cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A population-based analysis of emergent vs. elective hospital admissions for an intrathoracic stomach

Background Large-scale, population-based analyses of the demographics, management, and healthcare resource utilization of patients with an intrathoracic stomach are largely unknown, an issue which has become more important with the aging of the population. Our objective was to understand the magnitude of the problem and to assess clinical outcomes and hospital costs in elective and emergent admissions of patients with an intrathoracic stomach in a large population-based study.
Against Neoliberal Pedagogies of Plants and People: Mapping Actor Networks of Biocapital in Learning Gardens.

This paper attempts to answer this question: what should ecoliteracy mean in a biocapitalist society? The author situates his analysis of this question within the general context of the neoliberal reconstruction of education in the US. Specifically, focus is given to the shared model of governmentality GE food industries and education policies both utilize to manage life in the field and classroom – one where optimizing the value of plants and people for ‘flat world’ economic competition is the defining goal. Given this landscape, I suggest that what some environmental educators have called ‘ecological literacy’ or ‘critical ecoliteracy’ must now include a dimension that rejects the ways both human and nonhumans are progressively being implicated into biocapitalist enterprises. I offer an example of how biocapitalist industries educate market understandings of life by looking at how the GE food industry’s educational projects attempt to teach students and the public to think of nature and themselves as en...
Relationship between particle freeze-out distributions and Hanbury Brown–Twiss radius parameters

The relationship between pion and kaon space-time freeze-out distributions and the Hanbury Brown--Twiss (HBT) radius parameters in high-energy nucleus-nucleus collisions is investigated. We show that the HBT radius parameters in general do not reflect the rms deviations of the single particle production points. Instead, the HBT radius parameters are most closely related to the curvature of the two-particle space-time relative position distribution at the origin. We support our arguments by studies with a dynamical model (RQMD 2.4).
Fatty acid transport into the brain

Abstract 15 μC of [I- 14 C]palmitate was injected into three groups of animals. Group I served as control animals, Group II animals were subjected to functional hepatectomy, and animals of both groups received the tracer intravenously and were killed 1 h after injection. Group III animals received the tracer by an intracarotid injection followed by decapitation 15 sec later. The circulating blood lipids in the control group had most of the radioactivity in the triglyceride fraction whereas in both hepatectomized and carotid injected animals the blood free fatty acid fraction had most of the radioactivity. Under these conditions the uptake of radioactivity by the brain was about 6 times higher in hepatectomized animals and 14 times higher in the intracarotid injected animals than in the control group. This indicates that free fatty acid is a preferred form of fatty acid transport to the brain.
Wall attenuation and scatter corrections for ion chambers: measurements versus calculations

In precision ion chamber dosimetry in air, the wall attenuation and scatter are corrected for by Awall. Using the EGS4 system the authors show that Monte Carlo calculated Awall factors predict relative variations in detector response with wall thickness which agree with all available experimental data within a statistical uncertainty of less than 0.1%. However, the calculated correction factors for use in exposure and air kerma standards are different by up to 1% from those obtained by extrapolating these same measurements. Using calculated correction factors would imply increase of 0.7-1.0% in the exposure and air kerma standards based on spherical and large diameter, large length cylindrical chambers and decreases of 0.2-0.5% for standards based on large diameter pancake chambers. Calculations are also shown to agree within 0.05% with the measurements of Rocha and co-workers for clinical chambers. These experimental data are not in exact agreement with the gamma values used in the AAPM protocol to obtain Awall. However, the AAPM final values of Awall agree within 0.2% with the more accurate values calculated.
Resource-Based Innovation: The Case for the Amazon Region

The traditional view of economic regions has always focused on the resources of the region as inputs to a production function and not as a distinctive advantage to an innovation function. The Brazi...
Administration of levothyroxine to euthyroid dogs does not affect echocardiographic and electrocardiographic measurements.

Abstract The effects of a replacement dose of levothyroxine on electrocardiographic and echocardiographic parameters in euthyroid dogs were examined. Two-dimensional guided M-mode echocardiograms and electrocardiograms were obtained before and after administration of levothyroxine (0·5 mg m−2 twice a day) to 10 euthyroid dogs for a period of eight weeks; four untreated dogs acted as controls. The resting serum total thyroxine concentration was significantly increased in treated dogs during weeks 4 to 8. There were no significant differences in any of the echocardiographic or electrocardiographic measurements resulting from treatment.
Gambling problems and health functioning in individuals receiving disability.

