cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Suppressible four-base glycine and proline codons in yeast

Five ICR-170--induced mutations at the His4 locus in yeast are +1 G.C (G, guanine; C, cytosine) additions in DNA regions that contain multiple G.C base pairs. These mutations represents both nonsuppressible and suppressible alleles. All externally, suppressible frameshift mutations occur in glycine and proline codons to produce the four-base codons GGGU (U, uracil), GGGG, and CCCU. This implies that suppression of these four-base codons in yeast, as in bacteria, involves a four-base anticodon or its functional equivalent. Two identical four-base codons (CCCU) at widely separate regions with His4 are not suppressed equally.
A periodicity threshold theorem for epidemics and population growth

Abstract Some infectious diseases have an incidence which is periodic in time. Contact rates may vary greatly during a year due to seasonal factors. In this paper we study the scalar delay integral equation x(t)= ʃ t t-τ f (s,x(s))ds , where f(t,x) is a continuous function which is periodic in t, f(t,0)=0, and where τ is a positive constant. This equation can be interpreted as a model for some infectious diseases with periodic contact rate, or as a growth equation for a single species population when the birth rate varies seasonally. The principal result is a threshold theorem: it is proved that if τ is small enough, all nonnegative solutions approach 0 as t→∞, whereas if τ is large enough, there exists a positive periodic solution with period equal to the period of f. Estimates on the critical size of τ are given in terms of ∂f ∂x (t,0) . A numerical example is given.
Morphological productivity in children with normal language and SLI: a study of the English past tense.

Children with specific language impairment (SLI) are known to display persistent difficulties with inflectional morphology—in particular, the overuse of unmarked grammatical forms (i.e., zero-marking). Yet, several recent studies have shown that English-speaking children with SLI, like their normal language peers (NL), demonstrate a considerable degree of productive language abilities (e.g., Bishop, 1994; Loeb & Leonard, 1991; Oetting & Horohov, 1997). In this study, we explore productivity in the English past tense in school-age children with SLI (N=31) and NL (N=31) who were equivalent as a group in chronological and mental age. Although children in both groups produced a range of error types, the children with SLI produced significantly more errors, with a greater proportion resulting from zero-marking (e.g., go) than suffixation (e.g., goed). Item analyses indicated that suffixations and zero-markings were predicted by item frequency, phonological features of stems, and similarity relationships across...
Tight binding calculation of energy bands in nickel

Electronic energy bands in nickel have been calculated using the tight-binding approximation. Atomic wave functions for all occupied states, 1s through 4s were included. Matrix elements were summed to convergence, including all three center contributions. Exchange was included through Slater's free electron approximation. The results are compared with other calculations, and with experiment.
Micro-computed tomography for analysis of urinary calculi

Micro-computed tomographic (micro CT) imaging has become an important tool for the study of urinary stones. The method involves the collection of a series of X-ray pictures of the stone as it is rotated, and the internal structure of the stone is computationally reconstructed from these pictures. The entire process takes from 30 min to an hour with present technology. Resulting images of the stone provide unprecedented detail of the mineral composition and its morphological arrangement within the stone. For smaller stones, reconstructions can easily have voxel sizes of <5 μm, making this a truly microscopic view of the stone. The micro CT reconstructions can be viewed with any of a number of existing methods for visualizing the structure of both the surface and internal features of the stone. Because the entire process is non-destructive, traditional analysis methods—such as dissection and spectroscopic examination of portions of the stones—can also be performed. Micro CT adds value to traditional methods by identifying regions of the stone to be analyzed, and also with its ability to scan a cluster of stones or stone fragments at once. Finally, micro CT has become a powerful tool to help investigate events in stone formation that distinguish different kinds of stone disease.
Officially Mandated Disappearing Information: The Legal Depublication Phenomenon

Abstract The author discusses the practice of depublication of judicial court opinions that have been certified for publication and examines the effect on the public record, specifically its law-erasing effect. Conclusion is reached that depublication is harmful not only to legal practitioners but also detracts from the public's access to legal information. Efficiency benefits are outweighed by the disadvantages to the entire judicial system. Recommendations are made that the practice be eliminated or severely curtailed and that depublished opinions be made easily available.
Solitons with Fermion Number 1/2 in Condensed Matter and Relativistic Field Theories

States with fractional fermion charge have been discovered in relativistic field theory and condensed matter physics. In the latter context they lead to unexpected but experimentally verified predictions for one-dimensional electron-phonon systems like polyacetylene. We examine the common basis for this fortunate convergence between condensed matter and relativistic field theories.
Attitudes and strategies inhibiting the unionization of the Maquiladora Industry: Government, industry, unions and workers

