cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Small mammal populations at hazardous waste disposal sites near Houston, Texas, USA.

Abstract Small mammals were trapped, tagged and recaptured in 0·45 ha plots at six hazardous industrial waste disposal sites to determine if populations, body mass and age structures were different from paired control site plots. Low numbers of six species of small mammals were captured on industrial waste sites or control sites. Only populations of hispid cotton rats at industrial waste sites and control sites were large enough for comparisons. Overall population numbers, age structure, and body mass of adult male and female cotton rats were similar at industrial waste sites and control sites. Populations of small mammals (particularly hispid cotton rats) may not suffice as indicators of environments with hazardous industrial waste contamination.
Mechanical properties of the aggregate and cement interface

Abstract The interface between aggregate and cement based matrices plays an important role in determining the properties of concrete. In an earlier study, a push-out test technique and a theoretical model were proposed to determine the stiffness, strength, and surface energy of the interface layer. To be valid material properties, these bond parameters should be independent of the geometry of the specimen, and this was confirmed in this study. The influence of neighboring sand and aggregate particles on the bond properties of the push-out aggregate was analyzed and found to be quite small. On the other hand, the addition of polymer latex and silica fume had major effects on the bond properties. All tests were performed in a closed-loop manner to obtain the load versus slip relationship. The microstructure of the interfacial zone was investigated with the use of back-scattered electron imaging.
The Human Aromatic l‐Amino Acid Decarboxylase Gene Can Be Alternatively Spliced To Generate Unique Protein Isoforms

Aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase (AADC) is expressed in a wide variety of tissues, including those where it is known to convert L-DOPA and 5-hydroxytryptophan to dopamine and serotonin, respectively. AADC has been cloned from many species and shown to undergo alternative splicing within its 5' untranslated region. Here, we report that the human AADC gene can undergo additional alternative splicing of exon 3, generating two different protein isoforms (termed AADC480 and AADC442). Both transcripts are widely expressed, with AADC442 predominating in many neuronal and nonneuronal tissues. When homogenates were prepared from COS-7 cells transfected with expression vectors containing either cDNA, AADC480 catalyzed the decarboxylation of both L-DOPA and 5-hydroxytryptophan. AADC442 was inactive in either assay. These findings suggested that AADC442 may have a different function in non-monoamine-expressing tissues. Taken together, these results suggest that the human AADC gene undergoes complex processing, leading to the formation of both tissue-specific transcripts as well as unique protein isoforms.
Defective granzyme B gene expression and lytic response in T lymphocytes infiltrating human renal cell carcinoma.

Granzyme B is a protein thought to play a pivotal role in the cytolytic functions of T cells. In view of this, the inducibility of this gene in freshly isolated T cells (T-TILs) infiltrating human renal cell carcinoma (RCC) in vitro was examined by using the reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). A reduction in granzyme B messenger RNA (mRNA) expression in stimulated T-TILs from five of nine patients with RCC compared with autologous peripheral blood T cells was noted. The reduced expression was observed after multiple stimuli including anti-CD3 antibody, interleukin-2 (IL-2), and phytohemagglutinin (PHA). Because CD8 + T cells represent the predominant cytotoxic population, the ability of this cell population to express granzyme B mRNA after stimulation also was examined. When compared with CD8 + peripheral blood lymphocytes (T-PBLs) from patients with RCC and normal donors, the induction of granzyme B mRNA was reduced in CD8 + T-TILs. CD8 + T-TILs also had lower non-major histocompatibility complex (MHC)-restricted cytotoxic activity than did CD8 + T-PBLs against both Daudi cells and allogeneic RCC cell lines. These results show that in a subset of patients with RCC, depressed lyric activity of CD8 + TILs compared with CD8 + PBLs is present. Reduced granzyme B mRNA expression also was noted in selected patients.
Establishing a Fluorescence-Based Helicase Assay for Monitoring Eukaryotic Protein Synthesis Initiation

Efficient mRNA recruitment to the human ribosome requires a region of single stranded RNA close to the cap structure. The eukaryotic initiation factor 4A (eIF4A) is a DEAD box helicase that is essential for unwinding any stable secondary structure that would inhibit this step. Although studied for many years, the majority of helicase assays involving eIF4A and its associated proteins have failed to rigorously analyze the kinetic events that occur during mRNA unwinding. To provide this kinetic understanding we have developed a continuous fluorescence-based assay to measure RNA duplex unwinding events. This assay utilizes an RNA oligonucleotide modified with cyanine 3 (Cy3) annealed to a complimentary strand modified with black hole quencher (BHQ). Separation of the RNA duplex region significantly enhances the Cy3 fluorescence, enabling us to measure RNA helicase activity in real time by fluorescence spectroscopy.Data will be presented to show how we are using this assay to determine the kinetic role of accessory factors on the helicase activity by eIF4A. Moreover, we show how this data combined with a continuous coupled ATPase assay is enabling us to determine the relationship of ATP hydrolysis to the unwinding of duplex RNA by this DEAD box helicase.We will also present data employing RNA duplexes of different lengths, allowing us to understand how the processivity of eIF4A is influenced by other initiation components.This study will provide us with the foundation to begin understanding the kinetic framework of mRNA recruitment to the human ribosome.
Accountability for Quality: One State’s Experience in Improving Practice

