cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Response rate viewed as engagement bouts: effects of relative reinforcement and schedule type.

The rate of a reinforced response is conceptualized as a composite of engagement bouts (visits) and responding during visits. Part I of this paper describes a method for estimating the rate of visit initiations and the average number of responses per visit from log survivor plots: the proportion) of interresponse times (IRTs) longer than some elapsed time (log scale) plotted as a function of elapsed time. In Part 2 the method is applied to IRT distributions from rats that obtained food pellets by nose poking a lighted key under various multiple schedules of reinforcement. As expected, total response rate increased as a function of (a) increasing the rate of reinforcement (i.e., variable-interval [VI] 4 min vs. VI 1 mi), (b) increasing the amount of the reinforcer (one food pellet vs. four pellets), (c) increasing the percentage of reinforcers that were contingent on nose poking (25% vs. 100%), and (d) requiring additional responses after the end of the VI schedule (i.e., adding a tandem variable-ratio [VR] 9 requirement). The first three of these variables (relative reinforcement) increased the visit-initiation rate. The tandem VR, in contrast, increased the number of responses per visit. Thus, variables that have similar effects on total response rate can be differentiated based on their effects on the componemts of response rate.
Combination chemotherapy in adult desmoid tumors

Background. Desmoid tumors are locally aggressive tumors, with no metastatic potential, that generally are amenable to local treatments, such as surgery and radiation therapy. Systemic therapy is considered for selected cases that are not amenable to local treatment. Methods. The authors reviewed their experience with chemotherapy in desmoid tumors. A patient population was identified through a search of the data base maintained by the Department of Patient Studies. Results. Between January 1971 and December 1991, 180 patients with a histologically confirmed diagnosis of desmoid tumor were seen at the authors' institution. Twelve patients (8 male and 4 female patients; age range, 16–66 years; median age, 29 years) received chemotherapy. Eleven patients received doxorubicin (60–90 mg/m2) plus dacarbazine (750–1000 mg/m2)-based regimens for a median of 5 cycles (2–10 cycles). Six of the nine patients who could be evaluated for response had an objective response (two complete responses and four partial responses), one patient had a minor response, and two patients had stable disease. Two other patients treated in the early 1970s could not be evaluated objectively because of lack of modern imaging; however, they were reported to have “responses” that enabled resection of axillary and pelvic disease. All four patients with Gardner syndrome experienced disease response. One of these four patients had a complete response twice with doxorubicin-based chemotherapy and eventually died with an ejection fraction of 0.22. Five patients are alive with no evidence of disease (NED), four are alive with disease, and two are lost to follow-up after having an NED status at their last visit. Conclusion. The authors conclude that desmoid tumors in adults are responsive to chemotherapy, and such treatment should be considered before embarking on radical treatment to avoid obvious functional consequences and delayed complications.
The effect of comparison cueing and exchange motion on comprehension of program visualizations

We describe an experiment that evaluates the effect of two attributes of an algorithm animation: presence of cueing (flashing) to indicate to the viewer that two data elements have been compared, and type of animation (arcing move or grow/shrink) to indicate that two data elements have exchanged values. We evaluate the impact of these attributes both on perception of the animated changes and on viewer comprehension of the depicted algorithm, as measured by the number of correctly answered questions in two question sets: "traditional" (comprehension) questions and "popup" (perception) questions. No significant effect on comprehension was observed for either flash cueing or exchange motion, though we note that comparison and exchange behaviors were redundantly cued in the animation studied. Signficant effects were found for flash cueing and "move" versus "grow" in the perceptual questions displayed in popup windows.
Fundamental solutions for microcracking induced by residual stress

Abstract The problem studied is a spherical particle under residual compressive stress which subsequently nucleates an annular microcrack at its equator in the tensile stress field of the surrounding infinite matrix. This analysis provides fundamental solutions needed for continuum modelling of constitutive behavior of materials that undergo microcracking. The primary results of interest are the additional strains that show up at the macroscopic level via microcracking due to either release of residual stress or remote loading of the microcracked matrix. In addition, the stress intensity factor at the outer microcrack tip and the microcrack volume opening under these two loading conditions are evaluated. In presenting numerical results both particle and matrix are assumed to possess elastic isotropy, while the particle to matrix Young's modulus ratio assumes a range of values.
Learn to Forget: Regulation of Age-Related Memory Impairment by Neuronal-Glial Crosstalk

Dementia is among the most feared complications of aging in the U.S. In this issue of Neuron, Yamazaki et al. (2014) present a tour de force mechanistic analysis of a "hit" from a proteomic screen carried out using a Drosophila mutation that affects memory.
The Elizur Test of Psycho‐Organicity and the Hooper Visual Organization Test as measures of childhood neurological impairment

The Elizur Test of Psycho-Organicity and the Hooper Visual Organization Test were studied as measures of neurological impairment with a sample of 40 neurologically impaired and normal children. The ETPO identified a significant number of neurologically impaired children, while the HVOT was of limited value both singularly and in combination with the ETPO.
Multicontextual Correlates of Adolescent Leisure-Time Physical Activity

