cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Relationship of Bile Acid Pool Size to the Formation of Lithogenic Bile in Female Indians of the Southwest

Bile acid kinetics and pool size were determined in 18 female American Indians of the Southwest. Eleven patients had a lithogenic bile and 7 patients had a normal bile. Eight of the patients with a lithogenic bile had cholesterol gallstones which were confirmed both at surgery and by analysis of the gallstones; the remaining 3 patients in this group had no radiological evidence of gallstones. The group of 7 patients with a normal bile had no evidence of gallstones by oral cholecystogram. The patients were administered orally 14C-cholic and 14C-chenodeoxycholic acids. The primary and total bile acid pools were found to be significantly smaller in patients with a lithogenic bile than in patients with a normal bile (1.1 g versus 1.6 g). The 3 patients with a lithogenic bile and no gallstones also had greatly diminished bile acid pools (under 1 g). The primary bile acids of patients with a lithogenic bile turned over at a faster rate than in patients with a normal bile. There was no significant difference in the daily production of the primary bile acids between the two groups. The production of primary bile acids in the female Indian averaged 350 mg per day. The data suggest that the diminished bile acid pool in the female Indians with a lithogenic bile resulted from an inability of the liver to synthesize adequate amounts of bile acids to compensate for bile acid excretion. Biliary lipid excretion was estimated from the total bile acid pool size and biliary lipid composition. Although there was a slight decrease in phospholipid and a slight increase in cholesterol excretion in the patients with a lithogenic bile, these differences were not significant. However, these alterations in biliary lipid excretion were of sufficient magnitude when coupled with the reduction in the bile acid pool to tip the bile out of the micellar zone. Based on the findings of this and earlier reports, it is suggested that a diminished bile acid pool could be responsible for the development of a bile supersaturated with cholesterol and subsequent cholesterol gallstone formation.
Latent Autoimmune Diabetes of Adult Masquerading as Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Latent autoimmune diabetes of adults (LADA) is a slowly progressing subtype of type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM) that shares features of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), leading to its misdiagnosis and mismanagement. We present a case of a 30-year-old man who was diagnosed and managed as T2DM but later confirmed as a case of LADA. He was sent to the endocrinology clinic by his primary care physician for management of “uncontrolled T2DM”. He had been placed on glipizide and metformin, but was noted to have suboptimal blood glucose control and unintentional weight loss of about 20 - 30 lbs over a 3-month period. A diagnosis of LADA was confirmed by the presence of autoantibody to glutamic acid decarboxylase 65 (anti-GAD-65 antibody). His oral medications were discontinued and he was started on basal and mealtime insulin. It is important to identify LADA in adult patients thought to have T2DM, as these patients respond poorly to oral hypoglycemic drug therapy, require insulin and are at increased risk for developing ketoacidosis. Clinical presentation of LADA is often similar to T2DM, with diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) and hyperosmolar hyperglycemic state (HHS) being uncommon complications. J Med Cases. 2015;6(7):327-329 doi: https://doi.org/10.14740/jmc2183w
X (3915 ) as a D s D ̄s bound state

We suggest that the observed properties of the charmonium-like resonance $X(3915)$ can possibly be explained if it is an $S$-wave molecular bound state of the ${D}_{s}{\overline{D}}_{s}$ meson pair with a binding energy of about 18 MeV. In particular, the decays of $X(3915)$ to pairs of nonstrange $D$ mesons are suppressed and proceed at a rate comparable to that of the decay $X(3915)\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\ensuremath{\omega}J/\ensuremath{\psi}$, whose branching fraction can be as large as about 0.3. Other major types of decay of $X(3915)$ with a comparable (or slightly smaller) rate are the transition $X(3915)\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\ensuremath{\eta}{\ensuremath{\eta}}_{c}$ and the decays into light hadrons due to the annihilation of the $c\overline{c}$ quark pair. The existence of a bound state should lead to an enhancement in the spectrum of the invariant mass for the ${D}_{s}{\overline{D}}_{s}$ near threshold in $B$ decays, e.g. in $B\ensuremath{\rightarrow}K{D}_{s}{\overline{D}}_{s}$ the enhancement of which can be tested experimentally.
Safety at sea and fisheries management

Abstract Safety at sea is a serious issue for the commercial fishing industry; it ranks highly in all assessments of occupational dangers including risk-taking, injuries, and fatalities. This paper examines the impact of fisheries management on safety at sea and the use of fishermen's input in the safety regulatory and management process. Using case study techniques of analysis, 22 boatowners, captains and crew all with a minimum of 10 years experience in the commercial fishing industry and from a common New England port (New Bedford) are interviewed. Findings strongly suggest that regulations that have been primarily designed to reduce pressure on fish stocks may also result in increased pressure on fishermen and decreased safety at sea. Attitudes about the role of the New England Fisheries Management Council and improvements to the safety regulatory and management process particularly with regard to the increased participation by fishermen are also examined.
Inflatable XML processing