South Carolina recently implemented a new initiative to improve the quality of pre-kindergarten and kindergarten classrooms in primary schools. This article describes the initiative and examines evidence that such an effort can have a positive effect on early childhood program quality. Data from both classroom observations using the ECERS-R scale, and from teacher surveys, are used to examine the effectiveness of the quality improvement effort. Results indicate that training and support coupled with accountability requirements can facilitate positive changes within classrooms. Examples of positive changes teachers report they made as the result of this process are included, along with changes in ECERS-R quality rating scores.
Enterprise purchases and the expectation of rationing

Abstract One reason why an excess supply of inputs is claimed not to occur in socialist economies is that the anticipation of future rationing makes managers by up all input materials even if not needed for current production. It is shown with a simple inventory model that such anticipations do shift some input purchases from the future to the present but that the effect can be small for many values of the parameters.
Bridging the clinical-research gap through nursing collaboration

Abstract The process of conducting research protocols on clinical psychiatric units presents many challenges for research and clinical staff alike, challenges that are especially daunting when the clinical psychiatric unit is not designed for or dedicated to research. This article describes an attempt to bridge the gap between clinical and research needs through nursing collaboration, focusing on the specific issue of managing treatment-resistant psychotic patients in a neurolepticfree state before trial on clozapine. It suggests that applying research methods to the process of research itself is as necessary as applying them to the specific protocols conducted within it.
Fluid Religion in Liquid Age? De/Traditionalization and its implications for Youth ministry in the Czech Republic

Using the common framework of contemporary culture as liquid or fluid times. This article looks specifically at Czech sociologists of religion and the domestic religious situation in the Czech Republic. It draws upon empirical work into traditionalization and de-traditionalization within the Roman Catholic Church and illustrates that these phenomena pose crucial questions for the shape and form of Roman Catholic youth ministry and youth work in this context. my country today. Proposals are made to address some of these challenges.
Unfaithful neurotransmitter transporters: focus on serotonin uptake and implications for antidepressant efficacy.

Biogenic amine transporters for serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine (SERT, NET and DAT respectively), are the key players terminating transmission of these amines in the central nervous system by their high-affinity uptake. They are also major targets for many antidepressant drugs. Interestingly however, drugs targeted to a specific transporter do not appear to be as clinically efficacious as those that block two or all three of these transporters. A growing body of literature, reviewed here, supports the idea that promiscuity among these transporters (the uptake of multiple amines in addition to their “native” transmitter) may account for improved therapeutic effects of dual and triple uptake blockers. However, even these drugs do not provide effective treatment outcomes for all individuals. An emerging literature suggests that “non-traditional” transporters such as organic cation transporters (OCT) and the plasma membrane monoamine transporter (PMAT) may contribute to the less than hoped for efficacy of currently prescribed uptake inhibitors. OCT and PMAT are capable of clearing biogenic amines from extracellular fluid and may serve to buffer the effects of frontline antidepressants, such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. In addition, polymorphisms that occur in the genes encoding the transporters can lead to variation in transporter expression and function (e.g. the serotonin transporter linked polymorphic region; 5-HTTLPR) and can have profound effects on treatment outcome. This may be accounted for, in part, by compensatory adaptations in other transporters. This review synthesizes the existing literature, focusing on serotonin to illustrate and revive a model for the rationale design of improved antidepressants.
Spinoza's anticipation of contemporary affective neuroscience

Spinoza speculated on how ethics could emerge from biology and psychology rather than disrupt them and recent evidence suggests he might have gotten it right. His radical deconstruction and reconstruction of ethics is supported by a number of avenues of research in the cognitive and neurosciences. This paper gathers together and presents a composite picture of recent research that supports Spinoza’s theory of the emotions and of the natural origins of ethics. It enumerates twelve naturalist claims of Spinoza that now seem to be supported by substantial evidence from the neurosciences and recent cognitive science. I focus on the evidence provided by Lakoff and Johnson in their summary of recent cognitive science in Philosophy in the Flesh: The Embodied Mind and Its Challenge to Western Thought (1999); by Antonio Damasio in his assessment of the state of affective neuroscience in Descartes’ Error (1994) and in The Feeling of What Happens (1999) (with passing references to his recent Looking for Spinoza (2003); and by Giacomo Rizzolatti, Vittorio Gallese and their colleagues in the neural basis of emotional contagion and resonance, i.e., the neural basis of primitive sociality and intersubjectivity, that bear out Spinoza’s account of social psychology as rooted in the mechanism he called attention to and identified as affective imitation.
Correcting for Motivational Distortion on Selected Adolescent Self-Report Personality Tests

