cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Association of Prediabetes Status Awareness With Behaviors and Perception of Health.

Introduction: Lifestyle modification can significantly reduce the risk of developing diabetes. However, the effect of prediabetes status awareness on perceptions of health and health behaviors are mixed. We used the 2015 to 2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data to evaluate the association of prediabetes status awareness with self-reported perception of health and health behaviors. Methods: A secondary analysis was performed on the 2015 to 2016 NHANES, which is a biannual, cross-sectional survey designed to be representative of the civilian, noninstitutionalized United States population. Survey participants were interviewed at home and invited to a mobile examination center to undergo examinations and laboratory measurements. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied to create prediabetes-aware and prediabetes-unaware groups. The groups were propensity-score matched based on Body Mass Index, A1c, race, and education. Measures of health perception and health behaviors were analyzed, including feeling at risk for developing diabetes, general health status, perception of weight, desire to lose weight, dietary behaviors, and physical activity behaviors. Results: Participants who were prediabetes aware were more likely to report a perceived risk of diabetes and to consider themselves overweight. Prediabetes awareness was not associated with any difference in dietary or physical activity behaviors. Conclusions: Although participants who were aware of their prediabetes status were more likely to report a perceived threat of developing diabetes, they did not report increased engagement in health behaviors. Future research can better understand how these aspects of a health belief model affect engagement in health behaviors for people with prediabetes.
Cell cycle re-entry and arrest in G2/M phase induces senescence and fibrosis in Fuchs Endothelial Corneal Dystrophy

Fuchs endothelial corneal dystrophy (FECD) is an age-related disease whereby progressive loss of corneal endothelial cells (CEnCs) leads to loss of vision. There is currently a lack of therapeutic interventions as the etiology of the disease is complex, with both genetic and environmental factors. In this study, we have provided further insights into the pathogenesis of the disease, showing a causal relationship between senescence and endothelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) using in vitro and in vivo models. Ultraviolet A (UVA) light induced EMT and senescence in CEnCs. Senescent cells were arrested in G2/M phase of the cell cycle and responsible for the resulting profibrotic phenotype. Inhibiting ATR signaling and subsequently preventing G2/M arrest attenuated EMT. In vivo, UVA irradiation induced cell cycle re-entry in post mitotic CEnCs, resulting in senescence and fibrosis at 1- and 2-weeks post-UVA. Selectively eliminating senescent cells using the senolytic cocktail of dasatinib and quercetin attenuated UVA-induced fibrosis, highlighting the potential for a new therapeutic intervention for FECD.
Not Another Survey! Use Interviews Instead to Understand Needs in Your Library

Assessment in libraries is an essential part of managing library resources to meet the needs of patrons and stakeholders. This paper discusses the advantages and disadvantages of two assessment devices—surveys and interviews—in particular as they apply to libraries.
Catalytic upcycling of waste plastics over nanocellulose derived biochar catalyst for the coupling harvest of hydrogen and liquid fuels.

Abstract A powerful simple biochar catalyst derived from nanocellulose was applied to the catalytic upcycling of waste plastics into H2 and liquid fuels for the first time. For the results from model low-density polyethylene (LDPE) pyrolysis, the C8-C16 aliphatics and monocyclic aromatics were dominant constitutes of the liquid product with the yields ranging from 22 to 68 wt%. At the temperature of 500 °C and biochar to LDPE ratio surpassing 3, the LDPE could be completely degraded into liquid and gas without wax production. A wax yield of 16 wt% was observed at the temperature of 450 °C and biochar to LDPE ratio of 4, which was dramatically lower than that (77 wt%) from the absence of biochar at the temperature of 500 °C. Up to 92 vol% of H2 was detected in the gaseous product with a yield of 36 wt%. The lower temperatures and higher biochar to LDPE ratios favored increasing the generation of H2 at the expense of light gas CnHm especially CH4. Moreover, this biochar catalyst was tested effectively to convert the real waste plastics including grocery bags and packaging tray into valuable liquid and H2-enriched gas.
Moraic Footing in Suzhou Chinese: Evidence from Toneless Moras

The current study provides additional phonetic data for the light-initial sandhi patterns in Suzhou Chinese, illustrating a context-sensitive pitch alternation that is not present after heavy-initial forms, and has not been attested in other neighboring Northern Wu varieties either. I propose that such pitch alternation is due to interpolation effects on toneless prosodic constituents, here toneless moras. A binary trochee built directly on moras yields an unparsed (i.e. toneless) final mora in light-heavy disyllables, accounting for the pitch patterns on the surface. Such an analysis is not only empirically adequate, but also echoes the cross-linguistic structural observation that a foot head lighter in weight than the dependent is generally dispreferred (Head-Dependent Asymmetry; cf. Dresher and van der Hulst 1998).
Hair of the mouse: A skin bacteria "cocktail" gets follicles back on their feet.

