cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The epidemiology of pedestrian fatalities and substance use in Georgia, United States, 2007–2016

Abstract Though U.S. motor vehicle crashes as a whole have decreased over the past few years, fatalities among vulnerable road users have increased. Pedestrian deaths rose nationally by 27% between 2007 and 2016 accounting for 16% of all motor vehicle fatalities. This increase continues to burden transportation specialists, public health professionals, and community stakeholders. Potential risk factors include characteristics of the built environment, distractions, and pedestrians’ use of alcohol and drugs. Pedestrian deaths in Georgia, United States, increased 40% between 2014 and 2016 while drug overdose deaths have increased by 18% during the same period. Concurrent increases in mortality due to pedestrian fatalities and drug overdoses make Georgia a natural environment in which to describe the proximity of drugs among pedestrian fatalities, a topic largely overlooked by the literature. This study explores the epidemiology of pedestrian fatalities in Georgia over a 10-year period with an emphasis on reported substance use among cases. The study employed 10-year data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) administered by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Descriptive methods were used to explore drug screens by person, place, and time. We also examined trends in total drug screens over the examination period. Between 2007 and 2016, 1781 pedestrian crashes were reported to FARS; the fatality rate for this period was 94.5%. Of these, most were male with Blacks and Whites equally represented. Ages 15–64 accounted for 81.1% of cases with most occurring in the Atlanta Metropolitan area. When adjusted for population, one finds higher rates in more rural areas of the state. Data revealed that testing for the presence of drugs occurred among half of reported cases. Of those testing positive, five drug categories emerged; stimulants (45.8%), cannabinoids (21.5%), narcotics (including opioids) (14.1%), depressants (12.1%), and “Other Drugs” (6.3%). Positive drug screens across all drug classifications increased by 178.1% between 2007 and 2016. These findings suggest the need for state-wide policies designed to promote more consistent screening among pedestrians involved in motor vehicle crashes as well as diligence in understanding the role played by drugs among this population. Additional investigation should be conducted to tease out the presence of category-specific drugs among pedestrians. Understanding the epidemiology of pedestrian fatalities in the state, especially in relation to substance use, serves as a first step toward implementing localized preventive efforts.
Molecular predictors of central nervous system (CNS) recurrence in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL).

e20082Background: CNS recurrence is a devastating outcome after treatment of DLBCL. Clinical features poorly predict CNS recurrence risk or the need for prophylactic therapy. We examined whether sp...
Glacier expansion on Baffin Island during early Holocene cold reversals

Abstract The North Atlantic was a key locus for circulation-driven abrupt climate change in the past and could play a similar role in the future. Abrupt cold reversals, including the 8.2 ka event, punctuated the otherwise warm early Holocene in the North Atlantic region and serve as useful paleo examples of rapid climate change. In this work, we assess the cryospheric response to early Holocene climate history on Baffin Island, Arctic Canada, using cosmogenic radionuclide dating of moraines. We present 39 new 10Be ages from four sets of multi-crested early Holocene moraines deposited by cirque glaciers and ice cap outlet glaciers, as well as erratic boulders along adjacent fiords to constrain the timing of regional deglaciation. The age of one moraine is additionally constrained by in situ 14C measurements, which confirm 10Be inheritance in some samples. All four moraines were deposited between ∼9.2 and 8.0 ka, and their average ages coincide with abrupt coolings at 9.3 and 8.2 ka that are recorded in Greenland ice cores. Freshwater delivery to the North Atlantic that reduced the flux of warm Atlantic water into Baffin Bay may explain brief intervals of glacier advance, although moraine formation cannot be definitively tied to centennial-scale cold reversals. We thus explore other possible contributing factors, including ice dynamics related to retreat of Laurentide Ice Sheet outlet glaciers. Using a numerical glacier model, we show that the debuttressing effect of trunk valley deglaciation may have contributed to these moraine-building events. These new age constraints and process insights highlight the complex behavior of the cryosphere during regional deglaciation and suggest that multiple abrupt cold reversals—as well as deglacial ice dynamics—likely played a role in early Holocene moraine formation on Baffin Island.
International Diversification: A Comparison of Performance of American Depository Receipt Indices and Country Funds

This study evaluates country funds versus American Depository Receipts (ADRs) as tools for international diversification. A portfolio of available ADRs from a specific country (i.e. an ADR index) should provide similar returns to an indexed country fund. We found, however, that ADRs provided superior returns in the majority of cases. This study also attempts to evaluate the impact of trading volume on portfolio performance. In comparison to ADR indices, the country funds had generally higher trading volume. The results of causality tests, though, were mixed, and more research over a longer time period may be needed to address this issue.
Non-catalytic oxidative depolymerization of lignin in perfluorodecalin to produce phenolic monomers

