cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
United States Department of Agriculture Implements Scientific and Technical Information Policy by Management Action

Buried among the millions of words, hundreds of major and minor studies and a lesser number of ideas about national information policy, a few statements are outstanding because they highlight certain truths which, in themselves, are not subjects for study and investigation. They simply have to be accepted, because if they are not, all other consideration about the need, or lack of a need for a national Scientific and Technical Information (STINFO) policy in the United States becomes irrelevant. This paper will hover between two statements about national information policy written thirteen years apart which tell us a great deal about the matter. It will argue that direct managerial action at the agency level can impact favorably to the benefit of STINFO and related information programs, including those that can benefit the general public directly.
A Comparative Analysis: A Review of a Qualitative Approach and a Quantitative Approach to Examining Stress and Coping for Targets Enduring Workplace Bullying

Workplace bullying is a global problem that is tackled by different countries with different strategies. Some countries have prohibited workplace bullying, while others still grapple with the problem. Just as countries have different approaches to dealing with workplace bullying, researchers have varied strategies for analyzing bullying. This article will look at two researchers who studied workplace bullying and the resulting coping mechanisms used by the target. However, one researcher, Karatuna (2015) employs a qualitative approach to interview 20 workers in Turkey and how they cope with stress. The results lead to five themes explaining how workers cope with bullying. In comparison, Hollis (2017) used a survey method to study 355 American higher education employees and how they cope with stress. The predictive statistical analysis of Chi-Square showed that women are more likely to resign to cope with workplace bullying. While a target’s exit and resignation was a common finding for both researchers, the researchers used different approaches to determine the impact of workplace bullying.
Deciphering Inclusivity for the Design of K-12 Computing Pathways

Three districts representing unique contexts and challenges from across the United States have been iteratively designing and implementing inclusive computing pathways for K-12 students. In this paper, we identify barriers to inclusivity within each districts? K-12 computing pathway. Through a research practice partnership (RPP), we seek to develop a shared understanding of inclusiveness and apply that understanding to the development of targeted supports in the design and implementation of K-12 computing pathways. We analyze existing structures and systems for gaps in order to create new opportunities and resources for students, teachers, schools and districts.
Classical limit for the varying-mass Schrödinger equation with random inhomogeneities

Abstract The varying-mass Schrodinger equation (VMSE) has been successfully applied to model electronic properties of semiconductor hetero-structures, for example, quantum dots and quantum wells. In this paper, we consider VMSE with small random heterogeneities, and derive a radiative transfer equation as its asymptotic limit. The main tool is to systematically apply the Wigner transform in the classical regime when the rescaled Planck constant ϵ ≪ 1 , and expand the Wigner equation to proper orders of ϵ. As a proof of concept, we numerically compute both VMSE and its limiting radiative transfer equation, and show that their solutions agree well in the classical regime.
Pairing to the microRNA 3′ region occurs through two alternative binding modes, with affinity shaped by nucleotide identity as well as pairing position

MicroRNAs (miRNAs), in association with Argonaute (AGO) proteins, direct repression by pairing to sites within mRNAs. Compared to pairing preferences of the miRNA seed region (nucleotides 2-8), preferences of the miRNA 3' region are poorly understood, due to the sparsity of measured affinities for the many pairing possibilities. We used RNA bind-n-seq with purified AGO2-miRNA complexes to measure relative affinities of >1,000 3'-pairing architectures for each miRNA. In some cases, optimal 3' pairing increased affinity by >500-fold. Some miRNAs had two high-affinity 3'-pairing modes--one of which included additional nucleotides bridging seed and 3' pairing to enable high-affinity pairing to miRNA nucleotide 11. The affinity of binding and the position of optimal pairing both tracked with the occurrence of G or oligo(G/C) nucleotides within the miRNA. These and other results advance understanding of miRNA targeting, providing insight into how optimal 3' pairing is determined for each miRNA. HIGHLIGHTSO_LIRNA bind-n-seq reveals relative affinities of >1,000 3'-pairing architectures C_LIO_LITwo distinct 3'-binding modes can enhance affinity, by >500-fold in some instances C_LIO_LIG and oligo(G/C) residues help define the miRNA 3' segment most critical for pairing C_LIO_LISeed mismatch identity can influence the contribution of compensatory 3' pairing C_LI
Relationship between MTHFR gene polymorphism and susceptibility to bronchial asthma and glucocorticoid efficacy in children.

