cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Case 41: Essential Equipment

You have just arrived, late at night, in a small mission hospital in Equatorial Guinea, a country on the west coast of Africa. The whole hospital is in darkness. You are met by the chief matron who tells you that the electricity supply to the hospital and the adjacent housing is intermittent at best.
Behavioral Law and Economics: Cognitive Theory and Tax

Introduction Overview Legal academia has been overrun by a torrent of interdisciplinarism. Law and economics, philosophy, literature, feminist studies, sociology, history, and just about any other recognized discipline have become new fields, new approaches to gaining insight into law's meanings and possibilities. For the most part, this movement has been salutary. Its health is based on the simple fact that other disciplines are relevant to law – to what law is, to how it affects people and institutions, and to what it can and should be. But legal scholars must always be careful to use the new disciplines wisely. We must be sensitive to the particulars of the legal cases at hand, to the structure of the other discipline, and to the terms of the interaction. Interdisciplinary scholarship can as easily descend into superficiality as it can rise to perspicacity. In the case of my chosen area of legal academia, taxation, the interdisciplinary contributions have been dominated by economists, who have made many invaluable contributions to the field. Philosophy and political science, which once had a good deal to say about matters of tax, have become less frequent but still important contributors. But other social sciences, such as psychology, have not been incorporated into the general tax academic's worldview. To be sure, there have been some moves to bring psychology into the study of tax, but these attempts have not been systematic and do not approach the growing level of attention paid to psychology in other legal fields, such as regulatory and environmental law.
Forward-looking behavior, precautionary savings, and borrowing constraints in a poor, agrarian economy: tests using rainfall data

Households in many poor, agrarian economies derive their income from rain-dependent agriculture. This dependence raises the possibility that,from rainfall patterns early on in the crop-cycle, households accumulate information about future cash inflows (e.g., harvests) before the cashflows are realized. Using detailed longitudinal data from three villages in India,this paper explores whether households utilize this information in the ways suggested by modern consumption theories. Two of the central hypotheses suggested by these theories are that households are forward-looking in their consumption behavior and react optimally to the receipt of information; and that in the face of uncertainty about future incomes, households engage in recautionary saving. The basic challenge in implementing tests of these hypotheses has been to find empirical measures of the 'news' that households receive, and the uncertainty they face. I show that, in the villages I study, rainfall patterns provide good proxies from which such measures might be constructed. I exploit this fact to test for precautionary saving and forward-looking behavior. I find that precautionary saving and forward-looking behavior do not, by themselves, fully explain the observed consumption patterns. However, when I explicitly incorporate the possibility of binding borrowing constraints into the testing strategy, I obtain fairly strong support for the joint hypothesis of precautionary saving and forward-looking behavior in the presence of borrowing constraints.
The Effects of Labor Strikes on Consumer Demand: A Re-examination of Major League Baseball

Previous research has concluded that the 1981 and 1994/95 Major League Baseball (MLB) strikes have caused short-term losses in attendance but have not resulted in any long-term effects on attendance. While total attendance at MLB games following the 1994/95 strike has recovered to its pre-strike levels, this has been done only through the construction of new stadiums at an unprecedented pace which cannot continue into the future. After accounting for stadium effects, average MLB baseball attendance has dropped significantly since the 1994/95 strike.
Double-ridge interband cascade lasers for high-power spectroscopy in the mid-infrared

Lasers employing a new double-ridge waveguide design emit 18 mW at 3.57 μm and 20 mW at 3.37 μm. The top ridge confines the optical mode while the bottom ridge limits lateral current spreading.
Epigenetics in the Pathogenesis of Esophageal Adenocarcinoma

Epigenetic influences, such as DNA methylation, histone acetylation, and up-regulation/down-regulation of genes by microRNAs, change the genetic makeup of an individual without affecting DNA base-pair sequences. Indeed, epigenetic changes play an integral role in the progression from normal esophageal mucosa to Barrett's esophagus to esophageal adenocarcinoma via dysplasia-metaplasia-neoplasia sequence. Many genes involved in esophageal adenocarcinoma display hypermethylation, leading to their down-regulation. The classes of these genes include cell cycle control, DNA and growth factor repair, tumor suppressors, antimetastasis, Wnt-related genes, and proapoptotic genes. Histone acetylation in the pathophysiology of esophageal diseases has not been thoroughly investigated, and its critical role in the development of esophageal adenocarcinoma is less defined. Many microRNAs have been associated with the development of Barrett's esophagus and esophageal adenocarcinoma. Here, we critically addressed the specific steps most closely influenced by microRNAs in the progression from Barrett's esophagus to esophageal adenocarcinoma. However, microRNAs can target up to hundreds of genes, making it difficult to correlate directly with a given phenotype of the disease. Esophageal adenocarcinoma progressing from premalignant condition of Barrett's esophagus carries an extremely poor prognosis. Risk stratification for patients based on their epigenetic profiles may be useful in providing more targeted and directed treatment to patients.
Behavioral Factors: Impulsive and Aggressive Behavior

