cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effect of Cr on eutectic phase formation and solidification temperature range in Ni–Cr–Hf system

Abstract In order to obtain eutectic phases which are beneficial for reducing ductility dip cracking and solidification cracking susceptibility in Ni-base alloys during non-equilibrium solidification (such as welding), samples with Ni–5Hf and different Cr levels were made using a button melting method. The relevant eutectic phases in the Ni–Cr–Hf system were identified. The solidification temperature range (STR) was determined by experimental Single Sensor Differential Thermal Analysis. It was found that γ/Ni 5 Hf eutectic formed in the Ni–0Cr, Ni–5Cr and Ni–10Cr system, while γ/Ni 7 Hf 2 eutectic formed in the Ni–20Cr and Ni–30Cr system. Formation of the γ/Ni 7 Hf 2 eutectic was responsible for a narrower STR, which indicates a better resistance to solidification cracking.
Rationale for interleukin-6 blockade in systemic lupus erythematosus

Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a pleiotropic cytokine with a wide range of biological activities that plays an important role in immune regulation and inflammation. Among other actions, it induces terminal differentiation of B lymphocytes into antibody-forming cells and the differentiation of T cells into effector cells. IL-6 also has multiple potent proinflammatory effects. An association between IL-6 and lupus was demonstrated in murine models of SLE and blocking IL-6 improved lupus in all models tested. Data from several studies suggest that IL-6 plays a critical role in the B cell hyperactivity and immunopathology of human SLE, and may have a direct role in mediating tissue damage. Based on these data, we propose that blocking the effect of IL-6 in humans may improve lupus by interacting with the autoinflammatory process both systemically and locally.
3-D model of a radial flow sub-watt methanol fuel processor

A 3-D model is presented for a novel sub-watt packed bed reactor. The reactor uses an annular inlet flow combined with a radial flow packed bed reactor. The baseline reactor is compared to a reactor with multiple outlets and a reactor with 3 internal fins. Increasing the outlets from 1 to 4 did improve the flow distribution, but did not increase the performance in the simulation. However, inserting fins allowed a decrease in temperature with same inlet flow of approximately 35K. Or the inlet flow rate could be increased by a factor of 2.8x while maintaining >99% conversion.
One-dimensional photonic crystal optical limiter

We explore a new passive optical limiter design using transverse modulation instability in the one-dimensional photonic crystal (PC) using χ(3) materials. The performance of PC optical limiters strongly depends on the choice of the materials and the geometry and it improves as the duration of the incident pulse is extended. PC optical limiter performance is compared with that of a device made from homogeneous material. We identify three criteria for benchmarking the PC optical limiter. We also include a discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of PC optical limiters for real world applications.
Dietary chloride as a determinant of disordered calcium metabolism in salt-dependent hypertension.

Abstract In rats given desoxycorticosterone (DOC), the recently reported finding that a normal amount of dietary sodium chloride (NaCl) induces hypertension but an equimolar amount of sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) does not, might be a consequence of the differing effects of the two sodium salts on the metabolism of calcium. In accord with this hypothesis, we have found that, in uninephrectomized rats given DOC: 1) Dietary NaCl induces persisting hypercalciuria and hypertension whereas an approximately equimolar amount of dietary NaHCO3 induces neither hypercalciuria nor hypertension. 2) The urinary excretion of calcium becomes greater in rats given NaCl than in those given NaHCO3, before their blood pressures become different. 3) Replacing dietary NaCl with a near equimolar amount of dietary NaHCO3 corrects both the hypercalciuria and the hypertension initially induced by NaCl.
Pediatric sarcomas: translating molecular pathogenesis of disease to novel therapeutic possibilities

Pediatric sarcomas represent a diverse group of rare bone and soft tissue malignancies. Although the molecular mechanisms that propel the development of these cancers are not well understood, identification of tumor-specific translocations in many sarcomas has provided significant insight into their tumorigenesis. Each fusion protein resulting from these chromosomal translocations is thought to act as a driving force in the tumor, either as an aberrant transcription factor (TF), constitutively active growth factor, or ligand-independent receptor tyrosine kinase. Identification of transcriptional targets or signaling pathways modulated by these oncogenic fusions has led to the discovery of potential therapeutic targets. Some of these targets have shown considerable promise in preclinical models and are currently being tested in clinical trials. This review summarizes the molecular pathology of a subset of pediatric sarcomas with tumor-associated translocations and how increased understanding at the molecular level is being translated to novel therapeutic advances.
Bulbous head growths of Biomphalaria glabrata: genetic studies.

