cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Quantitation of extracellular UTP using a sensitive enzymatic assay

The wide distribution of the uridine nucleotide-activated P2Y2, P2Y4 and P2Y6 receptors suggests a role for UTP as an important extracellular signalling molecule. However, direct evidence for UTP release and extracellular accumulation has been addressed only recently due to the lack of a sensitive assay for UTP mass. In the present study, we describe a method that is based on the uridinylation of [14C]-glucose-1P by the enzyme UDP-glucose pyrophosphorylase which allows quantification of UTP in the sub-nanomolar concentration range. The UTP-dependent conversion of [14C]-glucose-1P to [14C]-UDP-glucose was made irreversible by including the pyrophosphate scavenger inorganic pyrophosphatase in the reaction medium and [14C]-glucose-1P and [14C]-UDP-glucose were separated and quantified by HPLC. Formation of [14C]-UDP-glucose was linearly observed between 1 and 300 nM UTP. The reaction was highly specific for UTP and was unaffected by a 1000 fold molar excess of ATP over UTP. Release of UTP was measured with a variety of cells including platelets and leukocytes, primary airway epithelial cells, rat astrocytes and several cell lines. In most resting attached cultures, extracellular UTP concentrations were found in the low nanomolar range (1-10 nM in 0.5 ml medium bathing 2.5 cm2 dish). Up to a 20 fold increase in extracellular UTP levels was observed in cells subjected to a medium change. Extracellular UTP levels were 10-30% of the ATP levels in both resting and mechanically-stimulated cultured cells. In unstirred platelets, a 1:100 ratio UTP/ ATP was observed. Extracellular UTP and ATP increased 10 fold in thrombin-stimulated platelets. Detection of UTP in nanomolar concentrations in the medium bathing resting cultures suggests that constitutive release of UTP may provide a mechanism of regulation of the basal activity of uridine nucleotide sensitive receptors.
A Sulfurtransferase Is Required in the Transfer of Cysteine Sulfur in the in Vitro Synthesis of Molybdopterin from Precursor Z in Escherichia coli

Abstract It has been shown that conversion of precursor Z to molybdopterin (MPT) by Escherichia coli MPT synthase entails the transfer of the sulfur atom of the C-terminal thiocarboxylate from the small subunit of the synthase to generate the dithiolene group of MPT and that the moeB mutant ofE. coli contains inactive MPT synthase devoid of the thiocarboxylate. The data presented here demonstrate thatl-cysteine can serve as the source of the sulfur for the biosynthesis of MPT in vitro but only in the presence of a persulfide-containing sulfurtransferase such as IscS, cysteine sulfinate desulfinase (CSD), or CsdB. A fully defined in vitro system has been developed in which an inactive form of MPT synthase can be activated by incubation with MoeB, Mg-ATP,l-cysteine, and one of the NifS-like sulfurtransferases, and the addition of precursor Z to the in vitro system gives rise to MPT formation. The use of radiolabeledl-[35S]cysteine has demonstrated that both sulfurs of the dithiolene group of MPT originate froml-cysteine. It was found that MPT can be produced from precursor Z in an E. coli iscS mutant strain, indicating that IscS is not required for the in vivo sulfuration of MPT synthase. A comparison of the ability of the three sulfurtransferases to provide the sulfur for MPT formation showed the highest activity for CSD in the in vitro system.
Effect of alloxan on the insulin content of micro-dissected mammalian pancreatic islets.

THE development of techniques for dissection and weighing of µgm. pieces of tissues1 has provided a method for the isolation of frozen dried sections of mammalian islets. The availability of a very sensitive bioassay method for insulin2 has permitted a direct assay of the insulin content of individual islets. We have undertaken the examination of the insulin content of micro-dissected islets from normal and diabetic rats at various times after alloxan injection.
Inpatient management of patients with volume overload and high filling pressures.

The majority of patients with acute decompensated heart failure are admitted with symptoms of congestion. The classic symptoms of “congestive” heart failure reflect fluid overload, that is, orthopnea, paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea, and peripheral edema; these symptoms can be so dramatic that it is not surprising that patients seek hospitalization. Activation of the renin angiotensin system coupled with sympathetic hyperactivity results in marked sodium retention and high filling pressures that ultimately bring about these congestive symptoms. The treatment goal of patients hospitalized with volume overload and high filling pressures is to improve symptoms by normalizing the filling pressure and volume status without worsening renal function. The current use of diuretics, vasodilators, and ultrafiltration, as well as potential future use of investigational agents such as oral vasopressin antagonists and adenosine A1-receptor antagonists, is surrounded by the important issues of when to stop intravenous therapy in hospitalized patients and the exact mechanism by which the filling pressures are normalized. New data from evidence-based clinical trials and optimal strategies for monitoring fluid overload will help define this issue and ultimately reduce mortality in these patients. Journal of Hospital Medicine 2008;3(Suppl 6):S25–S32. © 2008 Society of Hospital Medicine.
Spatial and temporal variability of air-sea CO2 exchange of alongshore waters in summer near Barrow, Alaska

