cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Nuclear Data Sheets for A = 235,239

Abstract The evaluator presents in this publication spectroscopic data and level schemes from radioactive decay and nuclear reactions studies for all nuclei with mass numbers A=235,239. A relatively small amount of new data on the level structure of nuclei with A=235,239 has been reported since the previous evaluation of this mass chain. The data presented here are mostly that from 1993Sc22 and 1992Sc18 but updated and modified as needed. A new isotope of americium, 235Am (9.9 min), which was chemically and mass separated, was identified using a He-jet recoil transport technique (1996Gu11,1997Sh21,1999Ya13), and has been included in this evaluation. A new isotope of protactinium, 239Pa (1.8 hr.) has been included in this evaluation. This nuclide was produced by bombarding uranium with 18O projectiles; it was chemically separated and its genetic relationship to its daughter nuclide 239U was well established (1995Yu01,1996Yu06). The alpha hindrance factors (HF) presented in this evaluation were calculated using values of the radius parameter (r0) interpolated from those for even-even adjacent nuclei given by 1998Ak04.
Digital Optical Sky Surveys

Cameras containing arrays of charge-coupled devides--or which are otherwise capable of sustained high data rates--enable optical sky surveys that compete in efficiency with photographic surveys in terms of area of sky covered per unit observing time. There are gains in performance as well as efficiency: stellar photometry is more straightforward because of the higher dynamic range of CCDs and the low noise of CCDs allows narrow-band surveys to be undertaken. The small dead-time between exposures allows surveys for rapid variability as well as near-simultaneous color measurements. The most important new prospect may be real-time analysis for identification of sources changing either in position or in brightness. These gains come only after substantial investment in analysis tools and data handling and storage systems. To illustrate some of this potential, this review will focus on a number of sky surveys with CCDs that are either under way or in advanced implementation stages.
Pancreatic metastases from renal cell carcinoma in von Hippel-Lindau disease

von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) disease is an unusual inherited chromosomal dominant disease characterized by CNS hemangioblastomas and visceral neoplasms. Multiple abnormalities may involve the abdomen including pathology in the liver, pancreas, kidneys, and adrenal glands. The present case report describes a patient with renal cell carcinoma in von Hippel-Lindau disease. What was most unusual about this case was that the patient also developed pancreatic masses that were metastatic disease from renal cell carcinoma.
Patient Costs As a Barrier to Intensive Health Behavior Counseling

Background Although intensive health behavior counseling has been demonstrated to help patients lose weight and quit smoking, many payers offer limited coverage for such counseling. Purpose This mixed-methods case study examined how coverage affected utilization of an electronic linkage system (eLinkS) to help adult patients obtain intensive health behavior counseling, provided through a collaboration of primary care practices and community programs. Methods Grant support enabled patients to obtain counseling at no cost, but funds were exhausted within 5 weeks as a result of an overwhelming response. To study the influence of cost as a barrier, referrals were resumed for an additional 3 weeks, but patients were required to pay for them. Use of eLinkS, level of clinician counseling and referrals, and patient interest in referrals were measured using electronic medical record data and patient and clinician interviews. Results When counseling was free, approximately one in five patients with an unhealthy behavior and an eLinkS prompt was referred for intensive counseling. However, when patient charges were instituted, referrals decreased by 97% (from 21.8% to 0.7%, p p p p Conclusions Coverage for intensive health behavior counseling is important to utilization, particularly for interventions that involve clinician–community partnerships. The potential public health benefits of such collaborations to reduce unhealthy behaviors justify the elimination of financial barriers (e.g., copayments) by payers.
Ensemble-based virtual screening for cannabinoid-like potentiators of the human glycine receptor α1 for the treatment of pain

The human glycine receptors (hGlyRs) are chloride-selective ion channels that mediate inhibitory neurotransmission in the brain stem and spinal cord. They are also targets for compounds of potential use in analgesic therapies. Here, we develop a strategy to discover analgesic drugs via structure-based virtual screening based on the recently published NMR structure of the hGlyR-α1 transmembrane domain (PDB ID: 2M6I) and the critical role of residue S296 in hGlyR-α1 potentiation by Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). We screened 1549 FDA-approved drugs in the DrugBank database on an ensemble of 180 hGlyR-α1 structures generated from molecular dynamics simulations of the NMR structure of the hGlyR-α1 transmembrane domain in different lipid environments. Thirteen hit compounds from the screening were selected for functional validation in Xenopus laevis oocytes expressing hGlyR-α1. Only one compound showed no potentiation effects; seven potentiated hGlyR-α1 at a level greater than THC at 1 μM. Our virtual screening...
Interaction of hydrogen and Ni on W(110)

