cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Quantifying Leukocyte Egress via Lymphatic Vessels from Murine Skin and Tumors

Leukocyte egress from peripheral tissues to draining lymph nodes is not only critical for immune surveillance and initiation but also contributes to the resolution of peripheral tissue responses. While a variety of methods are used to quantify leukocyte egress from non-lymphoid, peripheral tissues, the cellular and molecular mechanisms that govern context-dependent egress remain poorly understood. Here, we describe the use of in situ photoconversion for quantitative analysis of leukocyte egress from murine skin and tumors. Photoconversion allows for the direct labeling of leukocytes resident within cutaneous tissue. Though skin exposure to violet light induces local inflammatory responses characterized by leukocyte infiltrates and vascular leakiness, in a head-to-head comparison with transdermal application of fluorescent tracers, photoconversion specifically labeled migratory dendritic cell populations and simultaneously enabled the quantification of myeloid and lymphoid egress from cutaneous microenvironments and tumors. The mechanisms of leukocyte egress remain a missing component in our understanding of intratumoral leukocyte complexity, and thus the application of the tools described herein will provide unique insight into the dynamics of tumor immune microenvironments both at steady state and in response to therapy.
From Claims to Chains: the Materiality of Social Problems

Inspired by the work of Bruno Latour, I propose treating social problems not as claims, but as chains. Social problems chains consist of sites of claims-making activities connected by objectified forms of socialproblems, such as problem categories inscribed in texts or material constructions of problems. The focus of social problems research, then, should be three-fold. Research should attend to the activities that produce objectified forms of social problems. Research should also attend to the material forms that lend stability and mobility to constructions of social problems. And, finally, research should trace the paths those forms take, as they link sites of social problems activities and enable or constrain claims-makers’ efforts to build their own versions of problems. Doing so, social problems theory can better account for the diverse materials caught up in the construction of problems and the differences among competing constructions of problems.
A Model-Based Display

A model-based display is identified, discussed, and illustrated. The model used in the display is based upon the Rankine Cycle, a heat engine cycle. Plant process data from the loss of main and auxiliary feedwater event at the Davis-Besse Plant on June 9, 1985 is used to illustrate the display. The model used in the display fuses individual process variables into process functions. It also serves as a medium to communicate status of the process to human users. The human user may evaluate the goals of operation from the displayed process functions. Because of these display features, the user’s cognitive workload is minimized. The opinions expressed herein are the author’s personal ones and do not necessarily reflect criteria, requirements, and guidelines of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Potential Moderating Effects of Psychiatric Diagnosis and Symptom Severity on Subjective and Behavioral Responses to Reduced Nicotine Content Cigarettes.

INTRODUCTION Given FDA's authority to implement a cigarette nicotine reduction policy, possible outcomes of this regulation must be examined, especially among those who may be most affected, such as those with comorbid psychiatric disorders. METHODS In this secondary analysis of a multisite, randomized, clinical laboratory study, we used analyses of variance to examine the effects of nicotine dose (0.4, 2.4, 5.2, and 15.8 mg/g of tobacco), depressive and anxiety diagnoses (depression only, anxiety only, both, or neither), and depressive and anxiety symptom severity on cigarette choice, smoke exposure, craving, and withdrawal across three vulnerable populations: socioeconomically disadvantaged women of reproductive age, opioid-dependent individuals, and those with affective disorders (n = 169). RESULTS Diagnosis and symptom severity largely had no effects on smoking choice, total puff volume, or CO boost. Significant main effects on craving and withdrawal were observed, with higher scores in those with both anxiety and depression diagnoses compared with depression alone or no diagnosis, and in those with more severe depressive symptoms (p's < .001). These factors did not interact with nicotine dose. Cigarettes with <15.8 mg/g nicotine were less reinforcing, decreased total puff volume, and produced significant but lower magnitude and shorter duration reductions in craving and withdrawal than higher doses (p's < .01). CONCLUSIONS Reducing nicotine dose reduced measures of cigarette addiction potential, with little evidence of moderation by either psychiatric diagnosis or symptom severity, providing evidence that those with comorbid psychiatric disorders would respond to a nicotine reduction policy similarly to other smokers. IMPLICATIONS Thus far, controlled studies in healthy populations of smokers have demonstrated that use of very low nicotine content cigarettes reduces cigarette use and dependence without resulting in compensatory smoking. These analyses extend those findings to a vulnerable population of interest, those with comorbid psychiatric disorders. Cigarettes with very low nicotine content were less reinforcing, decreased total puff volume, and produced significant but lower magnitude and shorter duration reductions in craving and withdrawal than higher doses. These nicotine dose effects did not interact with psychiatric diagnosis or mood symptom severity suggesting that smokers in this vulnerable population would respond to a nicotine reduction strategy similarly to other smokers.
Estimates of the Undetected Rate among the SARS-CoV-2 Infected using Testing Data from Iceland

