cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Differences in pathologic features and graft outcomes in antibody-mediated rejection of renal allografts due to persistent/recurrent versus de novo donor-specific antibodies

Antibody-mediated rejection (ABMR) of renal allografts occurs in two forms. Type 1 ABMR results from persistence and/or a rebound of preexisting donor-specific antibodies in sensitized patients and usually occurs early post-transplantation. Type 2 ABMR is associated with de novo donor-specific antibodies and usually occurs over one year post-transplantation. It is generally accepted that types 1 and 2 also differ with regard to certain pathologic features including the frequencies of C4d positivity and concurrent cell-mediated rejection. However, direct comparison of pathologic, serologic, and clinical features of types 1 and 2 ABMR is lacking. Here we compared these features in 80 cases of ABMR (37 type 1, 43 type 2) diagnosed at our center. Compared with type 1, type 2 ABMR occurred later post-transplantation, was more often associated with donor-specific antibodies against Class II HLA, and was associated with more interstitial fibrosis/tubular atrophy and more frequent cell-mediated rejection, although these did not differ with respect to C4d positivity. By univariate analysis, graft survival was lower with type 2 than type 1 ABMR with borderline significance. Still, among these 80 patients, all but one treated for ABMR following diagnosis, the only two independent predictors of graft failure were at least moderate interstitial fibrosis/tubular atrophy and failure of the donor-specific antibody relative intensity scale score, a measure of the combined strength of all donor-specific antibodies present, to decrease in response to therapy.
A Survey on Function and System Call Hooking Approaches

Functions and system calls are effective indicators of the behavior of a process. These subroutines are useful for identifying unauthorized behavior caused by malware or for developing a better understanding of the lower-level operations of an application. Code obfuscation, however, often prevents user monitoring and modification of subroutine calls. Subroutine hooking offers a solution to this limitation. Function and system call hooking approaches allow for subroutine instrumentation, making hooking a valuable and versatile skill across industry and academia. In this survey, we present several criteria for the classification and selection of hooking tools and techniques as well as an examination of the major hooking approaches used on Windows, Linux, macOS, iOS, and Android operating systems. We also evaluate and compare the performance of different subroutine hooking tools and techniques based on computing resource utilization such as CPU time, memory, and wall-clock time. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first paper that encompasses both system call and function hooking techniques and tools across the major desktop and mobile operating systems.
Health effect of mixtures of ozone, nitrogen dioxide, and fine particulates in 85 US counties

Despite substantial improvements in ambient air quality in the past decades, ozone (O3), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) remain as concerns. As these pollutants exist as mixtures in ambient environments, some combinations of these pollutants may be more harmful to human health than other combinations. Identifying harmful pollutant mixtures can help develop multi-pollutant control strategies to better protect health. Current methods exhibit limitations in identifying harmful mixtures. We aim to identify harmful compositions of three-pollutant mixtures in 85 US counties during 1999–2010. We developed a new method called PANCAKE to quantify O3-NO2-PM2.5 mixtures. O3-NO2-PM2.5 mixtures are categorized into 27 composition types based on combinations of different O3, NO2, and PM2.5 levels. We identified harmful compositions by estimating the effect of each composition of O3-NO2-PM2.5 mixture compared to the reference composition on cardiovascular admissions among Medicare patients. We found that a mixture with relatively low levels of some pollutants combined with relatively high levels of other pollutants can be equally or more harmful than a mixture with high levels of all pollutants. Eight out of the 27 composition types, often with NO2 levels > 17.3 ppb and PM2.5 levels > 8.8 μg/m3 combined with any levels of O3, were associated with significantly increased cardiovascular admission rates compared to the reference composition. These harmful compositions overall occurred in about 40–50% of days in winter, metropolitan areas, or the East North Central region. Mixture composition plays an important role in determining health risks and may be worth considering when developing air pollution control strategies.
Logic and Sin: Wittgenstein's Philosophical Education at the Limits of Language

Unfortunately, Wittgenstein has entered the philosophical “canon”, an entrance that has served to reify interpretations of his work. In this essay I refer to recent books by Richard Eldridge (1997) and Phillip Shields (1998) which allow us again to see The Philosophical Investigations as something more than a stultifying relic. Specifically, these authors, by reading Wittgenstein's work not merely as text but also as performance, allow us to enact our own liberating performances of that work. To engage in such “enactments of freedom” is the essence of philosophical education in the sense established by extra-canonical writers such as Socrates and the Stoics, on the one hand, and Emerson and James, on the other. At least this is so if my use of the work of classicist Pierre Hadot, on the one hand, and brief reference to literary critic Richard Poirier, on the other, is at all successful in illuminating theses from Eldridge and Shields on the nature of Wittgensteinian philosophy.
Asymptotically exact boundary conditions for the PN equations

It was recently demonstrated that in planar geometry, the classic PN equations are an asymptotic limit of the transport equation. A corresponding boundary layer analysis established the asymptotica...
The Social Costs of Gambling

