cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Transmission Line Fault Classification Based on Dynamic State Estimation and Support Vector Machine

The transmission line is an essential part of the power system, while the faults in the transmission line are inevitable due to a number of reasons, such as lightning, tree limps, wind, etc. This paper presents a technique to classify the short circuit faults in transmission lines, which distinguishes fault phases and fault types, such as phase A to ground fault and phase A to phase B fault. The proposed method combines the dynamic state estimation (DSE) based protection technique and Support Vector Machine (SVM) to achieve an accurate classification model with physical foundation. DSE utilizes measurement data from merging units and the model of transmission line to obtain estimated states of the line. The differences of measurements and estimated values are referred as residuals. Different fault types possess different patterns of residuals and include features that can be used in a classification scheme. Therefore, these residuals are applied to SVM to set up classification models. A feature selection method based on Lasso regression is deployed to increase the training speed for SVM. The performance of the technique is evaluated using simulation test cases. Different fault types with different fault impedance and fault locations are included in the test cases. The test results show that the classifiers are able to accurately categorize the fault types, which is very useful for protection functions.
Growing on (in)fertile ground: an evolutionary concept analysis of Black female fertility

Female fertility is a complex phenomenon. Biological, personal, social and political factors shape this experience. Race, a social construction, was created to justify discriminative political and economic practices. Therefore, 'Black' differentiates the fertility experiences of Black women from other racial/ethnic groups, a group often marginalized in the United States. We explored a contemporary understanding of Black female fertility using Rodgers' evolutionary method of concept analysis. A total of 36 articles were included in the final analysis extracted from PubMed, CINAHL Complete, PsychINFO, Web of Science and Google Scholar. Data and themes were categorized into groups within attributes, antecedents and consequences from multidisciplinary literature. Attributes were biological instability and sociopolitical influences on Black female fertility. Racial and bioethical injustices were notable antecedents. The consequences of racial and bioethical injustices persist in reproductive health disparities today. This review documents the need for health practices that end institutional racism that contribute to negative experiences for Black women seeking fertility related care. Many interdisciplinary professionals are perfectly positioned to be part of health care solutions to reduce contemporary health disparities.
Regulation of protease nexin-1 activity by heparin and heparan sulfate.

Protease nexin-1 (PN-1) is a 43 kDa protease inhibitor that is synthesized and released by a variety of cultured cells including fibroblasts, smooth muscle cells, astrocytes and to a lesser extent, neurons (1–4). It is not present at significant concentrations in plasma, although it is found in platelets and is released upon platelet activation (5,6). PN-1 inhibits certain serine proteases by forming a complex with their catalytic site serine residue. The complexes then bind back to the cells, via a receptor for the PN-1 moiety of the complex, and are rapidly internalized and degraded. This provides a mechanism for inhibiting and clearing these proteases from the extracellular environment (7).
Borealodon osedax, a new stem mysticete (Mammalia, Cetacea) from the Oligocene of Washington State and its implications for fossil whale-fall communities.

Baleen whales (mysticetes) lack teeth as adults and instead filter feed using keratinous baleen plates. They do not echolocate with ultrasonic frequencies like toothed whales but are instead known ...
Semi-implicit methods for the dynamics of elastic sheets

Abstract Recent applications (e.g. active gels and self-assembly of elastic sheets) motivate the need to efficiently simulate the dynamics of thin elastic sheets. We present semi-implicit time stepping algorithms to improve the time step constraints that arise in explicit methods while avoiding much of the complexity of fully-implicit approaches. For a triangular lattice discretization with stretching and bending springs, our semi-implicit approach involves discrete Laplacian and biharmonic operators, and is stable for all time steps in the case of overdamped dynamics. For a more general finite-difference formulation that can allow for general elastic constants, we use the analogous approach on a square grid, and find that the largest stable time step is two to three orders of magnitude greater than for an explicit scheme. For a model problem with a radial traveling wave form of the reference metric, we find transitions from quasi-periodic to chaotic dynamics as the sheet thickness is reduced, wave amplitude is increased, and damping constant is reduced.
Ethical eating as experienced by consumers and producers: When good food meets good farmers:

This article engages with two rich but largely disparate research traditions: one looks at ethical consumption, that is, constructions and contestations around good food, while the other interrogat...
Combined intervention approaches for initiating and maintaining physical activity in depressed individuals: design and rationale of the Project MOVE randomized clinical trial.

