cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Clinical Cough VI: The Need for New Therapies for Cough: Disease-Specific and Symptom-Related Antitussives

Cough is a common symptom that can be self-limiting or persistent. Ideally, treatment of the underlying cause(s) of cough with specific treatments should eliminate cough. This approach may not be successful if no cause can be established or if the treatment of the cause fails. Suppression of cough may be disease-specific or symptom-related. There has been a long tradition in acute cough usually due to upper respiratory tract infections to use symptom-related antitussives. In chronic cough, suppression of cough may be achieved by disease-specific therapies, but in many patients it may be necessary to use symptomatic antitussives. The efficacy of some over-the-counter symptomatic antitussives is often no better than that of a placebo. Currently available cough suppressants include the centrally acting opioids such as morphine, codeine, pholcodeine, and dextromethorphan. Early studies reported success in reducing cough in patients with chronic bronchitis or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD); however, a carefully conducted blinded controlled study showed no effect of codeine on cough of COPD. Success with these cough suppressants may be achieved at high doses that are associated with side effects. A slow-release preparation of morphine has been shown to have some degree of efficacy, but this should be reserved for the most severe chronic cough patient, and for patients with terminal cancer who may also benefit from its analgesic effects. There are case reports of the success of centrally acting drugs such as amitriptyline, paroxetine, gabapentin, and carbamezepine in chronic cough. New agents derived from basic research such as new opioids such as nociceptin or antagonists of transient receptor potential vanniloid-1 may turn out to have antitussive effects. Efficacy of symptomatic cough suppressants must be tested in double-blind randomized trials using validated measures of cough in patients with chronic cough not responding to specific treatments. Patients with chronic cough need effective antitussives that could be used either on demand or on a long-term basis.
A Gastrointestinal PCR Panel Improves Clinical Management and Lowers Health Care Costs

Conventional methods for the identification of gastrointestinal pathogens are time-consuming and expensive and have limited sensitivity. The aim of this study was to determine the clinical impact of a comprehensive molecular test, the BioFire FilmArray gastrointestinal (GI) panel, which tests for many of the most common agents of infectious diarrhea in approximately 1 h. Patients with stool cultures submitted were tested on the GI panel (n = 241) and were compared with control patients (n = 594) from the year prior. The most common organisms detected by the GI panel were enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC, n = 21), norovirus (n = 21), rotavirus (n = 15), sapovirus (n = 9), and Salmonella (n = 8). Patients tested on the GI panel had an average of 0.58 other infectious stool tests compared with 3.02 in the control group (P = 0.0001). The numbers of days on antibiotic(s) per patient were 1.73 in the cases and 2.12 in the controls (P = 0.06). Patients with the GI panel had 0.18 abdomen and/or pelvic imaging studies per patient compared with 0.39 (P = 0.0002) in the controls. The average length of time from stool culture collection to discharge was 3.4 days in the GI panel group versus 3.9 days in the controls (P = 0.04). The overall health care cost could have decreased by $293.61 per patient tested. The GI panel improved patient care by rapidly identifying a broad range of pathogens which may not have otherwise been detected, reducing the need for other diagnostic tests, reducing unnecessary use of antibiotics, and leading to a reduction in hospital length of stay.
Resectable and Borderline Resectable Pancreatic Cancer

The standard treatment for resectable pancreatic cancer continues to evolve, and controversy remains regarding the role of radiation. Surgery followed by adjuvant treatments results in disappointing outcomes. Neoadjuvant therapy has several potential advantages over adjuvant therapy including earlier delivery of systemic treatment, in vivo assessment of response, increased resectability rate in borderline resectable patients, and increased margin-negative resection rate. Radiation and chemoradiation have been incorporated into neoadjuvant and adjuvant strategies, especially with the development of newer technologies and improved radiotherapy techniques capable of safely delivering intensified therapy with alternative fractionation regimens. This chapter provides a guide for treatment planning for radiation-containing treatment strategies incorporating radiation for resectable and borderline resectable pancreatic cancer.
Book Review: Framed: Media and the Coverage of Race in Canadian Politics by Erin Tolley:

A Journal Article by Dr. Kioko Ireri, an Assistant Professor of Journalism in the School of Science and Technology in USIU- Africa
White affects and sociolinguistic activism

This year, undergraduates in my class ‘Language, race, and ethnicity’ carried out collaborative sociolinguistic activism projects addressing a range of issues in our community, such as racist street signs and California's ban on diacritics in personal names on official documents. Despite my and my teaching assistants’ explicit instructions that the projects should aim to effect some tangible change—the replacement of the street signs, the legalization of diacritics—many students focused instead on the more amorphous goal of ‘raising awareness’ of these issues on our campus and in the local community. As we explained, while raising the public profile of a social injustice is a necessary step toward changing it, this act alone cannot bring about change.
Advances in acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

