cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Prevalence of asthma among youth on Hispanic-operated farms in the United States-2000

The objective of this study was to estimate prevalence of asthma and asthma attacks among youth (0-19 years old) working and/or living on Hispanic-operated farms. The 2000 U.S. Minority Farm Operator Childhood Agricultural Injury Survey (M-CAIS) data were used to calculate prevalence of asthma, asthma attacks and serious asthma attacks among youth (0 to 19 years) living on Hispanic-operated farms. Age-specific asthma prevalence rates with corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated for working and nonworking youth. In 2000, an estimated 17,573 youth lived on Hispanic-operated farms; 7.4% had asthma ever diagnosed, 8.1% had an asthma attack while at work in the last year, and 1.4% had a serious asthma attack. Asthma prevalence was highest among youth aged 16-19 (9.1%), males (8.6%), and those driving tractors (9.7%). Serious asthma attacks that required an emergency room visit or hospitalization in the last year were most prevalent among youth aged 0-9 years (1.8%), males (1.7%), and those riding horses (1.7%). Compared with nonworking youth, prevalence of asthma (8.9% versus 6.1%; p .05) was higher among working youth. Prevalence of asthma attacks in the last year while at work was also significantly higher among males than females (8.6% versus 6.0%; p < .05) and among youth living on livestock farms than among youth on crop farms (9.4% versus 7.4%; p < .05). These findings contribute to the limited information on asthma among youth working on Hispanic-operated farms, and indicate the need for asthma prevention programs on farms and intervention studies targeting farming youth populations.
RNA-mediated programmable DNA cleavage

Genome engineering has a new tool—endonucleases involved in bacterial adaptive immunity that can be reprogrammed with customizable small, noncoding RNAs.
Antigenic comparison of Rauscher murine leukemia virus cultivated in human embryo and mouse cells.

SummaryWe have compared antigens of Rauscher leukemia virus (RV) derived from a human cell line with antigens of RV grown in mouse cells. Group specific rat antisera (GSS) to murine leukemia viruses show no reactivity with the outer membranous coat of either type of virus. The GSS demonstrates that the core of the disrupted HRV retained the murine leukemia group specific antigens. Rabbit antisera, prepared against each virus, showed specificity for the homologous virus reflecting antigenic differences in the outer membranous coats.
Engineered Cardiac Organoid Chambers: Toward a Functional Biological Model Ventricle

A growing area in the field of tissue engineering is the development of tissue equivalents as model systems for in vitro experimentation and high-throughput screening applications. Although a variety of strategies have been developed to enhance the structure and function of engineered cardiac tissues, an inherent limitation with traditional myocardial patches is that they do not permit evaluation of the fundamental relationships between pressure and volume that characterize global contractile function of the heart. Therefore, in the following study we introduce fully biological, living engineered cardiac organoids, or simplified heart chambers, that beat spontaneously, develop pressure, eject fluid, contain residual stress, exhibit a functional Frank–Starling mechanism, and generate positive stroke work. We also demonstrate regional variations in pump function following local cryoinjury, yielding a novel engineered tissue model of myocardial infarction. With the unique ability to directly evaluate relevan...
Understanding the basics of the dentistpatient relationship, the standard of care, and informed consent in the orthodontic clinical setting

The foundation of owing one's patient a duty to conform to an accepted standard of care is predicated on the existence of a mutually consensual doctor-patient relationship. The nuances of establishing and terminating this relationship are discussed in detail. What the standard of care is, how it is established, and by whom, as well as the meaning of it, is also covered in depth. Finally, an in-depth review of the doctrine of informed consent along with various mechanisms for implementing this legal mandate into one's practice is discussed. Because a working understanding of the law relating to professional liability is imperative if one is to practice prudent risk management, this article will provide the reader with the requisite familiarity regarding this issue.
Formation of chiral morphologies through selective binding of amino acids to calcite surface steps

Many living organisms contain biominerals and composites with finely tuned properties, reflecting a remarkable level of control over the nucleation, growth and shape of the constituent crystals. Peptides and proteins play an important role in achieving this control. But the general view that organic molecules affect mineralization through stereochemical recognition, where geometrical and chemical constraints dictate their binding to a mineral, seems difficult to reconcile with a mechanistic understanding, where crystallization is controlled by thermodynamic and kinetic factors. Indeed, traditional crystal growth models emphasize the inhibiting effect of so-called 'modifiers' on surface-step growth, rather than stereochemical matching to newly expressed crystal facets. Here we report in situ atomic force microscope observations and molecular modelling studies of calcite growth in the presence of chiral amino acids that reconcile these two seemingly divergent views. We find that enantiomer-specific binding of the amino acids to those surface-step edges that offer the best geometric and chemical fit changes the step-edge free energies, which in turn results in macroscopic crystal shape modifications. Our results emphasize that the mechanism underlying crystal modification through organic molecules is best understood by considering both stereochemical recognition and the effects of binding on the interfacial energies of the growing crystal.
Dynamic variation monitor for measuring the impact of voltage droops on microprocessor clock frequency

