cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Equity Is Key to Build Back Better after COVID-19: Prioritize Noncommunicable Diseases and Kidney Health

As coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) takes its toll worldwide, from the perspective of noncommunicable disease (NCD) physicians and activists it feels as if the world has suddenly woken up to the fact that NCDs are important and have been neglected. NCDs no longer only affect the affluent and the elderly. Indeed, NCDs take a major toll on the world's poorest billion given the confluence of poverty-associated risk factors and inadequate access to screening, early diagnosis, and early treatment (1). NCDs kill 41 million people every year (71% of all deaths) (2). The first United Nations High Level Meeting (UNHLM) on NCDs in 2011 highlighted that NCDs were the leading global cause of deaths, but as recently acknowledged at the third UNHLM on NCDs in 2018, despite small progress for some NCDs, action has not been sufficient. A major contributor to NCDs having been left behind is the fact that since 2000, only 1%–2% of development aid to low-income countries and low- and middle-income countries has been allocated toward NCDs despite their comprising over 75% of the disease-adjusted life year burden and being the leading causes of death (Figure 1) (3). This disproportion was likely driven in part by the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which led countries to focus efforts on meeting the targets that excluded NCDs. Furthermore, infectious diseases may have been prioritized because they are typically thought to be acute, require urgent treatment, be relatively cheap and simple to treat, be reversible, be contagious, and affect vulnerable populations; from the donor perspective, the effect of targeted programs is relatively easy to measure within short time frames. Each of these criteria with the exception of the time required to assess program effect, however, can be argued to apply equally to NCDs and cannot, therefore, ethically or morally justify the …
Bulk and surface diffusion of neodymium in alpha-uranium: Ab initio calculations and kinetic Monte Carlo simulations

Abstract A fundamental understanding of lanthanide transport in metallic fuels is critical for high fidelity modeling of the fuel-cladding chemical interaction (FCCI) phenomenon, which can lead to the formation of brittle intermetallic compounds and premature failure of the cladding. Here we report a combined ab initio density functional theory (DFT) and kinetic Monte Carlo (KMC) study of the bulk diffusivity of Nd in α-U, fully taking into account the effect of radiation enhanced diffusion. The vacancy mechanism is considered to be the dominant mechanism for the bulk diffusion of Nd since a Nd interstitial is found to be intrinsically unstable in α-U. The surface diffusivity of a Nd adatom on α-U (001) surface has been further predicted using KMC simulations parameterized by DFT calculations. The present study suggests that Nd transport via the surface diffusion mechanism can be many orders of magnitude faster than bulk diffusion. Furthermore, the results from the present lower length scale study can be used to inform mesoscale phase-field simulations to determine the effective diffusion coefficient of Nd through α-U with a porous microstructure.
The life and death of Paik Ki-wan, the lyricist of “March for the Beloved” and legendary figure of the struggle for democracy in Korea

Paik Ki-wan, an 89-year-old Korean democracy activist, passed away on 15 February in 2021. He wrote the original poem, from which the lyrics of the song “March for the Beloved” (im-eul wihan haengj...
Altruism and social cheating in the social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum

The social amoeba, Dictyostelium discoideum, is widely used as a simple model organism for multicellular development, but its multicellular fruiting stage is really a society. Most of the time, D. discoideum lives as haploid, free-living, amoeboid cells that divide asexually. When starved, 10(4)-10(5) of these cells aggregate into a slug. The anterior 20% of the slug altruistically differentiates into a non-viable stalk, supporting the remaining cells, most of which become viable spores. If aggregating cells come from multiple clones, there should be selection for clones to exploit other clones by contributing less than their proportional share to the sterile stalk. Here we use microsatellite markers to show that different clones collected from a field population readily mix to form chimaeras. Half of the chimaeric mixtures show a clear cheater and victim. Thus, unlike the clonal and highly cooperative development of most multicellular organisms, the development of D. discoideum is partly competitive, with conflicts of interests among cells. These conflicts complicate the use of D. discoideum as a model for some aspects of development, but they make it highly attractive as a model system for social evolution.
Temporomandibular Joint Dysfunction with Facial Pain in Children

Temporomandibular joint dysfunction with myofascial pain, a well-known clinical disorder in adults, is reported in children. In a series of 400 patients, 40 children less than 16 years of age were seen. Of these pediatric patients, 35% had a reactive depression as primary psychopathology. The multifactorial nature of the disorder is described. The need to differentiate this syndrome from recurrent otitis media and other pain syndromes is emphasized. A combined medical, oral surgical, and psychiatric management program is outlined.
COMPOUND IDENTIFICATION BY GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY. A COMPARISON TO THE PAPER CHROMATOGRAPHY METHOD OF SCHAUER AND BULIRSCH.