Abstract Two different types of abnormal growths, median head bulb and bulbous tentacle, are described from the mollusk Biomphalaria glabrata . Both bulbous growths are rythmically contractile. Bulbous tentacle is typically unilateral. Both abnormalities are determined before emergence of the snails from the egg capsues. Frequency of occurrence of each character suggests multifactorial inheritance. When both characters occur in the same stock, frequency of their occurrence together in individual snails suggests linkage or other genetic association.
Childhood Sexual Abuse in Advanced Cancer Patients in the Palliative Care Setting

Abstract Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) is a common, distressing, yet rarely discussed topic in palliative care. The long-term effects of CSA can have a significant impact on patients' quality of life, particularly at the end of life. In this article, we aim to initiate a discussion regarding the need to address CSA in the palliative care setting, using the example of an advanced cancer patient and her caregiver sister who revealed their common past. Specifically, we will be discussing 1) the comorbidities, psychological distress, and family distress associated with CSA, 2) its impact on health care delivery, 3) an approach to initiating conversations regarding CSA, and 4) various management strategies. Successful management of CSA necessitates an interprofessional team approach and may help to improve the quality of life of patients and their families.
Potential future land use threats to California’s protected areas

Increasing pressures from land use coupled with future changes in climate will present unique challenges for California’s protected areas. We assessed the potential for future land use conversion on land surrounding existing protected areas in California’s twelve ecoregions, utilizing annual, spatially explicit (250 m) scenario projections of land use for 2006–2100 based on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Special Report on Emission Scenarios to examine future changes in development, agriculture, and logging. We calculated a conversion threat index (CTI) for each unprotected pixel, combining land use conversion potential with proximity to protected area boundaries, in order to identify ecoregions and protected areas at greatest potential risk of proximal land conversion. Our results indicate that California’s Coast Range ecoregion had the highest CTI with competition for extractive logging placing the greatest demand on land in close proximity to existing protected areas. For more permanent land use conversions into agriculture and developed uses, our CTI results indicate that protected areas in the Central California Valley and Oak Woodlands are most vulnerable. Overall, the Eastern Cascades, Central California Valley, and Oak Woodlands ecoregions had the lowest areal percent of protected lands and highest conversion threat values. With limited resources and time, rapid, landscape-level analysis of potential land use threats can help quickly identify areas with higher conversion probability of future land use and potential changes to both habitat and potential ecosystem reserves. Given the broad range of future uncertainties, LULC projections are a useful tool allowing land managers to visualize alternative landscape futures, improve planning, and optimize management practices.
helping Patients Make informed Choices About Probiotics: A need for research

Applications of probiotics in the treatment of gastrointestinal disorders are gaining acceptance among patients, despite evidence that probiotics can present substantial health risks, particularly for patients who are immunocompromised or seriously ill. Patients will likely formulate their attitudes and beliefs about probiotic therapies with reference to interpretive frameworks that compare probiotics with more familiar therapeutic modalities, including complementary and alternative medicines, pharmacological therapies, and gene-transfer technologies. Each of these frameworks highlights a different set of benefit-to-risk considerations regarding probiotic usage and reinforces extreme characterizations of both the therapeutic promise and peril of probiotics. Considerable effort may be required to help patients make informed choices about probiotic therapies.
Offending and Defending US Rural Place: The Mega-Dump Battle in Western New York

This research article discusses the legal and cultural dimensions of a proposed solid waste mega-landfill in Farmersville, a rural Western New York community. The author argues that a corporation's and state environmental bureaucracy's development efforts and definitions of space dominate and decontextualize a local community's and region's own understandings and uses of space and land. This results in a colonial process of domination over large-scale local citizen and government opposition. Using ethnographic, legal, and documentary data, as well as the author's own citizen participation activities as a research basis, the article focuses on state notions of rural territory as legal space instead of cultural landscape. Locals' space is differently bounded, conceptualized and used as a place of and for community, morality, spirituality, and communality. Protracted bureaucratic procedures and still on-going legal battles between, on one side, local citizenry and legislators, and on the other, technocratic ...
Active Batch Selection for Fuzzy Classification in Facial Expression Recognition

Automated recognition of facial expressions is an important problem in computer vision applications. Due to the vagueness in class definitions, expression recognition is often conceived as a fuzzy label problem. Annotating a data point in such a problem involves significant manual effort. Active learning techniques are effective in reducing human labeling effort to induce a classification model as they automatically select the salient and exemplar instances from vast amounts of unlabeled data. Further, to address the high redundancy in data such as image or video sequences as well as to account for the presence of multiple labeling agents, there have been recent attempts towards a batch mode form of active learning where a batch of data points is selected simultaneously from an unlabeled set. In this paper, we propose a novel optimization-based batch mode active learning technique for fuzzy label classification problems. To the best of our knowledge, this is the i¬rst effort to develop such a scheme primarily intended for the fuzzy label context. The proposed algorithm is computationally simple, easy to implement and has provable performance bounds. Our results on facial expression datasets corroborate the efficacy of the framework in reducing human annotation effort in real world recognition applications involving fuzzy labels.
Understanding linear semi-infinite programming via linear programming over cones

In this article, the standard primal and dual linear semi-infinite programming (DLSIP) problems are reformulated as linear programming (LP) problems over cones. Therefore, the dual formulation via the minimal cone approach, which results in zero duality gap for the primal–dual pair for LP problems over cones, can be applied to linear semi-infinite programming (LSIP) problems. Results on the geometry of the set of the feasible solutions for the primal LSIP problem and the optimality criteria for the DLSIP problem are also discussed.
Reconstruction of multi-material interfaces from moment data

