cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Methylmercury-Induced Decrement in Neuronal Migration May Involve Cytokine-Dependent Mechanisms: A Novel Method to Assess Neuronal Movement in Vitro

A major toxic effect associated with methylmercury (MeHg) exposure in developing humans is damage to the nervous system, which involves inhibition of cell migration, particularly in the cerebellum. The mechanisms by which MeHg impairs neural migration are not fully known, especially at low doses. In this paper we report on a novel method for observing and quantitating the movement of individual cells in primary cultures of murine neonatal cerebellar cells, which offers an opportunity to assess the role of endogenous and exogenous factors on neural migration. We have used this system to test the hypothesis that treatment with methylmercury would inhibit movement of granule cell neurons, possibly via a cytokine-mediated mechanism. We demonstrate that LPS (50 ng/ml) increases movement of neurons, concomitant with increased levels of TNF-alpha and IL-6 secreted protein, and IL-1alpha mRNA. Treatment with LPS did not increase the number of neurons that moved, but, of the cells that did move, exposure to LPS significantly increased the total distances moved. Treatment with methylmercury (0.1 microM) decreased the number of moving cells and inhibited overall distance traveled by granule cells.
Kinetics and Mechanism of Iridium-Catalyzed Dehydrogenation of Primary Amines to Nitriles

A family of primary amines has been catalytically dehydrogenated to nitriles by [C6H3-2,6-(OPtBu2)2]IrH2 using tert-butylethylene as a hydrogen acceptor. The catalytic mechanism has been investigated by a series of kinetic and isotopic labeling experiments, in addition to the isolation of intermediates along the reaction pathway. The turnover frequency exhibits a first-order dependence on the concentration of amine, an inverse first-order dependence on nitrile, and a zero-order dependence on tert-butylethylene. The mechanism of amine dehydrogenation is proposed to proceed from an iridium(I) nitrile complex, the catalyst resting state, via two preturnover limiting equilibria, followed by a slow β-hydride elimination event from a transient iridium(III) amido hydride species. Measuring rate constants for the stoichiometric dehydrogenation of isobutylamine over a 41 °C temperature range established activation parameters for β-hydride elimination of ΔH⧧ 24.8(9) kcal/mol and ΔS⧧ = −10(2) eu. Dehydrogenation of ...
Regulating Cross-Talk Between Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells

Gap junctions are small pore-forming protein connections between neighboring cells that mediate the flow of ions and small molecules (≤1 200 Da). As such, they provide a degree of direct cytoplasmic continuity between cells that contributes, along with paracrine pathways, to the intercellular flow of information. These channels are often thought to be long-lived, nonspecific conduits allowing the cell-to-cell spread of ionic currents and small signaling molecules such as cAMP, cGMP, etc. However, in recent years, new evidence has dramatically improved our appreciation of their diversity, regulation, and contribution to normal tissue function and, importantly, has advanced our understanding of the pathogenesis of various diseases. For example, in oncology, the growth and spread of malignant cells in a variety of cancers appears to be dependent on establishing gap junction connections between normal and malignant cells.1,2 In cardiovascular medicine, gap junction alterations have been implicated in the genesis of cardiac arrhythmias,3 remodeling of the arterial wall in hypertension,4–6 and perhaps atherosclerosis.7–9 Indeed, the list goes on, including pathologies in the ophthalmic, neurologic, gastrointestinal, and endocrine systems. Considering their involvement in tissue physiology and pathophysiology, it is essential that we move forward in unraveling the regulatory mechanisms underlying gap junction protein expression and function. In this issue of Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology , Cowan and his colleagues10 in Toronto and Boston describe an elegant series of experiments demonstrating that the principle gap junction protein in vascular smooth muscle cells, Cx43, is transcriptionally upregulated by hypoxia and stretch, which surprisingly appears to be mediated by the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). See page 1754 A single gap junction protein consists of two hemi-channels (connexons) on closely opposing cell membranes that dock together to form …
Transduction in microbial biosensors using muliplexed bioluminescence

The enormous diversity of genetic responses in living microbes to their environment is an attractive resource on which to base biosensor designs. In particular, there is much interest in microbial sensors for environmental monitoring where toxicity can be ascertained directly by its action on cellular physiology. However, due to the complexities of living systems, the utility of genetic-based microbial sensors has been limited by the ability to accurately transduce the activities of specific genetic sensing systems into readily measurable signals. We present here a strategy for employing an additional signal in the sensor design, to provide an internal baseline control upon which to reliably interpret sensor responses. The strategy relies on using beetle luciferases capable of emitting optical signals of different wavelengths; the optical signals are a sensitive real-time indicator of genetic activity within the cells. The different wavelengths allow both a target and control signal to be incorporated into each cell, providing a means of differentiating between specific effects of a genetic sensing system and other non-specific interfering influences.
Placebo Response: A Consideration of its Role in Therapeutics

