cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Premature menopause in XO/XX/XXX/XXXXX mosaicism

Abstract A patient with presumed XOIXX/XXX/XXXXX mosaicism presented at the age of 17 with symptoms of the menopause. Increased urinary gonadotropin titers, decreased urinary estrogen levels, and lack of ovarian follicles on histologic examination confirmed the state of ovarian insufficiency. It is suggested that chromosome studies should be carried out in patients with premature menopause so that the role of sex chromosomal abnormalities in the pathogenesis of this entity may be properly delineated.
Multifactor Index Variance: The Case of the SPX 2000 to 2010

Recent work in volatility modeling and options pricing has suggested that index variance may be best described by multifactor models. We utilize Independent Component Analysis to produce independent factors from the SPX sector ETF returns from 2000 to 2010. We find that the independent factors are quite different from the factors produced with Principal Components. After fitting asymmetric GARCH models to each of the factors and applying the sector weightings of the SPX we show that, on average, SPX variance is best modeled with two factors. In addition, we also find that the secondary factor of SPX variance has switched from being technology based to being financial in nature. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Jrl Fut Mark 33:158–182, 2013
On the Perfect Graph Theorem

Publisher Summary This chapter provides an overview of perfect graph theorem. A version of the perfect graph theorem says, “Let A be a (0, l)-matrix such that the linear program yA w, y 0, min 1. y (where 1 = (1,. . . , 1)) always has an integer solution vector y whenever w is a (0, 1)-vector, then this program always has an integer solution vector y whenever w is a non-negative integer vector. The chapter discusses some well-known integer-valued functions of an arbitrary graph. Another perfect graph theorem says that if G is γ-perfect (or π-perfect), then G is perfect. A stronger form, one that is still open, asserts that G is perfect if and only if neither G nor its complement G contains an odd hole. The pluperfect graph theorem is that if G is γ-pluperfect (or π-pluperfect), then G is pluperfect. Thus, to prove the perfect graph theorem, it would suffice to show that if G is π-perfect, then G is also π-pluperfect.
Resisting Essentialism in Feminist Therapy Theory

Abstract This article identifies essentialist tendencies in contemporary feminist therapy theory. It is argued that an epistemological shift that moves us away from totalizing categories and toward greater reflexivity is needed. The author provides an outline of this epistemological shift by addressing two main questions: (1) In what ways do some of our feminist criticisms of mainstream psychology inadvertently succumb to unhelpful positivist assumptions? (2) What kind of paradigm change is needed in order to eliminate unhelpful vestiges of essentialism in feminist therapy theory?
Lipid Mediators: Leukotrienes, Prostanoids and Other Lipids

1 Arachidonate Metabolites 2 Other Lipids with a Known or Possible Signaling Role Keywords: lipid mediators, leukotrienes, prostanoids and other lipids; arachidonate metabolites and major pathways of arachidonate metabolism; leukotriene biosynthesis; dihydroxyeicosatetraenoic acids; leukotriene effects and 12-HPETE metabolite; monohydroxyeicosatetraenoic acids; cyclooxygenase pathway; lipid metabolites resembling eicosanoids
Chapter 3 Ethnographic workplace studies and CSCW

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses s ethnographic workplace studies and computer-supported cooperative work. A community of practice (COP) approach allows focusing on the way work is accomplished as a collaborative enterprise. The communities of practice are naturally occurring groups that arise more or less spontaneously around a particular task, technology, or enterprise. COPs are ubiquitous and every person is a member of multiple communities, at work and elsewhere, dipping in and out of them as the situation requires. COP members may be co-located in face-to-face interaction, or they may work together remotely through a variety of communication technologies. A COP view of the work environment implies some shifts in the ways work practices are usually looked at. It means that attention is paid to the ways in which knowledge and meaning are constructed and distributed in particular work situations. A distinguishing feature of ethnographic work is that it is concerned with understanding what the world looks like from the point of view of participants. The distinction between emic and etic data is useful because much of work practice studies among management consultants is based on a purely etic framework that assumes certain structures and relationships without understanding what the work looks like from the point of view of participants.
Survival Guide Advice and the Spirit of Academic Entrepreneurship: Why Graduate Students Will Never Just Take Your Word for It

This essay examines the largely unexamined nature of academic advice, or what I will call mainstream graduate student “advice-knowledge.” For all the advice offered up to graduate students in blogs, books, and brown bag workshops about navigating the increasingly unlikely transition from graduate school to full-time, non-contingent academic positions, few have scrutinized the nature and function of this advice. Taking a theoretical perspective informed by the later works of Michel Foucault and more recent critiques of neoliberalism and contemporary US employment culture, this article explores how advice-knowledge constructs, constrains, narrows, and normalizes the way graduate students think of themselves as individuals constantly in need of introspective work on themselves in order remain, if not employed, then at least employable.
Thermophilic Anaerobic Biodegradation of [14C]Lignin, [14C]Cellulose, and [14C]Lignocellulose Preparations

