cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Critical evaluation of the enthalpies of formation for fluorinated compounds using experimental data and high-level ab initio calculations.

The ab initio method for the prediction of the enthalpies of formation for CHON-containing organic compounds proposed earlier (Paulechka, E.; Kazakov, A. J. Chem. Theory Comput. 2018, 14, 5920–5932...
US county-level agricultural crop production typology.

Crop production is an important variable in social, economic and environmental analyses. There is an abundance of crop data available for the United States, but we lack a typology of county-level crop production that accounts for production similarities in counties across the country. We fill this gap with a county-level classification of crop production with ten mutually exclusive categories across the contiguous United States. To create the typology we ran a cluster analysis on acreage data for 21 key crops from the United States Department of Agriculture’s 2012 Agricultural Census. Prior to clustering, we estimated undisclosed county acreage values, controlled for acreage in other crop types, and removed counties with low agricultural production to produce proportional scores for each crop type in each county. We used proportional scores to control for the influence of county size in the cluster analysis and used internal and stability measures to validate the analysis. The final dataset features 2922 counties. Future research can leverage this typology as an input for county- or regional-level analysis.
Improving intrusion detectors by crook-sourcing

Conventional cyber defenses typically respond to detected attacks by rejecting them as quickly and decisively as possible; but aborted attacks are missed learning opportunities for intrusion detection. A method of reimagining cyber attacks as free sources of live training data for machine learning-based intrusion detection systems (IDSes) is proposed and evaluated. Rather than aborting attacks against legitimate services, adversarial interactions are selectively prolonged to maximize the defender's harvest of useful threat intelligence. Enhancing web services with deceptive attack-responses in this way is shown to be a powerful and practical strategy for improved detection, addressing several perennial challenges for machine learning-based IDS in the literature, including scarcity of training data, the high labeling burden for (semi-)supervised learning, encryption opacity, and concept differences between honeypot attacks and those against genuine services. By reconceptualizing software security patches as feature extraction engines, the approach conscripts attackers as free penetration testers, and coordinates multiple levels of the software stack to achieve fast, automatic, and accurate labeling of live web data streams. Prototype implementations are showcased for two feature set models to extract security-relevant network- and system-level features from servers hosting enterprise-grade web applications. The evaluation demonstrates that the extracted data can be fed back into a network-level IDS for exceptionally accurate, yet lightweight attack detection.
Factors Associated with Inpatient Mortality after Intracerebral Hemorrhage: Updated Information from the United States Nationwide Inpatient Sample.

Abstract Background: To use a nationwide database of hospital admissions to assess for trends in inpatient mortality from acute spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage as well as associated potentially contributing factors. Methods: Adults with intracerebral hemorrhage in the US National Inpatient Sample database from 2012 to 2015 were included in this study. We assessed for mortality rate as well as potential impact of various comorbidities and demographic factors such as ethnicity and median house hold income on inpatient mortality rate. Results: A total of 47,700 patients were identified with a mean age of 68 years. The overall mortality rate was 24%. Hypertension was the commonest comorbidity (84%) followed by diabetes mellitus (28%). Positive associated factors for mortality rate were coagulopathy (OR 1.28, 95% CI 1.19-1.38, P
Techno-Economic Analysis of Wireless Community Grid for Rural Communities

Approximately 14% of the world population lack basic access to electricity and 84% of those people live in rural areas. The United Nations has adopted a Sustainable Development Goal to ensure universal access to reliable energy services. Different electrification approaches have not been able to penetrate the rural populations. A newer approach, Wireless Community Grid, has been introduced here. It involves an energy center from which portable batteries are swapped and rented to the customers to enable in-home lighting and small DC applications. Unlike mini-grids, there is no physical distribution network instead portable batteries act as the carrier of electricity. A preliminary technical and financial model for such a system is developed to explore the viability. Major parameters that impact system performance are the solar array size, battery capacity, swap period, and the number of batteries. Reliability and net present value are simulated for different system configurations for a community of 49 households in Borgne, Haiti. To obtain a desired reliability, weekly battery swapping scenario is always more economically attractive than a daily swapping scenario. Cost difference between those scenarios decreases as the reliability increases. The developed model will be helpful in exploring the trade-offs between electric power access reliability and costs in the early stages of project development.
The expanding class divide in happiness in the United States, 1972-2016.

Is there a growing class divide in happiness? Among U.S. adults ages 30 and over in the nationally representative General Social Survey (N = 44,198), the positive correlation between socioeconomic status (SES; including income, education, and occupational prestige) and happiness grew steadily stronger between the 1970s and 2010s. Associations between income and happiness were linear, with no tapering off at higher levels of income. Between 1972 and 2016, the happiness of high-SES White adults was fairly stable, whereas the happiness of low-SES White adults steadily declined. Among Black adults, the happiness of low-SES adults was fairly stable, whereas the happiness of high-SES adults increased. Thus, the happiness advantage favoring high-SES adults has expanded over the decades. Age-period-cohort analyses based on hierarchical linear modeling demonstrate that this effect is primarily caused by time period rather than by birth cohort or age. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).
Trauma-induced lung injury is associated with infiltration of activated TLR expressing myeloid cells.

