cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Book review: Krishna, A. 2018. The Broken Ladder: The Paradox and Potential of India’s One-Billion:

Krishna, A. 2018. The Broken Ladder: The Paradox and Potential of India’s One-Billion. Cambridge University Press. 417 pp. $ 26.90 (Hardcover). ISBN: 978-1108415927
Djibril Diop Mambéty, Sony Labou Tansi, and the Recourse to the Imaginary

AbstractThis paper examines the relationship between the imaginary and political engagement in two experimental Francophone African works: Djibril Diop Mambety’s Touki Bouki and Sony Labou Tansi’s ...
Abstract P471: Citizenship Status and the Prevalence, Treatment, and Control of Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors Among Immigrants in United States, 2011-2016

Introduction: Immigrants without US citizenship, i.e., noncitizens, encounter barriers in accessing care which may contribute to disparities in cardiovascular disease (CVD), the leading cause of de...
Hyperosmotic stress induces downstream-of-gene transcription and alters the RNA Polymerase II interactome despite widespread transcriptional repression

Stress-induced readthrough transcription results in the synthesis of thousands of downstream-of-gene (DoG) containing transcripts. The mechanisms underlying DoG formation during cellular stress remain unknown. Nascent transcription profiles during DoG induction in human cell lines using TT-TimeLapse-seq revealed that hyperosmotic stress induces widespread transcriptional repression. Yet, DoGs are produced regardless of the transcriptional level of their upstream genes. ChIP-seq confirmed that the stress-induced redistribution of RNA Polymerase (Pol) II correlates with the transcriptional output of genes. Stress-induced alterations in the Pol II interactome are observed by mass spectrometry. While subunits of the cleavage and polyadenylation machinery remained Pol II-associated, Integrator complex subunits dissociated from Pol II under stress conditions. Depleting the catalytic subunit of the Integrator complex, Int11, using siRNAs induces hundreds of readthrough transcripts, whose parental genes partially overlap those of stress-induced DoGs. Our results provide insights into the mechanisms underlying DoG production and how Integrator activity influences DoG transcription. In briefRosa-Mercado et al. report that hyperosmotic stress causes widespread transcriptional repression in human cells, yet DoGs arise regardless of the transcriptional response of their upstream genes. They find that the interaction between Pol II and Integrator is disrupted by hypertonicity and that knocking down the Integrator nuclease leads to DoG production. HighlightsO_LIHyperosmotic stress triggers transcriptional repression of many genes. C_LIO_LIDoG RNAs arise independent of the transcriptional level of their upstream gene. C_LIO_LIThe interaction between Pol II and Integrator subunits decreases after salt stress. C_LIO_LIDepletion of the Int11 nuclease subunit induces the production of hundreds of DoGs. C_LI
Primary Merkel Cell Carcinoma of the parotid gland; unusual location and clinical presentation

Abstract Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare and aggressive neuroendocrine tumor that typically arises from the skin. MCC is characterized by an aggressive behavior with frequent local recurrence, regional lymph node and distant metastasis. Non-cutaneous MCC has been reported in different locations infrequently. In this paper, we report an unusal case of primary Merkel Cell Carcinoma of the parotid gland and provide a comprehensive review of the literature of this rare entity.
Postoperative Improvement of Brain Maturation in Infants With Congenital Heart Disease

Children with severe congenital heart disease are at risk for neurodevelopmental impairments. We examined brain maturation in infants undergoing neonatal cardiopulmonary bypass surgery or hybrid procedure for hypoplastic left heart syndrome compared to controls. This is a prospective cohort study on term-born infants with congenital heart disease with cerebral MRI pre- and postoperatively. Healthy infants served as controls. Brain maturation was measured using a semiquantitative scoring system. The progress of brain maturation from the preoperative to postoperative MRI within patients was compared. Neurodevelopment was assessed at 1 year with the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development III. A total of 92 patients with congenital heart disease and 46 controls were studied. Median total maturation score in patients was 12 (interquartile range 10.6–13.0) preoperatively and 14 (12.0–15.0) postoperatively, in controls it was 14 (13.0–15.0). Median time interval between scans was 19 days (interquartile range 14–26). After correction for postmenstrual age at MRI, the pre- and postoperative maturation score was lower in patients compared to controls (preoperative P = 0.01, postoperative P = 0.03) and increased between pre- and postoperative assessment (P ≤ 0.001). Brain maturation scores did not correlate with neurodevelopmental outcome at 1 year, when corrected for socioeconomic status and postmenstrual age at MRI. This study confirms delayed brain maturation in children with congenital heart disease, and despite neonatal cardiac bypass surgery followed by postoperative intensive care medicine brain maturation is ongoing. We encourage further investigation in outcome prediction in this population, potentially by combining more advanced MRI measures with clinical methods.
Incidence of Fever Associated With Dexmedetomidine in the Adult Intensive Care Unit.

