cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
In vitro cytotoxicity of a theaflavin mixture from black tea to malignant, immortalized, and normal cells from the human oral cavity

The growth inhibitory effects of a theaflavin mixture from black tea were more pronounced to malignant (CAL27; HSC-2; HSG1) and immortalized (S-G; GT1) cells than to normal (HGF-2) cells from the human oral cavity. Studies with malignant carcinoma CAL27 cells and immortalized GT1 fibroblasts showed that cytotoxicity of the theaflavin mixture was enhanced as the exposure time was increased, with the tumor CAL27 cells more sensitive than the GT1 cells. Hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)) was detected in cell culture medium amended with the theaflavin mixture. The level of H(2)O(2) in cell culture medium amended with the theaflavin mixture was lessened in the presence of catalase and CoCl(2); the level of authentic H(2)O(2) was also lessened in the presence of CoCl(2), suggesting that Co(2+) led to the rapid catalytic decomposition of H(2)O(2). The cytotoxicity of the theaflavin mixture was due, in part, to the generation in the cell culture medium of H(2)O(2), which lessened the intracellular levels of glutathione in the CAL27 cells and, to a lesser extent, in the GT1 cells. For both cell types, coexposures of the theaflavin mixture with catalase or CoCl(2) afforded protection.
Staff, Patient and Family Interactions in a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit(PICU). 217

The environment in a PICU involves constant activity, both inside and outside of patient rooms. The nature of this activity has not been well described. We hypothesize that staff activities within a patient room in PICU seldom involve interaction with the patient or family, and that activities are focused on technical procedures, perhaps to avoid personal interaction with patients or family members. We observed staff caring for 15 patients in a 15 bed medical-surgical PICU, for a total of 47 hours (16 on days, 16 on evenings, 15 on nights). Activities were observed and coded by a single observer (a medical anthropologist) for one patient at a time from within each patient's room. Patient ages ranged from 1 mo to 20 yrs (median 10 mo). A total of 118 different staff entered the rooms 338 times during the periods of observation (53 nurses, 6 respiratory therapists, 16 residents, 20 attending MDs, 5 housekeepers, 3 child life workers and 15 others). For 12 of 15 patients observed, one or more family members were present (for a total of 27 hr) when staff members entered the room198 times. 113 verbal exchanges occurred between staff and family in these 198 opportunities, of which 73(65%) were to relay medical facts or technical information and 38 (34%) were of a social nature (unrelated to patient circumstances). In only 2 instances(2%) did the conversations include an exploration or acknowledgement of how the patient or family member felt or was coping with stress or with the hospitalization. In summary, a large number of staff have many opportunities to make personal or emotional contact with patients or family members, yet rarely do so. We conclude that staff activities and staff-family interactions in patient rooms are most often centered on technical matters, and that personal or emotional contact is seldom made. Although we do not yet know the significance of this, including staff motivation or intention, patient and family preferences, or effects on staff, patient and family, this may have both positive and negative impact on the well being of staff, patients and family members.
Biceps-to-triceps transfer in tetraplegic patients: Report of the medial routing technique and follow-up of three cases

Abstract We reviewed 4 biceps-to-triceps transfers for active elbow extension in 3 tetraplegic patients using a medial routing technique. The biceps-to-triceps transfer to regain active elbow extension in tetraplegic patients is an alternative to the more commonly described deltoid-to-triceps transfer. Before surgery, all 3 patients had absent triceps function and active biceps, brachialis, and supinator function. Postoperative results were assessed by a modified University of Minnesota Functional Improvement questionnaire and by follow-up evaluation of range of motion and muscle strength. All 3 patients had marked functional improvement in activities that involve active elbow extension, and no loss of function was noted in any activities. No patient achieved less than grade 4 extension strength; none had an extension lag greater than 8°. Supination and flexion strength following transfer were rated as at least grade 4 in each limb. Based on the results of this study, we recommend the biceps-to-triceps transfer as an alternative to the deltoid-to-triceps transfer in spinal cord injury patients with active brachialis and supinator function. The medial routing technique has the advantage of avoiding the potentially devastating radial nerve injury that could occur with the previously described lateral routing. (J Hand Surg 1999;24A:161–172. Copyright © 1999 by the American Society for Surgery of the Hand.)
Risk factors for early postoperative recurrence of Crohn's disease ☆

Abstract Background & Aims: Despite many advances in our understanding of Crohn's disease, the course of the disease in any given patient remains unpredictable. There is little agreement as to which factors increase a patient's risk of early postoperative recurrence. We have attempted to identify predictors of early recurrence after surgical resection, specifically whether the indication for initial surgery (perforating or nonperforating) or the duration of preoperative disease may be associated with early recurrence. Methods: We studied 88 patients who had undergone at least two resections for Crohn's disease. Multivariable survival analysis was performed to elucidate predictors of early postoperative recurrence. Results: A perforating indication for initial surgery ( P P = 0.004) were found to be the only independent predictors of earlier postoperative recurrence after initial surgery. A longer preoperative disease duration also showed a borderline significant association with a shorter interval from second to third surgery ( P = 0.075). Finally, the indication for initial surgery was predictive of the indication at a subsequent surgery for recurrence ( P = 0.001). Conclusions: A perforating indication for initial resection and a longer duration of disease before initial surgery predicted an earlier postoperative recurrence. The latter association was borderline. This suggests that prognostic groups based on these factors may help to stratify patients with regard to risk of early recurrence. GASTROENTEROLOGY 1998;115:259-267
Advanced Avalanche Safety Equipment of Backcountry Users: Current Trends and Perceptions.