Alongshore water off Barrow, Alaska is a useful area for studying the carbon cycle of the Arctic coastal sea, because the different coastal characteristics extant in the area likely represent much larger regions of the coastal water of the western Arctic Ocean. Especially noteworthy is the inflow shelf water transferred northward by the Arctic Coastal Current into the Chukchi Sea from the North Pacific and turbid water in the Elson Lagoon where a significant amount of coastal erosion has been reported along the extensive coastal line and where a part of the water from the lagoon drains into the Beaufort Sea adjacent to the Chukchi Sea. To investigate spatial and temporal variations of air-sea CO2 flux (CO2 flux) of the alongshore water, partial pressure of CO2 of surface seawater (pCO2sw) was measured in summer, 2007 and 2008, and CO2 flux was directly measured by eddy covariance at a fixed point for the Beaufort Sea in summer 2008. Measured pCO2sw in the Chukchi Sea side was the lowest in the beginning of the measurement season and increased later in the season both in 2007 and 2008. The average CO2 flux estimated based on pCO2sw in the Chukchi Sea side was � 0.10 mmol m � 2 s � 1 (� 0.1 s.d.) using the sign convention of positive fluxes into the atmosphere from the ocean. pCO2sw in the Beaufort Sea and the Elson Lagoon was relatively higher in early summer and decreased in the middle of the summer. The overall average CO2 flux was � 0.07 mmol m � 2 s � 1 (� 0.1 s.d.) for the Beaufort Sea side and � 0.03 mmol m � 2 s � 1 (� 0.07 s.d.) for the Elson Lagoon respectively, indicating a sink of CO2 despite high carbon inflows from the terrestrial margin into the Elson Lagoon. A strong sink of CO2 was often observed from the Beaufort Sea by eddy covariance in the middle of the summer. This sink activity in the middle summer in the Beaufort Sea and Elson Lagoon was likely due to biological carbon uptake as inferred by low apparent oxygen utilization and high chlorophyll concentration that offset a potential source of CO2 due to terrestrial carbon inputs.
Non-covalent functionalized nanotubes in nylon 12

Polyaromatic compounds, with terminal functional groups, can be non-covalently bonded to the sidewall of carbon nanotubes. This architecture preserves the structural, mechanical, electrical, and electromechanical properties of the CNTs and ensures that an unhindered functional group is available to bond with an extended polymer matrix. Spectroscopic measurements and high resolution imaging are used to confirm the functionalization and incorporation of functionalized MWNTs into a nylon 12 matrix.
Are extrusive rhyolites produced from permeable foam eruptions

The permeable foam hypothesis is suggested by Eichelberger et al. (1986) to explain a major loss of water from rhyolitic magmas in the volcanic conduit. Evidence for the high-water content of the major portion of the magma is herein examined and rejected. Eichelberger's hypothesis does not take into account the large (∼2 orders of magnitude) viscosity change that would occur in the conduit as a result of water loss. It also requires that the permeable foam collapse and weld to form an obsidian that in thin section displays no evidence of the foam. An alternate hypothesis to explain the existence of small amounts of high water content rhyolite glasses in acid volcanoes is that rhyolite magmas are relatively dry (0.1–0.3% H2O) and that water enters the magma from the environment to produce a water-rich selvage which then is kneaded into the body of the magma.
Earthquake-by-earthquake fold growth above the Puente Hills blind thrust fault, Los Angeles, California: Implications for fold kinematics and seismic hazard

[1] Boreholes and high-resolution seismic reflection data collected across the forelimb growth triangle above the central segment of the Puente Hills thrust fault (PHT) beneath Los Angeles, California, provide a detailed record of incremental fold growth during large earthquakes on this major blind thrust fault. These data document fold growth within a discrete kink band that narrows upward from ∼460 m at the base of the Quaternary section (200–250 m depth) to 82% at 250 m depth) folding and uplift occur within discrete kink bands, thereby enabling us to develop a paleoseismic history of the underlying blind thrust fault. The borehole data reveal that the youngest part of the growth triangle in the uppermost 20 m comprises three stratigraphically discrete growth intervals marked by southward thickening sedimentary strata that are separated by intervals in which sediments do not change thickness across the site. We interpret the intervals of growth as occurring after the formation of now-buried paleofold scarps during three large PHT earthquakes in the past 8 kyr. The intervening intervals of no growth record periods of structural quiescence and deposition at the regional, near-horizontal stream gradient at the study site. Minimum uplift in each of the scarp-forming events, which occurred at 0.2–2.2 ka (event Y), 3.0–6.3 ka (event X), and 6.6–8.1 ka (event W), ranged from ∼1.1 to ∼1.6 m, indicating minimum thrust displacements of ≥2.5 to 4.5 m. Such large displacements are consistent with the occurrence of large-magnitude earthquakes (Mw > 7). Cumulative, minimum uplift in the past three events was 3.3 to 4.7 m, suggesting cumulative thrust displacement of ≥7 to 10.5 m. These values yield a minimum Holocene slip rate for the PHT of ≥0.9 to 1.6 mm/yr. The borehole and seismic reflection data demonstrate that dip within the kink band is acquired incrementally, such that older strata that have been deformed by more earthquakes dip more steeply than younger strata. Specifically, strata dip 0.4° at 4 m depth, 0.7° at 20 m depth, 8° at 90 m, 16° at 110 m, and 17° at 200 m. Moreover, structural restorations of the borehole data show that the locus of active folding (the anticlinal active axial surface) does not extend to the surface in exactly the same location from earthquake to earthquake. Rather, that the axial surfaces migrate from earthquake to earthquake, reflecting a component of fold growth by kink band migration. The incremental acquisition of bed dip in the growth triangle may reflect some combination of fold growth by limb rotation in addition to kink band migration, possibly through a component of trishear or shear fault bend folding. Alternatively, the component of limb rotation may result from curved hinge fault bend folding, and/or the mechanical response of loosely consolidated granular sediments in the shallow subsurface to folding at depth.
A Sandwich-Type Standard Error Estimator of SEM Models with Multivariate Time Series.