Background Adolescent moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) is influenced by many factors. MVPA-promotion interventions would fare better if these multiple determinants were better understood. Purpose To simultaneously assess overall and relative contributions of factors from personal, family, friend, school, and neighborhood contexts to adolescent MVPA. It was hypothesized that (1) key correlates would emerge in each context and (2) factors from more- versus less-proximal contexts would relate more strongly to MVPA. Methods Students in grades 6−12 ( n =2,793; mean age=14.4 [SD=2.0] years; 53% girls) were recruited from 20 Minnesota public schools in 2009−2010 to participate in the Eating and Activity in Teens 2010 study. Regression analyses conducted in 2013 examined factors related to weekly MVPA. Data were collected from adolescent participants, their parents and friends, school teachers and administrators, and GIS sources. Results Fifty multicontextual factors explained 25% of MVPA variance for boys and 27% for girls. Personal factors (e.g., self-efficacy) were most predictive of MVPA, followed by social factors (e.g., support for PA); environmental factors (e.g., access to PA resources) were least predictive of adolescent PA. Gender differences emerged for several predictors (e.g., in mutually adjusted analyses, MVPA among girls, but not boys, related positively to distance to trails and MVPA among female friends and fathers, and related negatively to perceived barriers). Conclusions Stronger linkages exist between adolescent MVPA and more-proximal (personal, family, and friend) factors compared to more-distal (school and neighborhood) factors, suggesting the importance of working with adolescents, their families, and friends to promote PA.
Relative stability of the Al12W structure in Al-transition-metal compounds.

The structural stability of the prototypical complex Al{sub 12}W structure, relative to the Cu{sub 3}Au structure, is computed for Al compounds with 3{ital d} and 4{ital d} transition metals. The calculated structural energy differences are on the order of an eV per transition-metal atom, have their largest negative magnitude for the transition metals with nearly half-filled {ital d} bands, and have larger magnitudes for the 4{ital d} transition metals than for the 3{ital d} metals. These results suggest that electronic effects are more important than atomic-size effects. It is shown that a large part of the structural energy differences is due to the presence of a Fermi-level nonbonding peak in the electronic density of states (DOS) for the Cu{sub 3}Au structure, which destabilizes that structure. The energy associated with the nonbonding peak has comparable contributions from a term in the energy that favors large unit-cell sizes, and from a local term that penalizes 90{degree} bond angles around the transition-metal atoms. A significant additional contribution comes from the appearance of the dip in the DOS around the Fermi level for the Al{sub 12}W structure. It is shown that the energetic factors developed here likely contribute to the relative stability of binarymore » Al--transition-metal icosahedral phases.« less
The basic trypsin inhibitor of bovine pancreas. V. The disulfide linkages.

Abstract Recently we presented the linear sequence of amino acids in the basic pancreatic trypsin inhibitor ( Kassell and Laskowski, 1964 ; Kassell and Laskowski, 1964 , Kassell and Laskowski, 1965 ). Chauvet et al. (1964) published a slightly different sequence. The present paper confirms our original results (Fig. 1) and summarizes experiments which locate the S-S linkages to complete the primary structure of the protein.
A Consistent System of Curved Electron Arrows

Many students of organic chemistry find it difficult to properly use electron arrows. Traditional arrows do not end at one type of location. Whereas the vast majority end at an atom, an arrow that indicates formation of a π bond points to a bond instead. Rethinking electron arrows leads to the following four rules, which form a consistent system: 1. An electron arrow always begins at an electron pair, either bonding or nonbonding. One arrow begins at the nucleophilic electron pair, if any. 2. An electron pair always remains attached to an atom, normally indicated by its arrow. 3. An electron arrow always ends at an atom, not at a bond. One arrow ends at the electrophilic atom, if an. 4. In a series of arrows for one mechanistic step, a succeeding arrow begins by the atom where the preceding arrow ends. This system of electron arrows is superior because the rules can be more generally applied, the arrows reflect the nucleophilicity of electron pairs, the arrows carry more meaning, the arrows in a series flow more directly from one to the next, and the arrows clearly prescribe products.
A two‐dimensional surface pole model for permalloy patterns

A method has been developed for modeling permalloy patterns for field access magnetic bubble devices, based on the distribution of poles rather than of magnetization. The present method has the advantage that the two dimensional distributions are of a single scalar quantity rather than two components of a vector quantity, which leads to numerical simplifications. The pole method also avoids the domain‐continuum question and the question of uniqueness of magnetization distributions. The numerical simplification, reducing the size of the matrix that must be solved, leads to a shorter program implementation that makes it possible to address more complicated problems. The method takes into account permalloy‐permalloy interactions between the nearby permalloy patterns of a periodic structure. The calculated potential profiles of a 3×15×0.4 μm3 rectangular bar are compared with the results of previous investigators. The versatility of this model is demonstrated by computing the potential profiles of a single ch...
Gluconeogenesis in rabbit liver. II. Gluconeogenesis and its enhancement by glucagon, epinephrine and cyclic AMP.