The past few years have seen the widespread adoption of XML as a data representation format in various middleware: databases, Web Services, messaging systems, etc. One drawback of XML has been the high cost of XML processing. We present in this paper InflateX, a system that supports efficient XML processing. InflateX advances the state of the art in two ways. First, it uses a novel representation of XML, called inflatable trees, that supports lazy construction of an XML document in-memory in response to client requests, as well as, more efficient serialization of results. Second, it incorporates a novel algorithm, based on the idea of projection [8], for efficiently constructing an inflatable tree given a set of XPath expressions. The projection algorithm presented in this paper, unlike previous work, can handle all axes in XPath, including complex axes such as ancestor. While we describe the algorithm in terms of our inflatable tree representation, it is portable to other representations of XML. We provide experiments that validate the utility of our inflatable tree representation and our projection algorithm.
TRENDS IN THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MONTHLY AND DAILY TEMPERATURES ACROSS THE UNITED STATES

Relationships between monthly mean and daily temperatures are assessed for 126 stations in the United States for the 1950–1986 period. A linear regression approach is used throughout. Most of the nation has a decrease in the standard deviation of daily temperatures as the monthly mean temperature increases. Only in the northeast in spring and fall and along the west coast in spring are there extensive areas of increase. Regressions also show that for most of the nation the monthly mean diurnal temperature range increases as monthly mean temperatures increase. The only extended area of opposite trend is in the southeast in the cooler months. These results can be partly explained by changes in cloud amount. A parallel assessment of trends in monthly mean temperatures, standard deviations, and monthly mean maximum temperatures as a function of time indicates only minor areas where weakly significant relationships occur. The implications of these results for using extrapolations of past data for estimates of ...
ICT Use and 21st Century Employment: Implications for Job Conditions, Work Strain, and Worker Distress

Recent scholarship on the use of information and communication technology (ICT) for work suggests that this use may be significantly altering three specific working conditions: 1) the pacing of work; 2) the level of interruptions workers experience, and 3) the level of multitasking behavior in which workers engage. All three of these job conditions are expected to contribute to a more intense work environment that underlies levels of work-based strain and detracts from workers’ general psychological well-being. I use structural equation modeling (SEM) techniques to analyze survey data drawn from The 2002 National Study of the Changing Workforce to assess direct and indirect pathways through which work-related and personal ICT use may influence levels of work-based strain and worker distress. This analysis indicates that work-related ICT use is indirectly linked to higher levels of work-based strain and employee distress through its influence on faster job pacing and greater levels of interruptions and multitasking. However, there is also evidence that personal ICT use may mitigate these influences, and, further, that work-related ICT use is directly connected to lower levels of work-based strain, a finding that suggests positive influences of work-related ICT use apart from its influence on the job conditions studied. While the findings do suggest that work-related ICT use can have specific negative implications for workers, as a whole the pattern of results does not support a “technologically-tethered” worker hypothesis in which ICT-use is holistically responsible for greater levels of worker distress.
40: NDRG1 confers sex-specific protection from intrauterine hypoxic injury

from intrauterine hypoxic injury Jacob Larkin, Baosheng Chen, Chelsea Walter, Xiao-Hua Shi, Yoel Sadovsky University of Pittsburgh, Magee-Womens Research Institute, Dept of OBGYN-RS, Pittsburgh, PA, Washington University, OBGYN, St. Louis, MO OBJECTIVE: Our lab previously showed that N-myc downstream-regulated gene 1 (NDRG1) enhances trophoblast differentiation, and that lentivirus-mediated knockdown of NDRG1 in primary human trophoblasts (PHTs) increases susceptibility to hypoxic injury, while over-expression of NDRG1 promotes cellular viability and differentiation. NDRG1 localizes to syncytiotrophoblasts, with increased expression in placentas of pregnancies affected by fetal growth restriction (FGR). We sought to advance our studies, and test the hypothesis that NDRG1 mitigates hypoxia-induced placental injury in vivo. STUDY DESIGN: We performed expression analysis in mouse placenta using immunohistochemistry, in situ hybridization and western blot. We crossbred NDRG1 heterozygous mice and placed pregnant dams in 12% oxygen at E12.5, while controls remained in ambient air. At E18.5 we sacrificed the dams, collected embryos and placentas, and analyzed their phenotype, stratified by fetal NDRG1 genotype and sex. RESULTS: We initially confirmed placental hypoxia using intraperitoneal injection of pimonidazole to pregnant dams and immunohistochemical detection. Using in-situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry we demonstrated NDRG1 expression adjacent to the chorionic plate in the placental labyrinth. The weight of NDRG1-null embryos and placentas was reduced compared to wild type (embryos 0.950 / 0.14 gm vs. 1.130 / 0.15 gm, p 0.001, placentas 0.0810 / 0.002 vs. 0.0940 / 0.002, p 0.001). Importantly, although weight reduction was not exacerbated by hypoxia, we found markedly reduced survival of hypoxic NDRG1-null female embryos (frequency of 11.6% in hypoxia vs. 30.9% in control, p 0.006), with no effect in NDRG1-null male embryos (frequency of 26.6% in hypoxia vs. 24.1% in control, p NS). CONCLUSION: Placental expression of NDRG1 in the mouse is analogous to that of humans. Deletion of NDRG1 causes FGR, establishing the role of this protein in feto-placental defense. The susceptibility of NDRG1-null females to hypoxic injury suggests that the NDRG1mediated adaptive response to intrauterine hypoxia is influenced by fetal sex.
Green dreams or pipe dreams?: Media framing of the U.S. biofuels movement