Abstract It is shown that the method of “structural analysis” developed for paper chromatography by Schauer and Bulirsch give analogous results using gas chromatography when the equations are corrected for gas chromatography parameters and the proper liquid phases are used for partitioning agents. Aliphatic amines were used to show the analogy.
Micromagnetic investigations of mesoscopic magnetic rings via magnetic force and magnetoresistive microscopy

We have examined the magnetic and structural behavior of micron-size cobalt rings using magnetic force microscopy (MFM), scanning magnetoresistance microscopy (SMRM) with an external applied field, and micromagnetic simulations. In addition, we have studied physical changes in the films occurring during thermal annealing using atomic force microscopy (AFM). Finally, micromagnetic simulations have been utilized to assist in understanding of the experimental results. We will compare results obtained from each magnetic imaging method and discuss their relative strengths and weaknesses. We believe that the combination of several characterization techniques aids the overall understanding of the micromagnetic behavior.
Subcritical Water Chromatography — An Economical and Green Separation Technique

Subcritical water chromatography (SBWC) refers to a new reversed-phase liquid chromatography (RPLC) technique where high-temperature water is used as the sole mobile phase component. The major advantage of SBWC is the elimination of toxic mobile phase organic solvents required in traditional RPLC. These organic solvents are not only expensive in terms of purchasing price but also costly in their waste disposal. Therefore, the SBWC technique offers both economical and environmental benefits. Additional advantages of SBWC are fast analysis time; temperature-dependent efficiency, selectivity, and resolution; temperature-programmed elution; and ability to accommodate both gas- and liquid-phase detectors. Most importantly, after years of academic studies, industry started paying attention to this economical and green separation technique. For example, Procter & Gamble has recently funded an SBWC project in developing green SBWC methods for the analysis of skincare products.
A Apologia de Platão como oratória forense

This article recasts Plato’s Apology of Socrates as a piece of forensic oratory. By examining the rhetorical topoi utilized by Plato, I intend to demonstrate how Plato pushes the boundaries of the genre of forensic oratory toward the creation of a new discursive practice: philosophy. The article first examines the concept of “genre” in connection with forensic oratory. Drawing upon the work of Mikhail Bakhtin, Tzvetan Todorov, and Andrea Nightingale, the article establishes a consonance between these scholars’ conceptions of genre and what other scholars have defined as the “genre” of forensic oratory. The article then takes up the question of why Plato’s Apology traditionally has been excluded from this genre. I argue that certain views concerning the presumed historicity of speeches awarded the label of “forensic oratory” need to be reexamined, as there is no clear evidence that the Athenians required historical accuracy of the speeches we now classify as forensic oratory. By removing the requirement of historicity, we gain a more accurate picture of what constitutes forensic oratory and why Plato’s Apology deserves membership in this genre. The article then examines in detail various rhetorical topoi in the Apology. I argue that by manipulating and reworking such topoi, Plato expands and redefines the genre of forensic oratory to include the new discursive practice of philosophy. The article reveals how Plato’s redefinition of the boundaries of forensic oratory transformed a criminal defendant’s speech in a court of law into the sine qua non of the philosopher and the philosophic life.
Postoperative cerebellar mutism syndrome following treatment of medulloblastoma: neuroradiographic features and origin.

Object The origin and long-term outcome of cerebellar mutism syndrome (CMS), a postoperative syndrome of diminished speech, hypotonia, and ataxia that affects approximately 25% of patients with medulloblastoma, is poorly elucidated. The current study was undertaken to determine factors associated with development of CMS, a means to determine its severity or cause, and outcomes of patients with this syndrome. Methods The study included 28 children with medulloblastoma who either underwent an operation or were referred to the authors' institution soon after surgery. Eleven (39%) of these children had CMS. The preoperative, immediate postoperative, and 1-year postoperative MR images were reviewed by a neuroradiologist blinded to diagnosis of CMS. The severity of mutism and neurological and neurocognitive outcomes were examined. Results Preoperative MR images showed no differences in tumor size, hydrocephalus, or peritumoral edema in patients with and without CMS. An association with brainstem invasion was si...
Synthesis of Abstraction Hierarchies for Constraint Satisfaction by Clustering Approximately Equivalent Objects

Ion techniques are important for solving constraint satisfaction problems with global constraints and low solution density. In the presence of global constraints, backtracking search is unable to prune partial solutions. It therefore operates like pure generate-and-test. Abstraction improves on generate-and-test by enabling entire subsets of the solution space to be pruned early in a backtracking search process. Unfortunately, a suitable abstraction space may not be included in the problem description provided to a problem solving system. The benefits of abstraction will not be available unless the system can automatically construct an abstraction space. This paper describes how abstraction spaces can be generated by clustering the objects appearing in a problem into classes that contain approximately equivalent objects. It presents a program synthesis algorithm for automatically building abstraction spaces and hierarchic problem solvers that exploit approximate equivalence of objects. The fully implemented synthesis algorithm operates by analyzing declarative descriptions of classes of constraint satisfaction problems. The paper presents data from experimental tests of the synthesis algorithm and the resulting problem solvers on the NP-hard Partition and Minimum Flow Cut problems.
TB comes to a sticky beginning

