cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Using motivational interviewing with children and adolescents: a cognitive and neurodevelopmental perspective

Motivational interviewing (MI) is an effective method of promoting change in adults, but its efficacy with children and adolescents is in the early stages of evaluation. The brevity of the intervention, documented effectiveness in adult populations and emphasis on motivating behavioural change have encouraged some researchers to test MI in educational settings. However, the number and quality of studies of MI with children and adolescents are limited, and it remains unclear whether MI is developmentally appropriate for children. This conceptual paper reviews cognitive and neurodevelopmental evidence of children's and adolescents' cognitive and social–emotional readiness for mental tasks thought to drive behavioural change in MI. Owing to the social context of MI, we place this research in a developmental framework using the social information processing network model of Nelson, Leibenluft, McClure, and Pine (2005). Based on these findings, we recommend continued testing of MI with students in middle and h...
Monoterpene variations in vapors from white pines and hybrids.

Abstract Possibilities of altering the monoterpene composition of vapors given off by white pine twigs, bark, and internal tissues by means of hybridization were investigated by gas chromatographic analyses of fifty-four trees. Considerable variation in the chemical composition of vapors was found among the hybrids produced by crossing Pinus strobus with P. griffithii, P. koraiensis, P. flexilis, and P. ayacahuite. The intraspecific variation of P. strobus was nearly as large, however. Vapors from needles and bark closely resembled those given off by internal tissues, but exceptions were noted for several compounds.
Degree of Ketosis During Fasting

SummaryDuring the first 2-4 days of fasting the degree of ketosis in the human and the rat as measured by the blood acetone body concentration gradually increased to a level of 15-20 mg % (acetone) which then tended to be maintained during the rest of the 10-day fasting period.
Nursing Home Ownership and Quality of Care

This article examines the relationship between nursing home ownership and the quality of care. It was hypothesized that not-for-profit homes provide less inappropriate care than for-profit homes, and that not-for-profit residents make more functional improvement than for-profit residents. A multiple regression analysis of 3,149 Virginia nursing home residents in 174 homes found that not-for-profit homes provided less inappropriate care than for-profit homes. However, not-for-profit residents did not achieve more functional improvement than for-profit residents. It is unclear why ownership was related to inappropriate care and not related to functional improvement. Research is needed that examines the interaction between ownership and poten tially related factors, such as organizational culture, that could influence the quality of care.
An Informed, Family-Centered Approach to Public Law 99-457: Parental Views

This article reports research findings of an interview study conducted with parents of young children with special needs. The research was conducted to assess parental perceptions of infant and fam...
Prader Willi Syndrome and Obstructive Sleep Apnea: Co-occurrence in the Pediatric Population

Background:A high prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) occurs in children with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS). Yet, due in part to the relatively small samples previously used, the prevalence o...
Cultural Studies, Composition, and Pedagogy

In his paper, "Cultural Studies, Composition, and Pedagogy," Mark Mullen argues that while much cultural studies work makes claims for the transformative powers of a radical educational agenda, such work is often, surprisingly, deeply resistant to a complex discussion of pedagogy. The response to Mary Louise Pratt's theory of the "contact zone" offers a useful case study in this regard, and indicates the way in feelgood narratives of student and teacher empowerment are only made possible by a refusal to analyze the classroom as a workplace. Reliance upon depictions of the classroom as essentially an empty space playing host to ideological battles imported from elsewhere obscures the complicity of teachers in the brute fact of the classroom as a mechanism for surplus extraction and conversion. The fear of pedagogy then, of a pedagogy that locates us fully as teaching subjects in a specific workplace at a particular historical juncture, is the fear of facing up to the profound irrelevance and inconsequentiality of the "political interventions" of the classroom, or, worse, the way in which critical, scholarly, and artistic and activist challenges to hegemony are continually called into question or, perhaps, undermined by an ongoing participation in everyday workplaces of humanities instruction. Mark Mullen, "Cultural Studies, Composition, and Pedagogy" page 2 of 10 CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture 7.3 (2005):
Magnetic resonance techniques in the evaluation of the fetal and neonatal brain

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has contributed dramatically to our understanding of the newborn with neurologic problems. Recently developed magnetic resonance techniques, such as fetal MRI and MR spectroscopy, offer additional insight into normal and pathologic processes affecting the fetal and neonatal CNS. This article examines developmental abnormalities as reflected in neuroimaging studies and discusses some of the newer MR modalities and their capabilities.
Polynucleotide 3′-terminal Phosphate Modifications by RNA and DNA Ligases