Abstract Using a frame analytic approach, we identify and analyze the media’s portrayal of the recent movement to increase U.S. biofuels’ investment and development. Using a dataset comprised of New York Times articles, we examine the contested terrain of biofuels discourse as some media coverage frames biofuels as beneficial, while other reporting constructs and packages counter-claims intended to resist development and portray biofuels as problematic. We focus on both the content of frames and strategies used by media claims-makers to assemble frames. We find that the media constructed three distinct frames in their efforts to shape public discourse: economic development, environment, and national security. These frames were constructed primarily by situating them within a larger political and economic context to gain public legitimacy. In this paper we will show how, in their efforts to construct meaning around biofuels, the media draw on frames that are coded with symbolic meanings that widely resonate with dominant cultural values.
Applications of high-throughput DNA sequencing to benign hematology

The development of novel technologies for high-throughput DNA sequencing is having a major impact on our ability to measure and define normal and pathologic variation in humans. This review discusses advances in DNA sequencing that have been applied to benign hematologic disorders, including those affecting the red blood cell, the neutrophil, and other white blood cell lineages. Relevant examples of how these approaches have been used for disease diagnosis, gene discovery, and studying complex traits are provided. High-throughput DNA sequencing technology holds significant promise for impacting clinical care. This includes development of improved disease detection and diagnosis, better understanding of disease progression and stratification of risk of disease-specific complications, and development of improved therapeutic strategies, particularly patient-specific pharmacogenomics-based therapy, with monitoring of therapy by genomic biomarkers.
Molecular thermodynamics and bioprocessing: from intracellular events to bioseparations

Abstract Molecular thermodynamics finds application in biological systems in a number of areas, including separation and purification of biological molecules, and drug delivery mediated by hydrogels; and in understanding a variety of intracellular events, including signal transduction, protein–protein interactions, membrane transport and maintenance and regulation of the cytoskeleton. A particular challenge lies in describing and quantifying interactions of biological macromolecules. An important example from bioprocessing is the separation and subsequent purification of proteins. Protein precipitation by salts is the first and most common step in protein isolation from microbial, plant and animal sources. Subsequent purification by chromatographic means relies on protein interactions with charged or hydrophobic solid phases. In order to obtain protein crystals for X-ray diffraction, solution conditions that favor crystallization can often be identified from thermodynamic measurements at high dilution. Protein–protein intermolecular forces are generally short-ranged. Their specific nature is governed by such factors as pH, protein surface charge, charge distribution, surface hydrophobicity and the nature of the intervening electrolyte solution. These effects require quantification to develop useful molecular thermodynamic models for the processes described above. The role of specific salts on protein–protein interactions has been examined using static light scattering with lysozyme, ovalbumin, and a D101F mutant of lysozyme. These experiments provide insight concerning solvation forces that contribute to the interprotein potential. A statistical–mechanical description of protein crystallization is developed, based on the favorable interactions due to the protein–protein contacts in the crystal and the unfavorable entropy loss resulting from constraining the protein in the crystal. The intracellular environment is crowded, and at high rates of recombinant protein synthesis, protein–protein interactions can form inclusion bodies, presenting purification challenges. Protein aggregation can result in misfolding, while molecular chaperones within the cell can assist in protein folding. The competition between desired folding to a native structure and undesired aggregation is examined by Monte Carlo simulations in the presence and absence of chaperone analogs at finite protein concentrations. Aggregates are favored over native, folded proteins when the protein volume fraction exceeds 10%. Presence of a chaperone enhances the formation of native configurations.
SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPE STUDIES OF THE SPINES AND GLOCHIDS OF THE OPUNTIOIDEAE (CACTACEAE)

A B S TRA CT The genera of the Opuntioideae are surveyed for certain spine and glochid structures. Retrorse scabrosity of both spines and glochids is regarded as characteristic of the subfamily. Critical differences are noted in the bases of the glochids, flattened fish-tail forms being found in Opuntia, Nopalea, Cylindropuntia, Tephrocactus, and Tacinga, and enlarged, rounded, hollow forms in Pterocactus and Grusonia. Small unflattened bases are found in Pereskiopsis and Quiabentia. Minor variations of the flattened form of glochid base are noted in Cylindropuntia, Austrocylindropuntia, and Opuntia brasiliensis; and the possible significance of the structures is discussed. THE SPINES AND GLOCHIDS of the Cactaceae have been selected for study with the scanning electron microscope because of the varied cellular structure and the resistance of the material to collapse. The initial intention was to supplement the "meager and scattered" anatomical information mentioned by Boke (1941, 1944), but emphasis on comparisons among many species has revealed some unexpected features of potential taxonomic significance and has provided the basis for further studies by conventional microscopic techniques. The present study attempts to coordinate the two disciplines of anatomy and taxonomy as applied to the subfamily Opuntioideae of the Cactaceae.
Arsenic in Seafood: Speciation Issues for Human Health Risk Assessment

ABSTRACT Major sources of arsenic exposure for humans are foods, particularly aquatic organisms, which are called seafood in this report. Although seafood contains a variety of arsenicals, including inorganic arsenic, which is toxic and carcinogenic, and arsenobetaine, which is considered nontoxic, the arsenic content of seafood commonly is reported only as total arsenic. A goal of this literature survey is to determine if generalizable values can be derived for the percentage of total arsenic in seafood that is inorganic arsenic. Generalizable values for percent inorganic arsenic are needed for use as default values in U.S. human health risk assessments of seafood from arsenic-contaminated sites. Data from the worldwide literature indicate the percent of inorganic arsenic in marine/estuarine finfish does not exceed 7.3% and in shellfish can reach 25% in organisms from presumably uncontaminated areas, with few data available for freshwater organisms. However, percentages can be much higher in organisms fr...
Monitoring a bioprocess for ethanol production using FT-MIR and FT-Raman spectroscopy.

