cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Selective Separation of Cephalexin from Multiple Component Mixtures

Supported liquid membranes (SLMs) with strip dispersion and carrier, Aliquat 336, were used for the selective recovery of Cephalexin from simulated enzymatic solutions for Cephalexin synthesis. For the Cephalexin-containing feed solution, pH control methods using constant NaOH titration, carbonate buffer, and phosphate buffer were compared. Carbonate buffers with concentrations of 0.05 and 0.10 M gave the highest extraction and recovery, in which recovery for both cases was over 99%. Optimal extraction of Cephalexin from feed solutions containing equimolar concentrations of 7-amino-3-desacetoxicephalosporanic acid (7-ADCA) occurred at a feed solution pH = 9.5, resulting in a separation factor of 12.1. The recovery of Cephalexin from solutions containing 7-ADCA, phenylglycine amide (PGA), and phenylglycine (PG) was also demonstrated. Improved Cephalexin extraction was achieved at a feed pH = 8.0 when compared to a feed pH = 9.5 due to high coextraction of PG at the latter. At a feed pH = 8.0 and a feed sol...
Regulation of glial fibrillary acidic protein in serum-free mouse embryo (SFME) cells by leukemia inhibitory factor and related peptides

Abstract The serum-free mouse embryo (SFME) cell line, derived in serum-free medium from 16-day-old mouse embryos, exhibits unique properties. SFME cells grow indefinitely in culture without senescence, require epidermal growth factor (EGF) or fibroblast growth factor (FGF) for survival and are growth-inhibited by serum. The cell line expresses glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) in response to transforming growth factor β or serum and cells with similar properties can be isolated directly from brain. Culture of SFME cells with leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF), a peptide implicated in neural tissue development, also resulted in expression of GFAP. Other peptides that share signal transduction mechanisms with LIF - ciliary neurotropic factor, oncostatin M and interleukin-6 - also caused expression of GFAP in these cells. These effects were inhibited by concentrations of EGF or FGF that promoted rapid cell growth.
Required setup reductions in JIT driven MRP systems

Abstract Successful implementation of Just-in-time (JIT) production requires the frequent placement of small orders and the minimization of work-in-process (WIP) inventory levels. Successful JIT implementation requires the reduction of setup (order)costs to near zero levels. Recognizing that such reductions are not always attainable in practice, the authors have executed software that simulates the operation of Materials Requirements Planning (MRP) lot sizing methods. Using actual data, 9,800 simulation runs were performed. Our goal has been to determine the level of setup/order cost reduction to successfully implement JIT production ordering methods in an MRP environment.
Influences on attitudes toward physical affection between adults and children

Recent publicity about sexual abuse may be creating unwarranted negative attitudes toward normal physical affection. In this study, 301 subjects (parents, nonparents, and early childhood professionals) rated approval of videotaped adult-child interactions. Before viewing the tape, half of the subjects read a statement about sexual abuse and the other half read about the benefits of touch. Within each group, half of the subjects were told that the videotaped adults were parents and the others thought that they were day care providers. Analysis of approval scores for touch and no-touch scenes showed that (a) when subjects are attuned to sexual abuse, they are more disapproving of affectionate touching and more approving of nonphysical interactions; (b) affection is more highly approved when it comes from a parent than from a day care provider; (c) men approve less of adultchild physical affection than women do; and (d) early childhood professionals are more approving of physical affection.
The assimilation of Dravidian loans to Konkani phonological and morphological patterns

After briefly reviewing the status of Konkani in the Dravidian area, and the extent of Dravidian influence on this Indo-Aryan language, the assimilation of Dravidian loan words to Konkani phonological and morphological patterns is examined in detail. In the process of accommodation, Dravidian loanwords have undergone various phonological modifications (such as syncope, apocope, vowel rounding, vowel raising, vowel lowering, palatalization, depalatalization, gemination, and degemination). They have undergone also various morphological modifications in order to adjust to a considerably different system of morphological classes and inflectional patterns. Finally, certain sociolinguistic factors are pointed out which might have enabled Konkani phonological and morphological patterns to withstand the pressures of the massive influx of Dravidian loans.
Correlation of Ductal Lavage Cytology with Ductoscopy-Directed Duct Excision Histology in Women at High Risk for Developing Breast Cancer: A Prospective, Single-Institution Trial

Objectives The study was designed to determine which histological lesions produce cellular atypia in lavage specimens and whether ductoscopy adds useful information for the evaluation of high-risk patients with atypical lavage cytology.
Responses of Cortical Auditory Neurones to Frequency Modulated Sounds in Echo-Locating Bats

Responses of Cortical Auditory Neurones to Frequency Modulated Sounds in Echo-Locating Bats
In situ carbon nanotube reinforcements in a plasma-sprayed aluminum oxide nanocomposite coating

