cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Singled Out: How Singles Are Stereotyped, Stigmatized, and Ignored, and Still Live Happily Ever After

People who are single are changing the face of America. Did you know that: * More than 40 percent of the nation's adults---over 87 million people---are divorced, widowed, or have always been single. * There are more households comprised of single people living alone than of married parents and their children. * Americans now spend more of their adult years single than married. Many of today's single people have engaging jobs, homes that they own, and a network of friends. This is not the 1950s---singles can have sex without marrying, and they can raise smart, successful, and happy children. It should be a great time to be single. Yet too often single people are still asked to defend their single status by an onslaught of judgmental peers and fretful relatives. Prominent people in politics, the popular press, and the intelligentsia have all taken turns peddling myths about marriage and singlehood. Marry, they promise, and you will live a long, happy, and healthy life, and you will never be lonely again. Drawing from decades of scientific research and stacks of stories from the front lines of singlehood, Bella DePaulo debunks the myths of singledom---and shows that just about everything you've heard about the benefits of getting married and the perils of staying single are grossly exaggerated or just plain wrong. Although singles are singled out for unfair treatment by the workplace, the marketplace, and the federal tax structure, they are not simply victims of this singlism. Single people really are living happily ever after. Filled with bracing bursts of truth and dazzling dashes of humor, 'Singled Out' is a spirited and provocative read for the single, the married, and everyone in between. You will never think about singlehood or marriage the same way again. 'Singled Out' debunks the Ten Myths of Singlehood, including: ' ' Myth #1: The Wonder of Couples: Marrieds know best. Myth #3: The Dark Aura of Singlehood: You are miserable and lonely and your life is tragi
We are All Donald Trump: Dis/entangling from the Us/Them Binary in Education

In this paper, the authors engage in an ethico-onto-epistemological imagining of dis/entanglement from the gridlock that the us/them binary and Cartesian subject created in education. They move instead towards relationality and response-ability and argue that it is helpful to imagine that we are all Donald Trump. In doing so, we are confronted by our own contributions to injustices in a post-truth era and can envision and act towards healing and flourishing relationships. Specifically, this helps us theorize how we might engage ethically with our secondary students and pre-service teachers with whom we may disagree politically.
Presenting the research track abstracts from the 2019 AOTA annual conference & expo

Each year, the American Occupational Therapy Association publishes an online supplement to the American Journal of Occupational Therapy consisting of the peer-reviewed “research track” abstracts of presentations at the AOTA Annual Conference & Expo. The abstracts are in five categories: (1) assessment and measurement, (2) basic research, (3) health services research and education, (4) prevention and intervention, and (5) translational research. The current supplement consists of the abstracts presented April 4 to April 7, 2019, in New Orleans, Louisiana
Expansion of the Sahara Desert and shrinking of frozen land of the Arctic

Expansion of the Sahara Desert (SD) and greening of the Arctic tundra-glacier region (ArcTG) have been hot subjects under extensive investigations. However, quantitative and comprehensive assessments of the landform changes in these regions are lacking. Here we use both observations and climate-ecosystem models to quantify/project changes in the extents and boundaries of the SD and ArcTG based on climate and vegetation indices. It is found that, based on observed climate indices, the SD expands 8% and the ArcTG shrinks 16% during 1950-2015, respectively. SD southern boundaries advance 100 km southward, and ArcTG boundaries are displaced about 50 km poleward in 1950-2015. The simulated trends based on climate and vegetation indices show consistent results with some differences probably due to missing anthropogenic forcing and two-way vegetation-climate feedback effect in simulations. The projected climate and vegetation indices show these trends will continue in 2015-2050.
Nanoparticle Vaccines for Immunotherapy: From Design to Clinical Trials

Nanoparticles have the capacity to activate the immune system, based on both intrinsic particle characteristics and through the delivery of immune activating cargo. Co-delivery of antigens with adjuvants, such as cytokines, cytotoxic agents or pathogen-associated molecular patterns, presents opportunities for stimulating antigen-specific immune responses. This chapter highlights the immunogenic benefits of select chemotherapeutics and the use of nanoparticles to deliver immunogenic molecules and antigens. The influence of intrinsic nanoparticle properties and biological barriers on immune responses to nanoparticles is also discussed. In closing, a summary of nanoparticles approved for clinical use in the United States and examples of those approved in other countries are presented to highlight successes in nano-immunotherapy.
“is it steroids?”- COVID-19 associated invasive pulmonary aspergillosis