ABSTRACT Introduction Regular engagement in physical activity decreases risks for many chronic conditions, and may also improve depression symptoms. However, rates of physical activity and adherence to exercise interventions remain low among depressed individuals relative to non-depressed individuals. Methods This is a study protocol for Project MOVE. This study is a theoretically-driven, 3-arm randomized controlled trial for increasing physical activity with depressed adults. Each successive arm includes an added component that may serve to increase and maintain physical activity. The arms are: 1) Brief advice (BA) to exercise alone (minimal treatment control condition); 2) BA + supervised and home-based exercise (SHE) + health education (HE; serves as contact control for CBEX); and 3) BA + SHE +cognitive-behavioral sessions focused on increasing and maintaining exercise (CBEX). The target sample size is 240. Assessments are conducted at baseline, Month 1.5, end of intervention (month 3), and at 6 and 9 months. The primary outcome is minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, assessed via an accelerometer. Secondary outcomes include cardiorespiratory fitness, body composition, and depression, and maintenance of moderate-vigorous physical activity through 6 and 9 month follow-ups. Mediators and moderators derived from behavior change theories, including the Health Behavior Model, Self-Determination Theory, and Social Ecological Theory, will be examined. Conclusion Project MOVE is designed to test primarily whether both a structured exercise program (SHE) and a cognitive-behavioral group (CBEX) increase physical activity in depressed adults during both a 3-month intervention period, and during the 6-months that follow.
Investigation of anxiety condition and psychological requirement of retinoblastoma patients' mothers

Objective To explore anxiety condition,disease uncertainty and psychological requirement of retinoblastoma patients' mothers and provide references for clinical nursing.Methods Mothers of 30 healthy children were classified as observation group.30 mothers of children with retinoblastoma were classified investigation group.They were all detected by questionnaire survey.Results General condition between observation and investigation group had no significant difference ( P ＞ 0.05 ).SAS score of anxiety self-rated chart of investigation group was higher than control group [ (46.63 ± 8.98 ) vs (30.5 ± 5.68) ; t =8.316,P ＜0.01 ],which was also higher than domestic norm.Analyzing the disease uncertainty order,the severe question that puzzled parents were whether retinoblastoma can lead to death,survival time,recurrence,keeping from eyeball removal and stage of disease.The answers of questions that investigation group want to know were condition of disease,therapy result,survival after operation,metastasis of retinoblastoma,complications of chemotherapy and support of social psychology and economic.Conclusions Anxiety level of retinoblastoma children's mother was higher than healthy children' s mother.According to anxiety condition,disease uncertainty and psychological requirement of retinoblastoma children' s mother,nurses can help them release their anxiety and satisfy their psychological requirement so as to reach effective treatment. Key words: Retinoblastoma; Mother; Children; Anxiety; Psychological requirement
Overcoming mechanical fragility in Sm-Co permanent magnet materials

Abstract Samarium-cobalt alloys are used in some of the strongest permanent magnets, particularly for applications between about 200 and 550°C, but the utilization of these materials is restricted by their brittleness. Improving their mechanical resilience would allow them to be used more widely and, in some cases, substitute for neodymium-based magnet alloys which are subject to supply-chain risks. We have engineered a series of novel microstructures with bi-modal grain size distributions to achieve unprecedented combinations of mechanical and magnetic properties. Improvements up to 73% are obtained in the flexural strength of Sm2(CoFeCuZr)17 sintered magnets, with negligible impact on the magnetic properties. Our mechanically-robust, high-performance Sm-Co magnets are made without changing the chemical compositions of the materials or their heat treatment procedures, making them highly compatible with existing manufacturing processes.
Synchronous computer-mediated communication between foreign language learners and prospective teachers

Technology has proven itself as a valuable contribution to educational practices when used in a pedagogically sound manner. In this quasi-experimental study using the Interaction Hypothesis as a theoretical framework, 11 intermediate college-level learners of French and Russian and prospective language teachers had six 30-minute synchronous online chat sessions completing communicative tasks. Using a mixed-methods approach, both quantitative and qualitative data were included in the analysis. The study provides evidence for the positive effect of synchronous computer-mediated communication on second language vocabulary acquisition and prospective teachers' professional development, and underlines the importance of scaffolding in online environments. Vocabulary gains of the language learners did not hold up over a two-week period, and there was a weak relationship between uptake outcome and vocabulary acquisition.
Heparin-Induced Thrombocytopenia and Thrombosis with Axillary Impella 5.5 as Bridge-to-Transplant

Introduction A patient presenting with biventricular failure was managed with Impella 5.5 as BTT. His course was complicated by HITT causing device failure, and he successfully underwent heart transplant (HTx) after plasmapheresis. Case Report A 44-year-old man with DM, HTN, and HLD was transferred to our center in cardiogenic shock. Coronary angiography revealed slow flow without obstruction. TTE showed biventricular dysfunction with LVEF 10%. Impella CP was placed, and on transfer the device was exchanged for a surgically placed axillary Impella 5.5. Filling pressures and RV function improved with diuresis. Platelets decreased from 230 (1000/uL) to 96 by hospital day 10, and a PF4 antibody was sent (Fig 1A). The next day, Impella purge pressure doubled and purge flow decreased, concerning for device thrombosis. The PF4 antibody returned positive, suggesting HITT. Heparin was stopped and argatroban administered systemically and through the purge. Pump power and hemodynamics were maintained. While awaiting results of a serotonin release assay, a suitable donor was identified. The risks and benefits of HTx included risk of cardiopulmonary bypass with heparin-PF4 antibodies, risk of Impella exchange, and risk of imminent device failure and stroke. Preliminary SRA was positive. The patient underwent two sessions of plasmapheresis and was transplanted on day 13. In the OR, there was extensive thrombus encasing the device (B). The driveline was transected proximally, and the distal catheter was removed with the native heart to decrease risk of embolization. After HTx, the patient was placed on argatroban and transitioned to apixaban. Summary We describe using Impella 5.5 as BTT in severe biventricular failure, where RV function improved with LV unloading. The case is notable for TCS failure due to HITT despite only modest thrombocytopenia (nadir 86,000), and for proceeding with HTx after plasmapheresis rather than Impella exchange. The patient was anticoagulated for a month post-HTx and is doing well.
Recurrent Neural Network Circuit for Automated Detection of Atrial Fibrillation from Raw ECG

