cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Boerne-Rucho Conundrum: Nonjusticiability, Section 5, and Partisan Gerrymandering

This Essay explores the scope of Congress’s authority to enact comprehensive partisan-gerrymandering reform governing state and local electoral districts. While there is a broad consensus that Congress can regulate partisan gerrymandering of federal (i.e., congressional) electoral districts under the Elections Clause, the conventional wisdom in the field has been that Congress lacks the power to regulate a state’s attempts to partisan gerrymander state and local electoral districts. To do so, Congress would have to rely on its Section 5 power under the Fourteenth Amendment, a task made near-insurmountable in the partisan-gerrymandering context by the stringent “congruence and proportionality” test that Section 5 legislation must meet under City of Boerne v. Flores. This Essay revises that conventional wisdom by arguing that Rucho v. Common Cause, which held that partisan gerrymandering cases are nonjusticiable but did not overturn prior statements by the Court that “extreme” partisan gerrymanders violate the Equal Protection Clause, actually opens a new opportunity for Congress to pass Section 5 legislation to comprehensively regulate all forms of partisan gerrymandering. The Court justified Boerne’s heightened standard of review for Section 5 legislation as a way of safeguarding the judiciary’s prerogative to “say what the law is.” But when the Court, by invoking nonjusticiability, disclaims its ability to “say what the law is” in the context of an acknowledged constitutional right, as it did in Rucho, Boerne’s “congruence and proportionality” test becomes incoherent. Instead, the Court must apply a lesser standard of review and evaluate Section 5 partisan gerrymandering legislation under a “rational means” test. This revelation makes possible a previously doubtful proposition — that Congress may pass legislation to regulate partisan gerrymandering of not just congressional districts but state and local legislative districts as well.
Liquidity, Price Behavior, and Market-related Events

We investigate the price behavior of stock market portfolios sorted by liquidity and/or size surrounding strong market events. Our sample includes 74 events that represent return movements for the market that are ±4.5 standard deviations from average returns. None of these market events are associated with explanatory ‘causes.’ Using standard liquidity measures, the Amihud and turnover tests, we find that large liquid stocks react in a stronger manner to market shocks. In addition, these stocks experience faster reversal following the shocks than do illiquid and small stocks. We interpret this as indicating that large liquid stocks are more market related. We also find that small illiquid stocks have more idiosyncratic risk than liquid and large stocks. These outcomes have implications for investors wanting to construct portfolios to mimic the market and also for portfolios that might be expected to move more (or less) strongly during market events.
Seasonal shifts in surface water-groundwater connections in a ferricrete-impacted stream estimated from electrical resistivity

ABSTRACTThe efficacy of the hyporheic zone (HZ) — where surface water and groundwater mix — for processing nutrients or the uptake of metals is dependent on the streambed hydraulic conductivity and...
Child Welfare Services Response to COVID-19: Addressing Face-to-Face Contacts.

During the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, child welfare case managers faced contradictions in their responsibility to make regular in-person contact with children and families to promote safety, permanency, and well-being while following public health directives to avoid social contact in order to curb COVID-19 infections. In response, federal guidance was issued regarding the use of technology to maintain mandated contacts with children in foster care. States had to make decisions about how to handle other contact types. This study reviewed documentation of state child welfare agency practices regarding face-to-face contact between case managers and child-welfare involved families between March 2020 and May 2020. Using a point-in-time search to obtain publicly accessible documents related to caseworker face-to-face contact and COVID-19, data was located for 49 states and the District of Columbia (n = 50). Documents were analyzed in NVIVO 12 using document analysis. Within the context of face-to-face interactions by child welfare case managers, documents were analyzed in six themes based on the types of services provided to children and families: (1) investigations, (2) family preservation, (3) family team meetings, (4) foster care, (5) adoption, and (6) general child welfare. State decisions about how to manage these contacts varied. In several states case managers were directed to document both virtual and in-person contacts during this time as face-to-face; which may impact future evaluations of child welfare systems during COVID-19. Findings highlight a range of strategies used by state child welfare systems. By reviewing previous practice and hearing what other states are doing, child welfare service agencies have the potential to evaluate appropriately, strengthen their plans and address disparate impacts.
Cannabis Use and Oral Health in a National Cohort of Adults.

Background Cannabis use is common and increasing among adults. Evidence connects cannabis use to poor periodontal health, but few prospective studies exist of adults in the United States. Methods This investigation examined associations between cannabis use and self-reported adverse oral health conditions among participants (N = 18,872) in the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study, a nationally representative cohort. Survey-weighted regression modeling estimated associations between cannabis use and seven self-reported measures of oral health status, adjusted for tobacco use and other disease risk factors. Results Reporting past-30-days cannabis use in any of PATH Waves 1-3 was positively and statistically significantly associated at Wave 4 with multiple periodontal disease sequalae and with self-rated fair or poor overall oral health (adjusted odds ratio versus never-users: 1.75; 95% confidence interval: 1.52, 2.01). Conclusions These findings provide further evidence that cannabis use is an independent risk factor for poor oral health, although study limitations (self-reported outcomes, limited information on cannabis use frequency and modality) must be considered. Practical implications Dental professionals should engage patients in clear, nonjudgmental dialogue about cannabis use to address oral health risks and avoid potential patient safety issues in care delivery. General recommendations for addressing cannabis use in dental practice are presented.
Chapter 23. Current Concepts in Periodontal Disease

