cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Diagnosis and management of Müllerian adenosarcoma of the uterine cervix.

Abstract Objective To report on the diagnosis and management of Mullerian adenosarcoma of the uterine cervix at a gynecologic oncology unit in Singapore. Methods Nine cases (1992–2008) were identified from the unit registry. All hospital records were retrospectively analyzed. Results Mean age at diagnosis was 45 ± 12 years (range, 17–61 years). Presenting symptoms were abnormal vaginal bleeding (5 [55.6%] patients), introital mass (3 [33.3%] patients), and foul-smelling vaginal discharge (1 [11.1%] patient). Two (22.2%) patients were asymptomatic, with cervical polyps discovered incidentally on routine gynecologic check-up. All women had benign-looking cervical polyps and underwent polypectomy. Histology showed increased stromal cellularity with periglandular cuffs in all patients, and heterologous differentiation in 1(11.1%) patient. All 9 women had FIGO stage 1B disease. Seven (77.8%) patients underwent radical hysterectomy with bilateral adnexectomy and pelvic lymphadenectomy. One (11.1%) woman underwent cervical wedge resection and 1 (11.1%) refused definitive surgery. There was no recurrence in the 6 patients for whom complete follow-up data were available. Conclusion Clinical diagnosis of Mullerian adenosarcoma of the uterine cervix may be challenging owing to the benign gross appearance of the cervical polyps. Surgery provides a good chance of cure with no recurrence.
Multicomponent T2 analysis of dithiocarbamate-mediated peripheral nerve demyelination

Standard light microscope histological evaluation of peripheral nerve lesions has been used routinely to assess peripheral nerve demyelination; however, the development of magnetic resonance (MR) methodology for assessing peripheral nerve may provide complementary information, with less expense and in less time than nerve histology methods. In this study, the utility of multicomponent NMR T(2) relaxation analysis for assessing myelin injury in toxicology studies was examined using two dithiocarbamates, N,N-diethyldithiocarbamate (DEDC) and pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate (PDTC), known to produce myelin injury and elevate copper in the nervous system. T(2) analysis was used in conjunction with standard histological methods to assess myelin injury and determine if dithiocarbamate-mediated copper accumulation in peripheral nerve was associated with more severe myelin lesions. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were administered i.p. DEDC for 8 weeks and maintained on either a diet containing normal (13 ppm) or elevated (200 ppm) copper. Another group of male Sprague-Dawley rats was administered oral PDTC and a 200 ppm copper diet, with controls given only the 200 ppm copper diet, for 47 weeks. Following exposures, the morphology of sciatic nerve was evaluated using light microscopy and multicomponent T(2) analysis of excised fixed nerves; and copper levels in sciatic nerve were determined using ICP-AES. Light microscopy demonstrated the presence of a primary myelinopathy in dithiocarbamate-exposed rats characterized by intramyelinic edema, demyelination, and secondary axonal degeneration. Both the nerve copper level and number of degenerated axons, as ascertained by ICP-AES and microscopy, respectively, were augmented by dietary copper supplementation in conjunction with administration of DEDC or PDTC. T(2) analysis revealed a decreased contribution from the shortest T(2) component in multicomponent T(2) spectra obtained from animals administered DEDC or PDTC, consistent with decreased myelin content; and the decrease of the myelin water component was inversely correlated to the levels of nerve copper and myelin lesion counts. Also, the T(2) analysis showed reduced variability compared to histological assessment. These studies support multicomponent T(2) analysis as a complementary method to light microscopic evaluations that may also be applicable to in vivo assessments.
Comparison between visual assessment and quantitative angiography versus fractional flow reserve for native coronary narrowings of moderate severity.

We tested the hypothesis that experienced interventional cardiologists can identify patients with fractional flow reserve (FFR) 1.4 mm had FFR <0.75. QCA did not discriminate the significance of lesions outside of these parameters. Thus, neither visual assessment of an angiogram by experienced interventional cardiologists nor QCA can accurately predict the significance of most moderate narrowings.
Responses of ‘Fuji’ apples to short and long duration exposure to elevated CO2 concentration

Abstract Fruit maturity, diphenylamine (DPA) treatment and controlled atmosphere (CA) storage regimes were evaluated as factors affecting development of ‘Fuji’ apple CO 2 injury. The incidence and severity of CO 2 injury (brown-heart) increased with advanced maturity and greater watercore severity at harvest. The development of CO 2 injury during storage was prevented by DPA treatment. The severity of CO 2 injury was higher in fruit exposed to 20 kPa CO 2 after harvest than in fruit exposed to 20 kPa CO 2 after 8 months of CA storage. Ethanol, acetaldehyde and methanol concentrations increased during short- and long-term exposure to high CO 2 , however, DPA reduced ethanol and acetaldehyde accumulation. Storage in low O 2 (0.5 kPa O 2 , 0.05 kPa CO 2 ) also stimulated accumulation of ethanol, acetaldehyde and methanol however, no internal disorders developed with or without the use of DPA. The harvest date effect on severity of CO 2 -injury following short-term exposure to 20 kPa CO 2 was related to severity of CO 2 -injury after long-term CA storage with 3 kPa CO 2 .
Surface Morphology Study of Solid Powders Evaluated by Particle Size Distribution and Nitrogen Adsorption

