cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Humoral immunotoxicity of polychlorinated diphenyl ethers, phenoxyphenols, dioxins and furans present as contaminants of technical grade pentachlorophenol.

Abstract Previous studies have demonstrated that the humoral immune response in mice as measured by the splenic IgM response to sheep erythrocytes (SRBC) is highly sensitive to suppression by technical grade (86%) pentachlorophenol (T-PCP) whereas analytical grade (> 99%) PCP is not immunosuppressive. In the present studies, we have examined several contaminant fractions and purified isomers from T-PCP for their humoral immunosuppressive effect. C57BL/6 mice were treated with a single oral dose of the various contaminants 2 days prior to SRBC challenge and the peak splenic IgM antibody response was measured 5 days later. Under these exposure conditions, T-PCP produced a dose-related suppression of the antibody response whereas analytical grade PCP was without effect. The dose of T-PCP producing 50% immunosuppression relative to the vehicle-treated control (ID50) was 83 mg/kg. Results from studies using contaminant fractions extracted from T-PCP indicated that a chlorinated dioxin/furan fraction was significantly immunosuppressive, whereas a chlorinated phenoxyphenol fraction and a chlorinated diphenyl ether fraction were without effect when administered at dose levels expected to occur in the ID50 dose of T-PCP. Several purified phenoxyphenol isomers representing the major pre- and isopredioxins in T-PCP were also not immunosuppressive, nor was octachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin. The 1,2,3,6,7,8-hexachlorodioxin (HxCDD), 1,2,3,4,6,7,8-heptachlorodioxin (HpCDD), and 1,2,3,4,6,7,8-heptachlorofuran (HpCDF) isomers were all significantly immunosuppressive. The single, oral ID50s were 7.1, 85 and 208 μg/kg for HxCDD, HpCDD and HpCDF, respectively. Coadministration of HxCDD and HpCDD produced an additive immunosuppresive effect suggesting that the toxic dioxin and furan isomers present in T-PCP function in concert to produce the degree of immune suppression observed following T-PCP exposure. When analytical grade PCP was coadministered with HpCDD, the degree of immune suppression was equivalent to that produced by HpCDD alone, indicating no significant influence of PCP on dioxin-induced immunosuppression. The enhanced susceptibility of Ah-responsive C57BL/6 mice to T-PCP induced immune suppression as compared to Ah-nonresponsive DBA/2 mice and the correlation of immune suppression with P1-450 associated monoxygenase induction provided further evidence for the role of the toxic Ah-interactive dioxin and furan contaminants in T-PCP as the mediators of T-PCP immunotoxicity.
Real World Anthropology in two Settings: A Nursing Home and a Health Care Policy Project

Anthropologists have a unique opportunity to address real-world issues of aging in our own country. In graduate school I decided to redirect an ethnomusicological interest in ritual performance into an anthropological perspective on the subject of age. For one thing, as a new parent, I realized I was aging. Performance based questions in ethnomusicological suggested a lens through which to view aging. I did my dissertation on an American nursing home, applying concepts of rites of passage, performance and reciprocity to understand the behavior and the perspectives of nursing home participants. In subsequent years I have had two more opportunities to use the anthropologic lens to focus on aging in Rhode Island, first, as an educator in a nursing home and, second, as a participant in a health care reform project for the elderly of Rhode Island.
Modulation of Reactivity and Conformation within the T-Quaternary State of Human Hemoglobin: The Combined Use of Mutagenesis and Sol-Gel Encapsulation †

A range of conformationally distinct functional states within the T quaternary state of hemoglobin are accessed and probed using a combination of mutagenesis and sol−gel encapsulation that greatly slow or eliminate the T → R transition. Visible and UV resonance Raman spectroscopy are used to probe the proximal strain at the heme and the status of the α1β2 interface, respectively, whereas CO geminate and bimolecular recombination traces in conjunction with MEM (maximum entropy method) analysis of kinetic populations are used to identify functionally distinct T-state populations. The mutants used in this study are Hb(Nβ102A) and the α99-α99 cross-linked derivative of Hb(Wβ37E). The former mutant, which binds oxygen noncooperatively with very low affinity, is used to access low-affinity ligated T-state conformations, whereas the latter mutant is used to access the high-affinity end of the distribution of T-state conformations. A pattern emerges within the T state in which ligand reactivity increases as both ...
Single-loop delta-sigma modulator with swing suppression

A single-loop higher-order delta-sigma modulator with a new loop topology is presented. The loop-filter is composed of both feedback and feedforward paths. No active summing element is required in the modulator implementation. The modulator has low integrator output swings and a high input dynamic range, resulting in relaxed op-amp requirements even for low-voltage operation. Simulation results of a fourth-order modulator having the proposed loop filter are also given.
Clothing and Textiles Curriculum Content Needed for Success in Fashion Marketing Careers

The purpose of this study was to identify the content of clothing and textiles curricula in home economics programs at the baccalaureate level and then to ascertain which elements of that content were perceived as important to job performance in the occupational field of Fashion Marketing, with emphasis on retail merchandising. The analysis of the responses of 416 apparel retailers (employers), ACPTC members (educators), and clothing and textiles degree recipients (graduates) to a mail survey provided strong rationalefor recommendations regarding which content elements should be included in the required core of Fashion Marketing programs and which elements would be likely candidates for de-emphasis or deletion from program requirements when there are time constraints.
The function of a connection network between hosts and processing elements in massively parallel computer systems

