cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Protective effects of piperphentonamine hydrochloride on cerebral ischemia reperfusion injury by middle cerebral ischemic injury(MCAO) in rats

Objective To test the neuroprotective effect of piperphentonamine hydrochloride(PPTA) and investigate the potential underlying mechanisms in focal cerebral ischemia-reperfusion in rats.Methods Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into the sham group,the ischemia-reperfusion group,the PPTA treated group(2.5,5,and 10 mg/kg) and the edaravone treated group(6 mg/kg).Rats were subjected to 24 h of reperfusion following ischemia for 2 h induced by middle cerebral artery occlusion(MCAO).The different doses of PPTA were intravenously administered to rats 1 h after the onset of ischemia.The neurological behavioral test was performed 24 h after reperfusion by using the Zea-Longa scores.Infarction volumes were calculated by TTC-staining.The changes in water content,and the activity of SOD,GSH,NOS and the content of MDA and NO in brain tissue were measured.Results Compared with the ischemia-reperfusion group,the treatment with PPTA improved Zea-Longa scores,reduced infarction volume and brain water content.PPTA treatment also increased activities of SOD and GSH,decreased NOS activity,and reduced the levels of MDA and NO.The effect in high-dose group(10 mg/kg) was the most obvious in the present study.Conclusion This study suggests that the neuroprotective effects of PPTA are closely associated with inhibition of lipid peroxidation reaction and scavenging free radicals.
Targeting Mycobacterium tuberculosis Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha-Downregulating Genes for the Development of Antituberculous Vaccines

ABSTRACT Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF) plays a critical role in the control of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, in part by augmenting T cell responses through promoting macrophage phagolysosomal fusion (thereby optimizing CD4+ T cell immunity by enhancing antigen presentation) and apoptosis (a process that can lead to cross-priming of CD8+ T cells). M. tuberculosis can evade antituberculosis (anti-TB) immunity by inhibiting host cell TNF production via expression of specific mycobacterial components. We hypothesized that M. tuberculosis mutants with an increased capacity to induce host cell TNF production (TNF-enhancing mutants) and thus with enhanced immunogenicity can be useful for vaccine development. To identify mycobacterial genes that regulate host cell TNF production, we used a TNF reporter macrophage clone to screen an H37Rv M. tuberculosis cosmid library constructed in M. smegmatis. The screen has identified a set of TNF-downregulating mycobacterial genes that, when deleted in H37Rv, generate TNF-enhancing mutants. Analysis of mutants disrupted for a subset of TNF-downregulating genes, annotated to code for triacylglycerol synthases and fatty acyl-coenzyme A (acyl-CoA) synthetase, enzymes that concern lipid biosynthesis and metabolism, has revealed that these strains can promote macrophage phagolysosomal fusion and apoptosis better than wild-type (WT) bacilli. Immunization of mice with the TNF-enhancing M. tuberculosis mutants elicits CD4+ and CD8+ T cell responses that are superior to those engendered by WT H37Rv. The results suggest that TNF-upregulating M. tuberculosis genes can be targeted to enhance the immunogenicity of mycobacterial strains that can serve as the substrates for the development of novel anti-TB vaccines. IMPORTANCE One way to control tuberculosis (TB), which remains a major global public health burden, is by immunization with an effective vaccine. The efficacy of Mycobacterium bovis BCG, the only currently approved TB vaccine, is inconsistent. Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF) is a cytokine that plays an important role in controlling TB. M. tuberculosis, the causative agent of TB, can counter this TNF-based defense by decreasing host cell TNF production. This study identified M. tuberculosis genes that can mediate inhibition of TNF production by macrophage (an immune cell critical to the control of TB). We have knocked out a number of these genes to generate M. tuberculosis mutants that can enhance macrophage TNF production. Immunization with these mutants in mice triggered a T cell response stronger than that elicited by the parental bacillus. Since T cell immunity is pivotal in controlling M. tuberculosis, the TNF-enhancing mutants can be used to develop novel TB vaccines.
Ca2+/calmodulin regulation of putrescine uptake in cultured gastrointestinal epithelial cells.

Regulation of putrescine uptake in a small intestinal crypt cell line, IEC-6 cells, was examined. Uptake of [14C]putrescine was measured throughout a normal growth curve and was found to be inverse...
Tolerance and Efficacy with Simultaneous Use of Two Monoclonal Antibodies for a Patient with Hypereosinophilic Syndrome and Ulcerative Colitis

The development and utilization of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) have been of great interest in all fields of medicine. A substantial increase in the production and development of mAbs has occurred because these biologic agents are proving to be effective and less toxic given their targeted mechanism of action. However, data are limited on coadministration of two or more mAbs. With the increasing availability of mAbs and the comorbidities of some patients, assessment is needed of the ability to safely use multiple mAbs for an individual patient. Although the efficacy of coadministered mAbs may be inferred from their specific targets, we could find no literature reporting such a finding. Herein, we report our experience using two different classes of mAbs to treat hypereosinophilic syndrome and ulcerative colitis in a single patient.
Designing a Small Animal Imaging Center