Placebo effects are a potentially inherent element in all treatment responses, and as such, they play a critical role in determining what is “therapeutic.” However, the placebo response is also an area of substantial controversy. In the present review, the scientific issues that influence placebo effects are elucidated. The evolution of the concept of placebo and how this has affected its historical importance in therapeutics is considered. The importance of placebo responses in psychiatry and psychotherapy is specifically examined, and recent progress in determining the cognitive and neurobiological bases of placebo effects is reviewed. Finally, it is argued that the placebo response is a cardinal mind–body pathway that promotes salutogenesis and that evidence suggests its relationship to central nervous system activities that are responsible for the concomitant development of positive affects and somatic procedural memories that govern states of mind/body well-being during maternal–infant attachment.
Full-wafer technology-A new approach to large-scale laser fabrication and integration

A concept for full-wafer processing (FWP) and full-wafer testing (FWT) for semiconductor laser fabrication in the AlGaAs-GaAs material system is presented. The approach is based on chemically assisted ion beam etching for the laser-mirror formation. Record values for mirror scattering, optimum mirror reflectivity, and equivalence to cleaved mirrors in terms of laser threshold and efficiency have been achieved. Promising results for uniformity and reproducibility for major laser diode characteristics on processed 2-in wafers have been found. The FWP technology has been extensively used for designing test sites to determine various materials, process, and laser parameters, such as sheet resistance, ridge dimensions, lithographic alignment errors, mirror surface leakage, etc. >
Kinematics, electromechanics, and kinetics of dielectric and piezoelectric crystals with lattice defects

A mathematical framework is formulated to address the electromechanical behavior of dielectric and piezoelectric solids containing lattice imperfections. The macroscopic displacement gradient encompasses recoverable elasticity, deviatoric plasticity arising from dislocation glide, and volumetric deformation attributed to point vacancies in the crystal. A linear connection on the spatial manifold of deformed lattice vectors describes gradients of stretch and rotation at the microscale caused by continuous distributions of various classes of crystal defects. It is shown that parallel transport of a lattice director vector with respect to this connection about a closed loop yields a discontinuity with contributions from the torsion of the connection (physically, from dislocations) and its curvature (physically, from rotational defects such as domain walls, and from gradients in vacancy concentration). Classical balance laws of electrostatics and mass and momentum conservation are invoked. A free energy function dependent upon lattice distortion, polarization, temperature, and defect densities is suggested. Thermodynamically consistent kinetic relations for dislocation glide and vacancy diffusion are then derived, with the chemical potential for the latter depending upon defect density, electric potential, hydrostatic pressure, and vacancy energy. The theory also explicitly considers mass rearrangement at the free surface of the substance. Two forms of the contribution of vacancies to the free energy are investigated in detail: a logarithmic function common in chemical mixing theory, and a quadratic function analogous to the convex strain energy used in continuum elasticity theory. For the latter case, the analytical solution of the diffusion equation in one spatial dimension, at steady state, illustrates the effects of defect charge, defect energy, and mechanical stress on the distribution of vacancies in a dielectric thin film. A specific example is given of how compressive residual stresses observed in experiments may be correlated with the equilibrium concentration of vacancies within grains of a polycrystalline dielectric thin film, influencing its electrical performance.
Element discriminability as a determinant of serial-pattern learning

Hulse and Dorsky found that rats were better able to track (run slowly to) 0 food pellets in a strongly monotonic (decreasing) serial pattern (14-7-3-1-0 food pellets) than in either a weakly monotonic one (14-5-5-1-0) or a nonmonotonic one (14-1-3-7-0). These findings were seen as incompatible with associative approaches based on animal experiments. Instead, they were taken to be consistent with cognitive theories of human behavior that relate pattern difficulty to formally defined structural complexity. In Experiment 1, tracking was found to be poorer with a strongly monotonie series (15-10-5-0) than with either of two weakly monotonic series (15-15-0-0 or 14-14-2-0), and in Experiment 2 a nonmonotonic series (1-29-0) produced better tracking than a strongly monotonic one (20-10-0). Although these results are not necessarily incompatible with the structural complexity view, they do suggest that “element discriminability” is a factor in serial-pattern learning. They are, therefore, compatible with a memory approach that views tracking as a form of discrimination learning.
Anaerobic redox cycling of iron by freshwater sediment microorganisms.