Publisher Summary This chapter highlights the mechanisms thought to be involved in the etiology and pathogenesis of chronic periodontitis. The etiology of periodontal disease has been definitively linked to the deposition and accumulation of microbial colonies on the crowns of teeth in the region of the in gingival sulcus, where the gingiva or gum meets the tooth. Bacterial aggregates adhere onto the tooth surface in a soft, sticky mass called “supragingival plaque.” The chapter outlines that plaque in some way triggers and sustains an inflammatory response in the underlying gingival tissues. During its earliest stages, periodontal disease is confined to the marginal gingival. Diseased gingival tissues exhibit all the clinical and microscopic features characteristic of a chronic inflammatory process. An exudate, rich in plasma and tissue-derived proteins and white cells, drains from the affected gingiva into the crevice. This is the so-called “crevicular” or “sulcular exudate,” which can be detected throughout the course of periodontal disease.
MONITORING NF-κB MEDIATED CHEMOKINE TRANSCRIPTION IN TUMORIGENESIS

Abstract Chemokine‐receptor signaling plays an important role in the inflammatory response often associated with tumor growth and metastasis. The NF‐κB pathway, essential for transcription of chemokines/chemokine receptors and other key inflammatory modulators, has emerged as a potential target for tumor therapy. Here we describe an efficient approach to monitor drugs that target the NF‐κB signaling as related to tumor growth and metastasis in vivo . For bioluminescence imaging, the firefly luciferase (Fluc) reporter has the advantage of stable signaling, while Gaussia luciferase (Gluc) provides very sensitive signaling based on secretion of Gluc. We introduce the use of monitoring intratumoral Gluc, which rapidly diffuses into the blood circulation and urine. The peripheral Gluc assay may complement bioluminescence imaging and provide a kinetic, noninvasive, real‐time read‐out of NF‐κB activity by directly determining Gluc reporter activity in blood or urine samples from tumor‐bearing mice.
Sex Differences on the SAT: An Analysis of Demographic and Educational Variables.

In comparing the average scores for men and women on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT, since revised and renamed as the Scholastic Assessment Test), sex differences in demographic and educational variables that influence test performance are usually ignored. In this study of 69,284 high school seniors (12th graders) who took the SAT in November of 1990, self-reported background information was used to compute adjusted scores for men and for women. On the Verbal section, the difference in observed means was 4.68 points while the difference in adjusted means was 9.87 points. On the Mathematical section, the difference in observed means was 45.38 points but the difference in adjusted means was 33.76 points (a reduction of over 25%). In all comparisons, the mean was higher for men than for women. It is argued that adjusted means may provide more appropriate comparisons of the performance of men and women on the SAT depending on the type of comparison to be made.
Discovery, adaptation and transcriptional activity of two tick promoters: Construction of a dual luciferase reporter system for optimization of RNA interference in rhipicephalus (boophilus) microplus cell lines

Dual luciferase reporter systems are valuable tools for functional genomic studies, but have not previously been developed for use in tick cell culture. We evaluated expression of available luciferase constructs in tick cell cultures derived from Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus, an important vector of bovine babesiosis and anaplasmosis. Commercial promoters were evaluated for transcriptional activity driving luciferase expression in the tick cell lines. The human phosphoglycerate kinase (PGK) promoter resulted in detectable firefly luciferase activity within 2 days post-transfection of the R. microplus cell line BME26, with maximal activity at 5 days post-transfection. Several other promoters were weaker or inactive in the tick cells, prompting identification and assessment of transcriptional activity of the homologous ribosomal protein L4 (rpL4, GenBank accession no.: KM516205) and elongation factor 1α (EF-1α, GenBank accession no.: KM516204) promoters cloned from R. microplus. Evaluation of luciferase expression driven by various promoters in tick cell culture resulted in selection of the R. microplus rpL4 promoter and the human PGK promoter driving transcription of sequences encoding modified firefly and NanoLuc® luciferases for construction of a dual luciferase reporter system for use in tick cell culture.
Very Accurate Calculations for Diatomic, Neutral and Anionic Systems with Numerical Orbitals

The computational strategy and numerical results are presented for our recently developed method, which combines numerical orbital technique for diatomic molecules with the many body perturbation theory (MBPT) and the coupled cluster (CC) method. This composite produces the most accurate results ever obtained for diatomic systems. We also show applications of the present technique to study ground and excited states of anions of polar diatomic molecules.
Matrix Factorization for Recovery of Biological Processes from Microarray Data

We explore a number of matrix factorization methods in terms of their ability to identify signatures of biological processes in a large gene expression study. We focus on the ability of these methods to find signatures in terms of gene ontology enhancement and on the interpretation of these signatures in the samples. Two Bayesian approaches, Bayesian Decomposition (BD) and Bayesian Factor Regression Modeling (BFRM), perform best. Differences in the strength of the signatures between the samples suggest that BD will be most useful for systems modeling and BFRM for biomarker discovery.
Cost-Effectiveness of Herpes Zoster Vaccine for Persons Aged 50 Years.