Abstract Testing for SARS-CoV-2 in the United States is currently targeted to individuals whose symptoms and/or jobs place them at a high presumed risk of infection. An open question is, what is the share of infections that are undetected under current testing guidelines? To answer this question, we turn to COVID-19 testing data from Iceland. The criteria for testing within the Icelandic medical system, processed by the National University Hospital of Iceland (NUHI), have also been targeted at high-risk individuals, but additionally most Icelanders qualify for voluntary testing through the biopharmaceutical company deCODE genetics. We use results from Iceland’s two testing programs to estimate the share of infections that are undetected under standard (NUHI) testing guidelines. Because of complications in the deCODE testing regime, it is not possible to estimate a single value for this this undetected rate; however, a range can be estimated. Our primary estimates for the fraction of infections that are undetected range from 88.7% to 93.6%.
ATP BINDING AS A KEY TARGET FOR CONTROL OF THE CHEMOTAXIS KINASE

In bacterial chemotaxis, chemoreceptors in signaling complexes modulate the activity of two-component histidine kinase CheA in response to chemical stimuli. CheA catalyzes phosphoryl transfer from ATP to a histidinyl residue of its P1 domain. That phosphoryl group is transferred to two response regulators. Receptor control is almost exclusively at autophosphorylation, but the aspect of enzyme action on which that control acts is unclear. We investigated this by a kinetic analysis of activated kinase in signaling complexes. We found that phosphoryl transfer from ATP to P1 is an ordered sequential reaction in which the binding of ATP to CheA is the necessary first step; the second substrate, the CheA P1 domain, binds only to an ATP-occupied enzyme; and phosphorylated P1 is released prior to the second product, namely, ADP. We confirmed the crucial features of this kinetically deduced ordered mechanism by assaying P1 binding to the enzyme. In the absence of a bound nucleotide, there was no physiologically significant binding, but the enzyme occupied with a nonhydrolyzable ATP analog bound P1. Previous structural and computational analyses indicated that ATP binding creates the P1-binding site by ordering the "ATP lid." This process identifies the structural basis for the ordered kinetic mechanism. Recent mathematical modeling of kinetic data identified ATP binding as a focus of receptor-mediated kinase control. The ordered kinetic mechanism provides the biochemical logic of that control. We conclude that chemoreceptors modulate kinase by controlling ATP binding. Structural similarities among two-component kinases, particularly the ATP lid, suggest that ordered mechanisms and control of ATP binding are general features of two-component signaling.IMPORTANCE Our work provides important new insights into the action of the chemotaxis signaling kinase CheA by identifying the kinetic mechanism of its autophosphorylation as an ordered sequential reaction, in which the required first step is binding of ATP. These insights provide a framework for integrating previous kinetic, mathematical modeling, structural, simulation, and docking observations to conclude that chemoreceptors control the activity of the chemotaxis kinase by regulating binding of the autophosphorylation substrate ATP. Previously observed conformational changes in the ATP lid of the enzyme active site provide a structural basis for the ordered mechanism. Such lids are characteristic of two-component histidine kinases in general, suggesting that ordered sequential mechanisms and regulation by controlling ATP binding are common features of these kinases.
Marginal methane emission estimation from the natural gas system

Abstract A new cause-based approach was used to estimate the change in methane emissions from the natural gas system resulting from a change in throughput. The analysis builds upon prior work (Mac Kinnon et al., 2018) positing that a cause-based, marginal approach to estimating methane emission impacts of reducing or increasing natural gas use was more accurate than assuming that methane emission vary one-for-one with throughput. The goal of this work is to determine the relationship between methane emissions and changes in throughput both over short time horizons where the gas infrastructure is fixed and over time periods where system expansion (or retirement) and technological improvements via component replacement occur. The results show that methane emissions change with throughput but the relative change in emissions is less than the relative change in throughput. There are many components (emissions sources) in the natural gas system that emit the same amount of methane to the atmosphere regardless of their operational mode; meaning some emissions sources have no or only partial dependence on throughput. As a result, reducing natural gas consumption in the future will not yield a directly proportional reduction in the methane emissions. It is believed that the results of this study will help energy policymakers to understand better the effect of policies aimed at reducing natural gas use on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and where such policies should be applied (e.g. system operator or end user).
Higher education institutions and entrepreneurship in underserved communities

This study examines the experiences of business development centers in higher education institutions (HEIs) to promote entrepreneurship in underserved communities. It draws experiences and perspectives from multiple stakeholders to examine the contribution of HEIs toward equitable economic development and social renewal. Based on extensive qualitative data analyses, this study highlights the role of HEIs as anchor institutions and intermediary enablers of economic development in bridging traditionally split efforts between different university missions. The findings contribute to research and practice on entrepreneurship education and universities’ engagement in fostering inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystems and equitable growth through entrepreneurship.
COVID-19: Preliminary data on the impact of social distancing on loneliness and mental health