We demonstrate for the first time non-catalytic, oxidative cracking with molecular oxygen (O2) to depolymerize native lignin into oxygenated phenolic monomers. Maximum monomer yield of 10.5 wt% was achieved at 250 °C after only 10 min of reaction and included vanillin, syringaldehyde, vanillic acid, and syringic acid. High rates of oxidation are attributed to the use of perfluorodecalin as solvent. Perfluorodecalin is a perfluorocarbon (PFC), characterized by their chemical stability and exceptionally high solubility for O2. Monomer yields were typically five-fold higher in perfluorodecalin compared to solvents more commonly employed in lignin conversion, such as methanol, butanol, acetonitrile, and ethyl acetate. Phenolic monomer production in perfluorodecalin favors high temperatures and short reaction times to prevent further oxidation of the produced monomers. Lignin oil obtained under oxidative conditions in perfluorodecalin showed lower molecular weight and smaller polydispersity compared to other solvents. Increasing the reaction time further decreased the molecular weight, while increasing reaction time in an inert atmosphere increased the molecular weight of the lignin oil. High concentrations of O2 in perfluorodecalin not only increased lignin depolymerization but suppressed undesirable condensation reactions. Depolymerization is likely initiated by thermally induced homolytic cleavage of ether linkages in lignin to form phenoxy and carbon-based radicals. These radicals bind with O2 as a radical scavenger and further react to form phenolic monomeric products rather than repolymerizing to large oligomers. The PFC process was scaled from 5 mL to 250 mL without any loss of yield. Because most organic compounds are not soluble in perfluorodecalin, recycling is easily achieved via liquid–liquid separation.
STEM initatives in K-12 public education: A review of innovative practices in the US state of Oklahoma

This innovative practice paper presents initiatives in the US state of Oklahoma that seek to link STEM education in K-12 public schools to post-secondary programs. In recent years, government agencies in Oklahoma have spearheaded numerous collaborative partnerships among secondary schools, career and technical institutions, and community-based organizations. The primary goal of these partnerships has been to provide coordinated education and training for students in STEM in ways that can increase the numbers of students graduating post-secondary institutions with advanced degrees and certifications in computing and engineering fields. This presentation examines innovative programs in Oklahoma that have unfolded through collaborative partnerships in recent years by exploring new curricular designs, experiential learning initiatives, capacity-building investments, and organizational restructuring that have undergirded school, university, and community partnerships in STEM education in Oklahoma. These programs not only attempt to provide high-quality learning experiences but also aim to support student transitions to post-secondary institutions. This presentation considers preliminary research on the academic, social, and economic outcomes for these programmatic innovations and considers what lessons can be drawn from these initiatives.
Money is time: On the possibility of critique after neoliberalism

What is the relationship now, and what should the relationship be, between a social-theory oriented critique of neoliberalism, such as the one Konings provides, and other disciplines? In this review essay, I suggest some of the conversations we might form between Konings’ text and texts of a more Marxist variety, including Alfred Sohn-Rethel’s Intellectual and Manual Labor: A Critique of Epistemology, as well as contemporary literary studies texts, including Mary Poovey’s Genres of the Credit Economy and Fredric Jameson’s “Culture and Finance Capital”. In each potential pairing, I suggest a possible relationship between historical time, financial time, and narrative itself.
An investigation of an ergonomics intervention to affect neck biomechanics and pain associated with smartphone use.

Background Neck discomfort and pronounced neck flexion have been associated with smartphone use. Objective Eye glasses with a 90 deg prism in each lens were investigated as a potential intervention to reduce awkward head and neck postures during activities involving viewing the device. Methods Sixteen smartphone users with neck pain and 9 asymptomatic users performed a texting task on a smartphone with and without the prism glasses, in sitting and standing postures in a laboratory setting. Results Cervical erector spinae and upper trapezius muscle activity, head posture and motion, performance, discomfort and other subjective perceptions were assessed. Prism glasses reduced neck extensor muscle activity, neck flexion, and head tilt compared to the direct view. In the symptomatic group, the intervention produced less neck and shoulder discomfort compared to the direct view. Conclusions This intervention could offer an alternative way of interacting with a smartphone while texting in stationary postures, by reducing exposure to pronounced flexed neck and head posture commonly seen in users, and thereby could reduce neck discomfort associated with smartphone use.
Smoke but No Fire: When Innocent People Are Wrongly Convicted of Crimes That Never Happened

Nearly one-third of exonerations involve the wrongful conviction of an innocent person for a crime that never actually happened, such as when the police plant drugs on an innocent person, a scorned lover invents a false accusation, or an expert mislabels a suicide as a murder. Despite the frequency with which no-crime convictions take place, little scholarship has been devoted to the subject. This Article seeks to fill that gap in the literature by exploring no-crime wrongful convictions as a discrete and unique phenomenon within the wrongful convictions universe. This Article considers three main factors that contribute to no-crime wrongful convictions: official misconduct in the form of police lies, aggressive policing tactics, and prosecutorial malfeasance; the mislabeling of a non-criminal event as a crime; and outright fabrications by informants and non-governmental witnesses with motivations to lie. This Article then provides an empirical analysis of existing data from the National Registry of Exonerations about no-crime exonerations and compares data between no-crime exonerations and actual-crime exonerations in terms of contributing factors, crime types, and race and gender distinctions. In doing so, this Article demonstrates that no-crime wrongful convictions, where a person is convicted of a crime that did not occur, are materially different from actual-crime wrongful convictions, where the wrong person is convicted of a crime that did occur but was committed by another. Finally, this Article concludes with policy reform recommendations that specifically seek to reduce the incidence of no-crime wrongful convictions.
Petrobras of Brazil the Impact on the Pre-Salt Oil Wells