Microbes can boost cutaneous immune defense and skin reparative capacity. However, mechanistic understanding, especially of the latter, remains sparse. In this issue of Cell Host & Microbe, Wang et al. (2021) shed light on this, demonstrating that bacteria contribute to hair follicle neogenesis after skin wounding via keratinocyte-intrinsic IL-1R1 signaling.
Microbial biotechnology for enhancing the production of strategic crop plants: Current trends and future perspectives

Background: Today, the application of microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi and alga for enhancing cashing crops growth has been increased. A wide-spectrum ranges of microorganisms have been isolated from rhizosphere, phyllosphere, soils and mines that showed potential benefits for enhancing plant production. These microorganisms are effective beneficial, symbiont and plant stimulator that could provide a considerable amount of essential nutrient for plant roots, protect plants from stresses and finally affected the total yield of plants. The selection of proper bacteria or fungus species for introducing into the agricultural soils that used for cultivation of economic and strategic plants such as cereals, oil-yielding trees and commercial seeds, depend on various factors such as target hosts, the population of soil microorganisms, environmental tensions and survival potential of introduced bacteria. Various microbiological methods such as engineering the bacterial genome, introduction of exotic genes into bacterial/fungal strains, enhancing metabolic pathways of microorganism and something like that have been followed to improve the interaction between strategic plant roots and nearby microorganisms. Results: The accumulating body of evidence speculates that any modification in the genome sequence of PGPRs could affect their potential to produce plant growth stimulants. In this regard, studies suggested that over-expression of genes involved in plants yield and regulation of them could relatively support stronger interaction of soil microorganisms with plant roots. Microbiological engineering of soil could also effectively change nutrient recycle around plant roots provided higher level of nutritional elements for plant growth. Therefore, any changes in the population of beneficial soil microbiota are associated with higher growth of plants and their sustainable development in zero-element soils. Conclusion: Because the inappropriate application of plant-growth-enhancing microbiota may show injudicious effects on native soil microorganism, the utilization of novel and practical microbial biotechnology methods can overcome this problem for long-term application of bacterium/fungal-based biofertilizers for agricultural goals.
Lean Privacy Review: Collecting Users’ Privacy Concerns of Data Practices at a Low Cost

Today, industry practitioners (e.g., data scientists, developers, product managers) rely on formal privacy reviews (a combination of user interviews, privacy risk assessments, etc.) in identifying potential customer acceptance issues with their organization’s data practices. However, this process is slow and expensive, and practitioners often have to make ad-hoc privacy-related decisions with little actual feedback from users. We introduce Lean Privacy Review (LPR), a fast, cheap, and easy-to-access method to help practitioners collect direct feedback from users through the proxy of crowd workers in the early stages of design. LPR takes a proposed data practice, quickly breaks it down into smaller parts, generates a set of questionnaire surveys, solicits users’ opinions, and summarizes those opinions in a compact form for practitioners to use. By doing so, LPR can help uncover the range and magnitude of different privacy concerns actual people have at a small fraction of the cost and wait-time for a formal review. We evaluated LPR using 12 real-world data practices with 240 crowd users and 24 data practitioners. Our results show that (1) the discovery of privacy concerns saturates as the number of evaluators exceeds 14 participants, which takes around 5.5 hours to complete (i.e., latency) and costs 3.7 hours of total crowd work ( $80 in our experiments); and (2) LPR finds 89% of privacy concerns identified by data practitioners as well as 139% additional privacy concerns that practitioners are not aware of, at a 6% estimated false alarm rate.
The trend of urinary NT-proBNP in extremely low birth weight infants during the neonatal period.

Background: NT-proBNP is a biomarker of interest in many cardiopulmonary diseases in extremely low birth weight (ELBW) Infants. However, there is a gap in knowledge about the trend of ELBW infant’s urinary NT-proBNP during the neonatal period. Aim: To determine the trend of urinary NT-proBNP during the first four weeks of life of an ELBW infant Study Design: We analyzed prospectively enrolled, 87 ELBW infants. Urinary NT-proBNP to creatinine ratios were measured on days 1-7, day 14, and day 28 of life. In addition, we plotted each study point's means to determine the trend of urinary NT-proBNP over the entire neonatal period. Data were analyzed using the Friedman ANOVA for comparative analysis of study points. Results: Urinary NT-proBNP/creatinine ratios were significantly elevated on days 1-7 (mean 2452, + 1518) than day 14 (mean 747, +176), and day 28 (mean149, +54), p=0.001. Overall, urinary NT-proBNP levels were highest during the days 1-3 (mean 3232+1255) and lowest on day 28 (mean149, +54). Conclusions: Urinary NT-proBNP levels are higher during the first week in ELBW infants with a downward trend during the neonatal period, with the lowest values at four weeks postnatal age. More studies are required to determine the clinical utility of this trend during and beyond the neonatal period.
Auditory-neurophysiological responses to speech during early childhood: Effects of background noise

