cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Do Identity Frames Impact Support for Multiracial Candidates? The Case of Kamala Harris

The number of multiracial candidates seeking office is growing in an increasingly diverse America. This raises questions about how the media frame candidates with potentially complex racial backgrounds and how voters respond to these frames. We investigate the impact of media frames that emphasize race and gender attributes using survey experiments on Kamala Harris---the first Black woman and first Asian woman vice president. Our findings are mixed. In a survey experiment conducted after her nomination, headlines emphasizing different elements of Harris's race or gender had no impact on public attitudes. In an experiment conducted after Harris was inaugurated, however, headlines that cued her gender only or both her gender and her Black racial background boosted popular support. Taken together, these findings suggest that some types of identity-based cues may matter, but the effects are sensitive to experimental settings and contexts.
Landscape- and local-level variables affect monarchs in Midwest grasslands

It is estimated that over one billion milkweed stems need to be restored to sustain the eastern North American migratory population of monarch butterflies; where and in what context the stems should be placed on the landscape is key to addressing habitat deficits. We assessed how the amount of appropriate habitat surrounding a particular patch of monarch habitat affects monarch presence and reproduction. To ensure that habitat restoration efforts are targeted towards areas that maximize monarch population growth, it is important to understand the effects of landscape heterogeneity on monarch occurrence in habitat patches (i.e. grasslands with milkweeds) across the landscape. Over two summers (2018–2019), we surveyed monarch adults, larvae, and eggs at sixty grassland sites in Wisconsin that varied in patch size and landscape context (proportion grassland, forest edge density, and road density). We also estimated milkweed density and floral richness to characterize local patch quality. Adult monarch abundance was highest at patches with the lowest proportion of surrounding grassland and lowest road density, and was heavily influenced by patch quality variables. Egg and larva density in a patch increased with milkweed density and floral richness within a patch. Patch size was unrelated to monarch abundance. These results suggest that optimal sites for monarch habitat restoration are within landscapes which contain little habitat and that high milkweed density and floral richness and abundance should be conservation goals.
No Place to Die: Neoliberalism, Anti-Idyll, and Social (Im)mobility in The Serpent King

Class and geography profoundly influence rural youth’s opportunities and aspirations for social mobility (Carr & Kefalas, 2009). Neoliberalism insists this mobility is achievable individually through education, though education is also often antithetical to the rural lifeworlds and communities of youth pursuing it (Corbett, 2007). These socioeconomic tensions are underscored by cultural assumptions that consider rurality to be deficient and dangerous (Theobauld & Wood, 2010). Jeff Zentner’s The Serpent King (2016) offers representations of the economic barriers and cultural pressures rural youth experience as they navigate the inequitable opportunities for their post-secondary lives. The analysis shows that although the novel suggests a model for rural youth to support one another, the solidarity does not address the actual structural causes of inequity. Although the novel misses opportunities to imagine militant particularisms among rural youth (Williams, 1989), attending to these oversights reveals possibilities for imagining action for change that benefits both rural youth and the communities in which they live.
Model Selection for Generic Contextual Bandits.

We consider the problem of model selection for the general stochastic contextual bandits under the realizability assumption. We propose a successive refinement based algorithm called Adaptive Contextual Bandit ({\ttfamily ACB}), that works in phases and successively eliminates model classes that are too simple to fit the given instance. We prove that this algorithm is adaptive, i.e., the regret rate order-wise matches that of {\ttfamily FALCON}, the state-of-art contextual bandit algorithm of Levi et. al '20, that needs knowledge of the true model class. The price of not knowing the correct model class is only an additive term contributing to the second order term in the regret bound. This cost possess the intuitive property that it becomes smaller as the model class becomes easier to identify, and vice-versa. We then show that a much simpler explore-then-commit (ETC) style algorithm also obtains a regret rate of matching that of {\ttfamily FALCON}, despite not knowing the true model class. However, the cost of model selection is higher in ETC as opposed to in {\ttfamily ACB}, as expected. Furthermore, {\ttfamily ACB} applied to the linear bandit setting with unknown sparsity, order-wise recovers the model selection guarantees previously established by algorithms tailored to the linear setting.
Erlang for Concurrent Programming: What role can programming languages play in dealing with concurrency? One answer can be found in Erlang, a language designed for concurrency from the ground up.

Erlang is a language developed to let mere mortals write, test, deploy, and debug fault-tolerant concurrent software. Developed at the Swedish telecom company Ericsson in the late 1980s, it started as a platform for developing soft realtime software for managing phone switches. It has since been open-sourced and ported to several common platforms, finding a natural fit not only in distributed Internet server applications, but also in graphical user interfaces and ordinary batch applications.
Principles of Kidney Pharmacotherapy for the Nephrologist: Core Curriculum 2021

