and Alcaeus, poets of 6th‐century Lesbos, can be read along side each other for an exploration of gender difference. Sappho's evocations of memory bespeak the situation of women excluded from public spaces of political deliberation and subject to displacement and loss. Gendered practices of memory are traced from Sappho and Alcaeus through the memory systems of classical Greek and Roman rhetoricians.
Respiratory activity of Trypanosoma lewisi during several phases of infection in the rat

Abstract Inhibition of reproduction of Trypanosoma lewisi by ablastin is accompanied by alterations in the physiology and biochemistry of the parasite. The respiration of 4-, 8-, and 12-day postinoculation cells with glucose and glutamine, as the substrates, was compared. Metabolic inhibitors indicated that reproducing trypanosomes have primarily a glycolytic pathway, shifting to dependence on the tricarboxylic acid cycle at 8-days postinoculation and possibly back to glycolysis at 12 days. The levels of inorganic phosphate and ATPases in the parasites corresponded to the changes in respiration. Postinoculation plasma affected the oxygen uptake and glucose consumption differentially of trypanosomes collected at various times after inoculation. The results may implicate factors, beside immunological ones, influencing the parasites metabolism. The data presented suggests differences in the biochemistry of 4-, 8-, and 12-day postinoculation trypanosomes. Eight-day parasites differed from 4- and 12-day parasites that may be similar in many respects to each other. These differences may be correlated with biochemical changes in the host. This approach to the study of T. lewisi , along with what is known about the immune response, may provide additional insights into the phenomenon of T. lewisi infections.
Blet: A mathematical puzzle

1. THE RULES OF BLET. Blet1 is a puzzle. One starts with an even number of coins, laid out in a circle. At first, the coins are laid out with heads and tails alternating (HTHTHT... HT). Each turn, you are allowed to take any three consecutive coins that show tails-heads-tails and flip them over, getting heads-tails-heads. This increases the total number of heads by one. You may also do the opposite, flipping a heads-tailsheads pattern to get tails-heads-tails. The object of the game is to get as many heads as possible. A secondary goal is to reach this maximum in as few moves as possible. Playing with four, six, or eight coins, it is easy to reach the maximum by being greedy, always converting THT to HTH and never converting HTH to THT. With ten coins, you can only get seven heads by being greedy, but there is a way to get eight heads. Can you find it? In this article we're going to spoil your fun by figuring out what the maximum number of heads is for any starting size, and devising a strategy for reaching that number. Before reading on, you might want to try solving the ten-coin puzzle (Blet-O0) on your own. (You may prefer using a two-color counter instead of coins. Or you can use pencil and paper. An electronic version, with twenty-eight "coins" labeled 0 or 1, is available at http://www.ma.utexas.edu/users/volochlblet.html.)
Prosody and the computer: a text processor for stylistic analysis

My purpose in this paper is to explain how a computer can be used in prosodic analysis and how the results may be used in stylistic studies. When I began this work nearly two years ago, my aim was to develop a computerized method of classifying lines of poetry with respect to rhythmical features. Since then, I have come to feel that the technique has broader applications, effective for making stylistic discriminations with any kind of language input. An interesting observation about this approach or, perhaps it would be more accurate to say, an interesting observation about language itself is that the linguistic phenomena that I use to tell me things about poetic rhythm are relevant sources of information about prose style as well.
Current issues in the management of actinic keratosis

Actinic keratoses are common sun-induced skin lesions that should be treated to prevent the development of nonmelanoma skin cancer. Although cryotherapy is commonly used to treat individual lesions, it fails to address the actinically damaged field of neighboring sun-damaged skin, which is more effectively treated by field therapies to clear both visible and subclinical lesions. Most topical treatments require prolonged use and cause an inflammatory response that limits tolerability and adherence. Education is essential to teach patients about the chronic nature of actinic keratosis, the risk of nonmelanoma skin cancer, and the importance of correct use of topical medications. The addition of nonphysician clinicians to dermatologic practices provides a valuable source of education, treatment, and follow-up care to the management of actinic keratosis.
Methods for detecting gene × gene interaction in multiplex extended pedigrees

