cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Distinct cytokine patterns identified from multiplex profiles of murine DSS and TNBS-induced colitis.

The cytokine network in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a complex, dynamic system that plays an important role in regulating mucosal innate and adaptive immune responses. While several studies have been done to evaluate immunomodulatory profiles in murine IBD, they have been limited to a relatively small number of cytokines that do not take into account its dependency of the interplay of multiple factors, and therefore the diagnostic potential of their cytokine profiles have been inconclusive. Herein we demonstrate a novel approach of comprehensive serum multiplex cytokine profiling to describe the modulation of 16 Th1, Th2, Th17 cytokines and chemokines in both acute and chronic murine models of DSS and TNBS-induced colitis. Distinctive disease-specific cytokine profiles were identified with significant correlations to disease activity and duration of disease. TNBS colitis exhibits heightened Th1-Th17 response (increased IL-12 and IL-17) as the disease becomes chronic. In contrast, DSS colitis switches from a Th1-Th17-mediated acute inflammation (increased TNFα, IL6, IL-17 and KC) to a predominant Th2-mediated inflammatory response (increase in IL-4 and IL-10 and concomitant decrease in TNFα, IL6, IL-17 and KC) in the chronic state. Profiles of multiple cytokines seen systemically were also validated locally in colonic mucosa. Moreover, advanced multivariate analyses identified discriminatory cytokine profiles that can be sufficiently used to distinguish unaffected controls from diseases, and one disease type from another. IL-6 and IL-12 stratified gender-associated disease activity in chronic colitis. Our studies provide insight into disease immunopathogenesis and illustrate the significant potential of utilizing multiplex cytokine profiles and bioinformatics as diagnostic tools in IBD.
Nagel's argument for altruism

Thomas Nagel has argued that the rationality of prudence is secured by the fact that reasoning about what to do necessarily involves the adoption of a standpoint which is temporally neutralJ He argues that a rational agent must regard practical matters from a standpoint which is neutral with respect to whether what is considered is past, present, or future. In short, the argument is supposed to issue in the conclusion that if it is true that a person has, had, or will have a reason to do something, then it is now true that person has a reason to desire the doing of that action. And thus if the possibility of action is present or future, he has reason to take steps which will aid in or constitute the performing of that action, or if it is past, to desire (wish) that the action was performed, or perhaps, to be glad that it was. Nagel also asserts that this conclusion can be equivalently stated in metaphysical terms; namely, that a rational agent must see himself as a temporally extended being for whom "the present is just a time among others, and that other times are equally real" (p. 88). In a recent article 2, Richard Kraut dissents from Nagel's conclusion and from his contention that having a conception of oneself as a being which exists throughout a series of times which are 'equally real' implies that in practical reasoning one must adopt a standpoint which is temporally neutral. In particular, Kraut argues that it is rational to prefer that a pain be in one's past rather than in one's future and thus that "Nagel is wrong in holding that a rational person regards all his reasons as being timeless." (p. 353) Furthermore, having this preference does not mean that one considers one's past any the less real than one's future. Kraut also suggests that a similar objection can be brought against Nagel's argument for altruism. Nagel argues (in absolute parallel to his argument for the rationality of prudence) that practical reasoning necessarily involves the adoption of an impersonal standpoint. That is, if one is to reason practically one must consider practical situations from
Oleic acid concentration and effect in human stratum corneum: non-invasive determination by attenuated total reflectance infrared spectroscopy in vivo

Attenuated total reflectance infrared (ATR-IR) spectroscopy was used to study, in vivo, the mechanism of action of a putative skin penetration enhancer, oleic acid. Specifically, the spectroscopic technique monitored structural changes and enhancer concentration in the stratum corneum (SC) (skin's outermost and least permeable layer) following treatment with oleic acid in ethanol. As previously observed in vitro, oleic acid increased the hydrocarbon chain disorder of the inter-cellular lipid domains of the SC in vivo. The effects of the enhancer were prolonged but reversible. It also appeared that the treatment of the skin with oleic acid for 0.5 hour caused a gradient of effect (i.e. increased lipid disorder) that decreased from superficial to inner stratum corneum layers. However, this gradient was normalized by increasing the time of exposure of the skin to the enhancer. Although the oleic acid-induced lipid hydrocarbon chain disorder in vivo maximized at a concentration of 1% oleic acid in ethanol, the in vitro uptake of radiolabelied enhancer into excised SC increased linearly with concentration up to 10%. Further experiments showed that the saturation of response in vivo was not solubility limited. Precise analysis of the IR spectra enabled an absorption band to be assigned mainly to oleic acid and to be used, therefore, to quantity SC uptake of enhancer in vivo. A quite linear correlation between (radiochemical) in vitro and (spectroscopic) in vivo assessments of oleic acid in SC was found. Overall, then, the results reported support the conclusions: (a) that ATR-IR can monitor the effects of penetration enhancers on skin barrier function in vivo, and (b) that, in the case of oleic acid, the technique can estimate the level of enhancer within the SC as a function of time and, possibly, position.
Quantitative Changes in Integrin and Focal Adhesion Signaling Regulate Myoblast Cell Cycle Withdrawal