A 45nm microprocessor integrates an all-digital dynamic variation monitor (DVM), consisting of a tunable replica circuit with a time-to-digital converter, to measure the impact of dynamic variations on path-level delay or frequency. Measurements reveal the high sensitivity of the microprocessor maximum clock frequency (F MAX ) to the placement and magnitude of a high-frequency supply voltage (V CC ) droop and demonstrate the DVM capability of tracking F MAX changes to within 1% for a wide range of V CC droop profiles. Furthermore, the DVM interfaces with an adaptive clock control circuit to dynamically change the clock frequency in response to dynamic variations, enabling the microprocessor to operate at maximum efficiency.
Oxidation of Compounds Structurally Related to GR-S

Abstract The rates of oxidation of 1-phenyl-3-pentene, 1-phenyl-4-hexene, and 1-phenyl-3-vinylbutane have been measured at 100° C and 1 atmosphere of oxygen pressure. 1-Phenyl-2-butene has also been included to complete the sequence 1–4, 1–3, and 1–2 with respect to the structural relationship between the phenyl radical and the point of unsaturation. Information concerning the course of the reaction was obtained both from the rate data and from chemical analysis of the oxidized products. Three stages of oxidation were noted: (1) a very short induction period; (2) an autocatalytic stage which is characterized by a rapidly increasing rate and in which the primary products appear to be peroxides; and (3) a period characterized by a constant rate of oxygen absorption with the formation of such products as acids, esters, carbon dioxide, and water.
ROLE OF CARBOHYDRATES IN OXIDATIVE MODIFICATION OF FIBRINOGEN AND OTHER PLASMA PROTEINS

Abstract Oxidative stress is related to the mechanisms of oncogenesis, cell death, and the pathogenesis of many human diseases. Proteins are important targets for oxidative modification, and a Western blot assay that can identify individual oxidized proteins in whole tissue extracts has been described. Using that assay, it was found that plasma proteins show different susceptibilities to oxidative modification. Here, we examine the possibility that the carbohydrate groups of glycoproteins may contribute to the assessment of protein oxidation by carbonyl assays. We used fibrinogen as a model because it is highly susceptible to oxidative modification and contains subunits that are differentially glycosylated. When oxidation-induced carbonyls were measured in fibrinogen subunits by Western blot immunoassay, it was found that the Aα-chains, which contain no associated carbohydrate groups, were most highly oxidized while the Bβ- and γ-chains, which are glycosylated, were oxidized far less. However, no major difference in the oxidation pattern was obtained when fibrinogen was deglycosylated prior to or after exposure to oxidants. This argues against a possible protective role of the carbohydrate moieties in oxidation of the different fibrinogen subunits. Similar results were obtained with purified human immunoglobulin G and transferrin as well as whole plasma. The results show that carbohydrate moieties are not good targets for oxidative attack by metal-catalyzed oxidation systems. Oxidant-induced carbonyl formation in glycoproteins derives largely, if not entirely, from amino acid oxidation and not from oxidation of carbohydrate groups.
Tube diameter in tightly entangled solutions of semiflexible polymers.

A statistical mechanical treatment is given of the confinement of a wormlike polymer in an entangled solution to a tube, yielding quantitative predictions for the average tube diameter ${D}_{e}$ and macroscopic plateau modulus G, in the tightly entangled regime in which ${D}_{e}$ is much less than the persistence length ${L}_{p}.$ Three approaches are pursued. A self-consistent binary collision approximation, which explicitly describes the topological constraints imposed by neighboring chains, yields predictions consistent with the scaling laws ${D}_{e}\ensuremath{\propto}{\ensuremath{\rho}}^{\ensuremath{-}3/5}$ and $G\ensuremath{\propto}{\ensuremath{\rho}}^{7/5}$ proposed previously, where $\ensuremath{\rho}$ is the contour length per unit volume. An effective medium approximation, which treats the network as a continuum with a modulus G, instead yields ${D}_{e}\ensuremath{\propto}{\ensuremath{\rho}}^{\ensuremath{-}1/3}$ and $G\ensuremath{\propto}{\ensuremath{\rho}}^{4/3},$ which is found to be the correct scaling in the limit $\ensuremath{\rho}{L}_{p}^{2}\ensuremath{\gg}1.$ An elastic network approximation treats the displacement of a test chain as the sum of a collective displacement of the network, which is treated as a continuum, plus a local displacement, which is treated in a binary collision approximation. Predictions are compared to measurements of both ${D}_{e}$ and G in actin protein filament (F-actin) solutions.
Critical aspects of biointerface design and their impact on biosensor development

The stable integration of a biological recognition element on a transducing substrate surface is the single most important step in the creation of a high-functioning sensor surface. The key factors affecting biotic and abiotic functionalities at the biointerface are both chemical and physical. Understanding the interactions between biomolecules and surfaces, and their emergent complexity, is critical for biointerface implementation for sensing applications. In this overview, we highlight materials and methods typically used for biosensor development. Particular emphasis has been given to the experimental evaluation of biointerfacial properties and functionality. Promising research directions for application of biointerfaces to biosensing are suggested.
Winter Cover Crops Impact on Corn Production in Semiarid Regions