Herpes zoster vaccine is licensed for persons aged 50 years or older, but the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommends it only for those aged 60 years or older. This analysis ...
Clinical Relevance of Androgen Receptor Splice Variants in Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer

Metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) currently benefits from a wealth of treatment options, yet still remains lethal in the vast majority of patients. It is becoming increasingly understood that this disease entity continues to evolve over time, acquiring additional and diverse resistance mechanisms with each subsequent therapy used. This dynamic relationship between treatment pressure and disease resistance can be challenging for the managing clinician. The recent discovery of alternate splice variants of the androgen receptor (AR) is one potential mechanism of escape in mCRPC, and recognizing this resistance mechanism might be important for optimal treatment selection for our patients. AR-V7 appears to be the most relevant AR splice variant, and early clinical data suggest that it is a negative prognostic marker in mCRPC. Emerging evidence also suggests that detection of AR-V7 may be associated with resistance to novel hormonal therapy (abiraterone and enzalutamide) but may be compatible with sensitivity to taxane chemotherapy (docetaxel and cabazitaxel). Adding to this complexity is the observation that AR-V7 is a dynamic marker whose status may change across time and depending on selective pressures induced by different therapies. Finally, it is possible that AR-V7 may represent a therapeutic target in mCRPC if drugs can be designed that degrade or inhibit AR splice variants or block their transcriptional activity. Several such agents (including galeterone, EPI-506, and bromodomain/BET inhibitors) are now in clinical development.
Structure of hadrons implied by duality

The harmonic-oscillator model of hadrons is generalized to include higher harmonics so that the degrees of freedom of the internal state of a hadron are equivalent to those of a violin string or organ pipe. Scattering amplitudes for the scattering of particles by the oscillator are constructed and shown to be equivalent to the dual-symmetric Veneziano model. Our method provides a direct construction of the amplitude in a manifestly factorized form.
Effective sample size for computing prior hyperparameters in Bayesian phase I–II dose-finding:

Background:The efficacy–toxicity trade-off based design is a practical Bayesian phase I–II dose-finding methodology. Because the design’s performance is very sensitive to prior hyperparameters and the shape of the target trade-off contour, specifying these two design elements properly is essential.Purpose:The goals are to provide a method that uses elicited mean outcome probabilities to derive a prior that is neither overly informative nor overly disperse, and practical guidelines for specifying the target trade-off contour.Methods:A general algorithm is presented that determines prior hyperparameters using least squares penalized by effective sample size. Guidelines for specifying the trade-off contour are provided. These methods are illustrated by a clinical trial in advanced prostate cancer. A new version of the efficacy–toxicity program is provided for implementation.Results:Together, the algorithm and guidelines provide substantive improvements in the design’s operating characteristics.Limitations:Th...
Preconfigured, skewed distribution of firing rates in the hippocampus and entorhinal cortex

Despite the importance of the discharge frequency in neuronal communication, little is known about the firing-rate patterns of cortical populations. Using large-scale recordings from multiple layers of the entorhinal-hippocampal loop, we found that the firing rates of principal neurons showed a lognormal-like distribution in all brain states. Mean and peak rates within place fields of hippocampal neurons were also strongly skewed. Importantly, firing rates of the same neurons showed reliable correlations in different brain states and testing situations, as well as across familiar and novel environments. The fraction of neurons that participated in population oscillations displayed a lognormal pattern. Such skewed firing rates of individual neurons may be due to a skewed distribution of synaptic weights, which is supported by our observation of a lognormal distribution of the efficacy of spike transfer from principal neurons to interneurons. The persistent skewed distribution of firing rates implies that a preconfigured, highly active minority dominates information transmission in cortical networks.
Bacterial Chromosome Structure and Function

We previously showed that the transcription profile of the E. coli chromosome is dictated by its structure. We proposed that the chromosome has defined structures which change the transcriptability of the constituent promoters. We are exploring to understand the structure of the E. coli chromosome by a variety of approaches.HU, an abundant highly conserved chromosome-associated protein in E. coli, has been implicated to play an architectural role in the chromosome, and to constrain supercoils in DNA. We will discuss the contribution of HU in chromosomal structure and, as a result, in global gene expression. We will also describe RNA molecules that bind to HU, and a potential role of the RNA/HU complexes in chromosome compaction.In addition, we performed chromosome conformation analysis, and discovered that GalR, a regulon specific repressor, connects distal segments of the chromosome by GalR-GalR interactions. We believe this network formation organizes the chromosome in space, thereby contributing to chromosome compaction. This is the first evidence that a transcription factor participates in folding the chromosome into a 3-D structure.
A stochastic model of preference change and its application to 1992 presidential election panel data

