cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Student Data and Analysis

Chapter 4 provides and analyzes qualitative data collected while implementing the Structural Inquiry of Stigmatized Englishes (SISE) approach, including data collected during three different semesters at two different institutions. Also included is an analysis of data collected via a survey sent to former students five months to six years after having taken the course, data that address the long-term impact of the approach. These data illustrate the success of the SISE approach in positively impacting students’ attitudes toward linguistic diversity, revealing, also, that students are willing and able to use what they learn through the SISE approach in future professional and personal encounters to work toward dismantling linguistic inequality.
The role of pH in enhancing the capacity of CuO nanoparticles for antibacterial activity

Abstract Well structured nano-sized Copper oxide has been prepared by simple reflex method for different pH concentrations. The Prepared samples are subjected to various characterization studies such as XRD, SEM, UV–Vis spectroscopy and FTIR spectroscopy inorder to investigate their crystallite structure, morphology, optical properties and functional vibrations. The structural analysis of prepared CuO samples revealed a monoclinic crystalline structure. The morphology of CuO samples reveals spindle shaped with size distribution ranging from 70 nm to 90 nm. The sample prepared at pH 5 seemed to possess the expected qualities to apply for antibacterial activity. The prepared samples consisting of various amounts of CuO nanoparticles are developed to study the antibacterial activity for different strains of bacteria. The results showed that at the optimized pH concentration, CuO samples calcinated at 400 °C exhibited improved antibacterial activity for E. coli bacteria.
JAGN1, tetraspanins and Erv proteins: is common topology indicative of common function in cargo sorting?

The endoplasmic reticulum protein Jagunal (JAGN1) was first identified as a requirement for Drosophila melanogaster oocyte development. Subsequent studies in human patients linked mutations in JAGN...
Nontyphoidal Salmonella as a Cause of Mediastinal Abscess in a Patient With Extensive Cardiac Surgery.

Focal infections caused by nontyphoidal Salmonella (NTS) are relatively rare and usually self-limited. Those with cardiac surgical history are predisposed to intrathoracic seeding, including mediastinal infections and abscesses. We report a case of a 39-year-old Hispanic male with a complex past medical history of Tetralogy of Fallot with an initial presentation of Salmonella gastroenteritis and concern for sepsis. The patient did not clinically improve on ceftriaxone despite appropriate cultures and susceptibilities, and another source of infection was speculated. A chest CT scan showed development of a mediastinal abscess with compression of the right ventricular outflow tract. The patient was not deemed an appropriate surgical candidate and was managed conservatively on ceftriaxone and ciprofloxacin. He was discharged in stable condition. This case of NTS infection associated with a mediastinal abscess is a rare occurrence, and management is complicated. To improve morbidity and mortality, early imaging is essential to diagnose distal seeding of the infection in patients with enteral infections who do not show clinical improvement despite appropriate antibiotic treatment. Surgery is the standard of care, but conservative management might be required in certain high-risk cases.
Elevating the Perspectives of U.S. Territorial Peoples: Why the Insular Cases Should Be Taught in Law School

For over a century, residents of the United States’ “unincorporated” territories have grappled with their role as “spectators” to sweeping federal congressional power over their lands and lives. From voting to citizenship, public benefits to rights to trial by jury, territorial peoples’ experiences diverge sharply from the lives of those living in the states. The doctrine of the Insular Cases — a key part of this colonial history — provides the constitutional justification for this disparity. Pursuant to the Insular Cases, Congress freely chooses which portions of the Constitution apply in the unincorporated territories, limited only by vaguely defined “fundamental” rights. As seen in the recently decided cases impacting Puerto Ricans, American Samoans and Indigenous Chamorus of Guam, the Insular Cases continue to have immense — yet largely unacknowledged — impacts on territorial peoples’ self-determination. Because the Insular Cases are largely not taught in law school and do not appear in most mainstream casebooks, there is a yawning gap in the discourse about the self-determination of and social justice for the peoples of the U.S. territories. Employing Mari Matsuda’s “looking to the bottom” theory, and guided by reparative justice principles, the article urges law teachers to incorporate the Insular Cases into their courses. Teaching the Insular Cases is a way to deepen students’ understanding of self-determination as more than just a concept that derives from UN instruments. It is a concept that speaks to repairing harms that requires more than money or words or return of land. To repair the injustices is to respond to groups’ self-determined ideas about injury and remedy for long-standing harms. Learning about the Insular Cases — their past impacts and present deployment — will thus open law students’ eyes to this significant linkage between the Cases’ doctrine and the self-determination of those colonized.
‘A Shared Future for Mankind’: Rhetoric and Reality in Chinese Foreign Policy under Xi Jinping

The phrase ‘work to build a community with a shared future for mankind’ became the guiding slogan of Chinese foreign policy in 2017. Beneath its smooth surface, the concept contains several layers ...
Important Factors in Successful Participatory Mapping and PGIS Applications in Conflict Management