INTRODUCTION: COVID-19 associated invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (CAPA) has been described in more than 33 case reports. The incidence is closely related to the increased of use of dexamethasone after publication of the RECOVERY trial. Diagnosis of CAPA remains challenging in critically ill patients due to absence of typical radiological features such as halo sign. Schauwvlieghe et al. developed modified AspICU criteria for influenza associated pulmonary aspergillosis (IAPA) which can be used for CAPA. CASE DESCRIPTION: A 63-year-old male with hypertension and diabetes was admitted to ICU with hypoxia requiring 100% oxygen on BiPAP. Upon presentation, he was tachycardic and hypertensive with respiratory distress. Laboratory findings were significant for leukocytosis and acute kidney injury with hyperkalemia necessitating renal replacement therapy. A chest radiograph demonstrated bilateral opacities (Image 1). SARS-CoV-2 PCR was positive. He received dexamethasone and broad-spectrum antibiotics. He was intubated on day four of hospitalization due to worsening of hypoxia and was proned multiple times for severe ARDS. After initial improvement in hypoxia, the patient developed fevers and new leukocytosis with worsening infiltrates on chest imaging (Image 2). Multiple cultures from tracheal aspirate grew Aspergillus Spp. The serum beta-D glucan was elevated at 197 pg/mL and aspergillus galactomannan index was 3.39. Intravenous voriconazole was promptly initiated for presumptive diagnosis of CAPA based on AspICU criteria. Unfortunately, the patient developed worsening of hypoxia and increasing vasopressor requirement, ultimately leading to withdrawal of care. DISCUSSION: Dexamethasone use in COVID-19 ARDS may be associated with increased incidence of CAPA. Diagnosis of CAPA can be made using AspICU criteria which are based on clinical, radiological, and laboratory findings;one of each criteria necessary for diagnosis. Clinical criteria include: Fever refractory to at least 3 days of appropriate antibiotic therapy;recrudescent fever after a period of defervescence of at least 48 hours while on antibiotics;pleuritic chest pain;pleuritic rub;dyspnea;hemoptysis;or worsening respiratory insufficiency in spite of appropriate antibiotic therapy and ventilatory support. Radiological criteria include: Abnormal opacification on portable chest radiography or CT scan of the lungs. Mycological criteria include: Histopathology or direct microscopic evidence of dichotomous septate hyphae with positive culture for Aspergillus from tissue;a positive Aspergillus culture from a bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL);a galactomannan optical index on BAL of ≥1;or a galactomannan optical index on serum of ≥0.5. Initiation of prompt antifungal therapy is essential in these cases considering high mortality associated with invasive pulmonary aspergillosis.
Towards Sheaf Theoretic Analyses for Delay Tolerant Networking

The goal of Delay Tolerant Networking (DTN) is to take a collection of heterogeneous, disparate connections between satellites, space assets, ground stations, and ground infrastructure and bring it together into a cohesive, functioning overlay network. Depending on the systems being considered, one can find links with a one-way light time exceeding minutes (and hours), periodic links which can sometimes be predicted by orbital mechanics, and restrictions based on the variety of capabilities built into these systems. These characteristics preclude traditional network models and routing techniques and have classically led to either rigid routing tables or purely probabilistic models. As the deeper underlying structures remain unknown, development of more DTN-optimized algorithms has lacked the necessary foundation. In a continuation of previous work, the goal of this paper is to identify and study these fundamental structures that exist in delay tolerant networks (DTN), with a focus on space networks. The current routing methodology has been to use contact graph routing (CGR) algorithms. CGR models a series of known contacts as a static graph. For CGR to work, this graph must be globally consistent and must have an accurate picture of the network. Because this is a globally controlled structure, there is little room for flexibility in the event of changes to the network which would naturally occur as the network grows. As a response to the desire for flexibility as the network changes, we introduced the mathematical structure known as sheaves to DTNs last year. The tag-line for sheaves is that they are a mathematically precise way of gluing local data together into unique global data. Thus, sheaves lend extra power to traditional models (and routing algorithms) by taking additional information and merging it, in as consistent a manner as possible, with the representation itself. The clearest example of how Earth-bound networks exhibit behavior that is “sheafy” is link state routers, which build a local-to-global picture of their network by gluing local information together into a global network, exactly as a sheaf would do. For routing within delay tolerant networks to truly exploit this structure, a deeper structure than a graph is required. In this paper, we develop sheaves that can work over directed graphs such as temporal flow networks, we construct a sheaf representation for Dijkstra's algorithm, and we outline a construction for routing sheaves capable of modeling multicast scenarios. Finally, there is a section of future work suggesting follow-on research.
Regression analysis of clustered interval-censored failure time data with cure fraction and informative cluster size

Clustered interval-censored failure time data occur in many areas and many methods have been proposed for their analysis. In practice, in addition to the clustering and interval censoring, such dat...
Validating the Integrity of Audit Logs Against Execution Repartitioning Attacks

Provenance-based causal analysis of audit logs has proven to be an invaluable method of investigating system intrusions. However, it also suffers from dependency explosion, whereby long-running processes accumulate many dependencies that are hard to unravel. Execution unit partitioning addresses this by segmenting dependencies into units of work, such as isolating the events that processed a single HTTP request. Unfortunately, we discover that current designs have a semantic gap problem due to how system calls and application log messages are used to infer complex internal program states. We demonstrate how attackers can modify existing code exploits to control event partitioning, breaking links in the attack and framing innocent users. We also show how our techniques circumvent existing program and log integrity defenses. We then propose a new design for execution unit partitioning that leverages additional runtime data to yield verified partitions that resist manipulation. Our design overcomes the technical challenges of minimizing additional overhead while accurately connecting low level code instructions to high level audit events, in part with the use of commodity hardware processor tracing. We implement a prototype of our design for Linux, MARSARA, and extensively evaluate it on 14 real-world programs, targeted with expertly crafted exploits. MARSARA's verified partitions successfully capture all the attack provenances while only reintroducing 2.82% of false dependencies, in the worst case, with an average overhead of 8.7%. Using a new metric called Partitioning Attack Surface, we show that MARSARA eliminates 47,642 more repartitioning gadgets per program than integrity defenses like CFI, demonstrating our prototype's effectiveness and the novelty of the attacks it prevents.
The Place of B-Scan Ultrasound in the Examination of Kidneys Not Seen on Intravenous Pyelography