First, the purpose of this paper is to investigate and examine a case study on Petrobras Brazil’s largest Latin-American state-owned oil company, its cost of capital, corruption, and the privatization of its growing pre-salt oil reserves. Next, the paper will be a qualitative research into the corruption scandal by Brazil’s former President Dilma Rousseff and the serious allegations. The government believes that she was part of the corruption not a part of the solution during her position as Chairman of Petrobras, which she has destroyed the brand name, as well as, drove the company into 130 billion dollar debt as of 2016. Hence, since the Petrobras inception in 1953 the state-own oil company now has 33% of the shares and 55% of the voting capital, which sends signals to the opposition they have the controlling rights to the company’s assets, as well as, the liabilities (Eiteman, Stonehill and Moffett, 2013).
Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation and Extracorporeal Life Support

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is a life-sustaining procedure that can provide temporary support for patients with severe cardiogenic shock or respiratory failure. The following chapter will discuss the indications, contraindications, as well as a step by step approach on how to perform the procedure. This chapter is meant to be an introduction to the basic concepts of which patients can be considered a candidate for ECMO and the best techniques to use for cannulation. We will also discuss the common problems and pitfalls encountered specific to ECMO patients. In addition, basic troubleshooting is discussed. ECMO can be an intimidating concept for many; however, this chapter looks to demystify this experience. Most importantly the following chapter will explain why ECMO should never be thought of as a cure for any disease but instead as a temporary support device for critically ill patients.
Water storage and release policies for all large reservoirs of conterminous United States

Abstract Large-scale hydrological and water resource models (LHMs) require water storage and release schemes to represent flow regulation by reservoirs. Owing to a lack of observed reservoir operations, state-of-the-art LHMs deploy a generic reservoir scheme that may fail to represent local operating behaviors. Here we introduce a new dataset of bespoke water storage and release policies for 1,930 reservoirs of conterminous United States. The Inferred Storage Targets and Release Functions (ISTARF-CONUS) dataset relies on a new inventory of observed daily reservoir operations (ResOpsUS) to generate reservoir operating rules for 595 data-rich reservoirs. These functions are developed in a standardized form that allows for extrapolation of operating schemes to 1,335 data-scarce reservoirs—leading to the first inventory of empirically derived reservoir operating policies for all large CONUS reservoirs documented in the Global Reservoir and Dams (GRanD) database. Evaluation of the new scheme in daily simulations forced with observed inflow demonstrates substantial and robust improvement for both release and storage relative to the popular Hanasaki method. Performance of the extrapolation approach for data-scarce reservoirs is evaluated with leave-one-out validation and is shown to also offer modest gains on average over Hanasaki. ISTARF-CONUS may be readily adopted in any LHM featuring large reservoirs of the conterminous United States.
Legal Vigilantes and the Institutionalization of Anti-Democratic Politics

In the seemingly endless battle to deny disfavored groups equal citizenship, Republican lawmakers have a new tool: rights-suppressing laws (RSLs). RSLs deputize and subsidize private individuals, empowering them to use civil litigation to deter and punish their neighbors, teachers, colleagues, and local health providers from carrying out highly personal and often constitutionally protected activities. RSLs enacted to date enable (and encourage) random individuals to sue abortion clinicians, and they permit (and, again, encourage) townspeople to sue school administrators and coaches who recognize the equal dignity and worth of their transgender students. Bills empowering students to sue teachers who incorporate antiracist lessons are right now working their way through several state legislatures. Spurred by unsuccessful efforts to obtain judicial review of S.B. 8, Texas’s “heartbeat” abortion law, commentators argue that RSLs allow state legislatures to immunize unconstitutional legislation from judicial review and thus work hand-in-hand with the Roberts Court’s efforts to rollback constitutional guarantees to health access, intimate association, and free and equal citizenship. But this is not the half of it; RSLs fundamentally invert the meaning of legal rights. They do so in order to benefit already powerful groups (at the expense of the marginalized); to prop up the grievance-industrial complex that drives right-wing media and single-issue outrage groups; and, to create and validate a form of white-collar vigilantism that aligns with the overt forms of political violence we’re witnessing in shopping malls, state houses, and school board meetings alike. In effect, RSLs underwrite the cruelest and most corrosive aspects of Trumpist politics, forming an important part of the larger MAGA-inflected attack on democracy in the United States.
Intraarticular Fractures of the Dorsal Lip of the Distal Phalanx