Abstract Early childhood is a critical period of auditory learning, during which children are constantly mapping sounds to meaning. But this auditory learning rarely occurs in ideal listening conditions—children are forced to listen against a relentless din. This background noise degrades the neural coding of these critical sounds, in turn interfering with auditory learning. Despite the importance of robust and reliable auditory processing during early childhood, little is known about the neurophysiology underlying speech processing in children so young. To better understand the physiological constraints these adverse listening scenarios impose on speech sound coding during early childhood, auditory-neurophysiological responses were elicited to a consonant-vowel syllable in quiet and background noise in a cohort of typically-developing preschoolers (ages 3–5 yr). Overall, responses were degraded in noise: they were smaller, less stable across trials, slower, and there was poorer coding of spectral content and the temporal envelope. These effects were exacerbated in response to the consonant transition relative to the vowel, suggesting that the neural coding of spectrotemporally-dynamic speech features is more tenuous in noise than the coding of static features—even in children this young. Neural coding of speech temporal fine structure, however, was more resilient to the addition of background noise than coding of temporal envelope information. Taken together, these results demonstrate that noise places a neurophysiological constraint on speech processing during early childhood by causing a breakdown in neural processing of speech acoustics. These results may explain why some listeners have inordinate difficulties understanding speech in noise. Speech-elicited auditory-neurophysiological responses offer objective insight into listening skills during early childhood by reflecting the integrity of neural coding in quiet and noise; this paper documents typical response properties in this age group. These normative metrics may be useful clinically to evaluate auditory processing difficulties during early childhood.
Developing magnetofunctionality: Coupled structural and magnetic phase transition in AlFe2B2

Abstract Understanding correlations between crystal structure and magnetism is key to tuning the response of magnetic materials systems that exhibit large functional effects in response to small excursions in magnetic field or strain. To this end, temperature-dependent structure-magnetic property correlations are reported in samples of AlFe 2 B 2 with the orthorhombic AlMn 2 B 2 -type layered structure as it traverses a thermally-hysteretic first-order magnetic phase change at a transition temperature of T t = 280 K. Temperature-dependent x-ray diffraction carried out in the temperature range 200 K ≤ T ≤ 298 K reveals that the a and b lattice parameters increase by 0.2% and 0.1% respectively upon heating, while the c lattice parameter decreases by 0.3%, providing a conserved unit cell volume through T t . A very small volumetric thermal expansion coefficient 4.4 × 10 −6 /K is determined in this temperature range that is one order of magnitude smaller than that of aluminum and only slightly larger than that of Invar. The latent heat of transformation associated with this magnetostructural phase transformation is determined as 4.4 J/g, similar to that of other magnetostructural materials. Overall, these features confirm a first-order thermodynamic phase change in the AlFe 2 B 2 system that emphasizes strong coupling between the magnetic spins and the lattice to support potential magnetofunctional applications for energy transformation and harvesting.
The effect of provider level triage in a military treatment facility emergency department

Introduction Studies show that patients who spend more than 2 hours in the emergency department (ED) report more dissatisfaction with their visits. To remedy this situation, several EDs have implemented programs that insert a medical provider into triage. The objective of this study was to determine whether a Physician Assistant (PA) and Combat Medic performing triage care during peak hours could increase patient throughput. Methods This study is a comparative analysis. We implemented an Emergency Department Provider Level Triage Team (PLTT) that consisted of 1 Emergency Medicine Physician Assistant and 1 Combat Medic to intervene in patient care in the ED at Womack Army Medical Center (WAMC), Fort Bragg, North Carolina, USA. Three days of 12 hours shifts were selected during the peak hours of the ED and compared to the same period on days that did not have the intervention. Only patients categorized with an Emergency Severity Index of 2 or 3 were selected and compared. No additional medical, nursing and medic staff were used. This study was approved by the WAMC Institutional Review Board. Results In total, there were 241 cases during the trial period and 231 controls. Median times were significantly reduced (p= Conclusion The implementation of the PLTT model in our ED was associated with reduced time to healthcare provider assessment, decreased overall ED length of stay, and improved patient satisfaction.
The real wage-employment relationship: An industry analysis

Abstract Estimates of industry differences in the strength and direction of the real wage-employment relationship are used to draw implications for the magnitude of aggregation bias and the role of employment contracts.
Calorimetric Study of Heats of Mixing in SnxTi1−xO2Rutile Solid Solutions

Despite the SnO2–TiO2 system being a classical example of immiscibility and spinodal decomposition for over 50 years, the enthalpies of mixing in this rutile-structured solid solution have not been measured previously because of the refractory nature of the oxides. We report new measurements of enthalpies of drop solution in molten 2PbO·B2O3 at 800°C of the SnxTi1−xO2 solid solutions system. The data show a nearly symmetrical deviation from linearity, supporting regular solution behavior with an interaction parameter of 27.0 ± 2.6 kJ/mol. The calculated miscibility gap has a critical temperature of 1351°± 156°C. These calorimetric data are in reasonable agreement with those calculated from phase equilibria and suggest that the regular solution model, which implies random mixing of the cations and no excess (vibrational) entropy of mixing, indeed adequately describes the thermodynamic behavior. The interaction parameter is more positive than that for oxide systems of lower cation charge and similar volume mismatch.
Amantadine Therapy for Chronic Hepatitis C