Abstract Introduction Traumatic injury with hemorrhage (TH) induces an inflammatory response in the lung resulting in lung injury involving activation of immune cells including myeloid cells (i.e., monocytes, granulocytes and macrophages), in part through TLRs. TLRs, via the recognition of damage associated molecular patterns (DAMPs), are a key link between tissue injury and inflammation. Nonetheless, the role of TLRs in myeloid cell activation and TH-induced lung injury remains ill defined. Methods C57BL/6 male mice were subjected to TH or sham treatment (n = 4–6 /group). Lung tissues were collected two hrs. after injury. Single cells were isolated from the lungs by enzymatic digestion and myeloid cell TLR expression and activation (i.e., cytokine production) were assessed using flow cytometry techniques. Results The injury was associated with a profound change in the lung myeloid cell population. TH markedly increased lung CD11b+ monocyte numbers and Gr1+ granulocyte numbers as compared to sham mice. The number of cells expressing TLR2, TLR4, and TLR9 were increased 4–7 fold in the TH mice. Activation for elevated cytokine (TNFα, IL-10) production was observed in the lung monocyte population of the TH mice. Conclusions Trauma-induced lung injury is associated with infiltration of the lungs with TLR expressing myeloid cells that are activated for elevated cytokine responses. This elevation in TLR expression may contribute to DAMP-mediated pulmonary complications of an inflammatory nature and warrants further investigation.
A longitudinal examination of the reciprocal relationship between borderline personality features and interpersonal relationship quality.

Interpersonal dysfunction is a core characteristic of borderline personality disorder (BPD). Cross-sectional research suggests that higher BPD features are associated with lower relationship quality. Many researchers have examined the associations between interpersonal stressors and short-term increases in emotional reactivity or impulsivity among those with high levels of BPD features. Yet, most research paradigms assume that interpersonal stressors change over time, whereas BPD features remain relatively stable; however, the stability of BPD features in the context of fluctuating interpersonal stressors has yet to be tested longitudinally. In the current study, we examined co-occurring changes in relationship quality and BPD features over time. In Study 1, 126 female, undergraduate participants completed ratings of relationship quality (i.e., conflict, criticism, closeness, satisfaction, and support) with recent interpersonal partners as well as self-reported BPD features at baseline and 1-month follow-up. In Study 2, 50 female participants from the community (n = 27 with BPD; n = 23 without any psychiatric diagnoses) completed the same measures at baseline and 1-, 3-, and 6-month follow-ups. Across both studies, when participants reported decreases in the quality of their interpersonal relationships, they endorsed increases in BPD features. Similarly, when participants endorsed worsening BPD features, their perceptions of relationship quality with all recent interaction partners (in Study 1) or more frequent interaction partners (in Study 2) decreased as well. Even in samples with a wide range of BPD features, these results suggest that the quality of interpersonal relationships and BPD features may influence each other over time. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
The Tumor Promotional Role of Adipocytes in the Breast Cancer Microenvironment and Macroenvironment

The role of the adipocyte in the tumor microenvironment has received significant attention as a critical mediator of the obesity-cancer relationship. Current estimates indicate that 650 million adults have obesity, and thirteen cancers, including breast cancer, are estimated to be associated with obesity. Even in people with a normal body mass index, adipocytes are key players in breast cancer progression because of the proximity of tumors to mammary adipose tissue. Outside the breast microenvironment, adipocytes influence metabolic and immune function and produce numerous signaling molecules, all of which affect breast cancer development and progression. The current epidemiologic data linking obesity, and importantly adipose tissue, to breast cancer risk and prognosis, focusing on metabolic health, weight gain, and adipose distribution as underlying drivers of obesity-associated breast cancer is presented here. Bioactive factors produced by adipocytes, both normal and cancer associated, such as cytokines, growth factors, and metabolites, and the potential mechanisms through which adipocytes influence different breast cancer subtypes are highlighted.
Economic Self-Interest and Americans’ Redistributive, Class, and Racial Attitudes: The Case of Economic Insecurity

An influential body of research on American public opinion since the mid-1980s has found economic self-interest to be, at best, inconsistently and weakly related to social and political attitude formation. This article argues that this conclusion is related to a dearth of analysis of the potential effect of economic insecurity on American public opinion. It is argued that respondents’ perceptions of their own economic insecurity capture the extent to which not acting self-interestedly can result in hardship-causing economic loss. Empirically, it is shown—through standard regression techniques and more stringent coarsened exact matching (CEM)—that economic insecurity has a systematic and strong effect on the redistributive, class, and racial attitudes of Americans; an effect that often rivals or supersedes the effect of sociotropic and symbolic attitudes. It is also shown that affective economic insecurity—one’s worry or anxiety regarding the potential of future economic hardship—and cognitive economic insecurity—an individual’s more or less dispassionate estimate of future economic hardship—often have distinct and complementary effects in determining public opinion, even when both measures are included in the same model. The evidence presented here makes it clear that existing measures and conceptualizations of economic self-interest—and the body of empirical work that discounts economic factors in American public opinion—need to be rethought in light of economic insecurity.
Association of the All-Patient Refined Diagnosis-Related Groups Severity of Illness and Risk of Mortality Classification with Outcomes.

