cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effect of drug lipophilicity and ionization on permeability across the buccal mucosa: a technical note.

Drug delivery across buccal mucosa offers a variety of advantages and is a good alternative to the conventional mode of drug administration such as the peroral and parenteral routes (1). The buccal mucosa has a stratified (multilayered) squamous epithelium, which forms the rate-limiting barrier to absorption across this membrane (2). The intercellular space is filled with about 50% polar lipids such as phospholipids and glycosylceramides (3). Based on the biochemical composition and structure of the buccal mucosa, drugs can permeate by the lipoidal and/or aqueous pathways (4). The lipoidal pathway encompasses both transcellular transport and transport through the intercellular lipids by partitioning. The water molecules entrapped by the polar head groups of intercellular lipids result in an aqueous pathway (5). Drug lipophilicity is a very important descriptor governing permeation across a biological membrane (6). Lipophilicity is generally expressed quantitatively as the log10 of the partitioning of a neutral drug species between n-octanol and water (logP) and is the most widely used predictor for drug permeation. However, logP does not encompass the extent of ionization of ionizable molecules. As 95% of all drugs have ionizable groups, distribution coefficient (logD) that considers the extent of ionization as well as intrinsic lipophilicity may be a better descriptor that reflects the partitioning of a mixture of drug species as well as the actual drug lipophilicty at any given pH (7). In this study, it was hypothesized that logD describes buccal permeation better than logP. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess and compare the correlation of logP and logD with buccal permeability. Toward this purpose, permeabilities of 12 different drugs across porcine buccal mucosa were determined.
Turning the Corner on the HIV Epidemic Among Adolescents: Prioritizing Directions for Future Prevention Research

The HIV epidemic among adolescents continues to exact a heavy toll in suffering, morbidity, mortality, and expenditures in fiscal and human resources, both in the United States and globally (Bermud...
The condensed tannins (Proanthocyanidins) in seagrasses

Abstract In a survey of 29 species in the 12 seagrass genera, those in the Potamogetonaceae that characteristically have tannin cells in the leaves (Posidonioideae: Posidonia; Cymodoceoideae: Halodule, Syringodium, Cymodocea, Thalassodendron, Amphibolis) contained compounds with the Rf values and color reactions typical of condensed tannins. Species in the Potamogetonaceae that are not characterized by tannin cells in the leaves (Zosteroideae: Zostera, Phyllospadix, Heterozostera) contained compounds with the Rf values associated with condensed tannins but without the typical staining reactions. Two of the three genera in the Hydrocharitaceae (Enhalus, Thalassia) are characterized by tannin cells in the leaves and contain compounds with the Rf values of condensed tannins but only some of the typical staining reactions. The third genus, Halophila, lacks tannin cells in the leaves and contains compounds with the Rf values of condensed tannins without the typical staining reactions. The role of condensed tannins as feeding deterrents because of their protein-binding properties has been well established for many land plants, but their role in seagrass biology has not been assessed fully.
Continuous Manufacture of Cottage and Other Uncured Cheese Varieties

Abstract Manufacture of quarg (quark) by continuous fermentation in a two-stage fermenter is discussed. The process, which required sterile media and utilized single strain lactic streptococci, operated successfully for several days without problems. A mechanical washer-cooler for cottage cheese curd is described. It provides for curd washing in an enclosed system and utilizes about half the water needed for vat washing. The growth of lactic streptococci in cottage cheese milk appears to contribute something other than acid production which affects the body and texture of cottage cheese curd. When skim milk was precultured to pH 5.7 or 5.5 prior to making cottage cheese by direct acidification, the moisture holding capacity and firmness of the curd were increased and body and texture scores were improved. A combination of preculturing skim milk coupled with continuous direct acidification is proposed for cottage cheese making.
Deviation from the universal code shown by the gene for surface protein 51A in Paramecium

The immobilization antigens (i-antigens) of Paramecium, large polypeptides of relative molecular mass ∼300,000 (ref. 1), are located on the cell surface. Each i-antigen is encoded by a different unlinked gene, and no more than one gene is expressed at a time. The proteins and the mRNAs and genes encoding them are readily isolated2,3. Here we report the nucleotide sequence of three regions of the A i-antigen gene from stock 51 of Paramecium tetraurelia. Surprisingly, all reading frames contain TAA and TAG stop codons, even though there is evidence that one reading frame of these sequences codes for the i-antigen. We suggest that in Paramecium UAA and UAG code for amino acids, instead of serving as translational stops as they do in all other organisms.
Teaching Multi‐Disciplinary Design: Solar Car Design

