cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The shape of the elephant: scope and membership of the CSCL community

This paper discusses the character of the CSCL research community. While members of the community often feel they have authoritative perceptions of the nature of the community, these perceptions often differ. This paper is an attempt to look empirically at the CSCL community as constituted by leadership in the CSCL conferences. Data are included about who, historically, has published in the CSCL conferences and how those people are distributed across academic disciplines and regions of the world. In addition, the relationship between CSCL and the learning sciences is explored.
Does electrostatic shielding work both ways

We demonstrate that there is a sense in which electrostatic shielding works both ways and that Richard Feynman's discussion to this effect in The Feynman Lectures on Physics, though ambiguous, is not incorrect.
Breast cancer metastasis to a mandibular extraction socket: A case report and discussion on clinical detection of metastasis to the oral cavity

Abstract Oral cavity metastases are rare, representing approximately 1% of all oral malignancies [1] , and are difficult to diagnose because of their rarity and their atypical clinical and radiographic appearance. It is important to determine the diagnosis of an unhealed extraction socket. There are many considerations, especially in a patient with a prior diagnosis of cancer. A patient who has previously been diagnosed with a bone metastasis is at risk for osteonecrosis, osteomyelitis, or bony metastasis. Furthermore, both bisphosphonate related osteonecrosis of the jaw and osteoradionecrosis need to be considered in the differential diagnosis for a patient taking a bisphosphonate for cancer or osteoporosis, or who has previously received radiation therapy. Herein, we present a case of metastasis to an extraction socket in the mandible that lead to a definitive diagnosis of breast cancer metastasis. We also discuss the clinical detection of oral metastasis, the prognosis of which is very poor and therefore needs to be identified at an early stage. The oral cavity is an easily accessible region, which can be directly evaluated, prompting further investigation for a metastatic lesion if required.
Unraveling the biochemistry of sweet and umami tastes.

Taste is an important part of everyone's daily life. Sweet taste is particularly important as evidenced by the fact that wars have been fought and people have been enslaved over sugar, the prototypical sweet stimulus (1). Savory taste, often referred to as umami (delicious in Japanese), is also important, its prototypical stimulus being monosodium glutamate (MSG). Despite the importance of these taste sensations to our daily enjoyment of life, until the late 1980s, the biochemical pathways that mediate them were largely unknown. Then, for sweet taste, evidence began to accumulate that it must be by G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR)-mediated. More specifically, it was generally believed to be mediated by several GPCRs because the findings of biochemical, electrophysiological, and psychophysical experiments could only be easily explained by a plurality of receptors (2, 3). And this expectation was supported by the fact that multiple subtypes of GPCRs commonly exist for other important signal molecules (e.g., acetylcholine, norepinephrine, dopamine, serotonin, etc.). Then, in the early 2000s, a breakthrough occurred, dramatically increasing the understanding of both sweet and umami tastes. Nelson et al. (4) reported the discovery of the rat sweetener receptor. In a functional assay, they showed that all substances that rats generalize to sucrose taste are mediated by a single receptor, which is a heterodimer of two GPCRs, T1R2 and T1R3. Further, they showed that umami taste is also mediated by a heterodimer of the two GPCRs T1R1 and T1R3. T1R1, T1R2, and T1R3 are members of the small family of class C GPCRs. The most studied members of the class C GPCRs are the homodimeric metabotrophic glutamate (mGluR), heterodimeric γ-aminobutyric acid type B (GABAB …
Decreased efficacy of topical anesthetic creams in presence of benzoyl peroxide.

Background. Topical anesthetics are widely used to diminish the sensation of pain from various medical cutaneous procedures. Any topical agent that reduces the desired effect has clinical ramifications. Materials and Methods. Topical 6% benzocaine cream was applied to both inner forearms of five persons and covered with a bandage. One of the arms was additionally treated simultaneously with 5% benzoyl peroxide. The areas were tested with a pinprick examination every 10 minutes for the ensuing hour. Results. There was an estimated 75% increased perception of pain on the forearm to which benzoyl peroxide was applied in consort with the topical anesthetic at all examination times. Conclusions. Benzoyl peroxide chemically reacts with topical anesthetics such as tetracaine, procaine, pramoxine, prilocaine, and lidocaine, causing a significant reduction in their numbing effect. Clinically, make sure that the skin area to be topically anesthetized is devoid of any previous treatment with benzoyl peroxide or insist that the skin is thoroughly washed prior to application of the anesthetic. CRAIG G. BURKHART, MPH, MD, AND CRAIG N. BURKHART, MSBS, MD, HAVE INDICATED NO SIGNIFICANT INTEREST WITH COMMERCIAL SUPPORTERS.
Non-local isotopic approximation of nonsingular surfaces