Creation of an animal imaging center is rarely as simple as purchasing a system, placing it in a room somewhere, and turning people loose to use it. There are very few imaging devices that are appropriate to place on a laboratory bench top and use right out of the box without further integration, for example, a microscope. Most systems require training of users and a specialized environment for handling data and animals. Use of animals requires approval of physical spaces, imaging systems, and protocols by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC), radiation use requires approval from the Radiation Safety Officer (RSO), local institutional veterinary considerations may apply, and usually biosafety approval is required. There may also be other environmental health and safety (EHS) issues to consider, such as magnetic field safety and airflow requirements. The process of comprehensive planning and oversight is now commonplace to house, use, and experiment with animals (Stout et al. 2005; Klaunberg and Davis 2008).
Acoustic cues and linguistic experience as factors in regional dialect classification

Listeners are able to classify talkers by regional dialect of their native language when provided with even short speech samples. However, the way in which American English listeners use segmental and prosodic information to make such decisions is largely unknown. This study used a free classification task to assess native American English listeners' ability to group together talkers from six major dialect regions of American English. Listeners residing in Ohio and Texas were provided with a sentence-long (experiment 1) or paragraph-long (experiment 2) speech sample produced by talkers from each of the six regions presented in one of three conditions: unmodified, monotonized (i.e., flattened F0), and low-pass filtered (i.e., spectral information above 400 Hz removed). In both experiments, listeners in the unmodified and monotonized conditions made more accurate groupings, reflecting their reliance on segmental properties for classifying regional variation. Accuracy was highest for Northern and Western talkers (experiment 1) and Mid-Atlantic talkers (experiment 2). Listeners with experience with multiple dialects as a result of geographic mobility did not show increased accuracy, suggesting a complex relationship between linguistic experience and the perception of available acoustic cues to socioindexical variation.
Multi-scale analysis of barn owl nest box selection on Napa Valley vineyards

Abstract Barn owls ( Tyto alba ) have the potential to remove significant numbers of rodent pests in vineyards, which has prompted viticulturists in California to erect artificial nest boxes to attract owls. This study examined the habitat factors influencing barn owl nest box occupancy as well as farmers’ perceptions of barn owls in vineyards in Napa Valley, CA. Nest boxes of variable design and placement were distributed across 65 vineyards that varied in local and landscape habitat composition. We monitored 297 nest boxes in 2015 to develop an occupancy model. We evaluated the performance of the 2015 model by revisiting 150 boxes in 2016 and comparing observed occupancy to the predicted probability of occupancy for each nest box. Barn owls occupied approximately one third of the nest boxes we monitored each year. We used variance decomposition to address cross scale correlations among three nested spatial scales and to analyze the variation in nest box occupancy explained uniquely by predictors at each spatial scale. The home range and nest box scales were the most important spatial scales. At the home range scale, barn owls selected nest boxes surrounded by more hectares of grassland, riparian and mixed forest, and fewer hectares of oak scrub within 1 km of the box. Owls were more likely to occupy nest boxes if they were constructed of wood, facing north and positioned higher off the ground. The model developed in 2015 performed well in 2016, correctly classifying 81.3% of the boxes, and the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.86. In addition, we surveyed farmers to gauge their perceptions of the utility of barn owls as a component of an integrated pest management scheme in winegrape vineyards. The majority of farmers surveyed installed barn owl nest boxes for the perceived pest management services instead of the potential positive public appeal of improving barn owl habitat.
INTERACTIONS BETWEEN CLONIDINE AND A WITHDRAWAL-INDUCING BENZAZOCINE UPON THE ISOLATED MOUSE VAS DEFERENS AND GUINEA-PIG ILEUM

The interactions between clonidine, morphine, and the abstinence- producing benzazocine, UM-1046, were evaluated on the isolated mouse vas deferens and guinea-pig ileum preparations. In the vas deferens in the presence of UM-1046, the concentration-effect curves for both morphine and clonidine were shifted to the right without a change in the maximum response. In the guinea-pig ileum, only the curve for clonidine was shifted to the right and the maximum responses to both clonidine and morphine were reduced markedly. Naltrexone antagonized the effects of clonidine upon the vas deferens but not upon the ileum.
Molecular Structure of Muscle Filaments Determined by Electron Microscopy

Electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction have together played a key role in our understanding of the molecular structure and mechanism of contraction of muscle. This review highlights the role of electron microscopy, from early insights into thick and thin filament structure by negative staining, to studies of single myosin molecule structure, and finally to recent high-resolution structures by cryo-electron microscopy. Muscle filaments are designed for movement. Their labile structures thus present challenges to obtaining near-atomic detail, which are also discussed.
Integrated Cascaded Bragg Gratings for On-Chip Optical Delay Lines

We have demonstrated on-chip optical delay lines that consist of cascaded Bragg grating segments. Our results show that the band gap and the group index of cascaded gratings are very similar to that of a single grating segment, which means longer time delay can be achieved by cascading more grating segments. In our experiment, a maximum group index of 12.2 and a total time delay of 292 ps was achieved using a 7.2 mm-long delay line on Si chip.
Febrile Infant Hospitalizations: When Is the Right Time to Discharge?

