cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Managing Product Variety in a Supply Chain

This paper investigates a vertically differentiated product (VDP) line design problem in both a centralized and decentralized supply chain setting with one manufacturer and one retailer. We study how the product variety decision making in the decentralized setting affects the number of VDPs developed and produced by the manufacturer, as well as the number of products that the retailer will accept from the manufacturer. We show the value of flexibility, timeliness of information, and product development lead time reduction in three market scenarios where the retailer will elect to carry a product only if the product meets a specified target profit. Our results reveal that if the manufacturer faces a long design lead time and designs only one product line, he may be better off not lowering wholesale prices to accommodate the retailer's profit restriction. If design lead time is short, negotiation between manufacturer and retailer along with a side payment could possibly lead to a profit improving solution for both parties. Optimization models and computational results are presented.
Phase Transitions and Second-Harmonic Generation in Sodium Monothiophosphate

Oxythiophosphate compounds, which contain anions comprised of oxidized phosphorus bound to oxygen and sulfur, are scarce and, in general, poorly characterized. Although α-Na3PO3S has been known for over 60 years, little has been revealed about this compound. Here we present thermal analysis and second-harmonic-generation (SHG) efficiency of α-Na3PO3S. Details about its transformation to the high-temperature β phase are discussed. Under vacuum, α-Na3PO3S undergoes one endothermic event at 553 °C upon heating and two exothermic events at 504 and 467 °C upon cooling. β-Na3PO3S can be trapped upon quenching Na3PO3S from high temperature. We have observed that the β phase converts back to the α phase at room temperature. Interestingly, relative humidity has been determined to catalyze this phase transformation. α-Na3PO3S oxidizes at 315 °C in air to produce Na4P2O7 and Na2SO4. Upon exposure to 1064-nm incident radiation, noncentrosymmetric α-Na3PO3S produces an SHG efficiency 200 times that of α-quartz and is ...
Radio-frequency thermal ablation with NaCl solution injection: effect of electrical conductivity on tissue heating and coagulation-phantom and porcine liver study.

PURPOSE: To characterize the effects of NaCl concentration on tissue electrical conductivity, radio-frequency (RF) deposition, and heating in phantoms and optimize adjunctive NaCl solution injection for RF ablation in an in vivo model. MATERIALS AND METHODS: RF was applied for 12–15 minutes with internally cooled electrodes. For phantom experiments (n = 51), the NaCl concentration in standardized 5% agar was varied (0%–25.0%). A nonlinear simplex optimization strategy was then used in normal porcine liver (n = 44) to determine optimal pre-RF NaCl solution injection parameters (concentration, 0%–38.5%; volume, 0–25 mL). NaCl concentration and tissue conductivity were correlated with RF energy deposition, tissue heating, and induced coagulation. RESULTS: NaCl concentration had significant but nonlinear effects on electrical conductivity, RF deposition, and heating of agar phantoms (P < .01). Progressively greater heating was observed to 5.0% NaCl, with reduced temperatures at higher concentrations. For in v...
Variation of Aujeszky's disease viruses in wild swine in USA

In the United States of America, Aujeszky's disease (pseudorabies) has been eradicated from all domestic swine. Some re-emergence of infection occurred as vaccine use diminished. Sporadic outbreaks have also occurred because of the reservoir of infection in feral swine that have spread across the southern two-thirds of the country and Hawaii. In order to be able to understand the origins of re-emerging virus, sequence analysis of variable genes in pseudorabies virus (PRV) has been used to differentiate strains. Most PRV from feral swine can be distinguished from virus circulating in domestic pigs during the national epizootic. However, several feral swine isolates of PRV from south central states are closely related or identical in sequence to strains from domestic pigs. Extensive study by PCR for the presence of virus in the oral cavity of feral pigs disclosed that the viral DNA is distributed widely in tonsils salivary glands, taste buds and even mucosa in the vicinity of tusks. Clearly the virus in feral swine has multiple mechanisms of transmission to insure persistent infection and the threat of re-emergence in domestic swine continues.
Retinoids in prevention of skin cancer

Two chemoprevention randomized clinical trials were begun in 1984 to evaluate retinoids in the prevention of skin cancers. Moderate risk subjects with a history of at least 10 actinic keratoses and at most two prior skin cancers were enrolled in the SKICAP-AK trial and randomized to 25,000 IU retinol or placebo daily for 5 years. High risk subjects with a history of at least four prior skin cancers were enrolled in the SKICAP-S/B trial and randomized to receive 25,000 IU retinol, 5-10 mg isotretinoin or placebo daily for 3 years. Data from the SKICAP-AK trial indicate that retinol reduces incidence of first new squamous cell skin cancers but had no effect on the incidence of first new basal cell skin cancer. The effect of retinoids had no significant benefit on squamous or basal cell skin cancers in the high risk subjects on the SKICAP-S/B trial, although intervention duration was less than planned. Daily retinol was effective in preventing squamous cell cancers in moderate risk subjects.
AlGaInAs/InP ridge-guide lasers operating at 1.55 μm