We consider the problem of approximating nonsingular surfaces which are implicitly represented by equations of the form f(x,y,z)=0. Our correctness criterion is an isotopy of the approximate surface to the exact surface. We focus on methods based on domain subdivision using numerical primitives. Such methods are practical and have adaptive and local complexity. Previously, Snyder (1992) [3] and Plantinga-Vegter (2004) [4] have introduced techniques based on parameterizability and non-local isotopy, respectively. In our previous work (SoCG 2009), we synthesized these two techniques into an efficient and practical algorithm for curves. This paper extends our approach to surfaces. The extension is by no means routine: the correctness argument is much more intricate. Unlike the 2-D case, a new phenomenon arises in which local rules for constructing surfaces are no longer sufficient. We treat an important extension to exploit anisotropic subdivision. Anisotropy means that we allow boxes to be split into 2, 4 or 8 subboxes with arbitrary but bounded aspect ratio. This could greatly improve the adaptivity of the algorithm. Our algorithms are relatively easy to implement, as the underlying primitives are based on interval arithmetic and exact BigFloat numbers. We report on encouraging preliminary experimental results.
Minimum Feedback Arc Sets for a Directed Graph

A minimum feedback arc set is, for a directed graph, a minimum set of arcs which if removed leaves the resultant graph free of directed loops. This paper establishes a relationship between these feedback arcs and order; in particular, such a minimum set of arcs is shown to be determined by a sequential ordering of the nodes which minimizes the number of arcs, each of which enters a node that precedes in the ordering the node it leaves. From this relationship are developed some simple characteristics of such sets, as well as properties of the sequential orderings by which these minimum sets are determined. These properties form the basis of an algorithm for finding minimum feedback arc sets.
Navy establishes new institute

The U.S. Navy recently established an Institute for Naval Oceanography (INO) as a “field activity” of the Office of Naval Research. Establishment of the new institute is one of 15 initiatives to reinvigorate Navy oceanography, according to Capt. Roger P. Onorati, the officer in charge of INO and the commanding officer of the Naval Ocean Research and Development Activity (NORDA). INO is expected to be in operation within a year, Onorati said.
Negotiating Patriarchy South Korean Evangelical Women and the Politics of Gender

Based on ethnographic research, this study investigates the meaning and impact of women’s involvement in South Korean evangelicalism. While recent works addressing the “paradox” of women’s participation in conservative religions have highlighted the significance of these religions as unexpected vehicles of gender empowerment and contestation, this study finds that the experiences and consequences of Korean evangelical women’s religiosity are highly contradictory; although crucial in women’s efforts to negotiate the injuries of the modern Confucian-patriarchal family, conversion, for many women, also signifies their effective redomestication to this family/gender regime, which helps maintain current gender arrangements. To address this tension, the article explores the meaning of religious submission in the Korean context, focusing on the motivations behind women’s consent to patriarchy, which are rooted in women’s contradictory desires regarding the family system and the ambivalent subjectivities that the...
“Rosa Luxemburg Belongs to Us!” German Communism and the Luxemburg Legacy

Rosa Luxemburg's commitment to democratic politics stands as her most pronounced intellectual legacy. Her rhetoric, rarely mundane, becomes especially compelling and powerful when she invokes the creative potential of human beings to order their own affairs, the lifeblood of society pulsing through the actions of ordinary people. Especially her famed writings on the Russian Revolution have served as the intellectual wellsprings for an alternative socialist politics beginning with Paul Levi (her successor as head of the Communist party of Germany) in 1922 and continuing through the entire history of the twentieth- century Left. Written within months of the Bolshevik Revolution and while she still languished in prison, the oft-cited passages offer some of the finest expressions of her democratic sensibilities. In the margins she wrote what would become one of her most famous passages, the central phrase of which— “Freiheit ist immer Freiheit der Andersdenkenden”— was unfurled at the Liebknect-Luxemburg counterdemonstration in January 1988 in the German Democratic Republic and became the clarion call of the opposition in its early phase.
The origin of osteoclasts in estrogen-stimulated bone resorption of the pubic symphysis of the mouse.

Four-week-old female mice were injected with estradiol, and the following day received intraperitoneally one μC/gm body weight of thymidine-methyl 3H. At various intervals following the injection of thymidine-3H, pairs of mice were sacrificed, the pubic symphyses excised and prepared for radioautographs of transverse sections. Examination of the radioautographs revealed that the highest percentage of labeled cells was to be found in the osteoprogenitor cell population at all time intervals examined. The number of osteoclasts and the percentage of labeled osteoclasts rose progressively. The percentage of labeled osteoblasts rose and then fell, but was at all times much less than that of the osteoprogenitor cell population. Since the osteoprogenitor cell population was the only one in which the percentage of labeled cells was high enough to account for the rise in the percentage of labeled osteoclasts, the conclusion was drawn that the labeled osteoclasts arose from the labeled osteoprogenitor cells. In support of the above conclusion, and in keeping with the theory that the osteoprogenitor cell undergoes “differential” mitosis, one daughter cell going on to become an osteoclast or an osteoblast and one daughter cell remaining in the osteoprogenitor cell population, the number of silver grains over the labeled osteoclast nuclei was observed to be roughly one-half that over the labeled osteoprogenitor cell nuclei.
IS IT BETTER TO BE POWERFUL OR LUCKY?: PART I*

This paper is divided into two parts. Part I contains a critique of two existing ‘power indexes’—the Shapley-Shubik index and the Banzhaf index. Part II begins with a rigorous analysis of the relationship between luck, decisiveness and success. It is shown then that the supposed ‘paradoxes of power’ generated by the other indexes can be easily dissolved. An extended application of the method of analysis to the US Constitutional Convention of 1787 follows. Finally, the relation between decisiveness (a probability) and power (a capability) is presented, and the question posed in the title is answered. At two points, the relevance of the conceptual points made to the pluralist-elitist debate is made explicit, and support is offered for the view that each side's conclusions follow from its assumptions about the nature of power.
Patient understanding and satisfaction in informed consent for total knee arthroplasty: a randomized study.