The moment-of-fluid (MoF) method is an extension of popular volume-of-fluid (VoF) technique for tracking material interface in multi-material fluid flows. VoF methods track the cell-wise material volumes and use these data for reconstructing the interfaces in mixed cell. The MoF method goes one step further and, in additional to the volumes, keeps track of the cell-wise material centroids; this approach provides sufficiently more information for the interface reconstruction algorithm. The MoF algorithm reconstructs interfaces in volume-conservative manner, by minimizing the defect of the 1st moment in each mixed cell. In case of two materials, this strategy allows to construct the linear interface in a mixed cell using no material volume data from the neighboring cells. Compared to the VoF interface reconstruction techniques, the MoF algorithm shows higher accuracy and better resolution, allows uniform processing of internal and boundary cells. In this paper we show how the same governing principle (minimization of the 1st-moment defect) can be used to reconstruct the interfaces in case of multiple materials.
Microstructural, optical and electrical studies of sputtered epitaxial CdTe films

Abstract Growth of thick (5 μm or more) epitaxial CdTe(100) films on KBr(100) substrates by planar r.f. magnetron sputtering is discussed. The films are characterized by means of X-ray diffraction, scanning and transmission electron microscopy, UV reflectance and visible and near-IR transmittance measurements.
An overview of LHRH and its analogues: clinical uses.

(1984). An Overview of LHRH and Its Analogues: Clinical Uses. Upsala Journal of Medical Sciences: Vol. 89, No. 1, pp. 3-12.
On the number of latent subsets of intersecting collections

Supported in part by O.N.R. Contract N00014-67-A-0204-0016 and supported in part by the U.S. Army Research Office (Durham) under contract DAHCO4-70-C-0058.
Alpha1-acid glycoprotein concentration and protein binding in trauma

α1-Acid glycoprotein (AAG) concentrations were measured every 2 to 3 days in eight trauma patients and seven healthy subjects for approximately 3 wk. Mean AAG concentrations in the trauma patients rose from 100 mg/dl to a peak value of 243 mg/dl at 10 to 14 days. AAG levels averaged more than 200 mg/dl at 15 to 21 days. Mean AAG concentration in healthy subjects was 70 mg/dl with little inter- or intraindividual variability. Lidocaine was added to all serum samples from four of the patients and to selected samples from all of the healthy subjects and protein binding was determined. The binding ratio (bound concentration/free concentration) correlated strongly with AAG concentration in the trauma patients (r = 0.92), in the healthy subjects (r = 0.84), and in both groups combined (r = 0.96). AAG concentration and binding ratio for each of the four patients individually also correlated (P < 0.05 in all cases). The change in free fraction associated with this increase in AAG was approximately doubled in each patient. Similar findings with drugs commonly used in trauma patients would be expected to alter serum concentration-response relationships significantly. Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics (1982) 31, 62–67; doi:10.1038/clpt.1982.10
TWO SEQUENTIAL PROCEDURES FOR PARTITIONING A SET OF ONE‐PARAMETER EXPONENTIAL POPULATIONS WITH RESPECT TO A CONTROL

This article suggests two sequential procedures for partitioning a set of one parameter exponential populations with respect to a control. The procedures guarantee that the probability of correct decision exceeds a preassigned value P
Pathogenic mechanisms in early norepinephrine-induced acute renal failure: Functional and histological correlates of protection

The present study investigated the protective effect of acute volume expansion (25%) with isotonic saline, isotonic mannitol, and hypertonic mannitol in a model of unilateral norepinephrine-induced acute renal failure (ARF). Three hours following a 40-min intrarenal infusion of norepinephrine (NE) (0.75 microgram/kg/min), inulin clearance had fallen from a control value of 54.1 +/- 6.5 to 1.3 +/- 1.3 ml/min in untreated dogs and fell similarly (P = NS) to 3.3 +/- 1.5 ml/min in animals preexpanded with 0.9% saline (0.75 ml/kg/min). In contrast, as compared to the untreated animals, inulin clearance 3 hr post NE infusion was significantly greater in dogs preexpanded with 5% mannitol (9.2 +/- 2.5 ml/min, P less than 0.01), or 20% mannitol (16.6 +/- 3.9 ml/min, P less than 0.01). The protective effects of 5% and 20% mannitol were not statistically different from each other. Recovery of renal excretory function in all groups, expressed as 3-hr post NE inulin clearance, correlated with the magnitude of pre NE solute excretion rate (r = 0.612, P less than 0.001) and osmolar clearance rate (r=0.593, P less than 0.001), but not with pre insult inulin clearance (r = 0.233, P = NS) or renal blood flow (r = 0.249, P = NS). In the presence of a profound fall in inulin clearance, proximal tubular (PT) pressures in untreated dogs 3 hr post NE infusion achieved a value equal to control (26 +/- 11 vs. 25 +/- 2 mm Hg). In contrast, pretreatment with isotonic mannitol produced a rise in PT pressure both before (45 +/- 4 mm Hg, P less than 0.05) and 3 hr post NE infusion (38 +/- 5 mm Hg, P less than 0.05). In all groups of animals, at both 3 and 24 hr post NE, tubular injury was observed but glomerular architecture remained normal by light and electron microscopy. Conclusion. the protective effect of mannitol in this reversible model of ARF did not correlate with inulin clearance, renal blood flow, extracellular fluid (ECF) volume, ECF hypertonicity, or renal histologic changes but did correlate with the solute excretion rate. The increased PT pressures with mannitol both before and after the NE insult could contribute to the protective effect of attenuating any relative intratubular obstruction.
Endothelial protective genes induced by statin are mimicked by ERK5 activation as triggered by a drug combination of FTI-277 and GGTI-298

