cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Off-label prescribing in the treatment of dermatologic disease

Abstract Background: It is common practice for physicians to treat dermatologic conditions with medications that are not indicated for the specific condition being treated. These "off-label" prescriptions are often for medications that have both well accepted therapeutic value in the medical community and proven efficacy on the basis of results of clinical trials. Objective: Our purpose was to quantify the use of off-label prescriptions for dermatologic disease by a representative sample of physicians in the United States. Methods: Data from the 1990-1997 National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, performed by the National Center for Health Statistics, were used to assess medications prescribed at office visits for dermatologic disease. We identified the most common diagnoses listed at office visits in which the primary and only diagnosis listed was dermatologic. For the leading 10 dermatologic conditions for which medications are indicated, we categorized each primary drug mention by indication. Results: We found that the range of off-label prescribing varied from 17% to 73%, with a weighted mean (± SD) of 32% ± 18%. The conditions most frequently managed with off-label prescriptions were acne rosacea (73%) and actinic keratosis (52%), whereas those with the fewest off-label prescriptions were atopic dermatitis (17%) and psoriasis (16%). The use of off-label prescriptions by dermatologists in the diseases studied ranged from 7% to 73% with a weighted mean (± SD) of 24% (± 24%), whereas the range for nondermatologists was 18% to 96% with a weighted mean (± SD) of 34% (± 18%). Conclusion: Off-label prescribing is common in the management of dermatologic conditions. From these data, we conclude that it is currently within the standard of care to use off-label prescriptions in the treatment of dermatologic disease. (J Am Acad Dermatol 2002;47:217-23.)
A High Power Travelling Wave Tube (TWT) Amplifier

Preliminary results are reported on the design and performance of a high power travelling wave tube amplifier. The amplifier is designed to work in the TMoi mode of a cylindrical waveguide and to operate in X band. The signal from a 250 kW magnetron is used as the input source for the amplifier. Details are presented of the amplifier design, the input coupler, and of the performance of the system when an 800 kV, 1.4 kA, POO nsec. duration pencil electron beam is used as the primary power source. Initial results indicate that the amplifier has a gain of 29dB at a frequency of 9.09 GHz, and an output power in excess of 100 MW.
Behavior of solar ultraviolet irradiance at high southern latitudes over a decadal timescale

Continuous measurements of solar ultraviolet spectral irradiance exist for four sites in the high latitude Southern Hemisphere, from 55° to 90° South, and span a time period in excess of a decade. This database allows comprehensive analyses of variability in ground-level radiation over a wide range of time scales. The behavior of irradiances within a single month reflects the combined influences of changing solar elevations, cloudiness and ozone amounts. Histograms assembled for corresponding months over the decadal time scale reveal maximum instantaneous irradiances that can vary by a factor of two or more among different years. An important portion of each year encompasses the months from October through December. The annual ozone loss develops during this period, and in some years this is sufficiently dramatic to distort the seasonal cycle in erythemal irradiance expected solely on the basis of solar elevation. Under unperturbed conditions, the largest monthly-integrated irradiances would occur in December at all wavelengths from 290 to 400 nm. However, in years of unusually low springtime ozone amounts the maximum monthly-integrated erythemal irradiances can appear in November.
The catalytic properties of human carbonic anhydrase IX.

Abstract Human carbonic anhydrase IX (CA IX) is an integral membrane protein and a member of the α class of carbonic anhydrases that includes the human and animal enzymes. We have prepared a truncated, recombinant form of human CA IX of 255 residues consistent with full-length human CA II, among the most efficient of the carbonic anhydrases. Catalysis by and inhibition of this form of human CA IX has been investigated using stopped-flow spectrophotometry and 18 O exchange measured by mass spectrometry. In kinetic constants for the hydration of CO 2 , CA IX closely resembled CA II with maximal proton transfer-dependent 18 O exchange near 1 μs −1 and k cat / K m near 55 μM −1 s −1 . Human CA IX was very strongly inhibited by three classic sulfonamides and cyanate, with inhibition constants that are close to those for CA II.
Inhibitory control of sensory gating in a computer model of the CA3 region of the hippocampus.

A model of the CA3 region of the hippocampus was used to simulate the P50 auditory-evoked potential response to repeated stimuli in order to study the neuronal circuits involved in a sensory-processing deficit associated with schizophrenia. Normal subjects have a reduced P50 auditory-evoked potential amplitude in response to the second of two paired auditory click stimuli spaced 0.5 s apart. However, schizophrenic patients do not gate or reduce their response to the second click. They have equal auditory-evoked response amplitudes to both clicks. When schizophrenic patients were medicated with traditional neuroleptics, the evoked potential amplitude to both clicks increased, but gating of the second response was not restored or improved. Animal studies suggest a role for septohippocampal cholinergic activity in sensory gating. We used a computational model of this system in order to study the relative contributions of local processing and afferent activity in sensory gating. We first compared the effect of information representation as average firing rate to information representation as cell assemblies in order to evaluate the best method to represent the response of hippocampal neurons to the auditory click. We then studied the effects of nicotinic cholinergic input on the response of the network and the effect of GABAB receptor activation on the ability of the local network to suppress the test response. The results of our model showed that nicotinic cholinergic input from the septum to the hippocampus can control the flow of sensory information from the cortex into the hippocampus. In addition, postsynaptic GABAB receptor activation was not sufficient to suppress the test response when the interstimulus interval was 500 ms. However, presynaptic GABAB receptor activity may be responsible for the suppression of the test response at this interstimulus interval.
A palmar sweat measure of the effect of drugs on stuttering behavior

