cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Nicotine metabolism predicted by CYP2A6 genotypes in relation to smoking cessation: A systematic review.

INTRODUCTION Identifying genetic factors associated with smoking cessation could inform precision cessation interventions. Of major interest is genetic variation in nicotine metabolism, largely predicted by CYP2A6 variations. METHODS We conducted a systematic literature review to summarize the population-based evidence of the association between CYP2A6 and smoking cessation.In the 12 studies meeting the inclusion criteria, the known functional metabolic effect of CYP2A6 variants was used to classify nicotine metabolism as normal (>75% metabolic activity), intermediate (50.1 - 75% activity), slow (25 - 50% activity), and poor (<25% activity). Summary odds ratios of smoking cessation were calculated across metabolic groups, stratified by ancestry and whether participants received pharmacotherapy or placebo/no treatment. RESULTS Among untreated people of European ancestry (n = 4 studies), those with CYP2A6 reduced metabolism were more likely to quit smoking than those with normal metabolism [Summary OR = 2.05, 95% CI 1.23 - 3.42] and the likelihood of cessation increased as nicotine metabolism decreased. Nicotine replacement therapy attenuated the association at end-of-treatment, while bupropion modified the association such that intermediate/slow metabolizers were less likely to quit than normal metabolizers [Summary OR = 0.86, 95% CI 0.79 - 0.94]. Among untreated Asian people (n = 3 studies), results differed compared to those with European ancestry: those with slow metabolism were less likely to have quit smoking than normal metabolizers [Summary OR = 0.52, 95% CI 0.38 - 0.71]. Evidence for people of African ancestry (n = 1 study) suggested the CYP2A6 association with cessation may differ compared to those of European ancestry. IMPLICATIONS Most studies included in this review were of European ancestry populations; these showed slower nicotine metabolism was associated with increased likelihood of smoking cessation in a dose-related manner. Pharmacotherapy appeared to attenuate or modify this association among people of European ancestry, but it is unclear whether the change in the association remains consistent after treatment ceases. This finding has implications for precision medicine cessation interventions. Based on only a few studies of people of Asian or African ancestry, the association between CYP2A6 variants and cessation may differ from that observed among those of European ancestry, but more evidence is needed.
Autophagy as an integral immune system component

Abstract Autophagy, an essential cellular homeostasis pathway, has been identified as a key component of human health and disease, contributing to and facilitating innate and adaptive immunity, inflammatory responses, and direct degradation of intracellular pathogens. As such, autophagy plays a key role in various infectious and autoimmune diseases. Not surprisingly, many pathogens have evolved mechanisms to evade and disrupt autophagy and subvert immune surveillance and promote their own replication. Therefore, autophagy can have both pro- and antiimmunity functions. This diversity of autophagy functions in immunity requires substantial additional research and shows significant promise in developing therapeutics centered on the modulation of autophagy to ensure appropriate immune responses to challenges in human health.
Patterns of spontaneous local network activity in developing cerebral cortex: Relationship to adult cognitive function

Detecting neurodevelopμental disorders of cognition at the earliest possible stages could assist in understanding them mechanistically and ultimately in treating them. Finding early physiological predictors that could be visualized with functional neuroimaging would represent an important advance in this regard. We hypothesized that one potential source of physiological predictors is the spontaneous local network activity prominent during specific periods in development. To test this we used calcium imaging in brain slices and analyzed variations in the frequency and intensity of this early activity in one area, the entorhinal cortex (EC), in order to correlate early activity with level of cognitive function later in life. We focused on EC because of its known role in different types of cognitive processes and because it is an area where spontaneous activity is prominent during early postnatal development in rodent models of cortical development. Using rat strains (Long-Evans, Wistar, Sprague-Dawley and Brattleboro) known to differ in cognitive performance in adulthood we asked whether neonatal animals exhibit corresponding strain-related differences in EC spontaneous activity. Our results show significant differences in this activity between strains: compared to a high cognitive-performing strain, we consistently found an increase in frequency and decrease in intensity in neonates from three lower performing strains. Activity was most different in one strain considered a model of schizophrenia-like psychopathology. While we cannot necessarily infer a causal relationship between early activity and adult cognition our findings suggest that the pattern of spontaneous activity in development could be an early predictor of a developmental trajectory advancing toward sub-optimal cognitive performance in adulthood. Our results further suggest that the strength of dopaminergic signaling, by setting the balance between excitation and inhibition, is a potential underlying mechanism that could explain the observed differences in early spontaneous activity patterns.
Interruption of transmembrane signaling as a novel antisecretory strategy to treat enterotoxigenic diarrhea