Background:Published literature has described the temporal relationship of dexmedetomidine with elevated temperatures, but there is limited data to quantify the incidence of fever in ICU patients r...
Contribution of a ZIP-family protein to manganese uptake and infective endocarditis virulence in Streptococcus sanguinis.

Streptococcus sanguinis is an important cause of infective endocarditis. In strain SK36, the ABC-family manganese transporter, SsaACB, is essential for virulence. We have now identified a ZIP-family protein, TmpA, as a secondary manganese transporter. A tmpA mutant had no phenotype, but a ΔssaACB ΔtmpA mutant was more attenuated for serum growth and for virulence in a rabbit model than its ΔssaACB parent. The growth of both mutants was restored by supplemental manganese, but the ΔssaACB ΔtmpA mutant required twenty-fold more and accumulated less. Although ZIP-family proteins are known for zinc and iron transport, TmpA-mediated transport of either metal was minimal. While ssaACB appears ubiquitous in S. sanguinis, tmpA was present in a majority of strains and a mntH gene encoding an NRAMP-family transporter was identified in relatively few, including VMC66. As in SK36, deletion of ssaACB greatly diminished VMC66 endocarditis virulence and serum growth, and deletion of tmpA from this mutant diminished virulence further. Virulence was not significantly altered by deletion of mntH from either VMC66 or its ΔssaACB mutant. This and the accompanying paper together suggest that SsaACB is of primary importance for endocarditis virulence while secondary transporters TmpA and MntH contribute to growth under differing conditions.
Antigen handling in the intestine mediated by normal enterocytes

The co-existence of a myriad of foreign antigens in the intestinal lumen alongside immunocompetent cells has resulted in the evolution of a specialized mucosal immune system. A natural physical barrier to antigen has been the intestinal enterocyte joined to its neighbors by desmosomes forming tight junctions. Therefore, specialized antigen sampling cells, follicle associated epithelium or M cells, were thought to be the major sites for antigen entry into the mucosa associated lymphoid tissue (MALT). However, the majority of antigens which pass through these specialized cells are large and particulate. Recently, several groups have identified the existence of a class of immunoregulatory glycoproteins, class II antigens, on normal and inflamed epithelial cells (1–3). The presence of such glycoproteins has raised questions as to the functional nature and the role that these cells might play in normal mucosal immune responses. We and others have already documented that normal enterocytes from man (4) or rat (5–6) can function as antigen presenting cells, presenting processed antigens to immunocompetent T cells. However, unlike conventional antigen presenting cells (APCs), normal enterocytes selectively activate T suppressor cells (Ts). In this paper we will identify the various features that epithelial cells possess that permit them to function as antigen presenting cells, and, furthermore, describe the findings suggesting that the induction of Ts cells relates to the presence of a novel ligand for CD8 on normal enterocytes.
Communication, Meaning, and Interpretation

L'A. propose une definition de la communication griceenne, du sens du locuteur et de l'interpretation par le destinataire, en se basant sur un modele de communication axe sur la theorie des jeux qui fournit un ensemble de conditions suffisantes pour la communication
Integration-a multi-faceted challenge (hospital systems)

It is pointed out that many hospitals are faced with the challenge of integrating application systems that have been installed in recent years. However, it takes more than just a single solution to meet the requirements of an integrated system environment. Several levels of integration effort are required: network, workstation, system, application, and data. It is noted that, in most cases, the need to provide patient information from different systems in an integrated fashion is driving the integration effort. Some of the issues involved are examined, and the experiences at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center are presented. Specifically, Memorial is currently developing a workstation, Total Access Plus (TAP), for physicians and other professional staff. TAP workstations will have four primary capabilities: a customized application presenting data from various host applications in PM windows; access to all connected native applications with full functionality; update of multiple host databases with single data input; and query against a local database. With TAP implementation, a single workstation offers users access to all pertinent patient information in a user-friendly manner with minimum training burden. >
Nonlinear distortion attenuation using H/sup infinity / techniques

The authors consider a nominally linear system and investigate the deviation of the output due to a nonlinear deviation in the characteristic of a nominally linear component of the system. They introduce a feedback compensator and show that the closed-loop distortion is related to open-loop distortion through the so-called sensitivity matrix given by S=(I+GK/sup -1/ where G is the nominal transfer matrix of the system and K is the feedback compensator. H/sup infinity / optimization theory is applied to minimize the H/sup infinity / norm of S. The Glover-Doyle algorithm is utilized to find the optimal compensator that generates minimum nonlinear distortion. >
Properties of liquids in small pores: Rates of diffusion of some solutes in cross-linked crystals of β-lactoglobulin

