cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Magruder Textbook of 1923 on American Government: An Early Version of Civic Engagement

Frank Abbott Magruder, who taught Politics at Princeton and Political Science at Oregon Agricultural College, published a textbook in 1921 that has to become a classic. American Government in 1921 with a consideration of the Problems of Democracy was intended for use in the high schools. Today, much revised, it remains a standard text. Reading the original, one is impressed with its gravitas and the extent to which the author respected the intelligence and impending adulthood of his readers. They were told that government was serious business and that each of them was expected to take that responsibility seriously. Today we would say that Magruder was thinking in terms of civic engagement of a very serious type.
Collision induced dissociation studies of protonated alcohol and alcohol—water clusters by atmospheric pressure ionization tandem mass spectrometry.: Part 2. Ethanol, propanol and butanol

Abstract Protonated clusters of alcohols, (ROH) n H + , and alcohol—water heteroclusters, (ROH) n ((H 2 O) m H + , where R = C 2 H 5 , n -C 3 H 7 , iso-C 3 H 7 , n -C 4 H 9 , iso-C 4 H 9 , sec -C 4 H 9 and tert -C 4 H 9 , were formed in an atmospheric pressure ionization (API) corona discharge source, through proton transfer and displacement ion—molecule reactions with (H 2 O) n H + . The cluster ions were then subjected to collision induced dissociation (CID) in a tandem mass spectrometer (API-MS—MS). Stabilities of the clusters were examined through cluster size distribution analysis and CID reaction channels. The results gave insights about the structure and energetics of the clusters. The heteroclusters demonstrated a strong preference for water elimination over alcohol elimination, indicating that the alcohol moiety was the favored protonation site. The CID results indicated that in the heteroclusters water ligands were near the periphery of a chain, along which water and alcohol molecules were hydrogen bonded. This structural model could rationalize product ion formation through a single hydrogen bond cleavage for mild CID conditions and through breaking of two hydrogen bonds or a single bond after proton migration along the chain under enhanced fragmentation conditions. CID of protonated alcohols showed differences in the cleavage of CO vs. OH + bonds, as well as variance in product ion distributions in the alcohols.
Coded M-ary orthogonal signal sets in DS-CDMA systems with multi-user interference

The performance of M-ary orthogonal signalling in multi-user, direct-sequence spread spectrum systems is investigated. The analysis is oriented toward mobile cellular telephony, and models the performance of three coded systems. A description of system parameters is given, and their role in the analysis is described. Tradeoffs are examined between coding gain and processing gain in the rejection of multi-user interference for the three systems. >
Complex Systems engineering in a federal IT environment: Lessons learned from traditional enterprise-scale system design and change

The fragility created by hierarchical organizational constructs crosses over into the design of many large scale IT systems that are distributed across an enterprise. This means, that for these systems, end-to-end system design comes from the top down, creating a situation in which all fragility rises up to the largest scales of the system; this is a result of these systems being centrally controlled, often at the top of a hierarchy. In order for enterprise systems such as these to augment or repair themselves, they must undergo a catastrophic, enterprise-wide failure and be reengineered, once again by top-down direction [1]. This is the opposite of resilient system design and represents a situation where federal IT can be very inefficient. The current climate in the US of proactive and aggressive infrastructure consolidation via the Federal Data Center Consolidation Initiative (FDCCI) and the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) only serves to further incentivize system designers to construct extremely fragile systems at both the application and infrastructure layers. This fragility puts these systems at greater risk for enterprise failure. An example of a critical federal enterprise IT system's design and resulting fragility when perturbed (i.e., via consolidation and modernization) will be examined in this paper. Engineering guidelines from a complex systems perspective will be recommended to counter this resulting fragility. These guidelines will be from both an IT and government policy point of view and are generalized for applicability to systems engineering outside the scope of just IT systems.
Modeling of velocities in giant waves

The unexpected occurrence of unusually large waves has been documented on numerous occasions. In this study, the nonlinear packet-focusing technique, modified to account for an opposing current, is used to generate steep, plunging waves in a laboratory flume. The kinematics of these waves are measured just upwave of the onset of plunging. These results are compared to those of a superposition model, a modified stretching model and a model based on a Stokes 3rd-order theory developed for the present study. The present model represents the velocity beneath the plunging breakers significantly better than the other two models. Received February 1, 2000; revised manuscript received by the editors April 13, 2000. The original version was submitted directly to the Journal.
Ray travel time and distance for the planar polytrope

Ray travel time and distance are determined for the planar polytrope using analytic techniques that are specialized to plane stratified media. It is found that an adiabatically stratified polytrope yields non-dispersed wave fields for a full circuit of a ray through a trapping region. Non-adiabacity, however, leads to dispersion, and a consequent loss of correlation with successive circuits of the trapping region. An acoustic waveguide with fixed boundaries and a similar waveguide containing an isothermal stratified medium are also examined to illustrate the approach and to highlight various aspects of the ray behavior.
Use of Isolated Ruminal Epithelial Cells in the Study of Rumen Metabolism