The potential for microbially-mediated anaerobic redox cycling of iron (Fe) was examined in a first-generation enrichment culture of freshwater wetland sediment microorganisms. MPN enumerations revealed the presence of significant populations of Fe(III)-reducing (ca. 108 cells mL-1) and Fe(II)-oxidizing, nitrate-reducing organisms (ca. 105 cells mL-1) in the sediment used to inoculate the enrichment cultures. Nitrate reduction commenced immediately following inoculation of acetate-containing (ca. 1 mM) medium with a small quantity (1% vol/vol) of wetland sediment, and resulted in the transient accumulation of NO2- and production of a mixture of end-products including NH4+. Fe(III) oxide (high surface area goethite) reduction took place - after NO3- was depleted and continued until all the acetate was utilized. Addition of NO3 after Fe(III) reduction ceased resulted in the immediate oxidation of Fe(II) coupled to reduction of + NO3-to NH4 . No significant NO2- accumulation was observed during nitrate-dependent Fe(II) oxidation. No Fe(II) oxidation occurred in pasteurized controls. Microbial community structure in the enrichment was monitored by DGGE analysis of PCR amplified 16s rDNA and RT-PCR amplified 16S rRNA, as well as by construction of 16S rDNA clone libraries for four different time points during the experiment. Strong similarities in dominant members of the microbial communitymore » were observed in the Fe(III) reduction and nitrate-dependent Fe(II) oxidation phases of the experiment, specifically the common presence of organisms closely related (= 95% sequence similarity) to the genera Geobacter and Dechloromonas. These results indicate that the wetland sediments contained organisms such as Geobacter sp. which are capable of both + dissimilatory Fe(III) reduction and oxidation of Fe(II) with reduction of NO3-reduction to NH4 . Our findings suggest that microbially-catalyzed nitrate-dependent Fe(II) oxidation has the potential to contribute to a dynamic anaerobic Fe redox cycle in freshwater sediments.« less
Selenocysteine Positional Variants Reveal Contributions to Copper Binding from Cysteine Residues in Domains 2 and 3 of Human Copper Chaperone for Superoxide Dismutase

The human copper chaperone for superoxide dismutase binds copper both in an Atx1-like MTCQSC motif in domain 1 and via a multinuclear cluster formed by two CXC motifs at the D3 dimer interface. The composition of the Cu(I) cluster has been investigated previously by mutagenesis of the CXC motif, and by construction of a CXU selenocysteine derivative, which has permitted XAS studies at both Cu and Se absorption edges. Here, we report the semisynthesis and spectroscopic characterization of a series of derivatives with the sequences 243-CACA, 243-CAUA, 243-UACA, and 243-UAUA in the D1 double mutant (C22AC25A) background, prepared by expressed protein ligation of Sec-containing tetrapeptides to an hCCS-243 truncation. By varying the position of the Se atom in the CXC motif, we have been able to show that Se is always bridging (2 Se−Cu) rather than terminal (1 Se−Cu). Substitution of both D3 Cys residues by Sec in the UAUA variant does not eliminate the Cu−S contribution, confirming our previous description of...
Polyelectrolyte Adsorption onto a Surface-Confined Surfactant

Using sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) as a surfactant and poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDDA) as a polyelectrolyte, we formed a surfactant−polymer complex on a model surface of a positively charged 2-aminoethanethiol (cysteamine) self-assembled monolayer on gold. The complex formation is achieved by first SDS adsorption on cysteamine and subsequent adsorption of PDDA on the preformed SDS layer. Successful deposition of the PDDA layer on SDS without noticeable surfactant desorption shows that the complex formation is a fast process. The presence of SDS−PDDA complex on a cysteamine-modified gold substrate was observed by surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy. The thicknesses obtained from the SPR data were 1.5 nm for SDS and 1.1 nm for PDDA. Concentrations of SDS and PDDA in the parent solutions necessary to yield the complex upon adsorption were determined.
Dispersal ghosts in Oceania.

Anthropological genetics helps expand our understanding of human phenotypes in the Pacific, in part because of its focus on gene genealogies to infer past episodes of dispersal and to differentiate these events from adaptations due to long-duration directional selection. Sewall Wright's 1949 seminal paper on population structure emphasized that there were two strong forces that exerted systematic and therefore determinant pressure on the gene pool: recurrent immigration and gene flow. These are important topics to all discussions of human dispersal in any region of the world. Furthermore, Wright listed five unique kinds of events that produced indeterminate or unpredictable changes that could lead to phenotypic and genotypic effects. In this category, he placed unique selective incidents, unique hybridization events, unique reductions in number, swamping by mass immigration, and mutational drive due to an allele always being favored since its origin or introduction. This discussion of human dispersal in the Pacific will touch on these topics, since they provide a second level of complexity in knowing who moved about a region of the world found already settled when rediscovered by colonial explorers during the 16–18th centuries. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 16:440–451, 2004. © 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Expression of non-structural-1A binding protein in lung epithelial cells is modulated by miRNA-548an on exposure to influenza A virus.

