cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Indirect Impact: How Early Childhood Educator Training and Coaching Impacted the Acquisition of Literacy Skills in Preschool Students.

Learning to read becomes a difficult task for many children, particularly if they have not been reared in early childhood settings where literacy-based activities, interactions, or materials are prevalent. This study examined the impact that providing a college-level course in research-based instructional strategies for literacy development to early childhood educators had on the development of early reading skills in the preschool children they taught. In addition, impact on children’s rates of literacy skill attainment was examined when a coaching component (i.e., a Literacy Coach) was added.
Theoretical validation of the respiratory benefits of helium-oxygen mixtures

A theoretical analysis of convective gas transport validates the clinically demonstrated advantage of using helium-oxygen mixtures in treating patients with respiratory problems. Previous studies have attributed that advantage to the ability of helium-oxygen to stay laminar at higher velocities than nitrogen-oxygen. The present work shows that helium-oxygen does not need to be laminar to provide higher flow rates and that its benefits persist under turbulent conditions. The analysis is applied to steady flow through the lungs and through a circular airway obstruction. A simplified model of the lungs gives pressure-flow relations that show a significant increase in oxygen flow rate when nitrogen is substituted by helium. A similar improvement is found for flow through an obstruction. For a given pressure difference across the lungs or across an obstruction, the turbulent flow rate of oxygen increases by approximately 50% when nitrogen is replaced by helium in a mixture containing 20% oxygen.
Steady-state interaction between amiodarone and phenytoin in normal subjects☆

Amiodarone has been reported to increase phenytoin levels. This study was designed to evaluate the pharmacokinetic basis of this interaction at steady-state. Pharmacokinetic parameters for phenytoin were determined after 14 days of oral phenytoin, 2 to 4 mg/kg/day, before and after oral amiodarone, 200 mg daily for 6 weeks in 7 healthy male subjects. During amiodarone therapy, area under the serum concentration time curve for phenytoin was increased from 208 +/- 82.8 (mean +/- standard deviation) to 292 +/- 108 mg.hr/liter (p = 0.015). Both the maximum and 24-hour phenytoin concentrations were increased from 10.75 +/- 3.75 and 6.67 +/- 3.51 micrograms/ml to 14.26 +/- 3.97 (p = 0.016) and 10.27 +/- 4.67 micrograms/ml (p = 0.012), respectively, during concomitant amiodarone treatment. Amiodarone caused a decrease in the oral clearance of phenytoin from 1.29 +/- 0.30 to 0.93 +/- 0.25 liters/hr (p = 0.002). These results were due to a reduction in phenytoin metabolism by amiodarone as evidenced by a decrease in the urinary excretion of the principal metabolite of phenytoin, 5-(p-hydroxyphenyl)-5-phenylhydantoin, 149 +/- 39.7 to 99.3 +/- 40.0 mg (p = 0.041) and no change in the unbound fraction of the total phenytoin concentration expressed as a percentage, 10.3 +/- 2.7 versus 10.7 +/- 2.1% (p = 0.28) during coadministration of amiodarone. The alterations in phenytoin pharmacokinetics suggest that steady-state doses of phenytoin of 2 to 4 mg/kg/day should be reduced at least 25% when amiodarone is concurrently administered. All dosage reductions should be guided by clinical and therapeutic drug monitoring.
Effect of JTP-2942, a novel thyrotropin-releasing hormone analogue, on pentobarbital-induced anesthesia in rats.

Abstract The effects of a novel thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) analogue, Nα-((1S,2R)-2-methyl-4-oxocyclopentylcarbonyl)- L -histidyl- l -prolinamide monohydrate (JTP-2942), on pentobarbital-induced anesthesia in rats were investigated and compared with those of TRH. Intravenous administration of both JTP-2942 and TRH caused a dose-dependent decrease in the recovery time from pentobarbital-induced anesthesia. The minimum effective doses of JTP-2942 and TRH were respectively 0.03 and 1 mg/kg. The effect of JTP-2942 was antagonized by intraperitoneal scopolamine (0.5 mg/kg). Intraperitoneal JTP-2942 (1 mg/kg) caused an increase of acetylcholine release and a decrease of choline release in the frontal cortex and hippocampus of pentobarbital-treated rats. In addition, JTP-2942 ameliorated the decrease of hemicholinium-3-sensitive high-affinity choline uptake and the increase of acetylcholine in these brain regions. However, JTP-2942 had no effect on choline acetyltransferase activity or the choline content, which were also not changed by pentobarbital. Our results indicate that the effect of JTP-2942 on pentobarbital-induced anesthesia was about 30 times more potent than that of TRH, and suggest that JTP-2942 may act by accelerating acetylcholine turnover.
Reliability of Data Fusion Algorithm In Sensor Networks

Dense deployment of sensor and the nature of the physical phenomenon being observed (sensed) result in spatio-temporal correlation in the observed data. Data fusion plays an important role in sensor networks for exploiting this correlation. However, fusion performance depends on parameters such as the reliability model of the sensors, sensor observations, and a priori information. Individual sensors transmit likelihood functions to the fusion center to produce a single posterior distribution or estimate. Here we proposes a new fusion method, reliable likelihood opinion pool (RelOP), for aggregating likelihoods to produce a reliable estimate. It is based on a Bayesian framework. The performance of RelOP is compared with the commonly used opinion pools through simulations. We further propose a multi-sensor fusion architecture that follows from application of the RelOP rule.
Transition or transformation? Personal and political development of former Berkeley free speech movement activists.

