cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Depressive Symptoms and the Effectiveness of a Urate-Lowering Therapy in a Clinical Trial.

OBJECTIVE This ancillary study examined the impact of depressive symptoms on the effectiveness of a urate-lowering therapy in the context of a clinical trial. METHODS Participants included 67 adults (ages 18-40) with elevated blood pressure who were enrolled in a double-blind, randomized, crossover clinical trial evaluating the effectiveness of allopurinol (300 mg/d) versus placebo to decrease blood pressure. Depressive symptoms were measured at the beginning of each 4-week phase with the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression scale (CESD-10). Serum urate (sUA) was assessed at the beginning and end of each treatment phase. Compliance to treatment was measured by having detectable oxypurinol levels. Linear regressions tested associations between depressive symptoms and change in sUA in each phase, adjusting for sex and race. Logistic regression predicted compliance from depressive symptoms. RESULTS Participants had a mean age of 27 years and were 64% male and 39% African American. sUA levels decreased during the allopurinol treatment period but did not change during the placebo period. Higher depressive symptoms at pretreatment were associated with an attenuated urate-lowering response during the allopurinol phase (β = 0.24, p < 0.05), but had no effect on sUA changes during the placebo phase. Depressive symptoms were not associated with treatment compliance assessed by oxypurinol levels. CONCLUSION Depressive symptoms were associated with reduced efficacy of allopurinol treatment for hyperuricemia in a clinical trial targeting hypertension. Studies evaluating the efficacy of urate-lowering therapies may benefit from screening for depressive symptoms.
What Do Users Have to Fear? Using Fear Appeals to Engender Threats and Fear that Motivate Protective Security Behaviors

Because violations of information security (ISec) and privacy have become ubiquitous in both personal and work environments, academic attention to ISec and privacy has taken on paramount importance. Consequently, a key focus of ISec research has been discovering ways to motivate individuals to engage in more secure behaviors. Over time, the protection motivation theory (PMT) has become a leading theoretical foundation used in ISec research to help motivate individuals to change their security-related behaviors to protect themselves and their organizations. Our careful review of the foundation for PMT identified three opportunities for improving ISec PMT research. First, extant ISec studies do not use the full nomology of PMT constructs. Second, only one study uses fear-appeal manipulations, even though these are a core element of PMT, and virtually no ISec study models or measures fear. Third, whereas these studies have made excellent progress in predicting security intentions, none of them have addressed actual security behaviors.This article describes the theoretical foundation of these three opportunities for improvement. We tested the nomology of PMT, including manipulated fear appeals, in two different ISec contexts that model PMT’s modern theoretical treatment more closely than do extant ISec studies. The first data collection was a longitudinal study in the context of data backups. The second study was a short-term cross-sectional study in the context of anti-malware software. Our new model demonstrated better results and stronger fit than the existing models and confirmed the efficacy of the three potential improvements we identified.
Perceived neighborhood cohesion buffers COVID-19 impacts on mental health in a United States sample.

Abstract Objective This study examined whether perceived neighborhood cohesion (the extent to which neighbors trust and count on one another) buffers against the mental health effects of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. Methods The XXX University National COVID-19 and Mental Health Study surveyed US adults (N = 3965; M age = 39 years), measuring depressive symptoms, staying home more during than before the 2020 pandemic, and perceived neighborhood cohesion. Results A series of linear regressions indicated that perceiving one's neighborhood as more cohesive was not only associated with fewer depressive symptoms, but also attenuated the relationship between spending more time at home during the pandemic and depressive symptoms. These relationships persisted even after taking into account several individual-level sociodemographic characteristics as well as multiple contextual features, i.e., median household income, population density, and racial/ethnic diversity of the zip codes in which participants resided. Conclusions Neighborhood cohesion may be leveraged to mitigate pandemic impacts on depressive symptoms.
Basic Research in Parallel Computing Must Address Both Short- and Long-Term Objectives

Although we as computer scientists are usually loath to admit it, in large measure the value of our “science” is judged by how well it supports more established branches of science and engineering. And though the egos of some computer scientists may be bruised by the fact that other sciences view computing as a service discipline, in actuality that view offers computer science an unmatched source of research problems, and opportunities to contribute to the solution of deep questions about the natural and man-made world.
European Politics of Citizenship

During the past five years, the European Union has been trying to sponsor a coming of age of European Identity awareness across national borders. In doing so, EU administration intends to square the circle of European Union as the super nation-state of the nation states of Europe. However prompted or justified by the political or economic context, it is noteworthy to what extent the texts of European statutes and policies lack theoretical alternatives to the territorial and relatively homogeneous state. In order for it not to become a threat perceived by the population in identity terms, the apparently forthcoming idea of European citizenship needs to address the concerns of both traditional and new ethnonational minorities at the state level and underneath. In the light of a global context, the tide of Europeanization is but a particular case of the worldwide extended tension between the two increasing and opposing processes of globalization and particularization. Drawing on methodological and theoretical considerations I explore the conflictive and tangled hierarchies of identity and citizenship. Finally, in regard to the problem of how diverse cultures and identities could relate to the universal idea of democratic citizenship, a proposal that attempts to mediate multiculturalism and Eurocentrism will be drafted. This article is available in The Qualitative Report: http://nsuworks.nova.edu/tqr/vol3/iss3/2 European Politics of Citizenship + by Juan M. Delgado-Moreira ++ The Qualitative Report, Volume 3, Number 3, September, 1997
Advances in pulsed power and MHD technology to enable high pressure material dynamics studies