Perhaps the most controversial issue surrounding the casino legalization debate is the “social costs” that accompany gambling. The casino industry maintains that its product is simply a form of entertainment like going to movies and football games, and consumers are willing to pay a price for entertainment. But many researchers argue that gambling is fundamentally different from other forms of entertainment because gambling, unlike movies and football games, can lead to addiction. As noted in Chap. 10, the prevalence rate of disordered gambling has been estimated to be between 0.4 and 2.0 % of the general population.
THREE DIMENSIONAL RIGHT VENTRICULAR STRAIN IN PEDIATRIC PULMONARY HYPERTENSION

Right ventricular (RV) function is important in pediatric pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) evaluation. Three-dimensional echocardiography (3DE) RV deformation becomes progressively worse and affects survival in adult PAH. 3DE RV deformation has not been studied in pediatric PH. We compared 3DE
Toward a Genuine Understanding

Understanding involves the grasping of networks of ideas, which itself involves seeing connections and arriving at further conclusions and interrelations. To understand people, then, is to synthesize information in ways that allow a comprehensive and systematic vision of what is going on in someone else’s life. Instead of allowing for ignorance, understanding requires an open-mindedness that considers multiple ways of interpreting experiences and that defends views using reasons that others can accept. It also requires placing knowers in social situations, taking into account the relations of epistemic agents acting in the world. In the end, understanding involves learning to adopt different perspectives so that one can clearly see what it is like for others to live in the world around them.
Adaptation and diffusion of renovations: The case of the paleo diet

Abstract Innovations and related consumption practices rarely spread as is. Instead, they are adapted and reinvented as they diffuse. Adaptation is imperative in the diffusion of renovations, which require configuration to make them meaningful and suitable to the present time. This paper examines, in the context of the paleo diet and lifestyle, the actions of market actors in facilitating the adaptation and diffusion of renovations and the ensuing tensions. Using data gathered from archival and netnographic sources, the authors identify three types of institutional work—theorizing, mythologizing, and customizing—that fuel adaptation and diffusion. The findings inform our understanding of how diffusing renovations are managed by market agents, the contested nature of adaptation, and the potential of renovation adaptation to expand markets.
Microwave-Assisted Clampless Laparoscopic and Robotic Partial Nephrectomy

Abstract Introduction: Robot-assisted laparoscopic partial nephrectomy, in the majority of cases, is performed with renal hilar vessel(s) clamping and parenchymal renorrhaphy. Clampless laparoscopi...
Combined effects of HIV and obesity on the gastrointestinal microbiome of young men who have sex with men.

OBJECTIVES The prevalence of obesity is rising among people living with HIV, which may synergistically increase inflammation and the risk of associated diseases. Disruption of gut bacterial communities may be one of the key drivers of this inflammation; however, the combined effects of HIV and obesity on the microbiome have not been explored. METHODS This study included 381 men who have sex with men. Thirty-nine were HIV-positive and obese (H+O+), 143 were HIV-positive and nonobese, 64 were HIV-negative and obese, and 135 were HIV-negative and nonobese. Microbiome composition was assessed by targeted sequencing of the V4 region of the 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene using rectal swab samples. Inverse probability of treatment-weighted marginal structural models were used to investigate differences in microbial composition between groups while controlling for numerous clinical and behavioural confounders. RESULTS Significant variability in microbial composition was explained by the combination of HIV and obesity, over and above each condition alone (R2 for the marginal contribution of the H+/O+ group = 0.008; P = 0.001). H+O+ participants had the highest ratios of Prevotella to Bacteroides, a pro-inflammatory enterotype that has been described in HIV infection and obesity independently. H+O+ participants had lower levels of Bacteroides and Veillonella than all other groups, suggesting a synergistic effect of HIV and obesity on these genera. CONCLUSIONS Our findings support the hypothesis that HIV and obesity act together to disrupt gut microbial communities, which may help explain higher levels of generalized inflammation among people living with both HIV and obesity.
MUFold-Contact and TPCref: New Methods for Protein Structure Contact Prediction and Refinement

When predicting proteins' 3-D structures from their primary sequences, many existing tools use predicted residue contact information, i.e. which residues are in contact with each other. In this paper, we propose two new methods: MUFold-Contact, a new two-stage multi-branch deep neural network for predicting structure contact from protein sequences, and TPCref for refining the result of a contact prediction tool using template information. MUFold-Contact uses four independently-trained deep neural networks to predict residue-residue distances in various ranges, followed by one deep neural network to predict residue contact. TPCref is a novel approach to use protein templates to refine contact prediction generated by a particular contact prediction method. It first finds multiple template sequences based on the target sequence, and use the templates' structures and the templates' predicted contact map generated by the contact-prediction method to form a target contact-map filter, which is then used to refine the predicted contact map of the target sequence. Experimental results using recently released PDB proteins show that the performance of MUFold-Contact was comparable with those of the state-of-the-art methods, while TPCref significantly improved the contact prediction results of existing methods.
Thresholding Quantizer Design for Mutual Information Maximization Under Output Constraint