Early in their training, pediatricians come to grips with a scary fact about young febrile infants <3 months of age: they can be sick without looking sick.1–3 Until the early 1990s, both well- and ill-appearing young febrile infants were managed conservatively, with the same cookbook strategy: hospitalization for 48 to 72 hours on empirical parenteral antibiotics as urine, blood, and spinal fluid cultures marinated.4,5 Pediatric house staff became proficient at spinal taps but also learned that most infants had cultures that tested negative. This “rule out sepsis” recipe clearly subjected many infants to the risks and costs of unnecessary hospitalization and treatment.6 At least 2 questions ensued: which infants could be spared hospitalization? And, if an infant was hospitalized, when could she or he be safely discharged? With regard to the first question, in 2012, the US Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality published a comprehensive review of the myriad of approaches to this conundrum,7 and most are familiar with the current state of affairs.8 First, pediatric trainees still learn the algorithms developed decades ago in Boston,9 Milwaukee,10 Philadelphia,11 and Rochester,12 which teased out a subpopulation of “low-risk” febrile infants who might safely be spared tests, antibiotics, and/or hospitalization. In other studies, authors supported intramuscular ceftriaxone and close follow-up as an alternative to hospitalization for selected infants 28 to 90 days of age.13 Second, despite changes in bacteriology, such as the virtual disappearance of Listeria and Haemophilus influenzae , and the impressive reduction in group B streptococcal and pneumococcal infections,14,15 the overall ball park rates of serious bacterial infection in young febrile infants remain stubbornly unchanged: 5% to 10% have a …
Twins Reared Together and Apart: What They Tell Us About Human Diversity

The exceedingly close resemblance attributed to twins has been the subject of many novels and plays, and most persons have felt a desire to know upon what basis of truth those works of fiction may rest. But twins have many other claims to attention, one of which will be discussed in the present memoir. It is, that their history affords means of distinguishing between the effects of tendencies received at birth, and of these that were imposed by the circumstances of their after lives; in other words, between the effects of nature and of nurture. (Galton, 1875, p. 4661)
Convergence properties of discrete analogs of orthogonal polynomials

If (,) is an inner product on [a, b], and if [,] N is a discrete inner product analogous to (,), and such that [1, 1] N =(1, 1), then, a sufficient condition that the discrete orthogonal polynomials converge to the corresponding continuous orthogonal polynomials likeN −p , is that [1,t k ] N =(1,t k )+O(N −p ),k=1, 2, ... A similar result holds for correspondingFourier segments.
Structural model of patient-centered communication and diabetes management in early emerging adults at the transfer to adult care.

Early emerging adulthood (ages 18–25) is a time of risk for type 1 diabetes (T1D) when relationships with parents and providers are changing. We examined whether individuals’ high-quality relationships with mothers are associated with greater perceptions of patient-centered communication (PCC) with their doctor and whether PCC is associated with better adherence and glycemic control through diabetes-related self-efficacy. Additionally, we tested whether associations of PCC with self-efficacy and diabetes outcomes are stronger among those who had transferred to adult care. One-year post-high school, 217 individuals with T1D (60% women, 53% in adult care) reported perceptions of maternal relationship quality, PCC, self-efficacy, and adherence. Glycemic control was measured via HbA1c assay kits. Structural equation modeling indicated good model fit and revealed indirect paths linking higher maternal relationship quality to better adherence through higher PCC, and higher PCC to better HbA1c through adherence. Transfer status moderated the link between PCC and self-efficacy, suggesting PCC may be especially important when emerging adults transfer to adult care.
Flowers v. Mississippi on Race in Jury Selection

This case is about the constitutional protections of an impartial jury recognized by the Bill of Rights, against the backdrop of the role of race in criminal justice. The process of jury selection in the United States has historically included the ability of opposing attorneys to remove a certain number of prospective jurors. The practice has often resulted in the exclusion of minorities, which the Court has recognized to be unconstitutional. The problem is identifying and enforcing a standard for the constitutional limits of the selection process in order to allow legitimate challenges to individual jurors but not racist exclusions of an entire group. Flowers reinforces a limit on the illegitimate consideration of race and clarifies the standard for a legal challenge to unconstitutional jury selection.
Parental Bias, Parent-Child Discussion, and Children’s Eyewitness Reports