Purpose. This study evaluated the rates and correlates of disordered gambling, with a focus on gambling behavior among participants receiving disability.Method. The sample consisted of 723 patients seeking free or reduced-cost dental care. Participants completed the South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS), Short Form-12 Health Survey, Second Edition (SF-12v2), and questions assessing demographic characteristics and frequency and intensity of current gambling behaviors.Results. Results indicate a significantly higher prevalence of disordered gambling among participants receiving disability (26%) than in the remainder of the sample (14%; p < 0.001). Of the 135 individuals receiving disability, disordered gambling was associated with decreased physical and mental health functioning.Conclusions. These data indicate that individuals receiving disability have high rates of disordered gambling, and gambling behavior in this population is associated with poorer health functioning. Results suggest that disordered gamble...
Sophistication in Corporate Pac Contributions Demobilizing the Opposition

This research examines the extent to which highly funded corporate political action committees' (PACs') contributions reflect concerns associated with PAC leaders. Four airline and three rail company PACs' contributions to House candidates in the 1980 election are analyzed. Results reveal that, contrary to past findings regarding highly funded association PACs, the contributions of these corporate PACs reflect priorities generally associated with PAC leaders. In particular, these PACs made larger contributions to candidates who were likely to oppose them than they did to candidates who were among their expected supporters in an apparent attempt to demobilize opposition. These findings are especially important because, although highly funded corporate PACs constitute a small portion of all PACs, they account for a substantial portion of total PAC contributions and therefore have important ramifications for the nature of PAC influence.
Incomplete Markets for Insurance: An Overview

An area of much recent theoretical attention is the modeling of insurance decisions when markets are incomplete. Such incompleteness is said to exist when insurance contracts do not exist for all risks facing an individual or a firm. In such a market, insurance decisions cannot be made myopically and must recognize the presence of uninsurable background risk. This paper presents a nontechnical overview of the incomplete-market theory. The way in which market incompleteness may invalidate some long-standing theoretical results — and may indeed even cause seemingly perverse results — is examined. Possible causes of incomplete markets as well as some implications of the theory for reinsurance and for corporate purchases of insurance are also discussed.
The n×(n−2) local converse theorem for GL(n) over a p-adic field☆

In this paper, we characterize the irreducible generic representations of GL(n,F) where F is a p-adic field in terms of their γ-factors and central character. This is known as the local converse theorem. This result refines the one proved by Henniart in 1993 [G. Henniart, Caracterisation de la correspondance de Langlands locale par les facteurs e de paires, Invent. Math. 113 (1993) 339–350].
Chemorheological Study on Natural Rubber Vulcanizates.

Chemical stress relaxation studies were carried out in air and in vacuo (0.001 mmHg) on two natural rubber vulcanizates: one cured by dicumyl peroxide and the other by tetramethylthiuram disulfide. These are believed to produce carbon–carbon cross-links and carbon–sulfur–carbon cross-links respectively.Chemical stress relaxation in air showed that oxidative scissions along the main chains were major causes of stress decay for each vulcanizate. The stress decay curves for both vulcanizates were nearly the same in air.Chemical stress decay in vacuo for the two samples was slower than that in air. The network with carbon–sulfur–carbon cross-links showed more rapid decay in vacuo than the network with carbon–carbon cross-links. Analysis of the effect of cross-link density on the decay curves in vacuo indicates that the cleavage was at the network junctures for the network with carbon–sulfur–carbon cross-links and the cleavage was along the main chains for the network with carbon–carbon closs-links.
Ossifying renal tumor of infancy presenting as a palpable abdominal mass

We report a case of ossifying renal tumor of infancy, which presented as a palpable abdominal mass in an otherwise asymptomatic 10-month-old girl. The tumor was partially calcified and occupied the renal pelvis, causing severe hydronephrosis. The differential diagnosis for a patient this age included Wilms tumor, extra-adrenal neuroblastoma, infection, calculus, calcified hematoma and ossifying renal tumor of infancy. The child underwent heminephrectomy and is currently doing well.
Cardiovascular effects of intranasal L-methamphetamine

Despite the possible risk of stroke, over-the-counter (OTC) nasal decongestants are widely used but there are little published data on pharmacodynamic effects. We studied the cardiovascular (CV) pharmacodynamics of the Vicks™ Vapor Inhaler™, an OTC decongestant that has 1-methamphetamine (1-MA; nominally a DEA schedule II drug) as its active ingredient. Twelve normotensive nondrug using subjects were enrolled in an ascending dose, open-label, 3 treatment, 3 period study and dosed with the Vicks inhaler at the manufacturer's maximum recommended dose, and 2 and 4 times that dose over 8 hours. In a separate session, a 200 μg iv dose of phenylephrine was given as a comparator for alpha-adrenergic response. Cardiovascular effects were non-invasively assessed with impedance and 2D stress echocardiography; data were analyzed by ANOVA. Results show that inhaled 1-MA had no acute effects on CV measures; measures were sensitive enough to detect circadian variation and the effects of exercise on multiple CV parameters, but there were no effects of 1-MA. Plasma 1-MA levels were always below detection limits; urine 1-MA concentration increased in a dose proportional manner. Visual analog measures of 'any drug', 'good drug', and 'dizziness' significantly increased from baseline (p<.05) in the 2 higher dose sessions. We conclude that inhaled 1-MA produces no acute alterations in cardiovascular function even at doses of 4 times the recommended amount. Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics (2004) 75, P71–P71; doi: 10.1016/j.clpt.2003.11.269
Radical prostatectomy: Making it a better operation in the new millennium