The authors examine the function of a connection network between massive numbers of processing elements (PEs) and a single host by comparing the data structure machine (DSM), whose major connection network is a computationally powerful binary tree with the host connected at the root, and the Connection Machine (CM), which provides a very rich and general PE-to-PE connection network, but whose connection to the host is little more than a buffered wire. The binary tree network used in the DSM can be utilized to achieve asymptotic improvements in speed for algorithms that maintain, locate, the utilize data parallelism in data structures that can be characterized by a high degree of locality. >
Dynamic Pricing Behavior in Perishable Goods Markets: Evidence from Secondary Markets for Major League Baseball Tickets

Sellers of perishable goods increasingly use dynamic pricing strategies as technology makes it easier to change prices and track inventory. This paper tests how accurately theoretical models of dynamic pricing describe sellers’ behavior in secondary markets for event tickets, a classic example of a perishable good. It shows that the simplest dynamic pricing models describe very accurately both the pricing problem faced by sellers and how they behave, explaining why sellers cut prices dramatically, by 40 percent or more, as an event approaches. The estimates also imply that dynamic pricing is valuable, raising the average seller’s expected payoff by around 16 percent.
Physical Examination of the Respiratory System

This article reviews the approach to a patient with respiratory distress, with a focus on clues obtained from the physical examination. Respiratory distress is a common reason for presentation of a companion animal to a veterinarian on an emergency basis, and thus the clinician should have a comfort level with the approach to these patients. Our discussion includes a basic review of respiratory pathophysiology and the differential diagnoses for hypoxemia. In the majority of cases, physical examination should allow localization of the cause of the respiratory problem to the upper airways, lower airways, pleural space, or pulmonary parenchyma. Such localization, coupled with signalment and historical clues, guides additional diagnostics and therapeutics based on the most likely differential diagnoses. Although managing a patient with respiratory distress can be challenging, a systematic approach such as the one presented here should ensure appropriate intervention in a timely fashion and maximize the chance of a good outcome.
Synthesis of diethyl 1-[(13C)methyl]-3-phenyl(1,3-13C2)bicyclo[1.1.0]-butane-exo,exo-2,4-dicarboxylate

The synthesis of the triply 13C labeled molecule, diethyl 1-[(13C)methyl]-3-Phenyl(1,3-13C2)bicyclo[1.1.0]butane-exo,exo-2,4-dicarboxylate is described. The unique feature of the synthesis is that in three instances we employed 13CO2 (from Ba13CO3) without using a high vacuum line. We found that excellent yields were obtained in two Grignard reagent carbonations and in a CO2 reduction using a mechanical pump which produced a vacuum of 0.05 torr. The synthetic sequence involved carbonation of phenylmagnesium bromide to give (α-13C)benzoic acid, reduction with LiAlH4, conversion to the corresponding benzyl chloride followed by preparation of the Grignard reagent and carbonation to produce phenyl (1,2,-13C2)acetic acid. Reaction with 13CH3Li provided 1-Phenyl-2-(1,2,3-13C3)-propanone which, after conversion to its hydrazone and reaction with mercurous trifluoroacetate, yielded 1-phenyl-1-(1,2,3-13C3)propyne. Reaction twice with carboethoxycarbene (from ethyl diazoacetate) gave the desired triply 13C labeled bicyclobutane.
Recursive Computation of Regions and Connectivity in Networks

In recent years, the data management community has begun to consider situations in which data access is closely tied to network routing and distributed acquisition: examples include, sensor networks that execute queries about reachable nodes or contiguous regions, declarative networks that maintain information about shortest paths and reachable endpoints, and distributed and peer-to-peer stream systems that detect associations (e.g., transitive relationships) among data at the distributed sources. In each case, the fundamental operation is to maintain a view over dynamic network state. This view is typically distributed, recursive, and may contain aggregation, e.g., describing transitive connectivity, shortest paths, least costly paths, or region membership.Surprisingly, solutions to computing such views are often domain-specific, expensive, and incomplete. In this paper, we recast the problem as one of incremental recursive view maintenance in the presence of distributed streams of updates to tuples: new stream data becomes insert operations and tuple expirations become deletions. We develop a set of techniques that maintain compact information about tuple derivability or data provenance. We complement this with techniques to reduce communication: aggregate selections to prune irrelevant aggregation tuples, provenance-aware operators that can determine when tuples are no longer derivable and remove them from their state, and shipping operators that greatly reduce the tuple and provenance information being propagated while still maintaining correct answers. We validate our work in a distributed setting with sensor and network router queries, showing significant gains in communication overhead without sacrificing performance.
Endoscopic management of biliary leaks after T-tube removal in liver transplant recipients: Nasobiliary drainage versus biliary stenting

