cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The multimodal majority? Driving, walking, cycling, and public transportation use among American adults

Multimodality, the use of more than one mode of transportation during a specified time period, is gaining recognition as an important mechanism for reducing automobile dependence by shifting trips from automobiles to walking, cycling, or public transportation. Most prior research on multimodality focuses on Western European countries. Based on the 2001 and 2009 National Household Travel Surveys, this paper analyzes trends and determinants of multimodal car use in the U.S. during a typical week by distinguishing between (1) monomodal car users who drive or ride in a car for all trips, (2) multimodal car users who drive or ride in a car and also use non-automobile modes, and (3) individuals who exclusively walk, cycle, and/or ride public transportation. We find that during a typical week a majority—almost two thirds—of Americans use a car and make at least one trip by foot, bicycle, or public transportation. One in four Americans uses a car and makes at least seven weekly trips by other modes of transportation. Results from multinomial and logistic regression analyses suggest there may be a continuum of mobility types ranging from monomodal car users to walk, bicycle, and/or public transportation only users—with multimodal car users positioned in-between the two extremes. Policy changes aimed at curtailing car use may result in movements along this spectrum with increasing multimodality for car users.
The influence of therapeutic expectancy/demand on self-efficacy ratings

If expectancy/demand manipulations influence self-efficacy ratings independent of therapy effects or if outcome effects can be shown to be independent of efficacy ratings, questions would be raised about the mediational role of self-efficacy in the change process. Speech-anxious subjects underwent a single session of repeated in vivo exposure versus imaginal placebo under neutral versus positive therapeutic instructions in an effort to separate the effects of expectancy/demand and active therapy ingredients. Efficacy ratings and self-reported outcome were found to be significantly influenced by the expectancy manipulation, whereas no behavioral measures were influenced and heart rate outcome was due to an expectancy by treatment interaction. Canonical correlation analyses revealed significant associations between changes in efficacy ratings and self-reported anxiety but no relationships to behavioral and physiological measures. Although therapy did not have a separate main effect, precluding unambiguous conclusions regarding efficacy's mediational role, the possible influence of therapeutic expectancy on efficacy ratings was documented.
A recursive formula for the Kaplan---Meier estimator with mean constraints and its application to empirical likelihood

The Kaplan---Meier estimator is very popular in analysis of survival data. However, it is not easy to compute the `constrained' Kaplan---Meier. Current computational method uses expectation-maximization algorithm to achieve this, but can be slow at many situations. In this note we give a recursive computational algorithm for the `constrained' Kaplan---Meier estimator. The constraint is assumed given in linear estimating equations or mean functions. We also illustrate how this leads to the empirical likelihood ratio test with right censored data. Speed comparison to the EM based algorithm favours the current procedure.
Molecular weight averages and 13C NMR intensities provide evidence for branching in proanthocyanidin polymers

Abstract Molecular weight distributions for several proanthocyanidin polymers (condensed tannins) have previously been shown to be characterized by DPw/DPn > 2, where DP denotes the degree of polymerization. Molecular weight ratios of the size observed experimentally are expected if a few percent of the units form trifunctional branch points. An independent assessment of the extent of branching can be obtained from analysis of intensities of resonances in the 13C NMR spectra. Similar branch contents are deduced from DPw/DPn and from the spectral analysis. In the case of the Chinese quince (Chaenomeles chinensis) polymer, about 3% of the epicatechin units form trifunctional branch points.
Morality, reasons, and sentiments

Morality is commonly thought to be normative in a robust and important way. This is commonly cashed out in terms of normative reasons. It is also commonly thought that morality is necessarily and universally normative, i.e., that moral reasons are reasons for any possible moral agent. Taking these commonplaces for granted, I argue for a novel view of moral normativity. I challenge the standard view that moral reasons are reasons to act. I suggest that moral reasons are reasons for having sentiments—in particular, compassion and respect—and I argue that this view has important advantages over the standard view of moral normativity.
Neonatal tuberculosis with pulmonary cavitation.

Summary A case is reported of tuberculosis in a 5-week-old infant who presented with cervical lymphadenopathy. A pulmonary cavity was shown on the chest X-ray. Bilateral tuberculosis otitis developed as well.
Symmetry breaking localisation of the unpaired electron in spiro-bis(1,9-disubstituted-phenalenyl)boron radicals

Abstract We report the crystal structure of a spiro-bis(1,9-disubstituted-phenalenyl)boron cation ( 2 + ) and by comparison with the structures of a series of radicals we conclude that the changes in bond lengths in the radicals compared to those of the corresponding cation can be qualitatively predicted by the sign of the partial bond order of the singly occupied molecular orbital (SOMO), which contains the additional electron. By use of this information, we can analyse the structures of the π-dimer radicals 1 and 2 and ascertain the location of the unpaired electron in these compounds. Where these radicals exist as paramagnetic π-dimers (high-temperature regime), the unpaired electrons reside mainly in the phenalenyl units not directly involved in the π-dimer interaction. At low temperatures, where the diamagnetic π-dimers exist, the electrons localise in the phenalenyl units directly involved in the π-dimer, but there still exists some degree of delocalisation of the electrons to the other halves of the molecules. We postulate that the increase in delocalisation of the unpaired electrons is related to the increase of the conductivity by about two orders of magnitude as the electrons spin pair.
Stable parallel elimination for boundary value odes