Summary The question is asked why drugs designed to affect physiological responses associated with anxiety do not affect stuttering if the antecedent of stuttering is anxiety? Sixteen stutterers and sixteen matched controls each participated in four conditions which were twenty-four hours apart. There were two experimental conditions where the subject received medication prior to participation. One drug was nembutal and the other benzedrine. There were also two control conditions; one in which the subject received a sugar pill and the other where he received nothing. Three simultaneous measures were made of Palmar Sweat Index (PSI), number of non-fluencies, and reading rate. The order of participation among the conditions was counterbalanced. As a main effect the study indicated that drugs do not affect stuttering. However the interaction of drugs with the order in which drugs were administered was significant. Subjects who received nembutal as the first condition stuttered more on all four conditions than those subjects who received nembutal last. Benzedrine had little effect on stuttering. It was concluded that nembutal causes a release of stuttering and stuttering, once released, gets conditioned to the situation and continues at a high level. Theoretical explanation for such findings is presented.
An Expanded Indication for Coronary Surgery

Abstract One hundred twelve patients were catheterized and advised to have revascularization in 1969, 1970, and 1971, but none were operated upon. Sixty-one are now dead. Past history of infarctions and symptoms were of little prognostic value with regard to predicting subsequent death. The presence of a major stenosis or occlusion in the proximal left coronary artery or the presence of triple-artery disease or both was highly correlated statistically with subsequent death. Besides relieving angina, operation has been shown to improve function and increase coronary flow. Our data strongly suggest that operation also improves life expectancy in these groups of patients. The coronary anatomy, regardless of the clinical state, should be considered much more strongly in the selection of candidates for operation.
Purification and biochemical characterization of the promoter-specific transcription factor, Sp1

The biochemical analysis of cellular trans-activators involved in promoter recognition provides an important step toward understanding the mechanisms of gene expression in animal cells. The promoter selective transcription factor, Sp1, has been purified from human cells to more than 95 percent homogeneity by sequence-specific DNA affinity chromatography. Isolation and renaturation of proteins purified from sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gels allowed the identification of two polypeptides (105 and 95 kilodaltons) as those responsible for recognizing and interacting specifically with the GC-box promoter elements characteristic of Sp1 binding sites.
Aromatic polyethers, polysulfones, and polyketones as laminating resins. IV. Polymers with p‐cyclophane units for crosslinking

1,3-Bis(p-phenoxybenzenesulfonyl)benzene, 4,4′-bis(p-phenoxybenzenesulfonyl)diphenyl ether, and 4,4′-diphenoxydiphenyl sulfone were polymerized with isophthaloyl or terephthaloyl chlorides in Friedel-Crafts type polymerizations. These polymers had [2,2]p-cyclophane units in the backbone, introduced by employing 3,9-bis(p-phenoxybenzoyl) [2.2]p-cyclophane as part of the polyaryl ether component. Thermolysis of the dimethylene bridge of the [2.2]p-cyclophane monomer produced diradicals which combined across polymer chains to provide crosslinks. p-Cyclophane polymers with 1,3-bis-(p-phenoxybenzenesulfonyl)benzene showed potential as high performance, thermally stable laminating resins.
Light-scattering measurements from dense optical systems

We report on the effects of dense optical systems on the static and dynamic properties of laser light. The measurements of the angular irradiance distribution as a function of the optical density and the size of the scattering centers confirm previous measurements performed by Woodward. Our study of the scattered irradiance correlation function indicates that, in the presence of multiple scattering, the relaxation time may be significantly smaller than that predicted on the basis of the single-particle Brownian model. Furthermore, the angular dependence of the irradiance relaxation time deviates from the usual proportionality to the inverse square of the momentum transfer. We discuss a number of tests that have been performed to minimize the possibility that some of our conclusions could be affected in part by particle aggregation, surface charges, and depolarization of the scattered light.
Novel integrated impedance matching layer

High performance clinical and industrial ultrasonic transducers require an impedance matching layer with controlled acoustic properties for efficient coupling of acoustic energy between the piezoelectric layer and the propagating medium. The principles of operation, design requirements and performance of a novel integrated impedance matching layer are discussed here. This integrated impedance matching layer is a composite of inert lead zirconate titanate (PZT) ceramic and conformal polymer filler material. >
Plasma parathyroid hormone during acute volume expansion in the rat.