Abstract Carbon nanotubes (CNT) are potential reinforcements for toughening the ceramic matrix. The critical issue of avoiding CNT agglomeration and introducing CNT-matrix anchoring has challenged many researchers to improve the mechanical properties of the CNT reinforced nanocomposite. In the current work, dispersed CNTs are grown on Al 2 O 3 powder particles in situ by the catalytic chemical vapor deposition (CCVD) technique. Consequently, 0.5 wt.% CNT-reinforced Al 2 O 3 particles were successfully plasma sprayed to obtain a 400 μm thick coating on the steel substrate. In situ CNTs grown on Al 2 O 3 shows a promising enhancement in hardness and fracture toughness of the plasma-sprayed coating attributed to the existence of strong metallurgical bonding between Al 2 O 3 particles and CNTs. In addition, CNT tentacles have imparted multi-directional reinforcement in securing the Al 2 O 3 splats. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy shows interfacial fusion between Al 2 O 3 and CNT and the formation of Y-junction nanotubes.
Oligarchy in the United States

We explore the possibility that the US political system can usefully be characterized as oligarchic. Using a material-based definition drawn from Aristotle, we argue that oligarchy is not inconsistent with democracy; that oligarchs need not occupy formal office or conspire together or even engage extensively in politics in order to prevail; that great wealth can provide both the resources and the motivation to exert potent political influence. Data on the US distributions of income and wealth are used to construct several Material Power Indices, which suggest that the wealthiest Americans may exert vastly greater political influence than average citizens and that a very small group of the wealthiest (perhaps the top tenth of 1 percent) may have sufficient power to dominate policy in certain key areas. A brief review of the literature suggests possible mechanisms by which such influence could occur, through lobbying, the electoral process, opinion shaping, and the US Constitution itself.
Continuous-wave hybrid index-antiguided and thermal- guided planar waveguide laser with large mode area

We present lasing experiments in index-antiguided (IAG) planar waveguides made of Nd:YAG (refractive index = 1.820) sandwiched by Terbium Gallium Garnet (refractive index = 1.954). For a core width of 220 μm, we observe fundamental mode oscillation with maximal 2.62 W output power and 0.109 slope efficiency. An analytical model is developed taking into account simultaneous index-antiguiding, gain guiding and thermal induced refractive focusing. For a core width of 400 μm, fundamental mode oscillation is only observed near the lasing threshold, suggesting that the maximally core width in IAG waveguides for fundamental mode operation depends on the strength of index antiguiding.
L'élision variable du schwa en fin de mot chez des hommes méridionaux : L'effet des consonnes environnantes et de la fréquence de la lexie

Le maintien d'un schwa a la fin d'un mot est une caracteristique bien connue des locuteurs du sud de la France, comme leur prononciation en trois syllabes de comme ca. Pourtant les facteurs linguistiques qui influencent la variabilite de cette voyelle ne sont pas aussi bien connus pour le schwa meridional que pour le schwa dans d'autres positions du mot et dans d'autres regions geographiques. Malecot (1976) et Hansen (1994) pour le dialecte parisien et Racine et Grosjean (2002) pour le dialecte suisse romand montrent que l'elision du schwa varie non seulement selon des facteurs diastratique comme l'âge, le sexe et la classe sociale du locuteur mais aussi selon des facteurs linguistiques tels que les consonnes qui l'entourent et la lexie qui le contient. Les etudes anterieures sur le schwa meridional considerent surtout des facteurs sociaux, plutot que linguistiques, pour montrer l'effet de la classe sociale (Diller 1978), de l'âge (Durand et al. 1987) et du sexe (Armstrong et Unsworth 1999) du locuteur sur l'elision du schwa. Notre but dans la presente etude est donc de complementer les etudes anterieures en considerant l'effet de deux facteurs linguistiques sur l'elision du schwa meridional: les consonnes qui l'entourent et la lexie qui le contient. L'examen de plus de 300 occurrences d'un schwa potentiel en fin de mot devant une seule consonne dans la parole de 10 hommes meridionaux âges de 45 a 73 ans montre que les consonnes environnantes et la frequence de la lexie ont un effet significatif sur l'elision du schwa. Une consonne precedente plus faible, comme les liquides /R/ et /l/ et la nasales /n/, favorise l'elision d'un schwa tandis qu'une consonne precedente plus forte, comme les occlusives et les fricatives, favorise son maintien. Bien que la consonne qui suit le schwa n'ait pas d'effet significatif en elle-meme, elle semble interagir avec la consonne precedente de facon a ce qu'une sequence de consonnes avec une sonorite descendante, c'est-a-dire qui va de consonne plus faible a consonne plus forte, favorise l'elision du schwa. Ces resultats soulevent une question theorique importante sur l'effet different de la force consonantique sur l'elision du schwa en syllabe initiale et son elision dans les monosyllabes et en fin de mot. Il serait interessant d'elargir l'etude dans l'avenir pour inclure les schwas dans toutes les positions du mot chez nos locuteurs pour mieux comprendre ce phenomene.
On optimal ergodic interference alignment