A recurrent neural network (RNN) is presented in this work for automatic detection of atrial fibrillation from raw ECG signals without any hand-crafted feature extraction. We designed a stacked long-short term memory (LSTM) network - a special RNN with capability of learning long-term temporal dependencies in the ECG signal. The RNN is digitally synthesized in 65nm CMOS process, and consumes 21.8nJ/inference at 1kHz operating frequency, while achieving state-of-the-art classification accuracy of 85.7% and f1-score of 0.82. The energy consumption of the proposed RNN is 8 χ lower than state-of-the-art integrated circuits for arrhythmia detection.
Self-report depression screening measures for older Hispanic/Latin American adults: A PRISMA systematic review.

Abstract Background Assessing depression symptoms in Hispanic/Latin American (H/Ls) older adults, a group at high risk for depression, is nuanced due to the influence of cultural characteristics in symptom expression and manifestation. Little is known about the psychometric properties of available measures when used with this population. Methods We conducted a two-stage systematic review of available depression assessment tools. We first identified self-report measures designed for use with adults. We then identified studies where at least one of such measures was used with older H/Ls that reported psychometric properties for the measure(s) used. Results Only 3 measures were identified for use with older H/Ls: the BDI, GDS, and CES-D. However, few data were found to support the validity of the BDI, and the CES-D was not consistently valid across cultural groups. The GDS was found appropriate, though its performance varied based on race/ethnicity, nationality, and cutoff scores. The CES-D and GDS also demonstrated varying psychometric properties based on study setting (research versus clinical) and target population (inpatient psychiatric patients versus community-dwelling individuals). Limitations The number of articles that met criteria for inclusion in our review was small, and there was variation among samples of the few studies included. Conclusions Currently available self-report depression screening measures have acceptable applicability among older H/Ls, but their utility may vary based on their intended use. Modified cutoff scores may be beneficial in maximizing the utility of these measures when given to diverse older adults.
Measuring services trade liberalization and its impact on economic growth : an illustration

The authors explain how the output growth effect from liberalizing the service sectors differs from the effect from liberalizing trade in goods. They also suggest using a policy-based rather than outcome-based measure of the openness of a country's service regime. They construct such openness measures for two key service sectors' basic telecommunications and financial services. Finally, the authors provide some econometric evidence--relatively strong for the financial sector and less strong, but nevertheless statistically significant, for the telecommunications sector--that openness in services influences long-run growth performance. Their estimates suggest that growth rates in countries with fully open telecommunications and financial services sectors are up to 1.5 percentage points higher than those in other countries.
Focal-Plane Array for Terahertz Time-Domain Imaging

One of the key challenges that limits the practical applications of terahertz time-domain imaging systems is the low speed of these systems. The slow mechanical raster scanning of either the imaged object or the imaging system is the main bottleneck. To address this limitation, we present a terahertz time-domain imaging system based on a 63-pixel focal-plane array. Direct projection of the imaged object onto the terahertz focal-plane array eliminates the requirement for any raster scanning. The imaging system exhibits more than a 60 dB signal-to-noise ratio and a 3 THz detection bandwidth for all of the pixels. Using this focal-plane array, we demonstrate broadband terahertz Imaging up to 2.5 THz.
Expanding the Indications for Total Skin-Sparing Mastectomy: Is It Safe for Patients with Locally Advanced Disease?

Indications for total skin-sparing mastectomy (TSSM) continue to expand. Although initially used only for early-stage breast cancer, TSSM currently is offered in many centers to patients with locally advanced disease. However, despite this practice change, limited data on oncologic outcomes in this population have been reported. A retrospective review of a prospectively collected database of all patients undergoing TSSM and immediate reconstruction from 2005 to 2013 was performed. The outcomes for patients with stage 2b and stage 3 cancer were included in the analysis. The primary outcomes included the development of locoregional or distant recurrences. Of 753 patients undergoing TSSM, 139 (18 %) presented with locally advanced disease. Of these 139 patients, 25 (18 %) had stage 2b disease, and 114 (82 %) had stage 3 disease. Most of the patients (97 %) received chemotherapy (77 % neoadjuvant, 20 % adjuvant), whereas 3 % received adjuvant hormonal therapy alone. Of the neoadjuvant patients, 13 (12 %) had a pathologic complete response (pCR) to treatment. During a mean follow-up period of 41 months (range 4–111 months), seven patients (5 %) had a local recurrence, 21 patients (15.1 %) had a distant recurrence, and three patients (2.2 %) had simultaneous local and distant recurrences. None of the local recurrences occurred in the preserved nipple–areolar complex skin. Patients with locally advanced breast cancer are most at risk for distant rather than local recurrence, even after TSSM. When used in conjunction with appropriate multimodal therapy, TSSM is not associated with an increased risk for local recurrence in this population, even in the setting of low pCR rates.
PET imaging of anterior mediastinal masses