Abstract The time-course of the diffusion of a series of bromine-containing solutes into a single, cross-linked, crystal of β-lactoglobulin has been followed by X-ray fluorescence measurements. From the measured relative diffusion coefficients in the crystal and the estimated free diffusion coefficients and particle radii for potassium bromide and lithium bromouridylate, the effective pore radius in the crystal has been estimated to be 8 to 13 A, depending on the restriction equations used. There is no evidence for specific binding of either of these solutes to the protein. The radius estimates correspond well to the range of pore dimensions derived from the size of penetrating solutes and unit cell shrinkage on drying. With the reduction in diffusion rate adequately explained by physical pore restriction, no special properties need be attributed to the major part of the crystal liquid and it may be considered identical to water in bulk. Sodium o -bromobenzoate and 3-bromopropanol bind to the protein. After correction for the effect of these interactions, the diffusion coefficients of the unbound solute species are still too small to match those estimated from the pore sizes given above. The explanation for the difference in behavior of the two classes of solutes is not clear. The effect of high concentrations of sucrose on the diffusion of potassium bromide in the crystal is much larger than in free solution. The effect is at least qualitatively explained by a decrease in effective pore radius caused by the large hydrated sucrose molecules. Such interaction of two solutes may be expected to become more and more marked as the pore radius approaches the radius of the largest solute.
Jurisdictional Mismatch in Environmental Federalism

Jurisdictional mismatch plagues contemporary environmental law and policy. The division of authority and responsibility for environmental protection between the federal and state governments lacks any cohesive rationale or justification. The federal government regulates in many areas where there is no clear analytical basis for federal involvement. At the same time, the federal government is relatively absent where a stronger federal presence could be justified. Conversely, states are precluded, discouraged or otherwise inhibited from adopting environmental protections where state efforts would be worthwhile. At the same time, state intervention seeps into areas where a dominant federal role would be more defensible. This jurisdictional mismatch produces sub-optimal levels of environmental protection, wastes regulatory resources, discourages innovation, and inhibits the adoption and evolution of more effective environmental protection measures. Environmental protections would be more successful were responsibility divided between the federal and state governments in a more justifiable manner. To address the current mismatch, the federal government should reorient its efforts toward those areas in which the federal government possesses an institutional advantage, due to economies of scale, or where state and local governments are incapable of addressing environmental problems, such as where there are substantial interstate spillovers.
Cavity Ringdown Laser Absorption Spectroscopy

Cavity ringdown laser absorption spectroscopy (CRDS), a distinctly new variant of classical absorption spectroscopy, is based upon the time required for the intensity of a light pulse in an optical cavity to decay. The sensitivity of the technique stems from the large number of passes that the light pulse makes within the cavity. For example, mirrors of 99.99% reflectivity in a 1-m long cavity yield a ringdown time of approximately 33.4-µs for an empty cavity. This is equivalent to a 10-km pathlength traveled during the first time constant! The presence of a sample having an absorbance of 1 × 10−6 inside the cavity will yield a readily measurable change in ringdown time of approximately 1%. When compared with traditional single-pass absorption spectroscopy, which typically detects absorbances of the order of 1 × 10−3, the potential of CRDS becomesclear. As for any absorption technique, the conditions for Beer's law behavior must be fulfilled. One primary advantage of the cavity ringdown method is to allow the use of the extensive wavelength operating range of pulsed lasers for absorption spectroscopy. Because CRDS depends solely on the decay time, it is unaffected by the inherent shot-to-shot power fluctuations of pulsed lasers. Although still in the early stages of development, CRDS has been used to study chemical species in environments ranging from molecular beams and gas cells to atmospheric pressure flames and plasmas, in spectral regions ranging from the ultraviolet (UV) to the infrared (IR). It has only been very recently, with first couplings of CRDS and atomization sources (inductively coupled plasma (ICP), graphite furnace), that the technique has broadened to include analytical atomic spectroscopy. The potential of cavity ringdown for atomic spectroscopy has been demonstrated with the determination of mercury detection limits (DLs), in air, of less than 1 part per trillion. At the time of writing (1999), CRDS is very much still in its infancy, especially with regard to analytical applications. For a possible glimpse of the future, it should be noted that as the wavelength coverage of diode lasers continues to grow, the possibilities for constructing small, ultrasensitive CRDS spectrometers for analytical atomic and molecular spectrometry continue to increase. However, any inherent advantage of CRDS over other analytical techniques will be determined by the quality of mirrors used for cavity construction, the stability of the baseline ringdown time measurement, the atomization source, and the fluorescence characteristics of the element under consideration. Although the technology associated with the ringdown technique continues to advance rapidly, CRDS is as yet a novel approach for many analytical measurements, and is sure to continue to find new areas of application. The next few years should prove very exciting as new instrumentation becomes available and the technique's full potential is explored.
Constructing Laplace operator from point clouds in Rd