Radical prostatectomy provides the best hope for long-term survival, free of disease, for organ-confined adenocarcinoma of the prostate. The operation is performed successfully only by understanding the remarkable anatomic variability of the prostate apex and the cylindrical nature of the striated urethral sphincter. When surgical techniques are used that take into account variations at the apex, with preservation of (i) neurovascular structures; (ii) the sphincteric urethra; and (iii) the adjacent levator ani, patients can look forward to a cure and the rapid return of urinary control and erectile function.
A Proposed Model for Predicting Job Satisfaction Among Nursing Home Social Workers

Abstract This article examines the effects of work environment factors and personal factors on job satisfaction, and the effect of job satisfaction on the intention to job turnover among nursing home social workers. A simple, parsimonious theoretical model indicating the interrelationships between the above constructs is proposed and evaluated utilizing a multivariate statistical procedure. Data was obtained from questionnaires returned by social workers from 326 licensed Texas nursing homes. The final model suggests that work environment factors are significant factors that need to be addressed to enhance job satisfaction and decrease the turnover of qualified social workers in nursing homes.
Coupling passive sensors to UHF RFID tags

Coupling passive sensor data to existing UHF RFID tags explores the possibility for low volume applications without designing a new tag ASIC. The existing UHF RFID system can be used to convey additional data by overlaying a coupling loop on the tag antenna and modulating vector backscatter. The design of the RFID passive sensor prototype is presented and the feasibility of this approach is demonstrated by the experimental results of the vector backscattered signals.
The Efficiency of Engineering Traffic Across Network Boundaries

With the arrival of wideband packet and circuit-oriented data services, it becomes a challenge to provide efficiently the desired quality of service for speech, packet data, and real-time data on a network. As these diverse networks will coexist, architectural studies on integrated heterogeneous networks suggest that a common radio resource manager be used to coordinate radio resource allocation between diverse network types. Initial studies show that supernets, which engineer traffic across wireless networks, are more efficient than operating separate cellular/wireless networks. Increased sharing occurs in supernets because a larger number of services compete for a larger pool of resources. If sharing can be shown to be efficient in general, then supernets should likewise be more efficient. This study decomposes the two-dimensional Markov chain to prove when sharing is beneficial and when it is not.
Lysine-based Structure Responsible for Selective Mannose Phosphorylation of Cathepsin D and Cathepsin L Defines a Common Structural Motif for Lysosomal Enzyme Targeting

Previous studies have shown that lysine residues on the surface of cathepsins and other lysosomal proteins are a shared component of the recognition structure involved in mannose phosphorylation. In this study, the involvement of specific lysine residues in mannose phosphorylation of cathepsin D was explored by site-directed mutagenesis. Mutation of two lysine residues in the mature portion of the protein, Lys-203 and Lys-293, cooperated to inhibit mannose phosphorylation by 70%. Other positively charged residues could not substitute for lysine at these positions, and comparison of thermal denaturation curves for the wild type and mutant proteins indicated that the inhibition could not be explained by alterations in protein folding. Structural comparisons of the two lysine residues with those required for phosphorylation of cathepsin L, using models generated from recently acquired crystal structures, revealed several relevant similarities. On both molecules, the lysine residues were positioned approximately 34 A apart (34.06 A for cathepsin D and 33.80 A for cathepsin L). When the lysine pairs were superimposed, N-linked glycosylation sites on the two proteins were found to be oriented so that oligosaccharides extending out from the sites could share a common region of space. Further similarities in the local environments of the critical lysines were also observed. These results provide details for a common lysosomal targeting structure based on a specific arrangement of lysine residues with respect to each other and to glycosylation sites on the surface of lysosomal proteins.
Selection of tumor antigens as targets for immune attack using immunohistochemistry: I. Focus on gangliosides

Understanding the distribution of tumor-associated antigens on cancers and normal tissues is essential for selection of targets for cancer immunotherapy. Seven carbohydrate antigens, potential targets for immunotherapy, were studied using a panel of well-characterized MAbs by immunohistochemistry on cryostat-cut tissue sections of 13 types of cancers and 18 normal tissues. GD2 and GD3 were present on most cancers of neuroectodermal origin and GD2 was also present on B cell lymphomas. 9-O-acetyl-GD3 was detected only on melanoma while fucosyl GM1 was detected only on small cell lung cancers (SCLC). Surprisingly, GM2 was strongly expressed on all tested tumors, including cancers of neuroectodermal origin and cancers of epithelial origin. Polysialic acid was primarily expressed on SCLC and neuroblastomas. Globo H was present on most cancers of epithelial origin. These antigens were also identified in normal tissues. Fucosyl GM1 was not expressed significantly on any of the normal tissues analyzed. GD3, GD2, GM2 and polysialic acid were detected in normal brain to varying degrees. GM2 and Globo H were expressed on the luminal surface of epithelia of a variety of organs. The unexpected expression of GM2 on a broad range of cancers and normal epithelial tissues was confirmed by loss after methanol fixation and by immune thin layer chromatography. Int. J. Cancer 73:42–49, 1997. © 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Natural helping functions of lay health advisors in breast cancer education.