A comprehensive understanding of ruminal development and metabolism has not yet been achieved. The study of rumen epithelial metabolism during development can facilitate the development of feeding strategies for developing pre-ruminant animals and mature animals. Understanding the effect of the physical form and nutrient composition of the diet on the ruminal epithelium will lead to changes in dietary regimens that exploit beneficial tissue responses. Characterization of the ontogenic shifts in ruminal metabolism, in association with the description of physical changes, has established more discrete periods during the development of the ruminal epithelium for future studies to be conducted. Isolated ruminal epithelial cells, specifically cells of the strata basale and spinosum, have been used for metabolic studies of rumen epithelial energy metabolism. Because the ruminal epithelium is a major producer of ketone bodies in the fed ruminant animal, it is integral to the energy metabolism of the whole animal. Arguably, whole tissue slices may provide better estimations of actual tissue performance; however, the benefits gained by maintaining tissue integrity are offset because of the high variability in tissue composition due to dietary influences. Use of enriched cell populations is ideal for short-term incubations and provides high cell yields with limited delay following removal of the tissue from the animal. Although the ruminal cell isolation system is continuously undergoing refinement, enriched cell cultures have provided realistic results with respect to known responses in vivo.
Polymers derived from the amino acid L-tyrosine: polycarbonates, polyarylates and copolymers with poly(ethylene glycol).

Abstract The natural amino acid l -tyrosine is a major nutrient having a phenolic hydroxyl group. This feature makes it possible to use derivatives of tyrosine dipeptide as a motif to generate diphenolic monomers, which are important building blocks for the design of biodegradable polymers. Particularly useful monomers are desaminotyrosyl-tyrosine alkyl esters (abbreviated as DTR, where R stands for the specific alkyl ester used). Using this approach, a wide variety of polymers have been synthesized. Here, tyrosine-derived polycarbonates, polyarylates, and polyethers are reviewed with special emphasis on recent developments relating to cellular and in vivo responses, sterilization techniques, surface characterization, drug delivery, and processing and fabrication techniques. The commercial development of tyrosine-derived polycarbonates is most advanced, with one polymer, poly(DTE carbonate) (E=ethyl), being under review by the USA Federal Drug Administration.
Abstract CT304: Anti-prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) monoclonal antibody J591 plus low-dose interleukin-2 (IL-2) in patients with recurrent prostate cancer (PC)

Proceedings: AACR Annual Meeting 2014; April 5-9, 2014; San Diego, CA Purpose J591 is a deimmunized monoclonal antibody that recognizes the extracellular domain of prostate specific membrane antigen and was engineered to induce antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC). Low dose IL-2 may enhance ADCC by the clonal expansion of natural killer (NK) cells. Immunotherapy may result in survival benefits independent of immediate response. This study was designed to evaluate the efficacy of J591 plus low-dose IL-2 in men with recurrent PC. Experimental Design Men with non-castrate PSA relapse or progressive metastatic castration-resistant PC (mCRPC) received low-dose subcutaneous IL-2 (1.2 x 106 IU/m2/day) daily for 8 weeks with weekly intravenous infusions of J591 (25 mg/m2) on weeks 4-6 (considered 1 cycle). A maximum of 3 cycles of therapy was delivered. Flow cytometry was used to assess NK cell fraction and PSA changes and survival were assessed. Results Seventeen men were treated between 2001-03 with at least 1 cycle (11 PSA relapse, 6 mCRPC) with 1 mCRPC patient invaluable for PSA response due to a protocol violation (9 received 2 cycles, 2 received 3 cycles). Toxicity was mild, mainly limited to fatigue and injection site reactions. PSA declined following therapy in 7 of 16 evaluable men (2 of 5 mCRPC). Flow cytometry revealed an average increase in absolute NK cell count of 107% at week 4 and 117% at the end of cycle 1. NK cell percent change had an inverse relationship with PSA (2-tailed Pearson correlation coefficient r = -0.46; P= 0.13). The actual vs. predicted survival for 5 of the 6 men with mCRPC disease was greater than predicted by the Halabi nomogram (Spearman correlation analysis r=0.29; P=0.57, i.e. nomogram did not predict survival). Conclusions The combination of J591 with low-dose IL-2 was well tolerated in patients with biochemical relapse and mCRPC. In addition, combination therapy expanded NK cell fraction which correlated with PSA decline. Interestingly, long term follow up reveals that 83% of the mCRPC group lived significantly longer than predicted, mostly in an era prior to the approval of life-prolonging therapy. These data support further testing of the hypothesis that PSMA-directed immunotherapy influences outcome in men with advanced PC. Citation Format: Yulian Khagi, Gurveen Kaur, Paul Christos, Naveed H. Akhtar, David M. Nanus, Neil H. Bander, Scott T. Tagawa. Anti-prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) monoclonal antibody J591 plus low-dose interleukin-2 (IL-2) in patients with recurrent prostate cancer (PC). [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr CT304. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-CT304
Inhibition of nucleic acid synthesis in the regenerating limb of salamanders treated with a DL-methadone or narcotic antagonists.