Abstract Various studies have suggested the possibility that volume expansion may increase parathyroid hormone (PTH) secretion. PTH appears to have renal effects consistent with the actions of a natriuretic and diuretic and the possibility exists that PTH may play a physiological role in volume homeostasis. The present studies were designed to examine whether PTH levels in plasma from rats was influenced by acute volume expansion and whether such effects were independent of alterations in plasma ionized calcium concentration. Volume expansion with calcium-free bicarbonate Ringers (10% of body weight, IV) led to a drop in plasma ionized calcium from 1.08 to 0.92 mMol/1 (p
Optimizing nitrogen and calcium nutrition of lisianthus

Abstract Seeds of four lisianthus (Eustoma grandiflorum) cultivars were germinated and transplanted into an equal volume of peat, perlite medium without fertilizer amendments. Plants were grown in the greenhouse and watered daily with a modified Hoagland's solution containing 0, 100, 200, or 400 mg N/l in a N experiment, and 0, 75, 150 or 300 mg Ca/l in a Ca experiment. Plants were harvested at the end of 8 weeks. Increasing N concentrations in the nutrient solution decreased stem length and number of flowers slightly while it increased the number of basal and lateral breaks, number of buds and chlorophyll content. Increasing Ca concentrations increased the number of buds and shoot dry weight, while Ca concentrations of 150 mg/l stimulated the greatest number of branches, within 3cm of the base of the plant, and chlorophyll content. Shoot N and Ca concentrations of from 3.2 to 5.1% (dw) basis and 0.8 to 1.2% (dw) respectively was associated with good plant growth and flower production. In a second N exper...
Processlessness: staying open to interactional possibilities

Technologies increasingly inhabit evermore mundane and personal settings, a fact that has caused some designers to reflect upon the emergent, inaccessible nature of context. We present the notion of processlessness as a design value. The examples given here are intended to provoke thought about current design priorities and practices, and spur design discourse regarding the issue of context. Two cases illustrate how the absence of process in mediating artifacts can make room for users to discover, construct, and reconfigure context through and around their technologies. This argument is related to the notion of Zensign, that what we omit from technology designs is as important as what we put in; by adding features to computational systems, designers might be removing interactional possibilities.
Citation Autobiography: An Investigation of ISI Database Coverage in Determining Author Citedness

This article presents a case study investigating the coverage completeness of the Institute for Scientific Information’s citation data for specific authors, based on analysis of this author’s lifetime citation record, which was compiled through the ISI database, searching the literature for nearly fifteen years, and through various Web search engines. It was found that (with self-citations disregarded) the ISI captured 28.8 percent of the total citations, 42.2 percent of print citations, 20.3 percent of citations from outside the United States, and 2.3 percent of non-English citations. The definition and classification of Web citations are discussed. It is suggested that librarians and faculty should not rely solely on ISI author citation counts, especially when demonstration of international impact is important.
Kant and a Problem of Motivation

In The Moral Problem, Michael Smith argues that there is an on-going tension in discussions among moral philosophers between the putative objectivity of morality, the practicality of moral judgments, and Hume’s view of motivation. From an agent’s point of view, putatively objective claims imply cognitivism, the view that moral judgments express beliefs about the way the world is morally. But if moral judgments are practical and on Hume’s view of motivation dependent on the desires of an agent, then from a moral standpoint, we risk making claims that the agent cannot be motivated to act upon. In this sense the problem, which Smith calls the moral problem, is a problem of motivation. It is a problem of how beliefs about putatively objective morality considerations can universally motivate individuals with differing motivational psychologies. Smith considers the tension to be metaethical and that its resolution is the primary task of moral philosophers. Secondary to such problems, on his view, are problems of normative ethics. The tension is a meta-ethical problem, and it may be the primary problem of contemporary moral philosophy in the descriptive sense that it has garnered widespread attention. As with any philosophical problem, however, it is worth questioning whether it should receive the attention it does. To this end, we should consider what Kant maintains, in the Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals, is the primary problem of moral philosophy. For Kant, the primary problem is not
The orchestration of mammalian tissue morphogenesis through a series of coherent feed-forward loops.

Tissue morphogenesis requires intricate temporal and spatial control of gene expression that is executed through specific gene regulatory networks (GRNs). GRNs are comprised from individual subcircuits of different levels of complexity. An important question is to elucidate the mutual relationship between those genes encoding DNA-binding factors that trigger the subcircuit with those that play major “later” roles during terminal differentiation via expression of specific genes that constitute the phenotype of individual tissues. The ocular lens is a classical model system to study tissue morphogenesis. Pax6 is essential for both lens placode formation and subsequent stages of lens morphogenesis, whereas c-Maf controls terminal differentiation of lens fibers, including regulation of crystallins, key lens structural proteins required for its transparency and refraction. Here, we show that Pax6 directly regulates c-Maf expression during lens development. A 1.3-kb c-Maf promoter with a 1.6-kb upstream enhancer (CR1) recapitulated the endogenous c-Maf expression pattern in lens and retinal pigmented epithelium. ChIP assays revealed binding of Pax6 and c-Maf to multiple regions of the c-Maf locus in lens chromatin. To predict functional Pax6-binding sites, nine novel variants of Pax6 DNA-binding motifs were identified and characterized. Two of these motifs predicted a pair of Pax6-binding sites in the CR1. Mutagenesis of these Pax6-binding sites inactivated transgenic expression in the lens but not in retinal pigmented epithelium. These data establish a novel regulatory role for Pax6 during lens development, link together the Pax6/c-Maf/crystallin regulatory network, and suggest a novel type of GRN subcircuit that controls a major part of embryonic lens development.
OpenRefactory/C: an infrastructure for building correct and complex C transformations