If radiological visualization of the kidneys at intravenous pyelography with tomography fails, further radiological techniques for the evaluation of the kidneys have included retrograde pyelography, angiography, and anterograde pyelography. All of these procedures carry risks and we have found that B-scan abdominal ultrasound represents a superior technique for the initial evaluation of nonvisualizing kidneys since it is harmless, safe, rapid and easy. In most instances, the nonvisualizing kidney has a characteristic ultrasonic pattern.
Creating a New Medina: State Power, Islam, and the Quest for Pakistan in Late Colonial North India

List of photographs and maps Acknowledgements List of abbreviations Glossary Introduction 1. Nationalists, communalists and the 1937 provincial elections 2. Muslim mass contacts and the rise of the Muslim League 3. Two constitutional lawyers from Bombay and the debate over Pakistan in the public sphere 4. Muslim League and the idea of Pakistan in the United Provinces 5. Ulama at the forefront of politics 6. Urdu press, public opinion and controversies over Pakistan 7. Fusing Islam and state power 8. The referendum on Pakistan Epilogue Conclusion Select bibliography Index About the author.
Scaling Up: Implementing Issue Preclusion in Mass Tort Litigation Through Bellwether Trials

The civil litigation system aims to resolve disputes in an efficient, centralized, and final manner. In the context of mass tort litigation, one technique courts often use to achieve these goals is what I call “scaling up”: holding individual trials, and then applying results from these trials to similarly situated individuals. Scaling up, however, presents two difficulties. First, the technique risks compromising defendants’ Due Process rights by creating impermissible settlement pressure. Second, scaling up requires the initial court to structure the litigation so that it may serve as a template for follow-on proceedings; where this is not done, attempting to graft the results of one proceeding onto the remaining group of similarly situated individuals may simply lead to more protracted litigation.Yet these difficulties are not inherent to the technique; in fact, courts can scale up in a way that avoids these problems. In order to mitigate the Due Process problem, courts should not apply the results of individual trials to subsequent trials involving similar claims until a substantial number of trials have been completed, and until it has become clear that any verdicts unfavorable to defendants are not flukes or outliers. And to ensure that scaling up does not simply lead to more protracted litigation, the initial trials should be structured so as to maximize the likelihood that individuals in follow-on litigation can invoke the findings under the issue preclusion doctrine of Parklane Hosiery v. Shore. The American Law Institute has made a proposal with these considerations in mind with respect to issue classes. This Note argues that a similar approach should be taken in the Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) process, where most mass tort litigation occurs today. This approach would be particularly useful if applied to one device that is being used with increasing frequency in the MDL process: the bellwether trial.
Probing the structure and topology of caveolin-1 (470.2)

Caveolae are highly-curved invaginated micro-domains located in the plasma membrane that play a central role in a variety of cellular processes. Caveolins (1, 2, and 3) are the most important proteins found in caveolae, and are responsible for giving caveolae their unusual “flask-like” shape. Recent evidence has shown that improper regulation and mutant forms of caveolin can result in a variety of diseases including Alzheimer’s, muscular dystrophy, cancer, and heart disease. Caveolin adopts an unusual intra-membrane “horseshoe” conformation where both its N- and C-termini face the cytoplasm, and this conformation is thought to promote membrane curvature. In addition, via high-order oligomerization, caveolin is thought to form a structural backbone which stabilizes the membrane curvature. Using biophysical techniques (NMR, fluorescence spectroscopy, and analytical ultracentrifugation) we have begun to build a structural and topological model of caveolin-1.
Redistributive Effects for Discretely-Valued Inputs

In this paper we study the effect of reallocating an indivisible input across a population of production units on average output. We define the Average Redistributive Effect (ARE) as the effect of such a reallocation on average output. We consider the case where inputs are discretely-valued, studying the case where they take two or three levels in detail. In these cases the set of feasible reallocations are respectively indexed by one and four parameters. With two input levels the ARE is a linear function with a slope coefficient equal to a measure of input complementarity. The average output maximizing allocation is completely determined by the production technology. With three input levels the optimal allocation depends on both the form of the production function and the availability of inputs at each level in potentially complicated ways. We provide conditions under which the ARE is identified and consider some non-standard aspects of inference. We relate the ARE to the average treatment effect (ATE) estimand and our constrained input allocation problem to the unconstrained treatment assignment problem considered by Manski (2004) and Dehejia (2005).
Characterization of the Active Species in the Afterglow of a Nitrogen and Helium Atmospheric-Pressure Plasma

The concentrations of the neutral active species in the afterglow of a nitrogen and helium atmospheric-pressure plasma have been determined by optical emission and absorption spectroscopy and by numerical modeling. For operation with 10 Torr N2 and 750 Torr He, at 15.5 W/cm3 rf power, 30.4 L/min flow rate, and a neutral temperature of 50°C, the plasma produced 4.8×1015 cm−3 of ground state nitrogen atoms, N(4S), 2.1×1013 cm−3 of N2(A3Σu), 1.2×1012 cm−3 of N2(B3Πg), and 3.2×109 cm−3 of N2(C3Πu). The concentration of nitrogen atoms and metastable state nitrogen molecules, N2(A), increased gradually with the rf power and the nitrogen partial pressure. Both the model and experiments indicate that ground-state nitrogen atoms are the dominant active species in the afterglow beyond 2.0 ms.
Stimulating cancer research in Asian communities and training the next generation of scientists