Publisher Summary The purpose of this chapter is to discuss the behavioral factor that takes place among adolescents such as impulsive and aggressive behavior. Mood state and cognitions tend to be the focus of most clinical evaluations of adolescent suicide attempters. However, behavior disturbance is also very common in this group of adolescents. Impulsivity is a construct that has received a moderate amount of attention in the adolescent suicide literature. Most research conducted within the past 10 years generally reveals a relationship between impulsivity and suicidality. Impulse control may be an important variable in preventing the risk of suicidal behavior. Impulsive and aggressive behavior often co-occur, which can make it difficult to determine which behavior plays the more important role in suicidal behavior. The relationship between impulsivity and suicidality remained significant after controlling for degree of violence. However, this relationship was no longer significant when aggressive feelings and aggressive conduct were partialled out of the analyses. Thus, in some adolescents, aggressive tendencies may play a stronger role than impulsivity in suicide risk. Anger is a common mood state among adolescents who attempt suicide. Aggressive behavior often accompanies this angry affect.
MPI/RT-an emerging standard for high-performance real-time systems

The past few years saw an emergence of standardization activities for real-time systems including standardization of operating systems (series of POSIX standards), of communication for distributed (POSIX.21) and parallel systems (MPI/RT) and real-time object management (real-time CORBA). The article describes the ongoing work of real-time message passing interface (MPI/RT) standardization. MPI/RT advances the Message Passing Interface Standard (MPI), emphasizing changes that enable and support real-time communication, and is targeted for embedded, fault-tolerant and other real-time systems.
Ethnographic Contributions to Organizational Sociology

The authors examine the contributions of ethnography to organizational sociology in five substantive areas: (1) the elaboration of informal relations, (2) organizations as systems of meaning, (3) organizations and their environments, (4) organizational change, and (5) ethics and normative behavior. They then discuss three claims that ethnographers typically make: that ethnography provides for depth, multiple perspectives, and process. These claims permit its unique contributions but also create trade-offs in terms of control, bias, and generalizability. The authors conclude by considering the implications that the resurgent interest in organizational ethnography holds for its systematic practice and the development of standards to evaluate its cross-disciplinary usage.
f-sum rule and effective masses in superlattices.

The f-sum rule, relating effective masses to oscillator strengths, is extended to semiconducting superlattices and applied to GaAs-(Ga,Al)As and HgTe-CdTe. This novel approach is implemented analytically by use of the envelope-function approximation to calculate both parallel and perpendicular masses and is used to account for their difference physically. Agreement with experiment is excellent, but in HgTe-CdTe only if the valence-band offset is small.
Formation of the gas-phase aluminum sulfide cations AlxS+y and their reactions with NO2

Abstract Aluminum sulfide cations were formed by direct laser vaporization of Al2S3 in a Fourier transform mass spectrometer. The most abundant series of ions is the mono-metal sulfides AlS+y (y=1–6). The Al5(S/O)+7 and Al7(S/O)+10 ion series provide evidence for surface reactions of the bulk Al2S3 with background water. Substitution of oxygen for sulfur in reactions with NO2 indicates that oxygen is more strongly bound to aluminum than sulfur. These reactions also suggest that the mono-metal ions consist of multiple S and S2 ligands bonded to the metal, with the exception of AlS+6 which may have a sulfur ring ligand.
Ascorbate and transition-metal mediation of methanethiol oxidation to dimethyl disulfide and dimethyl trisulfide

Abstract Headspace-gas chromatography was employed to study the behavior of methanethiol in buffer solutions (pH 6·3) in the presence of transition metals and ascorbate. In the presence of Cu(II) (1 ppm), methanethiol (2 ppm) was depleted within 30 min at 30°C by 70% and 30% under aerobic and anaerobic conditions, respectively. Under similar conditions, Fe(III) alone catalyzed the oxidation of methanethiol to only a very limited extent (15%). However, ascorbate plus Fe(III) mediated a rapid formation of dimethyl trisulfide at 30°C in a model system containing methanethiol and hydrogen sulfide. A partial inhibition of dimethyl trisulfide formation by benzoate in the ascorbate plus Fe(III) system suggested that the hydroxyl radical was involved in the pathway leading to the formation of dimethyl trisulfide.
Comparisons of subcolonies of selectively bred long-sleep and short-sleep mice

The Albany subcolony of the selectively bred Long- and Short-Sleep mice was directly compared to the original Colorado colony. As expected from the additional selection applied to the Colorado colony, small differences in the selection phenotype, loss of the righting reflex duration following ethanol treatment, were observed in the Short-Sleep line. However, no colony differences existed in three other indices of ethanol effects. Clear line differences in the shape of the locomotor activity dose-response curve, thermoregulatory effects of ethanol, and ethanol elimination rate replicated earlier findings, but these differences were similar in the two colonies. These data argue for stability of the polygenic control system and provide a picture of remarkable similarity of the two sublines, which were separated by more than 30 generations.
DIFFERENTIAL EFFECTS OF CAREER PLANNING ON INTERNALS AND EXTERNALS