The adsorption of a monolayer of Ni on hydrogen covered W(110) and that of hydrogen on Ni1W(110) has been investigated by work function, thermal desorption, and LEED measurements. Adsorption of Ni on HW(110) does not lead to loss of H but reduces the desorption temperature of 67% of a full (HW(110) = 1) layer to a peak centered at 270 K. For Ni0.8/H1/W(110), i.e. for Ni pseudomorphically adsorbed on W(110), the amount of H2 desorbing in the 270 K peak is substantially increased, indicating that the modification of H bonding at the interface depends on Ni-W geometry. Adsorption of H2 on Ni1W(110) results in a coverage of HW(110) = 0.44 at quasi-saturation. The sticking coefficient of H2 on Ni1W(110) at 90 K is initially unity but drops rapidly to zero, and can be fitted roughly by s = s0(1 − θθmax)n with n = 2–4. Post-adsorption of H2 on Ni1/Hθ/W(110) occurs for θ = 0.2 to an extent of HW(110) = 0.5–0.8 but rapidly falls to zero as θ increases. Adsorption of H on Ni1/W(110) leads to a work function increase of 600 meV relative to Ni1/W(110) at saturation, i.e. at H/W = 0.44. The question of migration of H to or from the Ni/W interface at 90 K is discussed: while some migration cannot be excluded TPD, work function, and LEED results make this unlikely and indicate that at least a substantial fraction of H remains at the interface for Ni1/H/W(110) and also that H remains on the outer Ni surface for H/Ni1/W(110). Adsorption of H on θNi < 1 Ni layers on W(110) leads to reconstruction and to dramatic changes in sticking coefficients with H coverage which can be correlated with reconstruction. H preadsorbed under Ni on the W(110) surface does not have this effect unless the surface is heated to 240 K.
Overexpression of the Protein Phosphatase 2A Regulatory Subunit Bγ Promotes Neuronal Differentiation by Activating the MAP Kinase (MAPK) Cascade

Protein serine/threonine phosphatase 2A (PP2A) is a multifunctional regulator of cellular signaling. Variable regulatory subunits associate with a core dimer of scaffolding and catalytic subunits and are postulated to dictate substrate specificity and subcellular location of the heterotrimeric PP2A holoenzyme. The role of brain-specific regulatory subunits in neuronal differentiation and signaling was investigated in the PC6-3 subline of PC12 cells. Endogenous Bβ, Bγ, and B′β protein expression was induced during nerve growth factor (NGF)-mediated neuronal differentiation. Transient expression of Bγ, but not other PP2A regulatory subunits, facilitated neurite outgrowth in the absence and presence of NGF. Tetracycline-inducible expression of Bγ caused growth arrest and neurofilament expression, further evidence that PP2A/Bγ can promote differentiation. In PC6-3 cells, but not non-neuronal cell lines, Bγ specifically promoted long lasting activation of the mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase cascade, a key mediator of neuronal differentiation. Pharmacological and dominant-negative inhibition and kinase assays indicate that Bγ promotes neuritogenesis by stimulating the MAP kinase cascade downstream of the TrkA NGF receptor but upstream or at the level of the B-Raf kinase. Mutational analyses demonstrate that the divergent N terminus is critical for Bγ activity. These studies implicate PP2A/Bγ as a positive regulator of MAP kinase signaling in neurons.
Initial stages of contact-induced plasticity in sapphire. II. Mechanisms of plasticity initiation

Part II of the present study focuses on the yield point phenomenon, a discontinuous transition from the apparently elastic to the elastic–plastic regime for basal [C, (0001)], rhombohedral [R, (1 012)] and prism [A, (12 10) and M, (101 0)] planes of sapphire (Al2O3) under spherical contacts. The yield point mechanisms are predicted by supplementing the analysis presented in Part I with a criterion for the yield point transition. The proposed criterion accounts for the low-symmetry structure of sapphire. The resulting theoretical predictions are compared with experimental results. This comparison focuses on the effects of surface orientation and loading rates on the yield point load and on the peculiarities of yield point mechanisms, as reflected in the acoustic emission (AE) signals associated with the yield point. For the C plane, the availability of pyramidal and prism slip is expected to be a limiting factor for the yield point transition. Depending on the loading rate, either basal slip or basal twinn...
The Effect of a Peptide Helix Macrodipole on the pKa of an Asp Side Chain Carboxylate

A study of the effect of a helix dipole on the pKa of a side chain functional group has been undertaken to determine the magnitude of these electrostatic effects in the absence of interfering influences from a protein matrix. Three helical peptides were prepared: two containing Asp residues at the N- or C-terminus and one with an Asp residue in the middle of the peptide. These peptides have no reactive residues other than the Asp side chain carboxylate group. Circular dichroism confirmed that these peptides adopt helical conformations in aqueous solution over a broad pH range. The pKa of compound 12, where the Asp residue is at the N-terminus of the helix, is 3.81 ± 0.31. This is lower than the pKa of an Asp residue in a short nonhelical model compound (4.09 ± 0.21) and lower than the pKa values of 23, where the Asp residue is at the C-terminus of a helix (4.17 ± 0.24), and 19, where the Asp residue is in the middle of the helix (4.17 ± 0.29). No significant perturbation was observed at the C-terminus of...
Malignant lymphoma of the skin in children