Abstract Background Statins are potent inhibitors of cholesterol biosynthesis and are clinically beneficial in preventing cardiovascular diseases, however, the therapeutic utility of these drugs is limited by myotoxicity. Here, we explored the mechanism of statin-mediated activation of ERK5 in the human endothelium with the goal of identifying compounds that confer endothelial protection but are nontoxic to muscle. Methods An ERK5-one hybrid luciferase reporter transfected into COS-7 cells with pharmacological and molecular manipulations dissected the signaling pathway leading to statin activation of ERK5. qRT-PCR of HUVEC cells documented the transcriptional activation of endothelial-protective genes. Lastly, morphological and cellular ATP analysis, and induction of atrogin-1 in C2C12 myotubes were used to assess statin-induced myopathy. Results Statin activation of ERK5 is dependent on the cellular reduction of GGPPs. Furthermore, we found that the combination of FTI-277 (inhibitor of farnesyl transferase) and GGTI-298 (inhibitor of geranylgeranyl transferase I) mimicked the statin-mediated activation of ERK5. FTI-277 and GGTI-298 together recapitulated the beneficial effects of statins by transcriptionally upregulating anti-inflammatory mediators such as eNOS, THBD, and KLF2. Finally, C2C12 skeletal myotubes treated with both FTI-277 and GGTI-298 evoked less morphological and cellular changes recognized as biomarkers of statin-associated myopathy. Conclusions Statin-induced endothelial protection and myopathy are mediated by distinct metabolic intermediates and co-inhibition of farnesyl transferase and geranylgeranyl transferase I confer endothelial protection without myopathy. General significance The combinatorial FTI-277 and GGTI-298 drug regimen provides a promising alternative avenue for endothelial protection without myopathy.
Quantitative Tests of General Models for the Evolution of Development

Abstract: Comparative developmental biologists have proposed models to describe patterns of conserved features in vertebrate ontogeny. The hourglass model suggests evolutionary change is most difficult at an intermediate “phylotypic” stage, the adaptive penetrance model suggests change is easiest at an intermediate stage, and the early conservation model suggests change is easier later in ontogeny. Although versions of some of these models have been discussed since the nineteenth century, quantitative approaches have been proposed only recently. Here we present quantitative phylogenetic approaches to evaluating trends in the evolution of ontogeny. We apply these approaches to the proposed models and demonstrate that an existing approach to assessing these models is biased. We show that the hourglass, adaptive penetrance, and early conservation models are unnecessarily complex explanations of the patterns observed in developmental event data for 14 species of vertebrates. Rather, a simpler model that postu...
A Multisubunit Complex Associated with the RNA Polymerase II CTD and TATA-Binding Protein in Yeast

We report genetic and biochemical evidence that the RNA polymerase II carboxy-terminal domain (CTD) interacts with a large multisubunit complex that contains TATA-binding protein (TBP) and is an integral part of the transcription initiation complex. The isolation and characterization of extragenic suppressors of S. cerevisiae RNA polymerase II CTD truncation mutations led us to identify SRB2, SRB4, SRB5, and SRB6 as genes involved in CTD function in vivo. SRB2 was previously isolated and shown to encode a 23 kd TBP-binding protein. The four SRB proteins and a portion of cellular TBP are components of a high molecular weight multisubunit complex that is tightly bound to RNA polymerase II. This SRB-TBP complex binds specifically to recombinant CTD protein. In vitro transcription and template commitment assays confirm that SRB2 and SRB5 are components of a functional preinitiation complex and are required for efficient transcription initiation.
THE BINDING OF S-RNA BY ESCHERICHIA COLI RIBOSOMES.

Washed ribosomes from E. coli will bind soluble RNA (S-RNA) in high concentrations of magnesium ions. The bound S-RNA will not wash off in high magnesium but can be displaced by additional S-RNA or can be freed by lowering the magnesium ion concentration. This binding takes place in the cold and does not require the supernatant enzymes or an energy source. It is not affected either by two inhibitors of protein synthesis, puromycin and chloramphenicol, or by the charging of the S-RNA with amino acids. The binding requires the integrity of the pCpCpA§ end of the S-RNA molecule. There is one site for this binding on the 70 s ribosome, on the 50 s subunit. After protein synthesis in a cell-free extract from E. coli , a small fraction of the S-RNA that is bound to the ribosomes in high magnesium becomes resistant to being washed off the ribosomes in low magnesium. This tightly bound fraction appears on the 50 s subunit of the “stuck” 70 s ribosome (those 70 s ribosomes that do not dissociate in low magnesium and that carry nascent polypeptide chains). It is resistant to ribonuclease under mild conditions. This bound S-RNA can be recovered as intact 4 s material if the ribosomes are broken up with sodium dodecyl sulfate.
Septomaxilla of nonmammalian synapsids: Soft‐tissue correlates and a new functional interpretation