Intraperitonal injection of single dose of methadone, 2 mg/kg/day, cyclazocine, 1 mg/kg/day, or naltrexone, 10 mg/kg/2 days to Ambystoma mexicanum significantly retarded limb regeneration rates. [H+]) uridine incorporation into RNA of the regenerating limb in Ambystoma tigrinum was profoundly inhibited (P < 0.01) by each of these drugs. Significant, but a lesser inhibition (P < 0.05), was observed in DNA synthesis. Individual variation was eliminated by comparison of the specific activities in the regenerated limb with a similar portion of the contralateral nonregenerating limb. These findings parallel the inhibition of RNA and DNA synthesis caused by acute denervation of regenerated amphibian limbs.
Sources of self-efficacy beliefs of students in a technology-intensive asynchronous college algebra course

Abstract The purpose of this study was to explore the influence of the four traditionally hypothesized sources of self-efficacy on learners' self-efficacy beliefs regarding learning mathematics in an asynchronous environment. The context of the study was a college algebra and trigonometry course offered in an asynchronous, technology-intensive emporium model at a large, public university in the southeastern United States. Participants ( N = 99) completed surveys assessing their self-efficacy to learn mathematics in this environment as well as to assess their mastery experiences, vicarious experiences, social persuasion, and physiological state. Regression analysis indicated that in this environment, the most important factors are vicarious experiences, followed by affective/physiological influences.
Differentiation of 3T3-L1 fibroblasts to adipocytes induced by transfection of ras oncogenes.

Mammalian 3T3-L1 cells differentiate into adipocytes after continuous exposure to pharmacological doses of insulin or physiological doses of insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-1). Expression of transfected ras oncogenes led to differentiation of these cells into adipocytes in the absence of externally added insulin or IGF-I. Cells transfected with normal ras genes or the tyrosine kinase trk oncogene did not differentiate. Transfection with a dominant inhibitory ras mutant resulted in inhibition of differentiation. Exposure of untransfected 3T3-L1 cells to insulin stimulated formation of the active Ras.GTP complex. These observations indicate that Ras proteins participate in signal transduction pathways initiated by insulin and IGF-I in these cells.
Studies on the interaction of vitamin B12, intrinsic factor and receptors. II. The possible absorption of intrinsic factor

Abstract Absorption of intrinsic factor (IF) activity into the plasma of rats was demonstrated by an in vitro test for IF activity, following the peritoneal or subcutaneous injection of hog intrinsic factor concentrate (IFC). A smaller increase was observed following an injection in the jejunum. Gastrectomized rats showed diminished renal uptake of vitamin B 12 -Co 60 following absorption of the orally administered vitamin as compared to control rats; however, no significant diminution in hepatic uptake was noted. Intrinsic factor concentrates prepared from hog mucosal extracts, when injected into the vascular system of the rat, have been found to be taken up by the liver cells. This IF activity has been isolated from the liver and has been found to have activity in vivo , using patients with pernicious anemia. The administration of vitamin B 12 -Co 60 -IFC complex into the vascular system caused the liver to absorb almost all (95%) of the administered labeled vitamin B 12 , whereas the administration of only vitamin B 12 -Co 60 resulted in the absorption of 10–15% of the vitamin administered. The correlation between the amount of vitamin B 12 absorbed by the liver and the amount of IFC given was good. Data are presented which indicate that vitamin B 12 combined to IFC seems to protect its IF activity from inactivation by the liver. Studies on the metabolism of IFC and vitamin B 12 -Co 60 -IFC complex are reported and their possible significance is discussed.
The underrepresentation of liberal Christians: Mobilization strategies of religious interest groups

Abstract This article examines the uneven mobilization patterns of liberal and conservative Christian interest groups to test competing theories of group mobilization and to address the question of whether actual group membership is an accurate reflection of potential membership. An analysis of National Election Survey data suggests that the number of potential members of liberal Christian interest groups may actually be much higher than current group sizes indicate. Interviews with a sample of group leaders indicate that conservative groups are more effective than liberal groups at using existing networks to mobilize potential members.
Transesophageal echocardiographic assessment of congenital coronary artery to coronary sinus fistulas in adults