Objective Informed consent is a critical component of all surgical procedures, but patients' understanding and recall of the potential risks/benefits is poor. We hypothesized that utilization of multiple standardized education modalities in the informed consent process would allow for better retention and a more informed patient. Methods A total of 151 patients undergoing primary total knee arthroplasty (TKA) were randomized to 3 groups: group 1 received standardized informed consent and a paper handout detailing the risks/benefits of TKA; group 2 received standardized informed consent, a paper handout, and a video discussing the risks/benefits of TKA; and group 3 followed the same process as group 2 plus formal nurse education. All patients completed a 15-item questionnaire (risks, indications, and expectations) immediately following this consent process on the morning of surgery and 6 weeks postoperatively. We used t-test and analysis of variance for data analyses. Results There was no difference (P = 0.79) in satisfaction with the consent process between the 3 groups; 92–97% of the patients rated the consent process as good to excellent at all time points. The number of correct answers did not differ significantly between the groups at any time period (P = 0.31–0.81). Scores dropped significantly (P = 0.004) from preoperatively to the 6-week postoperative visit in all groups combined. A higher level of satisfaction with the process was reflected in higher scores preoperatively in all groups (P = 0.028). Conclusion Preoperatively, patients satisfied with the consent process may have better recall of risks/benefits and expectations of surgery. Neither retention nor satisfaction was influenced by reinforcement methods, such as video or nurse education; they may therefore be unnecessary.
Rifabutin (Ansamycin LM 427): A New Rifamycin-S Derivative for the Treatment of Mycobacterial Diseases

Rifabutin (ansamycin LM 427), a semisynthetic spiropiperidyl derivative of rifamycin S, shows good in vitro activity against most mycobacterial species, including Mycobacterium avium complex. In animal models, the drug is more active against both Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium leprae than in rifampin, and studies indicate that rifabutin is active against some rifampin-resistant strains of both species. The drug has a long half-life (16 hr) in humans and a marked tissue tropism, with tissue levels five- to 10-fold higher than that in the serum. In animals rifabutin is no more toxic than rifampin. A large experience from the compassionate use of rifabutin for life-threatening mycobacterial infections in humans, most commonly disseminated M. avium complex disease in patients with AIDS, has also indicated relative drug safety. Although some data suggest that rifabutin is effective, firm conclusions about drug efficacy await results from controlled clinical trials.
The Effects of High-Fidelity Simulation on Salivary Cortisol Levels in SRNA Students: A Pilot Study

The use of clinical simulation in graduate level nursing education provides the opportunity for students to learn and apply theoretical practices of nursing care in a safe and controlled environment. It was postulated that laboratory simulation would mimic the stress levels of a real clinical situation as measured by the stress hormone cortisol. The purpose of this study was to determine whether high-fidelity simulation approximates the stress experienced by nurse anesthesia students in the operating room. Participants (n = 21) were recruited from an accredited nurse anesthesia program in the southern U.S. Saliva was collected for 3 days under controlled conditions for baseline data. Next, saliva was collected for 3 days: the day before, the day of, and the day after simulation. The same process was repeated for the first clinical day in the operating room. The participants acted as their own control. There was a significant (p 0.05), and levels were lower than levels during simulation. Laboratory simulation of patient scenarios raised the stress hormone cortisol level threefold above baseline levels in nurse anesthesia students, while actual clinical experience did not.
Transition-metal impurities in semiconductors-their connection with band lineups and Schottky barriers.

The dependence of cation-substitutional transition-metal impurity levels upon the host semiconductor is calculated self-consistently in a defect-molecule approach. Heterojunction band lineups and Schottky-barrier heights can be calculated within the same tight-binding model. In all three systems, the characteristic behavior is determined by an approximate local charge-neutrality condition imposed by electrostatic self-consistency ("pinning"), with a dangling-bond level playing the role of the "neutrality level." In this way we explain the observed correlation between transition-metal impurity levels, heterojunction band lineups, and Schottky barriers.
A Fluorescent Zinc Probe Based on Metal-Induced Peptide Folding

aWhile the peptide was still attached to the resin, lissamine sulfonyl chloride (L) was conjugated to the amino terminus. The singly labeled peptide was cleaved off the resin and purified by reverse phase HPLC. The peptide (CP-L) was treated with Zn(II) to protect the metal-binding cysteine residues (positions 4 and 7) and was then reacted with fluorescein maleimide (F), which conjugated to the unprotected Cys residue at position 14. The doubly labeled peptide (CP-L-F) was demetalated using EDTA, reduced using dithiothreitol (DTT), and purified by HPLC. 6514
Interventions fail to increase cancer screening rates in community-based primary care practices.