The original ergodic interference alignment scheme proposed by Nazer et al. requires symmetric channel phase distribution. In this paper, we investigate a new ergodic interference alignment scheme which can achieve one half interference-free degree of freedom (DoF) for arbitrary phase distribution. Even for symmetric phase distributions, the new scheme achieves a better high SNR offset than the original ergodic interference alignment scheme, and depending upon the magnitude distributions it is shown that the SNR offset improvement with the new scheme over the original scheme can be arbitrarily large. The SNR offset optimal ergodic alignment scheme is based on results in majorization theory.
Application of DNA microarray to toxicological research

DNA microarray technology is becoming increasingly popular in the field of toxicological research. Information on the global gene expression profile may provide clues to understanding biological actions of toxic substances at the molecular, cellular, tissue, and individual animal levels. This review focuses on the practical aspects of DNA microarray experiments and their applications to relatively small sizes of research projects in toxicology. First, different types of DNA microarrays and their characters are reviewed. Then, two fundamental concepts of DNA microarray data analysis--supervised and unsupervised methods--and their applications to toxicological research projects are discussed. Typical pitfalls of DNA microarray experiments are examined. Finally, strategies of experimental design and data analysis of minimum scale DNA microarray project are provided.
Basophil degranulation: A new method of observation and its correlation with skin testing

Abstract For improved study of the atopic reaction, we have devised a new method of assessing degranulation of the human basophil. The procedure involves the concentration of basophils from 20 ml. of peripheral blood, incubation of the basophil concentrate with dilutions of antigen extract, counting of nondegranulated basophils, and comparison of the maximal percent degranulation of the test suspensions with a control. A significant difference in degranulation between the control and test suspensions constitutes a positive test. In a group of 17 ragweed-sensitive patients, the mean maximal per cent degranulation was 77.4 per cent. In a group of 13 nonsensitive subjects, the mean maximal per cent degranulation was 8.8 per cent (p
PATTERN-BASED ADAPTIVE PROCESS CONTROL

Abstract A controller that has an adaptation strategy based on the patterns exhibited in the recent history of the controller error and manipulated input variable is detailed. The method of approach is to analyze all controller error transients to extract features including overshoot and damping. The deviation of these features from desired values is then used to update the parameters of an internal controller model. When the error transient is caused by a disturbance, the patterns exhibited in the manipulated input variable are also considered to determine whether the disturbance has actually changed the character of the process, or if the error patterns are simply reflecting the nature of the disturbance itself. The strategy is general to a number of model-based controllers and is demonstrated here using both a long range predictive controller and a PI controller with Smith predictor. Details of the strategy are presented along with a demonstration of the method on process simulations constructed to present challenging applications.
Physicians' perceptions of shared decision-making behaviours: a qualitative study demonstrating the continued chasm between aspirations and clinical practice.

Background Shared Decision Making (SDM) is a process of engaging patients in health decisions that involve multiple medically appropriate treatment options. Despite growing public and policy support for patient engagement in health decisions, SDM is not widely practiced in clinical settings. Objective The purpose of our study was to explore clinicians' attitudes, beliefs and perceived social norms about engaging in SDM behaviours. Design Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with physicians in five practice areas. Setting and participants This study was conducted at an academic medical centre in St. Louis, MO. The final sample included 20 physicians: five surgeons, five OB/GYNs, four medical oncologists, five internists and one emergency medicine physician. Results Clinicians described a number of beliefs and cultural- and system-level obstacles to the widespread implementation of SDM, such as how to engage in discussions of cost, uncertainty and clinical equipoise and how to engage patients across various socioeconomic backgrounds. Conclusion Although a large number of participants expressed general support for incorporating SDM into practice, most held fundamentally inconsistent beliefs about practicing specific SDM behaviours. More extensive training of physicians at all levels (pre- and post-licensure) can help increase clinicians' confidence in SDM skills. Developing methods of integrating SDM into the institutional framework of hospitals and training programmes could also increase clinicians' motivation to practice SDM and work to change the culture of medicine such that SDM behaviours are supported.
IT Performance: How Do You Measure a Moving Target?