OpenRefactory/C is a refactoring tool and, more generally, an infrastructure that resolves the challenges of building C program transformations. In this paper, we describe its architecture, extensibility features, and the transformations implemented. We also discuss features that will make OpenRefactory/C attractive to researchers interested in collaborating to build new C program analyses and transformations.
METABOLISM AND DISPOSITION OF ACETAMINOPHEN: RECENT ADVANCES IN RELATION TO HEPATOTOXICITY AND DIAGNOSIS

Acetaminophen (APAP) is one of the most widely used drugs. Though safe at therapeutic doses, overdose causes mitochondrial dysfunction and centrilobular necrosis in the liver. The first studies of APAP metabolism and activation were published more than 40 years ago. Most of the drug is eliminated by glucuronidation and sulfation. These reactions are catalyzed by UDP-glucuronosyltransferases (UGT1A1 and 1A6) and sulfotransferases (SULT1A1, 1A3/4, and 1E1), respectively. However, some is converted by CYP2E1 and other cytochrome P450 enzymes to a reactive intermediate that can bind to sulfhydryl groups. The metabolite can deplete liver glutathione (GSH) and modify cellular proteins. GSH binding occurs spontaneously, but may also involve GSH-S-transferases. Protein binding leads to oxidative stress and mitochondrial damage. The glucuronide, sulfate, and GSH conjugates are excreted by transporters in the canalicular (Mrp2 and Bcrp) and basolateral (Mrp3 and Mrp4) hepatocyte membranes. Conditions that interfere with metabolism and metabolic activation can alter the hepatotoxicity of the drug. Recent data providing novel insights into these processes, particularly in humans, are reviewed in the context of earlier work, and the effects of altered metabolism and reactive metabolite formation are discussed. Recent advances in the diagnostic use of serum adducts are covered.
Morphology and formation of the color core of Bi12SiO20 crystals grown by the Czochralski method

Single crystals of pure and Fe 3+ doped bismuth silicon oxide (Bi 12 SiO 20 ) have been grown by the Czochralski method. Bi 12 SiO 20 crystals grown over a wide range of conditions show an obvious tendency towards faceting. The faceting morphologies of crystals grown along (001) and (111) are reported. During growth, Bi 12 SiO 20 (BSO) crystals abruptly withdrawn from the melt confirmed the presence of interfacial (110) facets and revealed a conical interface surface in the regions between the facets. In addition, the color core in single crystals of Bi 12 SiO 20 grown by the Czochralski method has been analyzed using quantitative energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy
Dissociation of Bacterial 0 Antigen from Rabbit Erythrocytes

IT has been shown1 that rabbit erythrocytes modified in vitro with 0 antigens (endotoxins) of Salmonella typhi or Escherichia coli are rapidly destroyed when injected into rabbits previously immunized with the corresponding bacterial antigen. In contrast, modified erythrocytes administered to non-immune rabbits have a normal life span despite the fact that specific antibody appears within six days after injection of the modified red blood cells. Thus, it becomes important to ascertain whether bacterial antigens attached to erythrocytes in vitro remain bound to the red blood cells for their entire period of survival after they are re-introduced into the animal's circulation.
Ultrastructural and karyotypic examination of in vitro produced bovine embryos developed in the sheep uterus.

Abstract This study examined whether development of bovine in vitro produced (IVP) blastocysts in the sheep uterus resulted in morphologically and karyotypically normal elongation stage bovine blastocysts. Seven day IVP bovine blastocysts, resulting from either in vitro maturation and fertilization, nuclear transfer (NT), or parthenogenic activation, were surgically transferred at the blastocyst stage into sheep uteri. Sheep were sacrificed after 7–9 days, and blastocysts were flushed from their uteri. One of each kind of IVP bovine blastocyst was recovered from sheep uteri for analysis by transmission electron microscopy, and nine NT blastocysts were used to establish cell cultures that were analysed for chromosome complement. TEM analysis of in vivo-derived elongation stage bovine and ovine blastocysts was done for comparative purposes. Most ultrastructural features of the 13–19 day blastocysts were similar to earlier stage blastocysts except that distinct alternative mitochondrial morphologies were found between epiblast and trophectoderm cells. Monociliated cells, presumably nodal cells, were observed in the bovine epiblast and hypoblast, and retrovirus-like particles were elaborated by cells in these same areas. Development in the sheep uterus of IVP bovine blastocysts resulted in the presence of crystalloid bodies in the trophectoderm cells, and apoptotic and necrotic cells were observed in the epiblast tissue. Thus, in vivo incubation in the sheep uterus allowed nearly normal development to the elongated blastocyst stage and may be useful for assessment of NT bovine blastocyst developmental competence. Cell cultures derived from the NT blastocysts had normal chromosome complements suggesting that activation by ionomycin and 6-dimethyl-aminopurine did not cause detrimental changes in ploidy in those blastocysts that developed.
Negative Polarity and Scalar Semantics in Spanish

