cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The influence of peer affiliation and student activities on adolescent drug involvement

This study examined the importance of students' academic performance level and extracurricular activities as predictors of drug involvement relative to peer influence. Social development theory provided the theoretical rational for the study. Data were obtained from 2,229 randomly selected students in the eighth, tenth, and twelfth grades from seventeen school districts in northeastern Ohio. At all three grade levels, involvement in extracurricular activities and academic level were significantly correlated with students' gateway and hard drug use. Consistent with prior research, the strongest correlate of gateway and hard drug use across all grade levels was affiliation with drug-using friends. Having a job after school was marginally related to self-reported gateway drug use at grade level ten. Multiple regression analysis revealed that extracurricular involvement and academic performance level make small, but unique contributions to the prediction of adolescents' gateway drug use beyond affiliation with drug-using peers at all three grade levels. The findings of this study suggest that students' academic performance and extracurricular involvements are significantly related to adolescent gateway and hard drug use, but have less predictive significance relative to peer relationships.
Topological jamming of extended structures and the glass transition

We propose a new scenario for glassy dynamics in frustrated systems with no quenched-in randomness, based on jamming of extended dynamical structures near a critical point. This route to a glassy state is demonstrated in a lattice model of fluctuating lines. Numerical simulations of the model show non-exponential relaxations and diverging energy barriers in the vicinity of a thermodynamic phase transition. A master equation for the coarse grained dynamics is constructed. It shows how topological jamming leads to the observed glassy dynamics.
Sustainability Reporting In The Accounting Curriculum

Seven class sections of undergraduate students in principles of managerial accounting courses participated in a study to examine the impact of sustainability accounting lectures with Internet assignments or lectures alone influence students' knowledge, skills, and attitudes toward sustainability reporting. The results of this study show that lectures with Internet assignments and lectures alone were equally effective in causing changes in the dependent measures compared to control groups who received no instruction on sustainability.
Examination of consistency of adolescent and parent reports across several psychosocial constructs

This study investigated the consistency of discrepancy scores between adolescent and parent reports across several psychosocial constructs (adolescent internalizing, externalizing, emotion regulation difficulties, parent rewarding responses to adolescent emotions, and parent depressive symptoms). Sixty-two adolescents (67.7% females; 76.7% African American) and one of their parents participated. Most of the associations among discrepancy scores were equivalent. There was one instance in which the association among two discrepancy scores (youth internalizing and externalizing) was stronger than the others and one instance in which the association was weaker than the others (youth internalizing and parent rewarding). These results suggest that discrepancies between adolescent and parent reports are not necessarily a stable characteristic of the dyad and depend on the construct under consideration.
A Kharitonov like theorem for systems under nonlinear passive feedback

In a recent theorem Kharitonov has shown how the Hurwitz invariance of polynomials lying in a set defined by their coefficient bounds can be established by checking four special polynomials. In this paper we derive a similar result for linear time invariant systems under a class of passive non linear feedback.
Facial Nerve Palsy in Acute Leukaemia

During a three year period, of 62 children and adults seen with lymphoblastic leukaemia 6 developed unilateral facial paralysis during the course of their disease, compared to none of 54 adults and children with acute non-lymphatic leukaemia seen during the same period. In all cases the problem arose in patients with refractory disease and was associated with the development of resistant bone marrow infiltration. The neuropathy showed no obvious response to intrathecal therapy and whilst meningeal infiltration was present at some stage in all but one of the 6, this waxed and waned independently of the facial palsy. Four of the 6 cases described had stigmata of the T-cell variety of lymphoblastic leukaemia, which is a significantly higher proportion than would be expected by chance. This apparent association with T-cell disease has not been previously recognised.
PROTEIN SUPPLEMENTATION OF NAVY BEANS WITH SESAME

Feeding experiments with weanling rats showed that the protein of Navy beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) and sesame (Sesamun indicum) are mutually supplementary. Standard diets containing as the sole source of protein: beans (B); sesame (S); and mixtures of 87.5% B protein with 12.5% S protein, 75% B protein with 25% S protein, and 50% B protein with 50% S protein, resulted in the following protein efficiency ratios (PER): 1.56, 1.19, 1.79, 2.26 and 2.30, respectively, compared to 2.50 for casein. The net protein ratios (NPR) correlated almost perfectly (r = 0.99) with PER. The amino acid scores by the method A/E correlated highly with both PER and NPR (r = 0.82 and 0.81, respectively). The amino acid scores by the method A/T correlated even better with PER and NPR (r = 0.96 and 0.97, respectively).
The effect of arginine, vasotocin and ovarian steroids on uterine contractility in the snapping turtle, Chelydra serpentina

Abstract The contractility of uterine segments was studied in vitro during different phases of the ovarian cycle in relation to the plasma levels of progesterone and estradiol, 17β. 1. 2. Treatment of the uterine segments with arginine vasotocin (AVT) increased contractility (amplitude and frequency) and decreased latency between contractions, except during the early postovulatory phase when the corpora lutea were steroiriogenically active. 2. 3. Pretreatment of turtles with progesterone decreased contractility during the early postovulatory phase but had no effect during the remainder of the ovarian cycle. 3. 4. Pretreatment with estradiol-17β increased contractility during all phases except early postovulatory when there was no effect on amplitude. 4. 5. Total time of rhythmic contractions increased significantly (anterior vs posterior uterine segments P P
N-alkyl-N-dithiocarboxy-D-glucamine analogs as cadmium antagonists: synthesis and evaluation of the n-propyl, n-butyl, and n-amyl derivatives