The function of the septomaxilla of nonmammalian synapsids has long been problematic. Distinctive features of this bone, including a prominent intranarial process and a septomaxillary canal and foramen, are characteristic of pelycosaurs and nonmammalian therapsids, but are lost in their mammalian descendants. Numerous contradictory reconstructions have been proposed for the soft anatomy associated with the septomaxilla of nonmammalian synapsids. This review supports the following conclusions: 1) No particular correlation exists between the septomaxilla and the vomeronasal organ (VNO), and the most likely location for the VNO is on the dorsal surface of the palatal process of the vomer; 2) The most likely occupant of the septomaxillary canal is the nasolacrimal duct, which opened either anterior or medial to the intranarial process, near the opening of the VNO duct; and 3) The occupant of the septomaxillary foramen remains uncertain. These conclusions suggest that the functional significance of the septomaxilla in the nonmammalian synapsids is tied to that of the nasolacrimal duct. The association of this duct and the VNO in these animals resembles the condition in Recent amphibians and lepidosaurs, in which the nasolacrimal duct supplies orbital fluids to the VNO, apparently to enhance vomeronasal function. The peculiar shape of the synapsid septomaxilla may have served to collect vomeronasal odor molecules. The changes of the septomaxilla in early mammals, and its nearly complete loss in extant mammals, are probably correlated with a dissociation of the nasolacrimal duct and VNO, and functional changes in both structures. J. Morphol. 245:29–50, 2000 © 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
The Lowest Effective Dose of Prostaglandin E1 as Treatment for Erectile Dysfunction

ABSTRACTThe recommended dose of prostaglandin E1 as treatment for erectile dysfunction has been reported to be 10 to 40 micrograms. However, adverse effects probably increase with increasing doses. We conducted a prospective, single-blind, dose-escalating study of prostaglandin E1 on 20 men with erectile dysfunction of various etiologies. The response to prostaglandin E1 was assessed by penile palpation and RigiScan* *Dacomed, Minneapolis, Minnesota. rigidity monitoring. A total of 17 patients completed the study: 1 achieved rigidity with 1 micrograms., 2 with 2 micrograms. and 4 with 3 micrograms. prostaglandin E1, while more than 70% achieved rigidity with 5 micrograms. or less and more than 80% had a full erection with 20 micrograms. Of 138 injections there were 2 episodes of pain after injection. We conclude that the often recommended starting dose of 20 micrograms. is too high. A more appropriate starting dose is 2.5 micrograms. with increments of 2.5 micrograms. until the lowest effective dose is ac...
Structure of Phosphate Fluorosurfactant Based Reverse Micelles in Supercritical Carbon Dioxide

The existence of microemulsions in the system composed of phosphate-based fluorosurfactant, water, and supercritical CO2 is demonstrated by small-angle neutron scattering experiments. A computer simulation study performed on a reverse micelle created in this system shows that the micelle remains stable over a 4 ns time period of the simulation. While the data obtained from the experiments provide information about the size of the reverse micelle, the data obtained from the simulations provide additional information about the shape and structure of such a micelle.
Once weekly administration of nicotine produces long-lasting locomotor sensitization in rats via a nicotinic receptor-mediated mechanism.

Rationale: Chronic nicotine administration results in dynamic changes in neuronal function, expressed as behavioral sensitization in animals and addiction in smokers. Objectives: The present study was undertaken to determine whether once-weekly nicotine injection produces sensitization to the locomotor-activating properties of nicotine as a result of nicotinic receptor activation. Methods: Once weekly for 6 weeks, rats were administered (s.c.) two saline injections or saline and nicotine (0.35 mg/kg), and locomotor activity was monitored. Rats remained in the home cage for 21 days, and subsequently were injected with the appropriate treatment to determine whether sensitization persisted. Rats were also injected with saline or mecamylamine (1.2 mg/kg) followed by saline or nicotine once weekly for 6 weeks to determine the effect of mecamylamine and whether it inhibited nicotine-induced hyperactivity. A separate group was injected with saline and nicotine once weekly for 4 weeks; on week 5, mecamylamine and nicotine were administered to determine whether mecamylamine inhibited the expression of sensitization. Separate groups were injected with mecamylamine and nicotine once weekly for 5 weeks or 6 weeks; on week 6 or week 9, respectively, saline and nicotine were injected to determine whether mecamylamine inhibited the initiation of sensitization. Results: Sensitization to the locomotor-activating properties of nicotine developed following four nicotine injections across a 28-day period and persisted following 21 days of no drug treatment. Mecamylamine did not alter activity but attenuated both the initiation and expression of sensitization. Conclusions: Nicotinic receptor activation following once-weekly nicotine administration produces long-lasting behavioral sensitization, suggesting that even infrequent nicotine exposure initiates neuroadaptive processes associated with nicotine addiction.
The Olympic Mountain Goat Controversy: A Different Perspective