Pulsed power devices are quite efficient at producing very large pulsed current and magnetic field densities. The corresponding Lorentz forces enable these devices to be used very effectively in driving implosion experiments; both wire array Z-pinch experiments and liner implosion experiments. In these cases, the relatively low mass cathode (the wires or the liner) are accelerated (>;1012 g) to high velocity in a convergent geometry. Recently, researchers at Sandia National Laboratories have investigated the use of the Z accelerator to perform "liner explosion" experiments. In this case, a relatively low mass anode is accelerated to high velocity in a divergent geometry. These experiments have been directed toward highly accurate dynamic material studies. In particular, emphasis has been placed on the launching of planar, solid density flyer plates to velocities approaching 30 km/s for use in equation of state studies at ultra-high pressure. Several advances in pulsed power and magneto-hydrodynamic technologies required to perform these experiments will be discussed.
Robust sensorless rotor position detection in switched reluctance motors for low speed applications

There have been several approaches to the problem of sensorless rotor position detection in switched reluctance motors but the great majority of them are not appropriate for low speed operation of SRM since those methods are based on voltage equation integration to estimate the flux or neglecting the emotional back EMF in that equation. This paper proposes a method to the sensorless control of SRM for low speed operation. A novel position estimation equation is derived based on an analytical model for SRM and current waveform. This method is robust to the winding resistance variations or measurement error and current noise. The algorithm has been implemented on the TMS320LF2407 fixed point DSP and has been applied to a 1 hp SRM test bed successfully.
Optimism, pessimism and bias in self-reported body weight among older adults

Although a pop culture cliche, the answer to the question “Is the glass half empty or half full?” is revealing of meaningful psychological differences between individuals. Indeed, a large literature shows that dispositional optimism and pessimism are consequential for health-related behaviors and outcomes. Pessimists, for example, face greater risk of coronary heart disease (1) and cardiovascular death (2) than optimists. These associations may be due, in part, to differences in health-risk behaviors. Optimists, for example, report healthier lifestyles, such that they tend to smoke less and exercise more than pessimists (3).Although self-reports of health behaviors and physical health are fairly accurate, the worldview of optimists and pessimists may also lead to subtle biases in how they report health-related information. Self-reported body weight and height are among the most common questions in health research, especially in large-scale epidemiological studies. Although measured and reported weight/height are highly correlated (4), discrepancies are also apparent. Perhaps not surprisingly, individuals generally tend to underestimate their weight and overestimate their height (5, 6, 7). These inaccuracies are associated with characteristics of the individual. For example, women are more likely than men to underestimate their weight (6) (but not all find this association, see (8)), whereas men are more likely to overestimate their height (6). These discrepancies become more pronounced with age (5). Such misreports in weight and height lead to biases in body mass index (BMI), such that BMI tends to be underestimated (9). Previous research has primarily focused on how demographic factors and health status are associated with discrepancies in reported versus measured weight and height; psychological factors may be equally important. The present study uses a large national sample to examine whether optimists and pessimists misreport their weight and height in ways that are consistent with their worldviews. Specifically, it is expected that optimists will report that they weigh less than their actual weight, whereas pessimists will report that they weigh more than they actually do. In addition, this study examines whether these misreports bias the association between optimism/pessimism and BMI and obesity when BMI is derived from reported versus measured weight and height.
Gender, Health, and Constrained Choice

In this entry, we review and discuss gender differences in health and mortality and how they vary over time and cross-nationally. We then summarize our integrative framework of constrained choice. This framework demonstrates how decisions made and actions taken at the levels of family, work, community, and government shape men's and women's opportunities to pursue health and, in so doing, contribute to observed disparities. Constrained choice provides a holistic, systematic approach to understanding this paradox and demonstrates that a multidisciplinary approach is essential to understanding gendered health inequalities. Constrained choice is intended to inform health conscious decision-making and policy creation at the national, state/province, or local levels of government as well as employment settings, and to help families and individuals to develop health consciousness in making everyday life decisions. Keywords: gender; gender and culture; health; inequality
Dynamic Light Scattering

