cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Shadow Volume Generation from Free Form Surfaces

The generation of shadows has occupied the computer graphics community for some time. Several approaches have been successfully developed, but many except ray tracing assume a polygonal approximation of the model.
Weeding worries, part 2: journals

Purpose – The discussions surrounding weeding print journals can be quite different from those involving books or videos. This paper aims to provide commentary and direction for library managers seeking insight on how to engage pragmatically in the weeding of print journal titles for a variety of reasons. Design/methodology/approach – Drawing on recent press related to an all-digital bibliotech opening in Texas, and contrasting the book weeding perspectives from part 1 of this series, this article explores print journal culling projects from the perspective of the consciousness of library users and stakeholders. Findings – Weeding journals in waves or phases over multiple years of time can be a way to cope with the pressure of needing to reduce print collections due to duplication in online databases and print formats. Surveying users' journal needs separate from book or video needs will produce a more accurate understanding of what titles to keep on hand, and will also draw importance to this information...
Control of multiple arms with rolling constraints

The authors present a unified formulation for the control problem of multiple arm systems which accommodates both holonomic and nonholonomic constraints. Several unique control properties of nonholonomic systems are discussed. Several useful results regarding input-output linearization and the zero dynamics in such systems are proved. The analysis and controller design are discussed for multi-arm systems. Results from computer simulations are presented to demonstrate the control algorithms. Simulation results illustrate that rolling and sliding can be effectively controlled. >
Studies of a Heat-Pipe Cooled Piston Crown

Designing pistons with effective cooling is crucial to preventing piston failure and improving engine service life. A piston design that incorporates the heat-pipe cooling technology may provide a new approach that could improve the thermal-tribological performance of heavy-duty diesel engine pistons. A simplified piston crown with an annular reciprocating heat pipe is constructed to demonstrate this concept. The piston crown is experimentally tested on a specially designed reciprocating apparatus. Experimental data indicate that the annular heat-pipe cooling can greatly assist in reducing the temperature gradient and peak temperature along the ring bank. In order to predict the performance in a more realistic piston working condition, a three-dimensional finite element modeling is used to analyze the thermal performance of this annular heat-pipe cooled crown (AHPCC). The heat-transfer coefficient under the reciprocal environment of the experimental apparatus and the effective thermal conductance of the heat pipe are determined by correlating the numerical calculations with the experimental measurements. The results indicate that the heat-pipe-cooling concept presented in this paper can provide an effective means for piston temperature control under real piston operating conditions.
Pharmacokinetics of indomethacin in pregnancy

Background and objectives Although indomethacin has been widely used for the treatment of preterm labor over the past 40 years, there are few reports regarding its pharmacokinetics in pregnant women.
Isolation and characterization of a manganese-containing superoxide dismutase from rat liver

Abstract A manganese-containing superoxide dismutase has been purified from rat liver and characterized. The enzyme has a molecular weight of 89,000 and is composed of four subunits. One atom of manganese is contained per subunit. The metal content, molecular weight, and amino acid analyses show that the rat enzyme is similar to the manganosuperoxide dismutase isolated from human liver.
Biosynthesis of the sulfatide/GM1 activator protein (SAP-1) in control and mutant cultured skin fibroblasts.

Sphingolipid activator proteins (SAP) are relatively low-molecular-mass proteins that stimulate the hydrolysis of specific sphingolipids by the required ly sosomal enzymes. SAP-1 or sulfatide/GM1 ganglioside activator protein has previously been demonstrated to stimulate the enzymatic hydrolysis of sulfatide, G m1 ganglioside and globotriaosylceramide. Using monospecific rabbit antibodies against human liver sulfatide/GM1 activator, the biosynthesis and processing of this activator were studied in cultured skin fibroblasts from controls and patients with GM1 gangliosidosis and a variant form of metachromatic leukodystrophy. When [35S]methionine was presented in the medium to control human fibroblasts for 4 h, the majority of the immunoprecipitable radiolabeling was confined to bands within three regions of apparent molecular mass 65–70, 35–52 and 8–13 kDa. The only immunoprecipitable radiolabeled species excreted into the medium when NH4C1 was present had an apparent molecular mass of 70 kDa. When the excretion products were given to fresh cells followed by incubation for up to 24 h there was production of the mature species. Treatment of the 70 kDa form with endoglycosidase F resulted in production of a 53 kDa molecular mass form. Pulse-chase experiments indicated that the initial immunoprecipitable translation product was 65 kDa which increased to 70 kDa over the next hour. The 65 kDa species must result from co-translational glycosylation of the polypeptide chain. Apparently, intralysosomal processing converts the 13 kDa form to the 8–11 kDa species. The cells from the patient with GM1 gangliosidosis could not process to the smallest species found in controls due to the deficiency of acid β-galactosidase. Patients who have a variant form of metachromatic leukodystrophy do not make any immunoprecipitable radiolabeled products in the cells or in the media. This indicates a severe mutation in the gene coding for this activator protein. The production of such small mature species from a relatively large precursor form may regulate the production of this interesting protein.
Rates of Ligand Exchange between >FeIII−OH2 Functional Groups on a Nanometer-Sized Aqueous Cluster and Bulk Solution