Bacteria that produce heat-stable enterotoxins (STs), a leading cause of secretory diarrhea, are a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. ST stimulates guanylyl cyclase C (GCC) and accumulation of intracellular cyclic GMP ([cGMP]i), which opens the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR)-related chloride channel, triggering intestinal secretion. Although the signaling cascade mediating ST-induced diarrhea is well characterized, antisecretory therapy targeting this pathway has not been developed. 2-ChloroATP (2ClATP) and its cell-permeant precursor, 2-chloroadenosine (2ClAdo), disrupt ST-dependent signaling in intestinal cells. However, whether the ability to disrupt guanylyl cyclase signaling translates into effective antisecretory therapy remains untested. In this study, the efficacy of 2ClAdo to prevent ST-induced water secretion by human intestinal cells was examined. In Caco-2 human intestinal cells, ST increased [cGMP]i, induced a chloride current, and stimulated net bas...
The drug/metabolite transporter superfamily

Previous work defined several families of secondary active transporters, including the prokaryotic small multidrug resistance (SMR) and rhamnose transporter (RhaT) families as well as the eukaryotic organellar triose phosphate transporter (TPT) and nucleotide-sugar transporter (NST) families. We show that these families as well as several other previously unrecognized families of established or putative secondary active transporters comprise a large ubiquitous superfamily found in bacteria, archaea and eukaryotes. We have designated it the drug/metabolite transporter (DMT) superfamily (transporter classification number 2.A.7) and have shown that it consists of 14 phylogenetic families, five of which include no functionally well-characterized members. The largest family in the DMT superfamily, the drug/metabolite exporter (DME) family, consists of over 100 sequenced members, several of which have been implicated in metabolite export. Each DMT family consists of proteins with a distinctive topology: four, five, nine or 10 putative transmembrane alpha helical spanners (TMSs) per polypeptide chain. The five TMS proteins include an N-terminal TMS lacking the four TMS proteins. The full-length proteins of 10 putative TMSs apparently arose by intragenic duplication of an element encoding a primordial five-TMS polypeptide. Sequenced members of the 14 families are tabulated and phylogenetic trees for all the families are presented. Sequence and topological analyses allow structural and functional predictions.
HEMATOPOIESIS IN PREMATURE INFANTS WITH SPECIAL CONSIDERATION OF THE EFFECT OF IRON AND OF ANIMAL-PROTEIN FACTOR

Normal values in the first 3 months of life have been determined for hemoglobin, erythrocytes, reticulocytes, platelets, leukocytes and differential counts for premature infants with birth weights less than 1200 gm., and for those between 1200 and 1500 gm. at birth. No significant difference was found in the degree of depression of levels of hemoglobin and erythrocytes when values in the 2 weight groups were compared. Two reticulocyte peaks occur during the first 3 months of life. The first peak is present immediately after birth. The second peak, at about the eighth week, coincides with the occurrence of the greatest degree of anemia. Neither iron therapy nor treatment with animal-protein factor containing vitamin B12 and Aureomycin®, started before the end of the third week of life, had a statistically significant effect on the early phase of the anemia of prematurity. Untreated premature infants and those given animal-protein factor were anemic at the end of the first year of life. Subjects given iron therapy had normal hemoglobin values at one year of age. Blood transfusion is rarely necessary in the treatment of the anemia of prematurity.
Facilitating Faculty Learning Communities: A Compact Guide to Creating Change and Inspiring Community.

Previous FLC facilitators share experiences and insights about group process and provide their advice for facilitating successful communities.
Preoperative cognitive assessment of the elderly surgical patient: a call for action.

Being sick is not good for the brain. Surgery and all that goes with it (e.g., stress, inflammation, pain, medications, anesthesia) makes people sick transiently. It should come as no surprise then that brain dysfunction is common perioperatively. This is a particular problem in elders, with 30–80% becoming delirious after major surgery and 30–40% and 10–15% developing, respectively, early and late postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD).1,2 This cognitive morbidity is also important; delirium and POCD are associated with longer hospital stay and cost, premature withdrawal from the workforce, and greater 1yr mortality.1,3 Therefore, both in terms of incidence and associated adverse outcomes, perioperative brain dysfunction is every bit as serious as the other varieties of organ system dysfunction for which we routinely screen and evaluate surgical patients preoperatively. Why then don’t we routinely and formally assess cognition preoperatively?
Nuclear membrane contributions to the Golgi complex

Electron microscopic examination of a variety of rapidly growing or differentiating mammalian and avian cells suggests that many of the Golgi vesicles and saccules arise directly from the outer nuclear membrane. Evidence for this interpretation includes: (1) the presence of a continuum of vesicles which appears to originate from the outer nuclear membrane and to enlarge gradually into saccules in the region of the Golgi membrane complex; (2) the absence of ribosomes on the nuclear blebs and the vesicles formed in these regions along the nuclear envelope; (3) the presence of active nuclear vesiculation near the Golgi region in cells essentially devoid of rough and/or smooth endoplasmic reticulum, and (4) the demonstration of peroxidase activity in the cisternae of the nuclear envelope and in vesicles extending in rows from the nuclear envelope to the Golgi complex.
The hormone-sensitive early postnatal periods for sexual differentiation of feminine behavior and luteinizing hormone secretion in male and female rats