We present an algorithm for approximating the Laplace-Beltrami operator from an arbitrary point cloud obtained from a k-dimensional manifold embedded in the d-dimensional space. We show that this PCD Laplace (Point-Cloud Data Laplace) operator converges to the Laplace-Beltrami operator on the underlying manifold as the point cloud becomes denser. Unlike the previous work, we do not assume that the data samples are independent identically distributed from a probability distribution and do not require a global mesh. The resulting algorithm is easy to implement. We present experimental results indicating that even for point sets sampled from a uniform distribution, PCD Laplace converges faster than the weighted graph Laplacian. We also show that using our PCD Laplacian we can directly estimate certain geometric invariants, such as manifold area.
Establishing trends based on solvent system changes in cocrystals containing pyrogallol[4]arenes and fluorescent probes rhodamine B and pyronin Y

Cocrystal systems containing pyrogallol[4]arene molecules of various aliphatic tail lengths, the fluorescent probe rhodamine B, and a variety of solvents are examined and discussed. Additionally, two pyronin Y cocrystals of C-methylpyrogallol[4]arene in methanol and C-ethylpyrogallol[4]arene in ethanol are crystallized and analyzed. For both the pyronin Y and rhodamine B cocrystals, solvent and aliphatic chain length have an effect on the packing, bowl shape of the pyrogallol[4]arene, probe complexation, and hydrogen bonding schemes. With pyronin Y cocrystals of C-methylpyrogallol[4]arene form a tube-like structure, with pyronin Y molecules in the centre of the tube while cocrystals of C-ethylpryogallol[4]arene form a bilayer-type structure.
Direct injection HPLC method for the determination of selected phenothiazines in plasma using a Hisep column

A direct plasma injection HPLC method has been developed for the determination of selected phenothiazines (promethazine, promazine, chlorpromazine) using a Hisep column. The method is easy to perform and requires 20 µL of a ﬁltered plasma sample. The chromatographic run time is less than 11 min using a mobile phase of 15:85 v/v acetonitrile–0.18 m ammonium acetate pH 5.0 and UV detection at 254 nm. The method is linear in the concentration range 0.1–25 µg mL−1 (r > 0.99, n = 6) for each analyte with RSD less than 6%. Interday and intraday variability were found to be ≤14%. The limits of detection and quantitation were 0.1 (S/N > 3) and 0.25 µg mL−1 (S/N > 10), respectively, for each of the three phenothiazines. We can also apply this method to separate three other phenothiazines (ethopromazine, triﬂuoroperazine, prochlorperazine), although it lacks the selectivity to determine the concentration of all six drugs concurrently. The separation is feasible using these drugs in certain combinations. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Including Friction and Spin Rules in the Lattice-Based Cellular Automata Approach to Model Granular Flows

Granular flows have been proposed as an alternative lubrication mechanism to conventional liquid lubricants in sliding contacts due to their ability to carry loads and accommodate surface velocities. Their load carrying capacity has been demonstrated in the experiments of Yu and Tichy [1]. Alternate lubrication techniques are becoming necessary due to the failure of conventional liquid lubricants in extreme temperature environments, and their promotion of stiction in micro-/nanoscale environments. Yet, understanding granular behavior has been difficult due to its non-linear and multiphase behavior. Cellular Automata (CA) has been shown to be a viable first order approach to modeling some complex aspects of granular flow. Previous work by the authors successfully modeled granular shear with a CA model [2]. Additional work combined CA computational efficiency with particle dynamics to effectively model collision events. This work builds upon and modifies the prior CA modeling approaches by adding friction modeling and spin of particles. This modification maintains the computational efficiency of CA, while increasing accuracy of the predicted granular flow properties, such as speed, solid fraction, and granular temperature. The current work compares the CA model with friction and spin physics relations to the authors’ prior CA model which neglected friction. Both CA models are also evaluated against experimental data to quantify the benefits of including friction and spin in the CA modeling approach for granular flows.Copyright © 2009 by ASME
Pulsar distributions without magnetic decay.

Pulsar distributions without magnetic decay, concerning age dependence of surface field and radio luminosity of neutron stars
Dietary Correlates of the Origin and Radiation of Snakes

Stomach analyses of living families and of a fossil containing prey were used to address possible dietary correlates of the history of snakes. Aniliids, morphologically primitive among living snakes, feed on relatively heavy, elongate vertebrates. Large aniliids eat larger prey than do small individuals but, as in advanced snakes, they also take small items. Living boids, structurally intermediate between aniliids and advanced snakes, feed on relatively heavy prey of a much greater variety of shapes than do aniliids. An Eocene fossil that might be a boid contains a relatively large crocodilian in its gut. These findings, previous studies, and morphological considerations suggest that very early snakes used constriction and powerful jaws to feed on elongate, heavy prey. This would have permitted a shift from feeding often on small items to feeding rarely on heavy items, without initially requiring major changes in jaw structure relative to a lizard-like ancestor. Subsequent morphological changes could then have allowed boids to utilize a broad range of prey types, including many of those currently eaten by advanced snakes. More recent dietary themes include the consumption of even heavier prey by highly venomous elapids and viperids, and frequent feeding on relatively small items by some other advanced snakes.
Evaluation of a Dairy Herd Improvement Association test to report chronic intramammary infections in dairy cattle