Objective Backcountry travelers should carry a standard set of safety gear (transceiver, shovel, and probe) to improve rescue chances and reduce mortality risk. Many backcountry enthusiasts are using other advanced equipment such as an artificial air pocket (eg, the AvaLung) or an avalanche air bag. Our goal was to determine the numbers of backcountry users carrying advanced equipment and their perceptions of mortality and morbidity benefit while carrying this gear. Methods A convenience sample of backcountry skiers, snowboarders, snowshoers, and snowmobilers was surveyed between February and April 2014. Participants of this study were backcountry mountain users recruited at trailheads in the Wasatch and Teton mountain ranges of Utah and Wyoming, respectively. Questions included prior avalanche education, equipment carried, and perceived safety benefit derived from advanced equipment. Results In all, 193 surveys were collected. Skiers and snowboarders were likely to have taken an avalanche safety course, whereas snowshoers and snowmobilers were less likely to have taken a course. Most backcountry users (149, 77.2%), predominantly skiers and snowboarders, carried standard safety equipment. The AvaLung was carried more often (47 users) than an avalanche air bag (10 users). The avalanche air bag had a more favorable perceived safety benefit. A majority of participants reported cost as the barrier to obtaining advanced equipment. Conclusions Standard avalanche safety practices, including taking an avalanche safety course and carrying standard equipment, remain the most common safety practices among backcountry users in the Wasatch and Tetons. Snowshoers remain an ideal target for outreach to increase avalanche awareness and safety.
The Social Dimension of Blogging about Health: Health Blogging, Social Support, and Well-being

The study reported here explored the social dimension of health-related blogs by examining blogging as a means to marshal social support and, as a result, achieve some of the health benefits associated with supportive communication. A total of 121 individuals who author a blog dedicated to their experience living with a specific health condition completed the study questionnaire. The number of blog posts made by respondents and proportion of posts with reader comments were positively associated with perceived social support from blog readers. The relationship between blog reader support and two outcomes related to well-being depended upon the support available in bloggers' strong-tie relationships with family and friends. Consistent with the social compensation (i.e., “poor get richer”) perspective, blog reader support was negatively associated with loneliness and positively associated with personal growth when support in strong-tie relationships was relatively lacking.
Comment on "Collective modes in fluids and neutron scattering"

de Schepper and Cohen have shown recently that the hydrodynamic modes for a hardsphere fluid may be extended to quite large wave vectors, and that at high densities the hydrodynamic part of the dynamical-structure factors dominates over a wide range of wave vectors. The objective here is to describe the results of a similar analysis of two simple models of the self-structure factor. The simplicity of the models allows a scaling of the frequency and wave vectors such that a universal form independent of potential model, density, and temperature is obtained. The diffusion mode and hydrodynamic part of the self-structure factor are calculated, leading to a behavior similar to that observed by de Schepper and Cohen.
Using Social Network Analysis to Identify Key Players within Clinical Teams for Improving Pain Management

The use of social network analysis to understand social relationships among individuals in healthcare is a relatively recent and innovative approach. This approach has been employed to study phenomena such as disease contagion, smoking cessation, and physical collaboration. This paper presents a social network analysis conducted among clinicians in three nursing units of a large metro hospital. The aim was to examine information flow with regard to pain management in addition to explore the evolving nature of the represented network over time. For the study, social network surveys were administered to investigate characteristics of three identified nursing units. Three network questions were used to explore relationships and information flow: (a) Who do you routinely work with on pain management? (b) Who do you get new ideas or inspiration from to help your pain management efforts? (c) Who would you like to work with in the future on pain management? Two surveys were conducted to collect data over time, and standard social network measures were computed to study the interaction network and its evolving nature. Data analysis provided insights into the nature of interactions within and across these groups and thereby successfully identified key players in information flow with regard to pain management.
Forecasting Changes in the Hurricane Wind Vulnerability of a Regional Inventory of Wood-Frame Houses