OBJECTIVE: Although treatment of hepatitis C has improved, up to 50% do not respond to standard therapy with interferon regimes or cannot tolerate the treatment due to side effects. The purpose of the present investigation was to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of the antiviral drug amantadine for the treatment of hepatitis C in those who had either previously failed interferon therapy or were not candidates for interferon.
Ab initio quantum organic chemistry—I

Abstract We report ab initio SCF calculations on methane and Me anion using Pople's STO-4G basis set. Optimization of exponents and geometry gives good agreement with previous calculations and with experiment for bond distances and force constants. The carbanion is more difficult to treat and various isotropic and anisotropic basis sets are compared with extended basis set calculations. The minimum basis set calculations with optimized exponents produce abnormally long C—H bonds. Inversion barriers and population analyses are compared and a series of electron density and MO contours and 3D diagrams is presented. We conclude that minimum basis set calculations of carbanions may be useful in comparing related sets of compounds but it is better to assume geometry in such treatments.
The “Red Flags” for Child Find under the IDEA: Separating the Law from the Lore

A comprehensive search identified 42 court decisions from late 1996 to early 2014 concerning the primary modern meaning of child find under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)—whether the district had reasonable suspicion of eligibility and yet did not evaluate the child. The findings from a systematic analysis of these court decisions included (a) an upward trajectory in their frequency; (b) an outcome ratio of 2:1 in favor of the defendant school districts; (c) specific learning disabilities and emotional disabilities as the leading suspected IDEA classifications and attention deficit disorder as the predominant professional diagnosis; (d) wide dispersion across the K–12 grade levels; and (e) hospitalization as the only one of various factors characterized in typical training materials as “red flags” of reasonable suspicion the case law supported to serve this metaphoric role.
6 Three Perspectives on Team Learning: Outcome Improvement, Task Mastery, and Group Process

Abstract The emergence of a research literature on team learning has been driven by at least two factors. First, longstanding interest in what makes organizational work teams effective leads naturally to questions about how members of newly formed teams learn to work together and how existing teams improve or adapt. Second, some have argued that teams play a crucial role in organizational learning. These interests have produced a growing and heterogeneous literature. Empirical studies of learning by small groups or teams present a variety of terms, concepts, and methods. This heterogeneity is both generative and occasionally confusing. We identify three distinct areas of research that provide insight into how teams learn to stimulate cross-area discussion and future research. We find that scholars have made progress in understanding how teams in general learn, and propose that future work should develop more precise and context-specific theories to help guide research and practice in disparate task and in...
A New Order of Things: Property, Power, and the Transformation of the Creek Indians, 1733–1816

The story told here is a critical yet unknown chapter in the creation of the American Republic. Claudio Saunt vividly depicts a dramatic transformation in the eighteenth century that overturned the world of the powerful and numerous Creek Indians and forever changed the Deep South. By 1800, some Creeks, whose most valuable belongings had once been deerskins, owned hundreds of African-American slaves and thousands of cattle. Their leaders, who formerly strove for consensus, now ruled by force. New property fostered a new possessiveness, and government by coercion bred confrontation. A New Order of Things was the first book to chronicle this decisive transformation in America's early history, a transformation that left deep divisions between the wealthy and poor, powerful and powerless.
Scleritis and Systemic Disease Association in a Community-Based Referral Practice

Purpose To evaluate the association between scleritis and systemic disease in a non-university, non-tertiary referral practice and to describe our experience with scleritis treatment. Design Retrospective chart review. Methods The medical records of patients with scleritis between 2001 and 2007 were reviewed for associated systemic disease. Results In our series of 86 patients with scleritis, 55 patients (64.0%) had isolated scleritis while 31 patients (36.0%) had associated systemic-disease. Twenty-six patients (83.9%) with systemic disease had diagnosed systemic disease at the time of initial scleritis presentation, while 5 patients (16.1%) were diagnosed following systemic work-up. Those diagnosed after systemic work-up were more likely to have systemic vasculitic disease as opposed to a rheumatic or infectious disease. Patients with and without associated systemic disease were likely to require systemic therapy at similar rates (93.5% and 92.7%, respectively). Five patients with steroid-refractory scleritis were treated with infliximab (Remicade; Centocor Inc, Horsham, Pennsylvania, USA) and all responded without evidence of adverse effect. Seven patients were treated with mycophenolate mofetil (CellCept; Roche Laboratories, Nutley, New Jersey, USA), of which three improved. Conclusions The association between scleritis and systemic disease in a community-based referral practice may be lower than in tertiary referral or university-based centers. Although thorough systemic disease evaluation is warranted in scleritis patients, most patients with associated systemic disease will have such a diagnosis prior to the development of scleritis. The need to institute aggressive systemic therapy cannot be predicted by the presence of an associated systemic disease. Infliximab and mycophenolate mofetil are useful additions to the scleritis practitioner's armamentarium for steroid-refractory scleritis.
Towards a multi-electrode array (MEA) system for patterned neural networks

