cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Patient-reported quality of life after salvage brachytherapy for radio-recurrent prostate cancer: A prospective Phase II study.

Abstract Background Patient-reported quality of life (QOL) after salvage brachytherapy for radiorecurrent prostate cancer has not been well-characterized prospectively. Methods We examined 25 men who recurred after primary radiotherapy for prostate cancer and received MRI-guided salvage brachytherapy as part of a prospective Phase II study. These patients received prospectively a validated patient-reported QOL questionnaire to fill out at baseline, as well as 3, 15, and 27 months after re-irradiation to determine the degree of sexual, bowel, and urinary dysfunction (maximum dysfunction score = 100). Results On average, sexual function continued to decline with time, and patients had significantly worse sexual function scores at 27 months than baseline (p = 0.01). Although bowel and urinary symptoms worsened acutely at 3 or 15 months, they showed on average some improvement by 27 months, and there were no significant differences between baseline and 27-month urinary or bowel scores. An interval to re-irradiation less than 4.5 years and prior brachytherapy were each associated significantly with the largest decrements in bowel function (p = 0.035). Conclusion Similar to the patterns seen in the de novo setting, patients who receive salvage brachytherapy report a worsening of bowel and urinary symptoms followed by some improvement by 27 months, while sexual function steadily declines over time. Interval to re-irradiation and type of prior radiation received may be used to counsel and optimize selection of men for salvage brachytherapy with regard to QOL endpoints.
Rhetoric and everyday knowledge

This essay attempts to locate within a philosophical analysis some of the conditions on which rhetoric becomes pertinent to ordinary knowledge. Taking knowledge to be justified true belief, the argument advances three kinds of audience relativity that might be a consequence of the justification condition.
Joint Attention Studies Using Diffuse Optical Imaging

Optical imaging was performed on healthy adults to study the responses of the brain to social interactive tasks. Differences in activation in the pre-frontal brain regions was observed in response to joint attention based paradigms.
Identification and synthesis of female sex pheromone of Oriental beetle, Anomala orientalis (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae)

Females of the Oriental beetle,Anomala orientalis (Waterhouse), release a sex pheromone composed of a 9:1 blend of (Z)- and (E)-7-tetradecen-2-one. The double-bond position of the pheromone was determined by DMDS derivatization and interpretation of the fragmentation patterns produced by monounsaturated ketones. In a sustained-flight tunnel, males responded by flying toward female beetles and attempting to copulate with them. Both effluvium and whole-body extracts of OB females were analyzed, and the activity was found only in the airborne extracts. Flight-tunnel bioassays also showed that a synthetic 90:10Z/E blend on a rubber septum was attractive and that the responses of males to this blend were equivalent toZ isomer alone, but much better than to the singleE isomer.
Complexation of trivalent rare earth elements (Ce, Eu, Gd, Tb, Yb) by carbonate ions

Abstract Carbonate stability constants for five rare earth elements (Ce3+, Eu3+, Gd3+, Tb3+, and Yb3+) have been determined at t = 25°C and 0.70 ± 0.02 M ionic strength through solvent exchange techniques. Estimated stability constants for Ce, Eu, and Yb are in close agreement with previous work. Analyses using Gd and Tb provide the first carbonate stability constants for these elements based on direct measurements. Our measured stability constants were used to estimate carbonate stability constants for the entire suite of REEs. Our Eu, Gd, and Tb carbonate stability constants demonstrate the existence of a “Gd-break”: Carbonate stability constants for Gd are smaller than those for Eu and Tb. In analogy to Gd concentration anomalies reported in field observations, Gd stability constant anomalies have been defined in terms of the difference log L β n (Gd) − log { ( L β n (Eu) + L β n (Tb)) 2 } , where Lβn(M) = [MLn][M3+]−1[L]−n. Examinations of REE-organic stability constants demonstrate that 106 out of 125 organic ligands have negative Gd anomalies in their first stability constants. The magnitudes of negative Gd anomalies generally become greater with increasing magnitude in Gd-ligand stability constants. Field observations of positive anomalies in shale-normalized Gd concentrations can be explained in terms of REE scavenging by organic surface ligands, such as polyaminocarboxylic acids, which possess a more negative Gd anomaly than carbonate ligands. Our modeling efforts indicate that a mixture of strongly complexing organics such as polyaminocarboxylic acids, and weakly complexing organics such as mono- and dicarboxylic acids is consistent with the pattern of REE scavenging by marine particulate matter.
Reduced Diphosphopyridine Nucleotide-dependent Diaphorase in Foetal, Newborn and Adult Cattle

ABORTIONS in cattle have been reported to occur as a result of nitrate poisoning1. Although the exact cause of death has not been elucidated, anoxia due to methaemoglobinaemia is believed to be responsible. Recently a transient deficiency of reduced diphosphopyridine nucleotide (DPNH)-dependent diaphorase in infants has been demonstrated, and it has been suggested that this may be a major cause of the increased susceptibility of newly born babies and animals to acquired methaemoglobinaemia2. It was also suggested that even lower enzyme activity would be encountered in foetal erythrocytes2. The present investigation was undertaken to determine whether the abortions occurring in nitrate poisoning of cattle could be related to foetal erythrocyte diaphorase levels.
Catastrophic paradoxical embolus after hemodialysis access thrombectomy in a patient with a patent foramen ovale