Abstract Background . Cancer screening in primary care offices is reaching only a modest percentage of adults 50 years and older. The objectives of this study were to determine if screening rates for breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer could be significantly increased by two simple office interventions in community-based primary care offices and then maintained over 3 years. Methods . Twenty-two community-based primary care practices were divided randomly into four arms: control, practice-based intervention, patient-based intervention, and both interventions combined. At baseline and annually for 3 years, medical records from approximately 100 male and 100 female patients 50 years and older were randomly selected. The outcome measures were screening rates for mammogram, Pap smear, fecal occult blood test, and flexible sigmoidoscopy or other colonic imaging. Results . Generally each study arm evidenced a significant 1-year increase in screening rates, followed by an overall decline to approximate baseline levels. The first year increases in screening were not related to either invention, alone or in combination. Conclusions . These interventions do not have a significant impact on cancer screening rates in adults over several years. A variety of possible variables may have affected the long-term outcomes.
Evidence that fluoride therapy increases trabecular bone density in a peripheral skeletal site.

We measured the spinal bone density (SBD) and femoral condyle bone density (FCD) in normal and osteoporotic females (n = 219) both before and during fluoride therapy. SBD and FCD in untreated osteoporotics were significantly lower (P < 0.05) than those in the age-matched controls. SBD and FCD were correlated in the untreated (r = 0.62; P < 0.0001) as well as in the fluoride-treated osteoporotics (r = 0.42; P < 0.0001). SBD and FCD were significantly increased (P < 0.05) in response to fluoride therapy. The average rates of increase in FCD and SBD were similar (1.3 +/- 1.3 vs. 1.24 +/- 1.4 mg/cc.month). We conclude that the osteogenic action of fluoride is not limited to the axial skeleton. An increase in trabecular bone density also occurs at peripheral weight-bearing sites such as the femoral condyle.
Research, Writing, and Racial Identity: Cross-Disciplinary Connections for Multicultural Education.

Abstract This paper describes a classroom‐based research study designed to determine how students in an undergraduate multicultural education course experience difficult and emotional content about racism. Samples of students’ reflective writing were used as sources of data, and Janet Helms’ theory of racial identity development served as the framework for analysis. Findings suggest that coursework in multicultural education can influence white students’ racial identities. In addition, the experiences of one white student are highlighted as she grappled with issues of white privilege and multicultural teaching. This study illustrates how reflective writing in combination with teaching practices informed by psychological theory helped to expand students’ understanding of racism while facilitating the development of their racial identities.
The Effects of the Fanconi Anemia Zinc Finger (FAZF) on Cell Cycle, Apoptosis, and Proliferation Are Differentiation Stage-specific *

FAZF, a member of the BTB/POZ family of transcriptional repressor proteins, has been shown to bind to FANCC, the protein defective in patients with the bone marrow failure syndrome Fanconi anemia complementation group C. Because bone marrow failure in Fanconi anemia has been attributed to a failure of the hematopoietic stem cell population to produce sufficient progeny, we documented the expression of FAZF in human CD34+ hematopoietic progenitor cells. FAZF was expressed at high levels in early stages of differentiation but declined during subsequent differentiation into erythroid and myeloid lineages. Consistent with its presumed role as a transcriptional repressor, FAZF was found in the nuclear compartment, where it resides in distinct nuclear speckles at or near sites of DNA replication. Using a FAZF-inducible myeloid cell line, we found that enforced expression of FAZF was accompanied by accumulation in the G1 phase of the cell cycle followed later by apoptosis. These results suggest an essential role for FAZF during the proliferative stages of primitive hematopoietic progenitors, possibly acting in concert with (a subset of) the Fanconi anemia proteins.
Competition, seed limitation, disturbance, and reestablishment of California native annual forbs

Invasion by exotic species is a major threat to global diversity. The invasion of native perennial grasslands in California by annual species from the southern Mediter- ranean region is one of the most dramatic invasions worldwide. As a result of this invasion, native species are often restricted to low-fertility, marginal habitat. An understanding of the mechanisms that prevent the recolonization of the more fertile sites by native species is critical to determining the prospects for conservation and restoration of the native flora. We present the results of a five-year experiment in which we used seeding, burning, and mowing treatments to investigate the mechanisms that constrain native annuals to the marginal habitat of a Californian serpentine grassland. The abundance and richness of native species declined with increasing soil fertility, and there was no effect of burning or mowing on native abundance or richness in the absence of seeding. We found that native annual forbs were strongly seed limited; a single seeding increased abundance of native forbs even in the presence of high densities of exotic species, and this effect was generally discernable after four years. These results suggest that current levels of dominance by exotic species are not simply the result of direct competitive interactions, and that seeding of native species is necessary and may be sufficient to create viable populations of native annual species in areas that are currently dominated by exotic species.
Characterization of a human import component of the mitochondrial outer membrane, TOMM70A.

