cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Discussion: The PPB Approach to Research Evaluation

our people, however, seem to be more comfortable with an analytical technique that permits use of a relatively low discount rate. The most practical justification for the benefit-cost-ratio solution seems to lie in the fact that it is a simpler way to solve the investment problem if modern computers are not available. Other issues have also come up. Research administrators have pointed out that use of the benefit-cost criterion may lead to an unbalanced program. The criterion fails to consider availability of scientists. Scientists might not be willing to work on projects which their administrators decide upon when the benefit-cost ratio is used as a guide. The criterion does not determine whether USDA or someone else should do the research. It does not identify the recipients of research benefits. Not all benefits are subject to estimation in dollar terms. These issues suggest that the benefit-cost criterion, in itself, is not adequate for research planning and programming. Additional criteria or constraints are involved. We agree and turn back to the main issue or question. Isn't it possible that administrators can attain a better allocation of resources if research evaluations can achieve defensible estimates of expected benefits and costs and related probabilities of success? We think the answer is yes. The test of this judgment lies in an adequate trial and systematic application of a consistent evaluation technique to a broad spectrum of our research programs. WILLIS L. PETERSON
Recent Results from the DØ Detector

The DO Experiment started taking data in August 1992. We present preliminary results on inclusive jet production, direct photon production, W/Z production and decays, b Physics and first searches fort t production and new particles beyond the Standard Model.
THEORETICAL STUDY ON TEMPERATURE DEVELOPMENT DURING HYDRATION AND SOLIDIFICATION OF CEMENT SLURRY

By quoting cement slurry's hydration heat data to establish a mathematical model, dividing wellbore's annular formation with certain thickness into axial symmetric trigonal ring elements and applying the finite element theory and time differential method to the heat conduction problem, a software has been programmed to calculate and predict the temperature during hydration and solidification of cement slurry. Some conclusions have been obtained by analyzing the results of calculation. The changing of temperature can be divided into three phases during the setting of the slurry. And the primary factors of affecting temperature are the thermal characteristics of formation rock, formation temperature, initial temperature of the slurry and the amount of cement slurry per unit volume. This method can be applied to estimate the temperature during solidification of cement slurry and observe the effect of temperature changing on the property of casing during and after the slurry setting.
Political Involvement in Transition

Using surveys conducted in 1991, we find that western individual-level models of participation also largely apply to Eastern Europe during the early transition. In the post-communist states, we find that youth, experienced political injustice, post-materialism and anti-socialist beliefs were important determinants of political protest participation and party sympathy, but not of the decision to vote in the first elections. This may have contributed to divisions in these countries such that elites promoted market-oriented reforms, and the public responded with "left-turns" in subsequent elections.
AI-28 HLA-DR3 restricted responses to SMD, a lupus-related antigen provide insights to the origin of lupus-related autoantibodies and the unique features of the targeted antigens

Background The presence of complex autoantibodies (auto-Abs) is a hallmark of SLE. The most cited hypotheses for their origin are the “B cell epitope mimicry hypothesis between SmB and EBV” and the “particle hypothesis”. Neither is adequate to explain the characteristics of SLE–related Abs. Our studies showed that HLA-DR3 and DR2 transgenic mice in contrast to DR4 respond well to SmD and Ro60 with DR3 mice being the best responders. In addition, certain bacterial mimics of SmD and Ro60 T cell epitopes were shown to induce auto-Abs to SnRNP and Ro60/La. Materials and methods T cell epitope mapping was done by the generation and characterisation of T-T hybridomas to SmD and Ro60 and their 15 mers. Antibody specificities to SLE-related antigens (Ags) and their peptides were done by ELISA. Results At least seven SmD core T cell epitopes were identified. They have no sequence homology. 18 of reactive T-T hybridomas used multiple TCRα and TCRβ. Bioinformatics analysis identified more than 10000 potential bacterial mimic peptides with many from commensal bacteria. The binding affinities of the SmD T epitopes were in the medium range among all the relevant mimics. Selected mimic peptides showed that only those with medium binding affinities stimulated related T-T hybridomas to the SmD peptides and only they were able to stimulate Ab responses in patterns similar to that induced by the related SmD peptide. A significant number of T-T hybridomas were reactive with multiple T cell epitopes within the SmD molecules. Some of these hybridomas also were reactive with SmD, SmB and/or A-protein within the snRNP particles and Ro60. In addition, the bacterial T cell mimic peptides often shared B cell epitopes with the related SmD peptide. Also healthy DR3+ blood donors had significantly higher Ab titers against SmD. Similar results were obtained in the Ro60/La system. Conclusions Autoreactive TCRs are part of the normal repertoire that are positively selected for host defense against microbial agents. The presence of multiple intra- and inter-molecular T and B cell epitopes are characteristic of SLE-related auto-Ags. These characteristics provide a scenario for the inevitability of the presence of auto-Ab and autoreactive-T cells in healthy individuals with susceptible HLA-D regions and provide a mechanism for B cell epitope spreading in SLE. SLE-related Abs are the results of our reaction to exposure to commensal and/or pathogenic microbes. Innate immunity plays an amplifying role. These observations provide the rationale to target microbiome and both adaptive and innate immunities in the treatment of SLE.
Visual Processing and Need for Cognition Can Enhance Event-Sponsorship Outcomes: How Sporting Event Sponsorships Benefit From the Way Attendees Process Them