1627 Objectives To assess the feasibility of F18-FDG PET in evaluating anterior mediastinal masses and correlate with aggressiveness of tumor and histopathology. Methods We retrospectively evaluated F18 FDG PET-CT scans of 33 patients with anterior mediastinal mass for pattern of uptake, invasion to surrounding structures, presence of metastasis, tumor necrosis, and quantitative parameters [Maximum SUV (SUVm) as well as the mean SUVmax)]. These finding were correlated with histopathology. Results Our study included 12 thymic neoplasms, 15 lymphomas (7 diffuse large B cell, 5 Hodgkin’s, and 3 lymphoblastic varieties), 3 adenocarcinoma from lung primary, 1 rhabdomyosarcoma, 1 neuroendocrine tumor, and 1 germ cell tumor. 4 low risk thymomas (WHO types A, AB, and B1) had mean SUVm 2.4 (range 1.3-3.2), 3 high risk thymomas (type B2 and B3) had mean SUVm7.1(range 3.9-9.3), 5 Thymic Cancers (type C) had mean SUVm 20.7 (range 9.6-42). 3 thymic cancer and 1 high risk thymomas had necrosis on PET, and no necrosis was noted on low risk thymomas. 7 large cell lymphomas (mean SUVm 20.2, range 8.3-32), 5 Hodgkin’s lymphomas (mean SUVm 11.7, range 3.1 -16), 3 lymphoblastic lymphoma/ leukemia (mean SUVm 6.5, range 5.7-8), 1 rhabdomyosarcoma (SUVm 12.7), 1 germ cell tumor (SUVm 5), 1 neuroendocrine tumor (SUVm 14.6), 3 mets from lung primary (SUVm 7.7, Range 8.3-15). Conclusions Low risk thymomas (WHO class A, AB and B1) and benign tumors had low FDG uptake (mean SUVmax 5). PET was also helpful in diagnosing distant metastases in 9/30 patients with aggressive tumors. We conclude 18 FDG PET/CT is of a significant value in differentiating between aggressive vs non-aggressive neoplasm, but was of limited value in differentiating between types of malignant neoplasms. Thus, PET imaging is complementary to other imaging modalities as well as to the histopathology.
Anatomy of the two vestibulo-oculomotor projection systems.

Publisher Summary Two separate, direct, and somatotopically organized vestibulo-oculoniotor fiber projection systems have been demonstrated in this chapter. One of these arises in the superior vestibular nucleus and ascends in lateral portions of the ipsilateral medial longitudinal fasciculus (MLF). The other arises in rostral portions of the medial vestibular nucleus and ascends in medial portions of the contralateral MLF. The sites of origin of these vestibulo-oculomotor projection systems are the regions where primary vestibular afferents from the ganglia of the semicircular canals have previously been shown to project. The two vestibulo-oculomotor fiber projection systems each have extensive bilateral projections among the extraocular motoneurons, and are widely distributed among motoneurons of both synergistic and antagonistic muscles. Evidence for functional differences in the projection systems from the superior and medial vestibular nuclei in relation to excitation and inhibition of extraocular muscle motoneurons is discussed. The complex and delicate balance of influences necessary in the fine coordination of head and extraocular movements must depend on such highly organized pathways.
Nitrous oxide transfer from mother to fetus in sheep and goats.

Abstract Following administration of nitrous oxide to maternal sheep and goats, the uterine and umbilical circulations were sampled repeatedly at selected intervals and the N 2 O levels in the blood of the fetus in utero compared with those of the mother. Additional measurements were made on amniotic and allantoic fluids. The results demonstrated that the concentrations of nitrous oxide in the uterine and umbilical veins were nearly equal under good physiologic conditions. These observations agree with the hypothesis that the placentas of sheep and goats simulate concurrent exchange systems.
Unintended Consequences of Executive Compensation Regulation Threatens to Worsen the Financial Crisis

This written testimony accompanied Professor J.W. Verret's oral testimony before the House Committee on Financial Services. This testimony argues that executive compensation proposals by the Administration will not address any systemic risk posed by large financial institutions. It also argues that quarterly earnings guidance is a more useful target to limit systemic risk than executive compensation practices at financial firms.
Gravitation and Jet Induced Velocities in the Narrow Line Region of Active Galaxies