Measuring the payoff of investments in IT is a huge challenge. The authors explain how to do it—and how to ensure that your company effectively evaluates IT investments. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Cirrus and water vapor transport in the tropical tropopause layer - Part 1: A specific case modeling study

Abstract. In a simulation of a tropical-tropopause-layer (TTL) cirrus forced by a large-scale equatorial Kelvin wave, the radiatively induced mesoscale dynamics of the cloud actively contributes to the transport of water vapor in the vertical direction. In a typical TTL cirrus, the heating that results from absorption of radiation by ice crystals induces a mesoscale circulation. Advection of water vapor by the radiatively induced circulation leads to upward advection of the cloudy air. Upward advection of the cloudy air is equivalent to upward transport of water vapor when the air above the cloud is drier than the cloudy air. On the other hand, ice nucleation and depositional growth, followed by sedimentation and sublimation lead to downward transport of water vapor. Under the conditions specific to our simulation, the upward transport of water vapor by the mesoscale circulation dominates the downward transport by microphysical processes. The net result is upward transport of water vapor, which is equivalent to hydration of the lower stratosphere. Sensitivity to model conditions and parameters will be discussed in a follow-up paper.
Depressed adolescent mothers' perceptions of their own maternal role.

Although there is a growing body of research in the area of adolescent pregnancy and parenting, little is known about the more personal experiences of these teens. Ethnographic research methods were used in the present study with the goal of narrowing existing gaps in knowledge about the affective component of adolescent mothers' role attainment. The sample consisted of 15 voluntary informants who reported depressive symptoms during pregnancy or postpartum. The findings suggest that for some adolescent mothers the experience of motherhood may help them improve their previously self-destructive lives. Many adolescent mothers have engaged in impulsive high-risk activities prior to their pregnancies. Through the establishment of a maternal identity and simultaneous development of a strong sense of maternal protectiveness these young women are making realistic, future-oriented decisions that are motivating them to leave gang life, finish high school, go to college, and get vocational training. However, a subs...
Treatment of a Celiac Artery Aneurysm with Endovascular Stent Grafting A Case Report

As a result of more sophisticated and more commonly performed investigative procedures, aneurysms of the visceral abdominal vasculature, including celiac artery aneurysms, are increasingly recognized. Traditional therapy for visceral artery aneurysms has been limited to open aneurysmectomy or aneurysmorrhaphy to prevent catastrophic aneurysmal rupture. However, these procedures are associated with significant postoperative morbidity and mortality despite technical successes. High complication rates are likely related to poor preoperative conditions among the patient population typically presenting with these visceral artery aneurysms. This report introduces an alternative therapy for visceral artery aneurysms and highlights the potential for catheter-based interventions. This case report depicts a 61-year-old morbidly obese woman diagnosed with a 10-centimeter celiac artery aneurysm during investigation of upper abdominal pain. Given the patient's poor medical condition, punctuated by hemodynamic instability, open operation was avoided, and percutaneous embolization was not feasible owing to a large aneurysm neck. Therefore, inflow to the celiac artery aneurysm was excluded by placing a modular stent graft component within the abdominal aorta at the celiac artery orifice. During the intervening 12 months since stent graft deployment, the aneurysm sac diameter has steadily decreased, as determined by serial computed tomography scans. This report underscores the potential for catheter-based techniques to offer new therapeutic options for patients with visceral artery aneurysms. Careful individualization is required given the highly variable size, location, and character of such lesions.
Multiple Object Identification By Bipolar Joint Transform Correlation

We investigate the performance of a recently introduced bipolar joint transform image correlator when multiple reference objects and single and multiple targets are present at the input plane. The bipolar joint transform correlator uses nonlinearity at the Fourier plane to threshold the Fourier trans-forms' interference intensity to only two values, 1 and -1. The performance of the bipolar correlator is compared to the classical joint transform image correlator when multiple objects are present at the input plane. We show that the performance of the bipolar correlator is substantially superior to that of the classical joint transform image correlator in the areas of autocorrelation peak intensity, autocorrelation peak to sidelobe ratio, autocorrelation bandwidth, and discrimination sensitivity. It is shown that when multiple objects are present at the input plane, the classical joint transform image correlator produces large cross-correlation signals and poorly defined autocorrelation signals with large bandwidth. The large cross-correlation signals are comparable in intensity with the autocorrelation peak and can falsely indicate the presence of many targets. On the other hand, the bipolar joint transform image correlator produces well-defined autocorrelation signals with very low cross-correlation level. Computer simulations are used to test both types of correlators, and 3-D plots of the correlation functions are provided and discussed.
Electoral Institutions and the Emergence of Terrorist Groups

