cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The impact of substance abuse

The new Democrats and the Newt Republicans want to reform welfare, reduce crime, cut taxes, reshape Medicare, increase worker productivity and international competitiveness, house the homeless, and free state and federal budgets from the shackles of prison and Medicaid costs. The greatest obstacle to this proposed reinvention of America is abuse and addiction involving all substances: tobacco, alcohol, pills, and drugs. American leaders can soft-pedal the gravity of the addiction epidemic because so many individuals are content with their own self-denial. Yet, it is hard to find an American whom substance abuse has not touched directly. The anecdotal evidence is everywhere, even among society’s most successful members; in the addiction to alcohol and pills of megastars like Elizabeth Taylor and Liza Minelli, in the death of Maryland college basketball star Len Bias from a cocaine overdose just as he was about to embark on a promising professional career, in the destructive cocaine and heroin dependence of Eugene Fodor, the first American to share top honours at the Tchaikovsky violin competition in Moscow, in the life threatening alcohol and drug addiction of Robin Williams, and the overdose death of Williams’ friend, John Belushi, in Cy Young Award winner Dwight Gooden’s cocaine abuse, and addiction-plagued pro football stars like Dexter Manley and Lawrence Taylor, and in the death of rock star Kurt Cobain. Those who work the halls of national and state legislatures know how treacherous the lure of alcohol and pills can be in the corridors of political success. We have seen this in the political wives Kitty Dukakis and Betty Ford, and in the long line of alcohol abusing politicians, including at the peaks of their careers two of the most powerful congressional committee chairmen ever, Wilbur Mills and Russell Long. And is there an American without a family member …
The Role of Interleukin-1 in Mediating Host Defense Mechanisms

Throughout the animal kingdom, one observes the elaborate measures and strategies which various species have developed in order to fight life-threatening microbial invasion. Clearly, before the antibiotic era, the outcome of this struggle between host and microbe was determined by the ability of each to develop evasion action. Mammals, in particular, have developed a large number of varied responses wich both signal the onset of microbial invasion and trigger host defense mechanisms. Some of the defenses include behavioral changes. For example, animals will often stop eating, reduce activity, conserve energy expenditure, and increase sleep-time when injured or infected. Despite these and substantial metabolic and hematological responses, the host is still highly vulnerable to infection. Since recorded time, efforts have been targeted at augmentation of various defense mechanisms in an attempt to shift the balance in favor of the host. Prof. P. De Somer’s contributions towards shifting this balance in the direction of the host scans years of great achievements. More recently, the Rega Institute has carried on this tradition by uncovering fundamental mechanisms by which the host accomplishes its defense. One of Dr. De Somer’s principal concepts for the Rega Institute was as a center to study host defense mechanisms.
Emorragia del tratto gastro-intestinale superiore (ed ipertensione portale)

Durante il nostro internato, negli anni’ 80, non passava settimana senza qualche intervento per ulcera duodenale o gastrica sanguinanti. La gastrectomia, l’antrectomia, la vagotomia tronculare e superselettiva in urgenza erano il nostro pane quotidiano.
Order-Disorder Transition and Disordered Structures

This chapter consists of two parts. The first part treats applications of Landau’s theory of symmetry and phase transitions as discussed in Chap. VII to a variety of order-disorder processes that have been mentioned in earlier chapters, namely: CsCl-type to bcc-type, CdCl2-type to NaCl-type, incommensurate ordering in Sc1-xS, and CdI2-type to NiAs-type. The second part is a discussion of a few known ordered defect structures which provide examples of interesting solid- state ordering phenomena that are at this time not well understood. These structures include Ti1-xO1-x, Lu3S4, and the defect titanium and chromium sulfides and WO2.41. There are many other cases of ordered defect structures, however, these examples are sufficient to convey the point that there are some rather complicated structural effects accompanying the ordering of vacancies in transition metal compounds.
Elastic anomalies across phase transitions of praseodymium to 12 GPa

The elastic properties of praseodymium (Pr) were investigated at pressure up to 12 GPa at room temperature using the ultrasonic interferometry technique. Softening and discontinuities in compressional (P) and shear (S) wave velocities were observed at around 2.5, 6.5, and 10.5 GPa, which are interpreted as indications of the phase transitions from Pr-I (dhcp) to Pr-II (fcc), Pr-II (fcc) to Pr-III (d-fcc), and Pr-III (d-fcc) to Pr-VII (monoclinic or orthorhombic), respectively. Discontinuities in compressibility have been observed across the phase transitions of I-II and II-III of Pr by an analysis of pressure derivatives of the elastic moduli. A comparison with the elastic behaviors of other lanthanide elements (e.g., Ce and La) suggests that the elastic anomalies associated with these phase transitions are likely to be caused by the 6s-5d electron transfer and the softening of acoustic phonon mode facilitated by decreased atomic distances under pressure.
The Coherence Problem: Finding Meaning in GWAS Complexity