The application of Fourier transform mid-infrared (FT-MIR) spectroscopy and Fourier transform Raman (FT-Raman) spectroscopy for process and quality control of fermentative production of ethanol was investigated. FT-MIR and FT-Raman spectroscopy along with multivariate techniques were used to determine simultaneously glucose, ethanol, and optical cell density of Saccharomyces cerevisiae during ethanol fermentation. Spectroscopic measurement of glucose and ethanol were compared and validated with the high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method. Spectral wave number regions were selected for partial least-squares (PLS) regression and principal component regression (PCR) and calibration models for glucose, ethanol, and optical cell density were developed for culture samples. Correlation coefficient (R 2) value for the prediction for glucose and ethanol was more than 0.9 using various calibration methods. The standard error of prediction for the PLS first-derivative calibration models for glucose, ethanol, and optical cell density were 1.938 g/l, 1.150 g/l, and 0.507, respectively. Prediction errors were high with FT-Raman because the Raman scattering of the cultures was weak. Results indicated that FT-MIR spectroscopy could be used for rapid detection of glucose, ethanol, and optical cell density in S. cerevisiae culture during ethanol fermentation. Journal of Industrial Microbiology & Biotechnology (2001) 26, 185–190.
Clinical and hemodynamic significance of left ventricular diastolic volume changes by exercise radionuclide ventriculography in coronary artery disease

Recent studies have suggested that left ventricular (LV) dilatation during exercise radionuclide ventriculography may identify coronary artery disease (CAD). Coronary anatomy and LV end-diastolic pressure at catheterization were compared with results of supine exercise radionuclide ventriculography in 66 patients evaluated for chest pain. Forty-six patients had significant CAD (greater than 75% diameter stenosis) and 20 patients were normal. Radionuclide ventriculography was performed within 18 hours of catheterization, at rest and at peak exercise. Relative LV end-diastolic volumes were extrapolated from end-diastolic counts. LV end-diastolic counts increased during exercise in 19 of 20 normal subjects. In patients with CAD, LV end-diastolic counts increased in 35 (group A) and decreased in 11 (group B). The percent change in LV end-diastolic counts from rest to exercise, rest ejection fraction, exercise ejection fraction and rest LV end-diastolic pressure for each group were 20 +/- 23%, 60 +/- 13%, 67 +/- 13% and 8 +/- 3 mm Hg in normal subjects; 20 +/- 20%, 50 +/- 12%, 47 +/- 13% and 12 +/- 4 mm Hg in group A; and -9 +/- 8%, 54 +/- 21%, 49 +/- 18% and 21 +/- 7 mm Hg in group B (mean +/- standard deviation). An increase in LV end-diastolic counts was unrelated to ejection fraction response or presence of underlying CAD but only correlated to rest LV end-diastolic pressure (p less than 0.01).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Influence of Maize and Pigweed on Tarnished Plant Bug (Hemiptera: Miridae) Populations Infesting Cotton

Abstract. The influence of maize, Zea mays L., and pigweed, Amaranthus spp., on the abundance of tarnished plant bug, Lygus lineolaris (Palisot de Beauvois), adults infesting cotton, Gossypium hirsutum L., in the Mississippi Delta was studied using stable-isotope analyses. Cotton fields adjacent to maize and those farther than 1.6 km from maize were identified in four counties of the Mississippi Delta. Tarnished plant bug adults were collected from the cotton fields weekly throughout the growing season and analyzed with stable-carbon and nitrogen isotopes to determine the natal host. The proportion of tarnished plant bug adults collected from cotton that developed as nymphs on plants that used the C4 photosynthetic pathway, primarily maize and pigweed, peaked from 79–92% during 2008–2009. Distance of cotton fields from maize did not influence the peak proportion of tarnished plant bug adults with a C4 signature from cotton fields, the peak time, or peak duration. Time of the C4 peaks occurred from 28 June...
Design patterns in object-oriented frameworks

Developing interactive software systems with complex user interfaces has become increasingly common. Given this trend, it is important that new technology be based on flexible architectures that do not require developers to understand all the complexities inherent in a system. Object-oriented frameworks provide an important enabling technology for reusing both the architecture and the functionality of software components. Frameworks typically have a steep learning curve since the user must understand the abstract design of the underlying framework as well as the object collaboration rules or contracts-which are often not apparent in the framework interface-prior to using the framework. The author describes her experience with developing an object-oriented framework for speech recognition applications that use IBM's ViaVoice speech recognition technology. Design patterns help to effectively communicate the internal framework design and reduce dependence on the documentation.
Reconstitution of tobacco mosaic virus. III. Improved methods and the use of mixed nucleic acids.