Current regional hurricane loss estimation models use the present-day vulnerability of the building inventory in predicting future losses and assume that it remains static throughout the time horizon of interest. In reality, the hurricane vulnerability of a region changes with time due to changes in the types and conditions of buildings. Loss estimation models, therefore, may misestimate risk and the effectiveness of mitigation plans based on these loss estimates may be compromised. In this paper, the writers develop a regional vulnerability change model to estimate changes over time in the hurricane wind vulnerability of a regional inventory of wood-frame houses. The model integrates the effects of five types of changes—changing building codes, changing technologies, building demolition and construction, structural aging, and upgrading efforts—in a simulation framework to forecast changes in the vulnerability of a region. Projectile impacts, falling trees, and flooding are not considered currently. A cas...
Co-existence of allogeneic tumour growth and homograft immunity in man

Resume Un malade, atteint d'un cancer epithelial generalise, a recu trois homotransplantations sous-cutanees successives de cellules cancereuses humaines (lignees de culture de tissus HEp 2 et HEp 3). La premiere produisit un gros nodule local qui persista jusqu'a ce que le malade decede de son cancer, six mois plus tard, en depit du fait, demontre par les deux transplantations suivantes, que la premiere transplantation avait induit une immunite a l'homogreffe. Le phenomene est interprete comme un desequilibre entre la capacite des cellules tumorales de se propager et celle de l'hote de rejeter les cellules etrangeres. La reponse immunitaire etait suffisante pour rejeter une quantite faible de cellules, mais non pour detruire une masse tumorale bien etablie. Des courbes de croissance et des constatations histologiques sont presentees. Des analogies entre ce phenomene et l'evolution naturelle de cancers spontanes sont discutees.
Medical Ontology-Enhanced Text Processing for Infectious Disease Informatics

Infectious disease informatics, as a sub-field of security informatics, is concerned with development of the science and technologies needed for collecting, sharing, reporting, analyzing, and visualizing infectious disease data; and for providing data and decision-making support for infectious disease prevention, detection, and management. Syndromic surveillance is a major study area of infectious disease informatics, focusing on identifying in a timely manner possible infectious disease outbreaks based on pre-diagnostic data. Free-text chief complaints (CCs), short phrases describing reasons for patients' emergency department visits, are a major source of data for syndromic surveillance. For surveillance purposes, CCs need to be classified into syndromic categories. However, the lack of standard vocabulary and high-quality encoding of CCs hinder effective classification. To meet this challenge, we have developed an ontology-enhanced automatic CC classification approach. Exploiting semantic relations in the UMLS, a medical ontology, this approach is motivated to address the CC word variation problem in general and to meet the specific need for a flexible classification approach capable of handling multiple sets of syndrome categories.
Educational Debt and Law Student Failure to Enter Public Service Careers: Bringing Empirical Data to Bear

It is frequently suggested that law school debt is preventing new law school graduates from entering public service careers. The basis for this contention is largely anecdotal, however. This study puts the presumption to empirical scrutiny. Aggregate data from law schools and individual-level data from law students both point to the same conclusion: law students may indeed be competing in a money chase, but it is not because of their indebtedness. Private firms with prestige and high salaries are appealing to many students regardless of their debt burden. And government and public interest jobs may be in too short supply to meet the demand of non-elite students who are essentially closed out of the high-paying jobs in larger firms. The biggest barrier between these students and public service jobs may be the lack of supply of these jobs, not the lack of demand for them.
Paraumbilical Perforator Flap for Soft Tissue Reconstruction of the Forearm

Numerous flaps exist for coverage of injuries to the upper extremity, ranging from local, to regional, to free tissue transfer. The choice of flap is dependent on a variety of factors, including patient, functional needs, and depth of injury. The paraumbilical perforator (PUP) flap for upper extremity coverage can offer the benefits and versatility of pedicled and free flaps while avoiding some of the donor-site morbidity and risks of free tissue transfer. We report the indications and management of two clinical cases that exemplify PUP flap application. Technical points of flap harvest, inset, timing of pedicle division, and pertinent anatomy are discussed.
Coupled-state calculations of proton—hydrogen-atom scattering using a scaled hydrogenic basis set

Coupled-state calculations of proton---hydrogen-atom scattering using a scaled hydrogenic basis set have been performed, and the results are reported on in this paper. Thirty-five basis functions, centered about each proton, were included in the expansion of the electron wave function. Cross sections for direct excitation and charge transfer to the $n=1, 2, \mathrm{and} 3$ levels, and for ionization, have been calculated. The results for ionization indicate that charge transfer to the continuum dominates over direct ionization at proton energies below about 60 keV. The charge distribution has been plotted as a function of time at an energy of 40 keV and impact parameter of 1.5 a.u.; the plot illustrates the considerable distortion of the electron cloud caused by the passing proton.
Variance‐Based Importance Analysis Applied to a Complex Probabilistic Performance Assessment

The most important input parameters in a complex probabilistic performance assessment are identified using a variance-based method and compared with those identified using a regression-based method. The variance-based method has the advantage of not requiring assumptions about the functional relationship between input and output parameters. However, it has the drawback of requiring heuristic assessments of threshold variance ratios above which a parameter is considered important, and it also requires numerous executions of the computer program, which may be computationally expensive. Both methods identified the same top 5 and 7 of the top 10 most important parameters for a system having 195 inputs. Although no distinct advantage for the variance-based approach was identified, the ideas which motivate the new approach are sound and suggest new avenues for exploring the relationships between the inputs and the output of a complex system.
Mode of action of nereistoxin on the neuromuscular transmission in the frog