The purpose of this study was to determine the duration of the hormone-sensitive postnatal period during which a single injection of testosterone propionate (TP) influences feminine behavior and luteinizing hormone (LH) secretion in male and female rats. Male pups were castrated on the day of birth (day 1) between 6 and 12 h postpartum. On postnatal day 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9 female pups and castrated males (fales) were injected subcutaneously with testosterone propionate (TP-500 micrograms). The females were laparotomized at 60 days of age, and ovarian tissue was removed for histological analysis. Female behavior was evaluated at 100 days of age. At 150 days of age, the ability of steroids to facilitate LH secretion was determined. Tests for lordosis indicated a diminished lordotic quotient (LQ) with both females and fales treated with TP on postnatal day 3, 4, 5, 6, or 7. On day 8 or 9, however, the lordotic response was at control levels. Females in all TP treated groups had significantly reduced number of corpora lutea. Females and fales treated with TP on postnatal day 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9 failed to exhibit an LH surge as adults. The results indicate that the neural control of feminine behavior (LQ) is hormone-sensitive to a single injection of TP up through the 7th day of postnatal life, whereas the neural substrate regulating LH secretion was sensitive in the present study at least up through day 9 in both fales and females.
Studies on brain-specific membrane proteins.

The M1-1.0 synaptic membrane fraction was isolated according to the method of De Robertis and compared electrophoretically and immunologically with other subcellular fractions from the brain and other organs. Two non-myelin, non-mitochondrial proteins were detected in the synaptic membranes, synaptic vesicles and brain microsomes. Both proteins appeared to be specific to the brain. Parallel studies with complement fixation test revealed organ specificity of the brain proteins and cross-reactivity between the synaptic membranes and the brain microsomes.
Assessment of medical imaging and computer-assist systems: lessons from recent experience.

Abstract In the last 2 decades major advances have been made in the field of assessment methods for medical imaging and computer–assist systems through the use of the paradigm of the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. In the most recent decade this methodology was extended to embrace the complication of reader variability through a dvances in the multiple–reader, multiple–case (MRMC) ROC measurement and analysis paradigm. Although this approach has been widely adopted by the imaging research community, some investigators appear averse to it, possibly from concern that it could place a greater burden on the scarce resources of patient cases and readers compared to t he requirements of alternative methods. The present communication argues, however, that the MRMC ROC approach to assessment in the context of reader variability may be the most resource–efficient approach available. Moreover, alternative approaches may also be statistically uninterpretable with regard to estimated summary measures of performa nce and their uncertainties. The authors propose that the MRMC ROC approach be considered even more widely by the larger community with responsibilities for the introduction and dissemination of medical imaging technologies to society. General principles of study design are reviewed, and important contemporary clinical trials are used as examples.
Libraries and Consortia: What Will Libraries Pay For?

This article discusses affordability of member dues in library consortia and what services consortia can provide to increase their value to libraries.
Insurance, Adverse Selection, and Cream-Skimming

Abstract We examine optimal insurance policies in a setting where some individuals are perfectly informed about the benefits they would receive under any proposed plan, and others share the insurance provider′s imperfect knowledge about likely benefits. The optimal insurance policy is shown to take on a particularly simple linear form, providing full insurance for the smallest and largest wealth realizations, and no insurance for a range of intermediate wealth realizations. This basic form of the optimal insurance policy persists in dynamic settings and those with endogenous information acquisition. Journal of Economic Literature Classification Numbers: D31, D82, H50.
Fecal and urinary incontinence after vaginal delivery with anal sphincter disruption in an obstetrics unit in the United States.

Abstract Objective The purpose of this study was to estimate the incidence of urinary and bowel incontinence in relation to anal sphincter laceration in primiparous women and to identify factors that are associated with anal sphincter laceration in a unit that uses primarily midline episiotomy. Study design From January 1, 1997, to March 30, 2000, 2941 questionnaires concerning pelvic floor function 6 months after delivery were mailed to primiparous women who were delivered vaginally at the University of Michigan Medical Center. Charts were reviewed for 2858 deliveries to assess the use of episiotomy and the degree of perineal trauma, along with demographic and pertinent delivery variables. There were 943 women who completed the urinary function questionnaire and 831 women who completed the bowel function questionnaire. Univariate analysis was performed on all covariates. Multiple logistic regression was used for the analysis of the presence of third- or fourth-degree lacerations as the outcome. Results Nineteen percent of the women who completed the survey had sustained third- or fourth-degree lacerations during childbirth. The women in the sphincter laceration group were more likely (23.0%) to have bowel incontinence than the women in the control group (13.4%) ( P P Conclusion Women with third- and fourth-degree lacerations were more likely to have bowel incontinence than women without anal sphincter lacerations. Fourth-degree lacerations appear to affect anal continence greater than third-degree lacerations.
Romantic relationships from adolescence to young adulthood: Evidence from the national longitudinal study of adolescent health

Theories of romantic relationship development posit a progression of involvement and intensity with age, relationship duration, and experience in romantic relationships. Using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, this study tests these propositions by considering relationship type and patterns of relationships over the course of adolescence and their influence on relationship formation in young adulthood. Results confirm recent theories of relationship progression and the findings of smaller-scale empirical studies. Moreover, the findings add depth to debates on racial differences in relationship formation and demonstrate the developmental currency of adolescent relationship experience for young-adult relationship formation. Rather than being trivial or fleeting, adolescent romantic relationships are an integral part of the social scaffolding on which young-adult romantic relationships rest.
Aging and mind wandering during text comprehension.