A parallelizable and vectorizable algorithm for solving linear algebraic systems arising from two-point boundary value ODEs is described. The method is equivalent to Gaussian elimination, with row partial pivoting, applied to a certain column-reordered version of the usual almost-block-diagonal coefficient matrix. We present analytical and numerical evidence to show that the algorithm is stable in most circumstances. Results from implementation on a shared-memory multiprocessor and a vector processor are given. The approach can be extended to handle problems with multipoint and integral conditions or with algebraic parameters.
Automating data abstraction in a quality improvement platform for surgical and interventional procedures.

Objective: This paper describes a text processing system designed to automate the manual data abstraction process in a quality improvement (QI) program. The Surgical Care and Outcomes Assessment Program (SCOAP) is a clinician-led, statewide performance benchmarking QI platform for surgical and interventional procedures. The data elements abstracted as part of this program cover a wide range of clinical information from patient medical history to details of surgical interventions. Methods: Statistical and rule-based extractors were developed to automatically abstract data elements. A preprocessing pipeline was created to chunk free-text notes into its sections, sentences, and tokens. The information extracted in this preprocessing step was used by the statistical and rule-based extractors as features. Findings: Performance results for 25 extractors (14 statistical, 11 rule based) are presented. The average f1-scores for 11 rule-based extractors and 14 statistical extractors are 0.785 (min=0.576,max=0.931,std-dev=0.113) and 0.812 (min=0.571,max=0.993,std-dev=0.135) respectively. Discussion: Our error analysis revealed that most extraction errors were due either to data imbalance in the data set or the way the gold standard had been created. Conclusion: As future work, more experiments will be conducted with a more comprehensive data set from multiple institutions contributing to the QI project.
Integrating Controlled Vocabularies into Cultural Heritage Digital Collections: The Portal to Texas History Experience

Paper accompanying a poster for the 2007 ASIS&T Annual Conference. Paper discusses the University of North Texas Libraries' digital libraries' implementations experience. It discusses various scenarios and strategies for integrating controlled vocabularies in the uncontrolled digital library world.
Relative toxicity of hydrogen phosphide to various stored-product insects☆

Abstract The toxicity of hydrogen phosphide (H 3 P) to several species of stored-product insects and their life stages under various conditions of exposure time and temperature was determined. The larvae of Trogoderma sternale were more resistant to H 3 P fumigation than the larvae and adults of the other species tested. The order of tolerance to H 3 P fumigation of known age T. confusum eggs is 1-day-old > 2 > 4 > 3 > 5 >6-day-old. The order of tolerance to H 3 P fumigation of the various stages of T. confusum is egg > pupa >adult > larva. The order of tolerance to H 3 P fumigation of the various stages of S. granarius and S. oryzae at the lc 99 is pupa>egg > larva >adult. From the c × t (concentration × time) products obtained it appears that H 3 P is less effective at an exposure period of 2 hr than at longer exposure periods.
Tunneling theory of negative ion decay at surfaces

A tunneling theory of negative ion formation in adsorbed molecules is developed. This theory enables the lifetime of an adsorbate negative ion to be estimated from the probability current flowing through the different angular momentum decay channels. The results of this theory are compared to the lifetimes of O−2 on Pt(111) and N−2 on Ag(111) calculated from the resonance poles by a LKKR method. Maps of the resonance lifetime calculated as a function of lateral position of the molecule are found to be in good agreement with the LKKR method.
Choline acetyltransferase in individual neurons of Aplysia californica.

— The activities of choline acetyltransferase in the various ganglia of the nervous system of Aplysia californica and in some of the individually identifiable neurons in these ganglia were measured. At least four of the neurons were characterized by an apparent absence of the enzyme. The neurons containing measurable amounts of the enzyme had reproducible levels from animal to animal. Individual neurons from the same animal were generally characterized by different levels of activity whether expressed on a cell or a protein basis. However, those pairs of neurons previously classified as ‘homologous’ because of their similar appearance, location and/or electrophysiological function, also contained the same total amounts of enzyme activity.
Restless rays, steady wave fronts

Observations of underwater acoustic fields with vertical line arrays and numerical simulations of long-range sound propagation in an ocean perturbed by internal gravity waves indicate that acoustic wave fronts are much more stable than the rays comprising these wave fronts. This paper provides a theoretical explanation of the phenomenon of wave front stability in a medium with weak sound-speed perturbations. It is shown analytically that at propagation ranges that are large compared to the correlation length of the sound-speed perturbations but smaller than ranges at which ray chaos develops, end points of rays launched from a point source and having a given travel time are scattered primarily along the wave front corresponding to the same travel time in the unperturbed environment. The ratio of root mean square displacements of the ray end points along and across the unperturbed wave front increases with range as the ratio of ray length to correlation length of environmental perturbations. An intuitive physical explanation of the theoretical results is proposed. The relative stability of wave fronts compared to rays is shown to follow from Fermat’s principle and dimensional considerations.
Differential Effects of Age and Cerebral Atrophy Upon Span of Immediate Recall and Paired-Associate Learning in Older Patients Suspected of Dementia