DATA SOURCES: Current literature DATA SYNTHESIS: Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is a stem cell disorder characterized by an overproduction of lymphoblasts in the bone marrow that eventually spill into circulation, producing lymphocytosis. As with the other acute leukemias, the most common symptoms experienced by patients include fatigue, bleeding, and recurrent infections resulting from the suppression of normal hematopoiesis in the bone marrow by the accumulating blasts. ALL primarily affects children and exhibits the best response to standard chemotherapy as compared to acute myeloblastic leukemias (AML). Further, remission rates are highest among ALL patients, many of whom are experiencing sustained remissions suggesting cure. In light of early treatment successes, researchers began to investigate modifications of standard treatment regimens to accommodate variability in weight, age, and response to therapy among children with ALL. Individualized treatment plans were implemented where some patients received a reduced intensity course of therapy to minimize drug toxicity while others received drug intensification to maximize response. More recently, research efforts have been directed at the elucidation of leukemogenic mechanisms implicated in ALL to identify specific protein mutants that can be used to design drugs tailored to interfere with the activity of these mutant protein targets. Identification of chimeric proteins produced from chromosomal translocations and gene expression profiles from microarray analyses are the primary techniques used to identify the potential therapeutic targets. CONCLUSION: Several reliable prognostic indicators have been identified and are being used to improve therapeutic planning and outcome prediction in ALL patients. Individualized treatment regimens have been developed based on the specific characteristics of each patient to minimize treatment related adverse events and maximize response. Through the use of cytogenetic, molecular, and microarray testing, ALL classification schemes have improved and potential therapeutic targets have been identified. It is anticipated that the next major advance in the treatment of ALL will involve the use of designer therapies developed to specifically interfere with particular molecular abnormalities producing the leukemogenic aberration to the normal signal transduction pathways. ABBREVIATIONS:6MP = 6-mercaptopurine; ABL = ableson oncogene found in a strain of mouse leukemia virus; ALL = acute lymphoblastic (lymphocytic) leukemia; BCR = breakpoint cluster region; CBF = core-binding factor; CCG = Children9s Cancer Group; CDK = cyclin-dependent kinases; EFS = event free survival; FAB = French-American-British; HAT = histone acetyltransferase; HDAC = histone deacetylase; MLL = mixed-lineage leukemia; MRD = minimum residual disease; OPAL1 = outcome prediction for acute leukemia number 1; POG = Pediatric Oncology Group; RB = retinoblastoma; RFC = reduced folate carrier; TPMT = thiopurine methyltransferase; WHO = World Health Organization.
The Uses of Dual Beam FIB in Microelectronic Failure Analysis

Focused Ion Beam systems have many uses in failure analysis (FA), and dual beam systems are a must for state-of-the-art integrated circuit and MEMS device failure analysis. Finding opens/shorts in circuitry by utilizing passive voltage contrast is a common usage. Using the dual beam for defect review on wafers enables you to find and section defects too small to see with optical microscopes. To cross-section particles and mechanically-weak structures and to generate smear-free cross-sections of structures having layers of differing hardnesses is very difficult to do using mechanical techniques; this becomes routine using the dual beam FIB. The dual beam FIB is a must-have tool for cross-sectioning MEMS devices without inducing catastrophic damage.
Using a composite membrane for enhanced sensitivity and faster response in on-line membrane extraction microtrap gas chromatography

On-line membrane extraction microtrap (OLMEM) gas chromatography was used for continuous monitoring of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in water. The aqueous sample flowed through tubular membrane and the VOCs selectively permeated through it. The permeated VOCs were stripped by a carrier gas and transported to a microtrap. The microtrap retained and concentrated the analytes before injecting into a GC. In this study, the performance of a composite membrane was compared with that of a conventional silicone membrane. The advantages of using the composite membrane were higher extraction efficiency and shorter response time. Extraction efficiencies as high as 95% were obtained for compounds such as toluene and trichloroethane.
Resemblance Nominalism: A Solution to the Problem of Universals

Introduction 1. The Problem of Universals: A Problem about Truthmakers 2. The Explananda of the Problems of Universals 3. The Many over One 4. Resemblance Nominalism 5. The Coextension Difficulty 6. Russell's Regress 7. The Resemblance Structure of Property Classes 8. Goodman's Difficulties 9. The Imperfect Community Difficulty 10. The Companionship Difficulty 11. The Mere Intersections Difficulty 12. The Superiority of Resemblance Nominalism Appendix: On Imperfect Communities and the Non-communities they Entail References, Index
Social Aspects of Depression

Over the last ten years, American psychiatry has witnessed a remarkable rise in interest in the social aspects of depression in particular. A key factor in this rise has been better agreement on research criteria for this group of disorders and new epidemiologic instruments such as the Diagnostic Interview Schedule (DIS), the Present States Examination (PSE), and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale (CED-S). In a related theme, Dohrenwend has developed an instrument for measuring demoralization as a nonspecific indicator for depression and other psychopathology in community surveys (1). Weissman has developed a reliable scale for assessing social adjustment and has shown how this outcome variable is different than symptom ratings in depressive illness (2). In addition, two well known concepts, social support and life events, have been reexamined and applied to depressive illness. It is the purpose of this report to examine the research on these two variables in particular. This emphasis is predicated on the assumption that we are in danger of becoming complacent with our current understanding of and methodology for measuring these two crucial factors in the etiology and clinical course of the affective disorders.
Abstract 222: Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Care of Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrests in Detroit