The unionization of the maquiladora industry has fallen upon difficult times. The definition of union organization varies from one analyst to another, but the general trend is unmistakable. The data for this study show a decline from about 40 percent to approximately 33 percent of the industry's work force from 1979 to 1990. Another estimate posits a decline from 33 percent to 15 percent from 1980 to 1990 ( The U.S.-Mexico Report June 1990:3). Including company unions ( sindicatos blancos ) in the estimate probably explains a large part of the difference, but, to reiterate, the general tendency is clearly defined. This article describes and analyzes how the attitudes and strategies of four major actors have militated against the effective unionization of the maquiladora industry in Mexico. It centers upon (1) the Mexican government's relationship to the industry and to Mexican organized labor; (2) the industry's attitudes on the organization of the industry and its strategies to oppose unionization; (3) organized labor's attitudes and strategies; and (4) the assembly plant workers' reactions to the industry and labor union leaders.
The Effect of Shorter Lengths of Stay on Functional Outcomes of Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation

This study explores differences in length of stay (LOS) and functional status at time of discharge (DC) from inpatient rehabilitation and at 2 months post-DC (PDC) and examines complications PDC for patients admitted to a rehabilitation center in 1991 and 1995. Data were collected from 127 patients with motor complete spinal cord injury (SCI). Nineteen functional skills, medical complications, and employment status were collected. LOS was shorter in 1995 (54.2 days) than in 1991 (95.8 days). The 1991 patients with paraplegia were functioning more independently in 5 of the 19 skills, whereas in 1995 these patients functioned more independently in one skill PDC. Individuals with tetraplegia showed no difference in functional level at DC but did show functional improvement at PDC in 1995 for three skills. Urinary tract infections and pressure ulcers were not different between the groups, but pain complaints and unemployment status were greater in 1995 for individuals with paraplegia. Results indicate that LO...
Effective association of Kv channel-interacting proteins with Kv4 channel is mediated with their unique core peptide.

Kv channel-interacting proteins (KChIPs) and neuronal calcium sensor-1 (NCS-1) have been shown to interact with Kv4 channel α-subunits to regulate the expression and/or gating of these channels. Here we examine the specificity and sites of these proteins for interaction with Kv channel proteins. Immunoprecipitation and green fluorescent protein imaging show that KChIPs (but not NCS-1) effectively bind to Kv4.3 protein and localize at the plasma membrane when channel proteins are coexpressed. Analysis with chimeric proteins between KChIP2 and NCS-1 reveals that the three regions of KChIP2 (the linker between the first and second EF hands, the one between the third and fourth EF hands, and the C-terminal peptide after the fourth EF hand) are necessary and sufficient for its effective binding to Kv4.3 protein. The chimera with these three KChIP2 portions slowed inactivation and facilitated recovery from inactivation of Kv4.3 current. These results indicate that the sequence difference in these three regions between KChIPs and NCS-1 determines the specificity and affinity for interaction with Kv4 protein. Because the three identified regions surround the large hydrophobic crevice based on the NCS-1 crystal structure, this crevice may be the association site of KChIPs for the channel protein.
Environmental aging of the Ti-6Al-4V/FM-5 polyimide. adhesive bonded system: implications of physical and chemical aging on durability

Ti-6A1-4V/FM-5 polyimide adhesively bonded double cantilever beam (DCB) specimens were aged for 12 months at elevated temperatures (177°C and 204°C) in one of three different environments: ambient atmospheric air pressure and reduced air pressures of 2 psi (13.8 kPa) and 0.2 psi (1.38 kPa), to assess bond durability. The FM-5 polyimide adhesive (Tg~ 250°C) is based on a polyimide developed by NASA Langley Research Center and is produced by Cytec Industries, Inc. Bonds aged for different times were tested to measure the critical strain energy release rate as a function of the temperature and environment. The greatest loss in bond strength occurred after aging in air at 204°C. Following thermal rejuvenation of the aged bonds at 300°C for 2 h, part of the strength loss could be recovered. This strength recovery was attributed to the reversal of physical aging in the adhesive resin. Further evidence for physical aging, which is a thermo-reversible phenomenon, was obtained from tests conducted on neat resin sp...
Chiral aggregates formed from methylated tetraenoic fatty acids: formation of both antipodes of chiral aggregates from a single enantiomer and time-dependent stereomutation.

Formation and behaviors of chiral aggregates of methylated tetraenoic fatty acids (TE-FAs) were reported. In the C-24 TE-FA series, the aggregate prepared by dispersing an ethanol stock solution of C-24 TE-FA 1b into sodium phosphate buffer gave a strong positive Cotton effect, whereas the aggregate prepared from a methanol stock solution gave a negative Cotton effect. In the C-20 TE-FA series, the aggregate prepared from an ethanol stock solution of C-20 TE-FA 2b exhibited time-dependent chirality inversion.
Energy requirements for the vacuferm process

Vacuferm is an important new process for rapid fermentative production of alcohol fuel. The continuous vacuferm process, by greatly increasing ethanol productivity and thus reducing equipment size and capital cost, offers promise of making possible production of low-cost ethanol fuel. Energy requirements for this process are only slightly larger than those for conventional processes and should not be considered a drawback. Other important technical difficulties - the need to meet oxygen maintenance requirements and to maintain log-term asceptic operation under vacuum - must be overcome in industrial application. 2 figures. (DP)
Pull-out and shear failure strengths of arthroscopic meniscal repair systems