Dynamic light scattering is commonly used to monitor the diffusion of small particles in either liquids or aerosols and can be used to evaluate the particle size and distribution of these diffusing particles. However, it is also used to probe the slow dynamics of density fluctuations that are inherent in certain fluids. This includes measures of the diverging correlation length near the critical point of liquid mixtures that exhibit a miscible-immiscible phase transition and measurements of the tremendously lethargic viscoelastic dynamics seen in supercooled liquids near the glass transition. In this article, the dynamic light scattering technique of photon correlation spectroscopy is described in sufficient detail for a novice to appreciate and likely execute. The theoretical framework for the technique is developed at an introductory level and the relationships between measured intensity-intensity autocorrelation functions and their corresponding dynamic structure factors are presented. A distinction is drawn between homodyne and heterodyne experiments and the relative merits of each are illustrated by examples. Details of the experimental set up are also reviewed and some of the most common pitfalls and artifacts are discussed. Keywords: dynamic light scattering; photon correlation spectroscopy; quasi-elastic light scattering; diffusion; relaxation
A dynamic model for plant growth; validation study under changing temperatures

A dynamic simulation model to describe vegetative growth of plants, for which some functions and parameter values have been estimated previously by optimization search techniques and numerical experimentation based on data from constant temperature experiments, is validated under conditions of changing temperatures. To test the predictive capacity of the model, dry matter accumulation in the leaves, stems, and roots of tobacco plants (Nicotiana tabacum L.) was measured at 2- or 3-day intervals during a 5-week period when temperatures in controlled-environment rooms were programmed for changes at weekly and daily intervals and in ascending or descending sequences within a range of 14 to 34 degrees C. Simulations of dry matter accumulation and distribution were carried out using the programmed changes for experimental temperatures and compared with the measured values. The agreement between measured and predicted values was close and indicates that the temperature-dependent functional forms derived from constant-temperature experiments are adequate for modelling plant growth responses to conditions of changing temperatures with switching intervals as short as 1 day.
Efficient MAC for distributed multiuser MIMO systems

A distributed multiuser MIMO system consists of several access points which are connected to coordinating servers and operate as a large multi-antenna access point. Thanks to joint decoding and precoding, all transmitted signal power is useful, rather than “interference”. The system has the potential to support constant rates as the number of clients increases, thus offering a tremendous bandwidth boost. Despite the high gains and potential applicability to real world setups like enterprise networks, this approach is regarded today mostly as a theoretical solution because of some serious implementation difficulties. Motivated by our recent success in addressing synchronization issues in a real distributed multiuser MIMO testbed that we have developed, in this work we move one step further and design an efficient MAC scheme for such a system. First, we study and design optimal as well as practical user selection and scheduling schemes. Second, we investigate coding methods to realize the achievable rates at higher layers, and pay particular attention to recent rateless codes advancements. Last, we propose a specific MAC super-frame, and discuss how to make our system backward compatible with 802.11ac.
Stress and Quality of Life in Breast Cancer Recurrence: Moderation or Mediation of Coping?

Background/Purpose Diagnosis with breast cancer recurrence often brings high levels of stress. Successful coping to alleviate stress could improve patients’ quality of life (QoL). The intervening role coping plays between stress and QoL may depend on the types of stress encountered and the types of coping strategies used. The present study investigates the longitudinal relationships between stress, coping, and mental health QoL.
Glucose-associated alterations in ischemic brain metabolism of neonatal piglets.

During global brain ischemia or hypoxia-ischemia in adults, hyperglycemia is deleterious to the brain. In contrast, similar adverse effects have not been found in neonatal animals. This investigation examined neonatal piglets to determine if there were specific alterations of ischemic brain metabolism associated with different systemic glucose concentrations and to potentially clarify the effects of hyperglycemia during ischemia in neonates.Two groups of animals (n = 12 in each group) were studied during partial ischemia to compare the effects of hyperglycemia (plasma glucose concentration, 258 +/- 97 mg% [mean +/- SD]) with modest hypoglycemia (plasma glucose concentration, 62 +/- 23 mg%). A broad spectrum of cerebral blood flow reduction was achieved by combining inflation of a cervical pressure cuff with varying degrees of hemorrhagic hypotension. High-energy phosphorylated metabolites, intracellular pH, and cerebral blood flow were simultaneously measured using a magnetic resonance spectroscopic techn...
Survey of the matric water of various plant groups

Matric water (Matric-bound water) was measured as the water retained by plant material after equilibration on a pressure membrane or ultra filter. At increasing pressures, lower amounts of water are held by matric or colloidal surface forces. Matric water was expressed as a percent of either (a) the dry weight or (b) the original water content. Plant material was oven dried, ground, and then saturated with water prior to the matric determination, which occurred in the pressure membrane filter at either one bar or 20 bars, supplied by cylinder nitrogen for 72 hours. Matric water was measured in leaves or in photosynthetic stem tissues from sixty species, including hydrophytes, xerophytes, and halophytes. The correlations between matric potentials and drought and salt tolerance ratings were determined. High matric-bound water values as well as high tissue water contents were found in species of Chenopodiaceae, which are considered more salt and drought tolerant than species of other plant groups. Low matric water values were found in the coniferous tree leaves and in grasses, and intermediate values were found in Compositae, miscellaneous herbaceous species, and deciduous trees. No correlation could be found between either salt or drought tolerance ratings and the matric percent when the latter was expressed on a dry weight basis. When matric water was expressed as a percent of the original water content, there was a positive correlation with drought tolerance ratings in all families studied except succulent Chenopodiaceae.
Management tenure and explanations for success and failure