The Save Our Sisters Project builds on the roles of 95 “natural helpers” to increase mammography screening among older African American women in a NC county. Natural helpers are lay people to whom others naturally turn for advice, emotional support, and tangible aid. Findings from 14 focus group interviews showed that older women seek out these individuals when they have a female-specific concern, rather than or before seeking help from professionals. The characteristics of natural helpers, revealed in the findings, were used to identify and recruit them to become trained lay health advisors in breast cancer education. Through the SOS Project, natural helpers provide a community-based system of care and social support that complements the more specialized role of health professionals; linking them to women through places and ways that no health professional could begin to acquire. The three roles of lay health advisors are: (1) to assist individuals in their social networks with needs that are difficult for professionals to address; (2) to negotiate with professionals for support from the health system; and (3) to mobilize the resources of associations in their community to sustain support from the health system.
Polarized light scattering matrix elements for micron-sized rectangular aluminum lines on reflecting optical surfaces.

The entire sixteen-element Mueller scattering matrix has been experimentally determined for several small rectangular cross-sectioned aluminum lines whose known dimensions are of the order of the incident light (wavelength λ = 4416 A). Each line was fabricated on top of a smooth reflecting aluminum surface using electron beam lithography techniques. The Mueller matrix of the surface plus the line was measured as a function of the increasing size (height and width) of the line for various angles of illumination α. The results are compared to scattering and diffraction data from a single slit and opaque circular cylinder of equal dimensions.
Refractive index measurement of the mouse crystalline lens using optical coherence tomography

In recent years, there has been a growing interest for using mouse models in refractive development and myopia research. The crystalline lens is a critical optical component of the mouse eye that occupies greater than 50% of the ocular space, and significant increases in thickness with age. However, changes in refractive index of the mouse crystalline lens are less known. In this study, we examined the changes in thickness and refractive index of the mouse crystalline lens for two different strains, wild-type (WT) and a nyx mutant (nob) over the course of normal visual development or after form deprivation. Refractive index and lens thickness measurements were made on ex vivo lenses using spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT). Comparison of refractive index measurements on 5 standard ball lenses using the SD-OCT and their known refractive indices (manufacturer provided) indicated good precision (intra-class correlation coefficient, 0.998 and Bland-Altman coefficient of repeatability, 0.116) of the SD-OCT to calculate mouse lens refractive index ex vivo. During normal visual development, lens thickness increased significantly with age for three different cohorts of mice, aged 4 (average thickness from both eyes; WT: 1.78 ± 0.03, nob: 1.79 ± 0.08 mm), 10 (WT: 2.02 ± 0.05, nob: 2.01 ± 0.04 mm) and 16 weeks (WT: 2.12 ± 0.06, nob: 2.09 ± 0.06 mm, p < 0.001). Lens thickness was not significantly different between the two strains at any age (p = 0.557). For mice with normal vision, refractive index for isolated crystalline lenses in nob mice was significantly greater than WT mice (mean for all ages; WT: 1.42 ± 0.01, nob: 1.44 ± 0.001, p < 0.001). After 4 weeks of form deprivation to the right eye using a skull-mounted goggling apparatus, a thinning of the crystalline lens was observed in both right and left eyes of goggled animals compared to their naive controls (average from both the right and the left eye) for both strains (p = 0.052). In form deprived mice, lens refractive index was significantly different between the goggled animals and non-goggled naive controls in nob mice, but not in WT mice (p = 0.009). Both eyes of goggled nob mice had significantly greater lens refractive index (goggled, 1.49 ± 0.01; opposite, 1.47 ± 0.03) compared to their naive controls (1.45 ± 0.02, p < 0.05). The results presented here suggest that there are genetic differences in the crystalline lens refractive index of the mouse eye, and that the lens refractive index in mice significantly increase with form deprivation. Research applications requiring precise optical measurements of the mouse eye should take these lens refractive indices into account when interpreting SD-OCT data.
Small Bowel Obstruction Following Radical Hysterectomy: Risk Factors, Incidence, and Operative Findings

Our objective was to determine the incidence, risk factors, and outcome of small bowel obstruction in patients undergoing radical hysterectomy as therapy for a nonadnexal gynecologic malignancy. Using a computerized search of discharge data from January 1, 1981 to January 1, 1991, 113 patients were identified who had undergone a radical hysterectomy as part of initial therapy for a nonadnexal gynecologic malignancy. Complete records were available for 98 patients who comprised the study population. For purposes of data accrual, patients were separated into three groups: radical hysterectomy without concomitant radiotherapy (Group I, n = 60), patients receiving pelvic radiation following radical hysterectomy (Group II, n = 20), and a third group with preceding pelvic radiation (Group III, n = 18). Postoperative small bowel obstruction (SBO) occurred in 3 (5%) of Group I patients, all of which required surgical management. The incidence of SBO was significantly higher (P < 0.05) in the groups that had received concomitant radiotherapy (4 of 20 (20%) in Group II; 4 of 18 (22%) in Group III). Importantly, none of these patients had recurrent disease noted at the time of SBO occurrence. Three Group II patients and no Group III patients received operative management of their SBO. Findings at surgery for the SBO were similar in all cases: minimal incisional adhesions but extensive matted small bowel adherent to the pelvic operative sites. We concluded that small bowel obstructions due to intraperitoneal adhesions are frequent sequelae of radical hysterectomy, being more common if concomitant radiotherapy is given. Further investigations as to ways to limit post-radical hysterectomy adhesion formation are needed.
Empirical estimates of CCN from aerosol optical properties at four remote sites