Most mallet finger injuries, whether of bony or tendinous origin, can be treated by splinting in full extension for 6 weeks. Occasionally, at the discretion of the surgeon, the splint should be internal in the form of a linear longitudinal Kirschner wire inserted percutaneously from the fingertip across the reduced distal interphalangeal joint in retrograde fashion.
Cultivating the Self in Concert with Others

The Analects is a series of glimpses into how Confucius and his students engaged in their projects of moral self-cultivation. This chapter seeks to describe the way in which the outlines of a moral psychology arises from the text and how the text poses issues that came to be central to the Chinese philosophical tradition. It will be argued that the text provides exemplars of moral self-cultivation, that it makes emotion central to virtue and therefore makes emotional self-cultivation a central focus of moral development, that it highlights the relational nature of moral cultivation as a process that is conducted with others, that it raises difficult and crucial issues about the relation between intuitive and affective styles of action on the one hand and on the other hand action based on deliberation and reflection, and that it has some useful approaches to the problem of situationism that has recently been raised for virtue ethics.
Chirped superlattice hot electron transistor

We report a novel bandgap-engineered DHBT that (i) eliminates the current-blocking potential barrier between the base and the collector, and (ii) injects hot electrons into the collector at room temperature. Using a Ga/sub 0.47/In/sub 0.53/As/Al/sub 0.49/In/sub 0.51/As DHBT with a composite collector consisting of a 50 nm short-period chirped superlattice (CSL) and a 350 nm Ga/sub 0.47/In/sub 0.53/As collector we demonstrate that the energy band profile and the electrostatic potential arising from the ionized dopants in the base-collector space charge region can be properly tailored to produce a barrier-free conduction band for electrons, similar to that of a homojunction.
Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee and the British Press

(1965). Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee and the British Press. The Social Studies: Vol. 56, No. 5, pp. 173-180.
A Review of “Education's End: Why Our Colleges and Universities Have Given Up on the Meaning of Life”

Anthony T. Kronman's recent contribution to the ongoing conversation about the character and place of American higher education is significant. It also has significant limitations. Kronman seeks to...
Hippocampal Oscillations in the Rodent Model of Schizophrenia Induced by Amygdala GABA Receptor Blockade

Brain oscillations are critical for cognitive processes, and their alterations in schizophrenia have been proposed to contribute to cognitive impairments. Network oscillations rely upon GABAergic interneurons, which also show characteristic changes in schizophrenia. The aim of this study was to examine the capability of hippocampal networks to generate oscillations in a rat model previously shown to reproduce the stereotypic structural alterations of the hippocampal interneuron circuit seen in schizophrenic patients. This model uses injection of GABA-A receptor antagonist picrotoxin into the basolateral amygdala which causes cell-type specific disruption of interneuron signaling in the hippocampus. We found that after such treatment, hippocampal theta rhythm was still present during REM sleep, locomotion, and exploration of novel environment and could be elicited under urethane anesthesia. Subtle changes in theta and gamma parameters were observed in both preparations; specifically in the stimulus intensity—theta frequency relationship under urethane and in divergent reactions of oscillations at the two major theta dipoles in freely moving rats. Thus, theta power in the CA1 region was generally enhanced as compared with deep theta dipole which decreased or did not change. The results indicate that pathologic reorganization of interneurons that follows the over-activation of the amygdala-hippocampal pathway, as shown for this model of schizophrenia, does not lead to destruction of the oscillatory circuit but changes the normal balance of rhythmic activity in its various compartments.
Right ventricular outflow tract pacing : Practical and beneficial. a 9-year experience of 460 consecutive implants

Background: Pacing from the right ventricular apex (RVA) in patients with ventricular dysfunction has been identified as a possible contributor to deterioration of ventricular function. Therefore, alternative pacing sites such as the right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT) are receiving intensified scrutiny. An unresolved question is whether technical, procedural, and stability issues are comparable for the RVA and the RVOT. Methods: This report details 460 consecutive ventricular pacing lead implants with the primary intended site in the RVOT. Patients were evaluated for success, complication rates, and followed-up for stability of pacing parameters. The total patient implant population included 300 male and 170 female patients with a mean age of 70.6 years. Ten patients were excluded from the analysis, since there was a primary indication and intention to implant in the RVA, leaving a total of 460 patients for analysis. The indications for pacing were symptomatic bradycardia due to any cause and/or Mobitz II or complete heart block. There was no clinical evidence of heart failure in 420 patients. In 40 patients with heart failure, the indication for pacing was cardiac resynchronization therapy using the RVOT as an alternate site when pacing from a branch vein of the coronary sinus was not possible. Outcome information was obtained from the implanter's clinic. Results: The overall success rate in the RVOT was 84% over the total 9-year period with a 92% success rate in the last 4½ years, using the RVOT technique described. At 20 months in a subgroup comparison of RVOT and RVA implants, there was no significant difference in pacing threshold, R-wave sensing, or pacing lead impedance. Dislodgment occurred in only 1 of 460 patients. Reasons for failure to implant in the RVOT include inability to find a stable position with adequate pacing and sensing thresholds (related to anatomy, scarred myocardium, pulmonary hypertension, tricuspid regurgitation), hemodynamic instability limiting time for implant, and a learning curve. Long-term stability and lead performance were excellent, and certain acute and chronic complications of RV pacing did not occur.
Responses of Pioneer and Later-Successional Plant Assemblages to Created Microtopographic Variation and Soil Treatments in Riparian Forest Restoration