ABSTRACT How do sporting-event attendees visually or cognitively process sponsorship? In the context of a professional tennis event, the current study examined attendees9 visual processing and need for cognition in sponsorship processing. Need for cognition is a personality variable in psychology that reflects the extent to which consumers engage in and enjoy effortful cognitive activities. Findings demonstrated how visual processing played a role in the way attendees perceived sponsorship. Attendees who were high in need for cognition more likely would evaluate a non-endemic sponsor as fitting with the event than attendees who were lower in need for cognition.
A comparative study of huff-n-puff gas and solvent injection in a shale gas condensate core

Abstract A compositional modeling study is conducted to compare huff-n-puff solvent injection with gas injection in improving oil recovery from shale gas-condensate reservoirs. The solvents used are methanol and isopropanol, and gases are methane and ethane. The model represents a simple 8″X1″ lab scale core model based on a published experimental work. The phase behavior data and relative permeability data are tuned to match the published lab data. Simulation results are analyzed to compare the performance of four injection fluids – methane, ethane, methanol and isopropanol (IPA) based on the recovery of fluids in place in terms of barrel of oil equivalent within the same operation time. Comparisons were made for two reservoir fluids, Fluid A and Fluid B, with the latter having a higher liquid dropout. Recovery mechanisms are also studied for gases and solvents. Ethane injection is a novel idea in this paper and proved to be the best injection fluid on accounts of higher as well as much faster recovery as compared to methane, methanol or isopropanol. This is attributed to ethane being a lighter fluid and aiding in revaporizing the condensate. While this is also true for methane, the most significant difference between the two is that ethane is also able to reduce overall dew point pressure of the mixture, ensuring lower injection volume and time for the same recovery factor.
The p110α Catalytic Isoform of PI3 Kinase Is Important for Erythropoiesis, but Has a Minimal Role in Hematopoietic Stem Cell Self-Renewal.

Abstract 3620 Poster Board III-556 PIK3CA, which encodes the p110α catalytic isoform of PI3 kinase (PI3K), is mutated in many human cancers, and is an attractive therapeutic target. However, PI3K may also be important during hematopoiesis, as it is activated by hematopoietic growth factor receptors which control hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) and progenitor proliferation, differentiation, and self-renewal, such as erythropoietin receptor (epoR), c-kit receptor, and fms-like tyrosine kinase 3 (FLT3). In hematopoietic cells, receptor tyrosine kinases signal through the catalytic p110 subunit of PI3K, which has 3 isoforms (α, β, δ). However, the roles of PI3K and its specific catalytic isoforms in normal HSC function are poorly understood. We hypothesized that signaling through the p110α isoform is important for hematopoiesis and HSC self-renewal. We have used the Cre-loxP system to delete p110α in the HSCs of adult mice by breeding p110α F/F mice to Mx1-Cre transgenic mice. p110α F/F ;Mx1-Cre+ (Cre+) mice and their p110α F/F (Cre-) littermates were injected with PolyI-PolyC (pIpC) at 4-6 weeks of age to induce Cre-mediated excision at the PIK3CA locus specifically in hematopoietic cells. Deletion of p110α in the bone marrow (BM) was verified by PCR and by immunoblot. We observed that, by four weeks after pIpC treatment, Cre+ mice developed microcytic anemia compared with Cre- littermates, characterized by a decreased mean hemoglobin (p in vivo , we performed competitive repopulation assays, in which CD45.2+ BM cells from PIPC-treated Cre+ mice or Cre- controls were transplanted together with CD45.1+CD45.2+ competitor BM cells into lethally irradiated CD45.1+ recipient mice. Donor BM chimerism (%CD45.2+ cells) at 16 weeks was mildly reduced in the absence of p110α, but Cre+ cells were still capable of long-term reconstitution. In summary, we have found that the p110α catalytic isoform is specifically required for erythropoiesis, but has only a small role in HSC homeostasis and in differentiation of the other hematopoietic lineages. This suggests that pharmacologic targeting of p110α in cancer therapy may result in mild anemia, but should otherwise have minimal hematologic toxicity. Disclosures: Gilliland: Merck Research Laboratories: Employment. Roberts: Novartis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.: Consultancy. Zhao: Novartis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.: Consultancy.
Coherent adaptive optical system

An adaptive optical system in which coherent images are processed to determine wavefront error and the error is corrected by applying the inverse to a deformable mirror is discussed.
Using brown midrib 6 dwarf forage sorghum silage and fall-grown oat silage in lactating dairy cow rations