Coronary artery to coronary sinus fistula is a rare congenital disorder. Aortography and selective coronary angiography are currently the diagnostic modes of choice for the evaluation of congenital coronary artery fistulas, but recent reports have demonstrated the usefulness of noninvasive techniques.1–3 We describe 3 patients in whom the relatively new technique of transesophageal echocardiography was found useful not only in the diagnosis and precise localization of these lesions but also in the intraoperative evaluation of the surgical repair (Table I, Figures 1 to 3). All transthoracic 2-dimensional and color Doppler examinations were done in the standard manner using a commercially available system and a 2.0 or 2.5 MHz transducer.4 Intraoperative transesophageal echocardiographic studies were also performed in the standard manner5 using a 5 MHz transducer (Hewlett-Packard 77760A system for patients 1 and 2 and Aloka 870 biplane system for patient 3). The proximal coronary arteries were examined using the standard basal shortaxis view6 and the coronary sinus outlined in the right ventricular inflow plane.
Shubnikov-de Haas effect studies on optically heated electrons in n-InSb☆

Abstract CO laser-induced hot electrons in n-InSb at 1.8 K have been studied with the Shubnikov-de Haas effect which permits extraction of the electron temperature as a function of peak incident laser power.
A Technique for the Study of the Internal Structure of Calcified Tissues

THE investigations of Williams and Trvinel showed that extraction of organic material from bone with ethylenediamine (ED) was superior to ashing with KOH-glycol. Since the anorganic skeleton prepared in the former manner appeared to be intact, the method was utilized by them in studies of trabecular stress patterns. They also noted that less alteration of crystalline structure resulted from preparation of the anorganic bone from ED than from glveolashing methods. Peckham and Losee2 compared the efficiency of ED and KOHglycol extractions of dentin and found that there was a negligible loss of mineral content with the -former method in contrast to an appreciable amount with the latter. This is believed to be due to the relatively low temperature (1180 C.) used in removing the organic fractions with ED in a modified Soxhlet extractor. Because ethylenediamine is readily soluble in water, it can easily be washed out of the anorganic matrix after extraction. Losee3 utilized ED extraction to study the microscopic pathways in enamel and demonstrated the presence of micro-lamellae in human enamel. It was the aim of the present investigation to utilize this improved method of extraction of organic components of calcified tissues in developing a method of studying the internal structure of these tissues.
Politics of Piety: The Basij and Moral Control of Iranian Society

This article aims to analyze the role of the Basij militia in asserting moral control over Iranian society, with a particular focus on the Basij's elevated stature following the end of the Iran–Iraq war. The article examines how and why the Basij became involved in enforcing the principle of Amr be Maruf va Nahy az Monkar (commanding the right and forbidding the wrong), a critical component of the Iranian regime's strategy to create a “pious society” and enforce moral behavior. Of the few publications on morality control within Iran, none consider the paramount contributions of the Basij. Given the Basij's ongoing expansion and its influence in Iranian society, however, further study of this force's functions is vital to understanding Iran's internal security and control mechanisms. This article seeks to shed greater light on the Basij militia and its role in morality control in postrevolutionary Iran.
Creating, Producing and Evaluating Prosocial TV

Abstract Utilising the scientific literatures on race relations and television effects, a dramatic science fiction pilot programme was created. The programme, Star Crusaders, depicted an interracial team of young adults cooperating in an equal status relationship in pursuit of a common goal: the end of inter‐group hostilities on other planets. The production of the programme encountered a number of difficulties in articulating the theory‐based conceptualisation: a limited budget, the inability to cast characters in a true equal status relationship, and problems in obtaining full cooperation among writers, producers, and directors in articulating the concept as a videotape production. The evaluation of the programme considered the methodological complexities of communication effects research, and reports the results of three studies. The first study conducted a content analysis of the pro‐social and inter‐racial content of the programme. The second investigation examined the perceptions of 104 university u...
Messenger RNA Recognition by Fragments of Ribosomal Protein S4

Ribosomal protein S4 from Escherichia coli binds a large domain of 16 S ribosomal RNA and also a pseudoknot structure in the α operon mRNA, where it represses its own synthesis. No similarity between the two RNA binding sites has been detected. To find out whether separate protein regions are responsible for rRNA and mRNA recognition, proteins with N-terminal or C-terminal deletions have been overexpressed and purified. Protein-mRNA interactions were detected by (i) a nitrocellulose filter binding assay, (ii) inhibition of primer extension by reverse transcriptase, and (iii) a gel shift assay. Circular dichroism spectra were taken to determine whether the proteins adopted stable secondary structures. From these studies it is concluded that amino acids 48-104 make specific contacts with the mRNA, although residues 105-177 (out of 205) are required to observe the same toeprint pattern as full-length protein and may stabilize a specific portion of the mRNA structure. These results parallel ribosomal RNA binding properties of similar fragments (Conrad, R. C., and Craven, G. R. (1987) Nucleic Acids Res. 15, 10331-10343, and references therein). It appears that the same protein domain is responsible for both mRNA and rRNA binding activities.
The ALS gene family of Candida albicans

The ALS gene family of Candida albicans encodes large cell-surface glycoproteins that are implicated in the process of adhesion to host surfaces. ALS genes are also found in other Candida species that are isolated from cases of clinical disease. Genes in the ALS family are differentially regulated by physiologically relevant mechanisms. ALS genes exhibit several levels of variability including strain- and allele-specific size differences for the same gene, strain-specific differences in gene regulation, the absence of particular ALS genes in certain isolates, and additional ALS coding regions in others. The differential regulation and genetic variability of the ALS genes results in a diverse cell-surface Als protein profile that is also affected by growth conditions. The ALS genes are one example of a gene family associated with pathogenicity mechanisms in C. albicans and other Candida species.
Design, validity, and reliability of a pediatric resident JumpSTART disaster triage scoring instrument.