The COVID-19 pandemic and its need for social distancing as a response have the potential to increase the experience of loneliness in the population, with an associated increase in symptoms of mental disorders. As the world has largely adapted to remote platforms for employment, socializing, and health service delivery, the degree to which virtual opportunities for social engagement may offset the impact of limited in-person interactions on mental health functioning is unknown. This column offers preliminary data from an ongoing experience sampling study of the prevalence, course, and impact of loneliness on mental health in a community adult sample living under social distancing requirements during the COVID-19 pandemic. Initial findings aggregated across all experience sampling reports showed negative associations between virtual social contact (via text, phone, or videoconferencing) and feelings of loneliness, while in-person interactions appeared to have no impact on loneliness. In addition, respondents reported frequent instances of negative effects on physical and mental health, including disruptions in sleep and recurring suicidal ideation. While further analyses are needed, these findings are consistent with similar emerging reports showing increased rates of mental health concerns during periods of social distancing. Possible avenues for addressing these concerns using remote interventions are explored.
The Little Island That Did: Related Variety, Branding and Place-based Development In South Australia

While the vulnerability of natural resource-dependent rural communities and regions to environmental, technological, and market-based shifts and shocks has long been recognised there has also been recent appreciation of the fact that more remote, non-metropolitan places can and do thrive in neoliberal spaces and times. Drawing on the notion of related variety, itself an offshoot of evolutionary economic geography, this paper examines the factors that best explain the relative robustness and adaptiveness of Kangaroo Island, South Australia, economically, in the face of a severe market and regulatory crisis. Based on semi-structured interviews with local farmers, other representatives of the local business community, and key members of local and State Government and regional development agencies this paper argues that Island producers’ dedication to overcome the region’s isolation, together with their commitment to quality, niche and value-added products carefully tuned to export markets, has been a key element of this success. Local spillovers within and between sectors and firms sharing cognitive proximity have also been fundamental in fostering production, processing, marketing, and logistics innovations. This case study demonstrates how the local farming sector was brought into a new direct relation with major international markets for food and fibre, based on the Island’s developing global reputation for high quality, high value produce. It underscores the capacity of local scale businesses to develop innovative market strategies and to combine efforts in order to form broader networks that ‘jumped scale’ and ensured their farming business success and, crucially, their ties to the land. Keywords: related variety, evolutionary economic geography, branding, place-based development, Kangaroo Island
Statistical Power for Randomized Controlled Trials with Clusters of Varying Size

In two-level designs, the total sample is a function of both the number of Level 2 clusters and the average number of Level 1 units per cluster. Traditional multilevel power calculations rely on ei...
Patrick Maley, After August: Blues, August Wilson, and American Drama

This review examines Patrick Maley’s book After August: Blues, August Wilson, and American Drama, suggesting that he makes a formidable contribution to Wilson studies, American drama, literary stud...
Discerning Epidemic Preparedness in Sierra Leone.

In mid-March 2021 I finally made it back to Sierra Leone to continue my research in Kono District’s rural healthcare system. A month before I arrived, the Guinean Ministry of Health announced that ...
Abstract 3740: Using Standardized Web-based Tests in Clinical Trials to Improve Investigator and Coordinator Protocol Familiarity: Experience from Antihypertensive Treatment of Acute Cerebral Hemorrhage II trial

Background: Prior to site initiations, the Antihypertensive Treatment of Acute Cerebral Hemorrhage II (ATACH-II) trial steering committee require that all investigators and coordinators participating in the trial pass a multiple choice web based test that assesses the individual’s knowledge of the trial protocol and manual of procedures. Requiring a test of this nature was expected to increase the probability that key individuals participating in the trial at various clinical sites had acquired protocol familiarity that would enable them to conduct the trial properly. This benefit was weighed against the additional burden imposed on the site initiation process. Methods: The steering committee developed a bank of 38 multiple choice questions based on the ATACH-II protocol and manual of procedures (MoP). These questions were identified as appropriate for an investigator, a coordinator, or both. The test was programmed by the ATACH-II Data Coordination Unit and hosted on a web page linked to the ATACH-II Clinical Trial Management System (CTMS). Each time a user registers to take the test a random selection of 14 questions appropriate for that user type (investigator or coordinator) is generated. When a user passes the test, the test certification document is automatically created and uploaded into the ATACH-II CTMS. Results: In the first year of the trial the test has been taken 418 times. Users are required to answer 12 questions correctly in order to pass. Users registered as investigators have taken the test 263 times with a 55.9% pass rate. Users registered as coordinators or other study team members have taken the test 155 times with a 56.1% pass rate. The pass ratio has increased from 49.5% at the end of the first quarter to 56.0% at the end of the last quarter of the first year. The mean score is 10/14 and the median score is 12/14 among all participants taking the test. Conclusion: Requiring each investigator and coordinator to become certified by passing this test adds substantial burden to the site initiation process. However, the 56% pass rate observed provides evidence that such efforts may be required to promote the necessary familiarity with the protocol and MoP for this trial.
Distribution of Autoxidation Products