N-(n-Propyl)-, N-(n-butyl)-, and N-(n-amyl)-N-dithiocarboxy-D-glucamine were newly synthesized by (a) addition of each n-alkylamine to glucose, (b) high-pressure catalytic reduction of each glucosamine thus formed to the corresponding glucamine, and (c) reaction of the resultant secondary amines with CS2 to form the dithiocarboxy derivatives. Each compound was evaluated as an antagonist of acute cadmium (Cd) toxicity and as a complexing agent for intracellular metallothionein-bound Cd (Cd-MT) in mice. N-Benzyl-N-dithiocarboxy-D-glucamine (BDCG) was used as a positive control compound. Each congener afforded partial or complete protection against the lethal effects of 10.0 mg/kg CdCl2.2.5 H2O, and retarded accumulation of Cd in livers and kidneys when given 2 h after the acutely toxic dose of Cd. Each derivative was also effective in mobilizing Cd from MT-bound sites in livers and kidneys of mice which had received a sub-lethal dose of CdCl2 along with 109CdCl2 2 weeks earlier. Excretion of mobilized Cd was almost exclusively by the fecal route. Potency of the analogs, as well as the octanol/aqueous partition coefficients, increased with the overall length of the N-(n-alkyl) carbon chain. Each compound readily complexed Cd from partially purified Cd-MT in vitro. Serum Cd from mice treated with BDCG was associated principally with proteins of high molecular weight.
Status report on articulators

The clinical applications of five types of articulators—hinge articulators, fixed condyle articulators, semi-adjustable articulators, fully adjustable articulators, and fossa molded articulators—are described briefly.
Treatment of Coarctation and Late Complications in the Adult

This article discusses coarctation of the aorta in the adult. Effective treatments for coarctation have come from surgery since 1945 and from interventional cardiology since 1982. Long-term outcome data are available only for surgical approaches. Thirty-year survival rate is 72% to 82%. Complications include recoarctation or residual coarctation, hypertension, aneurysms at the repair site, spinal cord injury. Other sequelae include bicuspid aortic valve disease, ascending aortic aneurysm, premature coronary disease, and infective endocarditis or endarteritis. Interventional catheter therapy is now the preferred therapy for recurrent coarctation, when the anatomy permits and necessary skills are available. Its use in native or unoperated coarctation is less well established. Treatment may be with balloon angioplasty alone or with a stent. Outcomes are good in skilled hands, but residual or recurrent coarctation with resultant hypertension and repair site aneurysms can occur. Catheter treatment can cause death from aortic rupture and dissection, but mortality compares favorably with surgery if coarctation is recurrent, and perhaps for initial treatment.
Dairy products, calcium and prostate cancer risk.

In a prospective study of 10 011 men with 815 prostate cancer cases, despite plausible biological mechanisms, neither increasing intake levels of dairy products nor calcium from dairy products (P trend; 0.23 and 0.64, respectively), or calcium supplements was associated with prostate cancer risk (relative risk, 1.05; 95% confidence interval, 0.84–1.31).
Uncued and cued emotions and associated distress in a college sample

Abstract The purposes of this study were to examine; (a) the prevalence of cued and uncued panic attacks, anger outbursts, episodes of sadness, and surges of excitement; (b) the degree of worry or distress over the recurrence of each type of emotional experience; and (c) the relations among these emotional experiences. Results based on survey responses of 317 undergraduates showed a high prevalence of each basic emotion, particularly depressed mood and surges of excitement. Distress was strongest for depressed mood and outbursts of anger, and least for surges of excitement. Panic attacks and anger outbursts tended to occur independently of each other, whereas surges of excitement and sad mood were the most likely to co-occur. The results are discussed in the context of an emotion-distress conceptualization.
Calcium Ion Binding to Thrombospondin 1

We have quantified the binding of Ca2+ to platelet thrombospondin 1 (TSP1) using equilibrium dialysis with 45CaCl2. Ca2+ binding to TSP1 was found to be cooperative with 10% occupancy at 15-20 μM CaCl2, 90% occupancy at 100 μM CaCl2, and a Hill coefficient of 2.4 ± 0.2. The average apparent Kd was 52 ± 5 μM. Maximum binding, assuming Mr = 450,000 and ∊ = 0.918 (A280/mg/ml), was 35 ± 3 Ca2+/TSP1. This value is close to the 33 sites (11 per subunit) predicted based on homology of the epidermal growth factor (1 site) and aspartate-rich (10 sites) regions to known Ca2+ binding sequences. Ca2+ protected the aspartate-rich region from trypsin proteolysis, but not until nearly all of the Ca2+ binding sites were filled. At lower occupancy of Ca2+ binding sites, several limited tryptic digest products were obtained. This finding and the previous demonstration of extensive thiol-disulfide isomerization within the aspartate-rich regions suggest that subregions of the aspartate-rich region are stabilized in different conformers. Zn2+, Cu2+, Mn2+, Mg2+, Co2+, Cd2+, and Ba2+ were tested for their ability to modulate Ca2+ binding and protease sensitivity of TSP1. Zn2+ inhibited 40% of the Ca2+ binding but neither protected TSP1 from trypsin proteolysis, nor labilized TSP1 toward trypsin proteolysis. These results provide direct evidence for high capacity, cooperative and specific binding of Ca2+ to conformationally labile aspartate-rich repeats of TSP1.
647 DELAYED ONTOGENIC DEVELOPMENT IN THE BYPASSED ILEUM OF THE INFANT RAT