Variable-temperature 17O NMR experiments were conducted on the nanometer-sized Keplerate Mo72Fe30 cluster, with the stoichiometry [Mo72Fe30O252(CH3COO)12[Mo2O7(H2O)]2[H2Mo2O8(H2O)](H2O)91]·∼150H2O. This molecule contains on its surface 30 Fe(H2O) groups forming a well-defined icosidodecahedron, and we estimated the rates of exchange of the isolated >FeIII−OH2 waters with bulk aqueous solution. Both longitudinal and transverse 17O-relaxation times were measured, as well as chemical shifts, and these parameters were then fit to the Swift−Connick equations in order to obtain the rate parameters. Correspondingly, we estimate: kex298 = 6.7(±0.8) × 106 s-1, which is about a factor of ∼4 × 104 times larger than the corresponding rate coefficient for the Fe(OH2)63+ ion of kex298 = 1.6 × 102 s-1 (Grant and Jordan, 1981; Inorg. Chem. 20, 55−60) and ΔH⧧ and ΔS⧧ are 26.3 ± 0.6 kJ mol-1 and −26 ± 0.9 J mol-1 K-1, respectively. High-pressure 17O NMR experiments were also conducted, but the cluster decomposed slightly ...
Decay studies of 98Pd and 98Rh

Abstract The decay properties of 98 Pd and 98 Rh have been studied using high-resolution Ge(Li) and Si(Li) counters. The analysis of the experimental data on these nuclei is impeded due to short half-lives and the various difficulties in preparation of clean sources. In the present work relatively clean sources of 98 Pd were produced via two reactions: 96 Ru.(α, 2n) 98 Pd and 89 Y( 14 N, 5n) 98 Pd. A half-life of 18.0 ± 0.5 min was measured for the following γ-rays: 67.7, 106.8, 112.5, 174.5, 386.0, 663.0, 725.7 and 837.9 keV. The nucleus 98 Rh was formed by the decay of 98 Pd as well as in the 89 Y( 12 C, 3n) 98 Rh reaction. Quick chemical separations were performed to separate the Rh fraction. A half-life of 8.3 ± 0.2 min was established for the following γ-rays: 597.7, 652.6, 745.4, 762.3, 1164.4, 1414.9 and 1817-OkeV. The use of two Ge(Li) detectors in coincidence studies has revealed the presence of several previously unreported transitions. Based on γ-γ and β-γ coincidence results, consistent level schemes of 98 Rh and 98 Ru are given. The spin and parity assignments of some of the low excited levels are discussed.
Bootstrap current and Ware pinch in drift‐wave turbulent transport

Quasilinear theory is used to calculate contributions to the bootstrap current, Ware pinch, and parallel resistivity due to drift‐wave fluctuations. It is shown that drift‐wave oscillations can produce large anomalous cross‐field fluxes, but have little effect on parallel transport. Specifically, the anomaly in the bootstrap current and Ware pinch is proportional to the spectral average of k⊥k∥, which vanishes because of the parity properties of the drift‐wave eigenfunction. Implications for recent perturbative experiments on tokamak fusion test reactor (TFTR) [Phys. Rev. Lett. 66, 421 (1990)] are discussed.
Where health and welfare meet: Social deprivation among patients in the emergency department

Context As a safety net provider for many disadvantaged Americans, the emergency department (ED) may be an efficient site not only for providing acute medical care, but also for addressing serious social needs.
Analysis, simulation, experimental performance and quantification of conformal waveguide arrays

In this paper radiation properties of conformal antenna arrays are systematically assessed both experimentally and theoretically. Quantitative comparisons are made among planar, pseudoconformal and conformal arrays. Explanations are provided of the development of extremely accurate element models which permit precision prediction of overall array performance. The experimental system design is discussed in detail.
Submodality and columnar organization of the second somatic sensory area in cats

Electrophysiological responses of 519 single and 405 multiple neurons located in the distal forelimb zone of the second somatic sensory cortex (SII) of 11 intact cats were characterized according to their submodality and receptive field properties. In 4 of these animals, 46 single and 134 multiple neuronal responses were studied after transection of the dorsal columns contralateral to the cortical recording sites. Receptive field positions overlapped considerably in SII during orthogonal electrode penetrations, but were shifted during tangential penetrations. Analysis of the receptive field positions for neurons encountered in tangential penetrations indicated that receptive fields rarely overlapped when the neurons were separated by more than 750 microns. Using a variety of hand-held stimuli, neuronal responses were assessed according to several criteria including: velocity, adaptation, following rate, spontaneous activity, and whether the response was elicited by stimulating hairs, skin, claws, or deep tissue. Based on these parameters, it was possible to discern several types of neuronal responses in SII. Among these, over 60% of the neurons in our sample responded best to movement of hairs. A smaller number of neurons responded as though they received inputs from Pacinian receptors or rapidly adapting receptors in the glabrous skin. In about 20% of the single neuron sample, it was not possible to identify a selective adequate stimulus, however, these cells responded to somatic stimuli, such as taps. Approximately 5% of the neurons could not be driven with somatic sensory stimuli. Following dorsal column lesions, some neurons in SII still responded to cutaneous stimulation, primarily hair movement. Most SII neurons were more difficult to drive, the responses were more sluggish and receptive fields were less well-defined. A greater proportion of single neuron responses (> 60%) could not be activated by any type of somatic sensory stimulus. These results indicate that the dorsal columns provide a potent, but not exclusive, source of afferent input to SII.
A method for determining stress in wetland plant communities following an oil spill