We previously demonstrated contrasting roles for integrin α subunits and their cytoplasmic domains in controlling cell cycle withdrawal and the onset of terminal differentiation (Sastry, S., M. Lakonishok, D. Thomas, J. Muschler, and A.F. Horwitz. 1996. J. Cell Biol. 133:169–184). Ectopic expression of the integrin α5 or α6A subunit in primary quail myoblasts either decreases or enhances the probability of cell cycle withdrawal, respectively. In this study, we addressed the mechanisms by which changes in integrin α subunit ratios regulate this decision. Ectopic expression of truncated α5 or α6A indicate that the α5 cytoplasmic domain is permissive for the proliferative pathway whereas the COOH-terminal 11 amino acids of α6A cytoplasmic domain inhibit proliferation and promote differentiation. The α5 and α6A cytoplasmic domains do not appear to initiate these signals directly, but instead regulate β1 signaling. Ectopically expressed IL2R-α5 or IL2R-α6A have no detectable effect on the myoblast phenotype. However, ectopic expression of the β1A integrin subunit or IL2R-β1A, autonomously inhibits differentiation and maintains a proliferative state. Perturbing α5 or α6A ratios also significantly affects activation of β1 integrin signaling pathways. Ectopic α5 expression enhances expression and activation of paxillin as well as mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase with little effect on focal adhesion kinase (FAK). In contrast, ectopic α6A expression suppresses FAK and MAP kinase activation with a lesser effect on paxillin. Ectopic expression of wild-type and mutant forms of FAK, paxillin, and MAP/erk kinase (MEK) confirm these correlations. These data demonstrate that (a) proliferative signaling (i.e., inhibition of cell cycle withdrawal and the onset of terminal differentiation) occurs through the β1A subunit and is modulated by the α subunit cytoplasmic domains; (b) perturbing α subunit ratios alters paxillin expression and phosphorylation and FAK and MAP kinase activation; (c) quantitative changes in the level of adhesive signaling through integrins and focal adhesion components regulate the decision of myoblasts to withdraw from the cell cycle, in part via MAP kinase.
EFFECTS OF FEEDBACK ACCOUNTABILITY AND SELF-RATING INFORMATION ON EMPLOYEE APPRAISALS: A REPLICATION AND EXTENSION '

The influence of feedback accountability and self-rating information on employee performance appraisals was examined. Undergraduate business student participants assumed the role of "supervisor" and evaluated a fictitious "subordinate" whose performance on a clerical task was either moderately poor or very good. Participants were either given fictitious self-rating information, or no self-rating information, and were told they were expected to provide performance feedback to their ratee, or there was no feedback expectation. As expected, in Study 1 both self-rating information and expected feedback-sharing independently resulted in lenient ratings for poor performance, and the combined effects resulted in the highest ratings. By contrast, results for good performance (Study 2) were not significant. Implications of the findings for human resource management practice and research were discussed.
women and the emerging family on the Israeli kibbutz

Considerable speculation and controversy have arisen in the recent literature about the changing role of women and family on the Israeli kibbutz. A prevailing view is that the emerging family and the decline of a collectivist system of child socialization constitute an index of the kibbutz woman's “retreat” to a more conventional feminine role. The authors of this paper lived in a kibbutz for a period of about four months, during which time they were able to utilize questionnaire and participant-observation methods to learn more about the underlying meaning of recent changes in the family and the role of the kibbutz woman. Our data indicate that emerging familism is not exclusively a female phenomenon; both sexes are involved. Furthermore, viewed in the context of kibbutz life, this phenomenon does not indicate a reversion to a traditional Western female role, [women's studies, Israeli kibbutz, gender status, collective communities]
Turbulent vs. Vortex Ring Energy Losses in the Left Ventricle

Left ventricular flows in the human heart are very complex due to the intricate geometry, the pulsatile character of the flow, the interaction of the jets with the LV flexible walls, and the unsteady motion of the leaflets, which generate intrinsically complicated flow structures. Furthermore, although mechanical heart valves (MHV) have received universal recognition, their performance is still unmatched to that of the natural valves. The flow past MHVs induces a combination of flow characteristics, which are clearly dependent on the specific valve design and valve orientation. Traditionally, valve performance and hemodynamics have been quantified using effective orifice size and pressure gradients. However, quality and direction of flow, often overlooked, are also important aspects of valvular function and relate to valve design and orientation. One of the key characteristics in LV flows is the shear layers shedding past heart valves which generate vortex ring formation resulting into energy entrapment, thus reducing the efficiency of the heart.Copyright © 2007 by ASME
α1A Adrenergic Receptor Induces Eukaryotic Initiation Factor 4E-binding Protein 1 Phosphorylation via a Ca2+-dependent Pathway Independent of Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/Akt