Ontogenic development continues after birth in mammalian enteric epithelium as an adaptive mechanism to extrauterine life. Structural, functional and cytokinetic changes of particular prominence occur over a short critical period preparatory to dietary change with weaning. The effect of intraluminal influences on these maturational changes was examined by preparing an experimental surgical bypass in the intestine of the infant rat. Surgical bypass of the terminal one-third length of the small intestine of 12-14 day old suckling rats was performed, maintaining the remaining intestine in continuity (anastomosed to cecum). The bypassed segment, although showing general normal developmental patterns of sucrase and maltase, showed coincident delay in normal reduction of both lactase and enterocyte life-span. The intestine maintained in continuity showed precocious appearance of sucrase and accumulation along with maltase to greater than control levels, accompanied by a normal coincident decline in both lactase and enterocyte life-span. In summary, involvement of intraluminal influences on enteric ontogenic development is expressed by a delay in the excluded segment (bypassed) and by stimulation in the shortened segment in continuity. The data also provide further support of the hypothesis that the life-span of the enterocyte serves as a primary determinant post-natally of enteric lactase levels.
An extended inhibitory context causes skipping of exon 7 of SMN2 in spinal muscular atrophy

SMN1 and SMN2 represent the two nearly identical copies of the survival of motor neuron gene in humans. The most frequent cause of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is loss of SMN1 accompanied by the inability of SMN2 to compensate due to an inhibitory mutation at position 6 in exon 7 (C6U) that causes exon 7 exclusion. How this single exonic nucleotide regulates exon 7 recognition has been of major interest. Based on score matrices and in vitro assays, abrogation of an exonic splicing enhancer (ESE) associated with SF2/ASF has been considered as the cause of exon 7 exclusion. However, a recent report supports the creation of an exonic splicing silencer (ESS) associated with hnRNP A1 as the determining factor for exon 7 exclusion. Here we show that C6U strengthens an inhibitory context that covers a larger sequence than the hnRNP A1 binding site. The inhibitory context can also be strengthened by the addition of a G residue at the first position of exon 7 in SMN1, promoting exon 7 skipping despite the presence of SF2/ASF binding site. Through in vivo selection and a series of mutations we demonstrate that the strengthening of the extended inhibitory context at the 5' end of exon 7 is exercised through overlapping sequence motifs that collaborate to regulate exon usage.
Rights in Twentieth-Century Constitutions: The Case of Welfare Rights

In the 1960s and 1970s, when the judicial rights revolution was in full swing in the United States, poverty lawyers and allied legal scholars urged the courts to add to the expanding catalog of constitutional rights certain social and economic rights—to housing, education, and a minimum decent subsistence. The advocates of welfare rights were not deterred by the absence of pertinent constitutional language. After all, if the Court could find a right to privacy in the “penumbra” of the Bill of Rights, who knew what else might be discovered there? Those efforts to constitutionalize what were historically matters of legislative discretion had only partial success. The Supreme Court did hold that, once government grants certain statutory entitlements such as welfare and disability benefits, the recipients have a constitutional right not to be deprived of those benefits without procedural due process. The Court declined, however, to find that the entitlements themselves were constitutionally required.
Syringoma: removal by electrodesiccation and curettage.

Les syringomes sont des tumeurs annexielles benignes, souvent localisees sur la peau de la paupiere inferieure. Les patients reclament habituellement la resection pour des raisons esthetiques. L'electrodessiccation et le curettage de ces lesions assurent l'eradication locale tout en conservant la peau non atteinte de la paupiere
A Learning-Enabled Neuron Array IC Based Upon Transistor Channel Models of Biological Phenomena

We present a single-chip array of 100 biologically-based electronic neuron models interconnected to each other and the outside environment through 30,000 synapses. The chip was fabricated in a standard 350 nm CMOS IC process. Our approach used dense circuit models of synaptic behavior, including biological computation and learning, as well as transistor channel models. We use Address-Event Representation (AER) spike communication for inputs and outputs to this IC. We present the IC architecture and infrastructure, including IC chip, configuration tools, and testing platform. We present measurement of small network of neurons, measurement of STDP neuron dynamics, and measurement from a compiled spiking neuron WTA topology, all compiled into this IC.
Free-space representations for robot path planning