Abstract. This study presents an empirical method to estimate the CCN concentration as a function of percent supersaturation. The aerosol optical properties, backscatter fraction and single scatter albedo, function as proxies for the aerosol size and composition in a power law relationship to CCN. This method is tested at four sites with aged aerosol: SGP (Oklahoma, USA), FKB (Black Forest, Germany), HFE (Hefei, China) and GRW (Graciosa, Azores). Each site represents a different aerosol type and thus demonstrates the method robustness and limitations. Good agreement was found between the calculated and measured CCN with slopes between 0.81 and 1.03 and correlation coefficients (r2 values) between 0.59 and 0.67. The fit quality declined at low CCN concentrations.
Quality of life evaluation for patients receiving vascularized versus nonvascularized bone graft reconstruction of segmental mandibular defects.

Purpose Head and neck neoplasms requiring surgical resection of the mandible can have negative consequences on patient quality of life. For patients with segmental resections, the vascularized fibular free flap and nonvascularized iliac crest are frequently used. The fibula has surpassed the iliac crest in popularity due to the success associated with a vascularized graft; however, there still remain significant advantages with the nonvascularized graft. There has not been a study comparing the quality of life associated with these two methods of mandibular reconstruction. We carried out the following study to compare quality of life of both grafts in an attempt to help guide therapeutic decisions. Patients and Methods Twenty-nine patients at the University of California, San Francisco undergoing mandibular resection with subsequent reconstruction with either a vascularized fibular free flap or nonvascularized iliac crest bone graft were identified. Patient quality of life was assessed with a modified version of the University of Washington Quality of Life Questionnaire, version 4. Results Eighteen patients responded (10 reconstructed previously with a fibula, 8 with iliac crest reconstructions). Patients with an iliac crest bone graft had significantly better chewing and swallowing scores (P = .04, P = .049 respectively). There was also a trend for better taste (P = .067). When patients with a history of radiation therapy were excluded, differences in chewing and swallowing were not significant (P = .26 and P = .31 respectively), whereas taste was (P = .038). Conclusions These findings suggest that reconstruction with the iliac crest had benefits in improved function (chewing, swallowing, and taste) rather than esthetics, donor site morbidity, or psychologic discomfort as was anticipated. However, prior radiation, a relatively frequent therapy in this patient population, presents an important confounding factor. Radiation therapy is difficult to control for without limiting an already scarce patient pool, and bears with it significant morbidity that likely influenced these findings. Further study is warranted to confirm the results and further distinguish the 2 groups.
A phase-locked loop control system for a synchronous motor

The viewpoint that a hysteresis synchronous motor operates similar to a phase-locked loop of the type common in communications applications is discussed. This viewpoint leads to a simple electrical equivalent circuit model for the motor. The model adequately describes the motor's motion with respect to synchronism and, specifically, the well-known hunting characteristic phenomenon. The motor's hunting characteristic cannot be tolerated in systems which require very accurate speed control. It is then necessary to employ external phase-lock control to eliminate the motor's hunting. A two-loop approach is suggested which effectively dampens the motor's response to a torque disturbance. A classical linear analysis of the motor embedded within the control system is given. The results of the analysis establish the overall response as being virtually independent of the motor's hunting characteristic, i.e., in the absence of transport lag. It is further shown that transport lag within the loop eventually limits the system's performance.
Determinants of Online Privacy Concern and Its Influence on Privacy Protection Behaviors Among Young Adolescents

With Rogers' protection motivation theory as the theoretical framework, this study identified determinants of young adolescents' level of privacy concerns, which, in turn, affects their resultant coping behaviors to protect privacy. Survey data from 144 middle school students revealed that perceived risks of information disclosure increased privacy concerns, whereas perceived benefits offered by information exchange decreased privacy concerns. Subsequently, privacy concerns had an impact on risk-coping behaviors such as seeking out interpersonal advice or additional information (e.g., privacy statement) or refraining from using Web sites that ask for personal information. Counter to our expectation, privacy self-efficacy did not appear to be related to privacy concerns. Implications of privacy education to protect online privacy among young adolescents were discussed.
Modeling Yeast Cell Polarization Induced by Pheromone Gradients