RNA and DNA ligases catalyze the formation of a phosphodiester bond between the 5′-phosphate and 3′-hydroxyl ends of nucleic acids. In this work, we describe the ability of the thermophilic RNA ligase MthRnl from Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum to recognize and modify the 3′-terminal phosphate of RNA and single-stranded DNA (ssDNA). This ligase can use an RNA 3′p substrate to generate an RNA 2′,3′-cyclic phosphate or convert DNA3′p to ssDNA3′pp5′A. An RNA ligase from the Thermus scotoductus bacteriophage TS2126 and a predicted T4 Rnl1-like protein from Thermovibrio ammonificans, TVa, were also able to adenylate ssDNA 3′p. These modifications of RNA and DNA 3′-phosphates are similar to the activities of RtcA, an RNA 3′-phosphate cyclase. The initial step involves adenylation of the enzyme by ATP, which is then transferred to either RNA 3′p or DNA 3′p to generate the adenylated intermediate. For RNA 3′pp5′A, the third step involves attack of the adjacent 2′ hydroxyl to generate the RNA 2′,3′-cyclic phosphate. These steps are analogous to those in classical 5′ phosphate ligation. MthRnl and TS2126 RNA ligases were not able to modify a 3′p in nicked double-stranded DNA. However, T4 DNA ligase and RtcA can use 3′-phosphorylated nicks in double-stranded DNA to produce a 3′-adenylated product. These 3′-terminal phosphate-adenylated intermediates are substrates for deadenylation by yeast 5′Deadenylase. Our findings that classic ligases can duplicate the adenylation and phosphate cyclization activity of RtcA suggests that they have an essential role in metabolism of nucleic acids with 3′-terminal phosphates.
Cigarette smoke combined with Toll-like receptor 3 signaling triggers exaggerated epithelial regulated upon activation, normal T-cell expressed and secreted/CCL5 expression in chronic rhinosinusitis

CSE, TNF-a, lipoteichoic acid, LPS, or dsRNA alone. The combination of CSE1dsRNA induced exaggerated RANTES (12,115-fold vs 1500-fold; P 5 .03) and human b-defensin-2 (1120-fold vs 12.5-fold; P 5.05) in subjects with CRS. No other genes were differentially induced. Furthermore, CSE1dsRNA induced normal levels of IFN-b, IFN-l1, and IFN-l2/3 mRNA in subjects with CRS. Conclusion: Cigarette smoke extract plus dsRNA induces exaggerated epithelial RANTES expression in patients with CRS. We propose that an analogous response to cigarette smoke plus viral infection may contribute to acute exacerbations and eosinophilic mucosal inflammation in CRS. (J Allergy Clin Immunol 2008;122:1145-53.)
Kilometer‐sized waves in electron density in the Venusian nightside ionosphere

As periapsis of the Pioneer Venus Orbiter (PVO) descended into the lower nightside ionosphere of Venus in the Fall of 1992, wave-like ionospheric density structures began to appear on some of the volt-ampere characteristics of the Orbiter Electron Temperature Probe. The number of such events is insufficient to fully define their morphology but enough to provide an indication of the wave amplitudes, scale sizes, occurrence altitudes, and local time variation. The density variations were quasi-sinusoidal, with wavelengths of the order of 1 km along the nearly horizontal trajectory near periapsis. Nearly all of the wave events were encountered within an altitude band lying between 140 and 160 km, a region containing the steep negative N(sub e) gradient just above the ionospheric peak. The waves generally did not fill the occurrence band but were seen primarily as isolated events on curves taken intermittently as PVO crossed through the band. Peak-to-trough amplitudes ((Delta)N/N) were in the range of 5% to 50%. The waves exhibited little local time variation within the available viewing period (01-04 hrs), with perhaps a tendency for the waves to rise to slightly higher altitudes toward dawn. The latitudinal extent of the waves could not be resolved because volt-ampere curves were obtained only intermittently, however, their occurrence on both inbound and outbound passages through the wave band suggests that the waves sometimes exist in layers that extend over at least 15 deg of latitude. The generation mechanism for these waves is unknown, but we suspect that it involves the steep density gradient that separates the main nightside ionosphere from the tenuous, and probably rapidly flowing plasma above.
Tularemia in siblings

Summary Six cases of tularemia in siblings are reported. Attention is called to the highly infectious nature of tularemia and the suggestion is made that children may be particularly susceptible. Two of the reported cases are of particular interest because of age alone, the disease occurring at the ages of eighteen months and two years.
Lead aerosol brownian collision rates at normal and elevated temperature: theory

Abstract Lifshitz-van der Waals theory including retardation is used to compute the attractive potential between pairs of lead spheres of 1-, 10-nm, and 1- and 10-nm radii at 293, 840, and 1059°K and the energies are plotted as functions of particle surface separations. These curves are then used to compute the particle collision rates using a recently published generalization of Fuchs' interpolation formula which includes the effect of particle interaction potentials. The results indicate a size-dependent enhancement of particle collision rates due to van der Waals attraction. Collision rates are shown to bracket the rate measured by Graham and Homer whose data fit a free-molecular self-preserving distribution. The effect of temperature upon collision rates is to decrease them as temperature rises despite a corresponding increase in the attractive interaction energy of the particles.
Live supervision in family therapy: Qualitative interviews of supervision events as perceived by supervisors and supervisees

Abstract Qualitative interviews were conducted with family therapy supervisors and their supervisees to underst and how they perceived their experiences in live supervision. Supervisor and supervisees described helpful supervision experiences that were related to the supervisees' development as therapists. The primary categories of helpful supervision experiences were Support, Teach/Direct, and Collaboration. However, the findings indicate that these categories of experiences held different importance for supervisors than they did for supervisees. Implications for supervision practive are discussed.
Russia in the Boxer Rebellion

