cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Postoperative ventricular fibrillation and undiagnosed primary amyloidosis.

AMYLOIDOSIS is a disease characterized by deposition of amyloid proteins in various body tissues. The natural history of primary amyloidosis is poorly understood, and the clinical diagnosis is often not made until the disease is far advanced. There is a high prevalence of conduction disturbances associated with this disease, and heart-related problems are a frequent cause of death for patients with primary amyloidosis Sudden death is common, occurring in one third of these patients. 6,7 Here we present a case of unexpected postoperative cardiac arrest in a patient who was found at autopsy to have primary amyloidosis.
Effect of intentionality on willingness to reciprocate a favor

Abstract The purpose of this study was twofold: (1) to examine the influence of deliberate vs accidental help, and, to a lesser extent, high vs low help, on the magnitude of reciprocity; and (2) to clarify the role of obligation and attribution of motivation as mediators of reciprocity. Ss were assigned to one of four cells in a 2 × 2 factorial design. They were run on two tasks, the first to manipulate the two independent variables, and the second to measure magnitude of reciprocity. Both main effects were highly significant in the predicted direction. Data were obtained supporting the role of both obligation and attribution of motivation as mediating intentionality of help and magnitude of reciprocation.
Sounding the darkness and discovering the marvellous: hearing ‘A Lough Neagh Sequence’ with Seamus Heaney's auditory imagination

This essay carefully analyses an important facet of T.S. Eliot's influence on Heaney, namely their shared understanding of the auditory imagination. Heaney looks to Eliot's auditory imagination to help him accomplish three vital poetic tasks: sounding the dark places of the earth, discovering a luminescence within these dark places, and inspiring poetry even when his dark surroundings threaten to silence his art. After accomplishing this analysis through close readings of a wide selection of Heaney's prose and poetry, the essay presents detailed, original readings of Heaney's neglected ‘A Lough Neagh Sequence’. These readings practically illustrate the operation of Heaney's auditory imagination and the significance of his poetry's aural elements.
Are there predictors of malignancy in patients with multinodular goiter

Background Multinodular goiters (MNG) have recently been shown to have an incidence of cancer that approaches that of solitary thyroid nodule. However, fine needle aspiration (FNA) of a MNG is limited due to the presence of multiple nodules. Therefore we sought to identify risk factors for malignancy in patients with MNG. Methods A total of 1791 consecutive patients underwent thyroidectomy at a single academic institution between May 1994 and December 2009. Of these, 838 patients had a MNG, which we defined as ≥2 nodules on preoperative ultrasound. The medical records of these patients were reviewed and analyzed. Results A final pathologic diagnosis of malignancy was found in 260 of 838 (31%) of MNG patients. Of the 260 patients with malignancy, 113 (44%) had a focus of cancer 1 cm in size. On univariate analysis risk factors for malignancy were younger age and male gender. Patients with malignant nodules also had smaller nodules, smaller thyroids, and fewer nodules than those patients with benign findings on pathology. On multivariate analysis all predictors remained independently associated with malignancy with the exception of thyroid weight. Conclusion Risk factors for malignancy in a MNG included male gender, younger age, fewer nodules, and smaller nodule size. The low predictive value of FNA in our population suggests there needs to be better ways to predict malignancy in patients with MNG. Therefore, these clinical risk factors should be considered when consulting patients with MNG in regards to their risk of malignancy.
Grouper: A Compact, Streamable Triangle Mesh Data Structure

We present Grouper: an all-in-one compact file format, random-access data structure, and streamable representation for large triangle meshes. Similarly to the recently published SQuad representation, Grouper represents the geometry and connectivity of a mesh by grouping vertices and triangles into fixed-size records, most of which store two adjacent triangles and a shared vertex. Unlike SQuad, however, Grouper interleaves geometry with connectivity and uses a new connectivity representation to ensure that vertices and triangles can be stored in a coherent order that enables memory-efficient sequential stream processing. We present a linear-time construction algorithm that allows streaming out Grouper meshes using a small memory footprint while preserving the initial ordering of vertices. As a part of this construction, we show how the problem of assigning vertices and triangles to groups reduces to a well-known NP-hard optimization problem, and present a simple yet effective heuristic solution that performs well in practice. Our array-based Grouper representation also doubles as a triangle mesh data structure that allows direct access to vertices and triangles. Storing only about two integer references per triangleai.e., less than the three vertex references stored with each triangle in a conventional indexed mesh format-Grouper answers both incidence and adjacency queries in amortized constant time. Our compact representation enables data-parallel processing on multicore computers, instant partitioning and fast transmission for distributed processing, as well as efficient out-of-core access. We demonstrate the versatility and performance benefits of Grouper using a suite of example meshes and processing kernels.
Inhibition of glutathione-S- aryltransferase from rat liver by organogermanium, lead and tin compounds