I discuss in this chapter the distribution of cholesterol autoxidation products in Nature and also of their natural occurrence as reported over the years by other investigators. The term “natural occurrence” should pose no difficulties if we retain the obvious meaning of occurrence in Nature, the term conveying no implication of enzymic derivation. Nonetheless, there has accumulated a substantial literature proposing that the common cholesterol autoxidation products found in various tissues be natural products, implication being that these be metabolites formed by enzymic processes in the tissue of origin. It is instructive to review these many reports and the paucity of evidence adduced for this often expressed viewpoint.
Moving Forward: Making BRAF-Targeted Therapy Better

For half of the advanced melanoma population, selective BRAF inhibitor therapy has transformed the natural history of disease and provided a platform for developing molecularly targeted therapy combinations. The clinical utility of vemurafenib, FDA approved BRAF inhibitor, has been validated by another potent and selective agent, dabrafenib. However, two clinical limitations of BRAF inhibitor therapy frame the problem for the melanoma field: de novo and acquired resistance. Insights into the mechanisms underlying both of these phenomena have set the stage for clinical investigation of several novel BRAF inhibitor based combination therapies. Foremost among them is the combination of a MEK inhibitor with BRAF inhibitor. Preliminary clinical evidence suggests that this combination may supplant single agent BRAF inhibitor therapy in the near future as the standard approach for metastatic patients. Yet resistance remains a challenge and strategies to target non-MAP kinase pathway dependent mechanisms are needed. This chapter will outline the preclinical evidence that supports the categorization of resistance mechanisms and the framework for clinical investigation of novel combination therapies.
The Consistent Force Field and Its Quantum Mechanical Extension

The development of a reliable method for detailed study of conformational and dynamical properties of large molecules is one of the important goals of theoretical chemistry. Such a method can help in predicting a considerable number of observables as well as in finding correlation between different types of experimental information and the corresponding molecular properties. The method can help in the understanding of the forces which determine the molecular potential surfaces, and in providing a better insight into the relation between the conformations of large molecules and their biological and chemical functions.
I.2 – Fundamentals

Publisher Summary The number of degrees of freedom (DOF) of a system is equal to the number of independent parameters (measurements) that are needed to uniquely define its position in space at any instant of time. The number of DOF is defined with respect to a reference frame. Six parameters are needed to define the position of a free rigid body in a three-dimensional (3-D) space. One possible set of parameters that could be used are three lengths, (x, y, z), plus three angles (θx, θy, θz). Any free rigid body in 3-D space has six degrees of freedom. A rigid body free to move in a reference frame will, in general case, have complex motion, which is simultaneously a combination of rotation and translation. Linkages are basic elements of all mechanisms. Linkages are made up of links and joints. A link, sometimes known as an element or a member, is an (assumed) rigid body, which possesses nodes. Nodes are defined as points at which links can be attached. A link connected to its neighboring elements by “s” nodes is an element of degree “s.”
A New Condition for Static State Feedback Decoupling

A new necessary and sufficient condition for decoupling by static state feedback is presented in this note. The condition is based on the polynomial matrix fraction description. The proof of sufficiency also provides a method of computing the decoupling matrices.
Orbital suppression of wind‐driven upwelling in the California Current at 6 ka

[1] Marine records clearly show activity in the California Current (CC) system to have been altered during the mid-Holocene. However, the specific nature of CC activity during this period remains ambiguous, as proxies that suggest cooler than present sea surface temperatures co-occur in mid-Holocene marine sediments with multiple proxies that suggest decreased coastal upwelling. To test the sensitivity of wind-driven upwelling in the CC to mid-Holocene orbital forcing, we have employed a high-resolution regional climate model (RCM). The seasonality of modern CC wind-driven coastal upwelling simulated by the RCM is in strong agreement with observational data. Further, we show that changes in the seasonality of solar insolation induced by mid-Holocene Milankovitch forcing decrease early and peak season coastal upwelling in the CC, along with increasing late season coastal upwelling. These results are in agreement with several marine and terrestrial proxies, suggesting that, relative to present, CC activity during the mid-Holocene was characterized by a longer and less vigorous upwelling season with decreased seasonal contrast.
Shaping of IPSCs by Endogenous Calcineurin Activity