Mind wandering occurs when a person's stream of thought moves from the primary task to task-unrelated matters. Some theories of mind wandering suggest that it is caused by decreased attentional control associated with lower working memory (WM) capacity. Others suggest that it is caused by attention being directed toward internally generated thoughts and that it is associated with higher WM capacity. These ideas were assessed testing older adults because they have been argued to have reduced attentional control and lower WM capacity. The first account predicts that mind wandering should increase in older adults, while the second account predicts the opposite. Two experiments show that older adults exhibited a lower rate of mind wandering than younger adults. However, when using text interest as a covariate, the age difference in mind wandering disappeared. These results are further addressed in light of participants' current concerns and preserved situation model processing in cognitive aging. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved). Language: en
Improved conditions for protoplast formation and transformation of Pleurotus ostreatus

Conditions suitable for the production and regeneration of Pleurotus ostreatus protoplasts from dikaryotic mycelia were examined. Three commercially available muralytic enzymes, including Sigma lysing enzyme, Novozym 234 and Novozym 234 LP, were used for production of protoplasts. Over 2 × 107 protoplasts per gram fresh weight mycelia were obtained within 1.5 h by using each of these three enzymes. The colony regeneration rate was up to 13% on potato-dextrose-agar medium containing 0.8 m mannitol. Genetic transformation was based on positive selection for resistance to hygromycin B (HmB) using the plasmid vector pAN7-1 and accomplished by either electroporation or a polyethylene glycol (PEG)-divalent cation method. P. ostreatus strains used in this study have innate sensitivity to HmB at a critical inhibitory concentration of between 40–50 μg/ml. Selection for HmB resistance of this fungus, indicative of transformation, resulted in 3–48 HmB-resistant colonies per microgram of pAN7-1 per 107 viable protoplasts. No significant differences were apparent when either transformation protocol or either P. ostreatus strain was used. The best electrical condition found for the electrotransformation of P. ostreatus is at a field strength of 2.6–2.8 kV/cm with a capacitance of 25μF and a parallel resistance of 800 ohms, corresponding to a time constant range of 10–14 ms.
Is intracellular hyperthermia superior to extracellular hyperthermia in the thermal sense

More than 20 years ago, it was hypothesized that intracellular hyperthermia is superior to extracellular hyperthermia. It was further hypothesized that even a single biological cell containing magnetic nanoparticles can be treated for hyperthermia by an AC magnetic field, independent of its surrounding cells. Since experimental investigation of the thermal effects of intracellular hyperthermia is not feasible, these hypotheses have been studied theoretically. The current report shows that nano-scale heating effects are negligible. This study further shows that intracellular heat generation is sufficient to create the necessary conditions for hyperthermia only in a large group of cells loaded with nanoparticles, having an overall diameter of at least 1mm. It is argued in this report that there is no reason to believe that intracellular hyperthermia is superior to extracellular hyperthermia in the thermal sense.
Simulated-annealing-based optimization algorithms: Fundamentals and wavelength selection applications

Simulated annealing (SA) is a stochastic search method that has been applied to combinatorial search problems in chemometrics. Unlike strict iterative improvement methods, SA tolerates temporary moves to detrimental parameter configurations during an optimization. The method used by SA to decide whether or not to accept detrimental steps is a special case of a more general acceptance rule. The present work investigates the performance of various SA-type algorithms that differ only in the acceptance rule for detrimental steps when optimizing continuous or discrete problems. A method for step width modulation is introduced to overcome the poor ability of SA type algorithms to locate the exact extreme of a function. The studied search strategies are modified for the discrete problem of wavelength selection. In order to evaluate SA-type algorithms and their abilities to deal with the wavelength selection problem, two global measures of selectivity are used as criteria to determine the most suitable wavelength subset that maximizes selectivity for pure component ultraviolet-visible spectra.
Pilgrimage tourism and english cathedrals: The role of religion in travel

Visiting cathedrals is one form of cultural tourism. The motivations of these visits are of worldly nature. Cultural heritage and architecture are the main points of attraction. However, on the spot visitors are usually touched by religious feelings.
Irregular trends of physical properties in homogeneous clay-rich sediments of DSDP Leg 87 Hole 584, midslope terrace in the Japan Trench