This study presents the long-term sequelae of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP)-managed biliary leakage in patients who underwent orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) and compares the relative efficacy, safety, and charges of nasobiliary drainage (NBD) versus biliary stenting (BS). We identified all orthotopic liver transplant recipients from January 1, 1993, to December 31, 1997, who had undergone ERCP for biliary leakage. Clinical outcome and charges were calculated on an intention-to-treat basis according to initial endoscopic therapy. Of the 1,166 adult OLTs performed during the study period, 442 patients underwent elective T-tube removal. ERCP was attempted in 69 patients (16%) who developed biliary leakage after T-tube removal. Three patients (5%) in whom initial ERCP was unsuccessful underwent surgery. NBD and BS were used as primary therapy in 45 (68%) and 21 patients (32%), respectively. Three patients initially treated with NBD required reendoscopy or surgery compared with 6 patients initially treated with BS (P <.05). Although not statistically significant, there was a trend toward greater expense in the BS group compared with the NBD group. ERCP is a safe and effective method of managing biliary leakage after T-tube removal in orthotopic liver transplant recipients. However, our results suggest NBD is the preferred method because recurrent leaks were more common in patients treated initially with BS. With prompt use of ERCP, surgery is rarely needed for this complication of OLT.
Roles for miRNAs in endocrine resistance in breast cancer

Therapies targeting estrogen receptor alpha (ERα), including selective ER modulators such as tamoxifen, selective ER downregulators such as fulvestrant (ICI 182 780), and aromatase inhibitors such as letrozole, are successfully used in treating breast cancer patients whose initial tumor expresses ERα. Unfortunately, the effectiveness of endocrine therapies is limited by acquired resistance. The role of microRNAs (miRNAs) in the progression of endocrine-resistant breast cancer is of keen interest in developing biomarkers and therapies to counter metastatic disease. This review focuses on miRNAs implicated as disruptors of antiestrogen therapies, their bona fide gene targets and associated pathways promoting endocrine resistance.
Evaluation of a Learning Strategies Scale for Middle School Students

Learning strategies have been increasingly recognized as a useful tool to promote effective learning. In response to the lack of available learning strategies measures for middle school students, t...
Coalition Termination and the Strategic Timing of Parliamentary Elections

Cabinet coalitions in multiparty parliamentary democracies lead a precarious existence. Legislative majorities can typically dismiss the cabinet at will and can sometimes force early elections through parliamentary dissolution. Since coalition termination can have substantial political consequences, it is important to understand when and why such decisions are made. To this end, we develop a model of coalition bargaining in a legislature with dismissal and dissolution powers. We use the model to identify necessary and sufficient conditions for both coalition termination and parliamentary dissolution. In contrast to several widely held maxims, we find that coalition terminations need not be the automatic consequence of exogenous shocks. Nor do opportunistic parties with favorable electoral prospects always dissolve parliament to enhance their power. Instead, decisions to terminate coalitions or call new elections result from party leaders' rational responses to the constraints of legislative and electoral institutions and the anticipated feelings of the electorate.
Using fibre gratings to stabilise laser diode wavelength under modulation for atmospheric lidar transmitters

The authors report on the optical spectrum of a high power (150 mW) laser diode under large signal intensity modulation with feedback from an external cavity fibre grating. Single longitudinal facet mode operation was maintained for 6 kHz 1% and 3% duty cycle pulsed and 1 Mbit/s psuedonoise code modulation with extinction ratios as small as 0.01.
Chronic Ethanol Exposure During Adolescence Increases Basal Dopamine in the Nucleus Accumbens Septi During Adulthood

Background: In humans, adolescent exposure to alcohol is associated with the onset of adult alcohol dependency and suggests that early use potentiates vulnerability to addiction. The aim of the present study was to address whether chronic ethanol exposure during adolescence would alter nucleus accumbens septi (NAcc) dopamine (DA) levels in the adult brain. Methods: Rats were injected daily from postnatal day (PND) 30 to 50 with either 0.75 g/kg/i.p. ethanol or saline followed by an ethanol-abstinent period from PND 51 to 65. Changes in extracellular DA levels in the anterior NAcc shell were measured via the no net flux (NNF) paradigm. Results: Extracellular DA levels were greater in rats chronically treated with ethanol during adolescence (6.5 nM DA) in comparison with saline-exposed controls (3.6 nM DA). There were no differences in extraction fraction (Ed), an indirect measure of DA reuptake, between ethanol-treated (87%) and nontreated (68%) rats. Conclusions: Together these findings suggest that changes in extracellular DA may be an underlying physiological mechanism in adolescent vulnerability to the rewarding properties of ethanol.
Latch-up at RAM control circuitry

Typically, latch-up is associated with higher input voltage at port pins as compared to power pins, Vcc, causing damage to the protection circuitry or input buffer circuitry. However, for one of the products that is manufactured in Intel, Penang, there have been a number of line yield losses due to latch-up at the RAM control circuitry which happened during burn-in. In this study we have shown the latch-up failures that occasionally caused some yield loss are related to the noise that is generated during high speed switching of transistors in the RAM. We have established the failure mechanism and root cause of the latch-up through layout, schematic and device physics analysis. Implementation of a lower burn-in frequency managed to eliminate the failure mode.
Focal Adhesion Kinase, a Downstream Mediator of Raf-1 Signaling, Suppresses Cellular Adhesion, Migration, and Neuroendocrine Markers in BON Carcinoid Cells

