cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
El Fideicomiso en América Latina: Reflexiones para la Comparación Jurídica (Latin-American Trusts, Reflections on Comparative Law)

Spanish Abstract: Se reﬂexiona sobre los siguientes pun-tos: ?El fideicomiso debe sus origenesal derecho romano o anglosajon?, ?Laadministracion de los bienes de tercerospor los bancos seria la funcion principaldel ﬁdeicomiso?, ?Se podria equiparar ala “causa suﬁciente” con la consideration ?,?En Latinoamerica el enfoque de la fun-cion economica-social de la causa seria elresultado de una evolucion?, entre otros. English Abstract: The following points are considered: Do the origins of the trust belong to Roman or Anglo-Saxon Law? Would the administration of third-party assets by banks be the main function of the trust? Could the “sufficient cause be equated with the consideration? In Latin America, would the focus of the socio-economic function of the cause be the result of evolution? - among others.
Clinical Pharmacology of the Dietary Supplement, Kratom (Mitragyna speciosa)

Kratom (Mitragyna speciosa) consists of over 40 alkaloids with two of them, mitragynine (MG) and 7-OH-mitragynine (7-OH-MG) being the main psychoactive compounds. MG and 7-OH-MG each target opioid receptors and have been referred to as atypical opioids. They exert their pharmacologic effects on the μ, δ, and κ opioid receptors. In addition, they affect adrenergic, serotonergic, and dopaminergic pathways. Kratom has been touted as an inexpensive, legal alternative to standard opioid replacement therapy such as methadone and buprenorphine. Other uses for kratom include chronic pain, attaining a "legal high," and numerous CNS disorders including anxiety depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Kratom induces analgesia and mild euphoria with a lower risk of respiratory depression or adverse central nervous system effects compared to traditional opioid medications. Nonetheless, kratom has been associated with both physical and psychological dependence with some individuals experiencing classic opioid withdrawal symptoms upon abrupt cessation. Kratom use has been linked to serious adverse effects including liver toxicity, seizures, and death. These risks are often compounded by poly-substance abuse. Further, kratom may potentiate the toxicity of coadministered medications through modulation of cytochrome P450, P-glycoprotein, and uridine diphosphate glucuronosyltransferase enzymes (UGDT). In 2016 the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) took steps to classify kratom as a federal schedule 1 medication; however, due to public resistance, this plan was set aside. Until studies are conducted that define kratom's role in treating opioid withdrawal and/or other CNS conditions, kratom will likely remain available as a dietary supplement for the foreseeable future. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia in HIV negative patients with primary brain tumors.

Background: Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP) is an opportunistic infection with rather adverse outcomes. An unexpected increase in cases of PCP was noted in the brain tumor population at the Johns Hopkins Hospital (JHH) in 2000. This prompted the present review of the clinical features and risk factors for PCP in the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) negative brain tumor population. Methods: The study was located at the JHH. A retrospective review of medical records was done to identify patients with discharge diagnosis of PCP from 1980 to 2001. Patients who were HIV positive were excluded. A detailed analysis was done of patients with brain tumors. Results: From 1980 to 2001, 468 cases of PCP were identified, diagnosed histologically or clinically, of which 110 were patients with an underlying malignancy. Of the 110 cases 15 were seen in the brain tumor population. Of these, 6 patients were seen in 2000 and one in early 2001. Three of these had primary central nervous system (CNS) lymphoma (PCNSL) on high dose methotrexate. Eight of the fifteen episodes (53.3%) were fatal despite institution of antibiotics and supportive therapy. Conclusion: The incidence and mortality due to Pneumocystis carinii among the brain tumor population is increasing. While corticosteroids are known immunosupressants, prescribing patterns for these medications has not changed lately. However, high dose methotrexate is now being used in PCNSL and could be a complicating factor. Since effective prophylaxis exists, it should be considered in patients with brain tumors receiving high dose steroids, high dose methotrexate or with lymphopenia.
Creativity software and DSS: cautionary findings

Abstract Contrary to expectations, a study of creativity enhancing software showed that user creativity declined when using the software on an analysis task. Software increased the number of alternatives, but independent judges determined that these were less original or inventive than those produced without the software. These findings were consistent for both ‘highly creative’ and ‘less creative’ groups. Computer technology is an added variable that can interact to inhibit creativity in a moderately complex case analysis task. Creativity inducing software appears to need further development before it can contribute meaningfully to improving decision support systems.
Binding States: A Commentary on State Contracts and Investment Treaties

This article was originally published in Business Law International at [2005] 6(3) BLI 372. It examines three techniques that have been used to create obligations of public international law on states that are parties to commercial contracts with private parties. The first technique, referred to as 'simple internationalisation', derives from arbitral awards in the seventies following the wave of Libyan nationalisations (in particular the 1977 Texaco v Libya award). The second technique is to use the 'umbrella' clause that exists in a number of bilateral investment treaties (BITs). Here however, arbitration practice seems divided as to the exact effect of these clauses (compare SGS v Pakistan and SGS v Philippines). The third technique is for states to enter into project specific treaties that elevate the underlying commercial contracts to the international plane. The Channel Tunnel treaty is one example. The BTC (Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan) pipeline is another example: it involved an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) between Turkey, Georgia and Azerbaijan and several host government agreements (HGAs) with the commercial companies.
Home and Career Development: A Life History of Elia Hill Swann, 1878-1961, with Implications for Counseling:

This study is based on a life history of a woman born in 1878 who, at the age of eighteen, left her farm home in an isolated rural area to make a life in an urban career. Her life history parallels and extends our understanding of the experience of modern day women who leave home for careers in distant areas. It is also an example of the experience of women of a rural diaspora. The results identify ways that home and memories of home can support women's career development over the lifespan. The qualitative data analyzed in this study leads to recognition of how home can support the launching as well as reinventing of a career by providing a source of strength for women who are far from home. In addition, a woman's home and reminiscence of home can provide a source of comfort and support during times of emotional or financial hardship. Women who are from outside the mainstream American urban/suburban culture, such as women whose homes are in rural or non-European American areas, need to be prepared for dif...
Developing a Program-Level Faith Integration Curriculum: A Case Study From Physics

Integrating faith with academics possesses significant benefits for students, because it connects major disciplines to students’ personal values and goals, prepares students to be effective and faithful professionals in their discipline and vocation, and develops students’ understanding of the nature of their discipline. However, to access these advantages, thoughtful teaching to integrate faith with the discipline is required. This article describes the development and implementation process for a faith integration curriculum that parallels discipline-specific content throughout all courses in an undergraduate physics major. The physics faith integration curriculum encompasses four themes: characteristics of scientists, nature of science and scientific worldview, the role of science and technology in society, and theological implications of physics. Key topics within these themes are assigned to each course in the major. Each theme is introduced in first-year and sophomore courses and is further develope...
On Optimum Tests of Composite Hypotheses With one Constraint

This paper is concerned with optimum tests of certain composite hypotheses. In section 2 various aspects of a theorem of Scheffe concerning type B 1 tests are discussed. It is pointed out that the theorem can be extended to cover uniformly most powerful tests against a one-sided set of alternatives. It is also shown that the method for determining explicitly the optimum test region may in certain cases be reduced to a simple formal procedure. These results are used in section 3 to obtain optimum tests for the composite hypothesis specifying the value of the circular serial correlation coefficient in a normal distribution. A surprising feature of this example is the fact that for the simple hypothesis obtained by specifying values for the nuisance parameters no test with the corresponding optimum properties exists. In section 4 the totality of similar regions is obtained for a large class of probability laws which admit a sufficient statistic. Some composite hypotheses concerning exponential and rectangular distributions are treated in section 5. It is proved that the likelihood ratio tests of these hypotheses have various optimum properties.
First Report of Embellisia allii Causing Skin Blotch and Bulb Canker on Garlic in California.

In April 2011, commercial garlic (Allium sativum) in Monterey County, CA showed symptoms of an undocumented disease. Bulb and stem sheaths were dark, decayed, and sloughing off the plants. Dissection of diseased sheaths revealed black hyphae between layers. Lower leaves wilted, turned tan, and dried up. Disease occurred in small patches scattered in two fields. In the patches, disease incidence was as much as 50%; however, overall field incidence was less than 1%. Isolations from 80% (16 of 20 plants) of collected plants resulted in the recovery of a dark olivaceous black fungus. Conidiophores were geniculate and brown and conidia were borne singly, brown, and ellipsoidal to cylindrical. Conidia had two to five but mostly three transverse septa. Longitudinal septa were infrequent and apical cells were rounded. Conidia measured (19.0-) 26.3 to 36.6 (-42.8) × (6.7-) 9.2 to 9.9 (-12.9) μm. Dark, intercalary chlamydospores were observed as colonies aged. DNA sequencing of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS)...
The plasticity of ion channels: parallels between the nervous and immune systems

Abstract Patch-clamp recording techniques have made possible the detailed study of ion channels in cells of the immune system. These studies have revealed a number of interesting parallels between channels in the immune and nervous systems, perhaps the most intriguing of which is that channel expression and function is modifiable. Channel plasticity in immune cells takes several forms. The ensemble of K + channels expressed by T lymphocytes changes in a stereotyped way during development and after, as mature cells interact with mitogens. Adhesion to a solid substrate alters the electrical properties of macrophages. During cell activation, Ca 2+ - permeable channels are opened by inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP 3 ) in T cells and by intracellular Ca 2+ in neutrophils. These studies indicate that, both during the primary phase of differentiation and during subsequent responses to environmental stimuli, the ‘electrical phenotype' of cells in the immune system undergoes changes that may be related to cellular behavior.
The In Vitro Development of Mouse Embryos Beyond the Blastocyst Stage into the Hatching and Outgrowth Stage Using Different Energy Sources

