cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
"I LOVE THIS SITE!" vs. "It's a little girly": Perceptions of and Initial User Experience with Pinterest

Pinterest is a popular social networking site that lets people discover, collect, and share pictures of items from the Web. Among popular social media sites, Pinterest has by far the most skewed gender distribution: women are four times more likely than men to use it. To better understand this, we examined two factors that generally affect whether people try a social site and whether they continue using it: the external perception of a site (e.g., as conveyed in popular media) and the site's initial user experience. For the latter, we focused on the role of social bootstrapping, importing contacts from one social site to another. We conducted a survey study, finding that: perceptions of Pinterest among users and non-users of the site differed significantly; trying Pinterest led to substantial changes in user perceptions of the site; social bootstrapping affected users' initial impression of Pinterest, generally improving it for women and harming it for men. We present implications of our findings for design and research.
Evidence of a TCR Vβ8 motif and increased CD56 + NK cells in muscle biopsies (MBx) from DQA1*0501 positive untreated children with juvenile dermatomyositis (JDM) very early in their disease course • 1985

Evidence of a TCR Vβ8 motif and increased CD56 + NK cells in muscle biopsies (MBx) from DQA1*0501 positive untreated children with juvenile dermatomyositis (JDM) very early in their disease course • 1985
When competitive interference can be beneficial

Prior research has viewed competitive interference as undesirable due to its negative effects on brand-attribute recall. We propose that competitive interference is not inherently bad but may be beneficial under certain conditions. In the context of an established brand promoting a new attribute, we show that the new attribute information is interfered with by the brand's old attributes, causing lower retrieval. However, in the presence of competitive advertising, old attribute information is suppressed, and new attribute information is successfully retrieved.
The dilemma of diagnosing coronary calcification: angiography versus intravascular ultrasound.

Objectives. We sought to determine whether careful examination of angiograms in conjunction with other clinical information could reliably detect, quantitate and localize target lesion calcification before a coronary intervention. Background. The presence, extent and location of calcium in coronary artery lesions are important determinants of outcome after coronary intervention. Intravascular ultrasound is proposed as a superior technique for identifying patients with coronary artery calcification. However, the precise role of this costly and invasive method has not yet been established. Methods. Target lesion calcification was assessed in 183 patients (155 men; mean [±SD] age 58 ± 10 years) by angiography and intravascular ultrasound before a planned percutaneous coronary intervention. Results. Ultrasound detected calcium in 138 patients ( 270° in 8), whereas angiography showed calcification in 63 (1+ in 32, 2+ in 27 and 3+ in 4). The two techniques agreed in 92 patients and disagreed in 91. Sensitivity and specificity of angiography were 40% and 82%, respectively. The arc of calcium by ultrasound was greater in patients with angiographically visible calcification (175° ± 85° vs. 108° ± 71°, p = 0.0001). The depth of calcification by ultrasound was superficial in 61 patients (44%), deep in 68 (49%) and mixed in 8 (7%). The sensitivity of angiography in identifying superficial calcium was 35%. Of 120 patients without angiographically visible calcium at the target lesion site, 83 showed calcium by ultrasound. The only predictor of ultrasound calcium in these 120 patients was angiographic calcification elsewhere in the coronary tree (p = 0.0001). The probability of any calcium and superficial >90° calcium were 60% and 12%, respectively, in the 90 patients without angiographic calcifications anywhere in the coronary tree. Conclusions. Despite poor sensitivity, angiography may help identify patients requiring intravascular ultrasound. When it is angiographically visible, the arc of calcium is likely to be large and superficial. Angiographic calcification at a remote site is a predictor of angiographically undetected target lesion calcium. Patients without angiographic calcification in the coronary tree may not need routine ultrasound examination, as the likelihood of >90° superficial calcium is low.
Reconstructing Contemporary Dance: An Occasion for Reflective Learning.

Abstract Reconstructions are critical in giving body to the history of dance. For student dancers, participating in reconstructions is a participation in both the legacy of dance and in dance as a form of cultural discourse. When choreographers generate movement vocabulary and improvisational parameters together with performers, the resulting collaborative open structures expand the choreographic arena. Although the initial idea of the dance is that of the choreographer, the dance would not exist if it were not for the dancers' involvement in the choreographic process. Reconstructing dances as collaborative open structures raises challenging questions for educators. How can such dances be reconstructed? How can student dancers be prepared for participation in this expanded arena? The works of several choreographers engaged in collaboration are explored. The author concludes with an examination of pedagogical possibilities of reconstructions by using as an example one of her choreographic reconstructions w...
Snailine: A possible diagnostic reagent from a common marine snail, the southern periwinkle, littorinaangulifera

Abstract A substance which strongly precipitates human serum proteins is released into the environment by the southern periwinkle, Littorina angulifera . Two-dimensional crossed immunoelectrophoresis revealed that the snail precipitin reacts with a number of human serum proteins, including 11 not detected by mammalian antiserum. The precipitin is readily collected in saline solution, which then is referred to as snailine, a potentially useful diagnostic reagent. Precipitins released into the environment by marine species may represent a little-known external immunologic system.
Cloning and restriction map of the E. coli apt gene.

