cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A new approach to measuring menstrual pattern change after sterilization

Methodologic problems with previous research on menstrual changes after sterilization have resulted in conflicting results. This research overcomes these problems by restricting the categories of patients and by minimizing recall difficulties. When the methodologic approach is improved, the result is that the majority of women experience no change, and among those who do, changes in one direction are counterbalanced by changes in the other direction. Three cycles preceding sterilization were compared with three cycles 12 months after the operation for four menstrual parameters. The parameters were examined separately and simultaneously by means of an index of menstrual pattern changes. Rings and spring-loaded clips were associated with less change than other methods of occlusion. The most important variable was the patient's menstrual pattern at the time of admission. Women defined as having abnormal patterns were three times more likely to experience change than women with normal cycles, and many of the former experienced change in the direction of normality.
The Valuation of MNC International Operations During the 1990s

We investigate how international operations affected firm value during the early 1990s. We also investigate whether the disclosures of foreign operations in specific geographic regions under SFAS No. 14 provide investors with useful information beyond disclosure of aggregate foreign operations. We find that in the early 1990s, investors do not value international operations as highly as domestic operations, and that geographic region disclosures are not useful for conveying information about the specific location and magnitude of the firm's operations. This latter finding supports the recent FASB decision that eliminated the requirement that firms break out foreign operating statistics by geographic region.
Mining Logs Files for Computing System Management

With advancement in science and technology, computing systems become increasingly more difficult to monitor, manage and maintain. Traditional approaches to system management have been largely based on domain experts through a knowledge acquisition process to translate domain knowledge into operating rules and policies. This has been experienced as a cumbersome, labor intensive, and error prone process. There is thus a pressing need for automatic and efficient approaches to monitor and manage complex computing systems. A popular approach to system management is based on analyzing system log files. However, several new aspects of the system log data have been less emphasized in existing analysis methods and posed several challenges. The aspects include disparate formats and relatively short text messages in data reporting, asynchronous data collection, and temporal characteristics in data representation. First, a typical computing system contains different devices with different software components, possibly from different providers. These various components have multiple ways to report events, conditions, errors and alerts. The heterogeneity and inconsistency of log formats make it difficult to automate problem determination. To perform automated analysis, we need to categorize the text messages with disparate formats into common situations. Second, text messages in the log files are relatively short with a large vocabulary size. Third, each text message usually contains a timestamp. The temporal characteristics provide additional context information of the messages and can be used to facilitate data analysis. In this paper, we apply text mining to automatically categorize the messages into a set of common categories, and propose two approaches of incorporating temporal information to improve the categorization performance
Theology and the Origins of Conflict

War has its origins in the clash of socially-constructed identities, interests, and norms of behavior of states and armed nonstate actors. This essay examines the economic, political, and cultural factors that contributed to the construction of such identities, interests, and norms during the Shining Path insurgency and the Peruvian government’s response in the years from 1980 to 2000. Drawing on the three levels of liberation outlined by Peruvian theologian Gustavo Gutierrez, the essay then describes how theology enriches without replacing socio-political and cultural explanations of the Peruvian conflict. The practices that formed both the Shining Path and the government’s response to it can be described as social sin, whereas the Catholic Church in Peru’s commitment to truth and the creation of community solidarity became practices that, by imitating the self-giving love of Christ, helped overcome violence and build peace.
Transgenic crops for enhanced disease resistance and food safety.

Maize grain is subject to infection by a variety of pre-harvest molds, including Fusarium verticillioides (formerly F. moniliforme), a major causal agent of Fusarium ear mold of maize. F. verticillioides produces fumonisins, a family of mycotoxins of concern due to their acute toxicity to certain livestock, and their potential carcinogenicity (Dmello et al., 1999). Fumonisins inhibit sphingolipid biosynthesis in a wide range of organisms, but their mode of action as toxins and carcinogens is not fully understood. Incorporating natural ear mold resistance into elite maize germplasm has been difficult, due to complexity of the trait and the strong environmental component to ear mold symptom development, which complicates screening germplasm.
The Decision Making Unit In The Choice Of A Long-Term Health Care Facility

As the size of the elderly market increases, so does the need to understand the decision making process for selecting long-term health care (LTHC) facilities. This study describes the membership and relative degree of influence of specific participants in the decision making unit (DMU) as well as the situational effects of time, prompt and stage of decision making on the size, composition and influence of CMU participants.
Law, Culture, and Corporate Governance: Insights from Executive Compensation