Summary Seventy-eight patients suspected of dementia, 50 years of age or older and without evidence of focal cerebral lesion or systemic illness, were administered the Digit-Span Forward and Paired-Associate Learning subtests of the Wechsler Memory Scale. Computerized axial tomography, allowing a visualization and measurement of the lateral ventricles and cortical sulci, was employed to measure cerebral atrophy. Four groups were defined as follows: (1) age 50–69, without atrophy (N = 27), (2) age 50–69, with atrophy (N = 17), (3) age 70–89, without atrophy (N = 18), (4) age 70–89, with atrophy (N = 16). Results of analyses of variance indicate that Digit-Span is affected by cerebral atrophy but not by age, while Paired-Associate Learning is affected by both age and cerebral atrophy. No interaction effect between age and cerebral atrophy was found for either task. These results are discussed within the context of previous research, and implications for both models of memory and theories of the effects of cerebral atrophy in different age groups are suggested.
THE ACTION OF SUBSTANCES WHICH BLOCK SYMPATHETIC POSTGANGLIONIC NERVOUS TRANSMISSION

The substances which block sympathetic postganglionic transmission, xylocholine, bretylium and guanethidine, also block neuromuscular and sympathetic ganglionic transmission. To see if these last properties were related to the sympathetic blocking property, phenyltrimethylammonium, which blocks the neuromuscular junction (Riker, 1953), was used. It blocked the inhibition of the rabbit ileum produced by stimulating the periarterial nerves in the mesentery, though with higher concentrations the effect of stimulation was initially increased. The action was not modified by the presence of hyoscine. The blocking action was exerted on the response to stimulation of the highest frequency first, and on the response to stimulation of the lowest frequency last. This relation of block to stimulus frequency is similar to that at the neuromuscular junction when tubocurarine is used. Nine compounds have now been shown to block responses to sympathetic postganglionic stimulation, and seven of these are onium compounds. They are, however, mon-onium compounds, and not bis-onium compounds like hexamethonium and decamethonium, so that they can probably enter the postganglionic fibre, which bis-onium compounds (having a charged group at each end of the molecule) may not be able to do. Since these mon-onium compounds have some blocking action at neuromuscular junctions and at sympathetic ganglia, their block of postganglionic transmission may be essentially similar to that by hexamethonium at ganglia and to that by decamethonium at neuromuscular junctions. It is known that acetylcholine releases noradrenaline from sympathetic postganglionic terminations, and xylocholine and bretylium block this release in the vessels of the rabbit ear and in the rabbit isolated atria.
Platinum-a non-inert material reacting with oxides

Platinum is a non-inert material which reacts with oxides when in contact at high temperatures. The degree of such reactions depends strongly on the oxygen partial pressures established in the environment of the Pt-oxide reaction couple. If the oxygen partial pressure is decreased, oxygen is released due to (i) the dissolution of metallic components of oxides into Pt and (ii) changes in the oxide stoichiometry. This oxygen release leads to a decrease in the mass of the Pt-oxide system. Often, this mass change is primarily caused by reaction (i), whereas the contribution from reaction (ii) is insignificant, especially at low oxygen partial pressures and if the Pt/oxide mass ratio and the occurring oxide stoichiometry changes are small. The degree of dissolution of metallic components of oxides into Pt increases with decreasing oxygen activity. The Pt-oxide systems discussed in this article are PtZrO2, PtNiO, and PtFeOx. For the first two systems experimental data are presented and analyzed thermo-dynamically. For the PtFeOx system results of thermodynamic calculations are discussed and compared with experimental data from the literature. Several consequences arising from the dissolution of metallic components of oxides into Pt are also discussed.
Crystal and molecular structure of 8,8-dimethyl-8-azoniabicyclo [5.1.0] octane iodide

The crystal and molecular structure of 8, 8-dimethyl-8-azoniabicyclo[5.1. 0]octane iodide has been elucidated. The aziridine ring is bridged cis to the cycloheptane ring. The cycloheptane ring has been shown to have a distorted chair conformation. No close trans-annular hydrogen distances have been observed. The compound crystallizes in the space group Pna21 with unit cell dimensions a = 17.31, b= 8.58 and c=7.56A. The final value of R=Σ ‖ Fo| - | Fc ‖/Σ| Fo| is 0.145 for the 734 observed reflections.
Laparoscopic radiofrequency ablation and hepatic artery infusion pump placement in the evolving treatment of colorectal hepatic metastases.