Thermophilic (55 degrees C) anaerobic enrichment cultures were incubated with [C-lignin]lignocellulose, [C-polysaccharide]lignocellulose, and kraft [C]lignin prepared from slash pine, Pinus elliottii, and C-labeled preparations of synthetic lignin and purified cellulose. Significant but low percentages (2 to 4%) of synthetic and natural pine lignin were recovered as labeled methane and carbon dioxide during 60-day incubations, whereas much greater percentages (13 to 23%) of kraft lignin were recovered as gaseous end products. Percentages of label recovered from lignin-labeled substrates as dissolved degradation products were approximately equal to percentages recovered as gaseous end products. High-pressure liquid chromatographic analyses of CuO oxidation products of sound and degraded pine lignin indicated that no substantial chemical modifications of the remaining lignin polymer, such as demethoxylation and dearomatization, occurred during biodegradation. The polysaccharide components of pine lignocellulose and purified cellulose were relatively rapidly mineralized to methane and carbon dioxide; 31 to 37% of the pine polysaccharides and 56 to 63% of the purified cellulose were recovered as labeled gaseous end products. An additional 10 to 20% of the polysaccharide substrates was recovered as dissolved degradation products. Overall, these results indicate that elevated temperatures can greatly enhance rates of anaerobic degradation of lignin and lignified substrates to methane and low-molecular-weight aromatic compounds.
Treatment of acne keloidalis nuchae with carbon dioxide laser

The chronic stage of acne keloidalis nuchae is characterized by symptomatic keloidal papules and plaques on the occipital scalp and posterior neck. We describe our results with the use of the carbon dioxide laser in eight patients with treatment-refractory acne keloidalis nuchae.
Vascular smooth muscle-derived tissue factor is critical for arterial thrombosis after ferric chloride-induced injury

Tissue factor (TF) initiates coagulation, regulates hemostasis, and plays a critical role in mediating arterial thrombosis. TF is up-regulated in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) in atherosclerosis and arterial injury. To examine the biologic role of VSMC-derived TF, we crossed TFflox/flox mice with SM22αCre+/− mice. TF mRNA and activity were decreased in the aortic media of TF-deficient mice by 96% and 94.8%, respectively. There were no differences in TF activity measured in plasma or concentrated microparticles. TF-deficient mice were generated with the expected frequency, showed no evidence of bleeding or increased mortality, and had similar activated partial thromboplastin and tail vein bleeding times. Thrombus-mediated flow reduction in response to ferric chloride injury of the carotid arteries was significantly attenuated in VSMC-specific TF-deficient. Stable occlusion was seen in 11 of 12 wild-type mice, but in only 6 of 16 VSMC-specific TF-deficient mice (P = .001). These data suggest that VSMC-derived TF is critical in a macrovascular model of arterial thrombosis. This mouse model should be valuable in determining the contribution of VSMC-derived TF in other TF-mediated phenomena, such as restenosis.
Control of complex conation and emotion in the neocortex by the limbic entorhinal, subicular, and cingulate cortices and the hypothalamus, mammillary body, and thalamus.

The neocortex appears to contain columnar neuron populations that function as unitary information structures. The interactions between these structures, and the sensorimotor relationships they process, are regulated by subcortical regions. The reticular formation, hypothalamus, thalamus and basal ganglia have been proposed as a hierarchical control system that regulates the processing carried out by hierarchies of the cortical information structures in basic behavioral states. The regulation is carried out by means of operations on conative information components that circulate through the subcortical-neocortical system. It is proposed that in complex behavioral states, composite modalities of conative information are formed. These are processed in a complex-state system that involves parts of the limbic lobe and related nuclei: the entorhinal cortex, subiculum, mammillary body, thalamus, and posterior and anterior cingulate cortices. This system can accommodate new modalities of conation, including those...
Improving diagnostic performance: some unrecognized obstacles

The growing interest and activity focused on improving diagnostic performance is a needed and welcomed change to which the new journal, Diagnosis, nicely attests. While the importance of raising aware- ness and building the evidence-base needs to be under- scored, these efforts by themselves do not translate directly into improvements for patients. The complex and multifaceted nature of diagnostic work is becom- ing better understood, yet many of the obstacles seem to operate beneath the surface where the press of daily practice allows many of the untoward issues to be tac- itly ignored. The purpose of the paper is to shine a light on some of these less reco gnized issues or obstacles. Among the issues addressed is whether use of the error term as in diagnostic error or medical error is serving us well in gaining of better understanding of diagnos- tic work, the lack of sensible feedback mechanisms that deny diagnosticians and their organizations the opportunity to learn something about their diagnostic performances, the double-edge nature of feedback, the obstacle of frame blindness, and the need for innova- tive empirical testing of promising ideas for improving diagnostic performance such as taking advantage of diagnostic simulation techniques that are inexpensive to generate and do not put patients at risk.
Goldmann applanation tonometry compared with corneal-compensated intraocular pressure in the evaluation of primary open-angle Glaucoma