Abstract Phosphorylation of the translation repressor eukaryotic initiation factor 4E-binding protein 1 (4E-BP1) is thought to be partly responsible for increased protein synthesis induced by growth factors. This study investigated the effect of a Gq-coupled receptor on protein synthesis and the phosphorylation state and function of 4E-BP1 in Rat-1 fibroblasts expressing the human α1A adrenergic receptor. Treatment of cells with phenylephrine (PE), a specific α1adrenergic receptor agonist, increased protein synthesis and induced the phosphorylation of 4E-BP1 and its release from translation initiation factor 4E. Although the PE-induced phosphorylation of 4E-BP1 was blocked by the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase inhibitor LY294002, neither phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase nor Akt, its downstream effector, is activated in cells treated with PE (Ballou, L. M., Cross, M. E., Huang, S., McReynolds, E. M., Zhang, B. X., and Lin, R. Z., J. Biol. Chem. 275, 4803–4809). The effect of PE on 4E-BP1 phosphorylation was also abolished in cells depleted of intracellular Ca2+ and in cells pretreated with calmodulin antagonists. By contrast, phosphorylation of 4E-BP1 still occurred in cells in which the Ca2+- and diacylglycerol-dependent isoforms of protein kinase C were down-regulated by prolonged exposure to a phorbol ester. We conclude that activation of the α1A adrenergic receptor in Rat-1 fibroblasts leads to phosphorylation of 4E-BP1 via a pathway that is Ca2+- and calmodulin-dependent. Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase, Akt, and phorbol ester-sensitive protein kinase C isoforms do not appear to be required in this signaling pathway.
A Composite Index for Statistical Inference for Ranking Metropolitan Areas

The construction of a composite index is described to rank U.S. metropolitan areas for educational attainment. The suggested methodology departs from traditional rank sum methods in that this approach utilizes data resulting in a continuous scale, whereas in the rank sum method, no use is made of the actual values of the data, but merely their rankings. The proposed index circumvents several practical problems because the numbers generated are metric measures allowing the use of arithmetic and statistical operations. Data used are pupil/teacher ratio, an effort index, and academic options in higher education. Comparisons are made across areas by population size and by geographic region.
Effect of fiber type on gas holdup in a cocurrent air–water–fiber bubble column

Abstract An experimental investigation of the effect of fiber type on gas holdup in a cocurrent air–water–fiber bubble column is presented. Three types of cellulose fibers (i.e., hardwood, softwood, and bleached chemithermomechanical pulp (BCTMP)) and three different lengths of Rayon fibers are used in the investigation. The results indicate fiber type has a significant influence on the gas holdup in the air–water–fiber bubble column. Mechanisms by which fibers influence gas holdup in gas–liquid–fiber bubble columns are summarized and used to explain the experimental results. Fiber physical properties, including fiber length, coarseness, and flexibility are proposed to be the main factors responsible for the fiber type effects on gas holdup.
The p53 Status of Chinese Hamster V79 Cells Frequently Used for Studies on DNA Damage and DNA Repair

Chinese hamster lung fibroblast V79 cells have been widely used in studies of DNA damage and DNA repair. Since the p53 gene is involved in normal responses to DNA damage, we have analyzed the molecular genetics and functional status of p53 in V79 cells and primary Chinese hamster embryonic fibroblast (CHEF) cells. The coding product of the p53 gene in CHEF cells was 76 and 75% homologous to human and mouse p53 respectively, and was 95% homologous to the Syrian hamster cells. The V79 p53 sequence contained two point mutations located within a presumed DNA binding domain, as compared with the CHEF cells. Additional immunocytochemical and molecular studies confirmed that the p53 protein in V79 cells was mutated and nonfunctional. Our results indicate that caution should be used in interpreting studies of DNA damage, DNA repair and apoptosis in V79 cells.
OPERANT AND NONOPERANT VOCAL RESPONDING IN THE MYNAH: COMPLEX SCHEDULE CONTROL AND DEPRIVATION‐INDUCED RESPONDING

Several recent studies have been concerned with operant responses that are also affected by nonoperant factors, (e.g., biological constraints, innate behavior patterns, respondent processes). The major reason for studying mynah vocal responding concerned the special relation of avian vocalizations to nonoperant emotional and reflexive systems. The research strategy was to evaluate operant and nonoperant control by comparing the schedule control obtained with the vocal response to that characteristic of the motor responses of other animals. We selected single, multiple, and chain schedules that ordinarily produce disparate response rates at predictable times. In multiple schedules with one component where vocal responding ("Awk") was reinforced with food (fixed-ratio or fixed-interval schedule) and one where the absence of vocal responding was reinforced (differential reinforcement of other behavior), response rates never exceeded 15 responses per minute, but clear schedule differences developed in response rate and pause time. Nonoperant vocal responding was evident when responding endured across 50 extinction sessions at 25% to 40% of the rate during reinforcement. The "enduring extinction responding" was largely deprivation induced, because the operant-level of naive mynahs under food deprivation was comparable in magnitude, but without deprivation the operant level was much lower. Food deprivation can induce vocal responding, but the relatively precise schedule control indicated that operant contingencies predominate when they are introduced.
Anterior urethral valves.