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of male and female serum supplementation on the in vitro development of mouse embryos beyond the blastocyst stage until the outgrowth stage since the latter may be related to the nidation of the embryo. We also studied the effect of EGF addition on embryo culture and blastocyst outgrowth. Methods and Results: The blastocyst and hatching rates of two-cell mouse embryos cultured in Ham's F-10+BSA, Ham's F-10+male serum, or Ham's F-10+female serum were found to be comparable (P>0.05). The outgrowth rate of hatched blastocysts was significantly increased, though, when they were transferred to 50% male serum compared to either 50% BSA or 50% female serum (P<0.01 and P<0.05, respectively). In the last experiment, either 100 or 150 ng/ml EGF was added to the culture medium from the two-cell stage till blastocyst development and the latter were cultured till outgrowth in 50% BSA, male serum, or female serum. For both concentrations of EGF, the outgrowth rate was significantly higher in male serum compared to the other conditions (P<0.01 and P<0.05, respectively). The outgrowth rate was also higher when EGF was used compared to plain medium before transferring the blastocysts to either male or female serum (P<0.01 for both). Conclusions: We conclude that the development of embryos to the outgrowth stage is significantly enhanced by male serum. The addition of EGF from the two-cell stage also significantly improves the outgrowth success rate for both male and female serum conditions.
Inhibition of adenylyl cyclase by acyclic nucleoside phosphonate antiviral agents.

Abstract Acyclic derivatives of adenine, known as highly effective nucleotide analogs with broad spectrum antiviral activity, were evaluated for potential cross-reactivity with adenylyl cyclases, a family of membrane-bound enzymes that share putative topologies at their catalytic sites with oligonucleotide polymerases and reverse transcriptases. A series of derivatives of 9-(2-phosphonylmethoxyethyl)adenine (PMEA) inhibited a preparation of adenylyl cyclase derived from rat brain with IC50values that ranged from 66 μm (PMEA) to 175 nm for its diphosphate derivative (PMEApp) and mimics of it. PMEApp mimics included PMEAp(NH)p, PMEAp(CH2)p, PMEAp(CX 2)p (X = fluorine, chlorine, or bromine), PMEAp(CHX)pp, and PMEAp(C(OH)CH3pp. The data suggest that inhibition of adenylyl cyclases may contribute to the therapeutic action of some of these or similar compounds or constitute part of their side effects in therapeutic settings.
Seasonal variations in activity rhythms of male voles: mediation by gonadal hormones

Adult male Microtus montanus were castrated or sham-castrated and housed under 16 hours of light (LD 16:8). Castrates showed increased preference for diurnal and decreased preference for nocturnal activity compared to shams. Castrates showed a trend toward increased crepuscular preference. Shams showed more total activity than castrates. Longterm castrates (under LD 8:16) displaying either predominantly diurnal or crepuscular activity were implanted with either empty Silastic capsules or capsules containing testosterone. Animals with testosterone implants displayed increased preference for nocturnal and decreased preference for crepuscular activity as compared to controls. No significant difference in preference for diurnal activity was found. Testosterone increased total activity. Testosterone appears to be an important, but not the only, cue in determining timing of running wheel use in male M. Montanus. Seasonal changes in reproductive function may be involved in the dramatic seasonal variations in activity timing observed in some field populations of microtine rodents. In all treatments, high interanimal variation occurred. This variation may be a function of the inherent flexibility of activity in microtine rodents.
Growth and characterization of Be modulation doped wide parabolic GaAs⧸AlxGa1-xAs wells

Abstract Remotely-doped, p-type wide (1000 A parabolic GaAs/Al x Ga 1 - x As quantum wells grown on (100) substrates were used to create high mobility, low density, wide layers of hole gas. Low temperature capacitance-voltage and magnetotransport measurements were used to characterize these structures. Hole gas widths ∼ 700 A, sheet densities > 3 × 10 11 cm -2 , and mobilities > 23,000 cm 2 /V · s at T = 0.1 K have been achieved in wells with a curvature corresponding to a three-dimensional density ∼ 4 × 10 16 cm -3 . These mobilities are more than three orders of magnitude higher at low temperature than bulk p-type GaAs with similar three-dimensional density.
Stimulus-Word Changes in Picture-Frustration Situations