The problem of determining an obstacle-free path for an autonomous mobile robot in two dimensions is examined. In this paper we explore the fundamentals necessary to construct a free space graph representation suitable for the problem by processing an input image of the environment in a scanline fashion and breaking the graph construction process into subprocesses which could be pipelined. Our methods describe how obstacles in the image are processed to yield a form more suitable for computation and how these processed pseudo obstacles are used to detect prime convex regions (PCRs) and maximal overlap regions (MOvs) formed by them. We also present experimental results of free space graphs constructed using these ideas.
The effect of salinity and temperature on the larval development of the stone crab,Menippe mercenaria (Say), reared in the laboratory

The larvae of the stone crab,Menippe mercenaria (Say) have been reared in 18 different environments—comprising 6 levels of salinity (10, 20, 25, 30, 35 and 40‰) and 3 levels of temperature (20, 25 and 30 C). The results show that both salinity and temperature affect the rate of larval development as well as larval survival. The rate of development was slightly slower in a reduced salinity (20‰) than in high salinities (30–40‰), and very markedly retarded with decreasing temperature from 30 to 20 C. Total mortality was observed in the first zoeal stage in 10‰ at all temperatures. In other experimental salinities (20–40‰) at 20 C, the larvae only developed to the megalopa. Survival to the megalopa at 20 C was less in 20–25‰ than in 30–40‰ and also lower than that observed at 25 and 30 C. Survival to the first crab at 25 and 30C was considerably lower in 20‰ than in higher salinities. The optimum temperature for the larvae ofM. mercenaria would be approximately 30 C, and the optimum salinity in the range of 30–35‰. Under these conditions, the megalopa aas reached on the 14th day after hatching, and the first crab on the 21st day, with total survival in the range of 60–72%. From the relatively high survival and the short development period, it would appear that the stone crab might be a more suitable species than other commercially important crabs for any future large-scale rearing experiments.
Internships and occupational commitment of college students in IT-related majors

We conducted two linked studies of students in IT-related majors who were recently or currently involved in some type of pre-professional work activity such as an internship. In the first study, we interviewed students to obtain their impressions of the occupational subculture of IT. Verbatims from interviews with the students, along with tallies of the categories of their responses, suggested that pre-professional experiences had given these students a realistic preview of IT occupational subculture. In the second study, we transformed the impressions we had received from the student interviews into a set of evaluative dimensions relevant to the characteristics of IT occupational subculture. We devised survey items to assess these evaluative dimensions, and then administered the survey to N=211 students to see if any differences existed among students grouped by gender or ethnicity. Finally, we used our measures of these evaluative dimensions to predict an outcome variable relevant to persistence in IT, namely occupational commitment. Some differences did arise among different groups of students, and some of the evaluative dimensions were useful in predicting occupational commitment.
Eos is out of this world—literally

[1] When the space shuttle Endeavour launched on its 25th and final flight, AGU member and astronaut Andrew J. Feustel took with him a special bit of cargo: an issue of Eos. The accompanying photograph with the image of Eos, taken on 23 May 2011, shows the 15 February issue of Eos floating in front of one of the International Space Station windows. Below and left of the issue is the wing of Endeavour; also visible is the radiator panel on the shuttle's payload bay door. The thin blue line to the right of the issue is Earth's atmosphere. The STS-134 mission, the second to last space shuttle mission, launched on 16 May and returned to Earth on 1 June. It delivered the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (a particle physics experiment module) to the International Space Station along with two communications antennas, a high-pressure gas tank, and parts for the two-armed Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator (Dextre) robot. The final shuttle mission, STS-135, launched on 8 July.
Multiple self-assembled nanostructures from an oligo(p-phenyleneethynylene) containing rod–coil–rod triblock copolymer

Induced by systematic variation of the initial polymer concentration in toluene, various morphologies of aggregates including vesicles, spheres, onion-like structures, and worm-like fibers from a rod–coil–rod triblock copolymer, oligo(p-phenyleneethynylene)–polystyrene–oligo(p-phenyleneethynylene), were observed by transmission electron microscopy.
Radiolaria: Change in Skeletal Weight and Resistance to Solution

During the Cenozoic Era, Radiolaria living in tropical waters developed progressively lighter skeletons, apparently as a result of an evolutionary trend. The average skeletal weight of Quaternary Radiolaria is only one-fourth that of Eocene Radiolaria. If the rate of production of these organisms has remained constant, the amount of silica delivered to the ocean floor per unit time by Eocene Radiolaria is four times greater than that being deposited by Quaternary Radiolaria. Species from the various Cenozoic faunas differ in their resistance to solution. Thus, in assemblages from sediment samples, the presence, absence, and abundance of certain species provide a key to the amount of mixing of faunas and the degree of corrosion of assemblages.
Renal excretion of some isomeric hexoses in the dog.