Abstract Understanding the host response to influenza A virus infection is essential for developing intervention approaches. We show that infection of human alveolar epithelial cells and human bronchial epithelial cells with influenza A for 3 h resulted in down-regulation of host hsa-miRNA-548an (miRNA-548an) which triggered the overexpression of influenza non-structural-1A binding protein (IVNS1ABP, herein referred to as NS1ABP). Reduced NS1ABP mRNA and NS1ABP protein expression after transfection of miRNA-548an mimic or increased NS1ABP mRNA and NS1ABP protein expression after transfection of miRNA-548an inhibitor provided evidence that miRNA-548an is involved in the regulation of NS1ABP. Transfection of cells with inhibitor led to reduced apoptosis of infected cells while transfection of mimic led to increased apoptosis and reduced influenza copy number suggesting that NS1ABP has a role in viral maintenance. Thus, miRNA-548an may be an important target in controlling the early stage infection of influenza A.
Reactive autophobic spreading of drops

We use a lubrication theory approximation to formulate a model for the reactive spreading of drops that deposit an autophobic monolayer of surfactant on a surface. The model consists of a Poisson equation on a moving domain with boundary conditions that depend on the history of the domain motion. We develop a numerical algorithm for solving the model, using the immersed interface method and the level-set method. Numerical solutions for traveling drops are qualitatively similar to experimental observations of reactive autophobic spreading.
Absolute transition probabilities in Ta i and W i

Branching ratios are reported for 253 spectral lines in Ta i and 309 lines in W i. New radiative lifetime measurements of 39 W i levels are also reported. The branching ratios are combined with the newly measured W i and previously measured Ta i lifetimes to determine accurate absolute transition probabilities. An experimental determination of the strength of possible infrared branches indicates that no significant infrared branches have been omitted.
The renal lesions of electrolyte imbalance. II. The combined effect on renal architecture of phosphate loading and potassium depletion.

Acute chloride depletion in rats is associated with the occurrence of an extensive cell damage in the mid-portion of the proximal convolutions which is followed by an excessive hyperplastic reaction of the renal epithelium; no other significant lesions were found by microdissection in either the tubules of the nephrons or the collecting system. Potassium deficiency is not essential to the development of this lesion but does increase the severity of the reaction. As in the case of potassium deficiency, chloride depletion predisposes to or exaggerates the structural alterations that accompany excess phosphate intake. The relations of the different structural changes in renal architecture that occur in various states of electrolyte imbalance are discussed as well as the relation of the lesions seen experimentally in the rat and monkey and clinically in man.
Examination of the Nonlinear Dynamic Systems Associated with Science Student Cognition While Engaging in Science Information Processing

A critical problem with the examination of learning in education is that there is an underlying assumption that the dynamic systems associated with student information processing can be measured using static linear assessments. This static linear approach does not provide sufficient ability to characterize learning. Much of the modern research within fields adjacent to education has embraced the idea that information processing and cognitive states are dramatically dynamic and nonlinear. The dynamic and nonlinear aspects of information processing makes current educational research methods ill equipped to examine cognitive processing. This is because many quantitative and qualitative methods of examination tacitly assume that “snap-shots” provide an appropriate view of student information processing during learning. This study examines the role of nonlinear dynamics as a descriptor of student learning in the science classroom. The purpose of this study is to establish explanatory mechanisms for understanding the variable outputs seen within student cognitive processing of science-based tasks. Initial parameterization of the subject response to the task sets presented in a serious educational game occurred using the DINA-N model. Drawing upon the tools from other disciplines such as computational modeling and artificial neural networks, it is possible for science education researchers to understand the interplay of multiple processing units known as a cognitive attributes. At this point, a limitation of this approach in education is the accuracy and lack of the model’s ability to represent the fractal dimensionality, emergent properties associated with cognition, and aspects of multiple interaction systems of the brain.
Danielle Darrieux, French female stardom, and the Occupation

ABSTRACTCentral to the analysis of film stardom are three key concepts: the simultaneous accessibility and inaccessibility of the actor (Morin), the creation of a narrative that unites the on-screen persona with the off-screen life (DeCordova), and the negotiation of contradictions through the charismatic (Dyer). While the foundational work of star studies was developed in relationship to Hollywood stars, a considerable body of work has developed on French actors and on the specificities of French stardom. Important studies of a range of French female stars, from Arletty to Simone Signoret to Catherine Deneuve, have explored how these women embody both anxieties and fantasies of French female identity, how they represent particular notions of French identity as well as the nation itself, and how they embody contradictions between autonomy and independence within the confines of a culture and a cinematic industry dominated by men. As an actor whose career has lasted over eight decades, and whose experience...
Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation in the Treatment of Neonatal Respiratory Failure

• We report 18 consecutive neonates with severe respiratory failure due to pulmonary hypertension treated with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation was begun at 52 ± 36 hours of age with an arterial partial pressure of oxygen (Po 2 ) of 36±14 mm Hg despite maximal pharmacologic and ventilator support (inspired fraction of oxygen [Fio 2 ], 0.99±0.03; respiratory rate, 98±31/min; and positive inspiratory pressure, 54±11 cm of water). With initial flows of 130±17 mL/kg per minute, ventilator settings were reduced to the following: Fio 2 , 0.30; respiratory rates, 15/min; and positive inspiratory pressure, 24 cm of water. Support using extracorporeal membrane oxygenation was gradually reduced to 22% of initial flows and arterial blood samples showed pH 7.48 ±.05, Po 2 of 106 ± 27 mm Hg, and Pco 2 of 36 ± 5 mm Hg just prior to decannulation. After 107±45 hours, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation was stopped and infants were extubated 61 ±53 hours (median, 46 hours) afterward. There was one death (94.4% survival rate); all survivors were discharged and underwent a follow-up examination at 1 to 27 months of age. Complications included two intracranial hemorrhages (one death and one asymptomatic), one patent ductus arteriosis requiring ligation on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, and chronic lung disease in one patient. In selected neonates, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation allows for resolution of pulmonary hypertension, results in improved survival, and is associated with a low incidence of chronic lung disease. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation should be considered in the treatment of severe respiratory failure. ( Arch Surg. 1990;125:1286-1292)
Policing Intellectual Property Piracy: A Study in Corporate Control of Crime