Genome wide association studies (GWAS) for behavioral traits and psychiatric disorders have inspired both confident optimism and withering criticism. Although many recent findings from well powered GWAS have been replicated in independent data sets, the genes identified have pinned down few if any underlying causal mechanisms. Therefore, a key issue is whether or not the genes implicated by GWAS form a coherent story on their own and thus could in principle lead to insight into the biological mechanisms underlying the trait or disorder. We sketch here four scenarios for how genes may contribute to traits and disorders; genetic studies may help elucidate mechanisms under only two of our scenarios. We also describe here an approach to characterize, in an unbiased fashion, the molecular coherence of the gene sets implicated by GWAS of various behavioral and psychiatric phenotypes and we sketch how the four scenarios may be reflected in our molecular coherence measure.
The direct and accurate determination of major elements Ca, K, Mg and Na in water by HR-ICPMS

A direct, accurate and precise method is reported for major elements Ca, K, Mg and Na measurements in river and drinking water using a high resolution ICP-MS. Double isotope dilution calibration was used for the determination of Mg whereas the combined standard addition and internal standardization (Sc) was used for Ca, K and Na measurements. The method is validated by analysis fresh water SLRS-5, SLRS-6 and SRM1640a with satisfactory results characterized by high precisions of 0.055% to 0.66% RSD (or 0.29–1.8% relative combined uncertainty) for all four analytes, superior to those reported in earlier studies. As noted, use of internal standard Sc has significantly (3–33 times) improved measurement precisions for Ca, K and Na compared to standard addition calibration alone. The proposed method was applied for the determination of major elements Ca, K, Mg and Na in a candidate drinking water CRM AQUA-1. Values of 1.908 ± 0.007 µg g−1, 8.27 ± 0.14 µg g−1, 0.660 ± 0.010 µg g−1 and 13.76 ± 0.05 µg g−1 (u, k = 1) were obtained for Mg, Ca, K and Na in AQUA-1 drinking water, respectively.
Abstract WP323: Significant Reduction in Prehospital Evaluation and Door-to-Treatment Times With a Mobile Stroke Unit

Background: The University of Colorado Mobile Stroke Unit (UC MSU) provides ambulance-mounted CT scanning and tele-stroke neurologic assessment in the Denver, CO, metropolitan area. As one of the f...
Carnitine Is Associated With Atherosclerotic Risk and Myocardial Infarction in HIV -Infected Adults.

Background People living with HIV ( PLWH ) have an increased risk of myocardial infarction ( MI ). Changes in the gut microbiota that occur with chronic HIV infection could play a role in HIV -associated atherosclerosis. Choline, carnitine, betaine, and trimethylamine N-oxide are small molecules that are, in part, metabolized or produced by the gut microbiome. We hypothesized that these metabolites would be associated with carotid artery intima-media thickness and MI in PLWH . Methods and Results Carotid artery intima-media thickness was measured at baseline and at a median interval of 4 years in 162 PLWH from the SCOPE (Study of the Consequences of the Protease Inhibitor Era) cohort in San Francisco, CA . Separately, 105 PLWH (36 cases with type I adjudicated MI and 69 controls without MI ) were selected from the Center for AIDS Research Network of Integrated Clinical Systems, a multicenter clinic-based cohort. Controls were matched by demographics, CD 4 cell count, and duration of viral suppression. In the SCOPE cohort, higher carnitine levels had a significant association with presence of carotid plaque and greater baseline and progression of mean carotid artery intima-media thickness after adjusting for traditional cardiovascular disease risk factors. In the treated and suppressed subgroup, these associations with carnitine remained significant after adjustment for cardiovascular disease risk factors. In the Center for AIDS Research Network of Integrated Clinical Systems cohort, the risk of MI was significantly increased in subjects with carnitine levels in the highest quartile after adjustment for cardiovascular disease risk factors. Conclusions In PLWH , including the treated and suppressed subgroup, carnitine is independently associated with carotid artery intima-media thickness, carotid plaque, and MI in 2 separate cohorts. These results emphasize the potential role of gut microbiota in HIV -associated atherosclerosis and MI , especially in relation to carnitine metabolism.
Teacher Ratings of Social Skills as Longitudinal Predictors of Long-Term Arrest Status in a Sample of At-Risk Males.

The study described here is one of a number of longitudinal reports involving an at-risk group of 80 males we have been following since 1984 in collaboration with the Oregon Social Learning Center ...
Evolution of potential biomarkers of acute muscle injury after physical exercise

Skeletal muscle injury is a frequent event and diagnosis using the classical blood markers sometimes produces unsatisfactory results. Therefore, objective of the study was to detect new biomarkers in plasma, saliva and urine in response to acute muscle damage induced by physical exercise. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 27 American football players. Before the physical exercises (T0), 60 minutes (T1) and 24 hours (T2) after physical exercise, was determined the clinical, biochemical and molecular parameters, including ADA, TBARS, leukocytes, lymphocytes and comet assay. The serum ADA was significantly higher in T1 and T2, in the urine there was a significant increase in T1, in the saliva there was no significant differences. There was an increase in serum TBARS in T2, saliva and urine in T1. The leukocytes increased in T1 and decreased in T2. Through the comet assay was observed significant DNA damage in T1 and T2. Serum and urinary ADA activity, serum, urinary and salivary TBARS are robust and promising biomarkers of acute muscle injury and that the comet assay allows a quick and effective evaluation of DNA lesions induced by physical exercise and could be used to monitor athletes avoiding injuries that are more serious.
Amphoteric Soy Protein-Rich Fibers for Rapid and Selective Adsorption and Desorption of Ionic Dyes