We consider a channel with discrete input ${X}$, a continuous noise that corrupts the input ${X}$ to produce the continuous-valued output ${U}$. A thresholding quantizer is then used to quantize the continuous-valued output ${U}$ to the final discrete output ${V}$. The goal is to jointly design a thresholding quantizer that maximizes the mutual information between input and quantized output ${I}$(${X}$;${V}$) while minimizing a pre-specified function of the quantized output $F(p_{V})$. A general dynamic programming algorithm is proposed having the time complexity $O(KNM^{2})$ where N, M and ${K}$ are the sizes of input ${X}$, output ${U}$ and quantized output ${V}$, respectively. Moreover, we show that if $F(p_{V})=\displaystyle \sum _{i=1}^{K}g_{i}(p_{v_{i}})$ where $g_{i}(.)$ is a convex function, $p_{v_{i}} \in p_{V}=\{p_{v}1,\cdots ~p_{v_{K}}\}$ is the probability mass function of output $v_{i}\in V$ and the channel conditional density $p(u|x)$ satisfies the dominated condition (often true in practice), then the existing SMAWK algorithm can be applied to reduce the time complexity of the dynamic programming algorithm from $O(KNM^{2}$) to ${O}$(KNM). Both theoretical and numerical results are provided to verify our contributions.
Impact of Casino Gambling and Lotteries on Demand for Other ‘Sin’ Goods

Public policy aimed at reducing consumption of tobacco or alcohol products often results in purchases of lower-taxed alternatives. Many studies find tobacco and alcohol to be habit-forming, so taxing these commodities often has little impact in reducing purchases. There is much evidence that different alcohol and tobacco products are either substitutes or complements in use but these studies exclude the impact of casino gambling and lotteries. This is surprising given the evidence of high returns for companies investing in all types of ‘sin’ goods. The demand for ‘sin’ goods is analyzed using both myopic and rational habit-forming models. Durability was found to be largest for wine and tobacco and lowest for casino gambling. Tobacco and beer were the most net habit-forming commodities. All ‘sin’ goods were net habit-forming in the rational model, but under myopic habit formation, spirits and wine were net durable goods. The research highlights the importance of including casino gambling and lotteries, which are typically excluded when estimating substitution or complementarity between ‘sin’ goods. Casino gambling and lotteries are both net habit-forming and are substitutes in use for each other. Imposing taxes to reduce the misuse of alcohol and tobacco products is likely to have some unintended consequences, such as increases in personal expenditure on casino gambling and lotteries.
Oooh She’s a Little Runaway: Examining Invariance in Runaway Youth Trajectories by Developmental and Life-Course Risk Factors and Gender

Runaway behavior is incredibly prevalent among youth and has been associated with a host of negative distal outcomes to include repeat running, victimization, and future offending. Notably, girls run away at higher frequencies than boys, and the experiences, motivations, and effects of running away appear to vary by gender. However, relatively little is known regarding the risk factors associated with runaways, or whether these risk factors are invariant by gender or frequency of runaway behavior. Using a group-based trajectory modeling (GBTM) on a sample of youth runaways in Florida, this study aims to identify the distinct trajectories of runaway events throughout adolescence, and whether risk factors implicated in developmental and life-course criminology (DLC) theories are applicable to runaways of varying frequency and gender. Results of the GBTM identified two distinct runaway trajectories (chronic and low rate runaway groups) and, as such, establishes the first empirical definition for chronic runaway status. In addition, findings indicate both symmetry and variance in runaway behavior and risk factors by gender and runaway frequency. These findings underscore the applicability of DLC theory to high-risk youth beyond juvenile offenders and the need for more individualized prevention and intervention strategies tailored to the distinct risk factors among runaway youth, particularly for girls and chronic runaways.
Binge Eating Disorder: A Psychiatrist's Commentary on Clinical Considerations.

Abstract Purpose Of the 3 major eating disorders, anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder (BED), BED is the most common and exists in the practices of most primary care and psychiatric clinicians. However, BED often goes unrecognized and thus untreated. Methods Reviewed in this commentary are the basic elements in the diagnosis of BED, demographic and clinical characteristics, screening options, the importance of comorbidities, pathophysiology, and available treatments. Findings Psychological treatments, including cognitive-behavioral therapy, interpersonal therapy, and behavioral weight loss, have been recommended as first-line options and are supported by several different meta-analytic reviews. Lisdexamfetamine is currently the only medication approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of BED. Effect sizes for lisdexamfetamine versus placebo for response, remission, and avoidance of relapse in BED are robust, but its use may be limited by tolerability. This is also the case for topiramate, an anticonvulsant that has been used “off-label” to treat BED. Implications Additional medication choices approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of BED are needed. Moving forward, opportunities to leverage modern technology to broaden access to treatment are highly desirable.
PDE-5 Inhibition Decreases Cancer Tumor Burden through Immunomodulation