Abstract Anterior urethral valves were found in 4 young male patients in less than one year. The patients complained of enuresis, blood from the penis, or urine leakage. Evaluation consisted of voiding and retrograde urethrograms and endoscopy to include the urethra distal to the veru. Successful management included valve fracture with instrumentation or endoscopic fulguration. Open surgical correction was not employed. We believe that anterior urethral valves may occur more frequently than previously thought.
An Assessment of the Function of the Seminiferous Tubules and Interstitium of the Rat Testis following Ligation of the Vasa Efferentia

The effects of bilateral ligation of the vasa efferentia on testis function were studied in sexually mature rats. Three weeks after this operation, the germinal epithelium was reduced mainly to spermatogonia and Sertoli cells which contained large amounts of lipid rich in unsaturated sterols. These degenerative changes were not modified by the administration of large doses of androgen and the sterilizing effects of this operation are not readily attributed to a lack of tropic stimula- tion. Seminiferous tubules and interstitial tissue werisolated by microdissection from a constant portion of control and ligated testis, incubated with equimolar amounts of lHI pregnenolone' and ('4C1 progesterone for 2 h and the products identified and estimated. The total metabolism of I' 4Cl progesterone by the tubules was the same in the 2 groups. However, there was an increase in the yield of 20a-dihydroprogesterone and a corresponding decrease in the formation of 3(�- hydroxy-5o-pregnan-20-one from (1 4C1 progesterone in incubations with tubules from ligated testes when compared with the control values. �3 HI pregnenolone was poorly metabolized by tubules from both control and experimental animals and no significant differences were found in the yields of metabolites from this substrate. The Leydig cells in the ligated testis retained the cytological features and low lipid content characteristic of the functional cell. The amount of interstitium recovered from the testis by microdissection was the same in both experimental and control animals and the ability of this tissue to produce androgens from (� HI pregnenolone and I' "CI progesterone in vitro and to maintain the accessory sex organs was undiminished, The present data confirm that the seminiferous tubules exhibit a distinct pattern of lipid and progesterone metabolism which is governed by the level of spermatogenic activity and, in the regressed testis, is modified independently of any change in Leydig cell function.
The influence of demographic factors on seatbelt use by adults injured in motor vehicle crashes

This study determined demographic factors associated with reported seatbelt use among injured adults admitted to a trauma center. A retrospective chart review was conducted including all patients admitted to a trauma center for injuries from motor vehicle crashes (MVC). E-codes (i.e. ICD-9 external cause of injury codes) were used to identify all patients injured in a MVC between January 1995 and December 1997. Age, sex, race, residence zip code (i.e. a proxy for income based on geographic location of residence), position in the vehicle, and seatbelt use were obtained from the trauma registry. Forward logistic regression was used to identify significant predictors of seatbelt use. Complete data was available for 1366 (82%) patients. Seatbelt use was reported for 45% of patients under age of 25 years, 52% of those 25-60 years, and 68% of those over 60 years. Overall, seatbelt use was reported for 45% of men and 63% of women, as well as for 56% of Caucasians (i.e. Whites) and 34% of African Americans. In addition, seatbelt use was reported for 33% of those earning less than $20,000 per year and 55% of those earning over $20,000. Finally, seatbelt use was reported for 57% of drivers and 43% of passengers. Logistic regression revealed that age, female gender, Caucasian race, natural log of income, and driver were all significant predictors of reported seatbelt use. These results show that seatbelt use was more likely to be reported for older persons, women, Caucasians, individuals with greater incomes, and drivers. Seatbelt use should be encouraged for everyone; however, young people, men, African Americans, individuals with lower incomes, and passengers should be targeted specifically.
Georg Simmel and the cultural dilemma of women

At the turn of the twentieth century, Georg Simmel (1858–1918) occupied an important place among prominent sociologists who, like Max Weber and Emile Durkheim, elaborated sociology as an independent discipline, a science of society, and who interpreted the consequences of growing social differentiation and new relationships in the contemporary world. They all saw men as facing alienation, dehuman- isation and fragmentation. Georg Simmel stands alone, however, as the one who also explicitly questioned the future of women in modern society. The world as he saw it was clearly populated by two sexes. He addressed the problem of the modalities of existence of women on two different levels, both as a theorist and as an active intellectual concerned with the debate over “the woman question” and the rise of the women’s movement in Imperial Germany.
Burgess' PV is Robinson's Q

In [2] John Burgess describes predicative versions of Frege's logic and poses the problem of finding their exact arithmetical strength. I prove here that PV, the simplest such theory, is equivalent to Robinson's arithmetical theory Q.
Boundary Spanner Multi-Faceted Role Ambiguity and Burnout: An Exploratory Study

Abstract Although researchers have gained considerable knowledge regarding the multi-faceted manifestation of burnout over recent years, inconsistent findings of role ambiguity as an antecedent to burnout are still prevalent. Given the complex boundary-spanning nature of sales, it is likely that global measures of role ambiguity fail to fully capture the domain and impact of role ambiguity. To help address this gap, this study provides initial evidence that facets of role ambiguity impact burnout manifestation in the sales role differently. Specifically, findings provide a foundation to help mitigate the negative impact of burnout by focusing on only certain facets of role ambiguity.
Release and transfer of large-area ultra-thin PDMS

This paper reports on the fabrication of ultra-thin (~10 μm) polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) films with embedded metal electrodes of 2 μm minimum feature size, as well as the release and transfer of large area films (>5 cm). The initial motivation for this work is the development of a miniature pump actuator for moving working fluid in an electrocaloric microcooler. PDMS diaphragms with electrodes are released and transferred onto contoured silicon chambers formed by gray-scale lithography and deep-reactive ion etching.
Niobium and tantalum hexaisoselenocyanate complexes

Abstract Potassium selenocyanate reacts in a 6:1 mole ratio with niobium(V) chloride, tantalum(V) chloride, and niobium(IV) chloride in acetonitrile solution. The potassium salts of the hexaisoselenocyanate complexes of tantalum(V) and niobium(IV) can be isolated. Infrared data indicate that the selenocyanate groups are nitrogen bonded in all cases. Some chemical properties are reported for these complexes together with details of their infrared and ultraviolet-visible spectra.
Modeling of aliasing effects for point target detection in undersampled IR imaging systems

This paper presents a Fourier transform model of the aliasing effects caused by two-dimensional sensor undersampling. The SNR probability distribution at the sensor output is numerically generated and compared with simulation results. This distribution is needed for estimating the track score gain when SNR is used as a track feature. Modeling of aliasing makes it possible to calculate the sensor mean signal to noise ratio (SNR), the sensor radiometric measurement precision (RMP) and the sensor position measurement precision (PMP) without the use of Monte Carlo simulations. An example of a sensor design trade is presented in which the detector size is maximized with respect to ROC performance.
Temperature-Dependent Study of the Ultrafast Photophysics of All-Trans Retinal

Ultrafast transient absorption measurements are reported for all-trans retinal in ethanol, hexane, and 3-methylpentane at temperatures from 85 K to room temperature. Investigation of the temperature dependence allows the mechanism of electronic relaxation and the presence of multiple conformers to be investigated. Relaxation of the initially excited 1 -like state of all-trans retinal in ethanol is detected by the decay of transient absorption at 550 nm and the decay of stimulated emission at 650 nm. The time constant for this component slows from 2 ps at room temperature to 420 ps at 85 K. The corresponding fluorescence quantum yields estimated from these decay times for the “1 ” state are sufficient to explain the measured fluorescence yields, suggesting that the fluorescence observed for all-trans retinal in hydrogen-bonding solvents has its origin predominantly in the “1 ” state. The relaxation rate follows Arrhenius behavior at high temperatures but decreases less steeply at low temperature. The tempe...
Generation of 1.30- to 1.55-μm Tunable Radiation from First Stokes Raman Shifting in Hydrogen

Raman shifting to the near-infrared, when possible, provides a simple and economical alternative to the optical parametric oscillator (OPO) or difference frequency mixing approach. We report the production of 1.30- to 1.55- mu m radiation from first Stokes Raman shifting in a single-pass, open (no capillary waveguide), hydrogenfilled Raman cell (constructed in-house) pumped with a Nd:YAG/ dye laser combination operating near 900 nm. A maximum of 10 mJ (19% efficiency) of first Stokes energy was measured for the highest cell pressure (490 psia) and input pulse energy (53 mJ). The quality of the first Stokes output is similar to the dye laser output as indicated by polarization, shot-to-shot energy fluctuation, beam diameter, and linewidth. A characterization of the Stokes and antiStokes output was also conducted including one-dimensional spatial intensity profiles and output line dependence on input pulse energy and cell pressure. A large first Stokes conversion efficiency has been attributed to little production of higher-order Stokes and antiStokes lines.
Periodic long range proton conduction pathways in pseudo-cubic and orthorhombic perovskites

Abstract Dynamic programming is used to find periodic proton conduction paths in pseudo-cubic and orthorhombic perovskites. Periodic paths through a large periodic simulation box are compared to periodic paths through a smaller simulation box and pathways stitched from small simulation box periodic and aperiodic paths. For both size systems in the 900–1300 K temperature range, overall average limiting barriers over the N-step periodic pathways considered are 0.3, 0.4, and 0.6 eV for BaZr0.875Y0.125O3 , SrZr0.875Y0.125O3 and SrZr0.875Al0.125O3, respectively, in good relative agreement with earlier experiments. However, differences in the ensemble weighted fraction of rotation, intraoctahedral transfer, and interoctahedral transfer limiting steps highlights differences in the small and large system periodic path ensembles. In contrast, the averages over the stitched ensemble are in excellent agreement with the large system averages. This suggests that a careful combining of small system pathways can yield pathways representative of a large system.
Effect of interval between swallows on oesophageal pressures and bolus movement in normal subjects - Studies with combined multichannel intraluminal impedance and oesophageal manometry.

Abstract The effect of closely spaced swallows to decrease peristalsis (‘deglutitive inhibition’) is believed to be due to both central inhibitory impulses and smooth muscle refractoriness. Ten volunteers (three females, age 26–65) were given both four pairs and two series of four swallows at 5-, 10-, 15-s intervals and control swallows at 30-s intervals. Oesophageal function was assessed using combined multichannel intraluminal impedance and oesophageal manometry (MII–OM). Swallows were considered manometrical effective if distal oesophageal pressures ≥30 mmHg. Complete bolus transit was defined as bolus exiting from all three distal impedance segments. During swallowing at 5-s intervals the majority of initial swallows were ineffective with incomplete bolus transit while the last swallow in both series and pairs was manometrically effective with complete bolus transit. During swallowing at 10–15-s intervals the number of manometric ineffective swallows and swallows with incomplete bolus transit progressively increased with the number of swallows. The functional information obtained by MII–OM indicates pooling of liquid in the distal oesophagus that is cleared by the last swallow determined by, previously reported, neural inhibition occurring during swallowing spaced 5 s apart whereas incomplete bolus transit is related to manometrically ineffective swallows resulting from muscle refractoriness occurring during swallowing at 10–15-s intervals.
The mystery of atmospheric oxygen

Readily available O2 is vital to life as we know it. James Kasting looks at how and when the first whiffs of oxygen began to reach the Earth's atmosphere.
The influence of nutrient pollution levels upon element constitution and morphology of Elodea canadensis rich. in Michx.

Abstract Samples of Elodea canadensis Rich. in Michx. were investigated to determine the relationship between nutrient pollution, element constitution, and variation in morphological expression. Systematic samplings from twenty-four stations in two Pennsylvania streams were analysed chemically by emission spectrometry and morphologically by detailed measurements of several root, shoot, and leaf characteristics. These data were correlated statistically and compared to specific taxonomic descriptions available in the literature and to three levels of environmental nutrient pollution. In general, the samples varied widely in element content and morphological characteristics. Some of the morphological variation reported exceeds the conventional limits established for the species. Significant correlations were obtained that suggest causal relationships between the concentration of certain element constituents and the levels of other elements detected, the concentration of specific element constituents and the expression of several morphological characters, and the expression of morphological characters one to another. A causal relationship between nutrient pollution and morphology is clearly indicated, yet final conclusions cannot be made in lieu of additional experiments involving more rigorous environmental controls.
WOMEN'S SPIRITUALITY EMPOWERED BY BIBLICAL STORY

(1992). WOMEN'S SPIRITUALITY EMPOWERED BY BIBLICAL STORY. Religious Education: Vol. 87, No. 4, pp. 532-544.
Self-aligned AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors

Self-aligned T-gate AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) were fabricated on a sapphire substrate using a thin Ti/Al/Ti/Au ohmic layer. To suppress the gate leakage current, the ohmic contact annealing was performed in a furnace. The self-aligned HEMTs with 0.25 µm gate length and 100 µm width exhibit good pinch-off characteristics, a transconductance of 146 mS/mm, an extrinsic unity current gain cutoff frequency of 38 GHz and a maximum oscillation frequency of 130 GHz.
Towards a Better Understanding of Nuclear Pairing and Its Interplay with Other Residual Interactions

Experimental evidence indicates that pairing interaction often plays a major role in determining physics of nuclear many-body systems. The goal of this work is to discuss properties of pairing in a mesoscopic nuclear environment, study the interplay of pairing and other residual interactions and develop new practical approaches. We use Sn isotopes as a testing arena. We utilize the exact solution of pairing problem based on quasispin formalism. 1), 2) This treatment of pairing (EP algorithm) is free of well-known BCS shortcomings and enables one to address fluctuating pair vibrations and chaotic effects of other residual interactions which significantly change the usual macroscopic BCS picture, 3) furthermore it provides a basis, with classification by seniority quantum numbers, that can be used for perturbatively accounting for other interactions. We demonstrate in a simple model that although in general twobody interactions do not preserve seniority, kinematics still often favors seniority conservation. The lowest seniority subspace can serve as a good starting truncation. Interactions of a non-pairing nature have only diagonal monopole contributions in this subspace. We show that this technique of exact pairing plus monopole 2) can be successful in the analysis of ground state properties of nuclei, furthermore being a well formulated variational method and part of a more general seniority truncation technique it is perfect for adjusting shell model parameters. Pairing and approximate treatment of other residual interactions can be combined through the Hartree-Fock (HF) and exact pairing (EP) technique. In Fig. 1 one-neutron separation energies are calculated for the Sn isotopes, including those beyond 132Sn. These energies were obtained from the fully self-consistent spherically symmetric solution of HF equations, using the SKX interaction, 4) with the EP solution based on renormalized G-matrix interactions from Ref. 5). The HF+EP approach can be considered as a variant of the density functional method. In this method we make an initial guess for the spherical HF potential from which the single particle energies are determined. In the valence subspace the pairing problem is solved using a fixed set of two-body matrix elements. This determines the particle distribution and pairing correlation energy. With new occupation numbers a new HF potential can be calculated. This procedure is repeated iteratively until convergence. The total energy is the sum of the Skyrme HF energy and the pairing correlation energy. Figure 1 shows an example of such calculations and exhibits an
Learning Effects in Coupled Arrays of Cellular Neural Oscillators