To better understand the role of corneal properties and intraocular pressure (IOP) in the evaluation of primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG); and to determine the feasibility of identifying glaucomatous optic neuropathy (GON) using IOP corrected and uncorrected for corneal biomechanics. Records from 1,875 eyes of consecutively evaluated new patients were reviewed. Eyes were excluded if central corneal thickness (CCT) or Ocular Response Analyzer (ORA) measurements were unavailable. Presence or absence of GON was determined based on morphology of the optic disc, rim and retinal nerve fiber layer at the time of clinical examination, fundus photography and Heidelberg Retinal Tomography. Goldmann-applanation tonometry (GAT) in the untreated state was recorded and Goldmann-correlated (IOPg) and corneal-compensated IOP (IOPcc) were obtained using the ORA. Glaucomatous eyes were classified as normal or high-tension (NTG, HTG) using the conventional cutoff of 21 mm Hg. One eligible eye was randomly selected from each patient for inclusion. A total of 357 normal, 155 HTG and 102 NTG eyes were included. Among NTG eyes, IOPcc was greater than GAT (19.8 and 14.4 mm Hg; p < 0.001) and the difference between IOPcc and GAT was greatest for this subgroup of patients with NTG (p ≤ 0.01). The maximum combined sensitivity and specificity for detection of GON occurred at 20.9 mm Hg for GAT (59%, 90%) and 18.4 mm Hg for IOPcc (85%, 85%) and the area under the curve was greater for IOPcc (0.93 vs. 0.78; p < 0.001). IOPcc may account for measurement error induced by corneal biomechanics. Compared to GAT, IOPcc may be a superior test in the evaluation of glaucoma but is unlikely to represent an effective diagnostic test.
The affinity of trichomes of blue-green algae for calcium lons

Cells of Plectonema boryanum and Anabaena flos-aquae obtained from large scale (to 15L) cultures were used to examine the cation exchange properties of killed algal cells. Since Microcoleus lyngbyaceus, one of the most abundant species in our collections from marshes, could not be obtained in large-scale liquid cultures, it was collected in algal mats from tide-marsh pannes and separated from other algae, etc. by a combination of screening, air elutriation and density-gradient centrifugation. Characterization of the exchange properties of such preparations was pursued using 45Ca for exchange measurements and Cd-EDTA or Cd-EGTA as indicators with the Cd-specific ion electrode for electrometric titration for total Ca++ and Mg++, or Ca++, respectively. Algal cell preparations exhibited a capacity to exchange Ca++ readily with ambient aqueous solutions. K+ and Na+ could displace a substantial proportion of the Ca++ at concentrations about 100-fold greater than that of the ambient Ca++. Mg++ was about 10 times as effective as the monovalent cations in displacing Ca++. Cell walls isolated from rhizomes of Spartina alterniflora exhibited only about 1/10 the affinity for Ca++ as that found for the blue-green algal preparations. The intrinsic association constant and the total capacity for cation exchange indicated that in solutions of 2×10−4M about 50% of the exchange sites are occupied. The ligand for Ca++ could be extracted in part by dilute acid, but not by Triton X-100 or by EDTA, even in the presence of Triton X-100. The extracted material appeared to be a polysaccharide. Both the sheaths of M. lyngbyaceus by themselves and cells from which they were separated exhibited Ca-exchange properties.
Galactose treatment in focal segmental glomerulosclerosis

in their native kidneys and in renal transplants [2, 3]. Preliminary data from the FONT trial (NCT00814255) suggest that some patients treated with oral galactose achieve a significant reduction in proteinuria in parallel with a decline in Palb during 24 weeks of therapy (unpublished observations). In light of these findings, novel biomarkers may be needed to identify patient subgroups who are likely to respond to galactose treatment and a longer period of therapy may be required to fully realize the benefit of therapy. Agents such as rituximab, with response rates of approximately 20 % in pilot studies of steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome are still under active investigation. Since galactose is non-toxic and since other proven therapeutic options are limited, it may be premature to abandon investigation of galactose and other agents that may inhibit the activity of circulating permeability factors. Additional trials in larger samples of well-characterized patients are warranted and prolonged therapy may show that galactose will reduce proteinuria in at least some patients.
The interplay between transcription factors and microRNAs in genome-scale regulatory networks.

Metazoan genomes contain thousands of protein-coding and non-coding RNA genes, most of which are differentially expressed, i.e., at different locations, at different times during development, or in response to environmental signals. Differential gene expression is achieved through complex regulatory networks that are controlled in part by two types of trans-regulators: transcription factors (TFs) and microRNAs (miRNAs). TFs bind to cis-regulatory DNA elements that are often located in or near their target genes, while miRNAs hybridize to cis-regulatory RNA elements mostly located in the 3′ untranslated region of their target mRNAs. Here, we describe how these trans-regulators interact with each other in the context of gene regulatory networks to coordinate gene expression at the genome-scale level, and discuss future challenges of integrating these networks with other types of functional networks.
Convergent synthesis of (+)-aspergillide B via a highly diastereoselective oxocarbenium allylation