The present study inquires into the influence of certain stimulus-word changes upon responses to picture-frustration situations. The question raised deals with the suitability of picture-frustration instruments in psychological research. METHOD From a total of 97 students in two undergraduate psychology classes, 60 were selected to participate. Those taking part were students who had scored high, either extrapunitively or impunitively, on the Rosenzweig Picture-Frustration Test, Form B, Adult Revision (Rosenzweig, 1947). At one class meeting rhe Rosenzweig P-F test was administered to the 97 students and from this group were chosen 30 Ss who had received the highest extrapunitive (E) scores, and 30 Ss who had received the highest impunitive (M) scores. Students who scored high intrapunitively were not involved. Four absences occurred at subsequent meetings when experimental data were collected, reducing the research group to 56 Ss. - In order to assess the influence of stimulus-word changes upon aggressive behavior of these selected Ss, three original sets of 24 picture-frustration cartoons were drawn. The sets were graphically identical and differed only in the words being addressed to the figure depicted as being thwarted. In Set N the words were judged to be essentially neutral, i.e., neither extrapunitive nor impunitive; in Set E the words were extrapunitive in character; and in Set M they were impunitive. Extrapunitive Ss were assigned at random to one of three picture-frusuation conditions described below. Similarly, impunitive Ss were assigned randomly to one of the following conditions. In Condition N Ss responded to P-F situations containing neutral words. In Condition E Ss responded to P-F situations containing extrapunitive words, and in Condition M Ss responded to P-F situations containing impunitive words.
Carbohydrate-deficient transferrin for detection and monitoring of sustained heavy drinking. What have we learned? Where do we go from here?

Carbohydrate-deficient transferrin (CDT) has been widely investigated as a biological marker of heavy alcohol consumption. In general, it has been found to be at least as sensitive and probably more specific than γ-glutamyltransferase (GGT). Because the two analytes are not highly correlated, their use in parallel enhances the sensitivity of detection of heavy alcohol consumption, especially in clinical populations. Women as a group produce more CDT under natural conditions and may produce less CDT in response to heavy drinking. Carbohydrate-deficient transferrin has found a place in the monitoring of alcoholics during treatment. Changes in CDT levels from individualized baseline values seem to be more sensitive to lower level relapse drinking than is the use of raw cut-off values. There are some conditions such as severe liver disease in which higher than normal levels of CDT are produced, thereby reducing the specificity of this marker for detecting heavy drinking under certain conditions. Future directions for the use of CDT include standardization and automation of measurement technology, evaluation of how to use it wisely in myriad medical and institutional settings, understanding more thoroughly the gender issues in its production, and greater evaluation of its performance as a monitoring tool during treatment and follow-up situations. How to combine CDT with both verbal tools of alcohol assessment and newer biological markers will also need more extensive evaluation.
Concentrating capacity in ifosfamide-induced severe renal dysfunction

BACKGROUND Diabetes insipidus renalis has only occasionally been reported in ifosfamide-induced renal Fanconi's syndrome, but in two studies on subclinical renal impairment, low morning urine osmolarity was found in high frequencies. This study was performed to assess the frequency of defective concentrating capacity in patients with ifosfamide-induced renal Fanconi's syndrome or severe impairment of proximal tubular function. PATIENTS AND METHODS Seven patients with overt Fanconi's syndrome and 5 with a generalized but subclinical tubulopathy were examined. Beside proximal tubular solute reabsorption and estimation of glomerular filtration rate, urinary osmolarity was measured after overnight fast and DDAVP (1-D-amino-8-D-arginine vasopressin) testing. RESULTS Five out of 7 patients with overt Fanconi's syndrome, but no patient with only subclinical tubular damage, had decreased osmolarities by at least one test. Increased sodium excretion was additionally found in 4 of these patients. CONCLUSION Impaired renal concentrating capacity is a rare event in ifosfamide-induced renal dysfunction and confined to patients with overt Fanconi's syndrome. These patients should, however, undergo evaluation of concentrating capacity and renal sodium handling as decreased concentrating capacity and increased sodium excretion would render a patient at risk for dehydration episodes.
Chiral Recognition: Design and Preparation of Chiral Stationary Phases Using Selectors Derived from Ugi Multicomponent Condensation Reactions and a Combinatorial Approach

Combinatorial approaches together with high-throughput screening have been used to develop highly selective stationary phases for chiral recognition. Libraries of potential chiral selectors have been prepared by the Ugi multicomponent condensation reactions and screened for their enantioselectivity using the reciprocal approach involving a chiral stationary phase with immobilized model target compound N-(3,5-dinitrobenzoyl)-α-l-leucine. The best candidates were identified from the library of phenyl amides of 2-oxo-azetidineacetic acid derivatives. This screening also enabled specification of the functionalities of the selector desired to achieve the highest level of chiral recognition. The substituents of the phenyl ring adjacent to the chiral center of the selector candidates exhibited the most profound effect on the chiral recognition. The best candidate was then synthesized on a larger scale, resolved into single enantiomers using preparative enantioselective HPLC, and attached to porous poly(2-hydroxy...
Poem as Proposition in the Analects: A Whiteheadian reading of a Confucian sensibility[1]

Abstract I suggest that ubiquitous references made by Confucius to poetic songs in the Analects reveal an important aspect of his philosophy. This aspect involves the assumption that things in the world “resonate” with one another. Using elements of Alfred North Whitehead's thought, as well as metaphysical insights from the Han Dynasty text, Huainanzi, I first present an aesthetic theory along with a supporting cosmological vision that enhances our appreciation of this trait in the Confucian world. With these preliminaries in mind, I approach the Analects itself. I will isolate the term xing, or “stimulation “, and demonstrate how this term allows us to understand the function of poetry for the early Confucians. I conclude that poetry was thought to behave much like what Whitehead called “propositions”, and that this function assumes a world with certain basic tendencies normally associated with Daoist cosmology.
Inferences about mental states.