Abstract Several researchers have argued that executives with longer tenure in their companies may become psychologically committed to the status quo and that this commitment may reduce the quality of decision making and company performance. The study described in this paper extends prior research on Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and top management team (TMT) tenure and on attributions of responsibility for past performance by assessing the relationship between tenure, company experience and attribution patterns. The results show that CEO and TMT tenure and company experience are positively associated with self-serving attributions (taking credit for positive outcomes and laying blame on the environment for negative outcomes), which are, in turn, associated with lower subsequent financial performance. However, tenure and company experience are not directly associated with poor performance to a significant degree. These results suggest that executives with more extensive experience in a company tend to identify more strongly with the company and with current strategy and therefore attribute negative outcomes to external causes. This biased attribution pattern in turn may reduce the effectiveness of decision making, leading to poorer future performance.
Phenylalanine conversion to tyrosine by the human fetal liver

Abstract Immediately after death of five immature human fetuses, dl -phenylalanine-3-C 14 was infused into the liver via the umbilical vein The livers were analyzed for tyrosine by ion-exchange chromatography and radioactivity by monitoring the effluent from the ion-exchange column with a flow cell in a liquid scintillation counter. The presence of labeled tyrosine indicates that the human liver is capable of converting phenylalanine to tyrosine early in fetal development (twenty-second to twenty-fourth week).
Phylogenomic analyses reveal latitudinal population structure and polymorphisms in heat stress genes in the North Atlantic snail Nucella lapillus

North Atlantic rocky intertidal species have been shaped by repeated glaciations and strong latitudinal temperature gradients, making them an excellent system to study postglacial phylogeography and thermal tolerance. Population genetics data from northwestern Atlantic species, however, often show patterns inconsistent with the prediction that high dispersal should generate weaker genetic structure among populations. Here, we used next-generation sequencing restriction-associated DNA tags (RAD-seq) and a transcriptome assembled from RNA-seq data to analyse the genetic structure of northwestern Atlantic populations of the low-dispersal intertidal snail Nucella lapillus. Although previous studies in this region have detected almost no genetic structure in N. lapillus, our phylogenomic approach identified a well-supported split between northern and southern clades. By comparing RAD-seq data and our transcriptome assembly, we identified thousands of fixed single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) between these latitudinal clades that map to protein-coding genes, including genes associated with heat stress tolerance. These fixed SNPs might represent loci under selection for different thermal regimes in the northwestern Atlantic.
Direct determination of the size distribution of uncorrelated overlayer islands from diffraction profiles

Abstract We describe a method to obtain an explicit expression for the distribution of island sizes from electron diffraction data when the islands have no positional correlation, and apply it to oxygen chemisorbed on W(110). The absence of positional correlation implies the validity of the random phase approximation, which allows a simple and direct means of obtaining an analytic form for the probability distribution of scatterer sizes when the intensity profile is measured with a slit detector.
Kinetic studies of temperature changes and oxygen uptake concomitant with substrate oxidation by mitochondria: the enthalpy of succinate oxidation during ATP formation by mitochondria.

Abstract The use of a differential calorimeter equipped with an oxygen electrode to measure simultaneously the heat liberated and oxygen utilized by rat liver mitochondria oxidizing succinate and several diphosphopyridine nucleotide-linked substrates is described. The heat output and oxygen uptake were monitored under conditions of ATP formation. In the presence of the uncoupler, dinitrophenol, succinate oxidation to fumarate gave an enthalpy (ΔH) of oxidation of succinate equal to the value of ΔH for succinate oxidation by nonphosphorylating, submitochondrial particles, i.e., −36.2 ± 1.2 kcal per atom oxygen. When incubated under conditions appropriate for tightly coupled oxidative phosphorylation, mitochondria oxidize succinate to fumarate with a ΔH of only −22.8 ± 0.6 kcal per atom oxygen; the efficiency of phosphorylation under these conditions was 1.7 ± 0.05 moles ATP formed per mole of succinate oxidized. The conserved heat may be quantitatively accounted for by the processes involved in ATP formation from ADP and orthophosphate. Enthalpy measurements during ATP formation were repeated at several pH values and at two Mg ++ concentrations; the ΔH values measured reflect the influence of pH and Mg ++ concentration on the formation of ATP from ADP and orthophosphate. Experiments to determine the ΔH of substrate oxidation for diphosphopyridinelinked substrates were less successful since it was not possible to obtain reproducible values. These results are interpreted to indicate complexities in the biochemical reactions associated with substrate oxidation for both the phosphorylating and uncoupled states.
Selective regulation by δ-PKC and PI 3-kinase in the assembly of the antiapoptotic TNFR-1 signaling complex in neutrophils