This paper focuses on the theoretical and empirical relevance of cultural factors in explaining cross-national variances in a variety of corporate governance-related phenomena. In the mainstream literature, much of this variation is attributed to differences in the design or performance of institutions - assumed by Hansmann and Kraakman to be naturally evolving towards an efficient “end of history” type of convergence. However, these accounts may be questioned if such variation results from factors that go unobserved in the same. If corporate governance phenomena are best interpreted as socially-constructed practices with large elements of cultural path-dependence, then evolution to efficiency is chimerical and cross-national divergences are inevitable. The paper explores the causal impact of culture on executive compensation and the broader institutional and structural variables previously studied by LaPorta et al (“LLSV”): legal system quality, accounting quality, equity market capitalization, and ownership dispersion (“LLSV Variables”). The investigative hypothesis is that cultural variables - properly selected and defined - should provide a more robust explanatory and predictive framework than LLSV’s “law and finance” paradigm for a wide-variety of corporate governance-related phenomena. Furthermore, cross-national variances in the independent institutional variables studied by LLSV - accounting quality and judicial efficiency - may themselves merely reflect underlying cultural differences. Put simply, informal institutions matter.
Adaptive nonlinear friction compensation with parametric uncertainties

Two adaptive nonlinear friction compensation schemes are proposed to handle two types of parametric uncertainty in the LuGre dynamic friction model: non-uniform friction force variations and normal force variations. Our design features a dual-observer structure to estimate different nonlinear effects of the unmeasurable friction state. Using the estimated friction parameters and the dual observers for the unmeasurable friction state, adaptive nonlinear controllers are designed to achieve globally asymptotic tracking of the given velocity reference signal.
Typology of Motorcycle Crashes: Rider Characteristics, Environmental Factors, and Spatial Patterns

Research was conducted on motorcycling and alcohol-impaired motorcycling in Hawaii to develop a crash typology. The investigation expanded the scope of rider characteristics analysis by examining the combined effects on motorcycle crashes of rider behavior (helmet use, speeding, actions taken before a crash, etc.), environmental factors (urban versus rural locations, roadway alignment, etc.), and spatial patterns. The crash typology was used to derive logistic regression models for explaining alcohol-involved crashes, single-vehicle crashes, and injury outcomes (including fatalities) associated with motorcycle crashes. The logistic models allowed comparisons of the relative importance of various rider characteristics, temporal and environmental correlates associated with motorcycle crashes, and the associated crash types and injury outcomes. Finally, a spatial cluster analysis was also performed with both geographic information system and spatial analytical tools. The analysis suggests that overall behavioral and temporal factors are more significant predictors of alcohol-involved crash patterns than environmental or roadway features. The findings are qualified in terms of the usefulness of the methods to motorcycle safety researchers and relevance to motorcycle safety initiatives in the state of Hawaii.
The role of interleukin-1 and tumor necrosis factor α in the neurochemical and neuroendocrine responses to endotoxin

Abstract Both interleukin-1 (IL-1) and endotoxin (lipopolysaccharide, LPS) are potent activators of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, and they also increase cerebral norepinephrine metabolism and tryptophan. Injections of cause macrophages to synthesize and release various cytokines, including IL-1 and tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα). The hypothesis that macrophage production of IL-1 mediates the HPA-activating effect of LPS was tested in mice using the IL-1-receptor antagonist protein (IRAP). Administration of IRAP largely prevented the effects of IL-1α or IL- 1β on the elevation of plasma corticosterone and the concomitant increase in hypothalamic norepinephrine metabolism, but failed to alter the responses to LPS. IRAP did not prevent the increases in brain tryptophan that occurred after treatment with IL-1 or LPS. Recombinant human TNFa, TNFβ, IL-6, and interferon-a injected intraperitoneally failed to activate the HPA axis, but mouse TNFa was effective by this route, and human TNFα, TNFβ, and IL-6 were effective intravenously. None of these cytokines was as potent as IL-1. Pretreatment with an antibody specific for mouse TNFα, either alone or in combination with IRAP, also failed to prevent the elevation of plasma corticosterone by LPS. Thus, either IL-1 and TNFα are not involved in the HPA and noradrenergic responses to LPS, or there are alternative (redundant) pathways by which LPS can activate the HPA axis.
What About the “B” in LGB: Are Bisexual Women's Mental Health Issues Same or Different?

The literature on mental health and bisexual people, particularly bisexual women, is reviewed. Bisexuality is routinely included as part of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) spectrum but is infrequently discussed or studied on its own. Data on bisexual people can be problematic, using convenience samples, mixing behavior and identity measures of sexuality, and lumping bisexual people with gays and lesbians. Some data suggest that bisexual people have higher rates of mental illness than heterosexuals and possibly even higher rates than gays and lesbians.
Integrating functional analyses of vessels and sherds through models of ceramic assemblage formation

Abstract Current research on archaeological ceramics that use functional approaches are characterized as having two broad analytical goals: (1) the identification of the role of ceramics in subsistence systems, and (2) the identification of differences in settlement types. Much research has been conducted to meet each goal, but integration of the two approaches has been difficult because models of ceramic assemblage formation have been ill‐defined. As a step toward this integration, a model of ceramic assemblage formation is presented outlining the major variables that must be considered in the assessment of differences in assemblage content. Using ethnoarchaeological data as input parameters, assemblage formation through time is modeled, and the effects of different variables on assemblage content are discussed.
Community-level changes in behavioral health care following capitated contracting