Multi-disciplinary design can be taught in a very general way focusing on methods and procedures that work for any multi-disciplinary design project or in a very specific way focusing on a specific multi-disciplinary design project. The general approach teaches students the principles of how to approach any multi-disciplinary design project but often lacks meaningful examples of how the principles are applied. Focusing on a specific multi-disciplinary design project gives the students a meaningful example of how to apply design principles but they may have difficulty generalizing what they have learned and how it can be applied to other projects. To get a good background in engineering design, engineering students should have educational experiences that are both general and specific. This paper describes a course developed at the University of Missouri-Rolla (UMR) to teach multi-disciplinary design by focusing on the design of a solar racing car. The purpose of the course is to teach the aspects of a multi-disciplinary design project utilizing a specific example for student comprehension.
Beef Cattle Manure Survey and Assessment of Crop Availability of Phosphorus by Soil Testing

Knowing beef cattle (Bos taurus) manure P crop availability is essential to improve the utilization of this nonrenewable resource. This study surveyed cattle manure properties and evaluated its P crop-availability by soil testing. Manure samples were collected from 107 confined operations and classified into the types with bedding (BEDDED), concrete floor (CONCRETE), dirt floor (DIRT), no feeding of corn (Zea mays L.) coproducts (NoCCP), and liquid (PIT). Total P (TP) and the percentage water-soluble P of TP (MWSP%) were higher for BEDDED, CONCRETE, and PIT (10, 11, 15 g TP kg⁻¹ and 59, 57, and 55% MWSP) than for DIRT and NoCCP (5 and 7 g TP kg⁻¹, and 21 and 42% MWSP). Eleven representative samples from each manure type and di-ammonium phosphate (DAP) were incubated (1, 2, 5, 9, 14, and 23 wk) with soils Adair (fine, smectitic, mesic Aquertic Argiudolls), Harps (fine-loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic Typic Calciaquolls), and Nicollet (fine-loamy, mixed, superactive, mesic Aquic Hapludolls) by applying P equivalent to 87 kg TP ha⁻¹. After 1 wk of incubation, there were not significant or small and inconsistent soil P increases as measured by Bray-P1 (BP), Mehlich-3 (M3P), Olsen (OP), and water-extractable P (WEP). Manure P efficiency relative to DAP differed among P methods (80, 79, 77, and 74% for OP, M3P, BP, and WEP) and soils (84, 76, and 73% for Harps, Nicollet, and Adair). On average, manure P efficiency relative to DAP was 84 and 85% for BEDDED and CONCRETE manure, 77 and 74% for PIT and DIRT manure, and 69% for NoCCP manure.
Extent and limits of cooperation in animals

Individuals in many animal species are strongly motivated to form close social bonds and to attend to the social interactions of others. Some animals may also recognize other individuals’ intentions and simple mental states. Such curiosity appears to be adaptive, because it enables observers to learn about others’ status and relationships and to anticipate future events without direct participation. However, many questions remain unresolved. In particular, it remains unclear whether animals keep track of favors given and received when interacting with others, and whether they rely on memory of past cooperative acts when anticipating future ones. Primates appear to possess many of the cognitive abilities required for human-like contingent cooperation. However, most investigations of captive primates have indicated that cooperation is seldom contingency-based, and that interactions are not influenced by inequity aversion or sensitivity to cheaters. In contrast, several experiments with nonprimates have found that animals can take into account recent interactions when supporting others, suggesting that the apparent rarity of contingent cooperation in primates may not stem from cognitive constraints. Instead, individuals may tolerate short-term inequities in favors given and received because most cooperation occurs among long-term reciprocating partners.
Physical and ant-mediated refuges from parasitism: Implications for non-target effects in biological control

Abstract A promising natural enemy for release against the Asian soybean aphid, Aphis glycines Matsumura, in North America is the aphidiine braconid wasp Binodoxys communis (Gahan). The aphid Aphis monardae Oestlund, a native of North America’s tall-grass prairies, is a non-target species that may be at risk from releases of B. communis . This paper describes ecological facets of A. monardae populations in their native habitat that could protect them from attack by this exotic biological control agent. In prairie habitats, A. monardae populations aggregate in flower heads of their host plant, Monarda fistulosa L. On this host plant, aphids are also commonly tended by four ant species, and ant-tended colonies are larger than un-attended colonies. Laboratory studies showed that parasitism rates of A. monardae by B. communis are significantly higher on vegetative M. fistulosa than on M. fistulosa flower heads. In addition, attendance of A. monardae by the ant Lasius neoniger Emery significantly decreased parasitism by B. communis . Ants attacked and killed host-seeking adult parasitoids, and preyed upon B. communis mummies. No evidence was found that B. communis reared from A. monardae are less susceptible to attack by ants than parasitoids reared from A. glycines . M. fistulosa flower heads and attendance by L. neoniger may act as refuges for A. monardae against B. communis . Our work describes spatial refuges as ecological filters that separate non-target organisms from exotic natural enemies. Implications for classical biological control of A. glycines are discussed.
Licorice compounds glycyrrhizin and 18β-glycyrrhetinic acid are potent modulators of bile acid-induced cytotoxicity in rat hepatocytes