TNF is implicated in the attenuation of neutrophil constitutive apoptosis during sepsis. Antiapoptotic signaling is mediated principally through the TNF receptor-1 (TNFR-1). In adherent neutrophils...
Structural analysis of three global land models on carbon cycle simulations using a traceability framework

Abstract. Modeled carbon (C) storage capacity is largely determined by the C residence time and net primary productivity (NPP). Extensive research has been done on NPP dynamics but the residence time and their relationships with C storage are much less studied. In this study, we implemented a traceability analysis to understand the modeled C storage and residence time in three land surface models: CSIRO's Atmosphere Biosphere Land Exchange (CABLE) with 9 C pools, Community Land Model (version 3.5) combined with Carnegie-Ames-Stanford Approach (CLM3.5-CASA) with 12 C pools and Community Land Model (version 4) (CLM4) with 26 C pools. The globally averaged C storage and residence time was computed at both individual pool and total ecosystem levels. The spatial distribution of total ecosystem C storage and residence time differ greatly among the three models. The CABLE model showed a closer agreement with measured C storage and residence time in plant and soil pools than CLM3.5-CASA and CLM4. However, CLM3.5-CASA and CLM4 were close to each other in modeled C storage but not with measured data. CABLE stores more C in root whereas CLM3.5-CASA and CLM4 store more C in woody pools, partly due to differential NPP allocation in respective pools. The C residence time in individual C pools is greatly different among models, largely because of different transfer coefficient values among pools. CABLE had higher bulk residence time for soil C pools than the other two models. Overall, the traceability analysis used in this study can help fully characterizes the behavior of complex land models.
Rate Equations for modeling dispersive nonlinearity in Fabry-Perot semiconductor optical amplifiers

We model the non-linear gain characteristics of a Fabry-Perot semiconductor optical amplifier using a modified photon density rate equation. Good agreement is found with experimental results, with the simulation accurately reproducing all the major characteristics of the amplifier. To our knowledge, this is the first calculation using only the rate equations that accurately predicts the gain and nonlinear behavior of FPSOAs.
Regulation of TRPV1 ion channel by phosphoinositide (4,5)-bisphosphate: the role of membrane asymmetry.

Membrane asymmetry is essential for generating second messengers that act in the cytosol and for trafficking of membrane proteins and membrane lipids, but the role of asymmetry in regulating membrane protein function remains unclear. Here we show that the signaling lipid phosphoinositide 4,5-bisphosphate (PI(4,5)P2) has opposite effects on the function of TRPV1 ion channels depending on which leaflet of the cell membrane it resides in. We observed potentiation of capsaicin-activated TRPV1 currents by PI(4,5)P2 in the intracellular leaflet of the plasma membrane but inhibition of capsaicin-activated currents when PI(4,5)P2 was in both leaflets of the membrane, although much higher concentrations of PI(4,5)P2 in the extracellular leaflet were required for inhibition compared with the concentrations of PI(4,5)P2 in the intracellular leaflet that produced activation. Patch clamp fluorometry using a synthetic PI(4,5)P2 whose fluorescence reports its concentration in the membrane indicates that PI(4,5)P2 must incorporate into the extracellular leaflet for its inhibitory effects to be observed. The asymmetry-dependent effect of PI(4,5)P2 may resolve the long standing controversy about whether PI(4,5)P2 is an activator or inhibitor of TRPV1. Our results also underscore the importance of membrane asymmetry and the need to consider its influence when studying membrane proteins reconstituted into synthetic bilayers. Background: Whether phosphoinositide 4,5-bisphosphate (PI(4,5)P2) activates or inhibits TRPV1 is controversial. Results: PI(4,5)P2 in the intracellular leaflet activates TRPV1, whereas PI(4,5)P2 in the extracellular leaflet inhibits TRPV1. Conclusion: Inhibition by PI(4,5)P2 in the extracellular leaflet may explain previous findings that TRPV1 reconstituted into PI(4,5)P2-containing liposomes is inhibited. Significance: PI(4,5)P2 in the physiologically relevant leaflet (the intracellular leaflet) of the membrane activates TRPV1.
Applying Anthropology to the Campus Dining System: Reflections on Working with Community Food Assessments and the Real Food Challenge

When the Oregon Food Bank began conducting Community Food Assessments in 2009, they enlisted graduate students in Oregon State University's (OSU) applied anthropology program to examine the impact of the university on food security in Benton County. We present the results from two food sustainability assessments undertaken at OSU from 2010-2014. We reflect on the process of engaging in community-led alternative food projects.
Mechanism of the expulsion of oh from the [M C2H4]+˙ ion from ethyl benzoate

Ion kinetic energy spectra of the esters C6H5C18OOC2D5 and C6H5COOC2D5 show that the ion formed by loss of C2D4 from the molecular ion has the deuterium atom attached to the carbonyl oxygen atom. Transfer of this deuterium to the other oxygen can only take place via exchange reactions involving the ortho-hydrogen atoms and requires at least two complete rotations of the side-chain.
A Study on the Practice of Guessing Word Meanings from a Context