Double cropping and increasing crop diversity could improve dairy farm economic and environmental sustainability. In this experiment, corn silage was partially replaced with 2 alternative forages, brown midrib-6 brachytic dwarf forage sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) or fall-grown oat (Avena sativa) silage, in the diet of lactating dairy cows. We investigated the effect on dry matter (DM) intake, milk yield (MY), milk components and fatty acid profile, apparent total-tract nutrient digestibility, N utilization, enteric methane emissions, and income over feed cost. We analyzed the in situ DM and neutral detergent fiber disappearance of the alternative forages versus corn silage and alfalfa haylage. Sorghum was grown in the summer and harvested in the milk stage. Oats were grown in the fall and harvested in the boot stage. Compared with corn silage, neutral detergent fiber and acid detergent fiber concentrations were higher in the alternative forages. Lignin content was highest for sorghum silage and similar for corn silage and oat silage. The alternative forages had less than 1% starch compared with the approximately 35% starch in the corn silage. Ruminal in situ DM effective degradability was similar, although statistically different, for corn silage and oat silage, but lower for sorghum silage. Diets with the alternative forages were fed in a replicated 3 × 3 Latin square design experiment with three 28-d periods and 12 Holstein cows. The control diet contained 44% (DM basis) corn silage. In the other 2 diets, sorghum or oat silages were included at 10% of dietary DM, replacing corn silage. Sorghum silage inclusion decreased DM intake, MY, and milk protein content but increased milk fat and maintained energy-corrected MY similar to the control. Oat silage had no effect on DM intake, MY, or milk components compared to the control. The oat silage diet increased apparent total-tract digestibility of dietary nutrients, except starch, whereas the sorghum diet slightly decreased DM, organic matter, crude protein, and starch digestibility. Cows consuming the oat silage diet had higher milk urea N and urinary urea N concentrations. Milk N efficiency was decreased by the sorghum diet. Diet did not affect enteric methane or carbon dioxide emissions. This study shows that oat silage can partially replace corn silage at 10% of the diet DM with no effect on MY. Brown midrib sorghum silage harvested at the milk stage with <1% starch may decrease DM intake and MY in dairy cows.
The Thick of It: Freely Wandering in Academic Medicine.

Abstract Search Google for Paul R. Duberstein and you may see photographs, a list of scientific publications, and some carefully curated bio-blurbs that I wrote for a few websites. Cultural anthropologists would consider those Google results thin descriptions , artifacts lacking the thickness and texture that constitute a life. 1 Information scientists would say Google revealed some data, less information, and no knowledge. 2,3 In this essay, I am committed to telling thick truths that will provide the reader with some knowledge. I'm not thinking aloud, 4 but my inner filter is set to low, and I have only a vague idea of what I am about to say.
Cultivating Metanoia in Twitter Publics: Analyzing and Producing Bots of Protest in the #GamerGate Controversy

Abstract This article examines the unique rhetorical affordances of Twitter bots as a way to offer student writers the kairotic means of understanding how networked writing functions in social media public spheres. Specifically, this article discusses how to theorize and construct protest bots in the ad hoc and post hoc Twitter publics of the GamerGate controversy. In addition to kairos, we suggest that the supplementary concept of metanoia offers a highly relevant lens to understand Twitter bots' anonymity and persistence in relationship to the ways in which publics spheres adapt and change over time.
Dynamic Traveling Repairmen Bounty Hunters

Vehicle routing problems such as the multiagent dynamic traveling repariman problem (DTRP) are of interest to many fields and of increasing practical importance in light of advances in autonomous vehicles. DTRP is NP-hard, making approximation methods attractive. However, current approaches do not adequately consider issues special to DTRP, such as discontiguous-space scenarios or alternatives to equitably partitioning the task space. We tackle this problem in a novel way, using a multiagent task allocation technique called bounty hunting. In bounty hunting, agents compete to perform tasks non-exclusively in return for reward, and rapidly learn which agents are more adept at various tasks, implicitly splitting up the task space. We demonstrate that bounty hunting can perform efficiently in discontiguous environments, and Pareto-dominates the state-of-the-art heuristic technique, and is particularly good in large-scale scenarios.
Examining the Intersection of Sustainability and Resilience

The objective of the sixth chapter of the book is to evaluate the effects of climate resilience, resilience, climate preparedness, climate mitigation, and climate adaptation planning processed. Climate change generates further challenges for local governments demonstrated by extreme and unpredictable weather. While the impacts of the climate change are region specific and are diverse in intensity and the impact levels, they affect all aspects of communities. This chapter describes the intersection between sustainability and resilience and how the resilience planning connects to sustainability planning within local governments. Furthermore, it evaluates strategies utilized by local governments to integrate climate resilience and preparedness into short-term and long-term organizational planning. Finally, the chapter offers an overview of the appropriate steps to integrating climate change strategies into emergency preparedness and disaster mitigation. The ultimate goals of climate resilience planning are a reduction of the operational costs, decreased negative impact on the environment, positive social effects on communities, and improved governance.
Vitamin D and cardiovascular disease: time for large randomized trials.

