cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and maternal depressive symptoms: Moderation by program perception

Abstract Rationale Previous studies have observed an association between participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and depression, which is contrary to SNAP's potential to alleviate food insecurity and financial strain. Objective This study investigated the impact of change in SNAP participation status on maternal depression, and whether perceptions of government assistance moderate this association. Methods Data were from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS). Logistic regression models with individual-specific fixed-effects, were fit to SNAP-eligible mothers who changed SNAP participation and depression status ( N = 256) during waves 2 to 4. Perceptions of government assistance were defined as feelings of humiliation or loss of freedom and tested for interactions with SNAP participation. Results Perceptions of government assistance moderated the association between SNAP participation and depression ( p -interaction = 0.0208). Those with positive perceptions of welfare had 0.27 (95% CI = 0.08 to 0.89) times lower odds of depression when enrolled vs. not enrolled in SNAP. Among those with negative perceptions of welfare, SNAP enrollment was not associated with depression ( OR = 1.13; 95% CI = 0.85 to 1.51). Conclusion Evidence suggests that SNAP mental health benefits may be context specific. SNAP's capacity to improve mental health may depend on individual perceptions of government assistance. More research is needed to determine whether interventions aimed at mitigating negative perceptions of programs like SNAP could ameliorate poor mental health among program participants.
Physico-chemical characteristics of evaporating respiratory fluid droplets

The detailed physico-chemical characteristics of respiratory droplets in ambient air, where they are subject to evaporation, are poorly understood. Changes in the concentration and phase of major components in a droplet-salt (NaCl), protein (mucin) and surfactant (dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine)-may affect the viability of any pathogens contained within it and thus may affect the efficiency of transmission of infectious disease by droplets and aerosols. The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of relative humidity (RH) on the physico-chemical characteristics of evaporating droplets of model respiratory fluids. We labelled these components in model respiratory fluids and observed evaporating droplets suspended on a superhydrophobic surface using optical and fluorescence microscopy. When exposed to continuously decreasing RH, droplets of different model respiratory fluids assumed different morphologies. Loss of water induced phase separation as well as indication of a decrease in pH. The presence of surfactant inhibited the rapid rehydration of the non-volatile components. An enveloped virus, ϕ6, that has been proposed as a surrogate for influenza virus appeared to be homogeneously distributed throughout the dried droplet. We hypothesize that the increasing acidity and salinity in evaporating respiratory droplets may affect the structure of the virus, although at low enough RH, crystallization of the droplet components may eliminate their harmful effects.
Jeyifo's turns of epigraphic traditions in “Talakawa Liberation Courier/Herald”

ABSTRACTBiodun Jeyifo's newspaper column writing provokes a new understanding of leftist praxis in Nigeria in two ways: first, the frequent quotation of proverbs and apothegms brings an uncommon id...
Interpregnancy interval and subsequent pregnancy outcomes after dilation and evacuation.

We conducted this study to compare outcomes for pregnancies conceived ≤6 months after dilation and evacuation (D&E) with those conceived >6 months after D&E. This retrospective cohort study include...
Epistemic Uncertainties in Fragility Functions Derived from Post-Disaster Damage Assessments

AbstractFragility functions define the probability of meeting or exceeding some damage measure (DM) for a given level of engineering demand (e.g., base shear) or hazard intensity measure (IM; e.g.,...
Hierarchical Financial Needs Reflected by Household Financial Asset Shares

This study explores the relationship between family financial needs and household financial asset shares. A conceptual framework based on the needs hierarchy theory, new consumer demand theory, and prospect theory guides the investigation. Results from the bivariate and tobit analyses suggest that family financial needs are hierarchical that are reflected by patterns of financial asset shares. Specifically, checking and savings accounts represent the lowest-level survival needs, and bonds and stocks represent the highest-level growth needs. The rest of the financial assets examined, except for trusts, represent the middle-level security needs.
Atrial Fibrillation and Atrial Flutter in Human Immunodeficiency Virus-Infected Persons: Incidence, Risk Factors, and Association With Markers of HIV Disease Severity

Objectives The purpose of this study was to investigate the associations of traditional risk factors and longitudinal measures of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disease severity with risk of incident atrial fibrillation (AF) in a contemporary cohort of HIV-infected individuals. Background Cardiovascular disease is common in HIV-infected persons; however, the most common cardiac arrhythmia, AF, has not been adequately studied in this population. Methods We studied a national sample of 30,533 HIV-infected veterans followed in the Veterans Affairs HIV Clinical Case Registry from 1996 to 2011. We examined the independent associations of demographic characteristics, time-updated comorbidities, and time-updated clinical measurements including CD4+ cell count and viral load with the outcome of incident AF using proportional hazards regression for multivariable analysis. Results Over a median follow-up of 6.8 years, 780 (2.6%) patients developed AF. After multivariable adjustment for traditional risk factors, a lower CD4+ cell count (l200 compared with >350 cells/mm3; hazard ratio [HR]: 1.4; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.1 to 1.8; p = 0.018) and higher viral load (>100,000 compared with l500 copies/ml; HR: 1.7; 95% CI: 1.2 to 2.4; p = 0.002) were independently associated with increased risk of incident AF. Additional risk factors independently associated with risk of AF included older age, White race, coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure, alcoholism, proteinuria, reduced kidney function, and hypothyroidism. Conclusions In a large HIV-infected cohort, markers of HIV disease severity represented by low CD4+ cell count and high viral load, assessed by multiple time-updated measures, were independently associated with development of AF.
Development and Implementation of a Standardized Sterile Compounding Training Program