Medications are an important part of the management of patients with kidney disease. When used appropriately, pharmacotherapy can slow disease progression and reduce morbidity and mortality. Unfortunately, reduced kidney function can significantly alter the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of many medications, putting patients at risk for drug toxicity if modifications to therapy are not appropriately managed. Adding complexity to the appropriateness of medication and dosage selection is the difficulty in estimating kidney function and the discordance between the Cockcroft-Gault-derived dosing cut points in most medication package inserts and the estimations of glomerular filtration rate by newer and generally more accurate guideline-recommended equations. This installment of the AJKD Core Curriculum in Nephrology provides recent updates and practical considerations for designing optimal medication regimens. Given the prevalence of abnormal kidney function and its importance in medication selection and dose adjustment, additional focus and specific recommendations are provided for anticoagulant, anti-infective, analgesic, antidiabetic, and antihypertensive agents.
SenseLens: An Efficient Social Signal Conditioning System for True Event Detection

This article narrows the gap between physical sensing systems that measure physical signals and social sensing systems that measure information signals by (i) defining a novel algorithm for extract...
Diglossia revisited: French and Creole in Haiti

(1983). Diglossia revisited: French and Creole in Haiti. WORD: Vol. 34, No. 3, pp. 189-213.
Stretch‐dependent sensitization of post‐junctional neural effectors in colonic muscles

Background The colon undergoes distension-induced changes in motor activity as luminal contents or feces increase wall pressure. Input from enteric motor neurons regulates this motility. Here we examined stretch-dependent responses in circular muscle strips of murine colon. Methods Length ramps (6–31μm s−1) were applied in the axis of the circular muscle layer in a controlled manner until 5 mN isometric force was reached. Key Results Length ramps produced transient membrane potential hyperpolarizations and attenuation of action potential (AP) complexes. Responses were reproducible when ramps were applied every 30 s. Stretch-dependent hyperpolarization was blocked by TTX, suggesting AP-dependent release of inhibitory neurotransmitter(s). Atropine did not potentiate stretch-induced hyperpolarizations, but increased compliance of the circular layer. Nω-nitro-l-arginine (l-NNA) inhibited stretch-dependent hyperpolarization and decreased muscle compliance, suggesting release of NO mediates stretch-dependent inhibition. Control membrane potential was restored by the NO donor sodium nitorprusside. Stretch-dependent hyperpolarizations were blocked by l-methionine, an inhibitor of stretch-dependent K+ (SDK) channels in colonic muscles. Loss of interstitial cells of Cajal, elicited by Kit neutralizing antibody, also inhibited responses to stretch. In presence of l-NNA and apamin, stretch responses became excitatory and were characterized by membrane depolarization and increased AP firing. A neurokinin-1 receptor antagonist inhibited this stretch-dependent increase in excitability. Conclusions and Inferences Our data show that stretch-dependent responses in colonic muscles require tonic firing of enteric inhibitory neurons, but reflex activation of neurons does not appear to be necessary. NO causes activation of SDK channels, and stretch of muscles further activates these channels, explaining the inhibitory response to stretch in colonic muscle strips.
Structure of turnip crinkle virus: III. Identification of a unique coat protein dimer☆

The minor structural protein (p80), found in about one copy per virion in turnip crinkle virus (TCV), is shown by amino acid analysis and peptide mapping to be a covalent dimer of the major coat protein (p40). The covalent linkage occurs near the N termini of the crosslinked chains. These data suggest that TGV and related viruses contain 178 copies of p40 (89 non-covalent dimers) and one copy of p80 (covalent dimer of two additional p40 chains). The presence of p80 in the salt-stable RNA-protein complex formed when TCV dissociates, as described in an accompanying paper, indicates that the covalent modification affects binding to RNA. We suggest that p80 might be the final dimer to be incorporated into the shell and that it might also be the site for initiation of uncoating.
α-Ketoglutaric Semialdehyde Dehydrogenase of Pseudomonas PROPERTIES OF THE PURIFIED ENZYME INDUCED BY HYDROXYPROLINE AND OF THE GLUCARATE-INDUCED AND CONSTITUTIVE ENZYMES

Abstract Hydroxyproline-induced α-ketoglutaric semialdehyde dehydrogenase has been purified from a pseudomonas strain and characterized with respect to substrate specificity and other properties. After a variety of growth conditions, pseudomonas extracts also contain a constitutive dehydrogenase, which differs from the induced enzyme in sedimentation and electrophoretic behavior. Although the constitutive enzyme resembles the induced form in many kinetic respects, it is relatively more active with glutaric semialdehyde as a substrate and is tentatively assigned a role in lysine metabolism. Growth on d-glucarate induces a dehydrogenase which, in all kinetic and physical respects examined, appears identical with that induced by growth on hydroxyproline.
Biodiversity resilience in the Central Indian Highlands is contingent on maintaining and recovering landscape connectivity: the tiger as a case study