Abstract The apt gene coding for Escherichia coli adenine phosphoribosyl transferase has been cloned in pBR322. The restriction map of a 1.6-kb fragment containing the apt gene is presented.
Imitation in language development: If, when, and why

Abstract In order to explore the function of imitation for first language learning, imitative and spontaneous utterances were compared in the naturalistic speech of six children in the course of their development from single-word utterances (when mean length of utterance was essentially 1.0) to the emergence of grammar (when mean length of utterance approached 2.0). The relative extent of imitation, and lexical and grammatical variation in imitative and spontaneous speech were determined. There were inter-subject differences in the extent of imitation, but each child was consistent in the tendency to imitate or not to imitate across time. For those children who imitated, there were both lexical and grammatical differences in imitative and spontaneous speech, and a developmental shift from imitative to spontaneous use of particular words and semantic-syntactic relations between words. The results are discussed as evidence of an active processing of model utterances relative to the contexts in which they occur for information for language learning.
Spinal dynorphin A (1-17): possible mediator of antianalgesic action.

Abstract Earlier studies from this laboratory indicated that intracerebroventricular administration of physostigmine and clonidine activated both a spinal descending analgesic and antianalgesic system. It was proposed that the latter was mediated spinally by dynorphin A (1–17), because small intrathecal doses (fmol) of dynorphin A (1–17) antagonized analgesia, while intrathecal administration of naloxone and nor-binaltorphimine (at doses which had no effect on spinal mu and kappa receptors) enhanced analgesia by attenuating the antianalgesic component. In the present studies in mice, using the tail-flick response, intrathecal administration of dynorphin antibody (antiserum to dynorphin) enhanced the analgesic effect of (10 min) physostigmine and clonidine given intraventricularly. Peak effect for the antiserum was at 1 hr. Inhibition of the tail-flick response, induced by DAMGO (Tyr- d -Ala2-Gly-NMePhe4-Gly-ol5, a mu agonist), U50, 488 H {trans-3,4-dichloro-N-methyl-N-[2-(1-pyrrolidinyl)-cyclohexyl]-benzeneacetamide methanesulfonate hydrate, a kappa agonist} and morphine was also enhanced by intrathecal administration of dynorphin antiserum. Thus, a variety of analgesic agonists appear to activate a dynorphinmediated antianalgesic system. Such a system appears not to be activated by intraventricular administration of β-endorphin and DPDPE ( d -Pen2- d -Pen5-enkephalin, a delta agonist) because neither β-endorphin- nor DPDPE-induced analgesia was enhanced by intrathecal administration of antiserum. The results of the experiments with the antibody provide further evidence to support the role of dynorphin A (1–17), as a putative endogenous opioid, which mediates an antianalgesic descending system in the spinal cord.
Yield, dinitrogen fixation, and aboveground nitrogen balance of irrigated white lupin in a Mediterranean climate

On a etudie le rendement en grains, la fixation de N 2 en reponse a l'inoculation par Bradyrhizobium sp. (Lupinus) et le bilan de l'azote dans le sol de cette culture avec des experimentations au champ durant deux ans
Nitrite and nitroglycerin induce rapid release of the vasodilator ATP from erythrocytes: Relevance to the chemical physiology of local vasodilation.

Extracellular ATP released from circulating erythrocytes induces vasodilation by stimulating receptor-mediated endothelium NO/EDRF (endothelium-derived relaxing factor) production. We report that pre-stimulation of freshly isolated human erythrocytes with physiological nitrite (100 nM NO2-) or pharmacological nitroglycerin (10 μM) concentrations resulted in >200% spike in ATP release, which was detected on resuspending the cells in fresh medium. The observed response was instantaneous following NO2- pre-stimulation but a delay of ∼20 s followed nitroglycerin pre-stimulation, reflecting the time required for prodrug activation within the erythrocyte to its vasoactive metabolites, NO2- and NO. The data provided here are consistent with ATP being a conveyor of a NO-induced vasodilatory signal from the erythrocyte to the endothelium. Extended erythrocyte pre-stimulation with the NO donors resulted in a dose-dependent decrease in extracellular ATP, which would attenuate the signal in intact vessels to prevent excessive vasodilation. Importantly, our study constitutes the first report of enhanced vasodilator (ATP) release following human erythrocyte pre-stimulation by an endogenous (NO2-) or pharmacological (nitroglycerin) NO donor. The relevance of our findings to the therapeutic effects of nitroglycerin as well as to nitrate tolerance is discussed.
Steady-State Reliability of Systems of Mutually Independent Subsystems