Abstract As capitated managed care contracts are becoming more prevalent in the delivery of behavioral health services, it is important to review community experiences with these contracts. A survey of all community agencies in one area that provided or interacted with behavioral health services for children and adolescents was administered during the implementation of a clinically-managed demonstration and again four years later after the transition to a capitated managed care contract. The following changes were reported under the capitated contract: 1. a) problems in service delivery experienced by the target population increased; 2. b) quality of behavioral health and related services available decreased; 3. (c) service system performance decreased, 4. (d) the extent to which goals of an effective behavioral health service system were being attained was also rated as significantly decreased; and 5. (e) coordination of services for the target population and collaboration among providers declined.
In vitro and in vivo effects of selected metabolic inhibitors and chemotherapeutic agents on adults and egg development of Schistosoma mansoni.

Adult Schistosoma mansoni were maintained in vitro in medium consisting of 90% Medium No. 199 and 10% calf serum. Compounds were assayed for their ability to kill adults (LD50), and their ability to inhibit oviposition (OID50). The ability of compounds to prevent the completion of embryonic maturation (EMID50) was tested on eggs laid in vitro and separated from adults prior to exposure to inhibitors. Amethopterin, puromycin, and chloramphenicol were completely without effect. The LD50, OID50, and EMID50 for potassium antimony tartrate were, respectively, 0.71, >0.2, and >10 μg/ml. For niridazole the corresponding concentrations were 0.92, >0.2, and 0.6 μg/ml. From these data, it was concluded that they do not kill by inhibiting a process specific for egg formation or development. Actinomycin D was not very toxic to adult worms (LD50 7 to >20 μg/ml), but the OID50 was 0.016 μg/ml, and the EMID50 was 0.0018 μg/ml when the eggs were exposed in the earliest stage of embryonic development. Therefore, actinomycin D was at least 400 times more active in vitro in inhibiting oviposition and 4000 times more active in inhibiting embryonic development than in killing adults. It had no effect on experimental infections in mice with S. mansoni.
Biomass production of switchgrass in central South Dakota

Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) has potential as feedstock for a cellulose-based biofuels industry in temperate steppe regions of the northern Great Plains. Therefore, our objectives were to determine: (i) patterns of biomass accumulation and optimum harvest times for an early maturing cultivar, Dacotah (origin 46° N, 100° W), and a later maturing cultivar, Cave-In-Rock (origin 37° N, 88° W), in central South Dakota (44° N, 100° W) and (ii) if variation in patterns of biomass accumulation were associated with variation in patterns of precipitation. Dacotah and Cave-In-Rock were no-till planted near Pierre, SD, on 6 Dec. 1999. Harvest dates were once per year during July, August, September, or October 2001 through 2004. Morphological development was determined in early, mid, and late summer 2004. Maximum biomass yields for Dacotah. were obtained during July or August. Optimum harvest time for Cave-In-Rock was as late as September depending amount of summer precipitation. Biomass production of both cultivars was highly plastic, fluctuating > fivefold over a 4-yr period. Maximum annual biomass yields were from >9 Mg ha -1 to 90% of variation in maximum annual biomass production. The superior biomass yield potential of the putatively unadapted Cave-In-Rock compared with the putatively adapted Dacotah was only expressed during years when precipitation was >75% of average.
Thermodynamics of the cis-trans interconversion of dichlorobis-(ethylenediamine)-cobalt (III) chloride

Trans-[Co(en)2Cl2]Cl5 wird in wassriger Losung in diecis-Form umgewandelt. Die Konzentrationen der beiden Formen, die miteinander im Gleichgewicht stehen, wurden gemessen und bei verschiedenen Temperaturen die Gleichgewichtskonstanten nach der Formel $$K_c = \begin{array}{*{20}c} {cis} \\ {trans} \\ \end{array} $$ berechnet.
Gender and Degendering in Autobiographical Narratives of Physical Scars

Numerous researchers have explored how individuals alter their bodies to conform to or challenge gendered bodily norms. In contrast, most that live with scars must after the fact either reconcile their changed bodies with those norms or change their ideas to better match their changed bodies. This article uses narratives written by 284 male and female college students to explore the meanings individuals assign to unwanted scars, focusing on what this process tells us about the gendered body. The three most common meanings—scars as reminders of overcoming adversity, reminders of loved ones, and markers of athleticism—occur equally often in narratives written by men and women. The data illustrate how both gendered bodily norms and recent moves toward degendering affect young people’s embodied experiences.
Prediction of thermal contact resistance between polished surfaces

Abstract Various theories have been formulated to predict thermal contact resistance but agreement with experiments has been variable when very smooth surfaces are involved. The guarded hot plate method for thermal conductivity measurements was chosen to determine temperature drops across interfaces. It was shown that a general theory can be modified to give a good estimation of the thermal resistance with a variety of interface materials. The effects of pressure, material hardness, surface roughness, and thermal properties of the interface material on thermal resistance between two smooth steel surfaces were studied. Air, Cu, In and Teflon foils, a silicone oil based heat sink compound and Ag filled paint were studied. The theory predicts temperature discontinuities when solids, fluids or gases are present in the interface.
PRICING FOR END-TO-END ASSURED BANDWIDTH SERVICES