Parent-child discussions can scaffold children’s memory development. However, few studies have investigated parent-child discussions when caregivers have been misled (biased) to fear their children experienced a negative event. This study investigated the effects of bias on parents’ reminiscing style and children’s report of a staged event. Three- to six-year-old children (N = 77) experienced a target play session with two experimenters during which nothing stressful happened. Parent-child dyads were then randomly assigned to one of three discussion groups: biased discussion, non-biased discussion, or irrelevant discussion. After the parent-child discussion, children were asked to report information regarding the play session. Results revealed significant associations among parental bias and parent-child conversational style. Parents in the biased condition engaged in significantly more suggestive techniques during their target conversations, but these differences did not lead to a significant increase in false information in children’s individual report for the event.
Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity in post-traumatic stress disorder and cocaine use disorder.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is often comorbid with cocaine use disorder (CUD), but little is known about hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis function in PTSD + CUD. Here we review t...
Land grabs and labor in Cambodia

Abstract Large-scale Land Acquisitions (LSLAs), often labeled “land grabs,” are long-term leases of land obtained by private companies. I merge data on the precise locations of 236 LSLAs in Cambodia established between 1996 and 2012 with newly geocoded data from the Cambodian Socio-Economic Surveys to estimate the effects of LSLAs on employment, household spending, and agricultural investment. I find that LSLAs cause a shift away from independent agricultural production towards employment in agricultural labor in adjacent regions. Additionally, I find that LSLAs result in a decline in household spending and little evidence that LSLAs result in local technology adoption.
Assessing residential socioeconomic factors associated with pollutant releases using EPA’s Toxic Release Inventory

There is a large body of literature showing that minorities and people living in low-income households live disproportionately close to polluting industrial facilities across the United States. However, only limited work of this nature has been conducted in Upstate New York. In this study, we utilized hierarchical clustering to create seven residential clusters from four Upstate New York counties; each cluster was then spatially linked to the locations of the polluting facilities and the quantity of pollutants released. The largest numbers of facilities and the highest quantities of releases were located in two clusters described as primarily working class. The lowest numbers of facilities were located in the two clusters representing neighborhoods that were the most economically deprived and the most wealthy and educated. These findings suggest that, in addition to race and class as predictors of community-level contamination, other metrics of socioeconomic status might help clarify the complex landscape of environmental inequity.
A Scoping Review of Perinatal Palliative Care: Allowing Parents to Be Parents.

OBJECTIVE -Perinatal palliative care (PPC) is an option for patients who discover that their infant has a life-limiting fetal condition, which decreases the burden of the condition using a multidisciplinary approach. STUDY DESIGN -This review discusses the landmark literature in the past two decades, which have seen significant growth and development in the concept of PPC. RESULTS -The literature describes the background, quality, and benefits of offering PPC, as well as the ethical principles that support its being offered in every discussion of fetal life-limiting diagnoses. CONCLUSIONS -PPC shares a similar risk profile to other options after life-limiting diagnosis, including satisfaction with choice of continuation of pregnancy. The present clinical opinion closes by noting common barriers to establishing PPC programs and offers a response to overcome each one. KEY POINTS · Perinatal palliative care serves patients who continue pregnancies with life-limiting fetal anomaly.. · Perinatal palliative care has a risk profile similar to other options such as termination.. · Health care providers can serve as champions to extend PPC to patients in their region..
Injection Locked Lasers as Surface Displacement Sensors

In an age where engineered materials are becoming common place in the competitive world market, the manufacturer using engineered materials can not afford to waste material in the manufacturing process. The quality control techniques must become real time and on-line to reduce material waste and to reject unacceptable components before complex processing is performed on them. Once the quality control techniques become real time and on-line, the techniques can be incorporated into a feedback loop. The feedback loop can then be used to monitor and adjust the relevant parameters during the manufacturing process to assure component compliance to the desired specifications. To help usher in the era of “smart” manufacturing processes, new reliable and non-contacting NDE systems must be developed.
Entrepreneur's Dilemma: Hotel Investments in Emerging Markets

Estimating the required rate of return for hotel properties is a daunting task because a lodging property is considered a hybrid between a real estate asset, and a revenue-generating enterprise affiliated with a hotel brand. Computing the expected rate of return for a hotel becomes even more complicated when a third party foreign investor/entrepreneur is the one performing the computation for an investment hotel in an emerging country. This clinical case illustrates the challenges surrounding the estimation of a project’s cost of equity in the multinational hotel industry. The results reveal that estimating cost of equity in emerging markets for hotel investments continues to be a conundrum. Future investors should make multiple adjustments and use several models when making their capital investment decisions.
Large Scale Applications of Superconductivity

Many large scale industrial applications of superconductivity have been proposed. These can be classified in various ways; for example, one could categorize applications in terms of the superconductors characteristic behavior, i.e., Type 1, Type 2, ac, dc, etc. Perhaps the most useful classification, however, is in terms of end use. Table 1 lists the major applications presently visualized as to end use, together with an estimate of the date such applications could make a significant commercial impact. There are, of course, many other possible industrial applications: instruments, computers, electron microscopes, etc. These applications will probably be significantly less important in terms of overall use and economic impact.
Seasonal reproduction in the mongoose, Herpestes auropunctatus. IV. Organ weight and hormone changes in the female.