Functional mitochondria require up to 1000 proteins to function properly, with 99% synthesized as precursors in the cytoplasm and transported into the mitochondria with the aid of cytosolic chaperones and mitochondrial translocators (import components). Proteins to be imported are chaperoned to the mitochondria by the cytosolic heat shock protein (cHSP70) and are immediately pursued by Translocators of the Outer Membrane (TOMs), followed by transient interactions of the unfolded proteins with Translocators of the Inner Membrane (TIMs). In the present study, we describe a human gene, TOMM70A, orthologous to the yeast Tom70 import component. TOMM70A is ubiquitously expressed in human tissues, maps on chromosome 3q13.1-q13.2 and consists of 12 coding exons spanning over 37 kb. TOMM70A localizes in the mitochondria of COS-7 cells, and in organello import assays confirmed its presence in the Outer Mitochondrial membrane (OM) of rat liver mitochondria. TOMM70A could play a significant role in the import of nucl...
Cycles in Perilacustrine Facies of Late Mesozoic Rift Basins, Southeastern Mongolia

Detailed study of 365 meters of core recovered from southeastern Mongolia reveals fluvial, marginal lacustrine, and profundal lacustrine depositional environments in an Early Cretaceous rift basin. Multiple examples of cyclic sedimentation are superposed on these large-scale facies transitions. In fluvial facies, more than 20 upward-fining successions (2–10 m thick) are present. These contain cross-stratified sandstone units, with erosional bases, that fine upward to mudstone with root marks and burrows. They are interpreted as channel-fill successions in a fluvial depositional environment, whereas finergrained, less erosional intervals with abundant soft-sediment deformation and climbing ripples may represent a transition to fluvial-deltaic environments at the lake margin. Coarse fluvial-deltaic facies form the most likely hydrocarbon reservoirs, as indicated by frequency of oil staining in the core. Physical transport processes dominate well-oxygenated fluvial and marginal lacustrine facies, whereas cycles in more distal lacustrine facies mainly reflect biogeochemical processes. Profundal lacustrine strata include kerogen-rich laminated micrite, distal turbidite beds, and dolomitic breccia reminiscent of lacustrine facies in the Green River Formation of the western United States. Evidence for anoxia at the lake floor includes framboidal (biogenic) pyrite, high TOC content, mainly light amorphous organic constituents, and paucity of trace fossils relative to the rest of the core. Approximately 25 dolomite layers are interbedded with laminated micrite and calcareous siltstone units in poorly defined meter-scale cycles. These beds typically have brecciated or clotted textures, and suggest evaporative concentration of magnesium ions at the lake floor. The profundal lacustrine sequence displays a distinctive high-resistivity, low spontaneous-potential log character that is observed in well logs from several fields in the Zuunbayan subbasin. Correlative units can be traced at least 60 km to the northeast and southwest of the Zuunbayan field, indicating that this is a widespread lacustrine depositional unit. These lacustrine strata include the most likely petroleum source facies found to date, and are likely contemporaneous with other large lake systems in China and Mongolia.
Evaluation of the In2it® analyzer for HbA1c determination

Abstract Aim The prominent role of HbA 1c in the follow-up of glycaemic balance in patients with diabetes mellitus necessitates the use of robust and reliable methods of assay. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the In2it ® analyzer, a new device allowing HbA 1c evaluation within 10min, using 10μL of blood, in the laboratory or clinical unit, using an affinity-based method. Methods The analytical performance of the In2it ® analyzer was tested for precision, interference and linearity, and correlated with two other analyzers – the high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)-based Variant II™ analyzer in a laboratory, and the immunology-based DCA 2000 ® analyzer in a clinical unit – for practicability and its compliance with good laboratory practices. Results HbA 1c assay is linear from 4 to 14%, with coefficients of variations ranging from 2.4 to 3.9%. In2it ® correlation was satisfactory with both the HPLC Variant II ® ( r 2 =0.974, P ® ( r 2 =0.794, P Conclusion The In2it ® analyzer is suitable for HbA 1c assay in small laboratory series and for point-of-care testing, and its analytical performance is satisfactory overall. However, several issues related to software need to be improved for optimal application. Also, special attention should be paid concerning the possibility of underestimation of results in cases of high hypertriglyceridaemia.
Distribution of ABO blood group substances in various types of oral lichen planus

Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue sections of fifty oral lichen planus lesions including hypertrophic, atrophic and erosive types, were examined by an immunofluorescent technique for the presence of the ABO blood group antigens. The antigen activity in lichen planus lesions was compared with the reactivity of normal human and Rhesus monkey oral mucosa as controls, and the reactivity of adjacent normal epithelium in the same specimen. A difference in the distribution of the blood group substances was observed in the three different types of oral lichen planus. The hypertrophic showed the strongest staining reaction approaching that of the normal, whereas a decrease in quantity of blood group substances was seen in the atrophic, and a tendency to complete loss in the erosive type. There was a marked tendency for loss of staining to be greater in lesions from older patients; this could be related to the greater frequency of atrophic and erosive lesions in the elderly.
A discordance of the cytochrome P450 2C19 genotype and phenotype in patients with advanced cancer