The Internet today mostly offers a simple best-effort mode of service. The capabilities of the Internet will be significantly enhanced if it supports better QoS modes, especially when QoS is provided for end-to-end services. This enhancement requires both technological development and economic mechanisms to support better QoS service modes. In this article, we study a Multi-ISP Overlay Provider's (MOP's) pricing problem for delivering end-to-end services with expected bandwidth assurance. A categorization based pricing scheme is developed, where end-to-end bandwidth services are classified based on the provider's efforts in delivering the services. A nonlinear pricing based model is constructed that interacts with network management infrastructure, responds to customer demand and captures the MOP's contractual relationships with Internet Service Provider (ISP) networks used for creating the MOP's services.
Asymmetrical dual-cavity filters and their application to thickness uniformity monitoring.

The use of asymmetrical dual-cavity (ADC) filters with two transmittance peaks is proposed for a simultaneous monitoring of the thickness uniformities of high- and low-index materials. The method described works independently of the manufacturing technique used, and can detect non-uniformities of refractive indices. The properties of these ADC filters are studied using Smith’s concept of effective interfaces, and admittance diagrams. An experimental application of this method is demonstrated, which can be used for increasing the yield of manufactured optical filters.
Decoding Asymmetries in Reproductive Character Displacement

ABSTRACT Reproductive Character Displacement (RCD) has long been of interest to evolutionary biologists because of its association with speciation and reproductive isolation. Most studies of RCD focus on only a single species; however, when information about the evolutionary responses of two species is available, a possible pattern emerges: RCD often appears to be asymmetrical. Possible causes of displacement asymmetries are varied and include asymmetrical costs of hybridization, constraints, the effects of relative abundance, and extinction. Yet in spite of this variety, further study may show that asymmetries in RCD contain important clues about the interactions pf species in contact zones.
Treatment of neonatal hypoglycemia with continuous intravenous glucose infusion

The treatment of neonatal hypoglycemia by constant infusion of glucose at the rate of 8 mg/kg/minute was studied in 22 hypoglycemic neonates. In 18 neonates glucose levels rose above the hypoglycemic range within ten minutes of infusion and in three, within 30 to 50 minutes of infusion. The remaining neonate had hyperinsulinemia and responded only to diazoxide. Constant glucose infusion was found to be useful therapeutically for neonatal hypoglycemia.
Semantics-directed compilation of nonlinear patterns

Abstract This paper describes the automatic derivation of compiled patterns and of a pattern compiler by partial evaluation. Compiling a pattern is achieved by specializing a pattern matching program with respect to the pattern. Generating a pattern compiler is achieved by specializing the specializer with respect to the pattern matching program, i.e., by self-application of the specializer. The compiled patterns and the compiler are semantics-based because they are obtained using meaning-preserving transformations upon the definitional pattern matching program and the partial evaluator. The results are unexpectedly good: not only all are the operations depending on the pattern (syntax analysis, resolution of cross-references due to the nonlinearity) performed at compile time, but whereas the general pattern matcher builds the substitution environment incrementally and for nothing in case of failure, compiled patterns perform all the structural and equality tests first, and build the result only if the match succeeds. This nontrivial runtime staging has been obtained automatically, which is remarkable because staging in general is known to be an art. This example stresses continuation-passing style as a convenient style for writing general programs. This style makes it possible to circumvent the approximations of binding time analysis (which is an essential requirement for efficient self-application), and in addition, to stage residual programs automatically. These observations have been confirmed by later experiments.
Measuring depth-dependent dislocation densities and Elastic strains in an indented Ni-based Superalloy

The indentation-induced elastic-plastic zone in an IN 740 Ni-based superalloy was studied by three-dimensional (3-D) x-ray microdiffraction and electron back scattering diffraction (EBSD). Large lattice reorientations and the formation of geometrically necessary dislocations are observed in the area with a radius of ∼75 μm. A residual compression zone is found close to the indent edge. An elastic-plastic transition is observed at ∼20 μm from the indent edge. Depth dependent dislocation densities are determined at different distances from the indent edge.
Interplay of Collective Excitations in Quantum-Well Intersubband Resonances

Intersubband resonances in a semiconductor quantum well (QW) display fascinating features involving various collective excitations such as Fermi-edge singularity (FES) and intersubband plasmon (ISP). Using a density matrix approach, we treated many-body effects such as depolarization, vertex correction, and self-energy consistently for a two-subband system. We found a systematic change in resonance spectra from FES- to ISP-dominated features, as QW width or electron density is varied. Such an interplay between FES and ISP significantly changes both line shape and peak position of the absorption spectrum. We found that a cancellation of FES and ISP undresses the resonant responses and recovers the single-particle features of absorption for semiconductors with a strong nonparabolicity such as InAs, leading to a dramatic broadening of the absorption spectrum.
Adenoviral-Mediated Gene Transfer to Human Adipocytes In Vitro, and Human Adipose Tissue Ex Vivo and Rabbit Femoral Adipose Tissue In Vivo.

