cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
5 – COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the cognitive development in adolescence. Adolescents are more capable than children of formulating hypotheses and examining evidence for or against them. They are able to engage in this type of reasoning even when the original premises are false. Research has confirmed a shift toward greater hypothesis use in adolescence. The ability to generate alternatives and hypothetical solutions is related to creative thinking. Ironically, adolescents appear to be less creative in their thinking than children. One suggestion to explain this apparent discrepancy is that adolescents have a greater potential for creativity, but they express the potential less frequently than children because they become more sensitive to peer judgment during adolescence. Cognitive-developmental theory is primarily concerned with the stages in modes of thinking. Cognitive structures undergo progressive elaboration, in Piaget's stage model, through a process known as equilibration. The individual uses cognitive structures to interpret features of the environment—external reality. Environmental information causes the structures themselves to change when the structures are inadequate for handling new information.
CK2: A Global Regulator of Cell Death

Protein kinase CK2 has emerged as a major signal involved in diverse cellular functions of health and disease. The nature of its broad of range of functions is underscored by the large number of potential substrates of CK2 present in various locales in the cell. CK2 has gained much attention for its role in cancer biology, which is attributed to its functions both in cell growth and proliferation as well as in the regulation of cell death. Indeed, it appears that CK2 impact on cell death may be one of its most important functions, especially in the context of cancer biology where both cell proliferation and cell death are dysregulated and elevated CK2 in cancer would have an effect on both of these activities. Just as CK2 has been proposed to have a global role in cell growth-related activities, it appears that it may have an analogous global role in the suppression of apoptosis when it is elevated and induce cell death when it is downregulated. In this review, we have highlighted the current status of CK2 involvement in the processes related to cell death with a focus on apoptosis. It is proposed that a newly identified mechanism of CK2 regulation of cell death relates to its impact on early intracellular dynamics of Ca2+ signaling which profoundly alter mitochondrial function and lead to cell death.
Informed consent in phase I clinical trials: Implications for trends in design.

e14077Background: Informed Consent (IC) is a critical aspect of human subjects protection. Institutional Review Boards are tasked with insuring proper IC as one aspect of protecting participants in...
Bargains, Games, and Relative Gains: Positional Concerns and International Cooperation

Central to recent debates about international cooperation has been the contention that if states seek relative gains, cooperation becomes more difficult. To help revive and redirect the debate, we provide a general treatment of the relative-gains argument in the simplest possible formal terms. The analysis enables us to make two arguments which challenge starkly pessimistic conclusions and define when and how relative-gains concerns affect outcomes. First, if states bargain over the terms of agreement, all positional concerns will be reflected in the bargained outcome and cooperation should remain possible. In the Nash-bargaining model, mutual concern for positionality makes the outcome more symmetric while differential concerns result in agreements biased so as to appease the more positionally concerned state. Second, employing basic game theory, we show that 2x2 games will transform into deadlock as concern for positionality increases only where three necessary conditions on the payoff structure of the original game are satisfied. Hence, while the relative-gains problem can affect cooperation in international relations, it does so only under specific conditions and in specific ways which can be identified theoretically and researched empirically.
An environmental justice assessment of public beach access in Miami, Florida

Abstract The scope of empirical environmental justice (EJ) research has expanded beyond hazards exposure to scrutinize social inequities in access to amenities, but no prior study has examined the EJ implications of public beach access. Furthermore, quantitative research on white privilege is very scarce. To address these knowledge gaps, our study examines racial/ethnic and socioeconomic inequities in access to public beaches in the Miami metropolitan statistical area, Florida. Public beach accessibility is modeled with an innovative geospatial approach that involves population weighted distances to beach access sites. To assess EJ implications of public beach access for various racial/ethnic and socioeconomically vulnerable groups, spatial regression models are estimated using census tract-level data. Results indicate that beaches are more accessible to neighborhoods with a higher proportion of non-Hispanic Whites, while neighborhoods with higher percentages of Hispanics and socioeconomically disadvantaged residents have limited access. This study demonstrates the importance of assessing white privilege and access to environmental amenities in EJ research to better understand social inequities.
Automated Summarization of Bug Reports to speed-up software development/maintenance process by using Natural Language Processing (NLP)

Bug reports can provide a great deal of assistance for developers during the process of development. But due to the large size of bug repositories, it is sometimes difficult to take advantage of these artifacts in the available time. One way of helping developers to provide summaries of these reports and provide relevant details only. Once it’s decided that this is the required report then one can study the details. As text mining technology advances, many substantial approaches have been proposed to generate optimized summaries for bug reports. In this paper, we have proposed an extractive based methodology for the generation of summaries of bug reports by using the sentence embedding. We achieved improved rouge-1 and rouge- 2 results than the previous state of the art systems for the bug report summary generation.
The benefits and limitations of agricultural input cooperatives in Zambia