Vitamin D is a hormone of critical importance to calcium homeostasis and bone health ([1][1]). Although widely regarded as a vitamin, a more accurate term is “conditional vitamin,” in that vitamin D is required in the diet only when the skin does not make enough through the action of ultraviolet
A Navier-Stokes computer

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on the Navier–Stokes computer. Fluid mechanics govern a myriad of physical phenomena broadly ranging from the hydrodynamics of micro-organisms through the flow of interstellar jets. Included in this range are the hydrodynamics of boats and ships, and aerodynamics of air-based and land-based vehicles. As in most other areas of physics, three fundamental approaches may be used in the study of fluid flows: (1) analysis, (2) experimentation, and (3) numerical simulation. The mathematical complexity of the governing equations renders unlikely the possibility of finding general analytical solutions. Moreover, the difficulties that often lead one to perform physical experiments, in themselves limit the range of valid experimentation. The governing equations of fluid flow are generally considered to be the conservative field equations of mass, momentum, and energy, together with appropriate state equations. Historically, these collective equations have come to be known as the Navier-Stokes equations (NSE).
Effect of Environmental Factors on Cyanobacteria Richness in Some Agricultural Soils

The physicochemical variations of soil, such as temperature, pH, nutrients, and the type of plant cultivation, affect the diversity of cyanobacteria, whether heterocystous or not. The aim of this s...
Comparative Molecular Transporter Efficiency of Cyclic Peptides Containing Tryptophan and Arginine Residues

Cyclic peptides containing tryptophan (W) and arginine (R) residues, [WR]5, [WR]6, [WR]7, [WR]8, and [WR]9, were synthesized through Fmoc solid-phase chemistry to compare their molecular transporter efficiency. The in vitro cytotoxicity of the peptides was evaluated using human leukemia carcinoma cell line (CCRF-CEM) and normal kidney cell line (LLC-PK1). [WR]6, [WR]7, [WR]8, and [WR]9 were not significantly cytotoxic to LLC-PK1cells at a concentration of 10 μM after 3 h incubation. Among all the peptides, [WR]9 was found to be a more efficient transporter than [WR]5, [WR]6, [WR]7, and [WR]8 in CCRF-CEM cells for delivery of a cell-impermeable fluorescence-labeled negatively charged phosphopeptide (F'-GpYEEI). [WR]9 (10 μM) improved the cellular uptake of F'-GpYEEI (2 μM) by 20-fold. The cellular uptake of a fluorescent conjugate of [WR]9, F'-[W9R8K], was increased in a concentration- and time-dependent pattern in CCRF-CEM cells. The uptake of F'-[W9R8K] was slightly reduced in CCRF-CEM cells in the presence of different endocytic inhibitors, such as nystatin, 5-(N-ethyl-N-isopropyl)amiloride, chlorpromazine, chloroquine, and methyl β-cyclodextrin. Furthermore, the uptake of F'-[W9R8K] was shown to be temperature-dependent and slightly adenosine 5'-triphosphate-dependent. The intracellular/cellular localization (in the nucleus and cytoplasm) of F'-[W9R8K] was confirmed by fluorescent microscopy in CCRF-CEM cells. These studies suggest that large cyclic peptides containing arginine and tryptophan can be used as a molecular transporter of specific compounds.
The Cauchy integral formula and distributional integration

ABSTRACTWe study the Cauchy representation formula for analytic functions on the unit disc whose pointwise boundary value function is distributionally integrable. We prove that the formula holds wh...
Determining and scaling continuous-wave, laser-induced damage thresholds of thin reflectors

Scalable and repeatable determinations of continuous wave (CW) laser-induced damage thresholds are required to develop materials for applications ranging from deformable mirrors to momentum transfer. Current standards assume sample geometries and beam conditions where CW damage thresholds are constant in linear power density, depend strongly on substrate thermal conductivity, and are insensitive to environmental conditions. In this work, the CW laser response of thin PET films with a reflective Al/MgF2 coating are experimentally assessed over a range of beam diameters and irradiances. The laser-induced damage threshold decreases with increased exposure time down to a temporally-independent irradiance, decreases with increased beam diameter to an irradiance that is independent of spot size, and depends on radiative and convective cooling. Models are used to define the minimum spot size and exposure time required to achieve such constant damage threshold irradiances for thin reflectors.
A Reappraisal of the Comparative Effectiveness of Lumpectomy Versus Mastectomy on Breast Cancer Survival: A Propensity Score-Matched Update From the National Cancer Data Base (NCDB).