Synaptic inhibition, mediated by GABAA receptors, regulates neuronal firing, influences coincidence detection ([Konig et al., 1996][1]), and can synchronize the output of neural circuits ([Cobb et al., 1995][2]). Although GABAA receptors can be modulated by phosphorylation, few studies have directly addressed the role of such modulation at synapses, where the nonequilibrium conditions of receptor activation are quite different from those often used to study GABAA receptors in vitro . Here we promoted endogenous phosphorylation by inhibiting specific phosphatases in rat hippocampal neurons and compared the effects on IPSCs with GABAA channel responses in outside-out patches. Brief and saturating GABA pulses (5 msec; 10 mm) activated patch currents resembling the IPSC. Inhibition of calcineurin (protein phosphatase 2B), but not phosphatases 1 or 2A, produced a similar shortening of IPSC and patch responses, as did nonspecific inhibition of dephosphorylation using ATPγS or high concentrations of intracellular phosphate. Calcineurin inhibition increased the microscopic ligand unbinding rate, which was measured using the competitive antagonist 2-(3-carboxypropyl)-3-amino-6-(4-methoxyphenyl)pyridazinium bromide, suggesting that the IPSC shortening was partly caused by destabilization of the ligand binding site. Calcineurin inhibition also increased the rate and extent of macroscopic receptor desensitization. These results show that endogenous regulation by kinases and calcineurin can produce substantial changes in the IPSC duration by altering the unbinding and gating kinetics of the GABAAreceptor. Dynamic regulation of synaptic inhibition may thus allow for the tuning of circuit behavior at the level of individual inhibitory synapses. [1]: #ref-19 [2]: #ref-6
Clinical and hormonal characteristics in women with anovulation and insulin-treated diabetes mellitus.

Abstract Clinical characteristics and basal hormonal parameters related to ovulatory function were investigated in 22 diabetic patients with anovulation (group 1) and in nine normally menstruating diabetic patients (group 2) and 45 nondiabetic patients with anovulation (group 3). No significant differences according to control of the diabetes were demonstrated within the two diabetic groups. Groups 1 and 3 did not differ according to classification of anovulation. Group 1 had significantly (P 2 ), thyrotropin (TSH), 3,3′,5-triiodothyronine (T 3 ), and thyroxine (T 4 ) than those of group 3, and significantly (P 2 and TSH than those of group 2. The urinary excretion of cortisol was significantly higher in group 1 than in group 2 (P
Notes on the Evolution of Computer Security Policy in the US Government, 1965-2003

The United States government and military helped lead the information technology revolution and were among the first to warn of its consequent dangers to privacy and national security. This article discusses White House, congressional, and high-level US Department of Defense (DoD) policy documents that illustrate the direction and pace of Washington's recognition of potential foreign threats to US government information systems and the government's policy-level response. The documents show a progression from recognition of the security problem--particularly for the DoD--to the assignment of responsibilities and creation of capabilities for the "cyber domain." While the documents herein hardly comprise a representative sampling of cyber policy pronouncements since the 1960s, they suggest that the values of privacy and innovation stressed by the earliest legislative approaches to the problem had the lingering, unintended consequence of complicating the improvement of security. Indeed, the US government might have missed an opportunity in the 1980s to advance federal computer security policy.
Design and Characterization of New Ti-Ag and Ti-Ag-Sn Alloys for Cranio-Maxillo-Facial Prostheses Made by Three-Dimensional Printing

new Ti-5Ag and Ti-5Ag-35Sn (wt.%) alloys were designed and synthesized by threedimensionalprinting (3DP). The identification of an appropriate binder, densificationtechnique, and densification parameters for fabricating cranio-maxillo-facial prostheses wasundertaken using microscopic observations, x-ray diffraction tests, microhardness testing, linearshrinkage and wettability measurements. Moreover, electrochemical tests and surface analysiswere used to evaluate the corrosion resistance and passivation behavior of the materials ofinterest. Silver nitrate was found to be an appropriate inorganic reactive binder for atomizedtitanium powder. The optimal temperature for densification of as-printed parts using sinteringwas determined for Ti-Ag alloys. In addition, the type of infiltrant material and use ofhomogenization in liquid-Sn infiltration was explored for Ti-Ag-Sn alloys. While the Ti-Agalloy exhibited superior corrosion and mechanical behavior to the Ti-Ag-Sn alloy, the lattershowed better dimensional stability.
Teaching and Learning Design Presentations in Engineering: Contradictions between Academic and Workplace Activity Systems

In courses within technical disciplines, students are often asked to give oral presentations that simulate a professional context. Yet learning to speak like a professional in this academic context is a process often laden with complications. Using activity theory and situated learning as theoretical frameworks, this article explores the teaching and learning of one of the most common oral genres in technical fields—the design presentation. A study of the teaching and learning of this oral genre in three sequential engineering design courses reveals critical academic and workplace contradictions regarding audience, identity, and structure. Results of this study show that in the teaching and learning of design presentations, audience and identity contradictions were managed by a primary deference to the academic context whereas structural contradictions were addressed by invoking both workplace and academic activity systems.
Development and validation of a slurry model for chemical hydrogen storage in fuel cell vehicle applications