Licensing of NPIs in Spanish varies depending on the semantics of the trigger. Nonveridical operators license n-words, and antiveridical operators license ni-minimizers. I argue that the NPIs that can occur in antiveridical contexts have a scalar presupposition, but those that are licensed in strictly nonveridical contexts are non-scalar. In this analysis, n-words are scalar (incorporating a silent ni ‘even’) in the scope of antiveridical operators. The distinction between scalar and non-scalar NPIs, I suggest, is the reason for the diversity of polarity sensitivity phenomena in Spanish, as well as in other languages.
Facilitated transport of CO2 through highly swollen ion-exchange membranes: The effect of hot glycerine pretreatment

Abstract A pretreatment for perfluorosulphonic acid ion-exchange films, using glycerine and heating, causes the membranes to swell and imbibe greater (up to three-fold) amounts of water than obtained using standard membrane hydration techniques. The permeation of CO, CO 2 and H 2 S has been tested for these membranes in the diffusive transport mode and with carrier-mediated (facilitated) transport, using ethylenediamine (EDA). When compared to ‘normally’ hydrated membranes the results indicate that: 1, these membranes are up to 50% thicker; 2, have four to six times higher flux in both diffusive and facilitated transport; 3, maintain a high degree of facilitation for CO 2 and H 2 S; and 4, maintain similar selectivity versus non-carrier reactive gases as previously observed. Experimental results show the effects of pretreatment temperature on the CO 2 flux.
Fundamentals of developer-resist interactions for line-edge roughness and critical dimension control in model 248-nm and 157-nm photoresists

Organic polar solvent (1-butanol) versus aqueous base (tetramethylammonium hydroxide, (TMAH)) development quality are distinguished by neutral versus charged polymer (polyelectrolyte) dissolution behavior of photoresist bilayers on silicon substrates comprising poly(4-hydroxystyrene) and poly(4-tert-butoxycarbonyloxystyrene), PHOSt and PBOCSt, respectively. This model line-edge was broadened by photoacid catalyzed deprotection to a final interfacial width of 35.7 a and subjected to different developers. 1-butanol develops with an increased penetration depth than aqueous base development consistent with an increased solubility of the protected containing component in the organic solvent. This enhanced dissolution with the polar solvent results in an increased surface roughness of 73 a, whereas the development with TMAH at concentrations between (0.1 to 1.1) M1 leads to surface roughness between (4.5 to 14.4) a, as measured by atomic force microscopy. These measurements suggest that the elimination of resist swelling, in the presence of a protection gradient, is a viable strategy to reduce roughness and control critical dimensions. The influence of added salt to developer solutions was also examined by developing the model bilayer. A decrease in surface roughness from (10 to 6.5) a was observed between (0 to 0.70) M KCl in 0.26 M TMAH.
A practical approach to the chromatic partition problem

Abstract A new approach is presented for finding a chromatic partition of the nodes of an arbitrary, finite, connected, linear graph. Based on this approach, three algorithms are presented which require much less enumeration than conventional procedures. In fact, hand computation time is reduced from hours to minutes.
4,5-Diamino-6-thiopyrimidine as an analytical reagent—I: Spectrophotometric determination of selenium

Abstract A number of organic compounds have been screened as reagents for the spectrophotometric determination of small amounts of selenium. 4,5-Diamino-6-thiopyrimidine shows promise for this determination. In ammoniacal solution, even on long standing, this reagent is colourless in the presence of quadrivalent selenium. However, at pH 1.5–2.5 or lower, 4,5-diamino-6-thiopyrimidine forms a yellow colour with quadrivalent selenium, and this has a strong absorption peak at 380 mμ when compared with a reagent blank of the same concentration. Beer's Law holds when the selenium concentration is between 0.1–2.5 μg per ml. The conditions for the quantitative determination of selenium have been investigated. When selenium in solution is in the quadrivalent state, measurement of absorption should be carried out within 30 min of the addition of the reagent. On longer standing, the reagent gives a slight yellow colour with the formation of elemental selenium. The formation of elemental selenium is slow in dilute solutions of selenium.
Small H spaces related to Moore spaces

Abstract In this paper we will discuss some quite simple H spaces with a number of remarkable properties. These properties make the spaces useful in the factorization of loop spaces on the one hand [23] and pivotal in understanding the unstable development of v 2 periodic homotopy on the other [12].
Origin and activity of successive cambia in Cycas (Cycadales)

Observations of the vascular tissue of Cycas shoots have provided supporting evidence that the first vascular cambium as well as subsequent successive cambia are simultaneously active. The establishment of the second cambium occurs during the seedling stage, and differentiates mainly within the cortical cells. However, cambial activity also occurs within phloem parenchyma cells of the first vascular cylinder. Tracheids in the first and the successive vascular cylinders are generally of the same length; however, there is a trend toward increasing length within the successive cylinders, possibly because the successive cambia are long-lived.
Glucocorticoid effects on membrane lipid mobility during differentiation of murine B lymphocytes.