Meniscal repair is common and recommended in young patients. Suture techniques and fixation devices were developed for stronger, more facile repairs. Three devices (T-Fix, Meniscal Staple, Meniscus Arrow) were biomechanically compared to horizontal PDS suture. Peripheral tears were created in porcine menisci and repaired using the manufacturer's technique. An Instron was used to distract the menisci at 50 mm/min in axial-pullout and longitudinal shear loads. Load to failure curves and peak failure loads were noted. Load to failure in axially loaded pull-out mode was: Staple, 4.195±3.70 N; Arrow, 39.755±11.37 N; T-Fix, 45.892±13.99 N; Suture, 107.65±22.37 N. Analysis of variance with post hoc testing revealed Staple failure at lower load than all devices and Suture failure at higher loads than all devices; Arrow and T-Fix were similar. The data varied significantly from that obtained in shear. Shear loads to failure were: Staple, 8.39±8.62 N; Arrow, 27.67±14.33 N; T-Fix, 57.47±17.05 N; Suture, 64.15±17.05 N. Analysis of variance, power analysis, and pair-wise multiple comparisons revealed significant differences between: Suture and Staple, Suture and Arrow, and T-Fix and Staple. No differences were noted between Suture and T-Fix, T-Fix and Arrow, or Arrow and Staple. In pullout, Suture and T-Fix maintained better apposition at low loads. As load increased, the menisci separated until device failure. Arrows allowed low load separation but held tissue until failure. Staples failed at low load. For shear, the menisci attempted to reorient parallel to the force. The devices failed in a pull-slide pattern. Suture failed by pull-through. Meniscal repair devices are easy to use and may provide resistance to shear and pull out. The resistance to pullout loads was very different than the resistance to longitudinal shear loads.
Effects of luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone agonist and calcium upon adenylyl cyclase activity of human corpus luteum membranes.

Abstract We have investigated the ability of the agonist analog of luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LH-RH), D-Trp 6 -LH-RH (LH-RHa), and of CaCl 2 to inhibit directly gonadotropin stimulation of adenylyl cyclase in a cell-free system prepared from human corpus luteum. In the presence of a submaximally effective concentration of hCG, addition of 10 −5 M final concentration of LH-RHa did not alter the gonadotropin-stimulated enzyme activity, nor did LH-RHa alone show any effect upon basal levels of the enzyme. The failure to inhibit adenylyl cyclase would indicate that the LH-RHa does not affect gonadotropin receptor binding or cAMP synthesis and/or degradation in this membrane system, suggesting that the luteolytic effects of LH-RH are unlikely to involve a direct antigonadotropic activity at the level of the human corpus luteum. In great contrast to LH-RHa, addition of CaCl 2 resulted in a dosedependent inhibition of hCG-stimulable adenylyl cyclase. Thus, in the presence of either a maximally or submaximally effective concentration of hCG, inhibition was significant at 0.5 mM CaCl 2 added in excess of ATP (2 mM) and EDTA (1 mM), being about 90% upon addition of 2.5 mM CaCl 2 . We also found that calcium reduced enzyme stimulation by forskolin and the GTP analog, guanyl 5 1 -yl imidodiphosphate [GMP-P(NH)P] in a dose-related manner and that activation by NaF was less sensitive to inhibition by calcium. Accordingly, at 2.5 mM CaCl 2 , guanyl nucleotide and forskolin stimulations were inhibited 96% and 86%, respectively, while NaF stimulation was reduced by 40%. Because previous studies have shown that calcium does not impair gonadotropin binding activity, the calcium-dependent inhibition of gonadotropin responsiveness reported here would imply an alteration in the functional coupling of the components of the luteal adenylyl cyclase system. These data suggest that calcium may play a role in the regulation of gonadotropin action in the human corpus luteum.
Microbubble drag reduction in rough walled turbulent boundary layers with comparison against polymer drag reduction

Experiments were conducted in the 12-inch diameter tunnel at the Applied Research Laboratory, Pennsylvania State University using the tunnel wall boundary layer to determine the influence of surface roughness on microbubble drag reduction. To accomplish this, carbon dioxide was injected through a slot at rates of 0.001 m3/s to 0.011 m3/s, and the resulting skin friction drag measured on a 317.5-mm long by 152.4-mm span balance. In addition to the hydrodynamically smooth balance plate, additional plates were covered with roughly 75, 150, and 300 micron grit. Over the speed range tested of 7.6, 10.7, and 13.7 m/s, the roughness ranged from smooth to fully rough. Not only was microbubble drag reduction achieved over the rough surfaces, but the % drag reduction at a given gas flow rate was larger for larger roughness. Scaling of the data is discussed. Comparison against results of a polymer drag reduction experiment, using the same facility, is made. Finally, a measure of the expected persistence of the phenomenon is given.
IR-inducible clusterin gene expression: a protein with potential roles in ionizing radiation-induced adaptive responses, genomic instability, and bystander effects