Abstract The effects of nereistoxin on the neuromuscular transmission of the frog have been studied by means of intracellular microelectrode and voltage clamp techniques. Nereistoxin blocked the neuromuscular transmission without causing depolarization of end-plate membranes. A small end-plate potential was elicited upon nerve stimulation. The frequency and amplitude of miniature end-plate potentials decreased after exposure to nereistoxin, and the quantum content of the end-plate potential tended to decrease also. Chemical sensitivity of the end-plate membrane as examined by iontophoretic application of acetylcholine was markedly reduced. Both sodium and potassium components of the end-plate current were suppressed almost equally by application of nereistoxin. It is concluded that inhibition of the mechanisms whereby the end-plate membrane conductances to sodium and potassium ions are increased is the major action of nereistoxin responsible for neuromuscular blockade.
Induction of Fetal Hemoglobin in the Treatment of Sickle Cell Disease

Reactivation of fetal hemoglobin (HbF) expression is an important therapeutic option in patients with hemoglobin disorders. In sickle cell disease (SCD), an increase in HbF inhibits the polymerization of sickle hemoglobin and the resulting pathophysiology. Hydroxyurea, an inducer of HbF, has already been approved for the treatment of patients with moderate and/or severe SCD. Recent clinical trials with other pharmacological inducers of HbF, such as butyrate and decitabine, have shown considerable promise. In this chapter, we highlight the important clinical trials with pharmacological inducers of HbF, discuss their mechanisms of action and speculate about the future of this therapeutic approach in the treatment of patients with SCD.
Surface fitting and numerical gradient computations by discrete mollification

Abstract We review the δ-mollification procedure for automatic fitting of surfaces defined from discrete noisy data functions in R 2 . As a further application, the stable numerical computation of gradient fields from discrete noisy data is also investigated. The main features of the algorithm are: 1. 1. information about the noise is needed; 2. 2. the mollification parameters are chosen automatically by means of the Generalized Cross Validation (GCV) procedure. A complete error analysis of the method is provided together with several numerical examples of interest.
Retinoic acid suppresses parathyroid hormone (PTH) secretion and PreproPTH mRNA levels in bovine parathyroid cell culture.

Abstract 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3[1,25(OH)2D3] suppresses parathyroid hormone (PTH) gene transcription. Recent evidence suggests that retinoid X receptors are involved in 1,25(OH)2D3-mediated transcriptional events. However, little data exists for a role of retinoids in parathyroid function or in PTH expression. In the present study, we observed that all-trans- or 9-cis retinoic acid suppressed the release of PTH from bovine parathyroid cell cultures. Both retinoids were remarkably potent with significant decreases evident at 10(-10) M and a maximally suppressive effect (approximately 65%) at 10(-7) M. All-trans-retinol was considerably less potent in this system. The effect was not evident until 12 h, suggesting that retinoids did not affect the rapid secretion of preexisting PTH stores. PreproPTH mRNA levels were also suppressed by retinoic acid and the retinoid potencies were similar to those observed in the secretion studies. Combined treatment with 10(-6) M retinoic acid and 10(-8) M 1,25(OH)2D3 more effectively decreased PTH secretion and preproPTH mRNA than did either compound alone. These data indicate that retinoic acid: (a) elicits a bioresponse in bovine parathyroid cells; (b) attenuates PTH expression at the protein and mRNA levels, and (c) acts independently of 1,25(OH)2D3 in the control of PTH expression.
A heuristic for the Steiner problem in graphs

In this paper, we present a heuristic for the Steiner problem in graphs (SPG) along with some experimental results. The heuristic is based on an approach similar to Prim's algorithm for the minimum spanning tree. However, in this approach, arcs are associated with preference weights which are used to break ties among alternative choices of shortest paths occurring during the course of the algorithm. The preference weights are calculated according to a global view which takes into consideration the effect of all the regular nodes, nodes to be connected, on determining the choice of an arc in the solution tree.
Capacity optimization of femtocell networks

Femtocells are short-range devices deployed to provide increased coverage and capacity in a small area. They offer a way to increase the capacity of a cellular network by relaying cellular traffic to the wired network. In this paper, we address the problem of optimizing the overall capacity of a femtocell network, as defined by Shannon's law and physical interference, by appropriate power and channel assignment to the femtocells. In particular, we design an approximation algorithm for the objective of maximizing the total network capacity, for large uniform networks with arbitrary coverage regions. We also consider the second objective of maximizing the minimum capacity at a femtocell in the network, and design an algorithm for arbitrary networks which has an appropriate performance guarantee if there is a lower-bound on the distance of any two femtocells. Through simulations, we demonstrate the performance of our designed algorithms by comparing them with a bound on the optimal values.
The Boost Club: A Program for At-Risk Third- and Fourth-Grade Students.