Abstract The optimal conditions were determined for the formation of infectious virus particles from TMV-ribonucleic acid and TMV-protein. For those RNA preparations which lose infectivity in 0.1 M pH 7 phosphate at an appreciable rate, pyrophosphate was found to be an advantageous reconstitution medium. Under favorable conditions, 30–80% of the original activity of the virus can be recovered after degradation and reconstitution, and reconstituted preparations have been obtained which were of similar activity as the original virus. Mixed preparations have been obtained using the nucleic acid of different strains, or active with yeast RNA or with u.v.-inactivated TMV-RNA. Yeast RNA was found not to enter into stable rod formation. The combining ratio of protein and RNA (20:1) in stable rods was remarkably constant, regardless of the composition of the reaction mixture, but the yield in virus was a function of the qualitative and quantitative relationship of the two compounds. No unequivocal reproducible evidence was found for the formation of viral particles containing more than one type of nucleic acid.
High protein intake accelerates glomerulosclerosis independent of effects on glomerular hemodynamics

High protein intake accelerates glomerulosclerosis independent of effects on glomerular hemodynamics. It is unclear whether glomerular hemodynamic changes always accompany alterations in dietary protein, and whether nonhemodynamic factors associated with a high protein intake can influence glomerular injury. In the present study, uninephrectomized (UNx) male rats were fed either standard (20%) or high (40%) protein diets. Body growth was comparable in the two diet groups. At 30 weeks of age, UNx rats fed high protein had increased albuminuria (36.7 ± 12.6 mg/24 hr), compared to UNx rats fed standard protein (10.2 ± 6.2 mg/24 hr; P
Privatization and Its Impact on Urban School Reform: Table Top Theory as a Guiding Conceptual Framework.

This article focuses on the growing role of the private sector in public education and the implications of this role on issues of social justice and leadership in public schooling. In the USA, until the early 1980s, teachers, school administrators, and professional school staff provided leadership in areas of curriculum and instructional development. However, increasingly curriculum and instructional development is being outsourced to national and internationally based private firms. Numerous public school systems have begun to engage in outsourcing and privatization of academic functions at an unprecedented rate. The author sheds light on one example of a privatization strategy in urban school reform by drawing from research conducted in 2003–2004 in the St Louis Public School District. From both an academic and democratic standpoint, the reform effort was a disappointment. Through his conceptual framework Table Top Theory, the author explains why the strategy did not succeed and what this may mean for p...
Resonant-cavity-enhanced thin-film AlGaAs/GaAs/AlGaAs LED’s with metal mirrors

Resonant-cavity-enhanced light-emitting diodes (RCE LED’s) are of increasing interest as a low-cost alternative to lasers for short-distance applications. We report on the characteristics of thin-film AlGaAs/GaAs/AlGaAs double-heterostructure RCE LED’s with metal mirrors on both sides fabricated by means of epitaxial liftoff and bonded to silicon host substrates. The devices exhibit typical turn-on voltages of 1.3 V, operating resistances of 31 Ω, linewidths of 10.4 nm, efficiencies of 1.4%, dispersion half-angles of 23.7°, and stable output over more than 1700 h. These devices exhibit significant improvement over conventional LED’s without additional complicated processing or growth steps, resulting in a manufacturable, low-cost device.
How Are Health Care Organizations Using Clinical Guidelines

PROLOGUE: Health policymakers are interested in finding out how organizations are implementing clinical guidelines in the real world of managed care. With that in mind, the March of Dimes and the M...
On the relation between the amplitude of light and radial velocity variations of beta Canis Majoris stars.

The relation between the amplitude of light Δm and the amplitude of the radial velocity 2K for β Canis Majoris stars is investigated. A linear relationship between Δm and 2K is found. However, the two stars BW Vul and σ Sco, which have the largest radial velocity variations, do not seem to share this relationship.
Prospects for OPEC capacity

OPEC capacity is not exogenous, but responds to demand. Price increases have not been caused by capacity shortages. OPEC nations find it hard to set aside even very small portions of their revenues for oil investment, despite its extreme profitability. Foreign investors face high risks. Production sharing makes their after-tax return even more unstable.
Autonomy versus Oversight in Local Government Reform: The Implications of ‘Home Rule’ for Australian Local Government

This paper examines Australian local government in terms of local council autonomy as set against the oversight exercised by state governments. In particular, we investigate ‘home rule' in the United States and its potential relevance to the Australian milieu. We argue that prima facie the operation of home rule is problematic due to its litigious nature, and that while the implementation of home rule might be possible in an Australian local government jurisdiction, it is improbable. However, consideration of home rule as a principle by which state–local government relationships might be organised sheds light on the limits to the autonomy and independence of Australian local governments.
Femtosecond relaxation dynamics of large molecules.

The ultrafast relaxation in solution of two large organic molecules, malachite green and nile blue 690, has been investigated with the equal-pulse correlation technique. In addition to previously known picosecond processes, we have observed fast initial exponential decays (less than 100 fs) and damped sinusoidal oscillation over intermediate time delays. We believe that the latter behavior, the first such decay observed on a femtosecond time scale for any material, represents quantum beats.
Caring for family members with Alzheimer's disease: perspectives from Chinese American caregivers

The purpose of this study was to examine the experiences of Chinese American caregivers who provide care for family members with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Individual interviews were conducted with four family caregivers. Results revealed ethnocultural and structural barriers that Chinese family caregivers experienced, including stigmatization of AD in the Chinese community, a lack of knowledge about AD, a lack of culturally and linguistically appropriate AD services, nega tive interactions with health-care providers, and difficulty with English. This study vides cultural knowledge and insights nurses who care for AD clients and their fam ilies. Overcoming barriers and working with Chinese American families and their community are needed to improve access and dementia services for Chinese American patients and their families.
A cytophotometric study of chromosome pairing.