We have recently reported that activation of the Raf-1/mitogen-activated protein kinase/extracellular signalregulated kinase (ERK) kinase 1/2 (MEK1/2)/ERK1/2 signaling cascade in gastrointestinal carcinoid cell line (BON) alters cellular morphology and neuroendocrine phenotype. The mechanisms by which Raf-1 mediates these changes in carcinoid cells are unclear. Here, we report that activation of the Raf-1 signaling cascade in BON cells induced the expression of focal adhesion kinase (FAK) protein, suppressed the production of neuroendocrine markers, and resulted in significant decreases in cellular adhesion and migration. Importantly, inactivation of MEK1/2 by 1,4-diamino-2,3-dicyano-1,4-bis[2-aminophenylthio]butadiene or abolition of FAK induction in Raf-1–activated BON cells by targeted siRNA led to reversal of the Raf-1–mediated reduction in neuroendocrine markers and cellular adhesion and migration. Phosphorylation site-specific antibodies detected the phosphorylated FAK Tyr407 , but not FAK Tyr397 , in these Raf-1–activated cells, indicating that FAK Tyr407 may be associated with changes in the neuroendocrine phenotype. Overexpression of constitutively active FAK plasmids (wild-type FAK or FAK Tyr397 mutant) into BON cells reduced neuroendocrine markers, whereas the FAK Tyr407 mutant plasmid did not show any decrease in the levels of neuroendocrine markers, indicating that phosphorylation of FAK at the Tyr 407 residue may be important for these effects. Our results showed for the first time that FAK is an essential downstream effector of the Raf-1/MEK1/2/ ERK1/2 signaling cascade and negatively regulated the neuroendocrine and metastatic phenotype in BON cells. Mol Cancer Res; 8(5); OF1–8. ©2010 AACR.
A simple real-time assay for in vitro translation.

A high-throughput assay for real-time measurement of translation rates in cell-free protein synthesis (SNAP assay) is described. The SNAP assay enables quantitative, real-time measurement of overall translation rates in vitro via the synthesis of O6-alkylguanine DNA O6-alkyltransferase (SNAP). SNAP production is continuously detected by fluorescence produced by the reaction of SNAP with a range of quenched fluorogenic substrates. The capabilities of the assay are exemplified by measurements of the activities of Escherichia coli MRE600 ribosomes and fluorescently labeled E. coli mutant ribosomes in the PURExpress translation system and by determination of the 50% inhibitory concentrations (IC50) of three common macrolide antibiotics.
Perceived Stress Is Associated with Subclinical Cerebrovascular Disease in Older Adults

Objective To examine the association of perceived stress with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) markers of subclinical cerebrovascular disease in an elderly cohort. Methods Using a cross-sectional study of a community-based cohort in Chicago, 571 adults (57% women; 58.1% African American; 41.9% non-Hispanic white; mean [SD] age: 79.8 [5.9] years) from the Chicago Health and Aging Project, an epidemiologic study of aging, completed questionnaires on perceived stress, medical history, and demographics as part of an in-home assessment and 5 years later underwent a clinical neurologic examination and MRI of the brain. Outcome measures were volumetric MRI assessments of white matter hyperintensity volume (WMHV), total brain volume (TBV), and cerebral infarction. Results Stress was measured with six items from the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS); item responses, ranging from never (0) to often (3), were summed to create an overall stress score (mean [SD]: 4.9 [3.3]; range: 0–18). Most participants had some evidence of vascular disease on MRI, with 153 participants (26.8%) having infarctions. In separate linear and logistic regression models adjusted for age, sex, education, race, and time between stress assessment and MRI, each one-point increase in PSS score was associated with significantly lower TBV (coefficient = −0.111, SE = 0.049, t[563] = −2.28, p = 0.023) and 7% greater odds of infarction (odds ratio: 1.07; 95% confidence interval: 1.01, 1.13; Wald χ 2 [1] = 4.90; p = 0.027). PSS scores were unrelated to WMHV. Results were unchanged with further adjustment for smoking, body mass index, physical activity, history of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, hypertension, depressive symptoms, and dementia. Conclusions Greater perceived stress was significantly and independently associated with cerebral infarction and lower brain volume assessed 5 years later in this elderly cohort.
Trustworthy online controlled experiments: five puzzling outcomes explained

