cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Alcohol and IL-6 Alter Expression of Synaptic Proteins in Cerebellum of Transgenic Mice with Increased Astrocyte Expression of IL-6

Recent studies indicate that neuroimmune factors, including the cytokine interleukin-6 (IL-6), play a role in the CNS actions of alcohol. The cerebellum is a sensitive target of alcohol, but few studies have examined a potential role for neuroimmune factors in the actions of alcohol on this brain region. A number of studies have shown that synaptic transmission, and in particular inhibitory synaptic transmission, is an important cerebellar target of alcohol. IL-6 also alters synaptic transmission, although it is unknown if IL-6 targets are also targets of alcohol. This is an important issue because alcohol induces glial production of IL-6, which could then covertly influence the actions of alcohol. The persistent cerebellar effects of both IL-6 and alcohol typically involve chronic exposure and, presumably, altered gene and protein expression. Thus, in the current studies we tested the possibility that proteins involved in inhibitory and excitatory synaptic transmission in the cerebellum are common targets of alcohol and IL-6. We used transgenic mice that express elevated levels of astrocyte produced IL-6 to model persistently elevated expression of IL-6, as would occur in alcohol use disorders, and a chronic intermittent alcohol exposure/withdrawal paradigm (CIE/withdrawal) that is known to produce alcohol dependence. Multiple cerebellar synaptic proteins were assessed by Western blot. Results show that IL-6 and CIE/withdrawal have both unique and common actions that affect synaptic protein expression. These common targets could provide sites for IL-6/alcohol exposure/withdrawal interactions and play an important role in cerebellar symptoms of alcohol use such as ataxia.
Natural history of central sparing in geographic atrophy secondary to non-exudative age-related macular degeneration.

Background The macular central 1 mm diameter zone is crucial to patients’ visual acuity, but the long-term natural history of central sparing in eyes with geographic atrophy (GA) is unknown. Methods We manually segmented GA in 210 eyes with GA involving central 1 mm diameter zone (mean follow-up=3.8 years) in the Age-Related Eye Disease Study. We measured the residual area in central 1 mm diameter zone and calculated central residual effective radius (CRER) as square root of (residual area/π). A linear mixed-effects model was used to model residual size over time. We added a horizontal translation factor to each data set to account for different durations of GA involving the central zone. Results The decline rate of central residual area was associated with baseline residual area (p=0.008), but a transformation from central residual area to CRER eliminated this relationship (p=0.51). After the introduction of horizontal translation factors to each data set, CRER declined linearly over approximately 13 years (r2=0.80). The growth rate of total GA effective radius was 0.14 mm/year (95% CI 0.12 to 0.15), 3.7-fold higher than the decline rate of CRER (0.038 mm/year, 95% CI 0.034 to 0.042). The decline rate of CRER was 53.3% higher in eyes with than without advanced age-related macular degeneration in the fellow eyes at any visit (p=0.007). Conclusions CRER in eyes with GA declined linearly over approximately 13 years and may serve as an anatomic endpoint in future clinical trials aiming to preserve the central zone.
Buprenorphine Treatment Intake and Critical Encounters following a Nonfatal Opioid Overdose.

Individuals with prior opioid-related overdose events have an increased risk for opioid-related mortality. Buprenorphine is a partial agonist that has shown to be an effective medication for opioid...
90552 Evidence synthesis with reconstructed survival data

ABSTRACT IMPACT: A one-stage Bayesian multilevel model for meta-analysis integrating different survival data is introduced to complete the information synthesis without assuming proportional hazard. OBJECTIVES/GOALS: To develop a general modeling approach to perform efficient and robust meta-analyses using aggregated data (AD) for survival type endpoint and apply to a meta-analysis to examine the association between measurable residual disease (MRD) and disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: A Bayesian semi-parametric hierarchical model with a time-varying HR effect was presented. Three common types of survival information, including reconstructed survival data, the hazard ratio (HR) estimates with corresponding CIs and survival rates at specific time points, are synthesized such that all literature from the systematic review can contribute properly to the estimation and uncertainty quantification of the model parameters. The time-varying effects was modeled by assuming piecewise hazard risk and piecewise constant hazard ratio. The heterogeneity across studies was expressed by an additive random study effect and a random treatment-by-study interaction. The method was applied to a systematic review of 81 publications reporting on 11,151 AML patients. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: In simulation studies that the proportional hazard assumption is either valid or violated, the proposed method was efficient to achieve comparable performance to IPD meta-analysis, a gold standard approach, in estimating the survival rates, the restricted mean survival time at specific time points and median survival time with the point estimates close to the true values. When HR is not proportional over time, the proposed method was robust in estimating HR and significantly outperformed the classical random-effects meta-analysis. In the application to AML study, the average HR for achieving MRD negativity was 0.36 (95% CrI, 0.33-0.39) for OS and 0.37 (95% CrI, 0.34-0.40) for DFS. The association of MRD negativity with OS and DFS was significant and consistent across all subgroups. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF FINDINGS: The proposed novel method provided a flexible framework for meta-analysis of survival data, to accommodate various types of survival data in one model without assuming proportional hazards assumption. The findings of AML meta-analysis suggest that achievement of MRD negativity is associated with superior DFS and OS in patients with AML.
Black Representation in Media, Education, and Anti-Blackness in Voting in Brazil

