cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A comparison of absorbable suture and argon laser welding for lateral repair of arteries

Abstract Conventional vascular anastomoses between autogenous vessels are performed with nonabsorbable sutures. Recently, use of absorbable sutures and laser-assisted vascular anastomoses has been advocated because of their improved healing characteristics. This study compared arterial repairs with the argon laser, absorbable suture, and nonabsorbable suture for technical characteristics including additional suture and overall success rates, burst strength, and cost. Absorbable and nonabsorbable suture closures were comparable with respect to technique, but laser-assisted vascular anastomosis was technically more demanding and required almost twice as much time for completion. The argon laser successfully closed only 58.6% of the arteriotomies, and 90% of the closures required additional sutures for complete hemostasis. All sutured arteriotomies were successfully completed by use of either absorbable or nonabsorbable suture. Burst strength was similar for all groups, but was uniformly greater than 300 mm Hg for sutured repairs, whereas two of five laser-assisted closures burst below 300 mm Hg. Finally, costs for purchasing ($35,000) and operating ($300/hr.) an argon laser make laser-assisted vascular anastomosis much more expensive than sutured repair. These data suggest argon laser-assisted vascular anastomoses are more technically demanding, less successful, and more expensive than conventional sutured anastomoses when evaluated in large caliber arteries in a canine model. Absorbable suture, however, is comparable to conventional nonabsorbable sutured arterial repairs in expense, handling characteristics, and success rates with the added advantage of eliminating permanent foreign body in the arterial wall when it is absorbed. (J VASC SURG 1991;14:183-9.)
Hip‐Hop Language in Sociolinguistics and Beyond

Hip-hop language (HHL) is a hot topic in academia. Sociolinguists have been interested in its relationship to African American English as well as innovations in terms of its grammar and vocabulary. A couple of questions connect research from a number of related fields on HHL and culture: What does it mean to be authentic in hip-hop culture in terms of language and other aspects of identity such as one's race, class, and connection to young urban Black Americans? How do participants perform their hip-hop identity in terms of language? And how do local hip-hop scenes use language to express local identities? This article explores research on these topics as it pertains to HHL, also taking into account a range of disciplines from cultural studies and philosophy to musicology, identifying new trends and possible areas for collaboration, and highlighting areas that are in need of greater attention. The article also touches on frameworks for analyzing language use in general in such areas as ‘crossing’ and ‘styling’.
Hemorrhagic metastatic intracranial neoplasms: clinical-computed tomographic correlations.

Abstract Twenty patients with peritumoral hemorrhagic metastatic neoplasms are analyzed. The primary neoplasms included malignant melanoma. bronchogenic carcinoma, and hypernephroma. Six were solitary lesions and 14 were multiple metastatic lesions: however only 5 showed multiple hemorrhagic lesions. Only 10% of patients had coagulation disorders and none had a recent history of trauma. In 16 patients the onset of symptoms was sudden and in 4 patients there was rapid clinical deterioration within 5–8 days. Eleven patients initially had seizures. In all cases. CT scan showed a hyperdense lesion which was consistent with hemorrhage within the lesion and there was contrast enhancement. Three patients with solitary lesions underwent craniotomy and had surgical removal of the hemorrhagic metastatic neoplasm, but these patients did not receive postoperative irradiation. They died 6–14 months later without clinical evidence of neurological recurrence. The other patients with solitary or multiple hemorrhagic metastatic lesions neurologically deteriorated despite high dosage corticosteroid medication and they died within 2 months of the initial diagnosis being established by CT scan findings.
Preventive health care among older women: missed opportunities and poor targeting.

Abstract Background Experts recommend that clinicians target mammography and colon cancer screening to individuals with at least 5 years life expectancy. Generally, immunizations and exercise counseling are recommended for all women aged ≥65 years, while Pap smears are generally not encouraged for these women. Methods We used the 2005 National Health Interview Survey to examine receipt of several preventive health measures simultaneously among community dwelling US women aged ≥65 years by age and health status. We used functional status, significant diseases, and perceived health to categorize women into those most likely to be in above-average, average, or below-average health status. We used age and health status to estimate life expectancy. Results Of 4683 participants, 25.8% were ≥80 years; 81.8% were non-Hispanic white; 21% were in above-average and 20% were in below-average health status. Receipt of mammography and colon cancer screening decreased with age and was not associated with health status for women aged ≥80 years. Nearly half (49%) of women aged ≥80 years in below-average health received mammography screening, while 19% of women aged 65-79 years in above-average health did not report receiving mammography. Nearly half of women aged 65-79 years (49%) in above-average health did not report receiving colon cancer screening. Pap smear screening was common among older women. Few (34%) reported receiving exercise counseling. Many did not report receiving pneumococcal (43%) or flu vaccinations (40%). Conclusions In our comprehensive review of preventive health measures for older women, we found evidence to suggest a need to improve delivery and targeting of preventive health services.
Elevated-temperature creep and relaxation of torsion-tension members

