cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Potential transport pathways of terrigenous material in the Gulf of Papua

[t] This work discusses potential transport pathways of plume water may infrequently enter the Torres Straits terrigenous material in the Gulf of Papua (GoP), New because of sub-tidal water elevation differences between Guinea, using Lagrangian tracers as proxies for clay the GoP and the Arafura Sea. Modeling studies have been minerals and finer particles. The tracers are transported by used in conjunction with measurement programs to elucicurrents from the East Asia Seas implementation of the date dispersal mechanisms for noncohesive sediments in the Navy Coastal Ocean Model. The results suggest that clay GoP [Wolanski el al., 1984, 1995$ Hemer et al., 2004]. minerals input from rivers along the northwest coast of the [4] This study complements earlier work by examining GoP accumulate on the inner shelf with high concentrations the dispersal of dissolved and fine-grained suspended ternear the mouth of the Fly and Purari Rivers. Finer particles, rigenous material within the GoP for a year-long interval which are also representative of dissolved metals, are using a combination of hydrodynamic and Lagrangian transported eastward along the GoP coast into the Solomon tracer modeling. Furthermore, because of the large model Sea as well as into the Torres Strait to the west. The results domain used in this study, we are able to study the impact of also suggest that some finer particles are entrained by eddies large-scale flows on transport patterns without imposing within the northern Coral Sea. These results are in artificial boundary conditions. The use of tracers to examine qualitative agreement with observations from the region. complex multidisciplinary problems in oceanography has Citation: Keen, T. R., D. S. Ko, R. L. Slingerland, S. Riedlinger, led to understanding the behavior of both suspended and and P. Flynn (2006), Potential transport pathways of terrigenous dissolved constituents in a range of ocean environments. material in the Gulf of Papua, Geophys. Res. Lett., 33, L04608, [Nakano and Povinec, 2003; McManus and Prandle, 1997;
Data availability in accounting research: Some evidence

The data availability policy of the American Accounting Association is examined to address two research questions: (1) Are data dependent results in The Accounting Review readily available for further inquiry and dissemination of accounting knowledge? (2) What are the potential factors that may account for the availability or the lack of data? Several potential factors including job rank, number of revisions before acceptance, source of data, and funding source are suggested to account for the lack of data availability. The results indicate that, in general, authors are not willing to make their data available to others. We conclude by suggesting some options that may ameliorate the situation.
Fibroblasts from patients with inherited predisposition to retinoblastoma exhibit normal sensitivity to the mutagenic effects of ionizing radiation.

Retinoblastoma (RB) is a cancer of the retina which characteristically occurs in early childhood. Bilateral RB is an inherited form of this disease. Such patients are at greatly increased risk of subsequently developing second tumors in mesenchymal tissue, especially in areas exposed to ionizing radiation therapy. Fibroblasts from bilateral RB patients have been reported to be more sensitive than normal fibroblasts to the cytotoxic effects of ionizing radiation. Because xeroderma pigmentosum patients have a hereditary predisposition to UV-induced cancer and the cells of such patients are abnormally sensitive to the cytotoxic and mutagenic effects of UV radiation, we compared fibroblasts from 6 bilateral RB patients and 3 normal individuals for their sensitivity to the mutagenic effects of cobalt 60, using resistance to 6-thioguanine (TG) as the genetic marker. The results showed no statistically significant difference between the two types of cell lines. The slope of the weighted least squares line representing the frequency of TG-resistant cells induced in the RB populations as a function of dose was 17 +/- 6 (S.E.)/10(6) cells/Gy with an intercept of 0.09 Gy; that for the normal cells was 17 +/- 7/10(6) cells/Gy with an intercept of 0.14 Gy. We also compared 8 bilateral RB cell lines and 9 age-matched normal cell lines for their sensitivity to the cytotoxic effect of 60Co, using survival of colony-forming ability. The cloning efficiency of the unirradiated RB cell lines ranged from 22% to 76% with an average of 52%; that of the normal cell lines from 21% to 89% with an average of 64%. The results showed the RB cells were somewhat more sensitive than the normal cells. The mean D0 for the RB cell lines ranged from 0.99 +/- 0.01 (S.E.) to 1.69 +/- 0.04 Gy with a weighted average of 1.44 +/- 0.08 Gy; that of the normal cell lines ranged from 1.42 +/- 0.17 to 2.24 +/- 0.10 Gy, with a weighted average of 1.79 +/- 0.11 Gy. The difference in means was estimated to be 0.34 +/- 0.14. The mean for the RB cell lines is statistically significantly lower than the mean for the normal cell lines, at a significance level ca. 1%.
First Report of Bacterial Canker of Pepper in Ohio

