cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Incremental validity of MMPI and MMPI-2 clinical scales in detecting malingering

The efficacy of the F scale and F-K index in detecting faking of a mental illness was investigated for both the MMPI and MMPI-2. A total of 72 undergraduate students completed the MMPI and 74 completed the MMPI-2 after receiving instructions to feign severe mental illness. Student responses were analyzed against MMPI (n=180) and MMPI-2 (n=76) data obtained from psychiatric inpatients diagnosed with severe mental illnesses. Multiple regression analysis of the validity scales and F-K index indicate that the F scale is the best predictor of malingering both for the MMPI (r=64) and MMPI-2 (r=.74) and the two samples combined (r=.71). The Si and D scales accounted for statistically significant, yet small, amounts of incremental validity. The presence of a “sawtooth” pattern did not add any incremental validity. Though an F scale cut-off score of T>109 resulted in an 85.9% classification accuracy rate, it appears that categorizing scores into one of five ranges results in better classification accuracy than a single cut-off score.
Oral tolerance: immune mechanisms and treatment of autoimmune diseases

Abstract Orally administered proteins induce systemic hyporesponsiveness to the fed protein. The mechanism underlying such ‘oral tolerance' depends on the amount of antigen fed. with higher doses inducing deletion and anergy, and lower doses inducing regulatory cells. Orally administered autoantigens suppress many experimental autoimmune diseases, as discussed here by Howard Weiner.
Temperature effects on fatigue performance of cold expanded holes in 7050-T7451 aluminum alloy

Cold expansion of fastener holes has been successfully used for many years to impart beneficial compressive residual stresses. These residual stresses serve to extend crack initiation lives and to slow down growth of small cracks. The 7050 aluminum alloy is being used in supersonic aircraft structures that are subject to high temperatures. The purpose of this investigation is to identify possible problematic stress relaxation around expanded fastener holes in this material. Three tests have been used to assess the effects of thermal exposure on cold expanded fastener holes in 6.4 mm thick 7050-T7451 aluminum plate. The three tests are an initial evaluation of tensile strength, an open-hole uniaxial fatigue test and a modified stress relaxation test. The tensile testing and fatigue testing were performed at ambient conditions on material in the as-received condition and also in a thermally aged condition. Thermal aging consisted of a 5000 h exposure in a laboratory oven set to 104 °C. Stress relaxation testing was performed at temperatures of 71, 82, 93 and 104 °C on a screw driven test frame fitted with an oven. The results of the tests suggest that stress relaxation is present but is not critical at the temperatures tested. The trend in the stress relaxation testing shows that temperatures slightly above 104 °C may be detrimental to residual stress fields.
Optics requirements for x-ray astronomy and developments at the Marshall Space Flight Center

Abstract X-ray optics have revolutionized x-ray astronomy; the degree of background suppression that these afford has led to a tremendous increase in sensitivity. The current Chandra observatory has the same collecting area (∼10 3 cm 2 ) as that of the non-imaging UHURU observatory, the first x-ray observatory which was launched in 1970, but has five orders of magnitude more sensitivity due to its focusing optics. In addition, its 0.5″ angular resolution has revealed a wealth of structure in many cosmic x-ray sources. The Chandra observatory achieved its resolution by using relatively thick pieces of Zerodur glass, which were meticulously figured and polished to form the four-shell nested array. The resulting optical assembly weighed >1000 kg, and cost approximately $0.5B. The challenge for future x-ray astronomy missions is to greatly increase the collecting area (by one or more orders of magnitude) while ultimately maintaining sub-arcsecond angular resolution, and all within realistic mass and budget constraints.
Identification of a signal peptide for oryzacystatin-I.

A previously unidentified extension of an open reading frame from the genomic DNA of Japonica rice (Oryza sativa L.) encoding oryzacystatin-I (OC-I; access. M29259, protein ID AAA33912.1) has been identified as a 5′ gene segment coding for the OC-I signal peptide. The signal peptide appears to direct a pre-protein (SPOC-I; Accession No. AF164378) to the endoplasmic reticulum, where it is processed into the mature form of OC-I. The start codon of SPOC-I begins 114 bp upstream from that previously published for OC-I. A putative proteolytic site, which may yield a mature OC-I approximately 12 residues larger than previously described, has been identified within SPOC-I between Ala-26 and Glu-27. The signal peptide sequence was amplified by polymerase chain reaction using genomic DNA from O. sativa seedlings and ligated to the 5′ end of the truncated OC-I gene at the endogenous SalI site. Partially purified protein extracts from Escherichia coli expressing SPOC-I reacted with polyclonal antibodies raised against OC-I and revealed a protein of the expected molecular weight (15,355 Da). In-vitro translation of SPOC-I in the presence of microsomal membranes yielded a processed product approximately 2.7 kDa smaller than the pre-protein. Nicotiana tabacum L. cv. Xanthi plants independently transformed with the SPOC-I gene processed SPOC-I and accumulated the mature form of OC-I (approximately 12.6 kDa), which co-migrated with natural, mature OC-I extracted from rice seed when separated by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis.
Using the RDP classifier to predict taxonomic novelty and reduce the search space for finding novel organisms.

Background Currently, the naive Bayesian classifier provided by the Ribosomal Database Project (RDP) is one of the most widely used tools to classify 16S rRNA sequences, mainly collected from environmental samples. We show that RDP has 97+% assignment accuracy and is fast for 250 bp and longer reads when the read originates from a taxon known to the database. Because most environmental samples will contain organisms from taxa whose 16S rRNA genes have not been previously sequenced, we aim to benchmark how well the RDP classifier and other competing methods can discriminate these novel taxa from known taxa. Principal Findings Because each fragment is assigned a score (containing likelihood or confidence information such as the boostrap score in the RDP classifier), we “train” a threshold to discriminate between novel and known organisms and observe its performance on a test set. The threshold that we determine tends to be conservative (low sensitivity but high specificity) for naive Bayesian methods. Nonetheless, our method performs better with the RDP classifier than the other methods tested, measured by the f-measure and the area-under-the-curve on the receiver operating characteristic of the test set. By constraining the database to well-represented genera, sensitivity improves 3–15%. Finally, we show that the detector is a good predictor to determine novel abundant taxa (especially for finer levels of taxonomy where novelty is more likely to be present). Conclusions We conclude that selecting a read-length appropriate RDP bootstrap score can significantly reduce the search space for identifying novel genera and higher levels in taxonomy. In addition, having a well-represented database significantly improves performance while having genera that are “highly” similar does not make a significant improvement. On a real dataset from an Amazon Terra Preta soil sample, we show that the detector can predict (or correlates to) whether novel sequences will be assigned to new taxa when the RDP database “doubles” in the future.
Human carbonic anhydrases. VII. A new C type isozyme in erythrocytes of American Negroes.

An unusual erythrocyte carbonic anhydrase C type isozyme tentatively designated as H has been found in American Negroes. It has an electrophoretic mobility near that of carbonic anhydrase B. In about 18% of the individuals studied the H isozyme replaces half of the normal C isozyme, and in about 1% of this population only the H isozyme is present.
Attention Modification Program in Individuals With Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Research suggests that individuals with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) show an attention bias for threat-relevant information. However, few studies have examined the causal role of attention bias in the maintenance of anxiety and whether modification of such biases may reduce pathological anxiety symptoms. In the present article, the authors tested the hypothesis that an 8-session attention modification program would (a) decrease attention bias to threat and (b) reduce symptoms of GAD. Participants completed a probe detection task by identifying letters (E or F) replacing one member of a pair of words. The authors trained attention by including a contingency between the location of the probe and the nonthreat word in one group (Attention Modification Program; AMP) and not in the other (attention control condition; ACC). Participants in the AMP showed change in attention bias and a decrease in anxiety, as indicated by both self-report and interviewer measures. These effects were not present in the ACC group. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that attention plays a causal role in the maintenance of GAD and suggest that altering attention mechanisms may effectively reduce anxiety.
The ABCs of β-cell dysfunction in type 2 diabetes

Cholesterol toxicity may damage pancreatic β-cells, leading to decreased insulin secretion and impaired glucose tolerance ( pages 340–347 ).
Empirically Examining the Parallelizability of Open Source Software System

An empirical study is presented that examines the potential to automatically parallelism, using refactoring tools and/or compilers, 11 open source software. Static analysis methods are applied to each system to determine the number of for-loops and free-loops (i.e., loops that can be parallized). For each non-free loop the various inhibitors (to parallelization) are determined and counted. The results show that function calls within for-loops represent the vast majority of inhibitors and thus pose the greatest roadblock to adapt and re-engineer systems to better utilize parallelization. This is somewhat contradictory to the literature, which is focused primarily on the removal of data dependencies within loops. Additionally, the historical data of inhibitor counts for the set of systems is presented over a ten-year period. The data shows few of the systems examined are increasing the potential to parallelizable loops over time.
Comprehensive solutions for automatic removal of dust and scratches from images

Dust, scratches, or hair on originals (prints, slides, or negatives) distinctly appear as light or dark artifacts on a scan. These unsightly artifacts have become a major consumer concern. There are several scenarios for removal of dust and scratch artifacts. One scenario is during acquisition, e.g., while scanning photographic media. Another is artifact removal from a digital image in an image editor. For each scenario, a different solution is suitable, with different performance requirements and differing levels of user interaction. This work describes a comprehensive set of algorithms for automatically removing dust and scratches from images. Our algorithms solve a wide range of use scenarios. A dust and scratch removal solution has two steps: a detection step and a reconstruction step. Very good detection of dust and scratches is possible using side information, such as provided by dedicated hardware. Without hardware assistance, dust and scratch removal algorithms generally resort to blurring, thereby losing image detail. We present algorithmic alternatives for dust and scratch detection. In addition, we present reconstruction algorithms that preserve image detail better than previously available alternatives. These algorithms consistently produce visually pleasing images in extensive testing.
Does close proximity robot motion tracking alter gait

Abstract Dynamic fluoroscopic imaging and three-dimensional model-image registration techniques provide detailed joint kinematic measurements for motions constrained to small volumes of space. Several groups are working to mount radiographic imaging hardware onto mobile platforms to provide these same imaging capabilities for observation of unrestricted activities. These dynamic radiographic imaging systems could provide accurate skeletal kinematics during a wide range of clinically relevant, daily activities. However, the premise that people move naturally when followed by a dynamic imaging system has not been evaluated. The goal of this study was to determine if a close-up robot tracking system affects natural free-speed gait. 14 healthy adults were recruited to walk through the workspace of a dynamic radiographic imaging system. Randomized walking trials were performed with and without the dynamic imaging system tracking the motions of the subject’s left knee. With- and without-robot trials were compared using detailed temporal–spatial and frequency analysis of kinematic and kinetic parameters. On average, participants increase their stride length by 0.9 cm. There also were slight increases in unexplained variation in ankle flexion/extension and ground reaction forces compared to baseline measurements. The statistically significant differences indicate that, on average, people tried to move faster through the workspace of the dynamic radiographic imaging system while it was actively tracking their motion. These differences are small and potentially clinically irrelevant.
Multi-Degree-of-Freedom Thin-Film PZT-Actuated Microrobotic Leg

As a novel approach to future microrobotic locomotion, a multi-degree-of-freedom (m-DoF) microrobotic appendage is presented that generates large range of motion (5° -40°) in multiple axes using thin-film lead zirconate titanate (PZT) actuators. Due to the high driving force of PZT thin films and a robust fabrication process, m-DoF legs that retain acceptable payload capacity ( ~ 2 mg per leg) are achieved. The fabrication process permits thin-film PZT actuator integration with more complex higher aspect ratio silicon structures than previous related processes, using vertical silicon dioxide barrier trenches formed before PZT deposition to provide robust encapsulation of the silicon during later XeF2 release. Planarization of the barrier trenches avoids detrimental effects on piezoelectric performance from the substrate alteration. Once fabricated, kinematic modeling of compact PZT actuator arrays in prototype leg joints is compared to experimental displacement measurements, demonstrating that piezoelectric actuator and assembled robot leg joint performance can be accurately predicted given certain knowledge of PZT properties and residual stress. Resonant frequencies, associated weight bearing, and power consumption are also obtained.
Conformation and Dynamics of the Troponin I C-Terminal Domain

The troponin complex acts as a molecular switch in striated muscle cells to regulate myosin attachment to and isomerization on actin filaments. Transitions between the inactive and active states of the cardiac thin filament require extensive domain movements and binding exchanges involving the C-terminal domain of cardiac troponin I (TnI-C, residues 130-210). Mutations in TnI-C are associated with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, highlighting the importance of this domain in regulating cardiac contraction. However, the conformation and dynamics of TnI-C are poorly characterized due to order/disorder transitions between binding states, leaving mechanistic details undetermined for both wild-type and diseased complexes. TnI-C is likely disordered in solution and the unbound state [1], coupling binding and folding as it fly-casts onto its actin/tropomyosin binding site to block myosin access to actin [2].Here we use a combination of computational and experimental techniques to probe the conformation and dynamics of TnI-C in its multiple binding states, using pairwise fluorescence measurements applicable to both the solution-state and the thin filament-docked complex. Our molecular dynamics simulations are consistent with TnI-C disorder in the unbound state; simulations beginning from a helical model unfold regardless of starting orientation or the presence of the rest of the complex, and there is no consensus structure in the disordered state over multiple 50 ns simulations of the free domain. Remarkably, the presence of the N-terminal globular head of troponin C affects TnI-C conformation in silico, emphasizing the importance of interdomain and intermolecular interactions in the troponin complex.1. Julien, O., Mercier, P., Allen, C.N., Fisette, O., Ramos, C.H.I, et al. (2011) Proteins 79: 1240-1250.2. Zhou, Z., Li, K-L, Riek, D. Ouyang, Y., Chandra, M., Dong, W.J. (2012) J. Biol. Chem. 287(10): 7661-7674.
Pre-Recorded Online Audio Review Sessions

Audio technology is being increasingly integrated as a tool to facilitate student learning. For example, some institutions are recording classroom lectures, so students can go online and review cou...
Drought-stricken states

Nearly half of the contiguous United States, and at least part of 37 states, were in moderate to extreme drought in July, scientists at the National Climatic Data Center of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced on 14 August. Thirty-seven percent of the contiguous U.S. suffered severe to extreme drought, based on the Palmer Drought Index. Those extreme conditions stretched from the Southwest to Montana and Nebraska, and from Georgia to Virginia. While rainfall brought some relief to areas in the Gulf Coast and West Texas in July, some parts of the Southeast and western U.S. have been in various drought stages since 1998, according to the center.
Insights into cell division using Listeria monocytogenes infections of PtK2 renal epithelial cells

The assembly of actin into a cleavage furrow is accompanied by disassembly of the interphase actin cytoskeleton. A variation of this actin filament disassembly/assembly cycle is seen during cell division in PtK2 cells infected with the intracellular pathogen, Listeria monocytogenes, where F-actin associates with the bacteria either as a halo surrounding nonmoving bacteria, or as an array of filaments that encases the sides of moving baceteria and extends behind them like a tail. The moving Listeria are found both in the cytoplasm and in the distal ends of undulating filopodia. When infected cells enter mitosis, the distribution of moving and stationary bacteria changes. In the transition from prophase to metaphase, there is a decrease in the number of bacteria with tails of actin in the cytoplasm. The nonmoving bacteria surrounded with F-actin are excluded from the mitotic spindle and moving bacteria are seldom seen in the cytoplasm during mitosis, although small thin filopodia cluster at the edges of the cells. After completion of cytokinesis, strong tail reformation first becomes obvious in the filopodia with Listeria moving back into the cytoplasm as the daughter cells spread. In summary, the disassembly and reassembly of actin tails extending from Listeria in dividing cells is a variation of the changes in actin organization produced by stress fiber and myofibril disassembly/assembly cycles during cell division. We suggest that the same unknown factors that regulate the disassembly/assembly of stress fibers and myofibrils during mitosis and post cytokinesis also affect the movement of Listeria inside mitotic cells. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Kernel density estimation under dependence

Abstract Kernel type estimators of the density of weakly dependent random variables are studied. Uniform strong consistency of the estimators and their rates of convergence are obtained. The dependence condition used is weaker than the strong mixing condition.
Ventricular Defibrillation Combining DC Electrical Field and Electrical Pacing: An Optical Mapping Study

ABSTRACT Although high voltage direct current (DC) shock is a standard technique to terminate ventricular fibrillation (VF), it can cause severe pain and tissue damage. The exact effect of the DC electric fi eld, which can depolarize the heart during VF is still unknown. We hypothesized that lo w-energy DC field in combination with pacing (pacing+DC) could terminate VF by affecting the ventricular propagation pattern. In six Langendorff-perfused isolated rabbit hearts with the ablated sinoatrial (SA) node, the DC field was delivered to the left ventricle (cathode) and right ventricle (anode). We designed a timed protocol using LabVIEW programming that delivers pacing, DC and pacing+DC stimuli for two seconds time intervals each. The pacing pulse (with varying pacing cycle length: 300ms-30ms) was delivered to the apex. Transmembrane voltage was reco rded with optical mapping technique for 16 seconds at a sampling rate of 2ms/frame. We crushed the sinoatrial node to reduce the heart rate. The baseline activation appeared to have endocardial origins with a mean escape ventricular ra te of 60 ± 5bpm at baseline. The DC field (30mA-60mA) alone increased the mean heart rate to 120±5bpm. Although DC alone terminated VF in a few cases, the rate of termination was very low (6.2%). However, when pacing+DC was app lied, it was possible to terminate VF in 34 of 130 episodes in six rabbits. The rate of successful defibrillation of VF with pacing+DC was significantly higher than that with DC alone (20% vs 6.2%, p<0.01). Pacing alone never terminated the VF. In conclusion, DC field may affect the conduction velocity in normal condition. Pacing+DC intervention could lead to regular ization of VF propagation and eventually to termination. Further improvement of this approach may offer a higher su ccess rate of defibrillation with lower energy requirements. Keywords : Defibrillation, Electrical pacing, DC elect ric field, Optical Mapping, Pacing+DC, VF
PALB2 mutations in familial breast and pancreatic cancer.

PALB2 (Partner And Localizer of BRCA2) binds to and co-localizes with BRCA2 in DNA repair. Germline mutations in PALB2 have been identified in approximately 1–2% of familial breast cancer and 3–4% of familial pancreatic cancer cases. The goal of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of PALB2 mutations in women with breast cancer without BRCA1/2 mutations who also had a personal or family history of pancreatic cancer. PALB2 mutation analysis was performed in 94 non-BRCA1/2 breast cancer patients with a personal or family history of pancreatic cancer. Two truncating PALB2 mutations, c.3549C>CA and c.2962C>CT, were identified resulting in a mutation prevalence of 2.1%. The proband found to carry the c.3549C>CA PALB2 mutation had a mother diagnosed with both breast and pancreatic cancer; this relative was subsequently confirmed to carry the identical mutation. The proband with the c.2962C>CT mutation had a father and paternal aunt diagnosed with pancreatic cancer; neither relative was available for testing. Two novel PALB2 missense variants were also found, one of which was deemed potentially deleterious. The prevalence rate of PALB2 mutations in a non-BRCA1/2 breast cancer population specifically selected for a family history of pancreatic cancer does not appear to be significantly increased compared to that observed in other breast cancer populations studied thus far. Further evaluation is needed to determine the prevalence of PALB2 mutations and the clinical utility of such testing in those individuals affected with both breast and pancreatic cancers.
Seismic Cycles and the Evolution of Stress Correlation in Cellular Automaton Models of Finite Fault Networks

—A cellular automaton is used to study the relation between the structure of a regional fault network and the temporal and spatial patterns of regional seismicity. Automata in which the cell sizes form discrete fractal hierarchies are compared with those having a uniform cell size. Conservative models in which all the stress is transferred at each step of a cascade are compared with nonconservative ("lossy") models in which a specified fraction of the stress energy is lost from each step. Particular attention is given to the behavior of the system as it is driven toward the critical state by uniform external loading. All automata exhibit a scaling region at times close to the critical state in which the events become larger and energy release increases as a power-law of the time to the critical state. For the hierarchical fractal automata, this power-law behavior is often modulated by fluctuations that are periodic in the logarithm of the time to criticality. These fluctuations are enhanced in the nonconservative models, but are not robust. The degree to which they develop appears to depend on the particular distribution of stresses in the larger cells which varies from cycle to cycle. Once the critical state is reached, seismicity in the uniform conservative automaton remains random in time, space, and magnitude. Large events do not significantly perturb the stress distribution in the system. However, large events in the nonconservative uniform automaton and in the fractal systems produce large stress perturbations that move the system out of the critical state. The result is a seismic cycle in which a large event is followed by a shadow period of quiescence and then a new approach back toward the critical state. This seismic cycle does not depend on the fractal structure, but is a direct consequence of large-scale heterogeneity of these systems in which the size of the largest cell (or the size of the largest nonconservative event) is a significant fraction of the size of the network. In essence, seismic cycles in these models are boundary effects. The largest events tend to cluster in time and the rate of small events remains relatively constant throughout a cycle in agreement with observed seismicity.
Social groups, selective perception, and behavioral contagion in public opinion

The paper describes the results of computer simulations of behavioral contagion in the realm of public opinion. Using threshold models to describe how and why some people assert opinions and others do not, the paper argues that to better describe the dynamics of opinion assertion and quiescence the model must be able to account for the fact that different individuals differ in the importance they place on the actions of others, and in the networks in which they are embedded. The paper reports on simulations incorporating these aspects into the model, yielding an improved representation of public opinion dynamics. Further, the incorporation of networks and weighting systems in the model alleviates one of the problematic features of the simple threshold models described by Granovetter, namely that certain individuals play unrealistically key roles in the contagion process. When networks are accounted for, the threshold formulation is less likely to make the group dynamic so dependent upon the behaviors of specific individuals.
Arene C−H Bond Activation and Arene Oxidative Coupling by Cationic Palladium(II) Complexes

N,N‘-Diaryl-α-diimine-ligated Pd(II) dimethyl complexes (tBu2ArDABMe)PdMe2 and {(CF3)2ArDABMe}PdMe2 {tBu2ArDABMe: ArNC(CH3)−C(CH3)NAr, Ar = 3,5-di-tert-butylphenyl; (CF3)2ArDABMe: Ar = 3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl} undergo protonolysis with HBF4(aq) in trifluoroethanol (TFE) to form cationic complexes [(α-diimine)Pd(CH3)(H2O)][BF4]. The cations activate benzene C−H bonds at room temperature. Kinetic analyses reveal trends similar to those observed for the analogous platinum complexes: the C−H activation step is rate-determining (KIE = 4.1 ± 0.5) and is inhibited by H2O. The kinetic data are consistent with a mechanism in which benzene substitution proceeds by a solvent- (TFE-) assisted associative pathway. Following benzene C−H activation under 1 atm O2, the products of the reaction are biphenyl and a dimeric μ-hydroxide complex, [(α-diimine)Pd(OH)]2[BF4]2. The Pd(0) formed in the reaction is reoxidized by O2 to the dimeric μ-hydroxide complex after the oxidative C−C bond formation. The regioselectiv...
The Formation, Stability, and Odor Characterization of 2-ethyl-4-methyl-1,3-dioxolane (2-EMD)

A class of compounds which are byproducts of the resin manufacturing process, has been responsible for three different taste and odor episodes in drinking water around the world. One such episode which occurred on the Ohio River, Pennsylvania, USA in 1989 was linked to the chemical, 2-ethyl-4-methyl-1,3-dioxolane (2-EMD). In this study, the mechanism and kinetics of formation of 2-EMD were examined specifically under the conditions which were present in the waste water of a resin manufacturer during the Ohio River event. The stability (fate) of 2-EMD was studied at aqueous pHs of 3, 5, 7, and 9. Hydrolysis occurred on the order of hours at pH 3 and its stability was questionable even at pH 7, but appeared to be stable at pH 9. 2-EMD was synthesized and purified in order to determine odor characteristics and odor thresholds using the method of flavor profile analysis (FPA). The distinctive sweet odor described as “sickening sweet” or “medicinal sweet” was found to have an odor threshold concentration of between 5 and 10 ng/l. The levels of 2-EMD found in drinking water samples from the taste and odor event of the Ohio River were above this odor threshold.
Delinquents’ self concepts about being parents

There is national concern about teenage pregnancy and children parenting children in the U.S. There is also an established link between delinquent parents and future delinquent offspring. Parenting skills training for youth in trouble has been considered as one way of addressing this complex problem. Yet there have been few studies of the way troubled and troublesome adolescents see themselves as parents. In this study, juveniles being held in a detention center were observed in a small group setting on a weekly basis for more than nine months. Delinquents also responded in writing to open‐ended questions about their views on parenting. In addition, detainees who had not attended parenting classes were interviewed about families. Six significant social psychological concepts from Symbolic Interaction were identified under the general heading of socialization: self‐concept, self‐image, self‐control, self‐esteem, identity and roles. This preliminary study points out the need for a better understanding of de...
Knowledge and Beliefs about Bullying in Schools: Comparing Pre-Service Teachers in the United States and the United Kingdom

A questionnaire assessing knowledge, attitudes and beliefs about bullying used in a study of pre-service teachers in the United Kingdom was replicated on a sample of 82 pre-service teachers in the United States. Results were similar for both groups of pre- service teachers. Participants had some accurate knowledge as well as some beliefs and attitudes that would not be consistent with effective teacher behaviours towards students involved in bullying. Both samples were interested in further training as part of their teacher preparation programs. Implications for training of pre-service teachers are discussed.
Angioplasty catheter communication mimicking coronary arterial dissection

We report a case in which a sudden communication between the pressure and balloon inflation lumens of a percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTCA) catheter angiographically mimicked dissection of the coronary artery. This case illustrates a previously undescribed catheter artifact that must be differentiated from other complications of PTCA.
Checking semantic usage of frameworks

Software frameworks are difficult for plugin developers to use, even when they are well designed and documented. Some of these difficulties stem from the many constraints that frameworks impose on plugin code. These constraints might restrict operations from being called on certain objects, or they might restrict how long an object is available. Additionally, the constraints are relative to the current context of the plugin, and they can involve multiple, interacting framework objects. This paper proposes a lightweight specification system and analysis to check plugins from a semantic perspective, rather than a purely structural view.
Self‐Assembled Capsules of Unprecedented Shapes

Reversible encapsulation allows the temporary isolation of molecules in very small spaces. There, molecular behavior is quite different than that in bulk solvent; in capsules recognition can be amplified,[1] reactive intermediates can be stabilized,[2] reactions can be accelerated[3] or even catalyzed[4] and new reaction pathways can appear.[5] Accordingly, a multitude of capsules have been devised over the last two decades. The main cohesive forces—covalent bonds,[6] hydrogen bonds[7] metals and ligands,[2a–c, 4c, 8] or simple hydrophobic effects[9]—are used to hold the capsules together and a variety of structures are available. Yet the self-assembly processes by their very nature of incorporating multiple subunits tend to create cavity shapes of high symmetry such as spheres, polyhedra and cylinders.
Kernel Fisher discriminant for steganalysis of JPEG hiding methods

The use of kernel Fisher discriminants is used to detect the presence of JPEG based hiding methods. The feature vector for the kernel discriminant is constructed from the quantized DCT coefficient indices. Using methods developed in kernel theory a classifier is trained in a high dimensional feature space which is capable of discriminating original from stegoimages. The algorithm is tested on the F5 hiding method.
The changing social contract in American business

Abstract Against the background of comparatively low unemployment compared with Europe, Daniel Quinn Mills examines the flexible labor market in the United States. In particular, he tries to answer questions like - What has happened to the social contract between employer and employee in America in the last decade? What does this mean to people's careers, and what are the implications for managers in their efforts to motivate workers? More generally, the author considers the human and social consequences of the end of employment security, and the emergence of a risky labor market in which each person is responsible for herself or himself. The impact of a fluid job marketplace on careers is profound, and European managers can learn from American-style labor market as they themselves move towards adopting this model.
Identification of two distinct regions of allelic imbalance on chromosome 18q in metastatic prostate cancer

Like most cancers, prostate cancer (CaP) is believed to be the result of the accumulation of genetic alterations within cells. Previous studies have implicated numerous chromosomal regions with elevated rates of allelic imbalance (AI), using mostly primary CaPs with an unknown disease outcome. These regions of AI are proposed sites for tumor suppressor genes. One of the regions previously implicated as coding for at least one tumor suppressor gene is the long arm of chromosome 18 (18q). To confirm this observation, as well as to narrow the critical region for this putative tumor suppressor, we analyzed 32 metastatic CaP specimens for AI on chromosome 18q. Thirty-one of these 32 specimens (96.8%) exhibited AI at one or more loci on chromosome 18q. Our analysis using 17 polymorphic markers revealed statistically significant AI on chromosome 18q at 3 markers, D18S35, D18S64 and D18S461. Using these markers as a guide, we have been able to identify 2 distinct minimum regions of AI on 18q. The first region is between the genetic markers D18S1119 and D18S64. The second region lies more distal on the long arm of the chromosome and is between the genetic markers D18S848 and D18S58. To determine if 18q loss is a late event in the progression of CaP, we also examined prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN) and primary prostate tumors from 17 patients for AI with a subset of 18q markers. We found significantly higher AI in the metastatic samples. Our results are consistent with 18q losses occurring late in CaP progression.
Use of confirmatory assays for diagnosis of hepatitis C viral infection in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.

Serum samples from 87 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in the United States were tested for evidence of hepatitis C viral (HCV) infection using an immunoblot assay for antibodies to the hepatitis C virus and the polymerase chain reaction to detect HCV RNA. The findings with these assays were compared to those with a first generation enzyme-linked immunoassay (EIA). Antibody to HCV (anti-HCV) was detected in 14 patients (16%) by EIA; only eight of these were also positive by immunoblot and four had HCV RNA by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). An additional four cases, negative by EIA, were found to be positive by immunoblot; two of these had HCV RNA in serum. Evidence of previous hepatitis B viral infection was noted in 15 patients (17%). Only two patients with antibody to hepatitis B core antigen also had anti-HCV by the immunoblot assay, suggesting that concomitant infection with the hepatitis B and C viruses was not common. Thus, HCV infection appears to play a less important role in the pathogenesis of HCC in the United States than in southern Europe and Japan and other etiologic factors should be sought in this population. © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.1
Autoantibodies as biomarkers for ovarian cancer

Ovarian cancer (OVCA) has the highest mortality of all gynecologic cancers. The poor survival rate is due to the lack of diagnostic screening tests and high incidence of recurrence in OVCA patients resistant to chemotherapy that leads to a more aggressive form of the disease. Therefore, a search for biomarkers holds great promise not only for early detection of OVCA at presymptomatic stage and for monitoring the course of the disease during the first-line chemotherapy treatment but also for identifying those women whose disease is likely to recur. Research efforts have sought to unravel the complexity of the tumor specific proteome by profiling immune responses generated against tumor associated antigens (TAAs) using multianalyte-based analytical discovery platforms readily adaptable to clinical diagnostic screening tests. The occurrence of tumor-specific autoantibodies directed to respective TAAs can be observed before the development of clinical symptoms. Evaluation of the level of tumor autoantibodies during the time of tumor debulking followed by first-line chemotherapy for the prediction of early recurrence as well as their correlation with other clinical parameters to evaluate their prognostic value has been conducted in various clinical studies. The anti-tumor immune response against OVCA is the ultimate key to the development of multiple immune-based therapeutic strategies that have been proposed and tested in different clinical trials that may have beneficial impact on the disease outcome in OVCA patients.
Parts Yield of Broilers Reared Under Cycling High Temperatures

Abstract Two studies were conducted to examine effects of cycling high environmental temperature during the growing period on subsequent carcass yield. Commercial broilers were reared form 23 to 49 days of age at either 23.9 C constant temperature or 23.9 to 35 C cycling high temperature. Birds in the heat stress environment were exposed to 8 h of 23.9 C, 4 h of 23.9 to 35 C, 4 h of 35 and 8 h of 35 to 23.9 C. Birds grown at elevated temperatures weighed up to 21% less (P
PECAM-1 (CD31) engagement activates a phosphoinositide-independent, nonspecific cation channel in endothelial cells

SPECIFIC AIMSPrevious studies have demonstrated that antibody engagement of the highly expressed adhesion molecule PECAM-1 in endothelial cells activates prolonged calcium transients mediated throu...
Opportunistic transmission scheduling with resource-sharing constraints in wireless networks

We present an "opportunistic" transmission scheduling policy that exploits time-varying channel conditions and maximizes the system performance stochastically under a certain resource allocation constraint. We establish the optimality of the scheduling scheme and also that every user experiences a performance improvement over any nonopportunistic scheduling policy when users have independent performance values. We demonstrate via simulation results that the scheme is robust to estimation errors and also works well for nonstationary scenarios, resulting in performance improvements of 20%-150% compared with a scheduling scheme that does not take into account channel conditions. Last, we discuss an extension of our opportunistic scheduling scheme to improve "short-term" performance.
R‐Theory: A Synthesis of Robert Rosen's Relational Complexity

Mathematical biologist Robert Rosen proposed a revolutionary new way of understanding life in terms of causal ‘entailments’ and modelling ‘relations’, two main theory tracks in his work. His work, however profound in quality and elegant in explanation, remained incomplete during his lifetime and in need of synthesis. Such a synthesis was completed in 2011. The two main lines of reasoning were combined to define a new analytical methodology that is fully relational. This paper discusses the main implications of that synthesis, using the name ‘R-theory’ to distinguish it from Rosen's original work. R-theory describes a fully closed causal unit of nature, called the ‘holon’, which is a Rosen modelling relation between category theoretic mappings (thus integrating both concepts). R-theory provides a new method of analysis that can relate whole and fractioned (mechanistic) aspects of nature. As such, it offers an approach for understanding complex phenomena at the edge of classical domains, which includes quantum, relativistic, living, social and cognitive phenomena. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Increased Turnover of T Lymphocytes in HIV-1 Infection and Its Reduction by Antiretroviral Therapy

The mechanism of CD4+ T cell depletion in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 infection remains controversial. Using deuterated glucose to label the DNA of proliferating cells in vivo, we studied T cell dynamics in four normal subjects and seven HIV-1–infected patients naive to antiretroviral drugs. The results were analyzed using a newly developed mathematical model to determine fractional rates of lymphocyte proliferation and death. In CD4+ T cells, mean proliferation and death rates were elevated by 6.3- and 2.9-fold, respectively, in infected patients compared with normal controls. In CD8+ T cells, the mean proliferation rate was 7.7-fold higher in HIV-1 infection, but the mean death rate was not significantly increased. Five of the infected patients underwent subsequent deuterated glucose labeling studies after initiating antiretroviral therapy. The lymphocyte proliferation and death rates in both CD4+ and CD8+ cell populations were substantially reduced by 5–11 weeks and nearly normal by one year. Taken together, these new findings strongly indicate that CD4+ lymphocyte depletion seen in AIDS is primarily a consequence of increased cellular destruction, not decreased cellular production.
Iterative Decoding Based on Error Pattern Correction

The error-pattern correction code is a code specialized to correct dominant error patterns observed at the channel detector output in heavy intersymbol interference channels. In this paper, we consider a turbo-equalizer system that utilizes the error-pattern correcting code (EPCC) as a building component. A soft-input soft-output (SISO) decoder for the EPCC is described, and the performance of the proposed turbo equalizer is compared with those of the conventional turbo equalizer and a low density parity check (LDPC) code system.
Surgical pearl: bolster dressing for second-intention healing of Mohs micrographic surgical sites.

B olster dressings have previously been described as a dressing for both splitand fullthickness skin grafts. Second intention has been shown to be an efficacious and cosmetically acceptable means of reconstruction, and can be the preferred method in some cases. Healing and cosmesis can be excellent, especially for small lesions and defects in concavities. Locations amenable to secondary-intention healing include the conchal bowl, posterior auricle, temple, forehead, and antihelix. In addition, candidates for secondaryintention healing include patients with coagulation disorders or on anticoagulant medications, and the elderly who may not tolerate extensive procedural repairs. Rates of infection with secondary-intention healing are as low as 0.2% with antibiotic ointment on the dressing. Complications during secondary healing can include hemorrhage, infection, retraction, telangiectasia, depressed scarring, and delayed healing. In addition, patients often have difficulty managing extended periods of exudates as the wound heals. We have had excellent results with application of tie-over bolster dressings for secondary-intention healing sites. There are 2 potential advantages to this technique: reduction of postoperative bleeding and exudate; and reduced manipulation by patients. The illustrative case is secondary-intention healing of the conchal bowl.
Hyaluronidases Of The Gastrointestinal Invasive Nematodes Ancylostoma Caninum And Anisakis Simplex: Possible Functions In The Pathogenesis Of Human Zoonoses

The gastrointestinal invasive stages of two parasitic nematodes, Ancylostoma caninum and Anisakis simplex, were each found to release in vitro a hydrolytic enzyme that degrades the glycosaminoglycan hyaluronic acid. The parasite hyaluronidases were partially purified by ion-exchange chromatography and biochemically characterized. The hyaluronidase from A. caninum adult worms had a molecular weight of 65,000 and a pH optimum of 6 with activity at neutral pH, while the hyaluronidase from A. simplex larvae had a molecular weight of 40,000 and a pH optimum of 4 with no activity at neutral pH. Both parasite hyaluronidases also degraded the glycosaminoglycan chondroitin sulfate A. Cupric sulfate and high concentrations of sodium chloride were inhibitory. The nematode hyaluronidases are postulated to have a role in tissue histolysis and mucosal invasion; their distinct biochemical properties have relevance to the pathogenesis of the zoonoses anisakiasis and eosinophilic enteritis.
Spontaneous Recanalization of Internal Carotid Artery Occlusion

Background and Purpose— Spontaneous recanalization of an acutely occluded internal carotid artery (ICA) is an important phenomenon, the natural history and incidence of which have been incompletely studied. Although conventional catheter arteriography remains the gold standard for distinguishing total arterial occlusion from hairline residual lumen, CT angiography (CTA) is able to make this distinction noninvasively and more sensitively than either unenhanced MR angiography or ultrasound. The purpose of this report is to raise awareness of spontaneous recanalization and to demonstrate the possible use of CTA in following up cases of ICA occlusion. Methods— We describe here 2 cases of acute cervical ICA occlusion seen on CTAs done at our institution. Results— Follow-up CTAs in both cases showed spontaneous recanalization of the ICA requiring ipsilateral carotid endarterectomy within 1 month of the initial presentation. Conclusions— CTA, an accurate, rapid, and less invasive modality than conventional cathe...