Career planning programs require participant effort to influence career progress. This study investigated the relationship of beliefs in internal vs. external locus of control of behavior (I/E) and self-reported activity four months after a one-day career planning workshop. Internally oriented secretaries took more actions to explore potential career goals and to identify means of attaining these goals. In addition, respondents to the follow-up questionnaire were more internally oriented than non-respondents. Implications for administration of career planning programs are listed.
Differential Gating of Thalamocortical Signals by Reticular Nucleus of Thalamus during Locomotion

The thalamic reticular nucleus (RE) provides inhibition to the dorsal thalamus, and forms a crucial interface between thalamocortical and corticothalamic signals. Whereas there has been significant interest in the role of the RE in organizing thalamocortical signaling, information on the activity of the RE in the awake animal is scant. Here we investigated the activity of neurons within the "motor" compartment of the RE in the awake, unrestrained cat during simple locomotion on a flat surface and complex locomotion along a horizontal ladder that required visual control of stepping. The activity of 88% of neurons in this region was modulated during locomotion. Neurons with receptive fields on the shoulder were located dorsally in the nucleus and had regular discharges; during locomotion they had relatively low activity and modest magnitudes of stride-related modulation, and their group activity was distributed over the stride. In contrast, neurons with receptive fields on the wrist/paw were located more ventrally, often discharged sleep-type bursts during locomotion, were very active and profoundly modulated, and their group activity was concentrated in the swing and end of stance. Seventy-five percent of RE neurons had different activity during the two locomotion tasks. We conclude that during locomotion the RE differentially gates thalamocortical signals transmitted during different phases of the stride, in relation to different parts of the limb, and the type of locomotion task.
Working towards an exegesis for lipids in biology

As a field, lipidomics is in its infancy, yet it has already begun to influence lipid biochemistry in myriad ways. As with other omic technologies, the field is driven by advances in analytical chemistry, particularly by mass spectrometry. At the heart of a renaissance in lipid biochemistry, systems biology is being used to define the cellular lipome, build a comprehensive picture of metabolic interconnections, discover new molecular species and determine how lipids modulate biological functions.
The non-resonant 16O(α,γ)20Ne reaction at stellar energies

Abstract The non-resonant 16 O ( α , γ ) 20 Ne reaction has been studied in a microscopic potential model which reproduces both the correct binding energies and the deformations of the 20 Ne bound states. The astrophysical S-factor is found to increase linearly with energy in the range E cm ≈0.4 −2 MeV.
Urinary and tissue levels of scatter factor in transitional cell carcinoma of bladder

ABSTRACTPurpose: We previously reported increased titers of scatter factor in urine of 20 patients with transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder compared to noncancer and cancer control groups. Scatter factor was also found in bladder tumor extracts but the number of samples examined was too small for detailed analysis. We report a followup study of larger numbers of patients with transitional cell carcinoma and controls.Materials and Methods: The scatter factor content of urine samples and bladder tissue extracts was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Values were normalized per milligram creatinine or tissue protein. Statistical analysis was performed using the Mann-Whitney U test or, for multiple comparisons, the Kruskal-Wallis H test.Results: Patients with transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder (52) had higher urinary scatter factor titers than did 24 normal subjects (p <0.001) or 14 with benign prostatic hypertrophy (p <0.001), 49 with prostate cancer (p <0.001) and 13 with other gen...
Nuclear isolation by a modified method of Hewish and Burgoyne: implications for the study of nuclear enzymology.

Abstract This study describes a rapid and convenient modification of the established procedure of Hewish and Burgoyne (1973) Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 52 , 475–481, for the preparation of rat liver nuclei. A procedure is also described for the isolation of nuclei from cells in culture using modified buffers of Hewish and Burgoyne. Substitution of the polyamines spermine and spermidine for divalent metal cations in the isolation solutions along with utilization of the chelators EDTA and EGTA distinguishes their technique from other well known methods. The modification described for rat liver nuclei utilizes a single ultracentrifugation step for separating the nuclei from the homogenate by sedimentation through a dense sucrose solution. The new method produces a high yield of purified nuclei which are characterized to have highly polymerized DNA on alkaline sucrose gradients. However, when metal ion is added back to these nuclei for in vitro transcription, there is a time dependent reduction in DNA size as measured on alkaline sucrose gradients which correlates with the loss in linearity of UMP incorporation into RNA. It is suggested that the modified nuclear isolation procedure described produces more intact nuclei which will form the basis for further investigation of the nucleus as an isolated eukaryotic organelle and allow characterization of endogenous enzymology in situ .
Ferredoxins as electron carriers in photosynthesis and in the biological production and consumption of hydrogen gas.

Ferredoxins as Electron Carriers in Photosynthesis and in the Biological Production and Consumption of Hydrogen Gas
New model for the emplacement, bioturbation, and preservation of fine-scaled sedimentary strata

We present a new quantitative model for the formation and preservation of sedimentary fabric based on interacting sedimentation and bioturbation. The model is one-dimensional and is forced by fluctuation of the sedimentation rate, which affects deposition of sediment possessing primary (depositional) fabric. Primary fabric is modified by bioturbation, which is represented as a depth-limited reaction term. Model output includes depth in seabed and preservation quotient, a measure of relative preservation of primary versus biogenic fabric at each depth. The required parameters (sedimentation rate and bioturbation rate) can be derived from studies of seabed processes; model output can be compared directly to observations of both modern and ancient sedimentary strata.
Level-adjusted perioperative risk of sacral amputations.