The surface morphology of five tableting excipients including unmilled dicalcium phosphate dihydrate (Di-Tab), microcrystalline cellulose (Avicel PH102), corn starch, croscarmellose sodium (Ac-di-sol), and sodium starch glycolate (Primojel) was studied using laser scattering particle size analysis and nitrogen adsorption surface area analysis. The surface area of particles disregarding porosity was obtained from the particle size distribution and the total area was obtained from the B.E.T. treatment of nitrogen adsorption results. The so-called Surface Irregularity Index (SII) was established to indicate surface roughness due to porosity. The SII value was consistent with the microscopic visualization of a powder sample. Furthermore, the nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherm hysteresis which showed the evidence of porosity was also consistent with the index. The SII may be an alternative way to characterize the surface morphology of a solid powder.
Cognitive Measures: What Can They Tell Us About Social Competence?

Abstract The role of cognitive functioning has been widely studied in the etiology of schizophrenia. However, relatively little attention has been paid to the clinical applications of such findings. Meanwhile, difficulty coping with social interactions has been implicated in relapse rates for persons with schizophrenia. The purpose of the present discussion is to examine how cognitive measures might inform us about social competence and what the implications are for rehabilitation in individuals suffering from schizophrenia. In order to establish a framework for the present investigation, a review of social competence and cognitive functioning is provided. This archival study consisted of ninety individuals with chronic, treatment refractory schizophrenia-spectrum disorder who participated in a controlled outcome trial of the cognitive cognitive component of Integrative Psychological Therapy (IPT). The results of the present analyses revealed that cognitive measures can indeed inform us about social compe...
Secondhand Smoke Exposure and Inflammatory Markers in Nonsmokers in the Trucking Industry

Background: Few studies have directly assessed the association of secondhand smoke (SHS) with cardiovascular disease–related inflammatory markers, and the findings are inconsistent.Objectives: We a...
Therapeutische endoskopische Stent-Implantation bei chronischer Pankreatitis im Kindesalter

Ein 11jahriges Madchen erkrankte an einer chronischen Pankreatitis mit Pankreasgangobstruktion unklarer Genese. Nach erfolgloser konservativer Therapie wurde eine ERCP mit Papillosphinkterotomie und Bougierung durchgefuhrt. Bei Beschwerdepersistenz erfolgten mittels ERCP eine Stent-Implantation in den Ductus Wirsungianus sowie ein 1maliger Stent-Wechsel bei spontaner Dislokation. Die Pankreatitis heilte aus, und der Stent konnte 6 Monate spater entfernt werden. Langfristig trat kein Rezidiv auf. Diskussion: Bei erfolgloser konservativer Therapie der chronischen Pankreatitis ist die interventionelle ERCP mit Stent-Implantation eine erfolgversprechende, jedoch nicht vollig risikofreie Therapiemoglichkeit, die einen grosen operativen Eingriff auch im Kindesalter vermeidbar werden last. Bei sorgfaltig ausgewahlten Patienten und erfahrenem Untersucher kann damit langfristig ein kurativer Erfolg erzielt werden.
Assessing university brand personality through logos: an analysis of the use of academics and athletics in university branding

For colleges and universities whose survival depends on external stakeholders, developing a strong brand should be an important component of their marketing strategy. University brand managers could benefit from developing a better understanding of how consumers interact with their brand in order to develop more effective recruiting material, advertisements, and other marketing efforts. The current study applies the concept of brand personality to university academic and athletic logos and examines subsequent relationships between the perceived brand personalities. Results of an online survey indicate that competence is a brand personality dimension mostly associated with academic logos, and excitement is the brand personality dimension mostly associated with athletic logos.
Clustering the ecological footprint of nations using Kohonen's self-organizing maps

Per capita ecological footprint (EF) is one of the most widely recognized measures of environmental sustainability. It seeks to quantify the Earth's biological capacity required to support human activity. Self-organizing maps (SOM) is a machine learning method that can be used to explore patterns in large and complex datasets for linear and non-linear patterns. This study uses SOM to model and cluster the EF of 140 nations. The results show that major variables affecting a nation's EF are related to the nation's world system position (WSP), GDP, urbanization level, export as a percent of the GDP, services intensity, and literacy rate. The study also shows that SOM models are capable of improving clustering quality while extracting valuable information from multidimensional environmental data.
Alkaline phosphatase is an ectoenzyme that acts on micromolar concentrations of natural substrates at physiologic pH in human osteosarcoma (SAOS-2) cells.