Uniquely amphoteric soy protein (SP)-rich ultra-fine fibers (231 nm average diameter) have been facilely electrospun from aq. colloids and rendered water-insoluble by heating (150 °C, 12 h) to be highly stable over 14 d (pH 7) as well as under extremely acidic to basic (pH 0–10, 2 d) or at boil (2 h) conditions. The SP-rich fibrous membranes are easily tuned to be charged either negatively by deprotonation above or positively by protonation below the 4.5 PI of SPs. This pH-responsive amphoterism has been demonstrated for rapid adsorption of either cationic or anionic dyes, selective adsorption of either dye from their mixtures, and repetitive adsorption/desorption to recover and reuse both dyes and membranes. Chemisorption and heterogeneous adsorption of ionic dyes was confirmed by close fitting to the pseudo-second-order kinetic model (R2 = 0.9977–0.9999) and Freundlich adsorption isotherm (R2 = 0.9879). This is the first report of water-resilient and pH-robust ultrafine fibrous membranes fabricated from...
Ocular side effects of antirheumatic medications: a qualitative review.

Topic This paper reviews the ocular side effects of medications used in the treatment of rheumatological conditions. Clinical relevance Rheumatic diseases are inflammatory conditions that may affect the skin, blood vessels, joints, muscles and internal organs. Immunosuppressive agents are often used as treatment and while powerful, they carry side effects and toxicities that need careful monitoring. Ophthalmic complications have been reported with the use of antirheumatic medications; however, there is a lack of literature synthesising these reports. This paper addresses this gap and hopes to inform both rheumatologists and ophthalmologists as they work together on the management of patients with rheumatological conditions. Methods PubMed literature search was conducted from November to September 2019 searching for ocular side effects with the use of 25 rheumatological drugs. Results A total of 111 papers were included in this review. Adverse side effects were divided into non-infectious and infectious causes. Traditional disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) were associated with pruritus, irritation and dryness of the conjunctiva while biologic DMARDS showed reports of new-onset/recurrent uveitis and demyelinating conditions. Infectious side effects included episodes of cytomegalovirus retinitis, toxoplasmic chorioretinitis and endophthalmitis. Other serious side effects were encountered and included in this review. Conclusion The goal of this paper is to inform healthcare providers about potential ocular side effects from rheumatological medications. Healthcare providers are encouraged to learn more about these ophthalmic complications and find relevance within their clinical practice.
Chapter e6 – Embedded security

This chapter is about security of embedded devices. Throughout this book, the effects of harsh environments in which we require many of our embedded devices to operate have been discussed in some detail. But even an embedded processor in a clean, warm, dry, stationary, and even physically safe situation is actually in an extremely harsh environment. That is because every processor everywhere can be subject to the harshness of cyber attacks. We know that even “air-gapped” systems can be attacked by the determined attacker as we saw happen with the famous Stuxnet attack. This chapter will discuss the nature of this type of harsh environment, what enables the cyber attacks we hear about every day, what are the principles we need to understand to work toward a much higher level of security, and we will present new developments that may change the game in our favor.
Biologically informed deep neural network for prostate cancer classification and discovery

Determination of molecular features that mediate clinically aggressive phenotypes in prostate cancer (PrCa) remains a major biological and clinical challenge. Here, we developed a biologically informed deep learning model (P-NET) to stratify PrCa patients by treatment resistance state and evaluate molecular drivers of treatment resistance for therapeutic targeting through complete model interpretability. Using a molecular cohort of 1,238 prostate cancers, we demonstrated that P-NET can predict cancer state using molecular data that is superior to other modeling approaches. Moreover, the biological interpretability within P-NET revealed established and novel molecularly altered candidates, such as MDM4 and FGFR1, that were implicated in predicting advanced disease and validated in vitro. Broadly, biologically informed fully interpretable neural networks enable preclinical discovery and clinical prediction in prostate cancer and may have general applicability across cancer types.
Experimentally Estimated Impacts of School Vouchers on Educational Attainments of Moderately and Severely Disadvantaged Students.

For decades, social theorists have posited—and descriptive accounts have shown—that students isolated by both social class and ethnicity suffer extreme deprivations that limit the effectiveness of ...
Yoni Rei: Construcción y destrucción de un cuerpo posthumano

In his fiction, the Mexican writer Pepe Rojo presents the most anguished visions of a world that moves into the liquid modernity (Bauman, 2003), which also represent the implications of the posthuman bodies (Braidotti, 1996; Ferrando, 2014). Considering this, this paper will discuss “Conversaciones con Yoni Rei” [Conversations with Yoni Rei] (1998). There, Rojo develops the implications of a society in which have been transcended both the modern limitations and the ethical restrictions, as Bauman proposes as characteristics of a liquid modernity. In this text, the depiction of Yoni Rei starts in his embryonic stage, when he is sold to a big transnational corporation that modifies his body, producing a failed experimental cyborg. But also, the story presents the moment of success when the character becomes a monstrous celebrity; he is the target of a spectacularized society, a la Debord (1967), which has a high need for violence as entertainment. In this article, I hypothesize that Rojo´s fiction expresses the way in which the body becomes the intersection of generalized violence (technological, corporative, social violence, and self-infringed violence) in the posthuman world: he is a man who acts in alliance with science against his own body; while he tries to put in a crisis his identity; through his construction-deconstruction of his own posthuman body, paradoxically, he is humanized.
Henry J. Friendly: Designed to Be a Great Federal Judge