Abstract The lateral motion of membrane lipids on lipopolysaccharide-stimulated murine B lymphocytes was measured using photobleaching recovery techniques. The mobility of the phospholipid analog 3,3′-dioctadecylindocarbocyanine iodide (DiI) was measured at 37°C on B lymphocytes 48 h after stimulation by various concentrations of lipopolysaccharide. DiI mobility on lymphoblasts from cultures stimulated with 10 μg/ml lipopolysaccharide was reduced 50% compared with unstimulated, small B cells. However, both lower and higher lipopolysaccharide concentrations caused some decrease in lipid mobility. Lipid mobility was measured on B cells stimulated with 10 μg/ml lipopolysaccharide at zero time, on lymphoblasts at 18, 24, 48 and 72 h, and on immunoglobulin (Ig) -secreting lymphocytes at 96 h. The diffusion coefficient of DiI on both control and lipopolysaccharide-treated cells at zero time is 6.3·10 −9 cm 2 ·s −1 . This value remains unchanged for unstimulated cells over 72 h. Lipid mobility of lipopolysaccharide-activated lymphoblasts decreased during incubation with lipopolysaccharide to 5.0, 3.4, 2.8 and 2.4·10 −9 cm 2 ·s −1 after 18, 24, 48 and 72 h, respectively. DiI mobility on immunoglobulin (Ig) -secreting lymphocytes identified at the foci of Protein A-coated sheep red blood cells plaques is 8.6·10 −9 cm 2 ·s −1 , a value similar to that of unstimulated B cells. The effect of introducing various concentrations of a synthetic glucocorticoid, triamcinolone acetonide (TA), to 48 h lipopolysaccharide-stimulated cells for 6 h was examined. Maximal TA effect was observed at a concentration of 10 −7 M, which caused an increase in lipid mobility to 7.5·10 −9 cm 2 ·s −1 . Exposing resting B cells ( t = 0) or lymphoblasts ( t = 24, 48 or 72 h) to TA for 3 h had no effect on lipid mobility. Treatment for 6 h with 10 −7 M TA increased DiI diffusion to 12.6, 9.9, 7.5 and 6.8·10 −9 cm 2 ·s −1 on control cells and on 24, 48 and 72 h lipopolysaccharide-activated lymphoblasts, respectively. A longer incubation of 12 h with 10 −7 M TA caused no further change in lipid lateral diffusion. The response was glucocorticoid-specific. In lymphoblasts (48 h) incubated an additional 6 h with 10 −7 M TA and a 100-fold excess of cortexolone or progesterone, the increase in lipid mobility was substantively blocked; estradiol and testosterone had no effect on lipid lateral diffusion. These results indicate that, except in terminally differentiated cells, lipopolysaccharide activation is associated with a progressive decrease in membrane fluidity. Glucocorticoid treatment increases membrane fluidity in both resting B cells and lymphoblasts, perhaps through inhibition of de novo cholesterol biosynthesis.
A novel use of the Amplatzer muscular ventricular septal defect occluder.

We report a case of a 12-month-old-infant with double outlet right ventricle and pulmonary stenosis who presented with signs of superior vena cava syndrome secondary to a dysfunctioning bidirectional Glenn shunt. The patient was successfully treated with transcatheter obstruction of an accessory pulmonary blood flow using the Amplatzer muscular ventricular septal defect occluder.
Popular Political Support in Urban China

Popular Political Support in Urban China. By Jie Chen. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2004. 246p. 21.95 paper.What is the matter with Beijing? China's capital is overcrowded and heavily polluted. Beijing's elderly face shrinking government pensions and health-care services. Its middle aged try to reinvent themselves out of unemployment. Its youth strive for jobs, with tens of millions of upwardly mobile rural Chinese flocking to the cities, and at the same time try to distinguish themselves from the hundreds of millions of other future middle-class urbanites struggling to enter the upper end of the global economy. Despite protests in city and countryside, the Chinese government continues to privatize and liberalize its economy, and the Chinese Communist Party still punishes all forms of organized political opposition.
TIME–HARMONIC ELASTODYNAMIC GREEN FUNCTIONS OF PLATES FOR LINE LOADS

In this paper the Fourier transform is used to derive the elastodynamic Green function of a plate on a viscoelastic foundation subjected to impulse and harmonic line loads. The solution is first given as a convolution of the Green function of the plate. Poles of the integrand in the integral representation of the solution are identified for different cases of damping and load frequency. The Green function corresponding to an impulse line load is obtained and can be numerically computed. The theorem of residue is then utilized to evaluate the generalized integral of the Green function corresponding to a harmonic line load. This representation permits one to construct algorithms for the parameter identification of the inverse problem involved in a pavement non-destructive test. Validation of the result is partly verified by comparing the static solution of a point source obtained from this paper to a well-known result.
Total replacement of bladder and urethra by cecum and appendix in bladder exstrophy

The first case of total bladder and urethral replacement by cecoappendiceal unit was achieved in a five-year-old boy born with bladder exstrophy. Residual vesical and prostatic tissue was utilized to provide continence successfully.
Biological invasion on an oceanic island mountain: do alien plant species have wider ecological ranges than native species?