Abstract Policymakers in Southern Africa have long viewed agricultural cooperatives as a way to reach rural households more easily, but because not all rural households can afford to join cooperatives, this raises questions about membership inclusivity and whether cooperatives advantage some smallholders over others. Agricultural cooperatives can serve as an institutional vehicle for policymakers to deliver direct benefits to smallholder farmers in the form of subsidized agricultural inputs, usually improved seed varieties and fertilizers. They can also serve as platforms for collective action through which smallholders can reduce transportation and transaction costs or disperse the costs of marketing. In Zambia farmers are required to join a cooperative to qualify for seed and fertilizer support through the national Farmer Input Support Program (FISP), which is a structural incentive for cooperative membership and makes it complicated to determine if cooperative membership increases use of inputs and yields on its own. Using the Inverse Probability Weight Regression Adjustment (IPWRA) technique, we find Zambian smallholders participating in cooperatives achieve significantly higher maize yields and use significantly more hybrid-maize seed and fertilizers, even when controlling for FISP eligibility. Furthermore, across all selected productivity and input variables we find greater average treatment effects from cooperative membership than FISP participation. Cooperative membership is also associated with more assets, more land, and higher maize yields, which suggests that the poorest rural households are often not cooperative members. Cooperatives can be a powerful poverty policy tool to deliver direct benefits to small farmers, but not including the poorest households likely widens the rural poverty gap, both in terms of limited direct benefits of input support programs and in terms of farmers missing out on cooperative-specific benefits.
An evaluation of ECOSTRESS products of a temperate montane humid forest in a complex terrain environment

Abstract Plant water use is difficult to monitor and predict in complex terrain. NASA's ECOsystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment on Space Station (ECOSTRESS) provides new data for understanding hydrologic cycling in these forested mountain areas. Evaluation of ECOSTRESS evapotranspiration (ET) has relied primarily on eddy flux towers, but most flux towers are located in flat terrain, sampling relatively homogeneous vegetation. To address this knowledge gap, the accuracy of the ECOSTRESS land surface temperature (L2_LST) and ET (L3_ET_PT-JPL) data were evaluated against data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service's Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory: a humid temperate forest ecosystem in the southern Appalachian Mountains of the southeastern U.S. with extensive data from one eddy covariance tower and five climate stations varying in elevation. ECOSTRESS LST showed a strong linear relationship with the weather station near-surface air temperature (R2 = 0.85; offset = −2.5 °C), showing no difference across slope, aspect and elevation, but a higher correlation during the night than the day. ECOSTRESS tended to overestimate ET compared with our site eddy covariance measurements (R2 = 0.43; RMSE = 146 W m−2). To evaluate potential sources of error associated with remotely-sensed inputs to the ECOSTRESS Priestly-Taylor Jet Propulsion Laboratory (PT-JPL) ET model, we ran PT-JPL using ground-based data from our site. ET estimated with locally-collected data showed much better performance in capturing variability (R2 ~ 0.70), illustrating the uncertainty contributed to ECOSTRESS by the coarse scale meteorological inputs in areas of complex topography. Notably, both the ECOSTRESS LST and ET captured important topographic gradients and spatially-explicit diurnal variability. The valley floor of the Coweeta Basin was warmer than the higher elevations by 8 °C in the day, but cooler at night. On the south-facing aspects, LST and ET were higher, consistent with observations. This also highlights the ability of ECOSTRESS and PT-JPL to decouple ET from LST when and where appropriate, as they are normally inverse to one another. Our study provides the first detailed analysis of ECOSTRESS for forested ecosystems in complex terrain and offers insight for future evaluation.
Metaphysical Realism and the Pragmatic Basis of Objectivity

(1) The ontological component of metaphysical realism — the idea that there indeed is an objective sphere of mind-independent reality which exists independently in its own right, without reference to anyone’s ideas and conceptions about it — is not something that we learn from experience. It is a presupposition for our experience-exploiting inquiries, rather than a product thereof. (2) We have to do here with a postulation made on functional rather than evidential grounds, which we endorse in order to be in a position to learn by experience at all. This postulation is justified in the first analysis on the grounds of functional requiredness, seeing that it is an indispensable requisite for our standard conceptual scheme with respect to inquiry, cognition, and discourse. (3) The project of communal inquiry into and inter-personal communication about an objective order of reality plays an especially important justificatory role. (4) Moreover, without the resource of an objective order of impersonal fact, we would be thrown back on totally non-cognitive means for the guidance of action. (5) The validation of the reality postulate thus lies originally in its potential functional utility, and ultimately in its being retro-justified by the “wisdom of hindsight” on grounds of its pragmatic and explanatory efficacy.
New Exodus and No Exodus in Jeremiah 26-45: Promise and Warning to the Exiles in Babylon