The inflexibilities in positions that rival parties take in a resource conflict often dictate the success or failure of the conflict intervention process. Generally, such position statements and the desire to prolong or end the dispute are influenced by several factors, including the historical events, cultural, political and legal institutions within the community, the timing of the intervention, and the roles played by external forces and the mediator. One cannot fully understand the causes of a conflict or deal effectively with the dispute without understanding the socio-political and cultural contexts within which the disagreement occurs. This is because the context provides the knowledge that infuses human action with a meaning and also provides the background experiences upon which members of the rival parties evaluate their interests, the intervention strategy, and situations and then decide to either curtail or prolong the resource conflict. This chapter provides an overview of the factors that influence PGIS and participatory mapping applications in conflict management.
Effect of Time of Daily Data Collection on the Calculation of Catheter-associated Urinary Tract Infection Rates.

Introduction According to the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) definitions for Catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI) rates, determination of the number of urinary catheter days must occur by calculating the number of catheters in place "for each day of the month, at the same time of day" but does not define at what time of day this occurs. The purpose of this review was to determine if a data collection time of 11 am would yield a greater collection of urinary catheter days than that done at midnight. Methods During a 20-month period, the number of urinary catheter days was calculated using once-a-day electronic measurements to identify a urinary catheter presence. We used data collected at 11 am and collected at midnight (our historic default) in comparing the calculated urinary catheter days and resultant CAUTI rates. Results There were 7,548 patients who had a urinary tract catheter. The number of urinary catheter days captured using the 11 am collection time was 15,425, and using the midnight collection time was 10,234, resulting in a 50.7% increase. The CAUTI rate per 1,000 urinary catheter days calculated using the 11 am collection method was 0.58, and using the midnight collection method was 0.88, a reduced CAUTI rate of 33.6%. Conclusion The data collection time can significantly impact the calculation of urinary catheter days and on calculated CAUTI rates. Variations in how healthcare systems define their denominator per current National Healthcare Safety Network policy may result in significant differences in reported rates.
Designing for Multilevel Behavior Change: A Father-Focused Nutrition and Physical Activity Program for Mexican-Heritage Families in South Texas Border Communities

Fathers significantly influence family functioning, as coparents and partners, and must be part of family-based approaches to behavioral health interventions or programs. But little is known regarding how to support Latino fathers in health promotion within their family systems, specifically for Latino families living in border communities. Program development was embedded in a larger community-based grant and part of a longstanding academic-community collaboration. An interdisciplinary research team applied theories related to health behavior, family systems, behavior change, and community engagement to develop a father-focused and family-centered behavioral program for Mexican-heritage fathers and children living near the Texas-Mexico border to support changes in nutrition and physical activity at the individual and family levels. Promotoras de salud (trained community health workers) delivered the program through group sessions, check-in calls, and at-home activities. Group session activities were designed to engage family triads and dyads using experiential education related to nutrition and physical activity, like cooking lessons and active play, over a six-week period. Future research can use the program approach and curricula as a roadmap for designing context-specific and culturally-relevant programs for Latino families. Additional research is needed to explore how approaches like this can support families and their health goals.
Cervical Myelopathy: Diagnosis, Contemporary Treatment, and Outcomes.

Abstract Cervical myelopathy is a clinical syndrome caused by compression of the spinal cord between the levels of the C1 and T1 vertebrae. Its clinical presentation can mimic many other degenerative and neurological pathologies, making diagnosis challenging. Diagnosis is confirmed with appropriate imaging studies carefully correlated with history and physical examination. Treatment options are focused on decompression of the spinal canal from an anterior, posterior, or combined anterior and posterior surgical approach depending on the location of compression and patient factors. Outcomes are favorable if treatment is performed prior to severe symptom onset.
Cell cycle adaptations and maintenance of genomic integrity in embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells.

Pluripotent stem cells have the capability to undergo unlimited self-renewal and differentiation into all somatic cell types. They have acquired specific adjustments in the cell cycle structure that allow them to rapidly proliferate, including cell cycle independent expression of cell cycle regulators and lax G1 to S phase transition. However, due to the developmental role of embryonic stem cells (ES) it is essential to maintain genomic integrity and prevent acquisition of mutations that would be transmitted to multiple cell lineages. Several modifications in DNA damage response of ES cells accommodate dynamic cycling and preservation of genetic information. The absence of a G1/S cell cycle arrest promotes apoptotic response of damaged cells before DNA changes can be fixed in the form of mutation during the S phase, while G2/M cell cycle arrest allows repair of damaged DNA following replication. Furthermore, ES cells express higher level of DNA repair proteins, and exhibit enhanced repair of multiple types of DNA damage. Similarly to ES cells, induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells are poised to proliferate and exhibit lack of G1/S cell cycle arrest, extreme sensitivity to DNA damage, and high level of expression of DNA repair genes. The fundamental mechanisms by which the cell cycle regulates genomic integrity in ES cells and iPS cells are similar, though not identical.
IMPROVING DETECTION OF PRECANCEROUS AND CANCEROUS ORAL LESIONS: Computer-Assisted Analysis of the Oral Brush Biopsy