Based on the assumption that each material satisfies the condition for isotropic hardening for a von Mises material, an incremental solution is developed to predict axial-strain creep curves and maximum shearing-strain creep and relaxation curves for solid circular torsion-tension members subjected to proportionate and nonproportionate stepped loading including creep in tension and relaxation in torsion. Test data are obtained from torsion-tension members made either of annealed OFHC copper at 800°F (427°C) or hot-rolled SAE 1045 steel at 950°F (510°C). The loading histories include either four stepped proportionate load changes, four stepped nonproportionate load changes, or torsion-tension loading in which the axial load remains constant and the torsional load is allowed to relax during two loading periods of the test. Each test duration is about 100 h. Good agreement is indicated between the predicted and measured creep and relaxation curves.
Pairing symmetry in cuprate superconductors

Pairing symmetry in the cuprate superconductors is an important and controversial topic. The recent development of phase-sensitive tests, combined with the refinement of several other symmetry-sensitive techniques, has for the most part settled this controversy in favor of predominantly $d$-wave symmetry for a number of optimally hole- and electron-doped cuprates. This paper begins by reviewing the concepts of the order parameter, symmetry breaking, and symmetry classification in the context of the cuprates. After a brief survey of some of the key non-phase-sensitive tests of pairing symmetry, the authors extensively review the phase-sensitive methods, which use the half-integer flux-quantum effect as an unambiguous signature for $d$-wave pairing symmetry. A number of related symmetry-sensitive experiments are described. The paper concludes with a brief discussion of the implications, both fundamental and applied, of the predominantly $d$-wave pairing symmetry in the cuprates.
Cerebral Sparganosis: Case Report and Review

Sparganosis is a rare infection caused by a tapeworm larva from the genus Spirometra. A 21-year-old Indian man presented with an 18-month history of episodic confusion followed by a grand mal seizure. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging of the brain confirmed the presence of a lesion of the left occipital lobe. Subsequent stereotactic biopsy revealed a plerocercoid larva or sparganum. Surgical resection resulted in cure. This case prompted a review of the literature on central nervous system sparganosis. Altogether, 17 other cases of primary cerebral sparganosis have been reported previously. Seizures, headache, and focal neurologic signs are common at presentation. Neuroradiologic imaging is sensitive but not specific for the identification of lesions. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay of cerebrospinal fluid or serum may be diagnostically helpful. However, the diagnosis is generally made after surgical resection, which is usually curative.
Spoketokenism: Black women talking back about graduate school experiences

Black women still experience racial oppression in the academy. In this study, I draw on Black feminist theory and oral narrative research to examine the narratives of Black women graduate students discussing their educational experiences. Black female graduate students deal with acts of everyday racism and instances of structural and internalized oppression. I explore the communicative strategies Black women use to get through their graduate programs. More specifically, I address two emergent themes: (1) Black women as spoketokens; and (2) the risks and consequences of talking back in the face of racial oppression. Ultimately, the academic experiences of Black women have a profound impact on how they wish to be perceived and how they see their role in representing Black female identity.
Posterior stabilized total kneereplacement: A soft-tissue balancing technique

Abstract Total knee arthroplasty has been widely successful for more than 2 decades. During that time, the techniques fordeformity correction, implant sizing, and fixation have become more refined. As a result, the outcome after TKA (total knee arthroplasty) is reproducible and reliable. However, further research is still needed to better understand kinematics and biomechanics after TKA. This paper describes a soft-tissue balancing technique for performing TKA, based on early surgical principles that have been improved and updated.
Dependence of α-helical and β-sheet amino acid propensities on the overall protein fold type

Background A large number of studies have been carried out to obtain amino acid propensities for α-helices and β-sheets. The obtained propensities for α-helices are consistent with each other, and the pair-wise correlation coefficient is frequently high. On the other hand, the β-sheet propensities obtained by several studies differed significantly, indicating that the context significantly affects β-sheet propensity.
Estradiol treatment prevents injury induced enhancement in spinal cord dynorphin expression.

Administration of the ovarian steroid estradiol in male and female animals has been shown to have neuromodulatory and neuroprotective effects in a variety of experimental models. In the present study, spinal tissues from dermatomes just above (T5-7, “at level”) a severe chronic spinal cord injury (SCI) at T8 were analyzed for expression levels of prodynorphin (PRDN) and phospho-(serine 369) К-opioid receptor (KOR-P) in 17 β estradiol (EB)- and placebo-treated adult male rats. Dynorphin was targeted since 1) it has previously been shown to be elevated post-SCI, 2) intrathecal injection of dynorphin produces several of the same adverse effects seen with a SCI, and 3) its increased expression is known to occur in a variety of different experimental models of central neuropathic pain. A significant elevation of extracellular levels of both PRDN and KOR-P in the placebo-treated SCI group relative to uninjured surgical sham controls was found in spinal tissues above the injury level, indicating increased dynorphin levels. Importantly, the EB-treated SCI group did not show elevations of PRDN levels at 6 weeks post-injury. Immunohistochemical analysis of at level tissues revealed that EB treatment significantly prevented a post-SCI increase in expression of PRDN puncta co-labeling synapsin I, a nerve terminal marker. The dynorphin containing terminals co-labeled vesicular glutamate receptor-2 (a marker of glutamatergic terminals), a finding consistent with a non-opioid basis for the adverse effects of dynorphin. These results support a beneficial role for EB treatment post-SCI through a reduction in excessive spinal cord levels of dynorphin. Current studies manipulating the timing of the EB treatment post-injury along with specific functional assessments will address whether the beneficial effects are due to EB’s potential neuromodulatory or neuroprotective action.
Modeling the variable region of immunoglobulins

