cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The use of repeated head computed tomography in pediatric blunt head trauma: factors predicting new and worsening brain injury.

OBJECTIVE Opinion is divided on the value of repeat head computed tomography for guiding clinical management of pediatric patients with blunt head trauma. This study describes the prevalence of worsening brain injury on repeat computed tomography, predictors of worsening computed tomography findings, and the frequency of neurosurgical intervention after the repeat computed tomography. DESIGN Retrospective cohort study. SETTING All patients were admitted to a level I pediatric trauma center between 1994 and 2003. PATIENTS Children <15 yrs old with two or more head computed tomographies following hospital admission for blunt head trauma. INTERVENTIONS None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS We reviewed the imaging reports to determine injury progression. Potential predictors of worsening computed tomography findings and neurosurgical intervention were recorded by chart review. Logistic regression and recursive partitioning were used to identify predictors. Twenty percent (50 of 257) of patients with mild head injury had worsening computed tomography findings, and three patients (1%) had subsequent neurosurgical intervention. Patients with moderate and severe head injuries were more likely to have worsening computed tomography findings (107 of 248; 43%) and to have neurosurgical intervention (15 of 248; 6%). In most surgical patients, repeat computed tomography was preceded by rapid decline in neurologic status or elevated intracranial pressure. Stratification based on four clinical factors (initial head injury severity, any intraparenchymal finding on initial computed tomography, normal findings on initial computed tomography, coagulopathy) identified 100% of the surgical patients and 89% of patients with worsening brain injuries on the repeat computed tomography. CONCLUSIONS Repeat head computed tomography imaging is frequently used. About 30% of repeated computed tomographies showed new or worsening brain injury. However, worsening brain injury on repeat computed tomography rarely resulted in neurosurgical intervention. Patients with moderate or severe head injury and intraparenchymal injuries were more likely to show worsening brain injury and undergo neurosurgical intervention.
Simultaneous Potential and Circuit Solution for Two-Dimensional Bounded Plasma Simulation Codes

An algorithm for coupling external circuit elements to be bounded two-dimensional electrostatic plasma simulation codes is developed. In general, the external circuit equations provide a mixture of Dirichlet and Neumann boundary conditions for the Poisson equation, which is solved each time step for the internal plasma potential. We rewrite the coupling between the plasma and the external circuit parameters as an algebraic or ordinary differential equation for the potential on the boundary. This scheme allows decomposition of the field solve into a Laplace solver with boundary conditions (e.g., applied potentials) and a Poisson solver with zero boundary conditions. We present the details of the external circuit coupling to an explicit electrostatic planar two-dimensional particle-in-cell code called PDP2, and discuss briefly how the coupling can be done in an implicit electrostatic code. The decomposition replaces the iterative coupling with a direct coupling and reduces the amount of computational time spent in the field solver. We use PDP2 to simulate a dually excited capacitively coupled RF discharge and show how such a system can be used as a plasma processing tool with separate control over ion flux and ion bombarding energy.
Scd6 Targets eIF4G to Repress Translation: RGG Motif Proteins as a Class of eIF4G-Binding Proteins

The formation of mRNPs controls the interaction of the translation and degradation machinery with individual mRNAs. The yeast Scd6 protein and its orthologs regulate translation and mRNA degradation in yeast, C. elegans, D. melanogaster, and humans by an unknown mechanism. We demonstrate that Scd6 represses translation by binding the eIF4G subunit of eIF4F in a manner dependent on its RGG domain, thereby forming an mRNP repressed for translation initiation. Strikingly, several other RGG domain-containing proteins in yeast copurify with eIF4E/G and we demonstrate that two such proteins, Npl3 and Sbp1, also directly bind eIF4G and repress translation in a manner dependent on their RGG motifs. These observations identify the mechanism of Scd6 function through its RGG motif and indicate that eIF4G plays an important role as a scaffolding protein for the recruitment of translation repressors.
The Influence of a Patient-Counseling Course on the Communication Apprehension, Outcome Expectations, and Self-Efficacy of First-Year Pharmacy Students

Objectives. To evaluate first-year doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) students' communication apprehension, outcome expectations, and self-efficacy for communication over the duration of a 15-week patient-counseling course.Design. First-year PharmD students (n=94) were asked to complete a 47-item, self-administered questionnaire on 3 occasions over the duration of the Nonprescription Drugs/Patient-Counseling course during the fall 2009 and 2010 semesters.Assessment. Eighty-seven of 94 students completed the survey instrument across data collection periods. There were significant reductions in total communication apprehension scores and in the communication apprehension subscores for meetings and public speaking, and significant increases in self-efficacy over time. No differences were found for outcome expectations of communication scores or the subscores for interpersonal conversations and group discussion.Conclusions. Communication apprehension may be decreased and self-efficacy for communication increased in ...
A Users' Perspective of the Critical Success Factors Applicable to Information Centers

Information centers IC are an important part of an organization; their function is to assure effective use of end-user computing technologies. With the growing role of ICs, and increasing competition for resources, comes the question of how best to manage and justify their existence. As the number and sophistication of users increase, their impact on IC performance increases, and IC management cannot ignore the user's perspective of what is important. This study identifies the users' perspective on what factors are critical to IC success through a questionnaire completed by 174 users. Twenty six critical success factors CSF are identified from the literature. These CSFs are factor analyzed to identify four composite CSFs: Type/Quality of IC Services; Expectations what users can expect of the IC and what is expected of the users; IC Environment, and Commitment organization's and users' to the IC. Type/Quality of IC Services and Expectations have a direct effect on IC success with the former having the greatest impact. Other factors have an indirect effect. A comparison of the users' and IC manager's perspectives highlight several similarities and differences. There is agreement on the specific issues but their overall perspectives differ.
Comparison of two particulate hexavalent chromium compounds: Barium chromate is more genotoxic than lead chromate in human lung cells.

Particulate hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)] compounds are well-established human lung carcinogens. However, their carcinogenic mechanisms are poorly understood as most investigators have used soluble Cr(VI) compounds. Recent work from our laboratory has found that barium chromate (BC) is also cytotoxic and clastogenic. To understand how BC relates to existing data on other particulate Cr(VI) compounds, we compared its cytotoxicity and clastogenicity with lead chromate (LC), which has been used as a prototypical particulate Cr(VI) compound, in WTHBF-6 cells, a near-normal human lung cell line. We found that BC is a more potent cytotoxicant, inducing 67%, 12%, 3%, and 0% relative survival at concentrations of 0.1, 0.5, 1, and 5 μg/cm2, respectively, while LC induced 90%, 71%, 43%, and 15% survival at these same concentrations. We found that BC was also more clastogenic, damaging 22% and 49% of metaphase cells at 0.1 and 0.5 μg/cm2, and causing complete cell cycle arrest at 1 and 5 μg/cm2. By contrast, 0.1, 0.5, and 1.0 μg/cm2 LC damaged 10%, 27%, and 37% of metaphase cells, respectively, and complete cell cycle arrest was not observed until a concentration of 5 μg/cm2 was reached. We found that BC and LC both partially dissolved in complete medium in the presence of cells, producing similar extracellular concentrations. Both compounds were also comparable with respect to particle uptake and the amount of intracellular Cr ions. Considering previous reports showing that lead ions were inactive and that sodium chromate and LC have similar clastogenic potencies, these data suggest that BC genotoxicity may not be solely mediated by Cr ions, but also involve some clastogenic activity of barium ions. Environ. Mol. Mutagen. 44:156–162, 2004. © 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
The Golden Carp and Moby Dick: Rudolfo Anaya's Multi-Culturalism

In Bless Me, Ultima, Rudolfo Anaya presents a world of opposites in the New Mexican village of Guadalupe. The parents of the young protagonist Antonio have strikingly different temperaments, as dissimilar to each other as the backgrounds from which they hail. Maria Luna Marez, the pious daughter of Catholic farmers from the fertile El Puerto valley, steers her son toward the priesthood and a ministry in an agrarian settlement. Gabriel Marez, Antonio's adventurous father, is descended from a long line of nomadic horsemen; he expects his son to share his wanderlust, and he hopes that as compadres they will explore the vanishing llano (plains). The thrust of Anaya's bildungsroman, however, is not that maturation necessitates exclusionary choices between competing options, but that wisdom and experience allow one to look beyond difference to behold unity. Historic continuity and spiritual harmony are recurrent strains in much of Anaya's work as he often laments man's weakened connection to the earth, to the past, and to the myths that reveal the proper balance of the cosmos. In "The Myth of Quetzalcoatl," Anaya criticizes the heavy toll which economic and political realities exact from the fragile landscape of the Southwest and its ancient cultures, but, a conciliator, he also cites some merit in change. Rather than condemning or shunning innovation, as do many who, like Anaya, want to protect an endangered heritage, he advocates a measured application of modernization. "Technology may serve people," he reminds those whom he claims are wont to retrench in the old ways, but "it need not be the new god" (198). Likewise, informed engagement in the legislative process, a political reality of the here-and-now, can serve the cause of preserving the landscape and the cultures it sustains. Anaya urges that just as the present can safeguard the past, historical awareness can "shed light on our contemporary problems" (198). He reaches back through the centuries to the Toltec civilization of Tula to bring instructive parallels to bear on current rapacious materialism in the
On fracture initiation mechanisms and dynamic recrystallization during hot deformation of pure nickel

During hot deformation of pure nickel, three distinctive fracture initiation mechanisms are identified: ductile cavity initiation at high strain rates, wedge type intergranular cracks due to grain boundary sliding at intermediate strain rates, and creep cavitation on the boundaries normal to the maximum principal stress at very low strain rates. Dynamic recrystallization is found to be effective in eliminating such fracture damage in a certain range of temperature and strain rate. By combining the strain rate-temperature conditions for the various fracture initiation mechanisms and effective dynamic recrystallization, a hot-working map is developed for nickel, which displays a safe hot working window in the strain rate-temperature field.
A Comparison of the Postpartum Learning Needs of Adolescent Mothers and Their Mothers

Objectives To describe the postpartum learning needs of adolescent mothers and their mothers and to compare the differences between the learning needs of the 2 groups of women. Design Descriptive cross‐sectional survey design. Setting One university hospital and 2 private Midwestern hospitals. Participants Convenience sample of 100 women (50 mother/daughter pairs). Main Outcome Measures Postpartum teaching questionnaire–E, postpartum teaching questionnaire–F, and demographic questionnaire. Results There were no group differences between adolescent mothers and their mothers on baby‐care items, but there were group differences on 3 maternal‐care items: emotional changes ( p p p = .009). Conclusions Nurses may need to use different teaching strategies for adolescent mothers and their mothers about resumption of sexual activity, but the teaching strategies necessary for other postpartum topics may be similar. Further research is needed to determine where those similarities may be and to determine the most effective teaching strategies for each group of mothers. JOGNN , 35, 250‐256; 2006. DOI: 10.1111/J.1552‐6909.2006.00032.x
Total and free thyroxine and triiodothyronine: measurement discrepancies, particularly in inpatients.

Objective We compared the performance of tandem mass spectrometry versus immunoassay for measuring thyroid hormones in a diverse group of inpatients and outpatients.
Developments in the scientific understanding of rheumatoid arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is recognized to be an autoimmune disease that causes preclinical systemic abnormalities and eventually leads to synovial inflammation and destruction of the joint architecture. Recently identified genetic risk factors and novel insights from animal models of spontaneous arthritis have lent support to the concept that thymic selection of an autoreactive T-cell repertoire is an important risk factor for this disease. With advancing age, defects in the homeostatic control of the T-cell pool and in the setting of signaling thresholds lead to the accumulation of pro-inflammatory T-effector cell populations and loss of tolerance to neo-antigens, such as citrullinated peptides. As the breakdown of tolerance to modified self-antigens can precede synovitis by decades, repair of homeostatic defects may open a unique window of opportunity for preventive interventions in RA. The end result of RA, destruction of cartilage and bone, appears to be driven by cytokine- and cell contact-induced activation of synoviocytes and monocytic cells, some of which differentiate into tissue-destructive osteoclasts. Targeting mediators involved in this process has greatly improved the management of this chronic inflammatory syndrome.
UP-REGULATION OF A TUMOR-ASSOCIATED ANTIGEN (TAG-72) BY INTERFERON-ALPHA AND INTERFERON-GAMMA IN PATIENTS WITH CUTANEOUS BREAST-CANCER RECURRENCES

Up-regulation of a tumor-associated antigen (TAA) TAG-72 was investigated immunohistochemically in skin recurrences of 10 breast cancer patients treated with intralesional injections of natural interferons (nIFNs) alpha and gamma. Up-regulation was assessed by comparing the immunoreactivity of pre-IFN and post-IFN specimens stained with monoclonal antibodies (MoAbs) B72.3 and CC49 at near end-point dilutions. Varying degrees of enhanced immunoreactivity were detected in IFN-injected and non-IFN-injected lesions except in 1 patient with high constitutive expression of TAG-72 and another patient not expressing TAG-72. Thus, IFN-mediated up-regulation of TAG-72 can occur in patients whose breast cancer cells express this TAA, independently of the initial levels of antigenic expression.
Clinical implications of the diagnosis “atypical squamous cells, cannot exclude high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion” in pregnant women

BACKGROUND Atypical squamous cells, cannot exclude high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (ASC-H) has a high predictive value for high-grade intraepithelial lesion (HSIL) in the general population. However, the significance of ASC-H in pregnant women remains to be elucidated. The objective of this study was to investigate the clinical implications and pathologic significance of ASC-H in pregnant women, so that these patients will be managed appropriately. METHODS All Papanicolaou tests that were diagnosed as ASC-H in pregnant women over 1.5 years (total, 60 women) were reviewed and correlated with histologic and/or cytologic follow-up. High-risk type of human papillomavirus (HPV) status was also correlated with follow-up findings. The following cytomorphologic parameters were evaluated for each woman and were compared between the squamous intraepithelial lesion (SIL) follow-up group and the benign follow-up group: inflammatory background, the number of atypical cells, cell arrangement pattern, nuclear irregularity/grooves, hyperchromasia, and cell shape. RESULTS Among 30 women who had histologic follow-up, 3 women (10%) had HSIL, and 13 women (43%) had low-grade intraepithelial lesion (LSIL). Among 32 women who had cytologic follow-up, 2 women (6%) had HSIL, 3 women (9%) had LSIL, 1 woman (3%) had ASC-H, and 3 women (9%) had atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASCUS). HPV was detected in 24 of 43 women (56%). The cytomorphologic features were similar in the SIL follow-up group and the benign follow-up group. No specific cytomorphologic features that predicted underlying SIL were identified. CONCLUSIONS ASC-H in pregnant women had a lower predictive value for an underlying HSIL compared with the general population. A positive HPV test result was not a good indicator for an underlying SIL, but a negative result appeared to be useful for ruling out an underlying HSIL. Because of low positive predictive value for HSIL and the difficult colposcopic examination, a more conservative follow-up may be reasonable for pregnant women who have a diagnosis of ASC-H. HPV testing may be used as an adjunctive test. Cancer (Cancer Cytopathol) 2006 © 2006 American Cancer Society.
Hepatic mitochondrial beta-oxidation in patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis assessed by 13C-octanoate breath test

Hepatic mitochondrial beta-oxidation in patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis assessed by 13 C-octanoate breath test
Guideline adherence for intrapartum group B streptococci prophylaxis in penicillin-allergic patients

Objective. To investigate adherence to the 2002 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines for perinatal group B streptococci (GBS) prevention in penicillin-allergic obstetric patients. Methods. This is a retrospective cohort study of penicillin-allergic obstetric patients who tested positive for GBS and delivered at our institution in 2010. Electronic medical records were reviewed for the nature of the penicillin allergy, documentation of having previously tolerated cephalosporins, gestational age at delivery, type of delivery, antimicrobial sensitivity testing, and antibiotics administered. Antimicrobial sensitivity testing and “appropriate” antibiotic choice, which was determined using 2002 CDC guidelines, were analyzed. Results. Intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis was administered in 97.8% (95% confidence interval [CI] 93.5–99.5%) of patients, but it was considered appropriate in only 62.2% (95% CI 53.8–70.0%) of patients. Clindamycin was the most commonly used antibiotic, but 26.4% (95% CI 16.3–39.7%) of patients who received clindamycin did not have confirmation of susceptibility via antimicrobial sensitivity testing. Overall, the sensitivity testing was performed in only 65.5% (95% CI 56.2–73.7%) of patients in whom it was indicated. Conclusion. Compliance with CDC guidelines for performing antimicrobial sensitivity testing and choosing an appropriate antibiotic in GBS-positive penicillin-allergic women continues to be suboptimal. Institution of measures to increase adherence is necessary.
Quantification of Middle Molecular Weight Solute Removal in Dialysis

The pioneering work of Gotch emphasized the critical need to be quantitative with respect to treatment prescription. Through his meticulous derivations and analyses regarding Kt/V(urea), he has provided powerful insight into the standard therapy prescriptions that we now employ clinically. However, time has seen the proliferation of treatment techniques, most of which are too "young" to have been characterized with respect to clinical outcomes. Further, the relationship between removal of urea and removal of middle molecular size solutes associated with these newer techniques deviates from that associated with conventional, clinically qualified techniques. In this article we examine the solute clearance profile of some of these new methodologies and their relationship to current criteria for treatment adequacy. Our approach is to discuss components of the overall transport process and then utilize modeling of surrogate molecules over the size range of interest whose transport characteristics are known. Alteration in the solute clearance profile of these surrogate markers in response to changes in prescription variables will thus offer insight into the spectrum of toxic middle molecules that are removed when size, space of distribution, and generation rate are known.
THE CONTEXT OF MARRIAGE AND CRIME: GENDER, THE PROPENSITY TO MARRY, AND OFFENDING IN EARLY ADULTHOOD*

Marriage is central to theoretical debates over stability and change in criminal offending over the life course. Yet, unlike other social ties such as employment, marriage is distinct in that it cannot be randomly assigned in survey research to more definitively assess causal effects of marriage on offending. As a result, key questions remain as to whether different individual propensities toward marriage shape its salience as a deterrent institution. Building on these issues, the current research has three objectives. First, we use a propensity score matching approach to estimate causal effects of marriage on crime in early adulthood. Second, we assess sex differences in the effects of marriage on offending. Although both marriage and offending are highly gendered phenomena, prior work typically focuses on males. Third, we examine whether one's propensity to marry conditions the deterrent capacity of marriage. Results show that marriage suppresses offending for males, even when accounting for their likelihood to marry. Furthermore, males who are least likely to marry seem to benefit most from this institution. The influence of marriage on crime is less robust for females, where marriage reduces crime only for those with moderate propensities to marry. We discuss these findings in the context of recent debates concerning gender, criminal offending, and the life course.
A method for measurement of cross sectional area, segment length, and branching angle of airway tree structures in situ

Accurate quantitative measurements of airway and vascular dimensions are essential for evaluating function in both the normal and in the diseased lung. This report describes a new integrated method for three-dimensional (3D) extraction and analysis of pulmonary tree structures using data from High Resolution Computed Tomography (HRCT). Serially scanned two-dimensional (2D) slices of the lower left lobe of isolated dog lungs were stacked to create a volume of data. Airway and vascular trees were extracted using a 3D seeded region-growing algorithm based on differences in CT number between wall and lumen. In the region-growing step, voxels in the lumen are tagged with a distance descriptor to identify points along the tree structure equidistant from the seed point. To obtain quantitative data, we reduced each tree to its central axis. From the central axis, branch length was measured as the distance between two successive branch points, branch angle was measured as the angle produced by two daughter branches, and cross-sectional area was measured from a plane perpendicular to the central axis point. Data derived from these methods can be used to localize and quantify structural differences both during different physiologic conditions and in pathologic lungs.
Arts in America: A Bibliography

Arts in America: A Bibliography. Ed. by Bernard Karpel. Washington, DC, Smithsonian Institution Press, 1979. $190.00. 4 v. LC 79–15321. ISBN 0–87474–578–0. The publication of Arts in America: A Bibliography by the Smithsonian Institution Press should be greeted with enthusiasm not only by scholars of American art, but by anyone with an interest in bibliography in general. This compendium of mostly secondary materials is composed of four beautifully designed folio volumes which together list more than 25,000 entries. This bibliography will serve as an indispensable reference guide to a previously uncharted body of important cultural material. S. Dillon Ripley, Secretary of the Smithsonian, notes that “scholarship … begins with knowledge of previously published work …” (“Foreword”); Arts in America is a pioneer project designed with this goal in mind — to serve as a foundation upon which all future scholarship on the arts will depend.
An evaluation of O2(b¹Σg) as a possible source of OH and odd‐nitrogen in the stratosphere and mesosphere

A one dimensional photochemical model has been used to evaluate the hypothesis that the oxidation of H2 and N2O by O2(b¹Σg) could lead to significant production of OH and odd-nitrogen in the middle atmosphere. For the reaction with H2, even if all the quenchings lead to oxidation, the change in the OH column is only 13%. This is still too small to resolve the discrepancy between the model and ground based measurements and furthermore could not account for the apparent change in the ground based column with time. For the reaction with N2O, it is possible to produce significant odd-nitrogen in the lower stratosphere only if the oxidation yield is at least 5–10%. However, one then gets a surplus of odd-nitrogen in the upper stratosphere unless one makes the additional assumption that the production of O2(b¹Σg) from O(¹D) quenching is small.
A Bridge Too Far: Incompatibilities of Rational‐Emotive Therapy and Pastoral Counseling

The inappropriateness of pure rational-emotive therapy (RET) for pastoral counseling is discussed and a modified version (cognitive appraisal therapy) proposed to replace RET.
VI. The Anglo-French-Italian Naval Convention of 1915

On 26 April 1915 the governments of Great Britain, France, and Russia signed a treaty with the Italian Government settling the terms for Italy's entrance into the war on the allied side. The Treaty of London was the result of hard bargaining, particularly because of extensive Italian claims in the Adriatic which were resisted by the Russian government, and which would leave a difficult legacy for the postwar period. Nevertheless, the evolution of Italy from membership in a rival alliance system and potential foe to an active ally was completed after less than a year of neutrality. Italy's defection from the Triple Alliance was hardly a surprise to anyone with the slightest idea of Austro-Italian relations, and for over a decade before the outbreak of the war the strength of her commitment to Austria and Germany had been diluted by secret agreements with France.In Austria-Hungary leading naval and military officials took little trouble to conceal their mistrust; while unpopular measures by Habsburg officials could be counted upon to produce hostile demonstrations before the Austro-Hungarian embassy or consulates in Italy. Nevertheless, the French, although well aware of Austro-Italian friction, were never really sure of their southern neighbour and at times exhibited a suspicion of Italy which rivalled that of the Austrians. France and Italy were in a sense Mediterranean rivals and the development of the Italian fleet was followed closely by the French naval staff.
The Design and Assessment of a Proposed Library Training Unit for Education Graduate Students

This article presents the design and assessment of a proposed library training unit for education graduate students. A literature review of graduate students’ information-seeking behavior and training initiatives supports the selection of the course content as well as the assessment of student learning. In addition, research on behaviorist and constructivist learning theories and related instructional design strategies directed the development of the learning environment. The proposal represents a collaborative effort between an institution's librarian and a department faculty member in a required Ethics and Laws in Education class for beginning students. The objectives for the pilot project were to teach students how to use scholarly resources, to mirror the Association of College and Research Libraries’ (ACRL) Information Literacy Competencies, and to include hands-on database demonstrations as well as inquiry-based learning exercises. The learning environment supports students’ diverse learning styles ...
Quasi-one-dimensional metal oxide materials—Synthesis, properties and applications

Recent advances in the field of nanotechnology have led to the synthesis and characterization of an assortment of quasi-one-dimensional (Q1D) structures, such as nanowires, nanoneedles, nanobelts and nanotubes. These fascinating materials exhibit novel physical properties owing to their unique geometry with high aspect ratio. They are the potential building blocks for a wide range of nanoscale electronics, optoelectronics, magnetoelectronics, and sensing devices. Many techniques have been developed to grow these nanostructures with various compositions. Parallel to the success with group IV and groups III–V compounds semiconductor nanostructures, semiconducting metal oxide materials with typically wide band gaps are attracting increasing attention. This article provides a comprehensive review of the state-of-the-art research activities that focus on the Q1D metal oxide systems and their physical property characterizations. It begins with the synthetic mechanisms and methods that have been exploited to form these structures. A range of remarkable characteristics are then presented, organized into sections covering a number of metal oxides, such as ZnO, In2O3, SnO2 ,G a 2O3, and TiO2, etc., describing their electrical, optical, magnetic, mechanical and chemical sensing properties. These studies constitute the basis for developing versatile applications based on metal oxide Q1D systems, and the current progress in device development will be highlighted. # 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Using the composite variables of reproductive morphology, histology and steroid hormones to determine age and size at sexual maturity for the thorny skate Amblyraja radiata in the western Gulf of Maine

Age at size was linked to sexual maturity in 77 male and 93 female thorny skates Amblyraja radiata from the western Gulf of Maine using three criteria: 1) gross reproductive morphology, 2) histology and 3) steroid hormone concentrations. Age-bias plots and the coefficient of variation from vertebral band counts suggested that the ageing method represented a non-biased and precise approach to the age assessment of A. radiata. Maturity ogives for males, based on data gathered for clasper length, circulating testosterone concentrations and proportion of mature spermatocysts within the testes, predicted that 50% maturity occurred at a total length (L T ) of 865 mm and c. 10·90 years of age. For females, maturity ogives, based on data gathered for ovary mass, shell gland mass, follicle size and circulating oestradiol concentrations, predicted that 50% maturity occurred at 875 mm L T and c. 11·00 years of age. Collectively, the results suggest that analysis of several contemporaneous reproductive variables offers an accurate determination of sexual maturity in the thorny skate.
Small-angle X-ray-scattering investigation of submicroscopic porosity with fractal properties

A method is developed for analyzing the outer part of the small-angle x-ray or neutron scattering curve for porous scatterers in which the pore boundaries can be described by fractals. When the results are applied to the scattering data from a lignite coal, the fractal dimension of the boundary surface of the pores in this coal is found to be 2.56 \ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.03.
Effects of hormones on mammary adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate levels and metabolism in normal and adrenalectomized lactating rats.

Prostaglandin E1 (PGEi), T4, and epinephrine (Epi) were incubated with mammary tissue slices from normal and adrenalectomized (Adx) rats and Adx rats receiving cortisol (Adx + C). PGEi, T4 and the combination of Epi, T4, and PGEi increased mammary slice cAMP levels in all groups. No differences were observed among treatment groups in basal cAMP levels or responses to hormones. Glucose-l-14C oxidation and incorporation into lipids were stimulated by PGEi, T4, and the combination of Epi, T4, and PGEi in normal rats. Responses were depressed by adrenalectomy and reversed by cortisol. PGEi, T4, and the combination of Epi, T4, and PGEi depressed glucose-6-l4C oxidation. Fatty acid synthesis from glucose-6-14C was stimulated by Epi, PGEi, and T4 in tissues from normal and Adx + C rats, but not in those from Adx rats. Glycerol synthesis was unchanged. Pyruvate-l-14C and pyruvate-2-14C oxidation were uneffected by adrenalectomy or hormones. Fatty acid synthesis was depressed by adrenalectomy and reversed by corti...
Studies on the mechanism of adsorption of purines in Sephadex G-10 chromatography

The adsorption of purines to Sephadex G-10, as measured by the logarithms of corrected chromatographic elution volumes, Ve0, shows correlations with the following physical properties of the purines: π-electron delocalization energy, electron donating ability, electron accepting ability, basic and acidic pKa and water solubility. These correlations, together with equilibrium dialysis studies of adsorption of purines to dextran and Sephadex, indicate that purines interact primarily with the dextran portion of the Sephadex in contrast to substituted benzene derivatives, which interact primarily with the ether cross-linkages of Sephadex.
Last Word: Point:Counterpoint authors respond to commentaries on “Hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction is/is not mediated by increased production of reactive oxygen species”

To the Editor : Regarding the pro-con debate on reactive oxygen species (ROS) and hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction (HPV), Dr. Aaronson ([1][1]) raises questions about oxygen sensing, ROS/redox state, and HPV in the mice that lack the gp91 component of NADPH oxidase ([2][2]). We agree that the ROS
Cep55, a Microtubule-bundling Protein, Associates with Centralspindlin to Control the Midbody Integrity and Cell Abscission during Cytokinesis

We report here an efficient functional genomic analysis by combining information on the gene expression profiling, cellular localization, and loss-of-function studies. Through this analysis, we identified Cep55 as a regulator required for the completion of cytokinesis. We found that Cep55 localizes to the mitotic spindle during prometaphase and metaphase and to the spindle midzone and the midbody during anaphase and cytokinesis. At the terminal stage of cytokinesis, Cep55 is required for the midbody structure and for the completion of cytokinesis. In Cep55-knockdown cells, the Flemming body is absent, and the structural and regulatory components of the midbody are either absent or mislocalized. Cep55 also facilitates the membrane fusion at the terminal stage of cytokinesis by controlling the localization of endobrevin, a v-SNARE required for cell abscission. Biochemically, Cep55 is a microtubule-associated protein that efficiently bundles microtubules. Cep55 directly binds to MKLP1 in vitro and associates with the MKLP1-MgcRacGAP centralspindlin complex in vivo. Cep55 is under the control of centralspindlin, as knockdown of centralspindlin abolished the localization of Cep55 to the spindle midzone. Our study defines a cellular mechanism that links centralspindlin to Cep55, which, in turn, controls the midbody structure and membrane fusion at the terminal stage of cytokinesis.
Mining Visual Associations from User Feedback for Weighting Multiple Indexes in Geospatial Image Retrieval

Geospatial content-based image retrieval (CBIR) systems can be used to query for visually similar images by identifying similar patterns between a query image and those in the database. When several different classes of features are used, some queries require that each class should be given a different degree of weight; to this end, CBIR indexes are built for each class of features. This paper proposes an approach for weighting multiple indexes in a geospatial CBIR system by mining information from user feedback. After a small number of iterations of relevance feedback and data mining, index weights can be determined dynamically per query. Using this technique geospatial retrieval system precision of results increased from 70% to 79% after 5 iterations of feedback.
A Stability-based Validation Procedure for Differentially Private Machine Learning

Differential privacy is a cryptographically motivated definition of privacy which has gained considerable attention in the algorithms, machine-learning and data-mining communities. While there has been an explosion of work on differentially private machine learning algorithms, a major barrier to achieving end-to-end differential privacy in practical machine learning applications is the lack of an effective procedure for differentially private parameter tuning, or, determining the parameter value, such as a bin size in a histogram, or a regularization parameter, that is suitable for a particular application. In this paper, we introduce a generic validation procedure for differentially private machine learning algorithms that apply when a certain stability condition holds on the training algorithm and the validation performance metric. The training data size and the privacy budget used for training in our procedure is independent of the number of parameter values searched over. We apply our generic procedure to two fundamental tasks in statistics and machine-learning - training a regularized linear classifier and building a histogram density estimator that result in end-to-end differentially private solutions for these problems.
Near Optimality of Composite Multiple Description Source Codes

In this paper, new upper and lower bounds are first presented for the rate loss of multiple description source codes (MDSCs). For a two-description MDSC (2DSC), the rate loss of description i with distortion Di is defined as Li=Ri-R(Di), i ∈ {1,2}, where Ri is the rate of the ith description and R(D) is the rate-distortion function for the given source; the joint rate loss associated with decoding the two descriptions together to achieve central distortion D0 is measured as L0=R1+R2-R(D0). Consider an arbitrary memoryless source with variance σ2 and let the distortion measure be the mean squared error distortion measure. It is shown that for any optimal 2DSC, (a)0 ≤ L0 ≤ 0.8802 and 0 ≤ L1,L2 ≤ 0.3802 if D0 ≤ D1+D2-σ2 ; (b) 0 ≤ L1, L2 ≤ 0.4401 if D0 ≥ (1/D1+1/D2-1/σ2)-1; (c) 0 ≤ L1,L2 ≤ 0.3802 and R(max{D1,D2})-1 ≤ L0 ≤ R(max{D1,D2})+0.3802 for all other D0 . A tighter bound on the distance between the El Gamal-Cover inner bound and the achievable region is also presented. Inspired by these new bounds, a low-complexity composite 2DSC design first developed by Lastras-Montano and Castelli is extended and the resulting code is shown to be near-optimal for all memoryless sources and all distortions. These results are also extended to MDSCs with an arbitrary number of packets. Finally, Gaussian sources are analyzed in detail to verify these bounds and examine their tightness.
Identification and Characterization of Basal and Cyclic AMP Response Elements in the Promoter of the Rat Hexokinase II Gene

Hexokinases catalyze the phosphorylation of glucose and initiate cellular glucose metabolism. Hexokinase II (HKII) is the principal hexokinase isoform in skeletal muscle, heart, and adipose tissue. Isoproterenol and exogenous cyclic AMP (cAMP) increase HKII gene transcription in L6 myotubes. Various segments of the HKII promoter that direct the expression of the chloramphenicol acetyltransferase reporter gene were transfected into L6 myotubes to identify basal and cAMP response elements. The 5'-flanking region that extends 90 base pairs upstream of the transcription start site includes a CCAAT box and a cAMP response element (CRE); both contribute to basal promoter activity and each provides an independent, maximal response to cAMP. An inverted CCAAT motif, or Y box, located just upstream of the CCAAT box, contributes to basal promoter activity but is not involved in the cAMP response. Homo- and heterodimers composed of the CRE-binding protein and activating transcription factor-1 bind specifically to the CRE. The Y box and the CCAAT box specifically bind the factor NF-Y (also known as CBF).
Stopping the legal flow of weapons: Compliance with arms embargoes, 1981–2004

This article examines sending state compliance with arms embargoes. Arms embargoes are one of the most frequently used types of economic sanctions but they are perceived as one of the least effecti...
Aircraft datalink communications for the future

Future avionics will help the pilot communicate by facilitating the process of sending and receiving information, whether the information is exchanged with onboard systems or ground entities. Also, automating the information exchange is possible for most types of information. This paper discusses the role of future datalink capability in helping the pilot communicate in the new, broader sense of communication. This third, but very important, aspect of pilot responsibility is the next step of creating sophisticated avionics functionality. This will result in new integrated displays of information and automated system capability commensurate with what has already been accomplished in the aviate and navigate areas.
B-Cell Repertoire Changes in Mouse Models of Aging

Changes in the antibody repertoire are a well-established feature of immunosenescence. These reflect an aggregate of age-associated alterations in the generation, numbers, and proportions of B-cell subsets; as well as the homeostatic and selective processes governing them. A basic understanding of these relationships, coupled with integrated assessments of how they change with age, should reveal mechanisms underlying the immunosenescent phenotype. Mouse models provide powerful tools for these analyses, allowing controlled manipulation of key genetic, cellular, and microenvironmental factors. Here we summarize current understanding of how primary and antigen-experienced murine B-cell repertoires are established, as well as how they shift with age.
Gain reciprocity in fibre optical parametric amplifiers

A fibre optical parametric ampifier operating in the small-signal gain regime can exhibit the same gain when amplifying in either direction. This is true even in the presence of random dispersion and birefringence variations along the fibre.
Structural features affecting trafficking, processing and secretion of Trypanosoma cruzi mucins

Trypanosoma cruzi is wrapped by a dense coat of mucin-type molecules encoded by complex gene families termed TcSMUG and TcMUC, which are expressed in the insect- and mammal-dwelling forms of the parasite, respectively. Here, we dissect the contribution of distinct post-translational modifications on the trafficking of these glycoconjugates. In vivo tracing and characterization of tagged-variants expressed by transfected epimastigotes indicate that although the N-terminal signal peptide is responsible for targeting TcSMUG products to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), the glycosyl phosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchor likely functions as a forward transport signal for their timely progression along the secretory pathway. GPI-minus variants accumulate in the ER, with only a minor fraction being ultimately released to the medium as anchorless products. Secreted products, but not ER-accumulated ones, display several diagnostic features of mature mucin-type molecules including extensive O-type glycosylation, Galf-based epitopes recognized by monoclonal antibodies, and terminal Galp residues that become readily sialylated upon addition of parasite trans-sialidases. Processing of N-glycosylation site(s) is dispensable for the overall TcSMUG mucin-type maturation and secretion. Despite undergoing different O-glycosylation elaboration, TcMUC reporters yielded quite similar results, thus indicating that (i) molecular trafficking signals are structurally and functionally conserved between mucin families, and (ii) TcMUC and TcSMUG products are recognized and processed by a distinct repertoire of stage-specific glycosyltransferases. Thus, using the fidelity of a homologous expression system, we have defined some biosynthetic aspects of T. cruzi mucins, key molecules involved in parasite protection and virulence.
Autonomous-tool for hardware partitioning in a built-in self-test environment

A network partitioning tool, named Autonomous, is presented for partitioning digital combinational portions of the circuit into different structural subcircuits so that each subcircuit can be pseudo-exhaustively tested. A built-in self-test (BIST) design generators, named BISTSYN has been developed and implemented to facilitate the BIST design with this partitioning methodology. The experimental results show that Autonomous, when used with BISTSYN on a set of benchmark examples, is feasible for very large designs, and the number of undetected faults is significantly reduced after the circuit is partitioned. >
A Simple Method to Enhance the Detection of Second Order Cyclostationarity

Cyclostationarity is a significant feature of numerous physical and man-made processes. Specially in wireless communications, it has been explored and applied for many processing, like timing and frequency synchronization, channel estimation, and modulation classification. In this paper, we notice that the second order time varying auto-correlation of the received communication signal contains a cyclostationary real and a non-cyclostationary complex part. We propose a simple method to combine the positive and negative part of the cyclo-spectrum (the Fourier transform of the time varying autocorrelation) to enhance the performance of detecting the second order cyclostationarity of these signals. The idea redis related to the concept of cyclic Wiener filter put forth by Gardner in 1993 [4]. Monte Carlo simulations are given to verify the results.
Adsorbate induced kink formation in straight step edges on Cu(5 3 3) and Cu(2 2 1)

Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and temperature programmed desorption (TPD) measurements have revealed that the straight step edges of Cu(5 3 3) surfaces are reconstructed by the room temperature adsorption of R-3methylcyclohexanone (R-3-MCHO). STM and low energy electron diffraction (LEED) investigations have shown that the clean Cu(5 3 3) surface is composed of arrays of narrow (1 1 1) terraces separated by straight (1 0 0) steps. During room temperature adsorption of R-3-MCHO, the (1 0 0) step edges on the Cu(5 3 3) surface reconstruct, adopting a zigzag structure that exposes kinked, high Miller index step edges. The density of step edge and kink adsorption sites on Cu surfaces can be titrated by TPD of R-3-MCHO. TPD experiments also reveal the formation of kinks on the Cu(5 3 3) surface during room temperature adsorption of R-3-MCHO. Furthermore, TPD experiments on the Cu(2 2 1) surface having straight (1 1 0) step edges indicate that these also reconstruct to expose kinked step edges during R-3MCHO adsorption at room temperature. Although the kinks on such surfaces are chiral, the R- and S-forms appear to be produced in a roughly racemic (equimolar) ratio. Thus, although the reconstruction of the initially achiral Cu surfaces in the presence of a chiral adsorbate could, in principle, lead to a surface with a net chiral structure, R-3MCHO does not seem to be an effective chiral imprinting agent. � 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.