Background A study group composed of researchers from across the United States undertook a study to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of OralCDx (OralScan Laboratories Inc.), a computer-assisted method of analysis of the oral brush biopsy, in the detection of precancerous and cancerous lesions of the oral mucosa.
The Current Body of Knowledge Paradigms Used in Real Estate Education and Issues in Need of Further Research

The ARES Body of Knowledge Committee surveyed its members in order to uncover the current state of the art in the practice of the body of knowledge (BOK) and skills that generated a series of conclusions and recommendations. One important conclusion was that the questions and issues surrounding the BOK are too large for one individual or group to address effectively and that ARES should continue to sponsor the BOK committee, BOK presentations at its annual meeting, publication of articles in the Journal of Real Estate Literature, periodic surveys, and coordination with BOK committees of other allied organizations. The BOK needs continual research and discussion before it can evolve into a final paradigm that is acceptable to all users.
Intuitive Visualization and Querying of Cell Motion

Current approaches to cell motion analysis rely on cell tracking. In certain cases, the trajectories of each cell is not as informative as a representation of the overall motion in the scene. In this paper, we extend a cell motion descriptor and provide methods for the intuitive visualization and querying of cell motion. Our approach allows for searches of scale- and rotation-invariant motion signatures, and we develop a desktop application that researchers can use to query biomedical video quickly and efficiently. We demonstrate this application on synthetic video sets and in vivo microscopy video of cells in a mouse liver.
Hospital Information Systems

This is the first of four chapters that describe clinical information systems (CIS). In Chapter 2 medical systems were organized by the objects they processed: Data. The uninterpreted items Information. Interpreted sets of data Knowledge. The rules, relationships, experience, etc. by which data become information.
Circadian Clock Genes Universally Control Key Agricultural Traits

Circadian clocks are endogenous timers that enable plants to synchronize biological processes with daily and seasonal environmental conditions in order to allocate resources during the most beneficial times of day and year. The circadian clock regulates a number of central plant activities, including growth, development, and reproduction, primarily through controlling a substantial proportion of transcriptional activity and protein function. This review examines the roles that alleles of circadian clock genes have played in domestication and improvement of crop plants. The focus here is on three groups of circadian clock genes essential to clock function in Arabidopsis thaliana: PSEUDO-RESPONSE REGULATORs, GIGANTEA, and the evening complex genes EARLY FLOWERING 3, EARLY FLOWERING 4, and LUX ARRHYTHMO. Homologous genes from each group underlie quantitative trait loci that have beneficial influences on key agricultural traits, especially flowering time but also yield, biomass, and biennial growth habit. Emerging insights into circadian clock regulation of other fundamental plant processes, including responses to abiotic and biotic stresses, are discussed to highlight promising avenues for further crop improvement.
Millimeter-Wave Integrated Circuits

The opportunities offered by monolithic mi 11imeter-wave technology span radar, communications, electronic warfare, and missile seekers. These opportunities relate to size, weight, and cost reduction advantages over standard metal waveguide and hybrid integrated circuit implementations. However, specific technical challenges remain in realizing some important circuit building blocks.
Search for cluster radioactivity of sup 237 Np

The few odd-{ital A} nuclides known to exhibit cluster radioactivity decay at rates hindered with respect to their even-even neighbors. For {sup 237}Np, the most likely clusters are predicted to be {sup 30}Mg and {sup 32}Si. We have completed a rigorous search for cluster emission from {sup 237}Np, with a null result. Our 90% confidence limit on the branching ratio with respect to alpha emission, {ital B} (cluster/{alpha}) {lt}1.8{times}10{sup {minus}14}, is a factor 4.3 lower than the limit obtained by Tretyakova {ital et} {ital al}. The two experiments together place an upper limit of 1.5{times}10{sup {minus}14} on the branching ratio for emission of clusters with 10{le}{ital Z}{le}14 from {sup 237}Np.
Diagnosis at birth improves survival of children with sickle cell anemia.