The accumulation of hydrophobic bile acids results in cholestatic liver injury by increasing oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, and activation of cell signaling pathways. Licorice root and its constituents have been utilized as antihepatotoxic agents. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the potential modulation by a primary component of licorice root, glycyrrhizin (GL), and its metabolite, 18β-glycyrrhetinic acid (GA), in a hepatocyte model of cholestatic liver injury. Preincubation of fresh rat hepatocyte suspensions with GL or GA reduced glycochenodeoxycholic acid (GCDC)-dependent reactive oxygen species generation, with GA more potent than GL. Interestingly, GL and GA had opposing effects toward GCDC-induced cytotoxicity; GA prevented both necrosis and apoptosis, whereas GL enhanced apoptosis. GCDC promoted activation of caspase 10, caspase 3, and PARP; all were inhibited by GA but not GL. Induction of apoptosis by GCDC was also associated with activation of JNK, which was prevented by GA. Activation of caspase 9 and dissipation of mitochondrial membrane potential were prevented by GA but not GL. In liver mitochondrial studies, GL and GA were both potent inhibitors of the mitochondrial permeability transition, reactive oxygen species generation, and cytochrome c release at submicromolar concentrations. Results from this study suggest that GL exhibits pro-apoptotic properties, whereas GA is a potent inhibitor of bile acid-induced apoptosis and necrosis in a manner consistent with its antioxidative effect.
A prospective population-based study of pediatric trauma patients with mild alterations in consciousness (Glasgow Coma Scale score of 13-14).

OBJECTIVE Considerable controversy surrounds the appropriate evaluation of children with mild alterations in consciousness after closed head trauma (Glasgow Coma Scale [GCS] score of 13-14). The objective of the current study was to determine the incidence of intracranial lesions in pediatric patients with a field GCS score of 13 or 14 after closed head injuries. METHODS The current study is a population-based, multicenter prospective study of all patients to whom emergency medical services responded during a 12-month period. The setting was urban Los Angeles County, encompassing a patient population of 2.3 million children, 13 designated trauma centers, and 94 receiving hospitals. RESULTS In the pediatric age group (<15 yr old), 8488 patients were transported by emergency medical services for injuries. Of these, 209 had a documented field GCS score of 13 or 14. One hundred fifty-seven patients were taken to trauma centers, and 135 (86%) underwent computed tomography. Forty-three patients (27.4%) had abnormal results on computed tomographic scans, 30 (19.1%) had an intracranial hemorrhage, and 5 required an operative neurosurgical procedure for hematoma evacuation. Positive and negative predictive values of deteriorating mental status (0.500 and 0.844, respectively), loss of consciousness (0.173 and 0.809), cranial fracture (0.483 and 0.875, and extracranial injuries (0.205 and 0.814) were poor predictors of intracranial hemorrhage. CONCLUSION Pediatric patients who have mild alterations in consciousness in the field have a significant incidence of intracranial injury. The great majority of these patients will not require operative intervention, but the implications of missing these hemorrhages can be severe for this subgroup of head-injured patients. Because clinical criteria and cranial x-rays are poor predictors of intracranial hemorrhage, it is recommended that all children with a GCS score of 13 or 14 routinely undergo screening via non-contrast-enhanced computed tomography.
Experimental Simulation of Two-Particle Quantum Entanglement using Classical Fields

We experimentally demonstrate simulation of two entangled quantum bits using classical fields of two frequencies and two polarizations. Multiplication of optical heterodyne beat signals from two spatially separated regions simulates coincidence detection of two particles. The product signal so obtained contains several frequency components, one of which can be selected by bandpass frequency filtering. The bandpassed signal contains two indistinguishable, interfering contributions, permitting simulation of four polarization-entangled Bell-like states. These classical field methods may be useful in small scale simulations of quantum logic operations that require multiparticle entanglement without collapse.
P300 subcomponent abnormalities in schizophrenia: III. Deficits in unaffected siblings of schizophrenic probands

Abstract Background: Reduced P300 amplitude is a robust finding in patients with schizophrenia. In previous investigations, we reported reductions of specific subcomponents of the auditory oddball P300 that were independent of acute symptomatology and persistent over time, consistent with a trait abnormality. To clarify whether these stable deficits represented genetic markers of vulnerability to schizophrenia, event-related brain potentials (ERPs) from patients were compared to those from their own healthy siblings and unrelated control subjects. Methods: Auditory P300 ERPs were acquired from 11 schizophrenic patients, 12 healthy siblings and 23 matched control subjects. Five P300 subcomponents were identified using current source density measures: frontal, bilateral parietal, and bilateral temporal. Results: Consistent with previous reports, patients had reduced parietal and frontal P300 amplitudes. The healthy siblings of the schizophrenic probands had an isolated reduction of the frontal P300. Conclusions: Frontal P300 amplitude is a potential endophenotypic marker of genetic vulnerability to schizophrenia in individuals who otherwise show no evidence of clinical symptomatology. Given the functional interpretation of the frontal P300 as a physiological correlate of cognitive orienting, this supports the hypothesis that impairments of the neural substrate underlying attentional mechanisms are selective indicators of genetic susceptibility to schizophrenia in high-risk individuals.
Evolution and homologies of primate and modern human hand and forearm muscles, with notes on thumb movements and tool use