Purpose: The purpose of the study is to develop and implement a standardized sterile compounding training program in a multihospital system that incorporates sterile compounding best practice recommendations and ensures compliance with United States Pharmacopeia (USP) Chapters 797 and 800 standards. Methods: Baseline sterile compounding training data were collected and reviewed for sterile compounding facilities across a multihospital health system, which included 37 distinct sterile compounding operations. Current sterile compounding personnel across the system completed preintervention assessments consisting of a written, knowledge-based exam; media-fill challenge test; and an observed assessment of aseptic technique. The personnel then completed refresher training of sterile compounding concepts by completing online and in-person courses. A postintervention assessment was then conducted to evaluate training methods and topics. Based on the intervention data, a training program for new sterile compounding personnel was developed and implemented. A program to provide annual, ongoing training to existing sterile compounding personnel was also developed and implemented. Results: There was a statistically significant improvement in sterile compounding written exam scores (P < .0001) and aseptic technique observation scores (P < .0001) after implementation of refresher training. The validated training program was then included in the development and implementation of standardized training for all new and existing sterile compounding personnel across a multihospital health system. Conclusion: A standardized and consistent, sterile compounding training program was developed for all new and existing sterile compounding personnel incorporating a live, in-person training course, as well as online and hands-on training.
Beryllium-10 chronology of early and late Wisconsinan moraines in the Revelation Mountains, Alaska: Insights into the forcing of Wisconsinan glaciation in Beringia

Abstract We present 32 new cosmogenic 10Be exposure ages from a moraine sequence deposited during the Wisconsinan glaciation in the Swift River valley, Revelation Mountains, western Alaska Range. 10Be ages from an early Wisconsinan [Marine Isotope Stage 4] moraine average 59.7 ± 3.6 ka (n = 9; excluding one outlier), and 10Be ages from a late Wisconsinan [Marine Isotope Stage 2] terminal moraine, inboard moraines, and two recessional end moraines average 21.3 ± 0.8 ka (n = 3; excluding two outliers), 20.2 ± 1.0 ka (n = 7; excluding three young outliers), 19.6 ± 1.0 ka (n = 2; excluding one outlier) and 17.7 ± 0.8 ka (n = 4; excluding two outliers), respectively. The early Wisconsinan moraine age coincides with the close of MIS 4, consistent with previous chronologies from Beringia. Whereas Southern Hemisphere glaciers retreated prior to the onset of Heinrich Stadial 6 (64–60 ka), the MIS 4 glacier advance in the Swift River valley terminated at the close of Heinrich Stadial 6, possibly in response to abrupt North Atlantic warming. Our late Wisconsinan ages indicate significant initial glacier retreat between ca. 21.3–17.7 ka (prior to any significant increase in CO2) likely in response to amplified warming from rising insolation. Preservation of MIS 4 moraines in Beringia has traditionally been ascribed to limited MIS 2 glacier advance modulated by low regional moisture availability, stemming from the exposed Bering Land Bridge. However, we hypothesize that atmospheric re-organization forced by the Laurentide Ice Sheet resulted in relatively higher temperatures and drier conditions in Beringia during MIS 2 than MIS 4, allowing for the preservation of early Wisconsinan moraines.
Quantifying Correlated Truncation Errors in Effective Field Theory

Effective field theories (EFTs) organize the description of complex systems into an infinite sequence of decreasing importance. Predictions are made with a finite number of terms, which induces a truncation error that is often left unquantified. We formalize the notion of EFT convergence and propose a Bayesian truncation error model for predictions that are correlated across the independent variables, e.g., energy or scattering angle. Central to our approach are Gaussian processes that encode both the naturalness and correlation structure of EFT coefficients. Our use of Gaussian processes permits efficient and accurate assessment of credible intervals, allows EFT fits to easily include correlated theory errors, and provides analytic posteriors for physical EFT-related quantities such as the expansion parameter. We demonstrate that model-checking diagnostics---applied to the case of multiple curves---are powerful tools for EFT validation. As an example, we assess a set of nucleon-nucleon scattering observables in chiral EFT. In an effort to be self-contained, appendices include thorough derivations of our statistical results. Our methods are packaged in Python code, called gsum, that is available for download on GitHub.
Thermal energy storage radiatively coupled to a supercritical Rankine cycle for electric grid support