ABSTRACT This article seeks to enhance our understanding of private policing by examining the manner in which one association of intellectual property owners polices one form of crime. Specifically, it examines the manner in which the Motion Picture Association of America polices a common form of piracy-the retail distribution of unauthorized videocassettes. In the typical case, an agent of the association learns that a particular dealer may be handling bad tapes and conducts an investigation. Acquiring evidence of wrongdoing, the agent takes any of three courses of action oriented toward disrupting the operation, seizing the tapes, and curbing further offenses. These actions are criminal, civil, and voluntary forfeiture. Which course he takes depends on the intent of the offender, the willingness and capacity of officials to take action, and the cost-effectiveness and feasibility of legal processing. This case of policing is compared to other forms of policing. It departs from the prevailing image of pri...
Electric potentials associated with steady conduction currents in superconducting coils

Abstract From attempts to observe electric fields arising from charge-neutral, current-carrying superconducting coils (NbTi, Nb and Pb) we conclude that effects previously reported are not fundamental departures from conventional electromagnetic theory. The null results predicted by Maxwell's theory are confirmed to within two parts in one thousand.
The transiently ordered regions in intrinsically disordered ExsE are correlated with structural elements involved in chaperone binding

Abstract Many Gram-negative bacteria utilize a type III secretion system (T3SS) to deliver protein effectors to target host cells. Transcriptional control of T3SS gene expression is generally coupled to secretion through the release of a regulatory protein. T3SS gene expression in Pseudomonas aeruginosa is regulated by extracellular secretion of ExsE. ExsE is a small 81 residue protein that appears to lack a stable structural core as indicated by previous studies. In this study, we employed various NMR methods to characterize the structure of ExsE alone and when bound to its secretion chaperone ExsC. We found that ExsE is largely unfolded throughout the polypeptide chain, belonging to a class of proteins that are intrinsically disordered. The unfolded, extended conformation of ExsE may expedite efficient secretion through the narrow path of the T3SS secretion channel to activate gene expression in a timely manner. We also found that the structurally flexible ExsE samples through conformations with localized structurally ordered regions. Importantly, these transiently ordered elements are related to the secondary structures involved in binding ExsC based on a prior crystal structure of the ExsC–ExsE complex. These findings support the notion that preexisting structured elements facilitate binding of intrinsically disordered proteins to their targets.
Spectrally-opponent responses in ground squirrel optic nerve.

Abstract The spectral response patterns of single optic nerve fibers of the California ground squirrel ( Spermophilus beecheyi ) were determined in urethane-anesthetized and unanesthetized animals. Fibers showing spectrally-opponent responses were found in about the same relative proportions in both preparations. This and other evidence suggests, contrary to an earlier conclusion (Gur and Purple, 1978) , that units showing spectrally-opponent response patterns in the ground squirrel visual system are not found only under abnormal physiological conditions of the animal.
The Strength of Primordial Ties: Suburban Community Adaptation to School System Retrenchment *

Communities and local schools are attached to one another for many other reasons than the purely instrumental objectives of educating children. These highly symbolic interpenetrations of community and school include considerations of diffuse communal identity, religion, and ethnicity. Taken together with different priorities about wider educational goals, these narrower community objectives for local schools put contradictory strains on community-school relations in the heated climate of increased community participation in contracting school systems. Competing claims about the central purposes of local schools become extraordinarily salient parts of the external environment of school districts experiencing contraction, and play a major role in the process of adapting school district organizations to conditions of decline. For many citizens the desire to preserve the local symbolic and non-instrumental roles of neighborhood schools, in particular, may at times outweigh the goal of maintaining “quality educational service delivery” as seen from the perspective of school managers. For other citizens, the protection of “quality programs,” serving their children as stepping-stones to the wider society, outweighs considerations of local neighborhood solidarity and identity in adapting to declining enrollments and fiscal strains in the schools.
New ordered perovskites containing bismuth (V) [BaLaMBiO6 (M = Mg, Ca, Sr)]