Introduction: March 10th, 2020 marked the first positive case of SARS-CoV-2 in Detroit. EMS protocol changes were implemented by March 25th, 2020 in response to the virus. These modifications restr...
A comparison of brief and extended session duration functional analyses

Many behavior analysts do not conduct a functional analysis (FA) prior to treatment in a clinical setting (e.g., Roscoe et al., 2015). When asked for an explanation, respondents commonly report that an FA is too time consuming. One way to address this perceived constraint is to evaluate the utility of an abbreviated FA with 5-min session durations. In the current study, 2 independent FAs, 1 with 5-min sessions and 1 with 10-min sessions, were conducted for the problem behavior of 5 individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). For all participants, the 5- and 10-min session duration FAs yielded the same identified function of problem behavior: escape from demands. A brief differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA) analysis was subsequently conducted and found to be effective at decreasing problem behavior and increasing an appropriate communication response across participants. These findings demonstrate the utility of conducting an FA using briefer session durations followed by a brief DRA analysis.
A method for quantitative evaluations of scanning-proton dose distributions.

PURPOSE Patient-Specific Quality Assurance (PSQA) measurement analysis depends on generating metrics representative of calculation and measurement agreement. Considering the heightened capability of discrete spot scanning protons to modulate individual dose voxels, a dose plane comparison approach that maintained all of the capabilities of the well-established γ test, but that also provided a more intuitive error parameterization, was desired. METHODS Analysis was performed for 300 dose planes compared by searching all calculated points within a fixed radius around each measured pixel to determine the dose deviation. Dose plane agreement is reported as the dose difference minimum (DDM) within an empirically established search radius: ΔDmin(r). This per-pixel metric is aggregated into a histogram binned by dose deviation. Search-radius criteria were based on a weighted-beamlet 3σ spatial deviation from imaging isocenter. Equipment setup error was mitigated during analysis using tracked image registration, ensuring beamlet deviations to be the dominant source of spatial error. The percentage of comparison points with <3% dose difference determined pass rate. RESULTS The mean beamlet radial deviation was 0.38mm from x-ray isocenter, with a standard deviation of 0.19mm, such that 99.9% of relevant pencil beams were within 1 mm of nominal. The dose-plane comparison data showed no change in passing rate between a 3%/1mm ΔDmin(r) analysis (97.6 +/- 3.6%) and a 3%/2mm γ test (97.7 +/- 3.2%). CONCLUSIONS PSQA dose-comparison agreements corresponding to a search radius outside of machine performance limits are likely false positives. However, the elliptical shape of the γ test is too dose-restrictive with a spatial-error threshold set at 1 mm. This work introduces a cylindrical search shape, proposed herein as more relevant to plan quality, as part of the new DDM planar-dose comparison algorithm. DDM accepts all pixels within a given dose threshold inside the search radius, and carries forward plan-quality metrics in a straightforward manner for evaluation.
High Order Approximation with Multivariate Generalized Trigonometric Type Singular Integral Operators

This research and survey chapter deals exclusively with the chapter of the approximation of generalized multivariate Trigonometric type singular integrals to the identity-unit operator. Here we study quantitatively most of their approximation properties. These operators are not in general positive linear operators. In particular we study the rate of convergence of these integral operators to the unit operator, as well as the related simultaneous approximation. These are given via Jackson type inequalities and by the use of multivariate high order modulus of smoothness of the high order partial derivatives of the involved function. Also we study the global smoothness preservation properties of these integral operators. These multivariate inequalities are nearly sharp and in one case the inequality is attained, that is sharp. Furthermore we give asymptotic expansions of Voronovskaya type for the error of approximation.
Estimating Economic Damages with Linear Regression and Bayesian Networks (Part 2)

In 2010, Robert M. Lloyd wrote, “In an ideal world, a court would be able to hear the evidence, estimate the plaintiff’s damages, and quantify its own confidence that the estimate was accurate.” This article, the second in a two-part series, argues that Bayesian networks can move the legal world very close to Lloyd’s ideal. Part 2 defines Bayesian networks, illustrates how Bayesian networks could have been used advantageously in a recent actual case, and posits that Bayesian networks are a highly effective tool for triers of fact to evaluate the fact and amount of damages with the “reasonable certainty” required by case law. Along the way, Part 2 challenges the popular mythology that point estimates offer higher certainty than value ranges. Part 1 of this paper can be found at http://ssrn.com/abstract=3434046
Understanding the interaction between carboxylates and coinage metals from first principles.