Abstract Gaseous exchange chambers were used to determine the degree of sublethal stress in wetland plant communities. Air samples were collected in syringes and the CO 2 concentration determined on a gas chromatograph equipped with a catalytic conversion unit to quantitatively reduce CO 2 to CH 4 , and a flame ionisation detector. The system provides an appraisal of stress by measuring the relative decrease in gross photosynthesis. The described technique is portable, rapid and can be used in remote areas. It was developed to determine the effect of oil spills on a saltmarsh, but can be used to determine the effects of other man-induced—as well as natural—stresses.
Effect of added α-lactalbumin protein on the phase behavior of AOT–brine–isooctane systems

We have found that the presence of <1 wt% of the globular protein α-lactalbumin has a significant impact on the equilibrium phase behavior of dilute sodium bis(ethylhexyl) sulfosuccinate (AOT)/brine/isooctane systems. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), Karl Fischer titration, and ultraviolet spectroscopy were used to determine the surfactant, oil, water, and protein content of the organic and aqueous phases as a function of the total surfactant and protein present. As a small amount of α-lactalbumin is added to the mixture, there is a substantial increase (up to 80%) in the maximum water solubility in the water-in-oil microemulsion phase. Dynamic light scattering measurements indicate that this increase is due to a decrease in the magnitude of the (negative) spontaneous curvature of the surfactant monolayer, as droplets swell in size. As the molar ratio of α-lactalbumin to AOT surpasses approximately 1:300, the partitioning of water, protein, and surfactant shifts to the excess aqueous phase, where soluble assemblies with positive curvature are detected by dynamic light scattering. Significant amounts of isooctane are solubilized in these aggregates, consistent with the formation of oil-in-water microemulsion droplets. Circular dichroism studies showed that the tertiary structure of the protein in the microemulsion is disrupted while the secondary structure is increased. In light of these findings, the protein most likely expands to a molten-globule type conformation in the AOT interfacial environment, but does not substantially unfold to become an extended chain.
Mortality resulting from blood dyscrasias in the United States, 1984.

Blood dyscrasias are rare but serious diseases. We used national death certificate data for the year 1984 to estimate the number and rate of deaths caused by four blood dyscrasias. These diseases contributed to 4,490 deaths, corresponding to a mortality rate of 18.9 per million United States population. Aplastic anemia was the most frequent cause of death, followed by thrombocytopenia, agranulocytosis, and hemolytic anemia. Mortality rates varied by age, with a small peak in young children, lower rates for ages five through 34 years, and exponentially increasing rates beyond 35 years of age. Although drug relatedness could not be reliably ascertained from our data, other surveys have estimated that approximately 30% of fatal blood dyscrasias are caused by therapeutic drugs. Assuming that 30% drug attribution also applies to the U.S. population as a whole, approximately 1,350 blood dyscrasia deaths in the U.S. in 1984 may have been caused by drugs.
An infrared search for formaldehyde in several comets

Models which assume either a parent or a distributed source for H2CO are presently used to retrieve 3-sigma upper limits to that species' production rate from a 3.55-3.64 micron search for cometary IR emission from the nu1 and nu5 bands of formaldehyde. A parent-source H2CO production rate relative to water of 0.15-0.80 percent is obtained, together with a distributed source production rate of 1.7-5.8 percent.
Wildfire and fuel treatment effects on forest carbon dynamics in the western United States

Abstract Sequestration of carbon (C) in forests has the potential to mitigate the effects of climate change by offsetting future emissions of greenhouse gases. However, in dry temperate forests, wildfire is a natural disturbance agent with the potential to release large fluxes of C into the atmosphere. Climate-driven increases in wildfire extent and severity are expected to increase the risks of reversal to C stores and affect the potential of dry forests to sequester C. In the western United States, fuel treatments that successfully reduce surface fuels in dry forests can mitigate the spread and severity of wildfire, while reducing both tree mortality and emissions from wildfire. However, heterogeneous burn environments, site-specific variability in post-fire ecosystem response, and uncertainty in future fire frequency and extent complicate assessments of long-term (decades to centuries) C dynamics across large landscapes. Results of studies on the effects of fuel treatments and wildfires on long-term C retention across large landscapes are limited and equivocal. Stand-scale studies, empirical and modeled, describe a wide range of total treatment costs (12–116 Mg C ha−1) and reductions in wildfire emissions between treated and untreated stands (1–40 Mg C ha−1). Conclusions suggest the direction (source, sink) and magnitude of net C effects from fuel treatments are similarly variable (−33 Mg C ha−1 to +3 Mg C ha−1). Studies at large spatial and temporal scales suggest that there is a low likelihood of high-severity wildfire events interacting with treated forests, negating any expected C benefit from fuels reduction. The frequency, extent, and severity of wildfire are expected to increase as a result of changing climate, and additional information on C response to management and disturbance scenarios is needed improve the accuracy and usefulness of assessments of fuel treatment and wildfire effects on C dynamics.
Simulation of a time dependent activated sludge wastewater treatment plant