Abstract Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC) are CD14-/CD11b+/Gr1+ cells that have been shown to suppress T-cell anti-tumor activity. They do so namely by using arginase and iNOS to deplete the microenvironment of L-arginine and producing unopposed NO, respectively. Sildenafil, a PDE5 inhibitor, has been shown to decrease tumor burden and increase T-cell tumor infiltration, though its mechanism is poorly understood. This study aimed at determining the mechanisms by which Sildenafil affected MDSC suppression mechanisms on cytotoxic T-cells and investigate the effects on invasive 4T1 cancer cells both in vitro and in vivo. In our in vitro model, lymphoid cells were obtained from 4T1 tumor bearing BalbC mice 14 days after exposure and extracted using a magnetic bead separation technique, then expanded for 6 days using ionomicin, bryostatin and IL-2 pulsed for 24 hours followed by IL-7 and IL-15 in RPMI and FBS media. MDSCs were obtained from the spleens of 4T1 exposed mice. The sildenafil-exposed MDSCs showed a significant decrease in arginase activity. Additionally, when cultured in sildenafil and media, 4T1 cells showed a 50% reduction in growth. In this same model, T-cells had a 13% increase in growth with a therapeutic dose of sildenafil. In vivo studies were performed using BalbC mice injected with 4T1 cells and treated with sildenafil injections as well as PBS control injections. Spleens were harvested at day 14 and purified using flow cytometry to GR1 and CD11b antigens. Sildenafil-treated mice showed a 43% decrease in tumor burden and a significant decrease in arginase activity, though iNOS levels showed no significant difference between groups. The MDSC pathway remains a promising area of study in allowing activated T-cells to decrease tumor and the use of sildenafil has proven effective in reducing MDSC activity through decreases in arginase activity. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
Porous SiOC/SiC ceramics via an active-filler-catalyzed polymer-derived method

In this study, bulk and porous SiOC materials were synthesized via a polymer-derived ceramic (PDC) method from a base polysiloxane (PSO) precursor and an iron (Fe) catalyst under an inert pyrolytic atmosphere. Fe catalyzes not only the formation and nucleation of β-SiC at lower temperatures but also promotes phase separation of the amorphous SiOxCy phase, compared to PDCs without the Fe catalyst. Samples with Fe pyrolyzed at 1100 °C have an appreciable β-SiC content compared to a negligible/unobservable β-SiC content in the corresponding Fe-less samples. Selective etching of the SiO2 phase shows that Fe also induces segregation of the amorphous SiOxCy phase, yielding larger specific surface areas and gas sorption capability below 1300 °C. At 1500 °C, the pore structure changes to form interconnected networks due to the highly phase separated SiO2 and β-SiC microstructure. A Gibbs free energy minimization method was used to determine the relative phase content of the pyrolyzed samples, with the effect of Fe quantified with simplified vapor–liquid–solid (VLS), solid–liquid–solid (SLS), and classical nucleation theories.
Abstracts from the Proceedings of the 2007 Annual Meeting of the Association for Surgical Education

Thirty-seven abstracts were selected for presentation at the 27th annual meeting of the Association for Surgical Education, held March 2007, in Washington, D.C. Based on common themes eight abstracts were chosen for publication under the auspices of the Alliance for Clinical Education. These abstracts have been modified to be self-contained and understandable to those who have not attended the meeting or are from non-surgical disciplines. The first two abstracts use the method of Cognitive-Task-Analysis, which translates an expert's knowledge of a procedure or skill into a basic outline of sequential steps and decision points. This outline in turn can be used to teach novices attempting to learn a skill or to provide guidance to the expert attempting to teach this skill. The first abstract used this method to teach decision making during tendon repair, while the second used the method to identify omission of relevant steps while teaching colonoscopy. The next group of abstracts explored surgical skills. T...
Experimental validation of acoustic and thermal modeling in heterogeneous phantoms using the hybrid angular spectrum method.

Purpose The aim was to quantitatively validate the hybrid angular spectrum (HAS) algorithm, a rapid wave propagation technique for heterogeneous media, with both pressure and temperature measurements. Methods Heterogeneous tissue-mimicking phantoms were used to evaluate the accuracy of the HAS acoustic modeling algorithm in predicting pressure and thermal patterns. Acoustic properties of the phantom components were measured by a through-transmission technique while thermal properties were measured with a commercial probe. Numerical models of each heterogeneous phantom were segmented from 3D MR images. Cylindrical phantoms 30-mm thick were placed in the pre-focal field of a focused ultrasound beam and 2D pressure measurements obtained with a scanning hydrophone. Peak pressure, full width at half maximum, and normalized root mean squared difference (RMSDn) between the measured and simulated patterns were compared. MR-guided sonications were performed on 150-mm phantoms to obtain MR temperature measurements. Using HAS-predicted power density patterns, temperature simulations were performed. Experimental and simulated temperature patterns were directly compared using peak and mean temperature plots, RMSDn metrics, and accuracy of heating localization. Results The average difference between simulated and hydrophone-measured peak pressures was 9.0% with an RMSDn of 11.4%. Comparison of the experimental MRI-derived and simulated temperature patterns showed RMSDn values of 10.2% and 11.1% and distance differences between the centers of thermal mass of 2.0 and 2.2 mm. Conclusions These results show that the computationally rapid hybrid angular spectrum method can predict pressure and temperature patterns in heterogeneous models, including uncertainties in property values and other parameters, to within approximately 10%.
The Role of Traditional Medical Ethics in Forensic Psychiatry