Yeast cells respond to spatial gradients of mating pheromones by polarizing and projecting up the gradient toward the source. It is thought that they employ a spatial sensing mechanism in which the cell compares the concentration of pheromone at different points on the cell surface and determines the maximum point, where the projection forms. Here we constructed the first spatial mathematical model of the yeast pheromone response that describes the dynamics of the heterotrimeric and Cdc42p G-protein cycles, which are linked in a cascade. Two key performance objectives of this system are (1) amplification—converting a shallow external gradient of ligand to a steep internal gradient of protein components and (2) tracking—following changes in gradient direction. We used simulations to investigate amplification mechanisms that allow tracking. We identified specific strategies for regulating the spatial dynamics of the protein components (i.e. their changing location in the cell) that would enable the cell to achieve both objectives.
Refinement of the Structure of the Ligand-occupied Cholecystokinin Receptor Using a Photolabile Amino-terminal Probe

Affinity labeling is a powerful tool to establish spatial approximations between photolabile residues within a ligand and its receptor. Here, we have utilized a cholecystokinin (CCK) analogue with a photolabile benzoylphenylalanine (Bpa) sited in position 24, adjacent to the pharmacophoric domain of this hormone (positions 27-33). This probe was a fully efficacious agonist that bound to the CCK receptor saturably and with high affinity (K(i) = 8.9 +/- 1.1 nm). It covalently labeled the CCK receptor either within the amino terminus (between Asn(10) and Lys(37)) or within the third extracellular loop (Glu(345)), as demonstrated by proteolytic peptide mapping, deglycosylation, micropurification, and Edman degradation sequencing. Truncation of the receptor to eliminate residues 1-30 had no detrimental effect on CCK binding, stimulated signaling, or affinity labeling through a residue within the pharmacophore (Bpa(29)) but resulted in elimination of the covalent attachment of the Bpa(24) probe to the receptor. Thus, the distal amino terminus of the CCK receptor resides above the docked ligand, compressing the portion of the peptide extending beyond its pharmacophore toward the receptor core. Exposure of wild type and truncated receptor constructs to extracellular trypsin damaged the truncated construct but not the wild type receptor, suggesting that this domain also may play a protective role. Use of these additional insights into molecular approximations provided key constraints for molecular modeling of the peptide-receptor complex, supporting the counterclockwise organization of the transmembrane helical domains.
Searching for the Norm in a System of Absolutes: A Case Study of Standards-Based Accountability Reform in Pre-Kindergarten

Research Findings: The emergence of standards-based accountability reforms in early childhood education has created new challenges for the field. This article presents findings from a case study that explored how stakeholders in a large urban pre-kindergarten program struggled to implement an assessment tool that aligned the normative academic achievement expectations found among their teachers and administrators with the absolute measures of this construct found in their state policymakers' high-stakes standards-based accountability reforms. Analyzing the tension that emerged in this process of alignment highlights the challenges early educators face as they fold their child-centered programs into these larger high-stakes standards-based kindergarten through grade 12 education systems. Practice and Policy: The findings from this study illuminate the need for early childhood education programs to understand how high-stakes standards-based accountability reforms define student achievement. Furthermore, as ...
Chivalry on the Road: Helping Stalled Drivers:

A simulated stalled car with its hood up was parked at the side of a highway. Either a male or a female confederate was visible, while the confederate of the opposite sex remained inside, in an invisible position. A tabulation was made of how many drivers stopped to help each sex. A difference for sex was found for frequency of offers of assistance; the females received more offers of aid than the males. Implications for the Women's Liberation Movement were discussed.
Characterization of Trachoma Antigens Protective Against Mouse Toxicity

22. Alexander, E. R. and Fresh, J. W. : Preven­ tion of anaphylactic death in the mouse toxicity prevention test for TRIC agents. Am. J. Ophth. 63 : 1462, 1967. 23. Wang, S. P. and Grayston, J. T. : Egg infectivity assay of trachoma virus. Proc. Soc. Exper. Biol. &Med. 115:587, 1964. 24. Thygeson, P. and Nataf, R.: Etiologic problems in trachoma. Rev. Int. Trach., 35:177, 1958. 25. Wang, S. P., Kenny, G. E. and Grayston, J. T. : Characterization of trachoma antigens protec­ tive against mouse toxicity. Am. J. Ophth. 63 : 1454, 1967.
The role of adjuvant radiation therapy for stages III and IV Hodgkin's disease

The treatment for advanced stage Hodgkin's disease was revolutionized approximately 30 years ago with the introduction of combination chemotherapy. This approach has resulted in the cure of approximately 50% of patients with advanced disease. In an effort to improve these results, consolidation radiotherapy (RT) was introduced approximately 25 years ago. The rationale for adjuvant RT comes from several observations: significant numbers of patients relapse following combination chemotherapy alone, these relapses occur predominantly at initially involved sites, and successful salvage following relapse can be quite difficult to achieve. Data from numerous phase II trials have demonstrated that adjuvant RT significantly reduces the relapse rate compared with what is seen following chemotherapy alone and appears to increase survival as well. Phase III trials have confirmed the reduction in relapse but, as yet, have failed to demonstrate survival benefits. Because definitive phase III trials are lacking, the use of consolidation radiotherapy has gained only partial acceptance and remains controlversial. There have been numerous methodological difficulties with the execution of the reported phase III trials, most notably the failure of a substantial portion of patients randomly allocated to the radiotherapy group to actually receive radiation. This review presents updated results of studies using chemotherapy alone including patterns of failure analyses, summarizes the available literature pertaining to both retrospective and prospective trials of combined modality therapy, discusses toxicity issues, and attempts to provide guidelines regarding patient selection, sequencing of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, and radiation dose and field size. It is our conclusion that the available evidence supports the routine use of combined modality therapy for patients with advanced stage Hodgkin's disease.
Rate-Dependent Homogenization Based Continuum Plasticity Damage Model for Dendritic Cast Aluminum Alloys