Adenoviral-mediated gene transfer has proven useful in several organ systems to understand gene action and to provide a potential therapeutic modality for localized, organ-specific gene overexpression. However, the application of adenoviral-mediated gene transfer to adipocytes and adipose tissue has not been evaluated. We evaluated the feasibility of in vitro and ex vivo transfer of the β-galactosidase gene to human adipocytes and adipose tissue by means of adenoviral vectors. The efficiency (percentage of cells transduced) of adenoviral-mediated gene transfer of the β-galactosidase gene to human adipocytes in vitro and to human adipose tissue ex vivo was 21±3% and 14±3%, respectively. Adenoviral-mediated gene transfer in a rabbit femoral adipose tissue was also demonstrated in vivo. Adenoviral-mediated gene transfer may facilitate studies on understanding the biology of adipocytes and provide a potential tool for the modulation of adipocyte function in vivo and thereby for the treatment of obesity.
The formation of fatigue cracks in aluminum single crystals

Abstract Pure aluminum single crystals of a fixed orientation were cycled at constant deflection in reverse pure bending and observations made of strain hardening and slip-band formation. Initial hardening for the usual strain amplitude of 0.2 per cent was complete within about 50 cycles, subsequent plastic strain giving first a zero and then a very low hardening rate. Fine lines from primary slip formed in increasing numbers during rapid hardening. Annealing at this stage resoftened the crystals; with repeated annealing the fine slip continued through large numbers of cycles. Only after hardening to saturation did slip cluster in the way normally associated with fatigue straining. At saturation fine, widely spaced lines form on a polished surface. These intensify gradually with cycles both by spreading and by forming a notch-peak cross section, at the same time becoming fragmented and non-uniform. Material elevated above the original surface level, termed extrusion, develops steadily at a rate of about 1–2 μ per 1000 cycles. Fatigue cracks form in the resulting slip bands. A thick and unbroken anodic film, applied by electropolishing, prevents completely the formation of fatigue cracks. Any break in this film becomes the source of failure, while metal underlying the intact film remains uncracked. Removing cracks in the film with a brief polish permits a substantial increase in life. Using an anodic film to prevent surface notches, it is shown that fatigue cycling does not internally weaken the slip bands. Slip-band cracking is concluded to be the result of active slip in the presence of free surface. The hardening behavior and observations of slip-band development are consistent with the idea that cross slip is important in establishing conditions suitable for fatigue cracking.
Tropical atlantic water within the Benguela upwelling system at 27°S

Abstract A CTD-O 2 and ADCP section across the African Atlantic continental margin near 27°S, obtained during R.R.S. Discovery cruise 165B in May 1987, reveals the water mass structure and associated velocity field of the shelf and upper slope of the Benguela upwelling system. Continental shelf water upwelling within the Benguela Current is drawn from the 12°C (about 200 m) level. The upwelling water is drawn from oxygen depleted, tropical South Atlantic thermocline water that is advected along the shelf floor by a southward flowing subsurface current. Lower thermocline and intermediate water from the tropical South Atlantic are also observed flowing southward over the continental slope. Tropical Atlantic water generally resides north of the Angola-Benguela Front at 16°S. A narrow band of upwelled water is observed well seaward of the shelf, along the western edge of a large Agulhas eddy, indicating that Agulhas eddies play a role in stirring eastern boundary upwelled water into the ocean interior. These eddies also draw into the interior tropical Atlantic water found over the upper continental slope. The net transport between the 120 and 350 isobaths as measured by the ship-mounted ADCP, referenced to the sea floor, is 0.9 × 10 6 m 3 s −1 1 to the south, with 1.6 × 10 6 m 3 s −1 of southward flowing tropical Atlantic water and 0.7 × 10 6 m 3 s −1 of northward flowing upwelled surface water. The tropical thermocline water mass advected to the south is not observed offshore within the northward flowing Benguela Current, in an unaltered state, thus the 0.9 × 10 6 m 3 s −1 must feed shelf upwelling south of 27°S, implying a net offshore flux of upwelled water between Ld¨eritz (26°) and Cape Columbine (33°S).
Collective Particle Interactions in the Sedimentation of Charged Colloidal Suspensions

The sedimentation of a similarly charged monodisperse colloidal suspension was studied to investigate the role of collective particle interactions affecting the rate of sedimentation and thereby the stability. The particle concentration profiles, microstructure formation, and the sedimentation rates were determined using a nondestructive back-light scattering technique. Stochastic particle dynamics simulations using the Beresford-Smith and Derjaguin−Landau−Verwey−Overbeek repulsive pair potentials were carried out to predict the sedimentation rates. In addition, Monte Carlo simulations were performed to reveal the particle microstructure formation. The collective particle interactions result in an oscillatory effective potential of interaction between the identically charged particles, even though the pair potential is repulsive, and lead to a more ordered microstructure formation and reduction in the sedimentation rate. The theoretical predictions, which were in good agreement with the experimental measu...
Response of nineteen cats with nasal lymphoma to radiation therapy and chemotherapy