Traditional medical ethics originated with Hippocrates and a small group of reform-minded physicians in ancient Greece. The concepts of helping and not harming have permeated medical ethics for centuries and have remained a core foundation for the special professional obligations of physicians. The tradition of helping and not harming is most strongly stated in the Latin, primum nil nocere, or, first of all, do no harm.
Endosperm and Amyloplast Proteomes of Wheat Grain

Recent proteomic studies of the wheat grain have focused on the endosperm tissuedue to its importance to productivity and quality [1-3]. The gluten proteins are ofmajor interest in these studies, since they determine the characteristics of extensibility,elasticity, and gas-holding capacity that are unique to wheat flour doughs. The glutenProteins encompass-more than 80% of theendosperm protein and consist of gliadinsand glutenin subunits. The gliadins are a polymorphic collection of monomeric pro-teins soluble in 70% alcohol that are separated into a, y, and
Twelve Unnecessary Men: The Case for Eliminating Jury Trials in Drunk Driving Cases

Over the last few decades, states have imposed tougher punishments on drunk drivers. This article argues that increasing punishments is counter-productive. If legislatures are seeking to hold guilty offenders accountable and deter drunk driving generally, they should keep punishments low and instead abolish the right to jury trials. Under the petty offense doctrine, the Supreme Court has authorized states to abolish jury trials when defendants face a maximum sentence of six months' incarceration. Social science evidence has long demonstrated that judges are more likely to convict than juries, particularly in drunk driving cases. And researchers have also found that the certainty of punishment, not the severity of punishment, is the key factor in maximizing deterrence. Thus, by keeping maximum sentences for most drunk driving offenders at six months or less, states can abolish jury trials, thereby raising conviction rates and improving general deterrence. Additionally, bench trials will be far more efficient because the greater certainty of conviction will give defendants an incentive to plead guilty rather than taking their cases to trial. When trials do occur they will be much faster because there will be no need to select juries, and lawyers will have to present far less background information to already knowledgeable judges. At present, only a handful of states have eliminated jury trials for drunk drivers. This article outlines the specific steps that states should take to abolish jury trials and thereby increase convictions, maximize general deterrence, and more efficiently handle one of the most common crimes in the United States.
Autolysis of Microbial Cells: Salt Activation of Autolytic Enzymes in a Mutant of Staphylococcus aureus

The effect of various salts on the autolysis of cell wall of a ribitol teichoic acid-deficient mutant of Staphylococcus aureus H (strain 52A5 carrying tar-1) was compared with the parent strain. In the presence of high concentrations of certain salts such as 1.0 m NaCl, the mutant undergoes autolysis with the release of osmotically sensitive spheroplasts. The parent strain is not affected by these conditions. The stimulation of lysis is related to an activation of N-acylmuramyl-l-alanine amidase.
Visual Estimation and Compression of Facial Motion Parameters—Elements of a 3D Model-Based Video Coding System

The MPEG4 standard supports the transmission and composition of facial animation with natural video by including a facial animation parameter (FAP) set that is defined based on the study of minimal facial actions and is closely related to muscle actions. The FAP set enables model-based representation of natural or synthetic talking head sequences and allows intelligible visual reproduction of facial expressions, emotions, and speech pronunciations at the receiver. This paper describes two key components we have developed for building a model-based video coding system: (1) a method for estimating FAP parameters based on our previously proposed piecewise Bezier volume deformation model (PBVD), and (2) various methods for encoding FAP parameters. PBVD is a linear deformation model suitable for both the synthesis and the analysis of facial images. Each FAP parameter is a basis function in this model. Experimental results on PBVD-based animation, model-based tracking, and spatial-temporal compression of FAP parameters are demonstrated in this paper.
Replication of the R Factor Rts1 in Proteus mirabilis

The replication of the R factor Rts1 in Proteus mirabilis was examined by using the technique of CsCl density-gradient centrifugation. The proportion of Rts1 deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) relative to the host chromosomal DNA (% R-DNA) was 7% in both exponential and stationary growth phases in Penassay Broth and supplemented M9 minimal medium at 30 C. The chromosomal DNA content per cell varied over a threefold range in the different growth media. In agreement with previous genetic observations, the replication of Rts1 was found to be temperature-sensitive and Rts1 DNA was diluted from the cells during exponential growth at 42 C. 14N-15N medium transfer experiments have shown that individual copies of Rts1 are selected at random for replication during the duplication of the multicopy episome pool.
Chain extension of poly(dimethylsiloxane) having hydroxyl or vinyl terminal groups