Abstract The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Hydrogen Storage Engineering Center of Excellence (HSECoE) is developing models for hydrogen storage systems for fuel cell-based light duty vehicle applications for a variety of promising materials. These transient models simulate the performance of the storage system for comparison to the DOE's Technical Targets and a set of four drive cycles. PNNL developed models to simulate the performance and suitability of slurry-based chemical hydrogen storage materials. The storage systems of both a representative exothermic system based on ammonia borane and an endothermic system based on alane were developed and modeled in Simulink®. Once complete, the reactor and radiator components of the model were validated with experimental data. The system design parameters were adjusted to allow the model to successfully meet a highway cycle, an aggressive cycle, a cold–start cycle, and a hot drive cycle. Finally, a sensitivity analysis was performed to identify the range of material properties where these DOE targets and drive cycles could be met. Materials with a heat of reaction >11 kJ mol−1 H2 generated and a slurry hydrogen capacity of >11.4% will meet the on-board efficiency and gravimetric capacity targets, respectively.
Neuropsychological assessment in public psychiatric hospitals: The changing state of the practice—1979 to 1989

A ten-year follow-up survey of clinicians in publicly funded adult psychiatric hospitals throughout the United States was conducted to assess changes and trends in the practice of clinical neuropsychology. An 85% response rate was achieved. The survey produced data on the type and number of neuropsychological testing instruments in use, the type of training received by clinicians performing neuropsychological assessments, the psychiatric patient load and proportion of referrals which involve neuropsychological questions, the proportion of institutions employing psychologists with primarily neuropsychological duties, and the perceived efficacy of neuropsychological assessment techniques for discriminating functional from organic disorders. The findings indicate an increase in the level and variety of training as well as in the number of neuropsychological specialists in the field. However, levels of staffing appear to remain below service needs. Additional findings indicate the continued popularity of a small number of neuropsychological test batteries, a marked increase in the variety of testing instruments in use, and a general sense of trust in the efficacy of neuropsychological assessment techniques. The implications of these findings for the future of applied human neuropsychology are discussed.
Increasing the inotropic effect and toxic dose of digitalis by the administration of antikaliuretic drugs--further evidence for a cardiac effect of diuretic agents.

Abstract In prior studies, we have shown that the antikaliuretic drugs, triamterene and amiloride, through a direct cardiac effect reduce the loss of cardiac potassium induced by the administration of digitalis. Since loss of myocardial potassium is thought to underlie digitalis arrhythmias, this study was performed to determine whether triamterene and amiloride also extend the toxic dose and thus the therapeutic effect of digitalis. In twelve dogs, acetylstrophanthidin was infused (100 μg per minute) serially at 2.5-hour intervals. Triamterene (400 mg. in divided doses) was infused before the third acetylstrophanthidin infusion. This extended the dose required to produce a toxic arrhythmia by 110 per cent. In fourteen additional studies, nine dogs received 400 mg. of triamterene prior to the third acetylstrophanthidin infusion and five animals received 100 mg. of amiloride during the same period. In these fourteen studies, not only was the toxic dose of digitalis extended, but its inotropic effect effect dp/dt CPIP (common peak developed isovolumic ventricular pressure) was also increased. These studies have demonstrated that through a cardiac effect, by reducing the digitalis-induced loss of cardiac potassium, the potassium-sparing drugs, triamterene and amiloride, extend the toxic dose of digitalis and thus permit extension of its inotropic activity.
Effect of triiodothyronine on glutamine synthetase in the developing rat retina.

Abstract It has been previously demonstrated that triiodothyronine (T3) causes a precocious increase in glutamine syntehtase (GS) activity in the developing retina as measured by the glutamyltransferase (GT) reaction. To determine its distribution and the mechanism of its increased activity an immunohistochemical study was performed in retinas of 1 to 24-day-old rats given a subcutaneous injection of T3 on the day of birth. No difference was seen between T3-treated rats and controls on postnatal days 1 and 2. However, there was significantly less stain in T3-injected animals than in control animals especially in the pigment epithelium on day 5 and in Muller cells on days 8. By days 12 and 24 no difference was observed between experimental and control rats. We were thus unable to demonstrate increased synthesis of GS to correlated with its increased activity following T3 administration. On the contrary, we obtained evidence of decreased GS synthesis. It is suggested that T3 either causes both increased GT activity and decreased GS synthesis or that the T3-induced elevation of GS activity results in decreased synthesis of GS presumably through end-product inhibition.
Attitudes, Perceptions, and Responses of Purchasers Versus Subscribers-Only for Daily Deals on Hospitality Products

Daily deals are prepaid online coupons or vouchers that offered steep price discounts (anywhere from 20% to 70% off) at local businesses such as restaurants, nail salons, and sky-diving operators. Pioneers such as Groupon and LivingSocial have leveraged today’s social media and smart phones era to amass large consumer subscribers who opt in to receive these e-mail deals from local merchants. While U.S. consumer spending on daily deals could grow to over $5.5 billion by 2016, scholarly research on this social coupon is rather limited. To help narrow this literature gap, we investigated differences between daily deal subscribers-only (nonpurchasers), very satisfied purchasers, and all other daily deal purchasers in the context of their perceived value/attractiveness and skepticism of daily deals, discount size sought, and consumers’ value to merchants offering daily deals. Our online survey netted 329 participants who had purchased or received deals on hospitality products/services (e.g., fine-dining restau...
RF magnetron sputtering of Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O thin films