The records of 19 cats treated for stage I nasal lymphoma with radiation therapy and chemotherapy were reviewed to determine response to therapy, treatment outcome and possible prognostic indicators. All cats were treated with megavoltage radiation therapy to a total dose ranging from 22 to 48 Gy (median dose = 42 Gy). All cats were prescribed at least 6 months of multiagent chemotherapy. The median progression-free interval for all cats was 945 days (31 months). Two cats did not achieve clinical remission. Of 17 cats evaluable for relapse, 10 (58.8%) were progression free during the entire follow-up period. Four cats (23.5%) suffered local recurrence, while three (17.6%) experienced distant relapse. The median survival time was 955 days (31.4 months). The only variable found to have a significant negative impact on survival was destruction of the cribriform plate before therapy (P= 0.002). The long progression free and survival times reported here indicate that cats with stage I nasal lymphoma treated with aggressive local and systemic therapy can have a favorable outcome when compared with other anatomic forms of lymphoma. Despite strong clinical responses to the multimodality therapy used, the fact that three (17.6%) cats relapsed distantly supports the recommendation that treatment with radiation therapy alone is insufficient until further prospective studies can be performed.
The effect of instituting a prehospital-discharge newborn bilirubin screening program in an 18-hospital health system.

OBJECTIVE. Kernicterus is a rare but devastating condition. The prevention of bilirubin-induced brain injury is based on the detection of infants at risk for developing severe hyperbilirubinemia. In an 18-hospital health system, Intermountain Health Care (IHC), we initiated a program of predischarge bilirubin screening of all neonates and coupled this with a results assessment using a percentile-based nomogram. Data during 2 periods of time, before versus after initiating the program, were compared to assess the effect of the program on significant hyperbilirubinemia and rehospitalization. METHODS. We conducted a historic cohort study involving all neonates delivered at ≥35 weeks9 gestation, within IHC9s 18-hospital system, during 2 periods of time: March 1, 2001, to December 31, 2002, versus January 1, 2003, to December 31, 2004. A bilirubin screening program, instituted in December 2002, called for a total serum bilirubin (TSB) or transcutaneous bilirubin measurement to be performed on every neonate either at the recognition of clinical jaundice or before discharge regardless of whether jaundice was observed. For nonjaundiced neonates, the nursery staff was encouraged to obtain the screening TSB at the same time they obtained the state-mandated newborn screen for inborn errors of metabolism. Bilirubin values were plotted on an hour-specific nomogram and the corresponding percentile was used to guide evaluation, therapy, and follow-up. This study compared TSB data and readmission data for a 2-year period before versus a 2-year period after implementing the program. RESULTS. The study involved 101272 neonates: 48789 in period 1 and 52483 in period 2. Before the program, 1 in every 77 neonates born at an IHC hospital had 1 or more serum bilirubin levels >20 mg/dL. After initiating the program, the incidence fell to 1 in 142 and the number of neonates with a level >25 mg/dL fell from 1 in 1522 before to 1 in 4037 after. The rate of hospital readmission with a primary diagnosis of jaundice fell from 0.55% in period 1 to 0.43% in period 2. CONCLUSIONS. Initiating a program of bilirubin screening in a multihospital health system, coupled with evaluating the results using a percentile-based nomogram, reduced the proportion of neonates with significant hyperbilirubinemia and reduced the rate of hospital readmissions with jaundice.
John Kingsley Lattimer: urologist, ballistics expert, and historian.

THE EARLY YEARS ohn Kingsley Lattimer was born in Mount Clemens, Michigan in 1914. His grandfather, a physician, had J a major influence early in his life by introducing him to medicine. His family moved to New York, where he went to public school and was accepted into Columbia University for college. A lanky 60400, he was a track star at Columbia and was invited to participate in the 1936 Olympics as a hurdler. He declined so that he could enter medical school at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, where he earned his MD in 1938. During his time there, he was influenced by Dr J. Bentley Squier to pursue urology. Dr Squier was among the founders of the American College of Surgeons in 1913, the same year that he served as president of the American Urological Association. Dr Lattimer would thus choose to come to Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center for his urology training. However, because Dr Squier developed eye trouble that caused him to miss a bladder tumor and consequently decided to retire, Dr Lattimer never had the opportunity to work with him.
Regiocontrolled Synthesis of the Antitumor Antibiotic AT2433-A1