Online controlled experiments are often utilized to make data-driven decisions at Amazon, Microsoft, eBay, Facebook, Google, Yahoo, Zynga, and at many other companies. While the theory of a controlled experiment is simple, and dates back to Sir Ronald A. Fisher's experiments at the Rothamsted Agricultural Experimental Station in England in the 1920s, the deployment and mining of online controlled experiments at scale--thousands of experiments now--has taught us many lessons. These exemplify the proverb that the difference between theory and practice is greater in practice than in theory. We present our learnings as they happened: puzzling outcomes of controlled experiments that we analyzed deeply to understand and explain. Each of these took multiple-person weeks to months to properly analyze and get to the often surprising root cause. The root causes behind these puzzling results are not isolated incidents; these issues generalized to multiple experiments. The heightened awareness should help readers increase the trustworthiness of the results coming out of controlled experiments. At Microsoft's Bing, it is not uncommon to see experiments that impact annual revenue by millions of dollars, thus getting trustworthy results is critical and investing in understanding anomalies has tremendous payoff: reversing a single incorrect decision based on the results of an experiment can fund a whole team of analysts. The topics we cover include: the OEC (Overall Evaluation Criterion), click tracking, effect trends, experiment length and power, and carryover effects.
Metabolism of an Alkyl Polyamine Analog by a Polyamine Oxidase from the Microsporidian Encephalitozoon cuniculi

Encephalitozoon cuniculi is a microsporidium responsible for systemic illness in mammals. In the course of developing leads to new therapy for microsporidiosis, we found that a bis(phenylbenzyl)3-7-3 analog of spermine, 1,15-bis{N-[o-(phenyl)benzylamino}-4,12-diazapentadecane (BW-1), was a substrate for an E. cuniculi amine oxidase activity. The primary natural substrate for this oxidase activity was N'-acetylspermine, but BW-1 had activity comparable to that of the substrate. As the sole substrate, BW-1 gave linear reaction rates over 15 min and K(m) of 2 microM. In the presence of N'-acetylspermine, BW-1 acted as a competitive inhibitor of oxidase activity and may be a subversive substrate, resulting in increased peroxide production. By use of (13)C-labeled BW-1 as a substrate and nuclear magnetic resonance analysis, two products were determined to be oxidative metabolites, a hydrated aldehyde or dicarboxylate and 2(phenyl)benzylamine. These products were detected after exposure of (13)C-labeled BW-1 to E. cuniculi preemergent spore preparations and to uninfected host cells. In previous studies, BW-1 was curative in a rodent model of infection with E. cuniculi. The results in this study demonstrate competitive inhibition of oxidase activity by BW-1 and support further studies of this oxidase activity by the parasite and host.
Low-ionization broad absorption lines in quasars

The absorption line properties of six Mg II broad absorption line quasars (BALQs) are examined using a BALQ sample of Weymann et al. (1991). It is found that Al III absorption is always stronger than Al II absorption; C IV absorption tends to be very deep and broad; and low ionization absorption tends to be narrower and lie at the low velocity end of the C IV trough. The results indicate that the outflows in Mg II BALQs are not accelerating monotonically. It is shown that a hot cloud-confining outflow can be decelerated by adding thick absorbing clouds provided the ionization parameters of these clouds are high. It is argued that the MG II BALQ phenomenon might be a manifestation of a quasar's efforts to expel a thick shroud of gas and dust.
Measurement of Gaussian beam diameter using ronchi rulings

The analytical and experimental scope of the generalised Ronchi ruling method for the measurement of Gaussian laser beam diameter is presented. The effects of the ruling periodicity, ruling duty cycle, ruling type and the ruling contrast are considered.
Bayesian Analysis of U.S. Hurricane Climate

Abstract Predictive climate distributions of U.S. landfalling hurricanes are estimated from observational records over the period 1851–2000. The approach is Bayesian, combining the reliable records of hurricane activity during the twentieth century with the less precise accounts of activity during the nineteenth century to produce a best estimate of the posterior distribution on the annual rates. The methodology provides a predictive distribution of future activity that serves as a climatological benchmark. Results are presented for the entire coast as well as for the Gulf Coast, Florida, and the East Coast. Statistics on the observed annual counts of U.S. hurricanes, both for the entire coast and by region, are similar within each of the three consecutive 50-yr periods beginning in 1851. However, evidence indicates that the records during the nineteenth century are less precise. Bayesian theory provides a rational approach for defining hurricane climate that uses all available information and that makes ...
New Battlefields/Old Laws: Shaping a Legal Environment for Counterinsurgency

This panel was convened at 10:45 a.m., Friday, March 25, by its moderator, William C. Banks of the Institute for National Security and Counterterrorism, Syracuse University College of Law, who introduced the panelists: Ashley Deeks of Columbia Law School; Rich Gross of the United States Central Command; Sarah Sewall of Harvard Kennedy School of Government; and Robert D. Sloane of Boston University School of Law.
Racial/Ethnic Differences in Adverse Outcomes Among Childhood Cancer Survivors: The Childhood Cancer Survivor Study

