cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Teacher expectation and West Indian underachievement

Summary The Interim Report of the Rampton Committee (1981) claimed that unintentional racism is widespread within the teaching profession and contributes, via the self‐fulfilling prophecy, to the relative academic failure of West Indian children. This paper examines both aspects of the claim, dealing with the latter in terms of the model of teacher expectations advanced by Brophy and Good (1970). The relevant evidence and the theoretical framework upon which it rests are discussed, and it is concluded that further research into West Indian underachievement, to be productive, must relinquish the premise that teachers’ expectations are chiefly responsible.
State estimation for systems with multiple operational modes

The estimation of a multimodal linear system whose mode-to-mode transitions are described by a finite state Markov chain is studied. A suboptimal estimator is derived which closely approximates the optimal estimator. It is shown that, in general, the suboptimal estimator reduces to the evaluation of s2 recursive Kalman-filter equations where s is the number of system modes; under certain conditions, only s Kalman-filter equations need be solved.
Errors and biases in the diagnosis of cancer of the lung and their influence on risk estimates.

When diagnosed as primary lung cancer, metastases from the abdomen, plus false negative cases have little effect on epidemiology studies of male smokers, but may result in a severe dilution of the lung cancers among women and nonsmokers. We have attempted to quantitate this handicap for epidemiological studies using two approaches. The relative frequency of diagnosed primary lung and abdominal cancer among males, women, and nonsmokers differs substantially and is used here to calculate magnitude. The second approach postulates that the ratio of nonsmokers among persons with squamous cell lung cancer and primary adenocarcinoma of the lung would be constant by sex if there were no distortion by abdominal metastases. These two approaches indicate that the much higher ratio of metastatic disease diagnosed as primary lung cancer among nonsmoking women (factor of 15 to 20), makes it more difficult to identify an environmental carcinogen among women or nonsmokers than among male smokers in case-control studies.
RZWQM: Simulating the effects of management on water quality and crop production

Abstract The interactive use of experimentation and modeling is an efficient way to devise and test new agricultural management systems. The Root Zone Water Quality Model (RZWQM) is a comprehensive simulation model designed to predict the hydrologic response, including potential for groundwater contamination, of alternative crop-management systems. The model is one-dimensional (vertical into the soil profile) and integrates physical, biological and chemical processes. It simulates crop development and the movement of water, nutrients and pesticides over and through the root zone for a representative unit area of an agricultural field over multiple years. RZWQM allows for a variety of management practices: tillage; irrigation, fertilizer, manure and pesticide applications; tile drainage and crop rotations. Several significant validation efforts have shown the usefulness of RZWQM for evaluating and developing management scenarios.
Cell proliferation in the absence of E2F1-3.

E2F transcription factors regulate the progression of the cell cycle by repression or transactivation of genes that encode cyclins, cyclin dependent kinases, checkpoint regulators, and replication proteins. Although some E2F functions are independent of the Retinoblastoma tumor suppressor (Rb) and related family members, p107 and p130, much of E2F-mediated repression of S phase entry is dependent upon Rb. We previously showed in cultured mouse embryonic fibroblasts that concomitant loss of three E2F activators with overlapping functions (E2F1, E2F2, and E2F3) triggered the p53-p21Cip1 response and caused cell cycle arrest. Here we report on a dramatic difference in the requirement for E2F during development and in cultured cells by showing that cell cycle entry occurs normally in E2f1-3 triply-deficient epithelial stem cells and progenitors of the developing lens. Sixteen days after birth, however, massive apoptosis in differentiating epithelium leads to a collapse of the entire eye. Prior to this collapse, we find that expression of cell cycle-regulated genes in E2F-deficient lenses is aberrantly high. In a second set of experiments, we demonstrate that E2F3 ablation alone does not cause abnormalities in lens development but rescues phenotypic defects caused by loss of Rb, a binding partner of E2F known to recruit histone deacetylases, SWI/SNF and CtBP-polycomb complexes, methyltransferases, and other co-repressors to gene promoters. Together, these data implicate E2F1-3 in mediating transcriptional repression by Rb during cell cycle exit and point to a critical role for their repressive functions in cell survival.
Efflux of human and mouse amyloid β proteins 1-40 and 1-42 from brain: Impairment in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease

Brain to blood transport is believed to be a major determinant of the amount of amyloid beta protein (AbetaP) found in brain. Impaired efflux has been suggested as a mechanism by which AbetaP can accumulate in the CNS and so lead to Alzheimer's disease (AD). To date, however, no study of the efflux of the form of AbetaP most relevant to AD, AbetaP1-42, has been conducted, even though a single amino acid substitution in AbetaP can greatly alter efflux. Here, we examined the efflux of AbetaP mouse1-42, mouse1-40, human1-42, and human1-40 in young CD-1, young senesence accelerated mouse (SAM) P8, and aged SAMP8 mice. The SAMP8 mouse with aging spontaneously overproduces AbetaP and develops cognitive impairments reversed by AbetaP-directed antibody or phosphorothioate antisense oligonucleotide. CD-1 mice transported all forms of AbetaP, although mouse1-42 and human1-40 were transported faster than the other forms. There was a decrease in the saturable transport of mouse1-42 in SAMP8 mice regardless of age. Efflux of mouse1-40 and human1-42 was only by a non-saturable mechanism in young SAMP8 mice and their efflux was totally absent in aged SAMP8 mice. These differences in the efflux of the various forms of AbetaP among the three groups of mice supports the hypothesis that impaired efflux is an important factor in the accumulation of AbetaP in the CNS.
Effects of the menstrual cycle on body composition