Background: Laparoscopic radiofrequency ablation (LRFA) and laparoscopic hepatic artery infusion pump (LHAIP) placement are new treatment options for patients with colorectal liver metastases. This study investigates the selection criteria, safety, efficacy, and preliminary outcomes of patients treated with LRFA and LHAIP placement. Methods: Fourty five patients with colorectal metastases confined to the liver, 37 of whom had failed systemic chemotherapy, were treated with LRFA and/or LHAIP between September 1996 and December 2001. Treatment selection was individualized, based on each patient's general health, liver function, and tumor size, number, location, and distribution. Results: Twenty patients (44%) had LRFA alone, 10 (22%) had LHAIP placement alone, and 15 (33%) patients had combined LRFA and LHAIP therapy. The LRFA group had a significantly shorter mean operative time and blood loss (p < 0.05), but hospital stays were similar when compared to patients receiving LRFA + LHAIP or LHAIP alone. Tumor characteristics were worse in both LHAIP groups, with a higher incidence of tumors ≥4 cm, major vascular involvement, diffuse tumor pattern, bilobar distribution, and involvement of more than three segments. During a mean follow-up period of 11.5 ± 7.8 months (range, 1-38), the actuarial survival was 70%, 67%, and 50% for LRFA, LRFA + LHAIP, and LHAIP, respectively. LHAIP only patients had the shortest estimated mean survival time of the three groups by Kaplan-Meier survival curves (p = 0.001). Conclusion: LRFA and/or LHAIP placement are safe and feasible treatment options for the treatment of colorectal hepatic metastases. The choice of treatment for patients should be based primarily on tumor characteristics. Long-term studies, which will elucidate the role of these evolving treatments, are now under way.
Sliding Mode Control of Steerable Needles

Steerable needles can potentially increase the accuracy of needle-based diagnosis and therapy delivery, provided they can be adequately controlled based on medical image information. We propose a novel sliding mode control law that can be used to deliver the tip of a flexible asymmetric-tipped needle to a desired point, or to track a desired trajectory within tissue. The proposed control strategy requires no a priori knowledge of model parameters, has bounded input speeds, and requires little computational resources. We show that if the standard nonholonomic model for tip-steered needles holds, then the control law will converge to desired targets in a reachable workspace, within a tolerance that can be defined by the control parameters. Experimental results validate the control law for target points and trajectory following in phantom tissue and ex vivo liver. Experiments with targets that move during insertion illustrate robustness to disturbances caused by tissue deformation.
Implication of Active Oxygen Species as Second Messengers of Asbestos Toxicity

ABSTRACTActive Oxygen Species and the Causation of Pulmonary Diseases.A number of toxins and drugs (paraquat, bleomycin, phorbol esters, etc.) affecting the lung are associated with the generation of oxygen free radicals, byproducts of oxygen metabolism possessing an unpaired electron. These active oxygen species may be produced directly by the compounds themselves or as a consequence of their uptake and metabolism by cells of the lung and immune system. For example, some toxins evoke a prominent 'respiratory burst' by participating cell types such as macrophages and polymorphonuclear leukocytes. Consequently, release of oxygen free radicals causing depolymentation of polysaccharides, peroxidation of lipids and breakage of DNA in these and surrounding cells leads to inflammatory response (Freeman and Crapo, 1982).
Effects of chronic baroreceptor unloading on blood pressure in the dog

We have developed a new model of chronic baroreceptor unloading (CBU) in the dog. Initial characterization of the model indicated that CBU increased mean arterial pressure (MAP) by an average of 22...
Cellular mobile telephones and children

This paper discusses whether children are more vulnerable to cellular phone radiation than adults. Various studies of SAR are considered.
B. subtilis ykuD protein at 2.0 Å resolution: Insights into the structure and function of a novel, ubiquitous family of bacterial enzymes

The crystal structure of the prod- uct of the Bacillus subtilis ykuD gene was solved by the multiwavelength anomalous dispersion (MAD) method and refined using data to 2.0 A resolution. The ykuD protein is a representative of a distinctly prokaryotic and ubiquitous family found among both pathogenic and nonpathogenic Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. The deduced amino acid sequence reveals the presence of an N-terminal LysM domain, which occurs among enzymes in- volved in cell wall metabolism, and a novel, putative catalytic domain with a highly conserved His/Cys- containing motif of hitherto unknown structure. As the wild-type protein did not crystallize, a double mutant was designed (Lys117Ala/Gln118Ala) to re- duce excess surface conformational entropy. As ex- pected, the structure of the LysM domain is similar to the NMR structure reported for an analogous domain from Escherichia coli murein transglycosy- lase MltD. The molecular model also shows that the 112-residue-long C-terminal domain has a novel ter- tiary fold consisting of a -sandwich with two mixed sheets, one containing five strands and the other, six strands. The two -sheets form a cradle capped by an -helix. This domain contains a putative cata- lytic site with a tetrad of invariant His123, Gly124, Cys139, and Arg141. The stereochemistry of this active site shows similarities to peptidotransferases and sortases, and suggests that the enzymes of the ykuD family may play an important role in cell wall biology. Proteins 2006;62:144 -151.
Inducible Chemoresistance to 7-Ethyl-10-[4-(1-piperidino)-1-piperidino]carbonyloxycamptothecin (CPT-11) in Colorectal Cancer Cells and a Xenograft Model Is Overcome by Inhibition of Nuclear Factor-κB Activation

