cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Tubulopapillary adrenocortical adenoma in a patient with familial adenomatous polyposis: a morphologic, ultrastructural, and molecular study

Patients with familial adenomatous polyposis have a higher incidence for developing adrenal neoplasms, most of which are nonfunctioning with conventional histologic appearance. We report a patient with a history of multiple colon polyps who developed an adrenocortical adenoma with unusual morphology. The tumor showed a tubulopapillary architecture and plasmacytoid cytomorphology that were distinct from conventional adrenocortical adenomas. β-Catenin stain showed aberrant nuclear positivity in the tumor, suggesting an altered β-catenin-related pathway. The unusual morphology prompted molecular characterization, and sequencing demonstrated the patient to be germline heterozygous for a 5-base-pair APC deletion at codon 1309 with loss of heterozygosity in the tumor. Our study provides further evidence of genetic predisposition to extraintestinal tumors in the familial adenomatous polyposis population.
What Cannot Be Cured Must Be Endured: Understanding Bridge Systems as Institutional Relics

AbstractWhy do outdated bridges persist even when there are capable engineering management systems to remediate such systems and their associated costs? This study explores the institutional constr...
Using Studio Culture to Foster Epistemic Change in an Engineering Senior Design Course

Contribution: This paper furthers understanding of how to use studio culture to develop instruction that supports learners’ epistemic development in the context of an engineering senior design course, with a focus on student development of epistemic frames. Background: Current capstone engineering design courses do not integrate the educational theories and practice of cognitive apprenticeship combined with studio culture. Combined, these can be useful constructs for developing instruction that encourages creativity and innovation in a situated, student-centered, and activity-focused environment. Prior research and evidence-based instructional methods from other non-engineering contexts were used to create an instructional environment that engenders epistemic change. Research Questions: How do instructional design methods based on studio culture impact the cognitive and epistemic development of engineering students in a Senior Design course? Methods: This exploratory case study examines the effects of instructional design methods based on studio culture to change an Engineering Senior Design course from lecture-based to activity-based instruction in a collaborative environment. The case study emerges from a design-based research intervention, and uses mixed methods data collection from multiple sources, including video interviews, classroom footage, and written debrief reflections. Data analysis applied an integrated thematic approach. Implications were developed through an emergent coding process. Findings: Cognitive apprenticeship methods used in a studio culture-based classroom provide learning experiences that benefit epistemic and cognitive growth for engineering students in a Senior Design course.
T-cell recruitment to the heart: friendly guests or unwelcome visitors?

Myocardial inflammation can lead to lethal acute or chronic heart failure (HF). T lymphocytes (T cells), have been reported in the inflamed heart in different etiologies of HF, and more recent stud...
Piloting a Course to Heighten Awareness of Consumer Health Resources to Nurses and Patient Educators.

AbstractThrough the library, patients and health professionals can interact with librarians to receive aid in searching and accessing consumer health literature on the internet. Patients are now se...
We Can Do I.T.: Women in Library Information Technology

A review of the tenth book in Litwin's series on Gender and Sexuality in Information Studies that summarizes the themes of the collection's essays and broadly discusses the impact of editorial choices on the structure and narrative of the work.
Flexural Behavior of Preflex SFRC-Encased Steel Joist Composite Beams

Abstract This research investigates the behavior of encased steel composite beams within steel fiber reinforced concrete (SFRC) in straight and preflex beams, using nonlinear analysis. ABAQUS FEA software has been adopted. Composite steel beams encased in fiber reinforced concrete are analyzed and a comparison is made with available experimental results. Good agreement with the experimental results is observed. Upwards camber of the steel section is introduced on the steel joist. It’s found that the preflex section can increase the ultimate load capacity by 10% and decrease midspan displacement by 13% of the same beams without the preflex steel section. Steel fiber dosages, compressive strength, modulus of rupture are examined. The effect of cambering and mesh refinement is also investigated. The physical properties of SFRC are calculated through testing at the UTA Civil Engineering Laboratory Building. In total, nine (4″ x 8″) cylindrical specimens, nine (6″ x 12″) cylindrical specimens, and nine (6″ x 6″ x 20″) beam specimens were produced and tested for their compressive strength, tensile strength, and modulus of rupture after 28 days of curing. The addition of steel fiber will lead to a significant increase in tensile strength and modulus of rupture of concrete. Adding 1% steel fibers by volume can increase the load capacity by 33% and decrease the midspan displacement by 70% in comparison to the same beam using plain concrete. The increase in steel fibers and cambering shows an improvement to the flexural capacity and cracking point of the beam, which can provide mo re strength to structures such as long-span bridges.
Architecture and Agriculture: A Rural Design Guide

Architecture and Agriculture: A Rural Design Guide presents architectural guidelines for buildings designed and constructed in rural landscapes by emphasizing their connections with function, culture, climate, and place. Following on from the author’s first book Rural Design, the book discusses in detail the buildings that humans construct in support of agriculture. By examining case studies from around the world including Australia, China, Japan, Norway, Poland, Japan, Portugal, North America, Africa and the Southeast Asia it informs readers about the potentials, opportunities, and values of rural architecture, and how they have been developed to create sustainable landscapes and sustainable buildings for rapidly changing rural futures.
The ‘how’ and ‘why’ of fitness app use: investigating user motivations to gain insights into the nexus of technology and fitness