Fluctuations in regulatory hormones, body temperature and other physiological mechanisms during the menstrual cycle cause individual symptoms, including a perceived weight gain. This study determined the effects of a normal menstrual cycle on body weight, percentage body fat (% fat by hydrostatic weighing), respiratory measures of vital capacity and residual volume by spirometry, and the sum of 7 skinfolds (triceps, subscapula, axilla, chest, suprailium, abdomen and thigh). Twenty regularly menstruating (23- to 35-d cycles) subjects (aged 20–30 years) volunteered for this study. Measures were duplicated on days 1, 7, 14, 21 and 28 after the onset of menstrual flow. Repeated-measures analysis of variance indicated no significant differences for any measured parameter between the 5 assigned days. Therefore, body composition in this age group was not affected by normal menstruation.
Bead-based polymerase chain reaction on a microchip

We present a bead-based approach to microfluidic polymerase chain reaction (PCR), enabling fluorescent detection and sample conditioning in a single microchamber. Bead-based PCR, while not extensively investigated in microchip format, has been used in a variety of bioanalytical applications in recent years. We leverage the ability of bead-based PCR to accumulate fluorescent labels following DNA amplification to explore a novel DNA detection scheme on a microchip. The microchip uses an integrated microheater and temperature sensor for rapid control of thermal cycling temperatures, while the sample is held in a microchamber fabricated from (poly)dimethylsiloxane and coated with Parylene. The effects of key bead-based PCR parameters, including annealing temperature and concentration of microbeads in the reaction mixture, are studied to achieve optimized device sensitivity and detection time. The device is capable of detecting a synthetically prepared section of the Bordetella pertussis genome in as few as 10 temperature cycles with times as short as 15 min. We then demonstrate the use of the procedure in an integrated device; capturing, amplifying, detecting, and purifying template DNA in a single microfluidic chamber. These results show that this method is an effective method of DNA detection which is easily integrated in a microfluidic device to perform additional steps such as sample pre-conditioning.
Regulation of glucose transport in Clone 9 cells by thyroid hormone.

Abstract Triiodothyronine (T 3 ) is found to stimulate cytochalasin B-inhibitable glucose transport in Clone 9 cells, a ‘non-transformed’ rat liver cell line. After an initial lag period of more than 3 h, glucose transport rate is significantly increased at 6 h and reaches more than 3-times the control rate at 24 h. The enhancement of glucose transport by T 3 is due to an increase in transport V max and occurs in the absence of a change in either the K m for glucose transport (∼ 3 mM) or the K i for inhibition of transport by cytochalasin B ((1–2) · 10 −7 M). Consistent with the observed K i for cytochalasin B, Northern blot analysis of RNA from control and T 3 -treated cells employing cDNA probes encoding GTs of the human erythrocyte/rat brain/HepG2 cell transporter (GLUT-1), rat muscle/fat cell transporter (GLUT-4), and rat liver transporter (GLUT-2) types indicates expression of only the GLUT-1 mRNA isoform in these cells. The abundance of GLUT-1 mRNA increases approx. 1.9-fold after 24 h of T 3 treatment and is accompanied by an approx. 1.3-fold increase in the abundance of GLUT-1 in whole-cell extracts as demonstrated by Western blot analysis employing a polyclonal antibody directed against the 13 amino acid C-terminal peptide of GLUT-1. The more than 3-fold stimulation of glucose transport at 24 h substantially exceeds the fractional increment in transporter abundance suggesting that, in addition to increasing total GLUT-1 abundance, exposure to T 3 may result in a translocation of transporters to the plasma membrane or an activation of pre-existing membrane transporter sites.
Normalized quadtrees with respect to translations

Abstract Quadtrees offer a compact and hierarchical representation of an image. However, the location of an image segment on the coordinate grid and the grid size itself affect the quadtree representation, making comparison of image segments difficult. To alleviate this difficulty, we propose the concept of a normalized quadtree to represent a given image segment in a unique and optimal way over the class of all translations. An O(s2log2s) algorithm is presented for obtaining normalized quadtrees, where s is the length of the grid.
Optimizing thiophosphorylation in the presence of competing phosphorylation with MALDI-TOF-MS detection.