Aims To examine the relationship between cytochrome P450 2C19 (CYP2C19) genotype and expressed metabolic activity in 16 patients with advanced metastatic cancer. Methods Individual CYP2C19 genotypes were determined by PCR-based amplification, followed by restriction fragment length analysis, and compared with observed CYP2C19 metabolic activity, as determined using the log hydroxylation index of omeprazole. Results All 16 patients had an extensive metabolizer genotype. However, based on the antimode in a distribution of log omeprazole hydroxylation indices from healthy volunteers, four of the patients had a poor metabolizer phenotype and there was a general shift of the remaining 12 patients towards a slower metabolic phenotype. This suggests a reduction in metabolic activity for all patients relative to healthy volunteers. A careful analysis of patient medical records failed to reveal any drug interactions or other source for the observed discordance between genotype and phenotype. Conclusions There are no previous reports of a ‘discordance’ between genotype and expressed enzyme activity in cancer patients. Such a decrease in enzyme activity could have an impact on the efficacy and toxicity of chemotherapeutic agents and other drugs, used in standard oncology practice.
Five Downtown Strategies: Policy Discourse and Downtown Planning Since 1945

Americans have planned for their downtowns within a continually changing framework of images and assumptions about the nature of central business districts. During each decade since World War II, discussion of downtown problems and possibilities has been dominated by a distinct set of assumptions that has conditioned academic research, federal policy, and local planning. From decade to decade, experts on downtowns have chosen different themes as central to the interpretation of downtown growth, change, and policy needs. As the understanding of the situation has changed, so have the preferred planning solutions and public interventions.
SHEETFLOODS, STREAMFLOODS, AND THE FORMATION OF PEDIMENTS1

ABSTRACT Field observations of four floods in the desert plains of Southwestern Arizona indicate that such floods have the following two characteristics: 1) Floods on pediments occur as streamfloods. Sheetfloods are limited to the bahadas. 2) Streamfloods on pediments exhibit supercritical flow.
El servicio público en encrucijada: El significado y la importancia de la profesionalización en el servicio público

El triunfo de la razon tecnica e instrumental que siguio en el camino de la nueva gestion publica y el pensamiento neoliberal afecto profundamente el curso de la discusion publica de la etica. Del lado positivo, parecia como si el servicio publico profesional y la etica hubieran vuelto a surgir y, de hecho, se les hubiera asignado un lugar de honor en el discurso de lo que constituye el "buen gobierno", asi como la gestion responsable. En el lado negativo, sin embargo, pronto se hizo evidente que en la nueva gestion publica el tema de la etica y el profesionalismo en la administracion publica sirvieron principalmente para propositos decorativos. Aqui se propone la necesidad de que la etica y la profesionalizacion del servicio publico vuelvan a colocarse en el centro del debate sobre la gobernabilidad democratica. El "quehacer" y "no hacer" de nuestro oficio como profesionales del servicio publico no puede supeditarse a la busqueda de ventajas a corto plazo, o incluso la mera busqueda de la eficiencia y la eficacia, sobre todo cuando los valores mas altos y los principios estan en juego. Lo que la globalizacion esta trayendo a la luz es el alcance global de estos principios, la universalidad de los valores. El servicio publico en encrucijada. El significado y la importancia de la profesionalizacion en el servicio publico
Economic Feasibility Evaluation of Microfiltration of Milk Prior to Cheesemaking

A nonlinear programming optimization model was used to evaluate the net revenues and potential profitability of microfiltration (MF) prior to cheesemaking in the 3-year period 1998 to 2000, using monthly milk price and composition data. The model identifies the optimal mix of milk resources and determines if MF cheesemaking produces a higher net revenue than conventional cheesemaking that uses NDM and condensed milk for fortification. This study demonstrates the potential of this model to evaluate new technologies in cheese manufacture and improve decision making in the cheese industry. The use of MF produced higher net revenues in 30 out of the 36 mo for both Cheddar and low-moisture, part-skim mozzarella, leading to an appreciable increase in net revenue (vs. conventional cheesemaking) for both cheeses. The benefit from MF in net revenue was greater when the cream price was high. The use of 3X MF yielded the same net revenue as 2X MF. An estimate of manufacturing costs of MF vs. conventional cheesemaking was also made. To this end, the yields of products were calculated by the optimization model, while the production cost of each product was estimated from data of two economic engineering studies and a MF cheesemaking trial. The manufacturing cost of MF Cheddar was slightly higher than the manufacturing cost of conventional Cheddar. However, the benefit in net revenue from the use of MF was estimated to be higher than the difference in manufacturing costs. Moreover, some advantages in the new coproducts of MF Cheddar could outweigh its higher manufacturing cost. The relationships between prices and recoveries of coproducts required to render MF profitable were identified.
Fan noise prediction for design.

