cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
How reliable are self-reports of HIV status disclosure? Evidence from couples in Malawi.

Abstract Introduction The majority of research on human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disclosure utilizes the perspective from a single individual, which cannot be substantiated in the absence of supporting data such as from a primary partner. Objectives The objectives of this study were to evaluate: (1) the extent to which self-reported HIV disclosure was confirmed by a primary partner; (2) individual and relationship-level predictors of self-reported versus confirmed disclosure; and (3) whether confirmed disclosure was a stronger predictor of correctly assessing a partner's HIV status compared to self-reported disclosure. Methods As part of an 8-wave longitudinal study from 2009 to 2011 in southern Malawi, 366 individuals (183 couples) were interviewed about their primary relationship (wave 3), individually tested for HIV (wave 4), and then asked whether they disclosed to their primary partner (wave 5). Results While 93% of respondents reported that they disclosed, only 64% of respondents had confirmed reports from their partner. Having communicated with partner about HIV was positively associated with self-reported disclosure; this association remained significant but became more precise in the models for confirmed disclosure. Confirmed disclosure, but not self-report, was a significant predictor of correctly assessing a partner's HIV status. Being male, having lower perceived partner infidelity, having higher relationship unity, and testing HIV-negative were positively and significantly associated with correct assessment. Dyadic data from two partners provide an improved measure of disclosure as compared to a single individual's self-report and could be used to identify behavioral and biomedical opportunities to prevent HIV transmission within couples.
An axially symmetrical four waveguide coupler

In conclusion, a technique to evaluate the properties of axially symmetric four waveguide structures is presented. The technique should be useful in the study and design of optical couplers and other multiport components including 3-D optical interconnects. >
Trends in In-Hospital Outcomes Among Adults Hospitalized With Exacerbation of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

AbstractBackground: Although substantial advances have been made in the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), little is known regarding the impact of these advancements on inpatient outcomes over time. We sought to examine temporal trends in in-hospital outcomes among adults hospitalized with COPD exacerbation.Methods: The Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project's Nationwide Inpatient Sample was utilized to identify a cohort of adults hospitalized with COPD exacerbation, identified through International Classification of Diseases-9 codes. Baseline demographics, medical history, and clinical outcomes were assessed in 3,060,565 hospitalizations in patients with COPD exacerbation from 2006–2009.Results: In-hospital all-cause mortality significantly decreased over the 4-year study period (5.1%, 4.7%, 4.5%, and 4.2% from 2006-2009; p < 0.001). The decline in mechanical ventilation (5.8% 5.7%, 5.3%, and 5.4% from 2006–2009; p < 0.001) was accompanied by a nearly 50% rise in noninvasive posi...
Sexual harassment: Organizational context and diffuse status

Data from a large survey of federal employees is utilized to compare three broad competing perspectives that suggest effects on sexual harassment within organizations. Three different viewpoints stress power differentials, minority status, and diffuse master status characteristics. Results of the study indicate that intraorganizational theories emphasizing either power inequalities or work group compositional heterogeneities are unable to account for the reported sexual harassment without considering diffuse master status characteristics developed and maintained outside the organization.
Decline of operative vaginal deliveries in the United States: Impact on severe perineal lacerations

ON SEVERE PERINEAL LACERATIONS HEATHER S. LIPKIND (F), RAY AARONS, LYNN L. SIMPSON, Columbia University, Maternal Fetal Medicine, New York, New York, Columbia University, Mailman School of Public Health, New York, New York OBJECTIVE: To determine trends of operative vaginal deliveries over the past decade and to examine the effect to which those trends have affected the associated odds of 3rd and 4th degree perineal lacerations. STUDY DESIGN: A large population-based retrospective cohort study using data from the National Hospital Discharge Summary Survey (19902001) that involved sampling from non-federal short stay hospitals in the United States (5,026,192 births) was performed. Temporal trends in forceps and vacuum deliveries were examined. The magnitude of the associated risk of 3rd and 4th degree perineal lacerations were quantified using the odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). RESULTS: During the 11 year study period, the rate of forceps procedures decreased by 65% from 6.4% to 2.4% of all deliveries. The total number of vacuum deliveries increased from 4.7% to 5.9% of all deliveries. With the decline in the total number of forceps deliveries, the odds of a severe perineal laceration associated with forceps increased from an OR of 6.9 (95% CI:6.17.9) to an OR of 9.8 (95% CI:8.4-11.6). The odds of a severe laceration associated with vacuum deliveries also increased from an OR of 4.1 (95% CI:3.5-4.7) to an OR of 5.2 (95% CI:4.5-5.9).
Explaining participation on a class newsgroup

Ce rapport examine la participation d'etudiants a un groupe d'informations par ordinateur dans une classe preliminaire au cours sur les femmes et la politique. Le but de ce groupe etait d'amener les etudiants a avoir une reflexion critique sur le contenu du cours et de developper des approches de questions plus complexes a travers des conversations ecrites. En prolongeant les discussions au-dela du cadre de la classe scolaire et en encourageant a l'utilisation de l'outil informatique, les groupes d'informations par ordinateur sont d'importants outils pedagogiques. Ils permettent en outre de reduire la difference constatee entre les sexes et au detriment des femmes quant a l'utilisation de l'informatique, aspect particulierement bienvenu dans le cadre d'un cours sur les femmes et la politique
Enzyme mechanisms: What's up 'Doc'?