OBJECTIVES To study the association of methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) gene polymorphism with susceptibility to bronchial asthma and glucocorticoid (GC) efficacy in children. METHODS A total of 173 children with bronchial asthma who were hospitalized between June 2018 and December 2020 were selected as the observation group. The children received aerosol inhalation of GC for three consecutive months. A total of 178 healthy children who underwent physical examination during the same period were selected as the control group. PCR was used to detect the genotypes of the MTHFR C677T for the two groups. The differences in genotype distribution between the two groups were analyzed. Children with different genotypes in the observation group were compared in terms of immunoglobulin E (IgE), interleukin-8 (IL-8), leukotriene B4 (LTB4), lung function, and clinical outcome before and after treatment. RESULTS TT genotype and T allele were significantly more frequent in the observation group than in the control group (P<0.001). TT/CT genotypes and T allele were independent risk factors for bronchial asthma (OR=6.615 and 7.055 respectively; P<0.001). After GC treatment, the children with CC, CT or TT genotypes experienced significantly decreased levels of IgE, IL-8, and LTB4 and significantly increased forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1), forced vital capacity (FVC), and FEV1/FVC ratio (P<0.001). The children with TT genotype showed significantly lower levels of IL-8 and LTB4 than those with CC genotype, a significantly lower level of LTB4 than those with CT genotype, significantly higher FVC than those with CT genotype, and a significantly higher FEV1/FVC ratio than those with CC genotype (P<0.05). The children with TT genotype had better GC efficacy compared with those with CC genotype (P<0.05). TT genotype was an independent factor for good GC efficacy (OR=2.111, P=0.018). CONCLUSIONS MTHFR gene polymorphism is associated with asthma susceptibility and GC efficacy in children. Children carrying TT/CT genotypes have a higher risk of developing asthma, and those with TT genotype are more sensitive to GC treatment.
Introduction: Goodness and Human Life

A 27 year-old female is admitted with severe lower leg compartment syndrome. A fasciotomy will not be effective, and she needs a below-knee amputation. After explaining this to her, she refuses. Shocked and confused by this refusal, you ask if she understands the consequences. She recapitulates the consequences accurately, namely death, and refuses once more. You ask why, and she indicates that she simply does not want her legs cut off. You know that with advances in prosthetics and surgical amputation she will return to ‘‘baseline’’ or very close to it. Most people working in healthcare will grant that this is a moral dilemma in which two values, benefiting the patient and respecting her autonomy, conflict. It appears as if no matter what you do as a clinician, you will be violating at least one of these values. A previous Special Issue in HEC Forum addressed the value and nature of autonomy. This issue takes up the other pole, the value of human life. The case above is only a dilemma if we assume both that her wishes are valuable and her life and health is valuable. But what is so valuable about human life and health? What is it that ‘‘makes’’ us valuable or should our value be understood as basic and unsourced? How should our understanding of human life inform clinical decisions especially cases where a patient’s autonomy is compromised? Can certain clinical conditions, such as disorders of consciousness, affect or lessen a patient’s value or worth? This special issue aims to address these questions. Before summarizing the contributions, it is important to acuminate our question on human value. A desiderata for understanding the value of human life is that it is a
Zonal do-not-exceed limits with robust corrective topology control

Abstract The penetration of renewable resources in electrical power systems has increased over the years. This increased levels of intermittent resources adds complexities in power system operations. At the Independent System Operator of New England (ISONE), in real-time operation, the renewable resources are integrated into the system using do-not-exceed (DNE) limits. The determination of DNE limits, in real-time, is challenging; to reduce the computational time, approximations are made and mathematical models are simplified. In this paper, a zonal approach is proposed to determine DNE limits, which reduces the network model into few interlinked zones. The approximations with the zonal approach do not affect the quality of solution to a great extent. However, they reduce the computational time so that the zonal DNE limits approach may be implemented in real-time. The DNE limits determined with the zonal approach are compared with the detail nodal DNE limits on a smaller IEEE-118 bus test case and a realistic system provided by Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA).
Review of Understanding Mass Spectra: A Basic Approach

With more than 20 years of experience in the teaching of mass tral interpretation to chemists in the health, environmental, and forensic fields, R. Martin Smith has done an excellent job (with the help of Prof. Ken Busch as technical editor) with this introductory book on mass spectrometry (MS) and spectral interpretation. Rather than attempt to cover the entire field, he focuses on electron ionization (EI), instruments that use this ionization technique, and the spectra that result. In writing a book on EIIMS, it is very difficult to not be, in some way, derivative of Fred McLaffeity's Interpretation of Mass Spectra, historically the most important book in this field to date. Smith covers the basics, creates new “basics,” and offers a text that will be conlpetitive with the best. Understanding Mass Spectra contains chapters on “Isotopic Abundances,” “Ionization, Fragmentation and Electron Accounting,” “Neutral es and Ion Series,” “Alpha-Cleavage,” and “Important Mass tral Reairangements,” the key topics of this field. However, h's work also offers unique and important chapters such as riting Mass Spectral Fragmentation Mechanisms” and “Structure Determination in Complex Molecules Using Mass trometry.”
A genetic analysis of lupus

Systemic lupus erythematosus is a complex multigenic inherited disease with susceptibility determined by a combination of genetic, environmental and stochastic factors. Although not yet defined, recent technical advances have provided the means to dissect the component genetic contributions of polygenic traits. We have applied such approaches to mouse models of spontaneous systemic lupus erythematosus, and in this presentation I will summarize our genome-wide mapping studies that identified loci predisposing to several major lupus-related traits. Through the generation and study of interval congenic lines, precise mapping, and screening of candidate genes, identification of the specific genes and mechanisms associated with some of the major loci is currently being pursued.
Closed form aliasing probability for Q-ary symmetric errors