Human social cognition relies on an ability to predict what others will think, feel or do in novel situations. Research in social neuroscience has consistently observed several brain regions that c...
Calibration of a Near-infrared Transmission Grain Analyser for Extractable Starch in Maize

Abstract A calibration for extractable starch in maize was developed for the Foss Infratec 1229 near-infrared transmission (NIT) grain analyser. The calibration was based on over 2267 samples collected over five crop years from 1997 through 2001. Extractable starch in maize can be predicted using the Infratec 1229 NIT spectrophotometer with a standard error of prediction (SEP) of 1·24, coefficient of determination (R2) of 0·79, and ratio of laboratory standard deviation to SEP (RPD) of 2·15 for a validation set using one elimination pass. With no elimination passes, 8 of 389 samples were not predicted well, giving an SEP of 1·34, R2 of 0·80 and a RPD of 2·2. A small check sample set of ten had a better SEP of 1·06 but a poorer RPD. Regression coefficient peaks corresponded to some of the wavelengths known for starch-cellulose, water, and negative protein and oil absorption bands.
Composite cardiovascular risk scores and neuropsychological functioning: a meta-analytic review.

The ability for patients to understand their risk for disease is important to early intervention and effective treatment. The link between individual cardiovascular risk factors and cognition has been well-established. This study investigated the relationship between cognition and a combination of these factors through a single composite risk score. This study quantitatively summarized the strength of the association between composite cardiovascular risk scores and cognitive test performance using meta-analytic methods. One hundred and nine effect sizes were obtained from 19 studies employing 54,564 participants. Composite risk scores showed a significant association (r = −0.16) with cognitive test performance. Cognitive domain and age did not significantly modify this relationship. Composite cardiovascular risk scores can be useful indicators of future cognition. The development of a dementia risk score using similar risk factors could aid in the assessment and lifestyle interventions of persons at risk for dementia.
A family study of chronic post-traumatic stress disorder following rape trauma

There is evidence that familial factors serve as determinants of risk for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), especially familial anxiety. This study investigates the relationship between chronic PTSD and family psychiatric morbidity. The sample was drawn from 81 female rape survivors with or without lifetime PTSD, 31 major depressive disorder controls, 20 anxiety disorder controls and 39 healthy controls. First-degree family members were directly interviewed (n = 285) and diagnoses assigned of major depressive, anxiety and alcohol or substance use disorder. Information was also available by family history for 639 relatives. In the directly interviewed sample, no consistently increased morbidity risk was observed for anxiety, PTSD, or alcohol/substance abuse in the rape survivor groups, but there was an increase in depression relative to the anxiety in healthy control groups. When comorbid depression in rape survivor probands was taken into account post hoc, an increased risk for depression was noted in family members of PTSD probands with depression, but not in relatives of PTSD probands without lifetime depression. Among rape survivor probands with non-comorbid PTSD, rates by history of familial anxiety and depression were negligible. In a logistic regression analysis, individual vulnerability to depression served as an independent predictor of chronic PTSD, along with specific trauma-related variables. In the family history group, results were consistent with those obtained from the directly interviewed group. Our findings clearly support the view that PTSD following rape is associated with familial vulnerability to major depression, which may thus serve as a risk factor for developing PTSD. The exact nature of this predisposition calls for further inquiry and there is a need to expand this study to include other PTSD populations. PTSD may on occasion represent a form of depression which is induced and/or modified neurobiologically and phenomenologically by extreme stress. Our findings may be a reflection of the sample composition, the current conceptualization of PTSD, or be related to study limitations.
Equilibrium configurations of liquid droplets on solid surfaces under the influence of thin-film forces Part I. Thermodynamics

Abstract We present a rigorous thermodynamic analysis of single-component, two-dimensional (cylindrical) and three-dimensional (axisymmetric) drops and bubbles on an ideal solid substrate when the drop or bubble is subject to thin-film forces. Minimization of the system isothermal Helmholtz free energy yields the classic augmented Young-Laplace differential equation describing droplet shape. Attendant boundary conditions emerge naturally including a new augmented Young relation when the solid surface is bare or a smooth transition to a uniform film encircling the droplet. Both adsorbed and wetting films are considered, depending on the detailed behavior of the disjoining-pressure isotherm.
Radiation pneumonitis and early circulatory cytokine markers