Light brown, raised lesions were observed on the leaves of bell pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) plants throughout a commercial field in northwest Ohio in 1999. Bacterial streaming from the lesions was observed microscopically. Five representative, pale yellow colonies isolated on yeast dextrose carbonate medium were selected and purified. All isolates induced a hypersensitive response in Mirabilis jalapa L. plants 24 h after inoculation with a 1 × 108 CFU/ml bacterial suspension. All five were identified as Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. michiganensis by fatty acid methyl ester analysis (mean similarity index [S.I.] = 0.76; MIDI, Newark, DE). Identity was confirmed at the University of Hawaii (W. Kaneshiro and A. Alvarez) by carbon substrate utilization pattern (mean S.I. = 0.75; Biolog, Hayward, CA) and positive reactions with C. michiganensis subsp. michiganensis-specific monoclonal antibodies (clones 103-142-1-1 and 103-148-2-1) in ELISA. DNA extracted from lesions and pure cultures was used as template ...
Regioselectivity in the diels-alder reactions of α-pyrones with alkynes

Abstract 4-Ethyl-5-methyl-6-methylthio-2(H)-pyranone (4) undergoes Diels-Alder reactions with ethyl hexynoate (5), 3-heptyn-2-one (6), ethyl propiolate (7), and 3-butyn-2-one (8) to afford substituted benzenes with high regioselectivity upon extrusion of CO2. 4-Ethyl-5,6-dimethyl-(1), 4-ethyl-3,6-dimethyl-(2) and 4-ethyl-5-methyl-(2H)-pyranone (3) gave excellant to good regioselectivity with internal alkynes 5 and 6 and poor regioselectivity with terminal alkynes 7 and 8. MNDO calculations have been carried out on the pyrones and alkynes and qualitative FMO analysis correctly predicts the major products.
Parturition and pregnancy outcome in rats as influenced by marginal intake of magnesium

Abstract Female Sprague-Dawley rats were fed 20% casein or 20% soy protein isolate diets which contained either adequate (800 mg/kg) or suboptimal (200 mg/kg) levels of magnesium from weaning through gestation. Reproductive performance was adversely affected by suboptimal magnesium levels and by consumption of soy protein. Number of implantation sites and number of live births were reduced in the low magnesium casein-based diet group. Neonatal mortality was highest in the low magnesium soy-based diet litters, perhaps because of additional nutrient deficiencies from use of soy protein. Intrauterine growth retardation occurred in both magnesium deficient groups. The length and difficulty of parturition and retention of conceptus in the postpartum uterus was increased for magnesium deficient groups. Nitrogen, fat, magnesium and zinc concentrations of pups were decreased in response to suboptimal magnesium intake. These effects were more pronounced than those which had been reported when a suboptimal magnesium level was fed only during breeding and/or gestation.
National trends in surgical procedures for degenerative cervical spine disease: 1990-2000.

Objective Degenerative cervical spine disease is one of the most common indications for spinal surgical intervention. The impact of the unprecedented changes in healthcare technology and delivery over the past decade is unknown. We examined this issue using the Nationwide Inpatient Sample database, a representative sample of all United States inpatient hospitalizations. Methods All adult patients undergoing spinal procedures with a principal diagnosis of cervical spine disease were selected for analysis according to International Classification of Diseases 9th Revision clinical modification codes. Patients diagnosed with infection, neoplasia, fracture, or trauma, as well as those with noncervical or nonspecific principal diagnoses, were excluded. Results The total number of cervical spine procedures in the sampled population rose twofold, from 53,810 in 1990 to 112,400 in 2000. Anterior fusion procedures rose (17.8-69.5% of procedures), whereas nonfusion decompressions declined sharply (70.5-24.6%). Patient diversity increased with increasing rates of surgery among women (25.0-51.0 per 100,000) and minorities (18.4-45.7 per 100,000). Although average age (47.5-49.2 yr) and medical comorbidities (8.7-13.5% of patients) increased, mortality (0.21-0.14% of hospitalizations) and average length of stay (5.2-2.2 d) declined. Inflation-adjusted hospital charges rose by 48% to a total exceeding 2 billion dollars in 2000. Conclusion Compared with one decade ago, the surgical treatment of degenerative cervical spine disease has evolved to include a higher percentage of anterior and fusion procedures performed on a more diverse, older, and comorbid patient population, with shortened hospital stay and improved morbidity and mortality, although at substantially increased cost.
Low-level lead exposure, blood pressure, and calcium metabolism.

Previous research has shown an association of both blood lead and dietary calcium with blood pressure (BP) in populations. We examined the relationship between blood levels and BP, the effect of calcium supplementation on blood lead, and whether the reported anti hypertensive effect of calcium supplementation was related to any observed change in blood lead. BP was measured on four occasions, 1 week apart in 251 subjects. During this period, blood lead and erythrocyte protoporphyrin (EPP) levels were measured, as well as markers of calcium metabolism. In an intervention period, 142 patients were assigned to receive 1 g of calcium per day as calcium carbonate for 12 weeks; at the end of this period, blood lead and EPP were remeasured. In males, blood lead levels were significantly, directly related to BP; a 0.48 μmol/dL (10 μg/dL) increase in blood lead concentration was associated with a 5 mm Hg increase in systolic pressure. There was no relationship of blood lead levels to BP in females. EPP was unrelated to BP. Similarly, there was no relationship of blood lead levels to markers of calcium metabolism. With calcium supplementation, blood lead and EPP levels did not change significantly. We conclude that it is unlikely that modification of lead status explains any effects of calcium supplementation on BP.
Bioinformatics and Oracle Extensibility

