cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Histone H1° is distributed unlike H1 in chromatin aggregation

Abstract Non-uniform distribution of H1 histone in bovine thymus chromatin was demonstrated previously. Two classes of chromatin differ in aggregation properties and histone content. The class aggregatable by physiological saline is enriched in H1, especially H1ab, the variant known to be most powerful in condensing DNA. Now, the distribution of H1 subtypes is reported for brain chromatin, where H1ab and H1c were distributed as in thymus. In contrast, H1° preferred neither the aggregatable chromatin nor the aggregation-resistant class. It is suggested that H1° is uniformly distributed with regard to euchromatin and heterochromatin, whereas H1 is cencentrated in heterochromatin.
Association of dual-antiplatelet therapy with reduced major adverse cardiovascular events in patients with symptomatic peripheral arterial disease.

Objective This study was conducted to determine whether there is additive benefit of dual-antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) with aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid [ASA]) and clopidogrel compared with ASA monotherapy among patients with symptomatic peripheral arterial disease. Methods This was an observational cohort analysis that included 629 patients with claudication or critical limb ischemia. The prevalence of patients taking ASA monotherapy vs DAPT was assessed monthly for up to 3 years. A propensity model was constructed to adjust for baseline demographic characteristics and to assess the effect of DAPT on major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) and major adverse limb events. Results At baseline, 348 patients were taking DAPT and 281 were taking ASA monotherapy. During 3 years of follow-up, 50 events (20%) occurred in the DAPT group vs 59 (29%) in the ASA monotherapy group. After propensity weighting, DAPT use was associated with a decreased risk of MACEs (adjusted hazard ratio [HR], 0.65; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.44-0.96) and overall mortality (adjusted HR, 0.55; 95% CI, 0.35-0.89). No association was found between DAPT use and the risk of major amputation (adjusted HR, 0.69; 95% CI, 0.37-1.29). In a subgroup of 94 patients who underwent point-of-care platelet function testing, 21% had decreased response to ASA and 55% had a decreased response to clopidogrel. No association was found between a reduced response to ASA or clopidogrel and adverse events at 1 year. Conclusions DAPT may be associated with reduced rates of MACEs and death among patients with symptomatic peripheral arterial disease.
Portfolio Performance: Illustrations From Morningstar

Abstract Measures of portfolio performance, such as the Sharpe ratio and Jensen's alpha, are commonly taught in investment and portfolio management courses that use hypothetical examples. Using the Morningstar Web site, the author of this article performed a comparison of these two measures. The author sought to provide instructors with the opportunity to illustrate the differences between these measures and to show some of the caveats that must be considered in the application of these tests to real-world data.
Severe Hyponatremia in a Schizophrenic Patient

A 63-year-old white man with a history of schizophrenia plus polysubstance and alcohol abuse was seen by his primary care physician during a routine visit, at which time he was found to have a serum sodium concentration of 113 mmol/L. The patient was contacted by phone and advised to return to Urgent Care for assessment, but he did not respond until 7 days later, at which time his serum sodium concentration was 106 mmol/L. He reported that he felt fine the day before but that he started feeling very lethargic that morning and had trouble “keeping his eyes open.” The patient was noted to be somnolent and confused. Table 1 summarizes the patient's laboratory data on admission. View this table: Table 1. Patient's laboratory results at time of admission. The patient admitted to having drunk one-half to 1 bottle of beer on the day of admission—only beer and no more than 2 beers. He later admitted, however, to a higher beer consumption of up to 12 bottles a day. He did not recall whether he had breakfast on the morning of admission, and his nutritional history was inconsistent. His severe hyponatremia and history of excessive consumption of beer, a poor source of sodium and protein, coupled with his poor intake of food was consistent with the diagnosis of beer potomania. The patient was treated with 500 mL of normal saline (300 Osm/L). The patient's serum sodium value increased to 116 mmol/L but then increased rapidly to 126 mmol/L over a 12-h period. The rapid overcorrection of sodium (10 mmol/L in the first 12 h) increased the risk of osmotic demyelination because complications have been noted if the serum sodium change is >0.55 mmol · L−1 · h−1 (>10 mmol/L in 24 h and >18 mmol/L in 48 h). The goal of the management of hyponatremia should be a sodium increase …
Sensitive developmental periods for kanamycin ototoxic effects on distortion-product otoacoustic emissions

The developing rat is hypersensitive to aminoglycoside toxicity, which is expressed early on as a destruction of outer hair cells (OHC). In the current study, distortion-product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAE), which specifically measure the micromechanical activity of OHCs, were used to assess functional effects of administering a regimen of kanamycin to three groups of neonatal rats representing discrete postnatal developmental periods. In this manner, pigmented rats were treated at postnatal days 1-10, 11-20, and 21-30. A series of input-output (I/O) functions obtained for the 2f1-f2 DPOAE during the post-treatment period indicated that detection thresholds were significantly elevated for the animals treated on postnatal days 1-10 and 11-20, with the greatest elevations observed at the higher test frequencies.
Evaluation of Omeprazole in the Treatment of Reflux Laryngitis: A Prospective, Placebo‐Controlled, Randomized, Double‐Blind Study