In built-in self-test schemes multiple-input signature registers (MISRs) are often used to compact test data. The error escape probability during compaction determines the quality of the compactor. The authors derive closed-form expressions for exact aliasing probability under the Q-ary error model for a large class of MISRs. It is shown that for Q-ary symmetric errors, the circuit complexity and propagation delay can be minimized by using a set of m single-bit linear feedback shift registers without increasing the aliasing probability. This also leads to a regular register structure. >
A decomposition technique for image compression

The paper presents a technique for the decomposition of gray scale or color images into rectangles of uniform properties. It is based on a segmentation step, followed by a quadtree decomposition. The results of some experimental tests on color images are also presented. >
HALOMETHYL-METAL COMPOUNDS. I. PREPARATION OF PHENYL (TRIHALOMETHYL) MERCURY COMPOUNDS,

Abstract Detailed procedures for the preparation of C 6 H 5 HgCCl 3 , C 6 H 5 HgCCl 2 Br, C 6 H 5 HgCClBr 2 and C 6 H 5 HgCBr 3 by the Reutov-Lovtsova method are given. Evidence is presented which indicates that the reaction of phenylmercuric halide, haloform and potassium tert -butoxide forms C 6 H 5 HgCX 3 by way of nucleophilic displacement of halide ions from mercury by the trihalomethyl anion.
Laser ultrasonics: generation and detection considerations for improved signal-to-noise ratio

It is shown that improvement in the detection sensitivity of laser-ultrasonic systems may be obtained by generating narrowband acoustic signals using both temporal and spatial modulation of the generating laser. A laser-generated acoustic tone burst waveform will have lower peak amplitudes than a single acoustic pulse providing the same system SNR. Consequently, lower power density laser pulses may be used to avoid surface damage.
Inhalation Toxicity of a Smoke Containing Solvent Yellow 33, Disperse Red 9 and Solvent Green 3 in Laboratory Animals

The repeated-dose inhalation toxicity of a smoke containing a mixture of three dyes was tested in female mice, rats and guinea pigs. The green component dye (Solvent Green 3) was retained in the lungs. Particularly in the rats marked collections of alveolar macrophages were found. In the same species several other adverse findings were noted: these included adenocarcinomas of the breast in the high-dose group and a dose-related incidence of biliary hyperplasia. Fatty change was noted in the livers of the test-group mice. A large proportion of the high-dose guinea pigs died during the exposure period, for which reason exposure was stopped early in that group, otherwise the guinea pigs were little affected. However, all test groups of all species showed reductions in growth during the exposure period.
Tree-In-Motion Mapping: A Multi-Agent Solution for Environment Monitoring

The active investigation of complex environmental parameters involves many computationally-intensive operations, such as data collection, aggregation, dissemination and processing. The adoption of multi-agent systems appears as a very promising approach in the development of a new generation of intelligent autonomous robotic agents for complex environment monitoring. This paper discusses a multi-agent system whose global goal is the minimization of entropy of an environment, based on a novel tree in-motion mapping method. The proposed method combines the simplicity and speed of computation, along with low storage and communications requirements, which ideally fits a system composed of a finite number of mobile robotic agents, each possessing limited sensing, processing and communicating operational entities. The method is also extensible to include multiple factors into the determination of the environmental entropy, hence allowing measurands such as electromagnetic, thermal and optical energies to be aggregated in the cost function. Simulation results demonstrate the efficiency of the method, compare the centralized and decentralized approaches, and present the savings, both in processing and communication times, when compared to existing methods.
Self-organizing neural networks for perception of visual motion

Abstract The human visual system overcomes ambiguities, collectively known as the aperture problem, in its local measurements of the direction in which visual objects are moving, producing unambiguous percepts of motion. A new approach to the aperture problem is presented, using an adaptive neural network model. The neural network is exposed to moving images during a developmental period and develops its own structure by adapting to statistical characteristics of its visual input history. Competitive learning rules ensure that only connection “chains” between cells of similar direction and velocity sensitivity along successive spatial positions survive. The resultant self-organized configuration implements the type of disambiguation necessary for solving the aperture problem and operates in accord with direction judgments of human experimental subjects. The system not only accommodates its structure to long-term statistics of visual motion, but also simultaneously uses its acquired structure to assimilate, disambiguate, and represent visual motion events in real-time.
Formal and informal sex education as determinants of premarital sexual behavior.