A wide range of studies find that democracies experience more terrorism than non-democracies. However, surprisingly little terrorism research takes into account the variation among democracies in terms of their electoral institutions. Furthermore, despite much discussion of the differences in terrorist groups’ goals in the literature, little quantitative work distinguishes among groups with different goals, and none explores whether and how the influence of electoral institutions varies among groups with different goals. The argument in this article posits that electoral institutions influence the emergence of within-system groups, which seek policy changes, but do not influence the emergence of anti-system groups, which seek a complete overthrow of the existing regime and government. The study finds that within-system groups are significantly less likely to emerge in democracies that have a proportional representation system and higher levels of district magnitude, while neither of these factors affects the emergence of anti-system groups.
Development and Use of a Second-Year Musculoskeletal Organ-System Curriculum: A Forty-Year Experience

The rationale for a preclinical musculoskeletal course lies in the prevalence of musculoskeletal diseases, injuries, and disorders. More than 30% of Americans have a musculoskeletal condition requiring medical attention, and workers in the United States miss nearly 440 million days of work annually because of musculoskeletal injuries1. Musculoskeletal disorders cost the United States nearly 850 billion dollars yearly and are the leading cause of disability in the United States1. The economic impact of musculoskeletal disorders is also considerable. Yelin et al. estimated that the economic impact was nearly $200 billion per year, or approximately 2.5% of the annual U.S. gross domestic product2. Moreover, many studies have demonstrated a substantial deficit in musculoskeletal knowledge among recent medical school graduates and other practitioners3-5. There have been calls to reform the preclinical musculoskeletal medical school curriculum6, as well as proposals for a core set of standards for musculoskeletal content7. Two recent studies have described the development of a self-contained preclinical musculoskeletal course for either first or second-year students8,9. Another recent study described the process of curricular reform in the first and second years of medical school without a self-contained musculoskeletal course10. Both were designed with input from educators in several different medical and basic-science specialties, as was ours. The University of Minnesota course included seventeen hours of lecture content, similar to the amount in our course (twenty hours). The authors cited their small-group experience as essential to the success of the course8. The Louisiana State University course spanned six weeks and included forty-four hours of lecture and seventeen hours of small-group teaching9. Both studies emphasized anatomy and physical diagnosis and found substantial improvement in musculoskeletal knowledge and physical examination …
Gene Expression and Cell Cycle Arrest in a Rat Keratinocyte Line Exposed to 56Fe Ions

56 Fe ion radiation/Microarray/Rat keratinocyte/G 2/M arrest. The purpose of the present work was to examine gene expression patterns in a rat keratinocyte line exposed to a 56 Fe ion beam. The cells were exposed to 1.01 geV/nucleon 56 Fe ions generated by the NASA Space Radiation Laboratory facility. Data from Affymetrix rat microarrays (RAT 230_2) were processed by BRB ArrayTools 3.3.0 software, and the Gene Ontogeny (GO) database was utilized to categorize significantly responding genes. Cell cycle distribution was analyzed by flow cytometry, and cell survival was based on the colony survival assay. At 24 h after 3.0 Gy of 56 Fe ion radiation, 69 known genes were significantly (p ≤ 0.001) altered (88% upregulated) and 16 of 97 categories of genes at level 7 in the GO hierarchy were significantly altered (p ≤ 0.01) including “mitosis”, “DNA repair” and “positive regulation of cell cycle” in comparison to control. Flow cytometry revealed that 60% of irradiated cells versus 10% of control cells were in G2/M phase of the cell cycle at 24 h after 56 Fe ion radiation. Colony survival rate for rat keratinocytes irradiated with 3.0 Gy of 56 Fe ion was 6.6% versus control at 24 h after irradiation. The results in the present study suggest a link between the increased expression of cell cycle genes and cell death.
Role of Flagella in Pathogenesis of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Pulmonary Infection

Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains are opportunistic pathogens associated with infections in immunocompromised hosts and patients with cystic fibrosis. Like many other mucosal pathogens, P. aeruginosa cells express flagella which provide motility and chemotaxis toward preferred substrates but also provide a ligand for clearance by phagocytic cells. We tested the role of flagella in the initial stages of respiratory tract infection by comparing the virulence of fliC mutants in a neonatal mouse model of pneumonia. In the absence of fliC, there was no mortality, compared with 30% mortality attributed to the parental strain PAK or 15% mortality associated with infection due to a pilA mutant PAK/NP (P < 0.0001). The fliC mutants caused pneumonia in only 25% of the mice inoculated, regardless of whether there was expression of the pilus, whereas the parental strain was associated with an 80% rate of pneumonia. Histopathological studies demonstrated that the fliC mutants caused very focal inflammation and that the organisms did not spread through the lungs as seen in infection due to either PAK or PAK/NP. Purified flagellin elicited an intense inflammatory response in the mouse lung. 125I-labeled flagellin bound to the glycolipids GM1 and GD1a and to asialoGM1 in an in vitro binding assay. However, flagellin-mediated binding to epithelial gangliosides was a relatively unusual event, as quantified by binding assays of wild-type or fliC mutant organisms to CHO Lec-2 cells with membrane-incorporated GM1. Fla+ organisms but not fliC mutants were efficiently taken up by murine macrophages. P. aeruginosa flagella are important in the establishment of respiratory tract infection and may act as a tether in initial interactions with epithelial membranes. This function is offset by the contribution of flagella to host clearance mechanisms facilitating phagocytic clearance and the role of flagellar genes in mucin binding and clearance.
A performance analysis of the Berkeley UPC compiler