The structures of over 30 Fab fragments have been solved using X-ray diffraction methods. The available coordinates are being used to model the variable region of other immunoglobulins for which only the sequence is known. Modeling the combining site of an immunoglobulin is a much more difficult problem than is usually perceived. The method described here, although computationally intensive, has the potential to provide reasonable models in many cases. After the best parent molecule is selected, all residues that can be affected by the sequence changes are identified and all their possible conformations analyzed. Methods for reducing the computational complexity of the procedure are proposed. If a parent molecule that has high degree of homology with the one being modeled is identified the method provides a way of exhaustively analyzing all conformations that could include the correct final structure. In these cases the final model will be quite similar to the correct structure. However, even in favorable cases, neither this nor other methods can provide a model that is accurate enough for understanding phenomena that depend critically on the accuracy of the coordinates.
Neuronal mechanisms of ketamine-induced anesthesia

Summary--The sites of action of ketamine (CI-581 ; 2-(0-chlorophenyl)-2-methylamino cyclohexamine HCI) were determined in the central nervous system using electrophysiological techniques in both acute and chronic cat experiments. It was demonstrated in chronic preparations that the cataleptic anesthetic state induced by ketamine is accompanied by an alternating pattern of hypersynchronous delta wave bursts and low voltage, fast wave activity in the neocortex and thalamus. The delta wave bursts had a distribution in the neocortex similar to that of spindles produced by low doses of barbiturates or natural sleep. Subcortically, the delta wave bursts were observed prominently in the thalamus and in the caudate nucleus. The EEG patterns of the diffusely projecting thalamic nuclei were closely related phasically to the delta waves of the neocortex. EEG changes in the midbrain reticular formation and hypothalamus were not as prominent. Paradoxically, the hippocampus showed theta "arousal" waves during the delta wave burst period of the thalamo-neocortical system. This functional dissociation between the thalamo-neocortical and limbic system was one of the EEG characteristics of ketamine. Ketamine, in contrast to the barbiturates, depressed the recruiting response at a time when neocortical EEG activation was minimally affected. Somatosensory potentials evoked from stimulation of the median nerve were depressed primarily in the nonspecific thalamic nuclei, midbrain reticular formation, somatosensory cortex and sensory relay nuclei, respectively, with minimal anesthetic doses. Multiple neuronal unit activity showed clear grouping in the thalamus. The closest relationship of multiple unit activity to the delta waves in the neocortex was observed in the diffusely projecting thalamic nuclei. After ketamine the reticular formation showed neither grouping nor suppression of multiple unit activity during the neocortical delta bursts. Based upon these observations, the site of action of ketamine in minimal anesthetic doses appears to be in the non-specific thalamo-neocortical system. This system seems to be a primary factor in producing the hypersynchronous delta wave burst pattern in the EEG.
Effect of off-design heat source temperature on heat transfer characteristics and system performance of a 250-kW organic Rankine cycle system

Abstract This work investigated the effect of off-design heat source temperature on the heat transfer characteristics and system performance of a 250-kW organic Rankine cycle system. R245fa was used as a working fluid. The net power output was 243 kW and the system thermal efficiency was 9.5% under design conditions. For an off-design heat source temperature (TW,in), the operating pressure was controlled to meet that R245fa reached the saturation liquid and vapor states at the outlet of the preheater and evaporator, respectively. The results demonstrated that the increase rate in evaporation temperature was almost the same as that in TW,in; higher TW,in yields better heat transfer performance of the preheater and required a smaller evaporator heat capacity; and the net power output and system thermal efficiency increased linearly with increasing TW,in. The net power output increased by 41.9%, whereas the total heat transfer rate increased by only 7.0% for the studied range of TW,in. In conclusion, an off-design operation was studied by the pressure control approach within a heat source temperature variation of −10.3 °C to +19.8 °C from design, resulting in variations of −13.6% to +22.6% and −11.5% to +17.4% in the net power output and system thermal efficiency, respectively.
Display of Quantitative Information: Are Grables better than Plain Graphs or Tables?