Corridors (variably called landscape linkages, connectors, and gateways) are expanses of a landscape that facilitate the flow or movement of individuals, genes, and ecological processes. Protected areas with their buffer zones and the corridors that connect them are cornerstones of modern conservation actions to maintain the biodiversity we have and restore what we have lost. Policy and governance to guide the establishment and management of protected areas and supporting buffer zones is well established in the Central Indian Highlands. A policy and governance structure to create the context and enabling conditions for corridor maintenance, creation, and recovery is emerging but is constrained by the reigning land-management paradigm that separates conservation from development rather than mainstreaming species and habitat conservation into the rural development agenda. Well-nourished, healthy human populations and healthy ecosystems are inextricably linked. The worsening ecological conditions in the Central Indian Highlands can trigger the emergence of a common agenda for an inclusive, caring, and environment-friendly mode of development. The alternative is the business-as-usual scenario: a continuation of worsening ecological conditions. Entry points through the biodiversity, agriculture production, resource extraction, and economic/social sectors to enable integrated sustainable landscape management are identified. These include deepening what it means to successfully conserve a species combined with explicit threat analysis for at-risk tigers and the landscapes that supports them; landscape scenario modeling to advance communication by synthesizing diverse forms of research and articulating and evaluating alternative socio-economic futures; and the use of the smart green infrastructure process as an approach to development rather than only as a way to mitigate environmental damage. Models are presented to scale up from isolated conservation interventions to collective impact that unites supportive government partners with individuals, NGOs, and economic interests to achieve viable long-term relationships in human and natural systems to value, maintain, and recover landscape connectivity.
Noise-enhanced convolutional neural networks

Injecting carefully chosen noise can speed convergence in the backpropagation training of a convolutional neural network (CNN). The Noisy CNN algorithm speeds training on average because the backpropagation algorithm is a special case of the generalized expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm and because such carefully chosen noise always speeds up the EM algorithm on average. The CNN framework gives a practical way to learn and recognize images because backpropagation scales with training data. It has only linear time complexity in the number of training samples. The Noisy CNN algorithm finds a special separating hyperplane in the network's noise space. The hyperplane arises from the likelihood-based positivity condition that noise-boosts the EM algorithm. The hyperplane cuts through a uniform-noise hypercube or Gaussian ball in the noise space depending on the type of noise used. Noise chosen from above the hyperplane speeds training on average. Noise chosen from below slows it on average. The algorithm can inject noise anywhere in the multilayered network. Adding noise to the output neurons reduced the average per-iteration training-set cross entropy by 39% on a standard MNIST image test set of handwritten digits. It also reduced the average per-iteration training-set classification error by 47%. Adding noise to the hidden layers can also reduce these performance measures. The noise benefit is most pronounced for smaller data sets because the largest EM hill-climbing gains tend to occur in the first few iterations. This noise effect can assist random sampling from large data sets because it allows a smaller random sample to give the same or better performance than a noiseless sample gives.
Gene expression profiles that correlate with histologic grade in squamous cell carcinoma of the aerodigestive tract

Proc Amer Assoc Cancer Res, Volume 47, 2006 1839 Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is the most common cancer induced by tobacco use in the aerodigestive tract (head and neck region, tracheobronchial tree, and esophagus). A range of histologic differentiation exists in SCC, characterized as tumor grade, and is based on the recapitulation of the cellular stratification of squamous mucosa and the degree of keratinization, with higher grades correlating to more aggressive clinical behavior. As a first step to characterize the molecular basis of histologic grade in SCC, we performed gene expression profiling using Affymetrix U133A GeneChip on 87 cases of aerodigestive SCC. To access differential expression across grade we screened out genes not called significantly present in at least one class of grade. We next applied a non-parametric test (Kruskal-Wallis), with false discovery rate correction of 10%, to select genes with at least one significant difference across grade. This analysis resulted in 999 genes showing expression levels that were significantly correlated to differences in histologic grade in our cohort. Among these, we identified Sox4 (Sry-related HMG box 4), which is a transcription factor whose expression has been shown to correlate with malignant transformation in a variety of human tumors, including lung cancers, adenoid cystic carcinomas, and many others. Well differentiated (grade 1) SCCs express Sox4 at levels comparable to normal tissue, while higher grade cancers (2-4) progressively express higher levels of Sox4. We have confirmed this pattern in our cohort by quantitative RT-PCR. Rox1, the yeast homolog of Sox4 has been shown to down regulate the transcription of genes expressed in hypoxic conditions. From Sox4 RNAi knockdown data in a cell line system of a related head and neck tumor (adenoid cystic carcinoma), BNIP3, a pro-apoptotic factor, is up-regulated when Sox4 expression is decreased. Interestingly, BNIP3 is known to be up-regulated by HIF1a, a transcription factor whose activity is increased in hypoxic conditions and is known to be increased in SCC. We hypothesize that Sox4 over-expression in SCC may serve to counteract the transcriptional activation of BNIP3 by HIF1a. Our microarray data is supportive of this hypothesis. ![Figure][1] [1]: pending:yes
Treatment for Snoring: Combined Weight Loss, Sleeping on Side, and Nasal Spray