Objectives Proton-pump inhibitors are often recommended in the treatment of laryngitis secondary to gastric reflux. Despite prospective treatment studies reporting high efficacy, only one previous report has been placebo-controlled and blinded. The objective of this study was to determine the efficacy of omeprazole in treating proven reflux laryngitis. Study Design Prospective, placebo-controlled, randomized, double-blind clinical trial. Methods Fifty-three patients with one or more reflux laryngitis symptoms were recruited to undergo 24-hour dual-channel pH probe testing. Thirty patients with more than four episodes of laryngopharyngeal reflux were enrolled. By random assignment, 15 patients received 40 mg omeprazole twice a day and the other 15 received placebo for a period of 2 months. Symptoms (hoarseness, throat pain, lump in throat sensation, throat clearing, cough, excessive phlegm, dysphagia, odynophagia, and heartburn) and endoscopic laryngeal signs (erythema, edema, and mucus accumulation) were recorded initially, at 1 month, and 2 months. Results In general, most symptom scores improved over time for both the omeprazole and placebo groups. Hoarseness, when patients begin with low hoarseness symptom scores, and throat clearing improved significantly more in patients on omeprazole than in those on placebo during the 2-month study. Throat pain, lump in throat sensation, excessive phlegm, difficulty swallowing, pain with swallowing, and heartburn showed improvement in both treatment arms, signifying the possibility of a placebo effect. Endoscopic laryngeal signs did not change significantly over the course of the study for either treatment group. Conclusions A placebo effect appears to exist in the treatment of reflux laryngitis. However, hoarseness, when initially scored low, and throat clearing resulting from reflux laryngitis are effectively treated by omeprazole.
Utilization of volunteer aides in a helping relationship with children

Abstract A school psychology staff sponsored an intervention program (framed in “client-centered” theory) in which unpaid, untrained, and minimally supervised volunteers served in one-to-one helping relationship with children manifesting behavioral problems in school. Although the program failed to have a substantial overall therapeutic impact, children displaying a high incidence of “inadequate-immature” behavior showed marked improvements. As judged by audiotapes, the level of therapeutic conditions (“warmth and empathy”) provided by volunteers was low. Needs for incorporating the program within a more comprehensive plan for utilization of auxiliary personnel, as well as exploration of programs based upon other theoretical rationales, are discussed.
New Phenolic Components and Chromatographic Profiles of Green and Fermented Teas

A standardized profiling method based on liquid chromatography with diode array and electrospray ionization mass spectrometric detection (LC-DAD-ESI/MS) was applied to establish the phenolic profiles of 41 green teas and 25 fermented teas. More than 96 phenolic compounds were identified that allowed the teas to be organized into five groups. Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) was the major phenolic component of green tea made from mature leaves (group 2), while green tea made from the younger buds and leaves (group 1) contained lower flavonoid concentrations. Partially fermented teas (group 3) contained one-half the EGCG content of the green tea. Fully fermented black teas (group 4) had a trace of EGCG, but contained theaflavins. Highly overfermented black tea (group 5) contained only trace amounts of flavonol glycosides and theaflavins. Over 30 phenolics are new for tea, and this is the first phenolic profile to simultaneously detect C- and O-glycosylated flavonoids, catechins, proanthocyanidins, phenolic acid derivatives, and purine alkaloids.
Molecular mechanisms of endothelial differentiation

The differentiation of embryonic stem cells along the endothelial cell lineage requires a tightly coordinated sequence of events that are regulated in both space and time. Although significant gaps remain in this process, major strides have been made over the past 10 years in identifying the growth factors, signal transduction pathways, and transcription factors that function together as critical mediators of this process. Examples of some of the signal transduction pathways include the hedgehog (HH), WNT, BMP, and Notch pathways. A complex interplay between growth factors, and activation of a variety of signal transduction pathways leads to the induction of transcriptional programs that promote the differentiation of embryonic stem cells along the endothelial lineage and ultimately into arterial, venous, and lymphatic endothelial cells. The purpose of this review is to summarize the recent advances in our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying endothelial differentiation.
Coloring planar graphs in parallel

Abstract We present NC algorithms for vertex and edge coloring planar graphs. The vertex coloring algorithm 5 colors any planar graph, and the edge coloring algorithm Δ edge colors planar graphs with Δ ≥ 23 (and Δ + 1 edge colors planar graphs with Δ
STATISTICAL TIMING ANALYSIS OF THE CLOCK PERIOD IMPROVEMENT THROUGH CLOCK SKEW SCHEDULING