The indolo[2,3-a]carbazole glycosides are potent antitumor antibiotics currently undergoing clinical trials for the treatment of numerous types of cancer. AT2433-A1 is the most complex member of this family of compounds possessing a unique disaccharide with a sensitive aminodeoxysugar and an unsymmetric aglycon. The synthesis of this natural product requires a method for glycosylation that sets the stereochemistry of the anomeric center and the regiochemistry of the aglycon. These goals were accomplished by carrying out the Mannich cyclization of a bis-3,4-(3-indolyl)succinimide to give a key class of indoline intermediates that could be glycosylated stereoselectively with complex carbohydrates without hydroxyl protection or activation. The regiochemistry of the Mannich cyclization was precisely controlled by choosing between kinetic or thermodynamic conditions. This strategy culminated in the first synthesis of the antitumor antibiotic AT2433-A1.
Observations on the ecology and survival outlook of the hawksbill turtle

Abstract The hawksbill turtle ( Eretmochelys imbricata ) has declined to endangered status before its ecology has been adequately investigated. A limited amount of data on the species has accumulated at the Green Turtle Station at Tortuguero, on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica. Stomach contents of 29 mature turtles (11 males, 13 females and 5 unsexed), killed by shell hunters on Tortuguero Bank, are listed. Tag returns that have been recorded add to knowledge of remigratory and renesting intervals, multiple nesting, philopatry and post-breeding movements. The bearing of the reproductive isolation of separate island colonies on the survival position of the genus is briefly discussed.
Regulation of Actin Isoforms by Nitric Oxide

Nitric oxide is a known regulator of cellular function that can act indirectly via activation of guanylyl cyclase, or directly via the S-nitrosylation of cysteine residues. However, little is known about the breadth of proteins that are regulated. Actin is present in nearly all eukaryotic cells and in a variety of isoforms that differ slightly in amino acid sequence, and more specifically in the number and placement of cysteine residues. It has been shown by others that different cysteines in the various isoforms can be modified by a number of oxidation reactions including S-nitrosylation. We therefore sought to determine the effect of S-nitrosylation on the interactions of skeletal, smooth, and non-muscle actins with myosin. We measured skeletal, smooth, and non-muscle (β and γ) actin nitrosylation in response to in vitro treatment with nitroso-L-cysteine - an endogenous nitrosothiol and NO donor - as well as actin filament velocity over heavy meromyosin (HMM), and the actin activated ATPase rates of HMM. A coumarin switch assay showed that all three isoforms could be nitrosylated by nitroso-L-cysteine. Nitrosylation of each actin isoform significantly decreased the in vitro velocity over HMM by approximately 38% with 50 μM donor compared to untreated controls. In contrast, there was no difference observed in the α-skeletal actin activated ATPase rates of the control and treated filaments. Further studies are being conducted to determine which cysteine residues in skeletal, smooth, and non-muscle actin are modified by nitroso-L-cysteine. Together these data suggest that nitrosylation of actin affects the attached time of actomyosin crossbridges. Given the ubiquitous nature of actin it is possible that nitrosylation is a common regulatory scheme for muscle contraction and various forms of cell motility.
Relationship of Childhood Obesity to Coronary Heart Disease Risk Factors in Adulthood: The Bogalusa Heart Study

Background. Childhood obesity is related to adult levels of lipids, lipoproteins, blood pressure, and insulin and to morbidity from coronary heart disease (CHD). However, the importance of the age at which obesity develops in these associations remains uncertain. Objective and Design. We assessed the longitudinal relationship of childhood body mass index (BMI, kg/m2) to adult levels of lipids, insulin, and blood pressure among 2617 participants. All participants were initially examined at ages 2 to 17 years and were reexamined at ages 18 to 37 years; the mean follow-up was 17 years. Results. Of the overweight children (BMI ≥95th percentile), 77% remained obese (≥30 kg/m2) as adults. Childhood overweight was related to adverse risk factor levels among adults, but associations were weak (r ∼ 0.1–0.3) and were attributable to the strong persistence of weight status between childhood and adulthood. Although obese adults had adverse levels of lipids, insulin, and blood pressure, levels of these risk factors did not vary with childhood weight status or with the age (≤8 years, 12–17 years, or ≥18 years) of obesity onset. Conclusions. Additional data are needed to assess the independent relationship of childhood weight status to CHD morbidity. Because normal-weight children who become obese adults have adverse risk factor levels and probably will be at increased risk for adult morbidity, our results emphasize the need for both primary and secondary prevention.
Monophyletic origins of the metazoa: an evolutionary link with fungi

A phylogenetic framework inferred from comparisons of small subunit ribosomal RNA sequences describes the evolutionary origin and early branching patterns of the kingdom Animalia. Maximum likelihood analyses show the animal lineage is monophyletic and includes choanoflagellates. Within the metazoan assemblage, the divergence of sponges is followed by the Ctenophora, the Cnidaria plus the placozoan Trichoplax adhaerens, and finally by an unresolved polychotomy of bilateral animal phyla. From these data, it was inferred that animals and fungi share a unique evolutionary history and that their last common ancestor was a flagellated protist similar to extant choanoflagellates.
Structural Basis and Mechanism of Autoregulation in 3-Phosphoinositide-Dependent Grp1 Family Arf GTPase Exchange Factors