The basic question I want to address is: “What mechanism or mechanisms accelerate the gas in the narrow line region of active galaxies, yielding the observed profile shapes.” At the present time there is no generally accepted answer to this question. Part of the problem dates back to the first few Seyferts that were discovered which, in retrospect, seem to have had anomalously broad lines. For example NGC 1068, MKN 3, and MKN 78 have [OIII] ⋋ 5007 FWHM ~ 1000 km s-1, which is clearly greater than anything associated with a normal galaxy velocity fields. An obvious implication was that these high velocities were in some way related to the activity. This view was reinforced by the discovery of a correlation between [OIII] FWHM and non-thermal radio luminosity (Wilson and Willis 1981). When many radio sources were found to have linear double or triple morphology (e.g. Ulvestad and Wilson 1984a,b), a natural explanation seemed to be outflowing radio jets which stir up the narrow line region and thus generate the correlation between line width and radio luminosity.
Testing the phylogenetic utility of morphological character systems, with a revision of Creophilus Leach (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae)

Many studies have examined the phylogenetic utility of different kinds of molecular data, and have often compared these with morphology. However, relatively few studies have phylogenetically evaluated different morphological character systems. Using the Creophilus complex, the phylogenetic utility of external structural characters, male genitalia, female genitalia, and chaetotaxy of adults is examined for the first time in the megadiverse beetle family Staphylinidae. A data set of 121 phylogenetically informative characters of 24 terminal taxa was analysed separately and simultaneously using parsimony and the phylogenetic utility of each partition was compared with widely used statistics and support measures. External structures had the least homoplasy, resolved the most nodes separately, and largely determined the topology of the simultaneous analysis. Male and female genitalia contributed phylogenetic signal mostly congruent with external characters. Despite extensive homoplasy, chaetotaxy contributed the majority of hidden support, and was critical for resolving several terminal nodes in the simultaneous analysis. All character systems were informative throughout the tree, and when combined provided the best-supported hypothesis. However, there is a need to distinguish hidden support from dispersion of homoplasy when combining data sets of varying quality. The Creophilus complex, Creophilus Leach, Liusus Sharp, and the Creophilus erythrocephalus (Fabricius) and C. maxillosus (Linnaeus) species-groups are each strongly supported monophyletic groups. Hadrotes Maklin is not monophyletic and Hadrotes wakefieldi Cameron is the sister-species of the rest of the Creophilus complex, but included within it. Creophilus is revised to include 12 species, including Creophilus galapagensis sp. nov. and C. rekohuensis sp. nov.Creophilus huttoni (Broun) is removed from synonymy with C. oculatus (Fabricius), and C. insularis (Fauvel), C. villipennis Kraatz, and C. violaceus (Fauvel) are synonymized under C. flavipennis (Hope) comb. et stat. nov. © 2011 The Linnean Society of London, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2011, 163, 723–812.
Bringing Stability to Highly Reduced Iron-Sulfur Clusters

A synthetic mimic of the most reduced iron-sulfur cluster in electron-transfer proteins shows a remarkable resemblance to protein-bound clusters.
The biology of perisynaptic (terminal) Schwann cells

There are four classes of Schwann cells in the mature vertebrate nervous system: (1) myelinating Schwann cells, which wrap around large-diameter axons including motor axons; (2) non-myelinating Schwann cells, which associate with small-diameter axons of many sensory and all postganglionic sympathetic neurons; (3) satellite cells of peripheral ganglia; and (4) non-myelinating perisynaptic Schwann cells (PSCs), also known as terminal Schwann cells, which cap the nerve terminal at the neuromuscular junction (NMJ) (Corfas et al . 2004). While the role of motor and sensory axon-associated Schwann cells in saltatory conduction has been well-acknowledged and characterised, relatively little is known about the role of the synapse-associated Schwann cells. However, in the past decade, there has been widespread interest in unraveling the role of Schwann cells in peripheral synapses as well as the role of astrocytes in central synapses. Extensive studies on synapse–neuroglial interactions in both the peripheral nervous system (PNS) and central nervous system (CNS) have led to the concept of the tripartite synapse (Araque et al . 1999; Volterra et al . 2002; Kettenmann and Ransom 2005). The emerging concept suggests that neuroglia cells are active and essential participants in modulating synaptic function, promoting synapse repair and development and stabilising synapses. Thus, it is no longer tenable to view the neurochemical synapse as a synaptic contact made of only the presynaptic nerve terminal and the postsynaptic target, without taking into consideration the multiple active roles of the third element, neuroglia, specifically here the PSCs.
Knowledge Gain and Behavioral Change in Citizen‐Science Programs

Abstract: Citizen-science programs are often touted as useful for advancing conservation literacy, scientific knowledge, and increasing scientific-reasoning skills among the public. Guidelines for collaboration among scientists and the public are lacking and the extent to which these citizen-science initiatives change behavior is relatively unstudied. Over two years, we studied 82 participants in a three-day program that included education about non-native invasive plants and collection of data on the occurrence of those plants. Volunteers were given background knowledge about invasive plant ecology and trained on a specific protocol for collecting invasive plant data. They then collected data and later gathered as a group to analyze data and discuss responsible environmental behavior with respect to invasive plants. We tested whether participants without experience in plant identification and with little knowledge of invasive plants increased their knowledge of invasive species ecology, participation increased knowledge of scientific methods, and participation affected behavior. Knowledge of invasive plants increased on average 24%, but participation was insufficient to increase understanding of how scientific research is conducted. Participants reported increased ability to recognize invasive plants and increased awareness of effects of invasive plants on the environment, but this translated into little change in behavior regarding invasive plants. Potential conflicts between scientific goals, educational goals, and the motivation of participants must be considered during program design.
ULTRASTRUCTURAL FEATURES OF MITOSIS IN PLOEOTIA COSTATA (HETERONEMATALES, EUGLENOPHYTA)