In this paper, we explore how the results of a primate-wide higher-level phylogenetic analysis of muscle characters can improve our understanding of the evolution and homologies of the forearm and hand muscles of modern humans. Contrary to what is often suggested in the literature, none of the forearm and hand muscle structures usually present in modern humans are autapomorphic. All are found in one or more extant non-human primate taxa. What is unique is the particular combination of muscles. However, more muscles go to the thumb in modern humans than in almost all other primates, reinforcing the hypothesis that focal thumb movements probably played an important role in human evolution. What makes the modern human thumb myology special within the primate clade is not so much its intrinsic musculature but two extrinsic muscles, extensor pollicis brevis and flexor pollicis longus, that are otherwise only found in hylobatids. It is likely that these two forearm muscles play different functional roles in hylobatids and modern humans. In the former, the thumb is separated from elongated digits by a deep cleft and there is no pulp-to-pulp opposition, whereas modern humans exhibit powerful thumb flexion and greater manipulative abilities, such as those involved in the manufacture and use of tools. The functional and evolutionary significance of a third peculiar structure, the intrinsic hand structure that is often called the 'interosseous volaris primus of Henle' (and which we suggest is referred to as the musculus adductor pollicis accessorius) is still obscure. The presence of distinct contrahentes digitorum and intermetacarpales in adult chimpanzees is likely the result of prolonged or delayed development of the hand musculature of these apes. In relation to these structures, extant chimpanzees are more neotenic than modern humans.
Detecting Workload Hotspots and Dynamic Provisioning of Virtual Machines in Clouds

One of the primary goals of Cloud Computing is to provide reliable QoS. The users of the cloud applications may access their applications from any Region. The cloud infrastructure must be Elastic enough to improve the QoS requirements. In order to provide reliable QoS, the cloud infrastructure must be able to detect the potential workload hotspots for various cloud applications across Regions and take appropriate measures. This paper presents an approach to detect workload hotspots using application access pattern based method in the cloud. This paper also presents how the existing VDN based Virtual Machine provisioning approach [1] can be used to provision new Virtual Appliances at the detected hotspots dynamically and efficiently at the potential hotspots to improve the QoS.
Are the GARCH models best in out-of-sample performance?

Abstract Out-of-sample performance of exchange rate volatility model depends on criteria used to measure it. The linear GARCH models cannot generally outperform the nonlinear models in the RMSE criterion. Furthermore, the nonparametric kernel model is best in the MAE criterion.
What kind of research in psychoanalytic science

The kind of science that psychoanalysis is (can be), and the kind of research appropriate to it, qualitative and/or quantitative, have been divisive issues from the very inception of the discipline. I explore in detail the complexity of these issues, definitional and semantic, as well as methodological and substantive. A plea is made for the application of qualitative (idiographic)and quantitative (nomothetic) research methods, each to the extent that is appropriate, separately or in conjunction, across the entire spectrum of research domains in psychoanalysis, empirical, clinical, conceptual, historical, and interdisciplinary.
Leukocyte Telomere Length Is Not Associated With BMD, Osteoporosis, or Fracture in Older Adults: Results From the Health, Aging and Body Composition Study

Short leukocyte telomere length (TL), low BMD, and osteoporosis have been associated with increased inflammation. Previous reports suggest an association between TL, BMD, and osteoporosis in women. We sought to verify these associations and to determine whether TL is related to fracture in a cohort of older men and women. Participants included 2750 community-dwelling older persons from the longitudinal Health, Aging, and Body Composition Study (Health ABC) in who average leukocyte TL was measured at baseline using qPCR. We used unconditional logistic regression to determine the association of TL with prevalent fracture, Cox proportional hazards regression for the association with 7-yr incident fracture, and mixed linear models for the association with BMD, change in BMD, and the number of incident fractures. TL was negatively correlated with age, weight, fasting insulin, and fasting glucose in men and women, and additionally, with C-reactive protein and IL-6 in men. TL was not associated with BMD; change in BMD over 1, 3, or 5 yr; osteoporosis; baseline fracture; or 7-yr incident fracture, before or after adjustment for age, race, smoking, and health characteristics. TL is not associated with BMD, osteoporosis, or fracture in older men or women in this sample.
I Am Sure There May Be a Planet There: Student articulation of uncertainty in argumentation tasks

We investigated how students articulate uncertainty when they are engaged in structured scientific argumentation tasks where they generate, examine, and interpret data to determine the existence of exoplanets. In this study, 302 high school students completed 4 structured scientific arguments that followed a series of computer-model-based curriculum module activities simulating the radial velocity and/or the transit method. Structured scientific argumentation tasks involved claim, explanation, uncertainty rating, and uncertainty rationale. We explored (1) how students are articulating uncertainty within the various elements of the task and (2) the relationship between the way the task is presented and the way students are articulating uncertainty. We found that (1) while the majority of students did not express uncertainty in either explanation or uncertainty rationale, students who did express uncertainty in their explanations did so scientifically without being prompted explicitly, (2) students’ uncerta...
Correlates of differing patterns of drug use in a high school population.