The authors present and test a model for the evolution of preferences. Personal preferences are represented by rankings with possible ties and are posited to change under the influence of "tokens" of information in the environment. These tokens may not be directly controlled or observed by the researcher. The authors apply the model to 1992 National Election Study panel data (W. E. Miller, D. R. Kinder, S. J. Rosenstone, & NES, 1993). The parameter estimates suggest that negative campaigning played a major role in the information flow. Democrats and Republicans experienced a barrage of contradicting information about Perot; Democrats, Republicans, and Independents each received or perceived different information. A shift in the perception of the candidates led the Republicans to evaluate Bush and Perot less favorably after the election. These results demonstrate the model's potential to analyze persuasion as a real-time stochastic process and without a media content analysis.
Understanding fourier space and filter selection

By appreciating the technical basis of Fourier representations and filtering, a better interpretation of SPECT images can be gained. The ramp filter has no selectable parameters and is the required filter used in tomography. The resulting noisy reconstructed image is smoothed by using a filter where the cut-off and order can be selected. By relating frequencies to sizes of structures in the image, reasonable values for the cut-off frequency for the smoothing filter can be selected. Most important, the realization that the ramp-filtered image (without the smoothing filter applied) is the most correct image means that subsequent smoothing can slightly degrade the numeric correctness of the reconstructed image. Smoothing filters make the image easier for clinical interpretation because noisy structures are difficult for the human eye to perceive. Selection of the smoothing filter to maximize noise reduction and image structure preservation is accomplished by matching the cut-off frequency to the image noise or camera resolution. This understanding should reduce the amount of time spent searching for a smoothing filter, which is used routinely in clinical imaging studies.
Estimates of phi and psi torsion angles in proteins from one-, two- and three-bond nuclear spin-spin couplings: application to staphylococcal nuclease.

Calculated coupling constants (3JHNHα, 1JCαHα, 2JC′Hα, 1JCαN and 2JCαN) from our accompanying paper [Edison, A.S. et al. (1994) J. Biomol. NMR, 4, 519–542] have been used to generate error surfaces that can provide estimates of the ϕ and ψ angles in proteins. We have used experimental coupling data [3JHNHα: Kay, L.E. et al. (1989) J. Am. Chem. Soc., 111, 5488–5490; 1JCαHα: Vuister, G.W. et al. (1993) J. Biomol. NMR, 3, 67–80; 2JC′Hα: Vuister, G.W. and Bax, A. (1992) J. Biomol. NMR, 2, 401–405; 1JCαN and 2JCαN: Delaglio, F. et al. (1991) J. Biomol. NMR, 1, 439–446] to create error surfaces for selected residues of the protein staphylococcal nuclease. The residues were chosen to include all those with five experimental couplings, as well as some with four experimental couplings, to demonstrate the relative importance of 3JHNHα and 1JCαHα. For most of the cases, we obtained good agreement between the X-ray structure [Loll, P.J. and Lattman, E.E. (1989) Protein Struct. Funct. Genet., 5, 183–201] and the NMR data.
A model for differential volatile anesthetic delivery to the upper and lower torso of the rabbit.

Abstract Introduction: We have developed a model that permits differential delivery of volatile anesthetics to the upper and lower torso of the rabbit. Methods: Rabbits were anesthetized with isoflurane ( n =4) or halothane ( n =3), and blood was drained from a carotid cannula into a membrane oxygenator and reinfused via a renal artery cannula into the lower torso circulation using a roller pump. Bypass of the lower torso circulation was achieved by tightening a ligature around the aorta at the level of the renal arteries. Blood concentrations of anesthetic (assessed by gas chromatography) and cardiovascular responses to noxious stimulation were determined with and without anesthetic delivery to the membrane oxygenator. Results: When the anesthetic was removed from the oxygenator gas flow, the arterial concentration of isoflurane in the lower torso was 28±15 μg/ml, while it was 133±28 μg/ml in the upper torso circulation; the corresponding values for the halothane-anesthetized rabbits were 63±8 and 270±49 μg/ml. There was a significant correlation ( r =.92–.99) between pump flow and lower torso pressure in each individual rabbit. When anesthetic was delivered to both upper and lower torso, noxious electrical stimulation of the tail or hindpaw did not affect lower torso pressures (52±10 to 54±12 mmHg). Decreasing the anesthetic concentration in the lower torso resulted in significant increases in lower torso blood pressure during noxious stimulation (82±19 to 131±35 mmHg, P Discussion: The results indicate that volatile anesthetics isoflurane and halothane can be differentially delivered to the upper and lower torso of the rabbit, with an approximate 75–80% reduction in the anesthetic concentration in the lower torso when the anesthetic is eliminated from the gas flow to the oxygenator. This preparation can be used to study the pharmacological properties of volatile anesthetics.
First Report of the Occurrence of a White Smut Infecting Rice in Arkansas

False smut has recently emerged as an important disease of rice in Arkansas. In 2011, 2012 and 2013, spore balls of a white smut similar to the spore balls of false smut were observed in rice fields in eastern Arkansas. As a white false smut was previously reported in China and Japan, we examined the morphology of chlamydospores and spore balls from some of the infected heads and used selected regions of the rDNA to determine the identity of the causal agent of the disease. We also tested the virulence of an isolate of the white smut to two rice cultivars commonly grown in Arkansas. Our results indicate that the morphology of the spore balls, chlamydospores and conidia is similar to those reported for Ustilaginoidea albicans. However, sequences of ribosomal DNA amplicons indicate a high degree of similarity with both U. virens and U. albicans. The isolate of the white smut was virulent to two rice cultivars, producing spore balls similar to those observed in the field and to those previously described for U. albicans.
IGF-1 AND TYPF I DIABETES