Russian Far Eastern policy at the end of the nineteenth century changed from the simple system of bilateral relations to the global system, in which interests and possibilities of Russia and China were not the most important factors. Russian participation in the suppression of the Boxer Rebellion led to the stage in which it was very hard to talk about “special relations” between Russian and China. The position of the super-imperialists in the Russian government toward the Far East led to a war with Japan that began in 1904.
The Perry Framework and Tactics for Teaching Critical Thinking in Economics

The Nelson/Perry scheme for fostering transitions from one mode of thinking to another is presented along with strategies and tactics for teaching economics in a way that fosters cognitive development.
Does the monitoring role of buyout houses improve discretionary accruals quality

The article of record as published may be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-629X.2010.00351.x
Co-optimization algorithms

While coevolution has many parallels to natural evolution, methods other than those based on evolutionary principles may be used in the interactive fitness setting. In this paper we present a generalization of coevolution to co-optimization which allows arbitrary black-box function optimization techniques to be used in a coevolutionary like manner.We find that the co-optimization versions of gradient ascent and simulated annealing are capable of outperforming the canonical coevolutionary algorithm. We also hypothesize that techniques which employ non-population based selection mechanisms are less sensitive to disengagement.
Competitive metal binding to a silicate-immobilized humic material.

Abstract The investigation of the competitive binding of metal ions to a biogenic material comprised of organic peat immobilized in a polysilicate matrix was undertaken. This material was packed into 5.0 mL bed-volume columns using 40–60 mesh size particles. Two separate mixtures of metal ions were studied by monitoring the solution pH and the concentration of each metal in the effluent as a function of the volume of influent introduced to the material. These mixtures contained either the metal ions Ca 2+ , Mg 2+ , and Cu 2+ or the ions Cu 2+ , Hg 2+ , and Pb 2+ . A general order of binding affinities was determined to be Mg 2+ 2+ ≪ Cu 2+ 2+ 2+ . Comparisons of amounts of metal ions bound and protons released indicated the initial release of two protons for each divalent metal ion bound. However, prolonged exposure of the material to the metal solutions yielded a molar ratio of 1:1. This suggests the involvement of ion exchange sites followed by that of sites using an alternate binding mechanism. The presence of binding sites with varied mechanisms and metal ion affinities was further illustrated through the initial binding and subsequent release of lower affinity metal ions (e.g., Mg 2+ and Ca 2+ ).
Relativistic Hartree-Fock-Slater Calculations for Arbitrary Temperature and Matter Density

An algorithm is presented to calculate electronic levels and the equation of state of atoms suitable for arbitrary matter density and temperature. The self-consistent-field treatment starts with relativistic Thomas-Fermi-Dirac model in the iterative procedure. The Fermi statistics and the central-field approximation are maintained, giving an average atom representation. The broadening of upper electronic levels into bands is taken into account in a simple approximation. Calculations are presented for the ${\mathrm{Fe}}^{26}$ and ${\mathrm{Rb}}^{37}$ atoms at several temperatures and matter densities.
Gender and dating relationship status moderate the association between alcohol use and sex-related alcohol expectancies

Young adulthood can be a period where the development of intimacy and dating relationships coincide with alcohol experimentation. The current study was designed to examine how dating relationship status is associated with drinking behavior. Additionally, although the relationship between sex-related alcohol expectancies and drinking has been established, the current study extends this research by investigating how gender and dating relationship status moderate the association between these expectancies and drinking behavior. A sample of 1932 college students who were single and not actively dating, single and actively dating, or in a steady relationship were included in the analyses. Results revealed that males and females who were actively dating drank significantly more drinks per week than those not dating and those in a relationship. In addition, the association between sex-related alcohol expectancies and drinking behavior was moderated by gender and relationship status. Men with high sex-related alcohol expectancies appeared to be at equal similar risk for greater drinking regardless of relationship status. However, there appears to be unique drinking risk for actively dating women with high sex-related alcohol expectancies.
"Who Should Survive?: One of the Choices on Our Conscience": Mental Retardation and the History of Contemporary Bioethics

The film "Who Should Survive?: One of the Choices on Our Conscience" contains a dramatization of the death of an infant with Down syndrome as the result of the parents' decision not to have a congenital intestinal obstruction surgically corrected. The dramatization was based on two similar cases at The Johns Hopkins Hospital and was financed by the Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., Foundation. When "Who Should Survive?" was exhibited in 1971, the public reaction was generally critical of the parents' decision and the physicians' inaction. Although technological developments in medicine were a necessary condition for the production of this film and its unanticipated reception, they were not a sufficient condition. The proximate cause was a changed understanding of the capabilities of individuals with Down syndrome. Part of the impetus for this change was data showing the adverse effects of institutionalization on normal children.
Decisions, actions, and the appropriateness of confidence in knowledge