1. 1. Gluconeogenesis from various substrates has been demonstrated in isolated rabbit liver. Rates of gluconeogenesis (in μmol per min/g liver) for various substrates are as follows: D-fructose, 0.95; dihydroxyacetone, 0.60; L-lactate, 0.52; glycerol, 0.34. L-alanine does not substantially enhance gluconeogenesis. 2. 2. Gluconeogenesis from L-lactate and dihydroxyacetone is stimulated approx. 1.7–1.8 fold by 10−8 M glucagon, 10−6 M epinephrine and 10−4 M cyclic AMP. Gluconeogenesis from D-fructose is stimulated only 1.3-fold by cyclic AMP. 3. 3. Plots of hepatic metabolite concentrations, before and after addition of effectors to livers given L-lactate or dihydroxyacetone show highly significant increases (P < 0.02) in the concentrations of fructose 6-phosphate and glucose 6-phosphate after addition of effectors. Data suggest that glucagon, epinephrine and cyclic AMP exert a major positive influence on the interconversion of fructose 1,6-diphosphate and fructose 6-phosphate; conversely, data provide no evidence for a significant influence of these effectors on the conversion of L-lactate to phosphoenolpyruvate. 4. 4. Quinolinic acid is ineffective as an inhibitor of gluconeogenesis from L-lactate in fasted rabbit livers; aminooxyacetate at various concentrations inhibits gluconeogenesis from L-lactate by 50–70%, suggesting that cytosolic phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase compared to the mitochondrial carboxykinase is of at least equal importance for synthesis of phosphoenolpyruvate en route to glucose.
A continuum mechanics-based non-orthogonal constitutive model for woven composite fabrics

Abstract A non-orthogonal constitutive model is developed to characterize the anisotropic material behavior of woven composite fabrics under large deformation. A convected coordinate system, whose in-plane axes are coincident with the weft and warp yarns of woven fabrics, are embedded in the shell elements. Contravariant stress components and covariant strain components in a constitutive relation are introduced into the convected coordinate system. The transformations between the contravariant/covariant components and the Cartesian components of the stress and strain tensors provide an approach for deriving the global non-orthogonal constitutive relations for woven composite fabrics. By taking advantage of the tensile–shear decoupling in the constitutive equation under the convected coordinate system, the material characterization of woven fabrics is simplified. As an essential part for these transformations, a fiber orientation model is developed, by using some fundamental continuum mechanics concepts, to trace the yarn reorientation of woven fabrics during deformation. The proposed material characterization approach is demonstrated on a balanced plain weave composite fabric. The equivalent material properties are obtained by matching with experimental data of tensile and bias extension tests on the woven composite fabric. Model validation is provided by comparing numerical results with experimental data of bias extension test and shear test. The development of this non-orthogonal model is critical to the ultimate goal, i.e. using numerical simulations to optimize the forming of woven composite fabric sheets.
Parent–Teen Interactions as Predictors of Depressive Symptoms in Adolescents with Headache

This study investigated parent–adolescent conflict, family functioning, and adolescent autonomy as predictors of depressive symptoms in adolescents with primary headache. Frequent headaches during adolescence can have a negative impact on activity levels and psychological functioning. Depression is particularly prevalent in adolescents with headache but little research has examined the role of parent–teen interactions in predicting depressive symptoms. Thirty adolescents diagnosed with migraine or chronic daily headache completed self-report measures of pain intensity, parent–adolescent conflict, family functioning, and depression. Adolescents and their parents also participated in three videotaped interaction tasks, scored by independent raters to assess adolescent autonomy. Regression models revealed that pain intensity, parent–adolescent conflict, and autonomy predicted depressive symptoms. Higher levels of conflict, poorer family functioning and lower levels of autonomy were associated with more depressive symptoms. This study highlights the association between parent–teen interactions and psychological functioning in adolescents with primary headache. Implications for intervention are discussed.
Relationships of Ethnicity, Ethnic Identity, and Trauma Symptoms to Delinquency

Previous research has found that delinquency is related to higher levels of trauma symptoms and poorer ethnic identity. The present study used a California Bay Area school-based sample of 307 adolescents to examine whether the relationship of trauma symptoms to delinquency is buffered by higher ethnic identity and whether this buffering effect is relatively more important for ethnic minorities than it is for Caucasians. In a hierarchical regression analysis, trauma symptoms, ethnicity, and ethnic identity statistically interacted to predict delinquency, such that greater levels of ethnic identity were related to less delinquency in the face of increasing levels of trauma symptoms; this effect was especially important for ethnic minorities relative to Caucasians. Findings of the current study suggest that ethnic identity may be an important resource among diverse ethnic groups.
Combination of on-line analysis with collection of multicomponent spectra in an on-line computer

A digital computer has been interfaced to four 256-channel analyzers. All functions of normal multichannel analyzers have been reproduced by suitable coding. In addition, a weighted least-squares method for estimating on line the contribution of individual radionuclides in a multicomponent pulse height spectrum has been incorporated. Details of the mathematics and coding methods, which include special modifications to an existing FORTRAN system for on-line use, are described.
Numerical evaluation of the production of radionuclides in a nuclear reactor (Part II)