Although the tuberculosis bacterium is most renowned for its ability to cause pulmonary infection, the bacilli colonize many sites in the body in addition to the lungs. The recent identification of a key player in the dissemination of infection sheds light on the route by which tuberculosis spreads from the lungs and opens the way to assessing the significance of dissemination to the course of disease.
On the Response of the Atlantic Ocean to Climatic Changes in High Latitudes: Sensitivity Studies with a Sigma Coordinate Ocean Model

The oceanic adjustment processes during the transition from present climate conditions to atmospheric forcing conditions that are significantly different than present climate have been simulated with a sigma coordinate Atlantic Ocean model. An idealized global warming scenario has been simulated by imposing surface flux anomalies, representing warming and freshening in the high latitudes of the North Atlantic. The results show a relatively short oceanic adjustment process that takes place within a period of a few decades in which the thermohaline overturning circulation (THC) is adapted to a new state with a transport smaller by 4-5 Sv than that obtained with a control run without the surface anomalies. While the total change in the intensity of the THC in this ocean model is consistent with that obtained by coarse resolution coupled ocean-atmosphere climate models, this study shows a shorter adjustment time scale and more pronounced spatial changes than climate models do. Interesting results include a weakening and cooling of the Gulf Stream, reversal of the Labrador Sea circulation and considerable weakening in the deep western boundary current and in downslope near-bottom flows in high latitudes. Sensitivity experiments explore how the parameterization of horizontal diffusion in this sigma coordinate ocean model affects long-term climate simulations. These experiments show that horizontal diffusion in the model affects the transition process and local gyres, but the climate change in the THC and in the meridional heat flux are quite robust and insensitive to the way horizontal diffusion is parameterized in the model.
Seasons of Migration to the West: Hybridity and Identity Conflicts in Achebe's No Longer at Ease and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Half of a Yellow Sun

Post-colonial African novels explore characters who acquire European cultures in addition to the traditional cultures of their fore-fathers. The protagonists of these novels migrate to the west in search of an education that may equip them with the tools to meet the demands and requirements of new independent nation. When these protagonists come home, they become faced with a dual society that is grappling with the demands of the new cultures and way life while at the same time, struggling to maintain their cultural way of life. In acquiring a foreign education from the west, the protagonists become conflicted as they readapt to their new African environment. The protagonists, the populace and the landscape of Africas interrupted economic, political and social development, suffer identity conflicts as a result of their hybridity. This paper will use Chinua Achebes No Longer at Ease and Chimamanda Adichies Half of a Yellow Sun to highlight this hybridity and Identity Conflicts. Achebes novel is set during the period immediately after independence while Adichies in set in contemporary time.
Pain management and potentially life-shortening analgesia in the terminally ill child: The ethical implications for pediatric nurses

Optimal pain control in the dying child often requires aggressive opioid therapy that exceeds recommended parameters and may hasten death caused by respiratory depression. For pediatric nurses caring for the dying child, the administration of potentially life-shortening analgesia gives rise to a number of ethical issues. Pediatric nurses often express concern that aggressive pain control is a form of euthanasia or fear the child will develop a drug dependence. Lack of clarity about the ethical obligations and professional responsibilities of nurses who administer potentially life-shortening analgesia may also contribute to the dilemmas surrounding such situations. If left unresolved, these issues can interfere with the nurse's ability to implement an appropriate pain regimen. To provide adequate pain control, pediatric nurses who care for dying children must accomplish the following: critically examine ethical issues and underlying principles; understand the phenomena of addiction, tolerance, and physical dependence; and identify the boundaries of acceptable nursing practice when administering potentially life-shortening analgesia to terminally ill children.
Modified enthalpy method applied to rapid melting and solidification

Abstract The rapid melting and solidification of a target material was studied. The enthalpy technique was used in an explicit finite difference form to calculate the location of the solid-liquid interface and the temperature distribution in the target. The technique was modified so that it is not necessary that the temperature of the mesh containing the interface remain constant at the melting point. Instead, by using the energy boundary condition at the interface a new value of the temperature of the grid point is calculated at every time step. The materials between two grid points that are on each side of the interface consist of two phases with considerably different thermal conductivities. The thermal resistances of the material between these grid points were calculated by treating the region as a composite material. The effects of the duration, the temporal shape and the intensity of the laser pulse on the rate of propagation of the phase change and on the temperature distribution were studied. The results of the numerical prediction for the melt depth created in an aluminum target with a 100 ms electron beam were compared with experimental data and good agreement was obtained.
Resisting Limits on Discretion: Implementation Issues of Juvenile Dispositional Guidelines:

In 1993, the New Hampshire Division for Children, Youth and Families introduced an objective guidelines instrument to help determine eligibility for placement at the state's juvenile training school. The instrument was intended to improve the consistency of dispositions and narrow training school placements to serious and/or chronic offenders by focusing recommendations on youths' offense characteristics and placing limits on the discretion of probation officers and judges. An evaluation of the implementation and impact of the guidelines analyzed one year's use of the instrument and surveyed probation officers' and judges' atti tudes towards and experiences with the guidelines. The results show that the guidelines did not have their intended impact because they were not truly implemented. The officials and staff charged with using them resist ed the limits the guidelines attempted to place on discretion. A consider ation of why the implementation failed sheds light on the process of implementing policy in...
A Hydrogel-Based Droplet Interface Lipid Bilayer Network