Abstract This study evaluated the accuracy of a Dairy Herd Improvement Association test compared with bacterial culture to report the prevalence of chronic intramammary infections in dairy cattle. The Association classification considers a cow to have a chronic intramammary infection when her linear score is 4 or greater for more than one test in a lactation. The threshold level of linear score 6 minimized the sum of the misclassification errors. The Association test was not sensitive or specific enough compared with bacterial culture to classify individual cows accurately.
Chemistry of the phenoxathiins and isosterically related heterocycles. IX.N-oxidation on the 13C-nmr chemical shifts and coupling constants of the 1-azaphenoxathiin system†

The synthesis of 1-azaphenoxathiin N-oxide is described. Total assignment of the 13C-nmr spectrum and the effects of the N-oxide moiety on the chemical shifts and 1H-13C spin couplings constants are described and compared to the parent 1-azaphenoxathiin system. The potential for the use of N-oxidation induced changes in 13C-nmr chemical shifts and 1H-13C coupling constants as an assignment criterion is also discussed.
Ligand-directed c-Jun N-terminal kinase activation disrupts opioid receptor signaling

Ligand-directed signaling has been suggested as a basis for the differences in responses evoked by otherwise receptor-selective agonists. The underlying mechanisms are not understood, yet clearer definition of this concept may be helpful in the development of novel, pathway-selective therapeutic agents. We previously showed that κ-opioid receptor activation of JNK by one class of ligand, but not another, caused persistent receptor inactivation. In the current study, we found that the μ-opioid receptor (MOR) could be similarly inactivated by a specific ligand class including the prototypical opioid, morphine. Acute analgesic tolerance to morphine and related opioids (morphine-6-glucuronide and buprenorphine) was blocked by JNK inhibition, but not by G protein receptor kinase 3 knockout. In contrast, a second class of μ-opioids including fentanyl, methadone, and oxycodone produced acute analgesic tolerance that was blocked by G protein receptor kinase 3 knockout, but not by JNK inhibition. Acute MOR desensitization, demonstrated by reduced D-Ala2-Met5-Glyol-enkephalin–stimulated [35S]GTPγS binding to spinal cord membranes from morphine-pretreated mice, was also blocked by JNK inhibition; however, desensitization of D-Ala2-Met5-Glyol-enkephalin–stimulated [35S]GTPγS binding following fentanyl pretreatment was not blocked by JNK inhibition. JNK-mediated receptor inactivation of the κ-opioid receptor was evident in both agonist-stimulated [35S]GTPγS binding and opioid analgesic assays; however, gene knockout of JNK 1 selectively blocked κ-receptor inactivation, whereas deletion of JNK 2 selectively blocked MOR inactivation. These findings suggest that ligand-directed activation of JNK kinases may generally provides an alternate mode of G protein–coupled receptor regulation.
Hover, Transition, and Level Flight Control Design for a Single-Propeller Indoor Airplane

This paper presents vehicle models and test flight results for an autonomous fixed-wing aircraft with the capability to take off, hover, transition to and from level-flight, and perch on a vertical landing platform. These maneuvers are all demonstrated in the highly space constrained environment of the Real-time indoor Autonomous Vehicle test ENvironment (RAVEN) at MIT. RAVEN promotes the rapid prototyping of UAV planning and control technologies by allowing the use of unmodified commercially available model aircraft for autonomous flight. Experimental results of several hover tests, transition maneuvers, and perch landings are presented. By enabling a fixed-wing UAV to achieve these feats, we demonstrate that the desirable speed and range performance of an autonomous fixed-wing aircraft in level flight can be complimented by hover capabilities that are typically limited to rotary-wing vehicles. This combination has the potential to significantly ease support and maintenance of operational autonomous vehicles.
Premature infants respond to early-onset and late-onset sepsis with leukocyte activation.

Abstract Objective: Leukocyte differentiation antigens are expressed on the cell membrane during activation. The purpose of this study was to evaluate leukocyte activation in premature neonates with sepsis. Paired blood samples from the same individual while sick and while convalescent were examined to quantify the expression of leukocyte antigens in these clinical states. Methods: Mononuclear blood cells from 21 premature infants (24 to 30 weeks' gestation) were analyzed. The "sick" samples were drawn at the time of workup for sepsis; "convalescent" samples were drawn 20 days later. Samples were incubated with monoclonal antibodies to the lymphocyte antigens CD3, CD19, CD25, CD26, CD71, and CD69 and neutrophil antigens CD11b, CD11c, CD13, CD15, CD33, and CD66b. The cells were lysed, fixed, and analyzed by flow cytometry. Results: Twenty-one infants enrolled in the study had multiple sepsis evaluations and had more than one sample available for a paired observation. CD33, CD66b, and CD19 levels were significantly elevated in both the presumed sepsis and culture-proven sepsis groups when compared with the samples drawn from those same patients when healthy. Expression of CD33 and expression of CD66b were correlated, and in a multivariate analysis the elevation of antigen expression was predictive of sepsis. Conclusions: Leukocytes from preterm newborn infants respond to infection with an increased expression of CD19, CD33, and CD66b on their cell surfaces. (J Pediatr 2000;137:345-50)
Experimental evaluation of analyte-furnace interactions using combined atomic absorption mass spectrometric techniques

Abstract A unique technique for simultaneous monitoring of thermally induced molecular and atomic species is used to investigate vaporization mechanisms for the rubidium analyte-tantalum furnace system used in atomic absorption analyses. The method involves combining atomic absorption and mass spectrometric techniques in order to achieve multiple probe capability; ultra-high vacuum techniques are incorporated in order to control the ambient environment. The results demonstrate the utility of this approach. Surface interactions are found to control the vaporization processes over a wide temperature range. At “low temperature” this surface interaction forms the oxide of the analyte, and at “high temperature” free rubidium atoms, which have been chemisorbed on the tantalum oxide surface, are desorbed as the tantalum oxide vaporizes.
Fast track article: Improved sensor network lifetime with multiple mobile sinks

A critical issue for data gathering in wireless sensor networks is the formation of energy holes near the sinks. Sensors near the sinks have to participate in relaying data on behalf of other sensors and thus will deplete their energy very quickly, resulting in network partitioning and limitation of the network lifetime. The solution that we propose in this paper is to use mobile sinks that change their location when the nearby sensors' energy becomes low. In this way the sensors located near sinks change over time. In deciding a new location, a sink searches for zones with richer sensor energy. First, we study the improvement in network lifetime when sinks move on a predetermined path, along the perimeter of a hexagonal tiling. Two cases are considered for data gathering when sinks stop in the hexagon's corners and when the sinks stop on multiple locations on the hexagon perimeter. This study shows an improvement of up to 4.86 times in network lifetime. Second, we design a distributed and localized algorithm used by the sinks to decide their next movement location such that the virtual backbone formed by the sinks remains interconnected at all times. Two extensions of the distributed algorithm, coverage requirement and limitation of the time-delivery requirement, are also addressed. Simulation results are presented to verify our approaches.
Newborns With Major Congenital Malformations (MCM): An Eight Year Change in Admissions To A Regional Center For Newborn Intensive Care (RCNIC).† 1200

Newborns With Major Congenital Malformations (MCM): An Eight Year Change in Admissions To A Regional Center For Newborn Intensive Care (RCNIC).† 1200
Substance P inhibits potassium and calcium currents in inner ear spiral ganglion neurons.

Abstract Substance P (SP), a member of the tachykinin family of neurotransmitters and neuromodulators, has been identified on spiral ganglion neurons (SGNs) in the inner ear; however, its high affinity receptor, neurokinin-1 (NK1), has not been identified and the physiological effects of SP on SGNs are not well understood. To address these issues, immunolabeling, RT-PCR, Western blots and whole-cell patch-clamp recordings were made from SGNs in P0–P5 mouse cochlear organotypic cultures. The NK1 receptor was detected on SGNs by immunocytochemistry, the protein was detected in cochlear tissues by Western blots, and the mRNA for the NK1 receptor was also found in cochlear tissues of postnatal mice (P2) by RT-PCR. Application of SP (1 to 25 μM) significantly increased the latency of SGN action potentials (APs) (mean increase 7.8±4 ms; 25 μM of SP), prolonged the duration of the action potential and made the resting potential (RP) more positive (mean 9.0±7 mV) relative to normal values (−54±6 mV). SP (1 to 25 μM) also suppressed voltage-activated potassium currents (IK+) and calcium currents (ICa2+). Puffing 25 μM of SP onto SGNs suppressed IK+ by 43±9% (n=7) and ICa2+ by 40.6±5.6% (n=7); both currents recovered when SP was washed out. A SP antagonist blocked the SP-induced suppression of IK+ and ICa2+. These results indicate that SP acting through NK1 receptors can have direct neuromodulatory effects on SGNs.
Effects of Stress on Motor Performance and Learning

Abstract Male college students were tested on a motor learning task that involved balancing for 12 trials on the pivoted platform of a stabilometer. The task was made easy for 40 of the subjects by placing the platform 10 in. below the pivot and made difficult for 80 of the subjects by placing it 10 in. above the pivot. Half of the easy task subjects were given electric shocks irregularly during the learning period to produce tension. Their performance or learning did not differ appreciably from the control subjects. Under the same conditions, except that difficult task was used, the experimental subjects achieved the same amount of learning as the controls but showed poorer performance throughout the test. When the application of the tension-producing shock was delayed until the third trial, it produced a lesser amount of performance impairment for that trial but full impairment for later trials. The results support the hypothesis (based on earlier studies) that increased tension impairs performance of a...
Implementation Strategies for Universal Detection of Hearing Loss. † 552