Background and Objectives Sacral amputations above the S2 body often involve increased surgical complexity leading to long-term morbidity. The purpose of this study was to determine whether proximal sacral amputations have substantially higher perioperative morbidity compared with more distal sacral amputations. Methods We evaluated the effect of sacral amputation level on perioperative outcomes within 90 days of surgery. Outcome measures included blood loss, intensive care unit (ICU) and hospital stay, hospital cost, and incidence of a major and minor morbidity. Survival analyses were adjusted for the level of resection and histological appearance. Results Thirteen proximal and 14 distal resections were performed. In comparing proximal versus distal resections, median estimated blood loss was 4 L versus 1 L (P < 0.001), ICU stay was 4 days versus 0 days (P = 0.012), hospital stay was 19 days versus 8 days (P = 0.001), hospital cost was $28,800 versus $7,500 (P = 0.003), with one or more major complications in 85% versus 29% (P = 0.011). Survival analysis demonstrated that the sacral resection level did not influence survival (P = 0.936), whereas the type of tumor did influence survival (P = 0.012). Conclusion Tumor resections above S2 demonstrate increased perioperative morbidity, suggesting that proximal osteotomies be reserved for patients with a realistic cure potential. J. Surg. Oncol. 2006;94:203–211. © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
The lipids of the common house cricket,Acheta domesticus L. III. Sterols.

Sterols constitute 1.95% of the total extractable lipids ofAcheta domesticus L., of which 18% are esterified. The free sterols consist of cholestane-3β-ol (0.5%), Δ5-cholestene-3β-ol (83.5%), Δ7-cholestene-3β-ol (2.3%) Δ5,7-cholestadiene-3β-ol (3%), Δ5,22-cholestadiene-3β-ol (4%), Δ5,7,22-cholestatriene-3β-ol (0.2%), campestane-3β-ol (0.03%), Δ5-campestene-3β-ol (1.0%), Δ7-campestene-3β-ol (trace), Δ5,7-campestadiene-3β-ol (0.2%), stigmastane-3β-ol (0.09%), Δ5-stigmastene-3β-ol (2.1%), Δ7-stigmastene-3β-ol (0.04%), Δ5,7-stigmastadiene-3β-ol (0.4%), Δ5,22-stigmastadiene-3βol (0.1%). The same sterols are present in the esterified sterol fraction. Δ7-Sterols and Δ5,7-sterols are present in significantly larger amounts in the esterified fraction than in the free sterol fraction. By a comparison with the sterols of the cricket food, it is clear thatA. domesticus is capable of removing methyl and ethyl groups from C-24 of sterols of the campestane and stigmastane type. The ability to introduce a Δ7 double bond into saturated and Δ5-sterols is indicated, and it is suggested that Δ7-sterols of the C27, C28, and C29 sterol series may be intermediates in the conversion of Δ5-sterols to Δ5,7-sterols.
The Sortase A enzyme that attaches proteins to the cell wall of Bacillus anthracis contains an unusual active site architecture.

Abstract The pathogen Bacillus anthracis uses the Sortase A (SrtA) enzyme to anchor proteins to its cell wall envelope during vegetative growth. To gain insight into the mechanism of protein attachment to the cell wall in B. anthracis we investigated the structure, backbone dynamics, and function of SrtA. The NMR structure of SrtA has been determined with a backbone coordinate precision of 0.40 ± 0.07 A. SrtA possesses several novel features not previously observed in sortase enzymes including the presence of a structurally ordered amino terminus positioned within the active site and in contact with catalytically essential histidine residue (His126). We propose that this appendage, in combination with a unique flexible active site loop, mediates the recognition of lipid II, the second substrate to which proteins are attached during the anchoring reaction. pKa measurements indicate that His126 is uncharged at physiological pH compatible with the enzyme operating through a “reverse protonation” mechanism. Interestingly, NMR relaxation measurements and the results of a model building study suggest that SrtA recognizes the LPXTG sorting signal through a lock-in-key mechanism in contrast to the prototypical SrtA enzyme from Staphylococcus aureus.
A Gamma-distributed stochastic frontier model

Abstract We modify the stochastic frontier model of Aigner, Lovell, and Schmidt to allow the one-sided part of the disturbance to have a two-parameter Gamma distribution rather than the less flexible half-normal distribution. Maximum-likelihood estimation and the estimation of firm-specific inefficiency estimates require the evaluation of integrals which have no closed form and for which there are no polynomial approximations available. We consider two methods of computing these integrals. We also present a corrected OLS estimator based on the methods of moments. An application is presented for illustration. We find that for these data, the gamma distribution produces results which differ noticeably from those of three alternative formulations.
β-Haloethanol substrates as probes for radical mechanisms for galactose oxidase