Abstract Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) was examined in cultured human osteosarcoma cells (SAOS-2) with respect to isoenzyme form, kinetic properties toward two natural substrates, and topography and nature of attachment to the plasma membrane. ALP in SAOS-2 homogenates is the tissue-nonspecific (TNS) isoenzyme and a phosphoethanolamine (PEA) and pyridoxal 5′-phosphate (PLP) phosphatase, as demonstrated by heat and inhibition profiles and electrophoretic mobility. Kinetic studies indicate that TNSALP in SAOS-2 cells has both a low- and a high-affinity activity. The high-affinity activity (showing the greater catalytic efficiency) is active at physiologic pH toward physiologic concentrations (μ m ) of PEA and PLP. TNSALP was shown to be an ectoenzyme in SAOS-2 cells by our findings in intact cell suspensions, where (i) PEA and PLP degradation in the medium nearly equaled that of whole cell homogenates, (ii) > 85% of ALP activity was inactivated by acid treatment, and (iii) ALP activity was quantitatively released by phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C. Our findings indicate that, in SAOS-2 cells, TNS (bone) ALP functions as an ectoenzyme to degrade physiologic concentrations of extracellular natural substrates at physiologic pH.
Silicon-mediated synthesis of new amphiphilic oligomers

A series of amphiphilic oligomers have been synthesized in which the hydrophobic component was polyisobutylene, polystyrene, poly(methyl methacrylate) or dodecane, and the hydrophilic component was poly(vinyl alcohol) or poly(methacrylic acid). These syntheses exploited the chain extension chemistry of aldehyde-functionalized materials using silyl aldol polymerization or the group transfer polymerization of methacrylates. The interfacial character of these new amphiphilic oligomers was examined using water/toluene emulsification tests.
On the water masses of the Northwest Atlantic Ocean

Abstract The water masses of the Northwest Atlantic Ocean are examined by means of potential temperature-salinity diagrams. It is shown that in general below 750-m depth there are three water masses; Labrador Sea Water overlies Northeast Atlantic Deep Water, derived from the overflow of the Scotland-Iceland Ridge, and this in turn overlies Northwest Atlantic Bottom Water. The latter is derived from the mixing of water overflowing the Iceland-Greenland Ridge with Atlantic water and modified Labrador Sea Water in the vicinity of the ridge. Mixing of Northeast Atlantic Deep Water with Northwest Atlantic Bottom Water is considered to give rise to the well-known North Atlantic Deep Water.
Small-angle x-ray scattering by poly(ethylene terephthalate) fibers

Abstract Fibers of PET were drawn at 80°C and investigated by small-angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) after annealing with free ends at temperatures up to 240°C. While the as-drawn fiber had no identifiable discrete SAXS pattern, evidence for an alternating two-phase microstructure was seen after annealing at 100°C. Annealing at temperatures up to 200°C resulted in well oriented SAXS patterns which doubled in integrated intensity. During this stage of (low-temperature) annealing, it is envisioned that oriented amorphous regions partially crystallize, leading to transverse growth of oriented microfibrils. Annealing at or above 225°C causes the SAXS pattern to become arced, implying disorientation of the fiber via the presence of a largely molten structure. Quenching from these highest annealing temperatures results in a slight decrease in the SAXS intensity which is attributed to the formation of thicker transition zones at the crystal-amorphous interface during rapid crystallization. By comparison to previous...
Protein Design: The Choice of de Novo Sequences *

Protein design ultimately comes down to choosing amino acid sequences. In contrast to traditional studies of protein folding and function, the choice is not limited to sequences that nature has provided. Advances in molecular biology and synthetic chemistry have made it possible to produce virtually any sequence of amino acids. The number of possible sequences from which to choose is enormous, and even for a small design, one cannot sample all possibilities. For example, for a relatively short sequence of 100 residues composed of the 20 naturally occurring amino acids, there are 20 possibilities. This number is so large (20 . 10) that if one synthesized a single molecule of each sequence and put the entire collection into a box, the resulting box would be larger than Avogadro’s number of universes. Among this astronomical number of possible sequences, the majority will not fold into soluble, globular structures. Indeed, open reading frames constructed of randomly chosen sequences typically produce insoluble material (1–3). Consequently, among the 20 possible sequences, only a small fraction can fold into soluble, globular proteins. Thus, the box of “good sequences” is far smaller than Avogadro’s number of universes. Nevertheless, even this smaller box is astronomical in size. Therefore, to enhance the likelihood of success (and reduce the level of frustration), designs must be confined to desirable neighborhoods of sequence space. What properties define the regions of sequence space that favor soluble, well folded globular structures? All amino acids in a sequence do not contribute equally to the formation of a native structure. Indeed, the tolerance of natural proteins to a variety of amino acid substitutions (4–6) demonstrates that some features are far more important than others. To successfully design proteins de novo, which features are crucial?
On the interpretation of age-earnings profiles

Many economists use cross-sectional age-earnings profiles to describe the course of earnings over the worklife of the average worker. We argue that such an interpretation is not typically correct. After citing numerous examples of such erroneous interpretations from the literature, we explain why cross-sectional profiles fail to accurately portray longitudinal earnings profiles and show how different the two sets of profiles can be.
Ayub Khan and Modern Islam: Transforming Citizens and the Nation in Pakistan