Thiophosphorylation provides a metabolically stable, chemically reactive phosphorylation analogue for analyzing the phosphoproteome in vitro and in vivo. We developed a MALDI-TOF−MS based assay for optimizing thiophosphopeptide production by a kinase even in the presence of Mg2+ and ATP. We found that Abl kinase thiophosphorylation rates can be ‘rescued' using Mn2+ in the presence of Mg2+. Under our ideal conditions, titration of Mn2+ and ATPγS in the presence of Mg2+ allowed relatively rapid, highly specific thiophosphorylation by Abl tyrosine kinase, both as purified enzyme and in complex cell extracts. Keywords: thiophosphorylation • MALDI-TOF-MS • kinase activity • Bcr-Abl • phosphoproteomics
Primary Translocation of Aberrant Left Subclavian Artery for Children With Symptomatic Vascular Ring

Background The standard operation for vascular ring with right aortic arch and aberrant left subclavian artery is ligamentum arteriosum division. A new surgical approach with primary translocation of the aberrant left subclavian artery to the left carotid artery, removal of the Kommerell diverticulum, and division of the ligamentum through left thoracotomy was recently applied. This study assessed the early outcomes of this approach. Methods This is a retrospective review of all patients having an operation for right aortic arch with aberrant left subclavian artery and the Kommerell diverticulum between January 2001 and April 2011 at a single institution. Results Eight patients had a division of the ligamentum and 10 had a primary translocation of an aberrant left subclavian artery with diverticulum removal and ligamentum division. The median operative age and weight for each surgical technique group were, respectively, 2.2 and 1.8 years ( p = 0.56) and 10.7 and 12.6 kg ( p = 0.30). All patients were symptomatic preoperatively. No deaths occurred. One patient from each group had chylous effusion that was medically treated. The median hospital stay for each group was 4 and 5 days ( p = 0.45). During the median follow-up of 47 months, 3 patients in the division of ligamentum group required albuterol aerosol or oral antiinflammatory medication for respiratory symptoms. All patients in the primary translocation group remained asymptomatic and required no medication ( p = 0.069). Conclusions Primary translocation of aberrant left subclavian artery with removal of the diverticulum and division of the ligamentum had excellent early outcomes and can potentially eliminate residual symptoms and late complications.
Suggestibility and type of interpersonal relationship: Special implications for the patient-practitioner relationship☆

Abstract Suggestibility was assessed in five conditions by the subject's response to suggestions falsely labeled as matters of fact. These misrepresentations of fact, or virtual suggestions, denoted a variety of hallucinations, an anesthesia, and an amnesia. They were administered as incidental intrusions while the subject was involved in the primary experimental task. In three of these conditions, the subject either observed his own spontaneous visual imagery, observed visual scenes provided by the experimenter, or simply waited with closed eyes for the presentation of the virtual stimuli. These conditions were characterized by a passive-receptive, interpersonal relationship in which the subject remained silent. Suggestibility was expected to be high. In a fourth condition the subjects described spontaneous visual imagery. This was characterized as an active-receptive relationship in which speech was maintained throughout. The suggestibility of the three passive-receptive conditions was comparable, and none of them differed from a baseline condition involving the formal induction of hypnosis. However, the fourth, active-receptive condition was significantly lower, and this difference survived a replication. Of special interest was the induction of an anesthesia in the majority of subjects in the three passive-receptive conditions.
VITAMIN C THERAPY AND PROPHYLAXIS IN EXPERIMENTAL POLIOMYELITIS

1. A group of 34 monkeys were infected intracerebrally with 0.1 cc. of a 10 per cent virus suspension. Following infection, 9 animals were treated with daily injections of 700 to 100 mg., 16 with 50 to 10 mg. and 9 with 5 mg. of vitamin C for a period of 2 weeks. In the whole group there were 6 animals that survived without showing any evidence of paralysis. 2 of these had received 50 to 10 mg. while 4 had received 5 mg. All of 19 untreated control monkeys, infected simultaneously with the same amount of virus, developed paralysis. 2. Another group of 6 monkeys were infected intracerebrally with 0.05 cc. of virus. Following infection, one animal was treated in the same manner with 25 mg. and 5 with 5 mg. of vitamin C. In the whole group there was one animal that survived without showing any evidence of paralysis. This animal had received 5 mg. All of 7 untreated control monkeys, infected simultaneously with the same amount of virus, developed paralysis. 3. A third group of 22 monkeys were infected intracerebrally with 0.01 cc. of virus. Following infection, one animal was treated in the same manner with 100 mg., 2 with 50 to 10 mg., and 19 with 5 mg. of vitamin C. In the whole group there were 12 animals that survived without showing any evidence of paralysis. One of these had received 10 mg., while 11 had received 5 mg. Of 12 untreated control monkeys, infected simultaneously with the same amount of virus, 2 failed to show any paralytic symptoms and 10 developed paralysis. 4. A summary of the results obtained in all three groups shows: (a) that among a total of 62 treated monkeys, 19 survived without paralysis and 43 succumbed to the disease, while of a total of 38 untreated controls, only 2 failed to develop paralysis and 36 succumbed to the disease; (b) that treatment with large doses of vitamin C was without any beneficial effect (all 10 monkeys which had received 700 to 100 mg. developing paralysis, that the administration of intermediate doses was followed by occasional survival without paralysis of the treated animal (3 monkeys surviving of a total of 19 which had received 50 to 10 mg.), and that nearly one-half of the animals which had received small doses escaped the disease (16 monkeys surviving of a total of 33 which had received 5 mg.). 5. Attempts to protect monkeys against subsequent intracerebral infection by the prophylactic administration of vitamin C, either per os or parenterally, have produced negative results. 6. The pathogenesis of infantile paralysis is discussed in the light of the experimental findings and the possibility is suggested that vitamin C represents one of the deficiency factors in the susceptibility problem of the human disease.
Automatic Generation of Nested, Fork-Join Parallelism