Abstract This article describes the Boost Club, a group program for at-risk third and fourth graders that resulted in students obtaining better grades, improved attitudes and self-concepts.
The lie structure in prime rings with involution

Abstract Consider the Lie subring K , the skew-symmetric elements of an associative ring R with involution ∗. I. N. Herstein and W. E. Baxter have investigated the Lie structure of K and [ K , K ]when R is a simple ring with involution ∗. We extend these results to show that, in prime rings with involution ∗ which are 2-torsion-free, any Lie ideal of K or [ K , K ] contains [ J ∩ K , K ]for some nonzero ∗-ideal J of R or is contained in the center of R .
Immunodulation of intestinal transplantation: antilymphocyte serum donor pretreatment vs. ex vivo graft irradiation.

We have shown the beneficial effects of an immunomodulation strategy for small intestinal transplantation (SITx) by depleting mature lymphocytes from the graft and simultaneously infusing progenitor-rich donor bone marrow (BM) cells.1 In this study we evaluated the relative benefit of leukocyte elimination between ex vivo graft irradiation versus donor pretreatment with antilymphocyte serum (ALS) in a model of fully allogenic rat SITx. Special attention was paid to their impact on early immune responses after SITx by analyzing the levels and lineages of chimerism as well as the cytokine up-regulation in recipient spleen and allografts.
Encouraging Children's Use of Metacognitive Processes: Thinking about Thinking

(1984). Encouraging Children's Use of Metacognitive Processes: Thinking about Thinking. Childhood Education: Vol. 60, Teaching for Thinking, pp. 234-238.
Large monopole current loops and confinement in U(1) and SU(1) gauge theory

Abstract Calculations are presented which obtain the heavy quark potential using magnetic monopole current variables in U (1) and SU (2) lattice gauge theory. Very large loops of magnetic current are found in simulations of both theories. In the U (1) theory, calculations of the potential show that the large loops are entirely responsible for confinement.
Genetic and experimental studies on a mutant gene (c) determining absence of heart action in embryos of the Mexican axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum)

Abstract A mutant gene, c (for “cardiac lethal”), carried by an adult Ambystoma mexicanum imported from Mexico, causes failure of onset of heart action at the usual time in hearts of apparently normal morphology. The trait appears in approximately 25% of the embryos of spawnings in which it occurs, and is an autosomal recessive. Heads and gills of affected embryos remain small and a marked ascites develops. The affected individuals hatch and show normal swimming and righting movements. They never eat, and die within a few days after hatching. Mutants united as embryos in parabiosis with normal may live indefinitely, their hearts disappearing in large part or remaining as a part of a vein. Transplants of various organ preprimordia of mutant into normal embryos develop normally. Transplants of the heart-forming mesoderm produce normally beating hearts, but in the reciprocal transplant (normal into mutant) the heart which develops never beats. Electron microscopy (Lemanski et al. , 1970) reveals that the hearts of mutants lack organized myofibrils. The failure of normal differentiation of these may result from lack of an inductive influence by the related entoderm or from an inhibitory effect of some type from that germ layer or other structures.
Synthesis and characterization of lipid-polymer hybrid nanoparticles with pH-triggered poly(ethylene glycol) shedding.

Novel lipid–polymer hybrid nanoparticles are designed with a poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) coating that is shed in response to a low pH trigger. This allows the nanoparticles to be stable during systemic circulation and at neutral pH, but destabilize and fuse with lipid membranes in acidic environments. The hybrid nanoparticles consist of a poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) core with a lipid and lipid–PEG monolayer shell. To make the hybrid nanoparticles pH sensitive, a lipid-(succinate)-mPEG conjugate is synthesized to provide a hydrolyzable PEG stealth layer that is shed off the particle surface at low pH. The pH-sensitivity of the nanoparticles is tunable using the molar concentration of the lipid-(succinate)-mPEG incorporated in the lipid shell of the particles. Possible uses of these pH-sensitive nanoparticles include aggregating in acidic tumor microenvironments, escaping acidified endosomes, or aggregating in deep lung tissue for improved inhalation administration.
Temperature requirements for altering the morphology of osteoarthritic and nonarthritic articular cartilage: in vitro thermal alteration of articular cartilage.