Riparian forest restoration generally involves introduction of later-successional tree species, but poor species suitability to severely altered or degraded site conditions results in high mortality and poor community development. Additionally, while microtopographic heterogeneity plays a crucial role in the development of natural riparian forests, little is known regarding effects of restored or created microtopography on the development of introduced plant communities. The objective of this study was to determine the influence of created microtopography and soil treatments on early development of introduced pioneer and later-successional plant communities in riparian forest restoration. Ridges, flats, and a mound-and-pool complex were created, and pioneer and later-successional tree assemblages were planted within plots in each of these three microtopographic positions. Straw-based erosion control mats were placed on half the plots as a source of mulch. After two growing seasons, growth and survival of the pioneer assemblage were equal among microtopographic positions, but survival of the later-successional assemblage was significantly higher on ridges (59%) than on mounds and pools (22%) and flats (26%). A suitability index indicated that performance of the later-successional assemblage on ridges was higher than that of the pioneer assemblage for all microtopographic positions. Flood duration explained much of the variation in plant assemblage survival, and erosion control mats had little influence on seedling survival. Restoring microtopographic features has the potential to enhance species survival and promote community development. Microtopographic restoration may be as important in riparian forest restoration as proper species selection and hydrologic reestablishment, especially at severely disturbed sites.
The effects of side chain hydrophobicity on the denaturation of simple β-hairpins

To investigate the sequence dependence in the molecular mechanism of urea induced denaturation, molecular dynamics denaturing simulations of two β-hairpin peptides, a fast folding peptide 1 (SESYINPDGTWTVTE) and a slow folding TRPZIP4 (GEWTWDDATKTWTWTE), were performed in urea aqueous solutions. It was found that β-hairpin denaturation by urea is highly dependent on the hydrophobicity of the side chains. The two β-hairpin peptides studied here and the GB1 studied previously display three different denaturant processes in urea solution by which the breaking of backbone native hydrogen bonds takes different orders. The variation of their denaturing mechanism is well correlated to the variation in their structural properties. In peptide 1, which has only a loosely packed hydrophobic core formed by residues Trp11 and Ile5, all backbone native hydrogen bonds (1 to 5) are broken in a short period of time. Whereas for TRPZIP4 with a compact hydrophobic core of four tryptophan residues, the backbone native hydrogen bonds (1 to 6) are considerably more stable, with the middle hydrogen bonds protected well by the hydrophobic core being the most stable. The comparison of different β-hairpin peptides shows that the side-chain packing on each face of the strands plays a major role in the stability of the backbone native hydrogen bonds in urea solution, and indicates that protein denaturation by urea can be highly sequence dependent.
TH‐C‐342‐03: Quantitative Medical Image Analysis for Early Detection, Diagnosis, Outcome Prediction, and Treatment

Medical imaging and image analysis has revolutionized the patient care as well as many research activities in biology and healthcare. Stet‐of‐the‐art methods and approaches for medical image segmentation, quantitative analysis, and their use for computer‐aided diagnosis and disease progression prediction will be the main target of this presentation. Special focus will be given to several high‐complexity projects in the areas of coronary image analysis via fusion of intravascular ultrasound and angiography, coronary plaque analysis, plaque progression prediction, cardiovascular risk factor assessment via analysis of carotid and brachial ultrasoundimages, pulmonary CTimage analysis, computer‐aided diagnosis of congenital aortic disease, cartilage MR image analysis, and liver surgery planning. The talk will be accompanied by live demonstrations of the software tools developed for the above‐referenced purposes.
Estimates of housing inflation for 39 SMSAs: An alternative to the consumer price index

This paper presents new estimates of the inflation rate of the value of owner-occupied housing and the gross rents of renteroccupied housing in 39 large metropolitan areas. The inflation rates are computed via the method of hedonic indexes usingAnnual Housing Survey data for the period April 1974 to March 1976. The estimates are compared to the official rent index published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and it is argued that the official index understates the rate of inflation for renter-occupied housing. Also, the hedonic estimates are used to determine the pattern of regional differences in inflation as well as differences between the rate of inflation of rents versus values.
Utilizing functional lumen imaging probe topography to evaluate esophageal contractility during volumetric distention: a pilot study