Abstract Background Recent observational studies are concerning because they document rising mastectomy rates coinciding with more than a dozen reports that lumpectomy has better overall survival (OS) than mastectomy. Our aim was to determine if there were differences in OS of matched breast cancer patients undergoing lumpectomy versus mastectomy in the National Cancer Database (NCDB). Patients and Methods A retrospective cohort of patients with stage I-III breast cancer in the NCDB (2004-2013) was identified. Propensity score matching (PSM), Kaplan-Meier, and multivariate Cox proportional hazards models were used to examine OS by type of surgery. Results Of 845,136 patients, 464,052 (54.9%) underwent lumpectomy and 381,084 (45.1%) underwent mastectomy. After PSM, the hazard ratio (HR) and confidence interval (CI) for OS in all patients comparing lumpectomy with mastectomy was 1.02 (CI, 1.00-1.04; P = .002). In patients with stage I, II, and III, they were HR 1.27 (CI, 1.23-1.36; P Conclusion In our primary model of all stage I-III matched patients, using the most recent NCDB data and the largest observational sample size to date, the OS after mastectomy was not inferior to lumpectomy. This finding can be reassuring to patients and providers. In subgroup analyses, the association between type of surgery and OS differed by cancer stage and hormone receptor status.
Interpreting the effectiveness of a summer reading program: The eye of the beholder.

Abstract In applying a methods-oriented approach to evaluation, this study interpreted the effectiveness of a summer reading program from three different stakeholder perspectives: practitioners from the school district, the funding agency supporting the program, and the policymakers considering mandating summer school. Archival data were obtained on 2330 students reading below benchmark in Grades 2–5. After propensity score matching participants to peers who did not attend the summer program, the final sample consisted of 630 students. Pre-to-posttest growth models revealed positive effects in Grades 2–4 (standardized slopes of .40–.54), but fifth graders demonstrated negligible improvement (standardized slope of .15). The standardized mean differences of propensity score matched treatment and control group students indicated null effects in all grade levels (d = −.13 to .05). Achieving proficient reading performance also was not attributable to summer school participation. Findings underscore the importance of operationalizing effectiveness in summative evaluation.
Machine learning–driven in situ process monitoring with vibration frequency spectra for chemical mechanical planarization

The objective of this work is to tackle the challenges of monitoring and detecting subtle process changes in chemical mechanical planarization (CMP), an ultraprecision manufacturing process. Monitoring ultraprecision processes is usually of difficulty due to their innate complexity and low signal-to-noise ratio in sensor signals. Especially for subtle signal variations during small process changes, the conventional statistical process control charts could fail to detect such process anomalies from the sensor signals in the time domain. In this paper, frequency spectra representation of the microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) vibration sensor signals during subtle process changes is investigated, and the signal patterns uncovered by frequency spectra are utilized to formulate a machine learning–driven in situ process monitoring approach to detect process anomalies in CMP. The proposed approach overcomes the obstacles of differentiating subtle signal changes by transforming them into the frequency domain with Fourier transform and Hilbert-Huang transform and classifying the resulted frequency spectra with random forest. Based on frequency analysis, it can unveil the differences in the signals obscured in the time domain and suppress the high-frequency noise. Consequently, the presented machine learning–driven in situ process monitoring approach detects process anomalies by differentiating the deviated frequency spectra with machine learning. It is validated on our experimental CMP testbed for anomaly detection, and outperforms three benchmark statistical process control charts. For instance, it detects a slurry shutoff anomaly in CMP about ten times faster than the benchmark methods.
High School Role Models and Minority College Achievement

Large racial differences persist in college enrollment and major choice, which may be exacerbated by the racial distribution of high school teachers. In this paper, I present the first evidence that matching high school students with same-race teachers improves the students’ college outcomes. To address endogenous sorting of students and teachers, I use detailed Texas administrative data on classroom assignment, exploiting variation in student and teacher race within the same course, year, and school, eliminating 99% of observed same-race sorting. Race-matching raises minority students’ course performance as well as improves longer-term outcomes like high school graduation and college enrollment. Black and Hispanic students matching with a same-race teacher in a given subject also become more likely to major in that subject in college. Finally, I do not find any robust, significant effects of race-matching for White students, suggesting policies to make the teaching population more representative would benefit minority students with minimal negative spillovers to the White student population.
Manipulation by Mislaid Priorities

This paper lays a foundation for a new theory of manipulation, based on the misprioritization of (truthful) information. Since consumers review only a subset of all available information, firms can harm consumers by prioritizing information that maximizes firms’ profits but has a smaller impact on the utility that consumers stand to gain from the purchase. Moreover, the distortions due to misprioritized information can arise not only from firms’ boastful disclosures, but also from the warnings and disclosures mandated by lawmakers. The paper identifies the product and market characteristics that determine the optimal prioritization of information and, correspondingly, the incidence of harm when the wrong information is prioritized for disclosure—either voluntarily by sellers or by legal mandate. It provides a framework for optimal legal intervention.
Filling by holomorphic curves in symplectic 4-manifolds

We develop a general framework for embedded (immersed) Jholomorphic curves and a systematic treatment of the theory of filling by holomorphic curves in 4-dimensional symplectic manifolds. In particular, a deformation theory and an intersection theory for J-holomorphic curves with boundary are developed. Bishop's local filling theorem is extended to almost complex manifolds. Existence and uniqueness of global fillings are given complete proofs. Then they are extended to the situation with nontrivial Jholomorphic spheres, culminating in the construction of singular fillings.
Parental presence, clowns or sedative premedication to treat preoperative anxiety in children: what could be the most promising option?