Objective We sought to find a combination of noninvasive treatments for snoring by adding weight loss to previously studied treatments, including the combination of sleeping on one's side and using a decongestant nasal spray. Study population Twenty asymptomatic men who snore heavily were studied previously on a control night and on a night when they slept on their side and used a nasal spray. With these two treatments, minor improvements in apnea/hypopnea index (AHI) were seen, but no improvement occurred in snoring frequency. Nineteen of these subjects subsequently completed a 6-month weight loss program, and 12 lost weight. These 19 subjects comprise the study population of this report. Study design At the conclusion of the weight loss program, a repeated sleep study was done from which the effect of adding weight loss to the two previously studied treatments could be assessed. Results Those 12 subjects who lost any amount of weight showed a very mild reduction in snores per hour from 328 using two modalities of treatment to 232 per hour with the addition of weight loss (p=0.15). The nine subjects who lost ≥3 kg reduced the number of snores per hour from 320 to 176 (p=0.0496). Three subjects losing an average of only 7.6 kg showed virtual elimination of snoring after weight loss. Subjects who gained weight had no improvement in snoring. Weight loss added to the other two modalities of treatment had no effect on the AHI. Conclusion In most cases, the combination of weight loss, sleeping on one's side, and the administration of a nasal decongestant significantly reduces the frequency of snoring in asymptomatic men who snore heavily. The major effect appears to be related to weight loss.
Relationship Between Intelligence and Occupational Adjustment and Functioning: A Literature Review.

This article reviews 50 years of research investigating the relationship between intelligence and various aspects of occupational and vocational adjustment as they relate to both exceptional and nonexceptional individuals. Trends in this research are identified and summarized, and implications for counselors involved in vocational programming are discussed.
Interference with nitric oxide production and action potentiates the antiseizure efficacy of flurazepam

The effect of inhibiting "downstream" consequences of NMDA receptor stimulation with 7-nitroindazole, an inhibitor of the neuronal form of nitric oxide synthase (NOS), and methylene blue, an inhibitor of the nitric oxide (NO)-sensitive soluble guanylyl cyclase, on electrically precipitated tonic hindlimb extension in mice was studied. Moreover, the abilities of these compounds to potentiate the antiseizure efficacy of flurazepam were also examined. When administered alone, 7-nitroindazole (10.0-100 mg/kg) and methylene blue (1.0-100 mg/kg) did not share the ability of MK-801 (0.1 to 1.0 mg/kg) to antagonize electrically precipitated tonic hindlimb extension. However, doses of MK-801 (0.18 mg/kg), 7-nitroindazole (100 mg/kg), and methylene blue (10.0 and 100 mg/kg) that were devoid of apparent antiseizure efficacy by themselves potentiated the ability of flurazepam to antagonize electrically precipitated seizures. NMDA receptor antagonists cause neuronal toxicity, interfere with acquisition of spatial memory and induction of long-term potentiation in the hippocampal CA1 region, and precipitate psychoses in susceptible individuals. Thus, the development of both open-channel blockers of the NMDA receptor complex that can be administered in lower doses, and inhibitors of the "downstream" consequences of NMDA receptor-gated transient elevations of intraneuronal calcium ions as potential adjunctive antiseizure medications should be considered. Moreover, administration of these compounds with benzodiazepines may attenuate some of the neurotoxicity that may result from NMDA receptor antagonism.
Impact of the 1993 revision of the AIDS case definition on the prevalence of AIDS in a clinical setting.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the impact of the 1993 revision of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) AIDS surveillance case definition on the prevalence of AIDS. DESIGN: Review of prospectively collected baseline clinical and demographic data on HIV-infected patients presenting for care between December 1988 and May 1991. SETTING: The HIV Clinic of the Johns Hopkins Hospital, an urban, primary care institution. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Diagnosis of AIDS by the 1987 (specific indicator diseases) or the 1993 (indicator diseases, pulmonary tuberculosis, recurrent bacterial pneumonia, cervical carcinoma, or CD4 lymphocyte count 200 x 10(6)/l. Median time to progression from a diagnosis of AIDS by the 1993 case definition to diagnosis by the 1987 case definition was 435 days. Patients with AIDS by the 1987 case definition had a median survival of 594 days from presentation (2-year survival, 42%), while median survival time for patients with AIDS by the 1993 case definition only was 947 days (2-year survival, 60%; P < 0.005). CONCLUSIONS: The proposed 1993 revision of the AIDS surveillance case definition would double the number of prevalent AIDS cases, with significant increases in the proportion of cases who are female, intravenous drug users, or asymptomatic. Survival of patients meeting the 1993 case definition is significantly longer than that of patients meeting the 1987 case definition. The new AIDS case definition will have a major impact both on AIDS surveillance and on medical and social service programs that use diagnosis of AIDS as a criterion for eligibility for services.
Conformation and dynamics in a Z-DNA tetramer

Abstract Two kinds of conformational variability have been reported for left-handed Z -DNA: the Z to Z ′ transition, which involves a change in guanine sugar pucker from C-3′- endo to C-1′- exo , and the Z I to Z II transition, which corresponds to a simple three-atom phosphate-group rotation. Neither of these motions substantially affects base stacking or helical twist, and this is because the degree of independent motion of phosphate groups, sugar molecules and base-pairs is greater in the left-handed Z helix than in right-handed B -DNA. Detailed considerations of Z helix geometry suggest that Z I , Z II and Z ′ are not separate species, but only samplings of the full range of conformation open to Z -DNA.
RESISTANCE PEAK AT THE SUPERCONDUCTING TRANSITION OF THIN FILMS OF TIN AND INDIUM.

Abstract A narrow resistance peak as a function of temperature and magnetic field has been found at the superconducting transition for thin films of tin and indium. The effect is greatest for film thicknesses near the coherence length.
Preantral Ovarian Follicles in Serum-Free Culture: Suppression of Apoptosis after Activation of the Cyclic Guanosine 3′,5′-Monophosphate Pathway and Stimulation of Growth and Differentiation by Follicle-Stimulating Hormone

Progression of preantral follicle development is essential to further follicle maturation and ovulation, but there are few models for studying the regulation of preantral follicle survival and growth. We have evaluated preantral follicle survival in vivo and in vitro, and have developed a serum-free rat follicle culture system that can be used to characterize the regulation of preantral follicle growth and differentiation. Analysis of ovarian cell DNA fragmentation during the first wave of follicle growth in the infantile rat indicated negligible apoptosis up to day 16 of age. However, a major increase in apoptosis was found by day 18, a time point associated with the appearance of large antral follicles. In situ analysis confirmed that apoptotic DNA fragments were limited to antral follicles. Culture of individual preantral follicles mechanically dissected from ovaries of 12- or 14-day-old rats in serum-free conditions led to major increases in follicle cell apoptosis, similar to that seen in cultures of antral and preovulatory follicles. In contrast to antral and preovulatory follicles, treatment of preantral follicles with gonadotropins or cAMP analogs did not prevent apoptosis. However, treatment with 8-bromo-cGMP or 10% serum suppressed apoptosis by 75% in cultured preantral follicles. In situ analysis identified granulosa cells as the cell type susceptible to apoptosis regulation. Taking advantage of the ability of the cGMP analog to suppress apoptosis, we evaluated the potential of FSH as a growth factor. In the absence of serum, FSH treatment for 48 h did not affect follicle size compared to controls; however, treatment with the cGMP analog together with FSH increased follicle diameter (13%; P < 0.01) and viable cells (2.4-fold; P < 0.01) compared to control values. Immunoblot analysis further indicated that the inhibin-alpha content of the cultured follicles was increased by treatment with the combination of FSH and 8-bromo-cGMP, demonstrating the induction of follicle cell differentiation during culture. Therefore, we demonstrated that activation of the cGMP pathway promotes the survival of cultured preantral follicles and that in the presence of alpha cGMP analog, FSH is a growth and differentiation factor for preantral follicles. The present serum-free follicle culture model system will be useful in further evaluation of the regulation of growth and differentiation of preantral follicles.
When to defer to majority testimony - and when not

How sensitive should you be to the testimony of others? You saw the car that caused an accident going through traffic lights on the red; or so you thought. Should you revise your belief on discovering that the majority of bystanders, equally well-equipped, equally well-positioned and equally impartial, reported that it went through on the green? Or take another case. You believe that intelligent design is the best explanation for the order of the living universe. Should you revise that belief on finding that most other people, or at least most who by your own lights are as intelligent, informed and impartial as yourself, believe that evolutionary theory offers the better account? Should you do this, in particular, if your own personal sense of where the evidence points like your own vivid memory of the car going through on the red remains firmly on the side of intelligent design? Assume, to take a third case, that there is a matter of fact about whether abortion is right or wrong. You believe that it is wrong, having a firm picture of it as an act on a par with murder. Should you revise that belief on discovering that among those whom you regard as equally intelligent, informed and impartial, most believe that abortion is not wrong, or at least not wrong in the way that murder is wrong? Should you do this, in particular, if your own personal sense of abortion remains unchanged; it still seems to you to be a grievous wrong? Should you put aside your own sense of things as mistaken, in the way you might put aside your imagined memory of the car going through on the red, and decide to go along with the majority view?
Sociobiology: Altruists together

Herbert Gintis applauds two books that powerfully enrich the dialogue on behavioural science.
The Experience of Addiction as Told by the Addicted: Incorporating Biological Understandings into Self-Story

How do the addicted view addiction against the framework of formal theories that attempt to explain the condition? In this empirical paper, we report on the lived experience of addiction based on 63 semi-structured, open-ended interviews with individuals in treatment for alcohol and nicotine abuse at five sites in Minnesota. Using qualitative analysis, we identified four themes that provide insights into understanding how people who are addicted view their addiction, with particular emphasis on the biological model. More than half of our sample articulated a biological understanding of addiction as a disease. Themes did not cluster by addictive substance used; however, biological understandings of addiction did cluster by treatment center. Biological understandings have the potential to become dominant narratives of addiction in the current era. Though the desire for a “unified theory” of addiction seems curiously seductive to scholars, it lacks utility. Conceptual “disarray” may actually reflect a more accurate representation of the illness as told by those who live with it. For practitioners in the field of addiction, we suggest the practice of narrative medicine with its ethic of negative capability as a useful approach for interpreting and relating to diverse experiences of disease and illness.
‘Brothers in arms’: how men with cancer experience a sense of comradeship through group intervention which combines physical activity with information relay