Abstract A dynamic mathematical model has been developed for a general activated sludge wastewater treatment plant. The model includes a primary settler, aeration tank, and clarifier-thickener, each of which is represented by various configurations of a general tanks-in-series model. With the aid of the model, it was possible to simulate simultaneously the diurnal response of a number of significant variables including dissolved BOD, suspended solids, dissolved volatile solids, active mass, inert mass, soluble nonbiodegradable mass, Nitrosomonas mass, Nitrobacter mass, ammonium, nitrite, nitrate and dissolved oxygen. The equations for the model as well as the results of plant simulations using the model and a sensitivity analysis are presented.
Ondine curse and neurocristopathy

Two newborns, 1 male and 1 female, had both Ondine curse, also known as congenital, central hypoventilation syndrome, and Hirschsprung disease. Both infants demonstrated insufficient respiration while asleep and normal respiration when awake. The lesser affected child had an otherwise normal neurologic examination, but suffered from seizures. He died at 18 months of age; neuropathologic examination of the brain was unremarkable. The girl had a severe and ultimately fatal form of this disorder and manifested a variety of neurologic abnormalities indicative of developmental failure of the neural crest-derived tissues. These abnormalities included unreactive pupils and deafness. She died at 40 days of age; autopsy permission was denied. The etiology of sleep apnea is not known. Mechanisms of central integration may be abnormal but the association with neural crest maldevelopment implicates the peripheral nervous system.
Code blue: Acinetobacter baumannii, a nosocomial pathogen with a role in the oral cavity

Actinetobacter baumannii is an important nosocomial pathogen that can cause a wide range of serious conditions including pneumonia, meningitis, necrotizing fasciitis and sepsis. It is also a major cause of wound infections in military personnel injured during the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, leading to its popular nickname of ‘Iraqibacter’. Contributing to its success in clinical settings is resistance to environmental stresses such as desiccation and disinfectants. Moreover, in recent years there has been a dramatic increase in the number of A. baumannii strains with resistance to multiple antibiotic classes. Acinetobacter baumannii is an inhabitant of oral biofilms, which can act as a reservoir for pneumonia and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Subgingival colonization by A. baumannii increases the risk of refractory periodontitis. Pathogenesis of the organism involves adherence, biofilm formation and iron acquisition. In addition, A. baumannii can induce apoptotic cell death in epithelial cells and kill hyphal forms of Candida albicans. Virulence factors that have been identified include pili, the outer membrane protein OmpA, phospholipases and extracellular polysaccharide. Acinetobacter baumannii can sense blue light through a blue-light sensing using flavin (BLUF) domain protein, BlsA. The resulting conformational change in BlsA leads to changes in gene expression, including virulence genes.
Quantification of Quercetin Glycosides in 6 Onion Cultivars and Comparisons of Hydrolysis-HPLC and Spectrophotometric Methods in Measuring Total Quercetin Concentrations

This study was performed to purify and quantify quercetin glycosides (QG) and aglycone (free) quercetin (Q) in 6 selected onion cultivars and to compare analytical approaches based on high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and spectrophotometry for the quantification of total quercetin (TQ) concentrations. Individual mono- and di-glycoside Q compounds were purified using a semipreparative HPLC and identified by comparing spectral data and by confirming corresponding peaks of QG and Q after incomplete enzyme-hydrolysis. Purified QG were quantified as Q by enzyme-hydrolysis/HPLC. TQ concentrations obtained from 20 onion bulbs with enzyme-hydrolysis/HPLC, no-hydrolysis/HPLC, and a spectrophotometric method without prior hydrolysis were significantly correlated (r(2)= 0.99) and were about 15% higher, identical, or 10% less than those concentrations by a standard acid-hydrolysis/HPLC method, respectively. During enzyme-hydrolysis of onion extracts, progressive reduction of the QG and formation of the corresponding mono-glycosides and Q were monitored using an analytical HPLC. TQ ranged from 83 to 330 microg/g F.W. in 6 selected cultivars of long-day or short-day onions. Q3,4'G and Q4'G were the 2 major compounds and comprised approximately between 94% and 97% of TQ in onions.
Binding Affinity and Specificity of Neuromyelitis Optica Autoantibodies to Aquaporin-4 M1/M23 Isoforms and Orthogonal Arrays