To study the effect of Ketoacidosis(KA) and chronic loss of calories (glycose) on IGF-1 synthesis, β-hydroxybulyrale(β-HB) and HbA1c were compared in 3 groups of children with identical mean chronologic age(10.4Y±3.6Y/10Y±2.5Y): normal children, children with “controled” type I diabetes, and children with diabetic KA. Each group was composed by 19 children. In normal controls, IGF-1 was significantly higher than in “controled” diabetics(t=2.23;p=0.04) and in KA(t=-5.22;p=0.0001). β-HB concentration was similar in normal controls and in “controled” diabetics, but significantly higher in KA(t=-5;p<0.0002). No correlation between β-HB and IGF-1, in KA, was observed. Growth hormone (GH) was significantly more elevated in KA than in normal controls (t = −1.9;p=0.03). HbA1c values were significantly higher in “controled” diabetics than in normal children(4.3%±0.7% / 7.2%±1.5% - t=-7.4; p=0.0001). The samples are relatively small, but its analysis suggests that IGF-1 synthesis, in type I diabetes, is mainly a f fee led by the “invisible chronic malnutrition”; despite high GH concentration in KA, IGF-1 synthesis seems to be inhibited by the cellular malnutrition; IGF-1, probabily, is also an efficient parameter for metabolic control in this disease. KA seems not to affect IGF-1 synthesis.
Consumption Dilemmas: Tracking Masculinity, Money and Transnational Fatherhood Between the Ecuadorian Andes and New York City

This article explores the consumption dilemmas encountered by migrant men from the Ecuadorian Andes living and working in New York City. Specifically, it looks at how the priorities of budgeting and saving money that are necessary for generating remittances conflict with migrants’ practices of consumption. New consumption practices take shape as young men experience the city as an engagement of perceived modernity. I argue that the changes involved in this process require men to confront long-standing relationships between ideas of what constitutes proper masculinity and the uses of money in the Andes. They also require men to find new ways to balance consumption and their gender identities. In this space, new models for fatherhood emerge as migrants shape their role as breadwinners through the specific practices of providing for families back home.
The theory and practice of benchmarking: then and now

The literature related to benchmarking practices and theory was reviewed from 1986 to 2000. The earlier stages of benchmarking developments stressed a process and/or activity orientation. Recently, however, the scope of benchmarking appears to have expanded to include strategies and systems. Despite recent advancements, the field of benchmarking still suffers from the lack of theoretical developments which are badly needed to guide its multi‐faceted applications.
Control of phototactic migration in Dictyostelium discoideum

Abstract Phototactic migration of pseudoplasmodia of the cellular slime mold, Dictyostelium discoideum , is directed by a response at the anterior tip. Horizontal light appears to be focused by refraction at the surface of the pseudoplasmodium such that it acts preferentially on the distal cells. We have been able to show that light stimulates the rate of pseudoplasmodial movement up to 80%. This increase is dependent on the intensity of the incident light. Thus it appears that light can control the direction of migration by increasing the rate of movement on the distal side. The anterior cells are then turned toward the light by cohesion to the more slowly moving proximal side. Migration rate in the dark may be limited by the rate of synthesis or deposition of the surface sheath surrounding the pseudoplasmodium. It is suggested that light increases the rate of migration by stimulating the formation of the surface sheath. Localized stimulation would then result in a turning response.
Fire Risks in Oil Refineries: Economic Analysis of Camera Monitoring

A probabilistic method is presented to evaluate the economic value of fire monitoring by closed circuit TV camera in petroleum refineries. The proposed model is restricted to the analysis of risk reduction in an area where fires can be caused either by pump failure or by failure of valves and lines. The benefits come from reducing the time during which the fire grows undetected. Fire growth and expected values of losses are analyzed by a Markov model that includes five phases: (1) active undetected growth, (2) detection, (3) fire growth at the beginning of the firemen's intervention, (4) fire control, and (5) fire extinction. The results (e.g., the expected net present value of the investment) show that the proposed monitoring investment is attractive for an illustrative example.
Disclosure of Sexual Victimization: The Effects of Pennebaker's Emotional Disclosure Paradigm on Physical and Psychological Distress

Research suggests that many sexual assault survivors do not disclose their experience, which may increase associated distress. Pennebaker's emotional disclosure paradigm has been shown to ameliorate psychological and physical distress in individuals exposed to stressful events. The current study assessed the effectiveness of this paradigm with sexual assault survivors (N = 74). College women with a history of sexual assault wrote about their most severe victimization or about how they spend their time (control). Then 73 women (98.6%) completed a 1-month follow-up assessment. Results indicated that across writing sessions, the disclosure group reported greater reductions in negative mood immediately post-writing. However, both groups showed significant reductions in physical complaints, psychological distress, and traumatic stress symptoms at the 1-month follow-up, suggesting no added benefit to disclosure of a sexual assault using a brief written paradigm.
Direct Coal-Fueled Combustion Turbines