Statistical static timing analysis (SSTA) methods, which model process variations statistically as probability distribution function rather than deterministically, have been thoroughly performed on traditional zero clock skew circuits. In the traditional zero clock skew circuits, the synchronizing clock signal is designed to arrive in phase with respect to each register. However, designers will often schedule the clock skew to different registers in order to decrease the minimum clock period of the entire circuit. Clock skew scheduling imparts very different timing constraints that are based, in part, on the topology of the circuit. In this paper, SSTA is applied to nonzero clock skew circuits in order to determine the accuracy improvement relative to their zero skew counterparts, and also to assess how the results of skew scheduling might be impacted with more accurate statistical modeling. For 99.7% timing yield (3σ variation), SSTA is observed to improve the accuracy, and therefore increase the timing margin, of nonzero clock skew circuits by up to 2.5×, and on average by 1.3×, the amount seen by zero skew circuits.
Aconitate hydratase isozymes: subcellular location, tissue distribution and possible subunit structure

Abstract Aconitate hydratase (citrate (isocitrate) hydro-lyase, EC 4.2.1.3) has been separated into two subcellular forms, cytoplasmic and mitochondrial. Tissue distribution of these two forms was investigated in mouse and Slow loris; spleen contains predominantly the cytoplasmic form, muscle the mitochondrial form, and other tissues varying proportions of each. Variation of the cytoplasmic isozyme was observed among Slow lorises; the patterns indicate that the subunit structure is either monomeric or polymeric without cross-association between the subunits.
The tangent grupoid of a Heisenberg manifold

As a step towards proving an index theorem for hypoelliptic operators on Heisenberg manifolds, including for those on CR and contact manifolds, we construct an analogue for Heisenberg manifolds of Connes? tangent groupoid of a manifold. As is well known for a Heisenberg manifold (M,H) the relevant notion of tangent bundle is rather that of a Lie group bundle of graded 2-step nilpotent Lie groups GM. We define the tangent groupoid of (M,H) as a differentiable groupoid gHM encoding the smooth deformation of M × M to GM. In particular, this construction makes a crucial use of a refined notion of privileged coordinates and of a tangent-approximation result for Heisenberg diffeomorphisms.
Erk/MAP kinase signaling pathway and neuroendocrine differentiation of non-small-cell lung cancer.

Introduction: Almost all small-cell lung cancers (SCLC) and carcinoid tumors express neuroendocrine differentiation (NED), and 10% to 20% of non–small-cell lung cancers (NSCLC) are associated with NED. Although distinct clinical features and histology of SCLC and carcinoid tumors are well recognized, the clinical significance and the molecular basis of NED in NSCLC remain unclear. Methods: To explore the potential molecular pathway involved in NED of NSCLC and its clinical relevance, we conducted investigations using an NSCLC cell line (NCI-H157) as a NED induction model, and explored the potential intracellular signal transduction pathways involved in NED of NSCLC. We confirmed our findings using activators versus inhibitors to these signal transduction pathways in vitro. We also performed immunohistochemical stains of phospho-Erk1/2 of lung cancer specimens known to have NED and explored its clinical relevance. Results: We discovered that NED of NSCLC was associated with the activation of Erk1/2-mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) signal transduction pathway, and the inhibition of the Akt signal transduction pathway. Using specific activator (Pb2+) and inhibitors (siRNA-Erk1/2 and U0126) to the Erk1/2-MAP-kinase pathway, as well as the inhibitor (LY294002) to the Akt pathway, we found that Erk1/2-MAP-kinase activation was essential for NED of NCI-H157 cells. Staining of Erk1/2-MAP-kinase pathway revealed a high rate of positivity in NSCLC tumors with NED when compared with other neuroendocrine lung tumors. Conclusions: To our knowledge, our findings are the first to describe the potential involvement of Erk/MAPK signal transduction pathway of NSCLC in the association with NED. Further investigation of the Erk/MAPK signal transduction pathway of NSCLC may yield discoveries in identifying specific molecular targets for the treatment of NSCLC with NED.
Optical heating in semiconductors

A theory for optical heating in semiconductors has been formulated in terms of the coupled diffusion equations for heat and excess carrier density. The solution for the temperature increase near the surface of the material is given by a general expression which is applicable to a broad range of semiconductors and excitation conditions. The present theory is considerably more comprehensive than previous closed-form results in that the optical and transport properties of the material are allowed to be arbitrary functions of photoexcited-carrier density and temperature.
A short-form measure of dentists' job satisfaction

Abstract In a time of rapid change in the health care system, dentists'assessments of their jobs provide important insights info areas needing attention in the profession. Using the previously validated Dentist Satisfaction Survey (DSS), our goal was to identify a brief subset of items representing the different dimensions of dentists'job satisfaction that account for a substantial amount of variation in the long-form measure. We describe a 14-item short-form instrument, the DSS-14, that accounts for 93 % of the variation in the DSS total score. The DSS-14 had an internal consistency reliability of 0.71 and a two-month test-retest reliability of 0.87. Although diagnosis of specific problem areas is more limited with the DSS-14 than with the long-form DSS, the short form is a parsimonious tool for general evaluation of dentists'job satisfaction.
Value of routine screening for bone demineralization in an urban population of patients with epilepsy.