Abstract Frequent variation in electricity demand strains power plants, thereby increasing CO2 emissions. Grid integration of intermittent renewables exacerbates this problem. Energy storage can mitigate demand fluctuations. Yet, common grid-scale storage technologies are geographically limited or prohibitively expensive. Storing electricity as heat, although thermodynamically counter-intuitive, can be cheaper and nonrestrictive. To do so, high temperatures are desired according to the second law of thermodynamics. Here, we analyze electricity storage through the phase change of solid to molten silicon and discharge the stored heat radiatively to a working fluid, allowing system flexibility. We use heat transfer analyses to determine whether radiative discharge of a thermal energy storage system to supercritical water is a viable method. Our analysis shows a system cost of $45 ± 10 per kWhe and 12-hr round-trip efficiency of ∼38%–43%. Rather than constructing additional gas-fired peaker plants to address peak loads, the proposed system can be implemented and use existing infrastructure from retired coal power plants. This approach is compatible with current power plants as well as renewable energy, providing a segue from fossil fuels to renewable energy dependent power plants.
Scaling the semidefinite program solver SDPB

We present enhancements to SDPB, an open source, parallelized, arbitrary precision semidefinite program solver designed for the conformal bootstrap. The main enhancement is significantly improved performance and scalability using the Elemental library and MPI. The result is a new version of SDPB that runs on multiple nodes with hundreds of cores with excellent scaling, making it practical to solve larger problems. We demonstrate performance on a moderate-size problem in the 3d Ising CFT and a much larger problem in the O(2) Model.
An isogenic hiPSC-derived BBB-on-a-chip

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is composed of brain microvascular endothelial cells (BMECs) that regulate brain homeostasis, and astrocytes within the brain are involved in the maintenance of the BBB or modulation of its integrity in disease states via secreted factors. A major challenge in modeling the normal or diseased BBB is that conventional in vitro models lack either the physiological complexity of the BBB or key functional features such as formation of a sufficiently tight barrier. In this study, we utilized human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC)-derived BMECs in a BBB-on-a-chip device that supports flow and coculture with an astrocyte-laden 3D hydrogel. The BMECs are separated from the hydrogel by a porous membrane with either 0.4 or 8.0 μm pore size, making the device suitable for studying the transport of molecules or cells, respectively, across the BBB. In addition, all cells seeded in the device are differentiated from the same hiPSC line, which could enable genetic and rare disease modeling. Formation of a confluent BMEC barrier was confirmed by immunocytochemistry of tight junction proteins and measurement of fluorescein permeability. Integrity of the barrier was further assessed by performing impedance spectroscopy in the device. Finally, the ability of this device to recapitulate a disease model of BBB disruption was demonstrated, with apical addition of TGF-β1 leading to transendothelial electrical resistance reduction and indicators of astrocyte activation. These results demonstrate the utility of the fabricated device for a broad range of applications such as drug screening and mechanistic studies of BBB disruption.
Algorithmic realism: expanding the boundaries of algorithmic thought

Although computer scientists are eager to help address social problems, the field faces a growing awareness that many well-intentioned applications of algorithms in social contexts have led to significant harm. We argue that addressing this gap between the field's desire to do good and the harmful impacts of many of its interventions requires looking to the epistemic and methodological underpinnings of algorithms. We diagnose the dominant mode of algorithmic reasoning as "algorithmic formalism" and describe how formalist orientations lead to harmful algorithmic interventions. Addressing these harms requires pursuing a new mode of algorithmic thinking that is attentive to the internal limits of algorithms and to the social concerns that fall beyond the bounds of algorithmic formalism. To understand what a methodological evolution beyond formalism looks like and what it may achieve, we turn to the twentieth century evolution in American legal thought from legal formalism to legal realism. Drawing on the lessons of legal realism, we propose a new mode of algorithmic thinking---"algorithmic realism"---that provides tools for computer scientists to account for the realities of social life and of algorithmic impacts. These realist approaches, although not foolproof, will better equip computer scientists to reduce algorithmic harms and to reason well about doing good.
Modeling the relationship between estimated fungicide use and disease-associated yield losses of soybean in the United States I: Foliar fungicides vs foliar diseases