The ultrastructural features of mitosis in the colorless phagotrophic euglenoid, Ploeotia costata (Farmer and Triemer 1988bn; syn: Serpenomonas costata, Triemer 1986) are described. During interphase the nucleus is rounded and lies adjacent to the reservoir and the four basal bodies, two of which bear flagella. At the onset of mitosis, two additional flagella are generated from the accessory basal bodies such that four basal bodies with flagella now lie at one pole of the prophase nucleus. Microtubules develop in the nucleus prior to migration of one of the basal body pairs to the opposite pole of the nucleus. By metaphase, chromosomes with layered kinetochores are aligned on the equator of the spindle, and a dumbbellshaped nucleolus stretches from pole to pole. Continued elongation of the nucleus results in the separation of the chromosomal masses at anaphase. The distance between the nuclear poles from metaphase to anaphase changes little although the overall length of the nucleus nearly doubles. By telophase a large interzonal spindle develops between the forming daughter nuclei. The extended interzonal spindle breaks near the center prior to cell cleavage.
Esophageal salvage with removable covered self-expanding metal stents in the setting of intrathoracic esophageal leakage

Abstract Background Intrathoracic contamination from esophageal perforation, staple line dehiscence, or trauma can be a preterminal event. In our institution, covered self-expanding metal stents have been used aggressively in the management of esophageal leak, but their use remains controversial. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of esophageal salvage using stents to assist in the management of intrathoracic esophageal leakage. Methods Over 38 months, 63 patients with esophageal or gastric leaks were evaluated for stenting as primary treatment and identified using a prospective database. Results Fifty-six patients were managed with endoscopic stenting as primary therapy and 30 of those patients required a thoracic intervention after stenting. Seven of these patients required esophageal diversion after stent failure. Thirty-day mortality was 10% in the patients with intrathoracic contamination. Conclusions We suggest that the use of covered self-expanding metal stents in patients with intrathoracic leak after esophageal perforation is safe and offers esophageal salvage in 77% regardless of time of presentation.
Spectrotemporal sensitivities in rat auditory cortical neurons

Studies in several mammalian species have demonstrated that auditory cortical neurons respond strongly to single frequency-modulated (FM) sweeps, and that most responses are selective for sweep direction and/or rate. In the present study, we used extracellular recordings to examine how neurons in the auditory cortices of anesthetized rats respond to continuous, periodic trains of FM sweeps (described previously by deCharms et al., Science 280 (1998) pp. 1439-1444, as moving auditory gratings). Consistent with previous observations in owl monkeys, we found that the majority of cortical neurons responded selectively to trains of either up-sweeps or down-sweeps; selectivity for down-sweeps was most common. Periodic responses were typically evoked only by sweep trains with repetition rates less than 12 sweeps per second. Directional differences in responses were dependent on repetition rate. Our results support the proposal that a combination of both spectral and temporal acoustic features determines the responses of auditory cortical neurons to sound, and add to the growing body of evidence indicating that the traditional view of the auditory cortex as a frequency analyzer is not sufficient to explain how the mammalian brain represents complex sounds.
Recent research in the archaeology of architecture: Beyond the foundations

Although architectural remains have always been a principal focus of archaeological investigation, research on such remains, particularly small-scale structures, has taken on new importance because of the information they can offer on human behavior. This article provides a review of recent trends in the archaeology of architecture (mainly domestic in nature), including current work in household archaeology and spatial patterning analysis of architectural remains, and discusses the new models and methodologies being generated to interpret these remains. The main areas covered in this review include the New World, Mesoamerica in particular, Europe, and general focus on recent work in the Near East.
Pyrolisis-MS and FT-IR analysis of fresh and decomposed dairy manure