The landmark Institute of Medicine Report on the "Unequal Burden of Cancer" urgently called for efforts to reduce cancer disparities by conducting research that could rapidly translate laboratory and clinical findings to benefit large segments of society. It also called for intensifying efforts to produce well-trained minority researchers as a way to increase the quantity, quality and community relevance of cancer control research. This manuscript summarized our strategies and successes in these two areas. Over a five year period, the Los Angeles site of the NCI-funded Asian American Network for Cancer Awareness, Research, and Training (AANCART-LA) conducted intensive community based cancer awareness activities through a coalition of over 20 Asian serving community organizations. In addition, a major focus of AANCART-LA was on increasing community-relevant research and on training scientists to conduct research among Asians. Strategies to reach these goals included a focus on pilot studies as a way of introducing the community to research, selection of promising junior scientists to submit applications for pilot funding, and close mentoring of these individuals by seasoned investigators. We describe four pilot project proposals that were selected for funding by the NCI peer review process. In addition, AANCART-LA was able to obtain peer reviewed funding for several other research projects targeting a variety of Asian sub-groups. These projects were the direct outcome of extensive cancer awareness activities in the community, the publicity associated with receiving peer-reviewed pilot project funding, and the collaborations established with multiple community based organizations.
Purification of an AlF4- and G-protein beta gamma-subunit-regulated phospholipase C-activating protein.

A 150-kDa phospholipase C has previously been purified from turkey erythrocytes and has been shown by reconstitution with turkey erythrocyte membranes to be a receptor- and G-protein-regulated enzyme (Morris, A. J., Waldo, G. L., Downes, C.P., and Harden, T. K. (1990) J. Biol. Chem. 265, 13501-13507; Morris, A.J., Waldo, G.L., Downes, C.P., and Harden, T.K. (1990) J. Biol. Chem. 265, 13508-13514). Combination of this 150-kDa protein with phosphoinositide substrate-containing phospholipid vesicles prepared with a cholate extract from purified turkey erythrocyte plasma membranes resulted in conferrence of AlF4- sensitivity to the purified phospholipase C. Guanosine 5‘-3-O-(thio)triphosphate also activated the reconstituted phospholipase C in a manner that was inhibited by guanosine 5‘-2-O-(thio)-diphosphate. The magnitude of the AlF4- stimulation was increased with increasing amounts of plasma membrane extract, and was also dependent on the concentration of purified phospholipase C. Using reconstitution of AlF4- sensitivity as an assay, the putative G-protein conferring regulation to the 150-kDa phospholipase C was purified to near homogeneity by sequential chromatography over Q-Sepharose, Sephacryl S-300, octyl-Sepharose, hydroxylapatite, and Mono-Q. Reconstituting activity co-purified with an approximately 43-kDa protein identified by silver staining; lesser amounts of a 35-kDa protein was present in the final purified fractions, as was a minor 40-kDa protein. The 43-kDa protein strongly reacted with antiserum against a 12-amino acid sequence found at the carboxyl terminus of Gq and G11, the 35-kDa protein strongly reacted with G-protein beta-subunit antiserum, and the 40-kDa protein reacted with antiserum that recognizes Gi3. Immunoprecipitation of the 43-kDa protein resulted in loss of phospholipase C-stimulating activity of the purified fraction. The idea that this is a phospholipase C-regulating G-protein is further supported by the observation that co-reconstitution of G-protein beta gamma-subunit with the purified phospholipase C-activating fraction resulted in a beta gamma-subunit-dependent inhibition of AlF(4-)-stimulated phospholipase C activity in the reconstituted preparation.
Imaging Spectrophotometry of the Ring Nebula

We present new results from a program of emission-line imaging spectrophotometry of planetary nebulae using the Ohio State University Imaging Fabry-Perot Spectrograph (IFPS). High-quality emission-line maps of the important diagnostic lines [NII]λλ5755,6583, [SII]λλ6717,6731, [OI]λ6300, [OIII]λ5007, Hα, and Hβ have been obtained. Maps of the ionization structure ([S II]/Hα, [N II]/Hα, [O III]/Hβ, and [O I]/[O III]), temperature in the N+ region, density in the S+ region, and Balmer decrement across the nebula are presented. These show considerable variation in ionization state, temperature and density. This detailed information will provide powerful constraints on photoionization models for the Ring Nebula.
Probability in Science: A Personalistic Account

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses three main approaches to probability. A taxonomy widely known and accepted, of course oversimplified, divides attempts to explicate probability into three main categories, known as necessarian, frequentistic, and personalistic. Necessarian views see probability as a kind of partial implication. This is an elaboration of what might be called gambler's probability, which is based on the acceptance of gambling apparatus as symmetrical, as when all six faces of a die are accepted as equally probable even by one who may not feel capable of defining probability generally. Frequentistic views see probability as the frequency of success in sequences—usually in long sequences—of similar trials. Personalistic views see probability as a certain measure of opinion. The unknown probability of twins is discussed in the chapter.
Detecting misuse of information retrieval systems using data mining techniques