Complex diseases are multifactorial in nature and can involve multiple loci with gene × gene and gene × environment interactions. Research on methods to uncover the interactions between those genes that confer susceptibility to disease has been extensive, but many of these methods have only been developed for sibling pairs or sibships. In this report, we assess the performance of two methods for finding gene × gene interactions that are applicable to arbitrarily sized pedigrees, one based on correlation in per-family nonparametric linkage scores and another that incorporates candidate loci genotypes as covariates into an affected relative pair linkage analysis. The power and type I error rate of both of these methods was addressed using the simulated Genetic Analysis Workshop 14 data. In general, we found detection of the interacting loci to be a difficult problem, and though we experienced some modest success there is a clear need to continue developing new methods and approaches to the problem.
An empirical framework for designing social products

Designers generally agree that understanding the context of use is important in designing products. However, technologically advanced products such as personal robots engender complex contextual characteristics that are not yet well understood. The social context of use shapes the roles that the user and the product play in the interaction. For instance, an intelligent agent that acts as a coach for an exercise program and one that supervises a physical rehabilitation regimen for the physically challenged function in different social contexts. Only a few studies to date have considered the social context of use as part of the design. My research proposes a conceptual framework for understanding the critical social aspects of interaction with products such as the social context of use. I combine interaction design and social science methodology to make an evaluation of my framework with a series of empirical studies.
Sti1 Regulation of Hsp70 and Hsp90 Is Critical for Curing of Saccharomyces cerevisiae [PSI+] Prions by Hsp104

Although propagation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae prions requires Hsp104 protein disaggregating activity, overproducing Hsp104 “cures” cells of [PSI+] prions. Earlier evidence suggests that the Hsp70 mutant Ssa1-21 impairs [PSI+] by a related mechanism. Here, we confirm this link by finding that deletion of STI1 both suppresses Ssa1-21 impairment of [PSI+] and blocks Hsp104 curing of [PSI+]. Hsp104's tetratricopeptide repeat (TPR) interaction motif was dispensable for curing; however, cells expressing Sti1 defective in Hsp70 or Hsp90 interaction cured less efficiently, and the Hsp90 inhibitor radicicol abolished curing, implying that Sti1 acts in curing through Hsp70 and Hsp90 interactions. Accordingly, strains lacking constitutive or inducible Hsp90 isoforms cured at reduced rates. We confirm an earlier finding that elevating free ubiquitin levels enhances curing, but it did not overcome inhibition of curing caused by Hsp90 defects, suggesting that Hsp90 machinery is important for the contribution of ubiquitin to curing. We also find curing associated with cell division. Our findings point to crucial roles of Hsp70, Sti1, and Hsp90 for efficient curing by overexpressed Hsp104 and provide evidence supporting the earlier suggestion that destruction of prions by protein disaggregation does not adequately explain the curing.
Regulation of microsomal enzymes by phospholipids. VI. Abnormal enzyme-lipid interactions in liver microsomes from Gunn rats.

Abstract The rates of synthesis of some glucuronides by liver microsomes from the Gunn strain of rat are abnormally low, but previous investigators of the activity of the p-nitrophenol metabolizing form of UDPglucuronyltransferase (UDPglucuronate glucuronyltransferase, EC 2.4.1.17) have reported normal levels of activity in these animals. Data presented in this paper indicate, however, that this enzyme is abnormal in Gunn rats. Thus, treatment of liver microsomes from normal Wistar rats with phospholipase A (EC 3.1.1.4) or Triton X-100 increases the activity of the p-nitrophenol metabolizing form of UDPglucuronyltransferase 10- and 20-fold, respectively, but these agents do not alter activity in microsomes from homozygous Gunn rats. Similarly, phospholipase A and Triton X-100 activate the o-aminophenol and o-aminobenzoate metabolizing forms of UDPglucuronyltransferase in microsomes from normal rats, but are without effect on the enzyme in microsomes from Gunn rats. In contrast, the rates of synthesis of o-aminophenyl- and o-aminobenzoylglucuronides are increased several fold by addition of diethylnitrosamine to microsomes from Gunn rats indicating that the maximum potential activities of UDPglucuronyltransferases are constrained in liver microsomes from both normal and Gunn rats. These data indicate that assays of UDPglucuronyltransferase in native microsomes are not sufficient for delineating the full extent of the defect in the Gunn rat, that there are defects in the function of at least two proteins in liver microsomes from these animals, and that there are abnormal interrelations between some forms of microsomal UDPglucuronyltransferase and their phospholipid environments.
Breakdown voltage of compressed SF6 at very low frequency/low frequency (VLF/LF)