We present the first case of documented clot in-transit through a patent foramen ovale (PFO), caused by mechanical thrombectomy of a clotted AV fistula. Embolus after access thrombectomy is a rare, but known complication of the procedure. Paradoxical embolus is likewise a rare consequence of a right-sided clot, embolising to the left-sided circulation in a patient with a PFO. Suspected embolus through a PFO after dialysis access thrombectomy has been reported, but no case has ever documented the clot in-transit through the PFO.
Ecological effects of trampling on sand dune vegetation

Increase in recreational demand on the countryside makes the monitoring of resulting change in vegetation of value, especially in areas of recognized ecological importance. Methods are described for an initial survey of trampling pressure and soil compaction, and their effects on both the soil environment and the plant community structure. With reference to a dune slack habitat the response of the vegetation to trampling levels is assessed by linear regression analysis. Variation in diversity is noted together with changes in the ratio between monocotyledons and dicotyledons. Occurrence indices may be used to identify the species resistant to trampling; these, in general, are found to adopt a hemicryptophytic or therophytic growth form. Such studies can make a useful contribution to field investigations for older secondary school and undergraduate students, and provide starting points for further detailed investigations.
Swirling flow boundary layers

The modified Oseen method is extended to provide a description of the boundary layers which accompany certain swirling flows over a rigid boundary in a rotating container. By comparison with known results it is shown that a refined procedure has errors of the order of 1% when the inviscid flow is a rigid body rotation; it is anticipated that, for the more interesting flows, the error is of the order of 30%.
Eisenberg-Gale markets: algorithms and structural properties

We define a new class of markets, the Eisenberg-Gale markets. This class contains Fisher's linear market, markets from the resource allocation framework of Kelly kelly, as well as numerous interesting new markets.We obtain combinatorial, strongly polynomial algorithms for severalmarkets in this class.Our algorithms have a simple description as ascending price auctions. Our algorithms lead to insights into the efficiency, fairness, rationality of solutions, and competition monotonicity of these markets. A classification of Eisenberg-Gale markets w.r.t. these properties reveals a surprisingly rich set of possibilities.
Extravascular distribution of low-density lipoprotein and dextran in a high-permeability state.

Abstract Previous studies from this laboratory indicated that in the early phase of a high-permeability state, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) crosses the microvascular barrier by porous pathways ( J. C. Rutledge, F. E. Curry, J. F. Lenz, and P. Davis, 1989, Circ. Res. 1990 ; 66, 486–495). To determine the extravascular distribution of LDL (3,500,000 MW) and a smaller reference macromolecule [20,000 MW dextran (D20)] image processing techniques were employed, and extravascular accumulation of solutes from different microvessels was compared to quantitative fluorescence microscopy. Frog mesenteric venular microvessels ( n = 8) were cannulated and perfused with fluorescent-labeled LDL and D20 and extravascular distribution of both solutes was imaged at control and after permeability was increased with the calcium ionophore ionomycin (5 μ M ). At the peak increase in apparent permeability (2–4 min after ionophore), the processed images of the microvessels demonstrated that the extravascular distribution of fluorescent-labeled solute was not uniform and that D20 accumulated outside the microvessel wall in some areas where LDL did not accumulate. The patterns of extravascular accumulation of LDL and D20 in a high-permeability state imply a distribution of effective microvascular pore sizes and/or a distribution of resistances to solute flow in the pore or in the tissue surrounding the microvessel.
Is skinfold thickness as good as DXA when measuring adiposity contributions to insulin resistance in adolescents

Objective: We compared adiposity from triceps and subscapular skinfold thickness (SF) with total body fat from dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) in their associations with HOMA insulin resistance for a large sample of US adolescents. Methods: We analyzed cross-sectional data from 1496 adolescents, ages 12.0–17.99 year examined as part of the US national health and nutrition examination survey (NHANES) cycles 2001–04. Data collected included skinfold thicknesses, DXA-based total body fat (DXF), serum insulin and fasting glucose for homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR). Regression models adjusting for complex survey design effects and correspondence analyses were used to study associations with HOMA-IR and concordance between the two measures of adiposity. Results: SF and DXA models had identical precisions for estimating continuous HOMA-IR, based on bootstrap estimations. For boys, RMSEs = 0.53 (95% CI: 0.49–0.58) and 0.53 (95% CI: 0.48–0.57) for SF and DXA models respectively; and for girls RMSEs were SF = 0.45 (95% CI: 0.41–0.48) and DXA = 0.46 (95% CI: 0.42–0.48). Both adiposity models identified high proportions of the same individuals (positive percent agreement: 80–81%) with exact agreements exceeding 92% for identifying adolescents at elevated risk of IR in both sexes. Conclusions: Triceps and subscapular skinfold thicknesses estimate HOMA-IR and identify those at highest risk for insulin resistance as well as total body fat from DXA. Skinfold thickness provides an inexpensive and widely applicable measure of fatness that is appropriate for studies of insulin resistance and perhaps other metabolic variables in adolescents. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 2012. © 2012Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Characterization of the receptor for insulin-like growth factor II in bone cells