Carboxylate groups have recently been explored as a new type of ligand to protect superatomic copper and silver nanoclusters, but little is known of the interfacial structure and bonding. Here, we employ density functional theory to investigate the interfaces of a model carboxylate group, CH3COO, on the coinage metal surfaces and clusters. We found that μ2-CH3COO is the most preferred binding mode on the three M(111) surfaces (M = Cu, Ag, and Au), while μ3-CH3COO is also stable on Cu(111) and Ag(111). The saturation coverage was found to be about seven CH3COO groups per nm2 for all surfaces. CH3COO has the strongest binding on Cu and weakest on Au. Moving from the flat surfaces to the icosahedral M13 clusters, we found that the eight-electron superatomic [M13(CH3COO)6]− nanoclusters also prefer the μ2-CH3COO mode on the surface. The icosahedral kernel in [Cu13(CH3COO)6]− and [Ag13(CH3COO)6]− was well maintained after geometry optimization, but a larger deformation was found in [Au13(CH3COO)6]−. Given the broad availability and variety of carboxylic acids including amino acids, our work suggests that carboxylate groups could be the next-generation ligands to further expand the universe of atomically precise metal clusters, especially for Cu and Ag.
Trapping and manipulation on a chip: from subwavelength particle manipulation to chemical synthesis

Trapping and manipulation of micro and nanoparticles are essential functional elements of lab-on-a-chip and micro total analysis systems with applications ranging from single cell analysis, diagnostics, drug discovery, and chemical synthesis. Reliable optical trapping of subwavelength particles is difficult due to the diffraction limited gradient of the optical intensity. Near-field traps have emerged as excellent systems to overcome this bottleneck. Using a periodic arrangement of C-shaped apertures we demonstrate the on-chip manipulation of single sub-wavelength polystyrene beads. The wavelength and polarization sensitivity of these resonant nanostructures is exploited to expose the trapped bead to a time varying near-field force using wavelength and polarization multiplexing schemes. While optical trapping has the advantage of being contactless, dielectrophoresis provides higher forces due to the flexibility of applying larger voltages and field gradients. The RF/Microwave frequency regime where dielectrophoresis operates allows increased polarizability of certain samples due to contribution from orientational, molecular and atomic polarizations as well as particle’s electrical conductivity. Combining the above advantages of both the techniques we discuss photoinduced dielectrophoretic trapping and manipulation of nanoparticles. Using dielectrophoretic trapping we discuss the simultaneous manipulation of beads and droplets as a route for on chip chemical synthesis.
Macrophages monitor tissue osmolarity and induce inflammatory response through NLRP3 and NLRC4 inflammasome activation

Interstitial osmolality is a key homeostatic variable that varies depending on the tissue microenvironment. Mammalian cells have effective mechanisms to cope with osmotic stress by engaging various adaptation responses. Hyperosmolality due to high dietary salt intake has been linked to pathological inflammatory conditions. Little is known about the mechanisms of sensing the hyperosmotic stress by the innate immune system. Here we report that caspase-1 is activated in macrophages under hypertonic conditions. Mice with high dietary salt intake display enhanced induction of Th17 response upon immunization, and this effect is abolished in caspase-1-deficient mice. Our findings identify an unknown function of the inflammasome as a sensor of hyperosmotic stress, which is crucial for the induction of inflammatory Th17 response.
The Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome Protein Regulates Nuclear Translocation of NFAT2 and NF-κB (RelA) Independently of Its Role in Filamentous Actin Polymerization and Actin Cytoskeletal Rearrangement

Effector functions mediated by NK cells involve cytotoxicity and transcription-dependent production and release of cytokines and chemokines. Although the JAK/STAT pathway mediates lymphokine-induced transcriptional regulation in NK cells, very little is known about transcriptional regulation induced during cell-cell contact. We demonstrate that the Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome protein (WASp) is an important component for integration of signals leading to nuclear translocation of NFAT2 and NF-kappaB (RelA) during cell-cell contact and NKp46-dependent signaling. This WASp function is independent of its known role in F-actin polymerization and cytoskeletal rearrangement. Absence of WASp results in decreased accumulation of calcineurin, WASp-interacting protein, and molecules upstream of calcium mobilization, i.e., activated ZAP70 and phospholipase C-gamma1, in the disorganized NK cell immune synapse. Production of GM-CSF, but not IFN-gamma, is decreased, while natural cytotoxicity of Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome-NK cells is maintained. Our results indicate that WASp independently regulates its dual functions, i.e., actin cytoskeletal remodeling and transcription in NK cells.
The Futility of Unification and Harmonization in International Commercial Law

This paper challenges the conventional wisdom that unification and harmonization of international commercial law is desirable and should be pursued. Drawing from the literature on private legislatures, it argues that the expert groups that produce international conventions and model laws are likely to produce either vague norms that impose no significant constraint on domestic decisionmakers, or precise rules that benefit discrete interest groups. It illustrates this argument with examples from the Hague and Hamburg Rules, the Warsaw Convention, the Convention on the International Sale of Goods, the Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credits, and the UNCITRAL Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency. It advances arguments for an alternative regime of expanded contractual choice to select national law to govern these transactions.
Pragmatism and American Experience: An Introduction