Abstract This paper develops a rate-dependent homogenization based continuum plasticity damage model (HCPD) model for computationally efficient analysis of ductile failure in porous ductile materials containing brittle inclusions. The HCPD model developed has the overall structure of the anisotropic Gurson–Tvergaard–Needleman (GTN) model for porous ductile materials. The material is assumed to remain orthotropic in an evolving principal material coordinate system throughout the deformation history. The rate-dependency of plastic deformation is captured through an over-stress viscoplastic model. The anisotropic viscoplasticity parameters in the HCPD model depend on morphological features of the microstructure as well as on the plastic deformation. They are calibrated from homogenization of evolving micro-variables in a representative volume element (RVE) of the microstructure. Micromechanical analyses of the RVE are performed using the rate-dependent locally enhanced Voronoi cell finite element model (LE-VCFEM) [8] , [26] . This work also introduces a novel rate-dependent void nucleation criterion due to inclusion and matrix cracking in the underlying microstrucure. Predictions of the rate-dependent HCPD model for a cast aluminum alloy are compared with the homogenized response obtained with LE-VCFEM micromechanical analyses of the actual microstructure with excellent agreement.
Uptake of lipid bodies by the yeast vacuole involving areas of the tonoplast depleted of intramembranous particles.

During the shift from exponential to stationary phase, areas of the yeast vacuolar membrane or tonoplast become depleted of intramembranous particles. Lipid bodies enter the vacuole through invaginations of these particle-poor regions. During uptake, the lipid bodies are enclosed in a membrane derived from the particle-depleted region of the tonoplast. The vesicles are sealed and released into the vacuole when the tonoplast fuses with itself behind the lipid body.
Human fetal retinal pigment epithelial cells induce apoptosis in allogenic T-cells in a Fas ligand and PGE2 independent pathway.

Purpose. To evaluate the inhibitory effect of human fetal retinal pigment epithelium (HFRPE) on the activation of human T-cells. Methods. Pure cultures of HFRPE cells were incubated with purified human T-cells in three different activation assays: 1) allogenic peripheral blood mononuclear cells; 2) OKT3 coated beads in the presence of accessory cells; and 3) stimulation with phorbol ester and phytohemagglutinin. Results. HFRPE cells suppressed the activation of T-cells in all three assays. The mechanism of HFRPE mediated T-cell suppression was apoptosis. The role of Fas ligand(FasL)/Fas-mediated T-cell suppression was excluded, since FasL protein or mRNA could not be detected on HFRPE cells with flow cytometry and by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction, respectively. Additionally, the inhibitory effect of HFRPE cells could not be blocked by anti-Fas ligand or antagonistic anti-Fas antibodies. Moreover, HFRPE cells suppressed the proliferation of anti-CD3 mAb mediated T-cell proliferation of mu...
Functional Annotation Analytics of Bacillus Genomes Reveals Stress Responsive Acetate Utilization and Sulfate Uptake in the Biotechnologically Relevant Bacillus megaterium

Bacillus species form an heterogeneous group of Gram-positive bacteria that include members that are disease-causing, biotechnologically-relevant, and can serve as biological research tools. A common feature of Bacillus species is their ability to survive in harsh environmental conditions by formation of resistant endospores. Genes encoding the universal stress protein (USP) domain confer cellular and organismal survival during unfavorable conditions such as nutrient depletion. As of February 2012, the genome sequences and a variety of functional annotations for at least 123 Bacillus isolates including 45 Bacillus cereus isolates were available in public domain bioinformatics resources. Additionally, the genome sequencing status of 10 of the B. cereus isolates were annotated as finished with each genome encoded 3 USP genes. The conservation of gene neighborhood of the 140 aa universal stress protein in the B. cereus genomes led to the identification of a predicted plasmid-encoded transcriptional unit that includes a USP gene and a sulfate uptake gene in the soil-inhabiting Bacillus megaterium. Gene neighborhood analysis combined with visual analytics of chemical ligand binding sites data provided knowledge-building biological insights on possible cellular functions of B. megaterium universal stress proteins. These functions include sulfate and potassium uptake, acid extrusion, cellular energy-level sensing, survival in high oxygen conditions and acetate utilization. Of particular interest was a two-gene transcriptional unit that consisted of genes for a universal stress protein and a sirtuin Sir2 (deacetylase enzyme for NAD+-dependent acetate utilization). The predicted transcriptional units for stress responsive inorganic sulfate uptake and acetate utilization could explain biological mechanisms for survival of soil-inhabiting Bacillus species in sulfate and acetate limiting conditions. Considering the key role of sirtuins in mammalian physiology additional research on the USP-Sir2 transcriptional unit of B. megaterium could help explain mammalian acetate metabolism in glucose-limiting conditions such as caloric restriction. Finally, the deep-rooted position of B. megaterium in the phylogeny of Bacillus species makes the investigation of the functional coupling acetate utilization and stress response compelling.
SOCIOMETRIC STATUS SCORES: A COMPARISON OF JAMRICH VALUES WITH CONVENTIONAL SCALES