Correlates o f patterns o f drug use over a wide range o f variables relating to the home, the school and the adolescent's perception o f himself and others were examined in a sample o f 270 high school students. Based on both logical and empirical considerations, 5 distinct groupings o f users were derived and correlates o f use were examined in an analysis o f variance design (Grouping X Sex × Grade). Across both drug-related and non-drug-related content areas (e.g., attitudes toward education), grouping showed more significant results than grade or sex. Results further suggested that while a 5-fold grouping procedure may not be essential minimal distinctions should be made among nonusers, marijuana users, and users o f other illegal drugs.
Modeling In-Situ Vapor Extraction During Convective Boiling

The pressure drop of convective boiling flow may be reduced by extracting vapor locally since the entire generated vapor does not have to travel through the entire channel length. In this study, the theoretical model was developed to simulate a convective boiling flow through a fractal-like branching microchannel network with vapor extraction. The fractal-like branching microchannel network has a porous membrane forming one wall of the channels. Vapor extraction occurs by applying a vacuum across the membrane. Sample predictive local conditions and global results are presented and discussed. The predicting results are classified into two groups: low inlet flow rate-low heat flux and high inlet flow rate-high heat flux. The results show that to increase extracted vapor mass flow rate, either decreasing supplying extracting pressure or increasing permeability of the porous membrane must be applied. As the amount of vapor extracting increases, the reduction in pressure drop across the channel and the exit vapor quality is achieved.Copyright © 2009 by ASME
KINEMATIC SINGULARITIES AND THRESHOLD RELATIONS FOR HELICITY AMPLITUDES

The kinematic singularities of two-body helicity amplitudes at thresholds and the concomitant relations among these amplitudes are discussed in a direct and elementary way, without recourse to the singularity structure of the crossing matrix. The tools are those of nonrelativistic quantum mechanics, as befits a situation where $p\ensuremath{\rightarrow}0$, with spins combined into channel spins S and Russell-Saunders coupling of L+S=J. The kinematic singularities are shown to follow from a mismatch between $J$ and $L$ for each term in the partial-wave series. The method is applicable at pseudothresholds ${({m}_{1}\ensuremath{-}{m}_{2})}^{2}$ as well as normal thresholds ${({m}_{1}+{m}_{2})}^{2}$ with two formal changes involving an intrinsic parity and a helicity-dependent phase. The relations among the different helicity amplitudes at the thresholds are shown to result from the presence at threshold of fewer Russell-Saunders amplitudes than there are independent helicity amplitudes. The use of invariant amplitudes is shown to be an alternative which automatically yields the kinematic singularities and also the threshold relations among the helicity amplitudes. A discussion is given of dynamical exceptions to the threshold constraints, resulting from less singular than standard behavior at a threshold. The threshold relations are important constraints on the amplitudes, and must be satisfied by any realistic model. In the use of $t$-channel amplitudes for peripheral processes in the $s$ channel, the explicit imposition of all the relations at the $t$-channel thresholds is necessary in order to assure a differential cross section without spurious, polelike singularities in $t$ whose variation could in some circumstances completely control the $t$ dependence. The reactions $\ensuremath{\pi}N\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\mathrm{KY}$ and $\ensuremath{\pi}N\ensuremath{\rightarrow}{\ensuremath{\pi}}^{\ensuremath{'}}\ensuremath{\Delta}$ are used as illustrations. The latter process is especially illuminating because its $t$-channel amplitudes have a pole (rather than a simple inverse-square-root singularity) at the $\overline{N}\ensuremath{\Delta}$ pseudothreshold, $t=0.09 {(\frac{\mathrm{GeV}}{c})}^{2}$. The proximity of this point to the physical region of the $s$ channel means that the threshold relations there are of crucial importance. The consequences of these constraints on the cross-section and decay density matrix of the $\ensuremath{\Delta}$ are discussed within the framework of the Regge-pole model. Comparison with experiment implies that the dynamics make the amplitudes for $\ensuremath{\pi}{\ensuremath{\pi}}^{\ensuremath{'}}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\overline{N}\ensuremath{\Delta}$ have less than the standard kinematic singularity at $\overline{N}\ensuremath{\Delta}$ pseudothreshold and so avoid almost all the threshold constraints. Examples are cited from the literature where use of Regge-pole formulas possessing the spurious kinematic factors has led to incorrect inferences concerning the dynamic behavior of Regge residues.
Laser-mediated tansmural myocardial channels do not salvage acutely ischemic myocardium