This research examines the appropriateness of confidence (i.e., subjective probability judgments) in knowledge associated with decisions and actions of social importance. One hundred and thirty seven participants completed a 50 item questionnaire assessing their knowledge of the two leading candidates in the 1988 presidential election in the U.S.A. Ninety one of the respondents completed the questionnaire one week prior to the election, whereas the other 46 completed the questionnaire on election day shortly after voting. After each item in the questionnaire, all respondents indicated whether or not the item content represented a reason why they voted (or intended to vote) for or against the candidate to whom the item referred. Within-person results indicated that, in comparison to items that were not cited as reasons for voting intentions or voting behavior, items endorsed as reasons were characterized by better accuracy and resolution, but worse overconfidence. Between groups, decision makers were significantly more accurate and better calibrated than those who had not made a decision between the candidates. Implications of inappropriate confidence on decision making effectiveness are discussed.
Stepping back from social norms campaigns: comparing normative influences to other predictors of health behaviors.

Recent health campaigns on college campuses have used a social norms approach, which suggests that one's perceptions of others' attitudes and behaviors are the key components in attitude and behavior change. However, the efficacy of social norms campaigns has been mixed. This study was conducted to assess the relationships among sociodemographics, normative perceptions, and individual attitudes on 3 health behaviors. Students at 2 universities (N = 393) completed questionnaires assessing how these variables related to their consumption of alcohol, tobacco use, and exercise behaviors. Regressions indicated that each of these variables was associated with behavior, but varied independent variables emerged as the salient predictors among behaviors. In several conditions the effect of normative perceptions on behaviors was not significant, a finding in direct opposition to social norms marketing. In all 3 behavioral conditions, the variable accounting for the greatest variance was whether or not the individua...
Cholinergic properties of rat atrial subcellular preparations.

Abstract Several presynaptic cholinergic markers were measured in subcellular fractions of the rat cardiac atrium. A P 2 fraction consisting of isolated terminals, free mitochondria, glycogen and other subcellular organelles was prepared first by sucrose density centrifugation. No intact cells were recovered in this fraction, as determined by electron microscopy. Hemicholinium-3 sensitive choline transport coupled to acetylcholine synthesis was concentrated over 10-fold in the P 2 fraction compared to minced atria when expressed per mg protein. Six subfractions were recovered after centrifugation of the P 2 fraction over a sucrose-metrizamide density gradient. One of these (fraction 4) consistently contained higher levels of choline acetyltransferase activity and hemicholinium-3 sensitive [ 3 H]acetylcholine synthesis than were present in the P 2 fraction of the other five subfractions. Electron microscopy of fraction 4 revealed isolated nerve terminals among other subcellular organelles. Kinetic analysis of total [ 3 H]choline uptake in the P 2 fraction revealed two apparent uptake processes, with K t s of approximately 11 μ m and 219 μ m . [ 3 H]Acetylcholine synthesis was partially sodium-dependent in the P 2 fraction, and reached a maximal level between choline concentrations of 100 to 200 μ m . Some of the newly synthesized [ 3 H]-acetylcholine in the P 2 fraction was released by 50 m m K + depolarization in a calcium-dependent manner, arguing for a neuronal localization. This depolarization-induced release was attenuated by 10 to 100 μ m oxotremorine in an atropine-sensitive manner, but was not affected by 1 μ m tetrodotoxin.
Ammonia emissions, concentrations and implications for particulate matter formation in Houston, TX

Abstract Seasonal average observational data, photochemical modeling analyses, and detailed observational data for a summer air pollution episode were used to assess the spatial and temporal distribution of ammonia-rich and ammonia poor conditions in southeast Texas. Seasonal average observational data and photochemical modeling analyses both suggest ammonia rich conditions throughout southeast Texas, but not enough ammonia present to create elevated concentrations of ammonium nitrate, except during morning hours. Analyses of ambient data available for the summer air pollution episode (which was also the modeled episode) indicate that ammonia-poor conditions may be more pervasive in southeast Texas during periods of intense photochemistry. Overall, the results of all three methods are consistent in suggesting that average ammonia availability in southeast Texas is comparable to the ammonia required to neutralize sulfate. Temporal and spatial variability in sulfate formation creates morning excesses of ammonia (leading to some morning nitrate formation) and ammonia poor conditions in SO 2 plumes and during periods of high photochemical activity.
Macro Prices and Structural Change