OBJECTIVES Diagnosis-related groups (DRGs) is a patient classification system used to characterize the types of patients that the hospital manages and to compare the resources needed during hospitalization. The DRG classification is based on International Classification of Diseases diagnoses, procedures, demographics, discharge status, and complications or comorbidities and compares hospital resources and outcomes used to determine how much Medicare pays the hospital for each "product/medical condition." The All-Patient Refined DRG (APR-DRG) incorporated severity of illness (SOI) and risk of mortality (ROM) into the DRG system to adjust for patient complexity to compare resource utilization, complication rates, and lengths of stay. METHODS This study included 18,478 adult patients admitted to a tertiary care center in Lubbock, Texas during a 1-year period. We recorded the APR-DRG SOI and ROM and some clinical information on these patients, including age, sex, admission shock index, admission glucose and lactate levels, diagnoses based on International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision discharge coding, length of stay, and mortality. We compared the levels of SOI and ROM across this clinical information. RESULTS As the levels of SOI and ROM increase (which indicates increased disease severity and risk of mortality), age, glucose levels, lactate levels, shock index, length of stay, and mortality increased significantly (P < 0.001). Multiple logistic regression analysis demonstrated that each unit increase in ROM and SOI level was significantly associated with an 11.45 and a 10.37 times increase in the odds of in-hospital mortality, respectively. The C-statistics for the corresponding models are 0.947 and 0.929, respectively. When both ROM and SOI were included in the model, the magnitudes of increase in odds of in-hospital mortality were 5.61 and 1.17 times for ROM and SOI, respectively. The C-statistic is 0.949. CONCLUSIONS This study indicates that the APR-DRG SOI and ROM scores provide a classification system that is associated with mortality and correlates with other clinical variables, such as the shock index and lactate levels, which are available on admission.
Nonparametric Regression with Multiple Predictors

In this chapter we describe how the methods described in Chaps. 10 and 11 may be extended to the situation in which there are multiple predictors. We also provide a description of methods for classification, concentrating on approaches that are more model, as opposed to algorithm based.
Biparental Care in Birds: Mechanisms Controlling Incubation Bout Duration

The functional goal of sitting on eggs by avian parents is obviously to control the thermal environment of the developing embryo. Two distinct responses are involved. A coarse adjustment is provided by regulating the amount of time the parent is in contact with the egg (nest attentiveness). A “fine adjustment” involves varying the tightness of sit during contact. In the present discussion, I will evaluate the regulation of nest attentiveness, that is, the “coarse adjustment”. The suggestion is made that while thermal cues may be important determinants of incubation bout duration (including bout onset and termination) in single parent incubators, temperatures within the normal range have little effect on attentiveness in species where both parents participate in incubation. Thus species in which the male shows parental care by feeding the female, or defending territory are not included. To explore the cues controlling incubation, experimental data on the Ring Dove (Streptopelia risoria) are reviewed. The importance of the non-incubating mate in determining the behaviour of the sitting partner is discussed. The observation that responses to the mate are an important determinant of responses to the young leads to the suggestion that biparental care in Ayes evolved from courtship behaviour and retains elements of courtship in present forms.
Application of a recursive minimum-norm learning controller to precision motion control of an underactuated mechanical system

A recursive method is first presented for obtaining the minimum-norm solution of a linear system of equations. The formulation is then extended to the case of a nonlinear system of equations, the result of which is used as the basis of a repetitive learning controller that is applied experimentally to precision motion control of an underactuated mechanical system tracking a periodic trajectory.
METABOLIC ACTIVITY IN NORMAL AND ABNORMAL VULVAR EPITHELIA. AN ASSESSMENT BY THE USE OF TRITIATED NUCLEIC ACID PRECURSORS.

Abstract 1. 1. Metabolic activity of the vulvar epithelium, in the normal and in certain diseased states, was evaluated by incubation of the fresh tissue with tritiated precursors of ribonucleic acid (uracil) and deoxyribonucleic acid (thymidine). 2. 2. It was recognized that, in general, metabolic activity seemed to be directly correlated to the anaplastic activity. Invasive cancer was the lone exception. 3. 3. Lichen sclerosus, belying its atrophic appearance, was metabolically active, as recognized by the percentage of labeled cells which approach that noted in carcinoma in situ and invasive cancer. 4. 4. Increased activity of normal-appearing skin adjacent to anaplastic lesions suggests a reason for the frequency of local recurrences, and may offer a means of evaluating the activity of the tissues at the limits of surgical excision.
Aspirin resistance: more than just a laboratory curiosity.