Use of seed-applied fungicides has become commonplace in the United States soybean production systems. Although fungicides have the potential to protect seed/seedlings from critical early stage diseases such as damping-off and root/stem rots, results from previous studies are not consistent in terms of seed-applied fungicide's ability to mitigate yield losses. In the current study, the relationship between estimated soybean production losses due to seedling diseases and estimated seed-applied fungicide use was investigated using annual data from 28 soybean growing states in the U.S. over the period of 2006 to 2014. National, regional (northern and southern U.S.), state, and temporal scale trends were explored using mixed effects version of the regression analysis. Mixed modeling allowed computing generalized R2 values for conditional (R2GLMM(c); contains fixed and random effects) and marginal (R2GLMM(m); contains only fixed effects) models. Similar analyses were conducted to investigate how soybean production was related to fungicide use. National and regional scale modeling revealed that R2GLMM(c) values were significantly larger compared to R2GLMM(m) values, meaning fungicide use had limited utility in explaining the national/regional scale variation of yield loss and production. The state scale analysis revealed the usefulness of seed-applied fungicides to mitigate seedling diseases-associated soybean yield losses in Illinois, Indiana, North Carolina, and Ohio. Further, fungicide use positively influenced the soybean production and yield in Illinois and South Dakota. Taken together, use of seed-applied fungicide did not appear to be beneficial to many of the states. Our findings corroborate the observations made by a number of scientists through field scale seed-applied fungicide trials across the U.S and reiterate the importance of need base-use of seed-applied fungicides rather than being a routine practice in soybean production systems.
Living in decline – the dynamics of anthropogenic disturbances in the recent landcover history of Manchuria and its consequences for Northeast Asia

The paper examines the recent landcover history of Manchuria and its implications for a socio-ecological decline that is spreading across Northeast Asia. Beginning by looking at forest decline and ...
Rehabilitating the literary oeuvre of Tiyo Soga

One answer to the fractures of identity and culture found in post-apartheid South Africa’s beleaguered ‘rainbow nation’ can be found in the rehabilitation of the reputation of the Reverend Tiyo Sog...
Ethics and Animals: An Introduction

In this comprehensive updated introduction to animal ethics, Lori Gruen weaves together poignant and provocative case studies with discussions of ethical theory, urging readers to engage critically and reflect empathetically on our relationships with other animals. In clear and accessible language, Gruen discusses a range of issues central to human-animal relations and offers a reasoned new perspective on key debates in the field. She analyses and explains a range of theoretical positions and poses challenging questions that directly encourage readers to hone their ethical reasoning skills and to develop a defensible position about their own practices. Her book will be an invaluable resource for students in a wide range of disciplines including ethics, environmental studies, veterinary science, gender studies, and the emerging field of animal studies. The book is an engaging account of animal ethics for readers with no prior background in philosophy.
Planning and Implementing Capital Cities – Lessons from the Past and Prospects for Intelligent Development in the Future: The Case of Korea

Some of history’s largest engineering projects have been planned capital cities and administrative governmental centers. They are important because of their various long-term and costly impacts on their respective regions, countries and global affairs. Process improvements are illustrated here by using the empirical context of a 2002 presidential campaign pledge by and recent initiatives of the preceding president of the Republic of Korea to establish a new capital for South Korea. The chapter illustrates an approach whereby the ideas and concepts of local planners and decision makers, along with input from other informants, may be used to construct and integrate futures planning scenarios intended to promote initial broad public debate. Further, this approach may be used to stimulate forward-leaning strategic planning innovation in on-going preparation for the ultimate possible reunification of the two countries of Korea and the realization of the development of one nation throughout the Korean peninsula. This approach to the planning practice has been characterized as intelligent development. The approach has potential for enhancing the effectiveness of planning and implementing other megaengineering efforts, especially ones that are expected to have a significant impact at the community, regional, societal and economy levels.
Zróżnicowane czytanie (przeł.Tomasz Cieślak-Sokołowski)

Varied Modes of Reading The authoress of the article observes a crisis of the ability of close reading in the American university practice as well as in art criticism; the crisis is caused – she tries to convince us – by the too quick and rapid cultural change in humanistic studies. Above all, she suggests a return to the practice of close reading, however not on the principle of new criticism, but with a modifying difference (here there emerges the category of reading closely). In the successive parts of her paper, Marjorie Perloff ponders on the possible modes of reading „the highly nondescript contemporary poetry” and suggests that it should be subjected to „purposefully indefinite and loose manner of reading” (at this point there emerges the concept of reading differentially). It turns out that the art of interpretation – reflection on the modes of reading contemporary poetry is accompanied by an analysis of a number of concrete poems (among others by William Carlos Williams, Tom Raworth, Susan Howe) – is above all a study of the „structure of changes” of the contemporary poem, a study oriented at a skillful way of posing questions regarding poems, rather than furnishing answers and coming up with ready-made interpretations.
Chapter 10 Education and Nonmarket Outcomes

Abstract This chapter explores the effects of education on nonmarket outcomes from both theoretical and empirical perspectives. Examples of outcomes considered include general consumption patterns at a moment in time, savings and the rate of growth of consumption over time, own (adult) health and inputs into the production of own health, fertility, and child quality or well-being reflected by their health and cognitive development. They are distinguished from the labor market outcomes of education in terms of higher earnings and wage rates. The focus is on identifying causal effects of education and on mechanisms via which these effects operate. The chapter pays a good deal of attention to the effects of education on health for a variety of reasons. They are the two most important sources of human capital: knowledge capital and health capital. They interact in their levels and in the ways they affect the cost and usefulness of the other. There is a large literature addressing the nature of their complementarities. While each affects the production and usefulness of the other, there are important dynamics of their interaction, seen in the age-structure of the net and gross production of the two. This sequencing also affects their optimal amounts. In the conceptual foundation section, models in which education has productive efficiency and allocative efficiency effects are considered. These frameworks are then modified to allow for the endogenous nature of schooling decisions, so that observed schooling effects can be traced in part to omitted “third variables” such as an orientation towards the future. An additional complication is that schooling may contribute to a future orientation in models with endogenous preferences. The empirical review provides a good deal of evidence for the proposition that the education effects are causal but is less conclusive with regard to the identification of specific mechanisms.
More than the terrible twos: the nature and severity of behavior problems in clinic-referred preschool children.