Victor B. Scheffer (1993b) recently outlined his views on the controversy regarding the modern descendants of mountain goats (Oreamnos americanus) transplanted to the Olympic Mountains of Washington state in 1925. His comments are largely directed toward the veracity and utility of data mustered by the Fund for Animals in their argument for allowing the goats to remain, and they have responded directly to those comments (Anunsen & Anunsen 1993). Scheffer sides with Olympic National Park (ONP) and believes the goats should be removed. Here I address several of the state-
Indagações Metafísicas na Obra de Elisa Lispector

(1979). Indagacoes Metafisicas na Obra de Elisa Lispector. Kentucky Romance Quarterly: Vol. 26, No. 4, pp. 415-420.
GeneDesign: Rapid, automated design of multikilobase synthetic genes

Modern molecular biology has brought many new tools to the geneticist as well as an exponentially expanding database of genomes and new genes for study. Of particular use in the analysis of these genes is the synthetic gene, a nucleotide sequence designed to the specifications of the investigator. Typically, synthetic genes encode the same product as the gene of interest, but the synthetic nucleotide sequence for that protein may contain modifications affecting expression or base composition. Other desirable changes typically involve the revision of restriction sites. Designing synthetic genes by hand is a time-consuming and error-prone process that may involve several computer programs. We have developed a tools environment that combines many modules to provide a platform for rapid synthetic gene design for multikilobase sequences. We have used GeneDesign to successfully design a synthetic Ty1 element and a large variety of other synthetic sequences. GeneDesign has been implemented as a publicly accessible Web-based resource and can be found at http://slam.bs.jhmi.edu/gd.
Expectancies, Values, and Perceptions of Physical Competence of Children with and Without Learning Disabilities

This study examined the relationship between components of Eccles’ (Eccles et al., 1983) expectancy-value model and perceptions of physical competence of children with and without learning disabilities (LD) across three physical activity contexts (physical education class, outdoor school recess, and at home). Participants, 60 children with and without LD between 10 and 13 years, completed the Modified Pictorial Scale of Perceived Physical Competence (Ulrich & Collier, 1990) and an expectancy-value questionnaire measuring perceived importance, usefulness, enjoyment, and gender orientation of selected motor skills. Gender differences in perceptions of physical competence were found in recess and home settings. No significant group differences were observed in perceptions of physical competence. Expectancy-value subscales contributed differently to understanding competence judgments of boys and girls across context. Results are discussed with implications for improving self-concept and expectancy-value among...
A genotyping protocol for multiple tissue types from the polyploid tree species Sequoia sempervirens (Cupressaceae).

Premise of the study: Identifying clonal lineages in asexually reproducing plants using microsatellite markers is complicated by the possibility of nonidentical genotypes from the same clonal lineage due to somatic mutations, null alleles, and scoring errors. We developed and tested a clonal identification protocol that is robust to these issues for the asexually reproducing hexaploid tree species coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens). Methods: Microsatellite data from four previously published and two newly developed primers were scored using a modified protocol, and clones were identified using Bruvo genetic distances. The effectiveness of this clonal identification protocol was assessed using simulations and by genotyping a test set of paired samples of different tissue types from the same trees. Results: Data from simulations showed that our protocol allowed us to accurately identify clonal lineages. Multiple test samples from the same trees were identified correctly, although certain tissue type pairs...
Evolution of the self-pollinating flower in Clarkia xantiana (Onagraceae). I. Size and development of floral organs.

Clarkia xantiana has two subspecies that differ in breeding system: ssp. xantiana, which is outcrossing, and ssp. parviflora, which is self-fertilizing. Outcrossing is the ancestral breeding system for the genus Clarkia. Flowers of ssp. parviflora have characteristics commonly associated with selfing taxa: they are smaller and have little temporal and spatial separation between mature anthers and stigma (dichogamy and herkogamy, respectively). Flower morphology and development were studied in four populations of each subspecies to establish the developmental changes that occurred in the evolution of selfing. In particular, we sought to evaluate the hypothesis that the selfing flower may have arisen as a byproduct of selection for rapid maturation in the arid environment occupied by ssp. parviflora. This hypothesis predicts that development time should be reduced in spp. parviflora relative to ssp. xantiana. We also sought to compare the pattern of covariation of flower morphology and development between subspecies to that within subspecies. Similar within vs. between patterns of covariation could be indicative of developmental or functional constraints on the independent evolution of floral parts. In spite of significant variation among populations within subspecies, the subspecies clearly differ in flower morphology and development. All floral organs, except ovaries, are smaller in ssp. parviflora than in ssp. xantiana. The flower plastochron, the duration of flower development from bud initiation to anthesis, and the duration of protandry are all shorter in ssp. parviflora than in ssp. xantiana. Maximum relative growth rates are higher for all organs in ssp. parviflora than in ssp. xantiana. Thus, progenesis (i.e., via a reduction in development time) is combined with growth acceleration in the evolution of the selfing flower. Since reduced development time and growth acceleration both allow selfing flowers to mature earlier than outcrossing ones, selection for early maturation may have contributed to the evolution of the selfing flower form. The pattern of trait covariation differs within spp. parviflora relative to the patterns within spp. xantiana and between the two subspecies, suggesting that floral parts can and have evolved independently of one another.
Mobile Money and Financial Development: The Case of M-PESA in Kenya