Seeking to contribute to the discussion of the book of Jeremiah as a literary unity, this study examines the contrast between the promise of new exodus in Jeremiah 30–33 and the experience of the remnant in Judah after the fall of Jerusalem that is recounted in Jeremiah 40–43 as a reversal of the exodus. This contrast of ‘new exodus’ and ‘no exodus’ serves as both a promise and warning to the exilic community in Babylon – the promise that they are to be the recipients of the blessings of restoration and a warning that continued disobedience to YHWH will bring further judgement.
Formulation and Evaluation of Variational Curve Matching with Prior Constraints

This work explores a priori constraints based on human landmarking for defining the parameters of a variational curve registration algorithm. The result is a method for designing variational energies that adjust the optimization process over the solution domain such that features which are salient in the human decision-making process are used. The application here is locating correspondence of corpora callosa that agree with expert user data. General principles that guide our particular application are first stated. These principles involve the definition of a generic variational problem and an associated optimization algorithm, given here for the case of matching curves. A small set of specific similarity criterion for curves is then defined. The ability of each feature to find correspondences that relate to human decisions is individually tested. Following the results of this study, a Maximum a Posteriori (MAP) automatic landmarking and correspondence method is developed. The probabilities associated with the MAP estimates are also used to define variational weights that vary over the solution’s domain. These methods are both evaluated with respect to known correspondences and inter-user variability.
Chapter 14 Empirical Studies of Demand for the Performing Arts

Abstract While audience and participation surveys, as well as econometric demand studies, generally confirm that performing arts audiences are relatively elite, there are surprises. Education (despite conflicting causal interpretations) is a stronger determinant than income, but that evidence is more reliable from survey results than from econometric estimation, and arts training is often distinguished from formal education. The arts as luxury goods can only be confirmed by those rare studies controlling for the value of time, and price elasticities are often higher than expected, especially when more disaggregated data are examined. Price inelastic demand is more likely the result of low pricing strategies of non-profit arts managements rather than any inherent result of an acquired taste for the arts, while cross-price elasticity evidence is relatively weak, even within the performing arts. Arts demand cannot adequately be estimated without also considering “life-style” variables, or non-standard socioeconomic factors such as sexual orientation, gender and socialization processes, and even the role of age has been notably complex. Quality of arts performance or organization seems important, but the econometric results are mixed. Habit formation must be distinguished from learning-by-consuming and rational addiction in examining dynamic determinants. Sociologists, psychologists, and marketing specialists, as well as economists, have contributed to this literature, which remains unusually enigmatic despite about forty years of increasingly sophisticated analysis.
Improving efficiency by learning intermediate concepts

One goal of explanation-based learning is to transform knowledge into an operational form for efficient use. Typically, this involves rewriting concept descriptions in terms of the predicates used to describe examples. In this paper we present RINCON, a system that extends domain theories from examples with the goal of maximizing classification efficiency. RINCON'S basic learning operator involves the introduction of new intermediate concepts into a domain theory, which can be viewed as the inverse of the operationalization process. We discuss the system's learning algorithm and its relation to work on explanation-based learning, incremental concept formation, representation change, and pattern matching. We also present experimental evidence from two natural domains that indicates the addition of intermediate concepts can improve classification efficiency.
Safety and Sensory Aspects of Main and Gradient Fields in MRI

Whole-body magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was introduced into medical practice in the early 1980s. It has become a standard medical procedure producing high-quality noninvasive images of the internal human anatomy without the use of X-rays or radioactive isotopes. It is estimated that there have been more than 600 000 000 clinical studies since the introduction of the technique and projected that more than 80 000 000 clinical studies will be performed in 2012. These studies have been performed with an excellent safety record even though intense static and very rapidly switched gradient magnetic fields are utilized. Modern developments in MRI involve the use of ever stronger magnets and gradient fields requiring continual attention to safety considerations. Despite the excellent MRI safety record, scrupulous attention is required to the exclusion of magnetic materials, either in the vicinity of scanners or within the bodies of patients, as these constitute potentially lethal risks. The increasing use of implanted active devices (e.g., cardiac defibrillators) also raises new safety concerns. Although not specifically safety issues, a number of low-level sensory effects can be produced by MRI scanning and these should be considered when very strong magnetic fields or very rapidly switched gradients are employed. The semicircular canals of the inner ear appear to be especially sensitive to head motion within strong magnetic fields. This is linked to field-induced eye motions (magnetic nystagmus) and the sensation of vertigo. At high field strengths, a novel form of motion sickness, here termed magnet sickness, may appear in susceptible individuals. Keywords: MRI safety; MRI regulation; peripheral nerve stimulation (PNS); magnetic projectile; vertigo; nystagmus; conflict hypothesis; diamagnetic susceptibility; magnet sickness; active implants
Cell-to-Landline Cost Ratios for RDD Surveys of Rare Populations