Abstract The mongoose, Herpestes auropunctatus , shows a well-defined breeding season in Hawaii. In this study, females were live-trapped throughout the year and sacrificed within 48 hr to obtain information about reproductive organ weights and gonadotropin levels. Pregnant females were found from February through September and lactating females from March through October. Body weight did not change significantly throughout the year, but anterior pituitary, adrenal, ovarian, and uterine weights were significantly reduced during the nonbreeding season. LH and FSH levels were extremely variable among individuals and, although mean values were higher during the breeding than during the nonbreeding season, no significant differences could be demonstrated. After castration, there was not a clearcut rise in either LH or FSH, regardless of the season of the year, when animals were followed for up to 15 days. This contrasts with the male mongoose, where FSH rose significantly by 4 days after castration in either the breeding or nonbreeding season, while LH rose more slowly in the nonbreeding season but by 10 days after castration was significantly elevated and comparable to values in males castrated in the breeding season. We conclude that the female mongoose population shows less synchrony in changes in gonadotropin levels than the males, in spite of the well-defined breeding season.
Mycosis fungoides with CD20 expression: report of two cases and review of the literature

CD20 expression is exceedingly rare in T-cell lymphomas. Most published cases have been diagnosed as peripheral T-cell lymphomas, not otherwise specified. Only 18 cases of CD20-positive mycosis fungoides (MF) have been previously reported. Here, we describe two cases of CD20-positive MF. Patient 1 was an 84-year-old woman who presented with a 5-year history of multiple pruritic erythematous papules coalescing into thin plaques over 80% of her body surface area. She expired after developing tumors and large cell transformation. Patient 2 was a 67-year-old woman with a long-standing history of tumor stage MF with large cell transformation. She developed a nodular plaque while receiving topical and systemic therapy. In both cases, the neoplastic T-cells demonstrated a CD4-positive immunophenotype with loss of pan-T-cell markers and a monoclonal T-cell receptor gamma gene rearrangement. CD20 was expressed by a significant population of the neoplastic T-cells, but these T-cells lacked expression of other B-cell markers, including CD79a, CD19 and PAX5. This report adds to and summarizes the small body of literature describing CD20-positive MF, and discusses diagnostic and clinical implications.
Multivariable control and failure accommodation in eye-head-torso target tracking

A simple eye-head-torso target tracking system is employed to demonstrate how cooperative control and failure accommodation can be achieved using the multivariable regulator and H/sub 2/ control theory. The eye, head, and torso serve as three subsystems working cooperatively to track the target as closely as possible and then readjust their positions so that the three are aligned in the same direction. The control system also has the reconfiguration capability to accommodate the failure of one or two subsystems by switching to the control law that would provide optimal performance for the remaining healthy subsystems.
Stewardship versus Sovereignty? International Law and the Apportionment of Cyberspace

The 2012 Cyberdialogue Conference, hosted by the University of Toronto, asked the question 'What is Stewardship in Cyberspace'? This essay pursues that stewardship inquiry through the lens of international law. Existing debates on the nature of cyberspace have emphasized its suitability for governance by social norms, domestic law, or some combination of the two. Questions of international law — to the extent they are raised at all — have been limited to asking how (and how well) existing rules analogize to cyberspace. But international law also clearly has something to say about defining what kind of resource cyberspace is (or might become). International law has long divvied up the world’s resources into categories, with different forms of governance for different types of resources. These categories suggest that a stewardship approach to regulating cyberspace could work. But doing so requires a critical assumption: that cyberspace is a shared resource (or one where individual interests are so comingled as to defy separation). That vision of cyberspace is not, however, universally held. Some deny that cyberspace is “space” at all, or insist that its resources can be (and are better off) apportioned to individual States. In particular, any use of the “stewardship” label for cyberspace governance will generate opposition from those who prefer to label cyberspace as subject to governance based on sovereignty. A contest pitting stewardship against sovereignty is likely to forestall, if not derail, agreement on any particular governance structure for cyberspace. Such a fight is not, however, inevitable. International law does not limit governing frameworks to those accompanying stewardship or sovereignty, but offers a spectrum of ways to regulate resources. This paper undertakes a brief survey of these hybrid approaches and suggests that — instead of fighting over what we should call cyberspace — a discussion of what behaviour we want to encourage (or prohibit) is a more appropriate starting point for future conversations about cyberspace governance.
Impact of EU's Decisions on Euro-Skepticism of Two Turkish Nationalist and Religious Peripheral Parties