Pakistan is viewed today as a haven for fundamentalist Islamists. This essay probes the genealogy of Pakistan's Islamisation by focusing on the rule of President Ayub Khan (1958–69) and extends to the war of 1971 and the dismembering of Pakistan during Yahya Khan's presidency. I trace Ayub Khan's project of ‘modernising Islam and the nation’ by probing three sites: the transformation of the Pakistani military into a jihadic army; the re-writing of history to craft an Islamic identity; and the reformation of East Pakistani Bengalis to make them ‘good Muslim subjects’. Ayub Khan's experiment was a failure, leading to the violent dismembering of the country in 1971, yet an ethical imaginaire of renewing the commitment to creating a humanistic moral community continues to be an ongoing quest in Pakistan, as reflected in my investigations of the oral testimonies of war veterans. Fulfilling these ethical concerns requires critical evaluation of the roots of Islamisation in Pakistan, beginning from the period of...
Effects of supercharging reagents on noncovalent complex structure in electrospray ionization from aqueous solutions

The effects of two supercharging reagents, m-nitrobenzyl alcohol (m-NBA) and sulfolane, on the charge-state distributions and conformations of myoglobin ions formed by electrospray ionization were investigated. Addition of 0.4% m-NBA to aqueous ammonium acetate solutions of myoglobin results in an increase in the maximum charge state from 9+ to 19+, and an increase in the average charge state from 7.9+ to 11.7+, compared with solutions without m-NBA. The extent of supercharging with sulfolane on a per mole basis is lower than that with m-NBA, but comparable charging was obtained at higher concentration. Arrival time distributions obtained from traveling wave ion mobility spectrometry show that the higher charge state ions that are formed with these supercharging reagents are significantly more unfolded than lower charge state ions. Results from circular dichroism spectroscopy show that sulfolane can act as chemical denaturant, destabilizing myoglobin by ∼1.5 kcal/mol/M at 25 °C. Because these supercharging reagents have low vapor pressures, aqueous droplets are preferentially enriched in these reagents as evaporation occurs. Less evaporative cooling will occur after the droplets are substantially enriched in the low volatility supercharging reagent, and the droplet temperature should be higher compared with when these reagents are not present. Protein unfolding induced by chemical and/or thermal denaturation in the electrospray droplet appears to be the primary origin of the enhanced charging observed for noncovalent protein complexes formed from aqueous solutions that contain these supercharging reagents, although other factors almost certainly influence the extent of charging as well.
Isotopic evidence for climatic influence on alluvial-fan development in Death Valley, California

At least three semiarid to arid cycles are recorded by ..delta../sup 13/C values of organic matter in layers of rock varnishes on surfaces of Hanaupah Canyon and Johnson Canyon alluvial fans, Death Valley, California. These isotopic paleoenvironmental signals are interpreted as indicating major periods of fan aggradation during relatively more humid periods and fan entrenchment during subsequent lengthy arid periods.
Rare earth, major, and trace elements in chert from the Franciscan Complex and Monterey Group, California: Assessing REE sources to fine-grained marine sediments

Abstract Rare earth element (REE), major, and trace element analyses of 77 samples from the Mesozoic Franciscan Complex and Miocene Monterey Group of California (USA) indicate that magnitudes of the Ce anomaly (Ce/Ce∗) and total REE abundances (SREE) in these rocks are controlled dominantly by (a) the amount of included metalliferous material, (b) the amount of direct terrigenous input, and (c) the overall burial rate. The relative importance of these individual processes varies across an ocean basin in such a way that REE relative fractionations and SREE correspond with its depositional environment. Our conclusions are supported by an extensive review of published REE data from various river, coastal, open-ocean, and ridge-influenced waters, as well as terrigenous, pelagic, and metalliferous sediment. The chert sequences record deposition in spreading ridge, open-ocean basin, and continental margin environments. The relative importance of metalliferous and terrigenous influences and the role of scavenging from seawater may be estimated from a sample's inferred depositional distance (km) from the spreading ridge, the major element chemistry, and the stratigraphie context. The Ce/Ce∗ values are low (~0.29) in the vicinity of spreading ridges and trend to successively higher (~ 1) values with decreasing metalliferous and increasing terrigenous influences. Other REE indicators (ΣREE, Lu n La n , Eu Eu∗ ) also respond to metalliferous and terrigenous influences. Near the spreading ridge, chert ΣREE appears determined by burial rate, while shale ΣREE responds to metalliferous abundance. In open-ocean and continental margin environments, ΣREE is controlled by sediment exposure time and therefore is related inversely to burial rate. REE data are consistent with the major elements Fe2O3, MnO, and Al2O3 in reflecting the respective metalliferous and terrigenous sources. P2O5 and CaO do not vary with Ce/Ce∗ in any environment, but CaO shows a weak negative correlation with ΣREE. Trace element trends (e.g., V, Cr, Cu, Ge/Si, Rb, Sr, Y, Th, U) in general can similarly be accounted for in the context of depositional position relative to metalliferous and terrigenous inputs. REEs in chert appear less affected by post-depositional processes than either major or trace elements, indicating that REEs are better tools for paleoceanographic or tectonic reconstructions that are based on chert chemistry. This work complements recent efforts to elucidate the factors determining large-scale REE distributions in marine sediments and has direct bearing on previous attempts to use the Ce anomaly in older rocks and sediments as a recorder of secular variations and anoxic events in the overlying water column.
Pulmonary vascular compliances and filtrations.