Summary Background and Objectives: A significant number of children undergo surgery experience high levels of anxiety in the presurgical period. The aim of this study is to investigate which intervention is more effective in reducing preoperative anxiety. Methods/Materials: The sample was composed of 75 subjects (aged 5–12 years) who had to undergo minor day surgery. Children were randomly assigned to: the Clowns group (N = 25) accompanied to the preoperative room by the clowns and by a parent; Premedication group (N = 25) premedicated with oral midazolam and accompanied to the preoperative room by one parent; or the Control group (N = 25) only accompanied by one parent. Anxiety in the preoperative period was measured by using the Modified Yale Preoperative Anxiety Scale (m-YPAS). Parental anxiety was measured by using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI Y-1/Y-2). Results: The Clown group was significantly less anxious during the induction of anesthesia compared with Premedication group and Control group. There were not any significant differences between Control group and Premedication group. There was an increased level of anxiety in the induction room in comparison with the waiting room: this difference was statistically significant for Control group and Premedication group, whereas it was not significant in Clown group. Conclusions: PPIA+clown intervention is more effective in reducing anxiety in children during the preoperative period than PPIA alone or PPIA+oral midazolam.
In vivo differential prenylation of retinal cyclic GMP phosphodiesterase catalytic subunits.

Abstract A number of phototransducing proteins in vertebrate photoreceptors contain a carboxyl terminal -CXXX motif (where C = cysteine and X = any amino acid), known to be a signal sequence for their post-translational prenylation and carboxyl methylation. To study the roles of these modifications in the visual excitation process, we have utilized an intravitreal injection method to radiolabel the prenylated proteins of rat retinas in vivo. We showed that two of the major prenylated polypeptides in the rod outer segments are the PDE alpha and PDE beta subunits of cyclic GMP phosphodiesterase PDE alpha and PDE beta subunits of cyclic GMP phosphodiesterase (PDE). By chromatographic analyses of the amino acid constituents generated by exhaustive proteolysis of PDE alpha and PDE beta, we further demonstrated that they are differentially prenylated by farnesylation and geranylgeranylation, respectively. While a number of proteins ending with the -CXXX sequence have already been reported to possess either a farnesyl or a geranylgeranyl group, PDE is the first enzyme shown to be modified by both types of prenyl groups. The prenyl modification of PDE most likely plays a major role in membrane attachment and in correctly positioning the PDE molecule for phototransduction.
An Overview of Hydrology and Water Supply

An overview of the hydrological cycle, how this cycle is influenced by local conditions, and the distribution of water within the hydrosphere is presented. Water quality investigations often require an assessment of water quantity. This is because studies of water quality may necessitate information on amounts of dissolved or particulate substances added to or discharged from aquatic systems as a result of inflowing or outflowing water of natural or anthropogenic origin (pollution). A discussion of simple water velocity and volume measurements and their use in the preparation of water budgets is included.
Principles of Competitive Binding Assays (Saturation Analyses). I. Equilibrium Techniques

The principles of competitive binding assays are reviewed, with emphasis on the differentiation of equilibrium vs. sequential saturation techniques. Three methods of equilibrium analysis are outlined that differ from each other in the relative concentrations of labeled ligand and binder used in the incubation system. The linearization of dose-response curves through the use of the logit plot is discussed. The importance of the knowledge of the effective affinity constant K for optimization of the assays is stressed, and two methods of estimating K are demonstrated with a digoxin-antidigoxin-antiserum system.
The Promise of Service-Learning for Family Science

Abstract Family Science, by its very nature, invites the use of creative strategies for teaching and learning to aid students in developing a comprehensive understanding of concepts and theories. However, many students want to learn not only basic facts but also how the concepts of Family Science impact their own experience and the society in which they live. Service-learning is an effective strategy for increasing this kind of holistic student learning. This paper provides abroad overview of service-learning that sets a frame for the articles which follow in this issue by defining various models of service-learning and identifying principles of good practice. The articles included in this issue provide a rich resource of theory and practice for practitioners of service-learning in Family Science.
Building trust in ecommerce through online dispute resolution

E-commerce is overshadowing face-to-face (F2F) transactions in business-to-consumer (B2C) commerce. This benefits consumers in providing more buying options, but may leave them with no remedies when purchases go awry. This chapter therefore discusses how online dispute resolution (ODR) systems may expand and equalize remedy systems in B2C exchanges. Part II of the chapter discusses the need for expanded ODR to provide consumers with access to remedies regarding online purchases. Part III explains how ODR systems are unfolding on international and domestic fronts in B2C exchanges. Part IV then highlights their strengths and weaknesses and proposes ideas for how ODR systems can be improved to offer consumers efficient and fair means for accessing e-commerce remedies. The chapter concludes with Part V, an invitation to continue the development of such ODR systems in an effort to foster revived corporate responsibility and empower all consumers regardless of their resources, power, or status.
The Regional Crime Analysis Program (ReCAP): a framework for mining data to catch criminals