The Doc-Phd pair forms a bacterial toxin-antitoxin system, but the mechanism by which the Fic-family member Doc causes toxicity is not fully defined. New research shows that Doc unexpectedly functions as a kinase to phosphorylate elongation factor TU, thus inhibiting translation and leading to Doc-mediated growth arrest.
Definition of Critical Periods for Hedgehog Pathway Antagonist-Induced Holoprosencephaly, Cleft Lip, and Cleft Palate

The Hedgehog (Hh) signaling pathway mediates multiple spatiotemporally-specific aspects of brain and face development. Genetic and chemical disruptions of the pathway are known to result in an array of structural malformations, including holoprosencephaly (HPE), clefts of the lip with or without cleft palate (CL/P), and clefts of the secondary palate only (CPO). Here, we examined patterns of dysmorphology caused by acute, stage-specific Hh signaling inhibition. Timed-pregnant wildtype C57BL/6J mice were administered a single dose of the potent pathway antagonist vismodegib at discrete time points between gestational day (GD) 7.0 and 10.0, an interval approximately corresponding to the 15th to 24th days of human gestation. The resultant pattern of facial and brain dysmorphology was dependent upon stage of exposure. Insult between GD7.0 and GD8.25 resulted in HPE, with peak incidence following exposure at GD7.5. Unilateral clefts of the lip extending into the primary palate were also observed, with peak incidence following exposure at GD8.875. Insult between GD9.0 and GD10.0 resulted in CPO and forelimb abnormalities. We have previously demonstrated that Hh antagonist-induced cleft lip results from deficiency of the medial nasal process and show here that CPO is associated with reduced growth of the maxillary-derived palatal shelves. By defining the critical periods for the induction of HPE, CL/P, and CPO with fine temporal resolution, these results provide a mechanism by which Hh pathway disruption can result in “non-syndromic” orofacial clefting, or HPE with or without co-occurring clefts. This study also establishes a novel and tractable mouse model of human craniofacial malformations using a single dose of a commercially available and pathway-specific drug.
Chamber dimensions and functional assessment with coronary computed tomographic angiography as compared to echocardiography using American Society of Echocardiography guidelines

Background:The correlation between normal cardiac chamber linear dimensions measured during retrospective coronary computed tomographic angiography as compared to transthoracic echocardiography usi...
Where do physicists go

The number of employment opportunities for graduates in physics has been increasing after a bleak decade. Presumably, the overall job market is feeling the shortage of technical personnel especially in geophysics and the earth sciences, on account of burgeoning requirements of the search for energy. Part of the increase in opportunities for employment in physics is due to a 9-year decline in the number of doctoral graduates. This trend can be seen in Figures 1 and 2 for physics docorate and masters recipients. There is a clearcut improvement in the job market at both levels.
2006 PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS WATER MARKETS IN THE WEST: PRICES, TRADING, AND CONTRACTUAL FORMS

Rising urban and environmental demand for water has created growing pressure to reallocatewaterfromtraditionalagriculturaluses.Theevolutionofwatermarketshas beenmorecomplicatedthanthoseforotherresources.Inthispaper,wefirstexplainthese differences by examining water rights and regulatory issues. Second, we place our research in the context of the economics literature on water marketing. Third, we present new, comprehensive data on prices and the extent, nature, and timing of water transfers across 12 western states from 1987 to 2005. We find that prices are higher for agriculture-to-urban trades versus within-agriculture trades, in part, reflecting the differences in marginal values between the two uses. Prices for urban use are also growing relative to agricultural use. Markets are responding in that the number of agriculture-to-urban transactions is rising, whereas the number of agriculture-to-agriculture transfers is not. Further, there is a shift from using shortterm leases to using multiyear leases of water and permanent sales of water rights. This pattern underscores the need to consider the amounts of water obligated over time rather than examining only annual flows in assessing the quantities of water traded as is the common practice in the literature. Considering water obligated over time, termed committed water, we find significantly more is transferred and the direction of trading is different than if the focus is on annual flows. Finally, the data reveal considerable variation in water trading across the states. (JEL Q2, N5, L5, K3)
PROPIONIC ACIDEMIA, A VARIANT FORM

A lack of correlation between clinical symptoms and the degree of enzyme activity in propionic acidemia has been reported; siblings of symptomatic patients have had greatly reduced propionyl CoA carboxylase activity without any clinical sequellae. The opposite situation occurred in two sisters who had typical severe symptoms and marked elevation of serum propionic acid levels but lymphocyte enzyme activity was 1/2 normal. Two male siblings had succumbed in infancy with symptoms suggestive of the same disorder. There was neither clinical response nor enzyme enhancement after biotin supplementation. Enzyme activity of the father was normal but that of the asymptomatic mother was in the same range as the two daughters'.This was of particular interest in that we have observed reduced activity of the father and normal activity of the mothers of other patients with propionic acidemia who had minimal enzyme activity. These findings suggest a variant of the disorder with an unusual pattern of inheritance.
Achieving work-life balance in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I setting, part II: perspectives from head athletic trainers.