The InGaAsP/InP material system has a large conduction band offset ((Delta) Ec equals 0.72 (Delta) Eg which provides strong electron confinement and prevents carrier overflow under high temperature operation. Therefore, AlGaInAs/InP lasers have better performance at high temperature operation.© (1998) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
ADOLESCENT WORK AND BOYS’ AND GIRLS’ ORIENTATIONS TO THE FUTURE

This study compares adolescent boys’ and girls’ aspirations and plans concerning achievement, family, and other adult life spheres, and examines the effects of adolescent work experience on these future orientations. The data were obtained from 1001 students, chosen randomly from a list of enrolled ninth graders in a large Midwestern city. Girls were not found to have lower achievement orientations than boys. Examination of the interrelations of achievement and family plans suggests that boys see their future educational, work, and family roles as more closely integrated than do girls. Just as work and family roles are mutually supportive for adult men but in conflict for adult women, so too do employed adolescent boys appear to be developing traditional family orientations, while employed girls, especially those much exposed to formal work, expect less involvement in marriage and family life. The analyses indicate that paid work is traditionalizing for boys, promoting optimism about, and commitment to, numerous adult life domains; but for girls, formal work lessens interest in traditional female gender roles.
A178: Development of Tools to Facilitate Shared Decision Making about Medications for Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis—A Project of the Pediatric Rheumatology Care and Outcomes Improvement Network

Background/Purpose: Medication options for juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) are increasing. Medications differ on a variety of attributes, including mechanisms of action, dosing intervals, modes of administration, safety profiles, and cost. Some parents of children with JIA are left with questions and concerns about medications suggesting a need for improved clinician-parent communication. Decisions like this, with multiple reasonable options that differ in ways that matter to families, are conducive to “Shared Decision Making” (SDM). SDM is a process whereby clinicians share information about the options and patients/parents share information about their goals and preferences. Together, a treatment plan is developed that is the best fit for the individual patient and their family. We conducted a project to develop tools to facilitate SDM within the Pediatric Rheumatology Care and Outcomes Improvement Network (PR-COIN). PR-COIN is a learning network designed to improve outcomes of JIA care using quality improvement (QI) approaches. Methods: Development of issue cards to facilitate SDM involved multiple steps including qualitative interviews with clinicians and care providers, direct observation of clinical encounters, and an iterative design process involving a graphic designer and a stakeholder panel of clinicians, allied health professionals and parents. We introduced the prototype issue cards for use in clinics using Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycles. We elicited feedback to guide card revisions from PR-COIN members via weekly electronic surveys and discussions during monthly webinars and following direct observation of encounters using the cards. Results: We identified the medication attributes deemed most important to discuss by our stakeholders, including “How Soon” will therapies take effect, “How Often” are they given, “Side Effects”, “Cost”, “How Long” will need to stay on the medication, and “Other Considerations.” We used these attributes to organize the issue cards and symbols to convey key concepts (see Figure). Intended use of the cards involves clinicians showing the cards to patient and parent and asking which card they would like to discuss first. By selecting a card, the family reveals what is important to them. After 18 revisions, PR-COIN stakeholders at 6 sites found the issue cards to be acceptable for regular use. Conclusion: PR-COIN issue cards are well accepted by clinicians and families within network sites. PDSA cycles continue as we seek to implement the issue cards in routine clinical care to facilitate SDM across the network. Our ultimate goal is to drive improvement in child JIA outcomes by reliably engaging patients/parents in SDM to select a medication that is a good fit.
What’s new in obstetric anesthesia? Focus on preeclampsia

Recent advances in the diagnosis, pathogenesis, and understanding of preeclampsia-related morbidity provide opportunities to optimize clinical management of the mother and fetus. These discoveries are timely, as contemporary data suggest that the prevalence of preeclampsia, affecting 7.5% of pregnancies globally and 2-5% in the USA, has increased by up to 30% over the last decade. Managing pregnant patients with preeclampsia can be challenging for all members of the obstetric care team due to the disease's multi-organ system maternal and fetal effects. This review presents recent updates in the definition of preeclampsia, etiology, comorbidities and therapeutic interventions and discusses how they impact the care of these high-risk patients.
Coming Soon to a Location Near You

Abstract The future of government information specialists lies in taking government information and putting it in front of users so that no matter how they conceive of their information needs or what search tools they use, it will show up in their search results. This paper discusses steps government information specialists can take to achieve success.
Proteomic Studies of the Intrinsically Unstructured Mammalian Proteome

Intrinsically unstructured proteins (IUPs) represent an important class of proteins primarily involved in cellular signaling and regulation. The aim of this study was to develop methodology for the enrichment and identification of IUPs. We show that heat treatment of NIH3T3 mouse fibroblast cell extracts at 98 degrees C selects for IUPs. The majority of these IUPs were cytosolic or nuclear proteins involved in cell signaling or regulation. These studies represent the first large-scale experimental investigation of the intrinsically unstructured mammalian proteome.
Demystifying Hawala: A Look into its Social Organization and Mechanics