New Bi (V) containing perovskites oxides of the type, BaLaMBiO{sub 6} (M = Mg, Ca, Sr) have been synthesized under high oxygen pressure conditions using the thermal decomposition of peroxides in a tetrahedral anvil apparatus. These compounds have been characterized by X-ray powder diffraction and iodometric titration. All the BaLaMBiO{sub 6} (M + Mg, Ca, Sr) compounds show 1:1 type ordering of cations at the octahedral sites of the perovskite structure. In the case of magnesium and calcium containing perovskites, comparison of the observed and the calculated X-ray powder diffraction intensities show that the A sites are occupied by barium and lanthanum in a disordered manner, and the octahedral sites are occupied by an ordered arrangement of bismuth and magnesium or bismuth and calcium. This is in contrast to the strontium containing phase, where the A sites are found to be occupied by barium and strontium in a disordered arrangement and the octahedral sites are occupied by lanthanum and bismuth. The oxygen content, hence the oxidation state of Bi, in the samples depends on the synthetic conditions employed. The electrical properties of the synthesized materials are discussed briefly.
Elasticities in AIDS Models: A Clarification and Extension

expenditure shares (i.e., InP = Ij wj InP,). A common approach is to treat expenditure shares as constant parameters in the Stone's index when taking derivatives for elasticities. We developed corrected formulas for uncompensated price elasticities by using derivatives that took into account the effects of price changes on the shares in the price index. In the process, and as a side-issue, we also noted (p. 443) that the differences in uncompensated elasticities in the literature (ri)
Lateral Resistance of Piles in Cohesionless Soils

Methods are presented for the calculation of deflections, ultimate resistance, and moment distribution for laterally loaded single piles and pile groups driven into cohesionless soils. The lateral deflections have been calculated assuming that the coefficient of subgrade reaction increases linearly with depth and that the value of this coefficient depends primarily on the relative density of the supporting soil. The ultimate lateral resistance has been assumed to be governed by the yield or ultimate moment resistance of the pile section or by the ultimate lateral resistance of the supporting soil. The ultimate lateral resistance is assumed to be equal to three times the passive Rankine earth pressure. The deflections and lateral resistance, as calculated by the proposed methods, have been compared with available test data. Satisfactory agreement was found.
Nephrology Pharmacy: Historical Reflections and Future Challenges

Nephrology pharmacy commenced in the 1970s, which was the second decade of the clinical pharmacy era. The "original" nephrology clinical pharmacists, such as John Gambertoglio, characterized the influence of hemodialysis and chronic kidney disease (CKD) on drug disposition by using emerging pharmacokinetic method010gies.I•3 These original investigations were used to develop individualized dosage adjustments for medications primarily cleared through the kidneys. In fact, Vasilios A Skoutakis" was the first to describe the role of the clinical pharmacist in the treatment of ambulatory hemodialysis patients. Larry Hak, Shiv Seth, and JV Anandan, who were trained in the epicenters of the clinical pharmacy movement, passionately established some of the first nephrology education modules in academic medical centers at the University of North Carolina, The Ohio State University, and Wayne State University. Over the next several years, these early clinical nephrology pharmacy practitioners and several of the PharmD students whom they mentored began to make significant contributions to the literature regarding the safety and optimal utilization of drugs in transplant and dialysis patients. In the 1980s, several nephrology pharmacy centers of excellence emerged in academic medical centers in Minneapolis, Chicago, Madison, Richmond, and Albany under the direction of Gary Matzke and Charles Halstenson, Alan Lau, Curtis Johnson, Tom Comstock, and George Bailie. The sophistication of the original clinical services and research programs was enhanced, the breadth and depth of the professional educational offerings were expanded, and many of the first nephrology residency and fellowship programs were established at these institutions during this time.5,6
Association between prepayment systems and emergency medical services use among patients with acute chest discomfort syndrome

Abstract Study Objective: Cost concerns may inhibit emergency medical services (EMS) use. Novel tax-based and subscription prepayment programs indemnify patients against the cost of EMS treatment and transport. We determine whether the presence of (or enrollment in) prepayment plans increase EMS use among patients with acute chest discomfort, particularly those residing in low-income areas, those lacking private insurance, or both. Methods: This study uses a subset of baseline data from the REACT trial, a multicenter, randomized controlled community trial designed, in part, to increase EMS use. The sample includes 860 consecutive noninstitutionalized patients (>30 years old) presenting with nontraumatic chest discomfort to hospital emergency departments in 4 Oregon/Washington communities. The association between prepayment systems and EMS use was analyzed using multivariable logistic regression. Results: Overall EMS use was 52% (n=445). Among EMS users, 338 (75%) were subsequently admitted to the hospital and 110 (25%) were released from the ED. Prepayment was not associated with increased EMS use in the overall patient sample. However, patients residing in low-income census block groups (median annual income Conclusion: Economic considerations may affect EMS system utilization among underinsured and low-income patients experiencing a cardiac event. Prepayment systems may increase EMS utilization among these groups. [Seipmann DB, Mann NC, Hedges JR, Daya MR, for the Rapid Early Action for Coronary Treatment (REACT) Study. Association between prepayment systems and emergency medical services use among patients with acute chest discomfort syndrome. Ann Emerg Med. June 2000;35:573-578.]
Analysis of the bereavement effect after the death of a spouse in the Amish: a population-based retrospective cohort study