Misuse detection is often based on file permissions. That is, each authorized user can only access certain files. Predetermining the mapping of documents to allowable users, however, is highly difficult in large document collections. Initially, we utilized information retrieval techniques to warn of potential misuse. Here, we describe some data mining extensions used in our detection approach.
A mathematical note on Msgr. John A. Ryan's thought on the minimum wage

Abstract This paper examines Msgr. John A. Ryan's economic thought regarding the mechanics by which an increase in the minimum wage is funded. In particular, a mathematical comparative-static model is used to explore Msgr. Ryan's economic assumptions concerning the channels by which income is redistributed to workers from other factor owners. The analysis shows that Msgr. Ryan's approach includes assumptions regarding economic relationships and implies specific values of wage elasticities.
INFORMATION MANAGEMENT FOR A COMMUNITY–BASED PEDIATRIC RESIDENCY PROGRAM

We designed a microcomputer-based information system (IS), using commercially-available relational data base management software, to track the succession of patient management encounters. The IS includes an algorithm for computing the average daily patient load (ADPL) of residents providing either primary care, or in a supervisory role on the general inpatient service. The IS yields a compilation of the patients managed by each resident (a patient “log”), a frequency distribution of diagnoses for the total program, and a computation of the ADPL on the inpatient service. To minimize the data-submission burden on the resident, much of the raw data was culled by secretarial level personnel from daily reports provided by the data processing department. We analyzed 1900 consecutive patient-encounters, both intra- and extramural, and derived the following distribution of the 10 most frequent diagnoses (decreasing frequency): prematurity; unspecified septicemia; non-infectious gastroenteritis; asthma; pneumonia (unspecified); status asthmaticus; convulsions; asthmatic bronchitis; toxic-effect, lead; and transient tachypnea of the newborn. The above distribution reflects the composite experience of a primary-care oriented program and a tertiary children's hospital (where residents spend about one-third of their overall training experience). Separate ICDA codes assigned for asthma-related conditions were aggregated. This yielded a composite of 200 patient-encounters (10.5% of the sample). The asthma-related category was the most frequent diagnostic group encountered.
Mutagenicity of 4,4′-MethyIenedianiline Derivatives in the Salmonella histidine reversion assay

4,4′-Methylenedianiline and its derivatives were assayed for mutagenicity in the Salmonella/microsomal mutagenicity assay developed by Ames. A specificity to revert strain TA98 suggests a mechanism of frameshift mutagenesis. Liver microsomal preparations (S-9) from rats induced with phenobarbital were most effective for metabolic activation. Alkyl substitution of 4,4′-methylenedianiline did not alter its mutagenic activity; however, substitution of both positions ortho to the amino group eliminated mutagenic activity. Substitution with alkoxy-carbonyl groups eliminated mutagenic activity, whereas halogen substitution (chlorine, fluorine) enhanced the mutagenic activity. The results presented here show the use of structure-activity studies as predictive tools for the assessment of genotoxic properties of industrial chemicals.
Physiological and Transcriptional Studies of Cr(VI) Reduction under Aerobic and Denitrifying Conditions by an Aquifer-Derived Pseudomonad

Cr(VI) is a widespread groundwater contaminant that is a potent toxin, mutagen, and carcinogen. In situ reductive immobilization is a favored approach for Cr(VI) bioremediation, and Cr(VI) reduction has been reported in a variety of aerobic, facultative, and anaerobic bacteria, including a number of pseudomonads. However, studies comparing Cr(VI) reduction under aerobic and denitrifying conditions in the same organism are not available. We have conducted studies with strain RCH2, a bacterium similar to Pseudomonas stutzeri that we isolated from a Cr-contaminated aquifer. Cell suspension studies with lactate demonstrated that Cr(VI) reduction could occur under either denitrifying or aerobic conditions (at comparable specific rates) and that reduction was at least 20-fold more rapid when the terminal electron acceptor (i.e., nitrate or O(2)) was present. Our results suggest that Cr(VI) reduction by strain RCH2 under either aerobic or denitrifying conditions is primarily cometabolic in the sense that the physiological electron acceptor (oxygen or nitrate) appears to be required. Under both aerobic and denitrifying conditions, the gene(s) associated with chromate reduction are not inducible by Cr. Continuous culture (chemostat) studies showed strong correlations (r(2) values >0.93) between nitrate reduction rate and the transcript copy number of either nirS (cytochrome cd(1) nitrite reductase) or narG (nitrate reductase α subunit). As our studies indicate that anaerobic Cr(VI) reduction by this pseudomonad requires active denitrification and that denitrification and chromate reduction rates are highly correlated (r(2) > 0.99), monitoring expression of such denitrification genes in biostimulated aquifers could provide valuable proxy information for in situ chromate reduction by similar bacteria even if the specific genes involved in chromate reduction have not been identified. We also report incomplete removal of reduced Cr from solution and on artifacts in the widely used diphenylcarbazide assay for Cr(VI), most notably, its complete inactivation in the presence of millimolar nitrite.
A Talbot interferometer with circular gratings