Abstract Objectives. We sought to determine whether the presence of transmural laser-made channels could provide blood flow to ischemic myocardium. Background. Laser-made transmural channels have been used in patients to restore blood flow to ischemic myocardium. Whether such channels actually relieve ischemia is unclear. We therefore tested the concept in an animal model of acute ischemia. Methods. Eighteen dogs underwent 6 h of permanent coronary artery occlusion. At 30 min after occlusion, 8 dogs were randomized to the laser-treated group (30 to 40 transmural channels, 1 mm in diameter, were made in the cyanotic area using a holmium: yttrium-aluminym-garnet laser), and 10 were randomized to the control group (no treatment). Transmural blood flow was measured before and after treatment using radiolabeled microspheres. Regional segment shortening and myocardial lactate content were measured in four of the control and two of the laser-treated dogs. Infarct size was measured in all animals using triphenyltetrazolium chloride staining. Results. Laser channels failed to increase blood flow to ischemic tissue. After laser channels were made, mean transmural flow averaged 0.10 ± 0.03 versus 0.11 ± 0.03 ml/min per g in treated verses control dogs, respectively. Furthermore, Infarct size was similar in both groups (46 ± 6% vs. 43 ± 7%, respectively, of the myocardium at risk, p = NS). In addition, the presence of laser channels neither improved regional myocardial function nor enhanced washout of accumulated lactate. Conclusions. Direct laser revascularization of the heart did not provide any immediate benefit to ischemic myocardium in this canine model of coronary artery occlusion. Thus, it is doubtful that direct laser-mediated myocardial revascularization would be of immediate benefit in the treatment of patients with acute ischemia.
Duplex ultrasound insertion of inferior vena cava filters in multitrauma patients

Abstract Background: Techniques for placement of inferior vena cava (IVC) filters have undergone continued evolution from open surgical exposure of the venous insertion site to percutaneous insertion in most cases today. However, the required transport either to an operating room or interventional suite can be complex and potentially hazardous for the multiply injured trauma patient who may require ventilator support, controlled intravenous infusions, or skeletal immobilization. Increased experience with color-flow duplex scanning for routine IVC imaging and portability of ultrasound equipment have suggested the usefulness of duplex-guided IVC filter insertion (DGFI) in critically ill trauma and intensive care unit (ICU) patients. Methods: A total of 25 multitrauma/ICU patients were considered for DGIF. Screening color-flow duplex scans were performed on all patients, and obesity or bowel gas prevented ultrasound imaging in 2 cases, leaving 23 patients suitable for DGFI. In each case, the IVC was imaged in the transverse and longitudinal planes. The right renal artery was identified as it passed posterior to the IVC and was used as a landmark of the infrarenal segment of the IVC. All procedures were performed at the bedside in a monitored ICU setting using percutaneous placement of titanium Greenfield filters. Duplex scanning after insertion was used to document proper placement, and circumferential engagement of the filter struts in the IVC wall. An abdominal radiograph was also obtained in each case to confirm proper filter location. Duplex ultrasound imaging was repeated within 1 week of insertion to assess IVC and insertion site patency. Results: DGFI was successful in all cases. The filter was deployed at a suprarenal level in one case, as was recognized at the time of postprocedural scanning. Three patients died as a result of their injuries but there were no pulmonary embolism deaths. Repeat duplex scanning was obtained in 17 patients, and revealed no case of IVC or insertion site thrombosis. Conclusions: Vena caval interruption can be safely performed under ultrasound guidance in a monitored, ICU environment. In selected multiply injured trauma patients, this will reduce the risk, complexity and cost of transport for these critically ill patients. DGFI also reduces procedural costs compared with an operating room or interventional suite, and eliminates intravenous contrast exposure. Preprocedural scanning is essential to identify patients suitable for DGFI, and careful attention must be paid to the known ultrasonographic anatomical landmarks.
Selective and Efficient Impregnation of Metal Nanoparticles on Cup-Stacked-Type Carbon Nanofibers

We describe the efficient impregnation of Pt nanoparticles (OD < 3 nm) on cup-stacked-type carbon nanofibers. The method involves the dispersion of the fibers in H2PtCl6 followed by low-temperature annealing. The Pt particle deposition is always homogeneous and can be controlled selectively on the outer or internal core using the hydrophobic nature of the material. Since the Pt particle activity on the fibers is high, this material could find applications as efficient catalysts and allied biological devices.
Growth Hormone and Insulin Release After Arginine: Indifference to Hyperglycemia and Epinephrine