Previous research is equivocal on the most efficient, effective methods for displaying quantitative information in tables and graphs. Guidelines suggest different display types are more appropriate...
Role Roulette: Who is the Fairest of them All? A Reply to Mirande

"Through the Looking Glass Self Darkly" was intended to be an introspective probing of the discipline and its advocates' collective consciousness as well as witty journalism. Although the primary concern was with sociologists becoming cognizant of themselves as perpetual role feigners in bureaucratic networks where the "peter principle" is an inevitable occurrence (Wilkinson, 1972: 70), it was clearly stated that the glossary contained role concepts applicable not only to Sociology but to other disciplines and academic settings. Obviously not all occupational milieu have their role bummers, role casters, or role defenders. While all academic disciplines certainly have their role bidders, role barriers, and role bait, no other social or behavioral science has as one of its dominant objectives the systematic scrutiny of roles as focal units of social systems; the creation of role types, sets and paradigms; and even the analytical extermination of roles via the process labeled theoretical construction. Sociologists alone are the chief hierophants of roles, i.e., role ravers. "Mirror, Mirror on the Wall" not only misses the point but represents a perceptual paralysis and a rambling, unimaginative, and reactionary sophomoric indictment of "Through the Looking Glass . . ." by a role rookie incognito. Misconceptions and illusions of comprehension are posited in Mirande's mockingly trite and subtle brand of role yarn (abstracted empiricism) reflected in his too literal acceptance of words such as: "study," "data," "testing," and "proposition." One wonders what kind of role rash my critic experienced to have come up with such a misguided and mendacious medley of petty razzle-dazzle given the following comments from all male sociologists reflecting a capability of appreciating a plea for self-role introspection.
Studies on the Fine Structure of Microorganisms: V. Morphogenesis of Nuclear and Membrane Structures during Ascospore Formation in Yeast

The fine structure of cells of Saccharomyces cerevisiae engaged in the formation of ascospores was studied in electron micrographs of ultrathin sections. Although the mode of the first reduction division could not be clearly determined, the second nuclear division appeared to proceed in a manner similar to that observed previously during vegetative division. That is, division by constriction of the existing nucleus occurs without dissolution of the nuclear membrane and without involvement of discrete chromosomes. Variously shaped areas of low electron density were discerned within the nucleoplasm; these had not been previously seen in the vegetative nucleus. The significance of this nuclear differentiation and its possible similarity to nuclear structures reported in bacteria and an imperfect fungus are discussed. The cytoplasmic membrane appears first in the developing ascospore. The formation of an outer coat and an inner coat then follows. The cytoplasmic vacuole was observed not to be incorporated into the spore. An unusual intracytoplasmic membrane was observed in the spore and appeared to be at least temporarily continuous with the nuclear membrane.
Purification and properties of Azotobacter vinelandii glutamine synthetase.

Abstract A procedure is described for the purification of glutamine synthetase from the nitrogen-fixing organism Azotobacter vinelandii . Electron micrographs of the enzyme reveal a dodecameric arrangement of its subunits in two superimposed hexagonal rings similar to the glutamine synthetase of Escherichia coli . Disc eleetrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate and sedimentation studies show a subunit molecular weight of 56,500 and a sedimentation coefficient ( s 20,w ) of the native enzyme of 20.0 S. Like the E. coli enzyme, the glutamine synthetase of A. vinelandii is regulated by adenylylation/deadenylylation. This finding was derived from (a) studies on the effect of snake venom phosphodiesterase treatment on the catalytic and spectral properties of enzyme isolated from cells grown on a nitrogen-rich medium, (b) the identification of the AMP released by the phosphodiesterase by thin-layer chromatography, (c) the selective precipitation of adenylylated enzyme with antibodies directed against adenylylated bovine serum albumin, and (d) the in vitro incorporation of radioactivity from [ 14 C]ATP into deadenylylated enzyme in the presence of either crude extract from A. vinelandii or partially purified adenylyl transferase from E. coli . The state of adenylylation appears to have a similar influence on the catalytic properties of A. vinelandii glutamine synthetase as on those of the E. coli enzyme, with the exception that the deadenylylated form of the A. vinelandii glutamine synthetase is almost inactive in the Mn-dependent transferase reaction.
Anorexia nervosa and the problem of “men”

The essay explores anorexia nervosa as clinical historiographical performance, focusing in particular on the role of masculinity and male subjectivity in the development of diagnostic standards for the “disorder” and in contemporary non-traditional patients diagnosed with the condition.
The Role of N-Glycosylation in Function and Surface Trafficking of the Human Dopamine Transporter

The present study addressed the role of N-linked glycosylation of the human dopamine transporter (DAT) in its function with the help of mutants, in which canonical N-glycosylation sites have been removed (N181Q, N181Q,N188Q, and N181Q,N188Q,N205Q), expressed in human embryonic kidney-293 cells. Removal of canonical sites produced lower molecular weight species as did enzymatic deglycosylation or blockade of glycosylation, and all three canonical sites were found to carry sugars. Prevention of N-glycosylation reduced both surface and intracellular DAT. Although partially or non-glycosylated DAT was somewhat less represented at the surface, no evidence was found for preferential exclusion of such material from the plasma membrane, indicating that glycosylation is not essential for DAT expression. Non-glycosylated DAT was less stable at the surface as revealed by apparently enhanced endocytosis, consonant with weaker DAT immunofluorescence at the cell surface and stronger presence in cytosol in confocal analysis of the double and triple mutant. Non-glycosylated DAT did not transport dopamine as efficiently as wild-type DAT as judged from the sharp reduction in uptake Vmax, and prevention of N-glycosylation enhanced the potency of cocaine-like drugs in inhibiting dopamine uptake into intact cells without changing their affinity for DAT when measured in membrane preparations prepared from these cells. Thus, non-glycosylated DAT at the cell surface displays appreciably reduced catalytic activity and altered inhibitor sensitivity compared with wild type.
Toxicity and bioaccumulation of cadmium in the colonial green alga Scenedesmus obliquus.