This paper develops a fan noise prediction model intended for use in the design of systems for cooling and drying. Airflow through a system is described by a dimensionless resistance parameter. Fan noise is predicted by a scaling relationship obtained from a dimensional solution of Lighthill’s acoustic analogy. The scaling relationship contains unknown proportionality factors, which are determined empirically and compared for axial fans and centrifugal blowers. The dependence of fan and blower noise spectra on non‐dimensional scaling parameters is also investigated.
Latino Adolescents’ Ethnic Identity: Is There a Developmental Progression and Does Growth in Ethnic Identity Predict Growth in Self-Esteem?

The current longitudinal study of 323 Latino adolescents (50.5% male; M age = 15.31 years) examined whether ethnic identity exploration, resolution, and affirmation demonstrated significant growth over a 4-year period and whether growth in ethnic identity predicted growth in self-esteem. Findings from multiple-group latent growth curve models revealed that exploration, resolution, and affirmation all increased significantly from middle to late adolescence for Latina girls. For Latino boys, only affirmation increased significantly. Furthermore, only growth in exploration predicted growth in boys' and girls' self-esteem. This research indicates that patterns of growth in ethnic identity vary by adolescent sex. Furthermore, findings underscore the need to examine the unique contributions of each ethnic identity component, rather than using a composite ethnic identity score.
Expected-utility-based sensor selection for state estimation

Applications such as long-term environmental monitoring and large-scale surveillance demand reliable performance from sensor nodes while operating within strict energy constraints. There is often not enough power for sensors to make measurements all of the time. In these cases, one must decide when to run each sensor. To this end, we develop a one-step optimal sensor-scheduling algorithm based on expected-utility maximization. “Utility” is an application-specific measure of the benefit from a given sensor measurement. In sensing environments that can be modeled using a hidden Markov model, selecting the appropriate combination of sensors at each time instant enables maximization of the expected utility while operating within an energy budget. For some budgets, the utility-based algorithm shows more than 300% utility gains over a constant duty-cycle scheme designed to consume the same amount of energy. These benefits are dependent on the energy budget.
Variation of coercivity of ferromagnetic material during cyclic stressing

The relationship between coercivity and the number of stress cycles is reported in this paper. The linear relation between coercivity and the logarithm of the number of stress cycles was confirmed in load controlled fatigue tests, for both pre-strained and unprestrained specimens. It is believed that the dislocation activity is the main factor changing the magnetic properties of a ferromagnetic material under fatigue, rather than other microstructures and internal stress. As a result, a theoretical model was developed to explain the correlation between the coercivity and the number of stress cycles. The model is based on domain wall dislocation interaction and the strain-dislocation relation. We predict the relation between magnetic properties and the stage of fatigue life as Hc-Hc/sub 0/=b ln(N), where Hc-Hc/sub 0/ is the change in coercivity, N is the number of stress cycles and b is a constant. >
Sculpin Community Dynamics in Lake Michigan

Two hypotheses have been proposed to explain the dynamics of sympatric populations of deepwater sculpin (Myoxocephalus thompsonii) and slimy sculpin (Cottus cognatus). The first hypothesis is that slimy sculpins negatively affect survival of deepwater sculpins, and therefore deepwater sculpins coexist with slimy sculpins only when a keystone predator, lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush), is abundant. According to the second hypothesis, changes in the abundances of the sculpins are driven by interactions with fishes other than sculpins. To evaluate both hypotheses, we applied regression analyses to long-term observations on abundances of both sculpin populations in Lake Michigan during 1973–2002. For slimy sculpin abundance, we considered the predation effect by lake trout and the effect of deepwater sculpins on slimy sculpins. For deepwater sculpin abundance, we considered the effect of alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) on deepwater sculpins, the predation effect by burbot (Lota lota), and the effect of slimy sculpins on deepwater sculpins. An information criterion was used to select the best regression model explaining the temporal trends. The best model to explain trends in slimy sculpin abundance was the model that included the lake trout predation term only. The best model to explain trends in deepwater sculpin abundance was a model including the alewife and burbot predation terms. Thus, a negative effect of slimy sculpins on deepwater sculpins was not essential in capturing the sculpin community dynamics. Therefore, our results supported the second hypothesis. Further, our results supported the contention that control of the alewife population was a prerequisite for restoration of deepwater sculpin populations.
Angiolymphoid Hyperplasia with Eosinophilia in Association with a Vascular Malformation

A unique case is presented in which a lesion of angiolymphoid hyperplasia occurs in association with a vascular malformation. The skin and the intravascular lesion showed, on microscopic examination, angiolymphoid hyperplasia, which to my understanding, is a reactive process. The nodule represents, in my view, satellite lesions of the A-V malformation--in other words a skin manifestation of the intravascular process. The same phenomenon has been reported in some pyogenic granulomas and hemangiomas.
Clarifying basic concepts: Conceptualizing sexuality