This paper presents an efficient algorithm that automatically generates a parallel program from a dependence-based representation of a sequential program. The resulting parallel program consists of nested fork-join constructs, composed from the loops and statements of the sequential program. Data dependences are handled by two techniques. One technique implicitly satisfies them by sequencing, thereby reducing parallelism. Where increased parallelism results, the other technique eliminates them by privatization: the introduction of process-specific private instances of variables. Additionally, the algorithm determines when copying values of such instances in and out of nested parallel constructs results in greater parallelism. This is the first algorithm for automatically generating parallelism for such a general model. The algorithm generates as much parallelism as is possible in our model while minimizing privatization.
Optical switching in arrays of quantum dots with dipole-dipole interactions

We investigate the use of quantum dimers whose transmission for an optical beam may be switched on or off using a second optical beam. This effect should be demonstrable in quantum dot structures.
Empirical estimates of inflation tax Laffer surfaces: a 30-country study

Abstract Long-run or “steady state” inflation tax Laffer surfaces are estimated with annual data over the 1960s through early 1990s for a varied group of 30 countries using the Cagan, semi-elastic demand for currency and for deposits. The model includes an explicit role for the reserve ratio, variations in which are shown to be important in explaining inflation tax revenue statistically. Countries' inflation and reserve ratio management are examined in terms of “where” they operated with respect to steady state Laffer boundaries, defined as the locus of instruments (inflation and reserve ratio) that maximize the inflation tax. Analysis is performed both in terms of sample means of the instruments and their annual values, each approach requiring a different conceptual framework. Few countries operated frequently on the “wrong side” of the Laffer surface.
On cardiac arrythmias: AV conduction block

A cardiac arrythmia is a disturbance of the heart rate or the sequence in which the heart chambers are excited. In this paper a mathematical description and analysis of one particular type of cardiac arrythmia, AV conduction block, is given. Using properties of circle maps, we show that large period and aperiodic heartbeat patterns occur only on small parameter regions of a Cantor set construction, and therefore are rarely observed in a clinical situation.
Synthesis and Incorporation of 2′-O-Methyl-Pseudouridine into Oligonucleotides

Abstract A short multigram synthesis of 2′-O-methylpseudouridine and its phosphoramidite derivative is described which avoids the use of protecting groups on the nitrogens. A binding study of oligonucleotides containing this modification suggest an increased binding affinity to RNA when compared to oligonucleotides incorporating 2′-O-methyluridine.
How capital technologies affect municipal service outcomes: The case of police mobile digital terminals and stolen vehicle recoveries

Mobile digital terminals (MDTs) are two-way computers, installed inside police vehicles, that provide officers with remote data base prospecting capabilities. Proponents argue that MDTs help officers recover stolen property. Several Texas police departments implemented MDT systems in the 1980s. This article assesses how MDTs in Dallas and Fort Worth affected vehicle theft recoveries, in comparison to a city with no MDTs, Austin. Five hypotheses are evaluated in a multiple interrupted time series design using ANOVA, response surface analysis, and pooled time series regression. The analysis of recoveries before and after intervention in two MDT cities and one non-MDT control city suggests that the technology is linked with increases in vehicle theft recoveries. The magnitude of improvement in recoveries associated with MDTs is more significant at lower levels of vehicle thefts. Austin showed some improvement in recovery rates without using MDTs, so other factors besides the technology are likely to be important.
Uncertainty, Change, and War: Power Fluctuations and War in the Modern Elite Power System

This article examines the relationship between power fluctuations in the elite power system and the frequency of war. A theory is developed and tested using a new dataset of elite powers and elite power wars. The theory posits that fluctuations in the elite power system are related to war among elite powers due to an increase in uncertainty that accompanies such fluctuations. The theory is logically extended to contend that as elite power systems age (move temporally away from the point of fluctuation) the frequency of war will decrease, due to the decline of uncertainty. The theory is supported by analysis employing an existing dataset collected by Jack Levy, as well as a new elite war dataset. Additionally, in terms of the type of fluctuation and war, the study finds that as the system becomes more complex the incidence of war also increases.
Parallel usage of medicinal plants by africans and their caribbean descendants

Cultivated plants are cited by anthropologists as important indicators of man’s past. Medicinal species, to a large extent, have been overlooked even though in some cases these plants represent some of the social and cultural traditions of the people who use them. A number of cultivated plants have been traced from the Old World to the New World and are generally believed to have been carried there by European explorers and early settlers. However, some evidence has been accumulating to indicate that there may have been contacts other than by European colonists. One trade route that has been neglected is that of the slave trade from west Africa to the Caribbean. Three plant species,Citrus aurantifolia, Ricinus communis andAbrus precatorius, may exemplify the role and use of this route. They also indicate the migration and assimilation of west African Fulani, Hausa, and Mandingo cultures and Obeah religion into Caribbean society.
2-D phase retrieval by partitioning into coupled 1-D problems using discrete Radon transforms