Ketyl radical anions with a halogen substitutent on the carbon adjacent to ketyl are known to rapidly rearrange by halide anion ejection. Such a rearrangement is an ideal probe for possible ketyl radical anion intermediates in the catalytic mechanism of the monocopper/tyrosine radical enzyme galactose oxidase (GOase). Turnover of β-fluoro-, β-chloro-, β-bromo-, and β-iodoethanol by GOase leads to mechanism-based inactivation of the enzyme by trapping the enzyme in a catalytically inactive one-electron-reduced form. Presuming that mechanism-based inactivation and turnover proceed through the same reactive intermediates, the data reported here narrow down the possible mechanisms for the substrate oxidation step (the two electron transfer from substrate to enzyme) to two similar possibilities. Either the reaction proceeds through a short-lived ketyl radical anion intermediate or it proceeds through a closely related concerted E2R mechanism with considerable ketyl radical anion character in the transition state.
RANDOM FOREST FLAIR RECONSTRUCTION FROM T1, T2, AND PD -WEIGHTED MRI.

Fluid Attenuated Inversion Recovery (FLAIR) is a commonly acquired pulse sequence for multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. MS white matter lesions appear hyperintense in FLAIR images and have excellent contrast with the surrounding tissue. Hence, FLAIR images are commonly used in automated lesion segmentation algorithms to easily and quickly delineate the lesions. This expedites the lesion load computation and correlation with disease progression. Unfortunately for numerous reasons the acquired FLAIR images can be of a poor quality and suffer from various artifacts. In the most extreme cases the data is absent, which poses a problem when consistently processing a large data set. We propose to fill in this gap by reconstructing a FLAIR image given the corresponding T1-weighted, T2-weighted, and PD -weighted images of the same subject using random forest regression. We show that the images we produce are similar to true high quality FLAIR images and also provide a good surrogate for tissue segmentation.
A novel secreted endonuclease from Culex quinquefasciatus salivary glands.

SUMMARY Previous analysis of the salivary gland transcriptome of Culex quinquefasciatus showed the potential presence of an endonuclease with sequence similarities to shrimp, crab and two tsetse salivary proteins. Indeed, not only was the cloned cDNA shown to encode an active double-stranded endonuclease, but also the same activity was demonstrated to be secreted by salivary glands of Cx. quinquefasciatus. Preliminary studies with salivary gland extracts confirmed the presence of a highly active nuclease. This enzyme was shown to be present in the saliva of female mosquitoes by allowing starved mosquitoes to probe DNA-containing agarose gel. The recombinant Cx. quinquefasciatus endonuclease (CuquEndo) produced in mammalian cells showed no sequence specificity for DNA substrate except that it only cleaves double-stranded DNA. Recombinant Cx. quinquefasciatus endonuclease was active in the presence of Mg2+ ions at pH 7.0-8.0, but no endonuclease activity was detected in the presence of calcium ions. The final hydrolysis products of this enzyme, detected by ion exchange chromatography, yielded DNA fragments ranging form 8-12 base pairs. Although endonucleases have been associated with a variety of cellular functions, their role in mosquito saliva is not clear. This female-specific secreted endonuclease may assist blood meal intake by lowering the local viscosity created by the release of host DNA in the bite site and/or acting as an indirect anticoagulant factor by producing a defibrotide-like mixture of DNA haptamers.
Modified correlated k-distribution methods for remote sensing applications

Abstract In this paper we discuss the application of correlated k -distribution methods for the computation of radiative transfer through the atmosphere in the visible, near IR, and IR spectral regions. Whereas the correlated k -distribution is a good approximation overall to line-by-line calculations, it is inaccurate in regions of strong absorber overlap. Several approaches (band splitting, strength-based splitting, double and triple correlated k ) are proposed to modify the conventional correlated k -distribution and improve its predictions in these regions of absorber line overlap. A comparison with line-by-line computations in the infrared spectral region demonstrates that a combination of these methods produces brightness temperatures within less than 0.25 K of those obtained from line-by-line computations at significantly less computation costs. In the visible and near IR, when atmospheric scattering is included, the new treatment of overlapping mixed gases also produces excellent agreement with the line-by-line model.
Mon Bête Noir (My Pet Peeve)

In 1966, Francois Dessertenne, writing in French about a particular dysrhythmia, coined a familiar term which is usually translated as “twisting of the points” [1]. For four-and-a-half decades, Anglophones have generally written the term with singular and plural words used together incorrectly. The correct form has been debated and discussed from time to time while the error persists [2, 3]. Rarely do authors write this correctly [4]. The most common version appears to be “torsades de pointes”. Other variations, such as “torsade de pointes” and “torsade de pointe”, seem less frequent. Dessertenne may have contributed to the confusion by using different versions in different articles. The term includes two nouns which usually and correctly appear in their plural forms. Most authors agree that the “points” (English) refer to the tips of the QRS complex in plural, so “pointes” must be correct. A minority view holds that the axis of rotation is the point, but this belies the preposition “of” and would require “on”, “around”, or “about” instead. Only torsades en pointe would describe this interpretation. The first noun referring to “twisting” usually appears in plural form but often appears in the singular form also. Some argue that the term can be either singular or plural, depending upon how many cycles of rotation are observed. However, the term describes a pattern which can only be recognized when it repeats. Also, Dessertenne used the definite article “les” (plural “the”) in his original description [1]. The most correct form of the first noun must be “torsades”, with a silent “s” at the end of the word. The connecting word “des” is the smallest and the most frequently written incorrectly. “Des” translates either as “of the” or as the plural indefinite article “some”. In either use, “des” necessarily precedes a plural noun. Hence all three words should be plural. Authors with savoir-faire should write “torsades des pointes” while noting that each plural “s” is silent. torsades de pointes (incorrect) torsade de pointes (incorrect) torsade de pointe (incorrect) torsades des pointes (correct)
Response of a GCM with a Hybrid Convection Scheme to a Tropical Pacific Sea Surface Temperature Anomaly