Thin films of the high-T/sub c/ material Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O were prepared by the RF-magnetron technique from a single reacted and sintered target in pure argon atmosphere on sapphire substrates. The samples were annealed for three minutes in pure oxygen at 810 degrees C. Their composition was studied by Rutherford backscattering. The superconducting transition was very broad, with R=O at 65 K for the best film. MgO substrates and nonsintered targets were also used. The behavior of the resistance in a magnetic field (up to 20 T) was studied. >
Branching ratio for radiative pion capture in 16O

Abstract The distorted wave impulse approximation is used in conjunction with semi-phenomenological matrix elements obtained from weak and electro-magnetic processes to calculate the branching ratio for radiative pion capture from low lying atomic orbits in 16 O to the bound states of 16 N.
Structure, tie persistence and event detection in large phone and SMS networks

The effect of the network structure on the dynamics of social and communication networks has been of interest in recent years. It has been observed that network properties such as neighborhood overlap, clustering coefficient, etc. influence the tie strengths and link persistence between individuals. In this paper we study the communication records (both phonecall and SMS) of 2 million anonymized customers of a large mobile phone company with 50 million interactions over a period of 6 months. Our major contributions are the following: (a) we analyze several structural properties in these call/SMS networks and the correlations between them; (b) we formulate a learning problem to determine whether existing links between users will persist in the future. Experimental results show that our method performs better than existing rule based methods; and (c) we propose a change-point detection method in user behaviors using eigenvalue analysis of various behavioral features extracted over time. Our analysis shows that change-points detected by our method coincide with the social events and festivals in our data.
The behavior of polyprotic anions in ion-exchange resins

After observing that pH dropped dramatically when chloride-form strong-base anion resins were contacted with neutral and alkaline solutions of bicarbonate and arsenate anions, three representative strong-base resins were tested for their ability to produce pH changes. It was discovered that all three chloride-form resins could convert HCO3−− to CO32−, and H2AsO4− to HAsO42− with the expulsion of protons, a decrease in pH, and an increase in the ionic concentration of the aqueous phase. For bicarbonate which can give up and take up protons, the following reaction was observed: 2R4N+Cl− + HCO−3 ⇔ (R4N+)2CO3 + Cl− + H+Cl− Depending on the local concentration of excess bicarbonate, the HCl produced either remained as HCl or reacted to form carbonic acid in a reaction which tended to buffer the system. The resin characteristics related to its preference for divalent ions and its ability to produce higher-valent anions by proton expulsion were (a) appropriate functional group charge spacing, (b) ability to reorient functional groups to satisfy polyvalent ions, and (c) presence of hydrogen-bonding hydrophilic groups such as carbonyl and hydroxyl. IkA-458, the resin that was clearly superior in its ability to produce higher-valent ions, exhibits the highest divalent selectivity, is hydrophilic, and carries its quaternary amine functional groups at the end of a long flexible pendant arm containing an amide bond with hydrogen-bonding potential. Implications of the experimental findings as applied to arsenate removal from water are discussed.
Metabolism of Alpha-carotene

IN the course of an earlier investigation into the utilization of carotene by the rat as a source of vitamin A, it was noted that there was a consistent difference between the absorption spectra of the liver non-saponifiable fractions from those rats fed vitamin A and those fed a mixture of 90 per cent beta- and 10 per cent alpha-carotene1. This difference was in the magnitude of the absorbance at 311 mµ as compared with that at 326 mµ. The alpha-ionone analogue of vitamin A was afterwards synthesized2 and the absorption maxima were found to be at 311 mµ (E1%1cm, 1,650), and 325 mµ. (E1%1cm, 1,500). This alpha-vitamin A was found to be biologically inactive but was found to be stored in the liver in the same way as vitamin A (ref. 3).
Zonal distribution of glomerular collapse in renal allografts: Possible role of vascular changes

Collapsing glomerulopathy (CG), an aggressive variant of focal segmental glomerular sclerosis, is a renal disease with severe proteinuria and rapidly progressive renal failure. The pathogenesis of CG is unknown. It strongly resembles human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-associated nephropathy, but the patients are HIV negative. The characteristic glomerular lesion is capillary loop collapse with prominent podocytes filling Bowman's space. Interestingly, these glomerular changes are usually associated with severe tubulointerstitial injury, including tubular epithelial degenerative changes, microcystic dilation of several tubules, and interstitial inflammatory cell infiltrate. Recently, it became evident that the morphologic pattern of CG may appear not only in native kidneys, but also de novo in renal allografts, and that the pattern of CG in renal transplants is not always associated with severe proteinuria. Studies describing CG in renal allografts are all based on biopsies. We report 3 allograft nephrectomy specimens that showed a zonal distribution of the characteristic collapsing glomerular changes with associated tubulointerstitial injury. All 3 kidneys had obliterative vascular changes. One nephrectomy specimen had chronic obliterative transplant arteriopathy, 1 had acute vascular rejection, and 1 had thrombotic microangiopathy. None of the patients had severe proteinuria. Our cases suggest that the morphologic pattern of CG in renal allografts may not represent the same disease process as CG in native kidneys and provide further evidence that collapsing glomerular changes do not define the disease entity of CG, but rather represent a pattern of renal injury. Among other factors, hemodynamic disturbance may play a role in the development of the pattern of CG in renal allografts.
Temporal variability of trace metals in new jersey pinelands streams: relationships to discharge and pH