Numerical evaluation of nuclear transmutations is essential for optimization of radionuclide production. Accordingly, we have developed a generalized computer program called LAURA for predicting the production rates of radionuclides in a nuclear reactor. The program is generalized in the sense that it can be used for calculation of the production rate of any member of a network undergoing spontaneous decay and/or induced neutron transformation in a nuclear reactor. In this paper (Part I), we describe the mathematical basis for the development of LAURA. Expressions based on the Rubinson (1949) approach have been used for the evaluation of the depletion functions. This method is also valid when some of the depletion constants have identical values; thus, the approximate solution of Raykin and Shlyakhter (1989) can be used to account for the effects of feedback due to alpha decay.
Intravenous Vasodilator Therapy in Congestive Heart Failure

The prevalence of congestive heart failure (CHF) is increasing in the US and worldwide, partly because patients are living longer. Treatment of CHF is mostly on an outpatient basis, but inpatient care is required for decompensated CHF, acute CHF or poor response to outpatient treatment. Control of symptoms is usually achieved by diuresis. Intravenous (IV) vasodilators are an important adjunct to the inpatient treatment of CHF. They work mainly by reducing the afterload on the myocardium although preload reduction also occurs. After clinical stabilisation, the goal is to switch to a maintenance oral regimen to be continued as outpatient therapy. The range of IV vasodilators available for inpatient treatment of CHF includes nitrates, phosphodiesterase inhibitors, dobutamine, morphine, ACE inhibitors, B-type natriuretic peptides and endothelin receptor antagonists. As each agent may have a different mechanism or site of action, each agent may affect preload, contractility or afterload to a different extent and it may be desirable to choose one over the other in a particular clinical setting. Examples of standard therapy include dobutamine, milrinone and nitroglycerin. Nesiritide, a B-type natriuretic peptide, is a newer vasodilator and US FDA approved for use in acute CHF. However, most studies with this agent have been in small numbers of patients with anecdotal findings. Larger studies are warranted to pinpoint the efficacy and adverse effects of this agent. It is primarily used to reduce the acuity of decompensated CHF on admission to hospital. Endothelin receptor antagonists show promise in the management of acute CHF, but continue to be investigational. Long-term data on their efficacy and safety are limited. None of the endothelin receptor antagonists are FDA approved for use in patients with CHF.
Searches for optical counterparts of the two millisecond pulsars

The first millisecond pulsar, 1937+2141, has given rise to much observational and theoretical excitement (reviewed in ref. 2). A 20th magnitude red object was proposed earlier as a possible optical counterpart3, but we show here that this is not the case: this object is probably a giant star at a distance of 5–6 kpc. There is no evidence for an optical source brighter than the 23rd red magnitude at the improved optical position. We also present results of the search for the optical counterpart of the new millisecond pulsar 1953+2904. A grid of astrometric offset stars for this source is given, and possibility of optical detection discussed.
Disinfection of nitrous oxide inhalation equipment.

Three cleaning methods—a thorough soap and water wash, an aerosol spray of alcohol, and a soap and water wash followed by submersion in glutaraldehyde—were tested for their ability to disinfect apparatus used in the administration of nitrous oxide Cross-infection can occur between patients using contaminated anesthetic apparatus. Methods of disinfection include use of soap and water rinses, alcohol sprays, and commercial cleaners. More effective techniques are often impractical. A simple method tested in this study provided adequate disinfection of the rubber goods used in the administration of gas.
Effect of retinoic acid on the enhancing effect of acetaldehyde on mouse type I collagen expression.

Abstract Acetaldehyde alone and retinoic acid alone have been shown to increase and decrease, respectively, collagen production by stellate cells in culture. In this study the effects of retinoic acid on α 1 (I) and α 2 (I) collagen expression and its influence on the enhancing effects of acetaldehyde were determined. Retinoic acid decreased the activation of the α 2 (I) collagen promoter and decreased the message of α 2 (I) collagen in cultured stellate cells, but had no effect on either the activation of the α 1 (I) collagen promoter or on the α 1 (I) collagen message. This depressant effect of retinoic acid was also evident in the transfected α 2 (I) collagen promoter mutated at the retinoic acid response element (RARE). The activation of the α 2 (I) collagen promoter by acetaldehyde was not decreased significantly by retinoic acid, but was suppressed by the retinoic acid receptor (RAR) selective retinoid SRI-6751-84. Retinoic acid, however, decreased the acetaldehyde-induced enhancement of the α 1 (I) and α 2 (I) collagen messages. Acetaldehyde also resulted in a decrease in RAR β message and RARβ protein. This study shows that retinoic acid depresses α 2 (I) collagen gene expression but that this effect is less pronounced when the expression of this collagen is enhanced by acetaldehyde, which also decreases RARβ message and protein. Furthermore, the action of retinoic acid in inhibiting α 2 (I) collagen gene expression occurs at sites other than the RARE site.
Decoupling and domination inequalities with application to Wald's identity for martingales