In planning surveys with a cell telephone sample component, survey researchers often think in terms of a cost ratio – the cost per complete interview in the cell phone sample relative to that in the landline sample. AAPOR’s 2010 Cell Phone Task Force Report includes a discussion of the factors that affect this cost ratio; however, the report does not discuss the impact of the rarity of the target population on the relative costs of cell telephone surveys. That is, the cellto-landline cost ratio may be different for a rare population survey compared to a general population survey, and the difference will depend on the size and characteristics of the target population being studied. In this paper, I describe why this is true and present a cost-ratio formula that separates the components expected to vary depending on the nature of the rare target population from the components that should be relatively constant across surveys with differing target populations. I discuss the usefulness of this formula in planning for and monitoring cell phone data collection, and I provide a demonstration.
Practical hypercube algorithms for computational geometry

The use of the cross-stitching technique to solve problems in computational geometry on the hypercube is discussed. Given n inputs distributed one per processor on a hypercube with n processors. The cross-stitching paradigm runs in Theta (log/sup 2/n) time with very low constants. This form of 2-D divide-and-conquer is illustrated, some of its applications are considered, and its practicality is shown by the computation of exact communication constants for the authors' algorithms. >
Role of the Calcium Sensitizer, Levosimendan, in Perioperative Intensive Care Medicine

The calcium (Ca2+)-sensitizer, levosimendan, is recommended by the European Heart Association and the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine for the treatment of low output heart failure, when standard treatment is insufficient [1]. Despite encouraging results from experimental and randomized clinical studies, a recent large randomized, double-blind, multicenter trial in patients with acute decompensated heart failure (Survival Of Patients With Acute Heart Failure In Need Of Intravenous Inotropic Support, SURVIVE study), did not reveal any significant reduction in 31- or 180-day mortality with levosimendan compared to dobutamine [2]. The elementary question that needs to be addressed and was recently elegantly worded by Dr. Butler and colleagues, is whether “to abandon or not to abandon levosimendan?” [3].
Computational Efficiency Of Multiple Image Registration Algorithms

The problem of multiple image registration is that of finding n subimages in a larger image (Search area S) which best match the n smaller images (windows or references) obtained from different sensors, assuming that all smaller images are completely located within the larger image. Although correlation and sequential similarity detection algorithms are commonly used, the method of moments which has been successfully used for automatic classification of an unknown pattern as one of several known patterns can also be used for digital image registration. This paper compares the computational efficiency of the three methods stated above for software as well as hardware implementations. For single image registration problem, the moments method requires more computation time than correlation and sequential similarity detection methods. However, for the multiple image registration problem the moments method becomes computationally more efficient as the number of windows increases. This paper shows that the moments method requires less computation time if implemented in software and less hardware for real time implementation when the number of windows is large.© (1980) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Discontinuity of the Spin-Wave Stiffness in the Two-Dimensional XY Model

Using a graphical representation based on the Wolff algorithm, the (classical) d-dimensional XY model and some related spin-systems are studied. It is proved that in d≡2, the predicted discontinuity in the spin-wave stiffness indeed occurs. Further, the critical properties of the spin-system are related to percolation properties of the graphical representation. In particular, a suitably defined notion of percolation in the graphical representation is proved to be the necessary and sufficient condition for positivity of the spontaneous magnetization.
Laboratory Simulation of the Atmospheric Boundary Layer

Similarity criteria are given for micro-, small-, and meso-scale motion of the atmospheric boundary layer. Requirements for simulation of dispersion of passive contaminants in the atmosphere are discussed. The characteristic features of a unique meteorological wind tunnel with a capability for simulating thermally stratified boundary layers are described. Mean wind speed, mean temperature and turbulence statistics measured in this laboratory facility are found to be similar to corresponding data obtained from measurements in the atmosphere. Examples of simulated dispersion over a variety of surface features including urban areas and complex topography are described.
Ethanol Strongly Potentiates Apoptosis Induced by HIV-1 Proteins in Primary Human Brain Microvascular Endothelial Cells

Ethanol may have significant effects on human immunodeficiency virus type I (HIV-1) pathogenesis in vivo. As such, the effects of ethanol treatment were studied on the proapoptotic potential of various HIV-1 proteins in primary isolated human brain microvascular endothelial cells (MVECs), a major cellular component of the blood-brain barrier. Low-passage primary brain MVECs were treated with recombinant HIV-1 proteins Nef, Vpr, Tat and gp120 proteins from X4, R5, and X4R5 viral strains, with and without ethanol at various relevant concentrations. The apoptotic potential of each HIV-1 protein with and without ethanol was compared with cells treated with ethanol alone or GST protein as a control, under similar conditions. Specific HIV-1 proteins induced apoptosis in primary isolated human brain MVECs, which was potentiated on treatment with 0.1 and 0.3% (v/v) ethanol. Cotreatment with ethanol and specific HIV-1 proteins showed enhanced lactate dehydrogenase release, compared with MVECs treated with ethanol alone. The presence of ethanol in in vitro culture medium also enhanced HIV-1 protein-mediated tumor necrosis factor-alpha production, compared with cells treated with ethanol alone or GST protein. Thus, these studies demonstrate ethanol's potential for inducing apoptosis of human MVECs with relevant HIV-1-specific proteins and suggest a potential synergistic effect in augmenting HIV-1 neuroinvasion and neuropathogenesis in vivo.
Hippocampal injury, atrophy, synaptic reorganization, and epileptogenesis after perforant pathway stimulation-induced status epilepticus in the mouse.