Abstract The linear gratings in our Talbot interferometer are replaced by circular gratings. This new radial shearing interferometer is sensitive to the radial gradient of the object.
In Vitro and In Vivo Evaluation of a Water-in-Oil Microemulsion System for Enhanced Peptide Intestinal Delivery

Peptide and protein drugs have become the new generation of therapeutics, yet most of them are only available as injections, and reports on oral local intestinal delivery of peptides and proteins are quite limited. The aim of this work was to develop and evaluate a water-in-oil (w/o) microemulsion system in vitro and in vivo for local intestinal delivery of water-soluble peptides after oral administration. A fluorescent labeled peptide, 5-(and-6)-carboxytetramethylrhodamine labeled HIV transactivator protein TAT (TAMRA-TAT), was used as a model peptide. Water-in-oil microemulsions consisting of Miglyol 812, Capmul MCM, Tween 80, and water were developed and characterized in terms of appearance, viscosity, conductivity, morphology, and particle size analysis. TAMRA-TAT was loaded and its enzymatic stability was assessed in modified simulated intestinal fluid (MSIF) in vitro. In in vivo studies, TAMRA-TAT intestinal distribution was evaluated using fluorescence microscopy after TAMRA-TAT microemulsion, TAMRA-TAT solution, and placebo microemulsion were orally gavaged to mice. The half-life of TAMRA-TAT in microemulsion was enhanced nearly three-fold compared to that in the water solution when challenged by MSIF. The treatment with TAMRA-TAT microemulsion after oral administration resulted in greater fluorescence intensity in all intestine sections (duodenum, jejunum, ileum, and colon) compared to TAMRA-TAT solution or placebo microemulsion. The in vitro and in vivo studies together suggested TAMRA-TAT was better protected in the w/o microemulsion in an enzyme-containing environment, suggesting that the w/o microemulsions developed in this study may serve as a potential delivery vehicle for local intestinal delivery of peptides or proteins after oral administration.
Effect of indirect exchange on paramagnetic curie temperature of EuO:La3+

Abstract It is shown that the usual theory of indirect exchange in insulators is incapable of accounting for the increase of paramagnetic Curie temperature in EuO:La3+.
Activity-dependent neurotransmitter-receptor matching at the neuromuscular junction

Signaling in the nervous system requires matching of neurotransmitter receptors with cognate neurotransmitters at synapses. The vertebrate neuromuscular junction is the best studied cholinergic synapse, but the mechanisms by which acetylcholine is matched with acetylcholine receptors are not fully understood. Because alterations in neuronal calcium spike activity alter transmitter specification in embryonic spinal neurons, we hypothesized that receptor expression in postsynaptic cells follows changes in transmitter expression to achieve this specific match. We find that embryonic vertebrate striated muscle cells normally express receptors for glutamate, GABA, and glycine as well as for acetylcholine. As maturation progresses, acetylcholine receptor expression prevails. Receptor selection is altered when early neuronal calcium-dependent activity is perturbed, and remaining receptor populations parallel changes in transmitter phenotype. In these cases, glutamatergic, GABAergic, and glycinergic synaptic currents are recorded from muscle cells, demonstrating that activity regulates matching of transmitters and their receptors in the assembly of functional synapses.
Der Spielbegriff bei Thomas Mann: die Kunst als Synthese von Erkenntnis und naivität

In vorliegender Arbeit wird versucht, den Spielbegriff bei Thomas Mann im Rahmen des Erkenntnisproblems zu deuten. Vertritt Mann einerseits die Ansicht, das ≪ernste Spiel≫ sei die Definition aller Kunst, so ist er sich andererseits dessen bewust, das die Kunst auf der Stufe des modernen Bewustseins bzw. auf der Stufe der Kritik die Forderung nach Erkenntnis nicht umgehen konne, zugespitzt heist das, die Kunst ≪will aufhoren, Schein und Spiel zu sein, sie will Erkenntnis werden.≫ Kunst jedoch als Produkt der Erkenntnis allein liefe Gefahr, zu erstarren, wahrend eine Kunst unkritischen und naiven Gestaltens nahezu unverbindlich ware. Um dieses Problem zu losen, entwickelt Mann eine Asthetik, in der das Spiel dennoch, und zwar durch ≪intellektuelle Tricks, Indirektheiten und Ironien≫ ermoglicht wird. Nur so ware zu einem Werk zu gelangen, das als ≪Travestie der Unschuld den Zustand der Erkenntnis einbekannte, dem es abgewonnen sein wiirde.≫ Daraus ergibt sich, das die fur Mann grundlegenden gestalterischen Mittel der Ironie, der Travestie und auch der Parodie u.a. die Funktion erhalten, den Gegensatz von Erkenntnis und Naivitat zu uberbrucken. Folglich sind sie auch als Mittel aufzufassen, die dazu dienen, auch im modernen Zeitalter die Definition Kunst gleich Spiel aufrechtzuerhalten.
A new approach for multiple objective decision making

The proposed TOPSIS for MODM algorithm is developed for solving multiple objective decision-making problems by considering two reference points of the positive ideal solution and the negative ideal solution simultaneously. The basic principle of compromise of TOPSIS for MODM is that the chosen solution should be as close to the positive ideal solution as possible and as far away from the negative ideal solution as possible. Thus, we can reduce a k-objective decision-making problem into an auxiliary bi-objective decision-making problem. That is: instead of k incommensurable and conflicting objective function, we consider two commensurable but conflicting objective functions (distance functions). Then, by using the max-min operator, we can obtain a compromise solution for the auxiliary bi-objective problem and the original k-objective problem. To illustrate the TOPSIS algorithm, a numerical nutrition problem is solved.
Synaptic core complex of synaptobrevin, syntaxin, and SNAP25 forms high affinity alpha-SNAP binding site.