In this work, we present a process for the fabrication of meso-scale hydrogel-based lipid bilayer arrays. The hydrogels support lipid monolayers at an oil-water interface, and when brought together, form stable bilayers. The substrates are formed using 3D printed molds and include built-in, customizable circuits patterned with silver paint. The system can be adapted to varying network sizes and circuit designs, and new arrays are fabricated quickly and inexpensively using common laboratory techniques. An enclosed 3×3 array with 3 mm spacing between neighboring hydrogels and electrodes to individually examine each bilayer has been created using this method. An alternative test setup was also developed to better observe the formation of bilayers in a small array. Using this setup, two bilayers were formed simultaneously, demonstrating the feasibility of this type of system and providing valuable information for expanding and improving the enclosed network. Many of the design concepts presented here can be adapted for use at smaller scales using microfabrication techniques.Copyright © 2014 by ASME
Applications of circuit transfer technology to displays and optoelectronic devices

This paper reviews the use of circuit transfer processes for optoelectronic applications. In this process, a circuit comprising either Si or GaAs devices is removed from its original substrate and is transferred to a second substrate. For active matrix displays, CMOS circuits are transferred in this way to glass substrates, and active matrix liquid crystal displays with pixel format of 1280 by 1024 (with 1000 lines per inch) have been successfully formed. Photovoltaic circuits have also been transferred to glass and to other photovoltaic devices to further the formation of multi-bandgap tandem structures. LED arrays have been formed successfully by this technique as well. This work shows the potential for combining CMOS and III-V circuits to form integrated optical input and output devices, as well as optical power delivery to silicon circuits. We review progress in these areas and suggest new applications of the technology.© (1996) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Effects of concanavalin A, phytohemagglutinin, pokeweed mitogen, and lipopolysaccharide on the replication and immunoglobulin synthesis by canine peripheral blood lymphocytes in vitro

Canine peripheral blood lymphocytes (cPBLs) were used to investigate the mitogenic effects of Con A (concanavalin A), LPS (lipopolysaccharide), PHA (phytohemagglutinin), and PWM (pokeweed mitogen) in vitro by measuring tritium-labeled thymidine [( 3H]thymidine) incorporation and immunoglobulin (Ig) secretion. An ELISA specific for canine IgG and IgM showed that cPBLs secreted significantly more IgG than IgM in response to mitogen concentrations from 30,000 to 0.03 ng/10(5) cells. The optimal stimulating dose of mitogen for lymphocyte response measured by IgG secretion was over a much narrower range of concentration than was the [3H]thymidine incorporation measured response. At a concanavalin A dose where there was increased [3H]thymidine incorporation with a decrease in IgG secretion, it appeared that an active suppression of the IgG response was induced.
Genetic deletion of Rnd3/RhoE results in mouse heart calcium leakage through upregulation of protein kinase A signaling.

Rationale: Rnd3, a small Rho GTPase, is involved in the regulation of cell actin cytoskeleton dynamics, cell migration, and proliferation. The biological function of Rnd3 in the heart remains unexplored. Objective: To define the functional role of the Rnd3 gene in the animal heart and investigate the associated molecular mechanism. Methods and Results: By loss-of-function approaches, we discovered that Rnd3 is involved in calcium regulation in cardiomyocytes. Rnd3-null mice died at the embryonic stage with fetal arrhythmias. The deletion of Rnd3 resulted in severe Ca 2+ leakage through destabilized ryanodine receptor type 2 Ca 2+ release channels. We further found that downregulation of Rnd3 attenuated β 2 -adrenergic receptor lysosomal targeting and ubiquitination, which in turn resulted in the elevation of β 2 -adrenergic receptor protein levels leading to the hyperactivation of protein kinase A (PKA) signaling. The PKA activation destabilized ryanodine receptor type 2 channels. This irregular spontaneous Ca 2+ release can be curtailed by PKA inhibitor treatment. Increases in the PKA activity along with elevated cAMP levels were detected in Rnd3-null embryos, in neonatal rat cardiomyocytes, and noncardiac cell lines with Rnd3 knockdown, suggesting a general mechanism for Rnd3-mediated PKA signaling activation. β 2 -Adrenergic receptor blocker treatment reduced arrhythmia and improved cardiac function. Conclusions: Rnd3 is a novel factor involved in intracellular Ca 2+ homeostasis regulation in the heart. Deficiency of the protein induces ryanodine receptor type 2 dysfunction by a mechanism that attenuates Rnd3-mediated β 2 -adrenergic receptor ubiquitination, which leads to the activation of PKA signaling. Increased PKA signaling in turn promotes ryanodine receptor type 2 hyperphosphorylation, which contributes to arrhythmogenesis and heart failure.
Ordinal Efficiency and the Polyhedral Separating Hyperplane Theorem

We study problems in which each of finitely many agents must be allocated a single object, based on the agents' rankings of pure outcomes. A random allocation is ordinally efficient if it is not ordinally dominated in the sense of there being another random assignment that gives each agent a first order stochastically dominant distribution of objects. We show that any ordinally efficient random assignment maximizes the sum of expected utilities for some vector of vNM utility functions that are consistent with the given ordinal preferences. One method of proof uses a new version of the separating hyperplane theorem for polyhedra. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science (USA).
A clinical biomarker assay for the quantification of d3-creatinine and creatinine using LC-MS/MS.