SummaryStudies with close arterial injection technique have demonstrated that the renal excretion of 3MG, L-glucose, L-galac-tose, L-fucose and L-mannose was greater than that of the simultaneously injected inu-lin, suggesting a renal tubular secretion of these compounds. Steady-state experiments also showed that a positive T value was obtained with L-glucose and 3MG. Phlorid-zin abolished the tubular secretion of these compounds. It is therefore postulated that a carrier system for sugar transport is located in the brush border of renal tubules. This carrier has a complementary structure resembling that of hexoses. Its luminal site reacts complementarily with D-hexoses and the cyto-plasmic facing site of the carrier reacts with the 3MG and L-hexose.
Microstructure development during constant-force drawing of poly(ethylene terephthalate) film

Abstract Structure development in PET film during high strain-rate, constant-force (CF) deformation in the temperature range 80–96°C is compared with structure development during lower strain rate, constant-extension-rate (CER) deformation in a similar temperature range. The higher (maximum) strain rates involved in CF drawing mean that much of the deformation takes place in a regime where the time available for orientational relaxation and crystallization is short. This results in high levels of `non-crystalline orientation' and low levels of crystallinity compared to structures obtained from CER drawing. In CER drawing, due to the lower strain rates, the degree of crystallinity always has time to reach pseudo-equilibrium values corresponding to a given level of non-crystalline orientation, and the amount of orientational relaxation occurring during drawing has the dominant influence on structure development. In CF drawing, pseudo-equilibrium crystallinity values are not reached, except when the deformation approaches the tail-end of the strain-rate spectrum. The results also provide confirmation that microstructure data obtained from rapidly quenched samples are consistent with microstructure data obtained from real-time experiments.
Motion of particulate material ejected from a rotating space platform

T HE dynamics of particulate material ejected from a rotating space platform are investigated. A cloud of the material is modeled as a number of discrete finite-sized particles so that the problem of tracking the material can be solved by simulating the motion of nonmutually interacting two-body systems. The equations of niotion, which form the basis of the simulation, are written with respect to a coordinate system attached to a rotating space platform in Earth orbit and include the effects of gravity and other external forces. The resulting nonlinear equations are integrated numerically to obtain time histories of each particle's position and velocity. The time histories indicate that for certain initial conditions, particularly those corresponding to altitudes where aerodynamic drag is significant, some of the ejected particulate material may recontact the platform.
Role of Vitamin D3 in Modulation of ΔNp63α Expression during UVB Induced Tumor Formation in SKH-1 Mice

ΔNp63α, a proto-oncogene, is up-regulated in non-melanoma skin cancers and directly regulates the expression of both Vitamin D receptor (VDR) and phosphatase and tensin homologue deleted on chromosome ten (PTEN). Since ΔNp63α has been shown to inhibit cell invasion via regulation of VDR, we wanted to determine whether dietary Vitamin D3 protected against UVB induced tumor formation in SKH-1 mice, a model for squamous cell carcinoma development. We examined whether there was a correlation between dietary Vitamin D3 and ΔNp63α, VDR or PTEN expression in vivo in SKH-1 mice chronically exposed to UVB radiation and fed chow containing increasing concentrations of dietary Vitamin D3. Although we observed differential effects of the Vitamin D3 diet on ΔNp63α and VDR expression in chronically irradiated normal mouse skin as well as UVB induced tumors, Vitamin D3 had little effect on PTEN expression in vivo. While low-grade papillomas in mice exposed to UV and fed normal chow displayed increased levels of ΔNp63α, expression of both ΔNp63α and VDR was reduced in invasive tumors. Interestingly, in mice fed high Vitamin D3 chow, elevated levels of ΔNp63α were observed in both local and invasive tumors but not in normal skin suggesting that oral supplementation with Vitamin D3 may increase the proliferative potential of skin tumors by increasing ΔNp63α levels.
Teaching Awards and Reduced Departmental Longevity: Kiss of Death or Kiss Goodbye. What happens to Excellent Clinical Teachers in a Research Intensive Medical School?

Context: Although medical education is the unique mission of academic medical centers and medical schools, there is a perception that research is valued more than teaching. Objective: To determine in a group of excellent teachers (1) job satisfaction; (2) differences in perceptions among those who remained in the department compared to those who left; and (3) where those who left went. Design, setting, participants: Survey of all Department of Medicine “Clinical Teacher of the Year” award-winners in an academic medical center. Outcome measurements: Satisfaction scale: 5=extremely satisfied to 1=extremely dissatisfied; perception scale: 5=valued most highly to 1=not valued at all). Results: Thirteen winners (48%) left the department. Of the 10 in the clinical track 6 went into private practice. Award-winning faculty who remained in the department had significantly higher satisfaction ratings (mean+1SD) than those who left for all three activities – teaching (3.8+0.6 vs.1.8+0.7 [p < 0.001]), research (3.3+0.7 vs. 2.0+1.1 [p=0.003]), and clinical (3.5+0.5 vs. 1.7+0.7 [p < 0.001]). In general, winners were most satisfied with various aspects of teaching; areas of highest dissatisfaction related to support for education. Research was rated most highly and teaching least valued {Mean (StdErr)= 4.2(0.1) and 2.8(0.1)}. There were no differences in perceptions between award winners who left and those who stayed. Conclusions: Teaching excellence is a perishable commodity. Greater effort is needed to retain the best clinical teachers within academic medical centers.
Farming-associated environmental exposures and effect on atopic diseases.