Most law enforcement agencies today are faced with enormous quantities of data that must be processed and turned into useful information. Two technologies provide the means to turn data into information: data fusion and data mining. Data fusion organizes, combines and interprets information from multiple sources, and it overcomes confusion from conflicting reports and cluttered or noisy backgrounds. Data mining is concerned with the automatic discovery of patterns and relationships in large databases. This paper describes ReCAP (Regional Crime Analysis Program), which was built to provide crime analysts with both technologies.
Biobehavioral Influences on Energy Intake and Adult Weight Gain

U.S. adults are now gaining more weight and becoming obese at an earlier age than in previous years. The specific causes of adult weight gain are unknown, but may be attributed to a combination of factors leading to positive energy balance. U.S. food supply data indicate that Americans have had a gradual increase in energy intake since 1970, and that per capita energy intake was 1.42 MJ/d (340 kcal/d) higher in 1994 than that in 1984. In contrast, self-reported physical activity remained constant between 1990 and 1998. Taken together, these data indicate that the increasing trend in U.S. adult weight gain is primarily attributable to overconsumption of energy. Epidemiological and experimental studies in animals and humans provide strong evidence that biobehavioral factors such as dietary variety, liquid (vs. solid) energy, portion size, palatability (taste), snacking patterns, restaurant and other away-from-home food, and dietary restraint and disinhibition influence hunger, satiety and/or voluntary energy intake. When these eating behaviors are consistently experienced either separately or in combination over the long term, they are likely to facilitate overeating. We provide a brief overview of the evidence to date for the role of these biobehavioral factors in contributing to excess energy intake and increases in body weight over time.
Utility of the National Death Index for Ascertainment of Mortality among Cancer Prevention Study II Participants

This paper reports the results of testing and using the National Death Index to ascertain vital status in the American Cancer Society's prospective cohort study, Cancer Prevention Study II. This cohort of over one million men and women, enrolled by volunteers in 1982, is one of the largest ever to be linked with the National Death Index. In a linkage of over 15,000 persons whose vital status through 1988 had been traced through manual follow-up, 93% of all known deaths were ascertained. Sensitivity varied by demographic factors (race, sex) and availability of identifying information (Social Security number, middle initial). When the Social Security number was available, 97% of known deaths were accurately identified. A computerized matching algorithm was used to minimize manual review of records. With this method, the authors were able efficiently and accurately to reject the many false-positive matches while maintaining a reasonable level of manual record review and death certificate acquisition, thus allowing for continued automated follow-up of this valuable cohort.
Cytokinesis and the establishment of early embryonic cell polarity

Cleavage divisions in many animals form a blastula made up of a simple polarized epithelium. This simple embryonic epithelium possesses an apical surface covered with microvilli and primary cilia separated from the basolateral surfaces by cell–cell junctions. The apical membrane proteins and lipids differ from those of the basolateral on these embryonic epithelial cells, as is found in adult epithelial cells. Formation of cell polarity in embryos at fertilization, including those from both protostomes and deuterostomes, uses the same molecules and signalling machinery as do polarizing epithelial cells that polarize upon cell–cell contact. In addition, the actin–myosin cytoskeleton plays an integral role in establishment and maintenance of this early cell polarity. However, early cleaving blastomeres from higher organisms including echinoderms and vertebrates have not been considered to exhibit cell polarity until formation of junctions at the third through to the fifth cleavage divisions. The role of new membrane addition into the late cleavage furrow during the early rounds of cytokinesis may play a key role in the early establishment of cell polarity in all animal embryos.
Chronicity of atrial fibrillation affects duration of sinus rhythm after transthoracic cardioversion of dogs with naturally occurring atrial fibrillation.

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) in dogs can be managed by electrical cardioversion to sinus rhythm, but early recurrence of AF occurs in some dogs. In humans, the commonly evaluated clinical variables for prediction of early relapse of AF are left atrial size and duration of AF. It is unclear whether the duration of AF affects maintenance of sinus rhythm after cardioversion in dogs with spontaneous AF. Hypothesis: That duration of sinus rhythm after cardioversion is related to the chronicity of AF. Animals: Forty-one consecutive dogs that had undergone successful transthoracic cardioversion for spontaneous AF were evaluated. Methods: The relationship between the duration of documented AF and the duration of sinus rhythm after cardioversion was statistically evaluated using data obtained retrospectively. The effects of structural heart disease and pretreatment with amiodarone were also evaluated. Results: The presence of structural heart disease and the duration of documented AF had significant effects on maintenance of sinus rhythm after cardioversion (P <.001 and P=.022, respectively). The duration of documented AF was inversely related to the duration of sinus rhythm (P=.022) in dogs with and without structural heart disease. Conclusions and Clinical Importance: Estimates of duration of sinus rhythm based on the duration of documented AF are provided for dogs with and without heart disease allowing prediction of risk for early AF relapse.
Daytime somnolence and nocturnal sleep disturbances in Huntington disease