IMPACT OF EU'S DECISIONS ON EURO-SKEPTICISM OF TWO TURKISH NATIONALIST AND RELIGIOUS PERIPHERAL PARTIES By Imdat Ozen, Ph. D. A Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Virginia Comn~onwealth University. Virginia Commonwealth University, 2007 Major Director: Judyth L. Twigg, PhD Associate Professor and Interim Director L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs This study achieved a group of objectives such as measuring the impact of the EU's decisions on trust-based, nationalism-based, and religion-based Euro-skepticism, measuring the impact of the EU's decisions on overall Euro-skepticism, and searching and investigating the reasons behind Euro-skepticism in detail by conducting content analysis on statements of two Turkish nationalist and religious peripheral parties' elites. The study basically asked two important questions about Euro-skepticism and answered each question by testing four main hypotheses. The hypotheses were tested on two different parties, ,the Nationalist Action Party and the Felicity Party, and on two different events (on December 17,2004 and on October 03,2005). Since the study had 4 general hypotheses, the total hypothesis testing occurred 16 times. To be able to prove the hypotheses, the content analysis technique was used on the data that was collected from two newspapers: pro-MHP Ortadogu and pro-SP Milli Gazete. Each hypothesis was tested by using the two sample z-Test formula. The findings show that the two decisions by the EU did not have any impact on religion-based and trust-based Euro-skepticism. Only the first event had an impact on the nationalism-based Euro-skepticism of both political parties and overall Euro-skepticism of the MHP. The findings showed that 3 of the testing had a negative impact and 13 of them had no impact at all. No positive impact was found at the 0.05 level. Only one of them, trust-based, showed significance at the 0.10 level. The results showed that the decisions of the European Union either did not change the Euro-skepticism or if there was a change it was in a negative way. By the end of the second event, trust-based Euroskepticism of SP showed a decrease at the 0.10 level. The results of this study were associated with the social identity theory, with a group's status as a peripheral party, and the policy requirements of the EU regarding Turkey's sensitive issues.
Generalized Joint Inversion of Multimodal Data

This chapter discusses the methods of joint inversion of different geophysical data. The analysis begins with the methods of joint inversion based on functional relationships between different model parameters. In a case, where the model parameters are not correlated, but nevertheless have similar geometrical features, the joint inversion can be based on structure-coupled constraints. Note that, in practical applications, the empirical or statistical correlations between different physical properties may exist, but their specific form may be unknown. In addition, there could be both analytical and structural correlations between different attributes of the model parameters. In this situation one can use a method of joint inversion, which does not require a priori knowledge about specific empirical or statistical relationships between the different model parameters and/or their attributes. This approach to the joint inversion of multimodal geophysical data uses Gramian spaces of model parameters and Gramian constraints, computed as determinants of the corresponding Gram matrices of the multimodal model parameters and/or their attributes. We demonstrate that this approach is a generalized technique that can be applied to the simultaneous joint inversion of any number and combination of geophysical datasets.
Mesic decays of hypernuclei from K−-capture

422 K- and 13 ∑--capture stars emitting mesic hyperfragments (MHF) have been studied in an attempt to understand the mechanism of hyperfragment production. 123 K- stars emitting8Li fragments were also considered. Several criteria were used to separate K- captures in C, N, O and Ag, Br. Lower limits for the proportion of MHF produced in C, N, O are 57%, 73%, 84%, and 94% for HΛ, HeΛ, LiΛ and MHF of Z ≥ 4. For8Li, this lower limit is 75%. An overall frequency of (1.05±0.05)·10-2 MHF/K--capture and (3.8±1.4) · 10-2 HF/∑--capture is obtained. The energy spectrum of the pions emitted in the capture stars indicates that a substantial fraction of the emitted bound Λ’s originates in ∑-conversion processes. Indication of bound-Λ production from multinucleon K--capture processes was obtained, important in the case of HΛ. The momentum spectra for different hypernuclear species are very similar and the spectra of HeΛ and LiΛ are, in turn, comparable with the momentum spectra of He and8Li respectively. Hyperfragments are emitted preferentially opposite to the direction of emission of an associated pion or fast proton. The backwards-forward (B/F) ratio is for π, MHF events, 1.8±0.4. Two models for the production of hyperfragments are proposed. According to the first (« trapped-Λ ») the Λ created in the elementary process is trapped in the nuclear potential well of the parent nucleus. The HF is then emitted in the process of nuclear de-excitation. In the second model (« prompt-HF ») the HF is emitted promptly following the K- or ∑- interaction with a group of nucleons. It is concluded that both mechanisms may contribute. The occurrence of both processes can explain essentially all the salient features of hyperfragment emission.
Sclerostin distribution in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus and correlation with bone metabolism and bone mineral density