Abstract In 13 experiments on lung lobes of 5 dogs, hydrostatic, osmotic, and surface forces were eliminated by filling the vascular bed and the airway and pleural compartments with saline, with care being taken to maintain an air-free system. As vascular pressure was varied, displacements of fluid from the intralobar compartment and from the extralobar compartment were measured separately. There was no displacement from the intralobar (airway) compartment until vascular pressure equaled and exceeded airway pressure. Over the course of the next rise in arterial pressure of 4 cm. of saline, approximately 14 per cent of the weight of the empty, wet lung lobe was displaced from the intralobar compartment. This is considered to be the filled unstressed volume of the alveolar capillaries. Further elevations of vascular pressures had no effect on airway capillary volume, or on filtration into the air spaces, until vascular pressure reached 13 cm. of saline above airway pressure; at pressures higher than 13 cm. of saline, a considerable and continuous displacement occurred. This is considered to be due to transcapillary filtration of fluid. These results indicate that the intralobar vessels (alveolar capillaries) are nondistensible, collapsible, impermeable channels. The vessels become permeable at a transmural pressure of about 13 cm. of saline. As vascular pressure was raised, the extralobar displacement was nearly linear over a range from −8 to +15 cm. of saline (pleural pressure = 0). Filtration into the pleural space was proportional to the vascular minus pleural pressure. The extralobar vessels are characterized as permeable, distensible, noncollapsible conduits.
c-Jun N-Terminal Kinase Plays a Major Role in Murine Acetaminophen Hepatotoxicity

Background & Aims: In searching for effects of acetaminophen (APAP) on hepatocytes downstream of its metabolism that may participate in hepatotoxicity, we examined the role of stress kinases. Methods: Mouse hepatocytes and C57BL/6 mice were administered a toxic dose of APAP with or without SP600125, a chemical c-jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) inhibitor. JNK activity as reflected in phospho-c-jun levels, serum alanine transaminase (ALT), and liver histology were assessed. Similar experiments were repeated in JNK1 and JNK2 knockout mice and by using antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) to knockdown JNK. Results: Sustained activation of JNK was observed in cultured mouse hepatocytes and in vivo in the liver after APAP treatment. The importance of this pathway was identified by the marked protective effect of SP600125 against APAP toxicity in vitro and in vivo. The specificity of this protective effect was confirmed in vivo by the knockdown of JNK1 and 2 using ASO pretreatment. JNK2 knockout mice and mice treated with JNK2 ASO exhibited partial protection against APAP. One potential target of JNK is Bax translocation, which was enhanced by APAP and blocked by the JNK inhibitor. Protection by the JNK inhibitor persisted in Kupffer cell-depleted mice, whereas there was no protection against CCl4 or concanavalin A toxicity. Conclusions: This work suggests that JNK acts downstream of APAP metabolism to promote hepatotoxicity. The results suggest that JNK2 plays a predominant role, although maximum protection was seen with decrease in both forms of JNK.
International Symposium on Mathematical Models in Hydrology: Warsaw, Poland July 26–31, 1971

In a sense, all models used in the analysis or synthesis of hydrology data are mathematical models. These models occupy the vast area between physical models that explain phenomena fully and strictly empirical explanations. Between these two extremes, in a the mathematical models dominate, which explains the wide scope of the papers in this symposium.
Image, Engagement, Technological Resource: An Interview with Roger Reynolds

Roger Reynolds (see Figure 1) has been a major figure investigating the confluence of music and technology since the 1960s. As resources have evolved, his works have explored live analog electronics, fixed analog and digital media, and live processing of acoustic sound-all unified and directed by a distinct compositional voice that balances intuition with formalized thought (see Table 1). Having studied music and engineering at the University of Michigan, Mr. Reynolds was a co-founder of the ONCE group. Later, after seven years of organizing and performing in new music concerts in Germany, France, and Japan, he joined the young music department at the University of California, San Diego, in 1969. Once there, he founded the Center for Music Experiment and has remained a vital force on its faculty for the last 37 years. His work with new technology has led to notable residencies including those at Stanford's Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA), the Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique/Musique (IRCAM), Stockholm's Elektroakustisk Musik i Sverige (EMS), and Les Ateliers UPIC in Paris; grants and commissions from most major awarding agencies; and frequent performances at major festivals around the world. Recently, his ILLUSION for actors, singers, instrumental soloists, chamber ensemble, and eightchannel computer-processed sound was premiered by Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Los Angeles Philharmonic New Music Group. He is currently working on Sanctuary, an evening-long percussion quartet with computer processing and staging. The present interview is drawn from a larger discussion that included aspects of Mr. Reynolds's work with multimedia. Here, we focus primarily on his conceptual and methodological approaches to music and technology and the exploration of recent compositional projects. We met twice at his home in Del Mar, California, in April and October 2005 and subsequently revised the materials via electronic mail.
Beyond the “Countermajoritarian Difficulty”: Lessons From Contemporary Democratic Theory

The “countermajoritarian difficulty,” first formulated by Alexander Bickel almost fifty years ago, has been a profoundly influential starting point for those who critically examine the relationship between democracy and constitutional judicial review. However, the inadequacies of this framework are manifest. This framework rests, first, on unwarranted empirical assumptions about the “majoritarianism” of legislative action and the “countermajoritarianism” of courts. It also rests on unwarranted theoretical assumptions about the relationship between democracy and majoritarianism. Virtually all sophisticated approaches to democratic theory do not simply equal democracy with majoritarianism, although this is often forgotten when discussing judicial review. Using the “democracy-against-domination” approach, we assess the democratic status of judicial review, and conclude that judicial review has the potential to make a modest and contingent positive contribution to democracy.
An emergency medical services program of alternate destination of patient care.