Abstract Compounds having three carbon—germanium, carbon—tin or carbon—lead bonds were found to be effective inhibitors of rat liver glutathione- S -aryltransferase activity with K i , values in the μM range. Classical competitive inhibition was observed with l,2-dichloro-4-nitrobenzene as the limiting substrate. However, when the second substrate, glutathione, was limiting, inhibition of the mixed type occurred. Within the metallic series IVb, triethylsilane chloride was not active, while the effectiveness as inhibitors increased through triethylgermanium chloride, triethyltin bromide and triethyllead chloride. Except in the case of sulfur, the fourth group or atom bonded to tin in a series of triphenyltin compounds had little effect on inhibitory activity. Sodium sulfide or 2,3-dimercapto-1-propanol (BAL) was capable of protecting glutathione- S -aryltransferase from inhibition by triphenyltin chloride. Glutathione conjugations at aromatic carbon atoms were much more sensitive to inhibition by organotins than were conjugations at alkyl carbons or epoxides.
Macrocystic Lymphatic Malformation in the Pulmonary Parenchyma

We present a young girl with a diffuse, macrocystic lymphatic malformation with associated venous dilation involving the left lower pulmonary lobe and mediastinum. Recurrent hemoptysis necessitated left lower lobectomy. This is the first reported case of a macrocystic lymphatic lesion with venous anomalies located within the parenchyma of the lung.
Remote Ischemic Limb Preconditioning After Subarachnoid Hemorrhage A Phase Ib Study of Safety and Feasibility

Background and Purpose—Making a limb transiently ischemic has been shown to induce ischemic tolerance in a distant organ. This phenomenon is known as remote ischemic limb preconditioning. We conduc...
Producing Library Guides Using WordStar

To produce a library guide or bibliography that has call numbers in the left‐hand column and the citation and text to the right, as in fig. 1, here are some suggestions that might help in formatting your page. The symbol ⁁ is used here for the or key on your keyboard.
Computer-assisted analysis of conversation

Psychologists and linguists have employed computer programs to analyze written and spoken text. The Computer-Assisted Language Analysis System (CALAS) is a computer program that utilizes three sequential programs to parse the language of two speakers in a conversation into words, phrases, and clauses, and places verbs and nouns into categories derived from theories of case grammar. Rather than using a large “dictionary,” CALAS determines the category of each word on the basis of adjacent function words and placement of the words in the sentence. Output from CALAS lists the frequency of each category and can be used to construct measures of linguistic style and verb usage. Research employing CALAS includes the study of various types of psychotherapy, behavior therapy, classroom discourse, and literary texts.
Sex-role attitudes across two cultures: United States and India

The major purpose of the study is to compare sex-role attitudes of American and Indian students and also to determine the socioeconomic and demographic predictors in explaining the variance in these attitudes of the two student groups. Based on a sample of college students from the two countries, the study finds that Indian students are more traditional in their sex-role attitudes than American students; males of both the countries expressed more traditional sex-role attitudes than females; and sex explained more variance in sex-role attitudes of the two student groups than any other predictor. In general, the amount of variance explained in sex-role attitudes of American and Indian students is surprisingly small. The findings are discussed in the context of cultural diversity in explaining the differences in sex-role attitudes of American and Indian students.
Christian identity as primary foundation to workplace ethics

The focus of this paper is on understanding the nature of Christian (religious) ethics, giving special consideration of implications for ethical work. Some of the recent issues within the American workforce in regards to religion will be discussed, including three specific barriers for religious people who desire to live out their faith openly in the workplace. The paper will argue that the Christian ethic, including workplace ethics, needs to be understood as primarily a commitment to preserving and forming a Christian identity.
Stereotyping ricochet: complex effects of racial distinctiveness on identification accuracy.

Studies show that distinctive (e.g., attractive) people are better remembered than typical people (B. L. Cutler & S. D. Penrod, 1995). We investigated the effect of a Black person's presence on recognition accuracy for surrounding White individuals. Regarding eyewitness accuracy for an event, we expected more errors for White targets accompanied by Black confederates (experimental condition) than by White confederates (control). A staged accident was witnessed by participants, followed by a lineup. In 3 experiments, identification accuracy decreased in the experimental conditions, relative to control. Further data suggested that attention focused on the Black confederate reduced memory for the other confederates at the event. This pattern did not generalize to a condition substituting garish hair color for race, suggesting that racial distinctiveness, rather than general physical distinctiveness, contributed to the prior results.
Automatic book indexing by computer

This paper describes the development and evaluation of an automatic method of deriving suitable index entries from natural language text. A section of a chemistry textbook was selected as the experimental document. Both qualitative and quantitative measures were developed to evaluate quality of indexing. Evaluation of the experimental index was based on these measures and on a comparison with the average published manually produced index found in the same type of material.
Predicting expected gray level statistics of opened signals