Context: Work-life balance has been examined at the collegiate level from multiple perspectives except for the athletic trainer (AT) serving in a managerial or leadership role. Objective: To invest...
Photochemical Smiles rearrangement and Meisenheimer complex formation catalyzed by hydroxide ion via electron hole transfer catalysis.

Photochemical para-to-nitro Smiles rearrangement and para-to-nitro Meisenheimer complex formation occurs for nitrophenoxyethylamines with high concentrations of hydroxide ion in aqueous solution. Both photoreactions show first-order dependence on hydroxide ion concentration, but the mechanism involving hydroxide ion does not involve acid−base catalysis. The reactions take place from the triplet excited states of the nitrophenyl ethers. Analysis of quantum yields and kinetics is consistent with an electron hole transfer catalysis mechanism.
Apparent motion determined by surface layout not by disparity or three-dimensional distance

THE most meaningful events ecologically, including the motion of objects, occur in relation to or on surfaces1. We run along the ground, cars travel on roads, balls roll across lawns, and so on. Even though there are other motions, such as flying of birds, it is likely that motion along surfaces is more frequent and more significant biologically. To examine whether events occurring in relation to surfaces have a preferred status in terms of visual representation, we asked whether the phenomenon of apparent motion would show a preference for motion attached to surfaces. We used a competitive three-dimensional motion paradigm2 and found that there is a preference to see motion between tokens placed within the same disparity as opposed to different planes. Supporting our surface-layout hypothesis, the effect of disparity was eliminated either by slanting the tokens so that they were all seen within the same surface plane or by inserting a single slanted background surface upon which the tokens could rest. Additionally, a highly curved stereoscopic surface led to the perception of a more circuitous motion path defined by that surface, instead of the shortest path in three-dimensional space.
Rib fractures: relationship with pneumonia and mortality.

Objective:In single-institution studies, age is a risk factor for mortality after rib fracture. Sample size has limited the assessment of other risk factors. We used a national database to analyze suspected risk factors contributing to pneumonia and mortality in patients sustaining rib fractures.Des
Inhibition of nitric oxide synthesis inhibits rat sleep.

Abstract Previous findings indicate that nitric oxide (NO) may play a role in the regulation of sleep-wake activity. In rabbits, blocking the production of endogenous NO by a nitric oxide synthase inhibitor, Nω-nitro- l -arginine ( l -NAME) suppresses spontaneous sleep and interferes the somnogenic actions of interleukin 1. In the present experiments we extended our earlier work by studying the long-term effects of l -NAME treatment on sleep-wake activity including power spectra analyses of the electroencephalogram (EEG) in rats. Rats implanted with EEG electrodes, brain thermistor, and intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) guide cannula were injected i.c.v. with vehicle or 0.2, 1, or 5 mg l -NAME at light onset. In separate experiments, rats were injected intraperitoneally (i.p.) with l -NAME three times (50, 50, 100 mg/kg), 12-12 h apart. Both i.c.v. and i.p. injections of l -NAME elicited decreases in time spent in NREMS and REMS. After i.c.v. injection of 5 mg l -NAME the sleep responses were long-lasting; NREMS did not return to baseline even 72 h after injection. EEG delta-wave activity during NREMS (slow wave activity) was also suppressed after 0.2 and 5 mg l -NAME. Brain temperature was slightly increased after the two lower doses of l -NAME, whereas there was a transient decrease in Tbr after 5 mg l -NAME. Acute i.p. injection of 50 mg/kg l -NAME elicited an immediate decrease in NREMS which lasted for ∼ 2 h. The second injection of 50 mg/kg l -NAME and the following injection of 100 mg/kg l -NAME induced biphasic decreases in NREMS but not REMS. These results are in accordance with our earlier observations that inhibition of nitric oxide synthesis suppresses spontaneous sleep and are consistent with the hypothesis that NO is involved in the maintenance of normal sleep-wake activity.
Age of Symptom Onset in Young Children with Pervasive Developmental Disorders

Abstract Data from 39 young children with autism or other pervasive developmental disorders were examined to determine the relevance of the age of social symptom onset and language symptom onset to other developmental variables. Contrary to the authors' hypotheses, earlier onset of social symptoms was not indicative of a greater severity of autistic symptoms, retardation, or incidence of insecure attachments. Early speech loss was associated with lower IQ, greater social deficits, and poorer language development, while the presence of useful speech at age 2 was related to better functioning in multiple domains. Thus, language functions, rather than the social behaviors examined, carried the greatest predictive power regarding short-term outcomes. J. Am. Acad. Child Adolesc. Psychiatry , 1990, 29, 6:863–872.
An approach to service innovation in real estate through information technology