Who do you believe are great judges? Why do those judges make your list? Does Henry J. Friendly make your list as a great judge? He certainly makes mine. This Article challenges judges, attorneys, legal academics, and law students to explore the elementary question of what makes a great judge while asking whether Friendly was one. To aid that pursuit, this Article: (1) briefly lists the traits that make a great judge, (2) recounts Friendly’s amazing academic and legal careers that equipped him with the necessary traits to be a great judge, (3) discusses Friendly’s rise to the Second Circuit and his outsized presence on that court, and most importantly, (4) analyzes Friendly’s historic and lasting contributions to the law. Because Friendly exemplified all of the traits of a great judge, I conclude that he was a great judge. I recommend that you, too, contemplate, study, and discover what made Friendly a great judge. In the process, you might become a better judge, attorney, legal academic, or law student. Friendly’s impact on you would then only add to his monumental and lasting impact on the law itself.
Meta-analysis and systematic review of contrast-enhanced ultrasound in evaluating the treatment response after locoregional therapy of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) is a useful tool to assess treatment response after percutaneous ablation or transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Here, we performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the usefulness of CEUS in identifying residual tumor after locoregional therapy. PubMed, Scopus, and Cochrane library databases were searched from their inception until March 8, 2021, for diagnostic test accuracy studies comparing CEUS to a reference standard for identifying residual tumors after locoregional therapy of HCC. The pooled sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, and diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) were obtained using a bivariate random effects model. Subgroup analyses were performed by stratifying the studies based on study design, type of locoregional therapy, CEUS criteria for residual tumor, timing of CEUS follow up, and type of standard reference. Two reviewers independently evaluated 1479 publications. After full-text review, 142 studies were found to be relevant, and 43 publications (50 cohorts) were finally included. The overall sensitivity of CEUS in detection of residual disease estimated from the bivariate random effects model was 0.85 (95% CI 0.80–0.89). Similarly, the overall specificity was 0.94 (95% CI 0.91–0.96). The diagnostic accuracy was 93.5%. The DOR was 70.1 (95% CI 62.2–148), and the AUROC was 0.95. Importantly, subgroup analysis showed no apparent differences in the diagnostic performance between locoregional therapy (TACE vs. ablation) and criteria used to define residual enhancement, timing of performing CEUS, study design, or type of reference standard. CEUS is a highly accurate method to identify HCC residual tumor after TACE or percutaneous ablation.
Family Factors of Low-Income African-American Youth Associated with Substance Use: An Exploratory Analysis

Objectives: An extensive body of literature has identified several risk and protective factors for adolescent substance use. Several facets of family relationships have been identified in the gener...
Assessment of knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors relative to cervical cancer and the pap smear among adolescent girls in West Virginia

Abstract Background and Methods. Questionnaires assessing knowledge of, attitudes toward, and behaviors relative to cervical cancer and its prevention were administered to 279 tenth‐grade girls. Results. Eighty‐four percent had heard of cervical cancer, and 83% had heard of the Pap smear. Sexual intercourse with multiple partners and cigarette smoking were risk factors identified by 65% and 40% of these students, respectively. Forty‐eight percent reported being sexually active. This group, compared with those not sexually active, was more likely to 1) identify the Pap test as a test involving a vaginal examination, 2) use tobacco products, and 3) be exposed to tobacco smoke. The most common barriers to obtaining a Pap test reported by those sexually active were embarrassment (64%),’ pain/discomfort (57%), fear of cancer (27%), fear of parents discovering sexual activity (25%), and cost (13%). Conclusions. Based on the information obtained in this study, the authors recommend changes in school health progr...
Estimating palaeowind strength from beach deposits