The opening of a model signal with a convex, zero-height structuring element is studied empirically. Experiments are performed in which the input signal model parameters and the opening length are varied over an acceptable range and the corresponding grey level distributions in the opened signal are fit to Pearson distributions. Regressions are then used to relate the Pearson distribution parameters to the input parameters, resulting in equations that may be used to predict the effect of an opening. Characterization experiments show that the maximum absolute errors between actual and predicted cumulative distributions using these regression equations have a mean of 0.036 and a standard deviation of 0.011 (for a range of zero to one); the worst-case maximum absolute error encountered between the cumulative distributions is 0.066. >
An updated PC-based assembly language programming laboratory

An undergraduate computer engineering laboratory that supports a one-quarter, PC (personal computer)-based assembly language programming course is described. The course sequence is required for the computer engineering and is taken as a technical elective by many students in electrical engineering. The novel features of this state-of-the-art laboratory include a symbolic debugger with support for Assembly and high-level languages, a local area network of PCs, online documentation, and a RGB projector for interactive classroom demonstration. >
Urine cytology and commercially available urine-based markers for monitoring of bladder urothelial carcinoma

Bladder cancer is currently diagnosed using cystoscopy and cytology in patients with suspicious signs and symptoms. These tests are also used to monitor patients with a history of bladder cancer. The recurrence rate for bladder cancer is high, thus necessitating long-term follow-up. Urine cytology requires an experienced cytopathologist. It has high specificity, but low sensitivity for low-grade bladder tumors. Recently, multiple non-invasive urinebased bladder cancer tests have been developed. Many markers have already been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for bladder cancer surveillance, but only one marker is approved for detection of bladder cancer in high risk patients (NMP22 BladderChek).
Dynamics of radionuclide exchange in the calcareous algae Halimeda at Enewetak Atoll1

Measurements of /sup 239 +240/Pu in the detrital inclusions and in acid-soluble and acid-insoluble fractions of Halimeda macrophysa showed a 10-fold higher concentration in the acid-insoluble coenocytic filaments than in the acid-soluble fraction. In a depuration experiment with Halimeda incrassata at Enewetak Atoll the loss rate of six radionuclides was measured. Data for /sup 60/Co, /sup 137/Cs, and /sup 102//sup m/Rh were fit to loss curves by using one term for exponential loss; data for /sup 155/Eu, /sup 239 +240/Pu, and /sup 241/Am required two terms. For each radionuclide, compartment size and transfer functions were determined for the apropriate one- and two-compartment models. Of 26 possible two-compartment models, only seven gave solutions with our data. Nearly identical loss rates were obtained for /sup 155/Eu, /sup 239 +240/Pu, and /sup 241/Am in the fast-exchanging compartments for all seven models. The uptake rates for these nuclides were also similar when uptake rates were normalized to local sediment concentrations. The fast-exchanging compartment probably corresponds to the mucilage surface layer of the coenocytic filaments. The identity of the slow-exchanging compartment is less certain but it may correspond to the skeletal surface.
SUMOylation plays a role in gemcitabine- and bortezomib-induced cytotoxicity in human oropharyngeal carcinoma KB gemcitabine-resistant clone.

Bortezomib, a novel dipeptide boronic acid proteasome inhibitor, has been shown in previous studies to be synergistic with gemcitabine; however, the molecular mechanisms are not fully understood. Because post-translational modification of proteins, such as ubiquitination and SUMOylation, plays a critical role in governing cellular homeostasis, we explored this further by treating human oropharyngeal carcinoma KB wild-type (KBwt) and gemcitabine-resistant (KBGem) cells with gemcitabine and bortezomib in a time-dependent and sequence-dependent manner. Treatment with bortezomib at 4 to 8 hours post-gemcitabine significantly induced cell death in KBwt cell lines. However, in KBGem cells, bortezomib alone was just as cytotoxic. Using reporter assays, nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) activity was found to be 5-fold higher in KBGem cells than that in KBwt cells, and the combination treatment decreased NF-κB activity by 44% in KBwt cells and 28% in KBGem cells, respectively. By Western blot analyses, treatment with gemcitabine and bortezomib resulted in a cleavage of NF-κB in KBwt but not in KBGem cells. SUMOylation capacity was modulated by transducing KBwt and KBGem cells with lenti-SUMO-1 or the unconjugatable lenti-SUMO-1aa followed by drug treatment. The expression of cyclins A, D1, and E was differentially regulated by SUMOylation capacity in KBGem but not in KBwt cells. We report herein that the activation of NF-κB signaling plays a critical role in eliciting KBwt cell survival against gemcitabine, whereas the role of SUMOylation in modulating the steady-state levels of key cell cycle regulator proteins seems more significant in KBGem cells. [Mol Cancer Ther 2006;5(3):533–40]
Major Life Decisions of Gifted Adults in Relation to Overall Life Satisfaction

In this study, major life decisions of gifted adults were examined in relation to life satisfaction. Participants were 57 gifted adults who have been participating in a longitudinal study over the ...
Coatings and surface modifications imparting antimicrobial activity to orthopedic implants