The primary goals of this study are to describe the nature and severity of disruptive behavior problems in clinic-referred preschoolers from low-income environments and to explore the validity of DSM-IV disruptive disorders for young children. We examine the relation between DSM-IV symptoms, standardized behavior checklists, and observational ratings as a means of exploring measurement validity in this age group. Seventy-nine clinic-referred preschoolers (ages 2\(\frac{1}{2}\) through 5\(\frac{1}{2}\) years) from low-income environments were assessed. To examine whether clinic-referred preschool children have symptoms that are consistent with DSM-IV disruptive behavior disorders, parents were administered a semistructured diagnostic interview, modified for developmentally appropriate usage. In addition, parents completed the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and children's behavior problems were assessed with observational ratings during parent–child interaction. Nearly half of the sample met criteria for conduct disorder, and three quarters met criteria for oppositional defiant disorder. Preliminary evidence for the validity of DSM-IV disruptive disorders in preschool children was demonstrated through association with CBCL scores, behavior ratings, and significant levels of impairment. Future efforts aimed at validating these diagnoses in preschoolers and implications for prevention are discussed.
Properties of the z = 2.73 galaxy, MS1512-cB58

MS1512-cB58 is an z = 2.73 galaxy whose apparent brightness is amplified by30–50X due to gravitationally lensing. The restframe far-UV spectrum of cB58 that was obtained by KeckI/LRIS is ‘one of the best ultraviolet spectra of a starburst galaxy obtained at any redshift’ (Pettini et al., 2000). We have analyzed and modeled the spectrum of this galaxy in order to learn the properties of high-redshift galaxies. We find that our model spectrum is a near match to the observed spectrum of cB58 if the galaxy has a SMC-like metallicity, and has a Salpeter IMF extending up to ~ 100 M ⊙. The spectrum of cB58 also shows many absorption lines formed in a giant, expanding gas shell surrounding the star-forming complex. We show preliminary findings of the properties of the giant HII region based on our CLOUDSPEC model.
Moore on Causation and Responsibility: Metaphysics or Intuition?

This paper was prepared for a festschrift in honor of Michael Moore to be published by Oxford University Press. Moore's magnum opus, Causation and Responsibility, amply demonstrates his encyclopedic knowledge of the relevant sources in law and philosophy and his analytical skill. Much can be learned from careful, critical reading.However, I argue, Moore relies too much on intuition -- more specifically, his own -- in developing his account of causation and its pervasive and (he claims) dominant role in attributions of legal responsibility. Focusing on the NESS account that I have elaborated, he rejects "generalist" accounts of causation, which analyze singular instances of causation as instantiations of causal (natural) laws, instead opting for a "primitivist singularist" account, according to which we simply recognize causation when we see it in each particular instance without any even implicit reference to causal laws or any other "reductionist" test. He erroneously treats the "substantial factor" criterion in the first and second Restatements of Torts (which is properly strongly criticized and rejected in the third Restatement) as being such a primitivist singularist account. In addition, he seeks to replace all of the traditional normative limitations on legal responsibility with a supposed causal analysis, based on the "scalarity" of causation.Yet, Moore believes, intuitions come into conflict with metaphysics when considering omissions or other absences as causes, which is routinely assumed to be true in law and life but which Moore insists is fundamentally erroneous from a metaphysical standpoint. His insistence on this point, while admirable from an intellectual integrity standpoint, completely undermines the fundamental premise of his book -- that causation is the pervasive and dominant determinant of legal responsibility -- since omissions/absences are part of every causal chain involving human action and many not involving human action. In this paper, I defend a specific "generalist" account of causation (the NESS account) and criticize Moore's primitivist singularist account. Along the way, I address a number of issues regarding causation and legal responsibility, including the metaphysical basis for treating omissions as causes.
Relation of circumferences and skinfold thicknesses to lipid and insulin concentrations in children and adolescents: the Bogalusa Heart Study