Controversies exist regarding the effects of sex education in the schools and informal sex education obtained from parents, peers, the mass media, and other sources. Similarly, there is widespread interest in premarital sexual behavior, especially its determinants. This study presents several issues reflecting these concerns which have been the subject of much speculation but which have received little attention by researchers. The purpose of this study was to investigate — through the use of respondent reports — how formal and informal sex education influences premarital sexual behavior during college. A national probability sample of 1177 college students was studied using face-to-face interviews with approximately equal numbers of males and females. These interviews, which were conducted for the Institute for Sex Research, included questions about past and present sexual involvement and other attitudinal, behavioral, and background variables. Accordingly, the data about sexual behavior and attitudes are based on the interviewees' self-reports. Indices were created which operationalized independent variables such as familial sexual conservatism, exposure to eroticism, perceived sex knowledge, and sexual exposure and assault during childhood and adolescence. Individual items reflecting childhood sex play, masturbation, current religiosity, religiosity while growing up, social class, sources of sex information, sex education in classrooms, and high school and college dating were used. The dependent variable, premarital sociosexual involvement, is a composite measure of incidence and prevalence of premarital heterosexual involvement which meets Guttman scaling criteria. An Automatic Interaction Detector analysis was used to determine the relative influences of reported sexualization variables on premarital sexual behavior. Major findings can be summarized as follows: Heterosexual behavior progresses in stepwise fashion from elementary to advanced levels of involvement, with each level representing a threshold. Reports of current influences and pressures explain more variance in premarital sexual behavior than reports of past informal sexualization influences, which, in turn, explain more variance than reported formal sex-educating experiences. Limited success was reported with the use of a four-stage AID analysis which attempted to ascertain whether variables represented in later stages of the sexualization process “mask” the effects of variables in earlier stages and whether a developmental process can be identified. It may be concluded that these data do not support the belief that exposure to sexuality through formalsex education influences premarital sexual behavior. Informalsex education has significantly more impact on premarital sexual behavior, but there are indications that pressures and experiences confronting young people in a given dating or peer group situation take precedence over all past sexual socialization influences.
Nonlinear Vibration Control of Flexible Structures Using Nonlinear Modified Positive Position Feedback Approach

A new Nonlinear Modified Positive Position Feedback (NMPPF) controller is proposed in this paper to suppress the nonlinear resonant vibrations in flexible structures. The NMPPF uses a nonlinear second-order feedback compensator to overcome the vibrations at exact primary resonance frequency, and a first-order integrating term to lower the remaining peak amplitudes in the frequency domain. For the closed-loop system, an innovative implementation of the Method of Multiple Scales is employed to obtain the modulation equations. Results demonstrate the superior performance of the NMPPF controller compared to the conventional approach i.e. Positive Position Feedback (PPF), as the suppression performance is improved by 62% in the peak amplitude reduction. The presented parameter analysis of the NMPPF controller also proposes the optimal controller parameters to provide the highest suppression level in the nonlinear oscillatory system.© 2014 ASME
Normal Distribution of VGLUT1 Synapses on Spinal Motoneuron Dendrites and Their Reorganization after Nerve Injury

Peripheral nerve injury induces permanent alterations in spinal cord circuitries that are not reversed by regeneration. Nerve injury provokes the loss of many proprioceptive IA afferent synapses (VGLUT1-IR boutons) from motoneurons, the reduction of IA EPSPs in motoneurons, and the disappearance of stretch reflexes. After motor and sensory axons successfully reinnervate muscle, lost IA VGLUT1 synapses are not re-established and the stretch reflex does not recover; however, electrically evoked EPSPs do recover. The reasons why remaining IA synapses can evoke EPSPs on motoneurons, but fail to transmit useful stretch signals are unknown. To better understand changes in the organization of VGLUT1 IA synapses that might influence their input strength, we analyzed their distribution over the entire dendritic arbor of motoneurons before and after nerve injury. Adult rats underwent complete tibial nerve transection followed by microsurgical reattachment and 1 year later motoneurons were intracellularly recorded and filled with neurobiotin to map the distribution of VGLUT1 synapses along their dendrites. We found in control motoneurons an average of 911 VGLUT1 synapses; ∼62% of them were lost after injury. In controls, VGLUT1 synapses were focused to proximal dendrites where they were grouped in tight clusters. After injury, most synaptic loses occurred in the proximal dendrites and remaining synapses were declustered, smaller, and uniformly distributed throughout the dendritic arbor. We conclude that this loss and reorganization renders IA afferent synapses incompetent for efficient motoneuron synaptic depolarization in response to natural stretch, while still capable of eliciting EPSPs when synchronously fired by electrical volleys.
3rd Annual Dysferlin Conference 2–5 June 2009, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

The 3rd Annual Dysferlin Conference, held from June 2–5, 2009 in Boston, MA, USA, brought together leading scientists and clinicians to discuss recent progress towards understanding and developing a therapy for the dysferlinopathies, Limb Girdle Muscular Dystrophy 2B (LGMD2B) and Miyoshi myopathy. These diseases involve progressive muscle wasting, typically beginning in the late teenage years, and are caused by mutations in the gene encoding dysferlin [1,2]. Dysferlin is required for repair of muscle fiber membrane tears [3,4], but little is known about how this defect contributes to disease pathology or whether dysferlin is also involved in other cellular processes. The conference was sponsored and organized by the Jain Foundation, and participants included 37 invited speakers, 10 additional scientists and clinicians, 40 poster presenters, 5 dysferlinopathy patients, 3 representatives of other muscular dystrophy foundations, and 7 members of the Jain Foundation scientific team. Research was presented from 11 countries around the world. Prior to the start of the main conference, a satellite meeting on the design of a natural history study for dysferlinopathy came up with specific recommendations about issues specific to this disease, including the high clinical variability, small patient numbers, and slow disease progression.
Enhancement by carbon tetrachloride treatment of hepatic tyrosine amino-transferase induction in the presence of net polyribosome breakdown in the rat