Unified Parallel C (UPC) is a parallel language that uses a Single Program Multiple Data (SPMD) model of parallelism within a global address space. The global address space is used to simplify programming, especially on applications with irregular data structures that lead to fine-grained sharing between threads. Recent results have shown that the performance of UPC using a commercial compiler is comparable to that of MPI [7]. In this paper we describe a portable open source compiler for UPC. Our goal is to achieve a similar performance while enabling easy porting of the compiler and runtime, and also provide a framework that allows for extensive optimizations. We identify some of the challenges in compiling UPC and use a combination of micro-benchmarks and application kernels to show that our compiler has low overhead for basic operations on shared data and is competitive, and sometimes faster than, the commercial HP compiler. We also investigate several communication optimizations, and show significant benefits by hand-optimizing the generated code.
From Their Own Voices: The Lived Experience of African American Registered Nurses

This phenomenological study described the lived experience of African American registered nurses providing nursing care to individuals, families, and communities in southeast Louisiana. Data were collected from 13 African American registered nurses using semistructured interviews and a focus group. Analysis of the phenomenological data revealed two essential themes, (a) connecting with the patient and (b) proving yourself; and four incidental themes, (a) a fulfilling dream, (b) being invisible and voiceless, (c) surviving and persevering, and (d) mentoring and role modeling. The findings revealed that the general perception among participants was that they were not fully accepted as equal professionals by their Caucasian nurse colleagues, other health care providers, and sometimes patients. The findings of the study indicate the immediate need to address and resolve the issues of diversity within the nursing profession. Nursing will also have to reform its system and practices to embrace and support diversity.
Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs: An Analysis of the Relationship between Laboratory Animal and Clinical Doses. Including Species Scaling

The pharmacologic activity of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) has generally been studied in multiple tests. We examined four commonly used tests [i.e., the carrageenan edema test (CARR), the ultraviolet light-induced erythema test (UVE), the phenyl benzoquinone stretching test (PBQ), and the acetic acid stretching test (RWTH)] to determine by statistical criteria which was the best predictor of human clinical dose. We found that CARR > UVE > PBQ > RWTH. The CARR test, but not UVE or PBQ, showed dose proportionality between laboratory test dose and clinical dose. The RWTH test appeared to show proportionality, but the sample size was quite small. With proportionality, the scaling factor between test dose and human dose could be examined. Dose was found to scale as surface area for CARR. This relationship could not be generalized and thus each pharmacologic test must be examined individually for scaling behavior between the test and human doses.
Anaerobic control of colicin E1 production.

Expression of the cea gene, which is carried by the ColE1 plasmid and which encodes colicin E1, was found to be greatly increased when the cells were grown anaerobically. By using cea-lacZ fusions to quantitate expression, aerobic levels were found to be only a few percent of the anaerobic levels. The anaerobic increase in expression was observed both in protein and in operon fusions, indicating that its regulation occurred at the level of transcription. It was also found to require a functional fnr gene and to occur when the cea-lacZ fusion was present as a single copy in the bacterial chromosome instead of in the multicopy ColE1 plasmid. Anaerobic expression was regulated by the SOS response and catabolite repression as is aerobic expression. The start site of the mRNA produced under anaerobic conditions was mapped by primer extension and found to be the same as the start for mRNA produced under aerobic conditions. These observations show that the cea gene is anaerobically regulated and that the Fnr protein is a positive regulator of transcription of this gene. Images
Effect of quasiresonant dynamics on the predissociation of van der Waals molecules

Rotational and vibrational distributions of zero-temperature collisional rate coefficients for atom-diatom scattering are used together with effective range theory to obtain lifetimes for predissociation. High-order indirect potential coupling in the quantum-mechanical calculation is interpreted using a simple classical picture that describes the quasiresonant dynamics of atom-diatom collisions by the conservation of classical action. The importance of closed channel thresholds in determining the structure of the distributions and the balance between momentum gap and near-resonant effects is discussed.
Impaired dilation of coronary arterioles during increases in myocardial O2 consumption with hyperglycemia

Previous studies showed that nitric oxide (NO) plays an important role in coronary arteriolar dilation to increases in myocardial oxygen consumption (MV˙o 2). We sought to evaluate coronary microva...
At the Intersection of Math and Reading Disabilities Introduction to the Special Issue