The discrete phase retrieval problem is to reconstruct a discrete-time signal whose support is known and compact from the magnitude of its discrete Fourier transform. We solve the 2-D discrete phase retrieval problem by partitioning it into a mostly-decoupled set of 1-D phase retrieval problems. The discrete and modulated Radon transforms are used to formulate two coupled 1-D problems, the solution to which then specifies solutions to the other decoupled 1-D problems. The latter may in turn be solved in parallel; however, using the solution to one problem as the input to a neighboring problem reduces the computation significantly for serial computers. Unlike other exact 2-D phase retrieval methods which rely on tracking zero curves of algebraic functions or equivalent operations, no continuous-function-based methods are used here. This makes the procedure more robust numerically.
Comparative habitat susceptibility to invasion by Chinese ash ( Fraxinus chinensis : Oleaceae) in a tropical Andean landscape

Chinese ash (Fraxinus chinensis) is an exotic tree species that has been used in non-commercial monospecific plantations for revegetation programs in the Central Andes of Colombia. At the Otun river watershed, these plantations occur in patches intermixed with old pastures, oak forests, and successional forests. In this heterogeneous landscape, the ash has been able to invade some of its surrounding habitats. This study evaluates the invasion patterns of ash to each of these habitats and experimentally quantifies seed and seedling survivorship and seedling growth as three processes that could determine ash establishment. Of the four habitats examined, old pastures were the most vulnerable to invasion, followed by oak plantations, and successional forest. Ash plantations exhibited recruitment levels intermediate between pastures and oak plantations. Abandoned pastures showed the highest seed germination, seedling survivorship, and seedling growth. In the ash plantations, recruitment seemed negatively affected by the low number of germinated seeds, high mortality of seedlings, and low growth. Invasion in oak plantations was constrained by high seed mortality and burial of seedlings by leaf litter, although the seedlings that did survive grew fast and produced a high number of leaves. Within the successional forest, Chinese ash seeds germinated but establishment was constrained by a reduced seedling survivorship and low growth. This research offers new evidence of how different processes affecting the establishment of an invader may differ among landscape elements, and it also yields important information for the management and control of ash in these Andean landscapes.
THE ORIGINS OF MUSIC: INNATENESS, UNIQUENESS, AND EVOLUTION

THE ORIGINS and adaptive significance of music, long an elusive target, are now active topics of empirical study, with many interesting developments over the past few years. This article reviews research in anthropology, ethnomusicology, developmental and comparative psychology, neuropsychology, and neurophysiology that bears on questions concerning the origins and evolution of music. We focus on the hypothesis that music perception is constrained by innate, possibly human- and musicspecific principles of organization, as these are candidates for evolutionary explanations. We begin by discussing the distinct roles of different fields of inquiry in constraining claims about innateness and adaptation, and then proceed to review the available evidence. Although research on many of these topics is still in its infancy, at present there is converging evidence that a few basic features of music (relative pitch, the importance of the octave, intervals with simple ratios, tonality, and perhaps elementary musical preferences) are determined in part by innate constraints. At present, it is unclear how many of these constraints are uniquely human and specific to music. Many, however, are unlikely to be adaptations for music, but rather are probably side effects of more general-purpose mechanisms. We conclude by reiterating the significance of identifying processes that are innate, unique to humans, and specific to music, and highlight several possible directions for future research.
The proportion of youths' physical inactivity attributable to neighbourhood built environment features.

We investigated the independent association between several neighbourhoodbuilt environment features and physical inactivity within a national sampleof Canadian youth, and estimated the proportion of inactivity within thepopulation that was attributable to these built environment features. This was a cross-sectional study of 6626 youth aged 11–15 yearsfrom 272 schools across Canada. Participants resided within 1 km oftheir school. Walkability, outdoor play areas (parks, wooded areas, yards athome, cul-de-sacs on roads), recreation facilities, and aesthetics weremeasured objectively within each school neighbourhood using geographicinformation systems. Physical inactivity (<5 days/week of60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity) was assessed byquestionnaire. Multilevel logistic regression analyses, which controlled forseveral covariates, examined relationships between built environmentfeatures and physical inactivity. The final regression model indicated that, by comparison to youth living inthe least walkable neighbourhoods, the risks for physical inactivity were28-44% higher for youth living in neighbourhoods in the remaining threewalkability quartiles. By comparison to youth living in neighbourhoods withthe highest density of cul-de-sacs, risks for physical inactivity were28-32% higher for youth living in neighbourhoods in the lowest twoquartiles. By comparison to youth living in neighbourhoods with the leastamount of park space, risks for physical inactivity were 28-37% higher foryouth living in the neighbourhoods with a moderate to high (quartiles 2 and3) park space. Population attributable risk estimates suggested that 23% ofphysical inactivity within the population was attributable to living inwalkable neighbourhoods, 16% was attributable to living in neighbourhoodswith a low density of cul-de-sacs, and 15% was attributable to living inneighbourhoods with a moderate to high amount of park space. Of the neighbourhood built environment exposure variables measured in thisstudy, the three that were the most highly associated with inactivity werewalkability, the density of cul-de-sacs, and park space. The associationbetween some of these features and youths’ activity levels were in theopposite direction to what has previously been reported in adults andyounger children.
Is There Truth in Advertising? Campaign Ad Images as Signals about Legislative Behavior