Bacterial colonization and biofilm formation on an orthopedic implant surface is one of the worst possible outcomes of orthopedic intervention in terms of both patient prognosis and healthcare costs. Making the problem even more vexing is the fact that infections are often caused by events beyond the control of the operating surgeon and may manifest weeks to months after the initial surgery. Herein, we review the costs and consequences of implant infection as well as the methods of prevention and management. In particular, we focus on coatings and other forms of implant surface modification in a manner that imparts some antimicrobial benefit to the implant device. Such coatings can be classified generally based on their mode of action: surface adhesion prevention, bactericidal, antimicrobial-eluting, osseointegration promotion, and combinations of the above. Despite several advances in the efficacy of these antimicrobial methods, a remaining major challenge is ensuring retention of the antimicrobial activity over a period of months to years postoperation, an issue that has so far been inadequately addressed. Finally, we provide an overview of additional figures of merit that will determine whether a given antimicrobial surface modification warrants adoption for clinical use.
Proving the efficacy of complementary inputs for multilayer neural networks

This paper proposes and discusses a backpropagation-based training approach for multilayer networks that counteracts the tendency that typical backpropagation-based training algorithms have to “favor” examples that have large input feature values. This problem can occur in any real valued input space, and can create a surprising degree of skew in the learned decision surface even with relatively simple training sets. The proposed method involves modifying the original input feature vectors in the training set by appending complementary inputs, which essentially doubles the number of inputs to the network. This paper proves that this modification does not increase the network complexity, by showing that it is possible to map the network with complimentary inputs back into the original feature space.
Evaluating Spanish Proficiency among Interprofessional Health care Students Using Simulation

Abstract The purpose of this work is to share findings from a novel application of clinical simulation: the assessment of Spanish proficiency among interdisciplinary health students. Students enrolled in a "Spanish for Healthcare Professionals" course participated in a final examination offered via clinical simulation. Students from nursing, speech and hearing, pharmacy, and medicine were divided into six multidisciplinary groups. Focus groups were used to capture student perceptions related to the use of simulation for assessing language proficiency. Findings indicated that simulation provided a "real" experience but also caused anxiety; students felt supported by the group; students gained confidence about recognizing limits when communicating with Spanish-speaking patients; and an increase in simulation use throughout the course was desired. Simulation has a role in language courses for the health professions and provides a safe environment in which students can practice communication with non-English speaking patients.
Modeling the sustainability of knowledge management programs

In this paper, we explore the processes that create sustainable knowledge management (KM) programs. Much of the extant KM literature is advocacy or case description. There have been few attempts to look at success or failure as the result of the combination of endogenous forces that place KM in the context of the firm, and affect outcomes over time. This paper starts by describing a causal model that links a firm's staff and resources to the firm's ability to develop a knowledge repository, and the effects of this repository on the knowledge available to members of the firm. This model was developed through literature review combined with case study and 26 intensive interviews conducted at two international IT consulting firms. This model is formalized through the use of system dynamics simulation. It produces behaviors characteristic of successful knowledge management programs. Under alternative conditions, the model illustrates unsustainable outcomes. These outcomes are characterized by decay and marginalization of the knowledge management program. Knowledge management experts at one of the case study firms reviewed the results of the model through a set of structured interviews. Analysis of the interviews demonstrated that the model depicted plausible behavior for both the sustainable and unsustainable scenarios. This work contributes to the knowledge management literature by identifying and simulating the interaction between the knowledge-generating processes of the firm and its own dynamics. This simulation may be used to understand how knowledge management programs are embedded in the larger environment of the firm, and how that environment is in turn affected by the ability to manage knowledge successfully.
Noise Studies of Externally Dispersed Interferometry for Doppler Velocimetry

Externally Dispersed Interferometry (EDI) is the series combination of a fixed-delay field-widened Michelson interferometer with a dispersive spectrograph. This combination boosts the spectrograph performance for both Doppler velocimetry and high resolution spectroscopy. The interferometer creates a periodic comb that multiplies against the input spectrum to create moire fringes, which are recorded in combination with the regular spectrum. Both regular and high-frequency spectral components can be recovered from the data--the moire component carries additional information that increases the signal to noise for velocimetry and spectroscopy. Here we present simulations and theoretical studies of the photon limited Doppler velocity noise in an EDI. We used a model spectrum of a 1600K temperature star. For several rotational blurring velocities 0, 7.5, 15 and 25 km/s we calculated the dimensionless Doppler quality index (Q) versus wavenumber v. This is the normalized RMS of the derivative of the spectrum and is proportional to the photon-limited Doppler signal to noise ratio.
Intracellular Approach for Blocking JC Virus Gene Expression by Using RNA Interference during Viral Infection