Abstract The aim of this paper is to show how decoupling techniques can be useful in proving domination results involving dependent random variables and arbitrary stopping times. Let {Xi} be a sequence of random variables adapted to { F i } , an increasing sequence of σ-fields and set G =σ(X 1 ,X 2 ,…) . Assume that for all t>0, (0.1) P(|X i |>t| F i−1 )⩽P(|Y i |>t| G ), where {Yi} is a sequence of conditionally independent given G . A case of particular importance is the one when the {Yi} is independent of G in which case the conditioning drops from (0.1). Then, for all stopping times T adapted to G , E max j⩽T |∑ i=1 j X i | p ⩽C p E|∑ i=1 T Y i | p whenever {Xi} is a mean-zero martingale difference sequence and p⩾1 or it is a sequence of non-negative or conditionally symmetric random variables and p>0. As a consequence of this, we obtain a sharp extension of Wald's equation for randomly stopped sums of i.i.d. random variables to the case of sums of the form ∑i=kTXi−k+1…Xi where the mean-zero martingale sequence {Xi} satisfies (0.1).
Pineal N-Acetyltransferase Activity in 10-Day-Old Rats: A Paradigm for Studying the Developing Circadian System

Pineal N-acetyltransferase (NAT) activity in 10-day-old rat pups was used to examine several aspects of the developing circadian timing system. When born and reared under constant darkness, 10-day-old animals manifested a clear daily rhythm of NAT activity whose phase was in time with the estimated circadian time of the mother (set by the lighting cycle during pregnancy). When pups were reared in constant darkness from birth by a foster mother whose circadian time was 180° (12 h) out of phase with that of the natural mother, the resulting population profiles of NAT activity were arrhythmic. Analysis of the individual litter profiles from this experiment showed a variable postnatal influence of the maternal circadian system on the timing of the developing circadian system. Neither cross-fostering per se nor social interactions among litter mates contributed significantly to the apparent maternal influence. The magnitude of the postnatal maternal influence was not the same throughout development, but was mo...
The Magnitude of Local Immunity in the Lungs of Mice Induced by Live Attenuated Influenza Vaccines Is Determined by Local Viral Replication and Induction of Cytokines

While live attenuated influenza vaccines (LAIVs) have been shown to be efficacious and have been licensed for human use, the surface glycoproteins hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA) have to be updated for optimal protective efficacy. Little is known about the effect of different HA and NA proteins on the immunogenicity of LAIVs developed using the same backbone. A panel of LAIVs that share the internal protein genes, with unique HA and NA gene segments from different influenza subtypes, was rescued by reverse genetics, and a comparative study of immune responses induced by these vaccines was conducted in mice. The results suggest that the magnitude of lung immunity, including pulmonary IgA antibody and memory CD8(+) T lymphocytes, induced by the vaccines depends on the replication efficiency of the LAIVs, as well as the induction of cytokines/chemokines in the lungs. However, these factors are not important in determining systemic immunity such as serum antibody titers and memory CD8(+) T cells in the spleen. A qualitative analysis of immune responses induced by a single dose of an H5N1 LAIV revealed that the vaccine induced robust systemic and mucosal immunity in mice. In addition, antibodies and memory lymphocytes established in the lungs following vaccination were required for protection against lethal challenge with homologous and heterologous H5N1 viruses. Our results highlight the different requirements for inducing systemic and lung immunity that can be explored for the development of pulmonary immunity for protection against respiratory pathogens.
SU-E-T-635: Effect of Planning Parameters on Tomotherapy Dosimetric Quality and Treatment Efficiency.

Purpose: To investigate how the setting of optimization parameters, fractional dose and tuning structure in tomotherapy treatment planning affects plan dosimetric quality and treatment efficiency. Methods: A digital phantom to simulate head and neck radiotherapy was constructed for this study. Tumor was 10cm long C‐shaped with two surrounding parallel normal structures (P‐NS) and one serial normal structure (S‐NS). Dose prescription was 54 Gy in total. Fourteen treatment plans were generated with varied parameters in five categories: a) jaw size (1 to 5cm), b) pitch (0.215 to 0.43), c) modulation factor (1.5 to 4), d) dose per fraction (100 to 600cGy) and e) whether to use tuning structure. Plans were compared with multiple dosimetric endpoints including target minimum/maximum/mean dose, V100%, conformity, heterogeneity, S‐NS maximum dose, P‐NS and body mean dose, and treatment times. The reference plan was defined for the plan with conventional parameters: jaw 2.5cm, pitch 0.287, modulation factor 3.0, 200cGy per fraction and use of a 2cm ring structure in optimization. Results: Compared with 2.5cm jaw reference plan, 1cm jaw plan decreased the mean body dose 10.7% while 5 cm jaw plan increased the dose 17.9%. Smaller pitch (p=0.215) made the plan more conform than reference plan, and bigger pitch (p=0.43) had opposite effect. A small modulation factor (M=1.5) failed to spare critical structures. A medium modulation factor (M=2) resulted in similar plan to the reference but with 29% less treatment time. A low fractional dose (100 cGy) planned with similar parameter as reference had much inferior target coverage (V100%=85.6% vs V100%=96.4). Lastly, the use of tuning structure improved the conformity of target. Conclusions: Selection of optimization parameters in tomotherapy treatment planning affects target coverage, critical structure sparing, body dose, and treatment time. Target coverage is compromised if fractional dose is low to the range of 100 cGy.
For U.S. biomes, climate change will decrease vegetative productivity