This paper sheds light on the routine practices and mechanics of hawala, an informal funds transfer system, which emerged in the Indian subcontinent and spread globally in recent decades. Hawala has come under suspicion of being a tool in the hands of al Qaeda and other terrorists, so a series of measures and policies have been taken internationally for its regulation and control. The paper dispels several myths about hawala, such as the lack of money movement or the absence of paper‐work and trails for investigators. By focusing on the Pakistan hawala modus operandi, it also explains the routes money follows before it reaches the final destination mostly in the hands of expatriates' extended families. By showing how these mechanics make economic sense, the paper makes a contribution to more sensitive, informed, fair and consensual law enforcement. 1. Research on which this paper is based was sponsored by a National Institute of Justice (NIJ) grant for a study of ‘Terrorist Finance and the Nexus with Tran...
Using wavelet transforms for multiresolution materials modeling

We outline how the wavelet transform, a hierarchical averaging scheme, can be used to perform both spatial and topological coarse-graining in systems with multiscale physical behavior, such as Ising lattices and polymer models. We illustrate how to create sampling mechanisms, which we call wavelet-accelerated Monte Carlo (WAMC), to study these systems and obtain qualitatively and quantitatively accurate results in orders of magnitude less time than using atomistic simulations.
Regulation of striatal dopamine receptors by corticosterone: an in vivo and in vitro study.

The effects of chronic corticosterone administration and adrenalectomy on the expression of brain dopamine receptors were studied in rats. In situ hybridization and receptor binding autoradiography were carried out to determine D1, D2 and D3 receptor expression in dorsal and ventral striata. Except for down-regulation of D2 mRNA in dorsal striatum after 2 week corticosterone treatment, no other significant changes were detected. In addition, the transcriptional regulation of D1 and D2 gene promoters by glucocorticoids was studied in neuroblastoma cell lines using transient transfections. While a small segment of the D2-promoter could be activated three-fold by dexamethasone, large fragments of neither D1 or D2 promoters were regulated by this treatment. Glucocorticoids do not appear to have direct overall effects on striatal dopamine receptor expression. The observed down-regulation of D2 receptor mRNA in the dorsal striatum in vivo is likely secondary to increased striatal dopamine release induced by corticosterone.
Lexical transfer: between a source rock and a hard target

Lexical transfer is the point of transition between an unchangeable source text (a rock) and an infinite array of target texts (a hard place to find an acceptable one). The author's Coling86 paper (pp. 104--106) described a new methodology for testing lexical transfer in machine translation. This paper reports on the application of that methodology to a test of the DLT system and describes a synchronized bilingual data base by-product. Further use of the methodology is encouraged.
l-Arginine decreases infarct size in rats exposed to environmental tobacco smoke

Abstract This study examined the effects of l-arginine on myocardial infarct size, hemodynamics, and vascular reactivity in environmental tobacco smoke (ETS)-exposed and non—ETS-exposed rats. We previously demonstrated that exposure to ETS increased myocardial infarct size in a rat model of ischemia and reperfusion. If reduced reperfusion was caused by endothelial cell damage and increased vascular tone, l-arginine (ARG) would increase nitric oxide and better protect the heart. Sixty Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into four groups: ETS or non-ETS (control) with and without ARG (2.25% ARG in drinking water). The ETS groups were exposed to passive smoking (4 Marlboro cigarettes per 15 minutes, 6 hours a day) for 6 weeks. After 6 weeks, all rats were subjected to 35 minutes of left coronary artery occlusion and 120 minutes of reperfusion, with hemodynamic monitoring. Aortic rings were harvested to evaluate vascular reactivity. Average air nicotine, carbon monoxide, and total particulate concentrations were 1304 ± 215 μg/m 3 , 78 ± 2.0 ppm, and 31 ± .7 mg/m 3 (mean ± SEM) for the ETS-exposed rats. Infarct size (infarct mass/risk area × 100%) increased with ETS exposure but decreased significantly in the ETS-with-ARG group compared with the ETS-without-ARG group (42% ± 6% vs 64% ± 6%, mean ± SEM; p = 0.043). The benefit of ARG was dependent on ETS exposure (ETS × ARG interaction, p = 0.043). There were no significant differences between groups in heart rate, systolic pressure, and rate-pressure product. ARG significantly decreased myocardial infarct size after ischemia and reperfusion in ETS-exposed rats. Neither the adverse effects of ETS on infarct size nor the blockage of this effect by ARG appears to be the result of ETS-induced alterations in hemodynamics.
Solid geometry-based object model for Monte Carlo simulated emission and transmission tomographic imaging systems

An object model based on combinations of object primitives is proposed for Monte Carlo simulated emission and transmission tomographic imaging systems. The primitives include ellipsoids, elliptic cylinders, tapered elliptic cylinders, rectangular solids, and their subsets: half, quarter, and eighth. The probability of a photon surviving interactions with the phantom medium is used as a weight for variance reduction. Calculation of the probability can be computationally intensive without properly organizing the inclusion of subregions within larger regions. A tree data structure is introduced to organize this inclusion relationship and used as the basis for two computationally efficient schemes for determining the intersection locations of a photon path with primitives and for identifying the attenuation coefficients for adjacent intersections for the survival probability computation. The approach has been validated by emission as well as transmission simulations. A thorax phantom containing overlapped ellipsoids and a heart composed of twelve overlapped quarter ellipsoids are employed to demonstrate the capability of the model. >
A Coasian Approach to Efficient Water Allocation of a Transboundary River