Abstract A tropical Pacific sea surface temperature (SST) anomaly is included in a global general circulation model with a hybrid convection scheme. Results are compared with a similar version of the same model that includes a simple moist convective adjustment scheme and with observed data analyses from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts. The model with the hybrid scheme transports proportionately more heat and moisture higher into the troposphere in the vicinity of the SST anomaly, and the extratropical sensitivity to the SST anomaly is greater (larger-amplitude anomalies). Improvements in the simulated mean climate with the hybrid scheme result in an altered and more realistic extratropical response to the tropical SST anomaly. This is especially true for the Southern Hemisphere where the improvements to the mean climate simulation are most dramatic. This result is consistent with linear models that show a great dependence on the mean extratropical climate simulation for the type of...
Weak interactions are weak at high energies

Abstract We use a Schrodinger picture version of the instanton calculus to analyze the suggestion that nonperturbative instanton effects, such as baryon number violation in the electroweak interaction, can become large in high-energy scattering. We confirm that the euclidean instanton results of Ringwald, Espinosa and others are correct, for models with instantons of definite size, at low energy, and present a physical explanation of the energy dependence of amplitudes found by these authors. However, we show that their dilute instanton gas approximation breaks down at higher energy. Our techniques permit us to extend the energy regine in which a reliable calculation can be done. We find that the basic e 1/α suppression of the total cross section for instanton-induced processes persists at all energies, even ∼ M /α.
Fidelity of meiotic gene conversion in yeast

Gene conversion was studied in a sample of 3869 unselected meiotic tetrads obtained from three diploids, respectively; heterozygous for a single ochre mutant, heteroallelic for a pair of ochre alleles, and heterozygous for an ochre specific suppressor. Although the genetic system were sufficiently sensitive to detect single base changes at the mutant codon level, none were found among 36 conversions (1+:3m) of the ochre mutants and 153 conversions (3S:1+) of the suppressor locus. These findings lead to the conclusion that the informational transfer in gene conversion occurred with complete fidelity. Gene conversion conserved and did not generate new genetic information. The error level of conversion was estimated as less than 10-2/N.P.
The Intrinsic Hyperexcitability of SMA Motor Neurons is a Result of Dysfunctional Spinal Circuitry

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) - the most common genetic cause of death in infancy - is a motor neuron disease caused by reduced expression of the survival motor neuron (SMN) protein. It is currently unknown why reduction in SMN, leads to selective motor deficits and muscle weakness. Using the SMA-Δ7 mouse model, we have previously reported that the sensory-motor circuit is dysfunctional early in the disease and precedes any motor neuron loss. Motor neurons in the L1 segment, innervating proximal muscles, are abnormally hyperexcitable and more affected than L5 motor neurons, innervating distal hindlimbs early after birth. To test whether this hyperexcitability is either due to synaptic dysfunction or SMN deficiency per se in motor neurons, we recorded intracellularly from L5 motor neurons at a time (P4) when there was no significant functional synaptic impairment.We employed the in vitro intact spinal cord preparation. Whole-cell patch clamp recordings revealed that the intrinsic properties of SMA L5 motor neurons were not significantly different than wild type (WT) age-matched counterparts. The passive membrane property of input resistance was on average 72.7±18.1 MΩ in WT (n=10) and 53.9±21.7 MΩ in SMA (n=5) motor neurons. Similarly, the time constant was 1.9±0.5 ms in WT and 2.0 ± 0.7 ms in SMA. Furthermore, the active membrane properties of: Rheobase (WT: 0.7±0.2 nA; SMA:0.8±0.2 nA), Vthreshold (WT: −31.6±3.7 mV; SMA: −33.6±2.6 mV), action potential amplitude (WT: 72.8±5.2 mV; SMA: 73.2±3.6 mV) and rate of rise (WT: 48.8±6.2 mV/ms; SMA: 40.2±10.0 mV/ms) were not significantly different (t-test).These results indicate that the intrinsic hyperexcitability of SMA motor neurons stems from dysfunctional spinal circuits and raise the possibility that SMA may be a disease of motor circuits acting via non-cell autonomous mechanisms.
Evaluating the Use of a Multimedia Approach to Teaching Nutrition in Medical School

Abstract Barriers to medical students receiving nutrition education exist and use of multimedia programs has been suggested as one solution. However, evaluation strategies to determine the effectiveness of this approach are lacking. The experience of 140 medical students using a nutrition multimedia program and the strategies used to assess student attitudes toward this independent learning strategy are reported. Their performance in counseling standardized patients after studying the program was evaluated. The use of multimedia technology to provide appropriate physician role models teaching nutrition assessment and counseling has promise.
Dietary intake of selected fatty acids, cholesterol and carotenoids and estrogen receptor status in premenopausal breast cancer patients.