Former Berkeley Free Speech Movement activists' sociopolitical status, self and ideal self constructions, perceptions of parents' child-rearing practices and moral reasoning were compared with an assessment made 11 years earlier following the Berkeley Sproul Hall sit-in. Activists were found to be less politically active, more tempered in their political radicalism, more pragmatic and personally reactive in their self and ideal self conceptualizations, more critical in their perceptions of parental relationships, and stable in their level of moral development. While activists appear to have made some important life transitions, an argument is made for their continued distinctiveness as a generational cohort both politically and psychosocially.
Global Burden of Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke: Hypertension at the Core

Viewpoint Global Burden of Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke: Hypertension at the Core Daniel T. Lackland, DrPH, and Michael A. Weber, MD Division of Translational Neurology and Population Studies, Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, USA Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, State University of New York, Downstate College of Medicine, Brooklyn, New York, USA
Adaptive vibration suppression of a smart flexible beam using direct model reference adaptive control (MRAC)

This paper investigates the feasibility of direct model reference adaptive control (MRAC) scheme for the vibration suppression of a smart flexible beam. Direct model reference adaptive controller whose parameters are updated directly from the Lyapunov-based adaptive laws is developed. The adaptive laws for updating the controller parameters are derived and the stability for the closed loop system is proved. The developed MRAC design is numerically verified on a flexible beam model, showing that it has better performance and robustness in vibration suppression with respect to the system parameter variations. Compared with classical active vibration control such as positive position feedback (PPF) control, MRAC can produce more efficient and faster control than PPF control. The satisfactory simulation results show that the MRAC scheme is an effective approach for vibration suppression.
VEGF Release in Multiluminal Hydrogels Directs Angiogenesis from Adult Vasculature In Vitro

Large bioengineered organs such as the heart and kidney need immediate perfusion by the host vascular network to avoid ischemia, support implant survival, and prevent implant failure. Vascularization of new bioengineered tissues can be stimulated by porous scaffold design and vascular growth factors. However, comprehensive vascularization of thick tissues in vitro remains a formidable challenge. We developed a simple and reproducible vascularization method that integrates a transparent biodegradable multiluminal scaffold for guided endothelial migration stimulated by intraluminal controlled release of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF). Two- and three-dimensional in vitro vasculogenesis induced by human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC)/fibroblast co-cultures formed discontinuous vessel-like structures. In sharp contrast, hydrogel microchannels with luminal collagen matrix, enticed the angiogenic growth from postnatal and adult aortic explants into the agarose microchannels, forming continuous vascular tubes identified by CD31 expression, in which the number of cells can be controlled by intraluminal VEGF concentration. This study suggests that multiluminal scaffolds can be used to promote angiogenesis from mature blood vessels and form vascular networks within thick bioengineered scaffolds. This method might offer a viable alternative in the prevascularization of bio-artificial organs.
The configuration space of duty-cycled CSMA-based wireless MACs

Wireless sensor network (WSN) applications vary widely in their traffic and node density patterns. Conventional wisdom says that a medium access control (MAC) protocol that performs well for one application can perform poorly for another. Perhaps as a result of this view, a large number of MAC protocols have been proposed, often with specific performance metrics in mind; many of the widely used ones have focused on the low duty cycle case. In this paper, we study how the choice of the MAC protocol as well as the configuration of its parameters impacts performance for diverse traffic rates and node densities. Specifically, we classify CSMA-based MAC protocols in terms of critical MAC-design factors and introduce a framework for performance modeling of each MAC class as a function of key protocol parameters. We use this framework to analyze various performance metrics comprehensively across the configuration space of the protocols; extensive experimentation corroborates our analysis. Our results serve not only as a basis for comparing protocols, they also yield insight into how to adapt MACs to changing traffics in a distributed way. Although the framework focuses on single-hop traffic patterns, potential for extending the framework to analyze richer application scenarios is also investigated and discussed. A surprising finding of our comparative evaluation is that one class of MAC protocols consistently achieves the best or close to the best performance for various metrics across much of the configuration space.
Sum frequency generation studies of ammonium and pyrrolidinium ionic liquids based on the bis-trifluoromethanesulfonimide anion.