Background and objective Sclerostin is an inhibitor of the Wnt/beta-catenin bone metabolic pathway. Increased sclerostin levels and reduced bone mineral density (BMD) have been documented in adult patients with diabetes mellitus (DM), predominantly in those with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). No relative data exist on childhood type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). Our objective was to study plasma sclerostin in T1DM children and adolescents and controls and its correlations with metabolic bone markers and BMD. Subjects and methods This was a cross-sectional study that was conducted at an outpatient clinical center. Forty T1DM children and adolescents were evaluated (mean ± SD age: 13.04 ± 3.53 yr, T1DM duration: 5.15 ± 3.33 yr), along with 40 healthy matched controls (age 12.99 ± 3.3 yr). Sclerostin, soluble receptor activator of nuclear factor-kappaB ligand (s-RANKL), osteoprotegerin, osteocalcin, C-telopeptide crosslinks, electrolytes, parathyroid hormone (PTH), and total 25(OH)D were measured. Lumbar and subcranial total body BMD were evaluated with dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Results Sclerostin levels demonstrated a Gaussian distribution, with no significant difference between patients and controls (51.56 ± 12.05 vs. 50.98 ± 13.55 pmol/L, p = 0.84). Significantly lower values were found in girls and prepubertal children. Sclerostin values were significantly and gradually increased in children through pubertal Tanner stages 1–3, were reduced at stage 4 and increased again at pubertal stage 5. Sclerostin levels were positively correlated with logCTX (logarithm of C-terminal telopeptide crosslinks of type I collagen), logOsteocalcin (logarithm of Osteocalcin), magnesium, total body, and L1–L4 BMD z-score. Conclusions T1DM patients had similar levels of sclerostin with controls. Sclerostin correlated with bone resorption and formation markers and also with bone mass indices, gender, and pubertal stage. The decrease in sclerostin values observed in pubertal stage 4 adolescents coincides with the concurrent growth spurt, and is consistent with sclerostin physiology as an inhibiting signal.
A comparison of intravenous versus intraperitoneal chemotherapy for the initial treatment of ovarian cancer.

Abstract A phase III study was conducted comparing intraperitoneal (ip) versus intravenous (iv) cisplatin-based therapy for patients with newly diagnosed ovarian cancer to determine if the pharmacologic advantage of ip delivery could be translated into an improved response and survival rate. Twenty-nine patients were randomized to receive six cycles of ip cisplatin 200 mg/m 2 plus ip etoposide 350 mg/m 2 with iv thiosulfate protection given every 4 weeks; thirty-three patients were randomized to receive six cycles of iv cisplatin 100 mg/m 2 plus iv cyclophosphamide 600 mg/m 2 administered every 3 weeks. Patients were stratified by stage (IIC-IV) and size of residual disease (> or ⩽1 cm). The study was conducted in a community-wide setting. The complete response in evaluable patients was 48% in the ip group and 52% in the iv group. The surgical complete response rate for all patients on study, underestimated because not all patients in complete clinical remission had a second-took laparotomy, was 31% in the ip group and 33% in the iv group. There was no difference in the response rates between the treatment arms as a function of residual disease 1 cm. With a median follow-up of 46 months (range 21-70 months) there is no difference in response duration or survival. Both regimens were well tolerated with comparable hematologic and nonhematologic toxicity.
The Turning of the Tide: Theology, Religion, and Economics1

: Although capitalist free market economics is in crisis, its assumptions continue to shape not only how we do business or politics but also how we think and feel, and even what we believe. For theologians and scholars of religion this means that we can no longer do our work without taking into consideration what is happening in the economy and how it affects us; before religion can become part of the solution we need to understand how it has become part of the problem. This article investigates how economics has shaped religion and theology and develops alternative perspectives.
A generalized extraction-TLC procedure for indentification of drugs

A combination of liquid-liquid extraction and thin-layer chromatography permits rapid identification of a large variety of drugs in pharmaceutical or street dosage forms, or in biological materials. The system utilizes selective pH extraction combined with internal standards. Limits of sensitivity are in the submicrogram level. The procedure is rapid and requires minimal equipment and training of personnel. It can be supplied in toxicology involving both clinical and forensic demands.
Determination of Rain Rate from a Spaceborne Radar Using Measurements of Total Attenuation

Several experimental and theoretical studies have shown that path-integrated rain rates can be determined by means of a direct measurement of attenuation. For ground-based radars, this is done by measuring the backscattering cross section of a fixed target in the presence and absence of rain along the radar beam. A ratio of the two measurements yields a factor proportional to the attenuation from which the average rain rate can be deduced. In this paper, we extend the technique to spaceborne radars by choosing the ground as a reference target. The technique is also generalized so that both the average and range-profiled rain rates can be determined. The accuracies of the resulting estimates are evaluated for a narrow-beam radar located on a low earth-orbiting satellite.
A Note on Scheffès Method of Deriving Confidence Sets for Directions and Ratios of Normals

Scheffe (1970) introduced a method for deriving confidence sets for directions and ratios of normals. The procedure requires use o f an approximation and Scheffe provided evidence that the method performs well for cases in which the variances of the random deviates are known. This paper extends Scheffe's numerical integrations to the case o f unknown variances. Our resultsindi - cate that Scheffg 's method works well when variances are unknown
Biphasic regulation of myosin light chain phosphorylation by p21-activated kinase modulates intestinal smooth muscle contractility