Fitness tracking applications have demonstrated to be viable tools to help people meet the recommended guidelines of physical activity. Nevertheless, attrition rates of these applications are high....
Acoustic emission (AE) fatigue-crack source modeling and simulation using moment tensor concept

Acoustic emission (AE) is a well-developed structural health monitoring method that relies on capturing the elastic waves generated by the energy released during crack formation in a solid medium A novel modeling approach based on moment tensor concept is presented in this paper to simulate AE due to fatigue crack. The AE source due to fatigue crack growth and rubbing/clapping was assumed as components of moment tensor source, and the simulation was performed. The simulation results were compared with experimental observations, and a good agreement of simulation and experiment was observed.
Strips of prairie vegetation placed within row crops can sustain native bee communities.

As landscapes have become increasingly dominated by intensive agricultural production, plant diversity has declined steeply along with communities of pollinating insects including bees. Semi-natural habitats, such as field edge meadows and hedgerows, can be maintained to provide a diversity of flowering plants that can increase floral resources required by bees. An additional habitat enhancement practice is that of sowing strips of native prairie vegetation within row-cropped fields. In this study, conducted in Iowa, USA, we found that increases in both the abundance and diversity of floral resources in strips of native prairie vegetation within agricultural production fields greatly and positively influenced the bee community. The benefits to the bee community were important for both common and uncommon species and the effect may be strongest early in the season. Using networks of co-occurrence between plant and bee species, we were able to identify two native prairie plants, Ratibida pinnata and Zizia aurea, as potentially keystone resources that can be used to support native bees. When we evaluated the effect of reconstructed prairie strips on bees in the context of the surrounding landscape, we found that these conservation practices had positive effects on bees in agriculturally-dominated areas and that these effects were detectable in low to high complexity landscapes with 8–69% natural habitat. In landscapes dominated by crops with few pollen and nectar resources the inclusion of native prairie strips can buffer the decline of bees and effectively increase bee abundance and diversity.
Environmental Justice Organizing in a Gentrifying Community: Navigating Dilemmas of Representation, Issue Selection, and Recruitment

Environmental justice organizations aim to secure an equitable distribution of environmental resources through the participation and self-determination of affected people, particularly communities ...
Laboratory Resolved Structure of Supercritical Perpendicular Shocks

Supermagnetosonic perpendicular flows are magnetically driven by a large radius theta-pinch experiment. Fine spatial resolution and macroscopic coverage allow the full structure of the plasma-piston coupling to be resolved in laboratory experiment for the first time. A moving ambipolar potential is observed to reflect unmagnetized ions to twice the piston speed. Magnetized electrons balance the radial potential via Hall currents and generate signature quadrupolar magnetic fields. Electron heating in the reflected ion foot is adiabatic.
Predictors and age‐dependent pattern of psychologic problems in childhood atopic dermatitis

Background/objectives Little is known about the predictors and trends of psychological comorbidities in childhood atopic dermatitis (AD), or whether they occur in an age-dependent pattern. We hypothesized racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities lead to increased psychological problems among children with AD and psychological comorbidities occur in an age-dependent manner. Methods We analyzed cross-sectional data on 228 898 children aged 2-17 years from the 1997-2018 National Health Interview Survey. Results Children with AD had higher proportions of depression/sadness (17.2% vs 12.6%; odds ratio [95% confidence interval]: 1.44 [1.37-1.51]), attention deficit (hyperactivity) disorder (ADD/ADHD) (10.0% vs 7.1%; 1.46 [1.38-1.55]), emotional/behavioral difficulties (29.9% vs 23.5%; 1.77 [1.69-1.84]), feelings of frequent worry (38.8% vs 23.5%; 1.66 [1.58-1.74]), and autism (1.9% vs 0.9%; 2.00 [1.75-2.29]). Among children with AD, psychologic comorbidity was associated with atopic comorbidities and multimorbidity and white race, households with lower income and education, and no insurance coverage. In children with or without AD, the prevalence of autism peaked during pre-adolescence; ADD/ADHD and emotional/behavioral difficulties peaked in adolescence; and depression/sadness and feelings of frequent worry increased steadily throughout childhood without plateau. Conclusion Atopic dermatitis was associated with multiple psychologic disorders, particularly among those with atopic comorbidities, white race, and low household income. Psychologic comorbidities increased in an age-dependent pattern, though similar to children without AD.
Fear of Death and Examination Performance in a Medical Gross Anatomy Course with Cadaveric Dissection.

Cadaveric dissection offers an important opportunity for students to develop their ideas about death and dying. However, it remains largely unknown how this experience impacts medical students' fear of death. The current study aimed to address this gap by describing how fear of death changed during a medical gross anatomy dissection course and how fear of death was associated with examination performance. Fear of death was surveyed at the beginning of the course and at each of the four block examinations using three of the eight subscales from the Multidimensional Fear of Death Scale: Fear of the Dead, Fear of Being Destroyed, and Fear for the Body After Death. One hundred forty-three of 165 medical students (86.7%) completed the initial survey. Repeated measures ANOVA showed no significant changes in Fear of the Dead (F (4, 108) = 1.45, P = 0.222) or Fear for the Body After Death (F (4, 108) = 1.83, P = 0.129). There was a significant increase in students' Fear of Being Destroyed (F (4, 108) = 6.86, P < 0.0005) after beginning dissection. This increase was primarily related to students' decreased willingness to donate their body. Concerning performance, there was one significant correlation between Fear for the Body After Death and the laboratory examination score at examination 1. Students with higher fears may be able to structure their experience in a way that does not negatively impact their performance, but educators should still seek ways to support these students and encourage body donation.
The Smoothed Likelihood of Doctrinal Paradoxes.