Chain extension of hydroxyl- or vinyl-terminated poly(dimethylsiloxane) was carried out with difunctional end-linking agents that are similar in their structure to the higher functionality end linkers used for model network formation. Values of the number-average molecular weight of the polymers before and after chain extension were determined by gel permeation chromatography. In this way, values of the extent of reaction, p, were determined for different stoichiometric ratios, r. They were found to be in the range 0,5–1,0, with the largest values generally corresponding to r closest to unity. Increase in reaction time increases p, but increase in the amount of catalyst did not show any discernible effect. The overall results show that at least under some conditions, the analogous reactions using end linkers of functionality three or higher should produce nearly perfect model networks.
Traumatic porencephalic cysts of the ear canal: diagnosis and therapy.

Porencephalic cysts of the ear canal are a late but unusual complication of temporal bone fractures in which the dura is torn. Since these cysts can develop as late as two and one-half years after ...
Doing Justice to Elizabeth Briant Lee: The Cofounder of the SSSP

Nearly a decade ago, we began a biography of Elizabeth Briant Lee, “Betty,” and Alfred McClung Lee, “Al.” Most of the existing documents collected for our biography of the Lees dealt with Al. This is consistent with the ndings of feminist historians who have repeatedly noted that women, like the poor, have been typically ignored (Dye 1979). Speaking of this paucity of information about Betty Lee and other professional women of her generation, Deutscher expressed the hope that somehow “those with better memories or better documentation will really set the record straight” (Deutscher 1993). The way to set the record straight is through the use of oral history (Bennett 1981), in this case, taken during a series of interviews with Betty.
Changes in taste and satiety in dietary-restrained women following stress

Stress has been shown to increase food consumption in women with high levels of dietary restraint (restrainers) but decrease consumption in nonrestrainers. The present study was designed to replicate the differential eating pattern following stress and measure physiological and subjective responses to food over repeated taste presentations. Restrained (N = 16) and nonrestrained (N = 16) women were given eight taste presentations of a food followed by an ad lib taste test. Between taste trials, half of the restrainers and nonrestrainers performed a variation of the Stroop stressor while remaining subjects sat quietly. Salivation to the food cue was measured at each trial as well as ratings of food liking, hunger, fullness, and arousal. Results showed significant effects of restraint on food liking and stress condition on hunger. Restrainers increased liking ratings over taste trials whereas ratings for nonrestrainers increased and then decreased to baseline levels by the last trial (p = 0.05). Nonstressed subjects showed an increase in hunger ratings, whereas ratings for stressed subjects did not show any stable directional pattern (p = 0.04). Salivary responses decreased for all groups (p = 0.01). A significant interaction of restraint by stress for intake was found (p = 0.03); restrainers increased consumption following stress whereas nonrestrainers decreased consumption as compared with controls. The data suggest that the Stroop task can influence intake in restrainers, but the changes in intake did not directly correspond to the changes observed during the presentations of the taste cues and stressor.
The Effects of Psychocultural Variables on the Academic Performance of African-American Students: A Literature Review

This article discusses the various cultural, socioeconomic and psychological variables that contribute to the academic performance of African American students. While it may be concluded that many factors such as race, economics and home environment influence the school performance of African-American students, culture has the greatest impact on learning. It is the cultural incompatibility between African-American students and an educational system based on traditional American values that accounts most for their poor school performance. Interventions that involve schools accommodating the African American cultural style with culturally sensitive instructional practices are reviewed. School psychologists play an essential role in assisting school personnel in the implementation of these interventions befitting the African American cultural style.
Far-infrared spectrum and ring-puckering of 3-cyclopenten-1-one☆

Abstract The far-infrared spectrum of 3-cyclopenten-1-one in the vapor phase has been recorded and a broad absorption with a series of several Q branches was observed in the 80–120 cm−1 region. This series of transition frequencies resulting from the ring-puckering vibration was fitted by the single minimum potential function V = 11.31 (Z4 + 12.56 Z2) cm−1, which is characteristic of a planar ring structure. The origin of the potential function for this molecule and related molecules is discussed.
File organization: Consecutive storage of relevant records on drum-type storage

Certain structure relationships between a query set, a record set, and storage media provide an opportunity to organize the record set without redundancy on the storage media, in such a manner that all records pertinent to any query in the query set can be retrieved with minimum access time. This property between query sets and record sets has been studied for drum-type storage media. Sufficient conditions for such a property have been established. It has been shown that the two dimensional storage capability of the drum-type storage can be utilized to extend the class of query sets and record sets for which the consecutive retrieval property exists on a linear storage media.
Lipid-assisted Synthesis of RNA-like Polymers from Mononucleotides