SUMMARY The breakdown voltage (BDV) of compressed sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) in the pressure range of 1–5 atm at 30 kHz, the frequency used by Navy for communications with vessels, is presented. Experiments were conducted in both uniform field (plane–plane gap) and non-uniform field (rod–plane gap). The impact of pressure on the BDV is quantitatively analyzed. The pressure correction factors for calculating the BDV of SF6 at 30 kHz have been developed from knowledge of breakdown characteristics of air and from regression models. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Magic numbers in semiconductor microclusters

Abstract Close packing of soft spheres standing for atoms and forming nested tetrahedral shells is proposed for the structure of semiconductor (C, Si, and Ge) microclusters which gives a new explanation of the experimental magic numbers and is consistent with the tetrahedral nature of these elements. A new compact structure is proposed for C 60 in contrast to the hole-shell structure presently considered.
Development and Deployment of the Computer Assisted Neighborhood Visual Assessment System (CANVAS) to Measure Health-Related Neighborhood Conditions

Public health research has shown that neighborhood conditions are associated with health behaviors and outcomes. Systematic neighborhood audits have helped researchers measure neighborhood conditions that they deem theoretically relevant but not available in existing administrative data. Systematic audits, however, are expensive to conduct and rarely comparable across geographic regions. We describe the development of an online application, the Computer Assisted Neighborhood Visual Assessment System (CANVAS), that uses Google Street View to conduct virtual audits of neighborhood environments. We use this system to assess the inter-rater reliability of 187 items related to walkability and physical disorder on a national sample of 150 street segments in the United States. We find that many items are reliably measured across auditors using CANVAS and that agreement between auditors appears to be uncorrelated with neighborhood demographic characteristics. Based on our results we conclude that Google Street View and CANVAS offer opportunities to develop greater comparability across neighborhood audit studies.
Answering Auschwitz: Primo Levi's Science and Humanism after the Fall

Stanislao G. Pugliese, ed. (2011) (New York: Fordham University Press), 315 pp, ISBN 9780823233595, $28.00, soft cover Stanislao Pugliese has established himself as one of the leading scholars on P...
The potential for a homogeneous spheroid in a spheroidal coordinate system. II. At an interior point

The explicit expressions of the external potential for a homogeneous spheroid in a rectangular coordinate system have been studied previously by several researchers. The author presents the simplest forms of the potential in existing expressions, as derived from the reciprocal of the distance between two points expanded with the Legendre functions of the first and second kind in a spheroidal coordinate system. The numerical comparison of the potentials in spheroidal and rectangular coordinate systems shows exactly their identity. It is now feasible to calculate the gravitational potential for an astronomical body have spheroidal shape in its spheroidal coordinate system and to determine directly the equipotential surfaces by setting the corresponding spheroidal coordinate to a constant.
The ecological context of family ministry: the cambridge model revisited

Family ministry in the local church occurs in an ecological context characterized by a diversity of family types. A viable ministry to families must be able to address this diversity at different levels within the social system: the types of nuclear and extended families within the congregation; the type of congregation itself considered as a family; and the minister's own family type. A comprehensive family typology is needed to conceptualize this notion. The Cambridge model of closed, open, and random families, created by David Kantor and William Lehr, is summarized and then applied to an understanding of the ecology of family ministry.
Substance Use Related Stigma: What we Know and the Way Forward.