When aggregating logically interconnected judgments from $n$ agents, the result might be inconsistent with the logical connection. This inconsistency is known as the doctrinal paradox, which plays a central role in the field of judgment aggregation. Despite a large body of literature on the worst-case analysis of the doctrinal paradox, little is known about its likelihood under natural statistical models, except for a few i.i.d. distributions [List, 2005]. In this paper, we characterize the likelihood of the doctrinal paradox under a much more general and realistic model called the smoothed social choice framework [Xia, 2020b], where agents' ground truth judgments are arbitrarily correlated while the noises are independent. Our main theorem states that under mild conditions, the smoothed likelihood of the doctrinal paradox is either $0$, $\exp(-\Theta(n))$, $\Theta(n^{-1/2})$ or $\Theta(1)$. This not only answers open questions by List [2005] for i.i.d. distributions but also draws clear lines between situations with frequent and with vanishing paradoxes.
Coordinate regulation of feeding, metabolism, and growth: Perspectives from studies in fish.

Abstract This paper develops a model for coordinate regulation of feeding, metabolism, and growth based on studies in fish. Many factors involved with the control of feeding [e.g., cholecystokinin (CCK) and ghrelin (GRLN)], energy metabolism [e.g., insulin (INS), glucagon (GLU), glucagon-like peptide (GLP), and somatostatins (SS), produced in the endocrine pancreas; and leptin (LEP) produced broadly], and growth [e.g., GRLN, growth hormone (GH), insulin-like growth factors (IGFs), GH receptors (GHR), IGF receptors (IGFR)] interact at various levels. Many such interactions serve to coordinate these systems to favor anabolic processes (i.e., lipid and protein synthesis, glycogenesis) and growth, including GH promotion of feeding and stimulation of INS production/secretion and the upregulation of GHR and IGFR by GRLN. As nutrient and stored energy status change, various feedbacks serve to curtail feeding and transition the animal from an anabolic/growth state to a catabolic state. Many factors, including LEP and IGF, promote satiety, whereas SS downregulates INS signaling as well as IGF production and GHR and IGFR abundance. As INS and IGF levels fall, GH becomes disconnected from growth as a result of altered linkage of GHR to cell signaling pathways. As a result, the catabolic actions of GH, GLU, GLP, LEP, and SS prevail, mobilizing stored energy reserves. Coordinate regulation involves relative abundances of blood-borne hormones as well as the ability to adjust responsiveness to hormones (via receptor and post-receptor events) in a cell-/tissue-specific manner that results from genetic and epigenetic programming and modulation by the local milieu of hormones, nutrients, and autocrine/paracrine interactions. The proposed model of coordinate regulation demonstrates how feeding, metabolism, and growth are integrated with each other and with other processes, such as reproduction, and how adaptive adjustments can be made to energy allocation during an animal’s life history and/or in response to changes in environmental conditions.
Epitaxial growth by atomic layer deposition and properties of high-k barium strontium titanate on Zintl-templated Ge (001) substrates

This work reports the atomic layer deposition (ALD) and epitaxial growth of 10–12 nm BaxSr1−xTiO3 (x ∼ 0.5) thin films on Zintl-templated Ge (001) substrates, formed with 0.5 monolayers of Ba. The best thin films were grown using two steps. An amorphous 2–3 nm layer was deposited at 225 °C and then was converted to a crystalline film by annealing for 15 min at 650 °C under vacuum to generate the seed layer that had an abrupt interface with the Ge (001) substrate. A 7–10 nm layer was subsequently grown and crystallized at the same conditions as the seed layer. Metal-insulator-semiconductor structures that employed Au electrodes were used to assess leakage currents and dielectric properties. Interfacial effects inherent to the ∼10 nm BaxSr1−xTiO3 films affect the capacitance measurements leading to k of 87 and 140 for 10.9 and 14.6 nm films, respectively. The epitaxial films have high k in the bulk. Using capacitance measurements for BaxSr1-xTiO3 films that are 13–18.4 nm thick, a bulk k of ∼2000 and low interfacial capacitance density (C/A) of ∼100 fF/μm2 were extracted from thickness dependent relationships. The 10 nm films display a high leakage current (∼102 A/cm2 at −1.0 V) that can be reduced (to ∼10−1 A/cm2 at −1.0 V) by capping the film with ∼1 nm Al2O3 using ALD before depositing the Au electrode or by annealing in O2 at 300 °C for 15 min. The thin low-k Al2O3 layer or the GeOx formed during the O2 annealing step, while improving leakage current, introduces a capacitor in series that further reduces the film dielectric constant such that a 9.9 nm Al-capped film and a 9.8 nm O2-annealed film yield dielectric constants of 80 and 41, respectively.
Pion Total Cross Section in Nucleon: Nucleon Collisions