A laboratory investigation was conducted to study the extent and efficiency of cadmium bioaccumulation inScenedesmus obliquus by subjecting this alga to varied sublethal Cd concentrations. The influence of cell population age on Cd bioaccumulation was also studied. Under the experimental conditions employed, growth was not significantly affected by Cd concentrations ranging from 0.01 ppm to 1.00 ppm. At concentrations above 1.00 ppm, however, growth was inhibited markedly. Increases in external Cd concentration caused an increase in total bioaccumulation over the entire range of concentrations, which did not significantly affect growth. Efficiency of Cd bioaccumulation was also concentration dependent, but maximum accumulation efficiency occurred in a medium with a Cd concentration lower than that medium in which maximum total bioaccumulation occurred. Age of the cell population influenced the extent of Cd bioaccumulation. Rapidly growing, young cultures accumulated less Cd than older cultures approaching stationary growth phase.
Theory of dissipative trapped-ion convective-cell turbulence.

The nonlinear dynamics of dissipative trapped-ion convective cells in broadband turbulence is analyzed. Saturation is achieved by both local and nonlocal transfer of spectral energy from unstable long-wavelength trapped-ion fluctuations to shear-damped moderate-wavelength trapped-electron modes. In particular, contrary to previous studies, it is shown conclusively that no long-wavelength condensation of fluctuation energy is possible. The transport level associated with these structures is therefore moderate and not catastrophic (Bohm-like), as conventionally believed.
How Idle is Idle Talk? One Hundred Years of Rumor Research

This paper examines the stability of the concept of rumor in the past century. It is suggested that not only do models of explanation change, but rumors themselves also change - not only in content...
Sulfur at Mercury, Elemental at the Poles and Sulfides in the Regolith

Abstract We propose that the bright radar spots seen at Mercury's north and south poles are a result of volume scattering from elemental sulfur. Further we suggest that the high average index of refraction for surface materials and notable microwave transparency of the Mercurian regolith can be explained by the presence of iron sulfides (troilite, pyrrhotite) and low-iron sulfides (daubreelite and sphalerite). Sulfides deposited throughout the regolith are a result of fumarolic and magmatic events following initial accretion of meteoroids rich in troilite and pyrrhotite to the planet. Calculations are made illustrating how solar abundances of sulfur volatilized from such a surface can provide an adequate supply over the history of the planet to be cold-trapped at high latitudes, be covered partially with dust, and be seen as bright regions in radar images. To test our hypothesis, we suggest a series of observations in the ultraviolet to search for the SI multiplet centered at 1814 A, in the midinfrared to search for emissivity features at 7.7 and 11.8 μm, and at millimeter wavelengths to search for sulfureous molecules like H2S and SO2.
Malignant lymphoma of the skin. A clinicopathologic study of lymphoma other than mycosis fungoides diagnosed by skin biopsy

The clinical and histopathologic findings in 25 cases of malignant lymphoma of the skin other than mycosis fungoides were reviewed. All patients had skin lesions as a primary manifestation of the disorder, and none had histopathologic evidence of extracutaneous involvement at the time of skin biopsy. The majority of patients had solitary nodules involving the skin of the head and neck region. Twenty-two of the skin biopsy specimens were interpreted as lymphocytic lymphoma, well or poorly differentiated, nodular or diffuse. Only three cases of histiocytic lymphoma (reticulum cell sarcoma) were encountered, and there were no cases of Hodgkin's disease of the skin. Twenty-two patients (88%) subsequently developed extracutaneous lymphoma: the interval from the occurrence of apparently localized skin lesions to involvement of lymph nodes and/or viscera ranged from 6 months of 5 years (mean duration of 21 months). Sixteen patients (64%) died of disseminated lymphoma, with survivals that ranged from 8 months to 12 years (mean survival of 3.7 years). Only three patients survived without disease for greater than 1 year. There was no definite relationship between either the histologic subtype of the tumor or the mode of therapy and prognosis. The patholoic findings indicate that a definite diagnosis of malignant lymphoma can be made by skin biopsy in patients with disease apparently confimed to the skin. Careful, detailed examination of the skin biopsy specimen provides a basis for distinguishing malignant lymphoma from cutaneous lymphoid hyperplasia. The clinical findings and survival data support the conclusion that malignant lymphoma with skin lesions as a primary manifestation almost invariably disseminates to extracutaneous organs and usually has a fatal outcome.
Observation of coherent acoustic plasmons in photoexcited GaAs