Prolonged dentate granule cell discharges produce hippocampal injury and chronic epilepsy in rats. In preparing to study this epileptogenic process in genetically altered mice, we determined whether the background strain used to generate most genetically altered mice, the C57BL/6 mouse, is vulnerable to stimulation-induced seizure-induced injury. This was necessary because C57BL/6 mice are reportedly resistant to the neurotoxic effects of kainate-induced seizures, which we hypothesized to be related to strain differences in kainate’s effects, rather than genetic differences in intrinsic neuronal vulnerability. Bilateral perforant pathway stimulation-induced granule cell discharge for four hours under urethane anesthesia produced degeneration of GluR2-positive hilar mossy cells and peptide-containing interneurons in both FVB/N (kainate-vulnerable) and C57BL/6 (kainate-resistant) mice, indicating no strain differences in neuronal vulnerability to seizure activity. Granule cell discharge for two hours in C57BL/6 mice destroyed most GluR2-positive dentate hilar mossy cells, but not peptide-containing hilar interneurons, indicating that mossy cells are the neurons most vulnerable to this insult. Stimulation for 24 hours caused extensive hippocampal neuron loss and injury to the septum and entorhinal cortex, but no other detectable damage. Mice stimulated for 24 hours developed hippocampal sclerosis, granule cell mossy fiber sprouting, and chronic epilepsy, but not the granule cell layer hypertrophy (granule cell dispersion) produced by intrahippocampal kainate. These results demonstrate that perforant pathway stimulation in mice reliably reproduces the defining features of human mesial temporal lobe epilepsy with hippocampal sclerosis. Experimental studies in transgenic or knockout mice are feasible if electrical stimulation is used to produce controlled epileptogenic insults.
Relationship between action potential, contraction-relaxation pattern, and intracellular Ca2+ transient in cardiomyocytes of dogs with chronic heart failure

Abnormalities of contractile function have been identified in cardiomyocytes isolated from failed human hearts and from hearts of animals with experimentally induced heart failure (HF). The mechanism(s) responsible for these functional abnormalities are not fully understood. In the present study, we examined the relationship between action potential duration, pattern of contraction and relaxation, and associated intracellular Ca2+ transients in single cardiomyocytes isolated from the left ventricle (LV) of dogs (n = 7) with HF produced by multiple sequential intracoronary microembolizations. Comparisons were made with LV cardiomyocytes isolated from normal dogs. Action potentials were measured in isolated LV cardiomyocytes by perforated patch clamp, Ca2+ transients by fluo 3 probe fluorescence, and cardiomyocyte contraction and relaxation by edge movement detector. HF cardiomyocytes exhibited an abnormal pattern of contraction and relaxation characterized by an attenuated initial twitch (spike) followed by a sustained contracture ('dome') of 1 to 8 s in duration and subsequent delayed relaxation. This pattern was more prominent at low stimulation rates (58% at 0.2 Hz, n = 211, 21% at 0.5 Hz, n = 185). Measurements of Ca2+ transients in HF cardiomyocytes at 0.2 Hz manifested a similar spike and dome configuration. The dome phase of both the contraction/relaxation pattern and Ca2+ transients seen in HF cardiomyocytes coincided with a sustained plateau of the action potential. Shortening of the action potential duration by administration of saxitoxin (100 nM) or lidocaine (30 μM) reduced the duration of the dome phase of both the contraction/relaxation profile as well as that of the Ca2+ transient profile. An increase of stimulation rate up to 1 Hz caused shortening of the action potential and disappearance of the spike-dome profile in the majority of HF cardiomyocytes. In HF cardiomyocytes, the action potential and Ca2+ transient duration were not significantly different from those measured in normal cells. However, the contraction-relaxation cycle was significantly longer in HF cells (314 ± 67 ms, n = 21, vs. 221 ± 38 ms, n = 46, mean ± SD), indicating impaired excitation-contraction uncou pling in HF cardiomyocytes. The results show that, in cardiomyocytes isolated from dogs with HF, contractile abnormalities and abnormalities of intracellular Ca2+ transients at low stimulation rates are characterized by a spike-dome configuration. This abnormal pattern appears to result from prolongation of the action potential.
Proton hole states in neutron rich Pd nuclei