Service industries now comprise the majority of the workforce in developed countries. Service innovation provides a mechanism for economic growth, especially in industries which have not yet taken advantage of information technology and related tools and concepts. The residential real estate market in the USA lacks an adopted data standard and is an example of such an industry. This paper describes the limitations and inefficiencies of the current system, and presents two design elements of a new system that leverages the consumer's participation in the delivery of services and produces significant economic benefits through the innovation.
Pigmies Making Fires

IN the review of Dr. P. Schebesta's book in NATURE of August 12, it is stated that “Although the pigmies use fires and are familiar with the use of the fire-drill among the surrounding peoples, they do not make fire themselves”. This refers to the pigmies of the Ituri forest, but a couple of hundred miles to the south, the pigmies of the forested highlands west of Lake Kivu certainly do make fires. The Cockerell-Mackie-Ogilvie expedition obtained a moving picture of the whole operation, taken by Miss Alice Mackie. The sticks used, and the entire procedure, agree almost exactly with the methods of the Australian blacks, as shown on a film we obtained when in Australia. It is extremely interesting to see this identity of method among primitive peoples so far removed from one another. The pigmies of the Kivu district may be appreciably different in some respects from those of the Ituri (it has been claimed that the Kivu gorilla is separable from that of the country northward, but apparently on very slender grounds); a picture of their chief will be found in Natural History, 1932, p. 403.
Casein, red meat and soyprotein effects on nutrient digestibility and the colonic microstructure of the laboratory rat

Abstract Fifty white male rats were used to study the effects of varied protein source (i.e. casein, red meat or soyprotein) on the development and morphology of the rat's gastrointestinal tract. Laboratory rats appeared to take well to the meat base diet, consuming more of that diet during the early days of the study. There were, however, apparent diet adaptation periods for all experimental diets. After 15 days on the diets, rats fed the soyprotein had heavier stomach weights, and less colonic weight than the casein or meat-fed rats. Colonic morphology studies indicated the meat-fed rats had greater width of colonic crypts, and a lower surface area to mucosal volume ratio than casein or soyprotein-fed rats.
Barriers to timely prenatal care among women with insurance: the importance of prepregnancy factors.

Abstract Objective: This study, designed to avoid methodologic limitations of previous research, aimed to identify the important noninsurance barriers to timely prenatal care. Methods: We identified a subsample of a cross-sectional statewide representative postpartum survey conducted in California during 1994–1995, focusing on 3071 low-income women with Medi-Cal or private coverage throughout pregnancy. Results: Twenty-eight percent of those women had untimely care, although only 6% were unaware of their pregnancies during the first trimester. Controlling for numerous sociodemographic factors; knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors; stressful life circumstances; and logistic obstacles that might deter seeking or receiving care, the following risk factors for untimely care were significant and experienced by more than one fifth of women: unwanted or unplanned pregnancy (affecting 43% and 66% of women, respectively), no regular provider before pregnancy (affecting 22% of women), and no schooling beyond high school (affecting 76% of women). Transportation problems, affecting 8% of women, appeared to be the only significant logistic barrier to timely care. Conclusion: Improving timeliness of prenatal care among low-income women with third-party coverage is likely to require broad social and health policies that focus on factors affecting women before pregnancy. Assistance with transportation could contribute to more timely care for some low-income women, but programs focusing primarily on other noninsurance barriers during pregnancy might not substantially improve the timeliness of care, at least among low-income women with third-party coverage.
048 Retroviral Delivery of A Dominant Negative TGF‐beta Receptor II Mitigates Scar in a Rabbit Model of Scar Hypertrophy

Effective blockade of the pluripotent cytokine TGF-beta as a means of cutaneous scar reduction is a strategy with great potential. This desired effect may be achieved through the overexpression of mutant TGF beta receptors within the wound milieu. Our goal was to examine the effects of dominant negative mutant TGF-beta receptor II (dnTGFRII) protein expression in a well-established rabbit ear model of hypertrophic scarring. Serial injections of a retroviral construct encoding a truncated TGFβRII and the marker green fusion protein (pMSCV-rIIdn-GFP) were performed in 7mm punch wounds at day 10 and day 14 (two-day injection group) or day 8, 10, 12 (three-day injection group) post wounding. Delivery of a null vector (pMSCV-GFP) at the same time points served as a negative control. Histomorphometric analysis of wounds harvested at day 28 revealed a statistically significant reduction (33%) in the scar elevation index in 2-day treated and a more modest reduction in SEI (17.5%) in the 3-day treated arm compared to null-treated controls. Confocal microscopy confirmed stable transfection of the construct in both peri-wound tissue as well as rabbit dermal fibroblasts transfected in vitro. Optimization of this novel application in retroviral gene therapy could lead to effective anti-scarring strategies.
Hypothalamic Hypodipsia with No Central Nervous System Lesion 469