Background: Radiofrequency and laser thermal chondroplasty procedures are performed to debride and smooth fibrillated, articular cartilage.Hypothesis: Temperature requirements necessary to achieve morphological change will be lower in fibrillated arthritic cartilage as compared with nonarthritic articular cartilage.Study Design: Controlled laboratory study.Methods: A thermal cell-culture chamber was mounted on a stereoscopic microscope and coordinated with a custom temperature-control program. Nonarthritic and osteoarthritic articular cartilage specimens were sectioned into full-thickness slices. The articular sections were exposed to temperatures incrementally from 37°C to 75°C. Real-time, digital capture microscopy was used to visualize and analyze the morphological changes undergone by the articular cartilage specimens.Results: Arthritic articular cartilage displayed morphological change at 56.5 ± 1.7°C. Loss of fibrillation was the initial morphological change visualized. Continued thermal exposure ca...
Intraneural parachordoma of the arm with regional metastases

Parachordoma is a rare tumor, with fewer than 100 cases reported. We present an unusual presentation of a long tumor tracking along the median nerve, with regional metastasis to the axillary nodes in a 67-year-old woman. The tumor extended from the wrist proximally along the forearm to the elbow, coursing intraneurally along the median nerve. We present this case due its rarity, interesting radiographic appearance, and atypical presentation.
Antiestrogen action in the medial basal hypothalamus and pituitary of immature female rats: insights concerning relationships among estrogen, dopamine, and prolactin.

We have examined the effects of nonsteroidal antiestrogens (AEs) and estradiol (E) on dopamine (DA) levels and turnover rates in the medial basal hypothalamus (MBH) and on serum and pituitary PRL to gain insight into DA-PRLE/ AE interrelationships. In 21-day-old female rats, E was found to increase MBH DA levels and turnover and serum PRL concentrations in a time- and concentration-dependent manner. Changes were observed by 1 day, and after 3 days of E treatment (1 μg/day), MBH DA levels increased 2-fold (to 1300 pg/mg tissue), and DA turnover rates increased 5-fold (to 1170 pg/mg tissue·h). The AEs tamoxifen, monohydroxytamoxifen, CI628, and LY117018 (50 //g/day for 3 days) weakly stimulated uterine weight gain and significantly suppressed the uterotropic action of E. The AEs LY117018, monohydroxytamoxifen, CI628, and tamoxifen competed with E for binding to the MBH estrogen receptor and displayed relative binding affinities of 190%, 185%, 6.7%, and 1.4%, with E set at 100%; these affinities are similar ...
Cryptococcal Infection in Cats: Factors Influencing Treatment Outcome, and Results of Sequential Serum Antigen Titers in 35 Cats

The relationship between treatment outcome and location of cryptococcal infection, gender, magnitude of pretreatment cryptococcal antigen titers, results of feline leukemia virus (FeLV) and feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) serology, and serial changes in antigen titers during and after treatment were evaluated in a prospective and nonrandomized study of 35 cats with cryptococcosis. A commercial cryptococcal latex agglutination kit (CALAS; Meridian Diagnostic Inc, Cincinnati, OH) was used to detect cryptococcal antigen in sera. All cats were treated with itraconazole (Sporanox; Janssen Pharmaceutica Inc, Titusville, NJ). Pretreatment mean log titers for serum cryptococcal antigen were not influenced by location of the infection. Treatment outcome was not influenced by gender, location of the infection, or magnitude of pretreatment serum antigen titer. Treatment outcome was influenced by FeLV and FIV status; cats seropositive for FeLV or FIV had a higher likelihood of treatment failure (P = .008). The cryptococcal antigen titers of cats successfully treated decreased with significant linearity over time during treatment (r = -.64, P .9). For cats in which treatment was successful, antigen titers decreased significantly from pretreatment values by 1.3 orders of magnitude at 2 months after initiation of treatment. By 10 months after initiating treatment, log titers decreased by at least 2 orders of magnitude in all cats successfully treated, and 9 of 16 cats had undetectable titers. In contrast, in 5 of 6 cats in which treatment failed, antigen titers were unchanged or increased in magnitude even after at least 6 months of treatment.
Mae west and the ‘queer plays’

Abstract The article explores the history of three of the plays Mae West wrote and staged on Broadway between 1926 and 1928. Sex, in which West played a prostitute, offered the ‘fallen woman' a happy ending; The Drag and The Pleasure Man, plays about homosexuality, were staged with gay actors playing themselves. All three plays were closed by the police. Although West is seldom taken seriously as a playwright, the article argues that the three plays had profound impact on the New York stage, and on the treatment of language and sexuality in American theater. The plays were political radicalism staged as ‘low comedy’
Effects of Prolactin Deficiency on Myelopoiesis and Splenic T Lymphocyte Proliferation in Thermally Injured Mice

The importance of prolactin (PRL) in mammopoiesis and milk production is undisputed. However, previous studies investigating the role of PRL in immune function have yielded inconsistencies. These inconsistencies have led to our hypothesis that the immunomodulatory effects of PRL are only manifest under conditions in which the organism is subjected to stress. Thermal injury is a well-known stressor. The goal of this study was to determine whether the lack of PRL enhanced the negative effects of thermal injury-induced immune alterations utilizing a mouse model in which the PRL gene had been disrupted. Mice received either sham or burn treatment, and were sacrificed 4 days later. The immune parameters studied were the capacity of bone marrow cells to form granulocyte-macrophage colony forming units (GM-CFU) in the prsence of granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor, and the ability of the splenic T lymphocytes to proliferate in response to phytohemagglutin (PHA). As shown by others, our results revea...
Biochemistry: Getting the metal right.