Abstract Compressional velocity ( V p ), attenuation (in terms of its inverse, the compressional quality factor Q p ), electrical resistivity (σ), bulk ( ρ b ) and grain ( ρ g ) densities, porosity (o), and bulk mineralogy were measured on diatomaceous hemipelagic sediments from DSDP Leg 87, Hole 584. Although the sediment lithology and the bulk mineralogy determined by X-ray diffraction are relatively homogeneous, the physical, acoustic and electrical properties of the sediments show irregular trends with depth, with variations in the magnitude and sign of property gradients. Between subbottom depths of 500 and 800 m, V p , ρ b , ρ g , and σ all sharply increase and then sharply decrease, while porosity sharply decreases, and then sharply increases. The changes in gradients are due to abrupt changes in the opal-A content of the sediment, as determined from smear-slide data. Q p decreases with depth to about 650 m and then increases. Such a trend has not been previously documented in laboratory measurements. However, it is assumed that the “attenuation maximum” observed here is due to the increased grain density and decreased porosity caused by the reduction in opal-A content around this depth. The anisotropies for V p and Q p undergo sign inversions with depth. The V p anisotropies change from positive ( V ph > V pv ) at the top to negative at the bottom of the hole, whereas Q p anisotropies change from negative ( Q pv > Q ph ) to positive. The change in sign with depth is caused by a change in sediment bedding dip from near 0° at the top of the hole to about 65° toward the bottom.
A neurosensory hypothesis of ligament function.

Abstract Ligaments are generally viewed as passive structural elements. Virtually all treatments for torn ligaments are based upon a structural paradigm. However, there is considerable evidence to suggest that ligaments function as neural sensors to facilitate supportive reflex contractions of muscles. It is hypothesized that injury to ligaments disrupts the neural apparatus as well as the structural support. Dysfunction following injury may result as much from neural injury as from structural instability. In some patients, “neural adaptation” likely occurs, while in others it does not. Since current treatments for ligament injuries (all of which are based on structure) are not uniformly successful, we need to develop methods to distinguish the neurally impaired patient from the structurally impaired, and to develop methods to treat the former.
Spectral Subtraction And Data Manipulation Using Spectra From Digitized Libraries

Historically, infrared spectra libraries have been used mainly for qualitative analysis and functional group assignments with some limited use for quantitative analysis. The latter application mainly uses reference libraries for selecting an absorption band free from other interfering bands for quantitative methods development. The marrying of digital computers to infrared spectrometers has expanded the uses of reference libraries. In addition to the above applications, requirements now include computerized searches for reducing the task of unknown identification, rapid recall of reference spectra for viewing, and even digitized spectrum recall for spectral subtraction when a sample is not available for actually measuring the reference spectrum. All of these applications for spectral libraries cannot necessarily be achieved with the same data base, but for a library to be useful for qualitative analysis, it certainly needs to contain as large a number of reference compounds as it possibly can. In addition, the library user must be able to view the full reference spectra as rapidly as possible.© (1981) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Cardiomyopathy of overload. A major determinant of prognosis in congestive heart failure.

MORE than 80 years ago, Sir James MacKenzie1 noted: "The more I study the symptoms of heart failure, and the more I reflect on the part played by the heart muscle, the more convinced I am that... heart failure is due to the exhaustion of the reserve force of the heart muscle." Except for the cardiac glycosides, however, therapy for congestive heart failure generally has focused on the systemic signs and symptoms that appear when the failing heart becomes unable to meet the hemodynamic demands of the body, rather than on abnormalities in the heart muscle itself, which both cause . . .
Invited Article: Inhibition of B cell functions: Implications for neurology

B cells are involved in the pathophysiology of many neurologic diseases, either in a causative or contributory role, via production of autoantibodies, cytokine secretion, or by acting as antigen-presenting cells leading to T cell activation. B cells are clonally expanded in various CNS disorders, such as multiple sclerosis (MS), paraneoplastic CNS disorders, or stiff-person syndrome, and are activated to produce pathogenic autoantibodies in demyelinating neuropathies and myasthenia. B cell activating factor (BAFF) and a proliferating inducing ligand (APRIL), key cytokines for B cell survival, are strongly unregulated in MS brain and in muscles of inflammatory myopathies. Modulation of B cell functions using a series of monoclonal antibodies against CD20+ B cells or the molecules that increase B cell survival, such as BAFF/APRIL and their receptors BAFF-R, TACI, and BCMA, provide a rational approach to the treatment of the aforementioned neurologic disorders. In controlled studies, rituximab, a B cell-depleting monoclonal antibody, has been encouraging in MS and paraproteinemic anti-MAG demyelinating neuropathy, exerting long-lasting remissions. In uncontrolled series, benefit has been reported in several disorders. B cell depletion is a well-tolerated therapeutic option currently explored in the treatment of several autoimmune neurologic disorders.
Structure−Property Relationships in Light-Emitting Polymers: Optical, Electrochemical, and Thermal Studies

A series of new PPV-based alternating copolymers containing conjugated and nonconjugated blocks have been synthesized with the objective of raising the glass transition temperature (Tg) relative to...
Limited role of arteriography in penetrating neck trauma.