Abstract The geological record of past wind conditions is well expressed in the coarse gravel, cobble and boulder beach deposits of Quaternary palaeolakes in the Great Basin of the western USA and elsewhere. This paper describes a technique, using the particle-size distribution of beach deposits, to reconstruct palaeowind conditions when the lakes were present. The beach particle technique (BPT) is first developed using coarse beach deposits from the 1986–87 highstand of the Great Salt Lake in Utah, combined with instrumental wind records from the same time period. Next, the BPT is used to test the hypothesis that wind conditions were more severe than at present during the last highstand of Lake Lahontan (≈ 13 ka), which only lasted a decade or two at most. The largest 50 beach clasts were measured at nine beach sites located along the north, west and south sides of Antelope Island in the Great Salt Lake, all of which formed in 1986–87. At these sites, the largest clast sizes range from 10 to 28 cm (b-axis), and fetch lengths range from 25 to 55 km. Nearshore wave height was calculated by assuming that the critical threshold velocity required to move the largest clasts represents a minimum estimate of the breaking wave velocity, which is controlled by wave height. Shoaling transformations are undertaken to estimate deep-water wave heights and, ultimately, wind velocity. Wind estimates for the nine sites, using the BPT, range from 6·5 to 17·4 m s−1, which is in reasonable agreement with the instrumental record from Salt Lake City Airport. The same technique was applied to eight late Pleistocene beaches surrounding the Carson Sink sub-basin of Lake Lahontan, Nevada. Using the BPT, estimated winds for the eight sites range from 9·7 to 27·1 m s−1. The strongest winds were calculated for a cobble/boulder beach with a fetch of 25 km. Instrumental wind records for the 1992–99 period indicate that wind events of 9–12 m s−1 are common and that the strongest significant wind event (≥ 9 m s−1 for ≥ 3 h) reached an average velocity of 15·5 m s−1. Based on this preliminary comparison, it appears that the late Pleistocene western Great Basin was a windier place than at present, at least for a brief time.
Regional and Temporal Differences in Nitrate Trends Discerned from Long‐Term Water Quality Monitoring Data

Riverine nitrate (NO3) is a well-documented driver of eutrophication and hypoxia in coastal areas. The development of the elevated river NO3 concentration is linked to anthropogenic inputs from municipal, agricultural, and atmospheric sources. The intensity of these sources has varied regionally, through time, and in response to multiple causes such as economic drivers and policy responses. This study uses long-term water quality, land use, and other ancillary data to further describe the evolution of river NO3 concentrations at 22 monitoring stations in the United States (U.S.). The stations were selected for long-term data availability and to represent a range of climate and land-use conditions. We examined NO3 at the monitoring stations, using a flow-weighting scheme meant to account for interannual flow variability allowing greater focus on river chemical conditions. River NO3 concentration increased strongly during 1945-1980 at most of the stations and have remained elevated, but stopped increasing during 1981-2008. NO3 increased to a greater extent at monitoring stations in the Midwest U.S. and less so at those in the Eastern and Western U.S. We discuss 20th Century agricultural development in the U.S. and demonstrate that regional differences in NO3 concentration patterns were strongly related to an agricultural index developed using principal components analysis. This unique century-scale dataset adds to our understanding of long-term NO3 patterns in the U.S.
Detection of vulnerability loci by association and sib-pair methods.

A haplotype-based haplotype relative risk (HHRR) analysis of simulated data for 200 affected offspring and their parents (Genetic Analysis Workshop 9, Problem 1) detected linkage disequilibrium at 2 of 360 marker loci. An additive model was suggested but not proven by haplotypes of affected vs. unaffected offspring. These findings were consistent with the generating model. Affected sib pair analysis failed to detect additional loci. Discussion among workshop participants suggested that the chi-square test used here (2 [transmitted vs. nontransmitted] x n [alleles] for each locus) was invalid because of the nonindependence of proportions of transmitted alleles. In post-workshop analyses, transmission disequilibrium tests (TDTs) for each allele at each locus detected only the true associations if p values were corrected by one of two methods: Bonferroni correction for 2,035 TDTs, or correcting each test for n (number of tests at the locus) minus 1 and then for the number of loci tested. Screening loci for linkage disequilibrium requires careful attention to correction for multiple comparisons. ©1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
2-(9-Anthrylmethyl-ideneamino)-4-methyl-phenol.

The title compound, C22H17NO, is a novel Schiff base synthesized via a condensation reaction between 9-anthracenecarboxaldehyde and 2-amino-p-cresol. The asymmetric unit contains two independent mol­ecules that are joined by an O—H⋯OH hydrogen bond. An intra­molecular O—H⋯N hydrogen bond occurs in each mol­ecule. π-stacking about inversion centers was observed between adjacent phenol rings [centroid–centroid distance = 3.850 (2) A] and adjacent anthracene rings [centroid–centroid distance = 3.834 (2) A]. The C—N=C—C torsion angles between the phenol and anthracene rings are close to 180° with values of 174.06 (15) and 179.85 (14)°.
The Expected Impact of Managed Health Care Organizations on the Research: Intensive U.S. Pharmaceutical Industry

The purpose of this research was to assess the expected impact of managed health care (MHC) on the research-intensive U.S. pharmaceutical industry. The data were collected with a comprehensive questionnaire mailed to representatives of 30 manufacturers and 72 pharmacy schools. MHC plans are expected to cover 45% of all outpatient prescriptions in 5 years and approximately 70% in 10 years. The respondents also expect changes in the development and marketing of new drug products to include pharmacoeconomic study components. These changes represent opportunities that may not be fully apparent to many pharmacy educators.
An introduction to multilevel secure relational database management systems