Sociometric ranking of ten classrooms was analyzed to determine if Jamrich's procedure was significantly different from conventional indexes. Spearman Rank correlations and Kendall's coefficient of concordance were used to determine degree of correlation, Jamrich's ranked values were not found to be significantly different from conventional scales.
A comparison of learning based on social or nonsocial discriminative stimuli

Two groups of six rats each were trained to run across an open-field maze with four choice-point alternatives. For one group the correct response was based upon a social discriminative stimulus and for the other it was based upon a nonsocial discriminative stimulus. Results indicated that social responses were learned faster and were more durable under extinction conditions than were responses based on nonsocial stimuli.
Effect of corticotropin releasing hormone and neuropeptide Y on electrophysiological activity of sympathetic nerves to interscapular brown adipose tissue

It has been proposed that there is a reciprocal relationship between food intake and sympathetic activity. To test this hypothesis corticotropin releasing hormone, which suppresses feeding behavior, and neuropeptide Y, which stimulates it, were injected intracerebroventricularly and sympathetic nerve activity to interscapular brown adipose tissue measured in anesthetized rats. Multi-unit discharges of sympathetic nerves to interscapular brown adipose tissue were recorded electrophysiologically. The intracerebroventricular injection of corticotropin releasing hormone (250 and 500 pmol) increased sympathetic nerve activity and the intracerebroventricular injection of neuropeptide Y (250-500 pmol) suppressed sympathetic nerve activity in a dose-dependent manner. The intracerebroventricular injection of vehicle did not affect sympathetic nerve activity. The result is consistent with the hypothesis that these brain peptides are neuromodulators of the sympathetic nervous system which may control energy expenditure in interscapular brown adipose tissue. The effects of these two brain peptides on sympathetic nerve activity are opposite to their effects on feeding behavior suggesting that sympathetic activity and food intake may be reciprocally related.
Cysteine Reactivity and Thiol−Disulfide Interchange Pathways in AhpF and AhpC of the Bacterial Alkyl Hydroperoxide Reductase System†

AhpC and AhpF from Salmonella typhimurium undergo a series of electron transfers to catalyze the pyridine nucleotide-dependent reduction of hydroperoxide substrates. AhpC, the peroxide-reducing (peroxiredoxin) component of this alkyl hydroperoxidase system, is an important scavenger of endogenous hydrogen peroxide in bacteria and acts through a reactive, peroxidatic cysteine, Cys46, and a second cysteine, Cys165, that forms an active site disulfide bond. AhpF, a separate disulfide reductase protein, regenerates AhpC every catalytic cycle via electrons from NADH which are transferred to AhpC through a tightly bound flavin and two disulfide centers, Cys345-Cys348 and Cys129-Cys132, through putative large domain movements. In order to assess cysteine reactivity and interdomain interactions in both proteins, a comprehensive set of single and double cysteine mutants (replacing cysteine with serine) of both proteins were prepared. Based on 5,5-dithiobis(2-nitrobenzoic acid) (DTNB) and AhpC reactivity with multiple mutants of AhpF, the thiolate of Cys129 in the N-terminal domain of AhpF initiates attack on Cys165 of the intersubunit disulfide bond within AhpC for electron transfer between proteins. Cys348 of AhpF has also been identified as the nucleophile attacking the Cys129 sulfur of the N-terminal disulfide bond to initiate electron transfer between these two redox centers. These findings support the modular architecture of AhpF and its need for domain rotations for function, and emphasize the importance of Cys165 in the reductive reactivation of AhpC. In addition, two new constructs have been generated, an AhpF-AhpC complex and a "twisted" form of AhpF, in which redox centers are locked together by stable disulfide bonds which mimic catalytic intermediates.
A design procedure for classical offset inverse Cassegrain antennas with circular apertures

The classical offset inverse Cassegrain configuration is proposed as a reflector antenna geometry. Its sub and main reflectors are concave ellipsoid and convex paraboloid, respectively. This geometry is potentially capable of yielding a wide field of view while being efficiently illuminated by small feeds. An efficient design procedure was derived for them, and verified with two examples. The starting design parameters of the procedure are convenient since they can be easily related to basic system constraints. The scattering characteristics of the two examples validate the design procedure by indicating that all optimum geometry has been obtained.