1. Confirming earlier studies (Schrader 1945a and b), the chromosomes of the harlequin lobe of the testis of the pentatomid Loxa flavicolis are found to be asynaptic throughout late meiotic prophase and to divide equationally at metaphase I. All other lobes show a normal meiosis. 2. Some new evidence is presented for a reduction in chromosome number in the second meiotic division of the harlequin lobe. 3. Cytophotometric determination of relative amounts of DNA (Feulgen) and histones (Alfert-Geschwind Fast Green) in nuclei of normal and asynaptic lobes show that asynapsis is correlated with a 3/2 ratio of histone to DNA. 4. The 3/2 ratio is interpreted not as an increased amount of histone but as a change in the chemical union between histone and DNA, or alternatively with a change in the kind of histone present.
Epidermal growth factor receptor monoclonal antibodies for the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer.

Treatment of metastatic colorectal disease has evolved over the last decade. Two epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) monoclonal antibodies--cetuximab and panitumumab--have been developed in an effort to provide yet another therapeutic option. The EGFR is a transmembrane glycoprotein, expressed constitutively throughout the body and found on many epithelial tissues. The monoclonal antibodies bind to and inhibit the activation of the receptor in the body. This inhibition prevents tumor cell growth, angiogenesis, invasion, and metastasis, and induces apoptosis. Cetuximab and panitumumab exhibit nonlinear pharmacokinetics. Both monoclonal antibodies are approved for the treatment of refractory metastatic colorectal cancer. Cetuximab in combination with irinotecan has significantly better response rates and progression-free survival compared with those of cetuximab or irinotecan alone. Cetuximab and panitumumab as monotherapy have shown significantly better response rates and progression-free survival compared with best supportive care in patients refractory to irinotecan and oxaliplatin. In the Cetuximab Combined with Irinotecan in First Line Therapy for Metastatic Colorectal Cancer (CRYSTAL) trial, treatment-naive patients received cetuximab in combination with the chemotherapy regimen infusional leucovorin, fluorouracil, and irinotecan (FOLFIRI) or FOLFIRI alone; the difference in progression-free survival was statistically significant but suggested only a modest benefit over FOLFIRI alone (8.9 vs 8 mo, p=0.036). Results of a preplanned analysis of the first 231 events in the Panitumumab Advanced Colorectal Cancer Evaluation (PACCE) trial favored the control group (chemotherapy regimen with folinic acid [leucovorin], fluorouracil, and oxaliplatin [FOLFOX] plus bevacizumab) instead of the control group plus panitumumab. For clinical consideration, many trials have shown that the intensity or absence of EGFR expression is not a clinically significant predictor of outcomes. Development and intensity of a rash are suggested to be a positive predictor of outcomes in patients. The most common adverse events of EGFR monoclonal antibody therapy are rash, diarrhea, and hypomagnesemia. Other serious but not common adverse events include hypersensitivity reactions and pulmonary toxicity. The availability of EGFR monoclonal antibodies has provided another weapon in the arsenal to treat refractory metastatic colorectal cancer. They have shown safety and efficacy in combination with other chemotherapy regimens and as monotherapy; however, their use as metastatic colorectal cancer therapy needs to be further explored.
On accurate floating-point summation

cumulation of floating-point sums is considered on a computer which performs t-digit base b floating-point addition with exponents in the range —m to M. An algorithm is given for accurately summing n t-digit floating-point numbers. Each of these n numbers is split into q parts, forming q·n t-digit floating-point numbers. Each of these is then added to the appropriate one of e auxiliary t-digit accumulators. Finally, the accumulators are added together to yield the computed sum. In all, q·n + e - 1 t-digit floating-point additions are performed. Let n = ⌈(M + m + 1)/(e + 1)⌉. If n ≤ (1/q)b⌈((q-1)/q)t⌈-n+1 (*), then the relative error in the computed sum is at most ⌈(t + 1)/n⌉b1-t. Further, with an additional q + e - 1 t-digit additions, the computed sum can be corrected to full t-digit accuracy.For example, for the IBM/360 (b = 16, t = 14, M = 63, m = 64), typical values for q and e are q = 2 and e = 32.In this case, (*) becomes n ≤ 1/2 × 164 = 32,768, and we have ⌈(t + 1)/n⌉b1-t = 4 × 16-13.
Atom probe tomography of radiation-sensitive KS-01 weld

An atom probe tomography characterization has been performed on a neutron-irradiated (fluence = 0.8 × 1019 n cm−2 (E > 1 MeV)) high copper (0.37%), high manganese (1.64%), high nickel (1.23%) and high chromium (0.47%) KS-01 test weld. This weld exhibited a high sensitivity to neutron irradiation. Atom probe tomography revealed that there was an unusually high supersaturation of copper in the matrix after the stress relief treatment, which resulted in a high number density (3 × 1024 m−3) of Cu–Mn–Ni-enriched precipitates after neutron irradiation. Their average size and composition were estimated to be ⟨lg⟩ = 2.6 ± 0.5 nm and Fe-17.0 ± 9.7 at% Cu, 31.9 ± 13.8% Ni, 31.7 ± 11.8% Mn. Phosphorus clusters and a Cr-, Mn-, Ni-, Cu-, C-, N-, Si- and Mo-enriched atmosphere, possibly associated with a dislocation, were also observed in the neutron irradiated material. Nickel, manganese, silicon, phosphorus and carbon segregation to a grain boundary were observed in the unirradiated condition. The microstructural and...
The interaction of extraversion and anxiety sensitivity on social anxiety: evidence of specificity relative to depression.