The clinical and histopathologic findings in eight cases of malignant lymphoma of the skin in children are presented. All patients had skin lesions as a primary manifestation of the disorder. Three patients had simultaneous regional lymph node involvement documented by the findings of subsequent biopsies. The majority (five patients) had solitary nodules involving the skin of the head and neck region. Three of the skin biopsy specimens were classified as lymphoblastic lymphoma, two large cell lymphoma, two mixed small and large cell lymphoma, and one small cleaved cell lymphoma. Disseminated disease subsequently developed in four patients in an interval that ranged from 4 to 30 months after diagnosis. The follow-up period ranged from 8 to 56 months, and median survival was 56 months. A literature review of 33 previously reported patients and our eight patients indicate that: (1) skin of the head and the neck region is the most common site of involvement (56%); (2) the majority of lymphomas are diffuse (93%); (3) lymphoblastic lymphoma is the predominant type (53%), with a high proportion showing a non-T-cell phenotype; (4) Burkitt's lymphoma and Hodgkin's disease of the skin are extremely rare; and (5) most patients presented in an early clinical stage (Stage IE 56%, Stage IIE 21%), and prolonged disease-free survival was seen mostly in Stage I patients. The cumulative probability of survival for Stage I patients at 24 months was 0.71; while for Stages II to IV patients combined, it was 0.33 at 26 months. Cancer 59:1040-1045, 1987.
VIP Activates Gs and Gi3 in Rat Alveolar Macrophages and Gs in HEK293 Cells Transfected with the Human VPAC1 Receptor

Abstract We have characterized vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) receptor/G-protein coupling in rat alveolar macrophage (AM) membranes and find that pertussis toxin treatment and antisera against Gαi3 and Gαs reduce high-affinity 125I-VIP binding, indicating that both Gαs and Gαi3 couple to the VIP-receptor. The predominant VIP-receptor subtype in AM is VPAC1 and we examined the G-protein interactions of the human VPAC1 that had been transfected into HEK293 cells. VPAC1 has a molecular mass of 56 kDa; GTP analogs reduced 125I-VIP binding to this protein demonstrating that high-affinity binding of VIP to the receptor requires coupling to G-protein. Functional VIP/VPAC1/G-protein complexes were captured by covalent cross-linking and analyzed by Western blotting. The transfected human VPAC1 receptor in HEK293 was found to be coupled to Gαs but not Gαi or Gαq. Furthermore, pertussis toxin treatment had no effect on VPAC1/G-protein coupling in these cells. These observations suggest that the G-proteins activated by VPAC1 may be dependent upon species and cell type.
Laboratory simulations of acid‐sulfate weathering under volcanic hydrothermal conditions: Implications for early Mars

We have completed laboratory experiments and thermochemical equilibrium models to investigate secondary mineral formation under conditions akin to volcanic, hydrothermal acid-sulfate weathering systems. Our research used the basaltic mineralogy at Cerro Negro Volcano, Nicaragua, characterized by plagioclase, pyroxene, olivine, and volcanic glass. These individual minerals and whole-rock field samples were reacted in the laboratory with 1 molal sulfuric acid at varying temperatures (65, 150, and 200°C), fluid:rock weight ratios (1:1, 4:1, and 10:1), and durations (1–60 days). Thermochemical equilibrium models were developed using Geochemist's Workbench. To understand the reaction products and fluids, we employed scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy. The results of our experiments and models yielded major alteration minerals that include anhydrite, natroalunite, minor iron oxide, and amorphous Al-Si gel. We found that variations in experimental parameters did not drastically change the suite of minerals produced; instead, abundance, size, and crystallographic shape changed. Our results also suggest that it is essential to separate phases formed during experiments from those formed during fluid evaporation to fully understand the reaction processes. Our laboratory reacted and model predicted products are consistent with the mineralogy observed at places on Mars. However, our results indicate that determination of the formation conditions requires microscopic imagery and regional context, as well as a thorough understanding of contributions from both experiment precipitation and fluid evaporation minerals.
Hypothalamic and cortical D-C potential changes induced by stimulation of the midbrain reticular formation.

D-C potential changes were evoked in the sensorimotor cortex and the hypothalamus of unanesthetized cats with chronically implanted electrodes by repetitive stimulation of the mesencephalic reticular formation. Stimulation at 30 to 300 p/sec. frequencies induced negative d-c shifts which were quite abrupt in onset, starting after the second or third shock with a peak of negativity reached within the first 50 to 100 msec of the 1 second duration of stimulation. Typically these negative shifts were sustained for the duration of stimulation with a prolonged 1 to 1.5 second return to baseline after termination of stimulation. Such d-c shifts were relatively independent of the site of the reference electrode but highly dependent on the location of the “active” recording electrodes and the stimulating electrodes. Reasons have been advanced to suggest that these negative d-c shifts reflect summated neuronal discharge in the immediate environs of “active” recording electrodes in the cerebral cortex and hypothalamus. In contrast to the consistent, stimulus-locked negative d-c shifts, less consistent changes, usually positive in polarity, were observed to begin 2 to 3 seconds after termination of RF stimulation. These slower d-c changes were highly dependent on the site of the reference electrode and the physical state of tissue at the electrode tip and therefore far less directly related to neuronal events in cortical and hypothalamic tissue.
Effects of node geometry on cooperative distributed AF wireless relay network