Structural equation models are increasingly used as a modeling tool for multivariate time series data in the social and behavioral sciences. Standard error estimators of SEM models, originally developed for independent data, require modifications to accommodate the fact that time series data are inherently dependent. In this article, we extend a sandwich-type standard error estimator of independent data to multivariate time series data. One required element of this estimator is the asymptotic covariance matrix of concurrent and lagged correlations among manifest variables, whose closed-form expression has not been presented in the literature. The performance of the adapted sandwich-type standard error estimator is evaluated using a simulation study and further illustrated using an empirical example.
Effectiveness of an HIV Prevention Program for Women Visiting Their Incarcerated Partners: The HOME Project

Having an incarcerated partner presents a unique HIV risk for women, particularly low-income women of color. We developed a population-specific risk reduction intervention for women visiting men in prison that was peer educator-based and included individual and community-level intervention components. Women who were assessed prior to the intervention period had a positive association between the number of unprotected penetrative intercourse (UPI) episodes prior to their partners’ incarceration and the number of UPI episodes following partners’ release from prison. However, this association was negated among women assessed during the intervention. Intervention participants also were more likely to be tested for HIV, to have partners who got tested, and to talk with their partners about significantly more HIV-related topics. Conducting intervention and evaluation activities with women visiting incarcerated men is feasible and is a useful model for reaching more at-risk women.
19 ALCOHOL USE AMONG LOWER SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

This study investigated patterns of alcohol use and attitudes towards drinking among lower SES high school students. A pretested, 28-item self-administered questionnaire, specially constructed for this study's population, was distributed at two Cleveland high schools. Of the 1,547 students present the day of this study, 1,096 satisfactorily completed the questionnaire. 49% of the final sample were male, 51%, female; 71% were black, 23% white, 6% other; X age=16.7 yrs. Convergent validity estimates ranged from .51 to .82 (p<.0001). Approximately 15% of students who had ever used alcohol reported taking their first full drink at 9 yrs. of age or younger. About 1 in 5 students indicated being drunk at least 3 times within the past 2 mos. However, only 1% of respondents reported their drinking posed a significant problem for them. Reliable correlations (p<.001) were achieved between the number of times drunk and number of drinking friends (.39), positive attitudes towards drinking (.47), number of reasons for drinking (.43), age of first drink (−.28), parental drinking patterns (.20) and religiosity (−.27). A multiple regression using 6 independent variables accounted for 46% of the variance in reported drunkenness (F=90.50; p<.001). The results suggest unacceptably high levels of alcohol misuse (20%) in this study's sample and that screening efforts with adolescent populations should not depend upon self-reports of drinking problems (1%) to identify alcohol abusing youth.
Athens and Jerusalam Revisited: Reason and Authority in Tertullian

Very few ancient Christian writers have been as maligned by posterity as Tertullian has been. This is understandable, for Tertullian made little effort to endear himself to either his contemporaries or his future readers. His conversion to—many still say “lapse into”—Montanism was not calculated to make him popular with Catholic historians. His so-called legalism has become a favorite straw man for Protestant writers. The disappearance of both Montanism and the ancient African church destroyed the two logical communities where his name might have been venerated. In the sixteenth century a number of scholars became sufficiently interested in him to produce editions of his works; but although his rhetorical ability attracted some attention from the humanists, they found his manner and spirit too uncouth. Protestant rigorists who ought to have welcomed his stringency rejected him because of his emphasis on tradition. Catholic polemicists who could be expected to welcome such an emphasis ignored him because of his apparent denial of the authority of tradition in becomeing a Montanist. Rationalist scholars who ought to have enjoyed his wit and his unflinching logic were unable to sympathize with the seemingly illogical consequences of that logic. The result of these various biases has been a surprising agreement on a generally negative evaluation of Tertullian as a thinker and as a person.
The effective action for composite Higgs particles