Objective: The emergency department (ED) is ideally reserved for urgent health needs. The ED, however, is often the site of care for nonurgent conditions. The authors investigated whether emergency medical technicians could decrease ED use by patients with nonurgent concerns who use 911 by appropriately identifying and triaging them to alternate care destinations. Methods: From August 2000 through January 2001, two King County fire-based emergency medical services (EMS) agencies participated in an alternate care destination program for patients with specific low-acuity diagnosis codes (intervention group). Eligible patients were offered care at a clinic-based destination as an alternate to the ED (n = 1,016). The frequency of the destination of care (ED, clinic, or home) for the intervention group was compared with a matched control group that was comprised of a preintervention historical cohort of EMS encounters from the same two fire-based agencies and with the same acuity and diagnosis criteria and sea...
Suppression of uPA and uPAR attenuates angiogenin mediated angiogenesis in endothelial and glioblastoma cell lines.

Background: In our earlier reports, we showed that downregulation of uPA and uPAR inhibited glioma tumor angiogenesis in SNB19 cells, and intraperitoneal injection of a hairpin shRNA expressing plasmid targeting uPA and uPAR inhibited angiogenesis in nude mice. The exact mechanism by which inhibition of angiogenesis takes place is not clearly understood. Methodology/Principal Findings: In the present study, we have attempted to investigate the mechanism by which uPA/uPAR downregulation by shRNA inhibits angiogenesis in endothelial and glioblastoma cell lines. uPA/uPAR downregulation by shRNA in U87 MG and U87 SPARC co-cultures with endothelial cells inhibited angiogenesis as assessed by in vitro angiogenesis assay and in vivo dorsal skin-fold chamber model in nude mice. Protein antibody array analysis of co-cultures of U87 and U87 SPARC cells with endothelial cells treated with pU2 (shRNA against uPA and uPAR) showed decreased angiogenin secretion and angiopoietin-1 as well as several other pro-angiogenic molecules. Therefore, we investigated the role of angiogenin and found that nuclear translocation, ribonucleolytic and 45S rRNA synthesis, which are all critical for angiogenic function of angiogenin, were significantly inhibited in endothelial cells transfected with uPA, uPAR and uPA/uPAR when compared with controls. Moreover, uPA and uPAR downregulation significantly inhibited the phosphorylation of Tie-2 receptor and also down regulated FKHR activation in the nucleus of endothelial cells via the GRB2/AKT/BAD pathway. Treatment of endothelial cells with ruPA increased angiogenin secretion and angiogenin expression as determined by ELISA and western blotting in a dose-dependent manner. The amino terminal fragment of uPA down regulated ruPA-induced angiogenin in endothelial cells, thereby suggesting that uPA plays a critical role in positively regulating angiogenin in glioblastoma cells. Conclusions/Significance: Taken together, our results suggest that uPA/uPAR downregulation suppresses angiogenesis in endothelial cells induced by glioblastoma cell lines partially by downregulation of angiogenin and by inhibition of the angiopoietin-1/AKT/FKHR pathway.
Cyclic-AMP-Dependent Protein Kinase Activity Is Not Required by Parathyroid Hormone to Stimulate Phosphoinositide Signaling in Chondrocytes but Is Required to Transduce the Hormone′s Proliferative Effect

Parathyroid hormone (PTH), an activator of both cAMP and phosphoinositide (PI) signaling in growth plate chondrocytes (GPCs), is generally believed to trigger each of these pathways through interactions with separate G proteins. Recently, however, activation of cAMP-dependent protein kinase (pkA) has been found to cause a stimulation of the PI cascade in hepatocytes. This finding raises the possibility that PTH stimulation of PI metabolism in GPCs may really be a secondary event, mediated through a primary stimulation of pkA. Experiments discussed in the present report indicate that the PTH stimulation of PI metabolism in GPCs is independent of pkA activity. The data show that (1) unlike the Ca2+ response evoked by PTH, the responses evoked by dibutyryl-cAMP or Sp diastereomer of cyclic adenosine-3',5'-monophosphothioate, two activators of pkA, require an extracellular Ca2+ source; (2) also unlike PTH, activation of pkA by these same cAMP analogs does not cause an increase in cellular inositol-1,4,5-trisphosphate; and (3) specific inhibition of pkA with N-[2-(p-bromocinnamylamino)ethyl]-5-isoquinolinsulfanomide (H-89) or Rp diastereomer of cyclic adenosine-3',5'-monophosphothioate (Rp cAMPS) has no effect on the ability of PTH to evoke its normal Ca2+ response. Furthermore, data presented indicate that the PTH stimulation of GPC proliferation does not require Ca2+ signals, but rather is at least partially dependent on pkA. The data show that either loading the cells with the Ca2+ buffer bis-(o-aminophenoxy)ethane-N,N,N',N'-tetracetic acid or depleting the cells of intracellularly stored Ca2+ is without effect on the stimulation of DNA synthesis by the hormone. Inhibition of pkA activity with H-89 or Rp-cAMPS, in contrast, leads to a significant reduction in the ability of PTH to stimulate its proliferative effect.
Jewish theologies of space in the scientific revolution: Henry More, Joseph Raphson, Isaac Newton and their predecessors