The human polyomavirus, JC virus (JCV), encodes two regulatory proteins at the early (T antigen) and the late (agnoprotein) phases of viral infection whose activities are important for the production of the viral capsid proteins and the dysregulation of several host factors and their functions. For this study, we designed and utilized an RNA interference strategy via small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) that targeted the expression of T antigen and agnoprotein in human astrocytic cells. The treatment of cells with specific siRNA oligonucleotides targeting a conserved region of T antigen, nucleotides (nt) 4256 to 4276 (Mad-1 strain), caused a >50% decline in the level of T antigen and in its transcriptional activity upon the viral capsid genes as well as a significant reduction in viral DNA replication in infected cells. Similarly, a single siRNA that aimed at nt 324 to 342 of agnoprotein noticeably reduced early and late viral protein production. A combined treatment of the infected cells with both T-antigen and agnoprotein siRNAs completely abolished viral capsid protein production, indicative of the ability of the siRNAs to effectively halt multiplication of the virus in infected cells. These observations provide a new avenue for possible treatments of patients with the JCV-induced demyelinating disease progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy.
Mercury in Ancient Ice and Recent Snow from the Antarctic

Atmospheric mobilization and depositional processes are major features of the global biogeochemical Hg cycle. The atmosphere is an important pathway for the introduction of Hg into marine and terrestrial aquatic systems. Current estimates for human-related Hg emissions to the atmosphere parallel natural fluxes (Fitzgerald, 1986; Nriagu, 1989; Nriagu and Pacyna, 1991). This large anthropogenic interference has increased Hg deposition regionally and globally. In addition, the impact of anthropogenic emissions is amplified because Hg and many of its compounds, while toxic, can be converted to more poisonous forms (i.e., monomethyl mercury) in aquatic systems (Fitzgerald and Clarkson, 1991; Beiger and Jernelov, 1979). The present observed broad geographic incidence (e.g., USA, Canada, Sweden) of elevated Hg concentrations (as monomethyl mercury, MMHg) in piscivorous fish appears linked to human-related contemporary increases in Hg deposition (Lindqvist, 1991; Fitzgerald et al., 1991; Wiener et al, 1990). This is a serious international human health concern since fish and fish products are the largest source of MMHg in the human diet (Fitzgerald and Clarkson, 1991). Evidence for regional increases in atmospheric Hg deposition has been deduced from the Hg distribution in lake sediments (Rada et al, 1989; Bjorkland et al., 1984; Swain et al., 1992) and ombrotrophic bogs (Benoit et al., 1994; Madsen, 1981). On a larger spatial and temporal scale, however, hemispheric patterns of modern and historic deposition patterns are lacking. Such information is required to establish the extent of anthropogenic impact and to provide a foundation for future biogeochemical studies of Hg.
TOXICITY OF Aspergillus amstelodami

ISOLATES of Aspergillus amstelodami from country cured hams were tested for toxicity to chick embryos and to mice. Seven of eight culture filtrates from isolates grown 30 days in yeast extract (2%)-sucrose (20%) media were lethal to chicken embryos. Six of eight culture filtrates were lethal when injected intraperitoneally into mice. Eight of eleven strains grown on sterile corn were toxic when fed to mice. Deaths occurred after only 3 days. A single isolate, toxic to both mice and chick embryos was selected for further study. Culture filtrates of this strain were lethal to male, white, weanling rats. Symptoms and gross lesions were indicative of an effect on the circulatory system. Incorporation of the mycelial mat into the diet of rats resulted in increased liver and kidney weights although deaths were not observed within 30 days. Rats fed corn inoculated with this mold had significantly lower average body weight gains than controls. Because of limited solubility of the toxic substance in most organic solvents, gel permeation chromatography was used to isolate a single toxic fraction. Purification of the compound was aticomplished by ion exchange and paper chromatography. The toxic material (Rf= 0.94) fluoresces blue when viewed under short wave UV light. The melting point of the material was 159–162°C. The UV absorption maximum of the material in 95% ethanol was 211 nm.
Parallel and distributed approach for processing large-scale XML datasets

An emerging trend is the use of XML as the data format for many distributed scientific applications, with the size of these documents ranging from tens of megabytes to hundreds of megabytes. Our earlier benchmarking results revealed that most of the widely available XML processing toolkits do not scale well for large sized XML data. A significant transformation is necessary in the design of XML processing for scientific applications so that the overall application turn-around time is not negatively affected. We present both a parallel and distributed approach to analyze how the scalability and performance requirements of large-scale XML-based data processing can be achieved. We have adapted the Hadoop implementation to determine the threshold data sizes and computation work required per node, for a distributed solution to be effective. We also present an analysis of parallelism using our Piximal toolkit for processing large-scale XML datasets that utilizes the capabilities for parallelism that are available in the emerging multi-core architectures. Multi-core processors are expected to be widely available in research clusters and scientific desktops, and it is critical to harness the opportunities for parallelism in the middleware, instead of passing on the task to application programmers. Our parallelization approach for a multi-core node is to employ a DFA-based parser that recognizes a useful subset of the XML specification, and convert the DFA into an NFA that can be applied to an arbitrary subset of the input. Speculative NFAs are scheduled on available cores in a node to effectively utilize the processing capabilities and achieve overall performance gains. We evaluate the efficacy of this approach in terms of potential speedup that can be achieved for representative XML data sets.
EWANT: the emulated wireless ad hoc network testbed