Summary Background Reduced bone mineral density (BMD) is increasingly recognized in patients receiving antiepileptic drug therapy. The precise prevalence is not known due to variability across populations studied. We set out to characterize the prevalence of abnormal BMD in an urban population of patients with epilepsy with the intent to determine the value of routine BMD screening. Methods We performed a cross-sectional study of 130 consecutive patients seen thorough our Comprehensive Epilepsy Center. BMD was measured using dual X-ray absorptiometry and was reported as T -score and Z -score. Additional information collected for each patient included age, race, gender, current and prior AEDs, ambulatory state, menopausal state, concomitant medications potentially associated with reduced bone mineralization, and comorbid illness potentially associated with reduced bone mineralization. Associations between reduced bone mineralization and variables were tested for significance using Fisher's exact test, Student's t -test, and Wilcoxon rank sum test. Results The average age of the entire study population was 43.5 (±12.5) years. Fifty-five percent of patients had T -score less than or equal to −1, the WHO criterion for osteopenia in postmenopausal women. The prevalence of Z -scores less than −2.0 was 15%, which is more than sixfold greater than expected. The markers for decreased BMD included older age or menopause in women, longer duration of therapy, and a history of use of phenytoin or phenobarbital. Assisted ambulation was also associated with low BMD. Conclusion Our results indicate that reduced bone mineralization is prevalent and a significant health concern in an urban population of patients with epilepsy. Because of the high prevalence of reduced bone mineralization reported in numerous studies including this study, routinely screening for reduced bone mineralization is warranted in patients receiving anticonvulsant therapy.
A Simplified Indicator of Social Well-Being in the United States: Examining the Ecological Impact of Family Formation within a County Level Framework

In 1995, a study entitled “Does Marriage Matter?” was published by Linda Waite in the journal of Demography, which was concerned with the direction of such causal relationships. While Waite’s examination of the causal relationships associated with marriage, and most other analyses of this type, is primarily concerned with the individual level effects of marriage on a variety of outcomes, little is understood concerning the ecological effect of community marriage rates on levels of aggregate well-being. This study aims to contribute to this gap through the implementation of a recent conceptualization of social well-being as a multi-dimensional measure incorporating both biological, operationalized as average life expectancy, and social phenomena, operationalized as, community level crime rates (Raphael, Making the links: what do health promotion, crime prevention, and social development have in common? in 2004). It is important to understand such aggregate level effects in the face of the existing literature, which relies heavily on relational associations which could be subject to ecological fallacy. Analytic techniques incorporate Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis and spatial regression techniques, due to the high existence of spatial autocorrelation often evident in census data, as a way of understanding the effect of the aggregate level marriage rate on the constructed social well being indicator.
Effects of Activated Carbon in Microwave Induction of Lateritic Ore

Lateritic ore can be heated and deoxidized rapidly via microwave irradiation with activated carbon as deoxidizer. In this paper, we studied the reductive roasting behavior of carbon-containing lateritic ore in microwave field and the composition of products through different heating process with varying carbon content. The results show that the heating process of the lateritic ore is a thermally stable process. The reductive level of lateritic ore can be adjusted by changing the proportion of carbon powders and the heating time of microwave irradiation. During this reductive roasting process, the quality of the added carbon powders will make a great impact on the phase composition of the product and then affect the heating rate. The reductive calcite product mainly consists of magnetite and wastage. With the rising of the content of reducing agent, the reductive level of lateritic ore will increase, which cause Ni and a small quantity of Fe to be deoxidized and forms Ni-Fe alloy.
ON THE INCOMPLETENESS OF A DESCENDING CHAIN OF EXTENSIONS OF IMPLICATIONAL S5

C5.ω is obtained by adding, schematically, to the strict-implicational fragment C5 of S5 the axiom ((p q) (q p)) (q p). This paper presents a fully general proof that neither C5.ω nor any of a descending chain of its extensions is complete with respect to any class of frames, correcting the garbled details of a version skeched in an earlier paper (same Zeitschrift 31 (1985), 201-208).
Affect, risk, and decision criticality: Replication and extension in a business setting

Abstract Results from a field study with 113 members of an international engineering company indicate that a decision maker's response to an organizational dilemma with uncertain outcomes is a function of task-related affect, perceived risk, and perceived decision criticality. While results were not wholly consistent with lab findings reported by Isen and Patrick (1983) and Isen and Geva (1987) , these field data indicate that business people adjust their decision making preferences in much the same manner as student subjects used in prior affect investigations. Further, the current study extends our understanding of affect and decision making in four ways: (1) using trained business people as subjects, (2) performing a task germane to the organization, (3) examining negative affect as an influential mood state, and (4) incorporating perceived decision criticality as a salient factor in the decision process. Findings are discussed relative to current research on affect and the role it plays in decision making.
Impact of temperature on power density in closed-loop pressure retarded osmosis for grid storage