Autoantibodies against astrocyte water channel aquaporin-4 (AQP4) are highly specific for the neuroinflammatory disease neuromyelitis optica (NMO). We measured the binding of NMO autoantibodies to AQP4 in human astrocyte-derived U87MG cells expressing M1 and/or M23 AQP4, or M23 mutants that do not form orthogonal array of particles (OAPs). Binding affinity was quantified by two-color fluorescence ratio imaging of cells stained with NMO serum or a recombinant monoclonal NMO autoantibody (NMO-rAb), together with a C terminus anti-AQP4 antibody. NMO-rAb titrations showed binding with dissociation constants down to 44 ± 7 nm. Different NMO-rAbs and NMO patient sera showed a wide variation in NMO-IgG binding to M1 versus M23 AQP4. Differences in binding affinity rather than stoichiometry accounted for M1 versus M23 binding specificity, with consistently greater affinity of NMO-IgG binding to M23 than M1 AQP4. Binding and OAP measurements in cells expressing different M1:M23 ratios or AQP4 mutants indicated that the differential binding of NMO-IgG to M1 versus M23 was due to OAP assembly rather than to differences in the M1 versus M23 N termini. Purified Fab fragments of NMO-IgG showed similar patterns of AQP4 isoform binding, indicating that structural changes in the AQP4 epitope upon array assembly, and not bivalent cross-linking of whole IgG, result in the greater binding affinity to OAPs. Our study establishes a quantitative assay of NMO-IgG binding to AQP4 and indicates remarkable, OAP-dependent heterogeneity in NMO autoantibody binding specificity.
Critical factors affecting the permeabilization of Drosophila embryos by alkanes

Because of waxes in the vitelline membrane, the Drosophila egg is effectively impermeable to liquid water and to aqueous solutes, and consequently it cannot be cryopreserved unless it can be permeabilized. The more successful of the few published permeabilization procedures involve the removal of the chorion mechanically or by hypochlorite solution, the removal of all surrounding water by air drying or alcohol, the exposure of eggs to pure alkanes like octane or hexane for some 30 s, the removal of the alkane and the transfer of the eggs to aqueous culture medium without their desiccation, and lastly incubation of the permeabilized embryos under mineral oil. In following these procedures we opted for a somewhat different approach to applying hypochlorite, water, alcohol, and alkane; namely, eggs were placed between two Nucleopore filters, and the fluids drawn sequentially through the filters by vacuum. Extensive initial attempts were mystifying and discouraging in that although permeabilization was good, survivals were poor, and modifications that increased the latter reduced the former. The explanation turned out to be that permeabilization and survival depended critically on the amount of carry-over alcohol that contaminated the alkane. To determine the effects of alcohol concentration in the alkane, it was essential first to effectively eliminate carry-over contamination and then re-add precise amounts of alcohol (isopropanol) to the alkane (n-hexane, heptane, or octane). When the alcohol concentration is less than or equal to 0.2%, permeabilization is poor; when it is greater than or equal to 0.5%, permeabilization is good but survival (hatching) is poor. There are strong interactions between alcohol concentration and exposure time to alkane/alcohol mixtures with respect to the fraction of embryos that become permeabilized and the percentage that survive. There are also significant but less critical effects from the type of alcohol and alkane. The best results for 12-h embryos (greater than or equal to 90% permeabilization and 70-80% hatching) were achieved with eggs exposed to 0.3 or 0.4% 1-butanol in n-heptane for 90 s. High survivals of permeabilized 12-h embryos did not require incubation under mineral oil. Permeabilized embryos are permeable to water, ethylene glycol, glycerol, and the stain rhodamine B (which was used to assess permeabilization). They are effectively impermeable to sucrose. Embryo age is important. Between 14 and 16 h the above permeabilization procedures become dramatically less effective.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Cross-Cultural Marketing Negotiations: A Laboratory Experiment

Data from a laboratory experiment involving Japanese and American business people are analyzed using a structural equation model. Measures of the process of marketing negotiations e.g., social influence strategies, etc. are found to mediate the influence of cultural variation of the parties i.e., cross-cultural versus intracultural bargaining on negotiation outcomes.
$uvby$ photometry of the magnetic chemically peculiar stars HD 37776, HR 2258, HR 6958, and 108 Aquarii

Differential Stromgren uvby photometric observations from the Four College Automated Photoelectric Telescope are presented for four magnetic chemically peculiar stars. Comparison with uvby photometry of Pedersen & Thomsen for HD 37776 yields an improved period of 1.538675 days. New periods of 15.0305 days and 18.065 days are found for the sharp-lined stars HR 2258 and HR 6958, respectively, rather than one of their aliases. For HR 6958 each color shows a slightly different time of maximum. Comparison of the four color photometry of 108 Aqr taken during the fall of 1995 which well covers the period shows the presence of a secondary minimum near primary maximum in u , v , and b . Comparison with published photometry indicates indicates that subtle changes in the shapes of the light curves have occurred suggesting that this star might be precessing.
Patterns of connections from the striate cortex to cortical visual areas in superior temporal sulcus of macaque and middle temporal gyrus of owl monkey