Hypothalamic hypodipsia is usually associated with distinct anatomic disease. We have followed three patients with similar clinical presentations, who had no demonstrable central nervous system lesion. The first patient presented at nine years of age with an approximate weight gain of 20 kg in four months. Initial serum sodium was 160 8:00 am, 4:00 pm and 24 hour urine cortisols were normal. A TSH test showed hypothalamic hypothyroidism with a basal prolactin of 195 pg/ml. Fasting triglycerides were as high as 5000 on several occasions. Pneumoencephalogram, CT scan, and subsequent MRI of the head showed no lesions. An episode of rhabdomyolysis due to hypernatremia led to renal failure and subsequent renal transplantation which did not correct the hypernatremia or hypodipsia. Death occurred at age 27 after an auto accident. No post mortem exam was obtained.
Compartmentalized and systemic control of tissue immunity by commensals

The body is composed of various tissue microenvironments with finely tuned local immunosurveillance systems, many of which are in close apposition with distinct commensal niches. Mammals have formed an evolutionary partnership with the microbiota that is critical for metabolism, tissue development and host defense. Despite our growing understanding of the impact of this host-microbe alliance on immunity in the gastrointestinal tract, the extent to which individual microenvironments are controlled by resident microbiota remains unclear. In this Perspective, we discuss how resident commensals outside the gastrointestinal tract can control unique physiological niches and the potential implications of the dialog between these commensals and the host for the establishment of immune homeostasis, protective responses and tissue pathology.
Nitrogen uptake and turnover in riparian woody vegetation

The nutrient balance of streams and adjacent riparian ecosystems may be modified by the elimination of anadromous fish runs and perhaps by forest fertilization. To better understand nitrogen (N) dynamics within stream and riparian ecosystems we fertilized two streams and their adjacent riparian corridors in central Idaho. On each stream two nitrogen doses were applied to a swathe approximately 35 m wide centered on the stream. The fertilizer N was enriched in 15N to 18 per thousand. This enrichment is light relative to many previous labeling studies, yet sufficient to yield a traceable signal in riparian and stream biota. This paper reports pre-treatment differences in delta15N and the first-year N response to fertilizer within the riparian woody plant community. Future papers will describe the transfer of allochthonous litter N to the stream and its subsequent processing by stream biota. Pre-treatment delta15N differed between the two creeks (P=0.0002), possibly due to residual salmon nitrogen in one of the creeks. Pre-treatment delta15N of current-year needles was enriched compared to leaf litter, which was in turn enriched compared to needles aged 4 years and older. We conclude that fractionation due to retranslocation occurs in at least two phases. The first phase, which optimizes allocation of N in younger needle age classes, is distinctly different from the second, which conserves N prior to abscission. The delta15N difference between creeks was eliminated by the fertilization (P=0.42). In the two dominant conifer species, Abies lasiocarpa and Picea engelmannii, most fertilizer N was found in the current-year foliage; little was found in older needles and none was detected in litter (P=0.53). The only N-fixing shrub species, Alnus incana, took up only a small amount of fertilizer N [mean percent N derived from fertilizer (%Ndff) 5.0+/-1.6% (SE)]. Far more fertilizer N was taken up by other deciduous shrubs (mean %Ndff=33.9+/-4.5%). Fertilizer N made up 25% (+/-4.2%) of the N in deciduous shrub litter. These results demonstrate the feasibility of light labeling with 15N and the potential influence of riparian plant species composition on stream nutrient dynamics via allochthonous leaf litter inputs.
Behavioral and mammary responses of adult female rhesus to strange infants

Abstract Approximately 90% of gonadally intact, ovariectomized, or postmenopausal feral-born multiparous rhesus macaques immediately behaved maternally and displayed strong attachment to unfamiliar neonatal rhesus infants offered to them, even though the females had not lived with infants for at least 12 months. Females showing such behavior and attachment also showed fluid secretion from their nipples even, in some cases, without oral stimulation of the nipples by the infant. Adult laboratory-reared nulliparous females did not adopt infants, although identically reared primiparous females adequately cared for their own first infants.
Vocal Emotion Recognition Across Disparate Cultures

There exists substantial cultural variation in how emotions are expressed, but there is also considerable evidence for universal properties in facial and vocal affective expressions. This is the first empirical effort examining the perception of vocal emotional expressions across cultures with little common exposure to sources of emotion stimuli, such as mass media. Shuar hunter-horticulturalists from Amazonian Ecuador were able to reliably identify happy, angry, fearful and sad vocalizations produced by American native English speakers by matching emotional spoken utterances to emotional expressions portrayed in pictured faces. The Shuar performed similarly to English speakers who heard the same utterances in a content-filtered condition. These data support the hypothesis that vocal emotional expressions of basic affective categories manifest themselves in similar ways across quite disparate cultures.
Immunological studies of the sperm-specific phosphoglycerate kinase-2 of mice