Radiation pneumonitis is a distinct clinical entity that differs from other pulmonary symptoms such as allergic pneumonitis, chemical pneumonitis, or pneumonia by various infectious agents. Recent research has supported the mechanism of cellular interaction between lung parenchymal cells and circulating immune cells mediated through a variety of cytokines including proinflammatory cytokines, chemokines, adhesion molecules, and profibrotic cytokines. Identifying reliable biomarkers for radiation pneumonitis will allow us to identify individuals at risk for pneumonitis before or during the early stage of therapy. Prospective blood sampling, scoring of respiratory symptoms, and chest imaging were conducted for patients receiving thoracic radiotherapy for malignancy. Serial plasma specimens were analyzed for circulating cytokine changes before, during, and up to 12 weeks after radiation. Radiation pneumonitis was diagnosed using National Cancer Institute (NCI) common toxicity criteria. Cytokine analysis was assayed for interleukin 1alpha (IL-1alpha), interleukin 6 (IL-6), monocyte chemotactic protein 1 (MCP-1), E-selectin, L-selectin, transforming growth factor beta1 (TGF-beta1), and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) using enzyme linked immmunosorbant assay (ELISA). Twenty-four patients had clinical follow-up longer than 12 months after radiotherapy. Thirteen had symptomatic pneumonitis (NCI grade 2). The peak incidence of symptoms was between 6 and 13 weeks after radiotherapy. Six patients had only radiographic infiltrates (NCI grade 1). Five patients did not have clinical or radiographic pneumonitis. Both IL-1alpha and IL-6 levels were significantly higher before, during, and after radiotherapy for those who had pneumonitis. The pattern of changes of MCP-1, E-selectin, L-selectin, TGF-beta1, and bFGF varied, but none of these cytokines correlated with radiation pneumonitis. Analysis of a panel of circulating cytokines with different putative functions in radiation pulmonary injury identified IL-1alpha and IL-6 as early circulating cytokine markers for radiation pneumonitis.
THE EFFECT OF WITNESSING CONSEQUENCES ON THE BEHAVIORAL RECORDINGS OF EXPERIMENTAL OBSERVERS

The cueing effects of interviewer praise contingent on a target behavior and expectation of behavior change were examined with six observers. Experiment I investigated the effect of cues in conjunction with expectation. Experiment II assessed the relative contributions of cues and expectation, and Experiment III examined the effect of cues in the absence of expectation. The frequencies of two behaviors, client eye contact and face touching, were held constant throughout a series of videotaped interviews between an “interviewer” and a “client”. A within-subjects design was used in each experiment. During baseline conditions, praise did not follow eye contact by the client on the videotape. In all experimental conditions, praise statements from the interviewer followed each occurrence of eye contact with an equal number of praises delivered at random times when there was no eye contact. Three of the six observers dramatically increased their recordings of eye contact during the first experimental phase, but these increases were not replicated in a second praise condition. There were no systematic changes in recorded face touching. Witnessing the delivery of consequences, rather than expectation seemed to be responsible for the effect. This potential threat to the internal validity of studies using observational data may go undetected by interobserver agreement checks.
Fiber Impairment Compensation Using Coherent Detection and Digital Signal Processing

Next-generation optical fiber systems will employ coherent detection to improve power and spectral efficiency, and to facilitate flexible impairment compensation using digital signal processors (DSPs). In a fully digital coherent system, the electric fields at the input and the output of the channel are available to DSPs at the transmitter and the receiver, enabling the use of arbitrary impairment precompensation and postcompensation algorithms. Linear time-invariant (LTI) impairments such as chromatic dispersion and polarization-mode dispersion can be compensated by adaptive linear equalizers. Non-LTI impairments, such as laser phase noise and Kerr nonlinearity, can be compensated by channel inversion. All existing impairment compensation techniques ultimately approximate channel inversion for a subset of the channel effects. We provide a unified multiblock nonlinear model for the joint compensation of the impairments in fiber transmission. We show that commonly used techniques for overcoming different impairments, despite their different appearance, are often based on the same principles such as feedback and feedforward control, and time-versus-frequency-domain representations. We highlight equivalences between techniques, and show that the choice of algorithm depends on making tradeoffs.
Remote Sensing of Soil Radionuclide Fluxes in a Tropical Ecosystem

We are using a transponding geostationary satellite to collect surface environmental data to describe the fate of soil-borne radionuclides. The remote, former atomic testing grounds at the Enewetak and Bikini Atolls present a difficult environment in which to collect continuous field data. Our land-based, solar-powered microprocessor and environmental data systems remotely acquire measurements of net and total solar radiation, rain, humidity, temperature, and soil-water potentials. For the past year, our water flux model predicts wet season plant transpiration rates nearly equal to the 6-7 mm/d evaporation pan rate, which decreases to 2-3 mm/d for the dry season. Radioisotopic analysis confirms the microclimate-estimated 1:3 to 1:20 soil to plant 137Cs dry matter concentration ratio. This ratio exacerbates the dose to man from intake of food plants. Nephelometer measurements of airborne particulates presently indicate a minimum respiratory radiological dose.
Extensions of positive definite integral kernels on the Heisenberg group