Although a wealth of research has focused on the influence of diet on breast cancer risk, the relationships between dietary factors and tumor characteristics of breast cancer, like estrogen receptor (ER) status, are not well characterized. In a case-case study, we evaluated self-reported dietary intake for five individual carotenoids, selected fatty acids, and cholesterol 1 year before diagnosis in 34 premenopausal breast cancer patients with ER-negative tumors and 86 premenopausal breast cancer patients with ER-positive tumors from The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. In multivariate logistic regression analysis adjusted for age, body mass index, and ethnicity, high intakes of linoleic acid were associated with more than a threefold greater risk of ER-negative disease than ER-positive disease (odds ratio (OR) = 3.48, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.42–8.54), whereas high cholesterol intake was associated with lower risk of ER-negative disease (OR = 0.35, 95% CI = 0.14–0.92). In a model evaluating carotenoids, selected fatty acids, and cholesterol together, the association with high intake of linoleic acid remained statistically significant (OR = 3.96, 95% CI = 1.53–10.25), while those for high intake of cholesterol (OR = 0.38, 95% CI = 0.14–1.03) and low intake of cryptoxanthin (OR = 0.43, 95% CI = 0.17–1.06) were of marginal significance. While no striking associations were observed for the intakes of total carotenoids, selected fatty acids, and cholesterol, our analysis revealed an association for the consumption of a specific fatty acid (i.e., linoleic acid), suggesting dietary influence of this factor on ER status in premenopausal breast cancer patients. However, larger studies are needed to clarify the role of micronutrients in ER status in breast cancer.
Design of optimal structured residuals from partial principal component models for fault diagnosis in linear systems

Abstract A new method to generate optimal structured residuals from partial principal component models is introduced. The models are selected according to a pre-designed fault-to-residual structure matrix. The structures are so chosen that a certain degree of freedom is left to allow optimization. The performance measure for optimization is the ratio of the fault-gain to the noise standard deviation in the residual; a max–min solution is sought that maximizes the smallest of these measures within a given residual structure. In the special framework of partial PC models, the solution is obtained as a linear combination of the eigenvectors spanning the residual space of the partial model. For the basic case, a two-dimensional residual space, there is a single continuous-valued optimization parameter; with higher dimensional residual spaces the dimension of the optimization problem is growing as well. The new parametric optimization is integrated with structural optimization, utilizing earlier results. Also, the basic static algorithm is extended to discrete dynamic systems. In a simulation example, using data from an emulator of the Space-Shuttle main fuel tank, we demonstrated one and two-dimensional searches (two and three-dimensional residual spaces) and compared them to the fixed, maximum-zero residual design.
High affinity binding of red tide neurotoxins to marine mammal brain

Abstract During a period of several weeks in the spring of 1996, over 200 manatees (Trichechus manatus latirostris) were found dead or dying in coastal waters or on beaches of the Florida west coast. Concurrent with this event, high densities of Gymnodinium breve, the dinoflagellate which produces the potent neurotoxin called brevetoxin, were observed in the same coastal areas. Our study demonstrates that brevetoxin binds to isolated nerve preparations from manatee brain with similar affinity as that reported for a number of terrestrial mammals. Analysis of receptor binding of tritiated brevetoxin to manatee brain, illustrates saturable specific binding, competition of specific binding by a non-radioactive toxin of the same structure, and temperature dependence of binding. Complementary studies with the red tide neurotoxin, saxitoxin, which is responsible for the intoxication syndrome paralytic shellfish poisoning, show high affinity and specific binding of this toxin to isolated nerve preparations from several marine mammals, including manatee, gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus), humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae), and sea lion (Zalophus californianus). These results demonstrate the specific binding of brevetoxin and saxitoxin to excitable brain tissue of marine mammals and support the hypothesis that the exposure of manatees to brevetoxin in the spring of 1996 was a factor in their stranding and death.
Music, Race and Nation: Música Tropical in Colombia

Music, Race and Nation: Musica Tropical in Colombia. Peter Wade. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000. vii. 323 pp., appendixes, notes, reference, index.
(±)-7-deazacarbovir as a compound with potential anti-hiv and anti-hcmv properties

Abstract (±)-7-Deazacarbovir ( 2 ), which was conceived as an agent that could potentialy possess activity against both human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), has been prepared in 3 steps from (±)-(3α,5α)-3-acetamido-5-(acetoxymethyl)cyclopentene ( 3 ) and 2-(2-amino-4,6-dichloropyrimidin-5-yl)acetaldehyde ( 4 ) in an overall yield of 36%. While non-cytotoxic, 2 was inactive towards inhibiting these target viruses as well as a variety of other viruses.
Morphological identification and biochemical characterization of isolated brain cell nuclei from the developing rat cerebellum