Predicting the reliability of a redundant system with repair is considerably simplified when the system can be subdivided into mutually independent subsystems. Results can be obtained without knowing the failure of repair time distributions of the subsystems. In this paper formulae are developed for the ``steady-state'' availability and MTBF of a complex system in terms of the availabilities and MTBF's of its constituent subsystems. The basic concepts required are introduced and discussed in a review of a simplex system. These concepts are then applied to a complex system to obtain the main results of the paper. Finally, two examples are given to illustrate the application of these results.
Estimation of a poisson mean using discrete mixtures of conjugate priors

The problem of estimating a Poisson mean is considered using incomplete prior information. The user is only able to assess two fractiles of the prior distribution. A class of mixture distributions is constructed to model this prior information; variation within this class primarily occurs in the tail region where little prior information exists. The posterior analysis using the mixture class is attractive computationally and compares favorably with the conjugate posterior analysis.
Altering the Time of the Second Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone Injection and Artificial Insemination (AI) During Ovsynch Affects Pregnancies per AI in Lactating Dairy Cows

Based on previous research, we hypothesized that Cosynch at 72 h [GnRH-7 d-PGF(2alpha)-72 h-GnRH + artificial insemination (AI)] would result in a greater number of pregnancies per AI (P/AI) than Cosynch at 48 h. Further, we hypothesized that P/AI would be improved to a greater extent when GnRH was administered at 56 h after PGF(2alpha) before AI at 72 h due to a more optimal interval between the LH surge and AI. Nine hundred twenty-seven lactating dairy cows (n = 1,507 AI) were blocked by pen, and pens rotated through treatments. All cows received GnRH followed 7 d later by PGF(2alpha) and then received one of the following: 1) GnRH + timed AI 48 h after PGF(2alpha) (Cosynch-48); 2) GnRH 56 h after PGF(2alpha) + timed AI 72 h after PGF(2alpha) (Ovsynch-56); or 3) GnRH + timed AI 72 h after PGF(2alpha) (Cosynch-72). Pregnancy diagnoses were performed by ultrasound at 31 to 33 d post-AI and again at 52 to 54 d post-AI. Overall P/AI were similar for the Cosynch-48 (29.2%) and Cosynch-72 (25.4%) groups. The Ovsynch-56 group had a greater P/AI (38.6%) than Cosynch-48 or Cosynch-72. Presynchronized first-service animals had greater P/AI than cows at later services in Cosynch-48 (36.2 vs. 23.0%) and Ovsynch-56 (44.8 vs. 32.7%) but not in Cosynch-72 (24.6 vs. 26.2%). Similarly, primiparous cows had greater P/AI than multiparous cows in Cosynch-48 (34.1 vs. 22.9%) and Ovsynch-56 (41.3 vs. 32.6%), but not Cosynch-72 (29.8 vs. 25.3%). In conclusion, we found no advantage to Cosynch at 72 h vs. 48 h. In contrast, we found a clear advantage to treating with GnRH at 56 h, 16 h before a 72-h AI, probably because of more-optimal timing of AI before ovulation.
Optical trajectories and the informational basis of fly ball catching.

D. M. Shaffer and M. K. McBeath (2002) plotted the optical trajectories of uncatchable fly balls and concluded that linear optical trajectory is the informational basis of the actions taken to catch these balls. P. McLeod, N. Reed, and Z. Dienes (2002) replotted these trajectories in terms of changes in the tangent of optical angle over time and concluded that optical acceleration is the informational basis of fielder actions. Neither of these conclusions is warranted, however, because the optical trajectories of even uncatchable balls confound the information that is the basis of fielder action with the effects of those same actions on these trajectories. To determine the informational basis of fielder action, it is necessary to do the control-theory-based Test for the Controlled Variable, in which the informational basis of catching is found by looking for features of optical trajectories that are protected from experimentally or naturally applied disturbances. Shaffer and McBeath (2002) tried to determine the informational basis of fly ball catching by observing the optical trajectories of uncatchable fly balls as seen by fielders running to catch these balls. They reasoned that the information fielders use to catch fly balls should be apparent in the optical trajectories of uncatchable balls in terms of how long a potential cue, such as spatial linearity, is maintained relative to other cues, such as optical acceleration. Because the linearity of optical trajectory was maintained longer than the constancy of optical acceleration, Shaffer and McBeath concluded that the information fielders use as the basis of action is the linear optical trajectory (LOT) of the balls, which is consistent with LOT theory (McBeath, Shaffer, & Kaiser, 1995). In reviewing the results of Shaffer and McBeath (2002), McLeod, Reed, and Dienes (2002) noted that there is a consistent and pronounced downward curvature in the trajectories of balls that go over the fielder’s head, which incorrectly indicates that the ball is going to fall short. McLeod et al. replotted these trajectories in terms of the tangent of the vertical optical angle of the ball (tan) over time and found that tan increases at an accelerating rate, which correctly indicates that the ball is going to go over the fielder’s head. McLeod et al. concluded, therefore, that acceleration of tan is the information that fielders use as the basis of their actions, which is consistent with optical acceleration cancellation (OAC) theory (Dienes & McLeod, 1993; Michaels & Oudejans, 1992).
Conformationally Constrained Analogues of Diacylglycerol (DAG). 27. Modulation of Membrane Translocation of Protein Kinase C (PKC) Isozymes α and δ by Diacylglycerol Lactones (DAG-lactones) Containing Rigid-Rod Acyl Groups