Sleep disorders and daytime somnolence have not been systematically studied in the Huntington disease (HD) population. In this study we have assessed nocturnal sleep and daytime somnolence in 30 patients recruited from a subspecialty HD clinic. Disturbed nocturnal sleep and excessive daytime somnolence were common in this cohort. Further studies employing objective measures of sleep/daytime somnolence in the HD population are needed.
A Hedgehog Survival Pathway in ‘Undead’ Lipotoxic Hepatocytes

Background & Aims Ballooned hepatocytes in non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) generate sonic hedgehog (SHH). This observation is consistent with a cellular phenotype in which the cell death program has been initiated but cannot be executed. Our aim was to determine whether ballooned hepatocytes have potentially disabled the cell death execution machinery, and if so, can their functional biology be modeled in vitro . Methods Immunohistochemistry was performed on human NASH specimens. In vitro studies were performed using HuH-7 cells with shRNA targeted knockdown of caspase 9 (shC9 cells) or primary hepatocytes from caspase 3 −/− mice. Results Ballooned hepatocytes in NASH display diminished expression of caspase 9. This phenotype was modeled using shC9 cells; these cells were resistant to lipoapoptosis by palmitate (PA) or lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC) despite lipid droplet formation. During lipid loading by either PA or LPC, shC9 cells activate JNK which induces SHH expression via AP-1. An autocrine hedgehog survival signaling pathway was further delineated in both shC9 and caspase 3 −/− cells during lipotoxic stress. Conclusions Ballooned hepatocytes in NASH downregulate caspase 9, a pivotal caspase executing the mitochondrial pathway of apoptosis. Hepatocytes engineered to reduce caspase 9 expression are resistant to lipoapoptosis, in part, due to a hedgehog autocrine survival signaling pathway.
PHOSPHORYL TRANSFER IN FLP RECOMBINATION : A TEMPLATE FOR STRAND TRANSFER MECHANISMS

Abstract The basic chemistry involved in DNA recombination, RNA splicing and DNA transposition is a phosphoryl transfer reaction. This review is an attempt to provoke a unified thinking on the reaction mechanisms in these nucleic acid transactions. Some of the recent results with the Flp site-specific recombinase that reveal how the chemical reactivity for recombination is derived from cooperative protein-subunit interactions on the DNA substrate are discussed. At least some of the features of Flp reaction are likely to have global implications in other DNA and RNa strand-transfer systems.
Continuous-processing related ERPS in schizophrenic and normal children

The continuous performance task (CPT) has proven to be sensitive to schizophrenic impairments. Multichannel event-related potential (ERP) data were recorded from schizophrenic and normal children during performance of easy and hard versions of the CPT. Schizophrenics produced fewer hits, more false alarms, and prolonged reaction times. Poor performance in schizophrenics was associated with four ERP abnormalities: (1) Schizophrenics did not exhibit the normal increase in amplitude of an early-onset, processing-related negativity from nontarget to target stimuli, suggesting a failure to appropriately allocate attentional resources to discriminative processing. (2) Although P3 amplitude to targets was not significantly smaller in schizophrenic children, the distribution of P3 amplitude between target and nontarget responses in the easy and hard versions of the CPT was abnormal, suggesting that schizophrenics differed in the strategic allocation of resources in later stages of CPT processing. (3) In all task conditions schizophrenics showed a parietal negative component with a latency of 400 msec seen in younger, but not older normal children, suggestive of maturational lag. (4) ERP data demonstrated absence of right-lateralized P1/N1 amplitude in schizophrenic children. Taken together these data indicate that at several stages of information processing, schizophrenics are deficient in the control and strategic allocation of processing resources.
Remembering X-rays

November 1995 is the centenary of the discovery of x-rays by Wilhelm Conrad Rontgen. In his Perspective, Kirz recounts the events surrounding this important discovery.
Ca2+-calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II regulation of cardiac excitation-transcription coupling

The multifunctional Ca2+-calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) has emerged as a nodal point in cardiac muscle function and adaptation. This stems from CaMKII’s demonstrated role in phosphorylation and regulation of many key molecules known to be critical in excitation-contraction coupling and arrhythmias, and because it increases in expression and activation during hypertrophy and heart failure (HF) and CaMKII overexpression and suppression induce and suppress HF respectively. For many years, there were indications that intracellular Ca could activate altered gene expression, but only in the past ten years has it been recognized that CaMKII and a Ca-calmodulin-dependent phosphatase calcineurin are major Ca-dependent mediators of transcriptional regulation. Moreover, these pathways contribute to changes in gene expression of proteins involved in the HF phenotype, including some of the ion channels and Ca transporters that are acutely involved in systolic dysfunction and arrhythmias.
Mechanical properties of electrochemically prepared polypyrrole films

The mechanical and conducting properties of free-standing films of polypyrrole toluenesulfonate depend on the preparation conditions. Films prepared in aqueous ethylene glycol solvent mixtures show a variation of two orders of magnitude in the conductivity and of a factor of three in the tensile strength.