Limited studies have indicated that some chemotherapy agents activate the transcription factor nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB), and that this leads to suppression of the apoptotic potential of the chemotherapy. In contrast, it was reported recently that stable inhibition of NF-kappaB in four different cancer cell lines did not lead to augmentation of the chemotherapy-induced apoptosis. In this study, we have focused on colorectal cancer, which is known to be highly resistant to genotoxic chemotherapy and gamma irradiation. We show that the topoisomerase I inhibitor 7-ethyl-10-[4-(1-piperidino)-1-piperidino]carbonyloxycamptothecin (CPT-11) activates NF-kappaB in most colorectal cancer cell lines. We then examine a therapeutic strategy that uses adenovirus-mediated transfer of the super-repressor IkappaBalpha to inhibit NF-kappaB activation as an adjuvant approach to promote chemosensitivity in colorectal tumor cells to treatment with CPT-11. These data demonstrate that the protection from apoptosis induced in response to CPT-11 treatment is effectively inhibited by the transient inhibition of NF-kappaB in a variety of human colon cancer cell lines and in a tumor xenograft model, resulting in a significantly enhanced tumoricidal response to CPT-11 via increased induction of apoptosis. These findings indicate that the activation of NF-kappaB by chemotherapy is an important underlying mechanism of inducible chemoresistance.
Optimized design of the electronic ballast for metal halide lamps

For both indoor and outdoor lighting, the metal halide (MH) lamp has much better properties than other discharge lamps in color stability, color rendering, light efficiency and life cycle. So, the electronic ballast plays an important role in the MH lamp lighting. However, there are two factors to be considered. One is how to design the electronic ballast architecture such as volume, weight and circuit topology, the other is how to match electronic ballasts and lamps with high efficiency, high stability and long lamp life. Most of all, it is an important point that the operating temperature of igniting MH lamps can be controlled under safety range. In this paper, an optimal design for electronic ballasts involving small volume, concise circuit, higher energy efficiency, and stable system is held. Therefore, the ballast is the most sophisticated design which can also be applied for other high intensity discharge lamps. Finally, the performance of the optimal design verifies with 150 watts electronic ballast.
Time-resolved X-ray scattering using a high-intensity multilayer monochromator

Abstract A wide-bandpass monochromator and fast detector system at the new IBM/MIT beamline X-20C at the National Synchrotron Light Source allow the collection of X-ray scattering patterns within milliseconds. The monochromator incorporates artificial multilayers rather than crystals, and provides a flux of 1 × 1013 photons/s at 6 keV with an energy resolution of ΔE E = 1.1 × 10 −2 fwhm. The detector system is based on a linear photodiode array. Using this beamline, we have carried out in situ time-resolved X-ray scattering studies of the initial kinetics of crystallization, phase separation, and ordering at time scales orders of magnitude faster than previously possible for such nonrepetitive processes.
High Resolution Etching of Gaas and Cds Crystals

Submicrometer gratings have been etched in GaAs and CdS crystals which have been immersed in an oxidizing etch and illuminated with interferring laser beams. A resolution of 170 nm was obtained. At high laser intensity and with prolonged etching time the surface properties of the material are degraded. The use of in-situ optical measurements of grating parameters allows ready optimization of the grating fabrication process.
The Structure of U.S. Agricultural Technology, 1910–78

This paper utilizes 1910-78 time-series data and a single product aggregate translog profit function to measure the structure of U.S. agricultural technology. Duality relations are used to devise a multifactor measure of biased technical change. A measure of nonhomotheticity is introduced which indicates the effects scale change has had on aggregate cost shares. The empirical analysis finds that different, nonhomothetic technologies characterized the prewar and postwar periods. Differing technical change biases are consistent with relative price trends during the two periods, showing that the long-run structure of U.S. agricultural technology has been consistent with the Hayami-Ruttan induced innovation theory.
Dynamic response of 3‐D rigid surface foundations by time domain boundary element method

The dynamic response of three-dimensional rigid surface foundations of arbitrary shape is numerically obtained. The foundations are placed on a linear elastic, isotropic and homogeneous half-space representing the soil medium and are subjected to either external dynamic forces or seismic waves of various kinds and directions, with a general transient time variation. The problem is formulated in the time domain by the boundary element method and the response is obtained by a time step-by-step integration. Two examples dealing with three-dimensional rectangular foundations are presented in detail, together with comparisons with other methods, in order to document the accuracy of the method. The main advantages of the proposed method are that, unlike frequency domain techniques, it provides directly the transient response and forms the basis for extension to the case of non-linear behaviour.
The potential impact of sickness-motivated behavior on the expression of neuropsychiatric disturbances in systemic lupus erythematosus