Purpose Childhood cancer survivors carry a high burden of treatment-related morbidity; however, race/ethnicity-specific risks of adverse outcomes are not well understood. Methods Data from the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study, a cohort of survivors of at least 5 years, were used to compare Hispanic (n = 750, 5.4%) and non-Hispanic black (NHB: n = 694, 5.0%) survivors to non-Hispanic white patients (NHW: n = 12,397, 89.6%) for late mortality, subsequent neoplasms, and chronic health conditions. Results NHBs and Hispanics reported lower socioeconomic status (SES) and higher prevalence of obesity, and NHBs reported higher prevalence of hypertension. NHBs had higher rate of all-cause mortality (relative rate [RR], 1.4; 95% CI, 1.1 to 1.9; P = .008), which was abrogated (RR, 1.0; 95% CI, 0.8 to 1.4; P = .9) after adjusting for SES. Nonmelanoma skin cancer was not observed among irradiated NHBs, and the risk was lower among Hispanic survivors (RR, 0.3; 95% CI, 0.1 to 0.7) compared with NHWs. Both NHBs and Hispanics demonstrated elevated risks for diabetes; these risks persisted after adjusting for SES and obesity (NHBs: RR, 2.8; 95% CI, 1.1 to 6.7; Hispanics: RR, 3.1; 95% CI, 1.5 to 6.4). NHBs were more likely to report cardiac conditions (RR, 1.8; 95% CI, 1.1 to 2.7), but the risk was attenuated after adjusting for cardiovascular risk factors. Therapeutic exposures did not affect racial/ethnic differences in mortality (all cause or cause specific), chronic health conditions, or subsequent neoplasms. Conclusion By and large, NHB and Hispanic childhood cancer survivors experience a comparable burden of morbidity and mortality to their NHW counterparts. The few differences in risk were explained by the racial/ethnic differences in socioeconomic status and/or cardiovascular risk factors.
Effect of time of injection on removal of Ca-45 and Sr-85 by peritoneal lavage.

Summary1) By use of peritoneal lavage, removal of Sr85 and Ca45 from bone has been studied relative to time of injection of radioactivity. Earlier studies had shown that parathyroidectomy or addition of citrate to lavage rinse had no effect on removal of radiocalcium injected 24 to 48 hours prior to start of lavage. In these experiments, similar results with radiostrontium substantiated earlier studies. In addition, experiments in which radioactivity, both calcium and strontium, remained in the animal 2 to 3 weeks before lavage procedures were done. In these experiments, parathyroidectomy reduced amount of radioactivity removed, while addition of citrate to the rinse increased it. Under these situations, therefore, changes in rate of removal of radioactivity paralleled changes in removal of total calcium. 2) These experiments are additional evidence that calcium is removed from bone by 2 processes, one possibly an equilibration phenomenon between fluid media of body and those portions of bone with which i...
Radiative transport for two-photon light

The propagation of light in disordered media, including clouds, colloidal suspensions, and biological tissues, is generally considered within the framework of classical optics [1]. However, recent experiments have demonstrated the existence of novel effects in multiple light scattering, in which the quantized nature of the electromagnetic field is manifest. These include (i) the transport of quantum noise through random media [2], (ii) the observation of spatial correlations in multiply scattered squeezed light [3,4], (iii) the measurement of two-photon speckle patterns and the observation of nonexponential statistics for two-photon correlations [5,6], and (iv) the finding that interference survives averaging over disorder, as evidenced by photon correlations exhibiting both antibunching and anyonic symmetry [7,8]. Thus there is an interplay between quantum interference and interference due to multiple scattering that is of fundamental interest [9–15] and considerable applied importance. Indeed, applications to spectroscopy [16], two-photon imaging [17–26], and quantum communication [27–29] have been reported. In the multiple-scattering regime, the radiative transport equation (RTE) governs the propagation of light in random media [1]. The RTE is a conservation law that accounts for gains and losses of electromagnetic energy due to scattering and absorption. The physical quantity of interest is the specific intensity I (r,k), defined as the intensity at the position r in the direction k. The specific intensity obeys the RTE k · ∇rI (r,k) + (μa + μs)I (r,k) = μs ∫ d2k′[p(k′,k)I (r,k′) − p(k,k′)I (r,k)], (1)
Nesting Preferences of the Solitary Bee Osmia sanrafaelae (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae)

A series of cage studies was used to investigate nesting preferences of Osmia sanrafaelae Parker. Bees preferred nest holes of smaller diameter in hlocks in the southwest corner of cages. Within multiple-block arrays, nests were more frequent in the lower left corner. The number of cells per nest was lowest in cages with the fewest nests in some experiments, but did not vary in others. Nest diameter affected neither the proportion of females produced per nest, nor the size of offspring of either sex. Rather, nesting females constructed cells of varying orientations within nests of different diameters, a process that resulted in approximately equal cell volumes. In one experiment, the sex ratio of bees released within cages was varied and influenced the sex ratio of offspring. Nests within cages in which a higher ratio of males to females was released contained a higher proportion of female offspring.
Immediate Transfusion Reactions in the Pediatric Population

Studies of adverse reactions to transfusions in children have focused on infectious complications; little has been written about immediate reactions. A prospective study of all immediate transfusion reactions during a oneyear period in a large children's hospital demonstrated that there are significant differences between adult and pediatric patients in the epidemiology of immediate transfusion reactions. The overall rate of immediate reaction to transfusion was 1.9% (64/3,446), of which 58% (38) were allergic and 37%(24) were febrile. Neonates rarely experienced a reaction to transfusion, whereas 18% (18/101) of oncology patients had a problem. White cells, platelets, and plasma were the most common component implicated in immediate transfusion reactions in pediatric patients. Data on the epidemiology of immediate transfusion reactions in pediatric patients are important in developing protocols to assure that blood product administration is undertaken in a safe setting with appropriate medical support.
After the Fall: Lessons and Directions from the K/T Debate