Abstract Carbon tetrachloride treatment inhibited the glucocorticoid induction of hepatic tryptophan oxygenase (TPO) while simultaneously enhancing the induction of hepatic tyrosine aminotransferase (TAT) in intact or adrenalectomized rats. In addition, treatment with CCl 4 alone increased the activity of hepatic TAT, but the extent of the CCl 4 -induced stimulation of TAT was decreased by adrenalectomy or by hypophysectomy. The CCl 4 -induced stimulation of TAT was prevented by high doses of actinomycin D but was enhanced further by 5-fluorouracil. CCl 4 also enhanced the labeling of hepatic polyribosomes with [ 14 C]orotic acid while simultaneously producing breakdown of heavy polysomes. These findings suggest that CCl 4 treatment may enhance the synthesis of certain hepatic enzymes, possibly via synthesis of new polysomes, while simultaneously inhibiting the induction of other enzymes such as TPO.
Probabilistic Use Cases: Discovering Behavioral Patterns for Predicting Certification

Advances in open-online education have led to a dramatic increase in the size, diversity, and traceability of learner populations, offering tremendous opportunities to study detailed learning behavior of users around the world. This paper adapts the topic modeling approach of Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) to uncover behavioral structure from student logs in a MITx Massive Open Online Course, 8.02x: Electricity and Magnetism. LDA is typically found in the field of natural language processing, where it identifies the latent topic structure within a collection of documents. However, this framework can be adapted for analysis of user-behavioral patterns by considering user interactions with courseware as a ``bag of interactions'' equivalent to the ``bag of words'' model found in topic modeling. By employing this representation, LDA forms probabilistic use cases that clusters students based on their behavior. Through the probability distributions associated with each use case, this approach provides an interpretable representation of user access patterns, while reducing the dimensionality of the data and improving accuracy. Using only the first week of logs, we can predict whether or not a student will earn a certificate with 0.81 ± 0.01 cross-validation accuracy. Thus, the method presented in this paper is a powerful tool in understanding user behavior and predicting outcomes.
Patient predictors of response to treatment of depression in Alzheimer's disease: the DIADS study.

Objective To investigate patient predictors of response to treatment of Major Depressive Episode (MDE) in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Methods Forty-four outpatients with AD and MDE were randomized to receive either sertraline or placebo in a 12-week placebo-controlled, flexible-dose clinical trial after a one week single-blind placebo phase. All participants were evaluated for depression at entry using the 21-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) and the Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia (CSDD). All subjects completed baseline neuropsychological testing. Caregiver burden and depression were also measured. The forty-two subjects who completed at least one post-enrollment follow-up visit were included in the analysis. Results No baseline demographic, mood, neuropsychiatric, neuropsychological, or caregiver variable was a statistically significant predictor of response to treatment. There were trends for African-American patients (p=0.07) and those with milder baseline agitation/aggression (p=0.08) to respond better. Conclusion No baseline characteristic assessed clearly predicts response to treatment of MDE in AD. A diverse population of depressed AD patients may thus respond similarly to the same treatment. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Comparison of body composition and periodontal disease using nutritional assessment techniques: Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III).

Objectifs: L'objectif de cette etude etait d'etudier l'association entre la composition corporelle (Obesite) et la maladie parodontale en utilisant des techniques de mises en evidences nutritionnelles peu onereuses et simples disponibles dans le troisieme bilan de l'examen national de sante et de nutrition. (NHANES III). Materiels et Methodes: des sujets caucasiens âges de 18 ans et plus, et ayant participe a NHANES III, furent utilises pour cette etude. Le poids, la taille, le tour de taille, le tour de hanche, l'epaisseur des plis de la peau (S) et des mesures du BIA furent utilises pour le calcul de l'indice de masse corporel (BMI), le ratio taille-hanche (WHR)(graisse viscerale), log des sommes des S (graisses sous-cutanees), et masse de graisse libre (FFM). Les donnees ont ete analysees par SPSS®. Des analyses multi-variees ANOVA factoriel, a sens unique, et des analyses de courbe de regression ont ete realisees. P<0.05 a ete utilise pour rejeter l'hypothese nulle. Resultats: En ajustant pour l'âge, le sexe, l'historique de diabete, la condition tabagique et socio-economique, des correlations statistiquement significatives ont ete trouvees entre la parodontite et WHR, BMI, FFM, et aussi parfois avec S. Conclusion: cette etude indique des correlations significatives entre la composition corporelle et la maladie parodontale. WHR est le facteur le plus significatif suivi de BMI, FFM et S, et il y a des similarites avec d'autres problemes de sante en relation avec l'obesite. Ceci renforce les arguments selon lesquels la maladie parodontale et des maladies systemiques en relation avec l'obesite sont associees, avec comme facteur important une anomalie du metabolisme graisseux.
A New Photosystem II Electron Transfer Inhibitor from Sorghum bicolor