A systematic sum frequency generation vibrational spectroscopy study is conducted on the gas−liquid interface of room-temperature ionic liquids. The compounds contain ammonium and pyrrolidinium based cations, to which alkyl substituents of different length and/or functional groups are attached, and they are all combined with the bis-trifluoromethanesulfonimide anion ([imide]-). The alkyl chain length shows a strong effect on the ordering of the chains at the topmost layer, reaching the maximum order for (C4H9)N+(CH3)2(C3H7) and (C6H13)N+C4H8(CH3). There is also evidence of gauche defects for longer alkyl chains, and changes in the spectral features for the shortest ones. The substitution of a carbon atom in the chain by oxygen, and its per-deuteration, provides the means to acquire a more complete description of the surface structure, and an unambiguous assignment of the vibrations detected in the SFG spectra. Finally, a brief comparison between alkylpyrrolidinium, and previously studied alkylimidazolium,...
Supernatural Beliefs among Graduate Students at the University of Pennsylvania

JAHODA1 at the University of Ghana and Pasachoff et al.2 at Harvard University have tested the hypotheses that (a) general university education leads to a decline in supernatural belief, and (b) scientific training in particular hastens this decline. Neither of these hypotheses was supported by the data presented. In both studies, however, only male undergraduates were examined. This suggests a natural extension of the basic paradigm to graduate students and female students. Examination of graduate students' beliefs is a further test of both hypotheses because graduate students have had both more university education and more experience and training in their particular field, for example, science. The addition of female students eliminates the possible bias effect due to testing of one sex only. This extension was carried out at the University of Pennsylvania.
Current Approaches to Helping Children Cope with a Parent's Terminal Illness

Much has been learned about childhood bereavement in the last few decades as studies have increasingly focused on the direct interviewing of children about their recovery from the tragic loss of a parent. It has been shown that children do indeed mourn, although differently from adults. Important moderating and mediating variables have been identified that impact their recovery from the loss of a parent, which can be the focus of intervention. When death is expected, the terminal phase of an illness has been found to be particularly stressful for children, yet seldom investigated. Similarly, few studies have explored the impact of development on children's experience and expression of grief. We present research findings that clarify phases in children's experience during the terminal illness, hospital visits, the death, and its immediate aftermath, as well as how the parent is mourned and issues in longer term reconstitution. Variations in children's responses in these phases are described as they were experienced by 87 children from 3 different developmental groupings: 3 to 5 years, 6 to 8 years, and 9 to 11 years. Recommendations are suggested for parents and professionals about ways to understand and support children during the terminal illness, at the time of death, and during the phase of reconstitution.
The Law of One Price in Six Central and Eastern European Economies

This study examines the validity of the purchasing power parity (PPP) for six Central and East European countries (CEEC) during the 1991–2010 period. Because this rather short-time period is usually not sufficient to produce reliable findings using conventional univariate unit root tests, I use the covariate point optimal test (CPT) developed by Elliott and Jansson, which enhances the power of the test by exploiting information in stationary covariates. CPT tests provide support for the PPP hypothesis in four out of the six CEEC economies. Evidence of PPP is especially strong in the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovak Republic.
Neurogenesis and Alzheimer's disease: at the crossroads.

While a massive and progressive neuronal loss in specific areas such as the hippocampus and cortex unequivocally underlies cognitive deterioration and memory loss in Alzheimer's disease, noteworthy alterations take place in the neurogenic microenvironments, namely, the subgranule layer of the dentate gyrus and the subventricular zone. Compromised neurogenesis presumably takes place earlier than onset of hallmark lesions or neuronal loss, and may play a role in the initiation and progression of neuropathology in Alzheimer's disease. Neurogenesis in the adult brain is thought to play a role in numerous forms and aspects of learning and memory and contribute to the plasticity of the hippocampus and olfactory system. Misregulated or impaired neurogenesis on the other hand, may compromise plasticity and neuronal function in these areas and exacerbate neuronal vulnerability. Interestingly, increasing evidence suggests that molecular players in Alzheimer's disease, including PS1, APP and its metabolites, play a role in adult neurogenesis. In addition, recent studies suggest that alterations in tau phosphorylation are pronounced in neurogenic areas, and may interfere with the potential central role of tau proteins in neuronal maturation and differentiation. On the other hand, numerous neurogenic players, such as Notch-1, ErbB4 and L1 are substrates of α- β- and γ- secretase that play a major role in Alzheimer's disease. This review will discuss current knowledge concerning alterations of neurogenesis in Alzheimer's disease with specific emphasis on the cross-talk between signaling molecules involved in both processes, and the ways by which familial Alzheimer's disease-linked dysfunction of these signaling molecules affect neurogenesis in the adult brain.
PERFORMANCE OF RATS UNDER CONCURRENT VARIABLE‐INTERVAL SCHEDULES OF NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT

The behavior of rats under concurrent variable-interval schedules of negative reinforcement was examined. A single one-minute variable-interval programmer determined the availability of 30-second timeouts from electric shock. These were assigned to one or the other of the two component schedules with a probability of 0 to 1.0. The response requirement for the component schedules was standing to the right or left of the center of the experimental chamber. With a six-second changeover delay, the relative time spent under one component schedule varied directly and linearly with the relative number of timeouts earned under that component schedule. The absolute number of changeovers was highest when a similar number of timeouts was earned under each component schedule, and lowest when all or nearly all timeouts were earned under one component schedule. In general, these relations are similar to those reported with concurrent variable-interval schedules of positive reinforcement.
Detection of N7-(2-hydroxyethyl)guanine adducts in DNA and 9L cells treated with 1-(2-chloroethyl)-1-nitrosourea