This paper examines transnational Black politics, focusing on relationships between the U.S. and Brazil. It is a continuation of the tradition of collaborative work between the National Conference of Black Political Scientists (NCOBPS) and Afro-Brazilian scholars and activists. It consists of a panel of Black Brazilian women moderated by a Black American woman. It examines Black representation in the Brazilian media, the impact of the 2018 Brazilian election on Brazil's Black population, teacher training programs, and Black studies programs in Brazil.
Optimizing diabetes screening frequencies for at-risk groups

There is strong evidence that diabetes is underdiagnosed in the US: the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that approximately 25% of diabetic patients are unaware of their condition. To encourage timely diagnosis of at-risk patients, we develop screening guidelines stratified by body mass index (BMI), age, and prior test history by using a Partially Observed Markov Decision Process (POMDP) framework to provide more personalized screening frequency recommendations. We identify structural results that prove the existence of threshold solutions in our problem and allow us to determine the relative timing and frequency of screening given different risk profiles. We then use nationally representative empirical data to identify a policy that provides the optimal action (screen or wait) every six months from age 45 to 90. We find that the current screening guidelines are suboptimal, and the recommended diabetes screening policy should be stratified by age and by finer BMI thresholds than in the status quo. We identify age ranges and BMI categories for which relatively less or more screening is needed compared to the existing guidelines to help physicians target patients most at risk. Compared to the status quo, we estimate that an optimal screening policy would generate higher net monetary benefits by $3,200-$3,570 and save $120-$1,290 in health expenditures per individual in the US above age 45.
Removal of Context: Blackstone, Limited Monarchy, and the Limits of Unitary Originalism

This article is part of a series on Article II, questioning the unitary theory’s three pillars: the Executive Vesting Clause, the Take Care Clause (or the “Faithful Execution” clauses), and the Decision of 1789 (or more accurately, the Indecisions of 1789). “Removal of Context” focuses on the “executive power” part of the Vesting Clause: Did “executive power” imply supervision and removal in the eighteenth century? What do the unitary theorists cite to support their claim that “executive power” includes removal, and “indefeasibly” so? Unitary executive theorists’ reliance on the English Crown in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, but they overlook or obscure the problems of relying on England’s limited monarchy, the era’s rise of Parliamentary supremacy over the Crown and its power to eliminate or regulate (i.e., make defeasible) royal prerogatives. There appears to be no evidence that executive removal was ever conceived as a “royal prerogative” at all, and the historical record indicates that the king did not have a general removal power at pleasure. The structure of the historical comparison has a major flaw: They concede that the Constitution explicitly limits many core royal powers, such war, peace (treaties), and the veto, so that the president is weaker than the king, but somehow Article II implies unnamed “executive powers” (like removal) that make a president stronger than a king? Moreover, there were eighteenth-century royal prerogatives related to law execution (prorogue and dissolution), but no one claims Article II “executive power” implies them. When one investigates the unitary evidence more closely and follows their sources, one finds a pattern of misinterpreting historical sources, especially Blackstone in amicus briefs and law review articles in the unitary executive scholarship. In particular, the recent brief by unitary scholars in Seila Law misinterprets Blackstone’s use of the word “disposing” of offices as removing, instead of dispensing or appointing (which are indicated by context and general usage) and then misquotes a passage from Blackstone, reversing his meaning from his uncertainty about the relevant law of offices to a certain positive claim about removal. These misreadings are more than just small or narrow errors. They obscure more significant points: Blackstone was fundamentally in favor of parliamentary supremacy, against “indefeasible” executive powers; and Blackstone never mentions removal as a royal prerogative or a general executive power, which is powerful counter-evidence to the unitary theorists’ assumptions. These errors are also a cautionary moment about originalist methods and the notion that originalism is more reliable or objective than other methods of interpretation.
MIRRORS AND MONEY: CONSTRUCTING AND DE-CONSTRUCTING REVOLUTION IN MARIANO AZUELA’S LOS DE ABAJO AND JOSEPH CONRAD’S NOSTROMO

MIRRORS AND MONEY: CONSTRUCTING AND DE-CONSTRUCTING REVOLUTION IN MARIANO AZUELA’S LOS DE ABAJO AND JOSEPH CONRAD’S NOSTROMO
NMR Studies of F Ion Motion in Doped β-PbF2