Antiserum was prepared to 500-fold purified PGK-2A from mouse testes. Depsite the apparent high purity of the immunizing antigen, double diffusion analyses showed two precipitin lines, one of which can be shown to correspond to PGK-2. An immunoabsorbent column of liver homogenate coupled to cyanogen bromid-activated Sepharose was used to remove the contaminating antibody. Both immuno-inactivation and double diffusion analyses demonstrated that the PGK-2 antigen appeared in testes between days 30 and 34 of postnatal development. The antisera prepared against highly purified PGK-2A did not disclose any immunological differences between PGK-2A, PGK-2B, and PGK-2C either by double diffusion analyses or quantitative immunoprecipitation. Antisera to PGK-2 did not inhibit in vitro fertilization of zona-free hamsters ova by mouse spermatozoa.
Cost-effectiveness analyses in gynecologic oncology: methodological quality and trends

Abstract Objective. To evaluate methodological quality and trends of cost-effectiveness analyses (CEA) published in gynecologic oncology. Methods. A medical literature search of articles from 1966 through 2002 was performed to identify original, English-language articles that included economic analyses in gynecologic oncology. We included articles that were cost-effectiveness or cost-benefit analyses or performed these analyses as part of their study. Ten methodological principles that should be incorporated in CEAs were assessed for each study. Each article was given a score of 0, 1, or 2 for each of the 10 methodological principles (max score=20). Data were analyzed using the Student t test, ANOVA, and linear regression. Results. We screened 693 articles to identify 68 that met our inclusion criteria. The articles focused on cervical cancer ( n = 53; 78%), ovarian cancer ( n = 11; 16%), uterine cancer ( n = 2; 3%), and general perioperative care ( n = 2; 3%). The mean (±SD) methodological principle score was 16.1 (±4.1) and we observed a significant improvement in the total score over time ( P = 0.01). Primary CEA's (CEA identified as the objective of the study) were of higher quality than secondary CEA's (primary objective of the study was not CEA but CEA was included in the study; total scores 18.2 vs. 11.6, respectively; P P =0.006). The most common limitations of published CEAs were in methodology or presentation of incremental analyses, sensitivity analyses, and discounting. Conclusion. Cost-effectiveness analyses in gynecologic oncology showed significant improvement in quality over the last two decades. Despite this progress, methodological improvement is still needed in the areas of incremental comparisons and sensitivity analysis. Understanding the methodology of cost-effectiveness analysis is critical for researchers, editors, and readers to accurately interpret results of the growing body of CEA articles.
Linkage of bipolar affective disorders to markers on chromosome 11p is excluded in a second lateral extension of Amish Pedigree 110

Linkage between markers on chromosome 11p and bipolar affective disorders can be excluded in a second large lateral extension of the original Amish Pedigree 110. These results, together with previous negative linkage findings, suggest that there is not one single gene on 11p conferring susceptibility for bipolar affective disorders among the Old Order Amish.
Scripting sexual passivity: A gender role perspective

In two studies, we demonstrate that attitudes toward traditional sexual roles are linked with increased sexual passivity for women but decreased passivity for men. For both genders, sexual passivity predicts poor sexual functioning and satisfaction. Study 1 showed that endorsement of traditional sexual roles of male dominance and female passivity relates to greater sexual passivity among college-aged heterosexual women but less passivity for college-aged heterosexual men. For both young men and women, greater sexual passivity predicts less overall sexual satisfaction. The findings for Study 2 replicate Study 1 among sexually experienced adults recruited over the Internet. Autonomy mediated these relationships, which persisted when controlling for multiple potential confounds.
The chemistry of signal transduction

Several disciplines, including chemical ecology, seek to understand the molecular basis of information transfer in biological systems, and general molecular strategies are beginning to emerge. Often these strategies are discovered by a careful analysis of natural products and their biological effects. Cyclosporin A, FK506, and rapamycin are produced by soil microorganisms and are being used or considered as clinical immunosuppressive agents. They interrupt the cytoplasmic portion of T-cell signaling by forming a complex with a binding protein--FKBP12 in the case of FK506 and rapamycin and cyclophilin A (CyPA) in the case of cyclosporin A (CsA). This complex in turn inhibits a protein target, and the best understood target is calcineurin, which is inhibited by FK506-FKBP12 and CyPA-CsA. Mutational and structural studies help define how FK506-FKBP12 interacts with calcineurin, and the results of these studies are summarized. The existence of strong FK506-FKBP12 binding suggests that FK506 is mimicking some natural ligand for FKBP12. Synthetic and structural studies to probe this mimicry are also described.
On the Supposed Matroclinous Inheritance of Egg Size in the Fowl

Abstract INTRODUCTION FROM a study of egg weight in inbred Leghorns, Waters (1941) was led to the “questionable conclusion that the sire has but little influence on the weight of eggs his daughters lay.” Subsequently, Hays (1941), using several methods of analysis, showed that egg size is influenced as much by the sire as by the dam. In spite of this, Waters (1945) has recently contended, from results in a series of what were said to be diallel crosses, that “egg weight inheritance is predominantly maternal and that any genetic influence of the paternal parent is insignificant.” No attempt was made to reconcile this view with Hays’ evidence to the contrary. It is difficult to find in the literature any critical evidence that egg size is determined genetically by anything more specific than an unknown number of genes. The possibility that such a multifactorial character could exhibit matroclinous inheritance is intriguing, . . .
Professionalism and regionalism: The case of hiring orientations in the south