Abstract Closed-loop pressure retarded osmosis (PRO) has been recently proposed as a means of transforming unusable forms of energy, such as waste heat, into valuable electricity. The process, which is also referred to as an osmotic heat engine (OHE), also enables a form of osmotic grid storage for intermittently available renewable energy sources, where available energy is stored as an osmotic potential and that energy is released via PRO when energy demand is high. The OHE has the potential to generate greater power than conventional open loop PRO because the draw solution can be engineered to have very high osmotic pressures, via enhanced temperature, solute concentration, or a combination of both. These variables change fluid properties and the performance of the membrane, which may or may not be beneficial to overall OHE operation. Using a custom-built, bench-top PRO system, a commercially available forward osmosis membrane from Hydration Technology Innovations™ (HTI) was evaluated for water flux and power density at two temperatures (20 °C and 40 °C) and three draw solution concentrations (0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 M sodium chloride) that are similar to temperatures and draw solution osmotic pressures capable in an osmotic heat engine. In general, power densities increased with the increasing draw solution concentration and system temperature. The highest observed power density (18.0±2.3 W/m 2 ) was measured at 20.7 bar (300 psi) using a 1.5 M sodium chloride draw solution at a system temperature of 40 °C. Experimental data compared favorably to predicted performance using previously published governing equations for PRO water flux and power density.
Finite memory hypothesis testing: Achieving performance bound without randomization

Given a hypothesis testing problem about the bias of a coin for heads, H0 : p = P0 and H1 : p = p1, and a finite memory constraint, Cover and Hellman have derived a lower bound on the error probability achievable by finite state machines and they have also given a procedure which achieves this performance arbitrarily closely. The procedure requires randomization, whose memory requirements sometimes we may not be able to meet. This paper gives a procedure in which the expedient of a "laboratory" processing a large number of problems is used to achieve error probabilities close to the lower bound for each problem; in essence, the procedure employs the statistics of the problems themselves in a suitable way to simulate the randomizer.
Palestrina as Historicist: The Two L'homme armé Masses

Two traits distinguishing the music of the Renaissance may be singled out as relevant to this study: a spirit of emulation leading to appropriation by composers of various aspects of the music of their peers and the development, to a degree not previously seen, of a historical sense. Both in my opinion play a role in the choices made by Palestrina in approaching the L'homme arme theme.
Integrin-mediated Activation of MEK and Mitogen-activated Protein Kinase Is Independent of Ras

The integrins are a family of cell surface receptors that mediate adhesive interactions with the extracellular matrix and also generate signals that influence cell growth and differentiation. Ligation and clustering of integrins causes activation and autophosphorylation of focal adhesion kinase (FAK), a cytoplasmic tyrosine kinase, and results in the transient activation of p42 and p44 mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases. Initial evidence has suggested that the integrin signaling pathway may share common elements with the canonical Ras signal transduction cascade activated by peptide mitogens such as epidermal growth factor (EGF). In this report we demonstrate that Raf-1 and MAP or extracellular signal-related kinase kinase (MEK), key cytoplasmic kinases of the Ras cascade, are activated subsequent to integrin-mediated adhesion of mouse NIH 3T3 fibroblasts. We also show that MAP kinase is downstream of MEK in the integrin signaling pathway. However, in contrast to the receptor tyrosine kinase signaling cascade, integrin-mediated signal transduction seems to be largely independent of Ras. Dominant negative inhibitors of Ras-dependent signaling failed to block integrin-mediated activation of MEK. In addition, while treatment with the peptide mitogen EGF clearly increased GTP-loading of Ras, little effect was observed in response to integrin-dependent cell adhesion. Thus, integrin-mediated activation of MEK and MAP kinase in 3T3 cells occurs primarily by a mechanism that is distinct from the Ras signal transduction cascade.
Oblique route to turbulence

Direct numerical simulations have been performed by Mayer, Von Terzi & Fasel (J. Fluid Mech., this issue, vol. 674, 2011, pp. 5–42) to demonstrate that oblique-mode breakdown leads to fully turbulent flow for a Mach 3 flat-plate boundary layer. Since very low level of initial disturbances is required for this transition scenario, oblique-mode breakdown is the most potent mechanism for transition in two-dimensional supersonic boundary layers in low-disturbance environments relevant to flight.
A mathematical model for pulmonary mechanics: The alveolar surface contribution

Abstract A rationally motivated, one degree of freedom, scalar, mathematical model is developed from a statement of conservation of mass and surface thermodynamics to represent the contribution of alveolar surface tension to the mechanics of respiration. In the course of development of the model, a relationship for dynamic surface tension as a function of area is obtained. Surface free energy per unit area vs area diagrams are presented. The model predicts spatial average values of the transalveolar-surface pressure as a function of time for the whole lung, not necessarily true at any specific alveoli at that time. The present value of pressure is a function not only of the present lung volume, but also the volume history. The transpulmonary pressure is formulated in terms of the pressure due to airway resistance, that of deformation of lung tissue, and the transalveolar surface pressure. New lung constants arise in a natural way from the model. The pulmonary mechanics predicted by the model is consistent with the concept that normal lung alveolar surface tension is below the thermostatic equilibrium value and is maintained in such a state by occasional deep inspirations.
Can seasonal changes in density dependence drive population cycles