The results of a pulsed nuclear magnetic resonance study of the fluoride ion motion in two single crystals of β-PbF2, doped with 0.02% and 0.12% by weight of NaF, are reported. For F19, we measured the transverse relaxation time T2, the spin lattice relaxation time T1, and the spin lattice relaxation time in the rotating frame T1r as a function of temperature from −50°C to 160°C. T1 and T2 were also measured as a function of pressure to 4 kilobars at 19°C, and T1 was measured at several different frequencies between 10 and 60 MHz. T1 is described by an activation energy of 0.205±0.01 ev/ion, and is frequency independent. T1r and T2 are described by activation energies of 0.29±0.02 and 0.27±0.01 ev/ion respectively. A T1r minimum at 56°C yields a correlation time of 0.74 µsec for the F motion in the 0.02% crystal, and an estimated diffusion rate of 2 x 10−10 cm2/sec.
English Culture and the Decline of the Industrial Spirit, 1850–1980: Images and politics

The history of every people ought to be written with less regard to the events of which their government was the agent, than to the disposition of which it was the sign. —John Ruskin, The Stones of Venice (1853) Conservatives: Toryism versus industrial capitalism Many years ago, G. M. Young noted a paradox of the Victorian era. “In a money-making age,” he observed, “opinion was, on the whole, more deferential to birth than to money,” and “in a mobile and progressive society, most regard was had to the element which represented immobility, tradition, and the past.” This deference (and the tension underlying it) shaped the character of English Conservatism. The reconstruction of Conservatism in the Victorian and Edwardian periods was a two-way process. The Tory party shifted its base from the land to property in all its forms, making room for the new middle classes. By 1918, in A. J. P. Taylor's phrase, the party had “caught up with the modern world.” Yet only in part. Many of the values and attitudes of Toryism lived on within the reconstituted party, alongside industrial and capitalistic values. The party continued to invoke the rustic spirit of the nation. Conservatism was enamored of rural England, as much an England of the mind as of reality. Conservatives imbued with the Southern Metaphor of the nation tended to look askance at a number of central characteristics of industrial capitalism – its ugliness (or at least untidiness), its “materialism,” and its instability.
DISCRETIONARY ACTIVITY TIME ALLOCATION OF INDIVIDUALS BETWEEN IN-HOME AND OUT-OF-HOME AND BETWEEN WEEKDAYS AND WEEKENDS

This paper formulates a model for the allocation of total weekly discretionary time of individuals between in-home and out-of-home locations and between weekdays and the weekend. The model formulation takes the form of a continuous utility-maximizing resource allocation problem. The formulation is applied to an empirical analysis using data drawn from a 1985 time-use survey conducted in the Netherlands. This survey gathered time-use information from individuals over a period of one week and also collected detailed household-personal socio-demographic data. The empirical analysis uses household socio-demographics, individual socio-demographics, and work-related characteristics as the explanatory variables. Among the explanatory variables, age of the individual and work duration during the weekdays appear to be the most important determinants of discretionary time allocation.
From rivals to partners: AirSea Battle and the US air force–navy relationship

AirSea Battle (ASB) has generated significant publicity, controversy, and debate among scholars, analysts, commentators, and observers of US defense strategy. However, a research gap exists concerning formal analysis of the impact of the operational concept on the relationship between the US Air Force (USAF) and the US Navy (USN). The impact of the ASB operational concept on the USAF–USN relationship is examined across the issue areas of strategy, budgets, weapons procurement, and training. These four issue areas represent important areas of historical conflict and competition between the Air Force and Navy. The conclusion is that ASB is ushering in a new era of Air Force–Navy partnership that advances the inter-service dynamic from “jointness” toward integration. The emergent USAF–USN partnership therefore represents a significant development in US defense politics and defense strategy.
Prebiotic synthesis of nucleotides.

If an RNA-only world preceded more complex forms oflife, then it is essential that the process wherebythe first nucleotides were made be considered. Presumably there were no enzymes and no templates tofacilitate the synthesis of the first nucleotides soanother form of chemical evolution must have beeninvolved. Answers to problems of this sort weresought vigorously in the 1960s and the early 1970s butmany issues were left unresolved. Progress made inthe last few years has added to this early work andbrings us closer to a satisfactory solution. In thisarticle key results, old and new, and some ideas as tohow further progress is likely to be made are discussed.There are reasons for optimism. Substantial progresshas been made on the synthesis of purines and ribose,phosphorylation and polyphosphorylation. Theoutstanding problems at this juncture relate to thesynthesis of ribose to the exclusion of the otheraldopentoses and to the problem of linking ribose tothe purine bases.
Patterns of intimate partner violence and their associations with physical health, psychological distress, and substance use.