A fundamental problem in research on the origin of life is the process by which polymers capable of catalysis and replication were produced on the early Earth. Here we show that RNA-like polymers can be synthesized non-enzymatically from mononucleotides in lipid environments. The RNA-like polymers were initially identified by nanopore analysis, a technique with single molecule sensitivity. To our knowledge, this is the first such application of a nanopore instrument to detect RNA synthesis under simulated prebiotic conditions. The synthesis of the RNA-like polymers was confirmed by standard methods of enzymatic end labeling followed by gel electrophoresis. Chemical activation of the mononucleotides is not required. Instead, synthesis of phosphodiester bonds is driven by the chemical potential of fluctuating anhydrous and hydrated conditions, with heat providing activation energy during dehydration. In the final hydration step, the RNA-like polymer is encapsulated within lipid vesicles. This process provides a laboratory model of an early stage of evolution toward an RNA World.
Model structure incorporated into recursive partial realization strategies

Abstract We present strategies for choosing from various canonical identifier structures in recursive partial realization algorithms for identification of state-space models. The different model structures considered in this paper have different estimation convergence rates. The relative convergence rates of the proposed deterministic algorithms are conjectured to be consistent with our (proposed) measure of the chosen model structure parameter information content. This measure, which we call the relative structural-algorithm time constant, is determined from the Fisher information matrix. This description of relative convergence rates apparently is independent of model order, so that either over- or under-determined model parameter convergence rates can be characterized by our measure of parameter information. In the proposed stochastic identifiers, the model parameter sensitivity itself is shown to have a significant effect on the initial convergence of the model parameter estimates, while final convergence rates are again strongly connected to the measure of parameter information. Some results on the minimization of the identification criterion are examined, especially those dealing with model structure influence on location and occurrence of the criterion minima. We present a strategy for increasing model convergence rates and estimation accuracy using our relative structural-algorithm time constant. Finally, we compare our method with a recently described iterative method.
Surgical treatment of gastrojejunal stomal ulcer

Abstract From this study we could tentatively assert that vagotomy alone is as effective as other procedures in curing gastrojejunal stomal ulcer and has the advantages of a lower complication rate, and possibly, a lower mortality rate. However, there are not enough patients in the study to draw definite conclusions. Furthermore, ten to twenty years more of follow-up examinations may drastically change the results. Therefore, in the good risk patient, we are not yet prepared to advise vagotomy alone to the exclusion of other procedures. We do believe strongly that it is indicated in the emergency, poor risk patient.
STATIONARY PHASE OF CULTURED MAMMALIAN CELLS (L5178Y)

The stationary phase of the mammalian cells L5178Y in culture can be divided into two stages: (a) an early phase characterized by the decline of mitotic index, followed by a stabilization of the cell number, and (b) a late stage, occurring several hours after the flattening of the growth curve, during which dead or dying cells appear in the cultures. The estimates of rates of cell progress showed that the rates from G1 to S and from G2 to M were affected in the early stationary phase. The main cause of cessation of increase in cell number in the early stationary phase is resulted from the decline in mitotic index, which is caused by prolongation of the G2 period. The importance of the G2 stage in regulating the cell growth is discussed in relation to other known situations in the literature.
Changes in Breast Density Associated With Initiation, Discontinuation, and Continuing Use of Hormone Replacement Therapy

ContextInitiation of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) has been shown to increase breast density. Evidence exists that increased breast density decreases mammographic sensitivity. The effects on breast density of discontinuing and continuing HRT have not been studied systematically.ObjectiveTo examine the effects of initiation, discontinuation, and continued use of HRT on breast density in postmenopausal women.Design, Setting, and ParticipantsObservational cohort study of 5212 naturally postmenopausal women aged 40 to 96 years and enrolled in a large health maintenance organization in western Washington State who had 2 screening mammograms between 1996 and 1998.Main Outcome MeasuresBreast density, assessed using the clinical radiologists' BI-RADS 4-point scale, compared among women who did not use HRT before either mammogram (nonusers); who used HRT before the first but not before the second mammogram (discontinuers); who used HRT before the second but not before the first mammogram (initiators); and who used HRT prior to both mammograms (continuing users).ResultsRelative to nonusers, women who initiated HRT were more likely to show increases in breast density (relative risk [RR], 2.57; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.12-3.08), while women who discontinued HRT use were more likely to show decreases in density (RR, 1.81; 95% CI, 1.06-2.98) and women who continued to use HRT were more likely to show both increases in density (RR, 1.33; 95% CI, 1.13-1.55) and sustained high density (RR, 1.45; 95% CI, 1.33-1.58).ConclusionsThese results indicate that breast density changes associated with HRT are dynamic, increasing with initiation, and decreasing with discontinuation.
Direct Coupling of Transcription and mRNA Processing through the Thermogenic Coactivator PGC-1