. Spatial distribution patterns of alien plant species were compared with those of native species on a windward slope of Mt. Haleakala (3055 m). Oceanic islands are considered susceptible to biological invasion, and this study numerically tested this circumstantial evidence with the following questions: Are all habitats equally susceptible; and, do successful invaders have wider realized niches than natives? The mountain slope consists of three distinct altitudinal bioclimatic zones (hot moist lowland, wet montane cloud, and cool arid high-altitude zones). Ordination indicated that alien species' ranges and population expansions were clustered in the lowland and high-altitude zones. The lowland zone had been subjected to natural canopy dieback, and the high-altitude zone to grazing by domestic and feral ungulates. By contrast, the montane cloud forest was relatively intact in terms of number and cover of native species. Thus, susceptibility to alien invasion clearly differed among zones, and the primary causes seemed to be the obvious disturbance factors. The mean ecological range along the altitude-rainfall gradient was significantly (P < 0.05) greater for native than for alien species in most life-form groups. The reasons for the greater number of climate generalists among the natives vs. the range-restricted aliens appear to be related to: (1) the pre-alien condition with a depauperate flora which allowed for ‘ecological release’ of successful native colonizers, and (2) the climatic pre-adaptation of alien invaders which restricts them from penetrating over a broader spectrum of climatic zones in a floristic matrix subjected to increasing interspecific competition.
Methodological pitfalls in the study of religiosity and spirituality.

The number of studies demonstrating a relationship between religiosity and spirituality and physical and psychological health have increased rapidly during the past decade. There are significant disputes in the literature regarding the methodological quality of research in this area. Despite nursing scholars’ interest in this area, no thorough review of the methodological critiques is available. The purpose of this study is to review areas of methodological difficulty in the study of religiosity and spirituality by identifying contemporary methodological critiques, critically evaluating the critiques and the underlying issues, and making suggestions for methodological advancement in the field. Three main areas of methodological critique exist: construct measurement, study design, and data analysis. Research in this area should aim for conceptual clarity, deliberate design, and appropriate analysis. Considerations of these critiques are instructive for nursing research done in the area of religiosity and s...
Explaining Chinese democratization

Introduction Historical Legacies and Democracy Local Forces and Democracy The World System and Democracy Socialist Values and Democracy Economic Development and Democracy Explanation and Prediction Bibliography
Mechanochemistry of cardiac muscle. IV. Utilization of high-energy phosphates in experimental heart failure in cats.

This investigation was designed to determine whether a defect in energy utilization exists in heart failure. Accordingly, the direct conversion of chemical energy to mechanical work was studied in right ventricular papillary muscles from normal cats and cats with experimental right ventricular failure secondary to pulmonary artery constriction. Energy production was inhibited by iodoacetic acid and N2. After resting or performing variable amounts of internal contractile element work under isometric conditions, muscles were instantly frozen, and the total amount of chemical energy (~— P = creatine phosphate + ATP) used was correlated with work performed and the number of contractions. The contractile properties of papillary muscles from cats with heart failure were severely depressed. There was a significant depression in initial *-~P stores in muscles from cats with heart failure, but there was no significant change in the resting rate of '—P utilization. Although the muscles from cats with heart failure performed, on the average, 13% as much work and were activated 64% as many times, the average amount of energy used was only 7% of that used by normal muscles. It is concluded that in this form of experimentall y produced heart failure the utilization of *—-P is reduced but only in relation to the reduction in contractile element work and that the direct conversion of chemical energy to mechanical work is not an inefficient process in this state.
Nectar-Feeding by a Predatory Ambush Bug (Heteroptera: Phymatidae) That Hunts on Flowers

Ambush bugs, Phymata pennsylvanica Handlirsch (Heteroptera: Phymatidae), are generalist sit-and-wait predators commonly found hunting on old-field flowers in the Northeastern United States. Individuals will often probe flowers for long periods, suggesting that the bugs are feeding on nectar. The objective of the reported studies was to examine the ambush bug's ability to detect and use simulated and real nectar as food. In a field experiment, ambush bugs that were restricted without prey on inflorescences survived longer than bugs restricted to nonflowering sites, thus indicating that the bugs were able to gain nutritive material directly from flowers. In laboratory choice tests, individuals were more likely to drink from a dilute sucrose-solution than from a plain water solution, indicating that the bugs were able to identify nectar as a food resource. Last, individuals provided with sucrose-solution in laboratory feeding trials survived significantly longer in the absence of prey than individuals given only plain water or nothing and also lost mass at a slower rate. However, juveniles could not molt past any instar in which they had fed on only sucrose solution. As with many other generalist predatory arthropods, then, plant-feeding in nature likely allows ambush bugs to survive longer when prey are scarce, but plant food alone is likely to be nutritionally insufficient for normal growth and development. Further research to examine patterns of prey scarcity and possible trade-offs between the consumption of nectar and the consumption of prey will help to clarify the overall role of nectar-feeding in ambush bug ecology.
Neutrino Production of Deuterium in Supermassive Stars and Possible Implications for Deuterium Detections in Lyman-Limit Systems