Total cross section parameterizations for neutral and charged pion production in nucleon - nucleon collisions are compared to experimental data over the projectile momentum range from threshold to 300 GeV. Both proton - proton and proton - neutron reactions are considered. Overall excellent agreement between parameterizations and experiment is found, except for notable disagreements near threshold. In addition, the hypothesis that the neutral pion production cross section can be obtained from the average charged pion cross section is checked. The theoretical formulas presented in the paper obey this hypothesis for projectile momenta below 500 GeV. The results presented provide a test of engineering tools used to calculate the pion component of space radiation.
Schritt 6: Netzwerkmarketing – wie Sie bei den Suchmaschinen ganz oben landen

Netzwerkmarketing hilft Ihnen, die User zu animieren, auf Ihre Homepage zu gehen. Im Mittelpunkt des Kapitels stehen darum Strategien, Methoden und Tricks, wie Sie mit Ihrem Online-Beratungsthemen in den Suchmaschinenlisten ganz oben landen und so Traffic auf Ihrer Homepage auslosen. Sie erfahren, wie Sie Nischensuchbegriffe festlegen und Ihre Homepage-Texte darauf abstimmen – mit der Folge, dass die Anzahl der Besucher Ihrer Internetseite sprunghaft ansteigt. Entscheidend ist: Der Kunde muss SIE im Internet finden. Bauen Sie sich Ihr eigenes Suchmaschinen-Universum auf: Ihre Internetseite ist die Basis, die verschiedenen Medien sind die Satelliten, die auf Ihre Internetseite zeigen, indem Sie von den Medien auf Ihre Homepage verlinken.
Disorders of the Parathyroid Gland

The parathyroid hormone (PTH) gene is located on the short arm of chromosome 11. Its 3 exons encode mature PTH (84 amino acids), as well as its signal (25 amino acids) and “pro” (6 amino acids) peptides. The study of the structure and regulation of the PTH gene and the intricacies of PTH biosynthesis, posttranslational processing, and intracellular targeting have led to the accrual of a body of information that is as complete as that for any other peptide hormone. In the sections that follow, these areas are briefly reviewed as an introduction to the molecular disorders of the parathyroid gland. The reader is referred to several up-to-date extensive reviews at the end of this chapter for a more detailed treatment of the subject.
Automated design of spacecraft power subsystems

This paper discusses the application of evolutionary computing to a dynamic space vehicle power subsystem resource and performance simulation in a parallel processing environment. Our objective is to demonstrate the feasibility, application and advantage of using evolutionary computation techniques for the early design search and optimization of space systems. With this approach, engineers specify several sets of conditional subsystem performance criteria to trade off subsystem goals of mass, cost, performance and risk. Once specified, the integrated evolutionary/simulation software will then automatically generate a design option for each criteria, selecting and sizing power elements based on the space system's anticipated performance in the simulated environment. Initial activity plans from two actual JPL missions, Mars exploration rovers (MER) and Deep Impact (DI) are used to test the software. Our results have shown human-competitive advantages by generating credible design concepts much faster than humans are able to and without the need for expert initial designs.
A Low-Profile, Vertically Polarized Ultrawideband Antenna With Monopole-Like Radiation Characteristics

A compact, ultrawideband (UWB) antenna with an extremely low profile is presented. The antenna has consistent monopole-like radiation characteristics over approximately an 8.5:1 bandwidth. It consists of two radiators where one radiator is a smaller, slightly different version of the other one. The smaller radiator is partially embedded into the large one to avoid considerable increase in the maximum antenna height. Each radiator has two parallel loops in the shape of a bent diamond connected to the ground plane at their ends. A properly designed feed network is used to feed the larger antenna at lower frequencies while feeding the smaller one at higher frequencies to improve the consistency of the radiation characteristics of the system over a very broad bandwidth. A prototype of the proposed antenna and the feed network are fabricated and experimentally characterized. The fabricated antenna prototype has electrical dimensions of $0.26\lambda_{\min} \times 0.26 \lambda_{\min} \times 0.046 \lambda_{\min}$ at its lowest frequency of operation and demonstrates monopole-like radiation characteristics with consistent, vertically polarized, omni-directional radiation patterns over roughly an 8.5:1 (0.66–5.6 GHz) bandwidth.
Boolean Term Orders and the Root System B_n

A boolean term order is a total order on subsets of [n]={1,...,n} such that \emptyset < alpha for all nonempty alpha contained in [n], and alpha < beta implies alpha \cup gamma < beta \cup gamma for all gamma which do not intersect alpha or beta. Boolean term orders arise in several different areas of mathematics, including Grobner basis theory for the exterior algebra, and comparative probability. The main result of this paper is that boolean term orders correspond to one element extensions of the oriented matroid M(B_n), where B_n is the root system {e_i:1 \leq i \leq n \} \cup {e_i \pm e_j :1 \leq i < j \leq n}. This establishes boolean term orders in the frame work of the Baues problem. We also define a notion of coherence for a boolean term order, and a flip relation between different term orders. Other results include examples of noncoherent term orders, including an example exhibiting flip deficiency, and enumeration of boolean term orders for small values of n.
The Interaction of Salivary Secretions with the Human Complement System — A Model for the Study of Host Defense Systems on Inflamed Mucosal Surfaces