Abstract Clusterin (CLU) plays numerous roles in mammalian cells after stress. A review of the recent literature strongly suggests potential roles for CLU proteins in low dose ionizing radiation (IR)-inducible adaptive responses, bystander effects, and delayed death and genomic instability. Its most striking and evident feature is the inducibility of the CLU promoter after low, as well as high, doses of IR. Two major forms of CLU, secreted (sCLU) and nuclear (nCLU), possess opposite functions in cellular responses to IR: sCLU is cytoprotective, whereas nCLU (a byproduct of alternative splicing) is a pro-death factor. Recent studies from our laboratory and others demonstrated that down-regulation of sCLU by specific siRNA increased cytotoxic responses to chemotherapy and IR. sCLU was induced after low non-toxic doses of IR (0.02–0.5 Gy) in human cultured cells and in mice in vivo. The low dose inducibility of this survival protein suggests a possible role for sCLU in radiation adaptive responses, characterized by increased cell radioresistance after exposure to low adapting IR doses. Although it is still unclear whether the adaptive response is beneficial or not to cells, survival of damaged cells after IR may lead to genomic instability in the descendants of surviving cells. Recent studies indicate a link between sCLU accumulation and cancer incidence, as well as aging, supporting involvement of the protein in the development of genomic instability. Secreted after IR, sCLU may also alter intracellular communication due to its ability to bind cell surface receptors, such as the TGF-β receptors (types I and II). This interference with signaling pathways may contribute to IR-induced bystander effects. We hypothesize that activation of the TGF-β signaling pathway, which often occurs after IR exposure, can in turn activate the CLU promoter. TGF-β and IR-inducible de novo synthesized sCLU may then bind the TGF-β receptors and suppress downstream growth arrest signaling. This complicated negative feedback regulation most certainly depends on the cellular microenvironment, but undoubtedly represents a potential link between IR-induced adaptive responses, genomic instability and bystander effects. Further elucidation of clusterin protein functions in IR responses are clearly warranted.
Volcanogenic uranium, vanadium and iron in Indian Ocean sediments

Abstract About one hundred U, V and Fe analyses of Indian Ocean sediments indicate that enrichments of U and V occur in hemipelagic sediments close to the continents, probably associated with biogen constituents. The highest concentration, however of U, V and Fe occur in active ridge sediments, suggesting that submarine volcanism is an important source of these elements.
New Insights into the Biology of Dog Thelaziosis in Europe . By D. Otranto and R. P. Lia. The DVD is obtainable free of charge from Dr Norbert Mencke, BayerHealthCare AG, Animal Health Veterinary Services, 51368 Leverkusen, Germany (E-mail: norbert.mencke@bayerheatthcare.com).

The scientific aspect is high calibre and well documented regarding the life-cycle, biology and pathology caused by the eyeworm – Thelazia callipaeda . The studies were well planned and showed that the house fly- Musca domestica was (is) not the intermediate host. On the contrary, it was demonstrated that the first larval stage is capable of developing to the third infective larval stage in the fly genera – Amniota and Phortica . The research is excellent and the narrative on the DVD complements well the science. Commercial aspects of the parasiticides for control of the nematodes are also well presented. The DVD would be of interest to laypersons, in addition to practicing parasitologists, veterinarians and physicians.
Perioperative blood transfusions in orthopaedic surgery.

➤ Blood transfusion after orthopaedic surgery accounts for 10% of all packed red blood-cell transfusions, but use varies substantially across hospitals and surgeons. ➤ Transfusions can cause systemic complications, including allergic reactions, transfusion-related acute lung injury, transfusion-associated circulatory overload, graft-versus-host disease, and infections. ➤ Tranexamic acid is a new cost-effective blood management tool to reduce blood loss and decrease the risk of transfusion after total joint arthroplasty. ➤ Current clinical evidence does not justify transfusions for a hemoglobin level of >8 g/dL in the absence of symptoms. ➤ Studies have also supported the use of this trigger in patients with a history or risk of cardiovascular disease.
What Sets the Strength of the Middepth Stratification and Overturning Circulation in Eddying Ocean Models

Abstract The processes maintaining stratification in the oceanic middepth (between approximately 1000 and 3000 m) are explored using an eddy-resolving general circulation model composed of a two-hemisphere, semienclosed basin with a zonal reentrant channel in the southernmost eighth of the domain. The middepth region lies below the wind-driven main thermocline but above the diffusively driven abyssal ocean. Here, it is argued that middepth stratification is determined primarily in the model’s Antarctic Circumpolar Current. Competition between mean and eddy overturning in the channel leads to steeper isotherms and thus deeper stratification throughout the basin than would exist without the channel. Isotherms that outcrop only in the channel are nearly horizontal in the semienclosed portion of the domain, whereas isotherms that also outcrop in the Northern Hemisphere deviate from horizontal and are accompanied by geostrophically balanced meridional transport. A northern source of deep water (water with temp...
The Ethics Of Managing Short-Term Earnings: Business Managers And Business Students Rate Earnings Management Practices - Implications For Academia

In 1990, Bruns and Merchant surveyed the readership of the Harvard Business Review (HBR). Their survey asked HBR readers to rate the acceptability of earnings management practices. Prior to that study, researchers and accounting practitioners paid little attention to the morality of short-term earnings management. However, in the wake of highly publicized financial frauds and failures, the profession and academic journals have emphasized the importance of the concepts of earnings quality and earnings management. The Bruns and Merchant survey provided 13 earnings management situations and asked the HBR readers to rate the acceptability of those practices. In this study, we surveyed students and business managers to measure their perceptions about the morality of specific earnings management actions to determine if their perceptions are different from those of the HBR readers 15 years ago. This article also compares the results of our study with several other studies that used the Bruns & Merchant instrument during the most recent 15 years. Based on our findings, we discuss implications for academia.
Hall Effect Measurements on New Thermoelectric Materials

In the field of thermoelectrics, the figure of merit of new materials is based on the electrical conductivity, thermoelectric power, and thermal conductivity of the sample, however additional insight is gained through knowledge of the carrier concentrations and mobility in the materials. The figure of merit is commonly related to the material properties through the B factor which is directly dependent on the mobility of the carriers as well as the effective mass. To gain additional insight on the new materials of interest for thermoelectric applications, a Hall Effect system has been developed for measuring the temperature dependent carrier concentrations and mobilities. In this paper, the measurement system will be described, and recent results for several new materials will be presented.
Thread tailor: dynamically weaving threads together for efficient, adaptive parallel applications

Extracting performance from modern parallel architectures requires that applications be divided into many different threads of execution. Unfortunately selecting the appropriate number of threads for an application is a daunting task. Having too many threads can quickly saturate shared resources, such as cache capacity or memory bandwidth, thus degrading performance. On the other hand, having too few threads makes inefficient use of the resources available. Beyond static resource assignment, the program inputs and dynamic system state (e.g., what other applications are executing in the system) can have a significant impact on the right number of threads to use for a particular application. To address this problem we present the Thread Tailor, a dynamic system that automatically adjusts the number of threads in an application to optimize system efficiency. The Thread Tailor leverages offline analysis to estimate what type of threads will exist at runtime and the communication patterns between them. Using this information Thread Tailor dynamically combines threads to better suit the needs of the target system. Thread Tailor adjusts not only to the architecture, but also other applications in the system, and this paper demonstrates that this type of adjustment can lead to significantly better use of thread-level parallelism in real-world architectures.
tRNA methyltransferase activity in neonatal and mature mammalian neural tissue.

— The activity and kinetic characteristics of tRNA methyltransferases were measured with enzyme preparations obtained from neonatal and adult mouse brain tissue. Both neonatal and mature brain enzyme preparations were shown to contain a considerable amount of protein methylase activity which could interfere with the measurement of the tRNA methyltransferases. When increasing amounts of the unfractionated enzymes from young and adult neural tissue were added to reaction mixtures, the saturation kinetics were found to be considerably different. However, fractionation of the samples by precipitation at pH 5 resulted in an increase in the enzyme activity of preparations obtained from adult brain. Although the precipitation at pH 5 allowed a quantitative recovery of the enzyme activity of immature brain samples, this partial purification step led to an apparent activation of the tRNA methyltransferases in adult preparations. This activation was shown to be independent of differential changes in the thermolability of the enzymes but rather to be associated with an increase in the sites methylated and the measured affinity of the adult enzyme preparations with the tRNA substrate. Nicotinamide, a potent inhibitor of tRNA methyltransferase activity in other tissues, was shown to be ineffective in modulating brain tRNA methyltransferase activity. The results are discussed in light of the possible modulation of the activity of specific enzyme species and the alterations in the synthesis of nucleic acid precursors during neural development.
Guo Xiang: The Self-So and the Repudiation-cum-Reaffirmation of Deliberate Action and Knowledge

This chapter explores the thought of Guo Xiang, with special attention to his complex views concerning knowledge (知zhi) and deliberate action (為wei). It is due to the complexities of Guo’s key idea of “the self-so” (自然ziran), serving as the crux of both his ontology and his axiology, and stipulated to be both the direct antithesis to both knowledge and action and also the ultimate source enabler of both knowledge and action that he is able to simultaneously repudiate both and affirm both without contradiction, and thereby provide a cogent global theory ethics and epistemology of high originality and immense subsequent influence. Of special importance for making his theory work is Guo’s conception of the self-so as the unchangeable but constantly changing “nature” of each and every entity, the source of its self-affirming value and of its being at every moment.
A sensorless integrated doubly-fed electric alternator/active filter (IDEA) for variable speed wind energy system

In response to energy concerns and power quality issues, a viable, simple and low cost sensorless integrated doubly-fed electric alternator/active filter (IDEA) for variable wind energy conversion system (WECS) is proposed. The proposed IDEA is capable of simultaneous generation of optimized green power and improving power quality, which are achieved by canceling the most significant and troublesome harmonics of the utility lines. Power factor correction and reactive power control are the other two significant features of the proposed technology. A sensorless field oriented method to control the IDEA with higher power density is also part of this development. Analysis and simulation as well as experimental results are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed IDEA. The overall algorithm has been implemented using the TI DSP controller, TMS320LF2407.
Evaluation of minimally invasive surgical staging for esophageal cancer.

Abstract Background: Conventional imaging studies (computed tomography and endoscopic esophageal ultrasonography) used for preoperative evaluation of patients with esophageal cancer can be inaccurate for detection of small metastatic deposits. We evaluated the efficacy of minimally invasive surgical (MIS) staging as an additional modality for evaluation of patients with esophageal cancer. Methods: Between December 1998 and February 2001, 33 patients with esophageal cancer were evaluated for surgical resection. Conventional imaging studies demonstrated operable disease in 31 patients and equivocal findings in 2 patients. All patients then underwent MIS staging (laparoscopy, bronchoscopy, and ultrasonography of the liver). We compared the results from surgical resection and MIS staging with those from conventional imaging. Results: MIS staging altered the treatment plan in 12 (36%) of 33 patients; MIS staging upstaged 10 patients with operable disease and downstaged 2 patients with equivocal findings. MIS staging accurately determined resectability in 97% of patients compared with 61% of patients staged by conventional imaging. The specificity and negative predictive value for detection of unsuspected metastatic disease in MIS staging were 100% and 96%, respectively, compared with 91% and 65%, respectively, for conventional imaging studies. Conclusion: In addition to conventional imaging studies, MIS staging should be included routinely in the preoperative work-up of patients with esophageal cancer.
Structural Characterization Using an AFM

A schematic diagram in Fig. 1.1a provides an overall view of various cellular structures of human hair. Human hair is a complex tissue consisting of several morphological components, and each component consists of several different chemical species. Table 1.1 presented earlier summarizes the main chemical species present in human hair.
Family‐Centered Care

Family-Centered Care provides a forum for sharing information about basic components of caring for children and families, including respect, information sharing, collaboration, family-to-family support, and confidence building.
The semiotic constitution of Kamsa ritual language

Recent studies of socially situated ways of speaking have reflected a growing uneasiness with the tidy dichotomies (for example, formal/informal, polite/casual) that have informed sociolinguistic inquiries in the past. The ritual language of the Kamsa indigenous community of Andean Colombia presents a serious challenge to these familiar conceptual molds. In elaborating a semiotic constitution for this speech variety, I articulate a model founded on three interrelated variables - accessibility, formalization, and efficacy - that may prove relevant to the discussion of ritual and ceremonial languages elsewhere. (Ritual and ceremonial languages, South American Indian speech forms, semiotics.) There have been many accounts of formal ways of speaking, attesting to a major scholarly investment in the study of these speech varieties. At one stage of discovery, we have felt fortunate to identify serviceable dichotomies such as formal/informal, high/low, and sacred/secular, as a means of sorting out, in preliminary fashion, the data contained in our ethnographies. Recently, and in keeping with the growth and development of the ethnography of communication as a unified field of study, there have been expressions of uneasiness regarding these all-too-handy dichotomies. In one recent publication, Judith Irvine (I979) argues that the concept of formality is deceptively simple, and actually encompasses a range of related variables that must often be treated separately from one another. As our understanding of speech ecologies becomes ever more sophisticated, these preliminary dichotomies are revealed to be increasingly problematic. In this paper I will explore in some detail a speech variety encountered in my fieldwork among the Kamsa Indians of Andean Colombia, one which presents a serious challenge to conventional dichotomies of the kind mentioned above. I refer to this speech variety, following the Kamsa', as Kamsa ritual language. Stylistically, this speech variety tends toward formalization, as this term has
The low tar lie

For perhaps the first time in history, the tobacco industry is having its own virulent smoke blown back in its face. Confronted with a continual onslaught of litigation, the nation's tobacco manufacturers are no longer able to cower behind the shelter of public relations and well nourished political connections. The industry's real history is now being told, but not in the sidestepping half truths that have characterised the industry's signature response to critical inquiry. This time, the story is told among millions of pages of once confidential industry documents made public through legal discovery. Rumours have become facts. Telltale is now truth. The tobacco industry is being forced to eat its own words. One of the most compelling parts of this new history is the evolution of low tar and low nicotine cigarettes. While the tobacco industry publicly vowed to place the public's health above every other facet of its business, it privately acknowledged its inability to create a safe product. Supported by quotes pulled directly from the industry's own internal documents, the real history is now manifest. “ . . .if we can eliminate or reduce the carcinogenic agent in smoke we will have made real progress.”— 1954, Liggett .1 “Boy, wouldn't it be wonderful if our company was first to produce a cancer free cigarette? What we could do to the competition.”— Mid 1950s Hill & Knowlton (industry legal counsel) quoting an unnamed tobacco company research director .2 “ . . .the evidence is irrefutable that the companies were aware by 1954 of the early epidemiologic studies and the 1953 Wynder-Graham mouse skin painting study (linking cigarettes and lung cancer).”— late 1980s attorney work product by industry legal counsel Jones, Day Reavis & Pogue for an industry client (possibly B&W) .3 “From a source of …
Message ferrying for constrained scenarios