Objective To review important farming related environmental factors and host immunologic features with resulting impact on atopic and non-atopic upper and lower respiratory diseases.
Adhesive/cohesive properties of thermally sprayed functionally graded coatings for polymer matrix composites

High-velocity oxyfuel (HVOF) sprayed polyimide/WC-Co functionally graded (FGM) coatings with flame-sprayed WC-Co topcoats have been investigated as solutions to improve the solid-particle erosion and oxidation resistance of polymer matrix composites (PMCs) in the gas flow path of advanced turbine engines. Porosity, coating thickness, and volume fraction of the WC-Co phase retained in the graded coating architecture were determined using standard metallographic techniques and computer image analysis. The adhesive bond strength of three different types of coatings was evaluated according to ASTM D 4541. Adhesive/cohesive strengths of the FGM coating were measured and compared with those of pure polyimide and polyimide/WC-Co composite coatings and also related to the tensile strength of the uncoated PMC substrate perpendicular to the thickness. The FGM coatings exhibited lower adhesive bond strengths (∼6.2 MPa) than pure polyimide coatings (∼8.4 MPa), and in all cases these values were lower than the tensile strength (∼17.6 MPa) of the reference uncoated PMC substrate. The nature and locus of the failures were characterized according to the percent adhesive and/or cohesive failure, and the interfaces tested and layers involved were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy.
SU-GG-T-139: Incorporating the Tongue-And-Groove Effect in Direct Aperture Optimization

Purpose: To develop a new direct aperture optimization method that explicitly incorporates dose calculation inaccuracies due to the tongue‐and‐groove effect by using lower and upper bounds on the dose distribution delivered to the patient. The goal is to develop a treatment plan that is robust with respect to dose calculation inaccuracies due to the tongue‐and‐groove architecture of MLC systems. Method and Material: Most IMRTtreatment plan optimizationmodels ignore the tongue‐and‐groove effect until the leaf‐sequencing phase. However, the presence of the so‐called “tongues” may lead to underdosing since it causes part of the radiation to be blocked or scattered. It is therefore preferable to integrate the tongue‐and‐groove effect into the treatment plan optimization phase. Since it is difficult to determine, in an optimization setting, the exact delivered dose in the presence of the tongue‐and‐groove effect, lower and upper bounds on the dose received by each voxel as a function of aperture intensities are incorporated instead. A direct aperture optimizationmodel is formulated in which overdosing (underdosing) penalties are applied to the upper (lower) bounds. This model is then solved for an optimal set of apertures and corresponding intensities. Results: For a set of ten clinical head‐and‐neck cancer cases, robust treatment plans with tight dose distributions in targets and critical structures are obtained. This is contrasted with the very loose bounds on the dose distribution that are obtained by solving a traditional treatment plan optimizationmodel.Conclusion: This work introduces a direct aperture optimization method that incorporates the tongue and groove effect. The approach provides a tight bound on the dose distribution in target voxels in order to limit the target under dosing.
Laser and noise-driven operation in swept-gain lasers

The influence of noise on laser operation is considered for swept-gain lasers and laser amplifiers in which the velocity of the gain medium must be decreased relative to the velocity of light in order to achieve lasing action. The noise is introduced through the tipping-angle approximation, which leads to a simple, if perhaps unrealistic, formulation of the problem. Such a laser is tuned by desynchronizing the gain medium with the optical pulse, which is the procedure used in the Stanford free-electron laser (FEL). In so doing, the FEL tunes over regions of true lasing (gain > loss), and over regions where the output is sustained by amplified spontaneous emission (noise driven). The power in the noise-driven regime is not necessarily small compared to the power in the lasing regime. The regimes are identified, the fluctuations are computed, and the connection with the FEL is discussed.
A dynamic explanation of size-density scaling in carnivores.

Population abundance is negatively related to body size for many types of organisms. Despite the ubiquity of size–density scaling relationships, we lack a general understanding of the underlying mechanisms. Although dynamic models suggest that it is possible to predict the intercept and slope of the scaling relationship from prior observations, this has never been empirically attempted. Here we fully parameterize a set of consumer–resource models for mammalian carnivores and successfully predict the size–density scaling relationship for this group without the use of free parameters. All models produced similar predictions, but comparison of nested models indicated that the primary factors generating size–density scaling in mammalian carnivores are prey productivity, predator–prey size ratios, and consumer area of capture.
A critical appraisal of lubiprostone in the treatment of chronic constipation in the elderly

Chronic constipation is a common disorder in the general population, with higher prevalence in the elderly, and is associated with worse quality of life and with greater health care utilization. Lubiprostone is an intestinal type-2 chloride channel activator that increases intestinal fluid secretion, small intestinal transit, and stool passage. Lubiprostone is currently approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of chronic idiopathic constipation and of irritable bowel syndrome with predominant constipation. This review outlines current approaches and limitations in the treatment of chronic constipation in the elderly and discusses the results, limitations, and applicability of randomized, controlled trials of lubiprostone that have been conducted in the general and elderly population, with additional focus on the use of lubiprostone in constipation in Parkinson's disease and in opioid-induced constipation, two clinical entities that can be comorbid in elderly patients.
The Digital Flexible Ureteroscope: In Vitro Assessment of Optical Characteristics