Abstract Of the patients with penetrating neck wounds treated between 1979 and 1986, 61 patients with 65 injuries had arteriography during their evaluation. Twenty-seven patients had stab wounds and 34 had gunshot wounds, with a relatively equal distribution between the zones of injury. Fifty-seven arteriograms were normal and six were abnormal. Of the six arteriographic defects, three were thought to be spurious on subsequent review, two were clinically insignificant, and one required surgery. No significant arterial injuries were identified by arteriography in the absence of suggestive physical findings. No major arterial injuries were discovered during neck surgery that were missed preoperatively. Neither abnormal nor normal angiograms significantly altered the course of management, including the approach to neck exploration. These data suggest that arteriography for penetrating neck trauma is usually unnecessary for observation of patients in stable condition without suggestive physical findings. Thorough neck exploration with dissection of the carotid sheath in patients with physical diagnostic criteria for surgery eliminates the need for angiography in most cases and avoids the consequences of a possible false-negative study. (J VASC SURG 1988;8:112-6.)
Vitamin A: Probe of immune complement reactions—III inhibition of guinea pig complement hemolysis

Abstract The vitamin A inhibition of guinea pig complement-mediated hemolysis has been further examined. The results of a dose—response curve with retinal suggest that a single molecule of retinal per hemolytic site is sufficient to inhibit the reaction. It also appears that under our conditions a fraction of the lytic sites is not susceptible to inhibition. The inhibition is markedly pH dependent. The consumption of Cl by EAC4 is unaffected by retinal, while the consumption of C2 by EAC14 is diminished.
Estimation of groundwater flow parameters using least squares

In this paper, we present several variations on the least squares approach of estimating steady-state flow parameters in a groundwater model. We test the approach on numerically generated data, and also apply it to field data from the MADE (MAcro Dispersion Experiment) data set obtained at Columbus AFB, Mississippi. Our results are based on a least squares cost functional with a finite difference scheme used to solve the steady-state flow equation (Darcy's Law). An implicit filtering optimization algorithm is implemented in parallel using PVM.
Ethical decision-making and grassroots diplomacy for social entrepreneurs: concepts, methodologies and cases

Social entrepreneurs striving to commercialise products and services in developing communities must understand the cultural context, develop trust-based partnerships across multiple sectors, and work proactively with those partners to achieve the desired social and economic outcomes. This article discusses the importance of reflection, ethical decision-making, and the praxis of grassroots diplomacy in the quest for educating conscientious entrepreneurs who can navigate complex social challenges to create win-win situations for all stakeholders. A concept inventory for ethical decision-making and grassroots diplomacy, as it relates to the education of social entrepreneurs, is presented along with analysis methodologies, real-world cases and practical academic exercises. These cases can be used individually to explore the complexities of entrepreneurial engagement in developing world contexts, or collectively, they can serve as building blocks of a rigorous academic course offering.
Amplification properties of dynamic instabilities: Hopf bifurcation in semiconductor lasers

The small-signal amplification properties of a semiconductor laser are quantified within the framework of dynamical-systems bifurcation theory. Calculations are performed at or near a Hopf bifurcation associated with a modal switching instability in the device. The work is directed at finding practical applications for nonlinear dynamical phenomena. In addition the work underlines the importance of the laser diode as a convenient optical system for studying the properties of general dynamical systems. It is argued that the laser diode may thus play a unique role both in stimulating the need for new insights into dynamical systems and also in permitting implementation of novel nonlinear phenomena for device applications.
SSIE: Semiprojective Scales of Institutional Evaluation.

The Semiprojective Scales of Institutional Evaluation, measuring positive and negative connotations of an educational institution, were developed together with ten predictor scales pertaining to students' personal and organizational orientations. The SSIE scales were developed by order analysis. This method of multidimensional analysis allows for gradation of sensitivity with respect to underlying dimensions of the data matrix. The predictor scales were developed by a theoretical strategy and regressed on the four SSIE scales. The interrelations between these measures suggest that favorable images of the college environment are likely to result when the institution provides a balance of general knowledge and specific skills, moderates student participation in academic governance, and accommodates individual differences.
Lespedeza phenolics and Penstemon alkaloids: Effects on digestion efficiencies and growth of voles.

Lespedeza cuneata contains high levels of phenolics and is a common food plant of the meadow vole (Microtus pennsylvanicus);Penstemon digitalis contains substantial quantities of alkaloids and is a common food plant of meadow voles and prairie voles (M. ochrogaster). We investigated the palatability of these plants and the effects of their secondary compounds on the digestion efficiencies and growth of both species of voles. Voles ate very little of either plant when alternative food was present. Phenolics and alkaloids were extracted from the plants, incorporated into separate artificial diets, and fed to weanling voles for three weeks.Lespedeza phenolics reduced the growth of meadow voles but not prairie voles throughout the feeding trial. These compounds disrupted digestion, reducing protein digestibility by more than half.Penstemon alkaloids lowered only the initial growth rates of prairie voles and had no significant effect on meadow voles. Prairie voles tended to increase food consumption rates on bothLespedeza andPenstemon diets. This response offset some of the decrease in digested protein intake in the first case, and offset the increased metabolic cost of processing the diet in the latter case. Our results indicate that althoughLespedeza phenolics andPenstemon alkaloids do influence consumption and digestibility of artificial diets, they do not greatly reduce the performance (i.e., growth or survival) of voles when consumed at levels generally observed for wild voles. However, these compounds probably do place an upper limit on the amount of freshLespedeza andPenstemon that can be consumed and contribute to the generalist feeding strategy of voles.
CATEGORIZING SKEWED, LIMITED DEPENDENT VARIABLES Using Multivariate Probit Regression to Evaluate the California Civil Addict Program