Attention has centered primarily on changes in blood glucose concentration as a mediator of insulin and growth hormone (HGH) release. Hypoglycemia, however produced, calls forth an outpouring of HGH, and hyperglycemia is followed by a rise in plasma insulin (1, 2). More recently, infusion of several amino acids including arginine has been shown to provoke the release of both insulin and HGH (3–6). It has not been established whether glucose-initiated and amino acid-initiated hormonal release is mediated by separate mechanisms, a question which may assume importance in human disease since it is hypothetically possible that an endocrine gland may become insensitive to one stimulus, while retaining responsiveness to another.
Pottery-making in Bonakire, Ghana

| african arts SPRING 2007 B onakire is a predominantly Mo-speaking village located approximately 17km (101⁄2 miles) northwest of the ancient archaeological site of Begho in the Brong-Ahafo region of north-central Ghana.1 In 1979 I conducted a brief ethnographic study of Bonakire’s pottery industry as part of a three-month archaeological fi eld school directed by Dr. Merrick Posnansky at the site of Begho B2.2 Th is study, along with others preceding it, was undertaken to explore how mid to late twentieth century pottery-making compared with the ceramic data collected at Begho (see Crossland 1973, 1989; Goody 1963; Wilks 1961). Th is brief research note does not off er such an analysis but rather describes the distinctive method of making pottery I observed in Bonakire as well as the role of women in the cash economy of this small rural village. Pottery production was the fulltime occupation of nearly all Bonakire women, and daughters typically learned from their mothers and grandmothers by observation and apprenticeship. Pottery-making was also taught in the village school (fig. 1). Every female past the age of about 15 was actively producing pottery during my visit, and each potter was responsible for the production and sale of her own wares. Other than basic household duties, such as fetching water, preparing food, washing utensils and clothing, and caring for children, women spent much of the day engaged in pottery-making and its associated tasks.3 Th ey worked in two, 3–4 hour sessions, one in the morning starting about 9:00–10:00 am and lasting until the preparation of the noon-time meal and a second longer session lasting all aft ernoon until the preparation of the evening meal. Th ree days in the six-day Mo temporal cycle (days 2, 5, and 6) were reserved for the collection of clay and the fi ring of vessels. Male relatives dug the clay from large pits located only about 60m (651⁄2 Pottery-Making in Bonakire, Ghana
Unpacking ‘Culture’ in Cultural Studies of Science Education: Cultural Difference Versus Cultural Production

In this article, we explore three anthropological approaches to science education research: funds of knowledge, third space/hybridity and practice theory. Definitions, historical origins, uses and constraints of each approach are included along with reviews of exemplary studies in each tradition. We show that funds of knowledge research draws on an earlier research tradition, cultural difference theory and rests on an assumption that groups build culture in response to fixed and static socio-political conditions. Practice theory is more flexible in that it allows researchers to study how groups create local meanings, which may conform to, resist or even transform those larger conditions through cultural production. We then illustrate the approaches by analysing the same case (that of a Mexican-American boy) using both cultural difference theory and practice theory, to illustrate the strengths and limitations of each approach.
Metrical Effects on Speech Movements in Children and Adults

The present study investigates motor processes underlying the production of iambic and trochaic metrical forms for children and adults. Lower lip movement was recorded while 16 children between the...
Spontaneous Arterial Thrombosis with an Advanced Ovarian Malignancy

Arterial thromboembolic disease almost always occurs in the setting of significant cardiovascular disease. Fewer than 10% of patients have no known etiology and only rarely is malignancy implicated. A review of the literature revealed only one prior report associated with a gynecologic malignancy, and this occurred in the lower extremities in a postoperative setting. We report here the case of a woman with arterial occlusion of her left upper extremity who was subsequently diagnosed as having ovarian adenocarcinoma. Her dramatic response to chemotherapy is described, and the diagnosis and management of arterial occlusion is reviewed.
The politics of family planning in the Maghrib.

This article uses a comparative case study approach to relate policy outcomes in terms of family planning to the patterns of political forces observed in the 3 Maghrib states of Algeria Morocco and Tunisia. It is suggested that official support for a strong family planning program may be linked to recognition of the problem of low labor absorption and to concrete steps taken to counter the problem. The article discusses different vantage points for approaching the political context of family planning and distinguishes between the use of family planning as an instrument of social policy and as an instrument of economic policy. Ideological reasons for opposition to or support of family planning are then outlined. The colonial experience of the 3 states is differentiated and a chronological account of their family planning programs is provided. The political systems and leadership of the 3 countries are separately discussed in greater detail after which the influence of elite groups on family planning programs and activities in each country is assessed. Developments in the 3 countries since 1978 are then sketched. The author concludes that the relative importance of policies toward employment and womens status in connection with support for family planning has probably varied over time with economics playing a greater role in the 1970s. The activities of non-regime political actors were found to be very significant in formulation of population policies in Algeria and Morocco but less so in Tunisia.
The value of the delay phenomenon in flap prefabrication: an experimental study in rabbits

Abstract Neovascularisation of thin skin flaps after arteriovenous pedicle implantation (flap prefabrication) and the impact of the delay mechanism on the viability of these flaps were investigated. Twenty-four full thickness skin flaps were raised in twelve New Zealand white rabbits. Delay incisions were made at the lateral borders of the planned flaps at the same time as pedicle implantation, 1 week before pedicle implantation, or 1 week after pedicle implantation and the flaps based on the implanted vessels raised at 2 weeks after implantation. Flap survival assessed at 1 week was found to be improved when flap delay was performed 1 week before or after pedicle implantation. Angiographic studies demonstrated an increased density and linearity of the vascular pattern in these delay group flaps. The combination of the time-tested concept of delaying a flap with the newer technique of flap prefabrication appears to improve flap viability.
The influence of prior experience and task-demands on visual search for a pop-out target