The United States and Mexico recently resolved a decade-old water dispute that required Mexico to repay the accumulated water debt within one year. A Coasian analysis estimates the social welfare gains attainable to each country under an alternative debt repayment scheme that allows repayment over a longer time horizon and in a combination of dollars and water, instead of solely in water. Assuming average water supply conditions, under the agreed 1-year repayment contract, U.S. compensation value is 534% greater and Mexico's compensation cost is 60% less relative to when compensation is paid exclusively in water.
Tool reusable for DSP system emulation and board production testing

Tools that support designs that use the IEEE 1149.1 JTAG port for emulation and board test are becoming more common. These tools not only are used to debug hardware and software interaction but are now used to validate the design using sophisticated board test techniques. High level languages are now being used to describe these designs and the complex interaction of boundary scan cells and built in self-test circuits. These tools provide the necessary set of capabilities for getting the job done quickly at all levels of the product life cycle. The use of a 60MHz DSP56002 as a JTAG controller allows developers to utilize a common tool on various computer platforms using a Motorola GUI or developing their own custom built utilities using a set of readily available device drivers and libraries. The three newest Motorola DSP core based architectures (DSP56300, DSP56600 and DSP56800) have IEEE 1149.1 JTAG ports for emulation and pin boundary scan. Development tools which support full source code emulation in the target system as well as board/system level boundary scan cell control are available for these cores.
The Response of Cyclic Electron Flow around Photosystem I to Changes in Photorespiration and Nitrate Assimilation

Photosynthesis captures light energy to produce ATP and NADPH. These molecules are consumed in the conversion of CO2 to sugar, photorespiration, and NO3(-) assimilation. The production and consumption of ATP and NADPH must be balanced to prevent photoinhibition or photodamage. This balancing may occur via cyclic electron flow around photosystem I (CEF), which increases ATP/NADPH production during photosynthetic electron transport; however, it is not clear under what conditions CEF changes with ATP/NADPH demand. Measurements of chlorophyll fluorescence and dark interval relaxation kinetics were used to determine the contribution of CEF in balancing ATP/NADPH in hydroponically grown Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) supplied different forms of nitrogen (nitrate versus ammonium) under changes in atmospheric CO2 and oxygen. Measurements of CEF were made under low and high light and compared with ATP/NADPH demand estimated from CO2 gas exchange. Under low light, contributions of CEF did not shift despite an up to 17% change in modeled ATP/NADPH demand. Under high light, CEF increased under photorespiratory conditions (high oxygen and low CO2), consistent with a primary role in energy balancing. However, nitrogen form had little impact on rates of CEF under high or low light. We conclude that, according to modeled ATP/NADPH demand, CEF responded to energy demand under high light but not low light. These findings suggest that other mechanisms, such as the malate valve and the Mehler reaction, were able to maintain energy balance when electron flow was low but that CEF was required under higher flow.
Real‐time imaging of skeletal muscle velocity

Results: The velocity data demonstrate that the biceps brachii and the triceps brachii, antagonistic muscles, move in opposite directions during elbow flexion and extension with velocity values in the muscle tissue ranging from –10 to 10 cm/second. Conclusion: With further development, real-time PC MRI may provide a means to analyze muscle function in individuals with neurologic or movement disorders who cannot actively complete the repeated motions required for dynamic MRI techniques, such as cine PC MRI, that are more commonly used in musculoskeletal biomechanics applications.
Solution structure of the esperamicin A1-DNA complex

Esperamicin A1 is an enediyne antibiotic possessing antitumor activity associated with its ability to bind and, following activation, affect strand cleavage of DNA. We report on the solution structure of the esperamicin A1-d(C-G-G-A-T-C-C-G) duplex complex based on a combined analysis of NMR and molecular dynamics calculations including intensity refinement in a water box. The refined solution structures of the complex provide a molecular explanation of the sequence specificity for binding and cleavage by this member of the enediyne family of antitumor antibiotics. Esperamycin A1 binds to the DNA minor groove with its methoxyacrylyl- anthranilate moiety intercalating into the helix at the (G2-G3)·(C6′-C7′) step. The methoxyacrylyl-anthranilate intercalator and the minor groove binding A-B-C trisaccharide moieties rigidly anchor the enediyne in the minor groove such that the pro-radical centers of the enediyne are proximal to their anticipated proton abstraction sites. Specifically, the pro-radical C-3 and C-6 atoms are aligned opposite the abstractable H-5′ (pro-S) proton of C6 and the H-1′ proton of C6′ on partner strands, respectively, in the complex. The thiomethyl sugar B residue is buried deep in an edgewise manner in the minor groove with its two faces sandwiched between the walls of the groove. Further, the polarizable sulfur atom of the thiomethyl group of sugar B residue is positioned opposite and can hydrogen-bond to the exposed amino proton of G3′ in the complex. There is little perturbation away from a right-handed Watson-Crick base-paired duplex in the complex other than unwinding of the helix at the intercalation site and widening of the minor groove centered about the enediyne-binding and anthranilate intercalation sites. Sequence-specific binding of esperamycin A1 to the d(C-G-G-A-T-C-C-G) duplex is favored by the complementarity of the fit between the drug and the floor of the minor groove, good stacking between the intercalating anthranilate ring and flanking purine bases and intermolecular hydrogen-bonding interactions.
Prescriptive Authority and Counseling Psychology Implications for Practitioners