There is reason to believe that massive composite (fermion-antifermion) scalar particles closely resembling the usual fundamental scalar Higgs fields exist in theories with dynamically broken gauge symmetries. This composite Higgs couples directly to the fermions in proportion to their symmetry-violating self-energies. Induced couplings to the gauge bosons and self-couplings are calculated as loop effects. This involves deriving the effective action in terms of the full propagators and background fields. The couplings between the composite Higgs and the gauge bosons are the same as those in models with fundamental scalars. The self-couplings are determined and fix all parameters associated with the composite scalars. Comments regarding extending this work to higher orders and concerning the symmetry-violating solutions to the fermion Schwinger-Dyson equation are given.
The use of computer-aided manufacturing during the treatment of the edentulous mandible in an oral radiation therapy patient: clinical report

This clinical report describes the treatment of an edentulous patient with previous radiation therapy to the base of the tongue. A computer-aided manufactured titanium framework was used to fabricate the implant-supported fixed complete denture and meet the functional and psychosocial needs of the patient.
POLYMORPHIC BEHAVIOR OF ULVA LACTUCA (CHLOROPHYTA) IN AXENIC CULTURE. I. OCCURRENCE OF ENTEROMORPHA‐LIKE PLANTS IN HAPLOID CLONES1

An isolate of Ulva lactuca L. was brought into axenic culture in both defined synthetic medium and enriched seawater. Haploid clones were established and followed through several generations in both media. Plants possessing distromatic, partially distromatic or completely tubular blades in cross sections, as well as individuals that were completely distromatic in one area of the blade and tubular in another all developed from the same swarmer population. Variations in basal area morphology also occurred. Progeny from swarmers of any of these morphological types showed a similar mixture of morphological variation, indicating non-mutational variability in phenotypic expression of the blade and basal areas. A mechanism by which such variation may occur without mutation is discussed.
Quantitative and Qualitative Changes in Phospholipid in the Intestine of the Gerbil and the Development of Lipodystrophy

Female gerbils fed a diet containing 20% coconut oil develop an intestinal lipodystrophy that is not seen in animals fed a diet containing 20% safflower oil or a diet of 20% coconut oil supplemented with 0.1% inositol. The coconut oil diets contained 1.5% safflower oil to prevent essential fatty acid deficiency. The level of inositol in the intestinal tissue of animals fed the coconut oil diet not supplemented with inositol has been shown to be decreased. Phospholipid analyses of the intestinal tissue were undertaken to determine if this decrease in total inositol was reflected in a decrease in phosphatidylinositol or resulted in an altered phospholipid pattern. No difference in the phosphatidylinositol level was seen between animals fed 20% coconut oil with and without inositol sup plementation (fig P/gut section), although animals fed coconut oil diets had lower levels of phosphatidylinositol than animals fed safflower oil diets. Fatty acid analyses of total phospholipid and phosphatidylinositol in gut tissue revealed that animals which developed the lesion had an altered phosphatidylinositol fraction with a depressed level of arachidonic acid and an elevated level of oleic acid. This suggests that the development of the intestinal lipodystrophy may be correlated with qualitative rather than quantitative changes in phosphatidylinositol. J. Nutr. 109: 2146-2151, 1979.
You are what you eat: The impact of diet on overactive bladder and lower urinary tract symptoms

Overactive bladder (OAB) is a clinical syndrome describing the symptom complex of urgency, with or without urgency incontinence and is usually associated with frequency and nocturia. The symptoms associated with OAB are common and whilst not life threatening are known to have a significant impact on the quality of life (QoL). There is increasing evidence that diet may have a significant role in the development of OAB symptoms. Whilst fluid in-take is known to affect lower urinary tract function the effects of caffeine, carbonated drinks and artificial sweeteners are less well understood. Consequently the aim of this paper is to review the evidence and investigate the effect of diet on lower urinary tract function and dysfunction.
The limits of agency in the analysis of elite Iron Age Celtic burials

Burial ritual is an area of human behavior that at first seems particularly resistant to the identification of purposeful and intentional action in the archaeological past, at least when viewed fro...
Dopamine Transporter: Function and Imaging

The dopamine transporter was discovered as a unique transporter entity in the late 1960’s (Glowinski and Iversen, 1966; Snyder and Coyle, 1969). The next two decades were spent largely dealing with the pharmacology of the transporter, but progress was made regarding its molecular nature and in the development of binding ligands. Late in 1980, it became clear that the transporter was an important target or “receptor” for cocaine (Ritz et al., 1987; Bergman et al., 1989) and irreversible photolabeling probes began a productive study of its molecular nature (Grigoriadis et al., 1989).
Origin of orogenic remagnetizations in Mississippian carbonates, Sawtooth Range, Montana