Multilevel Security (MLS) is a capability that allows information with different classifications to be available in an information system, with users having different security clearances and authorizations, while preventing users from accessing information for which they are not cleared or authorized. It is a security policy that has grown out of research and development efforts funded mostly by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to address some of the drawbacks of the single level mode of operation that was used at the DoD. The goal was to build and deploy an MLS-compliant environment (e.g., Networks, Operating Systems, Database Systems) that would provide a much needed efficiency in processing and distributing classified information by providing security through computer security, communications security, and trusted system techniques instead of using physical controls, administrative procedures, and personnel security. As Relational Database Management Systems (RDBMS) are at the heart of the DoD's information system, significant research and development efforts have been put into building multilevel secure RDBMS, which have led to the emergence of a number of multilevel secure RDBMS solutions, including commercial ones. Over the past few years and with the increase of security concerns, MLS compliance has become a major requirement from a number U.S. Federal Government agencies that appear to have grown beyond the traditional agencies that require such type and level of security. This paper introduces MLS, and outlines the challenges and complexities of building a multilevel secure RDBMS. The paper also gives concrete examples of both research and commercial multilevel secure RDBMS and describes how they met the above challenges and complexities.
Signal Detection Theory in the Analysis of Human Vigilance

This note analyzes several recent experimental and theoretical reports on vigilance that use the theory of signal detectability (TSD). The psychological interpretation of the TSD measure of criterion, β, as an index of conservativeness during a vigil does not appear to be valid. As computed, β is probably an artifact due to pooling observations made under different conditions of attentiveness during a long vigil. The basic problems of vigilance research remain: to determine the condiitons that affect attentiveness in signal detection tasks.
An American Gaucho in Argentina

Peter Fuller, an American executive with Great Plains Foods of Iowa travels to Buenos Aires to investigate the possibility of forming a strategic alliance with Comidas Gaucho, an Argentine beef processor. While the potential gains from the alliance appear to be great for both companies, difficulties develop during the business trip that cause Peter to reconsider the potential relationship.
Whole Rolled Sunflower Seeds with or without Additional Limestone in Lactating Dairy Cattle Rations

Thirty lactating Holstein cows were in a continuous trial from 21 to 120 days postpartum to evaluate diets containing whole, rolled sunflower seeds with or without additional limestone. Cows were fed individually total mixed rations of (dry matter) 47% corn silage, 9% alfalfa hay, and 44% concentrate. Concentrates were corn and soybean meal (control); corn, soybean meal, and 22% sunflower seeds; or corn, soybean meal, and sunflower seeds plus 3.5% additional limestone. Milk yield (32.2, 32.0, and 32.8 kg/day) was similar among rations. Yield of 4% fat-corrected milk was lower for cows fed sunflower seeds without additional limestone (30.2, 28.1, and 30.2 kg/day) because of lower milk fat percentages (3.57, 3.19, and 3.51). Milk protein percentage tended to be lower for cows fed sunflower seeds with additional limestone (3.01, 2.97, and 2.90). Milk, flavor score was acceptable but tended to be lower for milk from cows fed sunflower seeds with additional limestone (8.4, 8.5, and 7.9). Milk fat from cows fed sunflower seed rations contained less carbon-14:0, 16:0, and 16:1 fatty acids but more carbon-18:0. Dry matter intakes were 21.0, 18.4, and 20.0 kg/day. Dry matter digestibilities, body weight changes, and ruminal volatile fatty acid concentrations were similar among treatments. Total cholesterol in blood serum was elevated in cows fed sunflower seed rations. Insoluble salts of fatty acids were increased in ruminal fluid dry matter from cows fed sunflower seeds but were not increased further by additional limestone. Concentrations of nonesterified carbon-18:1 fatty acids in ruminal fluid dry matter were lower for cows fed sunflower seeds with additional limestone.
Sclerostin inhibition reverses skeletal fragility in an Lrp5-deficient mouse model of OPPG syndrome.

Osteoporosis pseudoglioma syndrome (OPPG) is a rare genetic disease that produces debilitating effects in the skeleton. OPPG is caused by mutations in LRP5, a WNT co-receptor that mediates osteoblast activity. WNT signaling through LRP5, and also through the closely related receptor LRP6, is inhibited by the protein sclerostin (SOST). It is unclear whether OPPG patients might benefit from the anabolic action of sclerostin neutralization therapy (an approach currently being pursued in clinical trials for postmenopausal osteoporosis) in light of their LRP5 deficiency and consequent osteoblast impairment. To assess whether loss of sclerostin is anabolic in OPPG, we measured bone properties in a mouse model of OPPG (Lrp5−/−), a mouse model of sclerosteosis (Sost−/−), and in mice with both genes knocked out (Lrp5−/−;Sost−/−). Lrp5−/−;Sost−/− mice have larger, denser, and stronger bones than do Lrp5−/− mice, indicating that SOST deficiency can improve bone properties via pathways that do not require LRP5. Next, we determined whether the anabolic effects of sclerostin depletion in Lrp5−/− mice are retained in adult mice by treating 17-week-old Lrp5−/− mice with a sclerostin antibody for 3 weeks. Lrp5+/+ and Lrp5−/− mice each exhibited osteoanabolic responses to antibody therapy, as indicated by increased bone mineral density, content, and formation rates. Collectively, our data show that inhibiting sclerostin can improve bone mass whether LRP5 is present or not. In the absence of LRP5, the anabolic effects of SOST depletion can occur via other receptors (such as LRP4/6). Regardless of the mechanism, our results suggest that humans with OPPG might benefit from sclerostin neutralization therapies.
Solution- and solid-phase syntheses of substituted guanidinocarboxylic acids.