We have previously shown that insulin-like growth factor II (IGF-II) is produced by bone cells and that IGF-II stimulates cell proliferation and collagen synthesis in bone cells. We now extend these in vitro findings by demonstrating specific IGF-II binding to bone cells derived from newborn mouse calvaria and embryonic chick calvaria. The kinetics of [125]I IGF-II binding in embryonic chick calvaria cells showed time and temperature dependence. Scatchard analysis of [125]I IGF-II binding to chick calvaria cells showed an apparent Kd of 1.4 × 1010 M, with a calculated receptor site concentration of 40,000/cell. The specificity characteristics showed that IGF-II was significantly more potent than IGF-I or insulin in displacing IGF-II tracer. Competition for binding of [125]I IGF-II by unlabeled IGF-II showed a dose-dependent displacement between 0.5 and 25 ng/ml. Fifty percent displacement of [125]I IGF-II binding to chick and mouse calvarial cells was achieved at 1-2 ng/ml; 90% of specific binding of [125]I IGF-II was displaceable in the presence of 125 ng/ml of unlabeled IGF-II. IGF-I showed less than 5% cross reactivity for displacement of [125]I IGF-II binding to chick and mouse bone cells. Type II receptor inhibitory antibodies, R-II-PAB1 inhibited the binding of [125]I IGF-II to mouse bone cells and H-35 rat hepatoma cells (which contain type II but not type I receptors) in a dose-dependent manner. R-II-PAB1 also inhibited basal cell proliferation as well as IGF-II-, IGF-I-, and fibroblast growth factor (FGF)-induced cell proliferation in mouse bone cells. In chick calvaria bone cells and TE89 human osteosarcoma cells, R-II-PAB1 inhibited neither binding of [125]I IGF-II nor IGF-ll-induced cell proliferation. These results together with our findings that IGF-II increased chick bone cell proliferation in the presence of maximal doses of IGF-I suggest that at least part of the mitogenic action of IGF-II is mediated through type II rather than type I receptors in bone cells.
The Influence of Classroom Drama on Teachers' Language and Students' On-Task Behavior.

Teacher language and students' on-task behavior were examined in language arts lessons with and without classroom drama in two self-contained third grade classrooms for students with learning disabilities and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Language arts lessons that integrated classroom drama were associated with significantly higher rates of teachers' assertive statements and lower rates of regulative statements. Language arts lessons using classroom drama were associated with higher rates of students' on-task behavior than conventional language arts lessons. The findings indicate that the classroom drama language arts setting influenced teachers' use of assertive and regulative discourse, and students' on-task behavior. The authors discuss the implications of arts integrated instruction for educational practice and research as well as policy.
Molecular Photodetachment Spectrometry. I. The Electron Affinity of Nitric Oxide and the Molecular Constants of NO

We apply laser photodetachment and photoelectron spectrometry for the first time to the study of molecular negative ions. We describe in detail the study of the nitric oxide in N${\mathrm{O}}^{\ensuremath{-}}$; a following paper reports results for ${\mathrm{O}}_{2}^{\ensuremath{-}}$. We use the N${\mathrm{O}}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ results to develop and illustrate in detail the principles and applications of the technique. A mass-selected N${\mathrm{O}}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ beam (680 eV) is crossed with a linearly polarized monochromatic (4880-\AA{}) argon-ion laser beam, and electrons photodetached into a $\frac{4\ensuremath{\pi}}{2000}$-sr solid angle perpendicular to the crossed beams are energy analyzed using a hemispherical electrostatic monochromator. The data yield a set of vertical detachment energies between vibrational states of N${\mathrm{O}}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ and NO, and relative intensities for these transitions. Angular distributions about the polarization direction are studied by rotating the laser polarization while maintaining the mutually perpendicular ion-beam-laser-beam-electron-collection geometry. For each transition we measure the anisotropy parameter $\ensuremath{\beta}$, corresponding to the form [$1+\ensuremath{\beta}{P}_{2}(cos\ensuremath{\theta})$] for the angular distribution. Several arguments, including data on N${\mathrm{O}}^{18\ensuremath{-}}$ photodetachment, are used to identify the initial and final vibrational states. Molecular rotational effects, and effects associated with the spin-orbit splitting of the final $\mathrm{NO}(X^{2}\ensuremath{\Pi})$ state are identified and included in the analysis. A Franck-Condon-factor analysis of the observed relative cross sections, parametrized by trial values of the N${\mathrm{O}}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ molecular constants, is used to determine that for N${\mathrm{O}}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ ${\ensuremath{\omega}}_{e}^{\ensuremath{'}\ensuremath{'}}=1470\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}200$ ${\mathrm{cm}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$, ${\mathcal{r}}_{e}^{\ensuremath{'}\ensuremath{'}}=1.258\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.010$ \AA{}, and ${B}_{e}^{\ensuremath{'}\ensuremath{'}}=1.427\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.02$ ${\mathrm{cm}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$. Using these constants, the measured vertical detachment energy is reduced by rotational and spin-orbit effects to the electron affinity ${E}_{A}(\mathrm{NO})={24}_{\ensuremath{-}5}^{+10}$ meV.
Nanoparticle Removal Using Laser-Induced Plasma Shock Waves