Objective This study investigates the association between bereavement and the mortality of a surviving spouse among Amish couples. We hypothesised that the bereavement effect would be relatively small in the Amish due to the unusually cohesive social structure of the Amish that might attenuate the loss of spousal support. Design Population-based cohort study. Setting The USA. Participants 10 892 Amish couples born during 1725–1900 located in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana. All the participants are deceased. Outcome measures The survival time is ‘age’; event is ‘death’. Hazard ratios (HRs) of widowed individuals with respect to gender, age at widowhood, remarriage, the number of surviving children and time since bereavement. Results We observed HRs for widowhood ranging from 1.06 to 1.26 over the study period (nearly all differences significant at p Conclusions We conclude that bereavement effects remain apparent even in this socially cohesive Amish community. Remarriage is associated with a significant decrease in the mortality risk among Amish individuals. Contrary to results from previous studies, an increase in the number of surviving children was associated with decreased survival rate.
Employment Decentralization in US Metropolitan Areas: Is Los Angeles an Outlier or the Norm?

In this paper data from the economic censuses are utilized to show that most job growth in the manufacturing, wholesaling, retail, and service industries in the 1982–87 period has been in the urban peripheries of the twelve consolidated metropolitan statistical areas (CMSAs). Similar data for 1976, 1980, and 1986 from another source, the Wharton Urban Decentralization Project, confirm many of these trends, and for a larger set of metropolitan areas. The results show that Los Angeles is more in the middle of the twelve CMSAs than it is an outlier. It is suggested that these common results reflect a common process, that is, an initial movement of households towards the metropolitan edge in search of amenities (or flight from central city ills), followed by the decentralization of firms to increase their access to suburban labor pools.
Robust Optimization for Aerodynamic Problems Using Polynomial Chaos and Adjoints

The central theme of this paper is to show how one can combine Polynomial Chaos Expansions (PCE) and adjoint theory to efficiently obtain sensitivities for robust optimal control and optimization. Two different formulations to obtain the sensitivities are presented: 1) Semi-intrusive: builds an adjoint equation for each PCE mode and and uses the combination of the gradient for each basis-adjoint pair to form the overall gradient, 2) Non-intrusive: solves an adjoint solution for each sample point to form a PCE for the gradient. The latter is used to obtain all the results in the paper. However, the two methods are compared to show that the latter involves an approximation which can lead to different solutions depending on the magnitude of the higher-order modes. The resulting gradient is then used in an iterative optimization procedure. Using an analytical problem to determine the trade-off between cost and accuracy of some PCE methods, the optimization algorithm is applied to an airfoil and turbine vane optimization problem. The robust optimal solutions for the airfoil optimization problem are compared against a multi-point design approach and shown to result in better designs in the constrained (not included here) and unconstrained case. In the turbine vane case, the mean loss is reduced by close to 4 tenths of a point.Copyright © 2012 by ASME
The simian varicella virus ORF A is expressed in infected cells but is non-essential for replication in cell culture

The simian varicella virus (SVV) genome encodes ORF A, a truncated homolog of SVV ORF 4. The SVV ORF A was expressed as a 1.0-kb transcript in SVV-infected Vero cells. The ORF A promoter was active in infected Vero cells and was stimulated by the SVV immediate-early gene ORF 62 product (IE62), a viral transactivator of SVV genes. The SVV ORF A did not transactivate SVV IE, early, or late gene promoters in transfected Vero cells and was unable to augment IE62-mediated transactivation of SVV promoters. A SVV mutant lacking ORF A replicated as efficiently as wild-type SVV in infected Vero cells, indicating that ORF A expression is not essential for in vitro replication.
The poor at birth: Birth weights and infant mortality at Philadelphia's almshouse hospital, 1848–1873

Abstract Birth weights and infant mortality in Philadelphia from 1848 to 1873 are analyzed using almshouse hospital case records. The mean birth weight was 7.48 pounds for live infants and compares favorably with mid-20th century standards; only 10% were below the critical level of 2500 grams. The absolute risk of fetal and first-day mortality, holding birth weight constant, is considerably higher than in modern data. There is no evidence of a time trend in birth weight, with the important exception of a sharp drop from 1866 to 1870. A mother's length of stay in the almshouse increased the weight of her infant. The poorhouse, despite much criticism, had some ameliorative impact.
Effects of dietary manganese on arterial glycosaminoglycan metabolism in Sprague-Dawley rats.