Abstract Here we describe the development of a unique m ulti- e lectrode a rray (MEA) system capable of supporting patterned neural networks in vitro. The significant features of this BioMEMS system are: (1) precise and exclusive positioning of the neural cell bodies to the electrode region, (2) definition of interconnecting pathways among the neurons by using patterned s elf- a ssembled m onolayers (SAMs), and (3) one-to-one stimulation and recording from precisely positioned neurons. We present for the first time the design and fabrication of an MEA chip supporting patterned neuronal networks, as well as the initial electrical recordings from two types of neurons.
Extensor Tendon Triggering by Impingement on the Extensor Retinaculum: A Report of 5 Cases

We describe 4 patients who were treated for symptomatic triggering of the index and small fingers with pain on the dorsum of the hand and were found to have impingement of an extensor tendon on the extensor retinaculum at the wrist. All cases were treated by release of the extensor retinaculum and excision of pathologic structures.
Update 2001: late follow-up of pleural chondrosarcoma

As Originally Published in 1990: Figure options Download full-size image Download as PowerPoint slide
Growth, characterization and modeling of In x Ga 1-x P stripes by selective-area MOCVD

A computational diffusion model is used to predict the lateral thickness and composition profiles of InxGa1−xP stripes grown by selective-area, atmospheric pressure metalorganic chemical vapor deposition. Standard profilometry is used to measure the thickness profiles of InP and GaAs stripes grown on SiO2 patterned InP and GaAs substrates, respectively. The model is used to find self-consistent empirical diffusion parameters for the In and Ga components which yield fits to the measured thickness data. The InP and GaAs data is then used to predict the growth thickness profile of InGaP by a weighted sum of the predicted profiles of the InP and GaP binary constituents. InGaP composition profiles are calculated by taking the ratio of the InP deposited volume to the InGaP deposited volume predicted by the model at each of the simulation points. Predicted thickness profiles are verified by standard profilometry, and composition profiles are verified by secondary ion mass spectrometry imaging using a fast resistive anode encoding detector. It is found that the measured thickness and composition profiles agree well with the profiles predicted by the model, thus verifying that the model can be used for the InGaP material system. The derived empirical parameters are used to predict the thicknesses and compositions of selectively grown InGaP quantum wells as a function of oxide width.
Political rallies: Their uses and effects

Arguing that political speech‐making can have significant impact, this study surveyed 416 members of the audience at appearances by jour presidential candidates during the 1976 primary in Illinois. The researchers concluded that rallies attract a large percentage of persons who are not members of the featured candidate's political party. From a uses and gratifications perspective, audience motivations for rally attendance were complex, and, while the strongest motivations were of a cognitive‐orientation nature, reasons related to the excitement of the event were surprisingly prominent.
EFFECT OF NON-DARCIAN BEHAVIOR ON THE CHARACTERISTICS OF TRANSIENT FLOW

Abstract A modified form of the boundary value problem describing the one-dimensional transient flow in clay soils is formulated to include a non-Darcian flow law with a threshold gradient. The solution is obtained by matrix techniques, and calculated results are compared with results obtained from conventional one-dimensional theory.
DNA Binding Characteristics of CrtJ A REDOX-RESPONDING REPRESSOR OF BACTERIOCHLOROPHYLL, CAROTENOID, AND LIGHT HARVESTING-II GENE EXPRESSION IN RHODOBACTER CAPSULATUS

Abstract Previous genetic analysis indicated that the photosynthesis gene cluster from Rhodobacter capsulatuscoded for the transcription factor, CrtJ, that is responsible for aerobic repression of bacteriochlorophyll, carotenoid, and light harvesting-II gene expression. In this study, we have heterologously overexpressed and purified CrtJ to homogeneity and shown by gel mobility shift assays that CrtJ is biologically active. DNase I footprint analysis confirms molecular genetic studies by showing that CrtJ binds to conserved palindromic sequences that overlap the −10 and −35 promoter regions of the bchC operon. Graphs of the percentage of DNA bound versus protein concentration show sigmoidal curves, which is highly indicative of cooperative binding of CrtJ to the two palindromic sites. A binding constant for interaction of CrtJ with the palindrome that spans the −10 region was calculated to be 4.8 × 10−9 m, whereas affinity for the palindrome that spans the −35 region was found to be 2.9 × 10−9 m. Binding of CrtJ to the bchCpromoter region was also found to be redox-sensitive, with CrtJ exhibiting a 4.5-fold higher binding affinity under oxidizingversus reducing conditions.
Damage Tolerance Evaluation of Adhesively Laminated Titanium

Basic damage tolerance properties of Ti-6A1-4V titanium plate can be improved by laminating thin sheets of titanium with adhesives. Compact tension and center cracked tension specimens made from thick plate, thin sheet, and laminated plate (six plies of thin sheet) were tested. The fracture toughness of the laminated plate was 39 percent higher than the monolithic plate. The laminated plate's through the thickness crack growth rate was about 20 percent less than that of the monolithic plate. The damage tolerance life of the surface cracked laminate was 6 to over 15 times the life of a monolithic specimen. A simple method of predicting crack growth in a crack ply of a laminate is presented. Previously announced in STAR as N82-33737
Septal forebrain lesions and social dominance behavior in the hooded rat