A sensitive analytical method, HPLC–ED, was developed for the measurement of N7-(2-hydroxyethyl)guanine (N7-HOEtG). A detection limit of 3.2 N7-HOEtG/108 nucleotides was obtained with this method. Linear dose response curves for the formation of N7-HOEtG were obtained following treatment of either calf thymus DNA or 9L cells with 1-(2-chloroethyl)-1-nitrosourea (CNU). Using HPLC–ED a significant increase in the level of N7-HOEtG could be detected in 9L cells following treatment with 5 μM CNU. Our study suggests that with this analytical method the formation of N7-HOEtG in the white blood cells of patients treated with chloroethylnitrosoureas may be determined.
A Crossed Molecular Beam Study of the Phenyl Radical Reaction with 1,3-Butadiene and its Deuterated Isotopologues

The reactions between the phenyl radical (C6H5) and 1,3-butadiene (CH2CHCHCH2) together with its D6- and D4-isotopologues were studied under single collision conditions. The scattering data suggest that the reaction proceeds via indirect scattering dynamics and is initiated by an addition of the phenyl radical to the terminal carbon atom of the 1,3-butadiene molecule to form a C6H5CH2CHCHCH2 intermediate. Then, the collision complex undergoes a hydrogen atom loss through a tight exit transition state to form the 1-phenyl-1,3-butadiene product. Reactions with isotopically labeled reactants verify experimentally that the hydrogen loss originates from the terminal carbon atom of the 1,3-butadiene reactant. Our results are also compared with other phenyl radical reactions with unsaturated hydrocarbons studied earlier in our laboratory.
The Impact of Ethics Laws on Legislative Recruitment and the Occupational Composition of State Legislatures

Over the past half-century, ethics laws have proliferated at the federal, state, and local levels, yet their effects are not well understood. Critics of ethics laws have charged that financial disclosure requirements and restrictions on outside income deter individuals from pursuing public service. However, empirical testing of this claim has been lacking. This study examines the impact of substantive ethics restrictions and disclosure laws on state legislative recruitment in the 1990s and on the changing occupational composition of state legislatures between 1976 and 1995. Ethics laws are found to have several effects on the decision to run and on the occupations represented. I suggest that these effects are not necessarily all negative.
Placental iron deposits: Significance in normal and abnormal pregnancies

The extent of iron deposition in the placenta during the various stages of pregnancy, as well as its significance, has not been clearly established. There often is confusion with regard to calcium deposits. To address this issue 82 placentas (60 from normal pregnancies and 22 from abnormal pregnancies) were examined by light microscopy, including iron and calcium stains, and immunoperoxidase stains for ferritin. Seven cases also were studied ultrastructurally, including x-ray microanalysis. With these modalities we could unequivocally differentiate between iron and calcium deposits. It was concluded that in normal pregnancies the placenta stores iron mainly in two forms: first, at least as soon as the seventh week of gestation Hofbauer cells and the syncytiotrophoblast contain ferritin, which is particularly prominent in the syncytiotrophoblast's brush border; and second, during the first two trimesters of gestation iron also is present as linear granular deposits in the trophoblastic basement membrane. In the presence of anomalies in fetal development the iron deposition in the form of linear granular deposits is markedly increased to a statistically significant degree during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy. It is concluded that granular iron deposits in the trophoblastic basement membrane are normally present, gradually decreasing in the progress of normal pregnancies. Their presence in excess (> 7.5% of villi), however, is a pathologic finding associated with fetal growth anomalies.
Relativistic many-body calculations of electric-dipole lifetimes, rates and oscillator strengths of Δn = 0 transitions between 3l−14l' states in Ni-like ions

Transition rates, oscillator strengths and line strengths are calculated for electric-dipole (E1) transitions between odd-parity 3s23p63d94l1, 3s23p53d104l2 and 3s3p63d104l1 states and even-parity 3s23p63d94l2, 3s23p53d104l1 and 3s3p63d104l2 (with 4l1 = 4p, 4f and 4l2 = 4s, 4d) in Ni-like ions with the nuclear charges ranging from Z = 34 to 100. Relativistic many-body perturbation theory (RMBPT), including the Breit interaction, is used to evaluate retarded E1 matrix elements in length and velocity forms. The calculations start from a 1s22s22p63s23p63d10 Dirac–Fock potential. First-order RMBPT is used to obtain intermediate coupling coefficients and second-order RMBPT is used to calculate transition matrix elements. Contributions from negative-energy states are included in the second-order E1 matrix elements to ensure the gauge independence of transition amplitudes. Transition energies used in the calculation of oscillator strengths and transition rates are from second-order RMBPT. Lifetimes of the 3s23p63d94d levels are given for Z = 34–100. These atomic data are important in modelling of M-shell radiation spectra of heavy ions generated in electron beam ion trap experiments and in M-shell diagnostics of plasmas.
Cardioprotective effects of grape seed proanthocyanidin against ischemic reperfusion injury.