It is remarkable that, even in 2004, new data regarding aspirin emerge [(1)][1]. Among the most provocative pieces in the aspirin saga is the aspirin resistance story. In its broadest sense, clinical aspirin resistance refers to patients who have ischemic events despite receiving aspirin. Of course
Dr. Yaffe Replies

Although we know of no data to indicate that teeth discolored by tetracyclines are caries-resistant, it is known that administration of tetracyclines to young children can result in hypoplastic areas of enamel, a condition conducive to increased susceptibility to decay. However, as Dr. Goebel concluded, the tooth-staining reports were cited in the Committee statement for the purpose of substantiating that tetracyclines are in fact still being given to children. The degree of tooth staining is a nice index of tetracycline dosage.1
Finding similar RSS news articles using correlation-based phrase matching

Traditional phrase matching approaches, which can discover documents containing exactly the same phrases, fail to detect documents including phrases that are semantically relevant, but not exact matches. We propose a correlation-based phrase matching (CPM) model that can detect RSS news articles which contain not only phrases that are exactly the same but also semantically relevant, which dictate the degrees of similarity of any two articles. As the number of RSS news feeds continue to increase over the Internet, our CPM approach becomes more significant, since it minimizes the workload of the user who is otherwise required to scan through huge number of news articles to find related articles of interest, which is a tedious and often an impossible task. Experimental results show that our CPM model on matching bigrams and trigrams outperforms other phrase, including keyword, matching approaches.
Aspergillus flavus infection and aflatoxin production in corn: influence of trace elements.

Distribution of trace element levels in corn germ fractions from kernels naturally infected with Aspergillus flavus and from kernels free of the fungus demonstrated an association between the presence of A. flavus and higher levels of metals. A. flavus production of aflatoxin on various autoclaved corn media showed that ground, whole corn was an excellent substrate; similar high levels of toxin were observed on full-fat corn germ but endosperm and defatted corn germ supported reduced yields. The influence of trace elements and their availability in defatted corn germ to A. flavus-mediated aflatoxin biosynthesis were measured. Enrichment of the substrate with 5 to 10 μg of manganese, copper, cadmium, or chromium per g of germ increased toxin yields. Addition of lead or zinc (50 to 250 μg/g) also enhanced toxin accumulation. Aflatoxin elaboration was reduced by the addition of 25 μg of cadmium per g or 500 μg of copper per g of germ.
Dynamics of Peptide Folding: Transition States and Reaction Pathways of Solvated and Unsolvated Tetra-Alanine

A new approach is proposed for enclosing all stationary states, including saddle points of all orders, of a potential energy surface based on the \aBB\ deterministic branch and bound global optimization algorithm. This method is based on rigorous optimization methods and offers a theoretical guarentee of enclosing all solutions to the equation \grad V=0. This method is applied to the ECEPP/3 (Empirical Conformational Energy Program for Peptides) potential energy surfaces of unsolvated and solvated tetra-alanine. By analyzing the topography of the potential energy surfaces, we calculate reaction pathways, transition rate matrices, time-evolution of occupation probabilities, and rate disconnectivity graphs, and we identify appropriate criteria for the selection of a reaction coordinate.
Utilizing Peer Mentor Roles in Learning Communities.

For a number of learning community programs, peer mentors provide an additional layer of staffing support. This chapter highlights peer mentor roles from a sample of programs and suggests important components for the construction of these roles.
Hyperspectral trace gas detection using the wavelet packet transform

A method for trace gas detection in hyperspectral data is demonstrated using the wavelet packet transform. This new method, the Wavelet Packet Subspace (WPS), applies the wavelet packet transform and selects a best basis for pattern matching. The wavelet packet transform is an extension of the wavelet transform, which fully decomposes a signal into a library of wavelet packet bases. Application of the wavelet packet transform to hyperspectral data for the detection of trace gases takes advantage of the ability of the wavelet transform to locate spectral features in both scale and location. By analyzing the wavelet packet tree of specific gas, nodes of the tree are selected which represent an orthogonal best basis. The best basis represents the significant spectral features of that gas. This is then used to identify pixels in the scene using existing matching algorithms such as spectral angle or matched filter. Using data from the Airborne Hyperspectral Imager (AHI), this method is compared to traditional matched filter detection methods. Initial results demonstrate a promising wavelet packet subspace technique for hyperspectral trace gas detection applications.
A Bootstrap Revival of Some Nonparametric Distance Tests

Abstract Several tests based on the empirical measure have been proposed to test independence of variables, goodness of fit, equality of distributions, rotational invariance, and so forth. These tests have excellent power properties, but critical values are difficult, if not impossible, to obtain. Furthermore, these tests usually assume that the data are real-valued with continuous distributions. Here, critical values are determined by bootstrapping and the resulting tests are shown to have the correct asymptotic level under minimal assumptions. For example, given data Xi = (X i,1, …, Xi,d ), i = 1, …, n, it may be desired to test independence of the d components. The proposed test compares the empirical measure and the product of its marginals by taking a supremum over an appropriate Vapnik-Cervonenkis class of sets. No assumptions are made on the probability distribution of the data or on the space in which it lives; indeed, some components may be discrete, some continuous, and others categorical. Simil...
The NCES reconsidered: summary of a 1989 workshop