Abstract Objective To design an instrument for scoring residents learning pediatric disaster triage (PDT), and to test the validity and reliability of the instrument. Methods We designed a checklist-based scoring instrument including PDT knowledge and skills and performance, as well as a global assessment. Learners' performance in a 10-patient school bus crash simulation was video recorded and scored with the instrument. Learners triaged the patients with a color-coded algorithm (JumpSTART, Simple Triage and Rapid Treatment). Three evaluators observed the recordings and scored triage performance for each learner. Internal and construct validity of the instrument were established via comparison of resident performance by postgraduate year (PGY) and correlating instrument items with overall score. Validity was assessed with analysis of variance and the D statistic. We calculated evaluators' intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) for each patient, skill, triage decision, and global assessment. Results There were 37 learners and 111 observations. There was no difference in total scores by PGY ( P = .77), establishing internal validity. Regarding construct validity, most instrument items had a D statistic of >0.5. The overall ICC among scores was 0.83 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.74–0.89). Individual patient score reliability was high and was greatest among patients with head injury (ICC 0.86; 95% CI 0.79–0.91). Reliability was low for an ambulatory patient (ICC 0.29; 95% CI 0.07–0.48). Triage skills evaluation showed excellent reliability, including airway management (ICC 0.91; 95% CI 0.86–0.94) and triage speed (ICC 0.81; 95% CI 0.72–0.88). The global assessment had moderate reliability for skills (ICC 0.63; 95% CI 0.47–0.75) and knowledge (ICC 0.64; 95% CI 0.49–0.76). Conclusions We report the validity and reliability testing of a PDT-scoring instrument. Validity was confirmed with no performance differential by PGY. Reliability of the scoring instrument for most patient-level triage, knowledge, and specific skills was high.
An oblique-incidence optical reflectivity difference and LEED study of rare-gas growth on a lattice-mismatched metal substrate

We studied the growth of Xe on Nb(110) from 33 K to 100 K using a combination of low-energy electron diffraction and an in situ oblique-incidence optical reflectivity difference technique. We found that a hexagonal close-packed Xe film grows after a transition layer of three monoatomic layers thick is formed. The first two monolayers, influenced by both the interaction with the Nb substrate and the Xe–Xe interaction, lack long-range order. The third monolayer forms a bulk-like hexagonal close-packed structure. Subsequently a bulk-phase Xe(111) film grows in step-flow mode from 54 K down to 40 K. At 40 K, we observed a brief crossover to a layer-by-layer mode. At 33 K the growth proceeds in a kinetically limited multilayer or a three-dimensional island mode.
Bilateral congenital diaphragmatic hernia with absent pleura and pericardium

BACKGROUND Bilateral congenital diaphragmatic hernia is a rare form of diaphragmatic hernia. Independently, pericardial defects are an extremely rare phenomenon. In the case presented, we provide the first complete description of an infant with bilateral congenital diaphragmatic hernia with complete agenesis of the pericardium and inferior parietal pleura. CASE A male infant was born at 38 weeks of gestation with a prenatal diagnosis of left-sided congenital diaphragmatic hernia. After 1 week of aggressive management, the patient was taken to the operating room for repair. Intraoperatively, the patient was found to have absence of the diaphragm bilaterally, no pleura inferiorly, and no pericardium. A biological mesh was used to construct a diaphragm. At 6 months of age, the patient is growing normally, requiring only supplemental oxygen without pressure support. CONCLUSIONS Embryologically, this anomaly represents complete lack of development of the pleurocardial folds, pleuroperitoneal folds, and transverse septum, which is previously unreported. Birth Defects Research (Part A), 2005. © 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Comet Bowell /1980b/ - An active-looking dormant object

The absence of molecular emissions in the spectrum of Comet Bowell, a nearly constant amount of dust in its coma, a slow expansion rate of the coma and implied low particle velocities, a tail width that does not increase with increasing distance from the nucleus, the absence of tail particles less than 0.5 mm in diameter, and the development of an elongated coma, lead to the conclusion that the solid particles in the coma and tail are not recent ejecta, and that the comet has probably been dormant. It is speculated that 10 to the 13th g of observed coma and tail particles is either a leftover pristine material that has never contacted the nucleus surface, or a product of erratic activity associated with chemical instability, at temperatures below 40 K, stimulated by cosmic ray and/or UV irradiation of the surface layer during the comet's Oort cloud stay. It remains possible that the comet may temporarily become active near perihelion.
Ichthyosis and dry skin.