The ($\stackrel{\ensuremath{\rightarrow}}{t}, \ensuremath{\alpha}$) reaction at 17 MeV triton energy has been used to study proton hole states in targets of $^{106,108,110}\mathrm{Pd}$. The results indicate that for the residual nuclei, $^{105,107,109}\mathrm{Rh}$, the ground states have a spin of ${\frac{7}{2}}^{+}$, in contrast to the lighter Rh nuclei, and are not of single-particle character. Coupled-channels analysis indicates a possible particle-vibration character for these ground states. A strong neutron-proton interaction may be evident from the level systematics of Rh nuclei as the ground state spins change between $N=58$ and $N=60$ ($^{103}\mathrm{Rh}$ and $^{105}\mathrm{Rh}$).
Mass Spectrometry of Cardiac Calsequestrin Characterizes Microheterogeneity Unique to Heart and Indicative of Complex Intracellular Transit

Cardiac calsequestrin concentrates in junctional sarcoplasmic reticulum in heart and skeletal muscle cells by an undefined mechanism. During transit through the secretory pathway, it undergoes an as yet uncharacterized glycosylation and acquires phosphate on CK2-sensitive sites. In this study, we have shown that active calsequestrin phosphorylation occurred in nonmuscle cells as well as muscle cells, reflecting a widespread cellular process. To characterize this post-translational modification and resolve individual molecular mass species, we subjected purified calsequestrin to mass spectrometry using electrospray ionization. Mass spectra showed that calsequestrin glycan structure in nonmuscle cells was that expected for an endoplasmic reticulum-localized glycoprotein and showed that each glycoform existed as four mass peaks representing molecules that also had 0-3 phosphorylation sites occupied. In heart, mass peaks indicated carbohydrate modifications characteristic of transit through Golgi compartments. Phosphorylation did not occur on every glycoform present, suggesting a far more complex movement of calsequestrin molecules in heart cells. Significant amounts of calsequestrin contained glycan with only a single mannose residue, indicative of a novel post-endoplasmic reticulum mannosidase activity. In conclusion, glyco- and phosphoforms of calsequestrin chart a complex cellular transport in heart, with calsequestrin following trafficking pathways not present or not accessible to the same molecules in nonmuscle.
Atmospheric responses to magnetic flux eruptions III. Shock evolution near the Sun

Abstract As the last one of the series, this paper discusses the shock evolution in the coronal atmosphere. It shows that the nonuniformity of the plasma and the magnetic field in the coronal background is determinative for the structure and evolution of shocks. A slow shock-fast magnetosonic wave system formed near the sun evolves into a hybrid shock with an intermediate shock as its necessary component while propagating outward. The hybrid shock remains as it propagates along an electric current sheet but keeps evoluting into a pure fast shock as it propagates along a unipolar open magnetic field.
An EELS study of Cu adsorbed on O/W(110) and CO/W(110)

Abstract The vibrational properties of 1 monolayer of Cu adsorbed on O/W(110), Cu1/O/W(110), O/Cu1/W(110) and Cu1−1.5/CO/W(110) were studied at 90 K and on heating to see if the existence of sandwich structures and the electric shielding by single metal layers suggested by previous work [N. Shamir, J.C. Lin and R. Gomer, J. Chem. Phys. 90 (1989) 5135] could be confirmed. It was found that a monolayer of Cu screens the OW dipole moment effectively while 1.5 Cu monolayers were required for CO on W, probably because in that case a continuous Cu layer is not formed. It was also found that heating Cu1/O/W(110) and O/CU1W(110) layers gave results which support previous findings on OCu segregation [J.S. Lin, N. Shamir and R. Gomer, Surf. Sci. 206 (1988) 206].
Direct effects of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) on responses to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) by isolated murine B-cells.

Previous results from this laboratory have indicated that the B-cell is the primary cell target responsible for the suppression of humoral immunity by 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD). While other laboratories have confirmed that the B-cell is affected, there is not a clear understanding of TCDD's relative effects on B-cell proliferation and differentiation. In the present study, we isolated B-cells from whole spleen cell suspensions from female B6C3F1 mice and further separated them according to density on a percoll density step gradient. Cell cycle analysis by propidium iodide indicated that both high (i.e., 1.092-1.079 density interface) and low (i.e., 1.079-1.070 density interface) density B-cells were predominantly cells in the G0/G1 phase of the cell cycle. Based on acridine orange staining, low-density B-cells exhibited slightly higher RNA levels than high-density B-cells indicating they are an "activated" population of cells, probably somewhere in G1A. Confirmation of these results was the observation that the high density, small, resting B-cells had negligible background proliferation and immunoglobulin secretion, while the low density, larger, activated B-cells had marked background proliferative and antibody responses. Direct addition of TCDD (0.3-30.0 nM) produced a significant, dose-related and comparable suppression of both parameters in the low density B-cells. Similar results were obtained when low density B-cells were stimulated with LPS and exposed to TCDD. In contrast, neither the proliferation nor the antibody response by high density B-cells stimulated with LPS were affected by TCDD.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Lithium: The Literature Regarding Its Uses in Chemistry, Psychiatry, and the Engineering of Materials and Batteries