Procedure • Over 100 trials subjects searched for an ‘R’ or ‘L’ on colored tiles while being eye tracked. • When the letter was found subjects pressed a key and were presented with a new search array. • Subjects saw either a High or Low variance of color of tiles on the Red-Green axis in CIE L*a*b* space. • On a critical trial, and all subsequent trials, the target or a distracter was a pop-out stimulus. Experiment 2B Pop-out Distracter, Increased Experience, Set-Size 8
In vitro bulb production from Allium spp.

A procedure for bulb formation from onion, garlic, and shallot explants is described. Explants from cut stem bases were cultured in shoot induction medium composed of Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium with or without N6-benzyladenine. Shoots produced were then transferred to bulb induction medium composed of MS medium containing 5 g/liter activated charcoal and 120 g/liter sucrose under a long-day photoperiod and 28° C. Bulbs were also produced from onion and garlic directly, without passing through shoot formation, when explants were cultured in the bulb induction medium described above. Bulbs were transferred to soil without acclimatization and produced viable plants.
An Automated System for the Analysis of Gravity Waves and Other Mesoscale Phenomena

An automated near-real-time system for the surface analysis of gravity waves and other mesoscale phenomena is developed, tested, and applied to several cases. Five-minute observations from the Automated Surface Observing System (ASOS) network provide the primary source of data for the mesoanalysis system. ASOS time series data are downloaded, subjected to considerable quality control, bandpass filtered, and objectively analyzed using a time-to-space conversion (TSC) adaptation of the traditional Barnes scheme. The resultant analyses, which can resolve features in the ASOS network with wavelengths as short as 150 km and at 15-min intervals, are made available as animated contoured fields. Even though this mesoanalysis system was designed primarily for gravity wave detection, it is capable of resolving other kinds of mesoscale phenomena and allowing the analyst to monitor their changing structure. The effectiveness of the system is demonstrated with two recent events selected from several cases that have been analyzed. The first case consisted of a gravity wave train that propagated through the Ohio River valley and produced multiple precipitation bands. The second event involved a complex family of mesohighs and wake lows associated with a convective system over the southeastern United States. Variations in the surface wind field and precipitation distribution are related to the mesoscale pressure field in both cases. The ability of this mesoanalysis system to monitor mesoscale phenomena resides in the successful application of TSC principles to high temporal resolution surface data. Although the TSC assumption may not be strictly valid in more complex situations, for many applications this mesoanalysis system offers critical information needed for making accurate nowcasts, with the caveat that the means by which ASOS 5-min data are made available can be improved.
Nutritional and biochemical evidences of acyl interaction with respect to essential polyunsaturated fatty acids.

It is now almost axiomatic that the kind and amount of fat in the diet of animals and man exert controlling influence upon the kind and amount of essential polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) which occur in the tissues and cells. Fifty-five years ago this was, however, a controversial subject, for in the same volume of the Journal of Biological Chemistry in which Burr and Burr announced the essentiality of dietary fat,' the prestigious nutrition laboratory at Yale announced that the beneficial effects of fat could be ascribed to the fat-soluble vitamins or to the caloric effects of fat itself. 23 Since then it has become abundantly clear that certain PUFA are essential to life, that they occur in two families, each with numerous metabolically related members, and that these two families and other nonessential fatty acids affect the metabolism, the pattern and proportions of each other in functional lipids of vital tissues. 7-~ The evidences for interactions of different types of fatty acids in the metabolism of fats and lipids have come from generally two types of investigation: whole animal nutritional studies, and biochemical studies performed at the enzyme or subcellular levels. This presentation will offer some of those evidences generated in the author's laboratory. A more detailed and expanded treatment of the subject will appear shortlyY
SILVER NANOPARTICLE-OLIGONUCLEOTIDE CONJUGATES BASED ON DNA WITH TRIPLE CYCLIC DISULFIDE MOIETIES

We report a new strategy for preparing silver nanoparticle−oligonucleotide conjugates that are based upon DNA with cyclic disulfide-anchoring groups. These particles are extremely stable and can withstand NaCl concentrations up to 1.0 M. When silver nanoparticles functionalized with complementary sequences are combined, they assemble to form DNA-linked nanoparticle networks. This assembly process is reversible with heating and is associated with a red shifting of the particle surface plasmon resonance and a concomitant color change from yellow to pale red. Analogous to the oligonucleotide-functionalized gold nanoparticles, these particles also exhibit highly cooperative binding properties with extremely sharp melting transitions. This work is an important step toward using silver nanoparticle−oligonucleotide conjugates for a variety of purposes, including molecular diagnostic labels, synthons in programmable materials synthesis approaches, and functional components for nanoelectronic and plasmonic devices.