Whencomplement first contacts salivary secretions, aswhengingival crevicular fluid first meets saliva atthegingival margin, complement function isenhanced. Theimmediate potentiation ofthecomplement system atequal volume ratios ofserumtosaliva isduetoseveral factors, including thelower ionic strength of saliva whencompared with serumandthepresence ofcertain salivary glyproteins suchasthenonimmunoglobulin agglutinins that appear tosimultaneously activate Clandaffect (sequester) certain complement control proteins, suchasFactor H. Thisinitial potentiation ofthecomplement cascade bysaliva mayaidindefending theareaimmediately abovethegingival crevice fromoralmicrobiota that arebeing coated withacombination ofserous exudate components andsalivary components. Asserumbecomes muchmorediluted withsaliva (i.e., crevicular fluid movesawayfromthesupragingival area), theacidic proline-rich salivary proteins (APRP) begin todisrupt theunbound Clq-Clr2-Cls2 macromol- ecular complexes. Thus, theAPRPalong with other C1fixing substances insaliva appear torestrict complement function, butonlywhentheratios ofsaliva toserumexceed 250:1. Since certain salivary glycoproteins bindtoviruses, thepotentiation ofthecomplement system bysaliva mayalso play arole inneutralizing certain viral infections onmucosal surfaces where tissue transudates containing complement begin tocontact mucosal secretions suchassaliva. Again, theratio ofserous fluid tomucosal secretion appears tobeanimportant factor. Thisarticle also discusses someofourpreliminary dataandspeculations concerning thebinding ofthe self-associating high-molecular-weight nonimmunoglobulin salivary agglutinins (NIA) withtheenvelope ofthe humanimmunodeficiency virus (HIV)andthepossible cooperative roleofClqandfibronectin inaiding neutralization ofHIVinfectivity.
Manipulating Molecules via Combined Static and Laser Fields

Interaction of the strong electric field of an intense laser beam with the anisotropic polarizability of a linear molecule creates pendular states, superpositions of the field-free rotational states, in which the molecular axis librates about the field direction. Angular motion in the low-lying pendular states is thereby restricted by a double-well potential, governed by the laser intensity. The pendular energy levels occur as pairs of opposite parity, with separations corresponding to the frequency for tunneling between the wells. If the molecule is polar or paramagnetic, introducing a static electric or magnetic field connects the nearly degenerate pendular levels and thus induces strong pseudo-first-order Stark or Zeeman effects. This can be exploited in many schemes to control and manipulate molecular trajectories.
The Desmosomal Armadillo Protein Plakoglobin Regulates Prostate Cancer Cell Adhesion and Motility through Vitronectin-Dependent Src Signaling

Plakoglobin (PG) is an armadillo protein that associates with both classic and desmosomal cadherins, but is primarily concentrated in mature desmosomes in epithelia. While reduced levels of PG have been reported in localized and hormone refractory prostate tumors, the functional significance of these changes is unknown. Here we report that PG expression is reduced in samples of a prostate tumor tissue array and inversely correlated with advancing tumor potential in 7 PCa cell lines. Ectopically expressed PG enhanced intercellular adhesive strength, and attenuated the motility and invasion of aggressive cell lines, whereas silencing PG in less tumorigenic cells had the opposite effect. PG also regulated cell-substrate adhesion and motility through extracellular matrix (ECM)-dependent inhibition of Src kinase, suggesting that PG’s effects were not due solely to increased intercellular adhesion. PG silencing resulted in elevated levels of the ECM protein vitronectin (VN), and exposing PG-expressing cells to VN induced Src activity. Furthermore, increased VN levels and Src activation correlated with diminished expression of PG in patient tissues. Thus, PG may inhibit Src by keeping VN low. Our results suggest that loss of intercellular adhesion due to reduced PG expression might be exacerbated by activation of Src through a PG-dependent mechanism. Furthermore, PG down-regulation during PCa progression could contribute to the known VN-dependent promotion of PCa invasion and metastasis, demonstrating a novel functional interaction between desmosomal cell-cell adhesion and cell-substrate adhesion signaling axes in prostate cancer.
Reward me, charity, or both? The impact of fees and benefits in loyalty programs

Abstract This research examines the effects of loyalty program annual fees (no fee vs. $10 fee in Study 1, and no fee vs. $10 vs. $25 fee in Study 2) and benefit structures (self benefit, altruistic benefit, and combination self/altruistic benefit in both Studies 1 and 2) on intentions to join a loyalty program (LP) and future spending if one is willing to join the LP. Using random assignment in a between-subjects research designs and general linear modeling analyses in two different studies, this research finds that an annual fee does decrease consumers’ intentions to join an LP but may also increase the future spending intentions of customers who join a fee-based LP. Furthermore, a benefit structure that shares the reward with both the customer and a charity of his or her choice is found to be an appealing option. Thus, offering a fee-based LP that provides benefits to both the user and a charity could increase a retailer’s profitability and competitiveness through additional revenues, differentiation, and image enhancement.
CRANIOPHARYNGIOMA WITH PANHYPOPITUITARISM: CASE REPORT WITH CLINICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL STUDY*