One recurrently forecast effect of global climate change is that, in general, precipitation patterns will become more extreme, with fewer, larger storms and longer dry spells in between. The aftermath of this shift, borne out by the effect the changing water availability will have on vegetative productivity, however, is less well known. Previous research showed that productivity changes with the total annual precipitation, but the measured effect of a shift to a more extreme distribution is less consistent. Research seeking to understand this aspect of the changing precipitation pattern question has typically been conducted through small-scale or short-duration intervention experiments, where the availability of rainwater is artificially manipulated. This makes extrapolating the research to other climes or biomes difficult.
Inner/outer iterative methods and numerical Schwarz algorithms

Abstract Variants of the numerical Schwarz algorithms for solving elliptic partial differential equations on multiprocessing systems are described and analyzed. the methods are described in terms of domain decomposition techniques and mathematically cast into an inner/outer iterative form. It is shown that under certain matrix nonnegativity conditions that the convergence rate of the global iteration is invariant to the amount of overlap of the subdomains.
Characterization of swine leukocyte differentiation antigens

The First International Swine CD Workshop summary meeting was held in Budapest, Hungary, on August 16, 1992, as a satellite to the Third International Veterinary Immunology Symposium. The workshop which was supported by the Veterinary Immunology Committee of the International Union of Immunological Scientists was divided into sections: T cells, activation antigens, B cells, macrophages/granulocytes, null cells, CD44/45 and data management.
Evidence for structure in the Kπ mass system near 1.85 GeV

Abstract We present evidence for structure in the Kπ system at a mass near 1.85 GeV in the reaction K+n→K+π−p at 12 GeV/c. One interpretation of the observations is the production by pion exchange of a J P = 3 − K ∗ resonance at about this mass, which interferes strongly with other processes.
Calcium ethylenediaminetetraacetate (CaEDTA) toxicity—Interaction of CaEDTA, cortisol and vitamin a palmitate on lysosomes in vivo in the rat

Abstract Lysosomal stabilizers and labilizers attenuate and accentuate, respectively, the effect of CaEDTA in enhancing the degradation of collagen, as evidenced by urinary hydroxyproline excretion. The present study is concerned with evaluating directly the ability of CaEDTA to alter the integrity of rat liver and kidney lysosomes in vivo. The integrity of lysosomes was assessed by measuring the degree of redistribution of lysosomal marker enzymes from the sedimentable or bound fraction to the unsedimentable or soluble fraction and by measuring the activity of lysosomal enzymes in blood plasma. CaEDTA, compared to controls, enhanced the redistribution of cathepsin D and acid phosphatase to the soluble fraction. Total cathepsin D activity in the kidney was increased whereas total acid phosphatase activity in the liver and kidney was decreased. Cortisol (50 mg/kg/8 hr, i.m.) reduced the effect of CaEDTA on redistribution of lysosomal enzymes and abolished the effect of CaEDTA on total renal cathepsin D activity. Vitamin A palmitate (250.000 I.U./kg/12 hr, s.c.) itself produced effects similar to CaEDTA on renal lysosomes; when given concurrently with CaEDTA the increase in total renal cathepsin D activity was additive. The activity of lysosomal enzymes in blood plasma reflected changes in tissues, indicating clearly that release of lysosomal enzymes occurred in vivo. Thus, direct measurement of lysosomal enzyme activity, especially cathepsin D, revealed a close correlation between enzyme activity and the degradation of collagen associated with the administration of CaEDTA, cortisol and vitamin A palmitate. A marked reduction in the concentration of plasma proteins occurred in rats treated with CaEDTA and vitamin A palmitate. A rational basis for the use of cortisol in CaEDTA toxicity is provided by the fact that this drug abolished CaEDTA-induced depletion of plasma proteins.
Pharmacogenetics, Race, and Psychiatry: Prospects and Challenges

Although the field of pharmacogenetics has existed for nearly 50 years, it has begun to enter mainstream clinical practice only recently. Researchers and clinicians have now demonstrated that a wide assortment of genetic variants influence how individuals respond to medications. Many of these variants are relevant for psychiatry, affecting how patients respond to most antidepressants, antipsychotics, anxiolytics, and mood stabilizers. Enthusiasts hope that pharmacogenetics will soon usher in a new era of individualized medicine. However, determining the practical relevance of pharmacogenetic variants remains difficult, in part because of problems with study design and replication, and in part because a host of nongenetic factors (including age, diet, environmental exposures, and comorbid diseases) also influence how individuals respond to medications. Since individualized pharmacogenetic assessment remains difficult, some researchers have argued that race provides a convenient proxy for individual genetic variation, and that clinicians should choose medications and doses differently for different races. This approach remains extremely controversial because of the complexity of the genetic structure of the human population, the complexity of gene-environment interactions, and the complexity of the meanings of race in the United States.
Friendship, Closeness and Disclosure in Second Life