Our study of the mechanism(s) by which sorgoleone (1) acts as a photosystem II (PS II) inhibitor led to the isolation of a new benzoquinone derivative, 2-hydroxy-5-ethoxy-3-[(Z,Z)-8',11', 14'-pentadecatriene]-rho-benzoquinone (2), from the root exudate of sorghum. The structure of 2, which is being given the name 5-ethoxy-sorgoleone, was determined by spectroscopic means. A methoxy derivative (3) of 1 was also prepared. Both 2 and 3 caused a reduction in oxygen evolution by thylakoid membranes and induced variable chlorophyll fluorescence. These compounds, however, were less active inhibitors of PS II than 1.
Design Planning and Top-Layer Design of Products

The A new design method of the products named Top-layer Design has been proposed in this paper. From the view of the point of the system engineering, the planning of product design makes the product design qualities improve to a great extent. Besides the understanding of the client requirements, the design planning of products, the so-called 7Ds: Design ideas, Design environments, Design objective, Design process, Design contents, Design methods and the Design quality evaluation, should be considered completely and planned systematically.
The Importance of Computational Skill for Answering Items in a Mathematics Problem Solving Test: Implications for Construct Validity:

The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the importance of computational skill for answering items in the Quantitative Thinking subtest (Test Q) of the Iowa Tests of Educational Development (ITED). Nine matched pairs of schools participated in the study. One school from each pair allowed students to use calculators when taking Test Q, while the other school did not allow calculators to be employed. The difficulty levels of the items in Test Q were calculated for both test conditions. In general, the differences in p values were very small. On the basis of these results, it was concluded that computational skill is not a major factor contributing to an examinee's score on Test Q and thus that the use of Test Q as a measure of problem solving ability is not compromised by its computational requirements.
Dose–Response Examination of UDP-Glucuronosyltransferase Inducers and Their Ability to Increase both TGF-β Expression and Thyroid Follicular Cell Apoptosis

Exposure to certain microsomal enzyme inducers that increase UDP-glucuronosyltransferase (UDP-GT) activity decreases thyroid hormone levels, which may lead to a subsequent increase in thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH). This elevation of serum TSH has many effects on the thyroid, including increasing thyroid follicular cell proliferation, leading to hyperplasia. While induction of UDP-GT activity decreases thyroid hormone levels by enhancing biotransformation and subsequent biliary secretion, only certain UDP-GT inducers exhibit the ability to increase serum TSH levels. For example, phenobarbital (PB) and pregnenolone-16alpha-carbonitrile (PCN) increase serum levels of TSH, while 3-methylcholanthrene (3MC) and Aroclor 1254 (PCB) do not. Increased serum TSH concentration also enhances thyroid gland expression of TGF-beta1, an anti-proliferative, pro-apoptotic protein. In a previous study in our laboratory, rats were treated for various times (up to 90 days) with PB and PCN, which increased TGF-beta1 protein and apoptosis. The present study was designed to examine the dose-response effect of TSH-increasing (PB and PCN) and nonincreasing (3MC and PCB) UDP-GT inducers on apoptosis and TGF-beta1. PB and PCN, UDP-GT inducing compounds which increase serum TSH, increased the percentage of TGF-beta1-positive follicular cells and increased apoptosis. In contrast, UDP-GT inducers that did not increase TSH (3MC and PCB) did not alter cell death or TGF-beta production. These data suggest that the increase of TGF-beta by TSH may serve to regulate the growth of hyperplastic thyroid.
Synthesis and curing of novel LC twin epoxy monomers for liquid crystal thermosets

This article describes the synthesis and characterization of new liquid crystalline thermosets having a twin structure. Nematic epoxy-terminated monomers based on a phenyl benzoate twin mesogen connected by an alkylene spacer were synthesized for these studies. In addition, an epoxy-terminated monomer based on a 1,4-bis(benzoyloxy)phenylene mesogen was synthesized to determine the effect of the position of the mesogen on the final network structure. The diepoxy monomer made with phenyl benzoate twin mesogens connected with an alkylene spacer formed a smectic-like network when cured with diamines. This smectic organization appeared even though the diepoxy monomer itself showed only a nematic mesophase over a narrow temperature range. The presence of crosslinks at both ends of the mesogens helped to retain a uniform spacing between crosslinking sites during the curing reaction, and aided formation of the smectic layer arrangement. The epoxy monomer possessing a 1,4-bis(benzoyloxy)phenylene mesogen and two epoxidized alkylene end groups on both sides of the mesogen formed a stable nematic mesophase. However, in contrast to the twin epoxies, the latter epoxy when reacted with diamines tended to produce a nematic-like network which was retained as the crosslinking reaction proceeded.
Patient education for diabetic patients. An integral part of quality health care