The Oracle relational database management system, with object-oriented extensions and numerous application-driven enhancements, plays a critical role worldwide in managing the exploding volumes of bioinformatics data. There are many features of the Oracle product which support the bioinformatics community directly already and there are several features which could be exploited more thoroughly by users, service vendors, and Oracle itself to extend that level of support. This paper will present an overview of Oracle features which support storage of bioinformatics data and will discuss extensibility features which give the product room to grow. Some attention will be given to Oracle's own efforts to use that extensibility to exploit emerging standardization of many of the complex data and computation requirements of the life sciences.
Stackless preemptive multi-threading for TinyOS

Programming support for multi-threaded applications on embedded microcontroller platforms has attracted a considerable amount of research attention in the recent years. This paper is focused on this problem, and presents UnStacked C, a source-to-source transformation that can translate multithreaded programs into stackless continuations. The transformation can support legacy code by not requiring any changes to application code, and only modifications to the underlying threading library. We describe the details of UnStacked C in the context of the TinyOS operating system for wireless sensor network applications. We present a modified implementation of the TOSThreads library for TinyOS, and show how existing applications programmed using TOSThreads can be automatically transformed to use stackless threads with only modifications in the build process. By eliminating the need to allocate individual thread stacks and by supporting lazy thread preemption, UnStacked C enables a considerable saving of memory used and power consumed, respectively.
MRE-based Bayesian Inversion of Seismic And EM Data For Identification of Reservoir Parameters

A stochastic joint inversion approach for estimating reservoir fluid saturations and porosity is proposed. The approach couples seismic amplitude versus angle (AVA) and marine controlled source electromagnetic (CSEM) forward models into a Bayesian formalism, which allows for integration between complementary information. To obtain minimally subjective prior probabilities required for the Bayesian approach, the principle of Minimum Relative Entropy (MRE) is employed. Instead of single-valued estimate provided by deterministic methods, the approach gives a probability distribution for any unknown parameter of interest, such as reservoir fluid saturations or porosity at different locations. The distributions means, modes, and confidence intervals can be calculated, providing a more complete understanding of the uncertainty in the parameter estimates. The approach is tested using two case studies: one is a synthetic case, and the other uses data from the North Sea Troll field. Results show that joint inversion using seismic and EM data gives better estimates of reservoir parameters than estimates from either geophysical data set used in isolation.
Developing activity duration specification limits for effective project control

We propose a new structure for guiding project control decisions to ensure that a project is completed on schedule when activity durations are uncertain and modeled by random variables. This structure consists of specifying a specification limit for each activity duration. During the project, if the time to complete an activity is going to exceed its specification limit, actions are taken, at some cost, to bring the time down to that limit. We present an algorithm that selects specification limits to achieve targeted on-time probabilities at minimum cost. The method involves estimating the effect of small changes in specification limits on the probability of completing a project on time and on the cost of control actions. The required simulation-based estimates for all activities are obtained in a single set of simulation runs. Computational results show the algorithm to be efficient to apply and, when compared to a more ad hoc approach of using activity importance measures (specifically, activity criticality), the use of the resulting specification limits to be of significant benefit in guiding project control decisions.
Turbulence Structure in the Spiral Wake Shed by a Lifting Wing

Our goal is to reveal precisely the effects of the different three-dimensional influences that act on the spiral wake and to compare its structure with the near-two-dimensional region found farther inboard. Both single- and two-point hot-wire measurements were made to this end. Single-point measurements are presented here
Bayesian Methods in Phase III Trials

This paper describes a Bayesian approach to the design and analysis of clinical trials, with special reference to Phase III drug trials. The focus is on two rather general areas that are important in clinical trials: (1) monitoring trials with the possibility of changing the trial's design, and (2) combining various sources of information concerning the effect of the drug. Topics covered include survival analysis, analysis of trials in which the patients have different prognoses, multicenter trials and meta-analysis.
Tree species identification in mixed coniferous forest using airborne laser scanning

This study tests the capacity of relatively low density (<1 return/m2) airborne laser scanner data for discriminating between Douglas-fir, western larch, ponderosa pine, and lodgepole pine in a western North American montane forest and it evaluates the relative importance of intensity, height, and return type metrics for classifying tree species. Collectively, Exploratory Data Analysis, Pearson Correlation, ANOVA, and Linear Discriminant Analysis show that structural and intensity characteristics generated from LIDAR data are useful for classifying species at dominant and individual tree levels in multi-aged, mixed conifer forests. Proportions of return types and mean intensities are significantly different between species (p-value < 0.001) for plot-level dominant species and individual trees. Classification accuracies based on single variables range from 49%–61% at the dominant species level and 37%–52% for individual trees. The accuracy can be improved to 95% and 68% respectively by using multiple variables. The inclusion of proportion of return type greatly improves the classification accuracy at the dominant species level, but not for individual trees, while canopy height improves the accuracy at both levels. Overall differences in intensity and return type between species largely reflect variations in the physical structure of trees and stands. These results are consistent with the findings of others and point to airborne laser scanning as a useful source of data for species classification. However, there are still many knowledge gaps that prevent accurate mapping of species using ALS data alone, particularly with relatively sparse datasets like the one used in this study. Further investigations using other datasets in different forest types will likely result in improvements to species identification and mapping for some time to come.
Amputation: Preoperative assessment and lower extremity surgical techniques