In this paper we demonstrate a wireless 802.11 testbed. This testbed allows for direct comparison between mobile wireless routing protocols without affecting their routing or MAC layer protocols or inter-layer interaction. We have built a low cost environment to facilitate such wireless network research. The core idea is "compressing" the network and emulating mobility without actually moving the nodes. We successfully emulate the RF effects along with mobility. The viability of this test bed is checked with the help of a click implementation of the dynamic source routing protocol. Our experiences show that such a testbed provides valuable feedback not available through simulation.
Process Predictors of the Outcome of Group Drug Counseling.

Objective: This study examined the relation of process variables to the outcome of group drug counseling, a commonly used community treatment, for cocaine dependence. Method: Videotaped group drug counseling sessions from 440 adult patients (23% female, 41% minority) were rated for member alliance, group cohesion, participation, self-disclosure, as well as positive and non-positive feedback and advice during the 6-month treatment of cocaine dependence. Average, session-level, and slopes of process scores were evaluated. Primary outcomes were monthly cocaine use (days using out of 30), next session cocaine use, and duration of sustained abstinence from cocaine. Secondary outcomes were endorsement of 12-step philosophy and beliefs about substance abuse. Results: More positive alliances (with counselor) were associated with reductions in days using cocaine per month and next-session cocaine use and increases in endorsement of 12-step philosophy. Patient self-disclosure about the past and degree of participation in the group were generally not predictive of group drug counseling outcomes. More advice from counselor and other group members were consistently associated with poorer outcomes in all categories. Individual differences in changes in process variables over time (linear slopes) were generally not predictive of treatment outcomes. Conclusions: Some group behaviors widely believed to be associated with outcome, such as self-disclosure and participation, were not generally predictive of outcomes of group drug counseling, but alliance with the group counselor was positively associated, and advice giving was negatively associated, with the outcome of treatments for cocaine dependence.
B. F. Skinner: On Behalf of the Future

It was characteristic of Fred Skinner that even as he faced his own death, he was concerned about the problems to be faced by others in the future. During my last visit, just before Christmas in 1989, he talked about his progress on his essay, "To Know the Future" (1990), which he was preparing for a volume of reflections by eminent men and women. Our conversation ranged over a number of social issues, and ·· like his essay -ended on a note of cautious optimism. As such, it was quite unlike the pessimistic tone of his talk on "Why we do not act to save our world" (1987). He had, of course, been concerned for many years about the problem of knowing and acting on behalf of the future. In Beyond Freedom and Dignity (1971), he discussed the global problems of overpopulation, resource depletion, environmental pollution, and the possibility of a nuclear holocaust, and considered ways in which the cultures of the world could bring these terrifying aspects of the future to bear on the present behavior of their members. In his fmal article, 20 years later, he related these concerns to the limits of scientific knowledge: 'We may suffer overcrowding, shortages, and pollution, but they are the present; they are bits of the future that are we have already reached. Only through science do we know how serious they will eventually become, and only through science are we aware of current dangers such as those of solar and nuclear radiation. But science is ahnost wholly known by description -indeed, the less reliable kind called prediction." (1990, p. 105). Science can also tell us what to do to alter the trends that are leading toward this frightening future, he said, but physics and biology and their associated technologies cannot tell us how to induce people to do these things. To return to Beyond Freedom and Dignity: "What we need is a technology of behavior. We could solve our problems quickly enough if we could a!ljust the growth of the world's population as precisely as we adjust the course of a spaceship, or improve agriculture and industry with some of the conlidence with which we accelerate high-energy particles, or move toward a peaceful world with something like the steady progress with which physics has approached absolute zero (even though both presumably remain out of reach). But a behavioral technology comparable in power and precision to physical and biological technology is laclring'' (1971, p. 5).
Effect of Secondary Structure on the Activity of Enzymes Suspended in Organic Solvents

Despite the extensive use and study of enzymes suspended in organic solvents, whether activity differences between different preparations can be accounted for by differences in protein secondary structure is still unknown. To address this issue, in the current study two model enzymes, alpha-chymotrypsin and subtilisin Carlsberg, were lyophilized and suspended in both polar and nonpolar organic solvents. The secondary structures of the proteins in the initial aqueous solution, in the lyophilized powder, and in the subsequent suspensions in organic solvents were determined using infrared spectroscopy. Lyophilization perturbed the secondary structure of both enzymes. With alpha-chymotrypsin, lyophilization from buffer followed by suspension in ethanol, hexane, or pyridine did not alter the unfolded structure observed in the dried powder. In contrast, with subtilisin Carlsberg, suspension of the dried enzyme in ethanol led to further perturbation of structure, whereas in hexane, and more so in pyridine, there was some return toward native structure. Lyophilization of the aqueous protein solutions in the presence of either trehalose or sorbitol led to retention of more native-like structure of both enzymes in the dried solid. However, large structural perturbations arose when these samples were suspended in organic solvents. The only exception was the subtilisin-trehalose mixture, which regained some native structure in ethanol and hexane. The greatest changes were noted in samples suspended in pyridine, in which the infrared spectra indicated extensive intermolecular beta-sheet formation from protein aggregates. There was not any consistent correlation between activity in organic solvents and either the initial structure obtained in the dried powders or the final structure when suspended in organic solvents. Nor could differences in residual water contents in dried samples or the total water content in the organic solvent reaction system account for the activity differences.
An Integrated Automated Analysis Method for Quantifying Vessel Stenosis and Plaque Burden From Carotid MRI Images: Combined Postprocessing of MRA and Vessel Wall MR