The prescriptive authority for psychologists (RxP) movement is controversial in its notion that properly trained licensed psychologists should be granted the right to prescribe psychotropic medication. Since its inception, the RxP movement has been successful in engendering prescriptive authority for psychologists practicing at both federal and state levels. For the past20 years, the specialty of counseling psychology’s official position on prescriptive authority has been neutral. The author believes that renewed discourse is warranted. Therefore, the author will argue that counseling psychology practitioners should endorse the RxP movement, as prescriptive authority appeals to such unique facets of counseling psychology’s professional identity as holistic conceptualization of clients, a strengths-based approach to treatment, and a focus on social justice. The author also addresses concerns that may be preventing practitioners’ support, including the effectiveness of training programs for prescribing psyc...
Stroke Therapy in Patients Considering Prothrombin Time and International Normalized Ratio

To the Editor: We recently encountered a dilemma caring for a patient with an ischemic stroke. He was 88 years old with chronic atrial fibrillation and treated with warfarin. His symptoms included aphasia, hemianopia, and hemiplegia; his National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score was 23 and he presented within 3 hours of onset. Laboratory values were normal except for an international normalized ratio (INR) of 1.7 and prothrombin time (PT) of 20 seconds. Intravenous tissue plasminogen activator is the only proven therapy after …
Insulin-Like Growth Factor I Action on Rat Anterior Pituitary Cells: Effects of Intracellular Messengers on Growth Hormone Secretion and Messenger Ribonucleic Acid Levels*

We have previously shown that insulin-like growth factor (IGF-I) suppresses basal and GHRH-induced GH gene transcription. cAMP is a putative intracellular mediator of GHRH action. We, therefore, studied the mechanism of IGF-I action on the somatotroph with or without cAMP activators. Primary rat pituitary cells growing in serum-free medium were treated with IGF-I. GH secretion was measured by RIA, and mRNA levels were measured by hybridization to [32P]GH cDNA. 8-Bromo-cAMP (8-Br-cAMP; 0.625 mMJ stimulated GH mRNA levels after 72 h by 238%. IGF-I (6.5 nM) caused a 64% inhibition of 8-Br-cAMP-stimulated GH mRNA levels and a similar inhibition of GH secretion. This inhibition was time and dose dependent, with maximal (71%) suppression of cAMP-induced GH achieved with 13 nM IGF-I after 72 h. Forskolin (1 μM), a stimulator of adenylate cyclase, stimulated GH secretion (198%) which was inhibited by IGF-I by 42%. 12-O-Tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate, (a phorbol ester; 50 nM), a potent activator of protein kinase...
Conductive interpenetrating networks of polypyrrole and polycaprolactone encourage electrophysiological development of cardiac cells.

Abstract Conductive and electroactive polymers have the potential to enhance engineered cardiac tissue function. In this study, an interpenetrating network of the electrically-conductive polymer polypyrrole (PPy) was grown within a matrix of flexible polycaprolactone (PCL) and evaluated as a platform for directing the formation of functional cardiac cell sheets. PCL films were either treated with sodium hydroxide to render them more hydrophilic and enhance cell adhesion or rendered electroactive with PPy grown via chemical polymerization yielding PPy–PCL that had a resistivity of 1.0 ± 0.4 kΩ cm, which is similar to native cardiac tissue. Both PCL and PPy–PCL films supported cardiomyocyte attachment; increasing the duration of PCL pre-treatment with NaOH resulted in higher numbers of adherent cardiomyocytes per unit area, generating cell densities which were more similar to those on PPy–PCL films (1568 ± 126 cells mm −2 , 2880 ± 439 cells mm −2 , 3623 ± 456 cells mm −2 for PCL with 0, 24, 48 h of NaOH pretreatment, respectively; 2434 ± 166 cells mm −2 for PPy–PCL). When cardiomyocytes were cultured on the electrically-conductive PPy–PCL, more cells were observed to have peripheral localization of the gap junction protein connexin-43 (Cx43) as compared to cells on NaOH-treated PCL (60.3 ± 4.3% vs. 46.6 ± 5.7%). Cx43 gene expression remained unchanged between materials. Importantly, the velocity of calcium wave propagation was faster and calcium transient duration was shorter for cardiomyocyte monolayers on PPy–PCL (1612 ± 143 μm/s, 910 ± 63 ms) relative to cells on PCL (1129 ± 247 μm/s, 1130 ± 20 ms). In summary, PPy–PCL has demonstrated suitability as an electrically-conductive substrate for culture of cardiomyocytes , yielding enhanced functional properties; results encourage further development of conductive substrates for use in differentiation of stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes and cardiac tissue engineering applications. Statement of Significance Current conductive materials for use in cardiac regeneration are limited by cytotoxicity or cost in implementation. In this manuscript, we demonstrate for the first time the application of a biocompatible, conductive polypyrrole–polycaprolactone film as a platform for culturing cardiomyocytes for cardiac regeneration. This study shows that the novel conductive film is capable of enhancing cell–cell communication through the formation of connexin-43, leading to higher velocities for calcium wave propagation and reduced calcium transient durations among cultured cardiomyocyte monolayers. Furthermore, it was demonstrated that chemical modification of polycaprolactone through alkaline-mediated hydrolysis increased overall cardiomyocyte adhesion. The results of this study provide insight into how cardiomyocytes interact with conductive substrates and will inform future research efforts to enhance the functional properties of cardiomyocytes, which is critical for their use in pharmaceutical testing and cell therapy.
TOWARD A SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIVIST RECONCEPTUALIZATION OF INTRINSIC MOTIVATION FOR LITERACY LEARNING