Neuroticism and extraversion have been linked to the etiologies and course of anxiety and mood disorders, such that neuroticism is broadly associated with numerous disorders and extraversion is most strongly associated with social anxiety and depression. While previous research has established the broad associations between temperament and emotional disorders, less is known about the specific, proximal factors that are associated with them, and very few studies have situated these risk factors into a larger etiological model that specifies how they may relate to one another. The current study examined the interaction of extraversion and anxiety sensitivity (AS) in predicting social anxiety symptoms in a large, diagnostically diverse clinical sample (N=826). Symptoms were assessed with self-report and dimensional interview measures, and regression analyses were performed examining the main effects and interaction of extraversion and AS (examining both total and lower-order components) on social anxiety. Results showed that at higher levels of AS, the inverse relationship between extraversion and social anxiety was stronger, and the social concerns component of AS is responsible for this effect. This interaction was also observed with regard to depression symptoms, but the interaction was not present after accounting for shared variance (i.e., comorbidity) between depression and social anxiety symptoms. Clinical and theoretical implications of the results are discussed.
Intramuscular ziprasidone in the psychiatric emergency department: expanded sample

Study objectives: Injectable atypical neuroleptics may supplant benzodiazepine or neuroleptic alternatives. Published studies of intramuscular ziprasidone excluded severe psychiatric agitation (AGIT) and agitation from alcohol (ETOH) or other substances (SUBS). This study sought to assess the efficacy of intramuscular ziprasidone in these patients. Methods: We report additional data on Behavioral Activity Rating Scale (BARS) agitation scores (minimum=1, maximum=7) and duration of physical restraints in a naturalistic psychiatric emergency department study with agitated patients. Dosages were 20 mg for intramuscular ziprasidone and varied for conventional intramuscular antipsychotics (78% haloperidol or lorazepam). Results: Baseline scores on the BARS were high for AGIT (n=72), ETOH (n=10), and SUBS (n=28; respective means: 6.5, 6.9, 6.6; P =NS for all). Ziprasidone decreased agitation rapidly (respective means: 5.6, 5.3, and 5.8 at 15 minutes [ P P P P P =NS). Of 19 ziprasidone patients receiving ECGs, none had prolonged QTc interval; 1 dystonic reaction occurred with ziprasidone. Conclusion: Intramuscular ziprasidone appears effective for severe agitation, including that from alcohol- or substance-induced intoxication. Intramuscular ziprasidone may also lead to reduced time in restraints compared with conventional agents.
Fueling control of spark ignition engines

Presented in this paper is an adaptive, model based, fueling control system for spark ignition-internal combustion engines. Since the fueling control system is model based, the engine maps currently used in engine fueling control are eliminated. This proposed fueling control system is modular and can therefore accommodate changes in the engine sensor set such as replacing the mass-air flow sensor with a manifold air pressure sensor. The fueling algorithm can operate with either a switching type O 2 sensor or a linear O 2 sensor. The fueling control system is also parceled into steady state fueling compensation and transient fueling compensation. This feature provides the distinction between fueling control adaptation for transient fueling and steady state fueling. The steady state fueling compensation utilizes a feedforward controller which determines the necessary fuel pulsewidth after a throttle transient to achieve stoichiometry. This feedforward controller is comprised of two nonlinear models capturing the steady state characteristics of the fueling process. These models are identified from an inputoutput testing procedure where the inputs are fuel pulsewidth and mass-air flow signal and the output is a lambda signal. These models are adapted via a recursive least squares method to accommodate product variability, engine aging, and changes in the operating environment. The transient fueling compensation also utilizes a feedforward controller that captures the essential dynamic characteristics of the transient fueling operation. This controller is measured using a frequency domain system identification approach. This proposed fueling control system is demonstrated on a Ford 4.6L V-8 fuel injected engine.
Relocation puts elderly nursing home residents at risk of stress, although the stress is short lived.