A 1989 workshop provided a forum for independent review of the National Childhood Encephalopathy Study (NCES). No official summary will be published. Workshop panelists noted: firstly, that the magnitude of the reported association between acute neurological illness and pertussis vaccine might have been overestimated because of bias, but bias was believed unlikely to account for all of the excess risk; and secondly that because of problems with study design and methodology, the NCES is not informative with regard to long-term outcome of acute neurological illness associated with recent diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTP) vaccination. The workshop panel discouraged use of the NCES estimate of the attributable risk of persistent neurological damage.
Mitotic viability and metabolic competence in UV-irradiated yeast cells.

Abstract Colony formation is the classic method for measuring survival of yeast cells. This method measures mitotic viability and can underestimate the fraction of cells capable of carrying out other DNA processing events. Here, we report an alternative method, based on cell metabolism, to determine the fraction of surviving cells after ultraviolet (UV) irradiation. The reduction of 2,3,5-triphenyl tetrazolium chloride (or TTC) to formazan in mitochondria was compared with cell colony formation and DNA repair capacity in wt cells and two repair-deficient strains ( rad1Δ and rad7Δ ). Both TTC reduction and cell colony formation gave a linear response with different ratios of mitotically viable cells and heat-inactivated cells. However, monitoring the formation of formazan in non-dividing yeast cells that are partially ( rad7Δ ) or totally ( wt ) proficient at DNA repair is a more accurate measure of cell survival after UV irradiation. Before repair of UV photoproducts ( cis-syn cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers or CPDs) is complete, these two assays give very different results, implying that many damaged cells are metabolically competent but cannot replicate. For example, only 25% of the rad7Δ cells are mitotically viable after a UV dose of 12 J/m 2 , whereas >75% of these cells are metabolically competent and remove over 55% of the CPDs from their genomic DNA. Moreover, repair of CPDs in wt cells dramatically decreases after the first few hours of liquid holding (L.H.; incubation in water) and correlates with a substantial decrease in cell metabolism over the same time period. In contrast, cell colony formation may be the more accurate indicator of cell survival after UV irradiation of rad1Δ cells (i.e., cells with little DNA repair activity). These results indicate that the metabolic competence of UV-irradiated, non-dividing yeast cells is a much better indicator of cell survival than mitotic viability in partially (or totally) repair proficient yeast cultures.
Educational Theory and Practice at the Fin de Siècle: From Pre-School to After-School

It is a great honor to be invited to deliver the George F. Kneller Lecture at the American Educational Studies Association conference. When I was a graduate student many years ago, believe it or no...
Syntheses, crystal structures, and bond valence sum analyses of lanthanide complexes with a planar pentadentate ligand

Abstract The syntheses and X-ray crystal structures of the Eu, Gd, Dy, Ho, and Er nitrate complexes of the pentadentate ligand 2,6-diacetylpyridine bis acetic acid hydrazone, or H2dapaah, are reported. The complexes can be divided into 3 groups depending on the number of water molecules per metal ion. The Ln · 4H2O complexes with Eu, Gd and Dy are isomorphous, with the Ln ion being 10 coordinate. The Ln · 6H2O group includes Ho and Er, where the cation is 9 coordinate. The final complex Gd · 5H2O is 10 coordinate like the Eu, Gd and Dy complexes, but the additional water molecule has stabilized an ordered crystal. The bond valence sum method has been used to analyze the bonding in the complexes and has suggested that bond valence equalization in three dimensions may be an important concept.
NUCLEOTIDE SEQUENCE ANALYSIS OF THE 23S RIBOSOMAL RNA-ENCODING GENE OF BARTONELLA BACILLIFORMIS

Abstract We report the cloning and characterization of the 23S ribosomal RNA (rRNA)-encoding gene (rDNA) of Bartonella bacilliformis (Bb) . The 2821-bp gene is preceded by an 11-nucleotide (nt) inverted repeat (IR) located 81 nt upstream in the tRNA Ala -23S rDNA intergenic spacer. The gene is followed by an 8-nt IR, five nt downstream in the 23S-5S rDNA intergenic spacer. The nt sequence of the Bb 23S rDNA is most similar to the 23S rDNA of Rhodopseudomonas palustris (Rp), with 85.4% sequence identity. The Bb 23S rDNA has 77.8% identity to the same gene from Escherichia coli (Ec) . Secondary structure predictions indicate that the large subunit (LSU) Bb rRNA contains two smaller stem-loops at nt 1459-1544 and 1658-1685, as compared to the corresponding loops from Ec (nt 1405–1597 and 1707–1751, respectively). In addition, the Bb 23S rRNA has a large 72-nt stem-loop at nt 130–201, as compared to the Ec 18-nt stem-loop (nt 131–148). There is no Bb homologue of the 15-nt stem-loop at the 3' end of the Ec molecule (nt 2791–2805). The Bb 23S rRNA lacks the large stem-loop present in the LSU rRNA of closely related Rhodobacter sphaeroides (Rs) (nt position 1225–1331) which is thought to be involved in cleavage of 23S RNA precursor molecules into 16S and 14S rRNA species. This is the first LSU rDNA nt sequence for any member of the Bartonellaceae family.
High-pressure NMR studies of the water soluble rhodium hydroformylation system