[1] Paleomagnetic results are presented from Mississippian Madison Group carbonates in the Sawtooth Range, northwestern Montana. Samples were collected from sites along two east-west trending transects perpendicular to the thrust faults in the Sun River Canyon and in the North and South Forks of the Teton River and from three folds. The Madison Group contains a widespread characteristic remanent magnetization (ChRM) that resides in magnetite with southerly declinations and moderately steep up inclinations. Tilt test results suggest that the ChRM is pretilting in the thrust sheets and Teton anticline but syntilting in the Clary Coulee and Swift Dam folds. The ChRMs all have the same characteristics and were probably caused by the same remagnetization event, yet the tilt test results are different. One explanation involves the difference in fold types between the Teton anticline (fault bend fold geometry) and the Clary Coulee and Swift Dam folds (fault propagation fold geometries). The deformation that produced the two geometries could have caused variations in strain/stress, which may have altered an original pretilting into a syntilting ChRM. A mean paleopole for the three pretilting tilt test results (67.2°N, 177.9°E; A95 = 13.1°) suggests remanence acquisition in the late Jurassic–early Tertiary. The ChRM is interpreted as a chemical remanent magnetization (CRM). Geochemical studies indicate that the Mississippian carbonates were altered by evolved fluids with radiogenic 87Sr/86Sr values, and petrographic analysis indicates that hydrocarbons migrated through the carbonates. The CRM is interpreted to be related to alteration by one of these fluids.
Application of the COSMO−SAC−BP Solvation Model to Predictions of Normal Boiling Temperatures for Environmentally Significant Substances

We recently reported the COSMO−SAC−BP model for predicting vapor pressure and its temperature derivative, the enthalpy of vaporization. This COSMO−SAC−BP model, which contains no compound specific parameters, is based on determining three major solvation components: (i) an electrostatic contribution, calculated using the quantum mechanical COSMO (conductor-like-screening-model) method with a statistical mechanical correction for solution nonideality (deviation from a perfect conductor); (ii) a dispersion contribution, obtained from a mean field treatment; and (iii) a cavity formation contribution determined from thermodynamic perturbation theory. This COSMO−SAC−BP model was previously validated to successfully correlate normal boiling point temperatures and enthalpies of vaporization for 369 molecules. In this present study, we have extended the COSMO−SAC−BP model to describe large and more-complex molecules, including pollutants, herbicides, insecticides, and drugs,. The average absolute deviation in the predicted boiling points of these complex molecules, which spans the range of 266−708 K is 17.8 K, or 3.7%. This is similar to the value of 3.2% that was obtained for the 369 molecules in the earlier study, indicating that this method can be applied well outside the systems used to train the model. More importantly, we report here the predicted the normal boiling temperatures for 10 pesticides for which no experimental data are available. This illustrates the advantage to the COSMO−SAC−BP model: predicting several properties for a wide variety of molecules simultaneously in a unified framework with few parameters (unlike group contribution methods (or quantitative structure−property relationships).
Synchronization of asynchronous processes in CSP

Many concurrent programming languages including CSP and Ada use synchronous message-passing to define communication between a pair of asynchronous processes. Suggested primitives like the generalized alternative command for CSP and the symmetric select statement for Ada allow a process to nondeterministically select one of several communication statements for execution. The communication statement may be either an input or an output statement. We propose a simple algorithm to implement the generalized alternative command and show that it uses fewer messages than existing algorithms.
Solubilities in supercritical fluids

Solubilities in supercritical fluids are of great importance in a wide variety of ap- plications. These applications include: production of controlled drug delivery systems, pow- der processing, pollution prevention and remediation, methods for spraying paints and coat- ings, precipitation/crystallization processes, bioseparations, and food processing. Examples of some of these applications will be given. Supercritical fluid processes make use of the significant variation of solubility with pressure when the solvent is a supercritical fluid. This permits the accomplishment of many processes that would be otherwise very difficult to achieve. To fully understand the benefits of such processes, one must understand the phase behavior of such systems. The types of phase behavior that can be observed will be discussed, along with the ways that this behav- ior can be used to modify solubilities in such fluids. There have been many methods proposed for the experimental determination of solu- bilities in supercritical fluids. These will be reviewed in general, and recommendations for preferred methods given. Solubilities in supercritical fluids can be correlated and predicted by making use of thermodynamic calculations involving equations of state, as well as by other methods. The various methods will be reviewed, and recommendations given for various applications.
Genetic and environmental parameters associated with linearized type appraisal scores

Abstract Linearized type records on 14,525 Holstein cows were analyzed to obtain genetic and environmental parameters. Each record consisted of scores on 15 linear type traits recorded on cows between March 1982 and October 1986. Genetic and environmental (co)variances were estimated by the algorithm of expectation-maximization of REML procedure. The model used included fixed herd-year effects, groups of unknown maternal grandsires, and linear and quadratic regressions for both age at calving and days in lactation as well as random sire and maternal grandsire effects. Heritabilities ranged from .07 for foot angle to .35 for stature. Environmental correlations were in general small: the highest was .55 between rear udder height and rear udder width. High genetic correlations were found among stature, body strength, and body depth and among the various udder traits measured. Genetic correlations among udder traits and the remaining traits were in general small. Genetic correlations among stature, body strength, and body traits with the remaining traits measured were small also, with the exception of correlations with rump width.
Wealth in People, Wealth in Things – Introduction*