This conceptual essay critiques current understandings of children's motivation for literacy learning, and argues for a reconceptualization of motivation that centers on the learner as agent in the social construction of meaning. The essay is illustrated with vignettes and examples drawn from two ethnographic studies conducted in whole-languag e classrooms. Both studies investigated children's perspectives of their own literacy learning processes and their constructs of themselves as readers and writers. In this essay, we propose a reconceptualization of motivation for literacy. We assert that intrinsic motivation for literacy learning is defined by and originates in the sociocognitive and affective processes that learners experience as they engage in the social construction of meaning. This is a learner-centered and epistemologically based concept of motivation that is linked explicitly to ways of knowing, understanding, and constructing meaning. This form of motivation is grounded in learners' cognitive and affective processes, and is inherently holistic and intrinsic. We believe that literacy is a social accomplishment (Allen, Michalove, & Shockley, 1993; Bloome, 1986; Santa Barbara Discourse Group, 1992). Our un
Local and omnibus goodness-of-fit tests in classical measurement error models

We consider functional measurement error models, i.e. models where covariates are measured with error and yet no distributional assumptions are made about the mismeasured variable. We propose and study a score-type local test and an orthogonal series-based, omnibus goodness-of-fit test in this context, where no likelihood function is available or calculated—i.e. all the tests are proposed in the semiparametric model framework. We demonstrate that our tests have optimality properties and computational advantages that are similar to those of the classical score tests in the parametric model framework. The test procedures are applicable to several semiparametric extensions of measurement error models, including when the measurement error distribution is estimated non-parametrically as well as for generalized partially linear models. The performance of the local score-type and omnibus goodness-of-fit tests is demonstrated through simulation studies and analysis of a nutrition data set.
Effects of Age on the Pharmacokinetics of Piroxicam in Rats

This study examined the effects of age on the pharmacokinetics of piroxicam in rats. Two groups of rats, aged 5 and 24 months, were administered 1 mg of piroxicam per kg intravenously, and blood samples were withdrawn for up to 120 h. Protein binding studies, with pooled serum from each age group were also performed. Piroxicam concentrations were determined by HPLC analysis, and pharmacokinetic parameters were’ characterized by area-moment analysis. Plasma piroxicam concentrations declined in both age groups in a biexponential fashion, with half-lives of 5.9 ± 0.7 h (mean ± SD) in the young rats and 30.6 ± 9.9 h in the old rats. Total clearance in the young rats was 0.048 ± 0.012 L/h/kg, whereas that in the old rats was 0.021 ± 0.003 L/h/kg. The steady-state volume of distribution in the young rats was 0.42 ± 0.05 L/kg, and that in the old rats was 0.56 ± 0.10 L/kg. There was a statistically significant difference between these parameters calculated for each age group. Piroxicam is a highly plasma protein-bound drug; the fraction unbound in the young rats was determined to be 0.067 ± 0.022, and that in the old rats was determined to be 0.134 ± 0.065, or twice that in the young rats. Differences in protein binding were due, in part, to a 20% decreased albumin concentration in the old rats; however, there was also a decrease in the number of binding sites and/or the binding affinity with aging. Clearance of free drug in the young rats was 0.73 ± 0.18 L/h/kg, and that in the old rats was 0.15 ± 0.02 L/h/kg; the steady-state volumes of distribution for unbound drug were determined to be 6.27 ± 0.78 L/kg for the young rats and 4.18 ± 0.75 L/kg for the old rats. These differences were significantly different. Thus, piroxicam exhibited an age-related disposition in rats.
Motor innervation of dorsoventrally reversed wings in chick/quail chimeric embryos