The increased survival of children who have sickle cell disease is primarily due to state-of-the-art improvements in general pediatric medical care with particular emphasis on the management of the infectious complications that occur. Studies reported from New York City, Los Angeles, New Haven, and Jamaica clearly demonstrate the calendar era change in survival that has occurred during the 1970s and 1980s, and the greatest improvement is found among those children who have sickle cell anemia. The accurate identification of the specific hemoglobinopathy at or near birth provided the foundation for these studies documenting infant and young child mortality. In Africa, Molineaux et al and Fleming et al reported an epidemiologic investigation subsequent to a cord blood diagnosis program initiated in Garke, Nigeria, in 1976. A total of 534 infants were screened for major hemoglobinopathies, and 11 babies with SS and 125 babies with AS were identified. Minimal medical care was available for follow-up of the children. On entry to the school program at 5 years of age, the same population from the same small rural town was restudied. Only one child of 439 was found to have sickle cell anemia but 133 were AS. The inescapable conclusion was that the African babies with SS had died during early childhood, contributing disproportionate numbers to the high infant and childhood mortality in Nigeria. Not until Dr Fleming and the investigators of the British Medical Research Council had performed a cord blood hemoglobinopathy surveillance program was the incidence of sickle cell anemia and its effect on childhood mortality in Nigeria documented.
Interaction effects on two-dimensional fermions with random hopping

We study the effects of generic short-ranged interactions on a system of two-dimensional (2D) Dirac fermions subject to a special kind of static disorder, often referred to as ``chiral.'' The noninteracting system is a member of the disorder class $BD\mathrm{I}$ [M. R. Zirnbauer, J. Math. Phys. 37, 4986 (1996)]. It emerges, for example, as a low-energy description of a time-reversal invariant tight-binding model of spinless fermions on a honeycomb lattice, subject to random hopping, and possessing particle-hole symmetry. It is known that, in the absence of interactions, this disordered system is special in that it does not localize in 2D, but possesses extended states and a finite conductivity at zero energy, as well as a strongly divergent low-energy density of states. In the context of the hopping model, the short-range interactions that we consider are particle-hole symmetric density-density interactions. Using a perturbative one-loop renormalization group analysis, we show that the same mechanism responsible for the divergence of the density of states in the noninteracting system leads to an instability, in which the interactions are driven strongly relevant by the disorder. This result should be contrasted with the limit of clean Dirac fermions in 2D, which is stable against the inclusion of weak short-ranged interactions. Our work suggests a mechanism wherein a clean system, initially insensitive to interaction effects, can be made unstable to interactions upon the inclusion of weak static disorder. We dub this mechanism a ``disorder-driven Mott transition.'' Our result for 2D fermions also contrasts sharply with known results in one dimension, where a similar delocalized phase has been shown to be robust against the inclusion of weak interaction effects.
The effects of concave curvature on turbulent boundary layer structure

This paper reports the results of flow visualization studies on the structure of turbulent boundary layers over concave walls. A flat plate turbulent boundary layer was grown on one wall of a straight, large water channel and then passed over a concave wall. The flow was visualized in two ways, i) by injecting dyes into the sublayers and ii) by generating hydrogen bubbles on fine wires placed in the flow. Mean velocity and turbulence intensity profiles were measured using a hot film anemometer. The boundary layer on the concave wall was found to be dominated by randomly occurring, large-scale sweeps and ejections. The stationary roll-cells, or Taylor-Gortler structures are not a feature of this flow. The sweeps appear to inhibit the usual bursting mechanism for producing turbulence near the wall, while the ejections appear to create additional turbulence in the outer flow.
Preliminary Design of Amorphous Products

This paper addresses the early design and development of amorphous systems. As competitive differentiators, many companies are focusing on amorphous systems comprised of primarily non-physical components, such as software, firmware, and service or business processes. This paper contrasts the development of amorphous systems with that of traditional physical systems. Whereas many tools used in new product development do apply to amorphous systems, the process and the tools need adaptation. The key points are: 1) Modeling of the system using “solution elements” instead of parts, 2) Preliminary concept generation based on use scenarios, and 3) Early consideration of the business model in the context of a complex value chain. The paper presents our proposed 10 step guide to amorphous product development and illustrates it with a “smart refrigerator” example, as well as citing the guide’s deployment in industry.Copyright © 2006 by ASME
Gossip-Based Solutions for Discrete Rendezvous in Populations of Communicating Agents

The objective of the rendezvous problem is to construct a method that enables a population of agents to agree on a spatial (and possibly temporal) meeting location. We introduce the buffered gossip algorithm as a general solution to the rendezvous problem in a discrete domain with direct communication between decentralized agents. We compare the performance of the buffered gossip algorithm against the well known uniform gossip algorithm. We believe that a buffered solution is preferable to an unbuffered solution, such as the uniform gossip algorithm, because the use of a buffer allows an agent to use multiple information sources when determining its desired rendezvous point, and that access to multiple information sources may improve agent decision making by reinforcing or contradicting an initial choice. To show that the buffered gossip algorithm is an actual solution for the rendezvous problem, we construct a theoretical proof of convergence and derive the conditions under which the buffered gossip algorithm is guaranteed to produce a consensus on rendezvous location. We use these results to verify that the uniform gossip algorithm also solves the rendezvous problem. We then use a multi-agent simulation to conduct a series of simulation experiments to compare the performance between the buffered and uniform gossip algorithms. Our results suggest that the buffered gossip algorithm can solve the rendezvous problem faster than the uniform gossip algorithm; however, the relative performance between these two solutions depends on the specific constraints of the problem and the parameters of the buffered gossip algorithm.
Coenzyme Q10 supplementation reverses age-related impairments in spatial learning and lowers protein oxidation

Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ) is widely available as a dietary supplement and remains under consideration as a treatment for age-associated neurodegenerative conditions. However, no studies have determined if supplementation, initiated relatively late in life, could have beneficial effects on mild functional impairments associated with normal brain aging. Accordingly, the current study assessed the effect of CoQ intake in older mice for which cognitive and psychomotor impairments were already evident. Separate groups of young (3.5 months) and relatively old mice (17.5 months) were fed a control diet or a diet supplemented with low (0.72 mg/g) or high (2.81 mg/g) concentrations of CoQ for 15 weeks. After 6 weeks, the mice were given tests for spatial learning (Morris water maze), spontaneous locomotor activity, motor coordination, and startle reflex. Age-related impairments in cognitive and psychomotor functions were evident in the 17.5-month-old mice fed the control diet, and the low-CoQ diet failed to affect any aspect of the impaired performance. However, in the Morris water maze test, old mice on the high-CoQ diet swam to the safe platform with greater efficiency than the mice on the control diet. The old mice supplemented with the high-CoQ diet did not show improvement when spatial performance was measured using probe trials and failed to show improvement in other tests of behavioral performance. Protein oxidative damage was decreased in the mitochondria from the heart, liver, and skeletal muscle of the high-CoQ-supplemented mice and, to some extent, in the brain mitochondria. Contrasting with the deleterious effect of long-term CoQ supplementation initiated during young adulthood previously published, this study suggests that CoQ improves spatial learning and attenuates oxidative damage when administered in relatively high doses and delayed until early senescence, after age-related declines have occurred. Thus, in individuals with age-associated symptoms of cognitive decline, high-CoQ intake may be beneficial.
Flash fusing in electrophotographic machines

A theoretical model of the flash fusing process for electrophotographic machines was developed using the joint solution of a nonlinear circuit equation and the one-dimensional thermal diffusion equation. Numerous experiments were run using different toners according to the size of toner particles and the pulse width in order to determine the minimum energy that was required for fusing. The experiments confirm that this model predicts reasonably well what was observed in the lab. The melt depth required for good fusing is slightly less than mean particle size. At that depth the temperature is somewhat greater than the temperature required in the nip of a hot roll fuser for the same toner. Under typical flash fusing, the top surface of the toner is subjected to considerably higher temperatures than the melt temperature of the toner. From the combined analytical and experimental results, the proper compromises can be made for efficiency and volatiles.
Cellular aggregation towards steady point sources of attractant.

Abstract The aggregation of a layer of chemotactically sensitive cells towards a steady point source of a chemical attractant (acrasin), a phenomenon exhibited, for instance, by the cellular slime mould Dictyostelium minutum, is treated analytically. An acrasin gradient is set up by diffusion from the source, taken to be a continuous one of constant strength. The aggregative movement of the cells in response to the gradient is expressed in terms of chemotactic laws and the random movement taken into account through a diffusion coefficient. Various chemotactic laws are considered [response velocity (1) proportional to the relative acrasin gradient, (2) proportional to the gradient (3) constant or maximal]; the resulting partial differential equations are solved to obtain the time dependence for the number of cells in the aggregate. Each law yields a characteristic time dependence, the dominant term of which is ∼ ta, 0
Optimal online scheduling with arbitrary hard deadlines in multihop communication networks

The problem of online packet scheduling with hard deadlines has been studied extensively in the single-hop setting, whereas it is notoriously difficult in the multihop setting. This difficulty stems from the fact that packet scheduling decisions at each hop influence and are influenced by decisions on other hops, and only a few provably efficient online scheduling algorithms exist in the multihop setting. We consider a multihop wired network (interference-free and full duplex transmissions) in which packets with various deadlines and weights arrive at and are destined to different nodes through given routes. We study the problem of joint admission control and packet scheduling in order to maximize the cumulative weights of the packets that reach their destinations within their deadlines. We first focus on uplink transmissions in the tree topology and show that the well-known Earliest Deadline First algorithm achieves the same performance as the optimal offline algorithm for any feasible arrival pattern. We then address the general topology with multiple source-destination pairs, develop a simple online algorithm, and show that it is O(PM log PM)-competitive, where PM is the maximum route length among all packets. Our algorithm only requires information along the route of each packet, and our result is valid for general arrival samples. Moreover, we show that O(PM log PM)-competitive is the best any online algorithm can do. Via numerical results, we also show that our algorithm achieves performance that is comparable to the noncausal optimal offline algorithm. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first algorithm with a provable (based on a sample-path construction) competitive ratio, subject to hard deadline constraints for general network topologies.
Amniotic Fluid: The Use of High-Dimensional Biology to Understand Fetal Well-Being