Because of its intriguing properties, lithium has been extensively utilized in a wide number of industrial, scientific, and clinical applications. This article reviews the history of its discovery, its basic properties, and its current mineralogical sources and surveys some of the more important uses of lithium today.
Molecular recognition of a thymine bulge by a high affinity, deazaguanine-based hydrogen-bonding ligand

7-Deazaguanine (7-DeG) was developed as a hydrogen-bonding module capable of enhanced recognition of uracil (U) and thymine (T); a water-soluble derivative displayed high affinity and selectivity toward DNA and RNA duplexes containing single T- and U-bulges.
Artifacts that mimic ballistic magnetoresistance

We have investigated the circumstances underlying recent reports of very large values of ballistic magnetoresistance (BMR) in nanocontacts between magnetic wires. We find that the geometries used are subject to artifacts due to motion of the wires that distort the nanocontact thereby changing its electrical resistance. Since these nanocontacts are often of atomic scale, reliable experiments would require stability on the atomic scale. No method for achieving such stability in macroscopic wires is apparent. We conclude that macroscopic magnetic wires cannot be used to establish the validity of the BMR effect.
Two optical-control techniques for phased array: interferometric and dispersive-fiber true time delay

We describe and present experimental results for two optical control techniques for phased array antennas. The first technique is based on interferometric heterodyning of two narrow- linewidth YAG lasers for the generation of required microwave signal and for simultaneous steering of the radiated beam. The constructed system is simple and well-suited for narrowband applications, and it may be built without any active mechanical components. The measured radiated antenna patterns are in close agreement with the predicted ones. The second technique is a novel and elegant method for implementing a true time-delay function for optical control. It relies on using a wavelength-tunable laser to provide the optical carrier for the microwave signal and a fiber-optic prism--a set of equal delay fibers with differing net dispersion. The relative interelement time-delay (beam angle) adjustment is accomplished by tuning the optical carrier wavelength. The experimental results obtained on a compact antenna range clearly demonstrate beam-steering and true time-delay operation over a two-octave bandwidth.© (1993) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Synthesis, spectral data, and crystal structure of two novel substitution patterns in dithiaporphyrins

The syntheses, characterizations and crystal structures of 5-(4-tert-butylphenyl)-15,20-diphenyl-10-(4-methoxy)phenyl-21,23-dithiaporphyrin (1b) and 2,3-dimethoxy-10,15-diphenyl-21,23-dithiaporphyrin (2) are described. The cyclization of 2-[1-(4-methoxyphenyl)-1-pyrrolomethyl]-5-(1-phenyl-1-pyrrolomethyl)thiophene and 2-[1-(4-t-butylphenyl)-1-hydroxymethyl]-5-(1-phenyl-1-hydroxymethyl)thiophene gave predominantly the cis-regioisomer, which was characterized by X-ray crystallography.
Microstructures of high copper amalgams after corrosion in various solutions.

Abstract Five copper rich amalgam systems were studied to detect corrosion induced microstructural changes after immersion in various solutions for 2.5 years. The solutions were artificial saliva, 10 times concentrated artificial saliva, and a one to one ratio of 1% Na2S and Ringer's solution. Surface corrosion products were removed by metallographic polishing and microstructures were studied by SEM/EDS and x-ray diffraction. Preferential corrosion attack occurred in the eta prime Cu6Sn5 reaction product in both blended and single particle systems. Copper appeared to be preferentially released, resulting in insoluble tin containing corrosion products. In addition, phase mixtures of copper and tin containing products were often found in the corroded samples. In more concentrated solutions the extent of corrosion was more pronounced. The corrosion process also enhanced the gamma 1 to beta 1 transformation.
Hemodynamic responses to hypoxia and hyperoxia in calves at sea level and altitude

Hemodynamic studies were done in nine male Holstein calves, born at sea level, at 250 m (PB 740 mm Hg) and in eight of these calves after 2 and 4 weeks at 3400 m altitude (PB 510 mm Hg). Cardiac index (CI) decreased significantly as compared to sea level after 2 weeks at altitude and it was further decreased after 4 weeks. This reduction in CI resulted from decreased stroke index (SI) with unchanged heart rate (HR). Mean pulmonary arterial pressure (PAM) rose from 26 mm Hg at sea level to 63 and 74 mm Hg after 2 and 4 weeks at 3400 m, respectively. Both pulmonary arterial systolic and diastolic pressures were substantially increased at altitude, the diastolic relatively more than the systolic pressure (4.5 fold increase vs. 2.5 fold). Aortic blood pressures (systolic, diastolic and mean) did not change significantly at 3400 m. Right ventricular (systolic) and atrial (mean) pressures increased at altitude.
Infrared photolysis of C2F4S2: a comparison of multiphoton dissociation models