Objectives.The purpose of this work is to formally model patterns of intimate partner violence (IPV) separately for males and females and to assess the unique contributions of different types of vi...
Generating MC/DC adequate test sequences through model checking

We present a method for automatically generating test sequences to satisfy MC/DC like structural coverage criteria of software behavioral models specified in state-based formalisms. The use of temporal logic for characterizing test criteria and the application of model-checking techniques for generating test sequences to those criteria have been of interest in software verification research for some time. Nevertheless, criteria for which constraints span more than one test sequence, such as the modified condition/decision coverage (MC/DC) mandated for critical avionics software, cannot be characterized in terms of a single temporal property. This paper discusses a method for recasting two-sequence constraints in the original model as a single sequence constraint expressed in temporal logic on a slightly modified model. The test-sequence generated by a model-checker for the modified model can be easily separated into two different test-sequences for the original model, satisfying the given test criteria. The approach has been successful in generating MC/DC test sequences from a model of the mode-logic in a flight-guidance system.
Evaluation of temporally scalable video coding techniques

Two temporally scalable video coding techniques, temporal subband coding (TSB) and predictive coding, are evaluated both theoretically and in practice to provide comparisons of compression and visual quality at differing frame rates. Results demonstrate that TSB coding has a higher coding gain at full frame rate than predictive coding if both algorithms use either no motion compensation or motion compensation (MC) that can be modeled as an invertible pre-distortion of the video sequence. However, predictive coding outperforms TSB coding at full frame rate when both schemes use block-based MC. In addition, visual results for lower-frame-rate video using TSB coding are unacceptable due to significant distortions from temporal filtering. These results are demonstrated through both theoretical evaluation of rate-distortion based coding gains and simulated coding of real video sequences.
Rac1 Up for Epidermal Stem Cells

Stem cells in the skin and hair follicle are responsible for continual renewal of these tissues. Identification of genes involved in the proliferation and differentiation of stem cells is of paramount importance for understanding skin homeostasis and tumorigenesis. In their Perspective, [Dotto and Cotsarelis][1] discuss how the gene encoding Rac1 appears vital for maintaining the stem cells in the skin. [1]: http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/309/5736/890
Soil pathogens and spatial patterns of seedling mortality in a temperate tree

The Janzen–Connell hypothesis1,2 proposes that host-specific, distance- and/or density-dependent predators and herbivores maintain high tree diversity in tropical forests. Negative feedback between plant and soil communities could be a more effective mechanism promoting species coexistence because soil pathogens can increase rapidly in the presence of their host3, causing conditions unfavourable for local conspecific recruitment4,5,6. Here we show that a soil pathogen leads to patterns of seedling mortality in a temperate tree (Prunus serotina) as predicted by the Janzen–Connell hypothesis. In the field, the mean distance to parent of seedling cohorts shifted away from maternal trees over a period of 3 years. Seedlings were grown in soil collected 0–5 m or 25–30 m from Prunus trees. Sterilization of soil collected beneath trees improved seedling survival relative to unsterilized soil, whereas sterilization of distant soil did not affect survival. Pythium spp., isolated from roots of dying seedlings and used to inoculate healthy seedlings, decreased survival by 65% relative to controls. Our results provide the most complete evidence that native pathogens influence tree distributions, as predicted by the Janzen–Connell hypothesis, and suggest that similar ecological mechanisms operate in tropical and temperate forests.
Select with Groups of 3 or 4

We revisit the selection problem, namely that of computing the ith order statistic of n given elements, in particular the classical deterministic algorithm by grouping and partition due to Blum, Floyd, Pratt, Rivest, and Tarjan (1973). While the original algorithm uses groups of odd size at least 5 and runs in linear time, it has been perpetuated in the literature that using groups of 3 or 4 will force the worst-case running time to become superlinear, namely \(\Omega (n \log {n})\). We first point out that the arguments existent in the literature justifying the superlinear worst-case running time fall short of proving this claim. We further prove that it is possible to use group size 3 or 4 while maintaining the worst case linear running time. To this end we introduce two simple variants of the classical algorithm, the repeated step algorithm and the shifting target algorithm, both running in linear time.
In Situ Thermal Study of Li1 + x [ Ni1 ∕ 3Co1 ∕ 3Mn1 ∕ 3 ] 1 − x O2 Using Isothermal Micro-clorimetric Techniques

Li 1+x [Ni 1/3 Co 1/3 Mn 1/3 ] 1-x O 2 /Li half-cells were investigated using isothermal microcalorimetry (IMC), and the results were quantitatively analyzed. The entropy change (dEldT) calculated based on the IMC results during the charging process has the small range from -0.06 mV to -0.12 mV/K, which agrees with the experimental results. The small dE/dT values could explain why Li 1+x [N 1/3 Co 1/3 Mn 1/3 ] 1-x O 2 has better thermal stability than that of other nickel based layered oxide such as LiNiO 2, LiNi 1-x Co x O 2 , and LiNi 1-x Co y Al z O 2 . Furthermore, the heat flow rate during the discharge process was also calculated from the cell's irreversible heat and the cell entropy change. The calculated values fit well the experimental data from the IMC results. This study also suggests the optimum voltage window of the operation of the cell based on Li 1+x [Ni 1/3 Co 1/3 Mn 1/3 ] 1-x O 2 cathode is between 4.1 and 3.5 V due to both, the self-discharge of the cell at higher voltages and the higher impedance of the cell in lower voltage regions.
Teach for America and the Political Spectacle of Recruiting the "Best and the Brightest"