The synthesis of (+)-aspergillide B is described by means of a highly diastereoselective oxocarbenium allylation followed by a cross-metathesis and final Yamaguchi macrolactonization.
A cross‐disciplinary literature review: Examining trust on virtual teams

Effective and efficient teams communicate, collaborate, and perform, even if these teams are not co-located. Although much is known about enabling effectiveness on face-to-face teams, considerably less is known about similarly enabling effectiveness on virtual teams. Yet the use of virtual teams is common and will likely become more commonplace as organizations continue to update and use increasingly sophisticated technology. Cohort and individual trust between team members is a significant component on most effective teams, virtual or face-to-face. This paper examines research on virtual teams and trust across disciplines, including management, e-learning, business communication, decision making, human resource management, psychology, and IT, to identify major characteristics that increase our knowledge of how to establish and maintain trust in the virtual environment and on virtual teams.
INTRODUCTION: RECONSTRUCTING PHILOSOPHY IN EASTERN EUROPE

L'A. s'interroge sur la reception en Occident des philosophes d'Europe de l'Est, dont il donne les orientations generales, et montre que l'on ne pourra s'interesser vraiment a leurs recherches qu'une fois debarrasse des prejuges issus de la guerre froide
Accumulation of fluorine in CF4 plasma-treated AlGaN∕GaN heterostructure interface: An experimental investigation

The impact of CF4 plasma treatment on the transport properties of the two dimensional electron gas (2DEG) in AlGaN∕GaN heterostrustures has been studied. Systematic Hall measurements of the plasma-treated samples show a large degradation in mobility and sheet concentration, which can be partially recovered with short-duration rapid thermal annealing. Further annealing progressively degrades both mobility and sheet concentration. Secondary ion mass spectrometry of the heterostructure reveals accumulation of fluorine at the AlGaN∕GaN interface close to the 2DEG channel as a result of annealing. Following our systematic electrical and analytical studies of the behavior of fluorine incorporated into the heterostructure epilayer due to bombardment, a vacancy-mediated postannealing redistribution of fluorine has been proposed.
American Literary Histories

Almost a quarter century ago, Cleanth Brooks told a British audience that during two years in Great Britain, "reading the reviews of books by Americans and on America," he had been "amused and almost as often shocked to see what kind of picture of America emerges. " The American teacher of British undergraduates may still be amused and shocked, as I was last year by an honours class willing to accept a wealthy grotesque in Joan Didion's A Book of Common Prayer as representing the "typical" American middle-class woman. Yet an American reader of these four British-edited collections of essays can only be impressed by the extent to which caricature of Americans and misrepresentation of American literature, if indeed they were common, have given way among British critics to easy familiarity, thorough, often recondite scholarship, and a generally judicious enthusiasm for American texts. That enthusiasm extends only sporadically to the culture of the United States, never to its rampant capitalism and business ethics, nor to its self-annointed innocence but in those matters there is little
A comparison of serial monadic and attribute-by-attribute protocols for simple descriptive analysis with untrained judges

Abstract Two experiments were performed in which untrained judges were required to perform a descriptive analysis, using a serial monadic protocol and an attribute-by-attribute protocol. They reached ‘criterion’ performance more rapidly using the attribute-by-attribute protocol, indicating that they were using a relative scaling strategy. Criterion performance required judges to rate all attributes according to the rank order of their physical strengths. Later, they reached criterion performance with the serial monadic protocol, indicating that during experimentation, they had learned to establish sufficient intensity exemplars for an absolute scaling strategy.
Modeling tropical Pacific sea surface temperature with satellite-derived solar radiative forcing

Two independent datasets for the solar radiation at the surface derived from satellites are compared. The data derived from the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE) is for the net solar radiation at the surface whereas the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) data is for the downward flux only and was corrected with a space- and time-varying albedo. The ISCCP net flux is at all times higher than the ERBE flux. The difference can be divided into an offset that decreases with latitude and another component that correlates with high tropical cloud cover. With this latter exception the two datasets provide spatial patterns of solar flux that are very similar. A tropical Pacific Ocean model is forced with these two datasets and observed climatological winds. The upward heat flux is parameterized taking into account separately the longwave radiative, latent, and sensible heat fluxes. Best fit values for the uncertain parameters are found using an optimization procedure that seeks to minimize the difference between model and observed SST by varying the parameters within a reasonable range of uncertainty. The SST field the model produces with the best fit parameters is the best the model can do. If the differences between the model and data are larger than can be accounted for by remaining uncertainties in the heat flux parameterization and forcing data then the ocean model must be held to be at fault. Using this method of analysis, a fundamental model fault is identified. Inadequate treatment of mixed layer/entrainment processes in upwelling regions of the eastern tropical Pacific leads to a large and seasonally varying error in the model SST. Elsewhere the model SST is insufficiently different from observed to be able to identify model errors.
Blogger: Your Thoughts Here

SUMMARY Compares Blogger , owned by Google, with two other free, hosted, blog providers, Vox and WordPress.com . It considers the current state of the blogosphere, and assesses the role Blogger plays in the greater context of Google as corporation.
The Adoption of Computerized Crime Mapping by Municipal Police Departments in New Jersey