The purpose of this study was to correct for motivational distortion (MD) on the High School Personality Questionnaire (HSPQ) and to evaluate the effectiveness of the HSPQ MD scale in identifying test-takers who had “faked good.” Subjects included 193 adolescent males who were given either the standard test instructions or else instructed to fake good. The participants completed the HSPQ and three additional scales that measure response distortions. Data analysis showed that the HSPQ MD scale correctly classified 63% of the respondents, yet showed the least effect size in comparison to the other scales. A multivariate analysis of variance and subsequent univariate analyses indicated that eight personality factors were susceptible to motivational distortion. Correction procedures were effective in reducing the effects of faking good. The relevance of the findings are discussed in terms of theoretical formulations by Cattell (1968, 1973, 1986) and implications for school psychologists.
Laterality effects in response to offsets of tonal stimuli.

Abstract In two experiments employing quite different procedures it was found that the offsets of tones presented in the right ear elicit significantly later responses than do the offsets of tones presented in the left ear. However, no ear differences were observed for responses to the onsets of tones in either experiments, attentional explanations of the results seem unlikely. The results may reflect an echoic memory for right-ear stimuli which is of longer duration than that for left-ear stimuli.
Wiederaufbau der Sloboda-Brücke Novi Sad

Die Sloboda Brucke in Novi Sad war zum Zeitpunkt der Planung eine der weltweit grosten Schragseilbrucken mit einer freien Spannweite von 351 m zwischen den Pylonen und einer Seilebene. Anfang April 1999 wurde sie bei einem NATO-Luftangriff von zwei Thomahawks jeweils am Pylonfuspunkt getroffen und dabei teilweise zerstort. Da die zerstorte Brucke eine der grosten internationalen Wasserstrasen Europas gesperrt hat, bestand die dringende Notwendigkeit, die Brucke aus der Donau zu raumen und wieder aufzubauen, um den ungehinderten Schiffsverkehr zu ermoglichen. Reconstruction of the Sloboda Bridge in Novi Sad. The Sloboda Bridge in Novi Sad with its free span of 351 m between the pylons has been one of the biggest cable stayed bridges with one cable plan in the world. Begin of April 1999 the bridge has been partly destroyed during a NATO air strike by two Thomahawks hiding the pylon bases. The destroyed bridge is an obstacle for one of the biggest European international waterways and the clearance and reconstruction are necessary in order to allow the free ship traffic.
Mechanism of Hydrogen Cyanide Binding to Myoglobin

Cyanide binding to myoglobin is much slower than that of other ferric and ferrous ligands, suggesting rate limitation by bond formation and disruption within the distal pocket. This interpretation is supported by two key experimental observations. First, His64(E7) to Gly and Ala mutations, which open a direct channel from the solvent to the iron atom, and Phe46(CD4) to Leu, Ile, and Val mutations, which increase the mobility of the distal histidine, have little effect on the association rate constant for cyanide binding. In contrast, these mutations cause 100−1000-fold increases in the rate constant for azide binding, showing convincingly that the binding of this ligand is limited by the rate of its movement into the protein. Second, the rate constant for cyanide dissociation is unaffected by changing the size of the residue at position 64(E7) in the series Gly, Val, Leu, Ile, Phe, whereas there is a 2000-fold decrease in the rate of azide dissociation in going from Gly64 to Phe64 metmyoglobin. The major ...
What are the goals and principles of management in the early treatment of rheumatoid arthritis

The management of patients with new-onset rheumatoid arthritis (RA) requires an awareness of the potential issues and needs that are unique to each patient with regards to their perceptions of their disease, physical needs and nutritional issues. Arthritis specialists should have a clear approach to the goals of management that are specific to patients with early rheumatoid arthritis (ERA). In this chapter, evidence for the goals and principles of management in the early treatment of RA is discussed. Patient education, the role of self-management, physical therapies, exercise, diet and drug management are addressed. This chapter aims to provide clinicians with a clear understanding of which interventions have supporting evidence and where further research is required. Where evidence for patients with ERA is lacking, evidence from patients with established RA is reviewed.
Flame Ionization Distribution and Dynamics Monitoring in a Turbulent Premixed Combustor