Rh(CO)2(acac) reacts with P(m-C6H4SO3Na.H2O)3 (P/Rh > 3.5) in water under CO to give HRh(CO)[P(m-C6H4SO3Na)3]3 (1a), the structure of which is similar to HRh(CO) (PPh3)3 (1b). High pressure NMR spectra of an aqueous solution containing1a and three molar excess of P(m-C6H4SO3Na)3 does not show the formation of new species up to 200 atm of CO∶H2(1∶1). In contrast,1b, in the presence of three molar excess of PPh3, is completely converted to HRh(CO)2(PPh3)2 (2b) under 30 atm CO/H2(1∶1) in toluene. The activation energy of the dissociation of P(m-C6H4SO3Na)3 from1a in water was found to be 30±1 kcal/mol, which is 11±1 kcal/mol higher than the dissociation of PPh3 from1b in toluene.
Predicting immunoglobulin‐like hypervariable loops

A two-stage method is developed to search the conformational space of small protein segments for low energy structures. Central features of the method are efficient procedures for generating small, eight-backbone atom, local moves in Cartesian coordinates and for introducing geometric constraints in adaptable Monte Carlo procedures. This allows natural implementation of an adaptive simulated annealing algorithm, which achieves an effective trade-off between speed and acceptance ratio. The method is applied to the calculation of various immunoglobulin loops. We also develop data base derived rules for identifying constraint conditions, and show that the incorporation of an identified side-chain constraint allows a 1.2 A all-backbone atom rms deviation prediction of a 9 residue long L1 loop. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Vascular remodeling and mineralocorticoids

Circulating mineralocorticoid hormones are so named because of their important homeostatic properties that regulate salt and water balance via their action on epithelial cells. A broader range of functions in nonclassic target cellular sites has been proposed for these steroids and includes their contribution to wound healing following injury. A chronic, inappropriate (relative to intravascular volume and dietary sodium intake) elevation of these circulating hormones evokes a wound healing response in the absence of tissue injury — a wound healing response gone awry. The adverse remodeling of vascularized tissues seen in association with chronic mineralocorticoid excess is the focus of this review.
Attentive Reading and Constrained Summarisation (ARCS) treatment in primary progressive aphasia: A case study

Background: Primary progressive aphasia (PPA) is a neurodegenerative disease characterised by isolated and gradual language decline that can negatively affect discourse. Behavioural treatments for PPA have typically targeted linguistic processes at the micro‐structure (word or sentence) level rather than the macro‐structure (discourse) level, with minimal generalisation to discourse. There is a growing consensus that non‐linguistic mechanisms such as attention are imperative for complex language execution such as discourse. Intentional language use (Nadeau, Rothi, & Rosenbek, 2008) is another mechanism thought to promote language generalisation by encouraging verbal language to the exclusion of other modalities. Attentive Reading and Constrained Summarisation (ARCS) is a novel discourse‐level treatment derived from cognitive principles and operating on macro‐structure and micro‐structure linguistic levels. Aims: In this case report of one participant with PPA we anticipated post‐treatment discourse‐level ...
PROOFREADING THE CAT IN THE HAT: EVIDENCE FOR DIFFERENT READING STYLES OF GOOD AND POOR SPELLERS

While previous research indicates a relationship between ability to spell and proofreading, two variables, knowledge of word spellings and presentation time, have consistently not been controlled. In this study, a very easy passage (allowing control of word knowledge) was presented in short segments on a computer screen (controlling presentation time). Ten pairs of 9th- and 10th-grade students, matched for IQ and sex but differing in spelling ability, were asked to identify whether each segment contained a spelling error (half of the segments contained a misspelled word). An analysis of variance yielded significant main effects for both spelling ability and correctly spelled versus misspelled segments and a significant interaction between these: good and poor spellers performed equally well on correctly spelled segments, but good spellers were superior to poor spellers in identifying misspelled segments. The results are interpreted as supporting Frith's (1980) “partial cues” hypothesis regarding different...
Educating instruction librarians

Abstract The rise of the librarian's role in teaching information literacy competencies and assessing student learning outcomes requires that instruction librarians be cognizant of and competent in a broad array of teaching and assessment skills. A review of the literature shows that, while instruction librarians are proactive in improving their level of expertise, they also express the need to have training and experience during their graduate programs. This article utilizes a case-study approach to propose a model of instruction librarian education. The authors, recent graduates from the University of Hawai'i Library and Information Science Program, analyze the effect of their experiences in a semester-long teaching practicum and a formal graduate level course in instructional methodology. It is proposed that future instruction librarians be provided opportunities for extended teaching practicums combined with coursework in instructional theory during their Library and Information Science program.
Drofenine: a 2‐APB analog with improved selectivity for human TRPV3