By hospital choice, inpatient otoacoustic emission (OAE) testing was done after delivery in one area hospital and early outpatient OAE testing after discharge was promoted at two others with an information sheet, a list of 4 rehab centers and an offer of free OAE testing, all in the mothers delivery packet. All testing was done by audiologists from PCMC. Results of Inpatient testing (Oct 95-Sep 96) are as follows: Table After implementation delays, then with no return testing for the first 3 months, it was decided an RN would contact the parents by phone to encourage a return for testing. This took until 1 July to implement: Table Inpatient screening had 3.4% miss or refuse testing. The rescreen rate was initally poor but improved to 84% for the last 3 mo with 27 cases of hearing loss eventually detected. Perhaps 2 cases were not detected from those not tested or not retested. Outpatient screening resulted in delayed implementation, very poor% tested, and based on inpatient results, perhaps 25 missed cases of hearing loss. We conclude that the best strategy for universal detection of hearing loss is inpatient hearing screening after delivery.
Deciding the future: Do dual-earner couples plan together for retirement?

This study examines the retirement planfulness of men and women in dual-earner couples using data from the Ecology of Careers Study and structural equation modeling. It assesses whether each spouse plans independently, whether this is a gendered division of labor, whether both spouses' plans mutually influence each other, or whether decision making about retirement is an individual process for each member of a couple. The authors find that spouses' levels of retirement planfulness are positively related but in different ways depending on gender, cohort, and family circumstances. Perceived control (mastery), income adequacy, and workload all predict both husbands' and wives' planfulness. And husbands' planfulness tends to shape their wives' planfulness in the full sample. However, age cohort and family stage both moderate dual-earner couples' decision making about retirement. Younger couples (those in the trailing edge baby boom cohort) make plans independently, and in this younger cohort, only wives' plan...
Flow and the occupational therapy practitioner.

Objective This study examined optimal flow experience, a form of job satisfaction in occupational therapy practitioners employed at physical rehabilitation facilities in New England. Method Factors associated with flow were measured over a 5-day work week with the Experience Sampling Method. Ninety-seven percent of the 90 subjects' responses were analyzed and 43% of the subjects participated in the debriefing interview. Results Subjects experienced flow a relatively small amount of the time--an average of 5.24 times in a 5-day work week, with a range of 1 to 12 experiences. Flow was experienced most often (23.6%) when subjects were working with a client in some type of intervention. Perceived autonomy and self-esteem were high during a flow experience. Subjects described their flow experiences as including such moods and attitudes as "alert," "happy," "involved," creative," "excited," "productive," "accomplished," "proud," "good," "confident," "positive," and "challenged." Conversely, subjects in flow also tended to describe their mood as "tense." Conclusion Retaining occupational therapy practitioners is critical to meeting and increasing the unprecedented demand for health care services. Understanding what causes occupational therapy practitioners to experience flow and how to transform an activity into a flow experience may ultimately improve job satisfaction, productivity, and the retention of practitioners.
A fast transport system for fragile targets in high vacuum

Abstract We have built a target transport system (rabbit) for β-decay studies which permits the use of thin target foils and which operates entirely in vacuum. We use the force which a current carrying solenoid exerts on an iron bar to both accelerate and brake the rabbit. The target is attached to a long tantalum strip which projects from the iron support. In the system described here, the rabbit moves up and down a vertical path of 1 m, allowing lifetimes as short as 0.1 s to be studied. Photo interruptors are used to sense the position of the rabbit in relation to a beam chopper and to activate the logic which controls the sequence of events.
Control of the colostomy.

The goal of colostomy control (of the sigmoid colostomy) is the attainment by the patient of security, normal activity, and freedom from the fear of fecal leakage. The sentinels which guard this security are psychologic adjustment, a well-constructed stoma, an efficient system of irrigation, a suitable interval between irrigations, and an adequate diet suited to the patient, which avoids diarrhea and produces constipation without impaction.
Competition radioimmunoassay for mason‐pfizer monkey virus: Comparison with recent isolates

The major core protein of Mason-Pfizer monkey virus was purified by DEAE ion exchange column chromatography and shown to be 27,000 daltons (p27). Following the characterization of monospecific antisera prepared against p27, a radioimmunoassay was developed with these reagents and competition experiments were done with come of the recent M-PMY-like isolates as well as with other oncornaviruses. Results suggest that three of the viruses tested, AO, X-381 and FTP-1, are similar to M-PMV while J-96 virus is related, but not identical, to M-PMV. It is also shown that competition RIA can be used successfully to detect the presence of viral proteins in tissue homogenates and cell extracts.
Inadvertent plagiarism in young and older adults: The role of working memory capacity in reducing memory errors

Two experiments examined inadvertent plagiarism in young and older adults. Young and older adults took turns generating category exemplars in small groups, and after a short retention interval recall was tested and subjects were asked to generate new exemplars (i.e., exemplars not initially generated). When asked to generate new exemplars, older adults were more likely to repeat exemplars that had been generated earlier by others (i.e., generatenew plagiarism). When asked to recall the exemplars they had generated earlier, older adults were more likely to claim that they had generated exemplars that had been generated by others (i.e., recall-own plagiarism), and were also more likely to falsely recall exemplars that had not been generated at all. There were no age differences in confidence for items that were plagiarized on the generate-new task. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that age differences in generate-new plagiarism and false recall were entirely mediated by measures of episodic recall and working memory capacity. We conclude that inadvertent plagiarism errors result from the failure of systematic decision processes, and that controlled attention is important for avoiding memory errors.
Laccase mediated transformation of 17β-estradiol in soil.