Author's summary.— (Part I) The proportion of words whose meaning can be derived by inference in a context is much higher than is generally assumed. (Part II) The guessing of word meanings by inference involves a series of mental processes which can be analysed and classified so they can be used in teaching the technique to the students. (Part III) The author gives the reproduction verbatim of a lesson in which the students are shown some of the techniques by which word meanings can be guessed by inference.
Anti-inflammatory drugs and renal papillary necrosis

The literature on renal papillary necrosis (RPN) associated with the administration of non-steroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAID) to rats and man, is reviewed. RPN is almost universally reported after long term administration of NSAID to rats, reports being cited for an indomethacin analog, phenylbutazone, fenamic acids, fenoprofen and sudoxicam. Aspirin will also induce RPN in rats, and is probably the cause of the ‘analgesic nephropathy’ linked to abuse of aspirin/phenacetin combinations in man. RPN is reported at autopsy in human arthritics, but whether this is a facet of the disease, or of long term salicylate ingestion, is not clear. NSAID are rarely implicated in RPN in humans.
Effects of Organizationally Based and Individually Based Stress Management Efforts in Elementary School Settings

Organizational intervention as well as intervention with individuals reduces teacher stress.
Pediatric Epithelial Salivary Gland Tumors: Spectrum of Histologies and Cytogenetics at a Children's Hospital:

Abstract There are conflicting reports regarding the relative frequency of benign and malignant epithelial salivary gland tumors in children. There are only a few reports of the cytogenetic abnormalities in the pleomorphic adenomas (PA) that arise in children, and even less information regarding the pleomorphic adenoma gene 1 (PLAG1) and high motility group A2 (HMGA2 ) histochemical staining in PAs, or their correlation with histologic types (stromal vs epithelial predominance). A retrospective 14 year review of epithelial salivary gland tumors encountered at a children's hospital identified 13 tumors: 12 PAs and 1 acinic cell carcinoma (ACC). No mucoepidermoid carcinomas were identified. Tumors arose in the parotid (7) and other sites (2 submandibular, 4 minor). Ten PAs in our cohort had cytogenetic studies. Four were normal, 5 involved 8q12, and 1 involved 12q13. Immunohistochemistry identified an additional 2 PAs with PLAG1 staining, and 5 additional PAs with HMGA2 staining. One tumor with ins(18;8)(q2...
The Structure of Sucrose Synthase-1 from Arabidopsis thaliana and Its Functional Implications *

Sucrose transport is the central system for the allocation of carbon resources in vascular plants. During growth and development, plants control carbon distribution by coordinating sites of sucrose synthesis and cleavage in different plant organs and different cellular locations. Sucrose synthase, which reversibly catalyzes sucrose synthesis and cleavage, provides a direct and reversible means to regulate sucrose flux. Depending on the metabolic environment, sucrose synthase alters its cellular location to participate in cellulose, callose, and starch biosynthesis through its interactions with membranes, organelles, and cytoskeletal actin. The x-ray crystal structure of sucrose synthase isoform 1 from Arabidopsis thaliana (AtSus1) has been determined as a complex with UDP-glucose and as a complex with UDP and fructose, at 2.8- and 2.85-Å resolutions, respectively. The AtSus1 structure provides insights into sucrose catalysis and cleavage, as well as the regulation of sucrose synthase and its interactions with cellular targets.
Epitaxial growth of TaN thin films on Si(100) and Si(111) using a TiN buffer layer

We have deposited high-quality epitaxial B1 NaCl-structured TaN films on Si(100) and Si(111) substrates with TiN as the buffer layer, using pulsed laser deposition. Our method exploits the concept of lattice-matching epitaxy between TiN and TaN and domain-matching epitaxy between TiN and silicon. X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and scanning transmission electron microscopy (Z-contrast) experiments confirmed the single-crystalline nature of the films with cube-on-cube epitaxy. The stoichiometry of the TaN films was determined to be nitrogen deficient (TaN0.95±0.05) by Rutherford backscattering. Resistivity of the TaN films was found to be ∼220 μΩ cm at room temperature with a temperature coefficient of resistivity of −0.5 μΩ K−1.
An investigation of acculturation and the dining-out behavior of Chinese living in the United States

Abstract The article focuses on the influence of acculturation on the dining-out behavior of Chinese people in the United States. A popular acculturation scale, Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican Americans (ARSMA), was adapted and applied to the Chinese population in a college town in New England. Then, the sample was grouped into clusters based on the three types of assimilation (i.e., integration, identification, and acculturation) and their dining-out behavior was examined across the groups. The results showed that the type of assimilation and acculturation did have some impact on dining-out behavior.
Changes in immunohistochemical staining of PSA, PAP, and TURP-27 following irradiation therapy for clinically localized prostate cancer.