• The study investigated how a group intervention programme (13 sessions over 16 weeks), designed for men with cancer (n=17), affected their sense of well-being and had a positive impact on their ability to cope with the physical, psychological and social consequences of living with cancer. The close-knit relationships fostered between participants stimulated a sense of solidarity and commitment amongst them. • New thinking in relation to gender, group dynamics and social processes is presented, as are the implications for clinical nursing practice in cancer care. The experience from male orientated group intervention programmes shows that men with cancer have undiscovered strengths, whilst some wish to die ‘with their boots on’.
Laser-Induced Fluorescence and Mass Spectrometric Studies of the Cu + HCl Reaction over a Wide Temperature Range. Formation of HCuCl

The kinetics and products of the Cu + HCl reaction have been studied using high-temperature fast-flow reactors (HTFFR). The rate coefficient measurements were made using laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) of Cu atoms and yielded k(680−1500 K) = 1.2 × 10-10 exp(−7719 K/T) cm3 molecule-1 s-1. Product analysis was achieved by coupling a specially designed HTFFR to a chopped molecular beam quadrupole mass spectrometer. Those observations, which covered the approximately 1150−1500 K temperature range, showed formation of CuCl and the previously unknown species HCuCl. Confirmation of the latter assignment was made using DCl. Increasing pressure and decreasing temperature favor the HCuCl formation. These findings and this molecular structure are supported by ab initio calculations. These also indicate passage through a CuClH → HCuCl transition state as the rate-controlling step for formation of both products, in agreement with the observed pressure independence of the overall, Cu disappearance, rate coefficients.
Endoplasmic reticulum stress modulates the response of myelinating oligodendrocytes to the immune cytokine interferon-γ

I*nterferon-γ (IFN-γ) is believed to contribute to immune-mediated demyelinating disorders by targeting the myelin-producing oligodendrocyte, a cell known to be highly sensitive to the disruption of protein synthesis and to the perturbation of the secretory pathway. We found that apoptosis induced by IFN-γ in cultured rat oligodendrocytes was associated with endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. ER stress also accompanied oligodendrocyte apoptosis and hypomyelination in transgenic mice that inappropriately expressed IFN-γ in the central nervous system (CNS). Compared with a wild-type genetic background, the enforced expression of IFN-γ in mice that were heterozygous for a loss of function mutation in pancreatic ER kinase (PERK) dramatically reduced animal survival, promoted CNS hypomyelination, and enhanced oligodendrocyte loss. PERK encodes an ER stress–inducible kinase that phosphorylates eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2α and specifically maintains client protein homeostasis in the stressed ER. Therefore, the hypersensitivity of PERK+/− mice to IFN-γ implicates ER stress in demyelinating disorders that are induced by CNS inflammation.
Distribution and compositions of magmatic inclusions in the Mount Helen dome, Lassen Volcanic Center, California: Insights into magma chamber processes

Abstract Variations in spatial abundances, compositions, and textures of undercooled magmatic inclusions were determined in a glaciated Pleistocene lava dome (Mt. Helen; ~ 0.6 km3) at the Lassen volcanic center (LVC), southernmost Cascades. Spatial variations were determined by point-counting at 86 locations separated by ~ 100 m on the dome. Major and trace element compositions of host rocks and inclusions at 12 locations along the flow length of the dome were obtained. Important results include the following. (1) Inclusion abundances range from 3–19 vol.%, with the highest values generally located along the little eroded northwestern margin and flow front of the dome. (2) Host rock compositions are markedly uniform across the dome (65.4 +/− 0.4 wt.% SiO2) indicating that the degree of inclusion disaggregation was uniform, despite large spatial variations in inclusion abundances. (3) Inclusion sizes range from a maximum of ~ 1 m across to mm-sized crystal clots of phenocrysts plus adhering Ca-rich plagioclase microphenocrysts. (4) Inclusions have variable macroscopic textures indicating that partial undercooling both prior to and following entrapment in cooler dacitic host magma were important processes. (5) Inclusions are variably fractionated magmas with large variations in Ni (79–11 ppm) and Cr (87–7 ppm) contents that are lower than presumed mantle-derived melts. Furthermore, large ranges in incompatible trace elements indicate that inclusion compositions also reflect deep processes involving either melting of variable mantle source rocks or assimilation–fractional crystallization. (6) Inclusions are variably mixed magmas (56–61 wt.% SiO2) that contain up to 50% host dacitic magma. (7) Correlations between Ni and Cr contents in hosts and inclusions from individual outcrops indicate that the effect of inclusion disaggregation and magma mingling on host dacitic magma was local (e.g., These features are interpreted to reflect protracted recharge of diverse composition mafic magmas into the base of a shallow magma reservoir containing a lower layer of compositionally evolving hybrid mafic magma and an upper layer of rhyodacitic magma. Complex interactions among magmas in the upper and lower layers resulted in formation of mafic inclusions by both pre- and post-entrapment undercooling mechanisms, followed by buoyant rise and accumulation near the roof of the reservoir. The main stage of inclusion disaggregation probably occurred in the conduit during eruptive ascent and largely ceased upon surface eruption. We infer that endogenous growth concentrated inclusions along the margins and top of the dome as more inclusion-poor dacite was progressively tapped from deeper regions of the reservoir.
Tunneling Response and Mortality of the Western Subterranean Termite (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae) to Soil Treated with Termiticides