Double label-emulsion autoradiography has been used in rhesus monkeys to study cortico-cortical connections, arising from two separate sites of the striate cortex, and going in the same hemisphere into the cortex in the medial part of the posterior (or ventral) bank of the superior temporal sulcus (area STS). The projections from a single cortical locus are segregated into several patches of labeled terminals in layers III-IV, which form bands in consecutive sections. Fields of distribution of these bands from two sites of area 17 may completely overlap, when they arise from neighboring regions, or may partially overlap, when they arise from more separated regions. The latter show a retinotopical order in these connections and, consequently, of area STS itself: central visual field is lateral and ventral in STS to peripheral visual field, and upper visual field is ventral and medial to lower visual field. Connections from area 17 to area MT in owl monkey were analyzed in a comparative study. Results show that these connections are also highly segregated into bands, and that those arising in separate, but neighboring regions of 17, may greatly overlap in MT. The retinotopy of these connections was not studied, however. The similar divergent distribution of area 17 connections to STS and MT, and the similarity of the topography of STS connections and of the known retinotopy of area MT, are considered as elements of homologies between these areas. Functional implications of these divergent patterns of connections to these motion-sensitive areas (Zeki, '74), are considered.
For the love of goats: the advantages of alterity

Small-scale, artisanal livestock production is framed as “other” by conventional livestock producers, and rural communities. This alterity, although not without cost, allows women to be involved as active entrepreneurs and managers in artisanal livestock production and also allows farmers to pursue management strategies with the explicit purpose of enhancing animal welfare. The case study presented here, an artisanal goat dairy farm managed by three women, demonstrates that by embracing feminine care identities, these women carve a space for themselves within livestock production in which they can pursue their own economic and affective goals. Analysis of ethnographic data also demonstrates that farmers’ decision-making regarding animal production is based on both affective and instrumental concerns. If we are to understand and operationalize the affective component of farmer decision making based on the livestock–farmer relationship, we must begin to consider to what extent livestock themselves are social actors.
MicroRNA Control in the Immune System: Basic Principles

MicroRNA (miRNA) control has emerged as a critical regulatory principle in the mammalian immune system. Genetic ablation of the miRNA machinery, as well as loss or deregulation of certain individual miRNAs, severely compromises immune development and response and can lead to immune disorders like autoimmunity and cancer. Although individual miRNAs modulate protein output from hundreds of target genes, they may impact physiological processes by regulating the concentrations of just a few key cellular proteins that may be components of a single or of functionally interrelated pathways in a given cellular context.
Protein Kinase A Stimulates Binding of Multiple Proteins to a U-Rich Domain in the 3′-Untranslated Region of Lactate Dehydrogenase A mRNA That Is Required for the Regulation of mRNA Stability

We have explored the molecular basis of the cAMP-induced stabilization of lactate dehydrogenase A (LDH-A) mRNA and identified four cytoplasmic proteins of 96, 67, 52, and 50 kDa that specifically bind to a 30-nucleotide uridine-rich sequence in the LDH 3′-untranslated region with a predicted stem-loop structure. Mutational analysis revealed that specific protein binding is dependent upon an intact primary nucleotide sequence in the loop as well as integrity of the adjoining double-stranded stem structure, thus indicating a high degree of primary and secondary structure specificity. The critical stem-loop region is located between nucleotides 1473 and 1502 relative to the mRNA cap site and contains a previously identified cAMP-stabilizing region (CSR) required for LDH-A mRNA stability regulation by the protein kinase A pathway. The 3′-untranslated region binding activity of the proteins is up-regulated after protein kinase A activation, whereas protein dephosphorylation is associated with a loss of binding activity. These results imply a cause and effect relationship between LDH-A mRNA stabilization and CSR-phosphoprotein binding activity. We propose that the U-rich CSR is a recognition signal for CSR-binding proteins and for an mRNA processing pathway that specifically stabilizes LDH mRNA in response to activation of the protein kinase A signal transduction pathway.
Psychiatric Comorbidity, Red Flag Behaviors, and Associated Outcomes among Office-Based Buprenorphine Patients Following Hurricane Sandy