A mail survey of 347 municipal police departments in New Jersey was conducted to determine the number of departments currently doing computerized crime mapping, as well as how long they had used the innovation and, if they were not currently mapping, whether they had plans to start in the future. The overall rate of adoption, as of the end of 2002, was 13.8 per cent. Department size was strongly associated with mapping use—agencies with 100 or more sworn full-time officers were six times more likely to have adopted crime mapping than agencies with fewer than ten officers. Despite this finding, there was no evidence of hierarchical diffusion. Large departments had not typically adopted the innovation earlier than had small departments. The article concludes with a discussion of the barriers facing crime mapping adoption by small departments.
Sense-Making and Entrepreneurial Coalition Building: A Case of Competing Interests, Cultural Barriers, and Interorganizational Relations in a Nonprofit Health Plan

Abstract This article explores the development of a coalition of nonprofit membership organizations from the viewpoint of sense-making theory. The author argues that sense-making presents a useful framework for the entrepreneur to address gaps in understanding between coalition members. The case of a statewide health plan of public employees reveals the role of cultural differences between management and employee organizations in forming a statewide partnership to maintain a large health insurance risk pool. The results of initial sense-making of various health insurance issues by both management and employee organizations are contrasted with the common, constructed meaning on these issues that can arise from mutual communication. The author concludes that an understanding of the process of organizational sense-making offers the coalition-builder practical utility in considering the design and operations of a new organization.
The Gospel of Luke: A Contemporary Cartography:

This article provides a map to selected topics emphasized in recent scholarship on the Gospel of Luke. Focused attention is given to Luke’s reconfiguring of space and cultural borders within the Roman Empire; horizontal and vertical inversions of status within the narrative; Luke’s presentation of the roles of women, men, and children within their social world; and this Gospel’s treatment of the theme of poverty and wealth.
Community perceptions of natural disasters and post-disaster mental health services.

This research was designed to examine the cognitive and affective responses of residential dwellers in the aftermath of a natural disaster (a flood). In a 2 X 3 factorial design, the effects of fear (High, Medium, and Low) and sex on perceptions of the disaster were assessed. The results indicated that respondents who were highly fearful of the disaster were more likely than moderate or low fear respondents to believe that: a) additional flooding would occur in their vicinity, and b) that they resided closer to the flood zone than they actually did. The policy implications of the results suggested that post-disaster mental health services might have to be extended to include residents of geographical areas not directly affected by natural or man-made disasters. Language: en
Effects of ACTH, metopirone and dexamethasone on maternal urinary steroid excretion in late pregnancy.

Abstract The effects of ACTH, metopirone and dexamethasone administration on urinary excretion of estriol, estrone, estradiol, 17-hydroxycorticosteroid (17-OHCS) and pregnanediol were studied in 7 women in the last trimester of pregnancy. In 2 women with pregnancies of twins 17-OHCS excretion after ACTH administration was about 1.2 to 2.1 times the control value while in women with abnormalities such as a live anencephalus or intrauterine fetal death it was about 5.1 to 6.2 times the control value, being similar to that of non-pregnant women. In 3 women with pregnancies of twins the urinary excretion of estriol and 17-OHCS increased after metopirone administration. In 2 women with normal pregnancy the estriol and 17-OHCS values decreased significantly after dexamethasone administration. On the contrary in no pregnant women examined was urinary excretion of pregnanediol affected by adrenal stimulation or suppression. These results suggest that the fetal pituitary-adrenal axis plays an important role in regulation of estriol and 17-OHCS synthesis during the last trimester of pregnancy while the human placenta is the unique site of production of progesterone.
Effect of corticosterone on the enhancement of the acoustic startle reflex by corticotropin releasing factor (CRF)

The present study evaluated the effects of adrenalectomy and chronic administration of corticosterone on the ability of CRF given intraventricularly to increase the amplitude of the acoustic startle reflex in rats. Experiment 1 showed that CRF-enhanced startle was not affected by adrenalectomy, indicating a central effect independent of the integrity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. In Experiment 2, chronic injection of corticosterone augmented CRF-enhanced startle using a dose of CRF (0.25 micrograms) that normally is ineffective in increasing startle amplitude. Chronic injection of corticosterone by itself did not increase startle amplitude (Experiment 3). We suggest that the potentiation of CRF-enhanced startle by corticosterone may result from an activation of CRF in the central nucleus of the amygdala.
Mn(III)—porphyrin-based thiocyanate-selective membrane electrodes: Characterization and application in flow injection determination of thiocyanate in saliva

The response properties of a new thiocyanate-selective solvent-polymeric membrane electrode are reported. The membrane contains (5,10,15,20-tetrakis(2,4,6-triphenylphenyl)porphyrinato)manganese(III) chloride (Mn[TPPP]CI) in a plasticized polyvinyl chloride matrix. The electrode deviates from the Hofmeister selectivity pattern by responding to thiocyanate preferentially over inorganic anions (perchlorate, chloride, iodide, and bromide) and several organic anions often present in biological samples (ascorbate, citrate, urate, and salicylate). The performance of this electrode as an ion-selective detector in a low-dispersion, flow-injection system is also evaluated. While selectivity in such a nonequilibrium flow arrangement is found to be somewhat different than that observed under equilibrium conditions, the electrode's response and selectivity is still adequate to allow for measurement of thiocyanate in biological samples. This application is demonstrated via the flow-injection analysis (FIA) detection of thiocyanate in 22 human saliva samples with good correlation to a classical colorimetric method (r = 0.981).
NF-κB is activated in CD4+ iNKT cells by sickle cell disease and mediates rapid induction of adenosine A2A receptors.