Abstract It is known that 17β-estradiol (E2) can be transformed by reactions mediated by some oxidoreductases such as laccase in water. Whether or how such reactions can happen in soil is however unknown although they may significantly impact the environmental fate of E2 that is introduced to soil by land application of animal wastes. We herein studied the reaction of E2 in a model soil mediated by laccase, and found that the reaction behaviors differ significantly from those in water partly because of the dramatic difference in laccase stability. We also examined E2 transformation in soil using 14C-labeling in combination with soil organic matter extraction and size exclusion chromatography, which indicated that applied 14C radioactivity was preferably bound to humic acids. The study provides useful information for understanding the environmental fate of E2 and for developing a novel soil remediation strategy via enzyme-enhanced humification reactions.
Identifying Mentors for Student Employees on Campus.

Purpose – This exploratory research project aims to seek an effective process for identifying supervisors of part-time student employees who also serve in a mentoring capacity. Design/methodology/approach – This paper is based on a review of literature and an evaluation process focused on established traits and functions of mentoring as applied to supervisors of student employees on a college campus. Findings – Supervisors of student employees may have the desire and capacity to engage students on a higher level but are not viewed and supported to meet this need based on their position within the organization. Untapped resources are being overlooked that would develop the supervisor and the student while advancing the overall institutional mission. Research limitations/implications – A study identifying mentors for part-time undergraduate student employees in higher education settings was necessary as a precursor to future research on the human resource development needs of professional staff in higher ed...
An experimental check of fitness entropy vs. selective delay

Abstract A new macroparameter characterizing the movement of a non-equilibrium initial population structure toward the equilibrium structure under the natural selection process was suggested in a previous paper (Ginzburg, 1977). This parameter, named selective delay, is directly measurable from the population size growth curve without any knowledge of the frequencies of the different genotypes in the population. An equation was proposed describing the relationship between selective delay, average population fitness at the equilibrium point and the entropy distance between initial and equilibrium states of the population. The purpose of this paper is an experimental check of this equation. Experimental results with populations of flour beetle Tribolium castaneum segregating at the unsaturated fatty acid sensitive locus have shown a good correspondence to the theory.
Reconstruction of the Phenotypes of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus by Replacement of the Staphylococcal Cassette Chromosome mec with a Plasmid-Borne Copy of Staphylococcus sciuri pbpD Gene

The mecA gene, the central determinant of methicillin (meticillin)-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), is not native to this bacterial species but may have originated in the animal commensal species Staphylococcus sciuri. All S. sciuri strains carry a close homologue of mecA in the form of pbpD, the genetic determinant of penicillin binding protein 4 (PBP 4) of S. sciuri. Here we describe an experimental system that could be used for additional tests for this proposition. The S. sciuri pbpD gene was cloned into a shuttle plasmid and introduced into methicillin-susceptible S. aureus strain COL-S derived from parental MRSA strain COL from which the resistance cassette staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec was excised. The S. sciuri pbpD determinant was transcribed and translated in the S. aureus transductants producing large amounts of the 84-kDa S. sciuri PBP 4 and was then deposited in the plasma membrane of the host bacterium. Transductants carrying the heterologous S. sciuri pbpD gene exhibited properties typical of those of parental MRSA strain COL, including broad-spectrum, high-level, and homogeneous resistance to structurally different β-lactams. Antibiotic resistance was dependent on the functioning of S. aureus PBP 2 and was suppressed by the specific regulatory genes mecI and mecR and by inhibitors of an early step in cell wall biosynthesis. S. sciuri PBP 4 was also able to replace the essential physiological function(s) of the native PBP 2 of S. aureus and produce peptidoglycan typical of that of parental MRSA strain COL. Our results provide further support for the proposition that the resistance determinant mecA of MRSA strains has evolved from S. sciuri pbpD.
The computer science research network CSNET: a history and status report

In 1981, the National Science Foundation started a five-year project totaling nearly $5 million to construct a computer science research network, CSNET, connecting all groups engaged in computer science research. For an NSF division with an annual budget of $25 million, the award represents an unusual commitment to a single project; only a handful of such large awards have been made. What is CSNET? Why is it receiving such attention? How will it benefit the community? When will it be completed? Who are the architects and implementors?