Background The functional lumen imaging probe (FLIP) measures luminal cross-sectional area and pressure during volumetric distension. By applying novel customized software to produce FLIP topography plots, organized esophageal contractility can be visualized and analyzed. We aimed to describe the stimulus thresholds and contractile characteristics for distension-induced esophageal body contractility using FLIP topography in normal controls. Methods Ten healthy controls were evaluated during endoscopy with FLIP. During stepwise bag distension, simultaneous intra-bag pressure and luminal diameter measurements were obtained and exported to a MatLab program to generate FLIP topography plots. The distension volume, intra-bag pressure, and maximum esophageal body diameters were measured for the onset and cessation of repetitive antegrade contractions (RACs). Contraction duration, interval, magnitude, and velocity were measured at 8 and 3-cm proximal to the esophagogastric junction. Key Results Eight of ten subjects demonstrated RACs at a median onset volume of 29 mL (IQR: 25–38.8), median intra-bag pressure of 10.7 mmHg (IQR: 8.6–15.9), and median maximum esophageal body diameter of 18.5 mm (IQR: 17.5–19.6). Cessation of RACs occurred prior to completion of the distension protocol in three of the eight subjects exhibiting RACs. Values of the RAC-associated contractile metrics were also generated to characterize these events. Conclusions & Inferences Distension-induced esophageal contractions can be assessed utilizing FLIP topography. RACs are a common finding in asymptomatic controls in response to volume distention and have similar characteristics to secondary peristalsis and repetitive rapid swallows.
Separation of antibodies into fractions with different binding properties.

Abstract Rabbit antibodies against p-azobenzoate were fractionated by successive adsorption of sera with small amounts of specific immunoadsorbents followed by elution of antibodies with propionic acid. The binding constants for p-iodobenzoate differed among antibody fractions as much as 100-fold for one antiserum and 20-fold for another while the fractions from the third antiserum showed no difference. Antibodies of higher affinity were obtained in the first adsorptions. The last fractions reflect the contribution of the carrier protein to the combining site.
A single-ended perfusion method for large, cylindrical cells

This article describes a method for the intracellular perfusion of large, cylindrically shaped cells with access to the intracellular compartment at only one point. A single cut is made in the cell membrane at some distance from the site to be studied. A glass cannula is then inserted into the cut and the tip is advanced to the study site. Intracellular perfusion solution flows out of the tip and fills the cell as it washes back along the outside of the cannula, to finally exit through the original cut. The technique is applicable to long cells with blind ends, such as segmented axons. It is also useful for the study of synapses which occur between pairs of cells because the minimal dissection required by the technique tends to leave the synaptic structure undisrupted. The method of fabrication of the glass cannula is discussed, along with applicability to electrophysiological methods such as voltage clamp. Examples are presented of perfused axons from the crayfish and earthworm ventral nerve cords.
Applying litho-aware timing analysis to hold time fixing reduces design cycle time and power dissipation

In this paper, we present an innovative approach to reduce power and accelerate timing closure by using simulated silicon-calibrated contours to predict the litho effects on transistor gates and perform litho-aware critical paths analysis. This approach is used to filter the false hold time violations and focus designers' actions on the most relevant violations. After silicon validation, the application of this technique to hold time fixing on a 90nm micro-controller unit product reduces the power increase and runtime of the hold buffer insertion. This study not only demonstrates the feasibility of the Litho-aware STA flow but also shows its value to reduce hold time fixing effort and power dissipation caused by buffer insertion.
Impact of population density on collision rates in a rapidly developing rural, exurban area of Los Angeles County

Objectives To determine if the commonly acknowledged relationships between population density and traffic collisions are found at the subcounty level and to describe how collision characteristics may vary substantially at a local level, with a particular emphasis on exurban areas. Design Los Angeles County collision data were obtained from the California Highway Patrol and the census tract and service planning area (SPA) for each collision were determined. The correlation between population density and collision rates by census tract was calculated within each SPA and for the entire county. Primary collision factors were compared for geographic areas of different population densities within one exurban SPA in Los Angeles County. Results An inverse relationship was found between collision rates and population density within Los Angeles County. Primary collisions factors were different in areas of the county with different population densities, with driving or biking under the influence particularly common in the most rural area. Conclusions Subcounty analyses are very important to the study of traffic collisions. Traffic problems in rapidly developing exurban areas may be quite different from those in older, more established areas.
Specific Interaction of Hepatitis C Virus Protease/Helicase NS3 with the 3′-Terminal Sequences of Viral Positive- and Negative-Strand RNA