Abstract Objectives. To determine if tissue expression of prostate-specific antigen (PSA), prostatic acid phosphatase (PAP), and a prostate-associated monoclonal antibody (TURP-27) is retained after irradiation therapy and to compare these results with serum levels. Methods. Immunohistochemical tests were performed on prostatic tissue obtained byneedle biopsy or transurethral resection prior to and following definitive irradiation therapy for clinically localized prostatic carcinoma. PSA, PAP, and TURP-27 were studied. Results were compared with serum PSA and PAP values. Results. All 20 preirradiation specimens stained positively for PSA and PAP; 19 of 20stained for TURP-27. All 5 of the initial post-treatment biopsy specimens that showed recurrent tumor stained for all 3 markers. In 2 cases, staining for the 3 markers was greatly diminished. Only 8 of 15 post-treatment biopsy-negative specimens stained for all 3 markers. Six of 15 demonstrated loss of tissue expression for all 3 antigens. One specimen stained for PAP and TURP-27 but failed to stain for PSA. Serum PSA levels paralleled tissue expression in recurrent tumor specimens. However, 3 of the post-treatment biopsy-positive cases with PAP expressing tissue had normal serum PAP levels. Conclusions. No cases of recurrent tumor with marker-negative tissue were identified.However, benign epithelial prostate cells appear to sustain sufficient damage from irradiation to lose the capacity to produce certain proteins. Diminished contribution of benign glands to circulating PSA, in addition to decreased expression in malignant tissues, may explain the lower than anticipated serum PSA levels in patients who progress after irradiation therapy.
Multi-Fractal Signal Simulation of Local Instantaneous Pressure in a Bubbling Gas-Fluidized Bed—Part 2: Chaos Assessment

The purpose of this paper, in two parts, is to (1) determine the fractal characteristics of time-series pressure data from gas-fluidized bed, (2) evaluate the possibility of using the Weierstrass-Mandelbrot (WM) function to simulate the fractal and dynamic characteristics of such pressure data, (3) refine the method of signal simulation introduced by Humphrey et al. (1992) for turbulence data, and (4) to investigate the nonlinear, fractal, and physical phenomena of pressure in a fluidized bed as a function of angular position around a cylinder, location in the bed, and the fluidization ratio. Part 2 is specifically devoted to (1) assessing the nonlinear dynamical, or chaotic, characteristics of the simulated data, and (2) relating chaos measures to physical phenomena as a function of operating conditions.
Genetic variability in macaques: Correlations between biochemical and dermatoglyphic systems

Abstract The palmar dermatoglyphics of four groups of macaque, Macaca nemestrina, M. fuscata yakui, M. f. fuscata and M. fascicularis, were compared, and the genetic affinities of the four groups were assessed using a dermatoglyphic mean square distance measure. According to this measure the two subspecies of M. fuscata were dermatoglyphically more distant from one another than was M. fuscata fuscata from M. nemestrina, suggesting that the two insular populations of M. fuscata had evolved in genetic isolation. The distributions of specific dermatoglyphic patterns were then compared with the frequency distributions of alleles at different protein structural loci in other macaque populations. The results of the comparison were consistent in that insular populations showed reduction in variability for both kinds of systems. The implications of this correlation are discussed in terms of population size and natural selection.
Load balanced clustering coefficients

Clustering coefficients is a building block in network sciences that offers insights on how tightly bound vertices are in a network. Effective and scalable parallelization of clustering coefficients requires load balancing amongst the cores. This property is not easy to achieve since many real world networks are scale free, which leads to some vertices requiring more attention than others. In this work we show two scalable approaches that load balance clustering coefficients. The first method achieves optimal load balancing with an Ο(|E|) storage requirement. The second method has a lower storage requirement of Ο(|V|) at the cost of some imbalance. While both methods have a similar time complexity, they represent a tradeoff between maintaining a balanced workload and memory complexity. Using a 40-core system we show that our load balancing techniques outperform the widely used and simple parallel approach by a factor of 3X-7.5X for real graphs and 1.5X-4X for random graphs. Further, we achieve 25X-35X speedup over the sequential algorithm for most of the graphs.
Analysis and Design of DC System Protection Using Z-Source Circuit Breaker

A modified Z-source breaker topology is introduced to minimize the reflected fault current drawn from a source while retaining a common return ground path. Conventional Z-source breaker topologies do not provide steady-state overload protection and can only guard against extremely large transient faults. The Z-source breaker can be designed for considerations affecting both rate of fault current rise and absolute fault current level, analogous in some respects to a thermal-magnetic breaker. Detailed analysis and design equations are presented to provide a framework for sizing components in the Z-source breaker topology. In addition, the proposed manual tripping mechanism enables protection against both instantaneous current surges and longer-term overcurrent conditions. The fault operation intervals of the proposed Z-source breaker topologies are both demonstrated in SPICE simulation and validated in experimental characterization.
INTROVERSION-EXTRAVERSION AND THE EFL PROFICIENCY OF JAPANESE STUDENTS