SNAPs (soluble NSF attachment proteins) are cytoplasmic proteins that bind to specific membrane receptors and mediate the membrane binding of NSF (N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor), a protein that is required for membrane fusion reactions. Three synaptic proteins in brain (SNAP25 (synaptosomal-associated protein of 25 kDa; no relation to the SNAPs for NSF), synaptobrevin/VAMP, and syntaxin) were identified as SNAP receptors by affinity chromatography on immobilized alpha-SNAP complexed to NSF (Sollner, T., Whiteheart, S. W., Brunner, M., Erdjument-Bromage, H., Geromanos, S., Tempst, P. and Rothman, J. E. (1993) Nature 362, 318-324). However, the nature of the alpha-SNAP binding site is unclear. We now show that alpha-SNAP binds tightly to the complex of syntaxin with synaptobrevin. SNAP25 is not required for tight binding of alpha-SNAP to this complex but stabilizes the syntaxin-synaptobrevin complex by forming a trimeric core complex with it. alpha-SNAP does not bind to synaptobrevin individually and binds only weakly to syntaxin and SNAP25 in the absence of synaptobrevin. These data suggest that the complex of the vesicular protein synaptobrevin with the plasma membrane protein syntaxin is required for physiological alpha-SNAP binding. Thus, alpha-SNAP probably functions in a late step of the membrane fusion reaction after the formation of the synaptobrevin-syntaxin-SNAP25 core complex.
News media coverage of human papillomavirus.

BACKGROUND Now that human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA testing is being incorporated into cervical cancer screening programs, salient and accurate media information about HPV will be crucial to inform women's screening choices and to manage psychosocial responses to HPV DNA test results. METHODS The authors conducted a content analysis of 111 news stories about HPV from the 10 most circulated newspapers and from 3 major television networks for the period from January 1995 through July 2002. Stories were assessed for predominant theme (STD, cancer, or new tests); information about symptoms, transmission, prevention, and cancer-causing properties of HPV; screening test descriptions; and recommended screening guidelines. RESULTS Thirty-six percent of stories primarily were about new tests for HPV or cervical cancer, 30% of stories focused on cervical cancer or its link to HPV, and 27% of stories emphasized sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) or genital warts. Seventy-nine percent of stories mentioned that HPV is an STD, and 50% of stories reported that HPV is very common. Twenty-six percent of stories reported that most women with HPV will not develop cervical carcinoma. Of 81 stories that mentioned a screening test for HPV or cervical carcinoma, 38% reported the sensitivity of the test; 30% mentioned wrong, uncertain, or unnecessary test results; and 25% mentioned consequences of such results. CONCLUSIONS Media coverage of HPV could better fulfill women's educational needs by including information about low-risk and high-risk types of HPV and their differing links to cervical cancer; describing HPV prevention, transmission, and symptoms; explaining the benefits and consequences of HPV testing; and outlining the latest screening guidelines in every story. Cancer 2004;100:308–14. © 2003 American Cancer Society.
Receptive Field Microstructure and Dendritic Geometry of Retinal Ganglion Cells

Abstract We studied the fine spatial structure of the receptive fields of retinal ganglion cells and its relationship to the dendritic geometry of these cells. Cells from which recordings had been made were microinjected with Lucifer yellow, so that responses generated at precise locations within the receptive field center could be directly compared with that cell's dendritic structure. While many cells with small receptive fields had dome-shaped sensitivity profiles, the majority of large receptive fields were composed of multiple regions of high sensitivity. The density of dendritic branches at any one location did not predict the regions of high sensitivity. Instead, the interactions between a ganglion cell's dendritic tree and the local mosaic of bipolar cell axons seem to define the fine structure of the receptive field center.
The impact of supervisor age on employee job satisfaction

As workers in the United States get older, it is increasingly likely that they will have significantly younger supervisors. In these instances, workers experience status incongruence – the supervisor–subordinate relationship does not conform to social ‘norms’. As a result workers may, in some instances, be dissatisfied with their opportunities for advancement if they have a significantly younger supervisor. This is most likely the case among more educated workers, potentially leading to lower job satisfaction and increased likelihood of quits. Ordered probit estimations of the 2008 wave of the National Study of the Changing Workforce confirm these hypotheses.
On exposed faces and smoothness

In this paper we study two types of Banach spaces: those whose unit ball exposed faces are pairwise disjoint and those that are smooth. We present original characterizations of both types that easily lead to local and global results on smoothness.
Phase-change and magneto-optical recording media for optical data storage

In this review, we present some of the salient aspects of materials and design issues of phase- change and magneto-optical thin film media for erasable and rewritable optical recording. Recent developments to optimize the performance of these devices are discussed.
Metabolism of the chemoprotective agent diallyl sulfide to glutathione conjugates in rats