Transient receptor potential vanilloid-3 (TRPV3) is a member of the TRPV subfamily of TRP ion channels. The physiological functions of TRPV3 are not fully understood, in part, due to a lack of selective agonists and antagonists that could both facilitate the elucidation of roles for TRPV3 in mammalian physiology as well as potentially serve as therapeutic agents to modulate conditions for which altered TRPV3 function has been implicated. In this study, the Microsource Spectrum Collection was screened for TRPV3 agonists and antagonists using alterations in calcium flux in TRPV3 overexpressing human embryonic kidney-293 (HEK-293) cells. The antispasmodic agent drofenine was identified as a new TRPV3 agonist. Drofenine exhibited similar potency to the known TRPV3 agonists 2-aminoethoxydiphenylboronate (2-APB) and carvacrol in HEK-293 cells, but greater selectivity for TRPV3 based on a lack of activation of TRPA1, V1, V2, V4, or M8. Multiple inhibitors were also identified, but all of the compounds were either inactive or not specific. Drofenine activated TRPV3 via interactions with the residue, H426, which is required for TRPV3 activation by 2-APB. Drofenine was a more potent agonist of TRPV3 and more cytotoxic than either carvacrol or 2-APB in human keratinocytes and its effect on TRPV3 in HaCaT cells was further demonstrated using the antagonist icilin. Due to the lack of specificity of existing TRPV3 modulators and the expression of multiple TRP channels in cells/tissue, drofenine may be a valuable probe for elucidating TRPV3 functions in complex biological systems. Identification of TRPV3 as a target for drofenine may also suggest a mechanism by which drofenine acts as a therapeutic agent.
Visual pattern recognition in the years ahead

Conventional classification algorithms have already reached a plateau at the trade-off imposed by the bias due to the structure of the classifier and the variance due to the limited size of the training set. The latter may be alleviated by exploiting known constraints, including class and style priors, language models, statistical correlations between spatially proximate patterns, statistical dependence due to isogeny (common source) of patterns, and even information-theoretic properties of the representations that have evolved for symbolic patterns intended for communication. Another development that may lead to new applications of pattern recognition is more effective human intervention. The interplay of human and machine abilities requires models that are both human and computer accessible.
Studies on complexation between β-cyclodextrin and bile salts

Abstract The thermodynamic parameters for the inclusion complexation of β-cyclodextrin and thirteen bile salts have been measured with flow microcalorimetry. The results show that most of the bile salts studied here form 1:1 complexes with the exception of deoxycholate and its conjugates which form 1:1 plus 1:2 complexes. The complexation affinities follow the order: deoxycholates > ursodeoxycholates ≈ chenodeoxycholates > cholates ≈ dehydrocholate. The inclusion modes were established with H-NMR for β-cyclodextrin and three bile salts. The thermodynamic data are consistent with the complex structures.
Solution and membrane bound structure of a peptide derived from the protein kinase C substrate domain of neuromodulin.

The solution, micelle, and membrane bound structure of a peptide based on the protein kinase C and calmodulin binding domain of neuromodulin was studied using a combination of NMR, EPR, and circular dichroism. NMR spectroscopy on this peptide indicates that there is little secondary structure in aqueous solution or detergent micelles, but that the peptide is helical in methanol. This finding is in agreement with EPR experiments utilizing double spin-labeled derivatives of the peptide as well as circular dichroism. The membrane bound structure of this peptide was investigated with EPR by synthesizing a series of spin-labeled peptides based on the protein kinase C and calmodulin binding domain of neuromodulin. These peptides exhibit no binding to neutral membranes containing phosphatidylcholine, but associate strongly with membranes containing negatively charged lipids such as phosphatidylserine. The depth of penetration of the spin label was estimated using continuous wave power-saturation EPR and demonstr...
Morphological Chronoclines among Late Pleistocene Muskrats (Ondatra zibethicus: Muridae, Rodentia) from Northern Florida

Abstract The muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus) is presumed to have undergone a rapid phyletic size decrease near the end of the Pleistocene. Evolutionary changes in the size of middle to late Wisconsinan (ca. 32,000–12,300 14C yr B.P.) muskrats from the Aucilla River, Jefferson County, Florida, were reconstructed by examining length and width of the lower first molar (m1). Body mass, estimated from m1 length, was relatively stable from 32,000 to 16,000 14C yr B.P. and decreased only slightly by 12,300 14C yr B.P. If the size trend found in the Aucilla River material is characteristic of the southeastern United States, a body size decrease after 12,300 14C yr B.P. is needed to explain the smaller size of modern populations. It was previously thought that the length/width (l/w) ratio of the muskrat m1 was a paleoenvironmental indicator based on its presumed correlation with latitude in modern populations. We examined the length and width of modern muskrats from several geographic regions and found only a very weak trend in the size of the m1 between northern and southern populations; however, highly significant differences were found between regions of similar latitude. Our data indicate that chronoclines in the m1 of the Aucilla muskrat material and other such documented trends among fossil muskrats have paleoenvironmental significance, but it is not yet clear which environmental variables can best be predicted from them.
Absorption and retention of lead by infants.