Message ferrying (MF) (Wenrui Zhao and Ammar, M.H., Proc. IEEE Workshop on Future Trends in Distrib. Computing Syst., 2003), a viable solution for routing in highly partitioned ad-hoc networks, exploits message ferries to transfer packets between disconnected nodes. The paper studies the delivery quality of service (QoS) for certain urgent messages in the constrained and the relaxed constrained MF systems. Efficient algorithms to compute near-optimal ferry routes are proposed, delay analysis is conducted and the results are compared to the non-constrained scenario.
Moving Climate Information off the Shelf: Boundary Chains and the Role of RISAs as Adaptive Organizations

While research focusing on how boundary organizations influence the use of climate information has expanded substantially in the past few decades, there has been relatively less attention to how these organizations innovate and adapt to different environments and users. This paper investigates how one boundary organization,theGreatLakesIntegratedSciencesandAssessmentsCenter(GLISA),hasadaptedbycreating ‘‘boundary chains’’ to diversify its client base while minimizing transaction costs, increasing scientific knowledge usability, and better meeting client climate information needs. In this approach, boundary organizations connect like links in a chain and together these links span the range between the production of knowledge and its use. Three main chain configurations are identified. In the key chain approach, GLISA has partneredwithotherorganizationsinanumberofseparateprojectssimultaneously,diversifyingitsclientbase without sacrificing customization. In the linked chain approach, GLISA is one of several linked boundary organizations that successively deepen the level of customization to meet particular users’ needs. Finally, by partnering with multiple organizations and stakeholder groups in both configurations, GLISA may be laying the groundwork for enhancing their partners’ own capacity to make climate-related decisions through a networked chain approach that facilitates cooperation among organizations and groups. Each of these approaches represents an adaptive strategy that both enhances the efficiency and effectiveness of participating boundary organizations’ work and improves the provision of climate information that meets users’ needs.
Intrinsic and extrinsic regulation of the differentiation of skin, corneal and esophageal epithelial cells.

Abstract Basal cells of the stratified squamous epithelia of rabbit skin, cornea and esophagus appear morphologically similar. However, the histological features of their subsequent differentiation are different, and the three epithelia are characterized by distinctive keratin proteins. To analyze the relative importance of intrinsic versus extrinsic factors in regulating the differentiation of these epithelia, we compared their behavior under identical in vitro and in vivo conditions. When cultured in the presence of 3T3 feeder cells, keratinocytes from all three epithelia formed differentiating colonies. Although in culture the three cell types approached a common phenotype, they remained distinguishable morphologically and, in some cases, biochemically. When these cultured epithelial cells were trypsinized, suspended in medium and injected subcutaneously into athymic (nude) mice, each of the three cell types generated a characteristic cyst consisting of stratified squamous epithelium. Cultured skin, corneal and esophageal keratinocytes formed epithelia which were keratinized, nonkeratinized and parakeratinized, respectively. In addition, the injected skin and esophageal epithelial cells reacquired their distinctive in vivo keratin patterns. These data suggest that the three epithelia are not equipotential. Furthermore, since the distinctive in vivo phenotype of each epithelium was expressed when the cells were transplanted to the same subcutaneous site, the expression of these differences does not depend on specific mesenchymal instruction but on permissive factors not present in the culture system. Thus under in vivo conditions intrinsic divergence must play a predominant role in determining the characteristic phenotypes of the three epithelia. On the other hand, the finding that the morphological and biochemical differentiation of a given epithelium can be reversibly modulated by the external environment demonstrates that extrinsic factors may, under certain conditions, also play a role in regulating epithelial differentiation.
Refining clinical diagnosis with likelihood ratios

Likelihood ratios can refine clinical diagnosis on the basis of signs and symptoms; however, they are underused for patients' care. A likelihood ratio is the percentage of ill people with a given test result divided by the percentage of well individuals with the same result. Ideally, abnormal test results should be much more typical in ill individuals than in those who are well (high likelihood ratio) and normal test results should be most frequent in well people than in sick people (low likelihood ratio). Likelihood ratios near unity have little effect on decision-making; by contrast, high or low ratios can greatly shift the clinician's estimate of the probability of disease. Likelihood ratios can be calculated not only for dichotomous (positive or negative) tests but also for tests with multiple levels of results, such as creatine kinase or ventilation-perfusion scans. When combined with an accurate clinical diagnosis, likelihood ratios from ancillary tests improve diagnostic accuracy in a synergistic manner.
From “Middle Class” to “Trailer Trash:” Teachers' Perceptions of White Students in a Predominately Minority School