Abstract The ability to predict manure nitrogen mineralization is essential for optimizing crop growth while preventing N losses to the environment. However, estimating mineralizable manure N is problematic because of the wide variety of organic manure N forms, as well as the lack of a rapid standardized method. Fourier-transformed infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) is a promising technology, since it can detect the absorbance of proteins and primary amines, in addition to being instantaneous and non-destructive. Likewise, analytical pyrolysis-mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) has been used to study lignin and protein composition of forages. We carried out a 10-week laboratory incubation of manure-amended soil in order to test the sensitivity of FT-IR and Py-GC/MS to detect changes in manure during decomposition in soil. Four different dairy or beef manures were included. The manures (0.15 mg manure-N g−1 soil) were placed inside mesh bags during the soil incubation to allow for the recovery and analysis of fresh as well as decomposed manure. Infrared spectroscopy of the fresh and incubated manures showed that this technique is sensitive to changes in manure organic N after soil application. Bands associated with primary amines decreased during the incubation, while bands associated with proteins increased during manure decomposition. Bands associated with fatty acids tended to decrease during the incubation, possibly due to utilization as C sources. The spectroscopic data also showed that lignin-specific signals increase during manure decomposition, suggesting that the relative amount of lignin in manure increases as it decomposes in soil. The changes in peak areas of pyrolyzates were related to changes in manure constituents during decomposition. The Py-GC/MS data showed qualitative changes in manure lignin during decomposition. The relative amounts of nitrogen containing pyrolyzates, such as phenylacetonitrile and methylindole, changed during the decomposition, but the changes were not consistent across manures. In summary, this experiment showed that the use of manure bags is valuable in discerning between the N cycling dynamics of manure and soil, and that infrared spectroscopy, as well as Py-GC/MS show potential as analytical tools to study manure decomposition in soil.
Dexmethylphenidate extended-release capsules for the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Dexmethylphenidate is a chirally pure d-isomer of the racemic mixture of methylphenidate. The extended-release form of this compound was developed using proprietary Spheroidal Oral Drug Absorption System technology. The product is approved for the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in individuals as young as 6 years old. It represents the first methylphenidate product approved for use in adults. The agent’s delivery system is designed to provide an initial release of medication immediately after dosing, with a second release ~ 4 h later. Blood levels first peak at ~ 1.5 h, and the second peak is noted at an average of 6.5 h post-dose. Laboratory classroom studies have demonstrated clinically and statistically meaningful efficacy throughout a 12-h day. Pharmacokinetics, safety and efficacy data are reviewed.
Effects of glutamine on the two catalytic activities of glutamine synthetase in cultured mouse cells strain L.

Abstract When cultured mouse cells strain L are incubated in the presence of glutamine (normally a component of their growth medium) both the transferase (γ-glutamyl transfer) and the synthetase (acyl activation) activities of glutamine synthetase are equally depressed, the transferase being on the whole 5 times higher than the synthetase activity. Whereas the depressive action of glutamine is established within 24 hours, the increase in enzymatic activity following withdrawal of glutamine is markedly slower. The action of glutamine involves two mechanisms, neither of which requires protein or RNA synthesis: (a) inhibition of the synthesis of glutamine synthetase; and (b) promotion of destruction of preexisting enzyme or complements of it.
Calcium-dependent cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase from brain: Comparison of adenosine 3′,5′-monophosphate and guanosine 3′,5′-monophosphate as substrates

Abstract A Ca 2+ -dependent cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase has been partially purified from extracts of porcine brain by column chromatography on Sepharose 6 B containing covalently linked protamine residues, ammonium sulfate salt fractionation, and ECTEOLA-cellulose column chromatography. The resultant preparation contained a single form of cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase activity by the criteria of isoelectric focusing, gel filtration chromatography on Sephadex G-200, and electrophoretic migration on polyacrylamide gels. When fully activated by the addition of Ca 2+ and microgram quantities of a purified Ca 2+ -binding protein (CDR), the phosphodiesterase hydrolyzed both adenosine 3′,5′-monophosphate (cyclic AMP) and guanosine 3′,5′-monophosphate (cyclic GMP), with apparent K m values of 180 and 8 μ m , respectively. Approximately 15% of the total enzymic activity was present in the absence of added CDR and Ca 2+ . This activity exhibited apparent K m values for the two nucleotides identical to those observed for the maximally activated enzyme. Competitive substrate kinetics and heat destabilization studies demonstrated that both cyclic nucleotides were hydrolyzed by the same phosphodiesterase. The purified enzyme was identical to a Ca 2+ -dependent phosphodiesterase present in crude extract by the criteria of gel filtration chromatography, polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis, and kinetic behavior. Apparent K m values of the Ca 2+ -dependent phosphodiesterase for cyclic AMP and cyclic GMP were lowered more than 20-fold as CDR quantities in the assay were increased to microgram amounts, whereas the respective maximal velocities remained constant. The apparent K m for Mg 2+ was lowered more than 50-fold as CDR was increased to microgram amounts. Half-maximal activation of the phosphodiesterase occurred with lower amounts of CDR as a function of either increasing degrees of substrate saturation or increasing concentrations of Mg 2+ . At low cyclic nucleotide substrate concentrations i.e., 2.5 μ m , cyclic GMP was hydrolyzed at a fourfold greater velocity than cyclic AMP. At high substrate concentrations (millimolar range) cyclic AMP was hydrolyzed at a threefold greater rate than cyclic GMP.
Biochemical differentiation in the slime mold.