The hepatitis C virus (HCV)-encoded protease/helicase NS3 is likely to be involved in viral RNA replication. We have expressed and purified recombinant NS3 (protease and helicase domains) and Delta pNS3 (helicase domain only) and examined their abilities to interact with the 3'-terminal sequence of both positive and negative strands of HCV RNA. These regions of RNA were chosen because initiation of RNA synthesis is likely to occur at or near the 3' untranslated region (UTR). The results presented here demonstrate that NS3 (and Delta pNS3) interacts efficiently and specifically with the 3'-terminal sequences of both positive- and negative-strand RNA but not with the corresponding complementary 5'-terminal RNA sequences. The interaction of NS3 with the 3'-terminal negative strand [called 3'(-) UTR(127)] was specific in that only homologous (and not heterologous) RNA competed efficiently in the binding reaction. A predicted stem-loop structure present at the 3' terminus (nucleotides 5 to 20 from the 3' end) of the negative-strand RNA appears to be important for NS3 binding to the negative-strand UTR. Deletion of the stem-loop structure almost totally impaired NS3 (and Delta pNS3) binding. Additional mutagenesis showed that three G-C pairs within the stem were critical for helicase-RNA interaction. The data presented here also suggested that both a double-stranded structure and the 3'-proximal guanosine residues in the stem were important determinants of protein binding. In contrast to the relatively stringent requirement for 3'(-) UTR binding, specific interaction of NS3 (or Delta pNS3) with the 3'-terminal sequences of the positive-strand RNA [3'(+) UTR] appears to require the entire 3'(+) UTR of HCV. Deletion of either the 98-nucleotide 3'-terminal conserved region or the 5' half sequence containing the variable region and the poly(U) and/or poly(UC) stretch significantly impaired RNA-protein interaction. The implication of NS3 binding to the 3'-terminal sequences of viral positive- and negative-strand RNA in viral replication is discussed.
A comparison of the effectiveness of cysteamine and phosphocysteamine in elevating plasma cysteamine concentration and decreasing leukocyte free cystine in nephropathic cystinosis.

A Comparison of the Effectiveness of Cysteamine and Phosphocysteamine in Elevating Plasma Cysteamine Concentration and Decreasing Leukocyte Free Cystine in Nephropathic Cystinosis
The malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum histones: Organization, expression, and acetylation

Histones are the building units of nucleosomes and play essential roles in DNA replication, repair and transcription. A comprehensive analysis of histone genes revealed that the Plasmodium falciparum genome encodes a canonical form of each core histone and four histone variants H2A.Z, H3.3, centromere-specific H3 (CenH3), and H2Bv. Mass spectrometry confirmed the synthesis of all histones except CenH3. Real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction and immunoblotting detected a dramatic increase in core histone gene expression during the late trophozoite stages, consistent with their role in replication-related nucleosome assembly. In contrast, the expression of variant histones decreased in mid- or late trophozoite stages. The N-terminal tails of histones participate in transcription regulation through covalent modifications, especially at the lysine residues. In accordance, mass spectrometry analysis revealed acetylation of lysines and methylation of lysines and arginines in the N-termini of H3, H3.3, and H4. Moreover, we identified a new pattern of lysine modifications of the H2A.Z variant. Using a panel of acetylation-specific antibodies, we found that K5, K8, and K12 of H4 were abundantly acetylated at a relatively steady level throughout the erythrocytic cycle. In comparison, the H3-K9 acetylation increased in late trophozoite and schizont stages, while H4-K16 acetylation peaked in mid-trophozoite stage. We have also shown that despite the sequence divergence in the PfH3 N-terminus from their mammalian homologues, the recombinant PfH3 was still efficiently acetylated by both recombinant and native PfGCN5 at K9 and K14. This study suggests that histone replacement and the dynamic histone modifications play important roles in regulating gene expression during erythrocytic development of the malaria parasite.
The 19F(p, 2p)18O reaction

Abstract Symmetric coplanar angular correlations for the reaction 19 F(p, 2p) 18 O at E p =42.7 MeV have been measured at angles between 12° and 117°. The results compare favorably with a distorted-wave t -matrix calculation using realistic optical model parameters if an r.m.s. radius of about 4.0 fm for the 2s state in 19 F is used.
Notes on Food Habits of Bats

Observations were made on the diet of five insectivorous bats ( Lasiurus borealis, Euderma maculata, Eumops perotis, Tadarida brasiliensis and Antrozous pallidas ). Reported are percentages of insect remains for each species, obtained from guano, stomach contents or fragments found under the night roost. Discussed are methods used in obtaining insect samples and limits on the level of taxonomic determinations, caused primarily by thorough chewing by the bats. Foods of A. pallidus from four localities in southern Arizona included representatives of 6 orders, 43 genera and 22 identifiable species of insects, several of them flightless forms.
Identification of a surface azide from the reaction of HN3 with C(100)

The reaction of hydrogen azide, HN3, with bare and hydrogenated diamond (100) was studied using high resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy (HREELS). Hydrogen azide adsorbs molecularly on the hydrogenated diamond surface at 100 K and desorbs without reacting at < 273 K. In contrast, HN3 reacts with C(100) at 100 K by breaking the NH bond to form CN3 and CH surface species. The breaking of the NH bond is in contrast to the reaction mechanism of HN3 on Si and Ge surfaces in which breaking of the HNNN bond is observed. We suggest that the stronger bonding of hydrogen to the diamond surface is responsible.
Establishment and characterization of a chicken mononuclear cell line