3-D virtual realms offer places for people to go interact, play games, and even do business. As these realms themselves become more sophisticated, the number of participants grows and the level and type of social interactions change. Meanwhile, scholars race to try to keep up. There is a growing, but still developing literature about interaction in virtual world. This paper explores communication and social intimacy in one such world, Second Life. In this paper, results of a four year ethnography in Second Life reveal findings that refute earlier research on computer-mediated communications, and support others while offering new findings to contribute to the growing body of knowledge.
Weighing the Ways of the Flow: Twentieth Century Language Instruction

A traditional metaphor for changes in language teaching methodologies has been that of a pendulum swinging back or forth. However, this historical review of methodology articles in the MLJ suggests a new, more dynamic, metaphor-that of a river flowing. We examine first the major mainstream methods discussed in the Journal, showing how they came into being and what caused them, as opposed to other methods, to become so strong. Then we examine other historical and academic factors that caused the methods to divert and divide into several channels. Finally, we suggest potential areas of exploration that might lead to the development of new water sources or the diversion of the current stream into new channels. The new metaphor and historical review of MLJ methodology articles allow us to see how our work has progressed over the years and how it has not just swung like a pendulum between two opposing positions.
Lessons from Chinese state economic reform

Abstract Between 1978 and 1989 the People's Republic of China adopted a series of policy changes designed to reform economic decision—making and to improve efficiency by separating management from state ownership of the enterprises. Major reforms consisted of (a) decentralized decision—making and enterprise profit retention, (b) an economic responsibility system of profit quotas, contracting, and leasing, (c) collective management, (d) property transfer, and (e) the stock system and private property. These changes represent a shift from a monolithic economic organization to economic agency—the allowance of greater enterprise autonomy. Chinese government policy is seen as wanting to capture the economic benefits of decentralization while retaining the ability to direct enterprise activity. This ambivalence has led to contradictions of economic policy and results. The relationship of economic and political reform is discussed in the light of the Student Democracy Movement in April–June, 1989.
Adaptive Access Control Applied to Ethernet Data

This paper presents a method that decides which combinations of traffic can be accepted on a packet data link, so that quality of service (QoS) constraints can be met. The method uses samples of QoS results at different load conditions to build a neural network decision function. Previous similar approaches to the problem have a significant bias. This bias is likely to occur in any real system and results in accepting loads that miss QoS targets by orders of magnitude. Preprocessing the data to either remove the bias or provide a confidence level, the method was applied to sources based on difficult-to-analyze ethernet data traces. With this data, the method produces an accurate access control function that dramatically outperforms analytic alternatives. Interestingly, the results depend on throwing away more than 99% of the data.
Improving Tour de France modeling with allometric scaling

We describe improvements we have made to the model our research group employs to predict stage-winning times of the Tour de France. Accounting for different stage-winning cyclist masses associated with different stage types, we use allometric scaling to modify our model’s cyclist power output. We show definitively that such a change to our model improved our prediction capabilities over what we were able to predict using the model we employed for the 2013 Tour de France. Excluding three tailwind-dominated stages, where our worst error was 7.79%, we predicted all other stages to better than 5%, including five stages that we predicted to better than 1%. We also show how to improve our model further with a different type of scaling.
Multi-wavelength imaging pyrometer for noncontact temperature sensing

Multi-wavelength imaging pyrometer (M-WIP) is presented for remote sensing of temperature profiles of targets with unknown emissivity. A software package was developed for calibration and real-time M-WIP measurements. An experimental 7-filter line-sensing M-WIP system was implemented with a 320/spl times/122-element PtSi IR-CCD imager. The M-WIP system was calibrated against a commercial blackbody source over a temperature range from 450/spl deg/C to 900/spl deg/C. The signal processing included background subtraction and compensation for variation of dark current with detected signal and nonlinearity of IR imager response. Initial M-WIP measurements demonstrated real-time temperature resolution /spl Delta/T of /spl plusmn/1/spl deg/C for blackbody target over temperature range from 600/spl deg/C to 900/spl deg/C.
Integrin α5‐induced EGFR activation by prothrombin triggers hepatocyte apoptosis via the JNK signaling pathway