Summary Theological speculations on God's relation to place and space were introduced into the Jewish tradition by the early rabbis, initially in response to the previous appearance of words like māqom (place) in Biblical literature. In the Middle Ages, Jewish philosophers modified these rabbinical ideas in the context of Aristotelian, Neoplatonic, and anti-Aristotelian currents within Jewish thought. One development in medieval Jewish thought of special interest for the development of ideas of space was the rise of Cabala, which Christian thinkers of the Renaissance and early modern periods saw as a sacred and primeval deposit of wisdom akin to prisca theologia. Both Henry More and, under More's influence, Joseph Raphson made use of Cabalist ideas in developing their own theologies of space. Isaac Newton was aware of these Jewish ideas but for the most part repudiated them, while making some use of māqom as an expression of God's omnipresence.
Power Politics, Diplomacy and Role Playing: Simulating the UN Security Council’s Response to Terrorism

In the International Organizations classroom, students learn a lot about the nuts and bolts of international organizations in theory, but do not always have the opportunity to understand how international organizations work in practice. Understanding negotiations, diplomacy and interstate relations is essential in understanding the strengths of weaknesses of international organizations. To this end, the use of in-class simulations, where each student represents a different country, can be an effective tool in teaching students about international organizations and global governance. This article describes a simulation run in an International Organizations class in the Fall 2002 semester. It involved a fictitious serious terrorist attack in Singapore during a performance of “Kiddush for Naomi” performed by the Israel Habima Theatre Company. The article describes the goals of the simulation, the preparation the students undertook throughout the semester, the implementation of the simulation itself, and the post-simulation debriefing and assessment of the students and lessons learned for future in-class simulations.
Context and human reliability analysis

Abstract Unfinished business related to human reliability assessment includes the identification and specification of cognitive (diagnostic and decision making) error potential and context. This relates to the so-called NRC commission error issue and is a recognized omission from the recent efforts in IPEs. By reviewing notable instances of cognitive errors or near misses, by carefully characterizing the environment and situations in which such errors will arise and by borrowing on a scattering of partial techniques, a systematic approach to cognitive context can be developed. This paper takes a stab at gathering the various pieces and suggesting how such a method might proceed.
An Particle Swarm Optimization Approach for Assembly Sequence Planning

Assembly sequence planning (ASP) is the foundation of the assembly planning which plays a key role in the whole product life cycle. Although the ASP problem has been tackled via a variety of optimization techniques, the particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm is scarcely used. This paper presents a PSO algorithm to solve ASP problem. Unlike generic versions of particle swarm optimization, the algorithm redefines the particle's position and velocity, and operation of updating particle positions. In order to overcome the problem of premature convergence, a new study mechanism is adopted. The geometrical constraints, assembly stability and the changing times of assembly directions are used as the criteria for the fitness function. To validate the performance of the proposed algorithm, a 29-component product is tested by this algorithm. The experimental results indicate that the algorithm proposed in this paper is effective for the ASP.
Association of Two Congenitally Organized Behavior Patterns in the Newborn: Hand-Mouth Coordination and Looking

A previous analysis of 1000 ft. of film of each of 32 full-term 2- to 3-day-old neonates established that there exists a concurrence of alerting and hand-mouth contacting which is significantly greater than could be expected to occur by chance judging from the expected and the actual distribution of these behaviors (Korner & Kraemer, 1972). A frame-by-frame analysis of these concurrences was then undertaken to assess whether there was a predictable direction of causation between these two behaviors. Five types of behavior sequences were observed. The infant's alerting could be viewed as an orienting response to the hand's activity in slightly more than half the sequences. Yet, alerting occurred just before hand-mouth contact almost as frequently as immediately afterwards. Thus, the close temporal proximity of these two behaviors may point primarily to an association of two neonatal behaviors which antecedes the synchronization of these behaviors in later eye-hand coordination.
An algorithm for the generalized symmetric tridiagonal eigenvalue problem

In this paper we present an algorithm, parallel in nature, for finding eigenvalues of a symmetric definite tridiagonal matrix pencil. Our algorithm employs the determinant evaluation, split-and-merge strategy and Laguerre's iteration. Numerical results on both single and multiprocessor computers are presented which show that our algorithm is reliable, efficient and accurate. It also enjoys flexibility in evaluating a partial spectrum.
The Enactment of Mothers' Pensions: Civic Mobilization and Agenda Setting or Benefits of the Ballot?