Background: Although body fat patterning has been related to adverse health outcomes in adults, its importance in children and adolescents is less certain. Objective: We examined the relation of circumference (waist and hip) and skinfold-thickness (subscapular and triceps) measurements to lipid and insulin concentrations among 2996 children and adolescents aged 5-17 y. Design: This was a community-based, cross-sectional study conducted in 1992-1994. Results: A central or abdominal distribution of body fat was related to adverse concentrations of triacylglycerol, LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, and insulin: these associations were independent of race, sex, age, weight, and height. These associations were observed whether fat patterning was characterized by using I) waist circumference alone (after adjustment for weight and height), 2) waist-to-hip ratio, or 3) principal components analysis. Compared with a child at the 10th percentile of waist circumference, a child at the 90th percentile was estimated to have, on average, higher concentrations of LDL cholesterol (0.17 mmol/L). triacylglycerol (0.11 mmol/L), and insulin (6 pmol/L) and lower concentrations of HDL cholesterol (-0.07 mmol/L). These differences, which were independent of weight and height, were significant at the 0.001 level and were consistent across race-sex groups. Conclusions: These findings emphasize the importance of obtaining information on body fat distribution, waist circumference in particular. in children. Waist circumference, which is relatively easy to measure, may help to identify children likely to have adverse concentrations of lipids and insulin.
Abortive Development of the Cynipid Parasite Pseudeucoila bochei (Hymenoptera) in Species of the Drosophila melanica Group

In 6 Nearctic species of the Drosophila melanica group, large numbers of eggs of the cynipid parasite Pseudeucoila bochei Weld failed to hatch, and many of the parasite larvae died in the 1st stage. Microscopic examinations of the dead parasites failed to show any evidence of encapsulation by hemocytes. However, on some dead larvae patches of melanin had been deposited. When host larvae were parasitized at different ages it was found that the parasites were more successful in younger hosts than they were in older hosts. Host immunity, active or passive, appears to be a function of age.
Characterization of the multiple transport routes for methotrexate in L1210 cells using phthalate as a model anion substrate.

o-Phthalate is actively transported into L1210 cells and the primary route for cell entry is the same transport system which mediates the influx of methotrexate and other folate compounds. The identity of the influx route has been established by the following observations: (A) Phthalate influx is competitively inhibited by methotrexate and the inhibition constant (Ki) is comparable to theKi for half-maximal influx of methotrexate; (B) Various anions inhibit the influx of phthalate and methotrexate with comparableKi values; (C) The influx of phthalate and methotrexate both fluctuate in parallel with changes in the anionic composition of the external medium; and (D) A specific covalent inhibitor of the methotrexate transport system (NHS-methotrexate) also blocks the transport of phthalate. In contrast, the efflux of phthalate does not occur via the methotrexate influx carrier, but rather by two separate processes which can be distinguished by their sensitivities to bromosulfophthalein. Efflux via the bromosulfophthalein-sensitive route constitutes 75% of total efflux and is enhanced by glucose and inhibited by oligomycin. The inability of phthalate to exit via the methotrexate influx carrier is due to competing intracellular anions which prevent phthalate from interacting with the methotrexate binding site at the inner membrane surface.
Development of the electroretinographic oscillatory potentials in normal and ROP rats

Purpose To study the development of the electroretinographic (ERG) oscillatory potentials (OPs) in rats and to compare normal OPs with those in a rat model of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP). Methods Following a longitudinal design, ERG responses to a greater than 5 log unit range of full-field stimuli were recorded in dark-adapted rats at postnatal day (P) 18, P31, P47, and P67. The ERG records were digitally filtered (60-235 Hz), and the trough-to-peak amplitudes and implicit times of OP2, OP3, OP4, and OP5 were measured. Additionally, rats with oxygen-induced retinopathy, a model of ROP, were studied at P31. Results Generally, OP amplitude increased and implicit time decreased with increasing stimulus intensity. The shape of the stimulus-response functions changed with age. The amplitudes of OP2, OP3, and OP4 were largest at P31. OP5 was largest at P47. All OPs were significantly affected in ROP rats; OP5 was least affected by ROP. Conclusions A prolonged normal course of OP development, which featured waxing and waning of amplitudes, was observed and might have been consequent to maturation and then to final refinements of inner retinal circuitry. In ROP rats, marked attenuation of early OPs was consistent with persistent dysfunction of photoreceptors, and significant attenuation of the late OP5 was evidence of compromised function of inner retinal circuitry.
Structural characteristics of the saxitoxin receptor on nerve.