Each year, approximately 8,000 corps members work in schools. This paper illuminates the political spectacle and master narratives that allow TFA to thrive as a silver bullet in urban school reform. This work utilizes neoliberalism, political spectacle, and master narratives. Political spectacle suggests an “onstage” rhetoric and a “backstage” reality that the public doesn’t see. This onstage rhetoric is turned into a “spectacle” perpetuated by media (Edelman, 1970). The spectacle is a political symbol aimed at accomplishing a political goal or solving a problem. TFA may divert public attention from important issues or solutions (Smith, 2004).The use and influence of master narratives related to TFA is discussed. A master narrative, (Lyotard, 1984) portrays common sense ways of understanding experiences that reflect and influence understandings of power and society (Aldridge, 2006). This paper illuminates TFA as (1) a political spectacle; (2) a cause and consequence of failed urban school reform; and (3) a temporary solution to systemic problems. We argue TFA perpetuates master narratives of teaching, learning, and educational equity, contributing to a false understanding of what teachers need to know and be able to do. Implications are significant for policymakers and urban communities.
Tumour Antigens Recognised by Antibodies

Humoral and cellular immune responses to tumour antigens occur during tumourigenesis. Since 1965, there has been an ongoing search for cancer-specific antibodies as these have potential applications as specific diagnostic and therapeutic tools. Serum antibodies from cancer patients have been used to identify hundreds of tumour antigens. Owing to the biochemical heterogeneity of tumours, even of the same type, each patient has a slightly different repertoire of autoantibodies. However, there is an overall characteristic polyclonal signature for specific tumour types. Thus, multi-antigen assays to detect cancer signatures are in development as diagnostic tests. For antigen-targeted therapy, monoclonal antibodies to individual antigens have been produced and some are FDA approved for cancer treatment. Key Concepts Autoantibodies against aberrant or overexpressed tumour antigens are induced during tumour development. Tumour-associated autoantibodies have potential for cancer diagnosis and prognosis. Individual autoantibodies have a relatively low sensitivity while multiplex antigen arrays that detect multiple autoantibodies provide a higher specificity and sensitivity for tumour detection. Serum autoantibodies have been useful in identifying tumour antigens that can be used to characterise tumours and as therapeutic targets. Monoclonal antibodies against specific tumour antigens can be produced in the laboratory. Multiple monoclonal antibodies produced against cancer-specific antigens have been FDA approved for cancer therapy. Keywords: tumour; antigen; antitumour antibodies; polyclonal; monoclonal
The lively ethics of global health GMOs: The case of the Oxitec mosquito

Social scientists have recently brought renewed attention to the relationship between epidemics and environmental change. Vector-borne and zoonotic diseases (for example, dengue, malaria, avian influenza) are exacerbated by disturbances to the environment, yet historically most solutions to these problems tend to involve further disturbances to environments, notably the mass destruction of non-human life (for example, pigs, sheep, cattle and insects). This article analyzes ethical debates that arose in 2010, when the British biotechnology firm Oxitec Ltd. announced a field test of a technology that would change this story: a genetically modified (GM) version of the Aedes aegypti mosquito that transmits dengue. Designed to control mosquito populations through interbreeding, Oxitec’s mosquitoes are an example of what I call ‘global health Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)’. As both environmental interventions, like GM crops, and biomedical technologies, like pharmaceuticals, such organisms challenge not only the moral position of social scientists vis–a–vis vector-borne or zoonotic disease but also the relationship of environmental ethics to bioethics. Addressing these challenges alongside the abiding question of for-profit biotechnology’s role in global health, I suggest that global health GMOs might be assessed through a ‘lively ethics’ that emerges not in discrete regulatory spaces (‘body’, ‘nation-state’, ‘global environment’) but in more fluid ‘moral spaces’.
Comment on "Growth and characterization of epitaxial cubic boron nitride films on silicon"

We review the x-ray-diffraction and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) data that Doll [ital et] [ital al]. [Phys. Rev. B 43, 6816 (1991)] used as evidence for the epitaxial growth of cubic boron nitride (cBN) on silicon (001) surfaces. The three reported x-ray-diffraction peaks do not provide unambiguous evidence for cBN due to potential interference from the graphitelike phase of BN and from artifacts of the silicon substrate. We provide an interpretation of their HRTEM image. Our interpretation does not provide support for an epitaxial cBN/Si relationship or the presence of cBN.
Perceptual Constraints on Frequency Ratio Performance in Motor-Respiratory Coordination

In motor-respiratory coordination, people typically maintain frequency ratios that are from lower levels of a mathematical structure known as the Farey tree. A hypothesized mechanism for motor-respiratory coordination is the visceral piston (Bramble & Carrier, 1983)—mechanical loading of the lungs due to footfalls, for example, imposes a rhythm on breathing. The occurrence of motor-respiratory coordination in exercises in which there is no visceral piston (e.g., bicycling and wheelchair propulsion) implies that there are other mechanisms. We examined whether there is a perceptual basis for motor-respiratory coordination. In Experiment 1, participants viewed simulated ratios side by side and, in a forced-choice paradigm, judged whether they were the same or different. In Experiment 2, participants performed ratios using feedback displays in which different ratios looked either the same or different. Lower level ratios were less likely than higher level ratios to be confused with other ratios. Ratios that c...
What Spaceguard did