This article explores how teachers perceived and interacted with white students in a predominately racial/ethnic minority school in Texas. On the basis of ethnographic data, the author found that different teachers expressed different views of the family and class backgrounds of white students in this setting, which ranged from “middle class” to “trailer trash.” These views of social class stemmed from how teachers interpreted the whiteness of students in this predominately minority context and influenced how they reacted to these students academically. An interesting finding was that the black teachers and the white teachers had different perceptions of these white students. The black teachers typically saw the white students as middle class and good students, whereas the white teachers tended to view the students as low income and unremarkable students. The results of this study clarify the processes of teachers' perceptions and white advantage.
A Parallel Implementation of the TOUGH2 Software Package for Large Scale Multiphase Fluid and Heat Flow Simulations

TOUGH2 is a widely used simulation package for solving groundwater flow related problems such as nuclear waste isolation, environmental remediation, and geothermal reservoir engineering. It solves a set of coupled mass and energy balance equations using a finite volume method. The parallel implementation first partitions the unstructured computational domain. For each time step, a set of coupled non-linear equations is solved with Newton iteration. In each Newton step, a Jacobian matrix is calculated and an ill-conditioned non-symmetric linear system is solved in parallel using a preconditioned iterative solver. Communication is required for convergence tests and data exchange across partitioning borders. A real problem with 17,584 blocks and 43,815 connections indicates good scalability properties. From 2 to 128 processors on Cray T3E, the solution time is reduced from 7984 to 126 seconds. Improved parallel performance is expected for larger problems with 105-106 blocks in a Yucca Mountain nuclear waste site study.
Paleogeographic Evolution of Earth, 180 M.Y. Ago to Present: ABSTRACT

A series of paleogeographic maps at 20-m.y. intervals (conformal mercator and stereographic projections such that the whole earth is displayed) from 180 m.y. ago to the present are produced with the continents placed in their correct relative positions using sea-floor spreading data and initial continental reconstructions. The absolute location of the reconstructions with respect to the spin axis of the earth is based on averaged paleomagnetic pole positions. The locations of past shoreline positions are based on comprehensive regional paleogeographic analyses. There remain aspects of the reconstructions which are controversial because data do not constrain the models. In addition to providing maps of land-sea distribution through time, the global paleogeographic analysis has several additional interesting results including: (1) a discrepancy in the tectonic evolution of the North Atlantic which is not evident from regional analyses; (2) a revised interpretation of the evolution of the Arctic Ocean; (3) latitudinal variations in land area with important implications for Mesozoic-Cenozoic paleoclimatology; and (4) evidence relating the distribution of evaporites and carbonates to sea level and the distribution of shallow seas, rather than the displacement of climatic zones. End_of_Article - Last_Page 895------------
Substantial daily pain among nursing home residents.

Objective To evaluate the prevalence of substantial daily pain among nursing home residents aged 65 and older. Design, Setting, and Methods The Minimum Data Set (MDS) annual or admission assessment, available September 2002, for Alabama nursing home residents was used. Logistic regression was used to examine the association of such pain with nursing home characteristics as well as resident-specific factors. Results The analysis is based on 27,628 nursing home residents 65 and older with mean age of 82.8 years; 20% African American; 25% male. Seventeen percent had substantial daily pain. By nursing home, reported substantial daily pain prevalence ranged from 0% to 54.7%. The prevalence of pain was less in smaller nursing homes ( P Discussion This study highlights within-state variation in MDS reporting by nursing home as well as resident-specific factors associated with daily substantial pain. Rural, for-profit, and low-occupancy nursing homes had less documented pain. Communication ability and not having cognitive impairment were important factors in having such pain reported.
Clinical Measles after Measles Virus Challenge in Simian Immunodeficiency Virus-Infected Measles Virus-Vaccinated Rhesus Monkeys

Understanding the impact of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection on the clinical manifestations and kinetics of measles virus (MV) replication in MV-vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals is important for developing successful vaccine strategies for measles eradication. To model the pathogenesis of MV infection in MV-vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals infected with HIV, previously vaccinated and unvaccinated rhesus monkeys infected with simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) were challenged with MV and monitored for clinical, virologic, and immunologic sequelae of infection. The magnitude and duration of MV viremia were unchanged by SIV infection. Nevertheless, clinical manifestations of MV infection were altered in animals with significant CD4 + T lymphocyte loss. Importantly, 2 of the 3 SIV-infected monkeys with high titers of vaccine-induced MV-neutralizing antibody developed clinical evidence of MV infection. Thus, in this experimental animal model, a high-titer vaccine-induced MV-neutralizing antibody response does not protect against clinical manifestations of measles in the setting of a chronic acquired immunodeficiency syndrome virus infection.