Individuals with comorbid disabilities in mathematics and reading face significant challenges in acquiring the componential skills related to each domain. Persons with these comorbid conditions are significantly understudied and this paucity of work limits how effective practitioners can be at addressing the needs of this population. In the United States, roughly 7% of all children suffer from math disability; of these, an estimated 17% to 66% also has a comorbid reading disability. Underspecification of current conceptualizations of math and reading disabilities, including how to best identify and classify individuals with one or more of these disabilities, hampers our efforts to intervene effectively. To conceptualize how to move forward in these areas, the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development held a workshop focused on examining the etiology, classification, and remediation of comorbid math and reading disabilities. This special issue, titled At the Intersection of Math and Reading Disabilities, continues that discussion. Contributing authors articulate a path forward to address the needs of these learners and inform the foundational understanding of both conditions in isolation and as they interact.
Extreme ultraviolet picosecond pulses

Nonlinear optical frequency conversion has provided the capability of generating coherent radiation in the extreme ultraviolet region of the spectrum. Various combinations of laser systems, nonlinear media and nonlinear interactions have been used to generate radiation at wavelengths as short as 38 nm. The use of higher order processes (e.g., fifth and seventh order frequency mixing) has proved especially fruitful in extending coherent radiation to this spectral region. The conversion efficiencies of nonlinear interactions of different orders are compared and the role of competing processes in limiting harmonic power is discussed.
A Probabilistic Analysis of Mitotic Counts in Melanoma

Objectives: Mitotic counts in melanoma are important and have now become part of the staging of this tumor. Yet, this change was largely based on studies that evaluated the mitotic counts in a limited fashion. Because counts of things with a microscope are often distributed as a Poisson random variable, the major goal of this study was to uncover the probabilistic nature of mitotic counts in melanoma. Methods: Specifically, a general double Poisson model was applied to mitotic counts in 53 cutaneous melanomas representing both thin and thick tumors. Results: The general double Poisson probability model fit the data well. A single Poisson function was sufficient for 46 of the 53 study cases, and two Poisson functions were required for seven cases because of tissue heterogeneity. Furthermore, the success of the model implied that there is a high probability for false-negative mitotic counts, especially in thin melanomas, and that the “hot” spot methodology introduces bias. Conclusions: Mitotic counts in melanomas are a probabilistic phenomenon closely related to the Poisson probability distribution, and this factor needs to be considered when using mitotic counts for staging and prognosis in melanoma.
Mitigating Wormhole Attacks Using Passive Monitoring in Mobile Ad Hoc Networks

Wormhole attacks, in which colluding attackers with out-of-band communication links record packets (or bits) at one location and replay at another, cause far away nodes to consider themselves as neighbors to one another. Such attacks can ruin the routing and communication capabilities of mobile ad hoc networks. This paper presents NEVO, in which nodes passively monitor (overhear) the forwarding of broadcast type packets by their neighbors and use the send and overhear times of transmissions of these packets, to mitigate these wormhole attacks. NEVO does not require synchronized clocks, special hardware support, or any special capability. NEVO can detect almost all instances of wormhole attacks and is virtually independent of the routing protocol used. NEVO is simple to implement - requires mostly network layer software changes, has low overhead, and is very robust. NEVO is implemented in the Glomosim simulator and its performance is evaluated. Simulation results show that NEVO effectively mitigates wormhole attacks (no data packets were sent through the wormholes in the simulated networks) and has low impact in normal with low to moderate traffic loads.
Opportunism and Learning

There is a tension in the world between complexity and simplicity. On one hand, we are faced with a richness of environment and experience that is at times overwhelming. On the other, we seem to be able to cope and even thrive within this complexity through the use of simple scripts, stereotypical judgements, and habitual behaviors. In order to function in the world, we have idealized and simplified it in a way that makes reasoning about it more tractable. As a group and as individuals, human agents search for and create islands of simplicity and stability within a sea of complexity and change. In this article, we will discuss an approach based on the case-based reasoning paradigm that attempts to resolve this tension. This agency approach embraces, rather than avoids, this paradox of the apparent complexity of the world and the overall simplicity of our methods for dealing with it. It accomplishes this by treating the behavior of intelligent agents as an ongoing attempt to discover, create, and maintain the stability that is necessary for the production of actions that satisfy our goals.
Representations of Sound in American Deaf Literature.