Published in Agron. J. 106:1479–1488 (2014) doi:10.2134/agronj13.0540 Available freely online through the author-supported open access option. Copyright © 2014 by the American Society of Agronomy, 5585 Guilford Road, Madison, WI 53711. All rights reserved. No part of this periodical may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. ABSTRACT
Abstract 1195: EphA4 is a novel tumor suppressor in lung adenocarcinoma

Lung cancer is the leading cause of death from cancer, but the mechanisms behind its initiation and progression are not completely understood. Receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) are important in normal cellular physiology as well as in the pathogenesis of a variety of tumors. In this study, we explored the roles of the human Eph kinase family in lung adenocarcinoma. The Eph fmaily is the largest RTK superfamily with 14 receptors and 8 ligands (ephrins). Eph receptors have been implicated both as tumor suppressors and oncogenes. To explore the effect of Eph receptors and ephrins on lung cancer, we analyzed gene expression and survival data from 432 lung adenocarcinomas from Director9s Challenge Consortium by univariate Cox proportional hazards model. Of the 11 Eph receptors and 8 ephrins analyzed, only the expression of EphA4, EphA5, EphB2, ephrinA1, and ephrinB3 correlated with overall survival. Analysis of an independent dataset confirmed that EphA4 and ephrinA1 expression negatively correlated with survival in lung adenocarcinoma. After adjusting for age, gender and stage, low EphA4 expression remained significantly associated with a poor outcome for both overall and relapse-free survival with a hazard ratio of 1.57. To validate the gene expression profile data, we measured EphA4 expression in 9 NSCLC cell lines and found that the expression levels of EphA4 by microarray were well correlated with expression levels measure by qPCR and Western blotting (R2=0.89, R2=0.79 respectively), which indicate that the tissue microarray probesets are of high quality. To investigate the role of EphA4 as a putative tumor suppressor, we overexpressed EphA4 in NSCLC cell lines with low basal expression and found that the cell migration was inhibited by 38% and E-cadherin expression was increased. Likewise, E-cadherin expression was decreased with EphA4 knockdown in NSCLC cell lines with high basal EphA4 expression. These data are consistent with a role for EphA4 as a tumor suppressor via increased expression of the cell surface adhesion protein E-cadherin and concomitant decreased cell migration. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2011 Apr 2-6; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 1195. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-1195
Two classes of movements in motor control

This work investigated whether fundamental differences emerged between segments of complex movement sequences performed at different instructed speeds. To this end, we tested 5 novices and 1 karate expert as they performed beginner’s martial arts routines. We found that if one blindly took these segments and separated them according to the variability of trajectory parameters, one could unambiguously group two classes of movements between the same two space regions: one type that remained quite conserved despite speed changes and another type that changed with speed level. These groups corresponded to functionally different movements (strike segments explicitly directed to a set of goals and spontaneously retracting segments supplementing the goals). The curvature of the goal-directed segments remained quite conserved despite speed changes, yet the supplemental movements spanned families of trajectories with different curvature according to the speed. Likewise, the values of the hand’s peak velocity across trials were more variable in supplemental segments, and for each participant, there were different statistical signatures of variability between the two movement classes. This dichotomy between coexisting movement classes of our natural actions calls for a theoretical characterization. The present experimental results strongly suggest that two separate sets of principles may govern these movement classes in complex natural behaviors, since under different dynamics the hand did not describe a unique family of trajectories between the same two points in the 3D space.
THERMOSPHAEROMA MILLERI AND T. SMITHI, NEW SPHAEROMATID ISOPOD CRUSTACEANS FROM HOT SPRINGS IN CHIHUAHUA, MEXICO, WITH A REVIEW OF THE GENUS

ABSTRACT Thermosphaeroma milleri is described from 3 hot springs in northwestern Chihuahua, and T. smithi is described from Balneario San Diego in central Chihuahua. Supplemental descriptive notes are given for Thermosphaeroma thermophilum, from Socorro, New Mexico, and its status as an endangered species is briefly discussed. A key is given for all 5 species of Thermosphaeroma, and the probable origin of the genus from marine ancestors is considered. The presence of flabelliferans in hot springs and their absence in freshwater streams, ponds, and lakes is attributed to their inability to compete with most species of larval insects.
The effects of different antiemetic agents on morphine-induced emesis in ferrets

Abstract There is interest in the development of antiemetics other than dopamine receptor antagonists for the treatment of postoperative nausea and vomiting. A ferret model of morphine-induced emesis may have wider application in evaluating newer agents than the apomorphine dog model. This study describes the conditions for morphine-induced emesis in ferrets and evaluates five antiemetics that are prototypical of three different mechanisms. The average numbers of vomiting and retching episodes induced by morphine (0.1–2.5 mg/kg s.c.) were distributed as a bell-shaped curve. Maximum number of vomits occurred at 0.3 mg/kg (11.8 ± 2.1 vomits; 45 ± 12.5 retches). Antiemetics or vehicle were given i.v. 5 min prior to morphine while each ferret was maintained under isoflurane-O 2 anesthesia. Ondansetron, a 5-HT 3 receptor antagonist, reduced vomiting episodes by 47% and 70% (3 and 10 mg/kg). Granisetron, a 5-HT 3 receptor antagonist was inactive at doses of 0.1, 1.0 3.0 and 10 mg.kg. Metoclopramide reduced vomiting episodes by 48% and 92% (3 and 10 mg/kg). Droperidol reduced vomiting episodes by 84% at 3 mg/kg. Naloxone reduced vomiting episodes by 91% and 43% at doses of 0.1 and 1.0 mg/kg. In most cases, prolonged latency times to the first episodes accompanied the reduction in total numbers of episodes. The significant reduction of morphine-induced emesis in the ferret by ondansetron, metoclopramide and droperidol is consistent with the reduction of postoperative emesis in man by these compounds when morphine was a component of the anesthetic regimen. These results suggested that the morphine ferret model may be useful for evaluating compounds having the potential for preventing and treating postoperative vomiting.
Three-dimensional distribution of signal from single monodisperse aerosol particles in a laser induced plasma: Initial measurements

Evidence is provided for a spatial distribution of signal in laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) measurements of single aerosol particles. Monodisperse 1.5-μm diameter silica microspheres are sampled, and particle emission is measured as a function of three-dimensional (3-D) particle location. A combination of scattered-light imaging and spatially resolved spectroscopy is used to determine 3-D particle location. Particle signal is found to be optimized in a region near the major axis of the plasma, on the end of the plasma nearest the incident plasma-forming laser beam. The demonstration of an optimal location for particle signal motivates the development of techniques that account for the effect of particle location to increase measurement precision.
Dobutamine-induced chest pain does not predict ischemic findings on myocardial perfusion imaging.

Background. Chest pain occurs frequently during dobutamine stress testing and is commonly attributed to ischemia. However, the pathophysiologic significance of dobutamine-induced chest pain is uncertain. The purpose of this study is to explore the correlation between dobutamine-induced chest pain and evidence of ischemia on myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI).
Improved liver lesion conspicuity by increasing the flip angle during hepatocyte phase MR imaging.

One of the advantages of using hepatobiliary contrast agents in liver MRI is the ability to acquire a delayed, “hepatocyte phase” dataset. This phase highlights many types of lesions as hypointense compared with the liver, because of the accumulation of contrast material in functioning hepatocytes and non-retention within most lesions. Increasing the flip angle of the T1-weighted pulse sequence used to acquire the hepatocyte phase is a simple parameter change that increases the contrast-to-noise ratio of focal lesions compared with the hepatic parenchyma. This technique increases the sensitivity for detection and conspicuity of focal liver lesions. High flip angle delayed hepatocyte phase imaging is a useful adjunct to standard enhanced MRI of the liver. It allows for better sensitivity in focal lesion detection, particularly for small lesions. Secondarily, this technique increases the conspicuity of the biliary system, which is an additional benefit of delayed imaging with hepatobiliary contrast agents.
Nitrosative Stress and Nitrated Proteins in Trichloroethene-Mediated Autoimmunity

Exposure to trichloroethene (TCE), a ubiquitous environmental contaminant, has been linked to a variety of autoimmune diseases (ADs) including SLE, scleroderma and hepatitis. Mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of ADs are largely unknown. Earlier studies from our laboratory in MRL+/+ mice suggested the contribution of oxidative/nitrosative stress in TCE-induced autoimmunity, and N-acetylcysteine (NAC) supplementation provided protection by attenuating oxidative stress. This study was undertaken to further evaluate the contribution of nitrosative stress in TCE-mediated autoimmunity and to identify proteins susceptible to nitrosative stress. Groups of female MRL +/+ mice were given TCE, NAC or TCE + NAC for 6 weeks (TCE, 10 mmol/kg, i.p., every 4th day; NAC, ∼250 mg/kg/day via drinking water). TCE exposure led to significant increases in serum anti-nuclear and anti-histone antibodies together with significant induction of iNOS and increased formation of nitrotyrosine (NT) in sera and livers. Proteomic analysis identified 14 additional nitrated proteins in the livers of TCE-treated mice. Furthermore, TCE exposure led to decreased GSH levels and increased activation of NF-κB. Remarkably, NAC supplementation not only ameliorated TCE-induced nitrosative stress as evident from decreased iNOS, NT, nitrated proteins, NF-κB p65 activation and increased GSH levels, but also the markers of autoimmunity, as evident from decreased levels of autoantibodies in the sera. These findings provide support to the role of nitrosative stress in TCE-mediated autoimmune response and identify specific nitrated proteins which could have autoimmune potential. Attenuation of TCE-induced autoimmunity in mice by NAC provides an approach for designing therapeutic strategies.
Thermal convection in rotating spherical annuli—2. Stratified flows

Abstract The steady combined thermal convection of a viscous Boussinesq fluid contained between two concentric spheres is considered. The spheres are maintained at different temperatures and rotate about a common axis with different angular velocities. A uniform radial gravitational field acts on the fluid. Approximate solutions to the governing equations are obtained with a modified Galerkin technique for moderate Reynolds numbers. The resulting flow patterns, temperature distributions, and heat-transfer and torque characteristics are presented for several angular velocity ratios and degrees of stratification. It is shown that increasing the buoyancy forces alters the primary and secondary flow patterns as well as the temperature distributions. The total rate of heat transfer and torque are subsequently enhanced.
Avian Influenza Virus Antibodies in Pacific Coast Red Knots (Calidris canutus roselaari)

Prevalence of avian influenza virus (AIV) antibodies in the western Atlantic subspecies of Red Knot (Calidris canutus rufa) is among the highest for any shorebird. To assess whether the frequency of detection of AIV antibodies is high for the species in general or restricted only to C. c. rufa, we sampled the northeastern Pacific Coast subspecies of Red Knot (Calidris canutus roselaari) breeding in northwestern Alaska. Antibodies were detected in 90% of adults and none of the chicks sampled. Viral shedding was not detected in adults or chicks. These results suggest a predisposition of Red Knots to AIV infection. High antibody titers to subtypes H3 and H4 were detected, whereas low to intermediate antibody levels were found for subtypes H10 and H11. These four subtypes have previously been detected in shorebirds at Delaware Bay (at the border of New Jersey and Delaware) and in waterfowl along the Pacific Coast of North America.
A theory of mixtures with microstructure

Eine Theorie der Mischungen von Flussigkeiten mit Mikrostruktur wird von einem Energiepostulat hergeleitet, wobei das Prinzip der Indifferenz des Bezugssystems benutzt wird. Es werden Definitionen fur die Warmeproduktion der Mischung, innere Energie, Warmestromung und Spannungen gegeben, welche mit denjenigenTruesdells ubereinstimmen.
Computational Modeling of the Nitrile Stretching Vibration of 5-Cyanoindole in Water

The bandwidth of the nitrile (C≡N) stretching vibration of 5-cyanotryptophan shows a significant broadening upon hydration. Thus, it has been proposed to be a useful infrared probe of the local hydration environment of proteins. However, the molecular mechanism underlying this hydration-induced spectral broadening is not known, making interpretation of the experimental results difficult. Herein, we investigate how interactions of water with various sites of 5-cyanoindole, the sidechain of 5-cyanotryptophan, affect its C≡N stretching vibration via a combined electronic structure/molecular dynamics approach. It is found that, besides those interactions with the nitrile group, interactions of water with the indole ring also play a significant role in mediating the C≡N stretching frequency. Thus, this study provides a molecular basis for understanding how hydration affects the C≡N stretching band of 5-cyanotryptophan. In addition, an empirical model, which includes interactions of water with both the nitrile and indole groups, is developed for predicting the C≡N stretching vibrational band via molecular dynamics simulations.
Inhibition of gastric emptying by peripheral and central fenfluramine in rats: Correlation with anorexia

Abstract Rats treated acutely with i.p. fenfluramine showed a profound inhibition of emptying of a chow meal from the stomach. This inhibition was attenuated by previous chronic treatment with fenfluramine. Tolerance to the gastric slowing occured with as few as 2–4 prior injections, a time course which closely matches tolerance to the anorectic effects of the drug. Cerebroventricular injections of fenfluramine and norfenfluramine in anorectic doses also inhibited gastric emptying.
Computer selection and criteria for computer performance evaluation

Computer evaluation, comparison, and selection is essentially a decision process. The decision making is based on a number of worth indicators, including various computer performance indicators. The performance indicators are obtained through the computer performance measurement procedure. Consequently, in this environment the measurement procedure should be completely conditioned by the decision process. This paper investigates various aspects of the computer performance measurement and evaluation procedure within the context of the computer evaluation, comparison, and selection process based on the Logic Scoring of Preference method. A set of elementary criteria for performance evaluation is proposed and the corresponding set of performance indicators is defined. The necessary performance measurements are based on a standardized set of synthetic benchmark programs and include three separate measurements: monoprogramming performance measurement, multiprogramming performance measurement, and multiprogramming efficiency measurement. Using the proposed elementary criteria, the measured performance indicators can be transformed into elementary preferences and then aggregated with other nonperformance elementary preferences obtained through the evaluation process. The applicability of presented elementary criteria is illustrated by numerical examples.
Ultrafast Solvation Processes in Polar Liquids Probed with Large Organic Molecules

Several optical techniques are used to characterize the ultrafast solvation dynamics of two structurally different molecules, LD690 and LDS750. Linear absorption, fluorescence, resonance Raman, and time-resolved four-wave mixing experiments have been performed on both molecules in a variety of solvents. The combination of different experiments is necessary to characterize the femtosecond dynamics. We find that both molecules exhibit very fast dephasing, due to sub-100 fs decays of the solvation correlation function M(t). The LD690 data is analyzed in depth, using a multimode oscillator model to treat both intramolecular vibrations and the solvent coordinates. The dynamics are solvent-dependent, but this dependence cannot be explained in a straightforward manner using quantities such as inertial solvent rotational motion or a simple dielectric continuum response. Various aspects of the spectroscopy, both linear and nonlinear, provide clues that the dynamics are influenced by molecular-level interactions th...
Pretransplant risk factors and causes of death or graft loss after heart transplantation during early infancy. Pediatric Heart Transplant Team, Loma Linda.

Background This study was performed to report causes of death or graft loss and to identify possible pretransplant risk factors for death or graft loss in infants after heart transplantation. Methods and Results Pretransplant risk factors were compared for 153 infants registered for heart transplantation within 90 days of life and transplanted from November 1985 to June 1994. Factors assessed were diagnosis, age at transplantation, race, weight, blood type, sex, donor/recipient blood type match, sex match, weight ratio, fetal registration, locale of pretransplant waiting period, mechanical ventilation, ischemic time, and the need for atrial septostomy or septectomy pretransplantation. No factor was associated with death or graft loss at 1 month or 1 year. Causes of death or graft loss were determined using clinical course and pathology data when available. Death or grafts lost at 1 month, 1 year, and >1 year were 14, 13, and 15, respectively. Causes of death or graft loss expressed as a percent (at 1 mont...
Structure and chemistry of Nb/sapphire interfaces, with and without interlayers of Sb and Cr

Abstract The microstructure and chemistry of interfaces between sputter-deposited Nb coatings and (0001) sapphire surfaces, with and without interlayers of Cr and Sb, have been determined by using high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). The changes in the microstructure and chemistry in the interfacial region resulting from annealing the samples are determined. All samples were annealed at 600°C for 24 h and 1200°C for 10 min, except the Nb/Sb sapphire samples which were heat-treated at 400 and 600°C with a 24 h hold time. All interface systems in the as-deposited state feature a 2.5 nm thick uniform Al2O3 layer, caused by sputter-cleaning of the sapphire surface prior to any interlayer or coating deposition. After annealing at 1200°C for 10 min, the amorphous layer completely recrystallizes, and hemispherical voids, 10–20 nm diameter, are formed at the Nb/Al2O3 interface. In the Nb/Cr/Al2O3 system, in addition to voids and the recrystallization of the amorphous layer, the continuous Cr layer is reduced to a Cr2Nb intermetallic reaction compound. Finally, for the Nb/Sb/Al2O3 samples, annealing at 400°C for 24 h results in a hitherto unreported, Nb-Sb amorphization reaction.
Forum: Some random thoughts on the unity or diversity of the rhetoric of abolition

The Ralph R. Smith and Russel S. Windes article “Symbolic Convergence and Abolitionism: A Terministic Reinterpretation.” suggests that my analysis of abolition rhetoric in The Force of Fantasy merits correction because of my reliance on outdated historians and the Symbolic Convergence theory. They use a terministic method which they argue will correct the errors. I argue that my reliance on historians is overstated and that the Symbolic Convergence Theory provides better evidence for my original conclusions than the terministic analysis provides for the reinterpretation.
The Relationship between Recruiting Source and Employee Success: An Analysis by Race.

Using a racially mixed sample (N= 1400) of store clerks, the relationship between recruiting source and employee success was examined. The results suggest that for Whites, informal recruiting sources (e.g., employee referrals, in-store notices) were associated with longer tenure, generally confirming earlier research. For Blacks, more formal sources (e.g., employment agencies, media announcements) were associated with longer tenure. These results are discussed in terms of their implications for practice.
Leptin Responsiveness of Mice Deficient in Corticotrophin-Releasing Hormone Receptor Type 2

Leptin acts centrally to inhibit food intake and increase energy expenditure. Corticotrophin-releasing hormone (CRH) is one of the neuropeptides that may contribute to leptin-induced hypophagia and thermogenesis. Acute leptin administration increases CRH mRNA expression in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus and CRH receptor type 2 (CRHR2) expression in the ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus. Studies described here used male and female CRHR2 knockout (KO) mice and wild-type (WT) controls to test the importance of CRHR2 in mediating the effects of leptin on food intake, weight gain and body composition. Peripheral injections of 0.5 mg/kg leptin for 3 days inhibited food intake in female WT and male KO mice, but inhibited weight gain in female KO and male WT mice suggesting an important role for thermogenesis in mediating weight loss. A single third ventricle injection of 1 μg leptin inhibited 12 h food intake of all mice, 36 h cumulative intake of KO mice and weight loss in WT and KO female and WT male mice. A 12-day peripheral infusion of 10 μg leptin/day had no effect on food intake of any group, but significantly reduced carcass fat and protein content of all mice. These results indicate that CRHR2 are not essential for the effects of leptin on food intake, body weight or body composition. Leptin response seems to be determined by a combination of mouse gender and genotype, but CRHR2 KO mice may have an extended response to central leptin injections compared with their WT controls.
Solid state VRX CT detector

A technique called Variable-Resolution X-ray (VRX) detection that greatly increases the spatial resolution in computed tomography (CT) and digital radiography (DR) is presented. The technique is based on a principle called 'projective compression' that allows the resolution element of a CT detector to scale with the subject or field size. For very large (40 - 50 cm) field sizes, resolution exceeding 2 cy/mm is possible and for very small fields, microscopy is attainable with resolution exceeding 100 cy/mm. Preliminary results from a 576-channel solid-state detector are presented. The detector has a dual-arm geometry and is comprised of CdWO4 scintillator crystals arranged in 24 modules of 24 channels/module. The scintillators are 0.85 mm wide and placed on 1 mm centers. Measurements of signal level, MTF and SNR, all versus detector angle, are presented.
Unbounded dissipative compressed Toeplitz operators

Denote by C the collection of all closed densely defined linear maps commuting with the adjoint of the compression of the standard unilateral shift on the Hardy space to a shift coinvariant subspace. Necessary and sufficient conditions for a linear map in the class C to be dissipative are given.
Scaling distributed machine learning with the parameter server

We propose a parameter server framework for distributed machine learning problems. Both data and workloads are distributed over worker nodes, while the server nodes maintain globally shared parameters, represented as dense or sparse vectors and matrices. The framework manages asynchronous data communication between nodes, and supports flexible consistency models, elastic scalability, and continuous fault tolerance.To demonstrate the scalability of the proposed framework, we show experimental results on petabytes of real data with billions of examples and parameters on problems ranging from Sparse Logistic Regression to Latent Dirichlet Allocation and Distributed Sketching.
Pregnancy and lactation after breast‐conserving therapy for early stage breast cancer

Background. To identify patients treated with breast conservation therapy for early-stage breast cancer who subsequently experienced full-term pregnancies, and to identify: (1) The proportion of women who experienced lactation in the treated breast; and (2) treatment, disease, and/or host factors that may be related to the presence or absence of lactation and the ability to breast-feed successfully. Methods. The records of 890 patients treated at the radiation therapy facilities of the Department of Therapeutic Radiology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, for early-stage (Stage I or II) breast cancer were reviewed to identify patients who had become pregnant subsequent to completing breast conservation therapy. Data were collected from the patients' departmental records, and interviews were conducted by phone and/or questionnaire. Results. Thirteen patients were identified, and 11 patients who experienced 13 pregnancies were interviewed. All patients reported little or no swelling of the treated breast during pregnancy. After delivery, lactation from the treated breast was present in four instances, absent in six, and pharmacologically suppressed in three. One patient successfully breast-fed from the treated breast for 4 months. In the majority of cases, breast-feeding from the untreated breast was successful. The interval from the time of treatment to the time of delivery did not appear to affect adversely lactation from the treated breast; one patient reported lactation from the treated breast 75 months after completion of treatment. Circumareolar incision was associated with the absence of lactation in three patients (four pregnancies). Thus, lactation from the treated breast may be less likely to occur in the case of centrally located lesions. Conclusion. Successful breast-feeding from the untreated, as well as the treated breast, is possible after conservative surgery and radiation. Implications for patients of child-bearing age undergoing conservative surgery and radiation therapy are discussed.
The President as Reformer: When Do Presidents Initiate Administrative Reform through Legislation?

Scholars interested in executive agencies devote a considerable amount of time to studying various proposals said to make government more effective. Some authors have studied the processes that generate the seemingly continuous stream of reform proposals. This article looks at the stream of proposals coming from one component of the administrative reform system, the presi dent. Statistical tests compare whether the president's level of reform activity is more a product of managerial or political factors. The findings suggest that presidential administrative reform legislation is largely a product of political opportunities.
Cardiac Function and Microsphere Blood Flow Distribution in the Brain-Dead Dog

The mechanisms for the deterioration of the braindead organ donor are not clearly defined. We measured myocardial blood flow and function during the 4 hours after the induction of brain death in dogs. Brain death was induced by elevating and maintaining intracranial pressure above systolic arterial pressure and effectively stopping central nervous system blood flow. Multiorgan blood flow and systemic arteriovenous shunting were measured using radioactive microspheres. The mean arterial pressure was found to decrease markedly with the induction of brain death. The initial changes in mean arterial pressure were attributed to a decrease of systemic vascular resistance, with the more terminal changes due to a decrease in cardiac index. There was a marked decrease T HE ADVANCES in the field of solid organ transplantation over the past decade have emphasized the need for a better understanding of the physiology and pathophysiology of the clinical brain-dead state, one lacking all cortical, brain stem, and hypothalamic function. Clearly, improved donor management could potentially expand the organ pool and favorably impact immediate organ function. The mechanisms for the progression from clinical brain death to somatic death are unknown. It is known that this progression occurs within in a finite period of time which is usually measured within hours and that this progression occurs despite maximal clinical therapy, including mechanical ventilation, inotropes, and pressor agents. The majority of our understanding has been provided by retrospective or uncontrolled clinical studies; however, several recent laboratory studies have been reported and have focused attention on the myocardium as the
The Effect of Secondary Gamma-Prime on the Primary Creep Behavior of Single-Crystal Nickel-Base Superalloys

Some second-, third-, and fourth-generation single-crystal Ni-base superalloys (i.e., Re-containing alloys) have demonstrated the propensity for excessive primary creep at intermediate temperatures. This behavior has been attributed to the presence of secondary gamma-prime precipitates in the gamma channels as well as on the Re content of the alloys. This investigation examined creep behavior for a common first-generation alloy, PWA 1480, a common second-generation alloy, PWA 1484, as well as a modified first-generation alloy, PWA 1480, with 3 wt pct rhenium added. In addition, two different aging heat treatments were given to each alloy to either precipitate or prevent the formation of fine (nanometer-scale) secondary gamma-prime in the gamma channels. The intermediate creep properties and tensile properties of the alloys were determined for both conditions. The microstructures of these samples were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD), and then the role of the fine-scale microstructure and the alloy composition on the primary creep deformation was determined.
Menopausal Symptoms and Ethnicity: The Study of Women's Health across the Nation:

A number of studies have suggested that ethnic background influences a woman's perception of her symptoms. The Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN) is a multiethnic, longitudinal, cohort study of US women that includes non-Hispanic Caucasian, African-American, Chinese, Japanese and Hispanic women. The initial strategy for this seven-site study involved community-based recruitment of non-Hispanic Caucasians at each site, plus one minority ethnic group. Since ethnicity varies with many other factors, measures of education, acculturation, social status, psychological wellbeing and financial strain were all taken into account in interpreting symptom onset, frequency and severity of the common menopausal symptoms. Biological and physical measures were also assessed and related to symptoms. Most symptoms varied by ethnicity. Vasomotor symptoms were more prevalent in African-American and Hispanic women and were also more common in women with greater BMI, challenging the widely held belief that obesity is protective against vasomotor symptoms. Vaginal dryness was present in 30-40% of SWAN participants at baseline, and was most prevalent in Hispanic women. Among Hispanic women, symptoms varied by country of origin. Acculturation appears to play a complex role in menopausal symptomatology. We conclude that ethnicity should be taken into account when interpreting menopausal symptom presentation in women.
On the preceding paper: cardiovascular malformations and the neural crest

Those of us who studied embryology prior to the 1980's probably remember the neural crest in comfortably simplistic terms. Many physicians can still diagram the origin of these cells, tucked neatly into the junction between closing neural tube and the surface ectoderm. Most even recall that these cells wander extensively through the embryonic body, involving themselves extensively in development of the peripheral and autonomic nervous systems, paraganglia, and cutaneous pigmentary cells. Those with exceptionally retentive memories might recall suggestions that the neural crest may contribute to a few other structures that were less obviously related to the peripheral nervous systems, including cerebrospinal meninges, odontoblasts, and extraocular muscles. These latter suggestions, however provocative, did little to disturb our complacent view that the neural crest as an interesting but essentially straightforward concept. In 1974, Botande introduced the term "neurocristopathy" [1] for disorders affecting several components of the neural crest. This concept made sense out of certain associations between diverse tumor types, or between tumors and malformations of the pigmentary and peripheral nervous systems. Simple concepts rarely remain simple, and the neural crest was no exception. Throughout the 1970's, Le Douarin and her colleagues in France were pursuing an epochal series of investigations into the developmental biology of the neural crest [2]. Her methodology was elegant, though technically challenging. It was based upon obvious structural differences in nuclear chromatin patterns between chicken and quail cells. By transplanting neural crest cells between embryos of these two species, she was able to establish that a wide array of organs and tissues receive contributions from the neural crest. The cranial neural crest in particular was found to participate in many structures formerly thought to be of purely mesodermal origin. These studies laid the basis for drastic extension of the neurocristopathy concept. Many complex malformations were recognized as having a basis in altered migration, proliferation, or function of the neural crest.
Enzymatic activities in mammary glands of several species.

Abstract The activities of a number of enzymes in the pathways of energy metabolism and lactose, fat and protein biosynthesis, and DNA levels in guinea pig and cow mammary glands at various stages of pregnancy and lactation, and in sow, mouse, and rabbit mammary glands at full lactation were determined. Large increases in enzyme activities and in DNA levels occurred during early lactation in guinea pig mammary glands but not in cow mammary glands. The significant apparent species differences in enzyme activities observed may have been due to interspecies differences in rates of secretory cell proliferation, in the compositions of the mammary gland samples, or in the inherent nature of the regulatory mechanisms associated with the initiation of lactation. Enzyme levels did not appear to be related to interspecies differences in milk composition.