A library of guanidine-based compounds was produced to mimic the lead compound 1, which is a substance known to have intensely sweet-taste characteristics. Libraries of guanidinocarboxylic acids were therefore prepared via two synthetic methods. The solid-phase method involving trapping of solution-phase carbodiimides by supported amines was used to produce N,N‘-dialkyl derivatives (Scheme 1). The second solid-phase method, featuring supported carbodiimides and solution-phase amines (Scheme 2), was devised to prepare N,N‘-disubstituted and N,N‘,N‘-trisubstituted guanidinocarboxylic acids. A small collection of guanadinoacetic acid dimers and trimers was also prepared, but this time via a solution-phase coupling of carbodiimides to a polyamine linker.
Photorefractive dark conductivity in Cr-doped strontium barium niobate.

We present the theoretical and experimental results of photorefractive two-beam coupling in Cr-doped strontium barium niobate:60, using thermal excitation (i.e., dark conductivity) to model the experimentally observed temperature-dependent behavior of the two-beam coupling constant and response time.
The CEC Professional Standards: a Foucauldian genealogy of the re/construction of special education

This paper presents a Foucauldian analysis of the 2003 Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) Professional Standards. It examines the role of the CEC and their professional standards in the construction of the special educator and the student with disabilities and the potential implications that these constructions have for inclusive education. Furthermore, this analysis will establish the standards serve as a vehicle for the reproduction of the special educator who in turn reproduces the special education student, which has preserved and protected the special education profession throughout the past 25 years. The CEC Professional Standards represent over 100 years of supposed ‘progress’ in special education; but progress towards what end and to whose benefit? It is my assertion that these standards have played a vital role in the construction of the special educator, the individual with disabilities and the special education profession as a whole. Furthermore, the standards, and by extension, the social ...
Ultrasonic wound debridement.

Abstract Current management of hand injuries includes debridement by abrasive scrubbing with antibacterial detergents, surgical excision, or pressure irrigation. A rat model with a contaminated laceration was used to study the efficacy of ultrasonic debridement to diminish bacterial counts and particulate matter in open wounds. Ultrasonic debridement of hand wounds has several advantages over the current methods of wound debridement. These include a technically simple procedure that is effective in the removal of particulate matter and the reduction of bacterial counts ( p
Stable and Bifurcation Modes of Relativistic and Ponderomotive Self-Channeling

A method to eliminate the bifurcation of powerful laser channels and restore the stable single-channel mode of relativistic/ponderomotive self-channeling has been experimentally verified. Recent experiments confirm the presence of the anisotropic component in Xe(L) emission induced from Xe target irradiated with stable channels and indicate the strong amplification of certain Xe(L) lines at ~ 2.9 A.
Automated microscopy system for mosaic acquisition and processing

An automatic mosaic acquisition and processing system for a multiphoton microscope is described for imaging large expanses of biological specimens at or near the resolution limit of light microscopy. In a mosaic, a larger image is created from a series of smaller images individually acquired systematically across a specimen. Mosaics allow wide-field views of biological specimens to be acquired without sacrificing resolution, providing detailed views of biological specimens within context. The system is composed of a fast-scanning, multiphoton, confocal microscope fitted with a motorized, high-precision stage and custom-developed software programs for automatic image acquisition, image normalization, image alignment and stitching. Our current capabilities allow us to acquire data sets comprised of thousands to tens of thousands of individual images per mosaic. The large number of individual images involved in creating a single mosaic necessitated software development to automate both the mosaic acquisition and processing steps. In this report, we describe the methods and challenges involved in the routine creation of very large scale mosaics from brain tissue labelled with multiple fluorescent probes.
Appendicitis in leukemia and aplastic anemia: neutropenia not a contraindication to surgery

The management of the neutropenic child with abdominal pain can be difficult. It has been suggested that the clinical findings are unreliable in assessing the need for surgical intervention. This retrospective study of ten neutropenic children who underwent emergent appendectomy at this institution over the past 21 years suggests that careful clinical evaluation is essential in planning therapy. Pain was a universal complaint and was associated with fever in 70% of patients. Clinical assessment was correct in 80% of this group, whose mean absolute neutrophil count was 0.59±0.36 (mean ± SD) at the time of presentation. All patients survived surgery and mean hospitalization was 12.8±5.3 days. We conclude that appendectomy can be performed safely in the presence of neutropenia.
Diastolic function assessed by cardiac MRI using longitudinal left ventricular fractional shortening

Abstract Introduction Diastolic dysfunction contributes significantly to diastolic heart failure. We examined the use of cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) using midwall longitudinal fractional shortening (MLFS) in the evaluation of transthoracic echocardiogram (TTE)-evidenced diastolic dysfunction. Methods A total of 80 patients with CMR within 6months of TTE and normal ejection fraction were identified. MLFS was calculated as percentage change in distance from the anterior mitral leaflet base to the apical endocardium in systole and diastole. Results MLFS of grade II/III [0.14 (0.12–0.16)] was significantly lower than that of grade 0/I [0.20 (0.19–0.21)], P =.001. MLFS detected age-related changes with grade 0 [0.22 (0.21–0.23)] significantly lower than grade I [0.18 (0.16–0.20)], P =.001. Conclusion TTE-evidenced diastolic dysfunction can be reliably identified by CMR using MLFS.
Simple gravity corer suitable for educators