In October 2012, Bellevue Hospital Center (Bellevue) in New York City was temporarily closed as a result of Hurricane Sandy, the largest hurricane in US history. Bellevue’s primary care office-based buprenorphine program was temporarily closed and later relocated to an affiliate public hospital. Previous research indicates that the relationships between disaster exposure, substance use patterns, psychiatric symptoms, and mental health services utilization is complex, with often conflicting findings regarding post-event outcomes (on the individual and community level) and antecedent risk factors. In general, increased use of tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drugs is associated with both greater disaster exposure and the development or exacerbation of other psychiatric symptoms and need for treatment. To date, there is limited published information regarding post-disaster outcomes among patients enrolled in office-based buprenorphine treatment, as the treatment modality has only been relatively approved recently. Patients enrolled in the buprenorphine program at the time of the storm were surveyed for self-reported buprenorphine adherence and illicit substance and alcohol use, as well as disaster-related personal consequences and psychiatric sequelae post-storm. Baseline demographic characteristics and insurance status were available from the medical record. Analysis was descriptive (counts and proportions) and qualitative, coding open-ended responses for emergent themes. There were 132 patients enrolled in the program at the time of the storm; of those, 91 were contacted and 89 completed the survey. Almost half of respondents reported disruption of their buprenorphine supply. Unexpectedly, patients with psychiatric comorbidity were no more likely to report increased use/relapse as a result. Rather, major risk factors associated with increased use or relapse post-storm were: (1) shorter length of time in treatment, (2) exposure to storm losses such as buprenorphine supply disruption, (3) a pre-storm history of red flag behaviors (in particular, repeat opioid-positive urines), and (4) new-onset post-storm psychiatric symptoms. Our findings highlight the relative resilience of buprenorphine as an office-based treatment modality for patients encountering a disaster with associated unanticipated service disruption. In responding to future disasters, triaging patient contact and priority based on a history of red-flag behaviors, rather than a history of psychiatric comorbidity, will likely optimize resource allocation, especially among recently enrolled patients. Additionally, patients endorsing new-onset psychiatric manifestations following disasters may be an especially high-risk group for poor outcomes, warranting further study.
Neuropathologic findings in cortical resections (including hemispherectomies) performed for the treatment of intractable childhood epilepsy.

Despite the use of hemispherectomy in the treatment of medically refractory seizures since the early 1950's, few studies published have documented neuropathologic findings in the resected specimens. This report describes the neuropathologic findings in 38 children who underwent either hemispherectomy or multilobar cortical resection as treatment for medically intractable epilepsy between 1986 and 1990. Examination of the resected specimens revealed a variety of abnormalities which fell into four broad categories. Malformations or hamartomatous lesions were the dominant finding in 15 patients, whereas encephalomalacic lesions were the most prominent abnormality in 16; chronic pathogen-free encephalitis (Rasmussen's encephalitis) was present in 3 and an additional 3 children had Sturge-Weber-Dimitri syndrome. There were no gross or microscopic abnormalities in 1 patient. This report provides the first comprehensive description of the pathologic findings in a series of children with refractory epilepsy of varying types treated by hemispherectomy-multilobar resection.
THE EFFECT AND COST OF FORECAST ERROR BIAS FOR MULTIPLE‐STAGE PRODUCTION‐INVENTORY SYSTEMS

This paper examines forecast error with an intention not to minimize forecast error so much as to bias the resultant error in order to achieve better managerial results. Much work has been accomplished by other researchers toward the goal of minimizing forecast error—sometimes by the use of sophisticated forecasting techniques. The results of this paper indicate that manipulating forecast error bias may be the better managerial strategy as opposed to going to great lengths to minimize forecast error. Subject Areas: Forecasting, Aggregate Planning, Capacity Planning, and Production/Operations Management.
Heuristic modeling of carcinogenesis for the population with dichotomous susceptibility to cancer: a pancreatic cancer example

At present, carcinogenic models imply that all individuals in a population are susceptible to cancer. These models either ignore a fall of the cancer incidence rate at old ages, or use some poorly identifiable parameters for its accounting. In this work, a new heuristic model is proposed. The model assumes that, in a population, only a small fraction (pool) of individuals is susceptible to cancer and decomposes the problem of the carcinogenic modeling on two sequentially solvable problems: (i) determination of the age-specific hazard rate in individuals susceptible to cancer (individual hazard rate) from the observed hazard rate in the population (population hazard rate); and (ii) modelling of the individual hazard rate by a chosen “up” of the theoretical hazard function describing cancer occurrence in individuals in time (age). The model considers carcinogenesis as a failure of individuals susceptible to cancer to resist cancer occurrence in aging and uses, as the theoretical hazard function, the three-parameter Weibull hazard function, often utilized in a failure analysis. The parameters of this function, providing the best fit of the modeled and observed individual hazard rates (determined from the population hazard rates), are the outcomes of the modeling. The model was applied to the pancreatic cancer data. It was shown that, in the populations stratified by gender, race and the geographic area of living, the modeled and observed population hazard rates of pancreatic cancer occurrence have similar turnovers at old ages. The sizes of the pools of individuals susceptible to this cancer: (i) depend on gender, race and the geographic area of living; (ii) proportionally influence the corresponding population hazard rates; and (iii) do not influence the individual hazard rates. The model should be further tested using data on other types of cancer and for the populations stratified by different categorical variables.
Recruitment of African Americans with type 2 diabetes to a randomized controlled trial using three sources.

Objectives. To assess the usefulness of three sources (faith-based organizations (FBOs) health system and community) for recruitment of African Americans with type 2 diabetes to a randomized controlled trial (RCT). Design. African Americans with type 2 diabetes were recruited to a diabetes self-management program at four FBO sites. An observational study of a multifaceted recruitment strategy to enroll subjects in the RCT that evaluated the effectiveness of a diabetes self-management program and the effect of recruitment source on retention after enrollment. Self-administered demographic surveys and weekly class attendance records were collected. Results. Of 184 interested individuals 109 (59.2%) were enrolled. Of those enrolled 60.6% recruited through the health system 13.8% FBOs and 19.2% the community. The highest yield was achieved through the health system. However for both the intervention (I) and control (C) groups respectively participants recruited from FBOs (85.7% I; 62.5% C) were more likely to...
Cytoskeletal changes accompanying ACTH-induced steroidogenesis in cultured embryonic adrenal gland cells from the Pekin duck.