Abstract Introduction: Recent advances in endoscope design have placed the charged coupled device chip on the tip of the endoscope. The image is instantly digitalized and converted into an electrical signal for transmission. Digital technology was first introduced into flexible cystoscopes/nephroscopes and subsequently into rigid and flexible ureteroscopes. Herein, we assess the image characteristics and advantages of a new generation of digital flexible ureteroscopes. Methods: The Olympus URF-V flexible digital ureteroscope and the Olympus URF-P3 fiberoptic ureteroscope were assessed in vitro for image resolution, distortion, color representation, grayscale imaging, field of view, and depth of field. Results: The digital ureteroscope had a higher resolution at 3, 5, 10, and 20 mm (25.2 lines/mm vs. 8.0, 14.1 vs. 5.0, 6.3 vs. 2.8, and 3.2 vs. 1.3), respectively. Distortion with the digital flexible ureteroscope was lower, though not statistically significant. Color representation was better with the digit...
Predictive motor control of sensory dynamics in auditory active sensing.

Neuronal oscillations present potential physiological substrates for brain operations that require temporal prediction. We review this idea in the context of auditory perception. Using speech as an exemplar, we illustrate how hierarchically organized oscillations can be used to parse and encode complex input streams. We then consider the motor system as a major source of rhythms (temporal priors) in auditory processing, that act in concert with attention to sharpen sensory representations and link them across areas. We discuss the circuits that could mediate this audio–motor interaction, notably the potential role of the somatosensory system. Finally, we reposition temporal predictions in the context of internal models, discussing how they interact with feature-based or spatial predictions. We argue that complementary predictions interact synergistically according to the organizational principles of each sensory system, forming multidimensional filters crucial to perception.
A linear time randomizing algorithm for searching ranked functions

Consider a setF ofn functions defined on a common intervalU. A ranked function overF is defined from the functions ofF by using order information such as thek largest function, the sum ofk largest functions, etc. We give a linear time randomizing algorithmic paradigm for finding local roots, optima, intersection points, etc., of ranked functions. The algorithm is generalized to the Cost Effective Resource Allocation Problem and to various variants of the Parametric Knapsack Problem.
Region-growing techniques based on texture for provincing the ocean floor

Categorization of areas of the ocean floor is referred to as provincing. Identification of these provinces is needed for military tasks, geological studies, environmental studies etc. Side scan sonar provides a mechanism to obtain gray scale images of the ocean floor. Automated processing of these images to find interesting textural features may be accomplished by computing cooccurrence matrices of groups of adjacent pixels and computing textual features from these matrices. The grouping of pixels may be done using fixed size rectangular texels or by building irregular shaped regions from small groups of pixels. A comparison of the two methods applied to sonar images has shown that the region growing approach is successful at identifying sand waves in irregular shaped regions.
The Aggregation Phenomena of a Calcium Sulfonate Additive in Hydrocarbon Media by Dynamic Light Scattering

The aggregation phenomena of a calcium sulfonate additive in several hydrodynamic solvents was studied by dynamic light scattering. The Stokes-Einstein equation was used to calculate the average hydrocarbon radii. The aggregate size of calcium sulfonate in hexadecane was found to increase moderately with increasing concentrations. No critical micellar concentration was observed at even concentrations as low as 0.2 millimole/liter. Within the temperature range studied, 15.8° — 47.1°C, the aggregate size decreased moderately as the temperature increased. Hexane, heptane, nonane, dodecane, 1-heptene, 1-heptanol, 2-heptanone, and heptanoic acid were used to study the effect of the solvent. A solvent with a longer chain length tended to result in a smaller aggregate size. The polarity of the solvent also had a critical effect on the aggregate size. The results were discussed by using a thermodynamic model for the aggregation of amphiphiles in nonaqueous solvents. Presented at the 50th Annual Meeting in Chicago...
Age-associated increases in oxidative stress and antioxidant enzyme activities in cardiac interfibrillar mitochondria: implications for the mitochondrial theory of aging.

SPECIFIC AIMSMitochondrial dysfunction and the accumulation of oxidative damage to macromolecules are believed to play key roles in the aging process. According to the mitochondrial theory of aging...
The Dictyostelium MAP kinase DdERK2 functions as a cytosolic protein in complexes with its potential substrates in chemotactic signal transduction.

Abstract A polyclonal antibody against a MAP kinase (DdERK2) in Dictyostelium has been made and used to study DdERK2 activation and localization. The activation of DdERK2 by the chemoattractants cAMP and folate is rapid and transient. Its activity peaks between 15 and 60 seconds after cAMP stimulation and declines to basal levels after 5 minutes. In parallel with the DdERK2 activation is the appearance of a higher mobility band on Western blots. An antibody specific for activated MAP kinase shows that only the shifted band is tyrosine phosphorylated, suggesting that it is the active form. Both unstimulated and stimulated DdERK2 are soluble. In vitro phosphorylation with cell lysate supernatants or immunoprecipitates demonstrates the presence of several potential substrates, as identified by SDS-PAGE with mobility corresponding to molecular weights of 150, 25, and 19 kDa. Furthermore, immunoprecipitation studies suggest that these substrates are in a complex with DdERK2. These data suggest that DdERK2 works via cytoplasmic proteins to mediate signaling responses in Dictyostelium.
Prospective risk factors for increased central augmentation index in men and women.