The objectives of this study were to determine whether dietary manganese deficiency alters total glycosaminoglycan (GAG) concentration and composition and glycosyltransferase activity in rat aortas. Sprague-Dawley rats were fed either a manganese-deficient or a manganese-sufficient diet. Arterial GAGs were isolated and quantified by measuring uronic acid content. The individual GAGs were separated and quantified with cellulose acetate electrophoresis. The activity of the enzyme galactosyltransferase I was measured using a 100,000g particulate fraction and 4-methylumbelliferylxyloside (Xyl-MU) as an acceptor. There was a significant decrease (p <- 0.05) in uronic acid content in the manganese-deficient (1.18 ± 0.08 mg/g) rat aortas as compared with the manganese-sufficient (1.59 ± 0.10 mg/g) ones. Chondroitin sulfate and heparan sulfate concentrations were decreased by 38% (p < 0.01) and 36% (p < 0.05), respectively, in the manganese-deficient rat aortas. The incorporation of UDP-galactose to acceptors by the manganese-deficient rat aorta preparations was increased by 28% as compared to the manganese-sufficient preparations. These results indicate that manganese is involved in arterial GAG metabolism by affecting the enzyme galactosyltransferase and that changes in GAG concentration and composition with manganese deficiency may ultimately affect arterial wall integrity and subsequently cardiovascular health. This is the first work to demonstrate that manganese nutrition is important in arterial GAG metabolism.
Efficient curve and surface generation using high-order differencing

ABSTRACT This paper discusses a new algorithmic approach to computer graphics which significantly reduces the time-circuitrycomplexity producL Our approach eliminates the redundancy found in current representations of piecewise polynomial splines (curves, surfaces and volumes). We are able to obtain exactly the same results as current graphics systems with only a fraction of the computation (1/10 for curves, 1/100 for surfaces, 1/1000 for volumes). We present algorithms for curve andsurface generation, refinement and, transformation of graphics images (rotation, translation, scaling). A complexity analysisis provided for comparison to current approaches. 1. INTRODUCTION The spline functions were introduced in 1946 by Schoenberg1 for actuarial applications. A numerically stable approachfor the generation of B-spline basis functions did not appear until 1972 when Carl de Boor2 and M. A. Cox3 independentlypublished a recurrence relation for the computation of B-spline functions. Carl de Boor also introduced a recurrence for thecomputation of spline curves and surfaces.4 A refinement procedure known as the Oslo algorithm is also used in curve and
Aggressive Encounters Alter the Activation of Serotonergic Neurons and the Expression of 5-HT1A mRNA in the Hamster Dorsal Raphe Nucleus

Serotonergic (5-HT) neurons in the dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN) have been implicated in stress-induced changes in behavior. Previous research indicates that stressful stimuli activate 5-HT neurons in select subregions of the DRN. Uncontrollable stress is thought to sensitize 5-HT neurons in the DRN and allow for an exaggerated 5-HT response to future stimuli. In the current study, we tested the hypothesis that following aggressive encounters, losing male Syrian hamsters would exhibit increased c-Fos immunoreactivity in 5-HT DRN neurons compared to winners or controls. In addition, we tested the hypothesis that losers would have decreased 5-HT1A mRNA levels in the DRN compared to winners or controls. We found that a single 15-min aggressive encounter increased c-Fos expression in 5-HT and non-5-HT neurons in losers compared to winners and controls. The increased c-Fos expression in losers was restricted to ventral regions of the rostral DRN. We also found that four 5-min aggressive encounters reduced total 5-HT1A mRNA levels in the DRN in losers compared to winners and controls, and that differences in mRNA levels were not restricted to specific DRN subregions. These results suggest that social defeat activates neurons in select subregions of the DRN and reduces message for DRN 5-HT1A autoreceptors. Our results support the hypothesis that social stress can activate 5-HT neurons in the DRN, reduce 5-HT1A autoreceptor-mediated inhibition, and lead to hyperactivity of 5-HT neurons.
Photochemical Reactions of Poly(4-vinylphenol) Thin Films

The mechanism involved in the photochemical immobilization of poly (4-vinylphenol) (PVP) thin. films was investigated. The films were fabricated by a simple procedure of UV irradiation and solvent ...
Applying data mining to intrusion detection: the quest for automation, efficiency, and credibility

Intrusion detection is an essential component of the layered computer security mechanisms. It requires accurate and efficient models for analyzing a large amount of system and network audit data. This paper is an overview of our research in applying data mining techniques to build intrusion detection models. We describe a framework for mining patterns from system and network audit data, and constructing features according to analysis of intrusion patterns. We discuss approaches for improving the run-time efficiency as well as the credibility of detection models. We report the ideas, algorithms, and prototype systems we have developed, and discuss open research problems.
Institutional Determinants of Collaboration: An Empirical Study of County Open-Space Protection

Collaboration is an increasingly important topic in the public administration and management literatures. A preponderance of studies focuses on how managers can build trust between the government and collaborative partners by means of behavioral attributes and managerial skill. In this article, the author suggests that stable institutions and local government structure facilitate collaboration by allowing public managers to more credibly commit in a policy arena. Using county data on open-space policy, the author finds empirical support for the proposition that county form of government, along with rules governing debt accumulation and administrative commitment, increases the breadth of county collaboration in open-space protection.