In this Review in 1993, Skocpol, Howard, Lehmann, and Abend-Wein analyzed the rapid enactment of mothers'pension laws in the American states in the 1910s. They concluded that the widespread federations of women's voluntary groups exerted a powerful influence on these enactments even before most American women had the right to vote. Sparks and Walniuk challenge these conclusions, noting that all 10 equal-suffrage states are among the 29 that passed mothers' pensions before 1916, and presenting new measures of suffrage endorsement and suffrage pressures in regression analyses suggesting that women's votes—actual and potential—played a major role in leading some states to adopt mothers' pensions earlier than their normal patterns of legislative change would predict. In response, Skocpol defends the 1993 conclusions. She adduces that the aggregate pattern of enactment of mothers'pensions corresponds much more closely to endorsements by women's groups than to suffrage timing and puts forth reasons to doubt the validity and significance of Sparks and Walniuk's tests.
The effects of total darkness on schedule control

The study investigated the effect of total darkness on the key pecking of pigeons under fixed-ratio, variable-ratio, fixed-interval, and variable-interval schedules of food reinforcement. Eight pigeons were divided into groups of two, with each group conditioned to peck under one of the four schedules of reinforcement. Under an ABAB procedure, all pigeons experienced alternating light and dark conditions. The house- and keylights were (a) maintained at full intensity for the first 30 one-hour sessions, (b) faded out and disconnected over Sessions 31 through 50, (c) totally illuminated for Sessions 51 to 60, and (d) disconnected again for the final 10 sessions. Responding under the ratio schedules increased from 20% to 108% in the dark and responding under the interval schedules in the dark decreased by 37% to 93%.
Synthesis of L‐α‐aminoadipyl‐L‐serinyl‐D‐valine, a naturally occuring tripeptide from the fermentation of Penicillium chrysogenum

A new tripeptide, L-α-aminoadipyl-L-seryl-D-valine has been synthesized by coupling the protected L-seryl-D-valine dipeptide with an appropriately protected L-α-aminoadipic acid ester. The free tripeptide was obtained after treatment with liquid HF and purification by HPLC.
Application of a Catalytic Asymmetric Povarov Reaction using Chiral Ureas to the Synthesis of a Tetrahydroquinoline Library

A 2328-membered library of 2,3,4-trisubstituted tetrahydroquinolines was produced using a combination of solution- and solid-phase synthesis techniques. A tetrahydroquinoline (THQ) scaffold was prepared via an asymmetric Povarov reaction using cooperative catalysis to generate three contiguous stereogenic centers. A matrix of 4 stereoisomers of the THQ scaffold was prepared to enable the development of stereo/structure–activity relationships (SSAR) upon biological testing. A sparse matrix design strategy was employed to select library members to be synthesized with the goal of generating a diverse collection of tetrahydroquinolines with physicochemical properties suitable for downstream discovery.
What does the retina know about natural scenes

By examining the experimental data on the statistical properties of natural scenes together with (retinal) contrast sensitivity data, we arrive at a first principle, theoretical hypothesis for the purpose of retinal processing and its relationship to an animal's environment. We argue that the retinal goal is to transform the visual input as much as possible into a statistically independent basis as the first step in creating a redundancy reduced representation in the cortex, as suggested by Barlow. The extent of this whitening of the input is limited, however, by the need to suppress input noise. Our explicit theoretical solutions for the retinal filters also show a simple dependence on mean stimulus luminance: they predict an approximate Weber law at low spatial frequencies and a De Vries-Rose law at high frequencies. Assuming that the dominant source of noise is quantum, we generate a family of contrast sensitivity curves as a function of mean luminance. This family is compared to psychophysical data.
Working for Corporate Actors: Social Change and Elite Attorneys in Chicago

Elite attorneys have been the objects of social scientific study and speculation for many years. This article contributes to that body of thought by reporting some of the results of a research project that studied 59 members of Chicago's corporate actor legal elite-the lawyers who serve the city's major business, social, civic, political, and cultural organizations. The article briefly defines the elite studied and the design of the overall re-search project. It then focuses on the working situations of these lawyers and the professional roles they play for their respective corporate actors. A division of legal labor that is discovered to separate house counsel from law firm partners among the elite is analyzed in some depth. Since the professional roles of these elite attorneys differ from those de-scribed by other social scientists earlier, the article concludes by offering a theory to explain this apparent social change. By tapping recent discussions of the coming of postliberal society, it suggests that corporate actors engineer this new division of legal labor for their attorneys in response to the complex new legal problems posed by institutional changes in the larger society.
Fully Coupled Rigid Internal Combustion Engine Dynamics and Vibration—Part II: Model-Experiment Comparisons

In internal combustion engine vibration modeling, it is typically assumed that the vibratory state of the engine does not influence the loads transmitted to the engine block from its moving internal components. This one-way-coupling assumption leads to energy conservation problems and does not account for Coriolis and gyroscopic interactions between the engine block and its rotating and reciprocating internal components. A new seven-degree-of-freedom engine vibration model has been developed that does not utilize this assumption and properly conserves energy. This paper presents time and frequency-domain comparisons of this model to experimental measurements made on an inline six-cylinder heavy-duty Diesel engine running at full load at peak-torque (1200 rpm) and rated (2100 rpm) speeds. The model successfully predicts the overall features of the engine's vibratory output with model-experiment correlation coefficients as high as 70 percent for vibration frequencies up through third engine order. The results are robust to variations in the model parameters. Predictions are less successful at the detail level and at higher frequencies because of uncertainties in the actual imperfections of the test engine, and because of the influence of unmodeled engine components.