Transcription and mRNA processing are coupled events in vivo, but the mechanisms that coordinate these processes are largely unknown. PGC-1 is a transcriptional coactivator that plays a major role in the regulation of adaptive thermogenesis. PGC-1 also has certain motifs characteristic of splicing factors. We demonstrate here that mutations in the serine- and arginine-rich domain and RNA recognition motif of PGC-1 interfere with the ability of PGC-1 to induce mRNAs of target genes. These mutations also disrupt the ability of PGC-1 to co-localize and associate with RNA processing factors. PGC-1 can alter the processing of an mRNA, but only when it is loaded onto the promoter of the gene. These data demonstrate the coordinated regulation of RNA transcription and processing through PGC-1.
Forest Invasibility in Communities in Southeastern New York

While biological invasions have been the subject of considerable attention both historically and recently, the factors controlling the susceptibility of communities to plant invasions remain controversial. We surveyed 44 sites in southeastern New York State to examine the relationships between plant community characteristics, soil characteristics, and nonnative plant invasion. Soil nitrogen mineralization and nitrification rates were strongly related to the degree of site invasion (F= 30.2, P < 0.0001 and F= 11.8, P < 0.005, respectively), and leaf C : N ratios were negatively correlated with invasion (R 2= 0.22, P < 0.0001). More surprisingly, there was a strong positive relationship between soil calcium levels and the degree of site invasion (partial r= 0.70, P < 0.01), and there were also positive relationships between invasion and soil magnesium and phosphorus. We found, in addition, a positive factor-ceiling relationship between native species diversity and invasive species diversity. This positive relationship between native and invasive diversity contradicts earlier hypotheses concerning the relationships between species diversity and invasion, but supports some recent findings. Cluster analysis distinguished two broad forest community types at our sites: pine barrens and mixed hardwood communities. Invaders were significantly more abundant in mixed hardwood than in pine barrens communities (Mann–Whitney U = 682.5, P < 0.0001). Even when evaluating the mixed hardwood communities alone, invasion remained significantly positively correlated with soil fertility (calcium, magnesium, and net nitrogen mineralization rates). Soil texture and pH were not useful predictors of the degree to which forests were invaded. Nitrogen and calcium are critical components of plant development, and species better able to take advantage of increased nutrient availability may out-perform others at sites with higher nutrient levels. These results have implications for areas such as the eastern United States, where anthropogenic changes in the availability of nitrogen and calcium are affecting many plant communities.
Canine reduction in early man: A critique of three mechanical models

The possibility that projecting maxillary canines interfere with either a «rotary chewing» form of molar occlusion or the lateral excursion of the mandible has been used to suggest two dietary (non-weapon) selection models for canine reduction in the earliest male humans. A third model explaining canine reduction is based on the idea that a projecting mandibular canine could interfere with its tip-to-tip occlusion with the maxillary lateral incisor. In this paper, these three mechanical models are critically reexamined in light of more recent studies of occlusion in extant primates, detailed observations of anterior tooth morphology and wear in Miocene to Recent anthropoids, cheek tooth microwear inA. afarensis, and the currently accepted phylogeny and fossil record of the great apes and man.
Functional divergence in the growing family of RNA polymerases

In plants, unorthodox multisubunit RNA polymerases (RNAPs) play key roles in small interfering RNA (siRNA) genesis and function. In a recent issue of Molecular Cell , Ream et al. (2009) established a 12-subunit composition for Arabidopsis RNAPIV and RNAPV. Subunit and sequence divergence between RNAPIV-V and RNAPI-III suggests significant functional deviation of these intriguing RNAPs.
Doctoral programs in geography in the United States

This short intervention provides a snap shot of key concerns, developments, and challenges in the doctoral programs currently provided by Geography Departments in universities in the United States. It profiles overarching trends in recruitment and graduations, charts the standard routes students navigate through, documents the ever more systematic effort to provide greater professionalization for students and reflects upon the ramifications of the economic recession for doctoral students.
Solid solubility, phase transitions, thermal expansion, and compressibility in Sc 1−x Al x F 3

Abstract With the goal of thermal expansion control, the synthesis and properties of Sc1−xAlxF3 were investigated. The solubility limit of AlF3 in ScF3 at ~1340 K is ~50%. Solid solutions (x≤0.50) were characterized by synchrotron powder diffraction at ambient pressure between 100 and 900 K and at pressures 0.20) between ~600 and 800 K. The cubic solid solutions elastically stiffen on heating, while Al3+ substitution causes softening at a given temperature.
Effect of sugar price policy on U.S. imports of processed sugar-containing foods

Abstract The relationship between U.S. and world sugar prices, and U.S. import demand for four categories of sugar-containing products is examined. Results from econometric estimation indicate that U.S. intervention in the sugar market has helped to increase U.S. imports of some sugar-containing products, but that increased disposable income has played a more important role. Although some developing countries have benefitted from U.S. sugar policy by increasing their exports of sugar-containing products to the United States, U.S. sugar policy has helped imports from developed countries proportionately more than those from developing countries as a whole.