Abstract Dissolved and particulate trace metal (Al, Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn) concentrations were determined over a 21 month time period at four streamwater sites in the Pinelands (New Jersey, USA), a coastal plain region characterized by low-pH waters and highly weathered soils. Al and Zn were also determined at two sites over a 5 day period following a major precipitation event. In the Batsto River (pH 4.4–6.3), a representative Pinelands stream draining a largely forested watershed moderately impacted by agriculture, discharge-weighted mean concentrations of dissolved metals were (in nM): Al = 4610; Cd = 0.39; Cu = 4.6; Pb = 1.0; and Zn = 149. Dissolved Cd, Cu, and Zn in the undeveloped Bass River (pH 4.1–4.8) are in a similar range, but Pb concentration is 2–3 times greater. Dissolved metals show highly significant positive correlations to discharge, and weaker inverse relationships to pH over both the long- and short-term time series. Overall, seasonal and short-term variability in dissolved metal concentrations is most consistent with control by hydrologic flow path changes during high discharge, when shallow groundwaters mobilize anthropogenic metals stored in near-surface soil horizons and bypass potential metal removal processes in bordering wetlands. The data also suggest that in-stream metal removal driven by summertime biological productivity may further reduce low-discharge metal concentrations, as a secondary effect. For these metals, the particulate fraction is generally minor, and variations in solution/particle partitioning are unimportant to spatial/temporal variations dissolved concentrations, except for Pb. Estimates of atmospheric input can account for riverine fluxes of these metals, and suggest that Zn retention is minimal in this system, while Pb, Cu and Cd are more strongly retained. The positive relationship between discharge and metals concentration, and the unusually high concentrations in Pinelands streams compared to other world rivers, suggest that riverine effects on metals distributions in the estuary and nearby coastal ocean will be measurable and strongly seasonal.
Azelastine Nasal Spray and Fluticasone Nasal Spray in the Treatment of Geriatric Patients with Rhinitis

Treatment of Geriatric Patients with Rhinitis V. B. Behncke1, G. Alemar2, D. A. Kaufman1, F. J. Eidelman1; 1Allergy and Immunology, Cleveland Clinic Florida, Weston, FL, 2Otorhinolaryngology, Cleveland Clinic Florida, Weston, FL. RATIONALE: The prevalence and differential diagnosis of rhinitis changes over time, with nonallergic rhinitis increasingly prevalent in the fifth decade of life. This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of an antihistamine nasal spray (azelastine hydrochloride) and a corticosteroid nasal spray (fluticasone propionate) in treating geriatric patients with allergic or nonallergic rhinitis. METHODS: This was an open-label trial in 18 patients 65 years and older with a history of moderate-to-severe rhinitis. Eligible patients were randomized to treatment with either azelastine nasal spray 2 sprays per nostril bid (1.1 mg) or fluticasone 2 sprays per nostril qd (200 mcg) for a 6-week study period. The primary outcome variable was quality of life as assessed by the Rhinitis Quality of Life Questionnaire (RQLQ). Patients completed the RQLQ at baseline and at week 3 and week 6. Patients also recorded symptoms and side effects each day in a diary. RESULTS: Three patients had positive allergen skin tests and 15 had negative skin tests. Both treatments led to significant improvement from baseline in the RQLQ score after 3 and 6 weeks of treatment and there were no significant differences between treatment groups. Both treatments improved symptom scores compared to baseline, with statistically significant improvement at week 2 through 6 in the fluticasone group and at week 4 in the azelastine group. There were no significant differences between azelastine and fluticasone at week 6. CONCLUSIONS: Azelastine nasal spray and fluticasone nasal spray improved RQLQ scores and rhinitis symptom scores in geriatric patients with either allergic or nonallergic rhinitis.
Structure and Microdistribution of Components of Gold Alloys

SYNOPSIS IN INTERLINGUA STRUCTURA E MICRODISTRIBUTION DEL COMPONENTES DE ALLIGATOS DE AURO.-Specimens de fusible alligatos de auro dental esseva subjicite a un varietate de analyses, incluse le sondage electronic e le quantitative microscopia televisional. Esseva trovate que certe areas de inclusion esseva componite de oxydos de metallo, durante que alteres consisteva de materiales de investimento o de politura. Es postulate que inhomogeneitates contribue possibilemente al migration de iones metallic ad in dur e molle tissus oral.