The role of macro price policy-foreign exchange rates, interest rates, wage rates, and, indirectly, the rural-urban terms of trade (or "food prices," for short)-in influencing the rate and composition of structural change in an economy has been emphasized recently as a major component of agricultural and food policy (Timmer, Falcon, and Pearson), but empirical measurement of factors influencing structural change has largely ignored these price variables. The classic study by Chenery and Syrquin, for example, measured economic structure by the size of agriculture's share in gross domestic product (AGSHR)-the same as in this study-but it contained only income and country size as explanatory variables. Although this may make sense in a world where basic price relationships among capital, labor, food, and energy remain more or less constant, the 1970s have seen sharp swings in these relationships. In fact, the two oil price shocks of the 1970s offer an opportunity to model a major perturbation as it ripples through the macroeconomy and into the agricultural sector. No other single macroeconomic event in recent history has so opened windows of opportunity for understanding cause-and-effect relationships between the food and agricultural sector and basic macro price variables. The adjustment of the agricultural sector to higher energy prices reflects the net and often-conflicting pressures from both the farm and household micro adjustments and the macro adjustment processes. Not surprisingly, the empirical experience from 1960 to 1980 of the seven Asia-Pacific developing countries analyzed in this paper reflects drastically different agricultural sector adjustments.' The model and empirical specification used here permit such diversity. Energy prices affect the process of structural change primarily by altering the relative terms of trade between the agricultural and nonagricultural sectors of an economy. This effect is caused mostly by macroeconomic pressures on the balance of payments and foreign exchange rates in the face of changed energy prices. As Schuh suggests, agriculture tends to produce a relatively large share of tradable goods and services, and thus energyxporting countries usually face a deterioration of the rural-urban terms of trade when oil prices rise. This causes a more rapid decline in agriculture's share in gross domestic product (GDP) than would be expected on the basis of the Chenery-Syrquin analysis. Oil-importing countries, on the other hand, should see improved rural-urban terms of trade and a relatively healthier agriculture sector when oil prices rise. Their agriculture sectors' shares in GDP should not decline as rapidly as in the Chenery-Syrquin model.
The Effects of Distraction on Smooth Pursuit in Normal Subjects

Smooth pursuit eye movements made in response to 5 and 20% targets were studied in young and old subjects. Tracking of a target was carried out both with no competing stimuli and while auditory and visual distractions were presented. Only tracking the target against a projected background significantly impaired pursuit. It did so in both age groups, by reducing pursuit gain and also by eliciting 'anticipatory saccades', which took the eyes ahead of the target to a new fixation point for 0.5 s or longer. Elderly subjects showed a significantly greater number of such interruptions, however, suggesting that continuous performance of the tracking task could be more readily disrupted in this group. These findings may arise from changes in the way in which elderly individuals process incoming sensory information.
Atmospheric organic-phase photo-sensitized epoxidation of alkenes by α-dicarbonyls

Abstract. We report a new pathway of epoxide formation in organic phases via catalytic oxidation of alkenes by air with α-dicarbonyls as photo-sensitizers. Epoxide yields as high as 100% in 30 min of exposure to a solar simulator operating at the equivalent of 48.5° zenith angle are observed. The rate constants are proportional to light intensity and inversely proportional to temperature. The reaction rate is 0th order with respect to alkenes, implying that alkenes with small concentrations may rapidly be converted to epoxides in the organic phase. Based on a statistical estimate of α-dicarbonyl concentrations in secondary organic aerosol, we propose that this reaction could be highly effective under ambient conditions: the 0th-order lifetimes of organic-phase alkenes are estimated to be as low as 10 min, significantly shorter than their gas-phase 1st-order lifetimes, which are typically hours to days. The formation of epoxides in organic particles is expected to increase their hygroscopicity and ability to act as cloud condensation nuclei. Epoxides in deliquesced particles can subsequently form polyalcohols, oligomers, organosulphates and organonitrates, increasing the organic mass in the atmospheric waters.
Structure of the sodium borohydride-reduced N-(cyclopropyl)glycine adduct of the flavoenzyme monomeric sarcosine oxidase.

Monomeric sarcosine oxidase (MSOX) is a flavoprotein that contains covalently bound FAD [8a-(S-cysteinyl)FAD] and catalyzes the oxidation of sarcosine (N-methylglycine) and other secondary amino acids, such as l-proline. Our previous studies showed that N-(cyclopropyl)glycine (CPG) acts as a mechanism-based inactivator of MSOX [Zhao, G., et al. (2000) Biochemistry 39, 14341−14347]. The reaction results in the formation of a modified reduced flavin that can be further reduced and stabilized by treatment with sodium borohydride. The borohydride-reduced CPG-modified enzyme exhibits a mass increase of 63 ± 2 Da as compared with native MSOX. The crystal structure of the modified enzyme, solved at 1.85 A resolution, shows that FAD is the only site of modification. The modified FAD contains a fused five-membered ring, linking the C(4a) and N(5) atoms of the flavin ring, with an additional oxygen atom bound to the carbon atom attached to N(5) and a tetrahedral carbon atom at flavin C(4) with a hydroxyl group atta...
Pneumoperitoneum inactivates macrophage-induced IL-10 production in Naı̈ve rats