Substance Use Related Stigma: What we Know and the Way Forward Aims: To conduct a systematic review of the literature investigating the relationship between stigma experienced by individuals who use drugs. Methods: We conducted an online literature search and identified articles related to stigma among individuals who use drugs. Studies evaluating associations between stigma and socio-demographic variables and if applicable clinical and substance use variables are presented. In addition, recommendations for future research are provided. Results: We identified 26 articles describing 28 studies evaluating stigma. The majorities of studies were published in the last 11 years and conducted in the U.S. Samples were relatively diverse: 41.7% of all participants who provided data identified as racial/ethnic minorities. The vast majority of the relationships between stigma and socio-demographic characteristics were included in only one or very few studies, which limits conclusions. The relationship between stigma and psychological well-being is the only consistent finding reported in the literature. Specifically, results suggest that stigma has a detrimental effect on psychological well-being among individuals who use drugs. Conclusions: While this literature is expanding at a rapid pace, this review indicates several areas for future research and needed improvements in research methodology in this area. Specifically, lack of comprehensive description of sample characteristics, lack of construct identification and proper definition, a dearth of longitudinal studies and limited research describing relationships between stigma and substance use behavior are a few areas identified for further research. Keywords: Literature review; Stigma; Substance use
The crime-reduction effects of open-street CCTV in South Korea

This research examines the crime prevention effects of open-street closed circuit televisions (CCTVs), installed in the city of Chuncheon, South Korea on serious crimes and disorder crimes. After controlling for the length of the month, season and temporal trend, we applied a mixed linear model for repeated measurements. We also used a Weighted Displacement Quotient (WDQ) to analyze the crime-reduction effects of each open-street CCTV location. The results of a mixed linear model showed that, on average, open-street CCTV did not show a statistically significant effect on the reduction of serious crimes or disorder crimes. However, the analysis of a WDQ showed that the crime-reduction effect of open-street CCTV location depends on the characteristics of the locations. The results also showed that the effects of a diffusion of benefits were higher in serious crimes than in disorder crimes. Results are similar to findings in European and North-American contexts.
Information technology mediated education - revolution not evolution

Information technology, and in particular distance education technology, is becoming more prevalent across society and throughout higher education. But as information technology mediated education moves from trials towards educating non-trivial numbers of students, we can expect established universities to resist wholesale adoption; particularly when it threatens core perceptions of what students want and need and the culture and financial model of the institution. The resulting increasing tension creates the potential for sudden and dramatic shifts rather than gradual adoption. Applications and practices that can signal the maturation of information technology mediated education include course importation and remote laboratory experiences. For institutions, successful development of information technology mediated education may require autonomous units. For individuals, the decision revolves around whether to participate and, if so, in what manner, particularly given academic culture and the potential for institutional resistance.
Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Family-Targeted Therapies in the Treatment of HER2-Overexpressing Breast Cancer

Breast cancer characterized by overexpression of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) has been associated with more aggressive disease progression and a poorer prognosis. Although an improved understanding of breast cancer pathogenesis and the role of HER2 signaling has resulted in significant survival improvements in the past 20 years, resistance to HER2-targeted therapy remains a concern. A number of strategies to prevent or overcome resistance to HER2-targeted therapy in breast cancer are being evaluated. This article provides a comprehensive review of (a) the role of HER2 signaling in breast cancer pathogenesis, (b) potential receptor and downstream therapeutic targets in breast cancer to overcome resistance to HER2-targeted therapy, and (c) clinical trials evaluating agents targeting one or more members of the HER family and/or downstream pathways for the treatment of breast cancer, with a focus on metastatic disease.
My chains fell off, my heart was free: Early methodist conversion narrative in England

From twelve at night till two it was my turn to stand sentinel at a dangerous post … As soon as I was alone, I kneeled down, and determined not to rise, but to continue crying and wrestling with God, till He had mercy on me. How long I was in that agony I cannot tell; but as I looked up to heaven I saw the clouds open exceeding bright, and I saw Jesus hanging on the cross. At the same moment these words were applied to my heart, “thy sins are forgiven thee.” My chains fell off; my heart was free. All guilt was gone, and my soul was filled with unutterable peace. I loved God and all mankind, and the fear of death and hell was vanished away. I was filled with wonder and astonishment.
Passion & mastery in balance: toward good work in the professions