Controversy has raged over the identity of the metal cofactor of membrane-bound methane monooxygenase, a methane-oxidizing enzyme. A study suggests that the answer is a cluster of two copper ions.
Erratum to: Primary Care Validation of a Single-Question Alcohol Screening Test

In their article, the abstract incorrectly states “MEASUREMENTS: Participants were asked the single screening question, “How many times in the past year have you had X or more drinks in a day?”, where X is 5 for men and 4 for women, and a response of >1 is considered positive. It should state: MEASUREMENTS: Participants were asked the single screening question, “How many times in the past year have you had X or more drinks in a day?”, where X is 5 for men and 4 for women, and a response of 1 or greater is considered positive.
Monolithic waveguide coupled cavity lasers and modulators fabricated by impurity induced disordering

Describes results on AlGaAs integrated optoelectronic devices consisting of combinations of buried passive waveguide regions with active multiple quantum well gain regions. The authors have developed a technique for accomplishing this integration in which the waveguide regions have greatly reduced propagation loss at the gain wavelength of the active media. They have incorporated sections of waveguide into laser cavities, and the resulting low (7-11 mA) threshold currents and weak dependence of threshold current on waveguide length confirm the reduced loss and waveguiding nature of the waveguide regions. They have used these structures to monolithically couple laser amplifiers to electroabsorption modulators. Among their results on these devices are electroabsorption modulators with contrast ratios of 23:1 and monolithic Q-switch operation resulting in pulse widths of less than 200 ps. The relative simplicity with which these structures are fabricated via impurity induced disordering techniques promises to result in major impact on practical systems for monolithic integration. >
Full-sequence Computational Design and Solution Structure of a Thermostable Protein Variant

Computational protein design procedures were applied to the redesign of the entire sequence of a 51 amino acid residue protein, Drosophila melanogaster engrailed homeodomain. Various sequence optimization algorithms were compared and two resulting designed sequences were experimentally evaluated. The two sequences differ by 11 mutations and share 22% and 24% sequence identity with the wild-type protein. Both computationally designed proteins were considerably more stable than the naturally occurring protein, with midpoints of thermal denaturation greater than 99 degrees C. The solution structure was determined for one of the two sequences using multidimensional heteronuclear NMR spectroscopy, and the structure was found to closely match the original design template scaffold.
An intelligent tutoring system for circuit analysis

The Interactive Multimedia Intelligent Tutoring System (IMITS) is designed to assist electrical engineering undergraduate students taking their first circuits courses. The IMITS system places the student in a real-life engineering scenario in which the student is a newly hired engineer within the fictional IMITS Corporation and given "real-life" problems to solve, corresponding to course material. The office has file cabinets, bookshelves, a printer, and a personal computer. The personal computer allows the student to receive televideo messages, receive "e-mail", and send "e-mail" reports to senior engineers. A feature of IMITS is that the student decides which actions to take and may validate analyses and designs using a virtual laboratory incorporated with the software. A brief historical perspective of intelligent tutoring systems is presented, followed by an explanation of their architecture. Next, a detailed discription of the intelligent tutoring system IMITS is given. Then the results of usability and effectiveness evaluations of the software are given
Protective Labor Legislation for Women

Protective labor legislation for women can be seen as one aspect of the trend towards rationalization of the work process, but also as a response by the state to the specific situation of women: responsible both for domestic labor in the home and (low-wage) work in the industrial labor force. This paper examines the shift in legal ideologies which permitted these laws to become legitimated, and then shows how protective labor laws for women (like the movement for scientific management) was a means used to undercut workers' organizing, by attempting to establish a neutral "objective" method of determining the length of the working day. This paper then analyzes minimum wage legislation, which shows that these laws were never intended to make women self-sufficient (like men); therefore the laws also reinforce women's primary role in the home.
Eliminating Concurrency Bugs in Multithreaded Software: A New Approach Based on Discrete-Event Control

Computer hardware is moving from uniprocessor to multicore architectures. One problem arising in this evolution is that only parallel software can exploit the full performance potential of multicore architectures, and parallel software is far harder to write than conventional serial software. One important class of failures arising in parallel software is circular-wait deadlock in multithreaded programs. In our ongoing Gadara project, we use a special class of Petri nets, called Gadara nets, to systematically model multithreaded programs with lock allocation and release operations. In this paper, we propose an efficient optimal control synthesis methodology for ordinary Gadara nets that exploits the structural properties of Gadara nets via siphon analysis. Optimality in this context refers to the elimination of deadlocks in the program with minimally restrictive control logic. We formally establish a set of important properties of the proposed control synthesis methodology, and show that our algorithms never synthesize redundant control logic. We conduct experiments to evaluate the efficiency and scalability of the proposed methodology, and discuss the application of our results to real-world concurrent software.
Vision guided manipulation for planetary robotics - position control