We report on the observation of confined coherent acoustic plasmon waves in photoexcited GaAs using ultrafast pump probe experiments. Results are in good agreement with theoretical predictions under the random phase approximation.
Toward a genealogy of a cold war communication sciences: the strange loops of Leo and Norbert Wiener

A modest footnote in the mid-century annals of digital communication sciences, this article observes several strange loops in the dual biographies of Norbert Wiener, a primary founder of cybernetics – an American-born computer-compatible communication science that later took root in the Soviet Union – and his father, Leo Wiener, a Byelostock emigre who began Slavic studies in America. It proceeds in two parts: first, a biographical reflection on Norbert Wiener's method by analogy, which he first developed under his father as a youth, and second, a reflection on how Wiener's mature cybernetics combine analogy, feedback, and their contradictions ripe in biographical mind–body tensions. Among other notes, this article contends that the origins of a leading theory of digital communication may best be understood not as a disembodied abstraction of information, but rather in the messy world of biographical influences that helped usher in a cold war era of calculating communication.
Does social security reduce the accumulation of private wealth? Evidence from Italian survey data

Abstract The degree of substitution between public pensions and private wealth is tested relying on a constructed measure of social security benefits derived from households' self-reported expectations of replacement rates and retirement age. The data are drawn from the Italian Survey of Household Income and Wealth for the years 1989 and 1991. Each additional lira of pension wealth is estimated to reduce private wealth between 10 and 20%. This result is robust with respect to specification (linear or logarithmic), sample (one-income or two-income households) and assumptions regarding the discount factors used to compute social security wealth for both pre- and post-retirement years. The estimates suggest that the developments in the social security system in the 1970s and 1980s explain one-fifth of the fall in the Italian private saving rate.
Brain lipofuscin concentration and oxidant defense enzymes in lead-poisoned neonatal rats

Neonatal rats were given aqueous lead acetate intragastrically from d 2 to 20 of life at doses of 0, 10, 50, and 225 mg Pb/kg.d. Blood Pb concentrations on d 21 were (mean +- SE) 23 +- 3 (control), 63 +- 19, 246 +- 55, and 994 +- 223 ..mu..g/100 ml, and brain Pb concentrations were 14 +- 2, 60 +- 5, 114 +- 15, and 275 +- 26 ..mu..g/100 g, respectively. Growth was significantly depressed only in rats given the highest dose of Pb (225 mg/kg.d). Solvent-extractable lipofuscin pigment concentration of brain tissue progressively decreased over the 21-d duration of the experiment but was not significantly altered at any dose of Pb. Brain glutathione peroxidase, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, and 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase activities were stimulated on d 20 at the maximal dose of Pb, but the activities of brain superoxide dismutases and catalase were not altered by Pb exposure. Locomotor activity was significantly increased in the male animals on d 20, but only at the highest dose of Pb. These results indicate that Pb toxicity in neonatal rats is not associated with accelerated in vivo lipid peroxication in the brain, but that certain oxidant defense mechanisms in the brain are stimulatedmore » by Pb.« less
Considerations in the Surgical Management of Ventricular Septal Defect and Aortic Insufficiency A Case Report

A 23-year-old man presented with progressive exercise-related dyspnea and easy fatigability. He gave a history of a murmur of aortic insufficiency since childhood. Cardiac catheterization demonstrated severe aortic insufficiency. At surgery the patient was found to have prolapse of the right coronary cusp into a significant supracristal ventricular septal defect. Repair was carried out with a Dacron patch closure of the septal defect and replacement of the valve with a 29-mm St. Jude valve. The patient recovered uneventfully and is fully active and employed 5 years later. Review of the literature documents that this is an uncommon lesion. The approaches to preoperative diagnosis include transesophageal echo. The management techniques have included ventricular septal defect closure, alone and with valvuloplasty, and septal defect closure with aortic valve replacement. The anatomic and patient characteristics guide selection of the most suitable management of these patients.
Minimizing system sensitivity through feedback

Abstract A function space representation is used to examine the problem of reducing system sensitivity by means of feedback. It is shown that this question leads naturally to the problem of minimizing an abstract sensitivity index. In the course of the study earlier results of Cruz ( 3 ) and Zames ( 15 ) for stationary differential systems are extended to cover large classes of nonstationary discrete, distributive and composite systems.
14-3-3 proteins block apoptosis and differentially regulate MAPK cascades

14-3-3 family members are dimeric phosphoserine-binding proteins that participate in signal transduction and checkpoint control pathways. In this work, dominant-negative mutant forms of 14-3-3 were used to disrupt 14-3-3 function in cultured cells and in transgenic animals. Transfection of cultured fibroblasts with the R56A and R60A double mutant form of 14-3-3zeta (DN-14-3-3zeta) inhibited serum-stimulated ERK MAPK activation, but increased the basal activation of JNK1 and p38 MAPK. Fibroblasts transfected with DN-14-3-3zeta exhibited markedly increased apoptosis in response to UVC irradiation that was blocked by pre-treatment with a p38 MAPK inhibitor, SB202190. Targeted expression of DN-14-3-3eta to murine postnatal cardiac tissue increased the basal activation of JNK1 and p38 MAPK, and affected the ability of mice to compensate for pressure overload, which resulted in increased mortality, dilated cardiomyopathy and massive cardiomyocyte apoptosis. These results demonstrate that a primary function of mammalian 14-3-3 proteins is to inhibit apoptosis.
Initial nonoperative management for periappendiceal abscess.