Highly rigid and geometrically well-defined rods composed of ethynylene-substituted aromatic spacers [oligo(p-phenyleneethynylene), OPE] were incorporated as acyl moieties on diacylglycerol lactones (DAG-lactones) and investigated for their ability to bind to protein kinase C (PKC) and translocate PKC α and δ isoforms to plasma and internal membranes. The kinetics of PKC translocation were correlated with biological responses, viz. ERK phosphorylation, induction of IL-6 secretion, inhibition of cell proliferation, and induction of cellular attachment, that display very different time courses. Because OPE rods assemble through noncovalent forces and form stable films, they may influence the microdomain environment around the DAG-lactone membrane-binding site. A comparison of two DAG-lactones (1 and 10), one with two PE units (1) and the other with an equivalent flexible acyl chain (10) of matching lipophilicity, clearly demonstrated the effect of the rigid OPE chain in substantially prolonging the transloc...
Practice variation in the use of corticosteroids: A comparison of eight data sets

National Institutes of Health (NIH) Consensus Development Conference, Effect of Corticosteroids for Fetal Maturation on Perinatal Outcomes, was convened to resolve ongoing uncertainties in the medical community on the benefits of administering corticosteroids to women in premature labor. Therapies with uncertain benefits tend to have more varied rates of use across small areas than therapies with established benefits.’ A recent paper on rates of use of obstetric and neonatal interventions confirmed that the use of corticosteroids is highly variable: rates of use of antenatal corticosteroids for white low birth weight infants ranged from near 0% to about 58% across 30 centers participating in the Vermont-Oxford Trials Network in 1990.’ Although random variations in the use of therapies are an indicator of differences in physician practice styles, consistent variations in rates of use provide indicators of (1) areas of agreement in use of the therapy across physicians and (2) practice contexts that either facilitate or generate obstacles to adoption of the therapy. We examined five of the multicenter data sets that were used at the NIH Consensus Conference to assess outcomes of corticosteroid use, along with three additional multicenter data sets, to identify consistencies in the pattern of use of antenatal corticosteroids in premature labor.
Neurochemical mechanisms of stimulation-produced analgesia: Comparison of tests involving tonic and phasic pain

Male albino rats were implanted with bipolar electrodes into the periaqueductal gray. Focal brain stimulation-produced analgesia (SPA), as measured by the formalin test and the tail-flick test, was challenged with either naloxone (3 mg/kg) or methysergide (1 mg/kg). Naloxone failed to reverse SPA when the formalin test was used; mean pain ratings remained close to analgesic values after the opiate antagonist was administered. However, methysergide (a serotonin receptor blocker) did attenuate the analgesia significantly. When the tail-flick test was used to measure antinociception, both methysergide and naloxone attenuated the analgesia. The data suggest that a nonopioid (serotonergic) system is involved in the reduction of both tonic and phasic pain, whereas a naloxone-reversible opiatergic system is also involved in phasic pain.
The minimum depth of fault failure in compressional environments

] The absence of very shallow seismicity in thrust faultscould be due to either a layered pore pressure/depth profileor to heterogeneous lithology of the crust. Poroelasticityequations were solved by the finite element discretization ofa two-dimensional plane strain cross-section simulating athrust environment. Although the modeled faults areactively compacting during thrusting, our numericalresults show that the pore pressure accumulation in thebasement is faster than in the fault zone and therefore thefluid flow is directed into the fault. The combination ofheterogeneous rheology, with the existence of hydrostaticfluid, retards failure near the land surface. A layered porepressure/depth profile, where the pore pressure ishydrostatic in the sediments and near lithostatic in thebasement, magnifies this result and failure occurs faster. Infact, with this pore pressure/depth profile, failure is reachedat the same depth regardless of the crustal structure weassume.
Glutamate-associated plasticity in the ventral tegmental area is necessary for conditioning environmental stimuli with morphine.

We sought to determine if plasticity in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) of the midbrain is involved in learning to associate morphine exposure with a specific environment. For this, we tested whether activation of glutamate receptors and protein kinase A is needed for the acquisition and expression of a morphine-conditioned place preference (CPP). Rats received bilateral microinjections of either the NMDA antagonist AP5 (0.48 nmol/0.3 μl), the AMPA antagonist CNQX (0.21 nmol/0.3 μl), or vehicle into the VTA prior to each of three morphine-conditioning sessions. Both the AMPA and NMDA receptor antagonists blocked the development of morphine CPP when given into the VTA but not when given outside the VTA. In similar studies the protein kinase A (PKA) inhibitor, Rp-cAMPS (13 nmol/0.3 μl), blocked the acquisition of morphine CPP when given into the VTA immediately after morphine conditioning. In separate experiments, glutamate antagonists, or Rp-cAMPS, immediately prior to the preference test blocked the expression of morphine CPP when microinjected into the VTA. These data indicate that the VTA is an important site for synaptic modifications involved in the learning and memory of environmental cues predicting reward, and that glutamate input and PKA activation are crucial to this process.
Are spatial and temporal attention independent