The Alvarez Hypotheses of 1980, that the earth was hit by a large asteroid or comet 65 million years ago, and that the environmental effects stemming from that impact event brought about the K/T mass extinction, are now accepted by a majority of earth scientists. The questions is, then, what next for paleontological extinction research? I propose that the following topics be explored: 1) Better research on actual killing mechanisms. 2) Deciphering multiple causes. 3) Calibrating the "Kill Curve" of Raup (1990, 1991) relating impact (or crater) size and degree of mass extinction. 4) Following up on disparate extinction hypotheses. 5) Improving sampling methodology, and using some of the lessons or methodologies developed during the K/T debate: (The Signor-Lipps effect, confidence intervals and increased sampling precision or blind sampling programs) on other extinction boundaries. 6) Understanding selectivity: which species live, die, and why. 7) Improving the study of modern day biodiversity by giving it some history, with the goal of understanding the following question: have we entered a new mass extinction episode?
Resonant soft X-ray scattering for polymer materials

Resonant Soft X-ray Scattering (RSoXS) was developed over the last a few years, and the first dedicated resonant soft X-ray scattering beamline for soft materials was constructed at the Advanced Light Source, LBNL. RSoXS combines soft X-ray spectroscopy with X-ray scattering and thus offers statistical information for 3D chemical morphology over a large length scale range from nanometers to micrometers. Using RSoXS to characterize multi-length scale soft materials with heterogeneous chemical structures, we have demonstrated that soft X-ray scattering is a unique complementary technique to conventional hard X-ray and neutron scattering. Its unique chemical sensitivity, large accessible size scale, molecular bond orientation sensitivity with polarized X-rays, and high coherence have shown great potential for chemically specific structural characterization for many classes of materials.
Employment and return to work following chemoradiation in patient with HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer

Human papillomavirus (HPV)-positive oropharyngeal cancer primarily affects working-age adults. Chemotherapy and radiation (CTRT) used to treat this disease may adversely impact a survivors’ ability to work after treatment. We surveyed participants with HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancer who completed CTRT regarding employment. We examined the associations between 1) sociodemographic and clinical factors and employment outcomes, and 2) health-related quality of life and satisfaction with ability to work. 102 participants were employed full-time at diagnosis for pay and surveyed at a median of 23 months post-CTRT (range 12–57 months). The median age at diagnosis was 57 years (range 25–76 years). During CTRT, 8 % stopped working permanently, 89 % took time off or reduced responsibility but later returned, and 3 % reported no change. For those who took time off but returned, median time to return to work was 14.5 weeks. In multivariable analysis, younger age predicted for needing more than the median time off. At time of survey, 85 % participants were working, 7 % had retired, and 8 % were not working for other reasons. Seventeen percent of participants were not satisfied with their current ability to work, which was associated with poorer health-related quality of life and persistent treatment toxicities (p < 0.001). CTRT interrupts employment in the majority of working patients with HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancer but most return. However, treatment-related toxicities might lead to dissatisfaction with ability to work.
Differences in Mechanisms for Fretting Wear Reduction between Oil and Grease Lubrication

ABSTRACTThe different mechanisms of fretting wear in oil and grease lubrication and methods to reduce fretting wear were examined by means of thrust ball bearings in this study. Tests of fretting wear under oil lubrication were conducted. It was confirmed that high-viscosity oil can reduce fretting wear at high velocity (i.e., high frequency) through oil film formation. In the case of grease lubrication, the influence of velocity on fretting wear was significantly different for low- and high-viscosity greases. Grease with low-viscosity base oils could reduce fretting wear at high velocity. In contrast, grease with high-viscosity base oils could reduce fretting wear at low velocity. Grease thickeners were found to be effective in forming a layer that could prevent fretting wear. These results highlight the large differences in effective fretting wear reduction mechanisms between oil and grease lubrication.
Human Resource Management and Market Orientation Strategies in Family and Non-family Firms in Ghana: How Do They Relate to Competitive Strategy and Firm Performance?

This chapter examined the effects of human resource management (HRM) and market orientation strategies on competitive strategy and firm performance in family and non-family firms. It also examined how these effects varied across family and non-family firms in Ghana. Data for the study came from two different respondents within each of the 122 manufacturing firms sampled in Ghana. The results indicated that the market orientation strategy was positively related to both cost leadership and differentiation in both family and non-family firms. However, the impact of market orientation strategy on competitive strategy was not different between family and non-family firms. While HRM participation was significantly related to both cost leadership and differentiation strategies only for family firms, the impact was stronger in terms of the differentiation strategy only for family firms. Market orientation strategy was not directly related to performance for both family and non-family firms. However, the HRM strategy of human resource (HR) participation was directly related to profitability only in family firms, and the impact was stronger for family firms than for non-family firms.
Imaging the Margins of Pleistocene Lake Deposits with High-Resolution Seismic Reflection in the Eastern Basin and Range: Pilot Valley, Utah (USA)