Removal of sub-100 nm particles from substrates such as wafers and photo masks is an essential requirement in semiconductor, microelectronics, and nanotechnology applications. The proposed laser-induced plasma (LIP) based approach is an effective technique for removal of sub-100 nm particles, as the minimum tolerable particle on the substrates shrinks to sub-100 nm levels with each technological node. In the current study, our progress in sub-100 nm particle removal is reviewed, and the results of the kinetic theory simulations conducted to understand the dynamics of the gas molecule-nanoparticle interactions excited by the shock front are discussed. It is shown from the simulations and experiments that particles as small as sub-100 nm can be successfully detached. To explain possible mechanisms for the nanoparticle detachment in nanoscale, the concepts of rolling resistance moment and rocking motion are utilized as novel detachment mechanisms. The pressure experiments illustrate that the peak pressure le...
Crystal growth in LiGaSe2 for semiconductor radiation detection applications

Abstract Lithium containing A I B III C VI semiconductors are being considered as alternative materials for room temperature neutron detection. Materials such as LiGaSe 2 have been synthesized for non-linear optical applications; however, when the crystal is grown enriched in the 6 Li isotope, it is possible to imagine a radiation detector. A nuclear reaction occurs with 6 Li, which can be detected within the semiconductor crystal. As such, high quality crystals are required, which have few defects which prohibit charge collection. One of the primary challenges in growing a high quality crystal is the reactivity of lithium metal. Vacuum purified lithium metal was therefore reacted with gallium to form LiGa as an intermediate to LiGaSe 2 synthesis. Vertical and horizontal Bridgman growth was then conducted to determine the optimal growth conditions. Vertical Bridgman growth resulted in more pure crystals. Annealing in lithium metal vapor reduced crystal defects and improved optical and electrical properties of the subsequent LiGaSe 2 crystal.
Some observations on language and language learning: Reply to Macnamara, Arbib, and Moore and Furrow☆

John Macnamara’s comments deal with issues that are important if somewhat obscure, and therefore merit more extensive and careful discussion than I can give here. I will follow his breakdown of the issues, considering first his comments on modularity, then on the principles-and-parameters conception of linguistic theory. Macnamara traces the modularity thesis to the so-called “autonomy of syntax” thesis. As he notes, my “statements of the autonomy thesis have been guarded.” One reason is that I do not know exactly what the thesis is supposed to be. The autonomy thesis has frequently been vigorously denied by critics who seem to have something in mind, but what it is, they have not clearly stated. In the work to which Macnamara refers (Chomsky, 1957), I considered various highly confident claims that syntax is necessarily based on semantics and argued that these specific claims were untenable. I have also pursued the point elsewhere (e.g. Chomsky, 1965, 1977), suggesting various forms that such a thesis might take and considering arguments offered to refute some (never clearly stated) “autonomy thesis” and in support of the position that “syntax is based on semantics”, arguments that generally seem to me without force. I have no doctrine on the matter: the problem is to find out the truth about what language is and how it is acquired. One reason why it is difficult to discuss the alleged thesis is that the term “semantics” is commonly used to refer to what I think should properly be called “syntax”, specifically, the syntax of mental representations. As Macnamara observes, “the key notion of semantics” is reference, a relation between elements of language and things in the world (or perhaps the world as it is conceived to be). Other key notions of semantics have to do with connection of meaning (analvticity, synonymy, etc.). But when terms such as “reference” are used internally to the study of mental representations and their syntax, as is often the case, then the claim that “syntax is based on semantics” becomes the empty assertion that “syntax is based on syntax improperly called ‘semantics’ “, and again it remains unclear what critics of the “‘autonomy thesis” take it to be asserting.
Pharmacological approaches for the prevention of restenosis after percutaneous coronary intervention

A large number of drug trials for prevention of restenosis have been conducted with many showing little or conflicting benefit. Antiplatelets such as aspirin, ticlopidine and thromboxane A 2 receptor inhibitors have not shown a clear benefit. Similarly, antithrombotics, either acting indirectly such as heparin, or as direct thrombin inhibitors such as hirudin and hirulog, do not prevent restenosis. Trials with ACE inhibitors, HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors and fish-oil supplements have yielded inconclusive results. The antiproliferatives, angiopeptin, trapidil and tranilast have shown some benefit in small-scale studies. Other drug classes of potential benefit include the glycoprotein Ilb/Illa receptor antagonists, inhibitors of the early coagulation cascade, calcium channel blockers and nitric oxide donors. Drug research into restenosis prevention has been hampered by problems with the definition of restenosis and the applicability in humans of animal models. Although no single drug has conclusively proven effective yet, the promise of a number of agents, together with other nonpharmacological strategies will likely result in further reductions in the incidence of restenosis.
Hyperspectral ratio feature selection: agricultural product inspection example