Our aim was to review the use of high-dimensional biology techniques, specifically transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics, in amniotic fluid to elucidate the mechanisms behind preterm birth or assessment of fetal development. We performed a comprehensive MEDLINE literature search on the use of transcriptomic, proteomic, and metabolomic technologies for amniotic fluid analysis. All abstracts were reviewed for pertinence to preterm birth or fetal maturation in human subjects. Nineteen articles qualified for inclusion. Most articles described the discovery of biomarker candidates, but few larger, multicenter replication or validation studies have been done. We conclude that the use of high-dimensional systems biology techniques to analyze amniotic fluid has significant potential to elucidate the mechanisms of preterm birth and fetal maturation. However, further multicenter collaborative efforts are needed to replicate and validate candidate biomarkers before they can become useful tools for clinical practice. Ideally, amniotic fluid biomarkers should be translated to a noninvasive test performed in maternal serum or urine.
Nitric oxide in the potassium-induced response of the rat middle cerebral artery: a possible permissive role

In the middle cerebral artery (MCA), the presence of nitric oxide (NO) is responsible for maintaining a more dilated state than in its absence during increases in extracellular K(+) and osmolality. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether the involvement of NO was due to (a) a direct effect of the K(+)/osmolality (K(hyper)) on the endothelium or (b) a 'permissive' role of NO. MCAs (approximately 210 microm o.d.) were isolated, cannulated with glass micropipettes, and pressurized to 85 mmHg. When K(+) (KCl) in the extraluminal bath was increased to 21 mM, the diameter increased by 15-20% with the magnitude of dilation diminishing with further increases in K(hyper). The addition of N(G)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME, 10(-5) mM), an inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase, had no significant effect on dilations at lower K(hyper) concentrations but constricted the arteries relative to the control at 51, 66, and 81 mM K(hyper). In the presence of L-NAME, the addition of an exogenous NO donor, S-nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine (SNAP, 10(-8) M) or an analog of cGMP, 8-bromo-cGMP (6x10(-5) M), tended to restore the response of K(hyper)to near the original response. We conclude that the basal release of NO from the endothelium plays a permissive role in the K(hyper)-induced response.
Signifying the tragic mulatto: A semiotic analysis of Alex Haley's queen

Employing a semiotic framework, this article explores the signification process of the lead character in Alex Haley's Queen. This popular miniseries is significant because a bi‐ethnic person is the...
Overview Of Infrared Measurement Programs

Infrared measurements of targets and backgrounds are made from five different platforms--ground, aircraft, balloons, rocket probes, and satellite. The advantages and disadvantages of each platform are discussed, and the measurement goals that would motivate the selection of one over another are assessed.
VAN DER WAALS INTERACTION BETWEEN ADSORBATE LAYERS/MOLECULES AND A SUBSTRATE

We present a theoretical formulation of van der Waals (VdW)1-19 molecule-substrate attraction in which the second order vdW energy is explicitly exhibited as a correlation/self-energy of the molecular/atomic electrons generated by a dynamic nonlocal image potential due to polarization of the electrons of the bounded metal/semiconductor substrate in the electrostatic limit.20-23 This formulation can also be applied to the vdW interaction between an adsorbate layer and the substrate, as well as the interaction between layers. We have already applied it in the case of atom-surface vdW attraction in the presence of a normal magnetic field which induces both classical and Landau quantization magnetic effects,24 incorporating the role of dynamic and nonlocal plasma effects. The extension to multiple adsorbate layers and their mutual interactions as well as their attraction to the substrate is straightforward.25 The dependence of the atom/molecule-surface vdW energy on magnetic field strength provides an adjustable parametrization of the underlying zero-point photon energy (represented in terms of the nonretarded longitudinal plasmon-photons of the Coulomb interaction), opening the possibility of analyzing the concomitant fundamental quantum phenomenology in detail with material parameters that can be examined experimentally.
Alcohol retards visual recovery from glare by hampering target acquisition

ADAMS and Brown1 showed that relatively small doses of alcohol produced “large, significant, dose-related increases in the time required to recover foveal contrast sensitivity following bright light exposure”. As this effect of alcohol may be directly related to industrial and to car driving safety2, we set out to ascertain its precise origin. Adams and Brown concluded tentatively that the alcohol exerted its effect at the retinal level. The experiments presented here, however, implicate non-retinal mechanisms, as alcohol delays recovery from glare only when observers have difficulty localising or fixating the test stimulus.
Fluid transport and mechanical properties of articular cartilage: A review

This review is aimed at unifying our understanding of cartilage viscoelastic properties in compression, in particular the role of compression-dependent permeability in controlling interstitial fluid flow and its contribution to the observed viscoelastic effects. During the previous decade, it was shown that compression causes the permeability of cartilage to drop in a functional manner described by k = ko exp (epsilon M) where ko and M were defined as intrinsic permeability parameters and epsilon is the dilatation of the solid matrix (epsilon = tr delta u). Since permeability is inversely related to the diffusive drag coefficient of relative fluid motion with respect to the porous solid matrix, the measured load-deformation response of the tissue must therefore also depend on the non-linearly permeable nature of the tissue. We have summarized in this review our understanding of this non-linear phenomenon. This understanding of these flow-dependent viscoelastic effects are put into the historical perspective of a comprehensive literature review of earlier attempts to model the compressive viscoelastic properties of articular cartilage.
Occurrence of omphalocele in relation to maternal multivitamin use: a population-based study.