To achieve very low NOx emission levels, lean-premixed gas turbine combustors have been commercially implemented which operate near the fuel-lean flame extinction limit. Near the lean limit, however, flashback, lean blowoff, and combustion dynamics have appeared as problems during operation. To help address these operational problems, a combustion control and diagnostics sensor (CCADS) for gas turbine combustors is being developed. CCADS uses the electrical properties of the flame to detect key events and monitor critical operating parameters within the combustor. Previous development efforts have shown the capability of CCADS to monitor flashback and equivalence ratio, and progress has been made on detecting and measuring combustion instabilities. In support of this development, a highly instrumented atmospheric combustor has been used to measure the pressure oscillations in the combustor, the ultraviolet flame emission, and the flame ion field at the premix injector outlet and along the walls of the combustor. This instrumentation allows examination of the downstream extent of the combustion field using both the ultraviolet (mostly OH*) emission and the corresponding electron and ion distribution near the walls of the combustor. During testing the combustion dynamics were controlled using a fuel feed impedance control technique. This provided flame ionization measurements for both steady and unsteady combustion, without changing the operating parameters of the combustor. Previous testing in this combustor had fewer data acquisition channels, and did not include a full implementation of a CCADS centerbody. This testing included both the guard and sense CCADS electrodes installed on the nozzle centerbody, and an array of 14 wall mounted spark plugs to monitor the flame ionization downstream along the walls of the combustor. This paper reports the results of this testing, focusing on the relationship between the flame ionization, ultraviolet flame emission, and pressure oscillations. Tests were run over a matrix of equivalence ratios from 0.6 to 0.8, with inlet reference velocities of 20 and 25 m/s. The acoustics of the fuel system for the combustor were tuned using an active-passive technique with an adjustable quarter-wave resonator. Data processing included computing the logarithm of the real-time current signal from the guard electrode, to compensate for the exponential decay of the potential field from the electrode. The data show the standard deviation of the guard current to be the most promising statistic investigated for correlation with the standard deviation of the chamber pressure. This correlation could expand the capabilities of CCADS to allow for dynamic pressure monitoring on commercial gas turbines without a pressure transducer.Copyright © 2006 by ASME
ON THE DERIVATION OF A TWO-SEX STABLE POPULATION MODEL

It is well known that the intrinsic rates of growth derived separately for the males and females in a population, when one assumes the continuation of their respective mortality and fertility experiences, usually turn out to be different. Noting that the phenomenon of human reproduction is a product of the cooperation between the two sexes, we have attempted in this paper to define the sex-age-specific fertility rates as a function not only of age but also of time, where the latter is implicitly introduced in the model through the sex composition of the reproductive population. It has been shown that a stable model can then be defined based on such changing sex-age-specific fertility rates and given sets of unchanging mortality rates. The fertility rates stabilize with time, and the common intrinsic rates of growth for the two sexes are found to lie in the interval generated by the corresponding rates of the two one-sex models. Several other interesting relationships among the parameters of this model have been presented in the paper. Among other alternatives, a least square solution has been presented for the values of sex-age-specific fertility rates that are minimally discrepant with the observed rates but are consistent in terms of the parametric estimates they generate. It is interesting to note that a relatively modest adjustment in the sex-age-specific fertility rates is all that it takes to eliminate the inconsistencies generated by the separate one-sex models.
Action as language in a shared visual space

A shared visual workspace allows multiple people to see similar views of objects and environments. Prior empirical literature demonstrates that visual information helps collaborators understand the current state of their task and enables them to communicate and ground their conversations efficiently. We present an empirical study that demonstrates how action replaces explicit verbal instruction in a shared visual workspace. Pairs performed a referential communication task with and without a shared visual space. A detailed sequential analysis of the communicative content reveals that pairs with a shared workspace were less likely to explicitly verify their actions with speech. Rather, they relied on visual information to provide the necessary communicative and coordinative cues.
Regional scale transient groundwater flow modeling using Lattice Boltzmann methods

Lattice Boltzmann (LB) models can be used to simulate flow in porous media at scales much larger than pore size. LB-based models for such macroscopic scale porous media flow simulations are an extension of standard LB models. There are at least two alternative approaches for implementing such models. In the first approach the local velocity is altered during the collision step by incorporating an external force, F, equivalent to the damping effect of solid particles in porous media. The porous media can be permeable or impermeable depending upon the external forcing term. A sink term is introduced in the LB model to simulate a pumping well and this model is further applied to solve transient ground water well problems for confined aquifers. Directly solving the ground water flow equation with an LB model by exploiting its ability to solve the diffusion equation is another strategy. The second order transient ground water flow equation is analogous to the diffusion equation and mass diffusivity is analogous to hydraulic diffusivity. This diffusion model is used to solve transient ground water problems. Simulated results accurately match analytical solutions of the transient ground water flow equation.
Failure of the local exchange approximation in the evaluation of the H - ground state

The use of the local approximation for the exchange and correlation energy within the density-functional formalism has proven to be much more successful than originally anticipated. The calculation of the ground state for weakly bound negative ions, such as ${\mathrm{H}}^{\ensuremath{-}}$, provides a sensitive test of the local approximation, which is known to lead to an incorrect asymptotic form of the single-particle effective potential. For ${\mathrm{H}}^{\ensuremath{-}}$, the result is a qualitatively incorrect ground state, the electrons being partially delocalized. We show how this problem may be corrected by constraining the electrons with a fictitious spherical barrier at a large radius. For ${\mathrm{H}}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ we use this procedure to obtain a ground-state energy of -0.518 a.u. and an electronic affinity for H of -0.92 eV.
Atomic scale oxide superlattices grown by RHEED controlled pulsed laser deposition