Macrophages are at the front line of cellular defense to inflammatory insults. Laparoscopic surgery is now commonly used to manage patients in which the inflammatory response has been initiated. The peritoneal macrophage is a candidate cellular target for the effects of the CO2 pneumoperitoneum. We hypothesized that the capnoperitoneum would alter the macrophage’s ability to activate the inflammatory response in naive rats. Donor rats were randomized into five groups. Experimental groups included CO2 pneumoperitoneum, helium pneumoperitoneum, or isoflurane anesthesia alone. All rats underwent 30 min of the experimental condition immediately followed by endotoxin administration. Control donor rats received either endotoxin alone or saline with no durable exposure to anesthesia. Peritoneal macrophages (conditioned) were harvested by peritoneal lavage 1 h after endotoxin. Cells were enumerated and cell population was determined by immune staining. Conditioned macrophages were injected intraperitoneally into naive rats. All animals received 4 × 105 cells. Blood samples were taken from naive recipients 2 h after conditioned macrophage injection and analyzed for cytokine production (n = 3–4 for naive recipients). The anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 was significantly elevated in naive rats which had received conditioned macrophages from the Isoflurane donor, comparable to IL-10 in the LPS control recipients (P < 0.05; one-way ANOVA). However, IL-10 was significantly lower in serum of naive recipients which had received conditioned macrophages from donor rats that had undergone pneumoperitoneum, comparable to the saline control recipients (P < 0.05; one-way ANOVA). Plasma levels of IL-6 and TNF-α were not elevated in any group. The pneumoperitoneum directly influences peritoneal macrophage function and its effects can be transmitted to naive recipient rats by way of peritoneal macrophage transfer. This study suggests that the effects of the pneumoperitoneum on the inflammatory response are mediated in part by the peritoneal macrophage.
Spherical interpolation over graphic processing units

Spatial interpolation is a widely used GIS function for estimating values at locations where observed values are not available or adequate. One popular method for spatial interpolation is inverse distance weighted, which calculates estimated values based on a weighted sum of the values of a number of nearest neighbors that have observed values. This research focuses on solving a large-scale interpolation problem with a global coverage based on the inverse distance weighted method. Specifically, spherical distance is calculated instead of normal Euclidean distance commonly used in GIS software, which is necessary to find correct neighbors in the regions along the 180° longitude and in the polar areas. The computation of the global-scale interpolation based on spherical distance is intensive especially for achieving high-resolution results. This paper introduces how to accelerate such computation by exploiting massive parallelism provided by Graphic Processing Units (GPUs) with significant improvement of computational performance reported.
Deep within the Filarial Genome: Progress of the Filarial Genome Project

Four years ago, a WHO/United Nations Development Programme/World Bank-sponsored genome project to study the filarial lymphatic nematode parasite Brugia malayi was initiated. The project took as its aims gene discovery for drug target and vaccine candidate identification, genome mapping, dissemination of genomic data to the world community and training of endemic country partners in genomic research. In this article, the principal investigators in the laboratories behind the project describe the background to the project, the data now emerging and goals for the future. Open access to filarial genome data is emphasized.
Initiation of mitosis in post-mitotic nuclei of Physarum polycephalum.

Durch Fusion von Mikroplasmodien des SchleimpilzesPhysarum polycephalum wird der Mitosecyclus ihrer Kerne synchronisiert. Durch kunstlich verzogerte Fusion konnen Tochterkerne einer soeben erfolgten Mitose zur Teilnahme an der ersten synchronen Mitose nach der Fusion gezwungen werden, bevor die morphologische Rekonstitution und die Duplikation ihrer DNS vollendet sind.
Methanol oxidation on (2 × 1)Pt(110): formaldehyde on a stepped surface

Abstract In 1897 Sabatier and Severins found that methanol could be selectively oxidized to formaldehyde over a platinum catalyst. However, no one has since been able to produce a platinum catalyst which showed significant selectivity toward formaldehyde production. In this study methanol oxidation on (2 × 1)Pt(110) was examined to see if the (2 × 1)Pt(110) surface showed any unusual selectivity for formaldehyde production. It is found that when a monolayer of methanoi is adsorbed onto a 100 K oxygen covered (2 × 1)Pt(110) sample and then the sample is flashed, part of the methanol reacts and part desorbs. Up to 35% of the methanol which reacts is oxidized to formaldehyde, with the rest reacting to form CO, CO 2 , hydrogen, water and adsorbed hydrocarbons. By comparison previous workers found that little formaldehyde production is seen during methanol oxidation on Pt(111). This result shows that the (2 × 1)Pt(110) surface is more selective than any other face of platinum examined so far for oxidation of methanol to formaldehyde. However, the selectivity is still low in comparison to the selectivity of Sabatier and Severins' platinum catalyst or of silver.
Social and Intellectual Attitudes Toward Drug-Induced Religious Experience:

This article is a comment on the ambiguity of the psychedelic experience itself and the peculiarities of the modern social response to it. I discuss three kinds of attitudes toward psychedelic religious experience and compare them with three attitudes toward religious tradition described by Peter Berger. These are, roughly, materialist reductionism, defense of the purity of an orthodox faith, and religion as personal experiences given form and meaning by traditional interpretation. The effects of psychedelic drugs are used by some to discredit both drugs and religion, by others to discredit drugs while justifying a certain definition of religion, and by still others to accept drug-taking as one mode of religious experience broadly conceived. This last attitude is the one usually taken by psychedelic drug users themselves, but it raises the difficult question of what is definably religious about personal experiences before they are given form by a doctrine, ritual, and community. In this connection I discu...
Influence of non-Gaussian local pressures on cladding glass

Abstract The importance of the non-Gaussian nature of local pressure fluctuations is assessed through a numerical procedure to evaluate glass cladding damage. The dimensionless damage function developed by Reed and Fuller [1] is used in conjunction with a pressure distribution developed by Matsui et al. [2] to assess this influence. It is shown that a significant difference in damage estimation occurs for a turbulence intensity of 20% on rectangular cladding panels. These limited results suggest that the damage incurred during storms where large pressure fluctuations occur may be considerably greater than that estimated using a Gaussian assumption. This conclusion confirms the earlier work of Holmes [3] who used a different approach.
Glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor improves survival of ventral mesencephalic grafts to the 6-hydroxydopamine lesioned striatum.