In the limb plexus, motor axons destined for limb muscles diverge along separate pathways to innervate muscles derived from either the dorsal or ventral premuscle masses. We have examined the axonal guidance cues involved in this initial, specific pathway choice at the plexus by making dorsoventral (D/V) limb bud reversals prior to innervation. Chick/quail chimeras were used to determine the proximodistal level of the reversal in tissue sections. The specificity of the projections to dorsal or ventral nerve trunks was assessed by retrograde HRP labeling at ages prior to motoneuron death. Axons corrected for the reversal when the level of the graft was proximal to the plexus, and when the reversed limb and its gross nerve pattern were normal. If all of these conditions were not satisfied, aberrant innervation patterns were observed. Axonal trajectories were analyzed within the host tissue, at the host-graft border, and within rotated tissue to determine where along the pathway guidance cues might be located. Special attention was given to cases in which axons compensated for the reversal to project in accord with the positions of their soma in the lateral motor column. In these correcting cases, after normal D/V sorting in the spinal nerves of the host, motor axons altered their trajectories upon entering rotated graft tissue as they approached and traversed the plexus. Because corrections were within rotated tissue and not proximal to it, the D/V pathway cues are unlikely to be long-range target-derived signals, but rather appear to be closely associated with positional information in the plexus region and also more proximally in the tissue surrounding the distal spinal nerves.
Critical Thinking in Groups.

It gladdened my heart when the faculty of organizational leadership at my university agreed to require a course in critical thinking. The evidence had been mounting that one way we could prepare students to participate in leadership without knowing precisely what they would be asked to do in the workplace was to develop their powers of critical thinking. No matter what the world might throw at them, these graduates could cope when the situation turned volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous. And, coping when others could not, they were more likely to lead. This was the reasoning behind our decision to require critical thinking. Ricketts (2005) explored the relationship between leadership development and critical thinking skills. He concluded that leadership educators should teach critical thinking. The following essay suggests that leadership educators build upon this conclusion and consider critical thinking as a group or collaborative activity. By “collaboration” I paraphrase Schrage (1995) to refer to the process of two or more individuals creating a common understanding about a given problem they share. Here is why I believe critical thinking should be collaborative: • First, in most venues critical thinking already is a collaborative activity, so
DYNAMIC OPTICAL COHERENCE ELASTOGRAPHY: A REVIEW

With the development of optical coherence tomography, the application optical coherence elastography (OCE) has gained more and more attention in biomechanics for its unique features including micron-scale resolution, real-time processing, and non-invasive imaging. In this review, one group of OCE techniques, namely dynamic OCE, are introduced and discussed including external dynamic OCE mapping and imaging of ex vivo breast tumor, external dynamic OCE measurement of in vivo human skin, and internal dynamic OCE including acoustomotive OCE and magnetomotive OCE. These techniques overcame some of the major drawbacks of traditional static OCE, and broadened the OCE application fields. Driven by scientific needs to engineer new quantitative methods that utilize the high micron-scale resolution achievable with optics, results of biomechanical properties were obtained from biological tissues. The results suggest potential diagnostic and therapeutic clinical applications. Results from these studies also help our understanding of the relationship between biomechanical variations and functional tissue changes in biological systems.
Colonic Toxicity of Administered Drugs and Chemicals

Although uncommon, medication-induced colonotoxicity is important to recognize because medication cessation generally leads to prompt clinical improvement, while medication continuation results in disease exacerbation. This review categorizes the association between medications and colonotoxicity as "well-established" or "probable," according to the following criteria: total number of reported cases, number of different research groups reporting an association, experimental and pharmacologic evidence of an association, and validity of an association in each reported case. Cocaine, ergotamine, estrogen, sodium polystyrene, alosetron, amphetamines, pseudoephedrine, and vasopressin are associated with colonic ischemia. The mechanisms include vasospasm, thrombogenesis, and shunting of blood from mesenteric vessels. Narcotics, phenothiazines, vincristine, atropine, nifedipine, and tricyclic antidepressants are associated with colonic pseudo-obstruction. The mechanisms include antagonizing prokinetic neurotransmitters, stimulating antikinetic neurotransmitters, promoting dysmotility, relaxing smooth muscle, and injuring enteric neurons. Numerous antibiotics are associated with pseudomembranous colitis; ampicillin is associated with hemorrhagic colitis; chemotherapy is associated with neutropenic colitis; and deferoxamine is associated with Yersinia enterocolitis. Mechanisms of these toxicities include altering normal bowel flora, weakening immunologic defenses, promoting microorganism virulence, and mucosal injury. Gold compounds, nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs, alpha-methyldopa, salicylates, and sulfasalazine are associated with an inflammatory or cytotoxic colitis. The mechanisms include direct mucosal cytotoxicity, antimetabolite effects, or drug allergy. Nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs, cyclo 3 fort, flutamide, lansoprazole, and ticlopidine are associated with lymphocytic colitis. The mechanisms include immunologic activation or attenuated immunologic defenses. Chronic cathartic use leads to colonic hypomotility and abdominal distention. Intrarectally administered corrosive compounds can produce a toxic colitis.
Coordinated gene expression for pheromone biosynthesis in the pine engraver beetle, Ips pini (Coleoptera: Scolytidae)