There is increasing evidence to indicate cardioprotective effects of red wine consumption. Such cardioprotective properties of wine have been attributed to certain polyphenolic constituents of grapes. The purpose of this investigation was to examine whether proanthocyanidins derived from grape seeds possess cardioprotective properties. Rats were randomly divided into two groups: grape-seed proanthocyanidin was administered orally to one group of rats (100 mg/kg/day) for 3 weeks while the other group served as control. After 3 weeks, rats were killed, hearts excised, mounted on the perfusion apparatus and perfused with Krebs-Henseleit bicarbonate (KHB) buffer. After stabilization hearts were perfused in the working mode for baseline measurements of contractile functions. Hearts were then subjected to 30 min of global ischemia followed by 2 h of reperfusion. Coronary perfusates were collected to monitor malonaldehyde formation, a presumptive marker for oxidative stress development. At the end of each experiment, the heart was processed for infarct size determination. Peroxyl radical scavenging activity of proanthocyanidin was determined by examining its ability to remove peroxyl radical generated by 2,2'-azobis (2-amidinopropane) dihydrochloride while hydroxyl radical scavenging activity was tested with its ability to reduce 7-OH.-coumarin-3-carboxylic acid. The results of our study demonstrated that proanthocyanidin-fed animals were resistant to myocardial ischemia reperfusion injury as evidenced by improved recovery of post-ischemic contractile functions. The proanthocyanidin-fed group revealed reduced extent of myocardial infarction compared to the control group. Fluorimetric study demonstrated the antioxidant property of proanthocyanidin as judged by its ability to directly scavenge peroxyl radicals. Taken together, the results of this study showed that grape seed-proanthocyanidins possess a cardioprotective effect against ischemia reperfusion injury. Such cardioprotective property, at least in part, may be attributed to its ability to directly scavenge peroxyl and hydroxyl radicals and to reduce oxidative stress developed during ischemia and reperfusion.
Susceptibility of Mink to Sheep Scrapie

A progressive, fatal spongiform polioencephalopathy was induced in mink intracerebrally inoculated with a suspension of brain from a Suffolk sheep with naturally acquired scrapie. The clinical signs and pathological lesions of the experimental disease were indistinguishable from transmissible mink encephalopathy, a disease of undetermined origin that occurs in mink.
An empirical investigation of judgment feedback and computerized decision support in a prediction task

Abstract This study examines the effects on judgment accuracy of cognitive and outcome feedback provided using a computerized decision support tool. Five feedback conditions were examined in a two-stage experiment utilizing 294 participants: an outcome feedback condition, two cognitive feedback conditions (judgment policy feedback and model predictions feedback), and two joint feedback conditions (judgment policy plus outcome feedback, and model predictions plus outcome feedback). In the first stage, decision makers specified the judgment policies (i.e. cue weights and function forms) that they believed they would use in making their earnings predictions. They were then asked to forecast earnings per share for several companies based on average earnings for the last three years, current year gross margin percentage, quick ratio and eamings yield. Using appropriately modified end-user software, feedback was then provided to all participants, except those receiving outcome feedback only. Judgment policy feedback consisted of informing decision makers of the cue weights and function forms underlying their actual predictions, while model predictions feedback consisted of earnings predictions generated from the decision makers' stated judgment policies. In the second stage, decision makers revised or retained their original judgment policies and then made another set of earnings predictions. Outcome feedback, consisting of information about the actual earnings attained by the companies, was then provided to participants in the outcome feedback and joint feedback conditions. This process was then repeated for a new set of companies to determine how the various forms of feedback influenced judgment accuracy. Results indicated that providing decision makers with either type of cognitive feedback, relative to providing outcome feedback, contributed to improvements in judgment accuracy. There were no significant differences between the judgment accuracy of the cognitive feedback conditions and of the respective joint feedback conditions, indicating that adding outcome feedback did not enhance judgment accuracy. Results also suggested that model predictions feedback may be more effective than judgment policy feedback, which in turn is superior to outcome feedback. All cognitive feedback conditions, relative to outcome feedback only, also demonstrated convergence between stated model predictions and actual predictions. These results are discussed in terms of implications for the design of decision support systems for individual judgment tasks.
Frequency and Severity of Asymptomatic Coronary Disease in Patients With Different Causes of Stroke