true ‘profession’ as sociologists de1⁄2ne the term, they usually consider professionalism to be a quality worth striving for. To call someone a pro implies that the person knows what to do and does it well. Professionals don’t act naively, make stupid mistakes, or get easily flustered. Professionals have staying power and can be counted on: they ‘go on with the show’ no matter how they’re feeling. It is this attitude that journalist Alistair Cooke had in mind when he said, “A professional is a person who can do his best at a time when he doesn’t particularly feel like it.” Professionalism in any 1⁄2eld–medicine, law, sports, butchery, baking, or candlestick making–implies dependable work reflecting a solid mastery of occupational knowledge, standards, and methods. Mastery of this sort matters greatly to clients. Who would go into surgery with a doctor who had not acquired professional skill? Or hire a lawyer with an ‘unprofessional’ reputation? Or, for that matter, buy from a butcher who didn’t know a pork chop from a short rib? Yet the prestige of professionalism, especially during recent times, has been tarnished by the indifferent, self-serving, and sometimes unethical work of some professionals. No doubt the high-pressure demands of today’s professional 1⁄2elds have a lot to do with this. In a world of hmos, mandated billed-hour
The attribution of attention: 9-month-olds' interpretation of gaze as goal-directed action.

The current study distinguishes between attributions of goal-directed perception (i.e. attention) and non-goal-directed perception to examine 9-month-olds’ interpretation of others’ head and eye turns. In a looking time task, 9-month-olds encoded the relationship between an actor’s head and eye turns and a target object if the head and eye turns were embedded in a sequence of multiple, variable actions with equifinal outcomes, but not otherwise. This evidence supports the claim that infants of this age may attribute perception, at least goal-directed perception, to others and undermines arguments that gaze-following at this age consists only of uninterpreted reflexes. The evidence also suggests alternative interpretations of the typical errors infants make in standard gaze-following procedures. Implications for infants’ understanding of perception and attention in both human and non-human agents are discussed.
Kinetic study of olefin polymerization with a supported metallocene catalyst. III. Ethylene homopolymerization in slurry

A kinetic study of ethylene homopolymerization is conducted with a supported unbridged metallocene catalyst in a slurry reactor. The effects of operational parameters such as the reaction temperature and pressure on kinetics are investigated. The kinetic parameters which have been determined for this particular catalyst from previous gas phase studies are used in a slurry reactor model to predict the polymerization behavior under various reaction conditions. The experimental data compare favorably with the predictions from this model. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 81: 2901–2917, 2001
Aspirin poisonings: Challenges and clinical implications for ED nurses

A48-year-old man arrived at the emergency department 3 hours after ingesting 40 aspirin tablets. Upon arrival, he was awake and alert with normal vital signs. His initial salicylate level at 5 hours after ingestion was 74 mg/dL. The patient was treated with intravenous fluids and sodium bicarbonate. Twelve hours after ingestion, he became lethargic and hypoxic. Repeat vital signs were as follows: heart rate, 128 beats per minute; respiratory rate, 34; blood pressure, 118/62 mm Hg; and temperature, 100.1°F. His arterial blood gas findings revealed a mixed metabolic acidosis-respiratory alkalosis. A repeat salicylate level was 110.3 mg/dL. A decision was made to intubate in light of his falling oxygen saturation. His acidosis rapidly worsened, and he became increasingly hypotensive. Despite supportive care, the patient died 17 hours after his aspirin overdose. This case was one of 3 aspirin fatalities reported to The Poison Control Center of Philadelphia in 2001. Aspirin is an orally administered salicylate and is hydrolyzed to salicylic acid. Other sources of salicylates include methyl salicylate (oil of wintergreen), found in muscle rubs and vaporizing creams; salicylic acid, found in keratolytic agents and topical acne preparations; and bismuth subsalicylate, the active ingredient in Pepto Bismol (Proctor & Gamble, Cincinnati, Ohio). One of the challenges presented by salicylate-poisoned patients is the identification of salicylate toxicity. Particularly with chronic salicylate poisonings, the signs and symptoms may be misdiagnosed as sepsis, pneumonia, or gastroenteritis. In addition, patients may fail to mention use of nonprescription medications such as aspirin in their medication histories. Salicylate toxicity should be considered in any patient presenting with neurologic changes, acid-base disturbances, tachypnea, and pulmonary edema. Aspirin Poisonings: Challenges and Clinical Implications for ED Nurses
Vehicle route prediction and time of arrival estimation techniques for improved transportation system management