One of the guiding lodestones for social theorists and social historians across the entire theoretical spectrum has been ‘wealth’: the things people imbue with value, the caches they collect up by every means from prestation to predation, the performative displays they orchestrate, the treasures they store and eventually leave behind, and all the complex cultural constructions whereby such things are counted, praised and imagined as sources and instruments of power. Perhaps no other topic excites comparably and recurrently fresh interest, from the Marxian framework of capital to Veblen's ‘conspicuous consumption’, Schama's ‘embarrassment of riches’, Appadurai's ‘tournaments of value’ and Weiner's ‘dense objects’.
Shared decision making in inflammatory bowel disease: helping patients understand the tradeoffs between treatment options

The treatment of inflammatory bowel disease is becoming more complicated with new medications and new treatment paradigms. Although data are accumulating that the earlier use of immunomodulators and anti-tumor necrosis factor agents are more effective than the standard "step-up" pyramidal treatment algorithm, patients may not be comfortable with this more intensive therapeutic approach. The process of shared decision making engages patients in treatment decisions to optimize the chance that a chosen therapy matches their personal preferences for care. Decision aids are standard shared decision making tools, which are used to present evidence-based data in a patient-friendly manner to help patients with preference-sensitive decisions. Not all care decisions are preference-sensitive, and not all patients are interested in being part of a shared medical decision. The responsibility of the provider is to identify how much of a role patients want, and then determine which decisions need their input to provide the best patient-centered care. The overall goal is to involve patients in decisions so that they are educated about their options, confident in the plan, adherent to chosen therapy and ultimately have a better quality of life.
Internetworking of wireless communication networks

The interconnection of cellular wireless radio basesites is discussed. The IEEE 802.6 metropolitan area network (MAN) is proposed to facilitate such interconnection over approximately 50 city blocks. These access MAN's are themselves interconnected via bridges or via asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) switches. A distributed database architecture is proposed to facilitate location and tracking of roaming subscribers. Signaling for call setup and handoff is analyzed. >
Preclinical studies of a perfluorochemical emulsion as an adjunct to radiotherapy

Tumor growth and tumor cell survival endpoints were used to examine the effects of a perfluorochemical emulsion, Fluosol-DA, 20%, and carbogen (95% O2/5% CO2) on EMT6 mouse mammary tumors in BALB/c mice. These studies defined the effects of the Fluosol dose on the hematocrit and fluorocrit of the mice and on the radiation response of the tumors. The effect of varying the duration of carbogen breathing before irradiation was examined; times of 5-60 min gave similar enhancements of tumor radiosensitivity. Potentiating effects were not observed when the tumors were irradiated 1-3 days after Fluosol injection, probably reflecting the observed clearance of the perfluorochemicals from the circulating blood. Fluosol injected 30 min-2 days before irradiation did not alter the radiation response of tumors in air-breathing or N2-asphyxiated mice. Together, these studies provided additional support for the hypothesis that the potentiation of tumor radiation response observed after treatment with Fluosol plus carbogen results from changes in O2 delivery to the hypoxic tumor cells by oxygenated perfluorochemical particles. This confirms the conclusion drawn on the basis of the observed changes in the tumor cell survival curve. Studies of tumor cell survival, tumor cell yield, tumor growth, and artificial lung metastasis formation revealed no effects of Fluosol treatment (without irradiation) on tumor progression or metastasis. Studies examining the effects of Fluosol plus carbogen on the growth of tumors irradiated with 5 Gy showed that the changes in tumor radiosensitivity observed using cell survival endpoints also occurred in tumors left in situ after irradiation with a radiation dose similar to those used in some clinical trials.
A Retrospective Examination of Interactional Behaviors Viewed as Experimentally Nonsignificant

In the process of field testing a metalinguistic intervention procedure, unanticipated behaviors were noted. Although these behaviors did not have a statistically significant impact on the results of the original investigation, the children's varied perceptions of specific tasks influenced their performance in important ways. Limitations were noted in a strictly quantitative analysis of the experimental data. Ethnographic techniques were applied to a post-hoc examination of the children's responses. The reflective and qualitative nature of ethnography was used to account for these different perceptions and their impact on the children's behavior.
Solving linear diffusion‐reaction networks in porous catalyst particles using BEM

Multiple diffusion reactions are frequently encountered in the modeling of heterogeneous catalytic reactors. Obtaining an accurate estimate of the yield and selectivity in such reactions is crucial for an optimal design of reactors. Due to the inadequacy of analytical techniques in handling nonuniform catalyst shapes and mixed boundary conditions, numerical techniques are often employed to compute these design parameters. Among other numerical techniques, the boundary element method (BEM) is a superior method to solve linear diffusion reaction problems. The integral nature of the BEM formulation allows for boundary-only discretization of the particle, thus reducing the computer execution time and the data preparation effort. A boundary element algorithm is developed to solve a network of linear diffusion reactions in porous catalyst particles in two dimensions. For this purpose, a matrix of fundamental solutions is defined and derived. The developed algorithm is applied to complex reaction networks to obtain the yield of intermediates for nonregular catalyst shapes and nonuniform boundary conditions. The method can be used as a design tool to study particle scale modeling in detail and can be incorporated into an overall reactor model.
Reforming the approach of the Global Environmental Facility to biodiversity conservation