LONG-TERM clinical observations of glandular deficiencies in the human being afford one of the best means of determining the effects of each of the glands involved. In the present instance, the clinical course of a man with craniopharyngioma and hypopituitarism was followed for five years, during periods without treatment as well as at times when the effects of various glandular preparations were recorded. The unusual nature of some of these results, especially in regard to water and electrolyte1 balance, and the opportunity to study the postmortem data, have prompted this report. CASE REPORT P.B., an Italian by birth, died January 21, 1946, at the age of 55 years, following repeated admissions to the Metropolitan and other New York City hospitals for apparently minor but distressing low-grade infections associated with progressive weakness, and ease of fatigue on the slightest exertion. He had not been well since the age of 14 years, when he developed polyuria, polydipsia, and generalized constant headac...
Lasing characteristics of high-performance narrow-stripe InGaAs-GaAs quantum-well lasers confined by AlAs native oxide

High-performance narrow-stripe InGaAs-GaAs quantum-well lasers with integral buried AlAs native-oxide layers have been fabricated. AlAs native-oxide layers above and below waveguide region were employed for current and optical confinement to form narrow-stripe lasers. A low temperature (400/spl deg/C) anisotropic wet oxidation technique was used to selectively oxidize AlAs layers in the epitaxial structure. The devices demonstrated continuous wave threshold currents of 3.5 mA, external quantum efficiencies of 82%, and a characteristic temperature of 133 K for 1.8 /spl mu/m-wide aperture, 400 /spl mu/m-long devices. Threshold currents of 1.7 mA were obtained by applying HR/HR coatings.
Wind turbine torque control for unsteady wind speeds using approximate-angular-acceleration feedback

We present a wind turbine torque controller that incorporates approximate-angular-acceleration feedback. In contrast, the classical wind turbine torque controller generates a control signal that is proportional to the square of the turbine's angular velocity. We modify the classical torque controller by including an approximate-angular-acceleration term. This modified controller is shown numerically to capture more energy than the classical controller under unsteady (i.e., time-varying) wind speeds.
Statistical self-similarity of width function maxima with implications to floods

Abstract Recently a new theory of random self-similar river networks, called the RSN model, was introduced to explain empirical observations regarding the scaling properties of distributions of various topologic and geometric variables in natural basins. The RSN model predicts that such variables exhibit statistical simple scaling, when indexed by Horton–Strahler order. The average side tributary structure of RSN networks also exhibits Tokunaga-type self-similarity which is widely observed in nature. We examine the scaling structure of distributions of the maximum of the width function for RSNs for nested, complete Strahler basins by performing ensemble simulations. The maximum of the width function exhibits distributional simple scaling, when indexed by Horton–Strahler order, for both RSNs and natural river networks extracted from digital elevation models (DEMs). We also test a powerlaw relationship between Horton ratios for the maximum of the width function and drainage areas. These results represent first steps in formulating a comprehensive physical statistical theory of floods at multiple space-time scales for RSNs as discrete hierarchical branching structures.
Some Answers about the Quality of teacher Students

Fisher and Feldmann argue that the quali ty of students graduating from teacher education institutions is much higher than might be assumed based on the spate of recent national and regional reports. The authors found that teacher education students do compare favor ably with students in other academic areas, particularly when considering such things as high school percentile rank and cumulative grade point aver age. Further, their findings showed that for each of the three years of the study teacher graduates had a higher mean grade point average than non-teacher education graduates in selected content courses.
Flightless bird from the Cretaceous of Mongolia

THE Late Cretaceous rocks of Mongolia have produced unusual and phylogenetically important dinosaurs1,2. Here we report a startling new example, Mononychus olecranus gen. et sp. nov., an avialian theropod dinosaur with a short, robust forelimb possessing a single stout claw. Several features, including a carinate sternum and reduced fibula, suggest that Mononychus olecranus is more closely related to modern birds than is Archaeopteryx lithographica. The two skeletons are among the best preserved fossils known of a primitive bird, and emphasize the complexity of the morphological transformation from nonavialian theropods to modern birds. The occurrence of such a primitive bird in the Late Cretaceous reflects the paucity of Mesozoic bird fossils and suggests that the early radiation of avialians is only beginning to be sampled.
Inadequacy of rapid immunoassays for intrapartum detection of group B streptococcal carriers.

Objective To determine the accuracy of two currently used immunoassays and a newly developed optical immunoassay for rapid intrapartum detection of group B Streptococcal colonization compared with culture methods. Methods Rayon-tipped swabs were used to collect specimens from the distal vagina of 502 women at admission for labor or rupture of membranes. Four tests were performed on specimens from the first 197 patients: culture in selective broth medium, semiquantitative culture on blood agar medium, and ICON Strep B and Quidel Group B Strep Test enzyme immunoassays. For the remaining 305 women, a fifth test, Strep B OIA, a newly developed optical immunoassay, was also performed. Results The prevalence of group B Streptococcal vaginal colonization was 25.1% by selective broth medium and 17.3% when swabs were plated directly onto blood agar medium, giving the latter method a sensitivity of 69%. When compared with selective broth medium Results , the sensitivities of the rapid immunoassays were 12% (Quidel), 15% (ICON), and 37% (Strep B OIA). These values rose to 16% (Quidel), 21% (ICON), and 53% (Strep B OIA) when compared with nonselective blood agar medium Results . For women with heavy group B Streptococcal colonization (more than 106 colony forming units/mL), the sensitivities were 36% (Quidel), 46% (ICON), and 100% (Strep B OIA). Specificities for all assays were high (98–100%), but variability was found in positive (79–100%) and negative (77–85%) predictive values. Conclusion Although Strep B OIA reliably detects women with heavy group B Streptococcal colonization and is more sensitive than either the ICON or Quidel enzyme immunoassays, none of these rapid assays is sufficiently accurate for routine use in the intrapartum detection of women colonized with group B streptococcus.
Immunoblotting studies of the molecular forms of protein C in plasma.