Abstract Infrared multiphoton dissociation of the planar ring compound has been shown to yield two CF 2 S molecules. The threshold for dissociation using the R(16) transition of the 9.6 μm CO 2 laser is 0.12 J/cm 2 . At fluences above 1 J/cm 3 dissociation is accompanied by the emission of light in the 300–750 nm region. The fractional dissociation per pulse and the average energy deposition have been measured as functions of laser fluence, laser wavelength, C 2 F 4 S 2 pressure, and added argon pressure. The variations of the fractional dissociation with fluence and absorbed energy are compared to the predictions of two models. The first model is based on the assumption of a Planck distribution for the dissociating C 2 F 4 S 2 molecules, while the second is based on a rate equation approach to the dissociation. Both models predict that the dissociating parent compound has a rather broad vibrational distribution.
Mixed resolution model for C60 cluster bombardment of solid benzene

Molecular dynamics simulations of C60 cluster bombardment have been instrumental in elucidating physical phenomena related to the sputtering process; however, chemical phenomena can also play an important role in C60 cluster bombardment of molecular solids. Therefore, a mixed resolution model of C60 cluster bombardment is being developed, where the reactive zone is represented by an all atom region, and the remaining part of the target is described by a coarse-grained representation. A reactive many body potential describes the interactions among atoms; whereas, pair potentials describe the interactions between coarse-grained beads and between coarse-grained beads and atoms. Solid benzene is used to develop the methodology of blending the potentials. The blending of potentials is evaluated by the differences in the velocities of the pressure waves (generated by the C60 impact) between the all atom benzene, coarse-grained benzene and the mixed resolution benzene systems. Initial testing with 1 keV C60 cluster bombardment simulations show a smooth transition between regions.
Light-induced inhibitors from intact and cultured caps of Zea roots.

Growth inhibitors were assayed from extracts of intact (attached) and of excised (cultured) root caps of Zea mays L., cv. Merit, the roots of which show a positive geotropic response only after exposure to light. If caps are intact at the time of illumination, at least two inhibitory substances are produced, an acid inhibitor and a neutral inhibitor, whereas if caps are detached from roots, placed in culture and then illuminated only the neutral inhibitor is formed. Cycloheximide retards inhibitor production in both intact and cultured caps. When [14C]mevalonic acid is included in the culture medium and the caps are illuminated, 15–25% of the recoverable 14C cochromatographs with the neutral inhibitor, whereas in caps cultured in the dark, this radiolabelling pattern is not observed. Cyloheximide in the light reduces the incorporation of 14C into compounds cochromatographing at the Rf of the neutral inhibitor. It is suggested that the neutral inhibitor may be important in the light-induced bending of roots.
Mycoplasmal conjunctivitis in songbirds from New York.

A field study was conducted to determine the prevalence of conjunctivitis and Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG) infections in house finches (Carpodacus mexicanus) and other songbirds common to bird feeders in Tompkins County (New York, USA). Eight hundred two individuals of 23 species and nine families of birds were captured and given physical examinations during the 14 mo study beginning in February 1998. Clinical conjunctivitis (eyelid or conjunctival swelling, erythema, and discharge) was observed in 10% (19/196) of house finches examined, and only in the winter months from November to March. Unilateral conjunctivitis was observed in 79% (15/19) of affected house finches; one case developed bilateral disease between 8 and 18 days following initial examination. Conjunctivitis was observed in a similar proportion of males and females sampled, and body condition scores and wing chord lengths were not significantly different between diseased and non-diseased house finches. Mycoplasma gallisepticum was isolated...
Morphine, β-endorphin and [D-Ala2] Met-enkephalin inhibit oxytocin release by acetylcholine and suckling

Abstract Morphine inhibits suckling-induced oxytocin (OT) release in lactating mice. Since β-endorphin and enkephalins have several actions in common with morphine, the action of these opioid peptides on OT release was investigated. In anesthetized lactating rats, OT release was achieved by intraventricular injection of acetylcholine (ACh) or by the physiological stimulus of suckling. The amount of OT released was estimated by comparing milk-ejection responses to these stimuli to those following known amounts of intravenous (IV) OT. Both β-endorphin and [D-Ala 2 ]Met-enkephalin inhibited ACh-induced and suckling-induced OT release. Naloxone antagonized opiate inhibition in both cases.
Attitudes of homeless and drug-using youth regarding barriers and facilitators in delivery of quality and culturally sensitive health care.

PROBLEM: Major barriers to care included a lack of culturally competent, accessible care despite the proximity of numerous health service agencies serving homeless youth. METHODS: A qualitative approach using semistructured focus groups was used to assess the perspectives of 54 homeless and drug-using youth, aged 18–24 years, recruited from street- and shelter-based settings. FINDINGS: Substance use was perceived as an adaptive response to psychological pain and survival on the streets as well as a health risk and barrier to care. CONCLUSIONS: Facilitators to care and suggestions for improved health delivery and quality of care included utilization of health “mentors” to assist in navigating the medical system, cultural competency enhancements, improved amenities in clinic wait areas, and expanded pharmaceutical services.