Participants searched for one of two target letters in a rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) sequence of 17 successive frames, each containing four letters arranged into a box around a central fixation point. In control trial blocks, the participants had no information about when or where one of the target letters would appear. In other trial blocks, visual cues were given to indicate with 100% validity either the spatial location of the target, the time at which it would be presented, or both where and when it would appear. The results showed that both types of cues were effective on their own in speeding target identification, and their effects combined additively when the cues were presented and used together. These results support a growing body of evidence indicating that early attentional selection of information in vision is independently attuned to spatial and temporal properties of the environment.
An Efficient Threshold Anonymous Authentication Scheme for Privacy-Preserving Communications

Anonymous authentication enables any user to be authenticated without being identified. (t,n)-threshold ring signatures, introduced by Bresson et. al., are ring signature schemes that allow a group of t members to jointly sign a message anonymously in a ring of n members. Threshold ring signature schemes provide a nice tradeoff between anonymity and creditability since it allows multiple ring members to sign a message jointly. The complexity in both signature generation and signature verification of the threshold ring signature scheme proposed by Bresson et. al. is O(n2). They also proposed an efficient threshold ring signature scheme based on an (n,t)-complete fair partition, with complexity O(n log n). In this paper, a new efficient (t,n)-threshold ring signature scheme is proposed. This scheme is constructed through a system of t linear equations and n variables, where t is generally a fixed number that is much smaller than n. The proposed threshold ring signature scheme can provide unconditional signer ambiguity, threshold unforgeability and provable security in the random oracle model. The complexity of signature generation and signature verification of the proposed threshold ring signature scheme are O(t log22t) and O(n), respectively. Furthermore, the length of the threshold ring signature is the same as the regular ring signature introduced by Rivest et. al., which is 2n+2, while the length of the threshold ring signature scheme proposed by Bresson et. al. is 3n-t+3.
How to give an effective presentation.

Giving an effective presentation is a valuable opportunity for one to excel in the workplace while impressing peers, clients or superiors. However, several accomplished and educated individuals (psychiatrists are no exception) struggle with the anxieties of public speaking. Rarely is the art of effective presentation taught in medical school or residency training. This kind of fear can be avoided if the speaker is as well prepared for the presentation as possible. Whether it is simply given orally or accompanied by a visual aide, successful presentations have several characteristics in common. We will recommend some basic guidelines that are both useful in the workplace and in everyday life. Some very useful references on this topic are also listed at the end (Reynolds, 2011; Duarte, 2008).
Opportunities in computer integrated manufacturing

The author argues that improved computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM) systems are needed to enable competitive production of high-technology products. The increasing complexity of processes and products, the growing need to manufacture different products in a single (costly) factory, and the rapid rate of change in product and process technologies all are trends that create a demand for better utilization of information. The problems of VLSI production typify those in high-technology manufacturing. There is a strong need to unify data used for product and process design; equipment, process and facility control; quality assurance and testing; and production scheduling and control. Improved capability for modeling, simulation, and direct control of production processes and equipment is needed. Guaranteed real-time performance is often required. Major advances in the human to computer interface are sought to facilitate effective use of complex integrated information systems. >
Executable JVM model for analytical reasoning: a study

To study the properties of the Java Virtual Machine(JVM) and Java programs, our research group has produced a series of JVM models written in a functional subset of Common Lisp. In this paper, we present our most complete JVM model from this series, namely, M6, which is derived from a careful study of the J2ME KVM [16] implementation.On the one hand, our JVM model is a conventional machine emulator. M6 models accurately almost all aspects of the KVM implementation, including the dynamic class loading, class initialization and synchronization via monitors. It executes most J2ME Java programs that do not use any I/O or floating point operations. Engineers may consider M6 an implementation of the JVM. It is implemented with around 10K lines in 20+ modules.On the other hand, M6 is a novel model that allows for analytical reasoning besides conventional testing. M6 is written in an applicative (side-effect free) subset of Common Lisp, for which we have given precise meaning in terms of axioms and inference rules. A property of M6 can be expressed as a formula. Rules of interference can be used analytically to derive properties of M6 and the Java programs that run on the model, using a mechanical theorem prover.We argue that our approach of building an executable model of the system with an axiomatically described functional language can bring benefits from both the testing and the formal reasoning worlds.
Modeling populations of micro-robots for biological applications

In order to detect and cure diseases affecting microscopic regions of the human body, swarms of micro-robots can harness the motility of bacteria and swim towards inaccessible regions of the body to detect abnormal behavior and/or deliver various drugs. In this paper, we propose a modeling approach for the dynamics of dense networks of swarms and estimate their performance via stochastic metrics.
Smooth muscle myosin expression, isoform composition, and functional activities in rat corpus cavernosum altered by the streptozotocin-induced type 1 diabetes

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a quite common chronic disease, and the prevalence of erectile dysfunction (ED) is three times higher in this large population. Although diabetes-related ED has been studi...
Perceived racial discrimination, drug use, and psychological distress in African American youth: a pathway to child health disparities

Experiences of racial discrimination and social inequality are related to higher levels of psychological distress and substance use that may contribute to health disparities among youth. This within-group quantitative survey study tested two alternative theoretical models of the relations between perceived racial discrimination, psychological distress, alcohol, and marijuana use in a sample of 567 African American high school students (61% female; mean age = 15.6 years). Path analyses indicated most support for a model linking perceived racial discrimination to more depressive symptoms that, in turn, were associated with greater past month alcohol and marijuana use. These findings expand our understanding of the direction of effects for exposure to racial discrimination in African American youth and reinforce the need for public health policies, research, and programs for African American youth that acknowledge and address the psychological effects of exposure to racial discrimination on alcohol and marijuana use. Language: en
Detecting coevolution in mammalian sperm–egg fusion proteins

Interactions between sperm and egg proteins can occur physically between gamete surface-binding proteins, and genetically between gamete proteins that work in complementary pathways in which they may not physically interact. Physically interacting sperm-egg proteins have been functionally identified in only a few species, and none have been verified within mammals. Candidate genes on both the sperm and egg surfaces exist, but gene deletion studies do not support functional interactions between these sperm-egg proteins; interacting sperm-egg proteins thus remain elusive. Cooperative gamete proteins undergo rapid evolution, and it is predicted that these sperm-egg proteins will also have correlated evolutionary rates due to compensatory changes on both the sperm and egg. To explore potential physical and genetic interactions in sperm-egg proteins, we sequenced four candidate genes from diverse primate species, and used regression and likelihood methods to test for signatures of coevolution between sperm-egg gene pairs. With both methods, we found that the egg protein CD9 coevolves with the sperm protein IZUMO1, suggesting a physical or genetic interaction occurs between them. With regression analysis, we found that CD9 and CRISP2 have correlated rates of evolution, and with likelihood analysis, that CD9 and CRISP1 have correlated rates. This suggests that the different tests may reflect different levels of interaction, be it physical or genetic. Coevolution tests thus provide an exploratory method for detecting potentially interacting sperm-egg protein pairs.
The prevalence and significance of substance use disorders in bipolar type I and II disorder

The aim of this paper is to provide a systematic review of the literature examining the epidemiology, outcome, and treatment of patients with bipolar disorder and co-occurring substance use disorders (SUDs). Articles for this review were initially selected via a comprehensive Medline search and further studies were obtained from the references in these articles. Given the lack of research in this field, all relevant studies except case reports were included. Prior epidemiological research has consistently shown that substance use disorders (SUDs) are extremely common in bipolar I and II disorders. The lifetime prevalence of SUDs is at least 40% in bipolar I patients. Alcohol and cannabis are the substances most often abused, followed by cocaine and then opioids. Research has consistently shown that co-occurring SUDs are correlated with negative effects on illness outcome including more frequent and prolonged affective episodes, decreased compliance with treatment, a lower quality of life, and increased suicidal behavior. Recent research on the causal relationship between the two disorders suggests that a subgroup of bipolar patients may develop a relatively milder form of affective illness that is expressed only after extended exposure to alcohol abuse. There has been very little treatment research specifically targeting this population. Three open label medication trials provide limited evidence that quetiapine, aripiprazole, and lamotrigine may be effective in treating affective and substance use symptoms in bipolar patients with cocaine dependence and that aripiprazole may also be helpful in patients with alcohol use disorders. The two placebo controlled trials to date suggest that valproate given as an adjunct to lithium in bipolar patients with co-occurring alcohol dependence improves both mood and alcohol use symptoms and that lithium treatment in bipolar adolescents improves mood and SUD symptoms. Given the high rate of SUD co-occurrence, more research investigating treatments in this population is needed. Specifically, double blind placebo controlled trials are needed to establish the effectiveness of medications found to be efficacious in open label treatments. New research also needs to be conducted on medications found to treat either bipolar disorder or a SUD in isolation. In addition, it may be advisable to consider including patients with prior SUDs in clinical trials for new medications in bipolar disorder.
Medtronic Ardian Symplicity™ Renal Denervation Devices

In April 2007, Dr. Henry Krum and colleagues successfully performed the first percutaneous renal sympathetic denervation (RDN) in a patient with severe treatment resistant hypertension (TRH). Two years later, they published the sentential Symplicity HTN-1 trial results, assessing the safety and blood pressure lowering effects of renal denervation in 53 THR patients through 12-month follow-up. This report simultaneously captured the interest of the nephrology, hypertension and interventional communities and refocused attention on the kidney as a sympathetic nervous system therapeutic target in the treatment of drug resistant severe hypertension. Subsequent to this report, a small-randomized crossover trial, Symplicity HTN-2, has provided additional insights into the effectiveness and safety of the Medtronic Ardian renal denervation devices and fostered its consideration as a viable therapy for TRH. Preliminary preclinical experience suggests that the most reliable morphological parameters reflecting successful renal denervation are the presence of axonal degeneration and the accompanying decline in renal parenchymal norepinephrine content. The technical procedural parameters (i.e., electrode diameter, temperature, impedance, wattage, number of ablation sites per artery and ablation duration) have been adopted from these surrogates defined in preclinical studies of normal swine renal arteries. This chapter will review the underlying biophysics of RF monopolar ablation, the experience with the Medtronic Ardian renal denervation catheter systems (Symplicity Arch™, Flex™ and Spyral™ Catheters (Table 7.1)) and their points of differentiation.
The measurement of the electric field on the surface above conducting objects immersed in a dissipative half-space

The experimental set-up and techniques for the measurement of the electromagnetic fields on the surface above metal targets submerged in salt water are described. The variation of the electric field with respect to the depth of the scattering target is discussed. An attempt is made to relate the measured field components to the size and the shape of the scattering targets.
Electrical characteristics of multichip module interconnects with perforated reference planes

A quasi-TEM (transverse electromagnetic) approach is demonstrated for the equivalent transmission line characterization of multichip-module (MCM) interconnects with perforated (mesh) reference planes. The proposed method can be used to obtain effective transmission line parameters for both single and coupled interconnects, which in turn can be used directly in SPICE-like waveform simulator tools for an overall electrical analysis of complex MCM interconnect nets. Comparisons with experimental results obtained from the literature, as well as results obtained from full-wave modeling of the interconnect structures, demonstrate the validity of the proposed approach and help define the frequency range of its accuracy. >
Frequency offset tracking for the Nyquist voiceband data echo canceller

The degradation in echo canceler performance caused by frequency offset (phase roll) in the far-end echo is investigated. It is determined that even a very small nonzero frequency offset, in extreme situations of -0.01 Hz, can lead to an acceptable degradation in the performance of the echo canceler. A method for compensating the frequency offset is also devised and recommended. The method directly estimates the offset frequency while maintaining the use of the Nyquist T/3 echo canceler. This latter feature contrasts with previous methods, which usually revert to the more computationally intensive cross-coupled echo canceler for the implementation. As acquisition of frequency offset in the presence of a strong double talker is very slow; a fast acquisition method is presumed. >
Matrix Metalloproteinase-13 Predominates Over Matrix Metalloproteinase-8 as the Functional Interstitial Collagenase in Mouse Atheromata

Objective—Substantial evidence implicates interstitial collagenases of the matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) family in plaque rupture and fatal thrombosis. Understanding the compensatory mechanisms that may influence the expression of these enzymes and their functions, therefore, has important clinical implications. This study assessed in mice the relative effect of the 2 principal mouse collagenases on collagen content and other plaque characteristics. Approach and Results—Apolipoprotein E–deficient (apoE−/−) mice, MMP-13−/− apoE−/−, MMP-8−/− apoE−/− double knockout mice, and MMP-13−/− MMP-8−/− apoE−/− triple knockout mice consumed a high-cholesterol diet for 10 and 24 weeks. Both double knockout and triple knockout mice showed comparable atherosclerotic lesion formation compared with apoE−/− controls. Analysis of aortic root sections indicated that lesions of MMP-8/MMP-13–deficient and MMP-13–deficient mice accumulate more fibrillar collagen than apoE−/− controls and MMP-8−/− apoE−/− double knockout. We fu...
Devoicing and its Environments in Perception: Kinki Japanese, or Tokyo?

0. Introduction Vowel devoicing in the Tokyo dialect is a common topic in Japanese phonology. The most general description of vowel devoicing is the one found in, e.g., Vance (1987) and Tsujimura (1996). That is, the high vowels /i/ and /u/ are devoiced between voiceless consonants and between a voiceless consonant and a pause. For example, /i/ and /u/ in /kikan/, /kukan/, and /hon desu/ are devoiced (italicized). Studies of different aspects of vowel devoicing in the Tokyo dialect have been extensively reported. Vowel devoicing in non-Tokyo dialects, like the Kinki dialect, which is spoken in the Kyoto-Osaka area, has also been studied, but not as fully as the Tokyo dialect, and studies on the perception of devoicing are even rarer. Some sociolinguistic studies have reported that people can detect language varieties based on his or her speech, and that their judgments can be affected by social information. In the case of vowel devoicing in Japanese, the results of perception experiments may not be predictable because of the allophonic status and the gap between the general belief about devoicing and actual devoicing in the Kinki dialect. I conducted a perception experiment to examine how Tokyo and Kinki people judge a speaker as a local or a non-local person for them based on his or her devoicing variation and pitch accent patterns. The results show that both Tokyo and Kinki people tended to make judgments based on devoicing variation as well as on pitch accent, but the tendency of Kinki people to make use of devoicing variation is weaker. People also seem to use more covert knowledge of phonological factors in devoicing in production, and made judgements on that rather than audible pronunciation.
Variations in Estrogen Metabolism

I’d like to thank Rachel and the organizing committee for inviting me to participate in this meeting. It has been very informative thus far.
Low crosstalk (< -40 dB) in 1.55 [micro sign]m high speed OEIC photoreceiver arrays with novel on-chip shielding

InP-based monolithically integrated pin/HBT photoreceiver arrays with novel on-chip shielding, to reduce electrical and optical crosstalk, have been fabricated and characterised. The photoreceiver array with on-chip plated gold shielding demonstrated an adjacent-channel crosstalk of < –40 dB, which represents a 17 dB reduction compared to –23 dB in an array without such shielding. The arrays demonstrate bandwidths of 5–7 GHz.
New hope for hormone replacement and the heart

In this issue of the Journal , Lindenfeld et al. [(1)][1]report an analysis examining the association between postmenopausal hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and survival in women with moderate to severe heart failure (HF). The data in the analysis are derived from the Beta-Blocker Evaluation of
Racial and demographic differences in selenium status: report from the Southern Community Cohort Study

A10 Selenium has been implicated in a variety of cancers, key among them being prostate, colon, esophageal, and gastro-intestinal cancers. Selenium, an essential micronutrient for humans, is widely distributed in tissues and fluids of the body in different forms, making measurement and interpretation of selenium status difficult. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of demographic and lifestyle factors on selenium status. Assays of blood selenium were conducted for 396 individuals randomly selected from the Southern Community Cohort Study (SCCS) database (n = over 60,000 enrolled). These individuals were primarily low-income adults recruited from community health centers located in the Southeastern region of the United States. The sample was 50% African American and 50% white, and also evenly divided by gender. Selenium status was assessed in three ways: 1) Plasma selenium (measured fluorometrically) , 2) Selenoprotein-P (measured by radioimmunoassay/ELISA) and 3) Glutathione peroxidase activity (GPX; measured by the rate of oxidation of NADPH by glutathione peroxidase). Linear regression analyses revealed that there were racial, gender, and age group differences for Selenoprotein-P levels. Significantly (p
Buckling and Postbuckling Behavior of Initially Imperfect Orthotropic Cylindrical Shells under Axial Compression and Internal Pressure

In recent years orthotopic cylindrical shells such as stiffened or fiber reinforced cylinders have been used extensively in aerospace structures. These structures are often subjected to axial compression and internal pressure. The thin cylindrical shells are known to be imperfection sensitive, and their buckling loads are substantially reduced by the presence of small initial deviations from the circular shape of the shell. The behavior of imperfect cylindrical shells has been studied by various investigators [1–5]. Both isotropic and anisotropic shells have been considered in these structures. In most of these investigations Karman-Donnell strain-displacement equations were used.
A Nonsurgical Approach to the Management of Primary Vesicoureteral Reflux

AbstractWe performed a retrospective review to evaluate the results of a nonsurgical approach to the management of primary vesicoureteral reflux during a 10-year period (1976 to 1986). During that interval patients with reflux were studied initially with a standard voiding cystourethrogram and either an excretory urogram or a renal scan with glomerular filtration rate and/or differential renal function determination. Height, weight, blood pressure, urine cultures and serum creatinine measurements also were obtained. Isotope cystography was used for followup examinations. A single, negative isotope cystogram was the radiological criterion for cessation of reflux.The charts of 545 children (55 per cent had bilateral reflux) with 844 refluxing ureters were reviewed. Based upon the international classification vesicoureteral reflux was grade I in 6.6 per cent of the cases, grade II in 54.2 per cent, grade III in 31.6 per cent, grade IV in 5.7 per cent and grade V in 1.9 per cent. All children were kept on lon...
A New Class of Lithium and Sodium Rechargeable Batteries Based on Selenium and Selenium–Sulfur as a Positive Electrode

A new class of selenium and selenium–sulfur (SexSy)-based cathode materials for room temperature lithium and sodium batteries is reported. The structural mechanisms for Li/Na insertion in these electrodes were investigated using pair distribution function (PDF) analysis. Not only does the Se electrode show promising electrochemical performance with both Li and Na anodes, but the additional potential for mixed SexSy systems allows for tunable electrodes, combining the high capacities of S-rich systems with the high electrical conductivity of the d-electron containing Se. Unlike the widely studied Li/S system, both Se and SexSy can be cycled to high voltages (up to 4.6 V) without failure. Their high densities and voltage output offer greater volumetric energy densities than S-based batteries, opening possibilities for new energy storage systems that can enable electric vehicles and smart grids.
Class Struggle Analysis: A Critique of Class Structure Analysis:

Initiated during the 1970s as a critique of mainstream stratification analysis, Neo-Marxist class-structure analysis seems to have reached an impasse by the late 1980s. In order to develop class an...