We explore the extent to which the images used in House candidates' campaign advertisements serve as signals about their policy positions and issue priorities in Congress. Our analyses, based on the campaign advertisements of 130 winning candidates in the 2000 election and their subsequent interest group voting scores and introduction and cosponsorship activity in the 107th Congress, demonstrate that ad imagery-legislative behavior linkages are common. Thus, while images may seem to be the least policy-oriented component of campaign advertising, we argue that they can provide useful signals to voters about legislators' preferences and priorities.
Baby steps on the path to understanding intentions

Tomasello et al. lay out a three-step ontogenetic pathway for infants' understanding of intentional action. By this account, before 9 months, infants do not understand actions as being goal directed. However, we caution against drawing strong conclusions from negative findings, and, based on recent findings, propose that a key aspect of goal knowledge is present well before 9 months.
Verification challenges of pervasive information flow

The CRASH/SAFE project aims to design a new computer system that is highly resistant to cyber-attack. 'It offers a rare opportunity to rethink the hardware / OS / software stack from a completely clean slate, unhampered by legacy constraints.' We are building novel hardware, a new high-level programming language, and a suite of modern operating system services, all embodying fundamental security principles -- separation of privilege, least privilege, mutual suspicion, etc. -- down to their very bones. Achieving these goals demands a co-design methodology in which all system layers are designed together, with a ruthless insistence on simplicity, security, and verifiability at every level.I will describe the current state of the CRASH/SAFE design and discuss some of the most interesting verification challenges that it raises.
A Chaos Theoretic Analysis of Motion and Illumination in Video Sequences

Accurate and robust image motion detection has been of substantial interest in the image processing and computer vision communities. Unfortunately, no single motion detection algorithm has been universally superior, yet biological vision systems are adept at motion detection. Recent research in neural signals have shown biological neural systems are highly responsive to signals which appear to be chaotic in nature. In this paper, we exploit these biological results and hypothesize that motion in images may produce changes in pixel amplitudes that are reminiscent of chaotic dynamical systems. In particular, we demonstrate that the trajectories of pixel amplitudes in phase space due to motion result in chaos-like behavior. We likewise demonstrate that the effects of spatio-temporally varying illumination produces phase space trajectories of the pixel amplitudes which are clearly non-chaotic. We review the research tying chaotic behavior to the fractal characteristics of phase space trajectories, and we investigate multi-fractal measures which can be used to classify the pixels in an image stream based on their fractal behavior in phase space. We finally apply these measures to the task of motion detection and segmentation and show they are effective in identifying moving objects while ignoring spatio-temporally varying illumination changes.
The epilepsy of trisomy 9p

Trisomy 9p is associated with structural abnormalities of the brain, neurologic dysfunction, and epilepsy.This report of a 27-year-old man with trisomy 9p and complex partial epilepsy is the first with a detailed description of the epilepsy associated with trisomy 9p. The patient9s EEG shows multifocal independent spike discharges and an asymmetric generalized spike discharge. In the first MRI obtained on an adult with this disorder, we find poorly developed white matter, an atrophic corpus callosum and cerebellum, and a choroidal fissure cyst. NEUROLOGY 1996;47: 821-824
Role of ceramide synthase in oxidant injury to renal tubular epithelial cells.

Abstract . Ceramide has been implicated to play an important role in the cell signaling pathway involved in apoptosis. Most studies that have used the apoptotic model of cellular injury have suggested that enhanced ceramide generation is the result of the breakdown of sphingomyelin by sphingomyelinases. However, the role of ceramide synthase in enhanced ceramide generation in response to oxidant stress has not been previously examined in any tissue. Hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) (1 mM) resulted in a rapid increase in ceramide generation (as measured by in vitro diacylglycerol kinase assay) in LLC-PK1 cells. The intracellular ceramide level was significantly increased at 5 min after exposure of cells to H 2 O 2 and thereafter continuously increased up to 60 min. H 2 O 2 also resulted in a rapid increase (within 5 min) in ceramide synthase activity (as measured by incorporation of [ 14 C] from the labeled palmytoyl—CoA into dihydroceramide) in microsomes. In contrast, the exposure of cells to H 2 O 2 did not result in any significant change in sphingomyelin content or acid or neutral sphingomyelinase activity. An increase in ceramide production induced by H 2 O 2 preceded any evidence of DNA damage and cell death. The specific inhibitor of ceramide synthase, fumonisin B1 (50 μM), was able to suppress H 2 O 2 -induced ceramide generation and provided a marked protection against H 2 O 2 -induced DNA strand breaks, DNA fragmentation, and cell death. Taken together, these data provide the first evidence that H 2 O 2 is a regulator of ceramide synthase rather than sphingomyelinases and that ceramide synthase—dependent ceramide generation plays a key role in DNA damage and cell death in oxidant stress to renal tubular epithelial cells.
Tests of Temporal Perspective: Do They Measure the Same Construct?:

This study presents correlations among nine measures of “temporal perspective.” If these measures reflect the same explanatory construct, inter-correlations should be high. This assumption appears untenable, however, since the only correlations (41 Ss) achieving significance are artifactual in nature, e.g., negative correlations between scores derived from forced-choice alternatives. Caution is indicated in generalizing from research demonstrating relationships between some psychological variable and any single measure of “temporal perspective,” the unifactorial composition of the construct is questioned, and additional work on test development is recommended.
Factors Influencing Variability in Compliance Rates and Clinical Outcomes Among Three Different Severe Sepsis Bundles

BACKGROUND:While 3 different quality indicator bundles are either approved (Voluntary Hospitals of America [VHA], Institute for Healthcare Improvement [IHI]) or proposed (Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations [JCAHO]) to rate clinical practices in treatment of severe sepsis, it is suspected that differences in the quality indicators among these bundles may lead to discrepant benchmarking data.OBJECTIVE:To compare bundle compliance and patient factors associated with it among the IHI, JCAHO, and VHA severe sepsis bundles and explore possible reasons for any observed variability.METHODS:Using a retrospective, noninterventional design, we evaluated 50 adults (APACHE II score 25 ± 6, organ failure 2 ± 1, and shock 52%) with severe sepsis who were admitted consecutively to an intensive care unit at a 450 bed university-affiliated hospital.RESULTS:Few patients met 100% (IHI 6%, JCAHO 0%, VHA 6%) or 75% or greater (IHI 22%, JCAHO 6%, VHA 22%) of the quality indicators in each bundle. The ...
1,7-bridged homotropylium cations : New evidence on the dimensions of the homoconjugation gap in homotropylium cations

Abstract Multistep syntheses, starting from the readily available propellane 14, have provided access to the first 1,7-bridged homotropylium ions, 9 and 31. From comparisons between the properties of these bridged ions and those of homotropylium ions with no bridge, it is concluded that the homoconjugation gap in unconstrained homotropylium ion must be relatively small, i.e. 1.5–1.7 A ; it cannot be as large as 2.1–13 A.
The Aurora kinase Ipl1 is necessary for spindle pole body cohesion during budding yeast meiosis

In budding yeast, the microtubule-organizing center is called the spindle pole body (SPB) and shares structural components with the centriole, the central core of the animal centrosome. During meiotic interphase I, the SPB is duplicated when DNA replication takes place. Duplicated SPBs are linked and then separate to form a bipolar spindle required for homolog separation in meiosis I. During interphase II, SPBs are duplicated again, in the absence of DNA replication, to form four SPBs that establish two spindles for sister-chromatid separation in meiosis II. Here, we report that the Aurora kinase Ipl1, which is necessary for sister-chromatid cohesion, is also required for maintenance of a tight association between duplicated SPBs during meiosis, which we term SPB cohesion. Premature loss of cohesion leads to SPB overduplication and the formation of multipolar spindles. By contrast, the Polo-like kinase Cdc5 is necessary for SPB duplication and interacts antagonistically with Ipl1 at the meiotic SPB to ensure proper SPB separation. Our data suggest that Ipl1 coordinates SPB dynamics with the two chromosome segregation cycles during yeast meiosis.
Perforated and Gangrenous Appendicitis: An Analysis of Antibiotic Failures

The relationships between resistant pathogens, serum levels of gentamicin, and the outcomes of gangrenous or perforated appendicitis were analyzed in 147 patients. Failure to cure the infection occurred significantly more frequently among patients treated with cefoperazone or cefamandole than among those treated with clindamycin and gentamicin in combination. The failures were associated with recovery of resistant Bacteroides fragilis from intraoperative cultures. Pseudomonas species were also associated with failures, their in vitro susceptibility not correlating with clinical cure. Patients with gentamicin peak serum levels of less than 6 micrograms/ml in the first three days were not more likely to be associated with failure than were patients with higher levels. These clinical observations indicate that antibiotic therapy of intra-abdominal sepsis should include antibiotics with in vitro activity against B fragilis and that precise adjustments of gentamicin levels may not improve outcome. In addition, Pseudomonas species may play a significant role in some of these infections.
Use of tissue harmonic imaging in pediatric echocardiography

Tissue harmonic imaging improves the quality of images in adults with poor acoustic windows, but its utility in children has yet to be evaluated. The use of fundamental and harmonic imaging were compared in 70 children with poor echocardiographic windows. Scores were higher for harmonic in comparison to fundamental imaging for all views. Harmonic imaging improves the visualization of cardiac structures over fundamental imaging in children with poor echocardiographic windows.
Rhenium variations in molybdenite (MoS2): Evidence for progressive subsurface oxidation