One approach to replace lost dopaminergic neurons in Parkinson’s disease is to transplant fetal mesencephalic tissue into the striatum. In an attempt to expand the developmental window useful for grafting of mesencephalic tissue and increase the fiber outgrowth from grafted dopaminergic neurons, we have pretreated fetal mesencephalic tissue with the dopaminotrophic factor glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF). Mesencephalic tissue pieces from embryonic day 18–19 Fischer 344 rats were preincubated for 20 min with GDNF (1 μg/μl) or vehicle. Two tissue pieces were then transplanted into the striatum of rats that had been unilaterally lesioned by medial forebrain bundle injections of 6-hydroxydopamine. The animals were tested for apomorphine-induced rotations prior to intracranial grafting. Host rats received intrastriatal injections of 10 μg GDNF or control solution at 10 days and 4 weeks postgrafting. The animals were tested in the rotometer twice monthly following transplantation. Despite the fact that these transplants were from a suboptimal donor stage, the rotations were significantly decreased in both transplanted groups. Immunohistochemical evaluation of the host brains revealed that the overall size of transplanted mesencephalic tissue was significantly increased in the GDNF-treated animals, and that the average size of transplanted tyrosine hydroxylase (TH)-positive neurons was also increased. Furthermore, we found that the innervation density of surrounding host striatal tissue was significantly increased in the GDNF-treated group, as compared with controls. Taken together, these results suggest that treatment of intrastriatal ventral mesencephalon grafts with GDNF can optimize the conditions for intracranial grafting and thus improve the chances for functional recovery following the intrastriatal grafting procedure.
Homogeneous assay based on low quantum yield Sm(III)-donor and anti-Stokes’ shift time-resolved fluorescence resonance energy-transfer measurement

Abstract Non-overlapping fluorescence resonance energy-transfer (nFRET) is a highly sensitive, time-resolved, assay technology. It utilizes lanthanide chelates as donors together with non-overlapping acceptor fluorophores, which have their absorption maximum energetically at a higher level than the emittive transitions of the donor. In this report the nFRET was studied using a low quantum yield Sm(III)-chelate as the donor in a homogeneous dF508-DNA hybridization assay. Despite the low quantum yield, Sm(III) could function as an efficient donor in nFRET, which resulted in strong energy-transfer induced acceptor emission in the assay. Further, the induced acceptor emission of the assay showed non-Forster-type decay characteristics and allowed the sensitive anti-Stokes’ shift FRET measurement, in which the induced acceptor emission was measured at a wavelength region shorter than the main emittive transitions of the donor. The detection limit for the dF508 DNA-target was 12.0 pM (S/B = 2). The assay sensitivity was surprisingly similar with the corresponding Eu-based nFRET-assay, despite the approximately 90-fold lower quantum yield of the Sm-donor. The results confirm the exceptional properties of the nFRET induced acceptor signal and support the theory of energy-transfer taking place from the excited energy levels above the emittive energy level of the lanthanide donor. We conclude that nFRET-technique is well suited for highly sensitive DNA assays and that the assay sensitivity is not limited by the emittive quantum yield of the donor.
The origin of some New Zealand metamorphic rocks as shown by their major and trace element composition

Abstract In a study of a portion of the regionally metamorphosed Alpine Schist Belt, South Island, New Zealand, where thin beds of green schists are interbedded with quartz-albite-biotite schists, the redistribution of the chemical elements by metamorphism is shown to have been slight, so that chemical data can be used to indicate the nature of the parent rock. Ten analyses are reported for the quartz-albite-biotite-(calcite)-(clinozoisite) schists (Arahura series). The distribution of the elements, in particular, F, V, Mn, Na, Ca, Sr, K, and Ba, indicates that the parent rocks were of greywacke type composed of essentially unweathered minerals, while the source rocks were high in alkali feldspar. Seven analyses are given for the green schists (Pounamu Series). They show significantly higher amounts of Cr, Mg, Ni, Co, and Cu and lower amounts of P, Ti, Sr, Ba, and K compared with the enclosing Arahura schists. One group of three ten-foot beds is interpreted as being derived from sills of basaltic composition. A thicker unit is of more basic (olivine or picrite basalt) composition, and the distribution of Cr, Fe, Mg, Ti, Ni, Co, Cu, V, Sc, Na, and Ca indicates gravitational differentiation in the original sill. It is also concluded that the intrusion took place prior to deformation as well as metamorphism.
The behavior–conservation interface