Abstract A vast area of the northeastern Great Basin of the western USA was inundated by a succession of Pleistocene lakes, including Lake Bonneville. Playa-sediment deposition from these lakes onlapped onto alluvial fans that blanketed the slopes of adjacent mountain ranges to create prominent angular unconformities. Understanding these unconformities is useful for constraining the interpretation of the geologically recent tectonic evolution of the Basin and Range Province, as well as the interaction of lake sedimentation and alluvial fan development. The Pilot Valley playa, located just east of the Utah–Nevada border near Wendover, Utah, represents a remnant of these lakes. High-resolution seismic profiles have been acquired near the base of the bounding mountain ranges. The profiles reveal the stratigraphic relationships between Quaternary pluvial sediments as a shoreline depositional facies and the adjacent bounding fan deposits. On the western side of the basin, these profiles image subhorizontal playa sediments prograding over inclined alluvial fans. The boundary between the playa and fan sediments is marked by a prominent angular unconformity. Seismic images from the opposite side of the basin reveal a more heterogeneous structural and stratigraphic style, including down-to-the-basin normal faulting of shallow Paleozoic bedrock overlain by alluvial fan deposits, which are in turn onlapped by a thin veneer of playa sediments. The new geophysical images, when integrated with available geologic mapping, also aid in constraining how deep aquifers are locally recharged from an adjacent range. The results demonstrate the structural asymmetry of the range and playa system, consistent with a classic half-graben structure. Lastly, this study demonstrates the utility of the method of shallow seismic reflection to provide high-resolution subsurface images in the challenging environment of alluvial fan–playa geology.
A Brief Exploratory Report of Coping Strategies Among Police Recruits During Academy Training.

Few longitudinal studies have investigated the use of coping strategies among police recruits. This study investigated perceived life and work stressors, appraisal, and coping over a seven-month police recruit academy training program. Participants were 81 police recruits who completed the Ways of Coping Questionnaire at three time points approximately three months apart. The average age of the recruits was 27.6 years (SD = 5.1, range 20-51). Separate repeated measures analyses of variance were conducted to examine coping scores. Statistically significant decreases, although small, were observed in reported emotion-focused, problem-focused, and seeking social support coping strategies. Results suggested that as police recruits undergo academy training, they rely on fewer coping strategies to deal with life and work stress. More longitudinal studies are needed that assess the methods police recruits utilize to manage stress during academy training. Such results can inform stress management interventions.
Karamojong Adolescents in Tororo, Uganda: Life Events, Adjustment Problems, and Protective Factors

ABSTRACTThe Karamojong people of Uganda are marginalized and likely to have difficult lives. Research is needed to understand Karamojong children’s challenges, adjustment, and resiliency to help guide interventions and policies to improve their lives. Thus, 18 Karamojong 10–16-year-olds (10 girls; M = 13.33 years; SD = 1.81) were recruited from a nongovernmental organization in Tororo District, Uganda, and interviewed about their life events, coping strategies, social support, and hope. Adolescents also were verbally administered questionnaires about their life events and adjustment problems. Participants reported many negative life events (M = 9.28 of 16). The number of negative life events was positively correlated with internalizing, but not with externalizing, problems. Participants described a variety of coping strategies. Most participants received emotional or instrumental social support, and were hopeful about their futures. Hardships were often alcohol- or poverty-related events, whereas hope was...
Transitioning illicit drug preferences and emerging user identities in Ohio: The proliferation of methamphetamine use among African Americans.

ABSTRACTUnderstanding the social dynamics of local methamphetamine markets is critical to improving community health and reducing social costs associated with illicit drug use. We examine a local drug market in Summit County, Ohio, wherein methamphetamine users ascribe themselves different ethnic identities from those long associated with the drug elsewhere in the United States. Qualitative interviews with 52 study participants demonstrate that very poor and homeless White males and females are now using methamphetamine; however, even more surprising is that 31 of the participants identified themselves as poor or homeless, male or female African, Native, biracial, or multiracial Americans. The drug use trajectory of these 31 participants in particular involved a transition from a historical preference for crack to a present one for methamphetamine and, in some cases, a preference for concurrent use of methamphetamine and heroin. Many of these methamphetamine users also emphasized their ethnic identity to ...
A multi-mode approach for multi-directional damage detection in frame structures

Abstract Due to their three-dimensional nature, damages have different effects on each vibration mode of a frame structure, depending on the direction of deflection of its structural elements. In this study, a Multi-mode Multi-directional Damage Index (MMDI) method is proposed to benefit from the recognition of the multi-directional effects of damages in order to reduce damage detection errors. The novelty of the method resides in the use of specifically developed modal combination factors for the identification of the vibration modes more relevant to the damage detection and for the assessment of the directionality of the damage effects. The detection capability of the MMDI method is experimentally investigated on a bridge testbed consisting of a two-column moment resisting frame. Individual and combined damages are simulated into columns and beams of the testbed through steel parts removal. The dynamic characteristics of the system in its undamaged and damaged configurations are identified upon ambient-like accelerations from a low dense sensor network. The effectiveness of the MMDI method is assessed for its ability of identifying damages without any pre-selection of vibration modes. The accuracy of the damage assessment is measured through four indicators targeting identification, false detection, localization, and severity estimation of the damages.