This study explores the relationship between the introversion-extraversion tendencies of Japanese students and their proficiency in English as a foreign language (EFL). It was hypothesized that in an EFL situation, extraverted students would attain a higher proficiency in English because they may take advantage of the few available opportunities to receive input in English and practice the language with native speakers. In order to test the hypothesis that extraverts are more proficient in English, 80 junior college English students and 105 adult school English students took a standardized English test, completed a personality questionnaire, and provided information on a biodata form. In addition, 45 of the junior college students participated in English oral interviews which were then rated for proficiency by two evaluators. The hypothesis that extraverts are more proficient in English was not supported. In fact, statistical analysis revealed that extraversion had a significant negative correlation with pronunciation, a subcomponent of the oral interview test. In addition, introverts tended to have higher scores on the reading and grammar components of the standardized English test. Even though introverts tended to score better on most of the English proficiency measures, it was found that junior college males who had tendencies towards extraversion had higher oral interview scores. Extraversion also correlated positively with length of time spent studying English at the adult school. These findings are discussed with respect to cultural factors predominant in Japanese society and psychological theory.
Odorant receptor genes in humans.

The sense of smell is highly sophisticated in vertebrates but Homo sapiens ranks low in olfactory performance when compared to other species — why? Olfaction initiates with the interaction of odorants with specific receptors on the surface of olfactory sensory neurons in the nose. The genes encoding odorant receptors form the largest family in the vertebrate genome, numbering as many as 1000 in rodents. It has recently come to light that the repertoire of human odorant receptor genes, unlike in other vertebrates, is riddled with pseudogenes.
Production patterns of perennial herbaceous biomass crops in the Great Lakes Region

Abstract Optimal management strategies for herbaceous biomass production depend on the interaction of crop and environmental resources and the resulting yield patterns through time. The objectives of this study were to determine the production potential of different perennial herbaceous biomass crops under several management regimes and to test regression analysis as a method for determining the effect of stand age on the production potential of these species on representative soils of the Eastern Great Lakes Region of the United States. Eastern gamagrass, flatpea, reed canarygrass, switchgrass, and mixtures of alfalfa-smooth bromegrass, timothy-redtop-red clover, and naturalized meadows were grown at three fertility levels under two cutting-management regimes for up to 5 years at various locations in New York State. Annual yields ranged from about 4 to more than 12 Mg ha−1, depending on species, soil, and crop management. Regression analyses revealed four patterns of change with time and provide a conven...
A comparison of intramuscular and oral benzathine penicillin G in the treatment of streptococcal infections in children.

T HIS study was planned to determine whether the oral or the parenteral use of penicillin is superior in the treatment of beta hemolytic streptococcal infections in children. We also hoped to rind the best practical dosage schedule for oral penicillin. Because previous experience had convinced us that a single intramuscular dose of 600,000 units of benzathine penicillin G was a highly effective and practical method of therapy in these infections, ~ we compared it with the same penicillin salt in oral form.
The pattern and stability of postmeningitic hearing loss in children

Following meningitis, 280 children (168 boys, 112 girls) had audiological assessment, and 87 (31%) were initially found to have a sensorineural hearing loss in one or both ears. Twenty-three children were followed elsewhere. Of 64 children followed for an average of 3.46 years, 55 (86%) exhibited stable auditory thresholds over time, most commonly (24) bilateral, profound/anacusic losses. One moderate and four severe losses were identified, but no bilateral, mild losses. Nineteen children had asymmetric losses with varied audiometric configurations. Seven children presented with a unilateral hearing loss, again with a range of configurations. Auditory thresholds changed over time in nine children, either improving, declining, or fluctuating, over a variable interval ranging from 1 month to 12 years.
Structure of the St. Louis Encephalitis Virus Postfusion Envelope Trimer

St. Louis encephalitis virus (SLEV) is a mosquito-borne flavivirus responsible for several human encephalitis outbreaks over the last 80 years. Mature flavivirus virions are coated with dimeric envelope (E) proteins that mediate attachment and fusion with host cells. E is a class II fusion protein, the hallmark of which is a distinct dimer-to-trimer rearrangement that occurs upon endosomal acidification and insertion of hydrophobic fusion peptides into the endosomal membrane. Herein, we report the crystal structure of SLEV E in the posfusion trimer conformation. The structure revealed specific features that differentiate SLEV E from trimers of related flavi- and alphaviruses. SLEV E fusion loops have distinct intermediate spacing such that they are positioned further apart than previously observed in flaviviruses but closer together than Semliki Forest virus, an alphavirus. Domains II and III (DII and DIII) of SLEV E also adopt different angles relative to DI, which suggests that the DI-DII joint may accommodate spheroidal motions. However, trimer interfaces are well conserved among flaviviruses, so it is likely the differences observed represent structural features specific to SLEV function. Analysis of surface potentials revealed a basic platform underneath flavivirus fusion loops that may interact with the anionic lipid head groups found in membranes. Taken together, these results highlight variations in E structure and assembly that may direct virus-specific interactions with host determinants to influence pathogenesis.