While this article was being prepared, the author was supported in part by a grant from the National Science Foundation (DEB 95-28571).
Statistical control chart for regime identification in volcanic time series

In an important paper, Mulargia et al. (1987) address the importance of quantitative and objective identification of different regimes of a volcano. They develop a procedure based on the two-sample Kolmogorov-Smirnov (K-S) statistic. The K-S test is a general-purpose test that discriminates between two data sets as belonging to two different regimes based on their empirical distribution functions. The empirical distribution function is designed to describe the aggregate behavior of the volcanic activity, and it is constructed from the orders of the length of the collected repose times in each data set. In this article, we use the idea of statistical process control to distinguish between the variation inherent in the observed repose times and the extraordinary variation that signals a real change in the regimes. We construct a table of control limits, and we demonstrate the procedure of regime identification based on a simple control chart. It shows a point outside the control limits almost as soon as the process enters a new regime. The basis of the statistical process control mechanism is a simple Poisson process, which is state of the art. The proposed control charting procedure is an eruption by eruption procedure, which follows the original chronological order of the eruptions. This procedure is applied to the eruptive history of the Mount Etna volcano. The application shows schematically that the procedure presents a visual interpretation of the identified regimes and can be practically translated for tabular or manual use.
Thermal trapping and kinetics of martensitic phase boundaries

Abstract In this paper we study the influence of latent heat on kinetics of martensitic phase transitions and derive a relation between the velocity of an adiabatic phase boundary and the corresponding driving force (kinetic relation). Inside the phase transition front we adopt a non-isothermal version of the viscosity-capillarity model. We show that if the latent heat is different from zero, a finite value of the driving force must be reached, before the transition front can move; this effect of thermal trapping may contribute to martensitic hysteresis. In the adiabatic case the kinetic relations are non-monotone and non-single-valued, reproducing some fine features of the kinetic relations obtained previously for purely mechanical discrete models with bi-stable elements. We show that in its gross features, our kinetic model is similar to the conventional model of dry friction.
Computer-based written emotional disclosure: the effects of advance or real-time guidance and moderation by Big 5 personality traits.

Standard written emotional disclosure (WED) about stress, which is private and unguided, yields small health benefits. The effect of providing individualized guidance to writers may enhance WED, but has not been tested. This trial of computer-based WED compared two novel therapist-guided forms of WED – advance guidance (before sessions) and real-time guidance (during sessions, through instant messaging) – to both standard WED and control writing; it also tested Big 5 personality traits as moderators of guided WED. Young adult participants (n = 163) with unresolved stressful experiences were randomized to conditions, had three, 30-min computer-based writing sessions, and were reassessed six weeks later. Contrary to hypotheses, real-time guidance WED had poorer outcomes than the other conditions on several measures, and advance guidance WED also showed some poorer outcomes. Moderator analyses revealed that participants with low baseline agreeableness, low extraversion, or high conscientiousness had relative...
Apoptotic versus proliferative activities in human benign prostatic hyperplasia

Cell growth in the normal prostate is regulated by a delicate balance between cell death and cell proliferation (ie, apoptotic v proliferative activity). Disruption of the molecular mechanisms that regulate these two processes may underline the abnormal growth of the gland leading to benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). In this study, the incidence of programmed cell death (apoptosis) and cell proliferation was comparatively analyzed among the various cell subpopulations in the normal and benign hyperplastic human prostate. The authors also examined the relative expression of two proteins involved in the regulation of prostate apoptosis: (1) transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta1, a negative growth factor able to induce prostate apoptosis under physiological conditions; and (2) bcl-2, a potent apoptosis suppressor. Analysis of the incidence of "spontaneous" apoptosis in situ, using the end-labeling terminal transferase staining technique for the detection of nucleosomal DNA fragmentation, revealed infrequent apoptotic staining in isolated basal and secretory prostate epithelial cells. The basal level of cell proliferation was determined on the basis of the Ki-67 nuclear antigen staining, a nuclear protein that appears primarily during the proliferative phases of the cell cycle. The Ki-67-positive nuclei were equally distributed among the basal and secretory epithelial cells of the hyperplastic prostatic acini. The apoptotic index of the secretory and basal cells of the prostate epithelium was higher in the normal prostate compared with BPH tissue, whereas there was a significant increase in the proliferative index of the respective cell populations in the hyperplastic prostate. Balancing the apoptotic versus the proliferative activities revealed a substantial net decrease (fourfold) in the total number of cells dying via apoptosis in both the glandular and basal epithelial cell compartments of the hypertrophic prostate (BPH) when compared with the normal gland. TGF-beta staining was exclusively identified in the secretory epithelial cells, lining the prostatic lumen with minimal involvement of the basal cells and total lack of immunoreactivity among the stroma elements. Statistical analysis revealed a significant elevation in TGF-beta expression in the epithelial cells of BPH tissue compared with the normal prostate (P < .001). Expression of bcl-2 was topologically restricted to the glandular epithelium of the prostate. In the normal prostate, bcl-2 immunoreactivity was predominantly identified in the basal cell layer. An increase in both the intensity of immunoreactivity for bcl-2 and the number of positive epithelial cells (basal and secretory) was detected in BPH specimens relative to the normal prostate (P < .02). These results suggest a potential involvement of enhanced expression of this antiapoptosis protein in deregulation of the normal apoptotic cell death mechanisms in the human prostate, thus resulting in a growth imbalance in favor of cell proliferation that might ultimately promote prostatic hyperplasia.
Fluorescence and intersystem crossing as a function of rotational energy on the S1 state of benzene