In several pine bark beetle species, phloem feeding induces aggregation pheromone production to coordinate a mass attack on the host tree. Male pine engraver beetles, Ips pini (Say) (Coleoptera: Scolytidae), produce the monoterpenoid pheromone component ipsdienol de novo via the mevalonate pathway in the anterior midgut upon feeding. To understand how pheromone production is regulated in this tissue, we used quantitative real-time PCR to examine feeding-induced changes in gene expression of seven mevalonate pathway genes: acetoacetyl-coenzyme A thiolase, 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A synthase, 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase, mevalonate 5-diphosphate decarboxylase, isopentenyl-diphosphate isomerase, geranyl-diphosphate synthase (GPPS), and farnesyl-diphosphate synthase (FPPS). In males, expression of all these genes significantly increased upon feeding. In females, the expression of the early mevalonate pathway genes (up to and including the isomerase) increased significantly, but the expression of the later genes (GPPS and FPPS) was unaffected or decreased upon feeding. Thus, feeding coordinately regulates expression of the mevalonate pathway genes necessary for pheromone biosynthesis in male, but not female, midguts. Furthermore, basal mRNA levels were 5- to 41-fold more abundant in male midguts compared to female midguts. This is the first report of coordinated regulation of mevalonate pathway genes in an invertebrate model consistent with their sex-specific role in de novo pheromone biosynthesis.
Cross-cultural and Intra-societal. Application of DeLong's Framework for Visual Analysis:

This paper analyzes the application of DeLong's framework of visual analysis in research on dress outside of the mainstream. Drawing from three bodies of separately conducted research, this paper e...
Two Conflicting Calls for Methodological Reform

Two significantly different calls for methodological reform in counseling psychology are currently being made. One call, termed the "new paradigm,>" proposes to replace the present quantitative methods with qualitative ones. The other call proposes a methodological diversity whereby qualitative methods supplement quantitative ones. These two calls are compared in terms of rhetoric, philosophy of science, and clinical utility. The comparisons result in preference for the call for diversity.
Housing Policy as a Planning Tool

In Israel, housing policy has traditionally been aimed at broader objectives beyond the supply of adequate shelter. Using data from a nationwide survey of young couples (N = 2,591), this study examines the relationship between the government's major housing-assistance program and two principal national goals: a spatially balanced and socially integrated population. The housing policy's basic tenet, the provision of extra benefits to those settling in new towns, appears to promote dispersal but to hinder integration. This finding parallels a divergence between standard measures of housing quality and resident's own evaluations. The conclusion discusses the importance of considering a plurality of goals and both objective and subjective indicators in policy making.
Size does matter - distinguishing bacteriophages by genome length (and 'breadth')

Genome size and nucleic acid composition are basic characteristics of bacteriophages (phages). With larger genomes come increases in gene number, greater infection and virion sophistication, higher likelihood of gene acquisition via horizontal gene transfer (HGT), and additional genetic redundancy both within and between genomes (the latter referring to gene duplication and redundancy with host functions, respectively). Larger, that is, tailed phages in fact are among the most recombinogenic organisms on earth, often possessing numerous genes of mysterious function, many of which in at least some phages can be deleted without greatly impacting laboratory propagation. Larger phages, through the use of more sophisticated polymerases as well as proofreading and genome repair functions, also are less prone to replicative infidelities. As a consequence, their per-nucleotide mutation rates are substantially lower than those of smaller phages. Here, rather than macroevolutionary trends as typically considered from the perspective of comparative genomics, I emphasise instead microevolutionary processes, particularly the role of mutation as an immediate source of genetic variation within populations. Within this context I differentiate the viruses of domain Bacteria into four genome-size categories: very small (single-stranded RNA phages), small (single-stranded DNA phages), medium (lipid-containing, double-stranded DNA, tailless phages), and large, or at least larger (tailed phages).
Delayed Matching and Short-Term Memory in Monkeys

Publisher Summary Delayed matching can be dramatically facilitated by the simple operation of extinguishing all illumination during the delay (retention) interval. This chapter describes the experimental situation and procedures that are common to all of the studies of delayed matching and short-term memory in monkeys. All experimental subjects are capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) who, before their paradigm delayed matching-to-sample (DMTS) experience, are in laboratory residence from one to four years, during which they were exposed to various kinds of experimental training. Motivation is induced by food deprivation, the animals being reduced to a body weight at which they work with reasonable diligence. After completing 15 responses on the microswitch, one of the stimuli (the sample) appears on the center projector and remains there until the subject pressed the center key for a minimum duration of 0.3 seconds. The sample then disappears and the delay (retention) interval begins.
Using fMRI to Explain the Effect of Dual-Task Interference on Security Behavior

We examine how security behavior is affected by dual-task interference (DTI), a cognitive limitation in which even simple tasks cannot be simultaneously performed without significant performance loss. We find that security messages that interrupt users actually make users more vulnerable by increasing security message disregard—behaving against the recommended course of action of a security message. We study the previously unexamined effect of DTI on a secondary, interrupting task—a security message. In a security context, it is critical that his interruption be carefully heeded. We use functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to explore (1) how DTI occurs in the brain in response to interruptive security messages and (2) how DTI influences security message disregard. We show that neural activation in the medial temporal lobe (MTL)—a brain region associated with declarative memory—is substantially reduced under a condition of high DTI, which in turn significantly predicts security message disregard.