Many economists argue that financial market development plays a role in fostering economic development. However, the question of how to extend financial access to the unbanked in underdeveloped countries has long remained a puzzle in the development finance literature. Much of the debate thus far has centered on how strong a role the government should play in directing this process. Using Kenya as an illustrative case study, I show that entrepreneurial innovations like the ‘mobile money revolution’ and the associated phenomena of ‘agent banking’ can play a pivotal role fostering financial inclusion and promoting financial development. The key to bringing about these innovations, I argue, is not relying on ‘hands on’ government involvement but rather pursuing a ‘hands off’ approach whereby the government merely focuses on establishing a fertile institutional environment that protects private property and promotes entrepreneurship.
Separation Between Virtual Sources Modifies the Response of Cardiac Tissue to Field Stimulation

Source Separation and Field Stimulation. Introduction: While it is now understood that the tissue geometry and the electric field distribution are important in generating virtual electrodes, the effects of interaction between a collection of electrodes have not been examined. To develop a basis for understanding such interactions, we have studied a single pair of oppositely polarized virtual sources. Although such oppositely polarized pairs of virtual electrodes can be generated by a variety of field distributions and tissue geometries, we examine one simple system that incorporates the salient features of source interaction. Methods and Results: Our model system is a homogeneous tissue strip stimulated by a uniform extracellular field. To clarify virtual source interaction, we show that field stimulated tissue can be equivalently polarized by a set of intracellular current sources with magnitude and distribution defined by the generalized activating function. In our model system, an intracellular current source is produced at one edge of the tissue and an Intracellular current sink at the other. Therefore, the tissue length acts to modulate the overlap, or interaction, between the polarizations arising from each source. To quantify the effects of source interaction, the chronaxie and rheobase values of the strength-duration relation were determined for source separations varying between 1.0 cm and 100 μm (active membrane dynamics were modeled with the Luo-Rudy phase I formulation). At all separations > 3.0 mm, the chronaxie was constant at 3.09 msec and the rheobase was 0.38 V/cm. Under 0.2 mm, the chronaxie decreased to 0.55 msec while the rheobase increased linearly with the inverse of source separation. The dependence of these parameters on separation primarily reflects passive electrotonic interactions between the two virtual electrodes. However, the exact values are strongly dependent upon active tissue properties—largely the inward rectifier potassium channel and activation of the sodium current. Conclusion: Tissue excitation in response to field stimulation is strongly modulated by the proximity of, and therefore the interaction between, oppositely polarized virtual electrode sources.
Epidemiological and Biological Determinants of Staphylococcus aureus Clinical Infection in New York State Maximum Security Prisons

The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world [1]. Over 2.3 million Americans are currently imprisoned and an additional 5 million are under community supervision [2]. Inmates are disproportionally drawn from low-income backgrounds and have a high prevalence of homelessness, medical and psychiatric comorbidities, and illicit drug use [3]. Crowding in American prisons has been associated with transmission of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), hepatitis C, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and tuberculosis [3–6]. Several large outbreaks of MRSA have occurred in correctional facilities in California, Texas, Missouri, Georgia, and Mississippi [7–10]. Many inmates enter the prison with a confluence of established community-associated (CA)-MRSA risk factors including illicit drug use, low socioeconomic status, tattoos, immunosuppression from HIV/AIDS, and other chronic health conditions [3–11]. Upon admission, they are frequently subjected to crowding, high-risk social networks, and variable hygiene conditions that further increase their risk. Taken together, these factors place incarcerated individuals at elevated risk of MRSA colonization and infection [4]. To date, the epidemiology of staphylococcal infections in prisons has received comparatively less attention than that of jails [12]. It should also be noted that the majority of studies on staphylococcal epidemiology in the community setting have focused on MRSA. Whether principles of MRSA epidemiology can be applied to methicillin-susceptible strains remains unclear at present. Although prisons and communities operate as distinct environments, transmission of MRSA between the 2 settings occurs on a regular basis [8, 9, 11, 13]. Several large epidemiological investigations have identified recent incarceration or contact with incarcerated individuals as important risk factors for the development of MRSA infection in the community setting [14, 15]. These findings have led some investigators to consider correctional facilities as “amplification zones” that are capable of accelerating the MRSA epidemic in the community at large [16]. MRSA infection control interventions in correctional settings have been almost exclusively in response to outbreaks [4, 17–20]. Despite some success in the implementation of multifactorial response measures, there remain great opportunities for prevention on the individual, institutional, and system-wide levels. The objective of this study was to characterize the epidemiological and microbiological determinants of S. aureus (SA) clinical infection in maximum security prisons to facilitate the development of effective prevention strategies for this underserved population.
HIV/AIDS knowledge and uptake of HIV counselling and testing among undergraduate private university students in Accra, Ghana