Pragmatism and American Experience provides a lucid and elegant introduction to America's defining philosophy. Joan Richardson charts the nineteenth-century origins of pragmatist thought and its development through the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, focusing on the major first- and second-generation figures and how their contributions continue to influence philosophical discourse today. At the same time, Richardson casts pragmatism as the method it was designed to be: a way of making ideas clear, examining beliefs, and breaking old habits and reinforcing new and useful ones in the interest of maintaining healthy communities through ongoing conversation. Through this practice we come to perceive, as William James did, that thinking is as natural as breathing, and that the essential work of pragmatism is to open channels essential to all experience.
Microorganisms of the San Francisco Sour Dough Bread Process: I. Yeasts Responsible for the Leavening Action

Two hundred isolates from San Francisco sour dough French bread fermentations (40 from each of five different bakeries) were screened by fermentation tests and for their ability to grow in the presence of cycloheximide (Actidione). All of the isolates from four of the bakeries and 70% of those from the fifth were unable to utilize maltose but grew well on other sugars, even in the presence of cycloheximide. The remaining few isolates from the fifth bakery utilized maltose but not galactose and were inhibited by cycloheximide. No bakers' yeast types were found. Sixteen of the maltose-negative and five of the galactose-negative isolates were subjected to more rigorous taxonomic procedures. All of the maltose-negative isolates were identified as asporogenous strains of Saccharomyces exiguus (Torulopsis holmii) and the galactose-negative ones, as S. inusitatus. The predominance of S. exiguus, its vigor in the particular acidic environment of the sour dough, and the correlation of its numbers with the leavening function constitute strong evidence on the role of this organism in the sour dough system.
Nephelometric urinary protein profile as an index of renal involvement in hypertensive disorders of pregnancy

Protein analysis was performed on the urine of 62 pregnant women with the use of a nephelometric technique. Thirty-seven women were classified as having mild or severe pregnancy-induced hypertension and/or chronic hypertension. The protein analysis was performed on urine samples obtained prior to delivery and was compared to the degree of proteinuria as determined by the dipstick technique. The degree of immunoglobulinuria increases with increasing severity of pregnancy-induced hypertension while the urine concentration of albumin and transferrin becomes nondetectable. The urinary protein profile appears to be extremely sensitive and accurate in predicting severity of disease.
DEMOCRACY ON THE WEB

This paper addresses a fundamental empirical question using data collected in a northeastern US city: does deliberation occur in online forums? While face-to-face deliberation is well documented, there are few empirical studies that address its online counterpart. Deliberation is supposed to foster an educative, rational, open and inclusive dialogue that leads to legitimate policy outcomes. In this paper, the authors develop and operationalize a measure of deliberation in order to investigate the extent to which it is manifested online. In particular, the authors study five regionally defined web forums hosted by the primary newspaper of a mid-sized northeastern US city. Drawing a two-week sample of posts from these forums, the authors then examine them for indicators of deliberation. Firstly, this paper addresses research about if and how the internet affects social life, including traditional notions of deliberation. Next, the authors argue that sociological studies of democratic participation require c...
Integrated Control, Structure and Optical Design

The underlying mathematical formulation and issues associated with integrated control, structure, and optical design are discussed. Topics addressed include the development of cost functionals, optimization in the vector objective setting, and computational aspects of the optimization problem. Results on simple design problems are presented.
Computing Problems and Methods in X-Ray Crystallography

Publisher Summary This chapter presents computing problems and general computational methods in X-ray crystallography, including structure factor calculation, Fourier series calculation, differential synthesis refinement, least-squares, Patterson methods, and phase problem X-ray crystallography. It examines the chemical structures of crystalline substances through the X-ray diffraction patterns of the crystals. The crystal structures are solved by postulating an arrangement of atoms in an infinite crystal lattice and comparing the calculated diffraction pattern from the crystal of the unknown. When the observed and calculated patterns agree fairly well, and the postulated structure is chemically reasonable, a trial solution for the structure is obtained. The parameters defining this trial structure are refined against the observed diffraction data to confirm the solution and to extract any other physical information about this particular crystal structure, which is contained in the data. Trial structures are evaluated through use of Fourier series summations, for which computers are usually a necessity, and the refinement is done using Fourier series or least-squares method. A skeletal sketch of the data and basic formulas of crystallography are provided.
Autumn use of woody snags by fishes in backwater and channel border habitats of a large river