Abstract We consider positive definite extensions of functions and distributions which are defined on a cylindrical neighborhood (and positive definite) in the Heisenberg group. When rotational invariance is assumed, we show existence of p.d. extensions. We also give formulas (of the classical Bochner type) for all such extensions. They are expanded in terms of an integral transform associated to the sub-Laplacian. We further show that the p.d. extension problem is closely related to the theory of extensions of hermitian infinitesimal representations in the sense considered earlier by Powers and Fuglede. These are extensions to integrable representations in generally larger (so-called dilation) Hilbert spaces.
Prevalence of Optic Nerve Edema in Patients on Peripheral Hemodialysis

Purpose Cerebral venous hypertension with optic nerve edema has been reported in patients with peripheral arteriovenous hemodialysis shunts. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of optic nerve edema in patients with peripheral arteriovenous accesses and to evaluate the value of ophthalmic examination and surveillance in this study population. Design Cross-sectional observation case series. Participants Forty-four patients with peripheral arteriovenous shunts for hemodialysis. Methods A cross-sectional observation was done of all patients with peripheral arteriovenous shunts presenting to our outpatient hemodialysis unit on 2 consecutive days. Using indirect ophthalmoscopy, the presence or absence of optic nerve edema was recorded. Patients also were asked to record any symptoms suggestive of intracranial hypertension and/or papilledema such as headache, decreased visual acuity, or an abnormal visual phenomenon. The 95% confidence interval (CI) was calculated to estimate the prevalence of optic nerve edema in patients with peripheral arteriovenous accesses. A literature search also was conducted to obtain prior reports of optic nerve edema and ophthalmic complications in patients with peripheral arteriovenous accesses. Main Outcome Measures Presence or absence of optic nerve edema. Results Among our series of 44 patients with peripheral arteriovenous shunts for hemodialysis, no case of optic nerve edema was observed and no patient reported any headache, decrease in vision, or visual phenomenon. The 95% CI for the estimated prevalence of optic nerve edema was 0% to 8.0%. A literature review revealed 7 reports of symptomatic ophthalmic complications in patients with peripheral arteriovenous accesses. Conclusions Although cases of papilledema in patients with peripheral arteriovenous shunts have been reported in the literature, the occurrence appears to be low, and routine ophthalmic surveillance is probably unnecessary in asymptomatic patients.
John Hunter--triumph and tragedy.

In 1962, as a guest of Dr. Jesse Thompson, I attended my first meeting of the Society for Vascular Surgery. This marks my thirtieth consecutive meeting, and I have listened with admiration and respect to many presidential addresses. I am deeply honored now to be standing here before you as President of this great Society. This is a singularly important event in my life, and I am grateful to all of you for this honor. As I look at the seal of the Society for Vascular Surgery, there is John Hunter in the famous Reynolds portrait. Although I know he was the patron surgeon of the Royal College of Surgeons, and that he is acknowledged as the "founder of scientific surgery," I realized that I knew little about him. I thought that many of my colleagues also were not aware of the scope of his contributions. At the third annual meeting of the Society for Vascular Surgery held on June 5, 1949, Alfred Blalock was asked to produce a design for the certificate of membership.1 A constitution and bylaws were adopted at that time. Later, Henry Swan, Secretary of the Society in 1955, designed a membership certificate. He took a lithograph of the original portrait of John Hunter made by Sir Joshua Reynolds and placed it on the certificate (he had an etching in his office). In response to a request from Jim DeWeese in 1972, Dr. Swan explained that no separate seal had been devised but suggested that the portrait on the certificate could reasonably be considered as the official seal. I then turned to the Hunterian orations delivered annually before the Royal College of Surgeons on February 14, observing John Hunter's birthday. I realized that I had undertaken a formidable task,
Number of massless fermion families in superstring theory

Abstract In any Kaluza-Klein compactification of the ten-dimensional superstring theory we relate the number of families to the index of an appropriate Dirac operator. By using the Atiyah-Singer index theorem the number of families is then related to an integral involving the gauge fields only. The number of families is not necessarily related to the Euler characteristics of the compact manifold for compactifications that admit non-zero torsion or a spin connection which is not embedded in the gauge group (a complete solution of this type has not yet been displayed). Our result applies to the general situation.
Effects of Early Flock Assembly on Agonistic Behavior and Egg Production in Chickens

Abstract Pullets from high and low social-dominance strains of the White Leghorn (W.L.) and Rhode Island Red (R.I.R.) breeds were assembled in 32 flocks at 6 weeks of age; eight flocks per strain. At 19 weeks all birds were moved to strange pens; four flocks per strain were kept intact as to membership, whereas the other four were reassembled within strains so as to maximize number of strangers. Data were collected and analyzed for agonistic behavior from 19 to 31 and from 52 to 56 weeks, age at sexual maturity, egg weights at 32 and 55 weeks, hen-day rate of lay, hen-housed production and mortality. Intra-flock variability was significantly greater for the W.L. high dominance strain for rate of lay and hen-housed production, whereas the W.L. low strain was more variable for age at first egg and egg weights. High dominance strain R.I.R. pullets were more variable for age at sexual maturity only. Analyses of variance, based on flock means, indicated pullets of the W.L. high strain to be significantly inferior in egg production, survival, and to have smaller eggs than the W.L. low strain. Within the R.I.R. breed, the high strain matured earlier. Age at final assembly of flocks had no long-term effects on agonistic activity levels. However, pullets in flocks reassembled at 19 weeks interacted at elevated frequencies from 19 to about 26 to 30 weeks of age. Productivity traits were not significantly influenced by final flock assembly at 6 as compared to 19 weeks of age. Results are discussed in terms of agonistic behavior, social stress and how both appear to relate to productivity traits.
Weapon Carriage among Major Trauma Victims in the Emergency Department