Arf GTPases regulate membrane trafficking and actin dynamics. Grp1, ARNO, and Cytohesin-1 comprise a family of phosphoinositide-dependent Arf GTPase exchange factors with a Sec7-pleckstrin homology (PH) domain tandem. Here, we report that the exchange activity of the Sec7 domain is potently autoinhibited by conserved elements proximal to the PH domain. The crystal structure of the Grp1 Sec7-PH tandem reveals a pseudosubstrate mechanism of autoinhibition in which the linker region between domains and a C-terminal amphipathic helix physically block the docking sites for the switch regions of Arf GTPases. Mutations within either element result in partial or complete activation. Critical determinants of autoinhibition also contribute to insulin-stimulated plasma membrane recruitment. Autoinhibition can be largely reversed by binding of active Arf6 to Grp1 and by phosphorylation of tandem PKC sites in Cytohesin-1. These observations suggest that Grp1 family GEFs are autoregulated by mechanisms that depend on plasma membrane recruitment for activation.
Membrane conductances of principal cells in Malpighian tubules of Aedes aegypti

Two-electrode voltage clamp (TEVC) methods were used to explore conductive transport pathways in principal cells, the dominant cell type in Malpighian tubules of the yellow fever mosquito. The basolateral membrane of principal cells had a voltage (Vbl) of –85.1 mV in 49 principal cells under control conditions. Measures of the input resistance Rpc together with membrane fractional resistance yielded estimates of the conductance of the basolateral membrane (gbl = 1.48 μS) and the apical membrane (ga = 3.13 μS). K+ channels blocked by barium accounted for 0.94 μS of gbl. Estimates of transference numbers yielded the basolateral membrane Na+ conductance of 0.24 μS, leaving 0.30 μS (20%) of gbl unaccounted. The secretagogue db-cAMP (0.1 mM), a known activator of the basolateral membrane Na+ conductance, significantly depolarized Vbl to –65.0 mV and significantly increased gbl from 1.48 μS to 2.47 μS. The increase was blocked with amiloride (1 mM), a known blocker of epithelial Na+ transport. The inhibition of metabolism with di-nitrophenol significantly depolarized Vbl to –9.7 mV and significantly increased Rpc from 391.6 kΩ to 2612.5 kΩ. Similar results were obtained with cyanide, but it remains unclear whether the large increases in Rpc stem from the uncoupling of epithelial cells and/or the shutdown of conductive transport pathways in basolateral and apical membranes. Our results indicate that the apical membrane of principal cells is more than twice as conductive as the basolateral membrane. Partial ionic conductances suggest the rate-limiting step for transepithelial Na+ secretion at the basolateral membrane.
Practical processing issues in titanium silicide CVD

This laboratory has recently developed a new process for the chemical vapor deposition of titanium disilicide on Si. The present work moves beyond the kinetic characterization of previous efforts to examine how this process works in terms of material properties, surface/interface roughness, dopant redistribution, nucleation control and selectivity/overgrowth on both SiO2 and Si3N4. While questions remain about the surface structures responsible for nucleation, in all aspects examined here the process appears suitable for device fabrication.
A tailored approach to the syntheses of electroactive dendrimers based on diaminoanthraquinones

A variety of extended building blocks, based on isomeric diaminoanthraquinones, has been synthesized and used to construct a series of electroactive dendrimers. The resulting macromolecules are characterized by chromophoric moieties embedded at a specific distance from both the core and the periphery of the dendritic constructs. These anthraquinone-based dendrimers show different electrochemical, spectroscopic, and solubility properties as a function of the nature of the dendritic core and of the isomeric monomer employed.
GENDER GAP IN THE 103rd CONGRESS

The 1992 election brought a record number of women to the US Congress. The object of this research is to determine whether the increased number of women had an impact on legislative outcomes. This paper tests the idea that the women of the 103rd Congress voted differently than their male colleagues. The findings indicate that there is a gender gap in the voting behavior of male and female members of Congress, particularly on legislative issues where women have been found to be more liberal than men, such as social policy, defense, and gun control. Results also show that there is a women's voting bloc that often crosses party lines.
SELF‐STIMULATION AND LEARNING IN AUTISTIC CHILDREN: PHYSICAL OR FUNCTIONAL INCOMPATIBILITY?1

This study investigated whether an observed inverse relationship between self-stimulation and learning in autistic children is due to a physical inability of the subject to use the same body part for self-stimulation and task responding, or whether self-stimulation “distracts” the subject from task responding. Four actively self-stimulating autistic children were taught two discrimination tasks; one required a response that physically interferred with their self-stimulation; the other did not. Results were: (a) all subjects responded similarly across both tasks; (b) the three subjects with higher mental age scores learned both tasks without external suppression of self-stimulation; and (c) none of the subjects showed an inverse relationship between self-stimulation and learning. The study demonstrated that elimination of self-stimulation is not a necessary prerequisite for the acquisition of a new behavior in all autistic children.