Snags are important to fish communities in small rivers and streams, but their importance to fishes in large rivers has not been investigated. This study examined snag use by fishes during autumn in backwater and channel border habitats in the upper Mississippi River, and compared these to fish communities in reference sites without snags. Species assemblages differed significantly between backwater and channel border habitats, and between snag and reference sites within the channel border, likely responding to differences in substrate, depth, and current velocity. In both habitats, average fish biomass and abundance were higher (2 to 50 ×) at snag sites than at reference sites, but these differences were significant only for channel border biomass. Fish taxa richness differed between backwater and channel border habitats, but not between snag and reference sites. Most large piscivorous fishes (e.g., Micropterus spp., Stizostedion spp.), several insectivorous fishes (Lepomis macrochirus, Ambloplites rupestris, Minytrema melanops), and a few prey fishes (L. macrochirus, Notropis atherinoides) were significantly more abundant at snag sites than at reference sites, suggesting active selection of snags for foraging or protection. Snag quality, as assessed by a snag rating index, had a direct effect on attracting fish communities with greater biomass, especially within the channel border habitat. These results indicate that snags are important habitat for fish communities in both backwaters and channel border habitats of the upper Mississippi River.
AMINO ACID ACCUMULATION IN ETHIONINE-RESISTANT SACCHAROMYCES CEREVISIAE

Sorsoli, W. A. (Oregon State University, Corvallis), K. D. Spence, and L. W. Parks. Amino acid accumulation in ethionine-resistant Saccharomyces cerevisiae. J. Bacteriol. 88:20-24. 1964.-Recessive ethionine-resistant strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae possess a genetic lesion affecting the concentration of amino acids nonspecifically in the expandable pool of the organism. This area, which may be linked to a methionine gene, is highly mutable and accounts for resistance to certain amino acid analogues. Other mutations result in ethionine resistance by a mechanism unrelated to the amino acid uptake system.
Interactive program demonstration as a form of student program assessment

We describe and advocate an approach to student program grading based on interactive program demonstration. Although one-on-one interaction is a hallmark of good teaching in many disciplines, the pressure of class loads and the availability of sophisticated automatic tools have steered some instructors away from close interaction with students in computer science. We feel that our approach has significant advantages over either more traditional ones (submission of work on paper for "off-line" grading) or newer ones based on automated tools. In particular, we feel that interactive demonstration offers a rich and compelling experience for instructors and students alike. We do not believe our approach is especially novel, but wish to recommend it to those who may never have considered it, and to promote it within a continuing dialogue about assessment techniques.Interactive demonstration has some disadvantages, of course, not the least of which is the difficulty of implementing it in settings with larger class sizes. Even in larger schools, however, the approach may be suitable for selected assignments, and most other drawbacks can be tempered by appropriate modifications to the basic framework.We begin with some general discussion of the goals and pitfalls of assessing student programs and mention some possible alternative approaches. We then describe the interactive demonstration style of grading as we have developed it. Next we consider the advantages and disadvantages of our approach and discuss ways to ameliorate the latter. Finally, we use our stated criteria to compare our approach with others and draw some summary conclusions.
Cultural Evaluations of Risk: "Values" or "Blunders"?

The phenomenon of cultural cognition refers to the disposition of individuals to adopt factual beliefs about risk that express their cultural evaluations of putatively dangerous activities. In a previous review essay (119 Harv. L. Rev. 1071 (2006)), we suggested that this phenomenon makes it inappropriate to treat public risk perceptions that differ from those of expert regulators as simple mistakes, which should be denied weight in lawmaking, as opposed to values, which presumably should guide regulatory policy in a democratic society. Cass Sunstein wrote a critical response (119 Harv. L. Rev. 1110 (2006)). Sunstein's basic thesis is that cultural cognition is largely a result of bounded rationality, not an alternative to it, and as such generates beliefs no more entitled to normative respect than those associated with other types of cognitive biases. We offer a (brief) reply, distinguishing the question of whether cultural cognition can be explained by biases and heuristics attributable to bounded rationality (we say, no) from the question of whether beliefs founded on cultural cognition should be normative for law (we say, sometimes).
Highly metastable amorphous or near-amorphous ternary films (mictamict alloys)

Thin ternary films of the generic composition (early transition metal)–Si–(nitrogen or oxygen) can be synthesized that have an amorphous or near-amorphous structure and are highly resistant to crystallization upon thermal annealing. Common to all of them is the existence of two compounds that form a quasi-binary system. Some known properties of these films are reviewed. Their similarity with amorphous binary metallic alloys is emphasized. Many ternary systems should exist with which such amorphous films can be made. The name ‘mictamict’ is proposed to identify this general class of materials.
CATALOG OF The BIRD COLLeCTION IN The BeLGRADe NATURAL hISTORY MUSeUM: The ORDeR PODICIPeDIFORMeS

The fund of the Belgrade Natural History Museum's ornithological collection has especially great scientific, museological, cultural, and historical importance. the order Podicipediformes was recently chosen for inventory work the results of which are reported here. a total of 57 specimens from three Museum collections and over 20 localities through - out Serbia was inventoried. the most inventory units were recorded in the collection of mounted bird specimens (38), the least in the historical collection (eight). the study collection of birds contains 11 specimens. it was determined that most specimens in the Museum are great crested grebes ( Podiceps cristatus). the Museum has the fewest specimens of red- necked grebes ( Podiceps grisegena) and no specimens of Slavonian grebe ( Podiceps auritus) at all. Podiceps nigricollis and Tachybaptus ruficollis are represented by an approximately equal number of specimens. the paper shows that the col - lection of grebes in the Belgrade Natural History Museum represents an especially important source of information about the taxon Podicipediformes. it can also be considered a valuable part of our cultural and natural heritage.
Multichain immune recognition receptor signaling: different players, same game?