The diabetic patient is at high risk for developing long-term medical complications including serious foot problems with potential loss of limb. With today's growing awareness of the importance of curtailing overall health care costs, the importance of comprehensive diabetic patient education programs is academic. It is demonstrated that a multidisciplinary approach to diabetic care management, with foot care assessment encompassing early preventive measures, can serve as a model for other Veterans Affairs Medical Centers to follow. Foot screenings can individualize specific foot problems and provide an understanding of risk factors to prevent complications. Patients with diabetes or peripheral vascular disease and, especially those individuals at risk of foot ulceration, are referred to the appropriate clinic for ongoing management to prevent amputation. Patient education is considered most effective when it is encouraged throughout a diabetic patient's medical care, and it becomes a part of lifestyle habits.
Sphincter of Oddi dysfunction in patients with intact gallbladder: therapeutic response to endoscopic sphincterotomy.

Increasing evidence exists of the occurrence of sphincter of Oddi dysfunction in patients with an intact gallbladder. Optimal therapy for such patients has not been defined. From 1989 to 1991, 35 patients with sphincter of Oddi dysfunction (abnormal basal sphincter pressure >40mm Hg) and an intact gallbladder were identified. The patients with abnormal ductography (except for duct dilation), pancreas divisum, or pancreatobiliary malignancy were excluded. All patients had disabling upper abdominal pain, which was quantified on a 0=none to 10=severe pain scale. All patients received standard endoscopic biliary sphincterotomy and were followed up for 4 to 26 months with a mean of 13 months. Initially, 27 of 35 patients (77%) showed at least 50% improvement in the pain score, whereas only 15 of the 27 remained improved throughout the follow-up interval. Patients who were unimproved or had relapses were offered cholecystectomy and 11 patients underwent the procedure. These patients were followed up after cholecystectomy for 2 to 24 months, with a mean of 13 months. Eight of 11 were improved. In summary, the combination of endoscopic sphincterotomy and selective cholecystectomy and minimal medical treatment resulted in a good and excellent response rate of 68%. Better techniques are needed to select patients who will respond to these therapies.
Correction factors for neutron dose changes caused by inhomogeneities.

A technique is presented for calculating correction factors for neutron dose changes caused by inhomogeneities. The technique is particularly applicable to geometries in which the inhomogeneity lies adjacent to, but not on, a direct path from the radiation source to the point of dosimetric interest; it yields results accurate to a few percent. Best results are obtained for inhomogeneities located at shallow depths.
Determination of Trace Elements in Human Tissue. I. Cd, Fe, Zn, Mg, and Ca

Human tissues obtained at autopsy were analyzed for Cd, Fe, Zn, Mg, and Ca using atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The tissues analyzed included thoracic aorta collected from 46 subjects ranging in age from 1 to 91 years and lung, myocardium, and spleen collected from each of 26 additional subjects ranging in age from 5 months gestation to 78 years. The category of diseases included atherosclerotic heart disease (ASHD), malignancy (CA), and a miscellaneous group. The levels of the above elements are tabulated for the tissues indicated.
Benefits of combination angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor and calcium antagonist therapy for diabetic patients.

Abstract Effective control of blood pressure is important in slowing renal disease progression in diabetic nephropathy. However, blood pressure is often difficult to control with monotherapy, especially in this patient population in whom three medications are sometimes required to attain goal blood pressures of less than 130/85 mm. Further, physicians are often reluctant to increase the dose or add another agent to an existing regimen. The advent of low-dose, fixed-dose combination therapy allows physicians the ability to prescribe two drugs in one pill and, hence, to improve compliance. In fact, the Sixth Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure (JNC VI) recommends adding a second antihypertensive agent as an option if goal blood pressure is not achieved with a single agent. The combination of an angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor and calcium antagonist may confer additive antihypertensive benefit, and may even improve the side-effect profile. This paper reviews the importance of aggressive blood pressure control in diabetic patients and the clinical trials supporting the use of combination ACE inhibitor/calcium antagonist therapy in the diabetic patient population.
Synergistic effects in the extraction of selected metallic cations by mono (2-ethyl hexyl) phosphoric acid