Biodiversity – a measure of the wealth of species, ecosystems and ecological processes that make up our living planet –received public prominence as a result of the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992. The loss of biodiversity, say the authors, is the greatest environmental problem the world faces but the issue has not been given the attention it deserves. With the emergence of the Global Environmental Facility in 1990 came the chance to fund biodiversity conservation on a unprecedented scale and in 1992 the GEF was adopted as the interim funding mechanism for the Convention on Biological Diversity signed at the Earth Summit. Three years after its foundation, the authors of this paper suggest that the GEF has to be reformed radically if it is to become an effective force in conservation. Their conclusions are based on Conservation International's experience with the GEF over the last 3 years in more than 10 countries.
No correlation between erythrocyte Na,K-ATPase activity and resting metabolic rate in humans.

The relationship between erythrocyte Na,KAT-Pase activity (ouabain-inhibited 86Rb uptake) and metabolic efficiency (defined as the resting metabolic rate adjusted for body composition) was examined in 31 healthy young subjects (16 men and 15 women, 19–33 yr old). Mean (±sem) Na, KAT-Pase activity (expressed as nanomoles of Rb taken up per h/billion erythrocytes) was similar in the men (86 ± 3) and women (94 ± 7). After adjusting metabolic rate for body cell mass (total body potassium), men and women had similar metabolic rates, and subjects with the highest percent body fat tended to have the highest metabolic rates. Ouabain-sensitive erythrocyte Rb uptake was related to less than 2% of the variability in resting metabolic rate after adjusting metabolic rate for differences in body composition. Erythrocyte Na,K-ATPase activity does not appear to be a useful marker of metabolic efficiency in man. (J Clin Endocrinol Metab 69: 914, 1989)
Plasma Levels of Arginine, Ornithine, and Urea and Growth Performance of Broilers Fed Supplemental L-Arginine During Cool Temperature Exposure

Two experiments (Experiment 1 and 2) were conducted to evaluate growth performance, ascites mortality, and concentrations of plasma Arg, urea, and ornithine in male broilers raised in floor pens (2 x 4 factorial experiment, six pens for treatment) and exposed to cool temperatures averaging 16 C after 21 d of age. Broilers were fed low- or high-CP diets in both Experiments. In Experiment 1, Arg treatments consisted of control (no supplemental Arg); 0.15 or 0.3% supplemental Arg in the diet (low- and medium-Arg feed, respectively); and 0.3% supplemental Arg in the drinking water (Arg-water). Arginine levels were increased in Experiment 2 and consisted of the following: control (no supplemental Arg); 0.3 or 0.85% supplemental Arg in the diet (medium- and high-Arg feed, respectively); and 0.6% supplemental Arg in the drinking water (Arg-water). The water treatment followed a 3-d cyclic regimen, with supplemental Arg being provided for 24 h, followed by tap water for 48 h. When the broilers reached 37 d of age and all groups had consumed tap water for the previous 48 h, blood samples were collected from one bird per pen (Time 0, 0700 h); then supplemental Arg was provided in the Arg-water group, and additional blood samples were collected from the control and Arg-water groups at 3, 6, 12, and 36 h after Time 0. Plasma amino acids were analyzed using HPLC. Birds fed the high-CP diet were heavier at 49 d than birds fed the low-CP diet in Experiment 1, but not in Experiment 2. No differences were found in feed conversion or ascites mortality due to CP or Arg treatments in either experiment. In both experiments, plasma Arg was similar for all groups at Time 0, but increased in the Arg-water group at 3, 6, and 12 h after Arg was provided in the water. Within 12 h after returning to tap water, plasma Arg levels of the Arg-water group did not differ from the control group. Plasma urea and ornithine were parallel to plasma Arg concentrations, and the high-CP diets resulted in higher plasma levels of urea and ornithine compared with low-CP diets. These results indicate that kidney arginase was readily activated by Arg provided in the water, resulting in an immediate increase in plasma urea and ornithine. Plasma Arg was increased significantly, but no effects were observed in ascites mortality.
Racial/Ethnic Differences in Use and Duration of Adjuvant Hormonal Therapy for Breast Cancer in the Women's Health Initiative

Background: Five-year breast cancer survival rates are lower among Hispanic and African-American women than among Non-Hispanic White women. Differences in breast cancer treatment likely play a role. Adjuvant hormonal therapies increase overall survival among women with hormone receptor-positive breast cancer. Methods: We examined racial/ethnic differences in use and duration of adjuvant hormonal therapy among 3,588 postmenopausal women enrolled in the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) Extension Study. Women diagnosed with hormone receptor-positive localized or regional stage breast cancer after study enrollment were surveyed between September 2009 and August 2010 and asked to recall prior use and duration of adjuvant hormonal breast cancer therapy. ORs comparing self-reported use and duration with race/ethnicity (Hispanic, African-American, Asian/Pacific Islander vs. Non-Hispanic White) were estimated using multivariable-adjusted logistic regression. Results: Of the 3,588 women diagnosed from 1994 to 2009; 3,039 (85%) reported any use of adjuvant hormonal therapy, and 67% of women reporting ever-use who were diagnosed before 2005 reported using adjuvant hormonal therapy for the optimal duration of 5 years or more. In adjusted analysis, no statistically significant differences in use or duration by race/ethnicity were observed. Conclusions: This study did not find significant differences in use or duration of use of adjuvant hormonal therapy by race/ethnicity. Impact: Findings should be confirmed in other population-based samples, and potential reasons for discontinuation of therapy across all racial/ethnic groups should be explored. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 1–9. ©2012 AACR .
Borrelia burgdorferi Genetic Markers and Disseminated Disease in Patients with Early Lyme Disease