Objective. We evaluated the association between mothers' use of multivitamin supplements and their infants' risk for omphalocele, a congenital anomaly of the abdominal wall. Omphalocele can occur in certain multiple congenital anomaly patterns with neural tube defects, for which a protective effect of multivitamins with folic acid has been demonstrated. Methods. We used data from a population-based case-control study of infants born from 1968-1980 to mothers residing in metropolitan Atlanta. Case-infants with nonsyndromic omphalocele (n = 72) were actively ascertained from multiple sources. Control-infants (n = 3029), without birth defects, were selected from birth certificates by stratified random sampling. Results. Compared with no use in the periconceptional period, periconceptional use of multivitamin supplements (regular use from 3 months before pregnancy through the first trimester of pregnancy) was associated with an odds ratio for nonsyndromic omphalocele of 0.4 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.2-1.0). For the subset comprising omphalocele alone or with selected midline defects (neural tube defects, hypospadias, and bladder/ cloacal exstrophy), the odds ratio was 0.3 (95% CI: 0.1-0.9). These estimates were similar when the reference group also included women who began using multivitamins late in pregnancy (during the second or third month of pregnancy). The small number of participants limited the precision of subgroup analyses and translated into wide confidence intervals that included unity. Conclusions. Periconceptional multivitamin use was associated with a 60% reduction in the risk for nonsyndromic omphalocele. These findings await replication from additional studies to confirm the findings, generate more precise estimates, and detail possible mechanisms of actions. Pediatrics 2002;109:904-908; omphalocele, epidemiology, prevention, vitamins, malformation, pregnancy.
Diagnosis and Management of Cognitive Impairment in Parkinson’s Disease

Abstract Originally considered a movement disorder that did not affect cognition, it is now understood that cognitive impairment is widespread among those with Parkinson's disease. Patients present with a variety of cognitive deficits, including executive dysfunction, visuospatial impairment, and memory loss. Neuropsychiatric symptoms are common, particularly psychosis, depression, and anxiety. Rivastigmine and donepezil have both been shown in large, blinded studies to slow the progression of dementia, although rivastigmine is the only medication approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration. Cognitive rehabilitation may be a safe alternative if medications are intolerable. Research is still needed at all levels to gain understanding of this disease process.
Evaluation of FOXP2 as an autism susceptibility gene

A mutation in the gene FOXP2 was recently identified as being responsible for a complicated speech and language phenotype in a single large extended pedigree. This gene is of interest to autism because it lies in one of the most consistently linked autism chromosomal regions of interest. We therefore tested this gene for its involvement in autism in a large sample of autism families. We completely sequenced the exon containing the mutation, screened the remaining coding sequence using SSCP technology, and identified and genotyped two novel intronic tetranucleotide repeat polymorphisms that were then analyzed for evidence of linkage and linkage disequilibrium (LD). We identified two families in which heterozygous deletions of a small number of glutamines in a long poly-glutamine stretch were found in one parent and the autistic probands; no other non-conservative coding sequence changes were identified. Linkage and LD analyses were performed in 75 affected sibling pair families and in two subgroups of this sample defined by the presence/absence of severe language impairment. One allele appeared to have an opposite pattern of transmission in the language based subgroups, but otherwise the linkage and LD analyses were negative. We conclude that FOXP2 is unlikely to contribute significantly to autism susceptibility.
Sequential one-pot cyclizations: concise access to the ABCE tetracyclic framework of strychnos alkaloids.

A sequential one-pot biscyclization route to the ABCE tetracyclic framework of Strychnos alkaloids has been developed. Specifically, the AgOTf-mediated spirocyclization of an appropriately functionalized indole 3-carbinamide afforded a stable spiroindolenine intermediate; subsequent addition of DBU to the reaction mixture effected an unprecedented intramolecular aza-Baylis−Hillman reaction, delivering a tetracyclic product in 70% isolated yield.
A Technique For The Optical Analysis Of Deformed Telescope Mirrors

The NASTRAN-ACCOS V programs' interface merges structural and optical analysis capabilities in order to characterize the performance of the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center's Solar Optical Telescope primary mirror, which has a large diameter/thickness ratio. The first step in the optical analysis is to use NASTRAN's FEM to model the primary mirror, simulating any distortions due to gravitation, thermal gradients, and coefficient of thermal expansion nonuniformities. NASTRAN outputs are then converted into an ACCOS V-acceptable form; ACCOS V generates the deformed optical surface on the basis of these inputs, and imaging qualities can be determined.
Automatic Detection of Potential Threat Objects in X-ray Luggage Scan Images