Technology requirements for direct coal-fueled turbine systems are discussed. Combustion, emissions, and turbine life considerations are emphasized. Compact, short residence time combustors must provide acceptable combustion efficiencies and emissions using the coal fuels. The turbine flow path exposed to the products of combustion (POC) from those combustors must achieve acceptable deposition, erosion, and corrosion (DEC) lifetimes. Initial combustion and POC requirements are reviewed based on past experience and the results of a recent program to evaluate combustion, emissions, and DEC from a subscale turbine combustor.Copyright © 1987 by ASME
Status and privacy restoring communication in the workplace

Abstract Privacy in the workplace has become a significant issue. Privacy invasions, which were once accepted as organizationally acceptable, are now being questioned by employees. The current investigation explored effects of type of privacy invasion (physical, social, or informational‐psychological) and status (supervisor, subordinate, or co‐worker) upon privacy restoration strategies exhibited (interaction control, dyadic intimacy, expressions of negative arousal, blocking and avoidance, distancing, and confrontation). Although the effect size for status is small, the results indicate subordinates report using significantly more blocking/avoidance and confrontation in response to all privacy invasions than supervisors or co‐workers. Additionally, less confrontation and expressions of negative arousal were used in response to social invasions as opposed to psychological/informational and physical invasions. Given that physical invasions were operationalized as “movement too close, “ and that physical in...
Fecal Escherichia coli O157:H7 shedding patterns of orally inoculated calves

To assess the duration of fecal shedding upon initial infection, the duration of shedding after subsequent re-infection and the effects of dietary restriction and antibiotic treatment on shedding recrudescence, four, one-week-old calves were orally inoculated on three separate occasions with 5x10(8) cfu of Escherichia coli O157:H7 strain 86-24 Nal-R. Fecal shedding was followed by serial culture three times weekly. Following the first inoculation, the calves shed E. coli O157:H7 in their feces for a mean of 30 days, with a range of 20 to 43 days. Following the second and third inoculations, the calves shed E. coli O157:H7 in their feces for 3-8 days. In each of the three inoculations, feed was withheld from the calves for 24 h after they had become fecal culture negative. Two calves resumed shedding, one for 1 day and the other for 4 days, after food was withheld after the third inoculation, but not in the first two inoculations. In the third inoculation, one calf resumed shedding for one day after treatment with oxytetracycline. No E. coli O157:H7 strain 86-24 Nal-R was found in the calves at necropsy. These calves did not exhibit persistent low-level shedding, and did not appear to be persistently colonized with E. coli O157:H7.
Ethmozine for ventricular premature complexes

Twenty patients with an average of more than 30 ventricular premature complexes (VPCs) per hour were treated with ethmozine. Eighteen had either not responded or had adverse reactions to at least 1 other antiarrhythmic drug. Patients were treated with 200 to 300 mg 3 times daily (8.25 to 11.7 mg/kg) and were followed for up to 6 months. Three patients were withdrawn from ethmozine therapy because of unwanted effects before evaluation of efficacy. One of these patients had sustained ventricular tachycardia (VT) after a loading dose of ethmozine. Eleven of the remaining 17 patients (65%) experienced more than a 75% reduction in ventricular ectopic activity. Six patients had a smaller or no decrease in VPC frequency. Eleven of 16 patients (68%) with paired VPCs had a more than 90% reduction in paired VPC frequency. Eleven of 13 patients (84%) with VT events of 3 beats or more had more than a 90% reduction in VT events. Of the 11 patients in whom a more than 75% reduction in VPC frequency occurred, 1 patient died suddenly after 133 days of effective drug therapy. Three patients discontinued ethmozine therapy for reasons not related to the drug. Of the 6 patients in whom there was less than a 75% reduction in VPC frequency, 2 patients discontinued treatment, 1 patient because of hyperanxiety and 1 because of drug-related left anterior hemiblock. Ethmozine lengthened PR and QRS intervals but not the JT interval. Thus, ethmozine is effective and clinically useful for suppression of frequency VPCs in 50% (10 of 20 patients) of a selected population.
Actinomycosis of the Central Nervous System

Actinomyces species are rare but treatable causes of CNS infection. Differentiation of actinomycosis from nocardiosis is crucial to the selection of appropriate antimicrobial therapy. A review of 70 cases of CNS actinomycosis was conducted in an effort to characterize clinicopathologic features and identify patients with a high risk of death from infection. Types of lesions included brain abscess (67%), meningitis or meningoencephalitis (13%), actinomycoma (7%), subdural empyema (6%), and epidural abscess (6%). Most infections developed from distant sites (lung, 19 cases; abdomen, four; pelvis, three) or contiguous foci (ear, sinus, and cervicofacial region, 21 cases). For nonmeningitic infection, signs and symptoms were generally those of a space-occupying lesion and were indistinguishable from the manifestations of other pyogenic infections except for a longer interval before diagnosis. Risk factors included dental caries; dental infection; recent tooth extraction; head trauma; gastrointestinal tract surgery; chronic otitis, mastoiditis, or sinusitis; chronic osteomyelitis; tetralogy of Fallot; and actinomyces infection of an intrauterine device. Optimal management combined adequate surgical drainage with prolonged antibiotic therapy (mean duration, 5 months). Overall mortality from treated infection was 28%; 54% of survivors had neurologic sequelae. Features correlated with a poor prognosis were disease onset greater than 2 months before diagnosis and treatment, no antibiotic treatment, no surgery, and needle aspiration drainage of abscess lesions.
Subsurface dissolution of heavy minerals, Frio Formation sandstones of the ancestral Rio Grande Province, South Texas