The cells of the immune system respond to their environment through an array of signaling receptors. Key among these, are the family of multichain immune recognition receptors (MIRRs), including the T-cell and B-cell receptors, and the high-affinity IgE receptor expressed by mast cells and basophils. These receptors are complexes composed of ligand-binding domains associated with signal-transducing subunits. The biochemical cascades triggered by MIRRs are understood in significant detail, however, the mechanism by which antigen binding initiates signaling is not known. In this Opinion, a novel mechanistic model for the MIRR-mediated signaling is proposed. The model assumes that this process is triggered and controlled by homo-oligomerization of signal-transducing subunits. Principles learned in this model have important implications for immune response in general.
Nuclear Magnetic Resonance of C60 and Fulleride Superconductors

The alkali-doped solid materials A3C60 (where A is an alkali metal), which are superconductors with transition temperatures among the highest known apart from the high-Tc cuprates, are among the most exciting outgrowths of the discovery of the family of fullerene molecules. The structural, electronic, and superconducting properties of the alkali fullerides have been subjects of great controversy. In this article the authors review nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) investigations of the alkali fullerides and of undoped C60 . They show that, although the NMR data certainly provide evidence for unusual static and dynamic structural properties, there is little evidence for unusual normaland superconducting-state electronic properties, such as strong correlations in the normal state or nonphononic mechanisms of superconductivity. [S0034-6861(96)00603-4]
The effect of mechanical surface and heat treatments on the erosion resistance of 6061 aluminum alloy

The effects of both mechanical surface treatments and heat treatments on the erosion resistance of 6061 aluminum alloy were studied in order to gain a better understanding of material properties which affect erosion behavior. It was found that mechanical surface treatments have little or no effect on the erosion resistance. This is due to the formation by particle impact of a work-hardened surface layer, independent of the initial surface condition. The erosion resistance of aluminum single crystals was found to be independent of orientation, which is due to destruction of the surface microstructure and formation of a polycrystalline surface layer by the particle impact as observed by X-ray diffraction. Although on solution treatment of annealed aluminum 6061 the increase in hardness is accompanied by an increase in erosion resistance, precipitation treatment (which causes a further increase in hardness) results in a slightly lower erosion resistance.
THIN-LAYER CHROMATOGRAPHY OF ADRENAL CORTICOIDS: OBSERVATIONS ON CHANGE IN MOBILITIES.

Abstract 1. 1. Rapid separation of adrenal cortical steroids has been achieved using layers of fluorescein-impregnated silica gel G for thin-layer chromatography. 2. 2. The technique permits detection of the blue-tetrazolium negative 18-hydroxycorticoids. The sensitivity for detection of steroids is 0.5 to 1 μg minimum. 3. 3. The thin-layer chromatography of 18-hydroxydeoxycorticosterone as described by this technique indicated two mobilities for this steroid. When admixed with other steroids, the migration of 18-hydroxydeoxycorticosterone was greater than when the steroid was chromatographed as a single sample. A similar response was not noted for 18-hydroxycorticosterone. 4. 4. Thin-layer chromatography of some corticoids on fluorescein-impregnated alumina was found to give evidence of blue-tetrazolium positive anomalous materials that travel near the solvent front. These anomalous materials may represent some molecular modification of the steroids or interaction with fluorescein-impregnated aluminum oxide during chromatography. 5. 5. Analysis of extracts of adrenal venous plasma of rats indicated the presence of components moving with the mobilities of deoxycorticosterone, 18-hydroxydeoxycorticosterone, corticosterone (major component), and 18-hydroxycorticosterone (trace quantities).
Hyolingual feeding systems of the Plethodontidae: Comparative kinematics of prey capture by salamanders with free and attached tongues