We describe a fast method for dimensionality reduction and feature selection of ratio features for classification in hyperspectral data. The case study chosen is to discriminate internally damaged almond nuts from normal ones. For this case study, we find that using the ratios of the responses in several wavebands provides better features than a subset of waveband responses. We find that use of the Euclidean Minimum Distance metric gives slightly better results than the more conventional Spectral Angle Mapper distance metric in a nearest neighbor classifier.
The relation between Centrality and story category variation

Four experiments were performed contrasting the effects of centrality and story category membership on the recall and judged importance of story content. The Centrality of story content was identified by an analysis focusing on the causal, purposeful, and componential relations connecting story events and states. Recall and judged importance of story content was greatest for: (1) Internal Response and Reaction statements when they were made Central rather than Noncentral; (2) Central as compared to Noncentral content contained within each episodic story category; (3) story categories containing the highest proportion of Central content; and (4) Central Content Contained within Settings, Initiating Events, and Consequences. The results are discussed in terms of how the present analysis and story grammars provide complementary ways to describe story structure.
Association of bacteria with bryozoan larvae

Seven species of marine bryozoans were examined for the presence of bacteria associated with the larvae. In three species (Bugula neritina, B. pacifica, and B. simplex), rod-shaped bacteria were consistently observed in the pallial sinus of the larvae, independent of geographic location, year, or season. Larvae of closely related bryozoans (B. stolonifera, B. turrita, Scrupocellaria bertholetti, and Tricellaria occidentalis) occurring sympatrically with those containing bacteria lacked this apparent symbiosis. Those bryozoans examined that possessed the bacteria-larva association are among the most frequently encountered fouling bryozoans.
Surface topography and intracellular organization of human cells in suspension as revealed by scanning electron microscopy

This report presents a new procedure to study the ultrastructure of human cells in suspension by means of scanning electron microscopy. Living cells were maintained in suspension within cell culture flasks located on a rotating tilting table within an incubator. These cells were injected into warm glutaraldehyde/formaldehyde fixative. After washing in buffer, fixed cells were attached to propylamine-derived glass carriers. However, saturating free aldehyde groups of fixed cells and blocking amine groups of the derived glass carriers prevented cells from attachment to these carriers. Thus, we postulated that bonds between the fixed cell-free aldehyde groups and the carrier amine groups were responsible for cell-to-carrier attachment. Fixed cells attached to the carriers were subsequently dehydrated, dried, and coated for surface topography studies. For studies of internal cell organization, these attached cells were immersed in agar or gelatin as extracellular embedments and infused with sucrose or polyvinyl-pyrrolidone as cryoprotectants. Cells then were frozen and fractured. Fractured cells were either thawed, dehydrated, critical point dried, and ion beam sputter-coated, or freeze-substituted, dried, and planar magnetron sputter-coated. Finally, cell preparations were observed in the scanning electron microscope. Due to high cell attachment yield, both approaches samples observed in the electron microscope were representative of the entire cell population.
High-density lipoproteins put out the fire.

Macrophages in atherosclerotic plaques are activated, inflammatory cells that directly contribute to the disease process. De Nardo et al. (2013), now report that high-density lipoproteins (HDL) can reprogram macrophages to be less inflammatory through an ATF3-dependent pathway, providing another mechanistic basis for the atheroprotective properties of HDL.
OBSERVATIONS ON THE BEHAVIOR OF BUMBLEBEES (BREMUS): THE ORIENTATION FLIGHT

The manner in which bees and wasps repeatedly find their way back to their nests or to certain other places has been a source of wonderment to many and the subject of serious investigations upon the part of but few. The justly illustrious Fabre in considering the homing of many insects was led to believe that wasps and bees found they way back and forth from the nest by a special sense.
THE NATURE OF PRICE MOVEMENTS DURING SINGLE SALES FOR THREE INDIVIDUAL WOOL TYPES SOLD IN SYDNEY

Price series for three wool types sold in Sydney are tested for the presence of serial correlation using the von Neuman ratio. The results indicate that it is unusual to find significant serial correlation between prices during a single sale. These results have implications for the use of various statistical techniques in wool marketing research and for buying tactics in the market generally.
Attachment kinetics and life time of perionization electrons in rate-gas halogen laser mixtures

Experiments on homogeneous initiation of pulsed avalanche discharges in typical XeCl laser mixtures show that the x-ray preionization pulse remains effective after a time delay of the order of 20 μs even at very high gas pressures (∼15 atm). Detailed kinetics analyses indicate that dissociative attachment of HCl is relatively slow during and after the preionization period so that the long effective delay time cannot be attributed to the storage effect of Cl− ions. Instead, the observed phenomenon can be attributed to the long survival time of the free electrons due to relatively slow diffusion and electron-ion recombination. Some problems arising from quantitative interpretation of the experimental results are also noted and discussed.
N-VINYLPYRROLIDONE AS A WATER COMPATIBLE CONSTITUENT OF EMBEDDING RESINS FOR SECTIONING IN ELECTRON MICROSCOPY.