Western subterranean termites, Reticulitermes Hesperus Banks, did not tunnel in soil with particle sizes ranging from 0.84 to 2.36 mm. Instead, they tunneled at equal rates in soils with particle sizes ranging from 0.15 mm. The latter range of soils was treated with termiticides in the study. In continuous-exposure studies in which termites were placed on soil treated at ≥ 50 ppm with termiticide, bifenthrin, cypermethrin, or permethrin had the greatest activity. Soil treated with chlordane, permethrin ( 50 ppm permethrin. Fenvalerate (< 100 ppm) and isofenphos formulations were the least active treatments. In tunneling studies, termites did not tunnel into soil treated with formulations of bifenthrin or cypermethrin, even at the lowest concentration tested. No tunneling occurred in soil treated with formulated chlordane, chlorpyrifos, fenvalerate, isofenphos, or permethrin at concentrations ≥ 50 ppm. Mortality from the tunneling activities was greatest in tubes filled with soil treated with formulated bifenthrin and chlorpyrifos. Even though termites tunneled only in the untreated soilbelow the soiltreated with chlordane, chlorpyrifos, fenvalerate, isofenphos, or permethrin formulations at concentrations ≥50 ppm, mortality and sublethal effects were observed. Insecticide probably diffused from treated areas to untreated areas in concentrations high enough to produce kill or affect behavior.
On the Enduring Appeal of Least-Squares Fitting in Computational Coordinate Metrology

The vast majority of points collected with coordinate measuring machines are not used in isolation; rather, collections of these points are associated with geometric features through fitting routines. In manufacturing applications, there are two fundamental questions that persist about the efficacy of this fitting—first, do the points collected adequately represent the surface under inspection; and second, does the association of substitute (fitted) geometry with the points meet criteria consistent with the standardized geometric specification of the product. This paper addresses the second question for least-squares fitting both as a historical survey of past and current practices, and as a harbinger of the influence of new specification criteria under consideration for international standardization. It also touches upon a set of new issues posed by the international standardization on the first question as related to sampling and least-squares fitting.
Civil sphere, state, and citizenship: replying to Turner and the fear of enclavement1

Bryan Turner and I agree that universalism and inclusion are goals that should orient societies and democratic social theory alike, not only for moral reasons of justice but for reasons of empirica...
A randomized controlled trial comparing amoxicillin and azithromycin for the treatment of Chlamydia trachomatis in pregnancy.

Abstract Objective: Our goal was to compare the efficacy of azithromycin with that of amoxicillin for the treatment of Chlamydia trachomatis infection during pregnancy. Study Design: A randomized controlled trial of pregnant women with cervical C trachomatis infection receiving care at two inner-city, university-based prenatal clinics. Pregnant women were randomly assigned to receive either oral amoxicillin, 500 mg, three times daily for 7 days, or oral azithromycin, 1 g, in a single dose. Partners were referred for treatment. Tests of cure were scheduled 4 weeks after initiation of treatment. Statistical analysis was performed by using the Student t test and χ 2 analysis. Results: One hundred twenty-nine pregnant women were enrolled, and 110 (85%) completed the protocol. There was similar treatment efficacy between amoxicillin and azithromycin (58% vs 64%, respectively, P = .56). In the amoxicillin group 3 women (5.5%) were intolerant, compared with 6 (10.9%) in the azithromycin group ( P = .31). Conclusion: Amoxicillin and azithromycin are equally efficacious in the treatment of cervical C trachomatis during pregnancy. (Am J Obstet Gynecol 2001;184:1352-6.)
Dynamics of Langevin simulations

This paper reviews numerical simulations of quantum field theories based on stochastic quantization and the Langevin equation. The topics discussed include renormalization of finite step-size algorithms, Fourier acceleration, and the relation of the Langevin equation to hybrid stochastic algorithms and hybrid Monte Carlo
Production of electrostatically-charged biomolecules by induction charging of a liquid jet with Fourier transform infrared spectrometry detection

The Particle Beam LC/FT-IR interface has been modified so that the aerosol produced can be electrostatically charged by the induction charging (IC) technique. Manipulation of the beam of uniformly charged particles, by electrodynamics using potential arrays, in addition to physical alignment, enhances analyte transport efficiency. The emphasis of this work involves FT-IR analysis of biomolecules prepared from an electrostatic aerosol. With IC, and potential influence over the trajectories, collection of the desolvated biomolecule can be achieved without the high-energy impact associated with normal particle beam operation, an ideal situation for conformation studies in which structure is often affected by the harsh collision. In this work the globular proteins, (alpha) -Chymotrypsin, Papain, and the amino acid d,l- Tryptophan were electrostatically charged by the IC technique, and deposited onto IR- transparent substrates which produced films that were examined by FT-IR.
Electron microscope observations of impact crater debris amongst contaminating particulates on materials surfaces exposed in space in low-Earth orbit