The effects of uranyl ion (UO22+; at low concentrations binds specifically to phosphate groups) and the cationic dye methylene blue (MB+; binds strongly to carboxyl groups) on saxitoxin (STX) potency in crayfish axon has been studied by means of intracellular microelectrodes. At pH 6.00±0.05 and 13.5mm Ca2+, addition of 10.0 μm UO22++5.0nm STX had only slightly, if any, less effect on the spike's maximum rate of rise [0.79±0.04 (viz., mean±sem) of control value] than did addition of 5.0nm STX alone (0.72±0.05). Under the same conditions of pH and Ca2+ concentration, 1.0mm MB+ had approximately the same effect: 1.0mm MB++5.0nm STX, 0.76±0.03; 5.0nm STX alone, 0.70±0.04. However, at pH 7.00±0.05 and lower Ca2+ concentrations, 1.0mm MB+ significantly reduced STX potency. Using 6.0mm Ca2+: 1.0mm MB++5.0nm STX, 0.92±0.01; 5.0nm STX alone, 0.68±0.08. Using 3.0mm Ca2+, the corresponding values were 0.94±0.03 and 0.67±0.04. It is concluded that: (1) In accord with previous suggestions, the ionized acidic group known to exist in the Na channel (and to which a guanidinium group of STX appears to bind) is very likely a carboxyl group and not a phosphate group. (2) The accessible part of the Na channel mouth serving as the saxitoxin receptor probably does not include phospholipid in its structure proper.
An inhibitor of the protease blocks maturation of human and simian immunodeficiency viruses and spread of infection.

Abstract The activity of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) protease is essential for processing of the gag-pol precursor proteins and maturation of infectious virions. We have prepared a peptidomimetic inhibitor, U-75875, that inhibited HIV-1 gag-pol protein processing in an essentially irreversible manner. Noninfectious virus particles produced in the presence of the drug contained gag precursors and were morphologically immature. In human peripheral blood mononuclear cells and in a continuous cell line, U-75875 completely blocked HIV replication; in the latter case, no spread occurred over a period of 4 weeks. U-75875, on a molar basis, was as potent as 3'-azido-3'-deoxythymidine in blocking HIV-1 replication in human lymphocytes and also inhibited HIV-2 and simian immunodeficiency virus proteases, demonstrating that it has broad activity. These results provide further evidence for the therapeutic potential of protease inhibitors in HIV infection.
On the Formation of Elongated Cold Perturbations off the Dry Tortugas

Abstract The life cycle of a cold perturbation on the boundary of the Loop Current in the Gulf of Mexico was studied over the period of 18 March to 22 May 1984, approximately a 60-day period. The study focused on the behavior of the surface and subsurface area of the cold perturbation as it moved along the boundary of the Loop Current. The area of the perturbation was defined by an alongflow-scale length, which is the scale length parallel to the unperturbed flow of the Loop Current, and the crossflow-scale length, which is the scale length perpendicular to the unperturbed flow of the Loop Current. The area of the perturbation remained relatively unchanged as the perturbation moved along the Loop Current boundary and reached the region off the Dry Tortugas; however, when the perturbation reached the Dry Tortugas, the orientation of the perturbation changed, suggesting a method whereby elongated cold perturbations form off the Dry Tortugas. Shortly thereafter, the area of the perturbation began to decrease...
Historical Source Material for the Karagkiozis Performance

Karagkiozis, or Greek shadow puppet theatre, is a theatrical form that reflects nineteenth-century Greek oral culture. It utilizes a variety of national and regional costumes, dialects, and manners. Having developed in Greece during the period of that nation's modern history, it expresses the continuity of Greek culture and carries its themes, scenes of daily life, and characters. It retains, moreover, vestiges, or perhaps more accurately resurgences, of the pagan as well as the Christian past. Folk characters and types from folk plays and tales – the quack doctor, old man, old woman, devil Jew, Vlach, Moor, Gypsy, swaggering soldier, old rustic, jesting servant, trickster, parasite, stuttering child, ogre, dragon, bald-chin, and the great beauty – are its types as well. Popular folk dances, regional songs, and heroic poetry and ballads appear throughout Karagkiozis performances.
An Outbreak of Tonsilitis or Septic Sore Throat in Eastern Massachusetts and its Relation to an Infected Milk Supply

A sudden increase in cases of acute tonsihtis in certain parts of the city of Boston and its suburbs was talked of at a medical meeting in Boston on the evening of Thursday, May n, 1911. By Sunday, May 14, the laboratories of the health departments were on the qui vive, for in many cases the disease simulated diphtheria, and in Boston, for example, there was an increase of 100 per cent in the cultures examined on May 14 as compared with the previous Sunday. In the Back Bay district of Boston, in Brookline and Cambridge, where the disease was most prevalent, individual physicians had from 20 or 30 to 60 or 70 cases of tonsilitis of a peculiar and characteristic type within a period of a week. Certain physicians who were dealing immediately with the disease were quickly impressed with the fact that most of the families affected used a single milk supply, that from the Deerfoot Farms. The matter was brought to the attention of the officers and experts of the dairy company on May 13 and 14, and experts of the company as well as the inspectors of the Boston Health Department at once investigated conditions at the dairy and on the farms but without finding any evidence of a cause for the disease. Since the Deerfoot Farms Company had supplied milk in Boston for 28 years and in that time had been universally regarded as a pioneer in the work of dairy inspection and in the marketing of clean milk, many were loath to beheve that it could possibly be involved. Physicians in other regions, and certain of the sanitary officials concerned, held that the Boston-Brookline-Cambridge outbreak was only part of a general excess of throat disease due to dust and extreme dry weather, and
Effects of the Magnetic Kelvin Force on Pool Boiling in Microgravity