The use as an embedding resin for ultrathin sectioning of a cross-linked triple copolymer of N-vinylpyrrolidone, acrylonitrile, and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate is described. The first of these components is miscible with water, in all proportions, and can be used as a dehydrating agent, or, alternatively, ethanol may be used in the standard way. Polymerization is carried out at 37°C or even lower temperatures. This resin is unsuitable for use after osmium fixatives, but after permanganates it gives results similar to epoxy. Photographs of rye root-tip cells fixed in permanganate and sectioned in this resin are presented. Because of the water-permeable nature of the product and low polymerization temperature, this resin appears to have possibilities for histochemistry.
An Analysis of the Impact of Passenger Profiling for Transportation Security

The proponents of airline passenger profiling claim that profiling will reduce the cost of security, improve the detection of attackers, increase the reliability of signals from screening devices, and reduce the inconvenience to normal passengers. In this paper we show that if the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) manually inspects all those passengers classified as likely attackers and sends others through a screening system, as it did when it deployed the Computer Assisted Passenger Prescreening System (CAPPS), then it is superior to no profiling on all four performance measures if and only if the quality of the profiler vis-a-vis that of the screening system is sufficiently high. If the quality of the screening device is sufficiently high, profiling could be detrimental on all four performance measures. On the other hand, if the TSA deploys two screening devices along with the profiler---each screening device optimally configured for each of the two groups of passengers---then profiling improves the reliability of screening device signals, reduces the inconvenience caused to normal passengers, and improves the social welfare even when quality of the screening device is high. One of the implications of our findings is that the security architecture used by the TSA when it deployed CAPPS could provide a strong support to the arguments by some against the use of profiling; however, if the TSA deploys a two-screening device architecture, it might not only blunt the criticism that profiling is discriminatory but also benefit normal passengers and overall society economically.
Reassessment of the Ocean-To-Atmosphere Flux of Carbon Monoxide

Abstract Carbon monoxide (CO) in the surface sea waters is produced predominantly by photochemical processes, oxidized by micro-organisms and outgassed to the atmosphere. to assess carbon monoxide flux from the oceans to the atmosphere, the photochemical production and microbial oxidation of carbon monoxide in the oceanic mixed-layer was investigated during several oeanographic cruises and in the laboratory. the photoproduction rate of carbon monoxide was found to be well correlated to the concentration of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in coastal and open ocean surface waters. Taking a global average carbon monoxide production rate of 10 ± 2 nmole litre−1 (mg DOC hr)−1 in the surface open ocean water, and 25 ± 7 nmole litre−1 (mg DOC hr)−1 in coastal sea water, at cloud-free summer solar noon, the photochemical production of carbon monoxide in the global oceans is estimated to be at a rate of 1200 ± 200 Tg CO y−1. the microbial carbon monoxide turnover time in the mixed-layer was observed to range from h...
Concerted evolution of the tandemly repeated genes encoding human U2 snRNA (the RNU2 locus) involves rapid intrachromosomal homogenization and rare interchromosomal gene conversion

We have surveyed the tandemly repeated genes encoding U2 snRNA in a diverse panel of humans. We found only two polymorphisms within the U2 repeat unit: a SacI polymorphism (alleles SacI+ or SacI-) and a CT microsatellite polymorphism (alleles CT+ or CT-). Surprisingly, individual U2 tandem arrays are entirely SacI+ or SacI-, and entirely CT+ or CT-, although the SacI and CT alleles can occur in any combination. We also found that polymorphisms in the left and right junction regions flanking the tandem array fall into only two haplotypes (JL+ and JL-, JR+ and JR-). Most surprisingly, JL+ is always associated with JR+, and JL- with JR-. Thus individual U2 arrays do not exchange flanking markers, despite independent assortment and subsequent homogenization of the SacI and CT alleles within the U2 repeat units. We propose that the primary driving force for concerted evolution of the tandem U2 genes is intrachromosomal homogenization; interchromosomal genetic exchanges are much rarer, and reciprocal nonsister chromatid exchange apparently does not occur. Thus concerted evolution of the U2 tandem array occurs in situ along a chromosome lineage, and linkage disequilibrium between sequences flanking the U2 array may persist for long periods of time.
How Language Programs the Mind

Many animals can be trained to perform novel tasks. People, too, can be trained, but sometime in early childhood people transition from being trainable to something qualitatively more powerful —being programmable. We argue that such programmability constitutes a leap in the way that organisms learn, interact, and transmit knowledge, and that what facilitates or enables this programmability is the learning and use of language. We then examine how language programs the mind and argue that it does so through the manipulation of embodied, sensorimotor representations. The role language plays in controlling mental representations offers important insights for understanding its origin and evolution.
Vascular autoregulation in a model using mechanosensory ion channels

Mechanosensory ion channels (MACs) are incorporated into a myogenic model, which states that blood flow is regulated, in part, through feedback regulation of vessel diameter, which is controlled by smooth muscles surrounding the afferent arterioles. Feedback to the smooth muscle effectors is provided by tension-dependent currents from MACs, consisting mainly of K/sup +/ efflux. Smooth muscles respond to depolarizing K/sup +/ currents by contraction. The model shows the ability of vascular beds to autoregulate flow in the presence of changing arterial pressures. >
Predictors of breastfeeding exclusivity in a WIC sample.