Septal forebrain lesions produced an increase in the social rank of hooded rats. Increase s in the frequency of both aggressive and defensive behaviors were obtained so that changes in social status could not be attributed to a simple increase in aggressiveness. It appeared that the effects were due to the loss of previously acquired responses to other animals interacting with the sparing of a strong running response in the test situation.
Early stage dynamic damage and the role of grain boundary type

The role of grain boundary type in the early stages of dynamic damage evolution in copper has been investigated. Through a combination of polycrystalline and large-grained specimens, it has been shown that Σ3 and low-angle boundaries are resistant to void nucleation during shock loading to peak compressive stresses between 1.5 and 2.5 GPa. It is postulated that these boundaries promote slip transmission or secondary slip activation and thereby relieve the stress concentrations necessary for void nucleation at a boundary.
Propane ammoxidation to acrylonitrile : an overview

Abstract The main aspects of the new reaction of direct (one-stage) propane ammoxidation to acrylonitrile (ACN) are analyzed with reference to the development of the catalysts for this reaction, the main technological options for the process and relationship with reaction conditions, the reaction network and kinetics of the reaction. In particular it is shown that i) V-Al-antimonate based mixed oxides are promising catalytic systems for the selective formation of ACN from propane in the absence of gas-phase additives, ii) ACN forms through the intermediate formation of propylene and the factor controlling the selectivity to ACN is the rate of the reaction for the formation of ACN from the intermediate propylene (rate which critically depends on the availability of ammonia on the catalyst surface), and iii) kinetic and economic analyses suggest the use of a process involving a high propane concentration with O2 and NH3 as limiting reagents to recycle unreacted propane.
Cyclic AMP-induced G1 phase arrest mediated by an inhibitor (p27Kip1) of cyclin-dependent kinase 4 activation

Abstract Cyclic AMP (cAMP) blocks the mitogenic effects of colony-stimulating factor 1 (CSF-1) in macrophages, inducing cell cycle arrest in mid-G1 phase. Complexes between cyclin D1 and cyclin-dependent kinase 4 (cdk4) assemble in growth arrested cells, but cdk4 is not phosphorylated in vivo by the cdk-activating kinase (CAK) and remains inactive. Although undetectable in lysates of cAMP-treated cells, active CAK is recovered after antibody precipitation, indicating that it is not the direct target of inhibition. Levels of the cdk inhibitor p27 Kip1 increase in cAMP-treated cells, and its immunodepletion from inhibitory lysates restores CAK-mediated cdk4 activation. Kip1 does not bind to CAK, but its association with cyclin D-cdk4 prevents CAK from phosphorylating and activating the holoenzyme.
Cell Proliferation and Expression of Cell Cycle Regulatory Proteins that Control the G1/S Transition Are Age Dependent and Lobe Specific in the Brown Norway Rat Model of Prostatic Hyperplasia

Age-dependent epithelial cell hyperplasia in the dorsal and lateral lobes of Brown Norway rats is analogous to benign prostatic hyperplasia in aging men. A major question is whether differential lobe-specific and age-dependent proliferation of cells, rather than cell survival, contributes to the hyperplasia. Although serum testosterone (T) levels decline in aged rats, active cell proliferation was detected as Ki67-positive cells in the dorsal and lateral lobes. We determined whether androgens differentially affect cell proliferation and cell-cycle regulatory proteins in the prostate lobes of young and aged rats. Castrated rats were treated with different doses of T to restore serum levels to those of intact young or aged rats. Rates of cell proliferation, measured by 5-bromodeoxyuridine labeling, peaked after 3-d T treatment in all lobes. 5-bromodeoxyuridine-labeling indices were higher in the dorsal and lateral lobes of aged than of young rats with equivalent serum T levels. No age-dependent difference was seen in the ventral lobe. Cell proliferation was marked by increased levels of cyclins D1 and E and cyclin-dependent kinases 4 and 6, decreased p27 and increased phosphorylation of Rb. Levels of cyclins D1 and E were higher in the dorsal and lateral lobes of intact and T-treated aged than young rats. Confocal immunofluorescent microscopy documented changes in cyclin-dependent kinase 4 and cyclin D1 subcellular localization. Cyclin D1 nuclear localization correlated with the time frame for cell proliferation. In conclusion, rates of cell proliferation and levels of cell-cycle regulatory proteins that control the G1/S transition exhibit lobe-specific and age-dependent differences in response to androgens.
Echocardiographic detection of a retained left atrial catheter.