By depositing thin films under conditions where intensity oscillations are observed in RHEED (reflection high-energy electron diffraction) spots, unit cell level multilayers of SrTiO3/BaTiO3 structures have been grown by pulsed laser ablation. High resolution TEM (transmission electron microscopy) and STEM (scanning transmission electron microscopy) observations of the deposits show that epitaxial multilayers with layer thicknesses of 1, 2, 4, 8, and 16 unit cells can be grown on [100] orientation SrTiO3 substrates. The superlattices show partial intermixing of the Sr and Ba for layer thicknesses less than 8 unit cells, but incomplete intermixing occurs even when the layers are only a single unit cell thick. From observations of the degree of intermixing at different depths in the deposit, it was determined that most of the intermixing takes place during deposition and not during subsequent annealing of the deposit. The 16 and 8 unit cell thick BaTiO3 layers were found to be tetragonal with the c-axis of the layers oriented normal to the substrate but with the a-axis strained to coherently match the SrTiO3 layers.
Differential Secret Sharing in Wireless Networks

This letter utilizes the principle of reciprocity in electromagnetic wave propagation as well as the variations of the wireless channel state to share secrets in wireless networks. In particular, a novel secret sharing mechanism is proposed to share secret bits between two wireless users. Using the Central Limit Theorem, we show that the proposed approach can provide performance guarantee when only limited stochastic information is available. A few properties of the proposed approach are identified to optimize the secret sharing process. Simulation results indicate that compared with the work done by Mathur et al. , the proposed mechanism can share secret bits 3–4 times faster with higher probability of success.
The responsibility of the dental profession in reducing exposure to ionizing radiation.

Four areas of responsibility in the field are cited: to recognize that radiologic health responsibilities actually exist; to provide educational opportunities for the members of the profession in areas of radiologic health pertinent to dentistry; to be certain that dentists avail themselves of such educational opportunities and use this new knowledge in routine office work, and to defend dentistry's right as a member of the health science team to make its own decisions as to when and how much ionizing radiation should be used. While American dentistry contributes minor amounts of gonadal radiation per person, it does add, through the use of its 95,000 x-ray machines, to the gonadal radiation of the population as a whole. It is estimated that l mr of gonadal radiation is produced for each r of facial exposure. Thus a total of 50 r is produced per complete mouth x ray, with a maximum gonadal dose of 50 mr. This dose could presumably be reduced by a factor of 4 if the fastest films were used. The daily gonadal dose being distributed by dentists to the total American population is between 76 and 6000 r (20 x 0.04 mr per film of gonadal radiation xmore » 95,000 = 76 r; 20 x 3.16 mr per film of gonadal radiation x 95,000 = 6000 r). On the basis of a population of 180 million and an estimated 3.5 r of background radiation in a 32-year period to the average person in the population, the total background radiation delivered per day to the entire population is approximates 57,500 r. On a percentage basis, therefore, dentistry appears to add to the population's total daily gonadal dose from 0.1 to 10% of that being received daily through background radiation. It is probably reasonable to estimate that dentistry is presentiy adding about 7% to the average person's background dose. This figure is likely to decrease as more dentists utilize radiation-reducing methods. (H.H.D.)« less
Gender role conformity and aggression: Influence of perpetrator and victim conformity on direct physical aggression in women

Abstract The wealth of literature indicating that men are more physically aggressive than women may be the reason for the dearth of research on physical aggression in women. However, recent research has found that this discrepancy is better attributed to conformity to gender roles rather than to biological sex. The purpose of the present study was to assess the influence of masculine and feminine gender role conformity on direct physical aggression in women. One-hundred eighty four women were recruited to compete in a sham aggression paradigm against either a hyperfeminine (gender role conforming) or hypofeminine (gender role violating) confederate woman. Results indicated that women evinced more physical aggression toward a hypofeminine woman than toward her hyperfeminine counterpart. Moreover, endorsement of masculine traits by female aggressors was positively correlated with behavioral and self-reports of physical aggression. Femininity was unrelated to behavioral indices of physical aggression but negatively correlated with self-reports of aggression. Findings are discussed in reference to the increased risk of victimization of women who deviate from gender-specific role norms and the impact of perpetrator gender role adherence on aggressive behavior. Future examination of differential effects of general nonconformity on aggression as an alternative explanation of the findings is required.
Systematic review with network meta‐analysis: the efficacy of anti‐TNF agents for the treatment of Crohn's disease