The detection of threat objects using X-ray luggage scan images has become an important means of aviation security. Most airport screening is still based on the manual detection of potential threat objects by human experts. This paper presents a system for the automatic detection of potential threat objects in X-ray luggage scan images. Segmentation and edge-based feature vectors form the basis of the automatic detection system. The system is illustrated using handguns as the threat objects in question. The experimental results show that the system can effectively detect the handguns in X-ray luggage scan images with minimal amounts of false positives. Also, apart from the initial setup of the classification database, the algorithm is suitable for real-time applications.
Electrical stimulation of the primary somatosensory cortex inhibits spinal dorsal horn neuron activity

Cortical stimulation has been demonstrated to alleviate certain pain conditions. The aim of this study was to determine the responses of the spinal cord dorsal horn neurons to stimulation of the primary somatosensory cortex (SSC). We hypothesized that direct stimulation of the SSC will inhibit the activity of spinal dorsal horn neurons by activating the descending inhibitory system. Thirty-four wide dynamic range spinal dorsal horn neurons were recorded in response to graded mechanical stimulation (brush, pressure, and pinch) at their respective receptive fields while a stepwise electrical stimulation (300 Hz, 0.1 ms, at 10, 20, and 30 V) was applied in the SSC through a bipolar tungsten electrode. The responses to brush at control, 10 V, 20 V, 30 V, and recovery were 16.0 +/- 2.3, 15.8 +/- 2.2, 14.6 +/- 1.8, 14.8 +/- 2.0, and 17.0 +/- 2.2 spikes/s, respectively. The responses to pressure at control, 10 V, 20 V, 30 V, and recovery were 44.7 +/- 5.5, 37.0 +/- 5.6, 29.5 +/- 4.8, 31.6 +/- 5.2, and 43.2 +/- 5.7 spikes/s, respectively. The responses to pinch at control, 10 V, 20 V, 30 V, and recovery were 58.1 +/- 7.0, 42.9 +/- 5.5, 34.8 +/- 3.9, 34.6 +/- 4.4, and 52.6 +/- 6.0 spikes/s, respectively. Significant decreases of the dorsal horn neuronal responses to pressure and pinch were observed during SSC stimulation. It is concluded that electrical stimulation of the SSC produces transient inhibition of the responses of spinal cord dorsal horn neurons to higher intensity mechanical stimuli without affecting innocuous stimuli.
Dissemination and use of research findings in nursing practice.

Abstract This study built on two previous studies ( Brett, 1987 ; Coyle & Sokop, 1990 ) that found no significant relationships between use of nursing research and nursing education level. These two studies had fewer than 5 per cent of their subjects with master's degrees in nursing. The new population studied had 49 per cent master's prepared nurses, which provided the necessary foundation to expand the examination of the relationship of higher education and use of research findings among nurses. Whereas the overall extent of dissemination and use of research findings among nurses in the sample was similar to that of the two previous studies, it was found that nurses with a master's degree reported higher utilization than those with a bachelor's degree. This finding suggests a unique and critical role for the master's-prepared nurse in the dissemination and use of research findings in the practice setting. (Index words: Dissemination; Findings; Nursing; Research; Utilization)
Controlled syntheses of natural and disulfide‐mispaired regioisomers of α‐conotoxin SI*

Methods are reported for the unambiguous syntheses of all three possible disulfide regioisomers with the sequence of alpha-conotoxin SI, a tridecapeptide amide from marine cone snail venom that binds selectively to the muscle subtype of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. The naturally occurring peptide has two 'interlocking' disulfide bridges connecting Cys2-Cys7 and Cys3-Cys13 (2/7&3/13), while in the two mispaired isomers the disulfide bridges connect Cys2-Cys13 and Cys3-Cys7 (2/13 & 3/7, 'nested') and Cys2-Cys3 and Cys7-Cys13 (2/3 & 7/13, 'discrete'), respectively. Alignment of disulfide bridges was controlled at the level of orthogonal protection schemes for the linear precursors, assembled by Fmoc solid-phase peptide synthesis on acidolyzable tris(alkoxy)benzylamide (PAL) supports. Side-chain protection of cysteine was provided by suitable pairwise combination of the S-9H-xanthen-9-yl (Xan) and S-acetamidomethyl (Acm) protecting groups. The first disulfide bridge was formed from the corresponding bis(thiol) precursor obtained by selective deprotection of S-Xan, and the second disulfide bridge was formed by orthogonal co-oxidation of S-Acm groups on the remaining two Cys residues. It was possible to achieve the desired alignments with either order of loop formation (smaller loop before larger, or vice versa). The highest overall yields were obtained when both disulfides were formed in solution, while experiments where either the first or both bridges were formed while the peptide was on the solid support revealed lower overall yields and poorer selectivities towards the desired isomers.