Background and Purpose We sought (1) to compare the frequency and severity of asymptomatic coronary artery disease (CAD) in patients with different causes of brain ischemia and (2) to determine profiles of patients with brain ischemia who are at highest risk of asymptomatic CAD. Methods Sixty-nine patients with transient ischemic attack or stroke and without overt CAD underwent a cardiac stress test and a diagnostic evaluation to determine the cause of brain ischemia. The frequency of abnormal cardiac stress tests was compared in patients with large-artery cerebrovascular disease versus other causes of brain ischemia (90% of whom had penetrating artery disease or cryptogenic stroke). Additionally, the frequencies of vascular risk factors, resting electrocardiographic abnormalities, and cause of stroke (large-artery disease versus other causes) were compared in patients with abnormal stress tests versus patients with normal stress tests. Results The frequency of abnormal stress tests was 50% (15 of 30) in patients with large-artery cerebrovascular disease versus 23% (9 of 39) in patients with other causes of brain ischemia ( P =.04). Moreover, 60% of abnormal stress tests (9 of 15) in patients with large-artery cerebrovascular disease suggested severe underlying CAD that was confirmed in 7 of 7 patients who underwent coronary angiography. On the other hand, less than 25% of abnormal stress tests (2 of 9) in patients with other causes of brain ischemia suggested severe underlying CAD. Features that were more common in patients with abnormal stress tests were smoking ( P =.006), large-artery cerebrovascular disease ( P =.02), veteran status ( P =.02), and left ventricular hypertrophy ( P =.07). Conclusions Patients with penetrating artery disease or cryptogenic stroke have a significantly lower frequency of asymptomatic CAD than patients with large-artery cerebrovascular disease. Large-artery cerebrovascular disease, smoking, veteran status, and possibly left ventricular hypertrophy may be useful features for identifying patients with transient ischemic attack or stroke who are at highest risk of harboring asymptomatic CAD.
In vitro organoid culture of primary mouse colon tumors.

Several human and murine colon cancer cell lines have been established, physiologic integrity of colon tumors such as multiple cell layers, basal-apical polarity, ability to differentiate, and anoikis are not maintained in colon cancer derived cell lines. The present study demonstrates a method for culturing primary mouse colon tumor organoids adapted from Sato T et al. 1, which retains important physiologic features of colon tumors. This method consists of mouse colon tumor tissue collection, adjacent normal colon epithelium dissociation, colon tumor cells digestion into single cells, embedding colon tumor cells into matrigel, and selective culture based on the principle that tumor cells maintain growth on limiting nutrient conditions compared to normal epithelial cells. The primary tumor organoids if isolated from genetically modified mice provide a very useful system to assess tumor autonomous function of specific genes. Moreover, the tumor organoids are amenable to genetic manipulation by virus meditated gene delivery; therefore signaling pathways involved in the colon tumorigenesis could also be extensively investigated by overexpression or knockdown. Primary tumor organoids culture provides a physiologic relevant and feasible means to study the mechanisms and therapeutic modalities for colon tumorigenesis.
Radiocarbon analyses from Cincinnati, Ohio, and their implications for glacial stratigraphic interpretations.

Abstract Detailed analysis of a site near Cincinnati, Ohio, shows that 14C ages of samples in a single geologic unit can have a range of several thousand years and ages from different stratigraphic units can overlap. At the Sharonville site, four 14C samples from organic silt below glaciogenic deposits have an inverted chronologic sequence, suggesting contamination, but nevertheless they indicate the silt was deposited before 27,000 yr B.P. A stump cluster in growth position, wood fragments, and moss from the upper surface of the silt may differ by as much as 2300 14C yr. Five ages from the stump cluster constrain the timing of a glacier advance of the Laurentide ice sheet to its southern limit in the Cincinnati area at 19,670 ± 68 yr B.P. Overlying glaciogenic sediments contain transported wood that may be as much as 3200 yr older than the advance. This range of ages points out that, for a given site, several age measurements are required to determine when a glacier advance occurred. Because the measured ages in this study span the entire interval suggested for a twofold sequence of advance, retreat, and readvance of the margin of the Miami sublobe, we suggest a single advance to its terminal position in the Cincinnati area as an alternate hypothesis for testing.
Reported effects of rapid prototyping on industrial software quality

Empirical data are required to determine the effect of rapid prototyping on software quality. We examine 34 published and unpublished case studies of the use of rapid prototyping in ‘real-world’ software development. We identify common observations, unique events, and opinions. We develop guidelines to help software developers use rapid prototyping to maximize product quality and avoid common pitfalls.
MR imaging for the noninvasive assessment of atherothrombotic plaques

Imaging methods to quantify the progression and regression of atherosclerosis could play a strong role in the management of patients. High-resolution, noninvasive MR imaging may provide exhaustive 3D anatomical information about the lumen and the vessel wall. Furthermore, MR imaging has the ability to characterize plaque composition and microanatomy and therefore to identify lesions vulnerable to rupture or erosion. The high resolution of MR imaging and the development of sophisticated contrast agents offer the promise of molecular in vivo molecular imaging of the plaque. This may aid early intervention (eg, lipid-lowering drug regiments) in both primary and secondary treatment of vascular disease in all arterial beds.
Use of donor serum to prevent passive transfer of hyperacute rejection.