Sound plays a prominent role in narrative description of characters and environs in mainstream American literature. A review of American Deaf literature shows that the representations of sound held for deaf writers are in extensional and oppositional terms. American deaf writers, in their descriptions of entities, characters, functions, and settings, have created different representations of sound. In American Deaf literature, the representations of sound are filled with altered-acoustic and extra-acoustic images of sounds. The representations reflect psychophysiological experiences that presume the existence of an acoustic world by American deaf and hard-of-hearing writers, independent of the age when their hearing was lost, and changes in American Deaf culture.
A large-scale conformation sampling and evaluation server for protein tertiary structure prediction and its assessment in CASP11

With more and more protein sequences produced in the genomic era, predicting protein structures from sequences becomes very important for elucidating the molecular details and functions of these proteins for biomedical research. Traditional template-based protein structure prediction methods tend to focus on identifying the best templates, generating the best alignments, and applying the best energy function to rank models, which often cannot achieve the best performance because of the difficulty of obtaining best templates, alignments, and models. We developed a large-scale conformation sampling and evaluation method and its servers to improve the reliability and robustness of protein structure prediction. In the first step, our method used a variety of alignment methods to sample relevant and complementary templates and to generate alternative and diverse target-template alignments, used a template and alignment combination protocol to combine alignments, and used template-based and template-free modeling methods to generate a pool of conformations for a target protein. In the second step, it used a large number of protein model quality assessment methods to evaluate and rank the models in the protein model pool, in conjunction with an exception handling strategy to deal with any additional failure in model ranking. The method was implemented as two protein structure prediction servers: MULTICOM-CONSTRUCT and MULTICOM-CLUSTER that participated in the 11th Critical Assessment of Techniques for Protein Structure Prediction (CASP11) in 2014. The two servers were ranked among the best 10 server predictors. The good performance of our servers in CASP11 demonstrates the effectiveness and robustness of the large-scale conformation sampling and evaluation. The MULTICOM server is available at: http://sysbio.rnet.missouri.edu/multicom_cluster/ .
Methanolysis of sphingomyelin: toward an epimerization-free methodology for the preparation of d-erythro-sphingosylphosphocholine

It is well known that acid hydrolysis of natural sphingomyelin in aqueous methanol or 1-butanol at reflux- ing temperature is accompanied by epimerization at the C-3 position of the long-chain base. An improved procedure for the hydrolysis of commercially available, naturally occur- ring sphingomyelin is described. Prolonged exposure (3-4 days) of sphingomyelin to freshly prepared 0.5 M anhydrous methanolic hydrogen chloride (generated by trapping the gas evolved from the reaction of concentrated sulfuric acid with solid sodium chloride in anhydrous methanol) at 50 8 C re- sulted in cleavage of the amide side chain. The extent of epimerization of the allylic alcohol stereocenter was quanti- fied by integration of the C-5 signal of the 13 C nuclear mag- netic resonance spectrum of lysosphingomyelin. The method described here is superior to the traditional acid hy- drolysis methods because it provides the product as a , 10:1 ratio of D - erythro / L - threo epimers; in contrast, a ratio of , 1.3:1 was obtained by the previous methods. We also report that use of dichloromethane as a cosolvent with N , N- dimeth- ylformamide in the reaction of lysosphingomyelin with an ac- tivated fatty acid reduced the time required for completion of the N -acylation reaction. —Bittman, R., and C. A. Verbicky. Methanolysis of sphingomyelin: toward an epimerization-free methodology for the preparation of D - erythro -sphingosylphos- phocholine. J. Lipid Res. 2000. 41: 2089-2093.
ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction, Cardiac Arrest, and Cardiogenic Shock: An Interventional Triumvirate of Opportunity

Cardiogenic shock following myocardial infarction remains a significant clinical challenge. Newly reported 30-day mortality rates remain in the 40% range and are not affected by the use of intra-aortic balloon counterpulsation ([1][1]). Few cardiac conditions are more deadly. The major exception is
Psychache in context: states 'spending for public welfare and their suicide rates

This analysis draws together the concept of psychache that describes the psychological pain associated with suicide and Durkheim's social integration theory in analyzing the relationship between states' spending for public welfare and their suicide rates over a 30-year period, from 1960, 1970, 1980, 1985, and 1990. Given that the threshold for enduring psychological pain varies from person to person, the questions were: Does suicide also vary with social context and has this changed over time? The answer to both questions was yes. Whereas the prevalence of divorce in combination with low population density and high rates of population change provided the context for interstate differences in suicide rates over the entire observational period and accounted for their increased variability in 1970 and 1980, this was not the case in 1985 or 1990. In both 1985 and 1990, the two variables that were important in this regard were states' spending for public welfare and race. In 1990, not only were suicide rates higher in states that spent less for public welfare than in states that spent more, but states' spending for public welfare was the only variable that accounted for the widening of differences in states' suicide rates. Given the strong prevailing skepticism that government can help solve people's problems and widespread antagonism toward government social spending, these findings carry an important message. Language: en