SummaryBackground Anti-tumour necrosis factor-alpha agents (anti-TNF) are effective therapies for the treatment of Crohn's disease (CD), but their comparative efficacy is unknown. Aim To perform a network meta-analysis comparing the efficacy of anti-TNF therapies in CD. Methods After screening 506 studies, reviewers extracted information on 10 studies. Traditional meta-analysis (TMA) was used to compare each anti-TNF agent to placebo. Bayesian network meta-analysis (NMA) was performed to compare the effects of anti-TNF agents to placebo. In addition, sample sizes for comparative efficacy trials were calculated. Results Compared to placebo, TMA revealed that anti-TNF agents result in a higher likelihood of induction of remission and response (RR: 1.66, 95% CI: 1.17–2.36 and RR: 1.43, 95% CI: 1.17–1.73, respectively) as well as maintenance of remission and response (RR: 1.78, 95% CI: 1.51–2.09 and RR: 1.68, 95% CI: 1.46–1.93, respectively). NMA found nonsignificant trends between infliximab and adalimumab or certolizumab pegol. Among subcutaneous therapies, NMA demonstrated superiority of adalimumab to certolizumab pegol for induction of remission (RR: 2.93, 95% CrI: 1.21–7.75). Sample size calculations suggest that adequately powered head-to-head comparative efficacy trials would require greater than 3000 patients. Conclusions All anti-TNF agents are effective for induction and maintenance of response and remission in the treatment of CD. Although adalimumab is superior to certolizumab pegol for induction of remission, there is no evidence of clinical superiority among anti-TNF agents. Head-to-head trials among the anti-TNF agents are impractical in terms of size and cost.
A novel hemoglobin-based blood substitute protects against myocardial reperfusion injury

HBOC-201 (Biopure; Cambridge, MA) is a glutaraldehyde-polymerized bovine hemoglobin (Hb) solution that is stroma free, has lower viscosity than blood, and promotes O2 unloading. We investigated the...
The logarithmic spiral in a single-aperture multimode antenna system

The n -arm logarithmic spiral antenna having n distinct terminals may be considered as an ( n-1 )-port antenna. It may be operated simultaneously in ( n-1 )independent balanced modes. By varying the relative excitation of these modes it is possible to produce a variety of patterns that have applications to direction finding, tracking, and homing over a broad range of frequencies. It is particularly easy to obtain useful results in this manner because of some unique properties of the logarithmic spiral. The basic relations between mode excitation and the related fields of these multiarm antennas are reviewed together with some properties that are characteristic of the log-spiral geometry. Multimode single-aperture systems, such as those using a relatively simple hybrid matrix to synthesize multiple beams tilted from the axis of the antenna, are discussed. These tilted beams can be conically scanned about the axis of the antenna by a simple phase shift within the excitation matrix.
Soil nematodes indicate food web responses to elevated atmospheric CO2

Summary To understand the impact of rising levels of atmospheric CO 2 on ecosystems, we need to understand plant responses to elevated CO 2 , as well as how those plant responses in turn affect their environment. An important component of the environment of a plant is the soil biota living near plant roots. Soil nematodes are representative of a large portion of this biota, since they are abundant and trophically diverse in most soils. In a three-year field experiment, we studied the responses of soil nematodes to increased root growth of trees growing in high and low nitrogen soils under ambient and twice-ambient atmospheric CO 2 , a two-by-two factorial experimental design. Our hypothesis was that in the high-N soil, increased root growth resulting from twice-ambient atmospheric CO 2 would positively affect nematode density, supporting a more abundant and trophically complex nematode community. Trembling aspen ( Populus tremuloides ) were grown in twenty open-top chambers under the four treatments, replicated five times. In low-N soil, twice-ambient CO 2 was associated with higher density of the most abundant plant-feeding taxon (Trichodoridae), lower density of one bacteriafeeding taxon (Rhabditidae), and lower evenness of the community, compared to ambient CO 2 . In high-N soil, twice-ambient CO 2 was associated with higher density of predator/omnivores, lower diversity, and a larger value of Bonger's Maturity Index, compared to ambient CO 2 . In soils under young deciduous trees, such as the aspens in this experiment, increased root growth under elevated CO 2 may result in significant changes in soil food web community structure that may provide clues about the fate of carbon under elevated CO 2 .
Building Half-Metallicity in Graphene Nanoribbons by Direct Control over Edge States Occupation

Electronic structures of zigzag edged graphene nanoribbons (ZGNRs) doped with boron (B) or nitrogen (N) atoms are investigated by spin polarized first-principles calculations. We find that ZGNRs can be tuned to be either semiconducting, half-metallic, or metallic by controlling the distance of the impurity atoms to the edges. A new scheme is identified to achieve full half-metallicity in ZGNRs by doping B atom at one edge and N atom at the other. We find that the origin of the half-metallicity is due to interaction between the edge states and B/N atoms which results in direct control over the electron occupation of the edge states. This mechanism is so robust that full half-metallicity can always be produced in ZGNRs irrespective of the ribbon width, which opens new possibilities for applications of ZGNRs in spintronic devices.
Developmental Periods of Choline Sensitivity Provide an Ontogenetic Mechanism for Regulating Memory Capacity and Age-Related Dementia