Summary: Eighty-nine metabolic balance studies were performed with 12 normal infants ranging in age from 14–746 days. Intake and fecal and urinary excretions of lead were determined and net absorption and net retention were calculated. Subjects were fed milk or formula and commercially prepared strained foods. Intakes of lead ranged from 0.83–22.61 μg/kg/day with a mean of 9.43 μg/kg/day. Urinary excretion averaged 1.02 (SD 0.68) μg/kg/day and was positively correlated with lead intake (Fig. 1). Fecal excretion was highly correlated with intake of lead (Fig. 2); fecal excretion exceeded intake in 10 studies. In 61 balance studies with lead intakes greater than 5 μg/kg/day, net absorption averaged 41.5% of lead intake and net retention averaged 31.7% of intake. Retention of lead was highly correlated with lead intake (Fig. 3). Urinary plus fecal excretion of lead exceeded intake in 19 of 28 balances in which lead intakes were less than 5 μg/kg/day. Absorption and retention of lead were inversely correlated with intake of calcium (Fig. 4). Absorption and retention of lead accounted for greater percentages of intake of lead in this study of infants and young children than have been reported in studies of older subjects. Speculation: Highly efficient absorption and retention of ingested lead by young children may be partly responsible for the high prevalence of lead intoxication in this age group.
DIFFERENTIAL RELATIONSHIPS ASSOCIATED WITH TWO DISTINCT DIMENSIONS OF CONTINUANCE COMMITMENT

ABSTRACT Continuance organizational commitment binds individuals to their employing institutions not because of affective feelings of loyalty but instead because of costs associated with leaving. Meyer and Allen's (1984) measure of this construct has been found to tap two dimensions: (a) personal sacrifices associated with voluntary turnover and (b) lack of job alternatives. But, the psychometric properties of their continuance commitment measure have been called into question. Because difficulties with the original measure have hampered establishment of differential correlates with theoretically-related variables, items were modified to strengthen the measure. Then the relationships between relevant work-related variables and the two dimensions were assessed using an occupationally heterogeneous sample of 476 respondents. Finally, concerns about the value-added contribution of the low alternatives dimension of the continuance organizational commitment construct were raised.
Heliox improves pulsus paradoxus and peak expiratory flow in nonintubated patients with severe asthma.

Heliox is a blend of helium and oxygen with a gas density less than that of air that decreases airway resistance (Raw) in patients ventilated for status asthmaticus. We tested whether breathing an 80:20 mixture of helium:oxygen would reduce pulsus paradoxus (PP) and increase peak expiratory flow (PEF) in patients presenting to the emergency room with an exacerbation of asthma. After receiving 30 min of beta-agonist aerosols and intravenously administered methylprednisolone, 27 patients whose PP remained greater than 15 mm Hg and whose PEF remained less than 250 L/min consented to breathe heliox or room air for 15 min. PP decreased and PEF increased with time in control patients, indicating a time-related effect of routine bronchodilator therapy (p < 0.05). PP decreased in 15 of 16 patients during heliox, and the change with heliox was significantly greater than that during air breathing (p < 0.01). PEF measured with a Wright's peak flow meter calibrated for heliox increased in all patients breathing helio...
Lenalidomide treatment promotes CD154 expression on CLL cells and enhances production of antibodies by normal B Cells through a PI3-kinase dependent pathway

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) involves a profound humoral immune defect and tumor-specific humoral tolerance that directly contribute to disease morbidity and mortality. CD154 gene therapy can reverse this immune defect, but attempts to do this pharmacologically have been unsuccessful. The immune-modulatory agent lenalidomide shows clinical activity in CLL, but its mechanism is poorly understood. Here, we demonstrate that lenalidomide induces expression of functional CD154 antigen on CLL cells both in vitro and in vivo. This occurs via enhanced CD154 transcription mediated by a Nuclear Factor of Activated T cells c1 (NFATc1)/Nuclear Factor-κB (NF-κB) complex and also through phosphoinositide-3 (PI3)–kinase pathway-dependent stabilization of CD154 mRNA. Importantly, CD154-positive CLL cells up-regulate BID, DR5, and p73, become sensitized to tumor necrosis factor–related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL)–mediated apoptosis, and promote costimulatory activation of normal B cells to produce antibodies. In CLL patients receiving lenalidomide, similar evidence of CD154 activation is observed including BID, DR5, and p73 induction and also development of anti-ROR1 tumor-directed antibodies. Our data demonstrate that lenalidomide promotes CD154 expression on CLL cells with subsequent activation phenotype, and may therefore reverse the humoral immune defect observed in this disease. This study is registered at http://clinicaltrials.gov as NCT00466895.