Abstract Temporal trends in Earth's near-surface mineralogy correlate with major events in Earth's geochemical and tectonic history. New and published analyses of 422 molybdenite (MoS2) specimens from 135 localities with known ages from 2.91 billion years (Ga) to 6.3 million years (Ma) reveal two statistically significant trends. First, systematic increases in average and maximum trace concentrations of Re in molybdenite since 3.0 Ga point to enhanced oxidative weathering by subsurface fluids. In addition, episodic molybdenum mineralization correlates with five intervals of supercontinent assembly from ∼2.7 Ga (Kenorland) to 300 Ma (Pangaea).
DFT Calculations of the Isomerization of 2-Methyl-3-butenenitrile by (Ni(bisphosphine)) in Relation to the DuPont Adiponitrile Process

The isomerization of 2-methyl-3-butenenitrile (2M3BN) carried out by [Ni(dippe)H]2 can follow either a C−CN activation pathway to form the linear product 3-pentenenitrile (3PN) or a C−H activation ...
Immunotherapy of cancer.

: The goal of cancer treatment is to develop modalities that specifically target tumor cells, thereby avoiding unnecessary side effects to normal tissue. Vaccine strategies that result in the activation of the immune system specifically against proteins expressed by a cancer have the potential to be effective treatment for this purpose. An early vaccine approach that was developed by our group involves the insertion of the granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) gene into cancer cells that are then used to immunize patients. These genetically modified tumor cells produce the immune activating protein GM-CSF in the local environment of the tumor cells, specifically activating the patient's T cells to eradicate cancer at metastatic sites. We have performed many studies that demonstrate that this vaccine can cure mice of cancer. We recently demonstrated that this approach can activate an immune response in patients with renal cell carcinoma. We are currently testing a similar approach in patients with pancreatic cancer. Until recently, whole tumor cells were used to produce the vaccine because the proteins expressed by the tumor cells that can be recognized by the immune system were unknown. However, recent advances have allowed the identifiation of many of the proteins expressed by some cancers. In addition, significant attention has been focused on the mechanisms by which antitumor immunity can be modulated. These active areas of research will undoubtably lead to the devleopment of more specific and more potent vaccine strategies in the near future. The first part of this paper focuses on data from two recent clinical trials that evaluated the whole tumor cell approach. The second part of this paper discusses some of the more exciting antigen-specific vaccine approaches that are under development for the treatment of cancer.
Case series of sural island flaps used for soft-tissue defects of the distal-third lower extremity.

Objective: To establish the sural island fasciocutaneous flap as an initial consideration for distal third lower-extremity soft tissue coverage and to provide non-plastic surgeons with a procedure they can perform on their own. Method: Literature on reverse sural island fasciocutaneous flaps was reviewed and summarised. We then assessed our case series of sural island flaps from 2008–2011 and looked to provide our operative technique and patient outcomes. Results: Nine patients, aged 12–70 years old, with greater than 1 year follow-up, were reviewed. Five patients had diabetes, peripheral vascular disease, or smoked tobacco. All patients healed their soft tissue coverage with minimal complication and were able to accommodate normal footwear. Conclusion: Reverse sural island flaps are resilient flaps that should be considered as an alternative to free muscle transfer, for distal third lower extremity coverage. Declaration of interest: There were no external sources of funding for this study. The authors ha...
Does Gratitude Enhance Social Well-Being?

In this chapter I explore how gratitude promotes well-being by enhancing social well-being. Research has clearly demonstrated that one of the most reliable characteristics of happy people is that they are social people. Thus, gratitude may enhance well-being by promoting healthy relationships. Gratitude may be seen to be a moral affect, in that it serves as a moral barometer, a moral motivator, and a moral reinforcer. How does gratitude promote social well-being? First, research has shown that grateful people are well liked. Second, evidence indicates that gratitude helps form and bond relationships. Furthermore, new research shows that gratitude is important in the maintenance of ongoing relationships. Finally, gratitude supports social well-being because it is a definitively prosocial emotion. Research has shown that when people feel grateful, they are more likely to help others, even when their assistance is costly. Expressions of gratitude also promote prosocial behavior in others, thereby showing that gratitude is a strong moral reinforcer. I conclude the chapter by summarizing the evidence with S. Algoe’s (Soc Pers Psychol Compass 6:455–469, 2012) find-remind-and-bind theory of the social functions of gratitude.
Constitutional WT1 mutations in Wilms' tumor patients.

PURPOSEPatients with Wilms' tumors (WT) who carry constitutional mutations in the WT1 gene have been described in case reports and small case series. We sought to determine the frequency of constitutional WT1 mutations in a larger cohort, and to identify clinical manifestations associated with the risk for carrying a WT1 mutation.METHODSWe collected clinical data and blood samples from 201 patients with a history of WT. Southern blot analysis, single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) analysis, and direct DNA sequencing were performed on DNA isolated from peripheral-blood lymphocytes from each patient. Odds ratios (ORs) for the carriage of a germline mutation of the WT1 gene were calculated for patients who had specific clinical risk factors compared with those who did not.RESULTSOf 201 patients with WT in the cohort, eight patients were carriers of mutations in the WT1 gene. Six of the eight mutations were protein-truncating nonsense mutations. None of 56 patients with isolated unilateral WT was a c...