Cells derived from the adrenal glands of duck embryos immediately prior to hatching were grown in culture and used to study the morphological and cytoskeletal changes and steroidogenic responses induced by 1–24 ACTH. Changes in the cytoskeletal components were observed by rhodamine-phalloidin staining for actin and by staining the tubulin immunoreactive components with FITC. The cultures were comprised of a small population of chromaffin cells and a larger population of steroidogenic cells. The chromaffin cells were distinguished by their tyrosine hydroxylase immunoreactivity. The steroidogenic cells were characterized by the presence of sudanophilic lipid droplets, numerous mitochondria, abundant smooth endoplasmic reticulum, microtubules distributed as a fairly even network throughout the cytoplasm, and microfilaments that formed an extensive and elaborate system of stress fibers with many parallel arrays. The cells readily responded to stimulation with ACTH by releasing corticosterone, aldosterone and deoxycorticosterone. Stimulation with ACTH also induced changes in both the cell morphology and the cytoskeleton. Exposure of the cells to Krebs-Henseleit buffer containing 1–24 ACTH caused them to form numerous fine filopodia, to lose their stress fibers, and to form a thick ring of actin at the periphery of the cell. In addition, many cells became extremely arborized with many long branched dendritic processes. The morphological changes appeared to be related to a redistribution of the actin components, and may be explained only in part by the rounding up or retraction of the cytoplasm. The results strongly suggest an involvement of the actin components of the cytoskeleton in the steroidogenic response to corticotropic stimulation.
Major Soybean Maturity Gene Haplotypes Revealed by SNPViz Analysis of 72 Sequenced Soybean Genomes

In this Genomics Era, vast amounts of next-generation sequencing data have become publicly available for multiple genomes across hundreds of species. Analyses of these large-scale datasets can become cumbersome, especially when comparing nucleotide polymorphisms across many samples within a dataset and among different datasets or organisms. To facilitate the exploration of allelic variation and diversity, we have developed and deployed an in-house computer software to categorize and visualize these haplotypes. The SNPViz software enables users to analyze region-specific haplotypes from single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) datasets for different sequenced genomes. The examination of allelic variation and diversity of important soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] flowering time and maturity genes may provide additional insight into flowering time regulation and enhance researchers' ability to target soybean breeding for particular environments. For this study, we utilized two available soybean genomic datasets for a total of 72 soybean genotypes encompassing cultivars, landraces, and the wild species Glycine soja. The major soybean maturity genes E1, E2, E3, and E4 along with the Dt1 gene for plant growth architecture were analyzed in an effort to determine the number of major haplotypes for each gene, to evaluate the consistency of the haplotypes with characterized variant alleles, and to identify evidence of artificial selection. The results indicated classification of a small number of predominant haplogroups for each gene and important insights into possible allelic diversity for each gene within the context of known causative mutations. The software has both a stand-alone and web-based version and can be used to analyze other genes, examine additional soybean datasets, and view similar genome sequence and SNP datasets from other species.
Abdominal hysterectomy with or without angle stitch: correlation with subsequent vaginal vault prolapse

Objective The objective of the study was to assess whether cardinal-uterosacral ligament lateral vaginal cuff angle stitches at the time of total hysterectomy may assist in preventing subsequent apical vault prolapse. Study Design Total hysterectomies without cuff angle stitches were performed in 7 unembalmed cadavers. Successive hanging weights of 1, 2, 3, and 4 kg were loaded against the vaginal cuff and distances moved were recorded. The same process was repeated after tying bilateral angle stitches. Results Average distances pulled with 1, 2, 3, and 4 kg of traction against the cuff without angle stitches were 14.6 ± 1.4, 19.1 ± 1.7, 23.1 ± 2.3, and 27.6 ± 2.0 mm, respectively. After completing angle sutures, these distances were 13.1 ±1.1, 17.3 ± 1.5, 20.9 ± 1.9, and 25.1 ± 2.6 mm, respectively ( P = .026). Conclusion Methodical incorporation of the cardinal-uterosacral ligaments into the vaginal cuff margins at time of total abdominal hysterectomy may help minimize subsequent apical vault prolapse.
The high yield and regioselective conversion of an unactivated aziridine to an oxazolidinone using carbon dioxide with ammonium iodide as the catalyst

The conversion of an unactivated 2-alkylaziridine to the corresponding oxazolidinone generally requires a very high pressure of carbon dioxide, a high temperature, an expensive catalyst, and/or a long reaction time. Here, a new, high yield (over 95%), and highly regioselective (over 95%) conversion of an unactivated aziridine to an oxazolidinone is reported. This reaction is easy to perform because it requires a low pressure of carbon dioxide, low temperature, no co-solvent, and the catalyst is the salt ammonium iodide.