A survey of large objects near Earth has shown that there is little risk of a cataclysmic impact in the next century. Alan Harris asks if such cataloguing efforts should continue. A 'near Mars object' that got too near is a possible explanation for one of the most prominent features we see on Mars — the north-south dichotomy of the planet's surface appearance. The southern highlands on Mars cover about 60% of the planet and are heavily cratered, while the northern lowlands are lightly cratered, are geologically younger, and the underlying crust is significantly thinner than in the south. The two favoured explanations for this 'hemispheric dichotomy' are mantle convection and a giant impact, but there is little available evidence to distinguish between the theories. Three Letters in this issue provide support for the giant impact model. Marinova et al. present the results of dynamical simulations of dichotomy-forming impacts that demonstrate the feasibility of a giant impact origin. A snapshot of a simulation with favoured impact conditions is shown on the cover. The snapshot is about 30 min after impact and the colour codes for internal energy (Image: S. Lombeyda, Caltech Center for Advanced Computing Research; M. Marinova and O. Aharonson, California Institute of Technology). Andrews-Hanna et al. use the gravity and topography of Mars to map the dichotomy boundary beneath the large Tharsis volcanic province, and find the boundary to be elliptical, consistent with an oblique giant impact origin. This 'Borealis basin' would be the largest impact scar in the Solar System. Nimmo et al. use numerical modelling to simulate the effects of vertical impacts. They find that the impact model, as well as excavating a crustal cavity of the correct size, can explain the observed crustal disruption and the formation of the northern lowlands crust by impact-generated melt. In an accompanying News & Views, Walter Kiefer sums up the evidence for the impact model. Elsewhere in this issue, the results of a smaller but still enormous impact event are remembered. The Tunguska event laid waste to a large swath of forest to the north of Lake Baikal in Central Siberia on the morning of 30 June 1908. In a News Feature, Duncan Steel goes back to basics to sift through the contemporary evidence collected in the days after the blast. That, combined with modern studies of the area and theoretical work, points to a fragment of comet Encke as the likely impactor. A small group of astronomers began to look for near-Earth objects (NEOs) capable of causing Tunguska-like events in the 1960s and 1970s, and with the realization that an asteroid impact can cause events as drastic as mass extinctions, the Spaceguard project was begun in the 1998 to search more methodically for NEOs. As Alan Harris explains in a Commentary, the results of Spaceguard are encouraging. It looks like we are 'safe' for the foreseeable future, but NEO watchers say that we need to keep up our guard. Eric Hand reports on the giant lunar crater that holds the key to a catastrophic bombardment, and a Gallery Feature celebrates the beauty of impact craters from across the Solar System.
Socialist Consciousness Raising and Cuba's School to the Countryside Program

As a participant-observer, the author relates observations, interviews, and surveys from her experience in a Cuban Escuela al Campo (“School to the Countryside,” or EAC) camp located on a collective farm outside of the city of Havana. The Pioneers, the youth section of the official Cuban Communist Party, organize the EAC program nationwide. The program's rugged, military lifestyle experience is required for city-based junior high school students in Cuba, an essential rite of passage of the politicization and socialist consciousness-raising efforts designed by the Revolutionary Government. The author proposes that beneath the revolutionary symbols and activities of the EAC, a new and latent socialist consciousness has been evolving for some time, one that reflects neither an absolute nor an erosion of socialist ideals. Rather, this consciousness (conciencia), much like A. Yurchak (2005) demonstrates in his study of Gorbachev's Russia, reveals a system that inhabits incommensurable positions; Cuba's socialism is both everlasting and steadily declining, at the same time full of vigor and bleakness, as well as dedicated to high ideals and devoid of them. None of these positions is a mask. The intention of this article is, therefore, to show how each is real and mutually constitutive in the EAC. Understanding this peculiar dynamic is crucial for understanding the everyday practices of students, their parents and teachers, the socializing function of Cuban schools, and the seemingly duplicitous behavior in Cuban's daily lives. [Cuban education, socialism, value formation]
Bioelectric Correlates of Kanamycin Intoxication

Young guinea pigs were given a series of subcutaneous injections of kanamycin (400 mg/kg body weight for 8-14 days) and after at least a two-week waiting period various electrical responses from the cochlea were measured. After the experiments the cochlea was perfused with osmic acid, surface preparations were used to obtain sensory (hair) cell counts, and cochleograms were prepared. In this report the relationship between the various electrical in dices of cochlear function (cochlear microphonic: CM. summating potential: SP, and whole nerve action potential: AP) and the degree and configuration of sensory cell damage is discussed. The electrode potentials were obtained with the differential electrode technique and localized CM and SP responses were collected from the first and often the third cochlear turns. Both the differential (DIF) and the average (AVE) SP components were studied. The results reveral that the CM production of inner hair cells alone is about 30-40 dB below that of the outer hair cells...
Limit Theorems for Randomly Selected Ratios of Order Statistics from a Pareto Distribution

Abstract Consider independent and identically distributed random variables {X nk , 1 ≤ k ≤ m, n ≥ 1} from the Pareto distribution. We randomly select a pair of order statistics from each row, X n(i) and X n(j), where 1 ≤ i < j ≤ m. Then we test to see whether or not Strong and Weak Laws of Large Numbers with nonzero limits for weighted sums of the random variables X n(j)/X n(i) exist where we place a prior distribution on the selection of each of these possible pairs of order statistics.
Effects of lidocaine patch on intradermal capsaicin-induced pain: a double-blind, controlled trial.