Background and Purpose— We report the evaluation of a semiautomated method for in vivo assessment of the severity of carotid atherosclerosis with minimal user interaction that combines 3-dimensional contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance angiography (CE-MRA) and vessel wall magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Methods— Lumen and outer-wall contours were automatically detected, and stenosis and plaque burden were estimated. The method was tested on 22 subjects (352 postcontrast, T1-weighted cross sections and 3-dimensional CE-MRA). Results— We observed good correlation with expert contours: lumen and outer-wall area (r=0.96) and the degree of stenosis (r=0.97). Conclusions— The fusion of MRA and MRI reduces user interaction and improves contour detection, providing reproducible parameters to assess the severity of atherosclerosis.
Prevalence and Trends in Obesity and Severe Obesity Among Children in the United States, 1999-2012

Importance Childhood obesity is the focus of public health efforts and accurate estimates of the prevalence and severity of obesity are needed for policy decisions and directions for future research. Objective To examine the prevalence of obesity and severe obesity over time for 14 years of the continuous National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1999 to 2012, and to examine differences in the trends by age, race/ethnicity, and sex. Design, Setting, and Participants Representative sample (N = 26 690) of children in the United States, ages 2 to 19 years, in repeated cross-sections of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1999 to 2012. Main Outcomes and Measures Prevalence of overweight (body mass index [BMI] ≥ 85th percentile), obesity (BMI ≥ 95th percentile for age and sex), class 2 obesity (BMI ≥ 120% of the 95th percentile or BMI ≥ 35), and class 3 obesity (BMI ≥ 140% of the 95th percentile or BMI ≥ 40). Results From 2011 to 2012, 17.3% (95% CI, 15.3-19.3) of children in the United States aged 2 to 19 years were obese. Additionally, 5.9% (95% CI, 4.4-7.4) of children met criteria for class 2 obesity and 2.1% (95% CI, 1.6-2.7) met criteria for class 3 obesity. Although these rates were not significantly different from 2009 to 2010, all classes of obesity have increased over the last 14 years. Conclusions and Relevance Nationally representative data do not show any significant changes in obesity prevalence in the most recently available years, although the prevalence of obesity may be stabilizing. Continuing research is needed to determine which, if any, public health interventions can be credited with this stability. Unfortunately, there is an upward trend of more severe forms of obesity and further investigations into the causes of and solutions to this problem are needed.
Influence of triamcinolone, estradiol-17β and testosterone on 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 binding performances to its chick intestinal receptor

We have investigated the effects of large molar excesses (20,000) of triamcinolone, estradiol-17β and testosterone on the binding performances of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 [1,25(OH)2D3] to its receptor. The source of receptor was a duodenal chromatin fraction of vitamin D replete chickens which exhibited a high level of positive cooperativity (Hill coefficient = 1.50 ± 0.12; n = 4) in the binding of 1,25(OH)2D3 to the two sites of its intestinal receptor. Triamcinolone did not modify the affinity, cooperativity level and maximum binding capacity of the 1,25(OH)2D3 receptor. Estradiol-17β induced a slight but significant increase of 13 ± 1 % (P < 0.01) of the receptor capacity and testosterone a 29 ± 6% (P < 0.02) increase of the receptor affinity. A combination of estradiol-17β and testosterone did not modify the 1,25(OH)2D3 receptor's binding performances. In conclusion, the effects of corticoids, estradiol-17β and testosterone under in vitro conditions on the 1,25(OH)2D3 receptor's binding performances were found to be marginal in our system. Other studies under in vivo conditions, possibly at the pre-transcriptional level, of these steroids effects on the 1,25(OH)2D3 receptor gene regulation expression would be of great interest.
Adult Phyllophaga ephilida Host Plant Feeding Preference