Organ transplantation in presensitized recipients continues to be contraindicated for heart and kidney recipients due to the risk of hyperacute rejection, which has no known treatment at this time. We tested whether donor serum, which contains soluble MHC class I antigen, is able to neutralize the effect of anti-donor antibody in the recipient and prevent hyperacute or accelerated rejection. A rat model of passive immunization was used to test the role of anti-donor antibody in hyperacute rejection. Seven of 10 recipients of hyperimmune serum (HyS), derived from Lewis rats (RT1l) following 3 ACI (RT1a) skin grafts, developed hyperacute or accelerated rejection. Intravenous injection of ACI serum prior to the HyS administration prevented hyperacute rejection in all recipients tested. When third-party (Wistar-Furth, RT1u) serum was given to Lewis rats injected with HyS, hyperacute rejection was not abrogated. When examining the mechanism of this effect, a simple antibody blocking phenomenon was found to be unlikely since flow cytometry analysis showed that ACI serum needed to be present at > or = 256-fold excess compared to HyS to block anti-ACI antibody binding to RT1.Aa+cells by 50%. We tested whether the RT1.Aa class I antigen in ACI serum had other biologic properties that resulted in the prolonged graft survival. However, removal of RT1.Aa antigen from ACI serum prior to use in the passive transfer model did not abrogate the graft prolongation observed previously. These data suggest that components of donor serum other than MHC class I antigen may be useful for preventing the antibody-mediated component of hyperacute rejection.
Purification and properties of insulin receptors from rat liver membranes

Summary Insulin receptors were solubilized from rat liver membranes with Triton X-100. The soluble receptors were purified on DEAE cellulose and then on an insulin-agarose affinity column. The purified receptor had a Stokes radius of 72A on Sepharose 6B, an isoelectric point of 4.0, and could be adsorbed to Conanavalin A-agarose and specifically eluted with α-methylmannopyranoside. The eluate from the insulin-agarose column demonstrated a major band with an apparent molecular weight of 135,000 on SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Because of the possibility of anomalous SDS binding, this molecular weight must be accepted with caution.
Teacher evaluation: Research versus practice

From the data one can conclude that the majority of the study's districts over-whelmingly continue to opt for the quick, easy, ambiguous, and traditional Trait/Scale Model of evaluation. It also appears that teachers, although they assert that this approach is ineffective and demeaning to them professionally, continue to sign contracts authorizing this mode of evaluation. The one bright light in this picture is that while the traditional Trait/Scale combination is used in 202 districts (see figure 5), the data also show that the districts in the study's sample used the Trait/Scale Model with one or more of the other models available (see figure 5). The model was used with the Performance Objectives Model in 123 districts and with the Teacher Concern Model in 69 districts. This would imply that in the districts responding there was an awareness that the Trait/Scale Model alone was not the answer to effective evaluation, and that there was a need to develop a system which would better acknowledge and nurture the teacher's sense of professionalism and would provide real assistance. Perhaps as the demand for professionalism is internalized and the concommitant demand for accountability grows, there may actually come a time when districts completely relinquish their attachment to the last vestiges of an evaluation model that answers neither demand.
Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO)

The solar output changes on a variety of timescales, from minutes, to years, to tens of years and even to hundreds of years. The dominant timescale of variation is, of course, the 11-year solar cycle. Observational evidence shows that the physics of solar output variation is strongly tied to changes in the magnetic field, and perhaps the most dramatic manifestation of a constantly changing magnetic field is the Coronal Mass Ejection (CME). On August 5 - 6, 1996 the Second Workshop to discuss missions to observe these phenomena from new vantage points, organized by the authors, was held in Boulder, Colorado at the NOAA Space Environmental Center. The workshop was attended by approximately 20 scientists representing 13 institutions from the United States and Europe. The purpose of the Workshop was to discuss the different concepts for multi- spacecraft observation of the Sun which have been proposed, to develop a list of scientific objectives, and to arrive at a consensus description of a mission to observe the Sun from new vantage points. The fundamental goal of STEREO is to discover how coronal mass ejections start at the Sun and propagate in interplanetary space. The workshop started with the propositions that coronal mass ejections are fundamental manifestations of rapid large-scale change in the global magnetic structure of the Sun, that CME's are a major driver of coronal evolution, and that they may play a major role in the solar dynamo. Workshop participants developed a mission concept that will lead to a comprehensive characterization of CME disturbances through build-up, initiation, launch, and propagation to Earth. It will also build a clear picture of long-term evolution of the corona. Participants in the workshop recommended that STEREO be a joint mission with the European scientific community and that it consist of four spacecraft: `East' at 1 AU near L4, 60 deg from EArth to detect active regions 5 days before they can be seen by terrestrial telescopes. `West' at L5 views the sources of energetic particle events reaching Earth. `Earth Orbiter' to view the Sun, solar plasma and Earth's magnetosphere, and `North-South' in a 1 AU orbit tilted 30 deg from the ecliptic plane to provide measurements of polar fields and high-latitude activity. All spacecraft will carry solar activity imagers (e.g., EUV telescope and white-light coronagraph) and radio burst detectors to support a tomography program. All will carry sensitive polarimeters that will image CME's from 40 solar radii to 1 AU, and all will carry instruments for situ plasma and energetic particle sampling. East and North-South have solar vector magnetographs.
Tootsie Pops: How many licks to the chocolate?