Do administrative practices in state and local government systematically vary from one region of the country to the next? Elazar and other sudents of political culture suggest that this is the case and that the Southeast in particular constitutes a distinctive region. At the same time, however, greater professionalism among public administrators is widely presumed to be diluting these reginal differences. If professinalism works in this way, reginal variations in administrative orientations should be least among the most professional administrators and greatest among the least professioinal. But an analysis of orientations toward civil service hiring practices uncovers no consistent support for this hypothesis. To the contrary, regional variations are at times greatest among the most professional group of officials. Alternative expalanations therefore receive attention including those focused on the relationship between localish orgnizational attachment and professionalism, on the diffusion of administrat...
A search for linkage in families with fragile sites.

Linkage relationships to unassigned and provisionally assigned genetic markers were examined from 53 families segregating for various fragile sites. Fragile sites were at Xq27, 2q13, 5p23, 9p21, 9p32, 10q23, 10q25, 11q13, 11q23, 12q13 and 16q12. No new assignments were made but extensive exclusion data are presented for the markers F13A, F13B, CHE2, K, TF, GPT, C3 and Lu arising from linkage comparisons with fragile sites and other genetic markers. Exclusions of at least 10 cM involving fragile site markers were made for F13A (6q23, 9q32, 10q25), F13B (10q23, 10q25, 16q12), CHE2 (16p12), K (10q23), TF (10q23, 10q25, 11q13), GPT (10q23, 10q25, 11q13), C3 (10q23, 10q25) and Lu (10q25, 11q13).
The Role of Convective Instability in an Oklahoma Squall Line

Abstract Previous investigations of the 8 June 1966 National Severe Storms Laboratory case show that mesoscale lift from an “inland sea breeze” due to a newly formed temperature gradient preceded convection. Using additional surface data, this case was reanalyzed over all of Oklahoma. Cloud work functions were calculated from real and interpolated data to measure convective instability. The results indicated that the above temperature gradient was the eastern one of two gradients located on either side of a warm tongue. The cells formed over the eastern gradient where the convective instability was highest.
Influences of Lake Level Changes on Reservoir Water Clarity in Allatoona Lake, Georgia

Dirnberger, J. M. and J. Weinberger. 2005. Influences of lake level changes on reservoir water clarity in Allatoona Lake, Georgia. Lake and Reserv. Manage. Vol. 21(1):24-29. In Allatoona Lake (Georgia USA), secchi transparency (measured every 2 to 4 weeks during a Phase I U.S. EPA Clean Lakes Study) was typically 5- to 8- fold greater in summer than late autumn and winter. The intensity of storms increased in late autumn and winter resulting in high sediment loads from the watershed, but lake level was also drawn down, confounding the influence of external sediment load with that of resuspended lake sediments. For 4 of the 5 years studied, decreases in water clarity were more closely synchronized with lowering of lake level than with storms. Continuous automated sampling of turbidity and other water quality parameters at 15-minute intervals allowed us to assess whether turbidity increases were derived from erosion of the exposed shoreline (i.e., by rain and runoff), or wave-driven resuspension. Regular increases in turbidity and decreases in pH occurred each weekend during the summer, suggesting increased mixing by boat traffic. Increases in turbidity on weekends and after rain events were greater after initiation of drawdown and were particularly strong when lake surface elevation approached that of the summer metalimnion depth. It appears that sediment focused (deposited) in deeper areas during the spring and summer is resuspended by wave action as lake levels drop in autumn.
Low-energy electron capture by Ne 2 + ions from H(D)

Using the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) ion-atom merged-beams apparatus, the absolute, total single-electron-capture cross section has been measured for collisions of ${\mathrm{Ne}}^{2+}$ with deuterium (D) at center-of-mass (c.m.) collision energies of $59--949\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{eV}∕\mathrm{u}$. With the high-velocity ion beams now available at the ORNL Multicharged Ion Research Facility, we have extended our previous merged-beams measurement to lower c.m. collision energies. The data are compared to all four previously published measurements for ${\mathrm{Ne}}^{2+}+\mathrm{H}(\mathrm{D})$ which differ considerably from one another at energies $\ensuremath{\lesssim}600\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{eV}∕\mathrm{u}$. We are unaware of any published theoretical cross-section data for ${\mathrm{Ne}}^{2+}+\mathrm{H}(\mathrm{D})$ at the energies studied. Early quantal rate coefficient calculations for ${\mathrm{Ne}}^{2+}+\mathrm{H}$ at eV/u energies suggest a cross section many orders of magnitude below previous measurements of the cross section at $40\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{eV}∕\mathrm{u}$ which is the lowest collision energy for which experimental results have been published. Here we compare our measurements to recent theoretical electron-capture results for ${\mathrm{He}}^{2+}+\mathrm{H}$. Both the experimental and theoretical results show a decreasing cross section with decreasing energy.
Target detection using the background model from the topological anomaly detection algorithm

The Topological Anomaly Detection (TAD) algorithm has been used as an anomaly detector in hyperspectral and multispectral images. TAD is an algorithm based on graph theory that constructs a topological model of the background in a scene, and computes an anomalousness ranking for all of the pixels in the image with respect to the background in order to identify pixels with uncommon or strange spectral signatures. The pixels that are modeled as background are clustered into groups or connected components, which could be representative of spectral signatures of materials present in the background. Therefore, the idea of using the background components given by TAD in target detection is explored in this paper. In this way, these connected components are characterized in three different approaches, where the mean signature and endmembers for each component are calculated and used as background basis vectors in Orthogonal Subspace Projection (OSP) and Adaptive Subspace Detector (ASD). Likewise, the covariance matrix of those connected components is estimated and used in detectors: Constrained Energy Minimization (CEM) and Adaptive Coherence Estimator (ACE). The performance of these approaches and the different detectors is compared with a global approach, where the background characterization is derived directly from the image. Experiments and results using self-test data set provided as part of the RIT blind test target detection project are shown.
Late recurrence of retinopathy of prematurity after treatment with both intravitreal bevacizumab and laser.

An infant of 36 weeks' postmenstrual age (PMA) and 25 weeks' gestation received bilateral intravitreal bevacizumab injections for type 1 retinopathy of prematurity. He underwent laser photocoagulation in both eyes 5 days later, confluent except for 1 clock hour obscured by hemorrhage in the left eye. Despite initial regression, neovascularization in both vascularized and lasered retina with plus disease recurred, requiring repeat laser bilaterally at 51 weeks' PMA and vitrectomy in the left eye at 54 weeks' PMA. Whereas late recurrence is thought to occur rarely after laser treatment, infants who have received both bevacizumab injections and laser may still require long-term surveillance for recurrence. In this case, fundus photography proved valuable for appreciating recurrent plus disease because the initial treatments had resulted in marked retinal vessel attenuation.
Hormesis: A Highly Generalizable and Reproducible Phenomenon With Important Implications for Risk Assessment

From a comprehensive search of the literature, the hormesis phenomenon was found to occur over a wide range of chemicals, taxonomic groups, and endpoints. By use of computer searches and extensive cross-referencing, nearly 3000 potentially relevant articles were identified. Evidence of chemical and radiation hormesis was judged to have occurred in approximately 1000 of these by use of a priori criteria. These criteria included study design features (e.g., number of doses, dose range), dose–response relationship, statistical analysis, and reproducibility of results. Numerous biological endpoints were assessed, with growth responses the most prevalent, followed by metabolic effects, reproductive responses, longevity, and cancer. Hormetic responses were generally observed to be of limited magnitude with an average maximum stimulation of 30 to 60 percent over that of the controls. This maximum usually occurred 4- to 5-fold below the NOAEL for a particular endpoint. The present analysis suggests that hormesis is a reproducible and generalizable biological phenomenon and is a fundamental component of many, if not most, dose–response relationships. The relatively infrequent observation of hormesis in the literature is believed to be due primarily to experimental design considerations, especially with respect to the number and range of doses and endpoint selection. Because of regulatory considerations, most toxicologic studies have been carried out at high doses above the low-dose region where the hormesis phenomenon occurs.
Epinephrine suppresses stress-induced increases in plasma immunoreactive β-endorphin in humans

The present study evaluated the hypothesis that increased plasma levels of epinephrine (EPI) stimulate immunoreactive β-endorphin (iβEND) secretion in humans experiencing a mild stress. The stressor consisted of intraoral injections of a local anesthetic solution (with or without EPI) just before the surgical extraction of impacted third molars in 26 awake unsedated patients. The EPI group experienced a 30-fold increase in plasma EPI levels by 2 min after injection; these concentrations were physiologically active, as evidenced by increased pulse rate and systolic blood pressure. However, compared to a no EPI control group the EPI group had a significantly reduced iβEND response to the stressor, as evaluated by comparison of plasma levels at individual time points, maximal increases in plasma iβEND levels, and areas under the timeresponse curve. Whereas there was no association between plasma levels of EPI and iβEND in the EPI group (r = 0.119; P = NS), EPI and iβEND levels were strongly related in the no...
EXPERIMENTS ON CONVECTIVE HEAT TRANSFER IN CORRUGATED CHANNELS

Experiments have been performed to study convective heat transfer in the entrance region of corrugated channels. With water as the working fluid, two channel spacings were examined for a single corrugation angle of 20°. The flow rate was varied over the range I50 ≤ Re ≤ 4000. Flow visualization under low-Reynolds-number flow conditions suggested the presence of longitudinal vortices, while at somewhat higher Reynolds numbers, the existence of spanwise vortices was clearly revealed. For Re > 1500, Nusselt numbers in the corrugated channels exceeded those in the parallel-plate channel by approximately 140% and 240% for the two channel spacings, the corresponding increases in friction factor being 130% and 280%. Performance evaluations under the criteria of equal mass flow rate, equal pumping power, and equal pressure drop per unit length established both the corrugated channels as superior to the parallel-plate channel in intensifying heat transfer.