Instructions for construction and use of a simple and inexpensive sediment coring device are presented. The sampler is suitable for use in high school and undergraduate science courses.
Immunosuppressive treatment in multiple sclerosis

Immunosuppressive therapy has been used to treat multiple sclerosis (MS) for over 30 years based on the hypothesis that MS is a T cell-mediated autoimmune disease. The most commonly used immunosuppressive agents in MS are azathioprine, cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, and mitoxantrone. Since the interferons and glatiramer acetate have become widely used in MS, immunosuppressive agents have found a role given as combination therapy or as monotherapy in instances where the interferons and glatiramer acetate are not effective in controlling the disease. Like the interferons and glatiramer acetate, immunosuppressive drugs are most efficacious in stages of MS that have an inflammatory component as evidenced by relapses and/or gadolinium-enhancing lesions on MRI or in patients in earlier stages of disease where inflammation predominates over degenerative processes in the CNS. There is no evidence of efficacy in primary progressive MS or later stages of secondary progressive MS. In our studies of cyclophosphamide, we have found that although it is a general immunosuppressant that affects both T cell and B cell functions, cyclophosphamide has selective immune effects in MS by suppressing IL-12- and Th1-type responses and enhancing Th2/Th3 responses (IL-4, IL-10, TGF-beta; eosinophils in peripheral blood). Cyclophosphamide and mitoxantrone are the most common immunosuppressive drugs used in patients with rapidly worsening MS whose disease is not controlled by beta-interferon or glatiramer acetate.
The Limits of the State: Beyond Statist Approaches and their Critics

The state has always been difficult to define. Its boundary with society appears elusive, porous, and mobile. I argue that this elusiveness should not be overcome by sharper definitions, but explored as a clue to the state's nature. Analysis of the literature shows that neither rejecting the state in favor of such concepts as the political system, nor “bringing it back in,” has dealt with this boundary problem. The former approach founders on it, the latter avoids it by a narrow idealism that construes the state-society distinction as an external relation between subjective and objective entities. A third approach, presented here, can account for both the salience of the state and its elusiveness. Reanalyzing evidence presented by recent theorists, state-society boundaries are shown to be distinctions erected internally, as an aspect of more complex power relations. Their appearance can be historically traced to technical innovations of the modern social order, whereby methods of organization and control internal to the social processes they govern create the effect of a state structure external to those processes.
Ureteroscopy and ureteropyeloscopy

Transurethral endoscopic access to the upper urinary tract using rigid optics is evolving into a significant addition to the specialty of urology. The basic endoscopic expertise urologists have perfected for use in the urethra, prostate, and bladder is readily transposed to the ureter and renal pelvis. Indications, precautions, instrumentation, and procedural techniques are detailed.
The heparin binding domain of vitronectin is the region that is required to enhance insulin-like growth factor-I signaling.

We have shown that vitronectin (Vn) binding to a cysteine loop sequence within the extracellular domain of the β3-subunit (amino acids 177–184) of αVβ3 is required for the positive effects of Vn on IGF-I signaling. When Vn binding to this sequence is blocked, IGF-I signaling in smooth muscle cells is impaired. Because this binding site is distinct from the site on β3 to which the Arg-Gly-Asp sequence of extracellular matrix ligands bind (amino acids 107–171), we hypothesized that the region of Vn that binds to the cysteine loop on β3 is distinct from the region that contains the Arg-Gly-Asp sequence. The results presented in this study demonstrate that this heparin binding domain (HBD) is the region of Vn that binds to the cysteine loop region of β3 and that this region is sufficient to mediate the positive effects of Vn on IGF-I signaling. We provide evidence that binding of the HBD of Vn to αVβ3 has direct effects on the activation state of β3 as measured by β3 phosphorylation. The increase in β3 phosph...
Intelligent Computer Aided Design, Analysis, Optimization and Improvement of Thermodynamic Systems

Research in Cognitive Science potentially offers tremendous benefits in education. Psychological studies of human learning yields insights as to what forms of instruction might be most beneficial for particular purposes and what mental models and misconceptions students might have. Artificial Intelligence (Al) research provides formal representations and reasoning techniques that can be used in new kinds of educational software which itself contains a deep understanding of the material being taught. These scientific advances, coupled with dramatic changes in computing technology provide new opportunities for exploring how intelligent software can be used in education.
The electronic absorption spectrum of crystallinechromyl chloride at 1.7°K

The spectrum of chromyl chloride, CrO 2 Cl 2 , in the region 6000 A-3800 A hasbeen obtained for the crystalline substance at temperatures down to 1.7°K. Three absorption systems have been observed, together with the start of a fourth system at λ
Estimation of Stratospheric Flow from Satellite 15-Micron Radiation

Abstract Ten-day average “thermal winds” derived from TIROS VII in the CO2 band are compared to the corresponding geostrophic winds at 10 mb at latitudes 40–60N. The correlations for the west-east components are of order 0.8, those for the south-north components, 0.5. Much of the correlation in the U components is due to concurrent seasonal trend.