OBJECTIVE: To determine the occurrence of weapon carriage by major trauma patients at a university/county hospital ED. METHODS: Retrospective observational study of major trauma patients seen in the ED of a major urban trauma center in Los Angeles from 1979 to 1993. All major trauma patients were searched routinely for weapons by the security police. Cases of violence in the ED caused by these weapons were reviewed. RESULTS: Over the 14-year period, 26.7% of the victims of major trauma presenting to ED were armed with lethal weapons. The occurrence of automatic weapon seizure increased significantly from an annual rate of only 0.2 in the first five years to an average of 17 over the last five years (p Language: en
Performance analysis of a parallel link network with preemption

Preemption can be used to provide improved availability and reliability to high priority traffic on a congested network, or when the network experiences link or node failures and traffic needs to be rerouted. The use of preemption permits improved blocking probabilities and traffic alignment on shortest paths for high priority traffic at the expense of performance degradation for low priority traffic. Such policies have been deployed in a variety of scenarios and are very attractive for a service provider. For instance, the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) traffic engineering working group (tewg) pointed out the need for priority and preemption parameters as traffic engineering attributes in a multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) network. In this paper we analyze a simple two parallel link network supporting two service classes, where the high priority (HP) class has hard preemptive priority over the low priority (LP) class. This simple two link topology can be thought of as an abstraction of a (more desirable) primary route and a (less desirable) secondary route connecting a given source destination pair in a large network. The preemption policy permits both preemption from the primary link to the secondary link (a transfer) if possible, and eviction from either link if necessary. Analysis of the system is trivial for HP streams, and quality of service (QoS) is captured by the admission probabilities on the primary and secondary links (which are independent of the LP traffic). For the LP streams, however, the QoS is specified both by admission rates on both links as well as preemption rates from both links. We are able to analyze the preemption and departure rates of LP streams in this system in terms of the Erlang-B blocking probability equation for an M/M/c/c queue. Numerical and simulation results show very good agreement and demonstrate some interesting behavior.
An evaluation of the components of a Social Stories™ intervention package

Abstract The present study examined the effectiveness of Social Stories™, and Social Stories paired with a differential reinforcement procedure on disruptive behaviors of two elementary school children diagnosed with pervasive developmental disorder-not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). We implemented a multiple-baseline design across target behaviors, whereby the Social Story was implemented first, followed by the pairing of the story and a differential reinforcement of zero behavior (DRO) procedure. Results indicate that while the use of a Social Story was effective in decreasing problem behavior when compared to baseline levels, the pairing of the story with a DRO procedure resulted in lower average levels of the target behaviors across both participants.
Comparison of light- and heavy-ion emission from the /sup 12/C + /sup 16/O system

Excitation functions of the total proton and ..cap alpha..-particle yields from the /sup 12/C+/sup 16/O reaction have been measured in the range E/sub c.m./=12.9 to 27.4 MeV, with angular distribution measurements at E/sub c.m./=14.9, 21, and 26.6 MeV. For comparison, the elemental distribution of evaporation residues was also measured at the latter three energies. The ..cap alpha.. excitation curve exhibits structure corresponding to the oscillations seen in an earlier measurement of the total fusion cross section, while the proton cross section increases rather smoothly with energy. At 15 MeV all the proton and ..cap alpha.. cross section is accounted for by the observed evaporation residues, but an increasing excess of light-ion production is seen at the higher energies. The excess cross section, if interpreted as 3..cap alpha.. production, compensates for the previously observed decrease in fusion cross section below the expected total reaction cross section.
Synthesis of Bimetallic AuPt Nanoparticles in Aqueous Solution and Electrocatalytic Activity

The ability to control composition and size in the synthesis of bimetallic nanoparticles is important for the exploitation of the bimetallic catalytic properties. This paper reports recent findings of an investigation of the synthesis of gold-platinum (AuPt) bimetallic nanoparticles in aqueous solution via reduction of AuCl4 − and PtCl4 2− using a combination of reducing and capping agents. In addition to characterization of the morphological properties of the AuPt nanoparticles using TEM and XRD, the electrocatalytic activity of the carbon-supported AuPt nanoparticle catalysts was also examined for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) using the rotating disk electrode (RDE) technique. The findings have implications to the design of bimetallic nanoparticle catalysts for fuel cell reactions.