When the slime molds begin their multicellular life in the absence of external nutrilites aerobic metabolism is acquired. Closely correlated with an increase in oxygen uptake are striking increases in the activities of a number of “constitutive” enzymes involved in aerobic metabolism. An enzyme active in cellulose synthesis, UDPG synthetase, also increases markedly during pseudoplasmodium formation. These enzymic changes occur prior to the period of major protein utilization and carbohydrate synthesis which occurs during morphogenesis. The metabolic pattern established during differentiation results in an accumulation of free glucose, which then decreases in concentration during the formation of the cellulose stalk.
Enhancing Engineering Students' Communication Skills Through Multimedia Instruction

After discussing the communication requirements in the engineering work place and what universities have done to prepare students for this environement, this article describes a project aimed at developing multimedia, interactive courseware for use by engineering students and faculty. This courseware is being designed to maximize student exposure to pragmatic communication processes and problem-solving without requiring engineering faculty to diminish the technical content of their courses. The article discusses design criteria, implementation issues, evaluation processes, and the time table for project completion.
IKAROS IS EXPRESSED IN DEVELOPING STRIATAL NEURONS AND INVOLVED IN ENKEPHALINERGIC DIFFERENTIATION

The Ikaros (Ik) gene encodes alternatively spliced zinc-finger proteins originally identified in developing hematopoietic organs and acts as master regulator of lymphoid development. During our search for transcription factors that control the developmental expression of the enkephalin (ENK) gene we found that Ik-1 and Ik-2 isoforms are specifically expressed in the embryonic striatum and bind the Ik-like cis-regulatory DNA element present on the ENK gene. Ik proteins are expressed by both proliferating (BrdU+/nestin+) and by post-mitotic differentiating (MAP2+) cells in the developing striatum between embryonic day 12 and post-natal day 2 and mRNAs encoding for the Ik and ENK genes are co-expressed by a subset of differentiating striatal neurons. Blocking the DNA binding of Ik proteins in differentiating embryonic striatal neuronal cultures resulted in decreased ENK expression and mutant animals lacking the DNA-binding domain of Ik had a deficit in the number of ENK but not in dynorphin or substance P mRNA+ cells. Animals lacking the protein interaction domain of Ik showed no deficit. These results demonstrate that Ik-1 and Ik-2 proteins through their DNA binding act as positive regulators of ENK gene expression in the developing striatum and participate in regulating enkephalinergic differentiation.
A note on Park and Heikes' (1983) modified approximate estimator for the first-order moving-average process

Abstract This paper extends the approximate transformation procedure developed by Park and Heikes (1983). The extended procedure is appropriate for a moving-average process of any order, and can be used by anyone who has an ordinary least-squares regression package. For a wide range of moving-average parameters, the estimators produced by the procedure are shown to be nearly as efficient as exact-transformation GLS estimators.
Mitochondrial DNA variation in geographic populations of Colorado potato beetle,Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Coleoptera; Chrysomelidae)

This study demonstrates variability in restriction enzyme cleavage sites of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) among four popalations of Colorado potato beetle (CPB). A suite of three enzymes (EcoRI,HpaI,PstI) was sufficient to discriminate among the populations tested. Individuals heteroplasmic for restriction enzyme patterns were found in some populations. Variability in CPB mtDNA should prove useful in efforts to trace the origin and dispersal of the species in North America.
Nurse psychologists: A unique group within health psychology

Since the mid-1980s commonalities between nursing and psychology have been explored, with subsequent establishment of a Nursing and Health Psychology Committee within the American Psychological Association's Division 38. A survey was undertaken to study this little-known, unique cadre of individuals with dual preparation in both nursing and psychology. Participants were queried regarding their educational preparations in both disciplines, current employment, theoretical and/or research interests, and current projects. Results of the survey provide information about the characteristics of this group. Dual preparation appears to offer certain advantages for the practice of health psychology.
In vitro transcription of the tryptophan operon integrated into a transducing phage genome.

Abstract Transcription of the tryptophan operon integrated into a λ-φ80 hybrid phage (λpt60-3) has been studied under a variety of in vitro RNA synthesis conditions using Escherichia coli RNA polymerase. RNA products were analyzed by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and DNA-RNA hybridization techniques. The expression of the bacterial trp operon and the phage genome is influenced by the initiation conditions of RNA synthesis and the termination factor ρ. Under optimum conditions the trp operon can be transcribed asymmetrically from the correct (l) strand of DNA, and the product trp RNAs are identified as several species with different chain-lengths. The trp transcription is then initiated mainly at a promoter site which is located immediately before the trp E gene and is terminated at different points on the trp operon. Some trp transcription which initiates at a second internal promoter and also at the λN † gene promoter (read-through) is observed.
Modeling the Progression of HIV Infection

Abstract Statistical modeling of the progression of markers of HIV infection is complicated by three problems: (1) the times of infection are generally unknown; (2) the follow-up of infected patients is generally much shorter than the average time from infection to AIDS; and (3) the repeated measures of the markers are correlated. The marker we study in this article is T-helper cell count. As a consequence of these three problems, it is difficult to distinguish between different models for the decline in T-helper cell count over time for HIV-infected individuals. Some investigators have proposed that the decline is gradual until shortly before the onset of AIDS, yet available data do not reject models of a fairly constant decline over the entire latency period between HIV infection and onset of AIDS. The ability to discriminate between models can be enhanced by incorporating information about the distributions of the times of seroconversion (development of measurable antibodies) among HIV seropositive ind...