Abstract A new chicken mononuclear cell line (MQ-NCSU) has been established. The starting material used to initiate this cell line was a transformed spleen from a female Dekalb XL chicken which had been experimentally challenged with the JM/102W strain of the Marek's disease virus. After homogenization, a single cell suspension of splenic cells was cultured using L.M. Hahn medium supplemented with 10 μM 2-mercaptoethanol. Under these culture conditions, a rapidly proliferating cell was observed and then expanded after performing limiting dilution cultures. These cells were moderately adherent and phagocytic for sheep red blood cells and Salmonella typhimurium . When tested against a panel of monoclonal antibodies (mAb) using the flow cytometry, MQ-NCSU cells stained readily with anti-chicken monocyte specific (K-1) mAb but did not stain with mAb detecting T-helper, T-cytotoxic/suppressor, and NK cells. MQ-NCSU cells expressed very high levels of Ia antigens and transferrin receptors. In addition, cell-free supernatant obtained from MQ-NCSU culture contained a factor which exhibited cytolytic activity against tumor cell targets. Based on their cultural, morphological, and functional characteristics and mAb reactivity profile, we conclude that MQ-NCSU cell line represents a malignantly-transformed cell which shares features characteristic of cells of the mononuclear phagocyte lineage.
Dyadic interactions in accepted and rejected children

Forty same-sex dyads were separated into three groups (accepted, rejected, and mixed status) on the basis of their scores on the likability and rejection scales of the Pupil Evaluation Inventory [Pekarik, E.,et al. (1976).Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 4, 83–97]. These dyads participated in a 10-min videotaped interaction which was separated into three segments: waiting period, cooperative task, and conversational period. Observational recordings of six micro behaviors (talk time, gestures, gaze, smiles, orientation, and laughs), as well as ratings of physical attractiveness and speech volume (loudness) and observational counts of cooperation were obtained from these tapes. These data were subjected to a 2 (sex) × 3 (status) × 3 (segment) MANOVA, with sex and status as between-group factors and segment as a within-group factor. The results indicated a number of significant multivariate effects. Univariate tests for attractiveness, speech volume, and cooperation measures indicated a significant status effect for the variable of intensity. These results are interpreted in terms of the developmental literature on social behavior, as well as the data on face-to-face interactions provided by S. D. Duncan and D. W. Fiske [(1977).Face to face interaction: Research methods, and theory. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum]. Suggestions for future research are offered.
Effects of Some Organic Solvents on Ethylene Evolution from Young Cotton Bolls

The presence of promoter(s) of ethylene biosynthesis in young cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) fruits (bolls) was demonstrated by injection of an aqueous extract from bolls into other bolls and measurement of a 3-fold increase in rate of ethylene evolution. Injection of methionine did not affect rate of ethylene production, indicating that the promoter extracted from bolls was not methionine. Injection of the ethoxy analog of rhizobitoxine inhibited ethylene production, indicating that methionine is a precursor of ethylene in cotton bolls. Injection of organic solvents altered membrane permeability, as indicated by decreased resistance to electric current at 1,000 Hz, and stimulated ethylene evolution. The less polar solvents caused large increases in ethylene evolution, major loss of resistance, and visible evidence of membrane damage. The results support the hypothesis that membrane integrity affects rate of ethylene biosynthesis.
Examining the sensitivity of the standardized cumulative prediction error as an event study test statistic

Abstract This study examines the sensitivity of the mean cumulative prediction error (CPE) and the Z value for the CPE , two relatively recently developed event study statistics, in a simulation context. It finds the new statistics to be very sensitive to any detectable extra return in the sample securities. The article provides prospective users of these statistics a calibration of the measures.
Current update on the treatment of genital warts

External genital warts (EGW) are currently the most common form of viral sexually transmitted disease found in the general population. EGW have been shown to occur as a direct result of infection with the human papillomavirus (HPV). Malignancy is typically associated with high-risk types of HPV; however, low-risk type association has been observed. Numerous therapies are presently indicated for use in the treatment of EGW, which can target lesions through multiple modalities including topically, surgically or via immune modulation. Therapies often differ dramatically with respect to cost, side-effect profiles, dosing schedules, duration of treatment and overall effectiveness. Routine HPV vaccination may play a powerful role in reducing the burden of disease by preventing viral infection and transmission. As HPV vaccination continues to gain widespread approval, it may prove instrumental in decreasing the incidence of HPV infection and eventually eradicating genital warts.
“Feminine style” and political judgment in the rhetoric of Ann Richards

This essay argues for a revised perspective of the theory of “feminine style” developed by Karlyn Kohrs Campbell to explain the characteristics of historical feminist rhetorical action. Using a cas...