ABSTRACT Three genetic markers of Borrelia burgdorferi have been associated with disseminated disease: the OspC type, the 16S-23S rRNA intergenic spacer type (RST), and vlsE. Here, we modified previous methods so as to identify the three markers by PCR and restriction fragment length polymorphism in parallel, analyzed B. burgdorferi isolates from erythema migrans (EM) skin lesions in 91 patients, and correlated the results with evidence of dissemination. OspC type A was found approximately twice as frequently in patients with disseminated disease, whereas type K was identified approximately twice as often in those without evidence of dissemination, but these trends were not statistically significant. The remaining seven types identified were found nearly equally in patients with or without evidence of dissemination. RST 1 strains were significantly associated with dissemination (P = 0.03), whereas RST 2 and RST 3 strains tended to have an inverse association with this outcome. The vlsE gene was identified in all 91 cases, using primer sets specific for an N-terminal sequence of B. burgdorferi strain B31 (vlsEB31) or strain 297 (vlsE297), but neither marker was associated with dissemination. Specific combinations of the three genetic markers usually occurred together. OspC type A was always found with RST 1 and vlsEB31, type K was always identified with RST 2 and more often with vlsE297, and types E and I were almost always found with RST 3 and equally often with vlsEB31 and vlsE297. We conclude that B. burgdorferi strains vary in their capacity to disseminate, but almost all strains isolated from EM lesions sometimes caused disseminated disease.
Distributed Joint Optimal Network Scheduling and Controller Design for Wireless Networks

In this paper, a novel distributed joint optimal network scheduling and controller design for the wireless network control system (WNCS) application is introduced via a cross layer design approach. First a stochastic optimal controller design that minimizes an infinite horizon optimal regulation of uncertain linear system with wireless imperfections due to wireless network protocol is proposed. Subsequently, a novel optimal cross-layer distributed scheduling scheme is presented as part of wireless network protocol design. Compared with traditional scheduling schemes, the proposed cross-layer distributed scheduling scheme can not only optimizes the utility function of wireless network but also satisfies controller demands on packet loss probability and delay bounds in order to main the overall system stable. Simulation results are included to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed cross layer co-design.
Nutraceutical Interventions for Promoting Healthy Aging in Invertebrate Models

Aging is a complex and inevitable biological process that is associated with numerous chronically debilitating health effects. Development of effective interventions for promoting healthy aging is an active but challenging area of research. Mechanistic studies in various model organisms, noticeably two invertebrates, Caenorhabditis elegans and Drosophila melanogaster, have identified many genes and pathways as well as dietary interventions that modulate lifespan and healthspan. These studies have shed light on some of the mechanisms involved in aging processes and provide valuable guidance for developing efficacious aging interventions. Nutraceuticals made from various plants contain a significant amount of phytochemicals with diverse biological activities. Phytochemicals can modulate many signaling pathways that exert numerous health benefits, such as reducing cancer incidence and inflammation, and promoting healthy aging. In this paper, we outline the current progress in aging intervention studies using nutraceuticals from an evolutionary perspective in invertebrate models.
Phantom Materials in Radiology

In radiology, phantoms are utilized to estimate radiation dose delivered to patients and evaluate the quality of imaging systems. Hence, the material of the phantoms should closely mimic the human tissue; in particular, the radiological characteristics of the material must be similar to that of the tissue. This article reviews materials used to manufacture phantoms for radiology applications. In the first section, basic physics relevant to the phantom material and radiation interaction with matter is discussed. A brief history of the phantom material for radiology is offered. The second section gives extensive discussion on the materials mainly developed by D.R.White, C.Constantinou, and co-workers in late 1970s to early 1980s. Their materials were made based on epoxy resin. They produced tissue-equivalent materials mimicking 15 different tissue types. Detailed description on manufacturing methods and the results of evaluation is presented. Since their seminal work other investigators developed tissue-equivalent materials by using polyethylene and polyurethane as base. Short discussion on those newer developments is given. The third section presents, how those materials are used for radiation dosimetry, radiation therapy, and diagnostic radiology. Our discussion on applications will be limited to the phantoms used with photons and electrons since most medical applications utilize those particles. The last section is devoted to speculative discussion on what types of phantom and material will be developed in the near future. Keywords: radiology; phantom; materials; tissue; therapy