Abstract Cell nuclei from developing rat cerebellum were isolated and the various types of nuclei were characterized and quantified. Nuclear pellets appeared to be both quantitatively and qualitatively representative of the entire cerebellum, and of sufficient purity to perform biochemical studies as well as morphological comparison with histological sections. Isolated nuclei were classified into 6 groups based on nuclear size and shape, heterochromatin aggregations, and nucleoplasmic density. The total population of cerebellar cells primarily consisted of two types of nuclei after day 10. One group of nuclei, resembling those of internal granule neurons or external germinal cells, contributed at least 70% of the isolated cell nuclei from day 10 to day 90, whereas another nuclear group that was identified as dark oligodendrocytes constituted 8–9% of the total population on days 45 and 90. Nuclear DNA, RNA, and protein content of the cerebellum also were determined throughout postnatal development. DNA concentration markedly declined after day 15, while the RNA/ DNA ratio increased until day 3 and remained constant to day 90. The nuclear protein/DNA ratio increased from birth to day 3, decreased to its lowest value on day 10, and increased to day 90. Utilizing DNA values, the total cell population as well as contributions of different cell types were calculated. At birth the cerebellum was estimated to contain 5.9 million cells, increasing to 94 million by day 21. By day 90, 107 million cells were present, of which 8.6 million oligodendrocytes and 93.6 million internal granule cells were estimated.
Outdoor carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, and sudden infant death syndrome

Methods: A total of 169 case and 169 matched control infants born between 1988 and 1992, were studied. CO and NO2 concentrations, averaged for all days within the infant's lifespan, and the last 30 days, 7 days, 3 days, and 1 day of life were obtained from air pollutant data provided by the California Air Resources Board. Results: Based on monthly aggregated data, average CO and particularly NO2 were associated with SIDS count, even after adjustment for seasonal trends. SIDS outcome was not significantly associated with high average outdoor CO levels for any time period. However, high average outdoor NO2 levels on the last day of the infant's exposure period were significantly associated with SIDS; the adjusted odds ratio was 2.34 (95% CI 1.13 to 4.87). Conclusions: SIDS may be related to high levels of acute outdoor NO2 exposure during the last day of life. Further studies are needed to replicate this finding.
The GLIB technique for genome-wide mapping of 5-hydroxymethylcytosine

5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) is a recently discovered base in the mammalian genome, produced upon oxidation of 5-methylcytosine (5mC) in a process catalyzed by TET proteins. The biological functions of 5hmC and further oxidation products of 5mC are under intense investigation, as they are likely intermediates in DNA demethylation pathways. Here we describe a novel protocol to profile 5hmC at a genome-wide scale. This approach is based on sodium bisulfite–mediated conversion of 5hmC to cytosine-5-methylenesulfonate (CMS); CMS-containing DNA fragments are then immunoprecipitated using a CMS-specific antiserum. The anti-CMS technique is highly specific with a low background, and is much less dependent on 5hmC density than anti-5hmC immunoprecipitation (IP). Moreover, it does not enrich for CA and CT repeats, as noted for 5hmC DNA IP using antibodies to 5hmC. The anti-CMS protocol takes 3 d to complete.
Asymmetric Reduction of Acetophenone with Calcium-Alginate-Entrapped Baker's Yeast in Organic Solvents

Baker's yeast cells entrapped in alginate beads are shown to catalyze reactions in organic solvents when a cofactor regeneration scheme is implemented. This study focused on the reduction of acetophenone to 1-phenylethanol, using baker's yeast as well as a cosubstrate to regenerate the cofactor. The product is a chiral alcohol, and it was desired to maintain a high enantiomeric excess. The effects of parameters such as the addition of a cosubstrate, water content, fermentation time, buffer pH, and bead diameter have been investigated. Such a general process may be quite useful when single enantiomers are needed, as well as for the production of other chemicals.
Analysis of HIV Medication Adherence in Relation to Person and Treatment Characteristics Using Hierarchical Linear Modeling

The purpose of this investigation was to consider person characteristics, treatment level variables, and illicit drug use to help explain the HIV antiviral adherence patterns of a community-based, non-drug-treatment-seeking sample of men who have sex with men (MSM). Adherence data were gathered for 300 MSM eight times over the course of 1 year using electronic monitoring. Treatment and person level characteristics were assessed at baseline assessment using computer-administered surveys, and drug usage was established via a diagnostic inventory. These longitudinal data were analyzed via Hierarchical Linear Modeling. The sample was diverse in terms of age and race/ethnicity. Across the span of the year in which the participants were assessed, adherence rates were relatively stable and high (means: 82% to 90%) at each time point and remained relatively stable across the yearlong investigation. Lower adherence rates were evident among those who were drug users, black identified (in terms of race), older, and by pill burden. Individuals on HIV antiretroviral therapy demonstrated consistent although not optimal adherence rates when assessed during the course of a year. The significance of numerous person level factors such as age, race, and drug use suggest that adherence to treatment may in part be impacted by the circumstances that the individual brings to the treatment behavior, and suggests interventions that delve beyond the behavioral to consider and address life social and intrapersonal circumstances that may interfere with adherence behaviors.