Manipulation systems for planetary exploration operate under severe restrictions. They need to integrate vision and manipulation to achieve the reliability, safety, and predictability required of expensive systems operating on remote planets. They also must operate on very modest hardware that is shared with many other systems, and must operate without human intervention. Typically such systems employ calibrated stereo cameras and calibrated manipulators to achieve precision of the order of one centimeter with respect to instrument placement activities. This paper presents three complementary approaches to vision guided manipulation designed to robustly achieve high precision in manipulation. These approaches are described and compared, both in simulation and on hardware. In situ estimation and adaptation of the manipulator and/or camera models in these methods account for changes in the system configuration, thus ensuring consistent precision for the life of the mission. All the three methods provide several-fold increases in accuracy of manipulator positioning over the standard flight approach.
High CO2 chemosensitivity versus wide sensing spectrum: a paradoxical problem and its solutions in cultured brainstem neurons

CO2 central chemoreceptors play an important role in cardiorespiratory control. They are highly sensitive to PCO2 in a broad range. These two sensing properties seem paradoxical as none of the known pH-sensing molecules can achieve both. Here we show that cultured neuronal networks are likely to solve the sensitivity versus spectrum problem with parallel and serial processes. Studies were performed on dissociated brainstem neurons cultured on microelectrode arrays. Recordings started after a 3 week initial period of culture. A group of neurons were dose-dependently stimulated by elevated CO2 with a linear response ranging from 20 to 70 Torr. The firing rate of some neurons increased by up to 30% in response to a 1 Torr PCO2 change, indicating that cultured brainstem neuronal networks retain high CO2 sensitivity in a broad range. Inhibition of Kir channels selectively suppressed neuronal responses to hypocapnia and mild hypercapnia. Blockade of TASK channels affected neuronal response to more severe hypercapnia. These were consistent with the pKa values measured for these K+ channels in a heterologous expression system. The CO2 chemosensitivity was reduced but not eliminated by blockade of presynaptic input from serotonin, substance P or glutamate neurons, indicating that both pre and postsynaptic neurons contribute to the CO2 chemosensitivity. These results therefore strongly suggest that the physiological PCO2 range appears to be covered by multiple sensing molecules, and that the high sensitivity may be achieved by cellular mechanisms via synaptic amplification in cultured brainstem neurons.
Who uses the services of oral and maxillofacial surgeons

Abstract The use of the services of oral and maxillofacial surgeons by various demographic characteristics is discussed and reviewed.
A fast response torque control for interior permanent-magnet synchronous motors in extended flux-weakening operation regime

Although the interior permanent magnet (IPM) motor is more capable of an extended speed range than SMPM, control objectives are difficult to achieve in the extended flux-weakening regime because of the limited DC bus voltage and de-tuning of the PID current regulator in the overmodulation region and extended speed range. A new, fast response torque control strategy is proposed in this paper to cope with this situation. Compared with past work, the new control scheme improves the torque production in the extended flux-weakening regime. Current regulator saturation, the worst degrading factor of torque production in the extended flux-weakening range, is eliminated.
Percolation search in power law networks: making unstructured peer-to-peer networks scalable

We introduce a scalable searching protocol for locating and retrieving content in random networks with power-law (PL) and heavy-tailed degree distributions. The proposed algorithm is capable of finding any content in the network with probability one in time O(logN), with a total traffic that provably scales sub-linearly with the network size, N. Unlike other proposed solutions, there is no need to assume that the network has multiple copies of contents; the protocol finds all contents reliably, even if every node in the network starts with a unique content. The scaling behavior of the size of the giant connected component of a random graph with heavy tailed degree distributions under bond percolation is at the heart of our results. The percolation search algorithm can be directly applied to make unstructured peer-to-peer (P2P) networks, such as Gnutella, Limewire and other file-sharing systems (which naturally display heavy-tailed degree distributions and scale-free network structures), scalable. For example, simulations of the protocol on the limewire crawl number 5 network, consisting of over 65,000 links and 10,000 nodes, shows that even for this snapshot network, the traffic can be reduced by a factor of at least 100, and yet achieve a hit-rate greater than 90%.
Neural Substrates for Motor Imagery in Severe Hemiparesis

Background. The beneficial effects of imagined movements on motor learning and performance suggest that motor imagery is functionally close to preparatory and executive motor processes. Objective. The purpose of this study was to examine the cortical processes associated with imagery of movement of the wrist in subjects with severe hemiparesis. Methods. During fMRI, subjects with stroke performed alternating blocks of imagining wrist-tracking movements with the hemiparetic hand, active wrist-tracking movements with the unaffected hand, and resting. Control subjects performed the same tasks using an assigned hand. Cortical activation in the primary motor (M1), primary sensory (S1), supplementary motor area (SMA), and pre-SMA regions was determined through a laterality index of active voxels and signal intensity. Ability to imagine was assessed with an Imagery Rating Scale. Results.All subjects displayed primarily contralateral control during the track condition. Healthy subjects demonstrated contralateral ...