This paper presents the effects of relay-node geometry on bit error rate (BER) performance of an amplifying and forward (AF) relay cooperative distributed wireless network. This paper considers one-source-one-destination pair and N relay nodes. In addition, this paper assumes that all relay nodes share their received signals from the source node and the channel coefficients for cooperation. Then, an optimal relay-amplifying matrix is derived using the minimum mean square error (MMSE) criterion under a total power constraint at the relay nodes. Simulation results are presented using the analytically derived amplifying matrix.
Limiting Amino Acids for Milk Protein Synthesis By Bovine Mammary Cells in Culture

Experiments are presented to determine the effect of labeled precursor amino acid on synthesis of beta-lactoglobulin and beta-casein and to identify the most limiting amino acids in Eagle's minimal essential medium for synthesis of milk protein. Protein synthesis was measured by incorporation of carbon-14 labeled amino acids into milk protein from bovine mammary cell culture. Mammary tissue from 13 Holsteins (12.7 kg milk/day) was dispersed and cultured for 18 h. In Experiment 1, three replications (cows) with three amino acid mixtures, utilizing labeled lysine or leucine as the marker amino acid, showed that labeled lysine overestimated the effect of medium lysine, and labeled leucine overstimated the effect of leucine on beta-lactoglobulin and beta-casein synthesis. Subsequently Experiment 2 utilized 10 replications (cows) to determine the effect of a three-fold increase of each of 13 amino acids in Eagle's medium. Increased threonine or methionine improved beta-lactoglobulin synthesis and cystine increased beta-casein. Second and third best response in beta-casein were from addition of methionine and threonine. Combined analysis from 10 cows and two protein responses by multivariate procedures identified, in order of decreasing magnitude, cystine, threonine, and methionine as limiting amino acids in the dispersed cell culture.
Horizontal advection of temperature for low-frequency motions

Abstract Estimates of low-frequency horizontal advection of temperature are made with small errors by using a representation of horizontal advection of temperature as a function of the speed and turning about the vertical of the horizontal current. Within these errors the horizontal advection of temperature accounts for the observed local time changes of temperature during the 40-day Internal Wave Experiment (IWEX) period. The importance of horizontal advection indicates the dominant heat balance is not that of local time change of temperature balanced by vertical advection of temperature as assumed in wave models linearized about a mean stratification. These estimates suggest that a more appropriate linear model should be based on a mean state including mean horizontal gradients of temperature and hence a mean vertical shear of horizontal velocity. The mean state is not that of the long-term mean, however, but one associated with motions of time-scale longer than the measurement period of 40 days. Using this linearization, comparisons are made with a baroclinic instability model to investigate energy transfer between motions of different time-scales. In the context of this model, the direction of potential energy transfer between the mean and perturbation fields can be determined from the sign of the temporal phase lag between negative horizontal advection and local change of temperature. For these estimates negative horizontal advection leads local change suggesting that mean potential energy is increasing at the expense of perturbation potential energy. This phase lag, however, is not significantly different from zero so that a longer record is needed to establish the direction of potential energy transfer.
Development of a sanitizing fabric wipe for use on food contact surfaces.

: A sanitizer was incorporated into disposable sanitary wipes that were used to eliminate microorganisms on plastic and metal surfaces. These surfaces were inoculated with strains of Bacillus subtilis OSU 494, Enterococcus faecalis OSU 48, Escherichia coli ATCC 29181, Listeria innocua ATCC 33090, Pseudomonas aeruginosa OSU 167, Salmonella enteritidis OSU 799, Staphylococcus epidermidis OSU 838), Candida albicans ATCC 10231, and Aspergillus fumigatus ATCC 10894. These inoculated surfaces were cleaned with the wipes for 5, 10, and 30 s, then organisms surviving on the cleaned surfaces and in the wipes were enumerated. Applying the sanitizing wipe to the plastic and metal surfaces reduced the viability of bacteria (> log 4 for 5 s), yeast cells (> log 5 for 10 s), and fungal spores ( 0.05) between surviving numbers on the surface of the plastic compared with that of the metal.
Impact of patient incompetence on decisions to use or withhold life-sustaining treatment

Abstract purpose: To study the relationship of patient incompetence to decisions to withhold life-sustaining treatments. design and patients: This prospective cohort study consisted of 311 inpatients with end-stage congestive heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cancer, and cirrhosis. methods: Daily assessments were used to classify patients as incompetent if they had depressed consciousness, major psychiatric disease, or cognitive impairment throughout their hospital stay. Treatment decisions were assessed by observation and medical record review. results: Forty-eight (15%) patients were incompetent: 33 had depressed consciousness, 11 failed cognitive screens, and 4 had major psychoses. Incompetent patients were more severely ill (APACHE II score 14.9 versus 12.6, P P P P conclusions: Despite current legal and ethical debate, incompetent patients are far more likely than competent patients to have life-sustaining treatment witheld. Most decisions are made by a consensus of physicians and family surrogates, and major conflicts rarely occur.
Identification of tungstic and molybdic “acids” by X-ray powder diffraction

Abstract Standard X-ray powder diffraction data are presented for the tungstic and molybdic oxide hydrates, and for water-insoluble polysalts often confused with the hydrates.
Preferences for styles of negotiation: a comparison of Brazil and the U.S.