We analyze spatio-temporal dynamics of coupled neural oscillatory arrays. The interconnected oscillators can produce a wide range of dynamics, including quasi-periodic limit cycles, chaotic waveforms, and intermittent chaotic oscillations. We study the role of distributed input bias and develop methods for learning the input patterns. After learning, the coupled oscillators produce large-scale synchronized, narrow-band oscillations in response to the learned patterns. We study patterns of amplitude modulations that span the whole lattice graph. The presented results correspond to Freeman’s 6th building block of neurodynamics.
An empirical investigation into the external heat transfer of a U-bend in cross-flow

Abstract An experimental investigation into the global external heat transfer coefficients for circular U-bends (180° bends) in a cross-flow air stream was performed using six different curvature ratios (δ) covering a Reynolds number range of 3000–80 000 while imposing a uniform-wall-temperature (UWT) boundary condition. The measurements specifically focused on a zero-degree angle-of-incidence, in which the external flow direction is parallel to the bend plane. A straightforward method to measure the global external heat transfer that is not dependent on geometry but limits the testing to UWT was employed. The external heat transfer coefficients for circular U-bends in cross-flow were found to be consistently higher than those for corresponding straight cylinder flows. Also, a strong dependence on the curvature ratio, δ, was observed. Measurements presented demonstrate a peak enhancement in the external heat transfer for curvature ratios close to an optimum value of δopt ≈ 0.23. A geometrical analysis was performed to explain the experimental finding of a distinct optimum curvature ratio (δopt) as a self-inflicted wake effect. U-bend Nusselt numbers were found to be over four times larger than those for straight tubes of identical diameter and Reynolds number. An engineering correlation for the global external Nusselt number is offered.
Alcohol exposure in utero increases susceptibility to prostate tumorigenesis in rat offspring.

Background Prenatal alcohol exposure has been shown to increase offspring susceptibility to some chemical carcinogens. Whether prenatal exposure to alcohol makes the offspring more susceptible to the development of prostate cancer is not known. Therefore, we determined whether any functional abnormalities and increased cancer susceptibility exist in the prostate of fetal alcohol-exposed male rats during the adult period. Methods Pregnant rats were fed with a liquid diet containing alcohol (alcohol-fed [AF]), or pair-fed with isocaloric liquid diet (PF) or ad libitum fed with rat chow (ad lib-fed). Male offspring of these rats were given N-Nitroso-N-methylurea and testosterone to induce prostate neoplasia or left untreated. Around 6 to 8 months of age, the prostates of these animals were processed for determination of biochemical changes and histopathologies. Results Prostates of noncarcinogen treated animals that were alcohol exposed during the prenatal period demonstrated inflammatory cell infiltration and epithelial atypia and increased number of proliferative cells in the ventral lobe of this gland, but the prostate of control animal showed normal cytoarchitecture. In addition, prenatal alcohol-exposed rats showed decreased levels of cell–cell adhesion marker and increased estrogenic activity in the ventral prostate. Prenatally ethanol (EtOH)-exposed rats, when treated with carcinogen and testosterone, showed histological evidence for high-grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN) primarily in the ventral prostate, whereas control animals showed only low-grade PIN. Prenatally EtOH-exposed rats treated with carcinogen and testosterone also showed increased number of proliferative cells and androgen receptor with concomitant decreased levels of tumor suppressor proteins in the ventral prostate. Conclusions These results suggest for the first time that prenatal EtOH exposures induce histophysiological changes in the prostate as well as it increases the susceptibility of the prostate to develop neoplasia during adulthood.
Content and expression-based copy recognition for intellectual property protection

Protection of copyrights and revenues of content owners in the digital world has been gaining importance in the recent years. This paper presents a way of fingerprinting text documents that can be used to identify content and expression similarities in documents, as a way of facilitating tracking of digital copies of works, to ensure proper compensation to content owners.The fingerprints we collected consist of surface, syntactic, and semantic features of documents. Because they reflect mostly how things are said, we call these features stylistic fingerprints. However, how things are said are not independent of what is said, therefore these features have predictive power with respect to both content and expression.We tested the ability of these stylistic fingerprints to identify content and expression similarities between documents using a corpus of translated novels. On this corpus, these fingerprints identified the source of a given book chapter (content) successfully 90% of the time and the translator of the chapter (expression) 67% of the time using ten-fold cross validation and decision trees.In comparison, fingerprints based on the vocabularies of documents recognized the source of a given book chapter accurately 93% of the time and the expression of a particular translator 61% of the time.We believe that the right fingerprints can identify modified and literal copies of works, securing revenues for content owners. Enabling the content owners to secure revenues from distribution of their works can alleviate the digital copyright problem and reduce the need to prevent distribution, giving a chance to solutions that promote uninhibited distribution and use of works by the public.
Effect of thyroxine and chicken growth hormone on immune function in autoimmune thyroiditis (obese) strain chicks