The chemoprotective effects of diallyl sulfide (DAS), a flavor component of garlic, have been attributed to its inhibitory effects on CYP2E1-mediated bioactivation of certain carcinogenic chemicals. In addition to being a competitive inhibitor of CYP2E1 in vitro, DAS is known to cause irreversible inhibition of CYP2E1 in rats in vivo. The latter property is believed to be mediated by the DAS metabolite diallyl sulfone (DASO2), which is thought to be a mechanism-based inhibitor of CYP2E1, although the underlying mechanism remains unknown. In order to investigate the nature of the reactive intermediate(s) responsible for the inactivation of CYP2E1 by DAS and its immediate metabolites, the present studies were carried out to detect and identify potential glutathione (GSH) conjugates of DAS and its metabolites diallyl sulfoxide (DASO) and DASO2. By means of ionspray LC-MS/MS, ten GSH conjugates were identified in bile collected from rats dosed with DAS, namely: S-[3-(S'-allyl-S'-dioxomercapto)-2-hydroxypropyl]glutathione (M1, M2; diastereomers), S-[3-(S'-allyl-S'-dioxomercapto)-2-hydroxypropyl]-glutathione (M5), S-[2-(S'-allyl-S'-dioxomercapto)-1-(hydroxymethyl)ethyl]glutathion e (M3, M4; diastereomers), S-[3-(S'-allylmercapto)-2-hydroxypropyl]glutathione (M6), S-(3-hydroxypropyl)-glutathione (M7), S-(2-carboxyethyl)glutathione (M8), allyl glutathionyl disulfide (M9), and S-allylglutathione (M10). With the exception of M6, all of the above GSH conjugates were detected in the bile of rats treated with DASO, while only M3, M4, M5, M7, M8, and M10 were found in the bile of rats treated with DASO2. Experiments conducted in vitro showed that GSH reacted spontaneously with DASO to form conjugates M9 and M10, and with DASO2 to form M10. In the presence of NADPH and GSH, incubation of DAS with cDNA-expressed rat CYP2E1 resulted in the formation of metabolites M6, M9, and M10, while incubation with DASO led to the formation of M3, M4, M5, M9, and M10. When DASO2 acted as substrate, CYP2E1 generated only conjugates M3, M4, M5, and M10. These results indicate that while DAS and DASO undergo extensive oxidation in vivo at the sulfur atom, the allylic carbon, and the terminal double bonds, CYP2E1 preferentially catalyzes oxidation of the sulfur atom to form the sulfoxide and the sulfone (DASO and DASO2). However, it appears that the end product of this sequence, namely, DASO2, undergoes further CYP2E1-mediated activation of the olefinic pi-bond, a reaction which transforms many terminal olefins to potent mechanism-based P450 inhibitors. We hypothesize, therefore, that it is this final metabolic event with DASO2 which leads to autocatalytic destruction of CYP2E1 and which is mainly responsible for the chemoprotective effects of DAS in vivo.
Effect of Estrogen Administration on Extravascular Cortisol

Analyses of arterial-blood radioactive-cortisol disappearance curves in human subjects by means of 2-compartment mathematical models have provided data on extravascular and intravascular cortisol. The intravascular cortisol pool is 460 ± 209 SD μg distributed in a volume equal to plasma volume. Extravascular cortisol is 2 or 3 times as largely distributed in an unknown volume. Estrogen treatment causes a marked increase in intravascular cortisol without significant effect on extravascular cortisol. This is in contrast to ACTH stimulation, which causes proportional increases in both pools. Kinetic processes are changed by estrogen treatment with a resultant tendency for cortisol to remain in the intravascular pool. These data, taken in conjunction with the previously observed lack of hypercorticism in estrogen-treated subjects, are consistent with the hypothesis that it is the extravascular cortisol which is physiologically active. They indicate that a function of transcortin is to maintain a large intrava...
A periodic but nonstationary gravitational instanton

Abstract A periodic but nonstationary asymptotically locally flat gravitational instanton with boundary S 2 × S 1 Z 2 is obtained by a limiting procedure from the Einstein metric on K3. It has zero action, four parameters, and no Killing vectors in general.
Effect of binding and conformation on fluorescence quenching in new 2',7'-dichlorofluorescein derivatives.

Symmetrical and unsymmetrical 2‘,7‘-dichlorofluorescein (DCF) derivatives have been synthesized by means of Mannich reactions and an aromatic Claisen rearrangement. NMR and fluorescence spectroscopic studies reveal the correlation between the conformations, the photoinduced electron transfer mechanism, and fluorescent intensities of these DCF derivatives. Two quenching nitrogen atoms cooperatively and reversibly suppress the fluorescence of the chromophore.
Dopamine: a sensitive automated assay and examples of levodopa therapy.

Abstract The fluorometric determination of dopamine by oxidation with potassium ferricyanide in an alkaline medium was automated using the Technicon AutoAnalyzer. The method is rapid, sensitive, and reproducible. The concentration of dopamine in whole rat brain determined by this method was 5.15 nmole/g, agreeing closely with values in the literature. Plasma levels of dopamine and dopa were determined at half-hour intervals in patients receiving levodopa therapy. Dopa and dopamine concentrations in plasma rose and fell in response to each dosage, but patients show considerable individual variations in their pattern of plasma levels. In the presence of carbidopa, a peripheral dopa decarboxylase inhibitor, dopamine concentrations could not be detected.