Reperfusion injury following tissue ischemia occurs as a consequence of vaso-occlusion that is initiated by activation of invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells. Sickle cell disease (SDC) results in widely disseminated microvascular ischemia and reperfusion injury as a result of vaso-occlusion by rigid and adhesive sickle red blood cells. In mice, iNKT cell activation requires NF-κB signaling and can be inhibited by the activation of anti-inflammatory adenosine A2A receptors (A2ARs). Human iNKT cells are divided into subsets of CD4+ and CD4- cells. In this study we found that human CD4+ iNKT cells, but not CD4- cells undergo rapid NF-κB activation (phosphorylation of NF-κB on p65) and induction of A2ARs (detected with a monoclonal antibody 7F6-G5-A2) during SCD painful vaso-occlusive crises. These findings indicate that SCD primarily activates the CD4+ subset of iNKT cells. Activation of NF-κB and induction of A2ARs is concordant, i.e. only CD4+ iNKT cells with activated NF-κB expressed high levels of A2ARs. iNKT cells that are not activated during pVOC express low levels of A2AR immunoreactivity. These finding suggest that A2AR transcription may be induced in CD4+ iNKT cells as a result of NF-κB activation in SCD. In order to test this hypothesis further we examined cultured human iNKT cells. In cultured cells, blockade of NF-κB with Bay 11–7082 or IKK inhibitor VII prevented rapid induction of A2AR mRNA and protein upon iNKT activation. In conclusion, NF-κB-mediated induction of A2ARs in iNKT cells may serve as a counter-regulatory mechanism to limit the extent and duration of inflammatory immune responses. As activated iNKT cells express high levels of A2ARs following their activation, they may become highly sensitive to inhibition by A2AR agonists.
Electrostatic Field Calculations for Electrophoresis Using Surfaces

The distribution of electric field in and near the surface of the electrophoretic cell determines the motion of proteins in the buffer and along the surface. This is a complicated problem, influenced by buffer ion concentration, electrode configuration, and surface and substrate conductivities. Steady state calculations approximating the experimental geometry were made for different arrangements of electrodes using MAFIA (Computer Simulation Technologies) program and ESTAT programs. Electric field distributions in both conducting surfaces like ITO (Indium Tin Oxide) (Kevley Technologies), gold and aluminum and non conducting surfaces were studied. In order to measure the EOF of the buffer neutrally charged fluorescent Poly-Styrene beads of 1 µm diameter were included in the buffer and imaged using confocal microscope. It was observed that the electric filed was highly modified by various factors like the conducting nature of the surface, position of the electrodes, salt concentration in the buffer and distance from the separation surface.
Natural complex vs. natural system

Abstract I draw an ontological distinction between two types of natural forms which are isomorphic across physics, biology, and human sciences. The first type, “natural complex,” depicts purposeful forms involved in organic interaction. Examples include atoms, cells, organs, organisms, populations of orgaisms, households, firms, tribes, and nations. The second type, “natural system,” depicts chaotic forms involved in topographic interaction. Examples include climates, water turbulence, geodynamics, ecosystems, and stock markets. I examine six dimensions which juxtapose the two natural forms. With respect to canons, natural complex is governed by “rules,” while natural system by “principles.” In regards to interaction, the former is “organic,” while the latter “topographic.” In relation to arrangement, the former is exemplified by “configuration,” while the latter by “pattern.” With respect to spatial arrangement, the former is typified by “organization,” while the latter by “structure.” In regards to temporal arrangement, the former is characterized by “process,” while the latter by “dynamics.” In relation to hierarchy, the former is distinguished by “complexity,” while the latter by “complicatedness.”
Replacement of the axial histidine ligand with imidazole in cytochrome c peroxidase. 1. Effects on structure.

Replacement of the axial histidine ligand with exogenous imidazole has been accomplished in a number of heme protein mutants, where it often serves to complement the functional properties of the protein. In this paper, we describe the effects of pH and buffer ion on the crystal structure of the H175G mutant of cytochrome c peroxidase, in which the histidine tether between the heme and the protein backbone is replaced by bound imidazole. The structures show that imidazole can occupy the proximal H175G cavity under a number of experimental conditions, but that the details of the interaction with the protein and the coordination to the heme are markedly dependent on conditions. Replacement of the tethered histidine ligand with imidazole permits the heme to shift slightly in its pocket, allowing it to adopt either a planar or distally domed conformation. H175G crystallized from both high phosphate and imidazole concentrations exists as a novel, 5-coordinate phosphate bound state, in which the proximal imidazo...
Calculation of oscillator strengths for P III, S IV, Cl V, and Ar VI

We use an analytic potential model adjusted to experimental energy levels to generate wave functions for the valence and excited states of the isoelectronic ions P III, S IV, Cl V, and Ar VI of the aluminum sequence. Using these wave functions in conjuction with the Born approximation and the LS-coupling scheme, we calculate optical oscillator strengths for various excitations of the valence electron. Good agreement is obtained with experimental and theoretical data.
The excitable gap in atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia. Characterization with ventricular extrastimuli and pharmacologic intervention.