Debris particles extracted from a small sampling region on the leading edge of the Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) spacecraft have been examined by analytical transmission electron microscopy and the elemental frequency observed by energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry and compared with upper atmosphere (Earth) particle elemental frequency and the average elemental compositions of interplanetary dust particles. A much broader elemental distribution was observed for the exposed spacecraft surface debris milieu. Numerous metal microfragment analyses, particularly aluminium and stainless steel, were compared with scanning electron microscope observations of impact crater features, and the corresponding elemental spectra on selected LDEF aluminium tray clamps and stainless steel bolts. The compositions and melt features for these impact craters and ejecta have been shown to be consistent with microcrystalline debris fragments in the case of aluminium, and these observations suggest an ever changing debris milieu on exposed surfaces for space craft and space system materials.
Fungal gall caused by a new species of Ledomyia (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) on Xylaria enterogena (Ascomycetes: Xylariaceae)

Galls on the stromal surface of Xylaria enterogena (Mont.) Fr., collected in Venezuela, are caused by a new species of cecidomyiid, Ledomyia collarata Gagne, which is described here. The gall extends the record of fungus/insect interactions; it is the first fungus-composed gall known to enclose and house an insect completely on an ascomycete. The last instar bears a noteworthy prothoracic collar that, with the sternal spatula, forms an almost continuous ring around the head capsule. The gall is constructed entirely of fungal tissue, with an exposed wall composed of three layers; a thick carbonaceous layer is the most distinctive.
Minimally Invasive Esophagectomy for Esophageal Cancer: Evolution and Review

Esophageal cancer remains one of the most deadly cancers with a low overall 5-year survival rate of 17%. Surgical options for esophageal cancer are varied, and debate exists on the best option. The literature was searched for articles discussing minimally invasive esophagectomy (MIE) compared with open esophagectomy (OE), and articles were chosen at the discretion of the authors. Several studies have shown that MIE has a statistically significant rate of decreased blood loss, increased length of operative time, shorter hospital stay, and overall decreased morbidity. Anastomotic leak, stricture rate, and survival benefit have also been demonstrated to be similar between OE and MIE. As is made apparent by the small amount of literature on MIE, further research must be done to determine outcomes. Although it is likely that MIE does offer benefits when compared with open surgery, it has not been shown in any large-scale comparative studies.
Pelvic and scrotal trauma: CT and triage of patients

Traumatic dislocation of the testicles was first reported during crush injury but is now more commonly related to motor vehicle accidents. Approximately 55 cases had been reported by 2003. Virtually no papers discuss the role of CT in the rapid diagnosis of penoscrotal trauma, although most polytrauma or “pelvic trauma” patients are rapidly evaluated by CT in the emergency room setting. As more patients with pelvic trauma are triaged and evaluated using CT scanners with greater multidetector capability, more patients will be seen with testicular injury. It is important for the emergency physicians, radiologists, and traumatologists not to overlook unsuspected cases of penoscrotal injury which are typically initially evaluated by history, physical exam, and ultrasound. We describe a recent case of initial diagnosis of bilateral testicular dislocation from blunt trauma using modern multidetector CT imaging technique.
Suppression of polyphenol oxidases increases stress tolerance in tomato

Polyphenol oxidases (PPOs) have been proposed to function in the Mehler reaction, photoreduction of molecular oxygen by PSI [Physiol. Plant.72 (1988) 659]. Under drought stress where photosynthesis is reduced, the Mehler reaction may provide a nondestructive sink for absorbed light energy not used in photochemistry [Plant Physiol. 112 (1996) 265]. If so, water-stressed plants with suppressed PPO are expected to exhibit photooxidative damage and plants with elevated PPO may show increased stress tolerance. However, in experiments examining drought response of tomato plants with different levels of PPO expression, we report more favorable water relations and decreased photoinhibition in transgenic plants with suppressed PPO (SP plants) compared to nontransformed controls (NT plants) and transgenic plants overexpressing PPO (OP plants). In addition, chlorophyll content is higher in water-stressed SP plants compared to NT and OP plants indicating lower photooxidative stress in SP plants. These results suggest that PPO may have a role in the development of plant water stress and potential for photoinhibition and photooxidative damage that may be unrelated to any effects on the Mehler reaction. As a preliminary attempt to understand the role PPO may play in potentiating stress-induced damage, we examined the expression of PPOs during these experiments. Among the seven-member PPO gene family, we found that in response to water stress, two members, PPO B and D, are transcriptionally upregulated in abscission zones of leaf petioles. In addition, PPO B is induced in leaf veins throughout foliar development and in stem vascular tissues, cortical and pith cells. Similarly, tissue printing of stem tissues following drought stress showed increased immunoreactive PPO in vascular tissues, cortical and pith cells of NT and OP plants. Foliar PPO activity of NT plants also increased throughout development in response to water stress. The physiological role(s) of drought-induced PPO activity remains to be determined. © 2004 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.