Summary Activation of the peripheral immune system is often accompanied by changes in cognition, ingestive behavior, sleep pattern, and sexual drive; collectively referred to as sickness behavior. Mounting evidence suggests that sickness behavior may be a purposeful attempt on the part of an organism to conserve energy and thereby facilitate recuperation. Illnesses characterized by chronic, uncontrolled immune reactivity such as systemic lupus erythematosus are also frequently associated with impaired emotionality and cognition; which, unlike sickness behavior, are conventionally thought to emanate from fixed structural lesions of the brain. Clinical observations, however, indicate that the neuropsychiatric disturbances in lupus may wax and wane in intensity and suggest the hypothesis that sickness-motivated behavior may significantly influence the neuropsychiatric manifestations of systemic lupus erythematosus and, perhaps, those of other autoimmune diseases associated with neuroinflammation. The hypothesis that patients with systemic lupus erythematosus undergo a reorganization of their motivational priorities, which influences cognitive performance and emotional output, may be examined using validated behavior paradigms in autoimmune MRL-MpJ-Tnfrsf6 lpr (MRL- lpr/lpr ) mice that spontaneously develop a lupus-like illness accompanied by disturbances in cognition and emotionality. Confirming that sickness-motivated behavior contributes to the aberrations in cognition and emotionality exhibited by an experimental model of systemic lupus erythematosus might have important therapeutic and prognostic implications by invoking the possibility that similar motivational effects may be influencing cognitive and/or emotional output in patients with neuropsychiatric lupus.
Insights into TOR function and rapamycin response: Chemical genomic profiling by using a high-density cell array method

With the advent of complete genome sequences, large-scale functional analyses are generating new excitement in biology and medicine. To facilitate genomewide functional analyses, we developed a high-density cell array with quantitative and automated readout of cell fitness. Able to print at >×10 higher density on a standard microtiter plate area than currently possible, our cell array allows single-plate screening of the complete set of Saccharomyces cerevisiae gene-deletion library and significantly reduces the amount of small molecules and other materials needed for the study. We used this method to map the relation between genes and cell fitness in response to rapamycin, a medically important natural product that targets the eukaryotic kinase Tor. We discuss the implications for pharmacogenomics and the uncharted complexity in genotype-dependent drug response in molecularly targeted therapies. Our analysis leads to several basic findings, including a class of gene deletions that confer better fitness in the presence of rapamycin. This result provides insights into possible therapeutic uses of rapamycin/CCI-779 in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases (including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and Huntington's diseases), and cautions the possible existence of similar rapamycin-enhanceable mutations in cancer. It is well established in yeast that although TOR2 has a unique rapamycin-insensitive function, TOR1 and TOR2 are interchangeable in the rapamycin-sensitive functions. We show that even the rapamycin-sensitive functions are distinct between TOR1 and TOR2 and map the functional difference to a ≈120-aa region at the N termini of the proteins. Finally, we discuss using cell-based genomic pattern recognition in designing electronic or optical biosensors.
Estimating mean under interval uncertainty and variance constraint

In many practical situations, we have a sample of objects of a given type. When we measure the values of a certain quantity for these objects, we get a sequence of values x 1 , …, x n . When the sample is large enough, then the arithmetic mean E of the values x i is a good approximation for the average value of this quantity for all the objects from this class. The values x i come from measurements, and measurements are never absolutely accurate. Often, the only information that we have about the measurement error is the upper bound Δ i on this error. In this case, once we have the measurement result x i , the condition that |x i — x i | ≤ Δ i implies that the actual (unknown) value x i belongs to the interval [x i — Δ i , x i + Δ i ]. In addition, we often know the upper bound V 0 on the variance V of the actual values — e.g., we know that the objects belong to the same species, and we know that within-species differences cannot be too high. In such cases, to estimate the average over the class, we need to find the range of possible values of the mean under the constraints that each x i belongs to the given interval [x i x i ] and that the variance V(x 1 , …, x n ) is bounded by a given value V 0 . In this paper, we provide efficient algorithms for computing this range.
Typology and Patterning: Spiro's Sample Re‐examined

variations from one continent or culture area to another. It is suggested that world-wide correlations should always be examined for diferences in the six main geographical regions; if regional diferences are found, the hypothesis should be rejected completely or reformulated and tested again. M ELFORD E. SPIRO in his article "A Typology of Social Structure and the Patterning of Social Institutions: A Cross-Cultural Study" (1965) informs us that his paper "has three disparate, but related aims. First, based on a cross-cultural statistical method, it attempts to construct an empirically-based typology of social structure. Second, it attempts to demonstrate the usefulness of this typology-and, more importantly, the usefulness of the method by which it was constructed-for the classification of societies and, hence, for comparative research. Third, and most important, this classification is used to explore some attributes of structural patterning and some principles of structural change." Anyone seriously interested in comparative ethnology will surely applaud a typological scheme designed to facilitate the determination of regularities in social structure through the quantitative analysis of specific characteristics. However, much of the reader's enthusiasm is quickly dampened when the "comprehensive generalizations" about social structure are checked against the entire 565 societies in Murdock's World Ethnographic Sample (1957), from which Spiro's sample of 60 societies is drawn. But first, let us examine the typology itself.
FREQUENCY AND TYPE OF FRACTURES ENTERING THE EMERGENCY UNITS OF ORTHOPEDIC HOSPITALS