Abstract This study examined differences between Brazilians and Americans in preferences for the styles of negotiation outlined in the dual concern model (Pruitt, 1982; Pruitt & Carnevale, 1993). Consistent with theories of individualism-collectivism, it was found that Brazilians, who are more collectivistic than Americans, prefer styles of negotiation that express a concern for the outcomes of others more than Americans do, whereas Americans prefer styles of negotiation that reflect a concern for their own outcomes more than Brazilians do. Also consistent with predictions derived from theories of individualism-collectivism, it was found that Brazilians made a greater distinction between ingroup and outgroup members than did Americans. Brazilians make accommodations or avoid conflicts more when the conflict is with an ingroup member than an outgroup member. Americans treat ingroup and outgroup members similarly.
Spectral stability and time evolution of N-solitons in the KdV hierarchy

This paper concerns spectral stability and time evolution of N-solitons in the Korteweg–de Vries (KdV) hierarchy with mixed commuting time flows. Spectral stability problem is analysed by using a pair of self-adjoint operators with finite numbers of negative eigenvalues. We show that the absence of unstable eigenvalues in the stability problem is related to the absence of negative eigenvalues of these operators in the constrained function spaces. Time evolution of N-solitons is uniquely characterized from the inverse scattering transform technique.
Technology Scapegoats and Policy Saviors

IEEE Security & Privacy's associate editor in chief discusses technology's role in identity fraud and identity theft.
SAFETY OF KETOROLAC IN THE PEDIATRIC POPULATION AFTER URETERONEOCYSTOSTOMY

Purpose: Ketorolac has been used to provide effective postoperative analgesia in children and decreases hospitalization for pediatric patients undergoing ureteroneocystostomy. However, it can cause severe side effects, including increased bleeding and renal insufficiency, which can be devastating in a child. Little has been reported on the safety of ketorolac by evaluating creatinine, hematocrit and complications.Materials and Methods: An institutional retrospective review was performed during an 18-month period in which 118 patients underwent ureteroneocystostomy. One group containing 50 patients received caudal anesthetic preoperatively and narcotic analgesics postoperatively, while another 68 received caudal anesthetic preoperatively and ketorolac postoperatively. Patient ages, type of procedure, preoperative and postoperative creatinine and hematocrit, and complications were noted in each cohort.Results: Average patient age of the control analgesic and ketorolac groups was 5.3 years (range 1 to 17) an...
Clopidogrel and risk for acute coronary events

Clopidogrel bisulfate is a potent adenosine diphosphate receptor blocker that irreversibly inhibits platelet aggregation by preventing the activation of the glycoprotein IIb/IIIa pathway. This helps to prevent thrombus formation and resultant ischemic or thrombotic complications. Clopidogrel was proven to be superior to aspirin in the treatment of atherothrombotic diseases. Clopidogrel plus aspirin, known as dual antiplatelet therapy, is highly effective in patients with acute coronary syndromes or undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention. There is no apparent benefit of dual antiplatelet therapy in primary prevention. In this article, we review the benefits of clopidogrel as an antiplatelet agent and its role in the management of acute coronary syndromes and following percutaneous coronary intervention.
Smoking ban policies and their influence on smoking behaviors among current California smokers: A population-based study

Abstract Objective To assess whether smoking ban policies are associated with smoking reduction and quit attempts among California smokers. Methods Data were examined for 1718 current smokers from follow-up telephone interviews conducted in 2011 of persons previously identified as smokers in a representative sample of the adult population of California. Population weighted logistic regressions controlling for demographic and other variables were used to evaluate the association between smoking ban policies (home, work, and town) and changes in tobacco use (past year quit attempt or reduction in smoking rate). Results Living in a home with a total ban was significantly associated with smoking reduction (adjusted odds ratio, AOR: 2.4, 95% CI: 1.4–4.2) and making a quit attempt (AOR: 2.3, 95% CI: 1.3–3.9) compared to living in a home with no home ban. Self-reported perception of an outdoor ban in one's city/town was associated with smoking reduction (AOR: 1.7, 95% CI: 1.02–2.7) and making a quit attempt (AOR: 1.8, 95% CI: 1.05–2.9). Conclusion These results indicate that smoking bans not only protect nonsmokers from the harms of secondhand smoke, but are also associated with smoking reduction and cessation.
Inhibition of in vitro meningioma proliferation after growth factor stimulation by calcium channel antagonists: Part II--Additional growth factors, growth factor receptor immunohistochemistry, and intracellular calcium measurements.