Abstract This study evaluated the effects of topical lidocaine on skin sensation and on intradermal capsaicin-induced pain and hyperalgesia. A randomized, double-blinded, placebo controlled methodology was used. After baseline sensory testing, a placebo patch and a lidocaine patch were randomized to the volar aspect of the left or right forearm for 4 hours. The right forearm patch was removed, the sensory testing was repeated, and capsaicin was injected intradermally at the site. Pain scores were measured at the time of injection and every 2.5 minutes for 10 minutes followed by measurement of the hyperalgesic area to von Frey hair and stroking, flare response, and repeat sensory testing. At the completion of the testing on the right forearm, the left forearm patch was removed and the procedures described for the right forearm were repeated for the left forearm. There was a significant reduction in cool sensation, warm sensation, and touch thresholds in the lidocaine but not placebo patch arm. The lidocaine patch had no significant effect on hot pain or mechanical pain thresholds. Intradermal capsaicin resulted in a significant decrease in hot pain and mechanical pain thresholds; however, lidocaine was unable to significantly reverse the thermal or mechanical hyperalgesia induced by capsaicin. The lidocaine patch did not reduce flare area, nor areas of hyperalgesia or allodynia. This study suggests that the sodium channels and the capsaicin receptors function independently to control peripheral terminal depolarization. Perspective The sodium channel and the transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) receptor coexist on peripheral terminals of unmyelinated fibers. This study showed that activation of the TRPV1 receptor can depolarize the fibers in the presence of sodium channel blockade. This suggests that the sodium channel and TRPV1 receptor function independently in depolarizing the fibers.
Nucleoside incorporation as a function of hormone levels during the early phases of estrogen-induced genesis of medullary bone in the Japanese quail, Coturnix coturnix.

The sequence of changes in RNA synthesis during the early phases of genesis of medullary bone induced in male Japanese quail by estrogen treatment was studied by 3H-uridine uptake. Analyses of plasma estrogen and testosterone were done by radioimmunoassay at 12, 24, 38 and 61 h. A dose of 5 mg kg-1 estradiol-17β was found to stimulate the same 3H-uridine uptake 15 h after hormone treatment as a dose of 20 mg kg-1 of estradiol valerate. The uptake of 3H-uridine rose as the dose of estradiol-17β increased. Plasma estrogen levels, which were highest 12 h after injection, declined sharply during the next 12 h, returning to control levels between 38 and 61 h. Testosterone levels declined after estrogen administration and remained below control values at all time points. Following estrogen administration, 3H-uridine uptake declined from control values for the first 8 h. Twelve hours after hormone administration control levels were again reached, with maximum 3H-uridine uptake occurring 16 h after hormone treatment. The 16-h maximum was followed by a steady decline to below control levels at 20, 24 and 28 h, the time at which the experiment was discontinued. Maximum 3H-uridine up-take following estrogen stimulation is similar to that observed for the stimulated immature rat uterus.
T-Matrix Perturbation Theory and Its Application to the Faddeev Equations

A $T$-matrix perturbation theory is developed and applied to the Faddeev equations. This theory allows one to calculate the shift in the three-body binding energy produced by any part of the two-body $T$ matrix which is neglected in a three-body calculation. Since the perturbation series is given in terms of an operator closely related to the two-body $T$ matrix, the theory can be applied even when extremely singular potentials are used to describe the two-body interaction.
Infectivity of visna virus DNA.

Abstract Deoxyribonucleic acid isolated from cells infected with the RNA containing slow virus visna confers on uninfected cells the capacity to synthesize new virus. The cytopathic agent isolated in these experiments has the biological and biochemical properties of visna virus, and the active material is DNA by several criteria, the most important of which is the loss of infectivity with prior treatment of the DNA with deoxyribonuclease. The efficiency of infection with DNA is markedly enhanced by presenting DNA to the cell as a calcium DNA phosphate precipitate. Because of the lytic nature of visna virus infection, the infectivity of visna DNA can be assayed quantitatively by plaque formation. Our major findings with this infectivity assay include the following: (1) Duplex DNA is infectious while denatured DNA is not. (2) At least one complete copy of proviral DNA is integrated in the host genome. (3) The minimal infective size of duplex DNA corresponds to a transcript of one subunit of viral RNA. (4) However, the concentration dependence of infectivity is two hit over the size range of 10–30 million molecular weight. These findings suggest that the unique genetic information of the viral genome is distributed over more than one subunit and that the proviral DNA transcripts are unlinked in the cell. The usefulness of the DNA infectivity assay and the implications of the visna provirus for persistent viral infections are discussed.
The Feminist Movement and Women's Participation in Physical Recreation

(1990). The Feminist Movement and Women's Participation in Physical Recreation. Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance: Vol. 61, No. 1, pp. 44-47.
Survey on warfarin pharmacogenetic testing among anticoagulation providers.