In this short review I have endeavoured to be highly selective and have included only those aspects of the subject which can be regarded as advances or growing points. In many instances the wealth of data appearing are scientifically exciting and offer the prospect of major steps forward in the management of ichthyosis. The treatment of ichthyosis from the patient's point of view is far from satisfactory (Editorial, 1978). Temporary improvement in the ichthyotic disorders is relatively easy to achieve, but so often treatment is messy and unappealing to the patient who will frequently abandon treatment altogether. Treatment is based upon the three main hypotheses for the pathogenetic mechanisms acting in the ichthyotic disorders.
Simulation of the diffusion of acetylcholine in the neuroeffector junctions of the sinus node

Traditionally, the diffusion of acetylcholine (ACh) from a neuron to cardiac muscle in a neuroeffector junction has been modeled as radial diffusion from a nerve ending into a spherical homogeneous medium. Various microscopic structures in the heart may or may not influence the spatial distribution of ACh within neuroeffector junctions. To determine the effect of microscopic anatomy on the diffusion of ACh in neuroeffector junctions, we simulated the diffusion of ACh in a two-dimensional inhomogeneous geometry that was based on micrographs of neuroeffector junctions in the sinus node. ACh was released at sites adjacent to a neuron. Simulations showed that the times of peak concentration after release and the peak concentrations per se were distributed symmetrically above and below and to the right and left of the neuron, but not radially about the neuron. We conclude that the diffusion of ACh in the neuroeffector junctions of the sinus node cannot be predicted well by a mathematical model that assumes radial diffusion in a spherical and homogeneous medium.
Risk factors for endometrial hyperplasia and cancer among women with abnormal bleeding

Abstract Objective: To identify independent risk factors for endometrial neoplasia in women with abnormal perimenopausal or postmenopausal bleeding and to use those factors to develop and test a predictive model. Methods: We conducted a case-control study of women with abnormal perimenopausal or postmenopausal bleeding who had endometrial samplings; cases had endometrial cancer or complex hyperplasia and controls had benign endometrial histologies. Multivariate logistic regression models identified factors associated with risks of endometrial neoplasia. The predictive abilities of our models and a published model were assessed using the area under receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, for which an area of 1.0 indicated perfect positive predictive ability and an area of 0.5 was expected by chance. Results: There were 57 cases of endometrial hyperplasia or cancer and 137 controls. Parity was related inversely (odds ratio [OR] 0.70; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.56, 0.88; P = .002) and weight directly (OR 1.02 per kg; 95% CI 1.01, 1.04; P= .018) to the risk of endometrial neoplasia. Age (OR 1.04 per year; 95% CI 1.00, 1.08; P = .06) and diabetes (OR 3.50; 95% CI 0.99, 12.33; P = .052) were significant marginally. The area under the ROC curve for our model was 0.75, indicating moderate predictive ability; the area under the ROC curve for the published model was lower at 0.66. Conclusion: Current clinical predictive models based on case-control studies do not have sufficient predictive ability to determine if women with abnormal perimenopausal or postmenopausal bleeding should have diagnostic testing.
Economic analysis of intravenous plus oral amiodarone, atrial septal pacing, and both strategies to prevent atrial fibrillation after open heart surgery.

Study Objectives. To compare the cost-effectiveness of intravenous plus oral amiodarone, atrial septal pacing, and both strategies combined to prevent atrial fibrillation after open heart surgery. Secondary objectives were to compare the cost-effectiveness of amiodarone versus no amiodarone and of pacing versus no pacing, and to compare hospitalization costs of the various strategies. Design. Piggyback cost analysis of a randomized, 2 times 2 factorial trial. Setting. Urban academic hospital. Patients. One hundred and sixty patients with coronary artery and/or valvular disease. Intervention. Patients were randomized to receive amiodarone or matching placebo and then further randomized to receive atrial septal pacing or no pacing. Measurements and Main Results. The economic analysis was conducted from a hospital perspective. Charges were converted to costs using cost: charge ratios. For the cost-effectiveness analysis, a joint distribution of costs and effectiveness was performed using the nonparametric bootstrap method. Amiodarone plus pacing significantly decreased the frequency of atrial fibrillation after open heart surgery, compared with amiodarone alone, pacing alone, and placebo. Total costs (mean ± SD) were $27,026 ± 30,226 for the placebo group, $22,725 ± 17,661 for the amiodarone group, $33,868 ± 60,309 for the pacing group, and $18,697 ± 8174 for the amiodarone plus pacing group (p=0.27). In the joint distribution cost-effectiveness analysis, when compared with placebo, the probability of lower cost but higher effect (superiority) was 67% for amiodarone, 15% for pacing, and 97% for amiodarone plus pacing. In the multivariate analysis, preoperative β-blockers and amiodarone were negatively associated with hospital costs (p<0.05). Conclusions. Data suggest that both amiodarone alone and the combination of amiodarone plus pacing are cost-effective compared with placebo. Additional comparative studies of these strategies are warranted to confirm these findings.
Nearly Subnormal Operators and Moment Problems