ABSTRACTWE HAVE PREVIOUSLY reported that calcium channel antagonists can block both the growth of meningiomas in culture and the potent growth stimulation of meningioma cells by epidermal growth factor (EGF) and platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF). This study further defines the nature of this gro
Utility of repeat testing of critical values: a Q-probes analysis of 86 clinical laboratories.

Context.— A common laboratory practice is to repeat critical values before reporting the test results to the clinical care provider. This may be an unnecessary step that delays the reporting of critical test results without adding value to the accuracy of the test result. Objectives.— To determine the proportions of repeated chemistry and hematology critical values that differ significantly from the original value as defined by the participating laboratory, to determine the threshold differences defined by the laboratory as clinically significant, and to determine the additional time required to analyze the repeat test. Design.— Participants prospectively reviewed critical test results for 4 laboratory tests: glucose, potassium, white blood cell count, and platelet count. Participants reported the following information: initial and repeated test result; time initial and repeat results were first known to laboratory staff; critical result notification time; if the repeat result was still a critical result;...
Results on Factorial Designs of Resolution IV for the 2 n and 2 n 3 m Series

Factorial designs of resolution III are such that all main effects are estimable, ignoring two-factor interactions and all higher order interactions. Designs of resolution IV are such that all main effects are estimable with no two-factor interactions as aliases, ignoring all higher order interactions. The general technique for producing 2 n designs of resolution IV is a specific application of the Box-Wilson “fold-over” theorem. Recent work by Steve Webb on resolution IV designs for two-level factors is discussed and extended. The miniium run requirement for a 2 n resolution IV design is 2 n . It is proved that if a minimal resolution IV 2 n design has each factor occurring equally often at its high and low levels, then the design must be a fold-over design. A proof that the minimum run requirement for a resolution IV 2 n 3 m design, m > 0, is 3(n + 2m − 1) also is included. Minimal 2 n resolution IV designs are presented for various values of n. All these designs can be run in n blocks of size 2 each.
Language-Specific Response Patterns and Subjective Assessment of Health: A Sociolinguistic Analysis

It is a premise of many secondary statistical analyses of cross-sectional data that language choice acts as an adequate proxy to assess level of acculturation of Hispanic respondents. In this article, conclusions are analyzed that point to a tendency of Mexican Americans to make negative subjective health assessments. A sociolinguistic analysis is proposed, one that examines code switching as a communicative option that is available to the members of a bilingual speech community. From this perspective, cultural change provides an individual with additional linguistic and symbolic categories for expressing distress. It is discussed how a Mexican American's choice to speak Spanish at the time of the interview may not indicate that he orshe is prone to exaggerate somatic complaints or that he or she is less acculturated, but rather that the mother tongue is the language of choice to communicate psychic demoralization and somatic distress in the context of health-related interview schedules.
Estimating precipitation normals for USCRN stations

[1] Normals estimation in this study is based on the fact that monthly precipitation anomalies at any target location are similar to those of neighboring stations. Precipitation normals have been generated for stations of the newly developed U.S. Climate Reference Network (USCRN) by using data from this network and 4629 stations of the National Weather Service Cooperative Station network (COOP). This analysis evaluated several variations of estimation approaches. The best method that was used in USCRN normals estimation was one that included the use of monthly departure data from ∼11 neighboring COOP stations (within ∼78 km of a USCRN station), and a weighting scheme that used the inverse square difference in monthly precipitation totals between the COOP and USCRN stations. When the estimated normals are based on a few years of data (e.g., 3 years of data), their errors are about 9–12% of true normals, and are about 19–28% of the typical magnitude of year-to-year variability. This suggests that these estimated USCRN normals can be useful in climate monitoring and assessment.
Inactivation of nitric oxide by uric acid.

The 1980 identification of nitric oxide (NO) as an endothelial cell-derived relaxing factor resulted in an unprecedented biomedical research of NO and established NO as one of the most important cardiovascular, nervous and immune system regulatory molecule. A reduction in endothelial cell NO levels leading to “endothelial dysfunction” has been identified as a key pathogenic event preceding the development of hypertension, metabolic syndrome, and cardiovascular disease. The reduction in endothelial NO in cardiovascular disease has been attributed to the action of oxidants that either directly react with NO or uncouple its substrate enzyme. In this report, we demonstrate that uric acid (UA), the most abundant antioxidant in plasma, reacts directly with NO in a rapid irreversible reaction resulting in the formation of 6-aminouracil and depletion of NO. We further show that this reaction occurs preferentially with NO even in the presence of oxidants peroxynitrite and hydrogen peroxide and that the reaction is at least partially blocked by glutathione. This study shows a potential mechanism by which UA may deplete NO and cause endothelial dysfunction, particularly under conditions of oxidative stress in which UA is elevated and intracellular glutathione is depleted.
Biomarkers of psychiatric diseases: Current status and future prospects