While sexuality is the focus of extensive research, the concept has not been adequately defined. In this paper, sexuality is defined as the individual capacity to respond to physical experiences which are capable of producing body‐centered genital excitation, that only subsequently becomes associated with cognitive constructs (either anticipatory for new experiences or reflective of past experiences) independent of ongoing physical experiences. The discussion focuses on four components of this definition: that sexuality is an individual capacity, is experiential, is body‐oriented, and is directed toward genital excitation.
Islamic Societies to the Nineteenth Century: Middle Eastern Societies Before Islam

Islamic societies were built on the framework of already established and ancient Middle Eastern civilizations. From the pre-Islamic Middle East, Islamic societies inherited a pattern of institutions that would shape daily life until the modern age. These institutions included small communities based on family, lineage, clientage, and ethnic ties; agricultural and urban societies, market economies, monotheistic religions, and bureaucratic empires. Along with their political and social characteristics, Islamic societies also inherited many of the religious, literary, and artistic practices of the pre-Islamic past. The civilization of Islam, although initiated in Mecca, also had its precursors in Palestine, Babylon, and Persepolis. Islamic societies developed in an environment that since the earliest history of mankind had exhibited two fundamental and enduring qualities. The first was the organization of human societies into small, often familial groups. The earliest hunting and gathering communities lived and moved in small bands. Since the advent of agriculture and the domestication of animals, the vast majority of Middle Eastern peoples have lived in agricultural villages or in the tent camps of nomadic pastoralists. Even town peoples were bound into small groups by ties of kinship and neighborhood, with all that implies of strong affections and hatreds. These groups raised the young, arranged marriages, arbitrated disputes, and formed a common front vis-a-vis the outside world.
Evidence-based evaluation of the cumulative effects of ecosystem restoration

This study adapts and applies the evidence-based approach for causal inference, a medical standard, to the restoration and sustainable management of large-scale aquatic ecosystems. Despite long-term investments in restoring aquatic ecosystems, it has proven difficult to adequately synthesize and evaluate program outcomes, and no standard method has been adopted. Complex linkages between restorative actions and ecosystem responses at a landscape scale make evaluations problematic and most programs focus on monitoring and analysis. Herein, we demonstrate a new transdisciplinary approach integrating techniques from evidence-based medicine, critical thinking, and cumulative effects assessment. Tiered hypotheses about the effects of landscape-scale restorative actions are identified using an ecosystem conceptual model. The systematic literature review, a health sciences standard since the 1960s, becomes just one of seven lines of evidence assessed collectively, using critical thinking strategies, causal criteria, and cumulative effects categories. As a demonstration, we analyzed data from 166 locations on the Columbia River and estuary representing 12 indicators of habitat and fish response to floodplain restoration actions intended to benefit culturally and economically important, threatened and endangered salmon. Synthesis of the lines of evidence demonstrated that hydrologic reconnection promoted macrodetritis export, prey availability, and juvenile fish access and feeding. Upon evaluation, the evidence was sufficient to infer cross-boundary, indirect, compounding, and delayed cumulative effects, and suggestive of nonlinear, landscape-scale, and spatial density effects. Therefore, on the basis of causal inferences regarding food-web functions, we concluded that the restoration program is having a cumulative beneficial effect on juvenile salmon. The lines of evidence developed are transferable to other ecosystems: modeling of cumulative net ecosystem improvement, physical modeling of ecosystem controlling factors, meta-analysis of restoration action effectiveness, analysis of data on target species, research on critical ecological uncertainties, evidence-based review of the literature, and change analysis on the landscape setting. As with medicine, the science of ecological restoration needs scientific approaches to management decisions, particularly because the consequences affect species extinctions and the availability of ecosystem services. This evidence-based approach will enable restoration in complex coastal, riverine, and tidal-fluvial ecosystems like the lower Columbia River to be evaluated when data have accumulated without sufficient synthesis.
α-Adrenergic blockade restores normal fluid transport capacity of alveolar epithelium after hemorrhagic shock

Activation of β-adrenergic receptors in the lung is an important mechanism that can prevent alveolar flooding after brief but severe hemorrhagic shock. However, a neutrophil-dependent oxidant injur...
Accurate measurement of the T-shaped and linear Ar ⋯ i 2 (X, ν' = 0) binding energies using vibronic-specific I 2(B, ν) fragment velocity-map imaging

Abstract Ion time-of-flight slow fragment velocity imaging (SFVI) is combined with laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy measurements to accurately determine the binding energies of the T-shaped and linear conformers of the ground-state Ar⋯I2( X, ν ″ = 0 ) complex. The fluorescence-based measurements were used to optimize the conditions for preferentially stabilizing either the T-shaped or linear conformers, and to ensure proper excitation energetics for the SFVI experiments. In the ion-imaging experiments, the kinetic energy distributions of specific I2(B, ν) fragments formed with very low kinetic energies via dissociation of initially prepared Ar⋯I2(B, ν′) intermolecular vibrational levels were imaged to measure the binding energies of the linear and T-shaped conformers. The linear conformer is energetically preferred, with a binding energy of 250.3(2.7) cm−1, over the T-shaped conformer, with a binding energy of 240.5(3.6) cm−1. These values are compared with previously reported data from high-level ab initio calculations and experiments.