Supraphysiological mechanical stretching in smooth muscle results in decreased contractile activity. However, the mechanism is unclear. Previous studies indicated that intestinal motility dysfunction after edema development is associated with increased smooth muscle stress and decreased myosin light chain (MLC) phosphorylation in vivo, providing an ideal model for studying mechanical stress-mediated decrease in smooth muscle contraction. Primary human intestinal smooth muscle cells (hISMCs) were subjected to either control cyclical stretch (CCS) or edema (increasing) cyclical stretch (ECS), mimicking the biophysical forces in non-edematous and edematous intestinal smooth muscle in vivo. ECS induced significant decreases in phosphorylation of MLC and MLC phosphatase targeting subunit (MYPT1) and a significant increase in p21-activated kinase (PAK) activity compared with CCS. PAK regulated MLC phosphorylation in an activity-dependent biphasic manner. PAK activation increased MLC and MYPT1 phosphorylation in CCS but decreased MLC and MYPT1 phosphorylation in hISMCs subjected to ECS. PAK inhibition had the opposite results. siRNA studies showed that PAK1 plays a critical role in regulating MLC phosphorylation in hISMCs. PAK1 enhanced MLC phosphorylation via phosphorylating MYPT1 on Thr-696, whereas PAK1 inhibited MLC phosphorylation via decreasing MYPT1 on both Thr-696 and Thr-853. Importantly, in vivo data indicated that PAK activity increased in edematous tissue, and inhibition of PAK in edematous intestine improved intestinal motility. We conclude that PAK1 positively regulates MLC phosphorylation in intestinal smooth muscle through increasing inhibitory phosphorylation of MYPT1 under physiologic conditions, whereas PAK1 negatively regulates MLC phosphorylation via inhibiting MYPT1 phosphorylation when PAK activity is increased under pathologic conditions.
Influence of Mulching Systems on Yield and Quality of Southern Highbush Blueberries

ABSTRACT The effects of four mulching systems (pine bark, black woven fabric, black plastic, white-over-black plastic) on plant growth yield and fruit quality of five southern highbush blueberry clones were studied. Plant growth and fruit yields of plants grown on pine bark or white-over-black plastic were not different and were significantly higher than growth and yield of plants grown on the black mulches. The mulching systems did not significantly affect berry weight, soluble solids, titratable acidity, soluble solids/acid ratio, an-thocyanins, skin firmness or subjective quality after three weeks of refrigerated storage. There were significant effects of clone on each of these parameters.
Computerized lie detection: Advancing the state of the art

Several questions addressing human versus computerized lie detection have been answered as a result of technological advances in the computer field. User friendly software has enabled the polygraph examiner to make necessary test adjustments in “real time” clinical environments. Many of the issues surrounding test procedures and chart evaluation are resolved incorporating this proven technology. Particularly significant is the conversion of physiological responses of a binary system to that of a digital recording, eliminating the subjective errors associated with manual chart measurements usually found with the inexperienced examiner. Online acquisition of data utilizing the ability to make corrections in recording artifacts, along with the capability to perform the final exam analysis in record time are two major examples of computer advantages in the truth verification field.
Exploring the Gulf of Kachh: Regional Economy and Trade in the Eighteenth Century

This paper explores the economic dynamics of the Gulf of Kachh littoral in the eighteenth century. First, the region's production and trade potential is foregrounded by examining the scale and scope of its major products—cotton and textiles—and by tracking the inland and overseas commercial networks. The politico-economic crisis in Gujarat and the ensuing relocation of merchants and manufacturers combined with the rise of the Omani commercial empire served as the context for the mid-century expansion in the commerce of the Gulf of Kachh. Second, the development of the Dutch commercial interaction with this region will be analyzed from the perspective of the Dutch East India Company's trade at Surat in connection with the growing English influence in the Arabian Sea. Cette contribution explore deux principaux aspects de la vitalite economique du littoral du Golfe de Cutch au dix-huitieme siecle. Premierement, le potentiel de production et de commerce de la region est souligne en examinant l'importance et l'eventail des produits principaux echanges, notamment des cotons et des tissus, et en suivant les reseaux d'echanges terrestres et maritimes La crise socio-economique qui frappe le Gujarat au debut de ce siecle et le deplacement des marchands et manufacturiers qui en decoule, mais egalement la montee de la puissance commerciale omanaise, permettent en effet l'essor commercial du Golfe de Cutch au milieu du siecle. Deuxiemement, le developpement de l'interaction commerciale entre cette region et la Compagnie neerlandaise des Indes orientales est releve. La presence de cette compagnie au Golfe est mise en perspective avec ses activites a Surat et l'influence anglaise grandissante en mer d'Arabie.
Decentralized control and estimation with overlapping information sets

The objective of this paper is to present a solution to the decentralized estimation and control problem for linear discrete time-varying systems, composed of overlapping sub-systems. The solution is based on the expansion-contraction framework of the Inclusion Principle. It is shown how decentralized estimation and control laws can be independently computed for the expanded system, and then contracted for implementation in the original system to satisfy the overlapping information structure constraint.