Abnormal behavior and disturbed cognition, often assumed to represent psychiatric illness, may actually result from some form of occult organic brain disease that can be detected by means of one or more biomarkers. This truth was discovered more than a century ago by Aloysius Alzheimer, a German psychiatrist and neuropathologist. As a psychiatrist, he described the behavioral manifestations of "senile dementia" in a 51-year-old female; as a neuropathologist, he was the first to recognize the significance of the senile plaques and neurofibrillary tangles found in her brain after her death at age 55 years. It was Alzheimer who made the connection between these "biomarkers" and the symptoms of the increasingly prevalent disease that now bears his name. In recent years, the search for psychiatry-relevant biomarkers of major depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disease, and other important psychiatric/neuropsychiatric disorders has intensified. Biomarkers in psychiatry and neuropsychiatry have the potential of clarifying the etiology of an ambiguous clinical presentation-making it possible, for example, to detect underlying differences between psychological maladies that have confusingly similar symptoms. In addition, attempts are now being made to classify mental disorders on the basis of biomarkers. Biomarkers may also disclose the presence of a previously unsuspected physical explanation for behavior(s) originally presumed to be "psychiatric" in origin. Although clinically usable biomarkers in the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness await validation, candidate genomic biomarkers and protein profiling of candidate biomarkers in psychiatry are rapidly gaining ground as areas of interest, with considerable future potential. This review considers biomarker-related issues germane to psychiatry and neuropsychiatry in the context of new data that can be used to tailor therapies to the individual psychiatric patient.
Transoral laser microsurgery (TLM) +/- adjuvant therapy for advanced stage oropharyngeal cancer: outcomes and prognostic factors.

Objectives/Hypothesis: Document survival, prognostic variables, and functional outcomes of patients with AJCC stage III or IV oropharyngeal cancer, treated with transoral laser microsurgery (TLM) ± adjuvant therapy. Study Design: Analysis of prospectively assembled data pertaining to the above-described patient cohort. Methods: Patients treated with TLM for AJCC stage III or IV oropharyngeal cancer at Washington University School of Medicine from 1996 to 2006 were followed for a minimum of 2 years. Recurrence, survival, functional, and human papilloma virus data were analyzed. Results: Eighty-four patients met inclusion criteria. Mean follow-up was 52.6 months. Overall AJCC stages were: III 15% and IV 85%. T stages were T1-2, 74%; T3-4, 26%. Eighty-three patients underwent neck dissection, 50 received adjuvant radiotherapy, and 28 received adjuvant chemoradiotherapy. Overall survival at 2 and 5 years was 94% and 88%, respectively. Disease-specific survival at 2 and 5 years was 96% and 92%, respectively. Six patients recurred (7%): locally (one), regionally (four), and distant (five). T stage, positive margins, and p16 status significantly impacted survival. The addition of adjuvant chemotherapy in high-risk patients did not significantly impact survival. Five patients (6%) had major surgical complications, but without mortality. Eighty-one percent of patients had acceptable swallowing function at last follow-up. Immediately postoperatively, 17% required G-tubes, which dropped to 3.4% of living patients at 3 years. Conclusions: In this population, our findings validate TLM ± adjuvant therapy as a highly effective strategy for survival, locoregional control, and swallowing recovery in AJCC stage III and IV oropharyngeal cancer. Our finding also show that p16 positivity improves survival.
Use of a Macrocyclic Crown Ether in an Emulsion (Liquid Surfactant) Membrane to Effect Rapid Separation of Pb2+ from Cation Mixtures

Abstract Results for the carrier-mediated transport of Pb2+ from an aqueous solution through an emulsion-type liquid membrane to an aqueous receiving phase are presented. The carrier, dicyclohexano-18-crown-6, was initially dissolved in the oil phase. The process was studied with Pb(NO3)2 alone and with Pb(NO3)2 in the presence of either LiNO3 or KNO3. Lead recovery was over 90% with up to tenfold enrichment. Lead was preferentially transported over either Li+ or K+ providing rapid separations.
Excitation of a Closed Cylindrical Cavity by a Charged Ring Moving along the Axis at Constant Velocity

An important aspect of the design of high-current devices is the beam loading of the accelerating structure. The phenomenon is sensitive to the charge distribution of the beam and to the geometry of the structure. Calculations for realistic geometry are difficult; to gain insight, a number of authors have studied the simplified problem of beam interaction with a closed, right cylindrical cavity. A formal solution, for arbitrary charge distribution, has been give as a (double) sum over the modes of the cavity. It has been emphasized by all previous workers that the simplified problem approximates reality only for those modes having wavelengths large compared to the holes in an actual structure. We have developed a computational program aimed at evaluating the energy transfer to the cavity when the geometry of the beam is characterized by inner and outer radii as well as an axial length. Sums over selected sets of (or all) modes are available. Parametric studies are presented of the total cavity excitation by a charged ring.
The role of the pediatrician in smoking prevention