Probit analysis is applied in a situation where analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) would customarily be used. The dichotomous dependent variables arise from dichotomizations of skewed continuous variables recorded as the proportion of time certain activities are observed. The probit approach avoids the biases of ordinary A NCO VA that arise due to skewness (limited variation). To illustrate this, data from 225 experiments and 214 control subjects in a drug treatment program was analyzed. It was found that the probit approach was able to reveal more substantial treatment effects than the ordinary A NCO VA. This article is concerned with the problem of multivariate regression analysis where the dependent variables are markedly skewed. In the data to be analyzed, this occurs in the context of variables recorded as the proportion of time a certain activity is observed. Here, the lower limit of zero is observed for a substantial part of the sample, while the upper limit is seldom reached. This situation may be viewed in the context of
Palladium-based sensor for electrochemical detection of manganese in the environment

Herein, we report a palladium-based electrochemical sensor for cathodic stripping voltammetry (CSV) detection of highly electronegative manganese (Mn). The unique aspect of the sensor is the integration of electroplated palladium (Pd) working and auxiliary electrodes on copper (Cu) substrate with a new Cu/CuCl2 reference electrode, which reduces cost and simplifies fabrication. The sensor was fully characterized and was found to exhibit a linear response in borate buffer with limit of detection (LOD) of 330nM (18.6ppb). The sensor also demonstrated successful measurement of Mn in river water, and ultimately may be extended to other environmental sample matrices.
Reorganization of retinotopic cortical maps in adult mammals after lesions of the retina

The organization of the visual cortex has been considered to be highly stable in adult mammals. However, 5 degrees to 10 degrees lesions of the retina in the contralateral eye markedly altered the systematic representations of the retina in primary and secondary visual cortex when matched inputs from the ipsilateral eye were also removed. Cortical neurons that normally have receptive fields in the lesioned region of the retina acquired new receptive fields in portions of the retina surrounding the lesions. The capacity for such changes may be important for normal adjustments of sensory systems to environmental contingencies and for recoveries from brain damage.
Electrochemical oxidation of perfluorobutane sulfonate using boron-doped diamond film electrodes

This research investigated oxidation of perfluorobutane sulfonate (PFBS) at a boron-doped diamond (BDD) film anode. PFBS oxidation produced carbon dioxide, sulfate, fluoride, and trace amounts of trifluoroacetic acid (TFA). Rate constants for PFBS oxidation as a function of current density and temperature were measured using a rotating disk electrode (RDE) reactor. Reaction rates in the RDE reactor were zeroth order with respect to PFBS concentration, which is indicative of a reaction limited by the availability of reactive sites. The apparent electron transfer coefficient and apparent activation energy were used to evaluate the rate-limiting step for PFBS oxidation. Density functional simulations were used to calculate the reaction energies and activation barriers for PFBS oxidation by hydroxyl radicals and by direct electron transfer. Simulation results indicated that the experiments were performed at sufficiently high overpotentials that the rate-limiting step was an activationless direct electron transfer reaction.
THE ANTITHIAMINE EFFECTS OF AMPROLIUM IN RATS ON TISSUE TRANSKETOLASE ACTIVITY.

Summary The feeding of amprolium to thiamine-adequate rats at a dietary level of 10,000 ppm (approximately 80 times the effective coccidiostat level for chicks) resulted in depressed transketolase activity in erythrocyte hemolyzates and in homogenates of liver, kidney, heart, and intestine. Thiamine deficiency alone resulted in similar but more severe effects in the same tissues. However, the addition of amprolium to thiamine-deficient diets did not result in more severe depressive effects on tissue transketolase activity than did thiamine deficiency alone. Brain transketolase activity was unaffected by either thiamine deficiency or by the administration of amprolium. Thiamine deficiency resulted in retarded growth after 15 days, whether or not amprolium was present. An alternate method for measuring transketolase activity, by the formation of sedoheptulose in the assay system, was presented.
Personalization by website transformation: Theory and practice

We present an analysis of a progressive series of out-of-turn transformations on a hierarchical website to personalize a user's interaction with the site. We formalize the transformation in graph-theoretic terms and describe a toolkit we built which enumerates all of the traversals enabled by every possible complete series of these transformations in any site and computes a variety of metrics while simulating each traversal therein to qualify the relationship between a site's structure and the cumulative effect of support for the transformation in a site. We employed this toolkit in two websites. The results indicate that the transformation enables users to experience a vast number of paths through a site not traversable through browsing and demonstrate that it supports traversals with multiple steps, where the semblance of a hierarchy is preserved, as well as shortcuts directly to the desired information.
Properties of a collagenolytic enzyme from Bipalium kewense