PURPOSE: Our goal was to compare initial operative and nonoperative management for periappendiceal abscess complicating appendicitis. METHODS: This study is a retrospective review of 155 consecutive patients with appendicitis complicated by periappendiceal abscess treated between 1992 and 1998. Eighty-eight patients were treated initially nonoperatively, and 67 patients were treated operatively. All patients had localized abdominal tenderness and either computed tomography or intraoperative documentation of an abscess. RESULTS: Our patient population consisted of 107 males and 48 females, with an average age of 33 (range, 16–75) years. Age, gender, comorbidity, white blood cell count, temperature, and heart rate did not differ significantly between groups. For the initial nonoperative management group, the failure rate was 5.8 percent and the appendicitis recurrence rate was 8 percent after a mean follow-up of 36 weeks. The response to treatment of the initial nonoperative group and the initial operative group was compared by length of stay (9±5 daysvs. 9±3 days;P=not significant), days until white blood cell count normalized (3.8±4 daysvs. 3.1±3 days;P=not significant), days until temperature normalized (3.2±3 daysvs. 3.1±2 days;P=not significant), and days until a regular diet was tolerated (4.7±4 daysvs. 4.6±3 days;P=not significant). Complication rate was significantly lower in the nonoperative group (17vs. 36 percent;P=0.008). CONCLUSIONS: Initial nonoperative management of appendicitis complicated by periappendiceal abscess is safe and effective. Patients undergoing initial nonoperative management have a lower rate of complications, but they are at risk for recurrent appendicitis.
Vertebral bone resorption in vitro: effects of parathyroid hormone, calcitonin, 1,25 dihydroxyvitamin D3, epidermal growth factor, prostaglandin E2, and estrogen.

We have developed and characterized a new bone resorption system to test the effect of estrogen on vertebral bonein vitro. Neonatal mouse vertebral bones prelabeled with45Ca were maintained in stationary tissue culture for 60–108 hours at 37°C in 5% CO2/air. Each vertebral bone measured approximately 1 mm×1 mm. Hormonal treatments were added directly to the incubation medium. The morphological appearance of these bones, before and after the onset of resorption, was examined by scanning electron microscopy. Bone resorption was measured by determining the % of the bone45Ca released into the incubation medium. Vertebral bone resorption was stimulated in a dose-dependent manner by parathyroid hormone (1–100 nM), 1,25 dihydroxyvitamin D3 (0.0325–3.25 nM), and prostaglandin E2 (3–3000 nM). Epidermal growth factor (300 ng/ml) produced a small stimulation of bone resorption which was not inhibited by indomethacin (0.5 μM). Likewise, indomethacin (0.5 μM) did not inhibit PTH-stimulated vertebral bone resorption. Calcitonin (6.6 nM) produced a 79% inhibition of bone resorption induced by PTH (10 nM), whereas estradiol (up to 3 μM) did not inhibit bone resorption. Our results demonstrate that estrogen does not have a direct effect on vertebral bone tissuein vitro. This new bone culture system is a sensitive assay for the direct effects of resorptive agents on vertebral bone.
Biochemical characterization and cellular localization of the cholinergic system in the chicken retina

The biochemical properties and morphological localization of the cholinergic system in the chicken retina were studied with the following results. (1) The uptake of [3H]choline saturated with increasing choline concentration, and could be accounted for by the presence of two saturable processes, a ‘high affinity’ system with aKmof1.1 μM and Vmax of 8.0 pmole/min/mg protein, and a ‘low affinity’ system with aKmof214 μM and Vmax of578 pmole/min/mg protein. (2) Following an incubation with5 × 10−7 M[3H]choline for 10 min, the intracellular composition of labeled products consisted of 44% acetylcholine, 46% choline and 10% phosphorylcholine. (3) Incubation in the presence of 5 × 10−5 M hemicholinium-3 or in the absence of sodium blocked synthesis of acetylcholine and reduced the total uptake of [3H]choline by an amount which could be accounted for by blockage of the high affinity system. (4) Labeled acetylcholine synthesized from [3H]choline could be released by increasing the extracellular potassium concentration, and this release was calcium dependent. (5) By the use of freeze drying and autoradiography with a dry emulsion film, the [3H]choline taken up was found to be concentrated in 6% of the cell bodies in the inner nuclear layer, in 19% of the cell bodies in the ganglion cell layer and in two bands in the inner plexiform layer. (6) When autoradiography was repeated following an incubation carried out in the presence of hemicholinium-3, no localization of3H uptake was observed. (7) Following an incubation with5 μM [3H]choline, the total uptake of choline and the contributions of the high and low affinity uptake systems were estimated from an autoradiograph by grain counting, and the values obtained closely matched those found with the biochemical methods.
Evolutionary constraints or opportunities