Abstract The effect of synergistic agents upon the extraction of M(III) lanthanides, Y(III), Am(III), Cm(III), Th(IV), and U(VI) by H 2 MEHP, mono 2-ethyl hexyl phosphoric acid, in a carrier diluent from aqueous HCl has been investigated as a function of carrier diluent, synergistic agent, concentration of H 2 MEHP and Z of M(III) lanthanides. It was found that a plot of log K vs log ( r −0·5) or log ( r −2), depending upon the synergist, is more meaningful than a plot of log K vs F or log F of the synergist, where r is the ratio, ( F of synergist/ F of H 2 MEHP). For some elements as r increases from zero, K rises to a maximum (region of positive synergism); in others no positive synergism is noted. In each instance in which a maximum is found, the maximum becomes progressively more pronounced as the synergist is varied from n-decanol to TBP, tri-n-butyl phosphate, to TOPO, tri-n-octyl phosphine oxide. In the negative synergism range, the limiting slope of the log K vs log ( r −0·5) plot for all of the M(III) examples studied (TBP synergist, cyclohexane and toluene diluents) is −3. Similarly, the limiting slope of the log K vs log ( r −2) plot (n-decanol synergist, cyclohexane diluent) is −3 for M(III), −4 for Th(IV) and −2 for U(VI). The extractant dependency for Eu(III) and Am(III) by H 2 MEHP in the absence of synergist is shown to be first power in toluene diluent and third power in n-decanol diluent. Z -studies in the diluents toluene, cyclohexane and n-decanol are included. Tentative explanations of the negative synergistic effects are proposed in terms of assumed chemical interaction between synergist and H 2 MEHP; and possible applications of these effects are suggested.
Relations between gross and unit evoked activity in pericruciate cortex of cat.

Abstract Single and multiple units, both cells of origin of pyramidal tract (PT) and unidentified units, were studied in relation to the local gross evoked potential to peripheral stimulation in pericruciate association cortex of the chloralosed cat. Both PT and non-PT cells were polymodal, with the PT cells firing later and for a longer duration. PT cells generate a near mirror image of the initial component of the evoked association potential. Spike height analysis on multiple unit data showed that small and large units had the highest probability of firing on the maximum negative slope and maximum negativity, respectively, of the evoked potential.
Measuring Exposure to Health Messages in Community-Based Intervention Studies: A Systematic Review of Current Practices

Accurately measuring exposure is critical to all intervention studies. The present review examines the extent to which best practices in exposure assessment are adhered to in community-based prevention and education studies. A systematic literature review was conducted examining community-based studies testing communication interventions, published in 2003-2007. Of 663 studies identified, 54 met all inclusion criteria and were reviewed for type of exposure assessment conducted (if any), use of exposure data in study analyses, and discussion of biases related to exposure assessment. Although a majority of studies (n = 38; 70%) assessed exposure, most of these used only a simple dichotomous measure (n = 31; 82%), less than half used exposure data to adjust intervention effects (n = 16; 42%), and only six (16%) addressed selective exposure as a possible source of bias. There is substantial room for improvement in measurement and analysis of exposure to communication in community-based disease prevention studies.
Measuring interstellar dust grains from the haloes of binary X-ray sources

A method for determining the location, size distribution, and composition of interstellar dust grains from the haloes of binary X-ray sources is described. The method is based on the time dependence of the halo X-ray emission during an eclipse of the point source. The distance of the dust cloud is inferred directly from observations of the growth of the dark circle around the eclipsed point source. Grain size distribution in the interstellar dust clouds is derived from the halo brightness profile at a given photon energy. The composition of the grains is obtained by observing the spectral features in the total optical depth due to X-ray scattering near the photoionization thresholds of the elements in the grains. The haloes become dim just below the ionization threshold, and sharply increase in function brightness as the photon energy increases beyond the absorption edge of the relevant atom. The method makes it possible to observe and analyze the halo emission during eclipse even without imaging the source. It is suggested that haloes probably account for the soft X-rays observed during eclipses and dips observed in sources including 4U1915-05 and X1755-338.
3D Microendoscopic Electrical Impedance Tomography for Margin Assessment During Robot-Assisted Laparoscopic Prostatectomy

Radially configured microendoscopic electrical impedance probes intended for intraoperative surgical margin assessment during robot-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy (RALP) were examined through simulation, bench-top experimentation, and ex vivo tissue studies. Three probe designs with 8, 9, and 17 electrodes, respectively, were analyzed through finite element method based simulations. One mm diameter spherical inclusions ( $\sigma _{\rm inclusion} =1~{\rm S}/{\rm m}$ ) are positioned at various locations within a hemispherical background ( $\sigma _{\rm background} =0.1~{\rm S}/{\rm m}$ ) of radius 5 mm. An 8-electrode configuration is not able to localize the inclusion at these positions while 9 and 17-electrode configurations are able to accurately reconstruct the inclusion at maximum depth of 1 mm and 3 mm, respectively. All three probe designs were constructed and evaluated using saline phantoms and ex vivo porcine and human prostate tissues. The 17-electrode probe performed best in saline phantom studies, accurately reconstructing high contrast, 1-mm-diameter metal cylindrical inclusions in a saline bath ( $\sigma _{\rm saline} =0.1~{\rm S}/{\rm m}$ ) with a position and area error of 0.46 mm and 0.84 ${\rm mm}^{2}$ , respectively. Additionally, the 17-electrode probe was able to adequately distinguish cancerous from benign tissues in three ex vivo human prostates. Simulations, bench-top saline experiments, and ex vivo tissue sampling suggest that for intraoperative surgical margin assessment during RALP, the 17-electrode probe (as compared to an 8 and 9 electrode probe) will be necessary to provide sufficient accuracy and sensitivity.