Our purpose was to characterize the excitable gap during atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia (AVNRT) to elucidate the electrophysiologic substrate of this clinically familiar microreentrant arrhythmia. Accordingly, in 11 patients with classic slow-fast AVNRT (mean cycle length, 342 +/- 41 msec), a single ventricular extrastimulus (V2) was periodically delivered after a spontaneous tachycardia beat (V1) until ventricular refractoriness was reached. With this technique, an excitable gap was considered present when atrial preexcitation of at least 20 msec could be achieved along with tachycardia resetting (noncompensatory pause after V2). The range of V1V2 intervals that resulted in atrial preexcitation constituted the preexcitation zone. Five patients (45%) showed evidence of an excitable gap at baseline, with a maximal atrial preexcitation achievable of 33 +/- 6 msec, representing 9 +/- 1% of the tachycardia cycle length. Verapamil was then administered to all 11 patients with the purpose of slowi...
Positive radial solutions for a class of quasilinear boundary value problems in a ball

Abstract We prove the existence and nonexistence of positive radial solutions for the boundary value problems { − Δ p u = h ( u ) + λ f ( u ) in Ω , u = 0 on ∂ Ω , where Δ p u = div ( | ∇ u | p − 2 ∇ u ) , p > 1 , Ω is the open unit ball in R n , h , f : ( 0 , ∞ ) → R are allowed to be singular at 0 , f is asymptotically p -linear, and λ is a positive parameter.
Water Crossover: A Challenge to DMFC System II. Simulation of Water Recycling in a 20 W DMFC System

Variations of methanol concentration and solution volume in an anode water tank with operating time in a 20 W direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) system that uses pure methanol and recycles the cathode water were simulated. The basic parameters for simulation of the DMFC system were acquired from a model DMFC stack. Many factors in a DMFC system design, such as the average cell voltage, operating temperature, water recycling percentage, and initial solution volume, affect water consumption, generation, and evaporation significantly, and in turn, cause gradual changes of methanol concentration and solution volume. The water generation rate varies significantly with operating temperature, but only slightly with average cell voltage. At 62 and 42°C, the generation rates of recyclable water are 1.44 and 0.88 g/min, respectively, for a DMFC system using 1.0 M methanol in an anode water tank and operating at 8.0 V (or average cell voltage 0.33 V). To balance water consumption and generation, it is necessary to recycle 98% water at an average cell voltage of 0.42 V, and to recycle 90% water at an average cell voltage of 0.33 V for the DMFC system operating at 62°C. Only 80% water needs to be recycled for the same DMFC system at an operating temperature of 42°C and average cell voltage of 0.33 V.
Ultrasonic and skinfold caliper measures of subcutaneous adipose tissue thickness in elderly men and women

Ultrasonic and skinfold caliper measures of subcutaneous adipose tissue were taken in a sample of elderly men and women, 65 to 99 years of age with an A-mode Ithaco Body Composition Meter and a Holtain skinfold caliper. For most of the measurements, standard deviations for the ultrasonic measurements were three or more times larger than corresponding caliper measurements. Also, mean absolute interobserver errors for the ultrasonic measurements were considerably larger than those for skinfold calipers. At best, the interobserver reliability for the ultrasound machine was 68% while the poorest reliability for the skinfold caliper was 88%. In the form tested, the Ithaco Body Composition Meter is not as accurate for measuring subcutaneous adipose tissue thickness in the elderly as a Holtain skinfold caliper.
Treatment outcomes and spectral-domain optical coherence tomography findings of eyes with symptomatic vitreomacular adhesion treated with intravitreal ocriplasmin.