The effect of thyroxine (T4) and/or recombinant chicken growth hormone (rcGH) supplementation on immune function and on immune cell maturation was examined in Obese strain chickens. Day-old Obese strain chicks received the control treatments or were treated with either T4 (supplemented in the diet), T4-rcGH, or rcGH (by daily injection) in a full factorial design. At 4 weeks of age, the proliferative activity of peripheral blood T cells to either mitogenic or allogenic cell (mixed lymphocyte response) challenge was assessed. At the same time, peripheral blood lymphocytes and thymocytes were collected and prepared for flow cytometry analysis. Proliferative responses to both T cell mitogens and allogeneic splenocytes were significantly increased (P less than 0.05) by rcGH treatment, while the combined T4-rcGH treatment resulted in a significant increase in allogeneic and in concanavalin A responsiveness, but not in the response to phytohemagglutinin. All supplemented groups showed a significant decrease in the mean fluorescent intensity for CT-1a+ thymocytes, while thymocytes from birds receiving either T4 or rcGH alone had higher proportions of CD4+ and CD8+ cells. The monoclonal antibody staining of thymocytes from T4-rcGH-supplemented animals more closely resembled that of the unsupplemented controls. Among the peripheral blood lymphocytes, there were no changes in the numbers of CD4+, CD8+, or sIg+ cells as a result of treatment. The mean fluorescent intensity of sIg+ cells was significantly decreased, however, as a result of T4 supplementation when given either alone or in combination with rcGH. Finally, the mean fluorescent intensity ratios of CD4+ to CD8+ cells was significantly increased as a result of rcGH supplementation. These results strongly support a role for both the thyroid hormones and growth hormone in regulating and/or enhancing immune function, with changes in functional responses paralleled by concomitant changes in the T cell populations as expressed by shifts in T cell surface marker expression.
Laguerre polynomials: novel properties and numerical generation scheme for analysis of a discrete probability distribution

Abstract We compute a quantum mechanical probability distribution expressed as a series of generalized Laguerre polynomials. A method for the numerical generation of the polynomials of any integer order is given. Two new properties of these polynomials are derived to reduce the distribution to a closed form expression involving only a single polynomial and to devise a criterion for studying the accuracy of the generation procedure.
Poverty, Violence and Health: The Impact of Domestic Violence During Pregnancy on Newborn Health.

Abstract:Two percent of women in the United States suffer from intimate partner violence annually, with poor and minority women disproportionately affected. I provide evidence of an important negative externality associated with domestic violence by estimating a negative and causal relationship between violence during pregnancy and newborn health, exploiting variation in the enforcement of laws against domestic violence for identification. I find that hospitalization for an assault while pregnant reduces birth weight by 163 grams. This sheds new light on the infant health production process as well as observed income gradients in health given that poor mothers are disproportionately affected by violence.
Molecular forces governing tight contact between cellular surfaces and substrates

M y dental visits over recent years alerted me to the importance of intermolecular forces as they act between biologic materials. My dentist recognized my professional interest and urged me to think more about forces acting at surfaces and to relate this to the vexing problems of designing and firmly incorporating artificial materials into dental structures. Recently, my interest increased when I encountered the work of Branemark et al.’ and Albrektsson et al.2 on metal implants and their reported apparent integration of metal with growing bone tissue. For quite different reasons, I had wondered about which properties of a molecule in solution would allow it to make a stable association with a particular kind of moIecule while eschewing virtually all other molecular species. This thinking was partly in the context of the more difficult question of why biologic cells will be selectively attracted to particular substrates, or to particular species of cells, but not to others. The electron micrograph of bone tissue clinging to a titanium surface in preference to all the mediums around it provided striking evidence for specific attraction. What was it about an artificial surface that provided such attraction? Consideration of the problem suggests that association in osseointegration is physically strong and that it requires molecular contact between physically rigid bodies. Simple attraction between bone tissue and substrate is not enough. Other materials must not be as strongly attracted to the substrate. Whatever first touched the implant material must have been displaced by the growing bone. The question becomes one of how to characterize an implant the surface of which is probably modified by whatever touches it before its integration. The most important thing to keep in mind is that the
Reference potentials for adsorption of helium, argon, methane, and krypton in high-silica zeolites

Quantitative agreement with experimental data for adsorption of argon, krypton, and methane in high-silica zeolites is achieved with a molecular model, which (1) assumes pairwise additivity of intermolecular forces; (2) ignores partially concealed silicon atoms and lumps their dispersion energy with the oxygen atoms; (3) neglects energy induced by the weak electric field inside silicalite; (4) uses the Lennard–Jones 12-6 potential for gas–gas and gas–solid interactions. The parameters of the Ar–O gas–solid potential are e/k=93.0 K and σ=3.335 A. The gas–solid potential parameters for krypton and methane were calculated from the Ar–O reference potential using Lorentz–Berthelot mixing rules and the principle of corresponding states. The pore volume of silicalite determined from the He–O potential is 0.175 cm3 g−1. The local density of gases adsorbed in the pores varies with the strength of the gas–solid potential; at 306 K and 10 bar, the maximum absolute density of methane is about one half the density of liquid methane at its normal boiling point.