Abstract Amputation surgery is an important part of the treatment for severe limb disorders. The decision-making process must be done thoughtfully, remembering that blood flow is not the only issue. Many factors enter into the decision to perform a partial foot amputation or to perform a more proximal level amputation. Adherence to good surgical principles, proven techniques, and gentle soft tissue handling can make the difference between a successful and durable amputation or continued complications and frustrations.
Nonlinear Effects in the Reflection from Adhesive Bonds

The nondestructive testing of adhesive joints is difficult, because three basic types of defects must be detected and characterized. These are complete disbonds and voids, poor cohesion (i.e., a weak adhesive layer), and poor adhesion (i.e., a weak bond between the adhesive layer and one or both adherends). For recent reviews of the non-destructive testing of adhesively bonded structures, we refer to Refs. [1] and [2].
Dual quaternion synthesis of constrained robotic systems

Constrained robotics systems are serial or parallel robots with less than six degrees of freedom. Dimensional synthesis is defined as the process of dimensioning a robot, that is, designing the link dimensions for a given task or set of tasks. In finite-position synthesis, we define the task as a series of positions that the robot must reach. Dimensional synthesis of planar mechanisms was first solved using graphic methods, and later those methods were transformed into algebraic equations that described the constraints on the movement of the mechanism. This approach was successfully applied to spherical mechanisms and simple cases of spatial mechanisms. The methodology was not extended to general constrained robots due to the difficulty in stating the geometric constraints for robots with more than three links. A systematic approach for the synthesis of spatial robots was developed based on using the kinematics equations of the robot. The kinematics equations are spatial transformations from a fixed frame to the end-effector of the robot, parameterized by both the dimensions of the links and the joint variables. In this dissertation, a method for the kinematic synthesis of constrained robots is presented. It is based on the use of dual quaternions to construct the kinematics equations of the robot from a reference position and to equate them to a set of task positions. A calculation was devised to compute the maximum number of task positions for each robot topology, and a classification of constrained robots was obtained according to this. The design equations produced using this methodology have been solved numerically for both the link dimensions and the joint variables, and also a scheme has been introduced to eliminate the joint variables in order to obtain algebraic equations. These have been further simplified to closed algebraic expressions in several cases. The dual quaternion synthesis methodology provides with a tool for the systematic design of constrained robots. Some of these results have been implemented in computer-aided design systems.
Electrical Design Practice-TVA Fossil Fueled Generating Plants

Since the design practices described in this paper are numerous, wide in scope, and briefly dealt with, the material can be abstracted only by enumerating the subjects treated. Included under "POWERHOUSE" are: turbine-generators, generator bus, control and instrumentation, protective relaying, data logging, annunciation, communications, station service power, vital a-c power, motors, batteries, cable, cable trays, and conduit. "SWITCHYARD" includes main power transformers, general arrangement, insulation levels, and grounding. "COAL HANDLING" covers power supply, control, and instrumentation. The material presented will provide to the electric power industry, for the purpose of comparison or duplication, the current design practices developed for very large generating units in a major power system.
Prognostic factors in acute pancreatitis

The assessment of the severity of acute pancreatitis (AP) is a critical early step in its management, as severity of AP predicts prognosis. A range of options are available for assessment of severity in AP, including clinical evaluation, standardized prognostic criteria, computed tomography (CT), and biochemical markers. Clinical assessment has limited accuracy for predicting severity early in the course of AP. Therefore, additional assessment using biochemical and radiologic criteria in combination with standardized criteria is appropriate to determine severity and prognosis in AP; a strategy emphasizing daily assessment of severity should be used. The APACHE II is the scoring system of choice for evaluating severity in AP, although it remains an imperfect tool. Computed tomographic grading of AP and the development of the CT severity index allow for heightened accuracy in the prediction of severity. C-Reactive protein is the standard for serum marker assessment of severity and prognosis in AP; other markers, including interleukin-6, polymorphonuclear elastase, and trypsinogen activation peptide, hold promise. The focus of this review is to examine the role of diagnostic tests in evaluating severity and predicting prognosis among patients with AP and to provide a diagnostic algorithm for initial management.
Self-Monitoring and Attitude Accessibility

In a study investigating the relation between self-monitoring and attitude accessibility, high -and low-self-monitoring individuals evaluated a wide variety of attitude objects. Attitude accessibility was operationalized in terms of latency of response to these attitudinal inquiries. As predicted, response latencies were faster for low than for high self-monitoring individuals. This finding implies that the attitudes of low self-monitoring individuals are characterized by stronger object evaluation associations and, consequently, are more accessible from memory, relative to the attitudes of high self-monitoring individuals. The implications of the present findings for understanding the mechanisms underlying the moderating influence of self-monitoring on the attitude-behavior relation are discussed.
Observations on the rates of ion movement and hypercapnia in aqueous humor.

Abstract The ionic composition of the aqueous humor and the rates of accession of the major ions to this fluid were studied in the spiny dogfish, Squalus acanthias . In terms of both sets of measurements, Na + and Cl − dominate greatly. Although there is carbonic anhydrase in the ciliary tissue, inhibition of the enzyme produces no effect upon turnover of any of the ions measured. This is due to very low normal concentrations of HCO 3 − CO 2 and the high degree of pCO 2 elevation caused by acetazolamide, which can drive the system past the enzymic block. In this fish, elevation of plasma pCO 2 is not reflected in the aqueous humor. In the cat, systemic hypercapnia does result in elevated pCO 2 in the aqueous. However, this does not lead to elevated aqueous HCO 3 − , in striking contrast to the effect in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). This experiment illustrates the difference between a system geared only to formation of HCO 3 − (aqueous) and those geared to HCO 3 − concentration as a means of pH regulation (CSF), or overall electrolyte homeostasis (kidney).
Modeling non‐equilibrium morphologies in specific polymeric materials

We provide a numerical scheme for determining the Ginzburg–Landau free energy density directly from analysis of real or simulated images of phase evolving polymers. Our technique is robust and rapidly converges without requiring that the system reach equilibrium. The coefficients for the functional thus obtained agree with well-known mean-field trends. To our knowledge, this is the first prescription for specifying both the magnitudes and temperature dependencies for all of the free energy coefficients from microscopic models. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 44: 2605–2611, 2006
Workplace exposure zones for classification of employee exposures to physical and chemical agents

A method involving classification of employee job tasks into exposure zones is proposed to guide the industrial hygienist in assigning personal samples to employees in a facility. Workers are assigned to an exposure zone on the basis of similar profiles of chemical exposures, ventilation characteristics, and job tasks. Two facilities are used to illustrate the power of the exposure zone method to reduce the number of required samples while increasing the confidence of identifying workers at high risk. Details of the zoning and calculation procedures are described in detail.
Hyperbolic boundary value problems arising from symmetric poisson processes

Abstract In the theory of harmonic functions in the plane, the converse to the classical Dirichlet problem on a disk has recent extensions to boundary and initial value problems for elliptic and parabolic partial differential equations. There is a hyperbolic partial differential equation utilized in the description of symmetric Poison processes on a square for which this paper develops a boundary value theory whose antecedent is the classical Dirichlet problem.
Prime ideal decomposition in $$F({}^m\sqrt \mu )$$

LetF be an algebraic number field and μ∈F such thatxm−μ is irreducible, wherem is an integer. Let\(\mathfrak{p}\) be a prime ideal inF with\(N (\mathfrak{p}) = pf\). The prime decomposition of\(\mathfrak{p}\) in\(F({}^m\sqrt \mu )\) is explicitly obtained in the following cases. Case 1:\(\mu \mathop \equiv \limits^8 0 (\bmod \mathfrak{p}^a )\), (a,m) = 1 (where\(\mu \mathop \equiv \limits^8 0 (\bmod \mathfrak{p}^a )\) means\(\mu \equiv 0 (\bmod \mathfrak{p}^a )\),ς ≢ 0\((\bmod \mathfrak{p}^a + 1)\)). Case 2:m ≡lt, wherel is a prime andl ≢ 0\((\bmod \mathfrak{p})\). Case 3:m ≢ 0\((\bmod \mathfrak{p})\) and every prime that dividesm also dividespf−1. It is not assumed that thevth roots of unity are inF for anyv ≠ 2.
TRANSPHOSPHATIDYLATION OF SUGAR ALCOHOLS AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR THE PATHOGENESIS OF DIABETIC COMPLICATIONS

Glucose-induced sorbitol accumulation and attendant alterations in cellular myo-inositol and phosphoinositide metabolism have been invoked in the pathogenesis of diabetic complications; however, direct effects of sorbitol on membrane phospholipid composition or metabolism have never been evaluated. Phospholipase D catalyses the transphosphatidylation of ethanol into phosphatidylcholine to yield phosphatidylethanol, an “abnormal” phospholipid whose content in rat brain is increased by chronic ethanol ingestion. Analogous transphosphatidylation of sorbitol or other polyols whose concentration is elevated in diabetes was explored in vitro and in glucose-exposed cultured human retinal pigment epithelial cells. Phosphatidylcholine and varying concentrations of sorbitol, galactitol, mannitol and glucose were incubated with peanut phospholipase D in sodium acetate buffer for varying time periods. Thin layer chromatography revealed new phospholipid bands whose hydrolysis by phospholipase D liberated a water-soluble compound that cochromatographed with sorbitol on gas-liquid chromatography, and whose concentration increased in a time- and concentration-dependent fashion. Identical transphosphatidylation activity was demonstrated in a rat brain synaptosomal fraction. Phospholipase D hydrolysis of lipids from human retinal pigment epithelial cells constitutively overexpressing the aldose reductase gene yielded a sorbitol-like compound whose appearance was increased by glucose exposure and was decreased by an aldose reductase inhibitor. Thus, glucose-induced aldose reductase inhibitor sensitive sorbitol accumulation might induce the formation of “phosphatidylsorbitol” through a transphosphatidyl mechanism that may contribute to altered membrane phospholipid metabolism in diabetes.
Molecular cloning of human submandibular histatins

Histatins are a group of histidine-rich polypeptides found in human parotid and submandibular gland secretions. These polypeptides are microbiocidal, possibly involved in maintaining the acquired enamel pellicle, and enhance the glycolytic activity of certain oral micro-organisms. Histatins 1, 3 and 5 are homologous proteins with 38, 32 and 24 amino acid residues, respectively; the cDNAs coding for histatins 1 and 3 have now been isolated and sequenced. The cDNA sequences were highly homologous but contained differences throughout their length, indicating that they arise from different genes that may be derived from a common ancestral gene. Northern blots were hybridized to a series of oligonucleotide probes, designed on the basis of histatin cDNA sequences, and these positively identified mRNAs for histatins 1 and 3. In addition, there was a third mRNA, which hybridized to several histatin oligonucleotide probes, suggesting that histatin 5 might be derived from a distinct mRNA and not by proteolytic processing of histatin 3. A Northern blot of macaque parotid gland total RNA also showed three histatin mRNAs, indicating that similar histatins exist in a non-human primate.
The shaping of fluency not the modification of stuttering

Abstract A general approach to the treatment of individuals who stutter is suggested. The treatment or extinction of the stuttering episode is theoretically and clinically an unsound, self defeating and tedious process. Focusing on the existing fluencies in stutterers' speech and increasing their frequency of occurence should become the major goal in therapy. It could be expected that as a result of changes in the stutterer's behavior many of the magical attitudes of stutterers to their verbal interaction would be eliminated.
Characterization of Cerium-Based Conversion Coatings on Al 7075-T6 Deposited from Chloride and Nitrate Salt Solutions

Cerium-based conversion coating solutions were prepared from chloride and nitrate cerium salts, and coatings were deposited on Al 7075-T6 substrates. Solutions with a fixed Ce(III) ion concentration of 0.11 M were prepared using CeCl 3 or Ce(NO 3 ) 3 individually as well as in combination. Coatings produced from solutions using all chloride precursor (0.33 M Cl- concentration) and H 2 O 2 (1 M) were ∼450 nm thick, had an impedance of ∼95 kΩ cm 2 , and a corrosion current density (i corr ) of 0.288 μA/cm 2 . However, the combination of chloride ions and H 2 0 2 in the deposition solution led to the formation of subsurface crevices in the aluminum alloy substrate. To prevent or reduce subsurface crevice formation, cerium nitrate was substituted for the chloride precursor. Using a solution containing only the nitrate precursor and H 2 0 2 (1 M), the coatings thickness decreased to ∼60 nm, the impedance decreased to ∼5 kΩ cm 2 , and the i corr increased to 7.07 μA/cm 2 . Thus, the coating thickness and corrosion performance were directly related to the chloride ion content in the coating solution. Decreasing the chloride ion content by substituting nitrate ions made the deposition solution less aggressive, hindering the reactions necessary for coating deposition to take place and subsequently reducing the formation of subsurface crevices.
Binding of epidermal growth factor by human colon carcinoma cell (Caco-2) monolayers.

Abstract The objective of this study was to investigate whether Caco-2 cells bind and internalize epidermal growth factor (EGF). [125I]EGF was presented to the apical (AP) or basolateral (BL) side of Caco-2 monolayers, grown on microporous membranes, at different times in culture. At day 10, [125I]EGF binding (at 37 °C) to the BL membrane was 2–3 times greater than binding to the AP membrane. Of that [125I]EGF bound to the AP membrane 76 % was internalized within 3 h while internalization from the BL membrane was 90 %. At lower temperatures membrane-bound [125I]EGF increased while internalization decreased. At day 16, AP and BL binding decreased and then remained constant through day 25. [125I]EGF was bound to the BL membrane of 10 days old monolayers with a Kd of 0.67 nM. There was a single binding site whose numbers in the BL membrane was about 5500/cell.
Short-term antifibrinolytic therapy before early aneurysm treatment in subarachnoid hemorrhage: effects on rehemorrhage, cerebral ischemia, and hydrocephalus.

Background Long-term administration of the antifibrinolytic agent epsilon aminocaproic acid (EACA) reduces the rate of rehemorrhage in patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), but is associated with cerebral ischemia. Objective To evaluate short-term administration of EACA before early surgery in patients with SAH. Methods Retrospective review of 356 patients admitted between June 2002 and December 2007 with a diagnosis of aneurysmal SAH. Medical records were reviewed to determine SAH risk factors, clinical grade at the time of admission, and incidence of rehemorrhage, permanent new-onset focal neurological deficits, computed tomography evidence of cerebral infarction, symptomatic vasospasm, and hydrocephalus. Results Patients underwent treatment of the ruptured aneurysm an average of 47.4 hours after admission and received an average total dose of 40.6 g of EACA. The mean length of time of administration of EACA was 35.6 hours. There was a total of 5 rehemorrhages, for an overall rebleeding rate of 1.4% and a rate of rehemorrhage per 24-hour period of 0.71%. Overall, the rates of symptomatic vasospasm and permanent neurological deficits attributable to ischemic stroke were 11.5% and 7.2%, respectively, and the incidence of shunt-dependent hydrocephalus was 42.3%. Patients who were treated with coiling had higher rates of symptomatic vasospasm and ischemic complications than patients who had surgery. Conclusion Short-term administration of EACA is associated with rates of rehemorrhage, ischemic stroke, and symptomatic vasospasm that compare favorably with historical controls. The rate of hydrocephalus is relatively high and may be attributable to EACA treatment.
Power law versus exponential state transition dynamics: application to sleep-wake architecture.

Background: Despite the common experience that interrupted sleep has a negative impact on waking function, the features of human sleep-wake architecture that best distinguish sleep continuity versus fragmentation remain elusive. In this regard, there is growing interest in characterizing sleep architecture using models of the temporal dynamics of sleepwake stage transitions. In humans and other mammals, the state transitions defining sleep and wake bout durations have been described with exponential and power law models, respectively. However, sleep-wake stage distributions are often complex, and distinguishing between exponential and power law processes is not always straightforward. Although monoexponential distributions are distinct from power law distributions, multi-exponential distributions may in fact resemble power laws by appearing linear on a log-log plot. Methodology/Principal Findings: To characterize the parameters that may allow these distributions to mimic one another, we systematically fitted multi-exponential-generated distributions with a power law model, and power law-generated distributions with multi-exponential models. We used the Kolmogorov-Smirnov method to investigate goodness of fit for the ‘‘incorrect’’ model over a range of parameters. The ‘‘zone of mimicry’’ of parameters that increased the risk of mistakenly accepting power law fitting resembled empiric time constants obtained in human sleep and wake bout distributions. Conclusions/Significance: Recognizing this uncertainty in model distinction impacts interpretation of transition dynamics (self-organizing versus probabilistic), and the generation of predictive models for clinical classification of normal and pathological sleep architecture.
Acute and chronic stress-induced oxidative gastrointestinal injury in rats, and the protective ability of a novel grape seed proanthocyanidin extract

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are implicated in the pathogenesis of stress-induced gastrointestinal injury. In the present study, we have investigated the effects of acute stress and chronic stress on the enhanced production of superoxide anion as determined by cytochrome c reduction assay, and correlated the enhanced production of superoxide anion with increased lipid peroxidation, DNA fragmentation and membrane microviscosity, indices of oxidative tissue injury, in gastric mucosa and intestinal mucosa, and determined the protective effects of a novel IH636 grape seed proanthocyanidin extract (GSPE) against mucosal injury. Acute stress was induced by water-immersion restraint stress for 90 min, while chronic stress was induced by water-immersion restraint stress for 15 min/day for 15 consecutive days. Half of the animals exposed to acute stress were pretreated orally with 100 mg GSPE/kg/day for 15 consecutive days. Similarly, half of the animals exposed to chronic stress were pretreated orally with 100 mg GSPE/kg/day for 15 consecutive days. Acute stress produced maximal injury to both gastric mucosa and intestinal mucosa as compared to chronic stress. Acute stress and chronic stress increased cytochrome c reduction by 12.2- and 4.8-fold, respectively, in the gastric mucosa, and 12.1- and 4.6-fold in the intestinal mucosa. Acute stress increased lipid peroxidation, DNA fragmentation and membrane microviscosity by 3.3-, 4.1- and 11.6-fold, respectively, in the gastric mucosa, and 4.4-, 5.2- and 16.6-fold, respectively, in intestinal mucosa. GSPE decreased acute stress-induced lipid peroxidation, DNA fragmentation and membrane microviscosity by 15%, 12% and 13%, respectively, in the gastric mucosa, and by 13%, 14% and 16%, respectively, in the intestinal mucosa. Chronic stress increased lipid peroxidation, DNA fragmentation and membrane microviscosity by 2.9-, 3.3- and 6.3- fold, respectively, in the gastric mucosa, and 3.3-, 4.2- and 9.3-fold, respectively, in the intestinal mucosa. GSPE decreased chronic stress-induced lipid peroxidation, DNA fragmentation and membrane microviscosity by 23%, 21% and 25%, respectively, in the gastric mucosa, and by 26%, 26% and 25%, respectively, in the intestinal mucosa. These results demonstrate that acute stress and chronic stress can induce gastrointestinal oxidative stress and mucosal injury through enhanced production of ROS, and that GSPE provides significant protection against gastrointestinal oxidative stress and mucosal injury by scavenging these ROS.
Where Are Learning Communities Now?: National Leaders Take Stock.

A multiyear effort to understand and improve the practice of learning communities across North America has revealed encouraging trends and areas in which work should continue. The authors asked nea...
Theoretical analysis of intramolecular double-hydrogen transfer in bridged-ring compounds

Abstract Model calculations are reported on double-hydrogen and double-deuterium transfer rates in two bridged-ring molecules recently investigated by Mackenzie. [Tetrahedron Letters, 33 (1992) 5629]. The calculations indicate that, contrary to an earlier interpretation, the two atoms are transferred by asynchronous tunnelling, the observed activation energy being representative of the energy of the biradical intermediate rather than the barrier height.
Aluminum Ion Deposition in Rat Tissues Following Implantation of a Ceramic-Metal Disc

Plasma-sprayed alumina on 316L stainless steel discs was implanted in Sprague-Dawley rats for six months; at which time the animals were sacrificed, and selected tissues analyzed for aluminum concentration using atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The liver, testes, and kidneys exhibited significant increases in aluminum ion concentration.
Fast wavelength-parallel polarimeter for broadband optical networks.

We describe a novel wavelength-parallel polarimeter operating in the light-wave band that measures the complete state of polarization of 256 wavelengths in parallel within 20 ms (software-limited), with the potential for submillisecond operation. By use of fast switching ferroelectric liquid crystals in conjunction with an InGaAs arrayed detector, selection and wavelength-parallel detection of individual polarization components can be achieved within approximately 150 µs. This instrument offers unprecedented sensing capability that is relevant to the compensation of polarization-related impairments in high-speed light-wave communications.
The Hybrid HMM for RSS-based Localization in Wireless Sensor Networks

We proposea method of RSS-base localization in WSN (Wireless Sensor Network), called Hybrid HMM, to improve the stabilityof node localization basedon RSS(Received Signal Strength).This model utilizesHMM(Hidden Markov Model) to takeinto account the time factor when receiving the RSS sequence, andconverts the action of ranging into an operationof classification.For the received RSS used for localization,our Hybrid HMMwill compare it withthe preset RSS threshold value, and put the result into one of two categories for subsequent processing: If the received value is higher than the threshold value, the distance value will be drawn from the signal propagation model. If lower, the information will be obtained from a trained HMM. Experimental results show that the Hybrid HMM method can greatly improve the localization accuracy.
Optimal antidotal dose of activated charcoal.

Abstract Activated charcoal is an effective antidote for reducing the gastrointestinal absorption of numerous ingested chemicals. However, the dose of activated charcoal for clinical use has often been recommended on the basis of in vitro data. Use of such data tends to overestimate the antidotal capacity of activated charcoal and may result in undertreatment with the adsorbent, whereas in vivo data are believed to be more reliable. The present study quantifies the capacity of activated charcoal to bind 3 drugs, pentobarbital sodium, chloroquine phosphate, and isoniazid in vivo. A fixed dose of each drug was administered to rats and mean control tissue concentrations of the drugs were determined at peak time. The identical dose of each drug was then administered to groups of rats which were immediately antidoted with activated charcoal in a dose of 1, 2,4 or 8 times the weight of the drug. Tissue concentrations of the drugs were then determined and the results were calculated and expressed as percent reduction of tissue drug concentrations, on the basis of the control tissue drug concentration values. Charcoal-drug ratios of 1:1, 2:1, 4:1 and 8:1 reduced absorption as follows: pentobarbital sodium, 7, 38, 62 and 89%; chloroquin phosphate, 20, 30, 70 and 96%; and isoniazid, 1.2, 7.2, 35 and 80%. Binding of drugs by activated charcoal at the 3 lower charcoal-drug ratios was highly variable between drugs. Only the highest charcoal-drug ratio provided uniform and nearly complete binding of the 3 drugs. The results suggest that the optimal activated charcoal-drug ratio for the treatment of pentobarbital, chloroquine, and isoniazid is at least 8:1.
A Simple Method for Obtaining the Information Matrix for a Multivariate Normal Distribution

The purpose of this note is to present a simple method for finding the informnation matrix, and its inverse, for the p-variate normal distribution, N(O,2). Corresponding matrices for N(,u,) are easily obtained since they are block diagonal and the portion corresponding to , presents no difficulty. The simplicity of the technique presented here arises froin the fact that both the information matrix and its inverse can be expressed as the product of a diagonal matrix with a matrix whose elements are given by a simple set of formulas. The basic technique is extended to the case in which some observations on one of the variates are missing, and is illustrated by an example.
Using an Act-Based Merit-Index to Predict Between-Year Retention:

This study examined the efficacy of an ACT-based merit index (ACT-index) in predicting the first-to-second-year retention of undergraduate college students. The ACT-index quantifies the relationshi...
The shunt-driven circular loop antenna

The distribution of current, admittance, and far field of a shunt-driven circular loop antenna are derived and related to those of an equivalent series-driven loop in parallel with a section of transmission line. The effective length of a shunt-loaded receiving antenna is obtained in terms of the corresponding quantity for the series-loaded loop.
Treatment of cutaneous Crohn's disease with infliximab

Purpose: Cutaneous or metastatic Crohn's disease is extremely rare. Treatment to this date has been sub optimal, but normally consists of steroids, immunosuppression, and occasionally intralesional injection of steroids. We present a case of cutaneous Crohn's disease that was successfully treated with Infliximab.