Abstract Oligocene sandstones (Frio Formation) of South Texas, deposited by the ancestral Rio Grande, contain a heavy mineral assemblage that is markedly altered, even in the shallowest sample examined (approximately 1 km depth). The weight fraction of detrital heavy minerals in the modern Rio Grande is approximately 1% whereas subsurface Frio sandstones contain as little as 0.1% (or less) heavy minerals. Modern Rio Grande sand contains a diverse and unstable heavy mineral assemblage dominated by pyroxenes, amphiboles, and an assortment of iron-titanium oxides; minor components include apatite, garnet, sphene, epidote, and zircon. Heavy minerals in subsurface Oligocene sandstones include abundant apatite, zircon, and titanium oxide among detrital components; minor iron-rich garnet also survives in the subsurface to depths of about 3 km. Other very stable, but also very minor, heavy minerals include tourmaline, chromite, spinel, and monazite. Locally, the heavy mineral fraction in the Frio is dominated by authigenic components such as siderite, pyrite, or barite. Authigenic sphalerite is also observed among the heavy minerals. Feldspars and rock fragments suggest that sediment deposited by the ancestral Rio Grande was more strongly dominated by volcanic detritus than is the modern river. It is reasonable to infer that the initial heavy mineral assemblage of the Frio Formation was likewise more unstable than that which appears today in the Rio Grande. Thus, heavy mineral loss determined by comparing subsurface Frio sandstones with the sand in the modern Rio Grande is conservative. Comparison of Sr and Nd concentrations in modern Rio Grande sands and subsurface Frio sandstones suggests that heavy mineral destruction in the subsurface does not cause major perturbations of whole rock isotopic systems involving these elements.
Stability of Mackerel Surimi Prepared under Lipid-Stabilizing Processing Conditions

Surimi from mackerel whole and light muscle was prepared under conditions designed to minimize oxidation and development of rancidity. The lipid-stabilizing procedure included early addition of both lipid-and water-soluble antioxidants, avoidance of added sodium chloride, and exclusion of oxygen. Surimi prepared from light muscle was stable to rancid odor development in both the raw and cooked form; gel strength was reasonably stable during frozen storage, although the color was somewhat dark. Surimi prepared from mackerel whole muscle was darker, its odor quality lower and less consistent, and its gel strength lessened more rapidly during frozen storage than surimi prepared from light muscle.
SR-4233 (Tirapazamine) acts as an uncoupler of oxidative phosphorylation in human MCF-7 breast carcinoma cells.

Abstract SR-4233 (Tirapazamine) is a hypoxic cell selective cytotoxic agent currently in Phase I clinical trial. Although SR-4233 is selectively cytotoxic toward hypoxic cells some cytotoxicity toward normally oxygenated cells also occurs. SR-4233 (500 μM, 1 h) killed about 70% of normally oxygenated and 99% of hypoxic human MCF-7 breast carcinoma cells. Using a polarographic chamber and a Clark O2 electrode the O2 consumption of MCF-7 cells was measured in the presence or absence of SR-4233 (500 μM) or other inhibitors or uncouplers of oxidative phosphorylation. MCF-7 cells exhibited increased O2 consumption in the presence of SR-4233 alone and after treatment with oligomycin but not after treatment with retenone. The pattern of O2 consumption observed after treatment with SR-4233 was very similar to that seen when the cells were treated with the classical uncoupler FCCP. After 1 h of exposure to SR-4233 (500 μM) the cells were not responsive to treatment with oligomycin or FCCP for at least 3 h, but by 24 h post exposure to SR-4233 the cells had regained responsiveness to both FCCP and oligomycin. These results indicate that in normally oxygenated cells SR-4233 acts as an uncoupler of oxidative phosphorylation so that the cells continue to consume O2 but no ATP is produced. This condition can lead to ATP depletion especially in respiration intensive tissues and may provide an explanation for the muscle cramping observed in some patients treated with SR-4233.
The use of visible and ultraviolet spectroscopy to identify carbonyl compunds in photodegraded plastics

A method was developed for identifying certain carbonyl compounds formed in plastics during exposure to carbon-ac or solar radiant energy. The reaction of aldehydes and certain ketones with phenylenediamines (o-, m-, p-, and N, N-dimethyl-p-) in glacial acetic acid was found to yield stable colored products whose transmittance spectra are charactersitic of the carbonyl compound. Similar colored products were also formed when exposed plastics were dissolved in acetic acid solutions of the diamine. A comparison of the spectra of solutions of the plastics with those from known carbonyl compounds facilitates identification. The method was applied to the identification of carbonyl compounds from photodegraded poly (methyl methacrylate) and cellulose acetatebutyrate.
Durability of Resin Bonds to Pure Titanium