Aims: Our study aimed to assess anticoagulation providers’ perception and knowledge of warfarin pharmacogenetic testing, and to identify barriers to using it in their clinical practice. Materials & Methods: An online survey that included 5 perception and 5 knowledge questions about the testing was conducted on anticoagulation providers in North America. Participants were also asked to rank the three most significant barriers to using it. Results: The survey response rate was 22%. Over 40% of 448 providers participating in the study were undecided about the testing’s potential clinical benefits. On average, providers correctly answered 2 out of 5 knowledge questions. Self confidence in interpreting test results significantly predicted the providers’ accuracy of the interpretation. The top three barriers were inadequate literature evidence, testing’s impracticality and unproven applicability. Conclusion: Most of the providers did not respond to the survey. Our study suggests inadequate literature evidence i...
Autoimmune heart disease: role of sex hormones and autoantibodies in disease pathogenesis

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) and autoimmune diseases (ADs) are the first and third highest causes of death in the USA, respectively. Men have an increased incidence of the majority of CVDs, including atherosclerosis, myocarditis, dilated cardiomyopathy and heart failure. By contrast, nearly 80% of all ADs occur in women. However, in one category of ADs, rheumatic diseases, CVD is the main cause of death. Factors that link rheumatic ADs to CVD are inflammation and the presence of autoantibodies. In this review we will examine recent findings regarding sex differences in the immunopathogenesis of CVD and ADs, explore possible reasons for the increased occurrence of CVD within rheumatic ADs and discuss whether autoantibodies, including rheumatoid factor, could be involved in disease pathogenesis.
Serial passage of infectious transcripts of a cucumber mosaic virus satellite RNA clone results in sequence heterogeneity.

Abstract Populations of the D-satellite RNA (D-sat) of cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) have a major site of heterogeneity at which a significant proportion of the molecules vary from each other. The generation of this heterogeneity was investigated by using infectious transcript RNA of a prototype D-sat clone as an inoculum of uniform sequence to initiate serial passages in five different host plant species. RNase protection assays indicated that heterogeneity at the same site seen in natural D-sat RNA populations developed within two to four passages in most of the hosts tested, and the proportion of the population exhibiting this heterogeneity accumulated to a much higher level in tobacco than in the other hosts. Characterization of the heterogeneity which developed in tobacco showed it to be qualitatively different from that in the original natural D-sat population. This analysis of a CMV satellite RNA is the first example in which infectious transcript RNA from a clone has been used to investigate the rapid generation and selection of heterogeneity in a genomic RNA population replicating in plants.
Crossed-swords, capsule-pinch technique for capsulotomy in pediatric and/or loose lens cataract extraction.

Puncturing the anterior capsule in a patient with a very soft lens, an elastic capsule, and/or deficient zonular countertraction can be challenging even with a sharp needle or blade. The crossed-swords, capsule-pinch technique capitalizes on opposing forces from 2 needles directed toward each other with a “pinch” of the capsule between their tips. This affords a controlled and facile puncture of the capsule without creating stress on the zonules or anteroposterior displacement of the lens. Financial Disclosure Neither author has a financial or proprietary interest in any material or method mentioned.
Cytoskeletal protein carbonylation and degradation in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis.

Protein carbonylation, the non-enzymatic addition of aldehydes or ketones to specific amino acid residues, has been implicated in the pathophysiology of multiple sclerosis. In this study, we investigated whether protein carbonyls also accumulate in the spinal cord of Lewis rats with acute experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). Western blots analysis after derivatization with dinitrophenyl hydrazine (oxyblot) showed elevated protein carbonylation at the time of maximal clinical disability. During the same period glutathione levels were substantially reduced, suggesting a causal relationship between these two markers. In contrast, lipid peroxidation products accumulated in EAE spinal cord well before the appearance of neurological symptoms. Carbonyl staining was not restricted to inflammatory lesions but present throughout the spinal cord particularly in neuronal cell bodies and axons. By 2-dimensional-oxyblot, we identified several cytoskeletal proteins, including β-actin, glial acidic fibrillary protein, and the neurofilament proteins as the major targets of carbonylation. These findings were confirmed by pull-down experiments, which also showed an increase in the number of carbonylated β-actin molecules and a decrease in that of oxidized neurofilament proteins in EAE. These data suggest the possibility that oxidation targets neurofilament proteins for degradation, which may contribute to axonal pathology observed in multiple sclerosis and EAE.