We have previously shown that prothrombin, a blood coagulation factor, can cause an inhibition of DNA synthesis in normal rat hepatocytes. To explore the mechanisms of this prothrombin action, we examined its effects on the activation of fibronectin receptor integrin α5, since fibronectin was found to be degraded by prothrombin actions in primary hepatocyte cultures. We found that prothrombin treatment of rat hepatocytes without addition of any growth factor induced tyrosine phosphorylation of integrin α5 and interaction of integrin α5 with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), leading to EGFR tyrosine phosphorylation at tyrosine residues Tyr-845 and Tyr-1173. EGFR tyrosine phosphorylation triggered phosphorylation of its down-stream target Shc and the activation of the c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) pathway. Prothrombin also induced hepatocyte apoptosis, a change in cell shape and activation of caspase 3 pathway. The JNK pathway is most likely involved in prothrombin-induced hepatocyte apoptosis, because pre-treatment of hepatocytes with JNK kinase inhibitor II (SP600125) antagonized these prothrombin actions. The data suggest that integrin-related EGFR activation by prothrombin can induce cell growth inhibition and apoptosis via an EGFR-JNK signaling pathway. J. Cell. Physiol. 216: 551–557, 2008. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Disease progression and phasic changes in gene expression in a mouse model of osteoarthritis.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common form of arthritis and has multiple risk factors including joint injury. The purpose of this study was to characterize the histologic development of OA in a mouse model where OA is induced by destabilization of the medial meniscus (DMM model) and to identify genes regulated during different stages of the disease, using RNA isolated from the joint “organ” and analyzed using microarrays. Histologic changes seen in OA, including articular cartilage lesions and osteophytes, were present in the medial tibial plateaus of the DMM knees beginning at the earliest (2 week) time point and became progressively more severe by 16 weeks. 427 probe sets (371 genes) from the microarrays passed consistency and significance filters. There was an initial up-regulation at 2 and 4 weeks of genes involved in morphogenesis, differentiation, and development, including growth factor and matrix genes, as well as transcription factors including Atf2, Creb3l1, and Erg. Most genes were off or down-regulated at 8 weeks with the most highly down-regulated genes involved in cell division and the cytoskeleton. Gene expression increased at 16 weeks, in particular extracellular matrix genes including Prelp, Col3a1 and fibromodulin. Immunostaining revealed the presence of these three proteins in cartilage and soft tissues including ligaments as well as in the fibrocartilage covering osteophytes. The results support a phasic development of OA with early matrix remodeling and transcriptional activity followed by a more quiescent period that is not maintained. This implies that the response to an OA intervention will depend on the timing of the intervention. The quiescent period at 8 weeks may be due to the maturation of the osteophytes which are thought to temporarily stabilize the joint.
Development of a Least Restrictive Nutritional Treatment Program to Promote Functional out-come in a Geriatric Rehabilitation Population.

Abstract The Geriatric Rehabilitation Unit (GRU) is a 30-bed Medicare-certified skilled nursing facility. Since its inception in 1969, a multidisciplinary team approach has been the cornerstone of its assessment and treatment program. As part of the team's quality improvement efforts, a prospective sampling of the 730 GRU admissions in 1992-93 was conducted Admissions who had been living in the community prior to hospitalization and who were considered "at risk" for institutionalization were study candidates. Residents whose initial plan was to be discharged to a nursing home were excluded The selected residents (N=155) were assessed initially and again prior to dismissal for several factors predict Ambulation was found to be the single most important factor in predicting discharge disposition. As a follow-up to this finding, each member of the interdisciplinary team was charged with the responsibility of contributing to the outcome goal of promoting increased ambulation. It was determined that the amount of tubes and extra equipment associated with receiving necessary enteral nutritional support interfered with residents' ability to ambulate independently. Consequently, a program of "Least Restrictive Nutritional Treatment" was developed The goal of this approach was to improve the conditions for ambulation by transitioning tube fed residents to oral feeding. Steps in achieving this goal included a variety of techniques such as employing a nighttime feeding schedule, utilizing bolus feeding during the day as appropriate, and terminating feeding during therapies while still meeting nutritional needs. During 1994, a total of 78 residents admitted to GRU (approximately 21% of total admissions) were selected for study using the previously stated criteria. Within this group, 24% (N=19) were on tube feeding. The Least Restrictive approach to nutritional therapy was applied to these residents resulting in 53% being transitioned off of tube feeding to adequate oral intake prior to dismissal Of special interest was the finding that 57% of residents who entered the unit on PEGs were dismissed on adequate oral intake as a result of the combined efforts of dietetics and speech therapy. The dietitian and speech therapists collaborated in improving residents' swallowing to the extent that nutritional needs could be met through oral intake. The results of this quality improvement project indicate that a Least Restrictive Nutritional Treatment Program can be used to transition over half of tube fed residents to adequate oral intake, thus enhancing conditions for ambulation and promoting improved functional outcome in a geriatric rehabilitation population.
Regulation of error-prone translesion synthesis by Spartan/C1orf124

Translesion synthesis (TLS) employs low fidelity polymerases to replicate past damaged DNA in a potentially error-prone process. Regulatory mechanisms that prevent TLS-associated mutagenesis are unknown; however, our recent studies suggest that the PCNA-binding protein Spartan plays a role in suppression of damage-induced mutagenesis. Here, we show that Spartan negatively regulates error-prone TLS that is dependent on POLD3, the accessory subunit of the replicative DNA polymerase Pol δ. We demonstrate that the putative zinc metalloprotease domain SprT in Spartan directly interacts with POLD3 and contributes to suppression of damage-induced mutagenesis. Depletion of Spartan induces complex formation of POLD3 with Rev1 and the error-prone TLS polymerase Pol ζ, and elevates mutagenesis that relies on POLD3, Rev1 and Pol ζ. These results suggest that Spartan negatively regulates POLD3 function in Rev1/Pol ζ-dependent TLS, revealing a previously unrecognized regulatory step in error-prone TLS.