Abstract Limited biological information about Phyllophaga ephilida, a major sweet potato pest in Louisiana, is available. In 2001 and 2002, a study was conducted in the laboratory to investigate the feeding preference of adult Phyllophaga ephilida (Say) (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) for the foliage of eight woody plant species: water oak (Quercus nigra L.), live oak (Quercus virginiana Mill.), red maple (Acer rubrum L.), slash pine (Pinus caribaea Morelet), pecan (Carya illinoensis (Wangenh) K. Koch), sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua L.), southern magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora L.), and American elm (Ulmus americana L.). Beetles were placed in an arena with the eight host plants and allowed to feed for 24 h (choice test). Leaf area consumed and change in leaf weight were recorded. In 2001 and 2002, host plant had a significant effect on both leaf area and weight consumed. In 2001, mean leaf area (mm2) consumed was pecan (504), followed by elm (314), water oak (237), maple (176), live oak (38.0), and sweetgu...
Recent Tax Malpractice Development in the Estate and Gift Tax Area

In this article the author reviews developments of approximately the past five to six years in tax malpractice litigation in the estate and gift area. After a brief review of the basic elements of the malpractice cause of action, the author examines the recent cases by category: tax return preparation/filing, planning errors, drafting errors, disclaimers and valuation. The author concludes that a relatively large number of cases are brought in this area and that it likely is the leading area for malpractice suits during the time period involved. The author also notes that tax practitioners frequently avoid liability on statute of limitations grounds, various privity-related arguments and various other procedural reasons. Careful, preventive lawyering is especially important in this area.
Long-Term Outcome of Gilles De La Tourette Syndrome

Videotapes recorded 1978 through 1991 of 56 children (ages 8 to 14) with Gilles de la Tourette syndrome (GTS) were reviewed and 31 of the patients (28 men and 3 women, age>20 years) were recruited for a second videotape and in-person assessment at Rush-Presbyterian-St Luke’s Movement Disorder Center, Chicago, IL.
Walnut Consumption Influences the Human Gut Microbiome

BackgroundDiet and the microbiome play an important role in human health. However, the interplay of diet, the microbiome, and health and disease is under-investigated. Furthermore, there is a dearth of information on the impact of specific foods on the gastrointestinal microbiome. Diets rich in nuts have beneficial effects on cardiovascular disease risk factors, including reduced LDL cholesterol and inflammation. The exact mechanisms of these cardioprotective effects may be linked to the gastrointestinal microbiome. ObjectiveWe aimed to assess the impact of walnut consumption on the human gastrointestinal microbiome as a means for understanding the underlying mechanisms of the cardiometabolic protective effects of nut consumption. MethodsA controlled-feeding, randomized, crossover study was undertaken in healthy adult males (n=10) and females (n=8). Study participants received isocaloric treatment diets containing 0 grams or 42 grams/day of walnut pieces for a period of 3 weeks with a 1-week washout betwe...
Mechanism of Catalytic Nitrene Transfer Using Iron(I)–Isocyanide Complexes

Low-spin iron(I) complexes supported by bulky β-diketiminate ligands catalyze the formation of unsymmetric carbodiimides (RN═C═NR′, R ≠ R′) from isocyanides and organoazides. In situ EPR studies indicate that the catalytic resting state in these reactions is the tris(isocyanide)iron(I) complex LFe(CNR)3, and kinetic experiments show that the reaction is inverse second-order in isocyanide concentration, suggesting that two isocyanide molecules dissociate prior to the rate-determining step. An unusual iron–carbodiimide complex can be isolated independently, and facile displacement of the coordinated carbodiimide by both isocyanide and N2 demonstrate that product release is not kinetically limiting during catalysis. These experimental data fit a coherent mechanism for the catalytic C–N coupling reaction, and the implications for catalytic nitrene transfer are discussed.
A saturable site responsible for polar transport of indole-3-acetic acid in sections of maize coleoptiles.

The velocity of transport and shape of a pulse of radioactive indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) applied to a section of maize (Zea mays L.) coleoptile depends strongly on the concentration of nonradioactive auxin in which the section has been incubated before, during, and after the radioactive pulse. A pulse of [3H]IAA disperses slowly in sections incubated in buffer (pH 6) alone; but when 0.5–5 μM IAA is included, the pulse achieves its maximum velocity of about 2 cm h-1. At still higher IAA concentrations in the medium, a transition occurs from a discrete, downwardly migrating pulse to a slowly advancing profile. Specificity of IAA in the latter effect is indicated by the observation that benzoic acid, which is taken up to an even greater extent than IAA, does not inhibit movement of [3H]IAA. These results fully substantiate the hypothesis that auxin transport consists of a saturable flux of auxin anions (A-) in parallel with a nonsaturable flux of undissociated IAA (HA), with both fluxes operating down their respective concentration gradients. When the anion site saturates, the movement of [3H]IAA is nonpolar and dominated by the diffusion of HA. Saturating polar transport also results in greater cellular accumulation of auxin, indicating that the same site mediates the cellular efflux of A-. The transport inhibitors napthylphthalamic acid and 2,3,5-triiodobenzoic acid specifically block the polar A- component of auxin transport without affecting the nonsaturable component. The transport can be saturated at any point during its passage through the section, indicating that the carriers are distributed throughout the tissue, most likely in the plasmalemma of each cell.