Purpose To determine treatment outcomes of intravitreal ocriplasmin in symptomatic vitreomacular adhesion. Design Retrospective interventional case series. Methods setting: Private practice. study population: Thirty-five eyes (35 subjects) with symptomatic vitreomacular adhesion. intervention/observation: Intravitreal ocriplasmin injection from February to November 2013. main outcome measure: Vitreomacular adhesion resolution rate. Secondary endpoints included postinjection visual acuity and rates of outer retinal attenuation and full-thickness macular hole (MH) closure. Results The 35 subjects included were of mean age 69 years, 66% female, and 71% phakic. Eleven subjects (31%) had macular comorbidities. Average adhesion diameter was 571 μm, with mean 7.9 months duration of symptoms. Nine subjects (26%) had epiretinal membrane and 6 (17%) had MH (mean diameter 186 μm). Mean preinjection logarithm of the minimal angle of resolution visual acuity was 0.46, and improved to 0.33 at final follow-up. Fifteen eyes (43%) achieved adhesion release at mean 10 days post injection. One of 6 MH (17%) closed. Transient outer retinal attenuation occurred in 10 of 35 cases (29%), with 8 of 10 (80%) achieving adhesion release. One subject (3%) developed a retinal detachment. Adhesion resolution was more likely in patients with younger age ( P = .04), absence of comorbidities ( P = .02), small adhesion diameter ( P = .005), short adhesion duration ( P = .03), and transient outer retinal attenuation ( P = .008). Conclusions Intravitreal ocriplasmin efficacy in the private practice setting, while including patients with macular comorbidities, is similar to that of previous studies. Transient toxicity to the outer retina occurs frequently—typically with adhesion resolution—necessitating careful postinjection spectral-domain optical coherence tomography monitoring.
Development of Accurate Chemical Equilibrium Models for Oxalate Species to High Ionic Strength in the System: Na—Ba—Ca—Mn—Sr—Cl—NO3—PO4—SO4—H2O at 25 °C

The development of an accurate aqueous thermodynamic model is described for oxalate species in the Na—Ba—Ca—Mn—Sr—Cl—NO3—PO4—SO4—H2O system at 25 °C. The model is valid to high ionic strength (as high as 10 mol·kg−1) and from very acid (10 mol·kg−1 H2SO4) to neutral and basic conditions. The model is based upon the equations of Pitzer and co-workers. The necessary ion-interaction parameters are determined by comparison with experimental data taken from the literature or determined in this study. The proposed aqueous activity and solubility model is valid for a range of applications from interpretation of studies on mineral dissolution at circumneutral pH to the dissolution of high-level waste tank sludges under acidic conditions.
Structural and functional changes in salivary glands during aging

Various salivary glands in senescent humans and other animals have been examined extensively to characterize the structural and functional changes that occur during aging. Although a wide range of different structural changes, involving both the parenchymal and stromal tissues, have been described, it is unclear how any of these changes affects the function of the salivary glands. One major change in structure is the reduction in the volume of acini with a concomitant increase in the ductal volume. Despite this loss of functional acini, the salivary output and the contents seem to be unaltered, or minimally altered, due to aging. One consistent change observed in many salivary glands of aged animals is the decline in the rate of synthesis of proteins and their messenger RNA (mRNA). However, the salivary acinar cells from aged animals can synthesize secretory proteins at an elevated rate just as effectively as those from their younger counterparts in response to external stimuli, which are known to enhance the rate of protein synthesis. Thus, it appears that the salivary acinar cells, which remain structurally intact during aging, seem to retain their functional efficiency. Furthermore, these acinar cells, although reduced in number, are sufficient in quantity to carry out most of the salivary gland functions.
The Stability of Status Orientations among Young, White, Rural Women from Three Southern States.

Abstract This paper reports the results of a panel study of young, white, rural women from Georgia, South Carolina, and Texas ( N = 138). The study was primarily concerned with how social origin variables affected early educational and occupational orientations and how early states of these orientations affected the orientations themselves at a later point in time. The results indicated that mother's education had a greater effect than father's education, but in either case the effect is mediated by intervening influences such as early aspirations and expectations. These young women held very traditional status orientations (with 60% projecting the occupations of beautician, nurse, stenographer, or school teacher), and their orientations were quite stable between their sophomore and senior years in high school. Since there has been so little work reported on the status attainment process for women, and rural women in particular, this study does offer a limited insight into this phenomenon.
Morphology of primary sporidial development in Tilletia caries

The morphology and timing of sporidial development of Tilletia caries (DC.) Tul. were studied. The time between emergence of the promycelium from the teliospore and the formation of primary sporidia at the tip of the promycelium averaged 2.3 h, and fusion between compatible sporidia occurred within an additional 3.8 h. Primary sporidia appeared to be blastic and at maturity were 37–57 μm long and c. 0.7, 1.8 and 1.2 μ wide at the tip, middle and base respectively. While still attached to the promycelium sporidia usually fused in pairs with a short tube near their midpoints. Sporidia in individual whorls were usually packed tightly together, and fused sporidia that were dislodged also remained close together along their entire length.
Can Attitudes about Animal Neglect be Differentiated from Attitudes about Animal Abuse

The past decade has seen an increase in interest relating to the correlates and determinants of attitudes about nonhuman animals, especially attitudes about the use or abuse of animals. However, little research has explicitly addressed individual differences in attitudes about the neglect of animals. The current study employs a factor-analytic approach to explore (a) whether attitudes about animal neglect can be reliably differentiated from attitudes about animal abuse and (b) whether the relationship between attitudes about animal neglect and animal abuse differs as a function of gender. Results indicated that attitudes about abuse and neglect can be reliably differentiated among both men and women. However, the structure of these attitudes appears to differ substantially by sex. This paper discusses theoretical and practical implications of these results.