In order to determine brain and behavioral sensitivity of nutrients that may serve as inductive signals during early development, we altered choline availability to rats during 7 time frames spanning embryonic day (ED) 6 through postnatal day (PD) 75 and examined spatial memory ability in the perinatally-treated adults. Two sensitive periods were identified, ED 12-17 and PD 16-30, during which choline supplementation facilitated spatial memory and produced increases in dendritic spine density in CA1 and dentate gyrus (DG) regions of the hippocampus while also changing the dendritic fields of DG granule cells. Moreover, choline supplementation during ED 12-17 only, prevented the memory decline normally observed in aged rats. These behavioral changes were strongly correlated with the acetylcholine (ACh) content of hippocampal slices following stimulated release. Our data demonstrate that the availability of choline during critical periods of brain development influences cognitive performance in adulthood and old age, and emphasize the importance of perinatal nutrition for successful cognitive aging.
An optical scheme for enhancing the performance of the F 2 (157 nm) laser; A possible F 2 two-photon femtosecond pulse generator

We have very recently begun to experimentally test a simple scheme for enhancing the efficiency of a pulsedF 2 laser that our group proposed several years ago. This scheme involves the use of a pulsed nanosecond-time-scale infrared laser to deplete the terminal state of anF 2 (157 nm) laser in order to enhance its performance. If the scheme should prove to be workable, this would imply that a cw two-photon UV femtosecond pulse generator might be constructed on the basis ofF 2 transitions.
Resolving Religious Conflicts Through Expanding Inter-Religious Communication: Issues and Challenges

Konflik yang terkait dengan isu keagamaan sering timbul dengan sangat mudah. Tanpa menafikan hadirnya oknum provokator, konflik ini biasanya muncul karena rendahnya sikap saling pengertian dan terbatasnya komunikasi antar agama. Dalam artikel ini, penulis berpandangan bahwa mediasi –sebagai salah satu jalan keluar yang popular untuk mengatasi konflik keagamaan, yang lebih menekankan terwujudnya kesepakatan damai antar pemeluk agama– kurang cocok untuk kondisi di Indonesia. Berdasarkan analisis atas usaha untuk resolusi konflik keagamaan di Indonesia, upaya yang lebih cocok untuk dilakukan adalah yang mengarah pada upaya saling memahami antar kelompok agama yang berbeda-beda. Hal itu dapat diusahakan melalui peningkatan komunikasi antar pemeluk agama, termasuk melalui jalur pendidikan formal, dialog antar agama, hingga memperluas ruang publik untuk pengembangan tradisi peace building.
Superconductivity in nearly one-dimensional tin wires

Abstract We have prepared tin wires with diameters less than 1000 A by electroplating into small holes in mica. The resistance ratios indicate low temperature electron mean free paths limited only by the geometry. We have measured the resistance in the Aslamazov-Larkin region above T c and find good agreement with both the predicted temperature dependence and magnitude.
Effect of heart rate increase on dorsal aortic flow before and after volume loading in the stage 24 chick embryo.

ABSTRACT: In the stage 24 chick embryo, a paced increase in heart rate reduces stroke volume, presumably by rate-dependent decrease in passive filling. We hypothesized that rate-dependent stroke volume reduction could be abolished by volume loading. Dorsal aortic blood velocity was measured with a 20 mHz puIsed-Doppler meter from a 0.75-mm piezoelectric crystal (eight embryos), and atrioventricular velocity was simultaneously measured from the ventricular apex (six embryos). Sinus venosus pacing (stimuli of 1 ms duration and <4 mA) was performed at intrinsic rate (P:I) and at 150% of intrinsic rate (P:150%I). Volume loading was performed during P:150%I by intravenous injection of 7.5 ixL of chick Ringer's solution. Using atrioventricular velocity profile, stroke volume was divided into the proportion due to passive (E-phase) and active (Aphase) filling. Stroke volume was compared during P:I, P:150%I, immediately (P:150%I′) and 30 s after (P:150%I) volume loading. Data (mean ± SEM) were compared by ANOVA. During pacing, stroke volume (mm2/cycle) decreased but increased after volume loading (I, 0.43 ± 0.03; P:I, 0.37 ± 0.03; P:150%I, 0.19 ± 0.03; P:150%I′, 0.24 ± 0.05; P:150%I, 0.28 ± 0.04 (p < 0.005). During P:150%I, E-phase filling disappeared and was not restored by volume loading, whereas, A-phase filling diminished but was restored by volume loading. In stage 24 chick embryos, rate-dependent stroke volume decrease is reversed by volume loading that restores stroke volume due to an increase in active filling but not passive filling. Thus, even at rapid heart rate, the embryonic ventricle responds to volume loading, indicating that the Frank- Starling relationship functions during tachycardia in the embryonic heart.
Visual fields and tiagabine: a quandary

This case report describes the development of asymptomatic visual field defects (VFDs) in a psychiatric patient with bipolar disorder receiving adjunctive tiagabine treatment. These defects were apparently reversible upon the discontinuation of tiagabine. Controlled clinical trials are indicated to determine if this finding is indicative of a class effect for all GABAergic antiepileptic drugs (AEDs), as already noted with vigabatrin, or if this case represents an incidental finding with tiagabine (41 references).
Tubular ectasia of the testicle: sonographic and MR imaging appearance.