Caro1xCaro, T. Trends Ecol. Evol. 1999; 14: 366–369Abstract | Full Text | Full Text PDF | PubMed | Scopus (65)See all References1 summarizes the many areas of conservation management that could benefit from explicit, quantitative application of behavioral research. However, contrary to his statement ‘… use of behavioral knowledge has never been expounded by the behavioral community or explicitly recognized by conservation biologists’1xCaro, T. Trends Ecol. Evol. 1999; 14: 366–369Abstract | Full Text | Full Text PDF | PubMed | Scopus (65)See all References1, the idea of using behavioral understanding to inform conservation management has been around for a long time. For instance, The Behaviour of Ungulates and its Relation to Management, a two-volume compendium of >50 papers edited by Geist and Walther was published a quarter of a century ago2xSee all References2.Caro1xCaro, T. Trends Ecol. Evol. 1999; 14: 366–369Abstract | Full Text | Full Text PDF | PubMed | Scopus (65)See all References1 listed several areas where ethology could be applied to conservation: fragmentation, responses to exploitation and disturbance, effective population size, captive breeding and reintroductions, monitoring and predictive tools, human behavior, and the future of behavioral research for conservation. Twenty-two of the 31 chapters in Volume 2 of Geist and Walther2xSee all References2 explicitly address one or more of these areas; the only missing topic is disease, but then Caro also missed the important topic of using ethology to predict animals’ effects on the habitat.Ignoring previous work is, of course, a prescription for wasting resources on reinventing the wheel. Although our ability to apply ethology to conservation management has improved over the past 25 years3xClutton-Brock, T.H. and Albon, S.D. Nature. 1992; 358: 11–12CrossrefSee all References, 4xFrom Individual Behaviour to Population Ecology. Sutherland, W.J. See all References, I suspect that in some areas the improvement is not so great now that the shoulders of bygone giants are unhelpful. Perhaps a good student project would be to compare the recent flurry of compendia on the topic of the behavior–conservation interface5xSee all References5 to Geist and Walther2xSee all References2, to specify just where advances have, and have not, been made, so that our use of precious conservation resources could be spent more efficiently.
Numerical Geology: Predicting Depositional and Diagenetic Facies From Wireline Logs Using Core Data

To exploit a reservoir, the geological model must accurately define the depositional environment and the effects of diagenesis on the pore network. Current methods for establishing the geological model of a field usually require subjective, qualitative interpretation of geological and petrophysical data. A method--Numerical Geology--has been developed that greatly reduces the subjectivity in geological modeling efforts. This method also allows geological attributes to be quantified and predicted. Numerical Geology involves the integration of petrophysical, petrological and geological data with wireline log responses. The geology of ``Hydraulic or Flow Units`` intervals with similar hydraulic characteristics is described using conventional sedimentology, petrography and core analysis data. These data are translated into a matrix of geological indices classified according to hydraulic unit profile of the section. Hydraulic units are then predicted for uncored sections based on their unique log signatures that are obtained from cored sections. By combining predicted hydraulic units profile with the matrix of geological indices for each flow unit, profiles of geological attributes are derived. The prediction reliability of hydraulic units is calculated based on the uniqueness of log signatures for each flow unit. Therefore, the confidence level for geological predictions can be assigned to estimated profiles of geological attributes.more » This eliminates much of the subjectivity from future geological interpretations and predictions.« less
Evaporation rates of liquids to flowing gas streams

The influence of high concentration gradients and high evaporative velocities on rates of mass transfer was studied by evaporating liquids into low-speed inert gas streams at pressures approaching the vapor pressure of the liquids. Inert gas concentration in some experiments changed nearly fivefold across the boundary layer. The velocity normal to the surface (owing to evaporation), usually neglected in comparison with main-stream velocity, varied from 0.038 to 19 times the main-stream velocity. The data for air-water, air-carbon tetrachloride, air-chlorobenzene, and helium-chlorobenzene systems were represented within experimental error over the Graetz number range of 0.1 to 1,800 by the flat-duct equations of Butler and Plewes (2) and also by the usual dimensionless plots.
Axon Regeneration through Scaffold into Distal Spinal Cord after Transection

Abstract We employed Fast Blue (FB) axonal tracing to determine the origin of regenerating axons after thoracic spinal cord transection injury in rats. Schwann cell (SC)-loaded, biodegradable, poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) scaffolds were implanted after transection. Scaffolds loaded with solubilized basement membrane preparation (without SCs) were used for negative controls, and nontransected cords were positive controls. One or 2 months after injury and scaffold implantation, FB was injected 0–15 mm caudal or about 5 mm rostral to the scaffold. One week later, tissue was harvested and the scaffold and cord sectioned longitudinally (30 μm) on a cryostat. Trans-scaffold labeling of neuron cell bodies was identified with confocal microscopy in all cell-transplanted groups. Large (30–50 μm diameter) neuron cell bodies were predominantly labeled in the ventral horn region. Most labeled neurons were seen 1–10 mm rostral to the scaffold, although some neurons were also labeled in the cervical cord. Axona...