Background: Current methods to measure skeletal muscle mass are not practical in a clinical setting. Liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) methods that measure the amount of urinary d3-creatinine enrichment after a single tracer dose of d3-creatine was developed. Results: The biomarkers d3-creatinine and creatinine were detected in human urine using LC–MS/MS. In this assay a surrogate analyte, d3-creatinine, was used to quantify endogenous creatinine. However, since endogenous concentrations of creatinine were orders of magnitude higher than d3-creatinine, the peak area of a less intense isotope of creatinine was acquired. A response factor is used to correct for using a less intense isotope multiple reaction monitoring transition. Conclusion: Novel LC–MS/MS assays were developed that quantify the biomarkers d3-creatinine, creatinine and d3-creatine in urine. This method allows the estimation of total body creatine pool size and subsequent calculation of muscle mass. This assay was ori...
Communities of Bioeroders on Submarine Outcrops of Pacific Coast: ABSTRACT

Investigation of marine invertebrates that bore, rasp, scrape, or otherwise erode intertidal and subtidal outcrops of sedimentary rocks of the Pacific Coast suggests that they are very significant in attrition of submarine outcrops and in shaping the configuration of the seabed. Localities ranging from the intertidal zone to depths of 160 ft in submarine canyons show that physical and chemical processes eroding the rocks are relatively unimportant compared with intensive "bioerosion." Rock samples collected are studied by X-ray radiography to determine the internal distribution of borers; thin-section petrography and induction furnace analysis are used to learn the exact lithology and carbonate content. All borers and other occupants of each sample are recovered and identified. Important initial excavators are bivalve mollusks and polychaete annelids. Upon death their borings provide protected habitats for other boring taxa, giving rise to a sequence of excavations with time. Over 50% of the volume of some rocks is excavated, containing extensive internal passageways and galleries. Some taxa are confined to certain depth zones or rock types; others are present from the intertidal zones to the deepest localities investigated (160 ft). Rocks most susceptible to attack are generally fine grained End_Page 368------------------------------ and soft, but durable calcareous lithologies are selected by chemical borers requiring a carbonate substrate. Places with relatively stable environmental conditions, such as the upper walls of submarine canyons, exhibit a diverse community of bioeroders. Their activities are responsible for a system of borings penetrating several decimeters into the rocks. End_of_Article - Last_Page 369------------
Diagnostic impact of SPECT image display on assessment of obstructive coronary artery disease.

Background Diagnostic assessment of myocardial perfusion impacts the management of patients with suspected coronary artery disease (CAD). Although various image displays are available for single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) interpretation, the effects of display differences on SPECT interpretation remain undetermined.
Synthesis and Structure of a New Ternary Silver-Rich Sulfide BaAg8S5

A new ternary silver-rich sulfide, BaAg8S5, was synthesized. This solid-state compound crystallizes in the monoclinic, centrosymmetric space groupP21/mwitha=7.6720(2) A,b=17.6660(4) A,c=8.9370(2) A,β=107.890(1)°,Z=4, andV= 1152.70(5) A3. The refinement results areR1=0.0490 and wR2=0.1136 forI>2σ(I) using 2552 reflections and 137 parameters. As in the binaryα-Ag2S andβ-Ag2S solids, the coordination geometry of both Ag and S is complex. However, if only the bonding of Ag to S is concerned, the arrangement is simple. Ag of the first type is connected to two S atoms in both linear and bent fashions. Ag of the second type is coordinated to three S atoms in a pyramidal shape. The structure can be viewed as a three-dimensional network formed by Ag and S atoms with Ba atoms occupying channels parallel to thecaxis. Theoretical analysis using the extended Huckel method indicates that the solid should be a semiconductor.
Corrigendum to “P2Y2 nucleotide receptor activation up-regulates vascular cell adhesion molecular-1 expression and enhances lymphocyte adherence to a human submandibular gland cell line” [Mol. Immunol. 45 (2008) 65–75]

Corrigendum Corrigendum to “P2Y2 nucleotide receptor activation up-regulates vascular cell adhesion molecular-1 expression and enhances lymphocyte adherence to a human submandibular gland cell line” [Mol. Immunol. 45 (2008) 65–75] Olga J. Baker, Jean M. Camden, Danny E. Rome, Cheikh I. Seye, Gary A. Weisman ∗ Department of Biochemistry, University of Missouri-Columbia, 540E Christopher S. Bond Life Sciences Center, 1201 Rollins Road, Columbia, MO 65211-0001, USA
Analysis of the Growth Pattern and the Body Composition of Chickens Implanted with Diethylstilbestrol

Abstract KNOWLEDGE that estrogens increase liver and blood lipid content of chickens (Entenman et al., 1938; Lorenz et al., 1938) led to the discovery that synthetic compounds having estrogenic activity, such as diethylstilbestrol (stilbestrol), improve the carcass quality of cockerels before marketing (Lorenz, 1945b; Thayer et al., 1945). Lorenz (1954) has reviewed the literature concerning the effects of extrogens on domestic fowl and their application in the poultry industry. It has been established that implanting or injecting stilbestrol into immature chickens, both male and female, will increase markedly the total carcass fat content within four to six weeks (Lorenz, 1945b; Andrews and Bohren, 1947; Detwiler et al., 1950; Herbert and Brunson, 1957). Several of these workers chemically analyzed the bird carcasses four weeks post-injection or later. Lorenz (1945b), who measured muscle and abdominal fat each week up to five weeks post-implantation, interpreted his data as indicating a progressive increase in the …
Evidence that thyrotropin-releasing hormone-induced increases in GTPase activity and phosphoinositide metabolism in GH3 cells are mediated by a guanine nucleotide-binding protein other than Gs or Gi.

Summary Thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH), vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) and acetylcholine stimulated high affinity GTPase activity in GH3 cell membrane preparations. The effects of acetylcholine and VIP were blocked by pretreatment of cultured cells with pertussis toxin and cholera toxin respectively. Such pretreatment, which causes covalent modification of the guanine nucleotide-binding proteins (G-proteins) of adenylate cyclase, did not, however, block the effects of TRH on GTPase activity or phosphoinositide breakdown. These data suggest that TRH receptors interact with a G-protein discrete from those associated with regulation of adenylate cyclase activity.
The microstructure of single-crystal titanium diboride

Abstract A Widmanstatten type precipitate in the form of platelets was observed on all planes of TiB 2 single crystals. On the (0001) plane this pattern occurred as triangular or rhomboid configurations with platelets at 60° or 120° to each other. On the {2110} planes these platelets were viewed as parallel acicular lines or bars as substantiated by electron transmission. Electron diffraction of extracted Widmanstatten precipitate showed it to be principally TiB 2 . The effects of annealing on the micro-structure were investigated. Below 2100°C there was little effect. Above 2300°C the Widmanstatten type precipitate became dispersed throughout the matrix with a concomitant hardening effect. A mechanism is proposed whereby from the known Widmanstatten pattern on any given surface its plane orientation can be determined.
The Relation of LD and Gender with Emotional Intelligence in College Students

This study examined the relation of learning disabilities (LD) and gender with emotional intelligence in 128 college students. Fifty-four students with LD (32 men and 22 women) and 74 without LD (34 men and 40 women) attending two colleges and one university participated in the study. Emotional intelligence was assessed using the Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ-i; BarOn,1997), a self-report instrument designed to measure interpersonal and intrapersonal skills, stress management, adaptability, and general mood. A 2-way multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was performed to examine the main effects of LD and gender and the interaction of the two main effects on the five composites of the EQ-i. Students with LD had fewer credits and lower scholastic aptitude test (SAT) scores, high school grade point averages (GPAs), and college GPAs than students without LD; women students were older and had higher college GPAs than men students. Results of the MANOVA indicated significant main effects of both LD and gender; no significant interaction occurred. Post hoc univariate analyses of the five composites revealed significant differences between students with LD and students without LD on stress management and adaptability, significant differences between men and women students on interpersonal skills, and significant differences of the interaction of LD and gender on interpersonal skills.
TSG-6 protein expression in the pancreatic islets of NOD mice

The histologic hallmark of the development of type 1 diabetes (T1D) is insulitis, characterized by leukocytic infiltration of the pancreatic islets. The molecules controlling the early influx of leukocytes into the islets are poorly understood. Tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα)-stimulated gene 6 (TSG-6) is involved in inflammation, extracellular matrix formation, cell migration, and development. In the present study, we examined the expression and cellular localization of TSG-6 protein in islets of female non-obese diabetic (NOD) mice using frozen section immunofluorescence staining. Pancreata from nondiabetic (8 and 25 weeks old), prediabetic (230–280 mg/dl blood glucose) and diabetic (>300 mg/dl blood glucose) NOD mice were stained for TSG-6, insulin, CD3, CD11c, Mac3 and CD31. TSG-6 protein was detected in 67% of islets of prediabetic mice, 27% of islets of 25-week old nondiabetic mice, and less than 7% of islets of diabetic mice and 8-week old nondiabetic mice. Lastly, islet-derived TSG-6 protein was localized to the infiltrating CD3 and CD11c positive leukocytes.
The Antenatal and Perinatal Characteristics of Socio‐Economically Depressed Caucasians

Summary: Many studies have shown that Aborigines have an above average obstetric risk, but the results are not clear as to whether this is a racial characteristic or attributable to social circumstances. The co-existence of sufficient numbers of unemployed and unskilled Caucasians and Aborigines living in similar social circumstances in a Western Queensland town enabled a valid evaluation of this problem. It was found that the incidence of obstetrical problems and resulting morbidity amongst Caucasians of low socio-economic standing and Aborigines were almost identical. As low socio-economic status seems to be more closely linked with antenatal, obstetrical and neonatal risk than race, it seems prudent to expand the present health projects catering for Aborigines to encompass all underprivileged people.
A Spectral Analysis of Single Motor Unit Potentials from Human Extraocular Muscle

A spectral analysis of single motor unit potentials from the human medial rectus extraocular muscle is described. The analysis was performed by first averaging individual single motor unit potentials and then subjecting the average to Fourier analysis using a digital computer. The portion of the spectrum between 300 Hz and 2.8 kHz has definite bandpass characteristics with -3-dB points for the low-and high-frequency sides equal to 470 Hz and 1.4 kHz, respectively. The spectrum provides some insight into the characteristics of a filter that would provide an indication of the occurrence of single unit potentials in an interference electromyogram.
Hydroxylated PCBs and other chlorinated phenolic compounds in lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) blood plasma from the Great Lakes region.

Recently, there has been an increase in studies focusing on an emerging class of organic contaminants, hydroxylated PCBs (OH-PCBs) and chlorinated phenolic compounds (CPCs) in the environment, particularly in northern regions of Europe and Canada. Since information for fish from the Great Lakes are scarce, we determined the blood plasma concentrations of OH-PCB congeners, pentachlorophenol (PCP), 2,3,4,5-tetrachlorophenol (TCP), and 4-hydroxyheptachlorostyrene (4-OH-HpCS) for lake trout (Savelinus namaycush) collected from two of the Great Lakes, Lake Ontario and Lake Superior, and two regional lakes, Lake Champlain and Lake Opeongo. PCP was the dominant CPC in lake trout (105−658 pg/g of plasma). Detectable concentrations of 2,3,4,5-TCP and 4-OH-HpCS were found in all lake trout (2.6−101 and 0.4−27 pg/g, respectively). Highest concentrations were found in trout from Lake Ontario and Lake Superior. Sixteen OH-PCBs were quantified, with 4-OH-CB187 having the highest concentration in all samples (10−173 pg/...
Effects of Temperature on Egg Hatch, Larval Growth and Metamorphosis for Hatchery-Cultured Southern Flounder, Paralichthys lethostigma

ABSTRACT Egg hatch, larval growth, and metamorphosis of southern flounder, Paralichthys lethostigma, were examined at 13, 17, 21, and 25°C in laboratory experiments. The experiments were separated into four developmental phases: (1) from fertilization until hatch; (2) from hatch until mouth opening; (3) from first feeding until the onset of metamorphosis; (4) from the onset until the completion of metamorphosis. Time to egg hatch were 109, 58, 39, 30 hours at 13, 17, 21, and 25°C, respectively. Size at hatch varied little among temperatures, while percent hatch was significantly higher at 17°C (P 0.05). However, those larvae raised at higher temperatures reached mouth opening earlier, as it took on average 7.4, 3.9, 2.8, and 2.2 days from hatch at 13, 17, 21, and 25°C, respectively. During phase three, the growth rate was optimal at 17°C, as growth rates were 0.046, 0.110, 0.106 and 0.096 mm/day at 13, 17...
Standardizing family education in a pediatric respiratory care unit.

Skills checklists were created to standardize teaching and determine proficiency. THE PEDIATRIC RESPIRATORY care unit (PRCU) is a 6-bed unit for infants and children with a tracheostomy tube whomay ormay not also be ventilator dependent. The primary goal of the PRCU is to support these patients and their caregivers through education by utilizing evidence based multi-disciplinary care. In planning for these patients' discharge to home themost critical piece is caregiver education and skills training for tracheostomy and ventilator care. Discharge requirements for home include two caregivers who have completed our training program in tracheostomy and ventilator care, so they can safely manage the child during times when there is no nursing support in the home. The program has been in place for more than 20 years however we found that over time, caregiver education and skills training became unstructured among the nursing staff resulting in prolonged training time, length of stays, and varying levels of competency of caregivers.
The "heart" of categorical speech discrimination in young infants.

Categorical discrimination of place of articulation in the stimuli [dae] and [gae] was investigated in three- to four-month-old infants using a 20/20 cardiac orienting response paradigm. In this pr...
CONTRACTING AS A METHOD OF ENHANCING EQUITy IN THE DELIVERy OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT SERVICES1

Virtually all of the literature on contracting government services to private providers argues that increased efficiency and cost-savings will result. What little attention is given to the relation...
A cultural sociology of the arts

After a long period of relative exclusion from serious consideration by social sciences, the study of culture and the arts has become a lively sociological arena in the United States, as it had already been in much of Europe. No longer a stepchild of the serious business of sociologists, the arts are, if not central, then at least a legitimate, as opposed to a frivolous subject. This flowering has come about despite a traditional anti-aesthetic orientation in American social science, and, until recently, relative retarded development of much contemporary European social science. Still, the position of the arts in the social science disciplines is likely to remain tenuous, and requires renewed justification as an intellectual enterprise. The reasons for this have to do both with the intellectual outlooks that have become embedded in understandings of the arts, and the social structures of their creation – or ‘production.’ The most promising developments in sociology are fostered by recognition of many more...
On the Bounded-Influence Regression Estimator of Krasker and Welsch

Abstract Recently, Krasker and Welsch (1982) considered a class of bounded-influence regression estimators. They showed that within this class the so-called Krasker—Welsch estimator is the only solution to a first-order necessary condition for strong optimality, that is, for minimizing, in the sense of positive definiteness, the asymptotic covariance matrix. However, whether any strongly optimal estimator in fact exists remained an open question. In this article, an example is given where no strongly optimal estimator exists. Moreover, the practical significance of the lack of a strongly optimal estimator is discussed.
Association Between Higher Predicted Serum Vitamin D Levels and Reduced Incidence of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases

Dear Sir: We read with great interest the paper by Ananthakrishnan et al1 reporting an association between higher preicted serum vitamin D levels and reduced incidence of nflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). The vitamin D horone (1,25(OH)2D3) has modulating effects on the innate nd adaptive immune responses.2 Moreover, vitamin D receptor signaling is also involved in the regulation of intestinal mucosal barrier function.3 As such, vitamin D ay play an important role in disease onset as well as everity of inflammation in IBD. Although previous studes have demonstrated an association between low vitamin status and bone disease in established or newly diagosed patients with Crohn’s disease (CD),4 – 6 this is the first large, prospective study to investigate vitamin D status and incidence of IBD. Despite demonstrating a significant association of predicted vitamin D levels with CD and a nonsignificant association with ulcerative colitis, the authors may have underestimated the association in this study. There are two major factors that could have contributed to an underestimation. First, there was a small sample size of incident cases in this cohort. The patient population was significantly older than average for new diagnoses of IBD, which likely limited the number of incident cases identified in the cohort.7 The authors also excluded over half he patients with self-reported IBD in the cohort from heir analysis. The second factor that may have contribted to underestimating the effect of vitamin D was using uartile averages for the primary comparison rather than omparing vitamin D– deficient patients to those without itamin D deficiency. When examining patients who had redicted levels 20 ng/mL (deficient) compared with 30 ng/mL (sufficient), measurements that are comonly used in clinical practice, the hazard ratios for ncidence of IBD were more robust (0.38 for CD; 0.57 for lcerative colitis). Because there were wide confidence ntervals with this comparison, the authors likely did not ave the sample size to meet statistical significance and tilize this comparison for their primary analysis. We congratulate the authors on this work and believe hat these findings are timely and important. Because this tudy was based on predicted vitamin D values, larger rospective studies with serum vitamin D measurements re needed to confirm these conclusions. JOEL PEKOW YAN CHUN LI STEPHEN B. HANAUER Section of Gastroenterology University of Chicago Chicago, Illinois
High-sensitivity (25-μm pitch) microbolometer FPAs

RIO has achieved a significant technical breakthrough in uncooled FPAs by reducing the pixel size by a factor of two while maintaining state-of-the-art sensitivity. Raytheon has produced high-quality 320 by 240 micro bolometer FPAs with 25 micrometers pitch pixels. The 320 by 240 FPAs have a sensitivity that is comparable to micro bolometer FPAs with 50 micrometers pixels. The average NETD value for these FPAs is about 35 mK with an f/1 aperture and operating at 30 Hz frame rates. Good pixel operability and excellent image quality have been demonstrated. Pixel operability is greater than 99 percent on some FPAs, and uncorrected responsivity nonuniformity is less than 4 percent. The micro bolometer detectors also have a relatively fast thermal time constant of approximately 10 msec. This state-of-the-art performance has been achieved as a result of an advanced micromachining fabrication process. The process allows maximization of both the thermal isolation and the optical fill-factor. The reduction in pixel size offers several potential benefits for IR systems. For a given system resolution requirement, the 225 micrometers pixels allow a factor of two reduction in both the focal length and aperture size of the sensor optics. The pixel size reduction facilitates a significant FPA cost reduction since the number of die printed on a wafer can be increased. The pixel size reduction has enabled the development of a large-format 640 by 512 FPA array applicable to wide-field-of-view, long range surveillance and targeting missions, and a 160 by 128 array where applications for miniaturization and temperature invariance are required as well as low cost and low power.
LOW-FIELD HALL COEFFICIENT OF INDIUM.

This paper reports measurements of the magnetic field and temperature dependence of the Hall coefficient of both single-crystal and polycrystalline indium in the regime characterized by ${\ensuremath{\omega}}_{c}\ensuremath{\tau}l1$. Measurements were performed at temperatures below 4.5\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}K using the helicon-wave technique. The normally positive Hall coefficient was observed to reverse sign at fields below a few hundred gauss with the field H oriented along the [100] and [111] crystal axes. The magnitude of the "crossing field" ${H}_{0}$ as well as the zero-field coefficient $R(0)$ was observed to decrease with increasing temperature. We have analyzed our results in terms of a two-band model of the Hall coefficient and have concluded that the ratio of the electron relaxation time to the hole relaxation time is less than unity and decreases with increasing temperature.