BACKGROUND Trauma is globally encountered in the emergency department on regular intervals placing a burden on the economy through an increase in the mortality and morbidity. Multiple types of fractures have been notified leading from moderate to severe disability. OBJECTIVE The aim of the study is to assess different types of fracture entering the emergency department, the risk of these fractures and also to find the association between genders.
Effective Continuous Ambulatory Peritoneal Dialysis following Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Repair

+ ObjectiveTo review a single center's experience with the initiation and maintenance of continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) in 8 patients with a history of abdominal aortic aneurysm r...
Calcium dependence of integrity of the actin cytoskeleton of proximal tubule cell microvilli

To better define the role of Ca2+ in pathophysiological alterations of the proximal tubule microvillus actin cytoskeleton, we studied freshly isolated tubules in which intracellular free Ca2+ was equilibrated with highly buffered, precisely defined medium Ca2+ levels using a combination of the metabolic inhibitor, antimycin, and the ionophore, ionomycin, in the presence of glycine, to prevent lethal membrane damage and resulting nonspecific changes. Increases of Ca2+ to > or = 10 microM were sufficient to initiate concurrent actin depolymerization, fragmentation of F-actin into forms requiring high-speed centrifugation for recovery, redistribution of villin to sedimentable fractions, and structural microvillar damage consisting of severe swelling and fragmentation of actin cores. These observations implicate Ca(2+)-dependent, villin-mediated actin cytoskeletal disruption in tubule cell microvillar damage under conditions conceivably present during pathophysiological states. However, despite prior evidence for cytosolic free Ca2+ increases of the same order of magnitude and similar structural microvillar alterations, Ca(2+)- and villin-mediated events did not appear to account for the initial microvillar damage that occurs during ATP depletion induced by antimycin alone or hypoxia.
Learning via Mnemonic Pictures: Analysis of the Presidential Process.

In three experiments, junior high school students learned the numerical order of 14 U.S. presidents according to either a complex mnemonic strategy or their own techniques. Reliable performancepattern differences between the two groups were detected, both in the presence and absence of overall level-of-recall differences. Chief among the pattern differences were the classic serial-position profiles produced by control subjects, but not by those using mnemonic strategies, and the slower response times (suggesting a more complex retrieval process) of subjects using mnemonic strategies.
On the Evaluation of Polynomial Coefficients

The evaluation of the coefficients of a polynomial from its zeros is considered. We show that when the evaluation is carried out by the standard algorithm in finite precision arithmetic, the accuracy of the computed coefficients depends on the order in which the zeros are introduced. An ordering that enhances the accuracy for many polynomials is presented.
Subtle Differences Between Zr and Hf in Early/Late Heterobimetallic Complexes with Cobalt

The phosphinoamide-linked Co/Hf complexes ICo(Ph(2)PN(i)Pr)(3)HfCl (4), ICo((i)Pr(2)PNMes)(3)HfCl (5), and ICo((i)Pr(2)PN(i)Pr)(3)HfCl (6) have been synthesized from the corresponding tris(phosphinoamide)HfCl complexes (1-3) for comparison with the recently reported tris(phosphinoamide) Co/Zr complexes. Very minor structural and electronic differences between the Zr and Hf complexes were found when the N-(i)Pr-substituted phosphinoamide ligands [Ph(2)PN(i)Pr](-) and [(i)Pr(2)PN(i)Pr](-) were utilized. The reduction products [(THF)(4)Na-{N(2)-Co(Ph(2)PN(i)Pr)(3)HfCl}(2)]Na(THF)(6) (7) and N(2)-Co((i)Pr(2)PN(i)Pr)(3)Hf (9) are also remarkably similar to the corresponding Zr/Co analogues. In the case of Hf/Co and Zr/Co complexes linked by the N-Mes ligand [(i)Pr(2)PNMes](-) (Mes = 2,4,6-trimethylphenyl), however, more pronounced differences in structure, bonding, and reactivity are observed. While differences associated with 5 are still modest, larger variations are observed when comparing the two-electron reduction product [N(2)-Co((i)Pr(2)PNMes)(3)Hf-X][Na(THF)(5)] (8) with its Zr congener. In addition to structural and spectroscopic differences, vastly different reactivity is observed, with 8 undergoing one-electron oxidation to form ClHf(MesNP(i)Pr(2))(3)CoN(2) (11) in the presence of MeI, while a two-electron oxidative addition process occurs in a similar reaction with the Zr derivative. The activity of 5 toward Kumada coupling was investigated, finding significantly diminished activity in comparison to Co/Zr complexes.
Improved methods for the quantitative determination of plasma proteins