Abstract Anti-plasma protein C monoclonal antibodies were prepared and characterized, and quantitative immunoblotting techniques were developed to determine the molecular forms of protein C in whole plasma. Two antibodies reacted with the heavy chain of protein C, four reacted with the light chain, and two reacted only with nonreduced protein C. A doublet of protein C (MW = 63–66K) was seen on nonreduced immunoblots of normal plasma and 30 heterozygous protein C deficient plasmas (2–77% protein C antigen). In reduced plasma 75% of protein C presented as doublet heavy chains (MW = 39–42K) and doublet light chains (MW = 22–25K), and ∼ 25% was single chain (MW = 64K). The immunoblotting technique was quantitative, specific, sensitive, and correlated with electroimmunoassay results. It also provided visual qualitative information not obtainable with other methods of quantitation.
Group A streptococcal isolate 64/14 expresses surface plasmin-binding structures in addition to Plr

A recombinant plasmin receptor (Plr) gene product originally cloned from group A streptococcal isolate 64/14 was analysed for its ability to bind plasmin(ogen) and to account for all the surface plasmin-binding properties of streptococcal isolate 64/14. Functional analysis of recombinant Plr demonstrated that the protein exhibited equal reactivity with human Lys-plasmin and Lys-plasminogen, but significantly lower reactivity with Glu-plasminogen. Plasmin-binding was both inhibitable and elutable by lysine or lysine analogs, and active plasmin bound to recombinant Plr was not neutralized by alpha 2-antiplasmin. Thus, the plasmin-binding properties of recombinant Plr correlated with the plasmin-binding phenotype of the intact streptococcal isolate 64/14. In addition, fluid-phase recombinant Plr could completely inhibit binding of plasmin to either immobilized recombinant Plr or group A streptococcal isolate 64/14 with equal efficiency, indicating that surface-expressed Plr could account for all the plasmin-binding properties of the intact organism. An IgM monoclonal antibody to recombinant Plr that specifically recognized a surface structure on streptococcal isolate 64/14 significantly inhibited the binding of plasmin to the recombinant protein; however, the antibody was not successful at inhibiting plasmin-binding to the intact bacteria, indicating the presence of other plasmin-binding structures on the bacterial surface in addition to Plr.
Impact of atmospheric pollution on linear furanocoumarin content in celery

In a series of laboratory studies, a single 4-hr acidic fog at pH levels associated with commercial celery (Apium graveolens L.) production near major population centers in California was found to stimulate development of psoralen, bergapten, xanthotoxin, and isopimpinellin within 24 hr and for at least 120 hr after exposure. At 120 hr posttreatment, the concentrations of phototoxin furanocoumarins (psoralen + bergapten + xanthotoxin) increased 540% in the leaves (to 135 μg/g fresh weight) and 440% in the petioles (to 55.56 μg/g fresh weight) of celery exposed to a pH 2.0 fog as compared to plants exposed to control fogs (pH 6.3–6.5). Concentrations of these compounds in test plants were 7.5 times higher than the amount known to produce contact dermatitis. The nonphototoxic isopimpinellin increased more than threefold in the leaves (to 39.23 μg/g fresh weight, 120 hr) and petioles (to 25.88/gmg/g fresh weight) as compared to control plants. In contrast, a single ozone fumigation at 0.20 ppm for 2 hr generally reduced concentrations of phototoxin furanocoumarin in leaves of celery within 24 hr (ozone-treated plants = 37.9, controls = 69.5 μg/g fresh weight), but levels of these chemicals in leaves of ozone-fumigated plants increased rapidly and concentrations were not significantly different at 120 hr. Isopimpinellin concentrations in foliage followed a similar trend (at 24 hr, control = 25.11, ozone treated = 10.96/gmg/g fresh weight, no difference at 120 h). In petioles, none of the linear furanocoumarin levels differed significantly at 120 hr posttreatment.
Exceptional tolerance to low pH of some tropical blackwater fish

Cardinal, neon, and emperor tetras (Cheirodon axelrodi, Hyphessobrycon innesi, Nematobrycon palmeri), small South American characin fish often found in acidic blackwater rivers, have an unusual tolerance to sulfuric acid solutions of low pH. Most cardinal tetras withstand immediate transfer to water at pH 3.5 for an indefinite period. With gradual adjustment to further stepwise lowering of the pH, one individual survived at a pH of 3.1 for five weeks. This is by far the most acidic solution known to be tolerated for extended periods by any fish. The lower incipient lethal level (for 50% survival) is estimated to be about 3.35 for neon and cardinal tetras. On the other hand, common guppies (Poecilia reticulata), a species generally considered to be highly resistant to environmental change, all died after 11 days at pH 4.75. Both guppies and tetras lose large amounts of body sodium on exposure to lethal pH's.
Nuclear magnetic resonance relaxation measurements as a means of monitoring iron mineralization processes