A collagenolytic enzyme from the land planarian Bipalium kewense has been purified by preparative isoelectric focusing. The enzyme has a molecular weight of 47,000 +/- 2,000 and appears to be dimeric. It has an isoelectric point of 4.6 +/- 0.1 and a high content of acidic amino acids. The amino acid composition of the Bipalium collagenase is similar to that of human skin fibroblast collagenases but clearly different from previously reported collagenolytic proteases from other invertebrates, Uca pugilator and Hypoderma lineatum. In its action on guinea-pig collagen, the enzyme produces distinct products, at low incubation temperatures, different from those produced by vertebrate and other invertebrate collagenolytic enzymes. These products have glycine as their N-terminal amino acids. As determined by viscosity measurements, the Bipalium collagenase is more active on invertebrate, earthworm, collagen than it is on the vertebrate, Type I guinea-pig skin, collagen. The Bipalium collagenase differs from both bacterial and vertebrate collagenases as well as from invertebrate, collagenolytic serine proteases.
Accommodation coefficient of gaseous NO2 on water surfaces

Abstract Mass accommodation (or sticking) coefficients for trace gases on water surfaces play an important role in the atmospheric heterogeneous processes. In particular, the rate of trace gas incorporation into cloud or fog droplets has recently received much attention because of its relevance to acid precipitation. In the present study, experimental results are reported on the interfacial mass transfer of gaseous NO2 into aqueous phase. The accommodation coefficient for NO2, α = (6.3 ± 0.7) × 10−4 at 0°C, has been measured for the first time using a stop-flow multiple-pass laser absorption technique. This result indicates that, in clouds or fogs, NO2 mass transport into liquid droplets may be limited by the gas-droplet interfacial resistance under certain atmospheric conditions.
Source contributions to carbonaceous aerosols in the Tennessee Valley Region

Abstract Sources of carbonaceous aerosols collected from three sites of Chattanooga, TN (CH), Muscle Shoals, AL (MS), and Look Rock, TN (LR) in the Tennessee Valley Region (TVR) were apportioned using both organic tracer-based chemical mass balance (CMB) modeling and radiocarbon (14C) measurement and the results were compared. Eight sources were resolved by CMB, among which wood combustion (averaging 0.92 μg m−3) was the largest contributor to primary organic carbon (OC) concentrations, followed by gasoline exhaust (0.35 μg m−3), and diesel exhaust (0.18 μg m−3). The identified primary sources accounted for 43%, 71%, and 14% of measured OC at CH, MS, and LR, respectively. Contributions from the eight primary sources resolved by CMB could explain 107±10% of ambient elemental carbon (EC) concentrations, with diesel exhaust (66±32%) and wood combustion (37±33%) as the most important contributors. The fossil fractions in total carbon determined by 14C measurements were in reasonably good agreement with that in primary (OC+EC) carbon apportioned by CMB in the MS winter samples. The comparison between the 14C and CMB results revealed that contemporary sources dominated other OC in the TVR, especially in summertime (84% contemporary).
Charon: More than Water Ice?

Abstract A significant non-H 2 O ice component may be present on the surface of Pluto's satellite Charon and yet remain undetected by existing observations. This suggestion arises from a comparison of calculated reflectance spectra with Charon's 1.5- to 2.5-μm reflectance spectrum. The calculated spectra rely upon descriptions of the interaction of light scattered from particulate surfaces and the optical constants of H 2 O, CH 4 , and CO 2 ices. Calculated spectra of mixtures composed of H 2 O and CO 2 ice remain consistent with the observed spectrum of Charon for high abundances of CO 2 (≈50% relative mass fraction) in intimate mixtures, and for areal coverages of about 40% CO 2 in spatial mixtures. Calculations for mixtures of H 2 O and CH 4 ice indicate that ≥5% relative mass fraction of CH 4 in intimate mixtures and ≥5-10% areal coverage of CH 4 in spatial mixtures result in spectra that cannot reproduce the observed Charon spectrum. Calculated spectra of three-component intimate mixtures of H 2 O, CH 4 , and CO 2 ices with similar grain sizes can fit the observed spectrum of Charon only for low abundances of CH 4 (≤ 5%). If the CH 4 ice grain size is much greater than the other components, then the spectrum of Charon can be modeled by calculated spectra containing up to ≈30% CH 4 in the intimate mixtures. Calculated spectra for spatial mixtures of H 2 O, CH 4 , and CO 2 ices indicate that ≤5-10% areal coverage of CH 4 can be incorporated and remain consistent with the observational data. The suggestion of significant amounts of non-H 2 O components on Charon can be tested as Earth-based telescopic instrumentation improves. This suggestion should be considered during instrumental design for spacecraft destined for the Pluto-Charon system.