PURPOSE This study evaluated the bond strength and bond durability of new adhesive systems to pure titanium. MATERIALS AND METHODS Plexiglass tubes filled with composite were bonded to titanium discs. Groups of 24 samples were bonded using six different bonding systems. Subgroups of eight bonded samples were stored in an isotonic artificial saliva solution (37 degrees C) for 1, 30, or 150 days. In addition, the 30- and 150-day samples were thermal cycled for 7,500 or 37,500 cycles between 5 degrees C and 55 degrees C, respectively. After these storage conditions, all samples were debonded in tension. RESULTS The bond strength of a conventional bisphenol-A glycidyl methacrylate composite to sandblasted titanium was significantly lower than using chemomechanical bonding systems and decreased slightly during the storage time of 150 days. The additional use of a silane on sandblasted titanium resulted in an insignificant increase in bond strength and decreased over storage time to the same level as on sandblasted-only titanium. Statistically significant higher bond strengths were achieved either with the combination of silica coating and use of a conventional bisphenol-A glycidyl methacrylate composite or with the combination of sandblasting and the use of composites modified with a phosphate monomer. In the latter systems, the bond strengths were only limited by the cohesive strength of the composite resins. A new phosphate monomer containing composite showed a tendency to lose cohesive strength over time (statistically not significant). CONCLUSIONS Using chemomechanical bonding systems, ie, silica-coating systems or modified composites with adhesive monomers, resulted in 2 to 2.5 times increased bond strength to titanium compared with the bond strength of a conventional bisphenol-A glycidyl methacrylate composite. With chemomechanical bonding systems, the resin bond to titanium was durable over 150 days, even after being stored in water and thermal cycled.
Factors that influence acyl proline cleavage by sodium in liquid ammonia.

The reductive cleavage of aminoacyl proline bonds by sodium in liquid ammonia was compared by a simple chromatographic technic for various protected and unprotected analogs of the C-terminal tetrapeptide of the insulin B-chain, -Thr-Pro-Lys-Ala-OH. The literature suggests that the Thr-Pro bond in this peptide is especially sensitive to Na-NN 3, compared to various other acyl proline bonds. The present study shows that this is true regardless of whether the sidechains, the α-amino, and the α-carboxyl groups are protected or free when they are introduced into liquid ammonia; there is no difference in the amount of reductive Thr-Pro cleavage despite the different numbers of protons released into liquid ammonia by the functional groups of the residues surrounding the Thr-Pro bond. The C-terminal tetrapeptide and its blocked derivatives, prepared by solid phase synthesis, were reduced by Na-NH3 to the same extent as similarly synthesized B-chains and natural B-chain. Thr-Pro cleavage could be minimized by sharply limiting the amount of sodium and the time of exposure of the peptide to it. The results are therefore useful in planning synthetic approaches to the B-chain. The Ser-Pro bond shares the lability of the Thr-Pro bond to Na-NH 3 reduction, whereas the Val-Pro bond is only half as labile.
ON THE HIDDEN REVENUE EFFECTS OF WOOL PRICE STABILISATION IN AUSTRALIA: INITIAL RESULTS

A preliminary analysis of demand in eight major OECD wool-consuming countries is used to provide up-to-date estimates of price elasticities of demand for wool. Those elasticities are employed to calculate ex ante market prices, assuming no wool price stabilisation in Australia. The computed ex ante prices are used in a dynamic simulation to estimate demand and, hence, revenue from wool sales to the eight countries in the absence of reserve price operations in Australia. Based on the preferred semi-log demand curve, the variability of wool prices is estimated to have been reduced by 44 per cent, due to Australian intervention in the market up to 1977/78. However, price stabilisation is estimated to have lowered the revenue from Australian wool sales to the eight countries by S139m, or by 2 per cent, in the period up to 1977/78.
Prevention of both T2- and diffusion-weighted increases in image intensity during cerebral hypoxia-ischemia in infant rats pretreated with dexamethasone.

The present study examines the effect of dexamethasone treatment on the intensity of changes in T2-weighted and diffusion-weighted (DW) magnetic resonance images occurring in infant rats during and after cerebral hypoxia-ischemia. The right carotid artery was occluded under isoflurane anesthesia in 7-day-old rats and images were acquired in sedated animals using a Bruker 9.4 T magnetic resonance (MR) system. Imaging changes were markedly different in rats pretreated with dexamethasone phosphate (0.1 mg/kg, i.p.) 24 h before hypoxia than in controls. In control animals, areas of hyperintensity ipsilateral to the occlusion occurred during hypoxia-ischemia in both the DW- and T2-weighted images with some recovery of the changes in early posthypoxia. In contrast, in dexamethasone-treated animals, areas of increased hyperintensity in the MR images did not occur. Thus, dexamethasone treatment prevents MR imaging changes during ischemia, suggesting that the cytotoxic edema associated with energy depletion and/or ionic disturbances during ischemia are also prevented by dexamethasone treatment.