Smoking prevention during childhood and adolescence is critical to the successful reduction of tobacco-related morbidity and mortality in the United States. The research literature is replete with surveys describing youth smoking acquisition and related factors. In addition to its direct harm, tobacco use may be a gateway to other substance abuse and a marker of other health-compromising behaviors. The pediatrician can play an important role in prevention by screening all patients and providing individual counseling. The pediatrician can also contribute as a consultant and advocate of school- and community-based smoking prevention efforts. Such a multicomponent approach provides the greatest likelihood of accelerating the decline in smoking and smokeless tobacco initiation.
Distance learning and libraries in the Pacific Islands

The Pacific Islands until recently were thought by many Westerners to be places where swaying palm trees, sandy beaches and brown-skinned natives lived in spendor, untouched by any form of modernity. This, of course, has been an illusion. Pacific Islanders have indeed been touched by the movement to modernize which swept much of the independent Third World countries. Of the major Pacific Islands,l nine are independent, five are independent states in free association with the United States or New Zealand and seven are territories. This paper excludes distance learning in Australia. Education and training on all levels are seen as high priority needs among most of the governments. Priority for education coupled with technological advancements have helped speed the rate of modernization taking place in the islands. This is especially true in the area of communication and education. For many years the major problem facing educational and national planners was delivering education more fully to those remote areas. Today, this is no longer a barrier because of the continuing success of providing distance learning in the region. Distance learning is defined as any form of individualized learning which is conducted by a tutor separated from students by great distances. Instruction is conducted through various media (radio, television, cassette players, etc.) and correspondence. Radio is the most pervasive, but television offers the greatest potential for teaching and learning.
A special theory of microelasticity

Abstract The Eringen-Suhubi[1] linear theory of microelastic solids is re-examined. With the application of internal constraints derived from a postulate of principal coincidence more stringent than that used by Koh [2], further simplification of the general theory is achieved. The special theory so obtained reduces from eighteen to ten the number of elastic moduli required to characterize the microelastic continua. The basic equations of the special theory are subsequently derived.
Genetic constraints in the induction of the immune response to ehrlich ascites tumor in mice

A single injection of irradiated Ehrlich ascites tumor (EAT) cells induces immunity in normal mice but fails to do so in T-cell-deficient-thymectomized, lethally irradiated, bone marrow-reconstituted (TIR) mice. TIR mice injected with normal syngeneic T cells develop an immune response to EAT when injected with irradiated EAT cells and reject a subsequent tumor cell challenge. In the present studies allogeneic T cells were unable to protect against EAT in TIR recipients even if harvested from donors tolerant to the recipient's transplantation antigens and injected into the TIR mice tolerant to the transplantation antigens of the injected T cells. Tolerance was produced by establishing long-term radiation chimeras of the P → F1 type. Semiallogeneic T cells also failed to afford protection against EAT in TIR recipients. Whereas tolerance to other parental-strain transplantation antigens did not reverse the inability of parental T cells (cells from P → F1 chimeric donors) to protect against EAT in F1 TIR mice, it did enable F1 T cells to afford protection in P → F1 TIR mice.
Deinking of laser printed copy paper with a mediated free radical system

This work investigated the effect of a chelator-mediated bio-mimetic free radical treatment on repulping and flotation operations during the deinking of laser printed copy paper. A chelator-mediated free radical treatment was carried out at two different chemical levels and a two-step repulping method, which combined conventional alkaline repulping as well as free radical treatment, was also developed. Flotation trials were performed on each of these treated samples to separate ink particles. Results from image analysis and paper physical properties testing are presented, and the deinking efficiency for these different treatments is also compared. Results indicate that under properly controlled conditions, free radical treatment can perform better than conventional chemical deinking methods.
Effect of Maternal Betamethasone Administration on Prenatal Congenital Cystic Adenomatoid Malformation Growth and Fetal Survival

Objective: To evaluate the effect of prenatal steroid treatment on the growth of congenital cystic adenomatoid malformations (CCAM) and survival in affected fetuses not amenable to
A review of the activity, fate and mode of action of sulfonylurea herbicides

The sulfonylurea herbicides are a relatively new group of compounds which control broad-leaved weeds and some grasses in cereal crops. This literature review emphasises work reported on chlorsulfuron and met-sulfuron-methyl. The activity of the herbicides, their fate in soil and in plants, and their mode of action are discussed. In addition some of the methods of assaying these compounds are described.
Policy implications of trends in Turkey's meat sector with respect to 2023 vision.

Abstract Turkey has become one of the leading emerging economies in the world being second after China as the highes ecoonomically growing country with 8.9% economic growth rate in 2010. Forecasting impacts of this development in coming 10 years might have very important policy implications for the meat sector in the framework of 2013 vision of Turkey. In this study, annual time series data which contain several key variables of meat sector in last 26 years (1987–2012) are used to forecast the variables of the coming twelve years (2013–2024) to drive policy implications by considering the impacts of high economic growths, crises and major policy changes. Forecasted future values of the variables for 2023 in the sector are assessed and compared with recent national and international values to drive policy implications. The results show that the economic growth results in the increase in per capita income and thus increased demand for meat seemed to foster the meat sector. Therefore, these macroeconomic indicators need to be better in addition to improvements at micro level for establishing competitive meat sector and thus reaching aimed consumption level of meat.