ABSTRACT Objective To examine predictors of breastfeeding exclusivity in low‐income women who received services from a Chicago area clinic of the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children Program (WIC). Design A secondary data analysis of existing clinical and administrative data. Setting An urban community health center serving low‐income families. Participants Two hundred and thirty‐five (235) low‐income women who initiated breastfeeding and received WIC services. Methods Logistic regression models were fit to existing prenatal and postpartum data to determine predictors of breastfeeding exclusivity during the immediate postpartum period. Results Only 23% of the sample breastfed exclusively. Women who received first‐trimester prenatal care were more likely to exclusively breastfeed than women who entered prenatal care in later trimesters (OR=2.02, p ≤0.05). Women who declared intentions prenatally to exclusively breastfeed were more likely to exclusively breastfeed than women who did not intend to breastfeed (OR=3.85, p ≤0.001). Overweight/obese women were less likely to exclusively breastfeed than normal/underweight women (OR=0.50, p ≤0.05). Conclusion Findings from this study can be used to develop tailored interventions to promote breastfeeding exclusivity among low‐income WIC recipients.
Time-frequency representations with multiform, tiltable Chebyshev kernels

We formulate and provide design equations for novel time-frequency representations (TFRs) with multiform, tiltable (MT) Chebyshev kernels whose passband support regions are capable of attaining a wide diversity of iso-contour shapes in the ambiguity function (AF) plane, e.g., parallel strips, crosses, tilted and untilted ellipses, diamonds, hyperbolas, rectangles, etc. Simple constraints on the parameters of the new kernels can be used to guarantee many desirable properties of TFRs.
Instruction in Problem Structuring and Analysis Through Problem Frames

We have used the Problem Frames approach to teach software requirements analysis in an undergraduate software engineering setting for several years. Its lightweight formalism is rigorous without being intimidating, and its clarity and precision foster critical inquiry and careful reasoning among students. To guide newcomers to Problem Frames, and to aid experienced students in tackling larger problems, we have created a Java-based editor tool called PFEdit to construct and manipulate Problem Frame documents. This course module includes introductory presentation material, a documented version of PFEdit, and an annotated Problem Frame document that demonstrates the major concepts of Problem Frames and the capabilities of PFEdit.
The relationship between the two forms of glycogen phosphorylase in Dictyostelium discoideum

Summary The cellular slime mold, Dictyostelium disoideum , provides an ideal model system to study eukaryotic cell differentiation. In D. discoideum , glycogen degradation provides precursors for the synthesis of developmentally regulated structural products. The enzyme responsible for glycogen degradation, glycogen phosphorylase, exists in active and inactive forms. The active, or‘a’ form, is independent of 5′adenosine monophosphate (5′AMP) while the inactive, or‘b’ form, is 5′AMP-dependent. The activity of the‘b’ form predominates early in development, while the activity of the‘a’ form peaks in mid-late development; their combined specific activities remain constant at any point. Polyclonal antibodies raised to the purified forms of this enzyme showed low cross-reactivity. The anti-‘a’ serum reacted with a 104-kDa protein that was associated with phosphorylase‘a’ activity; the anti-‘b’ serum reacted with a 92-kDa protein that was associated with phosphorylase‘b’ activity and weakly cross-reacted with the 104-kDa protein. Immunoblots of peptide maps of the purified enzyme forms showed that each antibody was specific for the proteolytic fragments of its respective antigen. We also demonstrated in vitro phosphorylation of the‘b’ form by an endogenous protein kinase. Cyclic AMP perturbation of intact cells caused induction of both phosphorylase-‘a’ activity and the 104-kDa protein. Immunotitration data suggested that the‘a’ form accumulates due to de novo protein synthesis, although this result must be interpreted with caution.
Low-technology, cost-efficient strategies for reducing medication errors.

Abstract Medication-related errors are a common cause of patient morbidity and mortality. However, a number of strategies use the latest technology, such as computers and associated hardware and software, to reduce medication-related errors. In this era of reduced operating margins for most hospitals, strategies that employ physician order entry and bar code–labeled medication systems may be prohibitively expensive. Cost-efficient methods are available that can make simple changes in the way medications are mixed, stored, prescribed, and delivered, and they have the potential to have a major effect on medication safety. These methods do not rely on purchasing new hardware or expensive software. They include changing the culture within the hospital to one that focuses on patient safety, developing standardized protocols, developing an education program that provides direct feedback, and using protocols for high-risk medications. Coordinating hospital efforts with regional organizations may also be beneficial in reducing the occurrence of medication-related errors. (Am J Infect Control 2002;30:351-4.)
Small subunit ribosomal RNA gene phylogeny of several loculoascomycetes and its taxonomic implications.