HIV Counselling and Testing (VCT) and knowledge about HIV are some key strategies in the prevention and control of HIV/AIDS in Ghana. However, HIV knowledge and utilization of VCT services among university students is low. The main objective was to determine the level of HIV/AIDS knowledge and to explore factors associated with the use HIV counselling and testing among private university students in Accra, Ghana. A cross-sectional study was conducted using structured questionnaires among 324 conveniently selected students enrolled at a privately owned tertiary institution in Accra, Ghana. The respondents consisted of 56.2% males and 43.8% females aged 17 – 37 years. The mean HIV/AIDS knowledge score of was 7.70. There was a significant difference in knowledge of HIV/AIDS by gender where female students had more knowledge about HIV/AIDS than males [t (322) = 2.40, p = 0.017]. The ANOVA results showed that there was a significant difference in HIV/AIDS knowledge according to the age groups [F (3, 321) = 6.26, p = 0. 0001] and marital status [F (3, 321) = 4.86, p = 0. 008] of the sample. Over half of the participants had not tested for HIV, although over 95% of them knew where to access counseling and testing services. The study also revealed a significant association between demographic variables, testing for HIV and intention to test in the future. Participants who were never married (single), aged 17 – 20 years and had knowledge of two routes of HIV transmission were more likely to have taken an HIV test. Males were more likely to take an HIV test in the future than females. Majority of the students receive HIV/AIDS information from both print and electronic media, but few of them received such information from parents. The students HIV knowledge was very good, yet HIV testing were low. Health education and HIV intervention programmes must not only provide accurate information, but must be made to help to equip private university students, especially females to test for HIV consistently.
Intrinsically Localized Modes in Uranium and the Prospect for Finding them in Plutonium

Dynamic nonlinear localization, an emerging new area of materials physics, has the potential to fundamentally change our understanding of materials properties. These intrinsically localized modes (ILM) have been found forming in uranium above about 450 K. Comparisons with data from the literature shows that these ILMs influence many properties, including heat capacity, thermal transport, thermal expansion, and mechanical deformation. The existence of ILMs helps to explain many anomalies in uranium, some of which have been known for more than fifty years. Here, the possibility that ILMs may also play a role in the properties of plutonium is considered. The mechanism helps to explain the success of an “Invar-like” two-level model for the thermal expansion of Pu without the need to invoke local magnetic states, which have been ruled out experimentally. It also helps to explain an excitation observed in δ-plutonium that has energy consistent with the two-level model, but momentum dependence consistent with lattice vibrations. This excitation, energy and momentum dependence, is consistent with the non-equilibrium generation of ILMs and the thermal excitation properties of these ILMs are consistent with a two-level model. High-temperature inelastic x-rays scattering measurements of the phonon dispersion curves of δ-plutonium are needed to test this hypothesis.
THROMBOSIS AND CEREBROVASCULAR DISEASE

Strokes are heterogeneous not only with respect to their presentation, but more importantly in terms of the underlying pathology. There are now a number of choices available for the treatment of ischemic stroke, and the causative mechanisms responsible for each individual stroke must be considered in choosing an appropriate form of treatment. This article explores the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms responsible for the major categories of stroke and also examines the reasons why strokes worsen or evolve.
Modulation of Cerebral Arteriolar Diameter by Intraluminal Flow and Pressure

We determined whether cerebral arterioles in vitro adjust their diameters in response to changes in intraluminal flow rate and pressure. Intracerebral arterioles (38- to 55-microns diameter) were isolated from Sprague-Dawley rats and cannulated with a perfusion system that permitted separate control of intraluminal pressure and flow rates. Increasing pressure at 0 flow, in 20 mm Hg steps from 20 to 100 mm Hg, resulted in myogenic constriction, which was greatest at 60 mm Hg (approximately 20%). Increasing flow rate at a constant pressure of 60 mm Hg elicited a biphasic response. At flow rates of up to 10 microL/min, the arterioles dilated by up to 14.5 +/- 2.2% of their control diameter. At higher (> 10 microL/min) flow rates, however, a progressive restoration of resting diameter was observed. Application of the nitric oxide synthase inhibitor NG-mono-methyl-L-arginine (L-NMMA, 0.1 mmol/L) caused a 15.4 +/- 1.7% decrease in control diameter (at 60 mm Hg, zero flow). Although L-NMMA did not affect the responses to increases in pressure or to vasodilators (adenosine and pH 6.8 buffer), it abolished the dilator responses to flow rate increases and to acetylcholine. In contrast, inhibition of prostaglandin synthesis by indomethacin (10 mumol/L) had no effect on flow-induced dilation. These results show that changes in intraluminal flow rates and pressure can independently influence cerebral arteriolar tone and suggest that the flow-induced dilator responses of cerebral arterioles are mediated by an arginine metabolite, such as nitric oxide.