We describe how thermally produced antielectron neutrinos (e) from the homologously collapsing core of a supermassive star (M 5 × 104 M☉) can lead to significant deuterium enrichment in the ejected envelope of such a star. Deuterium-enriched material at high redshift might then serve as a clue to the existence of pregalactic supermassive stars. Conceivably, the ejected deuterium-enriched material could intercept the line of sight to a distant QSO and mimic a Lyman limit absorber. In such a case, the deuterium abundance inferred from absorption lines might not reflect the true primordial abundance of deuterium. We discuss relevant theoretical uncertainties in supermassive star physics as well as potential observational signatures in Lyα absorber clouds for processing by stars of this kind.
Redistribution and its Discontents: On the Prospects of Committed Work in Public Mental Health and Like Settings

Refusal of services has long been treated as prima facie evidence of a disordered mind; this paper inquires instead into the tainted nature of the offer. I first sketch the conflicted nature of relief in the American welfare state—hedged so as to ensure only the truly needy will apply—and the way symbolic means are deployed to that end. I then go on to suggest that refusal to accept aid on those terms (even among the street-dwelling, psychiatrically disabled homeless) may be a last-resort exercise of self-respect. This dynamic has an ancient pedigree, whose mythic prototype is Philoctetes. Equally striking is the legacy of the outlaw hero of the story, apparent in the ways frontline workers today contrive to outwit the system’s structural constraints. These anomalous forms of “committed work”—acts of resistance delivering both effort and benefit that cannot be bought—are my real concern. I review ethnographic work suggesting that such acts of common ministry are well-documented exceptions to the broad commodification of care and take their toll on the workers themselves. The paper closes, ruefully, with an acknowledgment of the contradictory valence of system-sustaining resistance that is so easily co-opted and integrated as compensation for “institutional bad faith” (Bourdieu).
Cancer in the elderly population: the protection racket.

For the past century, patients of older age have constituted one of the substantially underserved populations in cancer care, 1 a puzzling dichotomy when one considers that cancer is classically a disease of the older population and that the proportion of these patients in the community is increasing. 2 The reasons for this imbalance are protean— older patients are traditionally conservative, have a somewhat nihilistic view of cancer treatment, and often have fewer resources needed to gain optimal care. The situation has been compounded by the medical protectionism that has been fostered by the government—in the past, studies of the National Cancer Institute (Bethesda, MD) have excluded patients over the age of 65 or 70 years, few provisions have been made for the additional requirements for participation in clinical trials by older patients, and government agencies have interfered with the implementation of studies focused on them by limiting the aggression of proposed treatment protocols in favor of more conservative, gentler regimens. In addition, physicians have been notoriously reluctant to refer older patients for clinical trials, and as a result of governmental disincentives, have avoided designing trials specifically for older patients. It is clear that the use of optimal treatment for curable cancers in elders is ultimately much less morbid than the implementation of attenuated strategies that sacrifice the chance of cure in exchange for reduced acute toxicity. Although this is particularly important in the management of localized disease, our studies from more than 15 years ago showed quite clearly that chemotherapy can be very useful in curing or palliating elderly populations with advanced cancer. 3,4 The choice of treatment must be predicated on consideration of the untreated natural history of the disease, the efficacy and toxicity of the proposed treatment, and the active life expectancy and comorbidities of the patient— essentially a costbenefit analysis. In the setting of advanced disease, the efficacy and toxicity of treatment are influenced by several factors, including age, comorbidity and organ function, other medications, and adherence to medication schedules. Unfortunately, this information is not available for many of the drugs available for cancer treatment in very elderly populations, largely because the acquisition of these data requires time and commitment on the part of investigators and patients. The investigators of Cancer and Leukemia Group B are to be complimented for their creativity in modifying pharmacologic sampling schedules, and thus in completing this important study that shows the variability of pharmacokinetics of paclitaxel in older patients, with the general reduction of clearance of this agent with increasing age. 5 However, there was no attempt at direct comparison
Killing the Author of Life, or Decimating “Bad Niggers”:

"Turn on the light, Bigger." "Alright," came a sleepy mumble. Light flooded the room and revealed a black boy standing in a narrow space between two iron beds, rubbing his eyes with the backs of his hands.... Having been bound over to the grand jury and indicted by it, having been arraigned and having plead not guilty to the charge of murder and been ordered to trial-all in less than a week, Bigger lay one sunless gray morning on his cot, staring vacantly at the black steel bars of the Cook County Jail.... "Your Honor," Max said, "I do not claim that this boy is legally insane. I shall endeavor to show, through the discussion of evidence, the mental and emotional attitude of this boy and the degree of responsibility he had in these crimes." Then he smiled a faint, wry, bitter smile. He heard the ring of steel against steel as a far door clanged shut. [Richard Wright, Native Son]