Abstract The effect of rotational excitation on the electronic relaxation of the S 1 state of “isolated” benzene has been studied by examination of resonance fluorescence generated when narrow-band exciting light is swept through the rotational envelopes of four S 1 ← S 0 absorption bands. To within the ten percent uncertainty in measurement, the fluorescence yields are independent of the position of the exciting light within an absorption band. Thus neither radiative decay nor intersystem crossing to the triplet state displays large sensitivity to molecular rotation, at least when excited state relaxation proceeds from rotational distributions of moderate diversity.
Association of Health Sciences Reasoning Test Scores With Academic and Experiential Performance

Objectives. To assess the association of scores on the Health Sciences Reasoning Test (HSRT) with academic and experiential performance in a doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) curriculum.Methods. The HSRT...
Strain Softening in Stretched DNA

The microscopic mechanics of DNA stretching was characterized using extensive molecular dynamics simulations. By employing an anisotropic pressure-control method, realistic force-extension dependences of effectively infinite DNA molecules were obtained. A coexistence of B and S DNA domains was observed during the overstretching transition. The simulations revealed that strain softening may occur in the process of stretching torsionally constrained DNA. The latter observation was qualitatively reconciled with available experimental data using a random-field Ising model.
Fast joint design method for parallel excitation radiofrequency pulse and gradient waveforms considering off‐resonance

A fast parallel excitation pulse design algorithm to select and to order phase-encoding (PE) locations (also known as "spokes") of an Echo-Volumar excitation k-space trajectory considering B(0) field inhomogeneity is presented. Recently, other groups have conducted research to choose optimal PE locations, but the potential benefit of considering B(0) field inhomogeneity during PE location selection or their ordering has not been fully investigated. This article introduces a novel fast greedy algorithm to determine PE locations and their order that takes into account the off-resonance effects. Computer simulations of the proposed algorithm for B(1) field inhomogeneity correction demonstrate that it not only improves excitation accuracy but also provides an effective ordering of the PE locations.
Effects of relief of biliary obstruction on mononuclear phagocyte system function and cell mediated immunity

Obstructive jaundice causes depression of immune system function but it is unclear at present how rapidly immune function recovers after relief of biliary obstruction. To address this issue, we studied 218 Sprague-Dawley rats with common bile duct obstruction. Mononuclear phagocyte function, cell mediated immune function, portal-systemic shunt fraction, liver function tests, and liver histology were evaluated in normal (sham) rats, obstructed rats, and at weekly intervals after relief of biliary obstruction. Hepatic uptake of radiolabelled bacteria was 82 per cent in sham rats and 66 per cent in rats 21 days after CBD obstruction (P less than 0.05). Phagocytic activity returned to normal within 7 days after choledochoduodenostomy. Cell mediated immunity, measured by skin graft rejection, was significantly prolonged in the obstructed group (P less than 0.05) but had returned to normal 7 days after biliary diversion. Return of hepatocellular function, as measured by liver function tests, paralleled recovery of immune function. This study demonstrates prompt recovery of the immune system after internal biliary drainage for obstructive jaundice. This finding is in contrast to previous studies that demonstrated persistent immune suppression months after biliary diversion. These data may have implications concerning the usefulness of internal biliary drainage before surgery in patients with obstructive jaundice.
Protein-phosphatase inhibitors block root hair growth and alter cortical cell shape of Arabidopsis roots

Emerging evidence suggests that protein phosphatases play an important role in the growth and development of higher plants. We report here on the effects of okadaic acid and calyculin-A, two specific and potent inhibitors of the type-1 and type-2A families of serine/ threonine protein phosphatases, on the growth and development of Arabidopsis thaliana L. roots. Application of these drugs in nanomolar ranges arrested root hair growth, severely affected the shape of cells within the zone of elongation and inhibited root growth rates. Root hair elongation was inhibited by concentrations of okadaic acid and calyculin-A as low as 3 nM. The pleiotropic effects of okadaic acid and calyculin-A point to multiple functions for type-1 and -2A protein phosphatases in controlling root growth and development.
Defining equations for cyclic prime covers of the Riemann sphere

We determine a method to find explicit defining equations for each compact Riemann surface which admits a cyclic group of automorphisms C p of prime order p such that the quotient space has genus 0.
Nontraditional Gender Roles and the Sexual Experiences of Heterosexual College Students.