Abstract We use separation-of-cones techniques and ideas from multivariable operator theory to show that polynomial hyponormality does not imply subnormality for Hilbert space operators. As an application, we obtain a new result in the theory of power moments in two dimensions.
Languages for the Very Young

R ECENTLY a friend of mine who is a well-known surgeon called me up. "I want to consult you about my children's education," he said. Knowing that Norma is four and Eddie Jr. three, I was a bit nonplussed. After all, I'm a university professor of languages, not a kindergarten expert. But the tie-up came to light when I saw him. "I could easily endow my children with ten thousand dollars each," he said; "but I would much rather endow them with an art, a skill, a second string to their bow--something that will stick with them and do them some good in their future careers, whatever these may be. I have thought of endowing them with languages-not languages as they are learned in high school and college, but languages as they used to be learned by so many people in Europe, from childhood, so that the recipient grows up with them, easily, naturally, spontaneously and, above all, conversationally. I'm thinking of taking on three governesses, each of whom will speak a different language to them for a certain part of their day. You are an expert on language-learning. What do you think about it?" Needless to say, I thought very highly of his scheme. "Will they really learn the languages that way?" "Yes, they'll learn to speak them like natives." "Will it interfere with their English?" "Not in the slightest. At their age, they can pick up any number of languages, and speak them all like natives, without the mutual interference you get later on." "Will they stick?" Here was the poser. Yes, they would stick, provided they were constantly practiced in later years. Like every other kind of skill, languages grow stale if you do not use them. It is a commonplace to hear a man say, "I was born in Germany, and spoke nothing but German for the first six years of my life. Then my parents brought me to America. I learned English, didn't use my German, and now I've forgotten it." This was the rub, but my friend decided to take the chance that in later years, after the governesses were gone, his children would get or make conversational opportunities. Today Norma and Eddie Jr. are learning Russian, French and German, by the direct conversational method, from three different governesses. They will grow up, like the children of many European families, not merely bilingual but quadrilingual. And with no apparent effort on their part. Not everybody can find or afford three foreign governesses, or even one. But what can be done by an individual with hundreds of dollars for his own children can certainly be duplicated by State Education Departments, with millions of dollars, for everybody's children.
Biochemical and histochemical characterization of ranatensin immunoreactive peptides in rat brain: Lack of coexistence with bombesin/GRP

Abstract An antibody to des-pyroglutamyl ranatensin (RT 2-11) has been prepared and has been used to histochemically and biochemically identify ranatensin-like immunoreactivity (irRT) in the rat brain. The most prominent stained cell group was situated in the dorsal tegmental pons. Areas of immunoreactive fibers were found in the ventral hippocampus, septal area and the hypothalamus. A similar distribution was found by radioimmunoassay data. The distribution of irRT was compared to that of bombesin-like immunoreactivity (irBN). The two peptides have different though partly overlapping distributions. Gel filtration of brain extracts show that the molecular size of irRT is similar to that of synthetic RT. However, HPLC characterization of irRT indicated that the immunoreactive material is different from synthetic RT and also different from irBN and irGRP. These results indicate the presence of two separate peptide systems, one RT-like, the other BN-like, in the mammalian CNS.
Parental Mediation and Rulemaking for Adolescent Use of Television and VCRs.

As videocassette recorder penetration surpasses three‐quarters of all US television homes with children, little is known about parental mediation and rulemaking patterns for adolescent viewing. Regression analyses of a sample of 7th and 10th graders reveal that child variables such as gender, age, media use and school grades play an important role in predicting mediation and rulemaking, as do parental resource variables. Specifically, television viewing mediation is negatively predicted by child media ownership and child age. Parents were more likely to set VCR‐use rules for males than females. Higher degrees of academic performance predict more television and VCR use mediation.
Aut(GL2(R)) for rings with many units

In this paper we examine the automorphisms of GL2(R) where R is a commutative ring having “many units”. As a corollary we classify the automorphisms when R is a local ring having 2 a unit and residue class field not the field of 3 elements.
Lung Preservation Techniques

Abstract Some of the barriers to successful lung transplantation include the lack of acceptable methods for ischemic protection and the absence of reliable systems for preservation. The lung response to 60 minutes of warm ischemia basically consists of alveolar-capillary edema and disruption, mitochondria swelling, interstitial hemorrhage, significantly depressed pulmonary function, elevation of pulmonary vascular resistance, and considerable drop in levels of glucose, phospholipids, and adenosine triphosphate. The tolerance to warm ischemia increases to several hours with the use of different systems of ventilatory assistance with or without positive end-expiratory pressure. Several methods of preservation have been attempted: hypothermia, hyperbaria, and hypothermic pulsatile or nonpulsatile perfusion. Hypothermic pulsatile perfusion appears to offer longer periods of protection than the other methods. Longer periods of ischemia and extended preservation may be made possible by advances in the use of drug protection during warm ischemia and the utilization of intracellular colloid or noncolloid solutions for hypothermic storage or hypothermic pulsatile perfusion.
Direct surface analysis of fungal species by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry.