Phylogenetic analyses of partial sequences (1002 basepairs) from the nuclear encoded small subunit ribosomal RNA (18S rRNA) were performed to determine the phylogenetic relationships of the ascostromatic fungi, Botryosphaeria, Guignardia, Leptosphaerulina, Didymella, Venturia, Sporormia , and Sporormiella. Our studies confirm the concept that the subclass Loculoascomycetidae is paraphyletic if Chaetothyriales is included, as this order and the plectomycetes constitute a monophyletic clade that is highly supported in our and some previous phylogenetic analyses. In general, taxa that lack pseudoparaphyses (Dothideales) or have reduced hamathecial tissue, such as Botryosphaeria and Guignardia (sensu Sivanesan), are a sister group to the Pleosporales, the most derived group, whose members have pseudoparaphyses. The two species of Leptosphaerulina , which also lack pseudoparaphyses, clustered within the Pleosporales, rather than within the Dothideales, with high confidence from bootstrap values. Didymella nested within the Pleosporales with a high degree of confidence, and is the sister group to Leptosphaerulina. The taxonomic placement of Venturia and Sporormiella corresponds to the Pleosporales.
Meeting the needs of adult learners and non-traditional students: the effective application of adult learner principles and techniques to an undergraduate business programme

The educational needs of adult learners are different from those of traditional undergraduate students, and programmes need to be designed to accommodate these differences. Using a combination of intensive weekend classroom sessions, online distance learning and specialised teaching methods, the Fairleigh Dickinson University Global Business Management programme is designed to address the unique needs and career goals of adult learners who bring substantial business experience and knowledge to the classroom. A case study of how the programme meets the specific educational preferences of adult learners in terms of objectives, expectations and orientation is provided, based on previous research and educational theories. More in-depth, discussion and analysis are given to the following areas: pedagogical features, innovative course scheduling and the role of distance learning in supplementing classroom sessions. Relevant theories and frameworks from education and psychology are used to support the techniques and methods discussed.
Signal detection in impulsive noise based on stable distributions

The previously developed symmetric stable model for impulsive noise is applied to the detection of known signals in additive noise. The structure and performance of the locally optimum detector are determined for stable noise and illustrations are presented to indicate behavior as a function of noise model parameters. The performances of selected linear and nonlinear suboptimum detectors, such as the clipper, hole puncher, or hard limiter, are also evaluated for stable noise and compared with that of the locally optimum detector using the finite sample approach. The results indicate that the locally optimum detector performs significantly better than the commonly used linear detector in the presence of additive stable noise. >
Modulation of α1 β1, α2β1, and α3β1 integrin heterodimers during human neuroblastoma cell differentiation

Two human neuroblastoma cell lines, LAN-5 and GI-CA-N, have been analyzed for their capability to adhere to different extracellular matrix (ECM) components. The GI-CA-N cells adhered to all the tested substrates: laminin (LN), type I and type IV collagen (Coll I, Coll IV), vitronectin (VN), and fibronectin (FN). Conversely LAN-5 cells weakly attached to FN and VN, whilst adhesion on LN and Coll I and IV was strong and induced a rapid elongation of cell processes. By means of RT-PCR and immunoprecipitation we showed that the integrin pattern of these two lines was different and could explain their diversity in adhesion capability. Both cell lines express a large amount of the β1 integrin subunit, associated with different α chains, probably responsible for their adhesion to some ECM proteins. After treatment of LAN-5 cells with biological differentiating agents, such as γ-interferon, alone or in combination with tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), or retinoic acid, the levels of α1β1, α2β1, and α3β1 integrin expression were enhanced, while the amount of α, remained constant. In contrast, treatment of LAN-5 cells with TNF-α, that did not induce any maturation, or starvation in 2% foetal calf serum, that inhibited cell proliferation without affecting neural differentiation, did not induce any change in the integrin assessment. Messenger-RNAs for the two α6 isoforms, A and B, were present in both cell lines. However, in LAN-5 cells, the protein product was neither detectable nor inducible by differentiation. Our results confirm the specific modulation of the α1β1 integrin expression in human neuronal development, and show, for the first time, the involvement of α2β1 and α3β1, heterodimers in this maturational process.
Intrinsic rhythmic contractions in insect skeletal muscle.

A constant slow rhythm of contraction and relaxation has been discovered in the extensor tibiae (jumping muscle) of saltatory orthopterans. The rhythm is present in the intact insect and persist in the isolated leg, but is abolished when the leg is perfused with saline. The amplitudes and durations of contractions and also the intervals between them, are subject to central nervous modulation. The rhythm may serve to exercise muscle fibers and to promote movement.
A Matter of Interpretation: The Legal Effects of Constitutional Inclusion of Animal Rights in Germany and Switzerland

This paper is part of an on-going examination of constitutional inclusion of animal rights in Germany (2002) and Switzerland (1992, 2000), the only two industrialized nations to have done so. The previous phase of this examination explained how animal protectionists achieved this substantial gain through frame alignment processes, specifically frame-bridging, which mediated the interaction between activists and the political opportunity structures with which they dealt. This second phase examines the results of the two types of inclusion through a comparative study of case law since the amendments were enacted. The German constitution was amended to include a broad declaration that protection of the environment and the animals be a responsibility of the federal government, thereby granting animals equal protection against the constitutional rights of citizens, which was the major obstacle in prosecuting animal cruelty cases. In Switzerland, inclusion pertained only to a section establishing guidelines for gene technology, where there was a more extraordinary declaration that the dignity of creatures not be violated in research. What has been the effect of these two types of constitutional inclusion on animal cruelty cases? The hypothesis is that Switzerland's use of the concept, "dignity", pushed animals into an elevated status level so they are not judicially deliberated upon as owned objects, thereby providing increased legal leverage for their protection.