Abstract An 18-year-old woman underwent the repair of traumatic lacerations of the mitral valve, tricuspid valve, and interventricular septum. At the time of surgery, and indwelling left atrial catheter was placed for postoperative hemodynamic management. An attempt to remove the catheter completely several days following surgery was unsuccessful, but it was initially assumed by the surgeon that the tip of the catheter had been withdrawn from the left atrium. When the patient developed neurologic signs suggesting a cerebral embolism, an echocardiogram was performed. Echo demonstration of the catheter in the left atrium led to repeat thoracotomy for removal of the retained line. Baseline echocardiograms are indicated in cardiac surgical patients with indwelling left atrial catheters and echo study can be diagnostic if catheter retention occurs.
Use of Saccharomyces cerevisiae in the identification of novel transcription factor DNA binding specificities

Members of the steroid/hormone nuclear receptor superfamily regulate target gene transcription via recognition and association with specific cis-acting sequences of DNA, called hormone response elements (HREs). The identification of novel HREs is fundamental to understanding the physiological function of nuclear receptor-mediated signalling pathways. A number of these receptors are transcriptionally active, or can be induced to an active state, when expressed in the yeast strain Saccharomyces cerevisiae. This aspect of nuclear receptor activity was used to screen random rat genomic DNA fragments for their ability to function as a HRE for the farnesoid X-activated receptor (FXR). An isolated genomic fragment mediated FXR transcriptional activation without the co-expression of the retinoid-X receptor (RXR), a receptor previously thought to be an obligate heterodimer partner for FXR function. This genomic sequence of DNA contained a pair of highly conserved HRE half-sites arranged in an everted orientation and separated by 3 bp (ER3). Furthermore, it was located 240 bp from a highly conserved TATA box motif. A minimal ER3 sequence of DNA was further demonstrated to function as a FXR HRE and was bound in vitro by FXR-expressing yeast extracts. Using RT–PCR, an expressed mRNA fragment was identified within an 8 kb region downstream of the putative TATA box motif. This sequence of DNA was observed to bear homology to a cDNA found in mouse blastocyst. These findings define a novel FXR DNA binding specificity but, more importantly, these data suggest that this strategy might be universally applied to any transcription system that can be reconstituted in yeast. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
That's a Good Story, But Is It Really Research?:

This article chronicles the author's journey of writing short stories. Following an opening story, the author explains how she wrote short stories and field notes during her study of Head Start policy Initially, the stories captured the author's emotive and physical memories of mundane and extraordinary events. Later, with the help of Norman Denzin, the stories became part of a research text. Acknowledging that researchers are encouraged to write experimental texts, the author argues that there are few exemplars in educational research of such work. The author then describes and shows how she combined short stories with connecting text. The connecting text provides historical and cultural background on policies depicted in the story. The article concludes by raising questions about how short stories will be evaluated by qualitative methodologists and other researchers.
The challenges of ethno-cultural diversity in an era of asymmetric globalization

The reflexive tendency to rely on unchallenged ethnocentrism – especially when combined with Western military, economic, and political power – is creating an asymmetric cultural homogeneity across the world. For many non-Western minority groups and nations, Western cultural hegemony is considered a destructive force. The article argues that the persistence of ethno-cultural diversity as a survival resource is to be found in reducing hegemonic globalization and creating equalities in opportunity. This will result in all members of a society valuing and preserving societal unity, even as ethno-cultural diversity is maintained as a source for alternative choices.
Prediction of Political Action By Means of Propaganda Analysis

During World War II, a group of analysts in a now defunct unit of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) attempted to make inferences about Nazi propaganda strategy and underlying policy calculations from a close inspection of German radio and press communications.
Modification of Texas clear-cut environments with loblolly pine shelterwoods

The near-surface (within 0·30 m of the surface) environments of a clear-cut and a loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) shelterwood in east Texas were instrumented to determine treatment effects on the radiation, thermal, humidity and wind components of microclimate. The shelterwood produced lower net radiation and photosynthetically-active radiation loads, lower daytime air temperatures, the same or slightly lower daytime vapor pressures and lower wind speeds than the clear cut. Although sunfleck incidence in the shelterwood allowed net radiation and photosynthetically-active radiation (PAR) to increase briefly to levels similar to those measured in the clear cut, seedlings within the shelterwood were subjected to sunflecks for only a short period of time before the sunfleck dissipated and shade returned. Air temperature differences between treatments were not great and soil temperature differences were negligible. The influence of the shelterwood on all environmental factors was primarily due to the partial overstory canopy, which dissipated incident radiation before it reached the near-surface environment where it could significantly alter the microclimate.
Different 8-Hydroxyquinolines Protect Models of TDP-43 Protein, α-Synuclein, and Polyglutamine Proteotoxicity through Distinct Mechanisms

No current therapies target the underlying cellular pathologies of age-related neurodegenerative diseases. Model organisms provide a platform for discovering compounds that protect against the toxic, misfolded proteins that initiate these diseases. One such protein, TDP-43, is implicated in multiple neurodegenerative diseases, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal lobar degeneration. In yeast, TDP-43 expression is toxic, and genetic modifiers first discovered in yeast have proven to modulate TDP-43 toxicity in both neurons and humans. Here, we describe a phenotypic screen for small molecules that reverse TDP-43 toxicity in yeast. One group of hit compounds was 8-hydroxyquinolines (8-OHQ), a class of clinically relevant bioactive metal chelators related to clioquinol. Surprisingly, in otherwise wild-type yeast cells, different 8-OHQs had selectivity for rescuing the distinct toxicities caused by the expression of TDP-43, α-synuclein, or polyglutamine proteins. In fact, each 8-OHQ synergized with the other, clearly establishing that they function in different ways. Comparative growth and molecular analyses also revealed that 8-OHQs have distinct metal chelation and ionophore activities. The diverse bioactivity of 8-OHQs indicates that altering different aspects of metal homeostasis and/or metalloprotein activity elicits distinct protective mechanisms against several neurotoxic proteins. Indeed, phase II clinical trials of an 8-OHQ has produced encouraging results in modifying Alzheimer disease. Our unbiased identification of 8-OHQs in a yeast TDP-43 toxicity model suggests that tailoring 8-OHQ activity to a particular neurodegenerative disease may be a viable therapeutic strategy.
New expansion technique for spectral distribution calculations.

Calculations of nuclear level densities with moment methods now include moments of order larger than two. The level density can be expanded in an orthogonal polynomial series, but this procedure has the disadvantage that the resulting level density is not positive definite. A recent publication advocates the use of an alternative technique which reduces the likelihood of negative excursions of the level density. We propose a modification of the previously proposed method which produces expansions which are of equivalent quality and are always positive definite. The new method produces better representations of an exact result than an Hermite polynomial expansion. The resulting representation is continuous and analytic and does well in representing the spin cutoff parameter and parity ratio as well.
Interactions of bilirubin with isolated presynaptic nerve terminals: functional effects on the uptake and release of neurotransmitters.

1. The functional effects of bilirubin:albumin solutions (10:1, mol/mol) on several synaptosomal functions were investigated using rat cortical, striatal, and hippocampal synaptosomes prepared by iso-osmotic Percoll/sucrose gradient centrifugation. 2. Bilirubin (10–80µM) depolarized synaptosomes in a tetrodotoxin-insensitive manner as assessed by the equilibrium distribution of tetra-[3H]phenylphosphonium. Depolarization induced by bilirubin was of a lesser magnitude than that caused by KCl or veratridine. Steady-state pH gradients across the synaptosomal membrane were determined using the transmembrane distribution of [14C]methylamine. Bilirubin (20–40µM) did not modify the intracellular pH in physiological buffers. The pigment effected a 0.14 ΔpH change when the synaptosomes were suspended in a Ca2+ and Na+ free choline medium containing ouabain. 3. Bilirubin (20–80µM) had no effect of its own on [7,8-3H] dopamine release from striatal synaptosomes. In contrast, it inhibited the initial rate of synaptosomal uptake of the catecholamine and its intrasynaptosomal content at 10 min. The pigment (20 and 40µM) reduced the 35 mM KCl-induced release of endogenous acetylcholine from hippocampal synaptosomes by 20 and 36%, respectively. 4. The association of bilirubin with synaptic plasma membrane vesicles was characterized by a chloroform:methanol 2:1 (v/v) extraction method. At total concentrations of 10 to 80µM bilirubin, the molar percentage of the pigment in synaptic plasma membrane phospholipids was 1–4%. 5. It is proposed that the two main functional consequences of the bilirubin-nerve ending interaction are an impairment of specific membranebound neurotransmitter uptake mechanisms and a reduction of the response to depolarizing stimuli. This may be the basis for rapid alterations in synaptic transmission documented in early reversible bilirubin encephalopathy.
Effects of phosphodiesterase inhibition on skeletal muscle vasculature

Abstract The pathophysiology of the syndrome of congestive heart failure (CHF) includes 2 major components that closely interact. The first one is a reduction in ventricular performance, which is manifested initially during exercise and is later present at rest. The second one involves abnormalities of the peripheral circulation and organs, which become gradually more prominent and lead ultimately to symptoms. The exercise capacity of patients with chronic CHF is limited not only by an inadequate increase in cardiac output and an excessive increase in ventricular filling pressure, but also by a fixed vasodilatory response to exercise. Although the role of increased activity of the sympathetic and renin-angiotensin-aldosterone systems in the derangements of the peripheral circulation has been extensively investigated, the structural abnormalities of the arterial wall have received little emphasis in patients with CHF. Chronic reduction of the cardiac output may lead to endothelium-dependent reduction in arterial diameter and vasomotor response, which may in turn increase systemic vascular resistance and further reduce cardiac output. Therapeutic agents should be characterized by their acute and chronic effects not only on ventricular performance, but also on the peripheral circulation. More specifically, when one is concerned with the effect of a therapeutic intervention on exercise capacity, evaluation of its direct and indirect effects on the skeletal muscle vasculature is particularly important. Accordingly, the effects of phosphodiesterase inhibition on vascular smooth muscle tone and skeletal muscle vasculature are reviewed. In addition, the potential of phosphodiesterase inhibition to reverse structural abnormalities of the arterial wall is discussed.