[1] In this laboratory study, we assessed the measurement of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) relaxation times as a means of monitoring iron mineralization processes. We conducted experiments in which columns containing ferrihydrite-coated quartz sand reacted with aqueous Fe(II) solutions to form goethite, lepidocrocite and magnetite. An observed increase in the volume of water relaxing with long relaxation times in the NMR relaxation time distribution corresponds to the formation of goethite and lepidocrocite; a decrease in the average (mean log) relaxation time, and a broadening of the relaxation time distribution, corresponds to the formation of magnetite. These results indicate that NMR relaxation times are sensitive to changes in iron mineralogy and illustrate the potential use of NMR for monitoring iron mineralization processes. Citation: Keating, K., R. Knight, and K. J. Tufano (2008), Nuclear magnetic resonance relaxation measurements as a means of monitoring iron mineralization processes, Geophys. Res. Lett., 35, L19405,
Efficacy of combination therapy with tubercidin and nitrobenzylthioinosine 5'-monophosphate against chronic and advanced stages of schistosomiasis

Abstract The efficacy of the highly selective antischistosomal combination chemotherapy with tubercidin (7-deazaadenosine) plus nitrobenzylthioinosine 5'-monophosphate (NBMPR-P), [el Kouni et al., Proc Natl Acad Sci USA80: 6667–6670, 1983; el Kouni et al., Biochem Pharmacol36: 3815–3821, 1987] was examined against chronic and advanced stages of schistosomiasis in mice. Administration of four successive daily doses of tubercidin (5 mg/kg/day) plus NBMPR-P (25 mg/kg/day) to Schistosoma mansoni-infected mice beginning 5, 6, 7 and 8 weeks post-infection and monitored for 22 weeks was very effective against the parasite. It resulted in a marked increase in survivorship of treated mice. Repetition of the dose-regimen after a 10-day rest period was even more effective. However, survivorship of infected animals decreased with the delay of therapy. Early treatment (5 weeks post-infection) resulted in 100% survival compared to 13% only for untreated animals. If therapy was instituted at 8 weeks post-infection, only 70% of the treated mice survived. Treated animals appeared healthy and were found to have less splenomegaly and hepatomegaly. Combination therapy also caused a significant reduction in the number of worms as well as the number of eggs in the liver and small intestine. However, these differences diminished as the treatment was delayed. The number of eggs in the liver was reduced from an average of 120,000 eggs per liver in untreated animals to approximately 16,000 eggs per liver when treated at 5 weeks post-infection. When treatment was delayed to 8 weeks post- infection, the reduction in liver egg count was not as dramatic (88,000 eggs per liver). Similarly, the number of eggs was reduced in the intestine from 1,759 to an average of 58 and 860 eggs per cm2 of the intestine when the mice were treated at 5 and 8 weeks post-infection respectively. However, some worms survived and resumed egg production after an extended period of recuperation. Histological examination indicated that combination therapy was effective in preventing the formation of new egg granulomas but not on pre-existing granulomas.
Sentinel lymph node biopsy in cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma : A systematic review of the English literature

BACKGROUND Although most cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is curable by a variety of treatment modalities, a small subset of tumors recur, metastasize, and result in death. Although risk factors for metastasis have been described, there are little data available on appropriate workup and staging of patients with high-risk SCC. OBJECTIVE We reviewed reported cases and case series of SCC in which sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) was performed to determine whether further research is warranted in developing SLNB as a staging tool for patients with high-risk SCC. METHODS The English medical literature was reviewed for reports of SLNB in patients with cutaneous SCC. Data from anogenital and nonanogenital cases were collected and analyzed separately. The percentage of cases with a positive sentinel lymph node (SLN) was calculated. False negative and nondetection rates were tabulated. Rates of local recurrence, nodal and distant metastasis, and disease-specific death were reported. RESULTS A total of 607 patients with anogenital SCC and 85 patients with nonanogenital SCC were included in the analysis. A SLN could not be identified in 3% of anogenital and 4% of nonanogenital cases. SLNB was positive in 24% of anogenital and 21% of nonanogenital patients. False-negative rates as determined by completion lymphadenectomy were 4% (8/213) and 5% (1/20), respectively. Most false-negative results were reported in studies from 2000 or earlier in which the combination of radioisotope and blue dye was not used in the SLN localization process. Complications were reported rarely and were limited to hematoma, seroma, cutaneous lymphatic fistula, wound infection, and dehiscence. CONCLUSIONS Owing to the lack of controlled studies, it is premature to draw conclusions regarding the utility of SLNB in SCC. The available data, however, suggest that SLNB accurately diagnoses subclinical lymph node metastasis with few false-negative results and low morbidity. Controlled studies are needed to demonstrate whether early detection of subclinical nodal metastasis will lead to improved disease-free or overall survival for patients with high-risk SCC.