*† Results are reported for the pool boiling of a solution of paramagnetic manganese chloride in water in microgravity conditions. Pool boiling was recorded on video in two tanks that were identical, except that one tank had a strong permanent magnet mounted directly beneath the heater surface. In both tanks, the entire volume of liquid was essentially at saturated conditions. For this 4.5 molal solution, the computed magnitude of the magnetic Kelvin force adjacent to the heater surface was 15% of Earth gravity. The boiling liquid in both tanks quickly changed to a bubbly foam during the onset of reduced gravity conditions. The height of the liquid column expanded by as much as a factor of three. The Kelvin force reduced the expanded height of the column by an average of 15%. Nomenclature B = magnetic flux density = effective g effective body force per unit mass due to Kelvin force µo = permeability of free space ρs = density of the solution s χ = solution magnetic susceptibility
Dissociative photoionization and thermochemistry of dihalomethane compounds studied by threshold photoelectron photoion coincidence spectroscopy.

The dissociative photoionization studies have been performed for a set of dihalomethane CH2XY (X,Y = Cl, Br, and I) molecules employing the threshold photoelectron photoion coincidence (TPEPICO) technique. Accurate dissociation onsets for the first and second dissociation limits have been recorded in the 10−13 eV energy range, and ionization potentials have been measured for these compounds. By using our experimental dissociation onsets and the known heat of formation of CH2Cl2 molecule, it has been possible to derive the 0 and 298 K heats of formation of all six neutral dihalomethanes as well as their ionic fragments, CH2Cl+, CH2Br+, and CH2I+, to a precision better than 3 kJ/mol. These new measurements serve to fill the lack of reliable experimental thermochemical information on these molecules, correct the old literature values by up to 19 kJ/mol, and reduce their uncertainties. From our thermochemical results it has also been possible to derive a consistent set of bond dissociation energies for the di...
Responses of Proximal Tubular Cells to Injury in Congenital Renal Disease: Fight or Flight

Most chronic kidney disease in children results from congenital or inherited disorders, which can be studied in mouse models. Following 2 weeks of unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO) in the adult mouse, nephron loss is due to proximal tubular mitochondrial injury and cell death. In neonatal mice, proximal tubular cell death is delayed beyond 2 weeks of complete UUO, and release of partial UUO allows remodeling of remaining nephrons. Progressive cyst expansion develops in polycystic kidney disease (PKD), a common inherited renal disorder. The polycystic kidney and fibrosis (pcy)-mutant mouse (which develops late-onset PKD) develops thinning of the glomerulotubular junction in parallel with growth of cysts in adulthood. Renal insufficiency in nephropathic cystinosis, a rare inherited renal disorder, results from progressive tubular cystine accumulation. In the Ctns knockout mouse (a model of cystinosis), proximal tubular cells become flattened, with loss of mitochondria and thickening of tubular basement membrane. In each model, persistent obstructive or metabolic stress leads ultimately to the formation of atubular glomeruli. The initial “fight” response (proximal tubular survival) switches to a “flight” response (proximal tubular cell death) with ongoing oxidative injury and mitochondrial damage. Therapies should be directed at reducing proximal tubular mitochondrial oxidative injury to enhance repair and regeneration.
Succinic and NaDH2 Dehydrogenase in Livers of Vitamin B6-Deficient Rats.

SummaryIn histochemical studies fatty change in the livers of Vit. B6-deficient rats was associated with reduction in SD activity in the centrolobular portions. In homogenate assays of non-fatty portions of liver, Vit. B6-deficiency had no effect on the SD activity. The deficiency significantly reduced the NADH2D activity, however, even after the nonspecific effect of undernutrition and fatty change had been eliminated.
Acute Treatment of Paternal Alcohol Exposure Produces Malformations in Offspring

Abstract Male rats were intubated only once with either 6, 4, 2, or 0 g/kg alcohol. Food was removed from all animals for several hours after intubation. Males were bred with a single female until sperm was observed in the vaginal smear, for up to a maximum of 7 days after treatment. Females were sacrificed on gestation day 20. There were no significant effects on mating, fecundity, or litter size, but there were significant dose-response increases in “runts” and significant linear associations in the number of malformations in alcohol-sired offspring. A second study using the same methodology found similar results. The results indicate that a single acute treatment with alcohol just prior to breeding may have a significant effect on offspring.
Optimal control system design with prescribed damping and stability characteristics

cati equation can be used, which greatly reduces the computation burden. Also, not shown here, the linear differential equation in Eq. (7) "tracks" the actual state trajectories and serves to force the nominal-model state trajectories to the actual state trajectories. Finally, if Wis chosen too small from the optimal weighting matrix, the resulting matrix Riccati equations are "stiff" and tend to diverge very quickly. This can be extremely useful in determining a good starting guess for the weighting matrix.