In this study various methods of sample preparation and matrices were investigated to determine optimum collection and analysis criteria for fungal analysis by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS). Intact spores and/or hyphae of Aspergillus niger, Rhizopus oryzae, Trichoderma reesei and Phanerochaete chrysosporium were analyzed by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOFMS). The fungal samples were applied to the MALDI sample target as untreated, sonicated, or acid/heat treated samples, or blotted directly from the fungal culture with double-stick tape. Ferulic acid or sinapinic acid matrix solution was layered over the dried samples and analyzed by MALDI-MS. Statistical analysis showed that simply using double-stick tape to collect and transfer to a MALDI sample plate typically worked as well as the other preparation methods, and required the least sample handling.
Optimal pipelining in supercomputers

This paper examines the relationship between the degree of central processor pipelining and performance. This relationship is studied in the context of modern supercomputers. Limitations due to instruction dependencies are studied via simulations of the CRAY-1S. Both scalar and vector code are studied. This study shows that instruction dependencies severely limit performance for scalar code as well as overall performance.The effects of latch overhead are then considered. The primary cause of latch overhead is the difference between maximum and minimum gate propagation delays. This causes both the skewing of data as it passes along the data path, and unintentional clock skewing due to clock fanout logic. Latch overhead is studied analytically in order to lower bound the clock period that may be used in a pipelined system. This analysis also touches on other points related to latch clocking. This analysis shows that for short pipeline segments both the Earle latch and polarity hold latch give the same clock period bound for both single-phase and multi-phase clocks. Overhead due to data skew and unintentional clock skew are each added to the CRAY-1S simulation model. Simulation results with realistic assumptions show that eight to ten gate levels per pipeline segment lead to optimal overall performance. The results also show that for short pipeline segments data skew and clock skew contribute about equally to the degradation in performance.
Histologic Features in Primary Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinomas in Immunocompromised Patients Focusing on Organ Transplant Patients

Background. In organ transplant recipients (OTR) there is an increased incidence of cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas (CSCC), and they may be aggressive. Objective. We wanted to determine whether any histologic features were characteristic or more common in CSCC of OTR. Methods. A total of 518 immunocompetent individuals with 601 primary CSCC were examined. Seventy-nine OTR with 231 primary CSCC, 53 renal OTR, 25 heart/heart lung OTR, and 1 liver OTR were examined. Results. In all patient populations, CSCC occurred dominantly in chronically sun-exposed skin. In OTR, however, a greater percentage occurred on the extremity, particularly the upper extremity, and they occurred at an earlier age. Features that were significantly more common in OTR were acantholytic changes, early dermal invasion, an infiltrative growth pattern with or without desmoplasia, and Bowen's disease with carcinoma. In OTR primary CSCC were also significantly deeper at time of diagnosis. Conclusions. Our findings confirmed the association of ultraviolet radiation exposure with development of CSCC in OTR. The increased depth of the primary CSCC in OTR is surprising because these patients are followed closely for skin cancer compared with immunocompetent patients. The other morphologic features that were significantly more common in OTR may theoretically reflect not only the type of iatrogenic immunosuppression in these patients, but also other procarcinogenic effects of their medications.
Direct observations of the α → γ transformation at different input powers in the heat-affected zone of 1045 C-Mn steel arc welds observed by spatially resolved X-ray diffraction

Spatially resolved X-ray diffraction (SRXRD) experiments have been performed during gas tungstenarc (GTA) welding of AISI 1045 C-Mn steel at input powers ranging from 1000 to 3750 W. In-situ diffraction patterns taken at discreet locations across the width of the heat-affected zone (HAZ) near the peak of the heating cycle in each weld show regions containing austenite (γ), ferrite and austenite (α+γ), and ferrite (α). Changes in input power have a demonstrated effect on the resulting sizes of these regions. The largest effect is on the γ phase region, which nearly triples in width with increasing input power, while the width of the surrounding two-phase α+γ region remains relatively constant. An analysis of the diffraction patterns obtained across this range of locations allows the formation of austenite from the base-metal microstructure to be monitored. After the completion of the α → γ transformation, a splitting of the austenite peaks is observed at temperatures between approximately 860 °C and 1290 °C. This splitting in the austenite peaks results from the dissolution of cementite laths originally present in the base-metal pearlite, which remain after the completion of the α → γ transformation, and represents the formation of a second more highly alloyed austenite constituent. With increasing temperatures, carbon, originally present in the cementite laths, diffuses from the second newly formed austenite constituent to the original austenite constituent. Eventually, a homogeneous austenitic microstructure is produced at temperatures of approximately 1300 °C and above, depending on the weld input power.