Many intelligent transportation system services are making use of vehicle position and time information to help manage traffic congestion and in the case of public transportation, improve service reliability. Position and time data can be acquired in a variety of ways including probe vehicles, embedded road sensors, tagging electronic toll collection transponders, automatic vehicle location (AVL) systems, etc. As part of advanced public transportation systems, many transit agencies are placing AVL systems on their buses to better manage their fleet and to provide their passengers with better information on vehicle arrivals and departures. Another public transport system that can benefit from this technology is shared-use vehicle systems (i.e., car-sharing, station cars). In particular, multiple-station shared-use vehicle systems need to manage their fleet closely to avoid vehicle distribution problems at their stations. In this paper, we describe a route prediction and time-of-arrival estimation methodology that has been implemented with a real-world multiple-station car-sharing system. Each vehicle has A VL hardware, producing position and time data that can be used at the system level for estimation. This is slightly different than bus arrival estimation techniques in that the routes are not known a priori. The developed algorithm was tested against actual routes and arrival times, producing encouraging results. It was determined that the estimation procedure could be improved if the frequency of position/time data was increased.
Aluminum-Induced Crystallization of PECVD Amorphous Silicon

Aluminum-induced crystallization (AIC) of amorphous silicon (a-Si) in a conventional furnace with N2 protection has been studied at reaction temperatures ranging from 200 to 500°C by using optical microscopy, and transmission and scanning electron microscopy. The a-Si and Al layers were deposited with plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) and electron beam evaporation, respectively. The structures in the study are Al/a-Si and a-Si/Al on Si or glass wafers coated with 3000 A PECVD SiO2. It was found that Al induces crystallization of a-Si for both Al/a-Si and a-Si/Al structures by exchanging positions of Al and Si layer through diffusion of Si into Al and the grain size of crystallized Si (c-Si) increases with the decrease of AIC temperature. AIC for Al/a-Si structures starts at a temperature as low as 200°C, which is 100°C lower than that for a-Si/Al structures. Kinetics analysis found that the activation energies are 1.76 eV and 1.65 eV for both Al/a-Si and a-Si/Al structures, respectively. The quality of AIC c-Si depends on the order, thickness and thickness ratio of a-Si to Al. Microstructural observations indicated that the c-Si for Al/a-Si structures is better and more suitable for use in fabrication of thin film transistors (TFTs) than that for a-Si/Al structures.
Molecular structure of the epidermal extracellular spaces.

The skin is a protective cover that participates in the homeostatic regulation of internal fluids by preventing the passage of water, electrolytes and proteins into the external environment. The functional integrity of the skin is maintained through the interaction of the epidermis with the dermis. The epidermis is a tissue arranged in cellular layers. Those epidermal cells in direct opposition to the dermis are the basal cells. The epidermal basal cells are undifferentiated and endowed with mitotic activity. Obeying unknown stimuli, the basal cells undergo maturation following a differentiation pathway that ends with the formation of the stratum corneum. The stratum corneum is an inert film, made of fully differentiated epidermal cells. These cells are anucleated and contain tightly packed fibrous proteins embedded in an amorphous matrix and thick cell membranes. The structure of the epidermis allows a dynamic renewal of stratum corenum throughout life.
Unsupervised information extraction from unstructured, ungrammatical data sources on the World Wide Web

Information extraction from unstructured, ungrammatical data such as classified listings is difficult because traditional structural and grammatical extraction methods do not apply. Previous work has exploited reference sets to aid such extraction, but it did so using supervised machine learning. In this paper, we present an unsupervised approach that both selects the relevant reference set(s) automatically and then uses it for unsupervised extraction. We validate our approach with experimental results that show our unsupervised extraction is competitive with supervised machine learning approaches, including the previous supervised approach that exploits reference sets.