Ectasia of the seminiferous tubules at the level of the mediastinum is a recently recognized benign condition of the testicles. Although it may have typical sonographic features, the condition can at times be difficult to distinguish from tumors on the basis of sonography. We describe the sonographic and MR appearance of this condition in seven men in whom we were able to distinguish tubular ectasia from tumors of the testicles on the basis of the imaging findings.Ectasia of the seminiferous tubules was histologically proved in a man who had an intratesticular mass seen on sonograms and MR images. We analyzed the sonographic and MR imaging features in this man and in six others who had similar imaging findings but did not have biopsy proof of tubular ectasia.The first patient was a man with bilateral findings who had a unilateral orchiectomy that revealed ectasia of the seminiferous tubules. Spermatocelectomy was performed in another man whose testis was normal on surgical inspection and on subsequent fol...
Components of Short-Term Proactive Interference ~

A classical short-term memory finding is that asymptotic performance in the Brown-Peterson paradigm decreases over the first few trials. Three experiments investigated the extent to which this performance decrease is due to a decrease in information being transferred to long-term store. Each experiment consisted of two parts. The first part utilized a Brown-Peterson paradigm with word triads as stimuli. The second part was a final free recall test in which subjects attempted to recall the words they had seen in the first part. The results showed no decrease in final recall probability as a function of short-term trial number, suggesting that the short-term decrease in performance is due to increasing retrieval difficulties. A model is proposed which handles the present results as well as other basic characteristics of the Brown-Peterson paradigm.
Regulation of caveolin-1 expression and phosphorylation by VEGF in ovine amnion cells.

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) has been implicated in the regulation of vesicular transport of amniotic fluid via caveolae across the amnion. This study tested the hypothesis that VEGF regulates caveolar function by stimulating caveolin-1 expression and phosphorylation in ovine amniotic epithelial cells (oAECs). Using primary cultures of oAECs, caveolin-1 was identified by immunofluorescent staining. Caveolin-1 messenger RNA (mRNA) abundance was determined by Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) and protein by Western blotting. The effects of VEGF165 on caveolin-1 expression and phosphorylation were determined. Caveolin-1 immunoreactivity was detected in oAECs. In response to 10 ng/mL VEGF165, caveolin-1 mRNA levels increased whereas the protein levels were unaffected. Furthermore, VEGF stimulated caveolin-1 phosphorylation, an effect abrogated by the inhibition of c-Src protein kinase. These data suggest that VEGF upregulates caveolin-1 activity through c-Src signaling pathways. Our observations support the hypothesis that VEGF regulates amniotic fluid transport across the amnion by stimulating caveolin-1 activity to mediate caveolar function in amnion cells.
Oxygen diffusion in Y1Ba2Cu3O7-δ grains: An experimental study of ozone and oxygen annealing processes

By monitoring the electrical resistivity of single phase polycrystalline Y1Ba2Cu3O7-δ samples while changing their oxygen content in both ozone and ordinary oxygen environments, we were able to investigate the correlation between their average oxygen content and the diffusion time for oxygen inside the grains. We model the resistivity time dependence as a two-step process and find that this explains our experimental results satisfactorily. From this model we are able to estimate a value of the oxygen diffusion coefficient from our data that agrees well with other measurements. We also conclude that while ozone and ordinary oxygen may have different effects in oxidizing the surface of grains, they show no observable differences in the oxygen diffusion process in the bulk Y1Ba2Cu3O7-δ material.
Micromachined acoustic sensors with integrated optoelectronic readout

A diffraction-based optical displacement detection method that enables integration of optoelectronics with micromachined acoustic structures in a small volume is described. Coupled with electrostatic actuation, the method is used to implement broadband (DC-200 kHz) micromachined microphones and microphone arrays with self-calibration capabilities as well as ultrasonic transmit-receive arrays operating in air into the MHz frequency range.
Trust, self-confidence and supervisory control in a process control simulation

The authors investigate the relationship between trust, self-confidence and allocation of function during an interaction with a simulated semiautomatic pasteurization plant. The results illustrate how trust in the automatic controllers and self-confidence in manual control combine to influence the operators' allocation strategy. Specifically, an autoregressive moving average vector (ARMAV) time series model of the dynamic interaction of trust and self-confidence accounts for between 60.9% and 86.5% of the variance in the use of three automatic controllers. This model of operator allocation of function provides a starting point for a more complete understanding of the factors mediating operator allocation of function in a supervisory control situation. >