High-speed cinematography (500 fps) was used to analyze quantitatively the kinematics of terrestrial prey capture in Bolitoglossa occidentalis, B. mexicana, Ensatina esch-scholtzii, Plethodon glutinosus, Desmognathus quadramaculatus, Hynobius kimurae, and H. nebulosus. The gape cycle of these salamanders is highly stereotyped. In B. occidentalis the mouth is opened by a combination of cranial elevation and mandibular depression. The gape increases dramatically during tongue retraction, thus allowing the prey to be delivered to the rear of the oral cavity without being impeded by the marginal teeth. The absence of a feeding function for these teeth apparently has resulted in their reduction and/or morphological alteration in some bolitoglos-sines. Observed differences in jaw rotation between successful and unsuccessful prey capture attempts appear to be biomechanical phenomena and not adjustments by the salamander in response to neural feedback. Tongue projection is most rapid and highly accurate in the two bolitoglossines and Ensatina. The distance to which the tongue can be protracted from the mouth is 7% snout-vent length in D. quadramaculatus, P. glutinosus, H. kimurae, and H. nebulosus (attached protrusible tongue); 15% in E. eschscholtzii (attached projectile tongue); and 30% in B. occidentalis (free projectile tongue). Even though tongue protraction is significantly faster in salamanders with projectile tongues than those with protrusible tongues, the range of times for the entire gape cycle is generally similar for all salamanders (ca. 100 ms). However, less derived salamanders spend a shorter period preparing the tongue for firing and more time in its projection than E. eschscholtzii and B. occidentalis. One obvious advantage for increasing the speed of tongue protraction is that it decreases the prey's available escape time. In the supergenus Bolitoglossa prey are limited to small, active invertebrates by a combination of stereotyped feeding behavior, a small tongue pad, and a lightweight hyolingual apparatus that is projected extremely fast. While all terrestrial salamanders possess the same basic feeding system, the bolitoglossines have evolved an impressive array of unique specializations for capturing small, rapidly moving prey. This suite of characters has enabled the tribe to radiate rapidly into a vast variety of microhabitats.
A noncooperative justification for egalitarian surplus sharing

Abstract We consider a surplus sharing problem faced by a group of agents who have different opinions as to how such problems should be solved in general. We propose a procedure to resolve the conflict and show that each agent receives an equal share of the surplus in all noncooperative Nash equilibria of the game induced by the procedure.
IL-3, IL-4, and IL-6 enhance IFN-γ-dependent bone marrow natural suppressor activity☆

The ability of murine bone marrow (BM) natural suppressor (NS) cells to suppress a Con A proliferation assay was greatly enhanced by supernatant obtained from the T cell hybridoma D9C1.12.17. Of the lymphokines produced by this hybridoma, three were found to enhance suppression: interleukin-3 (IL-3), IL-4, and IL-6. These molecules enhanced suppression of both unirradiated and irradiated (2000 R) BM cells indicating that augmented suppression was not just due to proliferation of NS cells. The ability of all three of the lymphokines to enhance BM suppression could be blocked by anti-interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) antibody. These results indicate that (1) NS cell activity is not radiosensitive and (2) that two signals may be required for maximal NS cell suppression, one being a lymphokine-mediated signal and the other IFN-gamma.
From icy planetesimals to outer planets and comets

Abstract Numerical simulations of planet growth in the outer solar system shows thatgrwoth of Uranus and Neptune occurs in reasonably short time, well below the actual age of the system, without the need for ad hoc assumptions about excess mass or artificially low relative velocities among the icy planetesimals. Low velocities, which speed accretion, are a natural consequence of the non-power-law size distribution of planetesimals, just as in our earlier simulations of terrestial planet growth. Initial planetesimals of size ∼ 100 km, predicted by formal expressions for gravitational instability in a thin disk of solid material, failed to produce sufficient debris in the size range 1 to 10 km to account for population of the Oort cloud with comet-sized bodies. However, our model of nonhomologous settling of grains to the midplane of the solar system shows that gravitational clumping did not wait until all solid material had settled to the midplane, as had been assumed in earlier models. Rather, the clumping occurred in successive portions of the material that reached the midplane, producing “initial” planetesimals probably of comet-like sizes. Models of subsequent collisional evolution show that such an initial size distribution, similar to known comets, would have been required in order to have an adequate comet-like size distribution available to feed the Oort cloud as the other planets reach full size. Comets are probably unaltered remnants of the initial population of planetesimals in the outer solar system, not fragments of larger bodies.
What They Are Telling Us: Library Use and Needs of Traditional and Non‐traditional Students in a Graduate Social Work Program

A survey was conducted in Fall 2008 to determine the library use and needs of Master of Social Work students at Marywood University. Full-time, Part-time, Weekend, and Satellite students were surveyed. Survey results and implications for Marywood Library's service to nontraditional students and for the academic library community are discussed.
Syncytial variant of nodular sclerosing Hodgkin's disease: Fine-needle aspiration findings in two cases

The syncytial variant is a recently described, uncommon form of nodular sclerosing Hodgkin's disease that was previously termed “sarcomatoid.” In addition to foci of typical sclerosis, it is characterized histologically by sheets or clusters of mononuclear Reed-Sternberg variants. These may be arranged around areas of necrosis with variable numbers of neutrophils. In excised material, differential diagnostic considerations include non-Hodgkin's malignant lymphoma, granulocytic sarcoma, malignant melanoma, metastatic carcinoma, thymoma, and metastatic germ cell tumor. We describe the fine-needle aspiration cytologic finding in two examples of this entity. Cohesive clusters and sheets of malignant cells with clear cytoplasm, vesicular nuclei, and prominent nucleoli are easily mistaken for metastatic carcinoma or germ cell tumor. Ancillary tests useful in this differential diagnosis are discussed. Diagn. Cytopathol. 1997;17:477–479. © 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.