Hodgson N, Freedman VA, Granger DA, et al . Biobehavioral correlates of relocation in the frail elderly: salivary cortisol, affect, and cognitive function. J Am Geriatr Soc 2004;52:1856–62. [OpenUrl][1][CrossRef][2][PubMed][3][Web of Science][4] Q What are the effects of moving elderly people to a new nursing home? ### ![Graphic][5] Design: Randomised controlled trial. ### ![Graphic][6] Setting: Long term nursing homes in greater Philadelphia and Horsham, Pennsylvania between June 2001 and spring 2002. ### ![Graphic][7] Population: 77 nursing home residents aged 65 and over. ### ![Graphic][8] Assessment: Participants were divided into two groups: residents moving to a new nursing home, and residents remaining in the Philadelphia nursing home. Baseline measurements were recorded in July and August 2001. Residents were moved during fall 2001, measurements were taken 1 week before moving, and 1 week and 4 weeks after moving. ### ![Graphic][9] Outcomes: Mini-Mental State Examination scores, Observed Affect Rating Scale scores, salivary cortisol, blood pressure, and pulse. ### ![Graphic][10] Follow up period: Outcomes were assessed 1 week before the move, and 1 week and 4 weeks after the move. 1 week before moving: residents moving had a significantly greater increase from baseline in late afternoon cortisol compared with residents remaining … [1]: {openurl}?query=rft.jtitle%253DJournal%2Bof%2Bthe%2BAmerican%2BGeriatrics%2BSociety%26rft.stitle%253DJ%2BAm%2BGeriatr%2BSoc%26rft.aulast%253DHodgson%26rft.auinit1%253DN.%26rft.volume%253D52%26rft.issue%253D11%26rft.spage%253D1856%26rft.epage%253D1862%26rft.atitle%253DBiobehavioral%2Bcorrelates%2Bof%2Brelocation%2Bin%2Bthe%2Bfrail%2Belderly%253A%2Bsalivary%2Bcortisol%252C%2Baffect%252C%2Band%2Bcognitive%2Bfunction.%26rft_id%253Dinfo%253Adoi%252F10.1111%252Fj.1532-5415.2004.52505.x%26rft_id%253Dinfo%253Apmid%252F15507062%26rft.genre%253Darticle%26rft_val_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Ajournal%26ctx_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ctx_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Actx [2]: /lookup/external-ref?access_num=10.1111/j.1532-5415.2004.52505.x&link_type=DOI [3]: /lookup/external-ref?access_num=15507062&link_type=MED&atom=%2Febmental%2F8%2F2%2F49.atom [4]: /lookup/external-ref?access_num=000224594100009&link_type=ISI [5]: /embed/inline-graphic-1.gif [6]: /embed/inline-graphic-2.gif [7]: /embed/inline-graphic-3.gif [8]: /embed/inline-graphic-4.gif [9]: /embed/inline-graphic-5.gif [10]: /embed/inline-graphic-6.gif
The fatty acid content of selected foods before and after cooking

Effect of cooking on the fatty acid composition of the extracted fat of baked products, butterscotch, frying fat, and stewed soybeans was studied. Except for the frying fat, no significant loss of essential fatty acid was observed among all the samples. Slight losses of linoleic acid occurred when vegetable oil had been used for deep fat frying for several hours.
Leiomodin 3 and tropomodulin 4 have overlapping functions during skeletal myofibrillogenesis

Precise regulation of thin filament length is essential for optimal force generation during muscle contraction. The thin filament capping protein tropomodulin (Tmod) contributes to thin filament length uniformity by regulating elongation and depolymerization at thin filament ends. The leiomodins (Lmod1–3) are structurally related to Tmod1–4 and also localize to actin filament pointed ends, but in vitro biochemical studies indicate that Lmods act instead as robust nucleators. Here, we examined the roles of Tmod4 and Lmod3 during Xenopus skeletal myofibrillogenesis. Loss of Tmod4 or Lmod3 resulted in severe disruption of sarcomere assembly and impaired embryonic movement. Remarkably, when Tmod4-deficient embryos were supplemented with additional Lmod3, and Lmod3-deficient embryos were supplemented with additional Tmod4, sarcomere assembly was rescued and embryonic locomotion improved. These results demonstrate for the first time that appropriate levels of both Tmod4 and Lmod3 are required for embryonic myofibrillogenesis and, unexpectedly, both proteins can function redundantly during in vivo skeletal muscle thin filament assembly. Furthermore, these studies demonstrate the value of Xenopus for the analysis of contractile protein function during de novo myofibril assembly.
A potential‐energy surface study of the 2A1 and low‐lying dissociative states of the methoxy radical

Accurate, ab initio quantum chemical techniques are applied in the present study of low lying bound and dissociative states of the methoxy radical at C3nu conformations, using a double zeta quality basis set that is augmented with polarization and diffuse functions. Excitation energy estimates are obtained for vertical excitation, vertical deexcitation, and system origin. The rate of methoxy photolysis is estimated to be too small to warrant its inclusion in atmospheric models.
Electronic and optical properties of TaO1−xN1+x-based alloys

Abstract TaON is considered as a potential candidate as a visible-light responsive photocatalyst. We report the results of ab initio studies of electronic structure of TaON-based alloys. Specifically, we show that the position of conduction and valence band can be modified by varying the oxygen and nitrogen concentrations in TaO 1− x N 1+ x . We find that the band gap decreases monotonically with the increase of N/O ratio. The band gap energy is decreased in monoclinic TaON from near 2.3 eV to just over 1.7 eV (i.e., by 35%) when N/O ratio is increased from 3/5 to 5/3. Our calculations show that the band gap reduces in a series of experimentally fabricated alloys ZrTa 3 O 5 N 3 →TaON→YTa 7 O 7 N 8 . The band gap reduction is mostly associated with the change in the position of the valence band due to the hybridization of N 2p states, while the conduction band consisting mostly of Ta 5d-states is not sensitive to N content. The calculated optical absorption spectra show reduction in the optical band gap with increasing N/O ratio.