Natural selection is traditionally viewed as a leading factor of evolution, whereas variation is assumed to be random and non-directional. Any order in variation is attributed to epigenetic or developmental constraints that can hinder the action of natural selection. In contrast I consider the positive role of epigenetic mechanisms in evolution because they provide organisms with opportunities for rapid adaptive change. Because the term “constraint” has negative connotations, I use the term “regulated variation” to emphasize the adaptive nature of phenotypic variation, which helps populations and species to survive and evolve in changing environments. The capacity to produce regulated variation is a phenotypic property, which is not described in the genome. Instead, the genome acts as a switchboard, where mostly random mutations switch “on” or “off” preexisting functional capacities of organism components. Thus, there are two channels of heredity: informational (genomic) and structure-functional (phenotypic). Functional capacities of organisms most likely emerged in a chain of modifications and combinations of more simple ancestral functions. The role of DNA has been to keep records of these changes (without describing the result) so that they can be reproduced in the following generations. Evolutionary opportunities include adjustments of individual functions, multitasking, connection between various components of an organism, and interaction between organisms. The adaptive nature of regulated variation can be explained by the differential success of lineages in macro-evolution. Lineages with more advantageous patterns of regulated variation are likely to produce more species and secure more resources (i.e., long-term lineage selection).
Differential effects of dietary sodium intake on blood pressure and atherosclerosis in hypercholesterolemic mice.

The amount of dietary sodium intake regulates the renin angiotensin system (RAS) and blood pressure, both of which play critical roles in atherosclerosis. However, there are conflicting findings regarding the effects of dietary sodium intake on atherosclerosis. This study applied a broad range of dietary sodium concentrations to determine the concomitant effects of dietary sodium intake on the RAS, blood pressure, and atherosclerosis in mice. Eight-week-old male low-density lipoprotein receptor −/− mice were fed a saturated fat-enriched diet containing selected sodium concentrations (Na 0.01%, 0.1%, or 2% w/w) for 12 weeks. Mice in these three groups were all hypercholesterolemic, although mice fed Na 0.01% and Na 0.1% had higher plasma cholesterol concentrations than mice fed Na 2%. Mice fed Na 0.01% had greater abundances of renal renin mRNA than those fed Na 0.1% and 2%. Plasma renin concentrations were higher in mice fed Na 0.01% (14.2±1.7 ng/ml/30 min) than those fed Na 0.1% or 2% (6.2±0.6 and 5.8±1.6 ng/ml per 30 min, respectively). However, systolic blood pressure at 12 weeks was higher in mice fed Na 2% (138±3 mm Hg) than those fed Na 0.01% and 0.1% (129±3 and 128±4 mmHg, respectively). In contrast, mice fed Na 0.01% (0.17±0.02 mm2) had larger atherosclerotic lesion areas in aortic roots than those fed Na 2% (0.09±0.01 mm2), whereas lesion areas in mice fed Na 0.1% (0.12±0.02 mm2) were intermediate between and not significantly different from those in Na 0.01% and Na 2% groups. In conclusion, while high dietary sodium intake led to higher systolic blood pressure, low dietary sodium intake augmented atherosclerosis in hypercholesterolemic mice.
Maghrebi-French Women in French Téléfilms: Sexuality, Gender, and Tradition from Leïla née en France (1993) to Aïcha: Vacances Infernales (2012)

A comparison of feature-length French telefilms (made-for-television films) whose narratives are constructed from the point of view of Maghrebi-French women reveals a striking similarity: the significance of the interconnected themes of sexuality, gender, and traditions associated with Maghrebi Muslim cultures. Through an analysis of the treatment of virginity, marriage, and exogamous relationships – relationships between Maghrebi-French women and men who are not Muslim – in telefilms by directors such as Miguel Courtois, Rachid Bouchareb, Rachida Krim, and Yamina Benguigui, this article examines the extent to which French telefilms can be seen to challenge dominant paradigms about Maghrebi-French women in France, and in particular the notion that they are victims of a patriarchal Arab Muslim culture due to their gender and/or agents of revolt against oppression. It will also consider the influence of the articulation of these themes on the representations of Maghrebi families in France. This study will a...
Domestic and Foreign Conflict Behavior of Nations

This study is concerned with the relationship between the domestic and foreign conflict behavior of nations. Specifically, it is postulated that two key variables, type of nation and nature of conflict, determine the nature of this relationship. A population of 74 nations are divided into three groups, personalist, centrist, and polyarchic. A correlation analysis is then performed on these groups for all possible pairs of domestic conflict behavior dimensions - 'turmoil', 'revolutionary,' 'subversive' - and foreign conflict behavior dimensions - 'war,' 'diplomatic,' 'belligerency.' Stage 2 of the analysis, using raw data and covering a period from 1955 to 1960, facilitat s the investigation of time lags as a possible additional factor. The results of the study indicate that the postulated relationships do exist, with joe of nation constituting perhaps the key element in the nature of this relationship.