The purposes of this study of heterosexual college students were (1) to specify gender differences and similarities in sexual beliefs and experiences, (2) to determine the prevalence of women enacting traditional male roles in dating and sexual interactions, and (3) to examine the relationship between women's enactment of traditional male roles and their sexual experiences. Findings for this predominantly Caucasian sample indicated that there were no significant gender differences in age of first intercourse, frequency of intercourse, oral sex participation, prevalence of coitus and anal sex, rating of how often sex partners satisfied their sex needs and desires, and reactions to recent intercourse. Although less than men's frequencies, sizable proportions of women acknowledged they had multiple sex partners and sex without emotional involvement. Support for an increased proportion of females engaging in the traditional male roles of initiating sexual involvement and dates and paying date expenses was also found. Findings also suggested that there are no simple patterns between women's sexual experience and nontraditional roles but that this association depends on the specific role as well as the status and quality of a woman's current sexual relationship. Findings were discussed in terms of their potential to contribute to women's sexual decisions.
Processive action of terminase during sequential packaging of bacteriophage λ chromosomes

Abstract Bacteriophage λ chromosomes are packaged in a polarized, sequential fashion from a multimeric DNA substrate. Mature chromosomes are generated when terminase introduces staggered nicks in the cohesive end sites (cos sites) bounding a chromosome. Packaging is polarized, to the initial and terminal cos sites for packaging a chromosome can be defined. To initiate packaging, terminase binds to cos at cosB, and subsequently cuts at cosN. To terminate packaging of a chromosome, a functional cosB is not required at the terminal cos. To explain this finding, it was proposed earlier that terminase scans for the terminal cosN, rather than any subsequent cosB, during packaging. In the work described here we performed helper packaging experiments to see whether processive action of terminase occurs during sequential packaging of λ chromosomes. The helper packaging experiments involve trilysogens; strains carrying three prophages in tandem. Infection by a hetero-immune helper phage results in packaging of the repressed prophage chromosomes, since the prophage structure is analogous to the normal DNA substrate. Two chromosomes can be packaged from between the three cos sites of the prophages of a trilysogen. Both chromosomes are packaged even when the central cos is cosB−. Our interpretation of these data is that (1) terminase is brought to the central cos by packaging; (2) following cleavage of the central cos, the terminase remains bound to the distal chromosome; and (3) terminase acts to begin packaging of the distal chromosome. The frequency at which terminase reads across the central cos to initiate packaging of the distal chromosome is in the range from 0.3 to 0.5 in our experiments. Reading across cos was found not to be greatly dependent on the state of cosB, indicating that cosB binding is only needed for packaging the first chromosome in a packaging series. A multilysogen was constructed in which the initial cos was cos+ and the distal cos sites were all cosB−. The initial and downstream chromosomes were found to be packaged. This result indicates that terminase that is brought to the central cos by packaging is not only able to initiate packaging of a downstream chromosome, but can also scan and terminate packaging of the downstream chromosome. A model is presented in which processive action of terminase is the basis for sequential packaging of λ chromosomes.
Schizophrenia in Denmark. Incidence and utilization of psychiatric institutions

All first admitted in 1972 to Danish psychiatric institutions diagnosed schizophrenics at least once until September 1983 (310 males and 277 females) are followed up. The incidence of schizophrenics diagnosed at their first admission is 7.8 males and 3.4 females/100,000 inhabitants and when those diagnosed as schizophrenics only at a later admission are included the incidence is correspondingly 15.0 and 8.7. The number of in-patient days is highest in the first year and stabilizes at a lower level in the last 7 to 8 years of the follow-up. The patients spent proportionately more days in mental hospitals than in psychiatric departments in general hospitals. Hebephrenic schizophrenics predominate in mental hospitals. Schizophrenics diagnosed during their first admission spent 19.5% of the 10-year follow-up period in institutions, while schizophrenics diagnosed during a later admission spent 17.4% (NS). Males spent 19.7% of the 10-year follow-up period in institutions, females 16.0% (P less than 0.05).
An implementation of portable standard LISP on the BBN butterfly

An implementation of the Portable Standard Lisp (PSL) on the BBN Butterfly is described. Butterfly PSL is identical, syntactically and semantically, to implementations of PSL currently available on the VAX, Gould, and many 68000-based machines, except for the differences discussed in this paper. The differences include the addition of the future and touch constructs for explicit parallelism and an extension of the fluid binding mechanism to support the multiple environments required by concurrent tasks. As with all other PSL implementations, full compilation to machine code of the basic system and application source code is the normal mode, in contrast to the previous byte-code interpreter efforts. Also discussed are other required changes to the PSL system not visible in the syntax or semantics, e.g., compiler support for the future construct. Finally, the underlying hardware is described, and timings for basic operations and speedup results for two examples are given.