The blood is drawn into a tube containing an amount of potassium oxalate sufficient to make 0.2 or 0.3 per cent. oxalate solution, and is centrifuged twenty minutes.Fibrin.—5 c.c. of plasma are run into a beaker containing 100-150 c.c. 0.8 per cent. NaCl and 2-5 c.c. of a 2.5 per cent. CaCl2 solution. The CaCl2 may be in amounts from 2-25 equivalents of the oxalate, but about five equivalents are best. When coagulation is complete, the fibrin is filtered, the clot washed with 0.8 per cent. NaCl, and the nitrogen determined by Kjeldahl. The above is an adaptation of Howell's method for determining the activity of thrombin.1 The filtrate from the clot may be tested for complete precipitation by addition of a solution containing thromboplastic substances.Albumin and Globulin are calculated from the following three determinations:Total nitrogen is determined on a 1-2 c.c. sample.Non-protein nitrogen is determined in the filtrate obtained after precipitating the plasma with nine volumes of trichloracetic acid....
Iron supplementation during infancy—effects on expression of iron transporters, iron absorption, and iron utilization in rat pups

Background Studies conducted in human infants suggest developmental changes in the regulation of iron absorption; however, little is known about the molecular mechanisms regulating iron absorption during infancy. Two intestinal iron transporters, divalent metal transporter 1 (DMT1) and ferroportin 1 (FPN1), were recently identified. Objective The objective was to investigate at a molecular level the regulation of iron absorption during infancy in a rat pup model. We examined the developmental expression of DMT1 and FPN1 and the effects of iron supplementation on their expression and on iron absorption and utilization during infancy. Design Rat pups were given daily oral doses of 0, 30, or 150 microg Fe from day 2 to day 20 after birth. On days 10 and 20 after birth, (59)Fe absorption, tissue minerals, and intestinal DMT1, FPN1, and ferritin expression were examined. To assess developmental expression, DMT1 and FPN1 were examined in control rats from days 1 to 50 after birth. Results Intestinal DMT1 and FPN1 were significantly affected by age; expression increased dramatically by day 40. On day 10, no significant effect of iron supplementation on DMT1 and FPN1 gene expression or on iron absorption was observed. By day 20, DMT1 and FPN1 expression and iron absorption had decreased significantly with iron supplementation. Conclusions During early infancy, rat pups are unable to down-regulate intestinal iron transporters or iron absorption in response to iron supplementation, whereas down-regulation occurs during late infancy. The current findings provide evidence of the developmental regulation of iron absorption, which emphasizes the need for caution when giving iron supplements to infants at an early age.
The method of giving weight for performance indicator based on entropy method

This paper mainly analyzes a method of giving weight for performance indicator, uses entropy method to adjust performance indicator weight given by the process, so it lives up to dynamic weight index. The new method overcomes the defect of past weight relative stability, which can't flexibly change with the situation change. This paper also gives an example to show how to use this method.
Pulmonary complications in neuromuscular disease.

Pulmonary compromise can result from primarily peripheral or central neuropathic disease (including neurodegenerative diseases) or diseases of the muscle or neuromuscular junction. Some diseases present with a combination of nervous system and muscle tissue involvement (due to secondary changes like atrophy or primary pathology, as in mitochondrial diseases). While clinically different in pathophysiology, these diseases may progress to produce and isharei common pulmonary pathology by the time the patient reaches the adolescent years. This article presents a review of the categories of neurologic disease that may lead to respiratory compromise, followed by thorough description of the pulmonary complications that can result from these types of diseases. Finally, a review of currently accepted treatment options that may aid in improving the quality of life of these patients is offered.
Immediate mandibular reconstruction: Human experience with autogenous frozen mandibular grafts

Autogenous mandibular grafts that have been cryosurgically devitalized and reimplanted have been studied in the canine. Initial investigations have lent impetus to further application in human cancer surgery. Six patients underwent immediate autogenous mandibular graft reconstruction. All failed because of intraoral complications and decreased vascularization in the midportion of the bone graft. None evidenced recurrence of tumor in bone, although two patient's grafts failed on the basis of tumor recurrence in the adjacent soft tissue.
The Need for Convergence and Emergence in Twenty-first Century Nano-STEAM+ Educational Ecosystems

This chapter examines the necessary attributes of Nanoscale STEAM+ education systems that can address strategic twenty-first century academic, government, industrial and societal needs. Such systems leverage the mutually supportive interdependence of all key stakeholders within the educational supply chain. They also nurture convergent, transdisciplinary and hands-on platform-enhanced educational opportunities. In this chapter, I share two sets of stories that highlight some similarities between the processes of innovation and education. These stories drive the proposed recommendations and guiding principles for twenty-first century educational ecosystems. Key chapter goals are to stimulate conversations on best practice processes and systems that: (1) Catalyze and sustain interest in Nano-STEAM+ education and (2) enable adaptive, convergent and innovative educational infrastructures. This chapter also recognizes that it may be a challenge for some stakeholders to engage in the proposed educational ecosystem, and recommends options to enhance accessibility.
Deficiency of the intermediate filament synemin reduces bone mass in vivo

While the type IV intermediate filament protein, synemin, has been shown to play a role in striated muscle and neuronal tissue, its presence and function have not been described in skeletal tissue....