Hypertensive target organs are exposed to aortic pressure rather than brachial pressure.1 Wave reflections, which arise in peripheral arteries and return to the proximal aorta during mid-to-late systole, augment central systolic pressure.1 Late systolic pressure augmentation has been linked to both structural (increased concentric remodeling) and functional (impaired diastolic relaxation) changes within the left ventricle.2–5 The central augmentation index (AIx), determined by the relative height of the first and second systolic peaks of the aortic pressure profile, has been shown to predict cardiovascular events.6,7 Furthermore, recent data show that wave reflections are strongly associated with the risk of incident heart failure in the general population.6 Therefore, it is important to characterize the determinants of increased wave reflections and late systolic pressure augmentation in the general population. Central pressure augmentation is markedly influenced by sex (with women having greater augmentation than men) and aging (with a nonlinear increase that is most pronounced until age 50 years).8–10 Although multiple cross-sectional studies have assessed the correlates of AIx9,11–13 and some prospective studies have assessed the effect of aging on AIx,14–16 to the best of our knowledge, prospective data regarding the role of metabolic and inflammatory factors on AIx are not available. This is important because measurements of arterial function assessed at a single time point may not incorporate the lifetime exposure history of individuals. Additionally, identifying predictors of change in AIx may aid in the design of future interventions that favorably impact wave reflections. In this study, we aimed to assess the factors associated with changes in central AIx over an approximately 3-year period among men and women from the general population. Prior work has shown that participants in the PREVENCION study demonstrate particularly high levels of late systolic pressure augmentation, making this a suitable population to investigate determinants of AIx.9
Using a new Lrig1 reporter mouse to assess differences between two Lrig1 antibodies in the intestine.

Lrig1 is an intestinal stem cell marker important for epithelial homeostasis. However, the position of the Lrig1(+) population in the intestinal crypt has been debated, largely due to discrepant staining patterns using two Lrig1 antibodies. Here, we set out to decipher the differences between these Lrig1 antibodies to clarify their use for Lrig1-related studies. We confirmed that the commercially available Lrig1-RD in contrast, anti-Lrig1-R&D recognized both glycosylated and non-glycosylated forms of Lrig1. In addition, we generated a reporter mouse (Lrig1-Apple) as an independent readout of Lrig1 transcriptional activity. Flow cytometry of isolated colonic epithelial cells from Lrig1-Apple mice demonstrated anti-Lrig1-R&D recognized mostly RFP-hi cells, while anti-Lrig1-VU recognized cells that were largely RFP-mid. Of note, by qRT-PCR, Lgr5 was expressed in the RFP-hi population, but not in the RFP-mid population. We conclude that anti-Lrig1-R&D appears to recognize all Lrig1(+) cells, while anti-Lrig1-VU recognizes a subpopulation of Lrig1(+) cells.
Introduction: Lesions of the adrenal glands and paraganglia—Historical background and current issues

The adrenal glands have had a long and complex history, and for many years, different schools of anatomy doubted their very existence [2,3]. Although some authors suggested that the first description of the glands occurred in the Bible (Leviticus 3:4), most authorities credit Bartholomeus Eustachius (1520–1574) with the discovery of the adrenals in humans. In his great work, Opuscula Anatomica, Eustachius (1552) provided the following description of the adrenals, which he referred to as glandulae renibus incumbentes:
Cholera toxin inhibits interferon action

Abstract Cholera toxin added together with interferon inhibited the establishment of antiviral activity in mouse L-cells. Cholera toxin has no effect on antiviral activity established before its addition; however, treatment of cells with the toxin before addition of interferon also inhibited the establishment of antiviral activity.
In vivo 19F nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy: a potential monitor of 5-fluorouracil pharmacokinetics and metabolism

In vivo 19F nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy has the potential to non-invasively measure the concentration of 5-fluorouracil (FUra) and some of its metabolites in humans. Such a measure could be useful in predicting and optimizing the response of individual patients treated with FUra. The ability of 19F NMR to monitor FUra metabolism in situ in rodent tumors and liver and in human liver has been demonstrated. However, the potential impact of this technique as a predictor of FUra response in individual patients is limited by both the sensitivity (i.e., limit of detection) and the resolution (i.e., ability to distinguish among magnetically similar metabolites) of NMR. To date, the ability of in vivo 19F NMR spectroscopy to provide information that can distinguish FUra-sensitive from FUra-insensitive tumors has not been established. This crucial point should be addressed in the immediate future in studies using the best of experimental conditions (i.e., optimum sensitivity and resolution in well-defined rodent tumor models with NMR methodology appropriate for measurement of absolute metabolite concentrations). The information gained from such studies and any new technical developments to enhance in vivo NMR sensitivity should be directly applicable to any future application of 19F NMR spectroscopy in clinical FUra therapy.