Tootsie Pops are lollipops on sticks with a ball of chocolate inside them. How many licks does it take to reach the chocolate? Every American child has wondered. Cory Heid set out to find the answer.
The Na+-independent Ca2+ efflux system in mitochondria is a Ca2+/2H+ exchange system

Abstract The mechanism of the Na + -independent Ca 2+ efflux system in mitochondria has not been elucidated as yet. With the aid of cyclosporin A. an inhibitor of the Ca 2+ -induced ‘pore’, and using a variety of inhibitors, uncouplers and lonophores, it is possible to demonstrate, unequivocally, that this process is driven by ΔpH. The efflux is not affected by ΔΨ, thus suggesting an electroneutral Ca 2+ /2H + exchange mechanism. Parallel measurements of the rate of Ca 2+ efflux and ΔpH, as modulated by valinomycin and nigericin, indicate that the rate of efflux is a function of the magnitude of ΔpH.
Bone marrow or foetal liver cells fail to induce islet regeneration in diabetic Akita mice.

Background In this study, we carried out bone marrow and foetal liver cell transplantation to determine if these cells could differentiate into pancreatic β-cells or promote regeneration. Methods To exclude an artificial or immunological influence for induction of diabetes to recipients, Akita mice, which develop diabetes spontaneously,were used. In addition, we used mice harbouring the transgenic green fluorescent protein (GFP) reporter for insulin 1 gene as donors to mark donor-derived β-cells. Results All transplanted Akita mice after intravenous injection showed full donor chimerism in peripheral blood analysis. Their diabetic state represented by blood glucose levels did not change after transplantation. In spite of examination of more than 200 islets in each group, we could not find GFP-positive cells in any of the recipients. Conclusions Bone marrow cells or foetal liver cells do not differentiate to new pancreatic β-cells or promote regeneration in Akita mice, a non-chemical or non-immune model of diabetes. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Development of a regional neural network for coastal water level predictions

Abstract This paper presents the development of a Regional Neural Network for Water Level (RNN_WL) predictions, with an application to the coastal inlets along the South Shore of Long Island, New York. Long-term water level data at coastal inlets are important for studying coastal hydrodynamics sediment transport. However, it is quite common that long-term water level observations may be not available, due to the high cost of field data monitoring. Fortunately, the US National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has a national network of water level monitoring stations distributed in regional scale that has been operating for several decades. Therefore, it is valuable and cost effective for a coastal engineering study to establish the relationship between water levels at a local station and a NOAA station in the region. Due to the changes of phase and amplitude of water levels over the regional coastal line, it is often difficult to obtain good linear regression relationship between water levels from two different stations. Using neural network offers an effective approach to correlate the non-linear input and output of water levels by recognizing the historic patterns between them. In this study, the RNN_WL model was developed to enable coastal engineers to predict long-term water levels in a coastal inlet, based on the input of data in a remote NOAA station in the region. The RNN_WL model was developed using a feed-forwards, back-propagation neural network structure with an optimized training algorithm. The RNN_WL model can be trained and verified using two independent data sets of hourly water levels. The RNN_WL model was tested in an application to Long Island South Shore. Located about 60–100 km away from the inlets there are two permanent long-term water level stations, which have been operated by NOAA since the1940s. The neural network model was trained using hourly data over a one-month period and validated for another one-month period. The model was then tested over year-long periods. Results indicate that, despite significant changes in the amplitudes and phases of the water levels over the regional study area, the RNN_WL model provides very good long-term predictions of both tidal and non-tidal water levels at the regional coastal inlets. In order to examine the effects of distance on the RNN_WL model performance, the model was also tested using water levels from other remote NOAA stations located at longer distances, which range from 234 km to 591 km away from the local station at the inlets. The satisfactory results indicate that the RNN_WL model is able to supplement long-term historical water level data at the coastal inlets based on the available data at remote NOAA stations in the coastal region.
An aperture‐shifting light‐microscopic method for rapidly quantifying positions of cells in 3D matrices

Background Rapid measurements of large numbers of cells in 3D are often required for measurements of cell migration. A method is presented for quantifying the position of cells in three-dimensional gels using brightfield microscopy. Methods Images were recorded using transmitted light with a closed condenser aperture diaphragm positioned off axis to produce oblique illumination. Two or more images, each at the same focal plane, were obtained with the aperture shifted equally to either side of the optical axis. All in-focus objects were at the same position in the two images, but out-of-focus objects were displaced parallel to the aperture movement. Results The method was tested using gels containing 12-μm-diameter glass beads or cells that had migrated several hundred micrometers into the gel. The position in the image plane varied linearly with axial position, being reversed for objects above and below the focal plane. Beads and cells could be visualized up to a depth of >1 mm in gels. Conclusions The method facilitates measurements of positions of cells in 3D matrices by eliminating the need to perform optical sectioning and can be used with any brightfield microscope. Cytometry Part A 54A:125–131, 2003. © 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc.