cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
MONOCLONAL ANTIBODIES SPECIFIC FOR SULFATED POLYSACCHARIDES ON THE SURFACE OF MACROCYSTIS PYRIFERA (PHAEOPHYCEAE)1

One of the principal polysaccharides in the cell wall of brown algae is fucoidan, a highly branched polymer of 1,2-fucose with a sulfate group on the fourth carbon. In this report, we describe a set of monoclonal antibodies generated to the cell walls of gametophytes of the kelp, Macrocystis pyrifera (Linnaeus). C. Agardh. Ascites fluids of a set of four antibodies with specificity for the cell wall were purified by filtration chromatography. Each of these antibodies was specifically reactive with fucoidan, and one of the antibodies cross-reacted with ascophyllan, which is a xyloglycuronan. The antibodies reacted in an immunofluorescence assay with surface determinants on the gametophytes of both Macrocystis pyrifera and Pterygophora californica Ruprecht which belong to different families in the order Laminariales. One of the antibodies (3H8) was further characterized for antigen fine specificity using an enzyme immunoassay. This antibody was specific for sulfate determinants present on fucoidan and related polysaccharides. Orientation of the sulfate was an important element in antibody specificity. Immunofluorescence microscopy carried out during the first four days of development in Pterygophora showed that the antigenic determinant recognized by the 3H8 antibody was present on spore capsules (embryospores) as well as the developing gametophyte. These results show that a sulfated epitope on fucoidan is present on the surface of the gametophyte shortly after germination and that it persists during the early stages of development. Our results indicate that any immunological differences between the morphologically similar gametophytes of the two helps are more likely to be quantitative than qualitative. Such differences may reflect differential mobilization of fucans during the process of germination and early development.
Effective Symbolic Dynamics

We investigate computable subshifts and the connection with effective symbolic dynamics. It is shown that a decidable @P"1^0 class P is a subshift if and only if there is a computable function F mapping 2^N to 2^N such that P is the set of itineraries of elements of 2^N. A @P"1^0 subshift is constructed which has no computable element. We also consider the symbolic dynamics of maps on the unit interval.
Asymptotic behavior of A + B --> inert for particles with a drift

We consider the asymptotic behavior of the (one dimensional) two-species annihilation reaction A+B\ensuremath{\rightarrow}0, where both species have a uniform drift in the same direction and like species have a hard core exclusion. Extensive numerical simulations show that starting with an initially random distribution of A's and B's at equal concentration the density decays like ${\mathit{t}}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}1/3}$ for long times. This process is thus in a different universality class from the cases without drift or with drift in different directions for the different species.
Amount and duration of attentional demands during visual search.

Previous research has suggested that, in visual-search tasks, the comparison between target and display items does not require attentional capacity. In the present experiment we used a secondary-task paradigm to distinguish the amount and duration of the attentional demands of visual search. The subjects performed visual search (the primary task) and tone detection (the secondary task) concurrently over the course of five experimental sessions (1,440 trials). For each subject, target-response mapping was either consistent or varied for Days 1–5. The results indicate that the amount of attentional demand, as reflected in secondary-task performance, increased as a function of display size in the search task. Switching from consistent to varied mapping in a sixth experimental session increased both the amount and the duration of the attentional demands of the search. The present results support models of visual-search performance in which the comparison of target and display items requires attentional capacity.
Studies of the mechanism of carbohydrate intolerance produced by fasting.

Abstract Abnormal tolerance to oral glucose was noted in four normal dogs following three-day fast. Consideration was given to the role(s) played by the pituitary gland, peripheral tissues and pancreas in the causation of this metabolic alteration. Refasting of the dogs with administration of either nicotinic acid alone or nicotinic acid plus actinomycin D resulted in prompt normalization of elevated fasting free fatty acid levels without improvement in glucose tolerance. Similarly, fasting plus tolbutamide administration caused normalization of free fatty acid levels and further suppression of fasting blood sugar, both of which were probably due to elevated immunoreactive insulin. There was no improvement in glucose tolerance. The results support the suggestion that the metabolic alteration of carbohydrate utilization occurring during starvation is independent of the action of growth hormone and lipolysis and may be predominantly due to impairment of hepatic glucose removal.
Testing Aesthetic and Function Design Preference for Touch Screen and Non–Touch Screen Mobile Phones Using Interactive Genetic Algorithms

Rapid mobile phone market growth has drastically shortened design cycle times forcing designers to identify user preferences quickly. Two studies test a novel method to quickly determine design preferences for touch screen and non–touch screen mobile phones. Interactive Genetic Algorithms (IGAs) are tested as an option for preference identification. IGAs efficiently explore design spaces, finding user preferences via an iterative system mimicking evolution. Each study tested six independent variables: horizontal and vertical button spacing; horizontal and vertical screen dimensions; corner radius; and user’s goal between aesthetically pleasing, functional, and both aesthetic and functional (first experiment), and aesthetic preference differences between touch screen and non–touch screen mobile phones for dialing phone numbers only (second experiment). Results showed IGAs to be a viable method; participant preference varied by goal (horizontal button spacing and screen width were most effected). Designers ...
Interior floodplain flood-damage reduction study

Evaluation of flood risk in an interior watershed (one protected from flooding by a levee) requires application of watershed, channel, statistical, and economic models in an integrated, coordinated manner. The Strong Ranch Slough and Chicken Ranch Slough watershed in Sacramento, California is such a watershed. We describe herein how we used standard-of-practice models within a coincident-frequency analysis framework to evaluate existing flood damage potential and flood damage potential with a variety of proposed damage-reduction measures.
SU-E-T-97: Intra and Inter Variability in Beam Data Commissioning among Water Phantom Scanning Systems.

Purpose: There are many water‐phantom scanning systems with advanced features to collect accurate commissioning data. However the intra‐ and inter‐variability of commissioning data has not been reported which is attempted in this study. Methods: Four vendors with modern water‐phantom scanning systems; PTW, Sun Nuclear (SN), Standard Imaging (SI) and IBA were invited to an institution to demonstrate beam data collection. Each system was used to collect percent depth dose (PDD) and profiles several times in a day with their choice of detector for four different machines for photon and electron beam commissioning. This provided information on intra‐variability. At the end, each vendor was allowed to setup and collect data on a single unit for inter‐variability. All data were sent to a central location for analysis and evaluation. Results: The depth dose and profiles for 2×2cm2and 10×10cm2 fields were analyzed for intra‐ and inter‐variability. With repeated measurements, the intra‐variability provided a detailed degree of fidelity of data collection. This was shown to be with (± 0.1%) among all vendors. Ignoring data in buildup region and comparing with one system (PTW), the PDDs variability were slightly larger 0.02±0.17%, 0.14±0.21%, 0.17±0.2%, for SI, SN and IBA, respectively. The profiles inter‐variability in central region were <0.1 %, however in penumbra up to ± 4.8%were observed. The polarity effect was also noted up to 3% which was depth and detector dependent. Conclusions: Intra‐ and inter‐variability among various scanning system are very small indicting that all modern systems if used properly could collect data within±0.2% accuracy. The selection of device should be based on institutional comfort and personal preference of software and hardware. This study provides unique opportunity to compare data among systems which is otherwise not possible.
Rapid increase in poly(A) (+) mRNA content following inhibition of protein synthesis.

When resting 3T6 cells undergo a serum-induced transition to the growing state, the cytoplasmic content of ribosomal, transfer and messenger RNA increase as the cells prepare for DNA synthesis. The normal linear increase in mRNA content occurs even when the production of ribosomes is blocked. In this paper we determine the effect of inhibiting protein synthesis on the increase in poly(A) (+) mRNA content. Resting cells were serum stimulated in the presence of cycloheximide or puromycin at levels which inhibit protein synthesis by greater than 95%. Cytoplasmic poly(A) (+) mRNA content was determined at various times thereafter. We found that mRNA content increased five to ten times more rapidly in drug treated cells than in control cells stimulated in the absence of inhibitors. mRNA content increased 50–70% by one hour, and 60–90% by two hours following stimulation in the presence of inhibitor, and remained more or less constant thereafter. In contrast, mRNA content increased linearly in control stimulated cultures and did not double until about 15 hours after stimulation. The rapid increase in mRNA content is most likely the result of inhibition of protein synthesis rather than a secondary effect of the drug since the same observations were made in growth stimulated cells if protein synthesis was blocked with either puromycin or cycloheximide. A similar effect was also observed with resting 3T6, exponentially growing 3T6 and growing HeLa cells following exposure to cycloheximide, although the magnitude of the increase was less than that observed with growth stimulated cells. Puromycin had negligible effect on mRNA content in resting or exponentially growing cells. The rapid increase in cytoplasmic poly(A) (+) mRNA content was not due to rapid unbalanced export of nuclear poly(A) (+) RNA into the cytoplasm since there was no decrease in nuclear poly(A) content following serum stimulation in the presence of cycloheximide.
CRYSTAL-STATE-AMORPHOUS-STATE TRANSITION IN LOW-TEMPERATURE SILICON HOMOEPITAXY

Conventional molecular-beam epitaxy of Si(001) at low temperatures proceeds epitaxially up to a finite thickness followed by a crystalline-to-amorphous transition. Concurrent low-energy ${\mathrm{Ar}}^{+}$ ion irradiation during deposition results in an increase in epitaxial thickness. Surface smoothing is shown to be the primary effect of ${\mathrm{Ar}}^{+}$ ion irradiation. A possible pathway to the formation of amorphous silicon is the nucleation of twin boundaries on {111} planes. The intersection of a twin boundary with other {111} or {001} planes results in the formation of five- and seven-member rings which leads to the crystalline-to-amorphous transition.
Prediction of moisture transfer in mixtures of solids: transfer via the vapor phase

Abstract A mathematical method has been developed and tested to predict the final relative water vapor pressure in a closed system for a multicomponent mixture of solids knowing the initial water content for each component. From the final relative pressure and individual sorption-desorption isotherms, it is then possible to estimate the extent to which moisture redistributes via the vapor phase among the various components. The model utilizes any equation which describes the moisture sorption-desorption isotherm of each component over the entire range of relative pressures and includes as variables the initial dry weight and moisture content of each component, head space volume, and temperature. Experimental studies were carried out in a vacuum rack assembly linking various solids via the vapor state and measuring relative pressures of water vapor before and after redistribution using a sensitive pressure transducer at a known temperature and head space volume. Both the mathematical simulations and experiments were carried out with various combinations of corn starch, microcrystalline cellulose, gelatin capsules, and silica gel. Pharmaceutical situations where such information might be useful are discussed.
Performance Status in Elderly Patients With Acute Myeloid Leukemia: Exploring Gene Expression Signatures of Cytokines and Chemokines

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is an aggressive disease that predominantly affects elderly patients. Cytokines and chemokines are major players in the pathogenesis of AML. They regulate the disease course and play a deleterious role in the progression of AML. The geriatric population is particularly vulnerable to these mediators as these cytokines and chemokines are also implicated in the development of frailty, fatigue, and declining cognitive function. It is the combination of these adverse effects of cytokines and chemokines that affect performance status and, in turn, the poor prognosis in this age group. Cytokines and chemokines are emerging as therapeutic targets in AML. Future endeavors to treat AML will likely involve cytokines and chemokines as attempts are made to disrupt the bone marrow environment. By modulating the bone marrow stroma, the goal is to create an environment less favorable to AML cells and more favorable to the effects of chemotherapy against AML.
Global invasion history of the tropical fire ant: a stowaway on the first global trade routes

Biological invasions are largely thought to be contemporary, having recently increased sharply in the wake of globalization. However, human commerce had already become global by the mid-16th century when the Spanish connected the New World with Europe and Asia via their Manila galleon and West Indies trade routes. We use genetic data to trace the global invasion of one of the world's most widespread and invasive pest ants, the tropical fire ant, Solenopsis geminata. Our results reveal a pattern of introduction of Old World populations that is highly consistent with historical trading routes suggesting that Spanish trade introduced the tropical fire ant to Asia in the 16th century. We identify southwestern Mexico as the most likely source for the invasive populations, which is consistent with the use of Acapulco as the major Spanish port on the Pacific Ocean. From there, the Spanish galleons brought silver to Manila, which served as a hub for trade with China. The genetic data document a corresponding spread of S. geminata from Mexico via Manila to Taiwan and from there, throughout the Old World. Our descriptions of the worldwide spread of S. geminata represent a rare documented case of a biological invasion of a highly invasive and globally distributed pest species due to the earliest stages of global commerce.
Reliability optimization of series-parallel systems using a genetic algorithm

A problem-specific genetic algorithm (GA) is developed and demonstrated to analyze series-parallel systems and to determine the optimal design configuration when there are multiple component choices available for each of several k-out-of-n:G subsystems. The problem is to select components and redundancy-levels to optimize some objective function, given system-level constraints on reliability, cost, and/or weight. Previous formulations of the problem have implicit restrictions concerning the type of redundancy allowed, the number of available component choices, and whether mixing of components is allowed. GA is a robust evolutionary optimization search technique with very few restrictions concerning the type or size of the design problem. The solution approach was to solve the dual of a nonlinear optimization problem by using a dynamic penalty function. GA performs very well on two types of problems: (1) redundancy allocation originally proposed by Fyffe, Hines, Lee, and (2) randomly generated problem with more complex k-out-of-n:G configurations.
Vision-based control of a smart wheelchair for the automated transport and retrieval system (ATRS)

In this paper, we present a vision-based control approach for autonomously docking a wheelchair onto a vehicle lift platform. This is a principle component of the automated transport and retrieval system (ATRS) - an alternate mobility solution for drivers with lower body disabilities. The ATRS employs robotics, automation, and machine vision technologies, and can be integrated into a standard minivan or sport utility vehicle (SUV). At the core of the ATRS is a "smart" wheelchair system that autonomously navigates between the driver's position and a powered lift at the rear of the vehicle eliminating the need for an attendant. From an automation perspective, autonomously docking the wheelchair onto the lift platform presented the most significant technical challenge for the proof-of-concept ATRS. This was driven primarily by geometry constraints, which limited clearance between the chair wheels and the lift platform rails. We present significant simulation and experimental results for our approach. These indicate that the coupling of vision-based localization for feedback and input/output feedback linearization techniques for controller design can provide for accurate wheelchair navigation and reliable docking under a range of ambient illumination conditions
Looking back-Claude Elwood Shannon

The author reflects on the life of Claude Shannon, personally and professionally. The author comments on Shannon's contributions to information theory; the application of Boolean algebra to relay and switching circuits, and in general, to logical design and how Shannon is noted for two papers on how a computer could play chess. >
La guerra entre México y los Estados Unidos en la novela El fistol del diablo , de Manuel Payno

This essay proposes three levels of analysis for a better understanding of the novel El fistol del diablo , by Manuel Payno. First, the contributions of Payno to the development of the historical novel in Mexico, above all in the novelistic treatment of the war between Mexico and the United States in 1846-1848 (the principal focus of the novel); second, the changes of order and deletion of chapters and narrative links in El fistol del diablo throughout its three editions, something which leads us to propose that of the three novels by Payno, apparently that of most importance for the author was El fistol del diablo , keeping him occupied in various editions across a span of more than forty years. Third, a reading of El fistol del diablo is grounded in our own historic circumstances—for example, the war of occupation by the United States in Iraq and in Afghanistan— maintaining that such a critical reading cannot limit itself to merely literary questions, since historical parallels of military occupation may be sources for a better comprehension of historical novels such as El fistol del diablo .
Rapid, Direct Analysis of Whole Plant Tissue by Slurry Atomization dc Plasma Emission

A number of reports have previously appeared on the rapid, direct spectrochemical analysis of selected solid samples by slurry atomization using high solids nebulizers. Percent elemental recoveries vary widely throughout the slurry literature. In many cases, empirically determined correction factors have been utilized to compensate for recoveries which were low by as much as 5fold. The correction factors depended heavily on the size, density, and volatility of the solid particles as well as on the aerodynamic aerosol transport properties of the nebulizer/spray chamber system. The temperature and particle residence time in the atomization cell can also influence the observed elemental recovery, and in some cases, partial solubilization of selected metals during slurry preparation can play a major role. Sieving can sometimes improve the apparent recovery by reducing the effective particle size, but this procedure is not recommended, because it can lead to segregation and sampling errors with heterogeneous solid samples.
Complex Structure of Knob DNA on Maize Chromosome 9: Retrotransposon Invasion into Heterochromatin

The recovery of maize (Zea mays L.) chromosome addition lines of oat (Avena sativa L.) from oat x maize crosses enables us to analyze the structure and composition of specific regions, such as knobs, of individual maize chromosomes. A DNA hybridization blot panel of eight individual maize chromosome addition lines revealed that 180-bp repeats found in knobs are present in each of these maize chromosomes, but the copy number varies from approximately 100 to 25, 000. Cosmid clones with knob DNA segments were isolated from a genomic library of an oat-maize chromosome 9 addition line with the help of the 180-bp knob-associated repeated DNA sequence used as a probe. Cloned knob DNA segments revealed a complex organization in which blocks of tandemly arranged 180-bp repeating units are interrupted by insertions of other repeated DNA sequences, mostly represented by individual full size copies of retrotransposable elements. There is an obvious preference for the integration of retrotransposable elements into certain sites (hot spots) of the 180-bp repeat. Sequence microheterogeneity including point mutations and duplications was found in copies of 180-bp repeats. The 180-bp repeats within an array all had the same polarity. Restriction maps constructed for 23 cloned knob DNA fragments revealed the positions of polymorphic sites and sites of integration of insertion elements. Discovery of the interspersion of retrotransposable elements among blocks of tandem repeats in maize and some other organisms suggests that this pattern may be basic to heterochromatin organization for eukaryotes.
Imitation and the Developing Social Brain: Infants’ Somatotopic EEG Patterns for Acts of Self and Other

A leading question in developmental social-cognitive neuroscience concerns the nature and function of neural links between action perception and production in early human development. Here we document a somatotopic pattern of activity of the sensorimotor EEG mu rhythm in 14-month-old infants. EEG was recorded during interactive trials in which infants activated a novel object using their own hands or feet (“execution” trials) and watched an experimenter use her hands or feet to achieve the same goal (“observation” trials). At central electrodes overlying sensorimotor hand areas (C3/C4), mu rhythm power was reduced (indicating greater cortical activation) during infants’ execution of hand acts compared to foot acts. For the central electrode overlying the sensorimotor foot area (Cz), mu power was reduced during the execution of foot versus hand acts. Strikingly similar somatotopic patterns were found in both the action execution and observation conditions. We hypothesize that these somatotopic patterns index an intercorporeal mapping of corresponding body parts between self and other. We further propose that infants’ ability to identify self-other equivalences at the level of body parts underlies infant imitation and is an ontogenetic building block for the feelings of intersubjectivity we experience when socially engaged with other people.
Variety is the spice of life: A psychological construction approach to understanding variability in emotion

There is remarkable variety in emotional life. Not all mental states referred to by the same word (e.g., "fear") look alike, feel alike, or have the same neurophysiological signature. Variability has been observed within individuals over time, across individuals from the same culture, and of course across cultures. In this paper, I outline an approach to understanding the richness and diversity of emotional life. This model, called the conceptual act model, is not only well suited to explaining individual differences in the frequency and quality of emotion, but it also suggests the counter-intuitive view that the variety in emotional life extends past the boundaries of events that are conventionally called "emotion" to other classes of psychological events that people call by different names, such as "cognitions". As a result, the conceptual act model is a unifying account of the broad variety of mental states that constitute the human mind.
Empirical Connectivity for Mobile Ad Hoc Networks under Square and Rectangular Covering Scenarios

In the mobile ad hoc networks (MANET), one basic problem is that some nodes are unable to communicate with certain nodes because they are disconnected at the graph level even when a strong routing protocol has been imposed. Thus, connectivity is an important factor affecting the performance of MANETs. The connectivity is related to many factors of the MANET scenario. In this paper, we investigate how the connectivity is related to the region of interest, the number of nodes, and the transmission radius of the nodes. Firstly, we propose the modeling of the MANET connectivity problem for rectangular and square covering scenarios. From these models and associated empirical rules, we present schemes to normalize these two scenarios. We also propose to use second-order polynomial equations for modeling different connectivity levels. The coefficients of these equations are explicitly estimated by the least-square method. Applications of these equations to solve typical connectivity-related problems are discussed. Finally, the precisions of these equations for estimating connectivity are evaluated, which show that the proposed empirical rules are practical and useful. These empirical rules are proposed as simple guidelines for deploying MANETs and sensor networks
SENSORY MODALITY USED BY COYOTES IN RESPONDING TO ANTIPREDATOR COMPOUNDS IN THE BLOOD OF TEXAS HORNED LIZARDS

A BSTRACT We investigated the hypothesis that the squirting of blood from orbital sinuses by Texas horned lizards (Phrynosoma cornutum) is an antipredator defense against some mammalian species. Coyotes (Canis latrans) were tested for the first time. As expected, Texas horned lizards squirted blood in response to coyote attacks, and coyotes exhibited startle response, avoidance response, or both as a result of these events. Whereas lizard carcasses mixed into normal foodmash elicited regurgitation by coyotes, possibly due to physical effects, blood of horned lizards similarly mixed into food did not. Coyote responses to simulated squirts of 5 compounds, including blood of horned lizards, into 3 potential sensory target areas (eyes, nose, and mouth) strongly suggested that aversive effects were mediated by receptors in the oral or nasal cavities. Coyote responses were more frequent to delivery of blood plasma and whole blood of Phrynosoma to buccal and nasal membranes than to delivery of plasma and blood from spiny lizards (Sceloporus jarrovii) or to delivery of a saline control to these membranes. We concluded that Texas horned lizards squirt blood from sinuses surrounding the eyes during attacks by canids, such as coyotes, and that this blood affects oral receptors, causing a negative response in coyote attack behavior that potentially increases survival of the lizards.
Time of decline in sexual function after external beam radiotherapy for prostate cancer.

Purpose Erectile dysfunction is one of the most concerning toxicities for patients in the treatment of prostate cancer. The inconsistent evaluation of sexual function (SF) and limited follow-up data have necessitated additional study to clarify the rate and timing of erectile dysfunction after external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) for prostate cancer. Methods and Materials A total of 143 men completed baseline data on SF before treatment and at the subsequent follow-up visits. A total of 1187 validated SF inventories were analyzed from the study participants. Multiple domains of SF (sex drive, erectile function, ejaculatory function, and overall satisfaction) were analyzed for ≤8 years of follow-up. Results The median follow-up was 4.03 years. The strongest predictor of SF after EBRT was SF before treatment. For all domains of SF, the only statistically significant decrease in function occurred in the first 24 months after EBRT. SF stabilized 2 years after treatment completion, with no statistically significant change in any area of SF >2 years after the end of EBRT. Conclusion These data suggest that SF does not have a continuous decline after EBRT. Instead, SF decreases maximally within the first 24 months after EBRT, with no significant changes thereafter.
A Load Balanced Social-Tie Routing strategy for DTNs based on queue length control

Delay Tolerant Networks (DTNs) are sparse mobile ad-hoc networks in which there is typically no complete path between the source and destination. Although many routing algorithms for DTNs have been proposed, prior works generally focus on optimizing delivery ratio and cost by finding the relay node with the highest delivery probability to the destination. In social networks, the connections among nodes, which are established via social contacts, exhibit a fat-tailed distribution in which few nodes have many connections and the majority have very few. Since current heuristic-based routing algorithms bias toward connectivity, highly connected nodes have a high probability to be selected by other nodes as their next hop. As a result, the load distribution becomes significantly unbalanced, with very few nodes handling the majority of message forwardings. In this paper, we provide empirical experiments to show the natural load imbalance of existing routing algorithms. We then introduce Load Balanced Social-Tie Routing (LBR), a routing strategy in which messages are favorably forwarded to network nodes that have both a stronger social tie with the destination and a smaller or similar queue length. This queue length control strategy aims to reduce traffic at highly connected nodes, and allows nodes of similar degrees to trade packet forwardings with each other, thus spreading the traffic more evenly across the network. Through extensive simulation studies using a real-world San Francisco cab trace, we show that LBR can achieve a comparable or better delivery ratio and cost than existing algorithms. Meanwhile, LBR distributes the load more evenly with the top 10% of network nodes handling 23% of the forwardings, compared to 37% for Epidemic routing, 43% for PROPHET, and 47% for BubbleRap.
HUMAN EMBRYO MORPHOLOGY AND DEVELOPMENTAL CAPACITY

Human embryos obtained during therapeutic in vitro fertilization (IVF) are morphologically diverse and display features not common among other mammalian embryos in vitro. Logic dictates and experience concurs that embryo quality assessment must entail more than phenotype alone, but so far and at least in the human, no other evaluation scheme has proven to be more practical or clinically useful. This chapter presents current opinions on the relationship between gross morphology and developmental capacity. An overview of data from a clinical embryology database (EggCyte™) with large numbers of records has also been incorporated.
Colonic H(+)-K(+)-ATPase in K(+) conservation and electrogenic Na(+) absorption during Na(+) restriction.

Upregulation of the colonic H+-K+- ATPase (cHKA) during hyperaldosteronism suggests that it functions in both K+conservation and electrogenic Na+ absorption in the colon when Na+-conserving mechani...
Pituitary function is altered during the same cycle in women with polycystic ovary syndrome treated with continuous or cyclic oral contraceptives or a gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist

Objective To determine if continuous oral contraceptive (OC) therapy was superior to a cyclic regimen in achieving persistent pituitary suppression of LH in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Design Fourteen women (ages 16 to 41 years) with PCOS received one of three treatment groups: continuous OC therapy (30 μ g ethinyl E 2 plus 150 μ g desogestrel), cyclic OC therapy, or monthly injections of a GnRH agonist (GnRH-a, leuprolide acetate depot 3.75 mg) for 3 months. Basal hormone levels were obtained before initiating therapy, on days 15 to 17 of the 3rd month of treatment (study 1) and again on days 26 to 28 of the 3rd month (study 2). A GnRH stimulation test was also performed during study 1 and study 2. Results After 3 months of treatment, LH levels were decreased significantly in all groups with less effective suppression observed in the cyclic OC group compared with the continuous OC or GnRH-a groups. A significant rise in LH was found only in the cyclic OC group after 5 to 7 days of placebo treatment (study 1 versus study 2). An increase in T was also observed in the cyclic OC group during study 2, whereas the continuous OC and GnRH-a groups showed continued inhibition of T levels. Although there was no significant difference in LH area under the curve (AUC) measurements after GnRH stimulation in study 1 versus study 2, the LH AUC was significantly greater in both studies in the cyclic OC group compared with the continuous OC or GnRH-a groups. Conclusions Increased LH secretion during the week of placebo in the cyclic OC group was associated with a concomitant increase in T. The striking rise in LH secretion after GnRH stimulation in the cyclic OC group may represent increased pituitary sensitivity in patients receiving cyclic OCs regardless of the phase of the treatment cycle, perhaps secondary to increased pituitary stores of LH in these women.
Acute Megakaryocyte Myelofibrosis: Case Report of an Unusual Myeloproliferative Syndrome

A case of the accelerated variety of myelofibrosis with a peripheral blood picture resembling chronic myelogenous leukemia, a predominantly megakaryocytic overgrowth in the marrow, and multiple megakaryocytic tumor nodules is presented. This appears to be an extremely rare hematologic disease, but one which should be included in the differential diagnosis of any rapidly progressive, treatment-resistant myeloproliferative disorder.
Legal consideration on the problems of equal labor rights of the peasantry worker

Labor right is one of the important elements of human rights and a basic living right of a person.The Constitutions of different countries have definite rules to protect this right.As common laborers,peasantry workers have equal labor rights although they have agricultural residence-registrations.As same as urban laborers,peasantry workers would enjoy equal labor rights and be protected by the government,and they are equal with others before the law.The paper analyzes the labor rights of peasantry workers,deals with many legal problems and points out that it is possible to promote the realization of equal labor rights and the harmonious development of the society.
On Architecture of Humanism in Renaissance

In Renaissance,with the growing up of citizen class in newly born cities,a kind of architecture with strong humanism style was generated and developed.On the one hand,it reflected the renaissance of Greek and Roman architecture;on the other hand,it reflected the application of rising scientific knowledge to new architecture and the burgeoning architecture theories one after another.Innovation,classicality and humanity are characteristics of the architecture of humanism in Renaissance.
pH-responsive amphiphilic macromolecular carrier for doxorubicin delivery

In this work, pH-sensitive amphiphilic macromolecules are designed to possess good biocompatibility and drug loading while employing an acid-sensitive linkage to trigger drug release at tumor tissues. Specifically, two pH-sensitive amphiphilic macromolecules were synthesized with a hydrazone linkage between the hydrophobic and hydrophilic segments. The chemical structure, molecular weight, critical micelle concentration, micelle size, and pH-triggered cleavage of the amphiphilic macromolecules were characterized via matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight, nuclear magnetic resonance, and dynamic light scattering techniques. Drug loading and release as well as cytotoxicity studies were performed using doxorubicin. Hydrodynamic diameters of the micelles formed with pH-sensitive amphiphilic macromolecules were within an optimal range for cellular uptake. The critical micelle concentration values were 10–8–10–6 M, indicating micellar stability upon dilution. The degradation products of the ...
Differential effects of L-N5-(1-iminoethyl)-ornithine on tone and endothelium-dependent vasodilator responses.

The effects of the nitric oxide (NO) synthesis inhibitor L-N5-(1-iminoethyl)-ornithine (L-NIO) on baseline tone and on responses to the endothelium-dependent vasodilator agents were investigated in the pulmonary vascular bed of the cat under constant-flow conditions. When administered in doses of 1 and 5 mg/kg i.v., L-NIO inhibited pulmonary vasodilator responses to acetylcholine, bradykinin, and substance P but did not alter vasodilator responses to adenosine, pinacidil, or adrenomedullin. L-NIO in doses of 1-10 mg/kg i.v. did not significantly affect baseline lobar arterial pressure, and when administered in doses of 10-30 mg/kg i.v. the inhibitory effect on responses to bradykinin and substance P was not greater than that observed when the lower doses of L-NIO were administered. L-NIO in doses of 5-30 mg/kg i.v. reduced plasma reactive nitrogen intermediate levels. The inhibitory effects of L-NIO were similar to the inhibitory effects of N omega-nitro-L-arginine, N omega-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester, and N omega-nitro-L-arginine benzyl ester. The highest dose of L-NIO studied (30 mg/kg i.v.) caused a significant increased in lobar arterial pressure, and the administration of N omega-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (100 mg/kg i.v.) caused a significant increase in lobar arterial pressure in animals previously treated with L-NIO (1 mg/kg i.v.). The results of the present study show that the effects of L-NIO on endothelium-dependent vasodilator responses and on baseline tone can be separated and may be interpreted to suggest that basal release of NO does not play an important role in the maintenance of baseline tone in the pulmonary vascular bed of the cat.
How not to bid the cloud

Cloud providers have begun to allow users to bid for surplus servers on a spot market. These servers are allocated if a user's bid price is higher than their market price and revoked otherwise. Thus, analyzing price data to derive optimal bidding strategies has become a popular research topic. In this paper, we argue that sophisticated bidding strategies, in practice, do not provide any advantages over simple strategies for multiple reasons. First, due to price characteristics, there are a wide range of bid prices that yield the optimal cost and availability. Second, given the large number of spot markets, there is always a market with available surplus resources. Thus, if resources become unavailable due to a price spike, users need not wait until the spike subsides, but can instead provision a new spot resource elsewhere and migrate to it. Third, current spot market rules enable users to place maximum bids for resources without any penalty. Given bidding's irrelevance, users can adopt trivial bidding strategies and focus instead on modifying applications to efficiently seek out and migrate to the lowest cost resources.
Graph theory for analyzing pair-wise data: application to geophysical model parameters estimated from interferometric synthetic aperture radar data at Okmok volcano, Alaska

Graph theory is useful for analyzing time-dependent model parameters estimated from interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) data in the temporal domain. Plotting acquisition dates (epochs) as vertices and pair-wise interferometric combinations as edges defines an incidence graph. The edge-vertex incidence matrix and the normalized edge Laplacian matrix are factors in the covariance matrix for the pair-wise data. Using empirical measures of residual scatter in the pair-wise observations, we estimate the relative variance at each epoch by inverting the covariance of the pair-wise data. We evaluate the rank deficiency of the corresponding least-squares problem via the edge-vertex incidence matrix. We implement our method in a MATLAB software package called GraphTreeTA available on GitHub ( https://github.com/feigl/gipht ). We apply temporal adjustment to the data set described in Lu et al. (Geophys Res Solid Earth 110, 2005) at Okmok volcano, Alaska, which erupted most recently in 1997 and 2008. The data set contains 44 differential volumetric changes and uncertainties estimated from interferograms between 1997 and 2004. Estimates show that approximately half of the magma volume lost during the 1997 eruption was recovered by the summer of 2003. Between June 2002 and September 2003, the estimated rate of volumetric increase is $$(6.2 \, \pm \, 0.6) \times 10^6~\mathrm{m}^3/\mathrm{year} $$ . Our preferred model provides a reasonable fit that is compatible with viscoelastic relaxation in the five years following the 1997 eruption. Although we demonstrate the approach using volumetric rates of change, our formulation in terms of incidence graphs applies to any quantity derived from pair-wise differences, such as range change, range gradient, or atmospheric delay.
Language as Whose Resource?: When Global Economics Usurp the Local Equity Potentials of Dual Language Education

ABSTRACTUtah’s public schools are home to an increasing number of K/1–6 dual language (DL) programs established through a state-centralized model that has sparked interest domestically and internationally. We theorize three potential constituencies of DL—maintenance, heritage, and world language—then use critical discourse analysis to examine how equitably multiple official state promotional materials discursively portray these constituencies and their interests as well as what other discourses most strongly emerge. We found Utah’s state DL discourses were targeted primarily toward a White, world language constituency, and we found that the explicit privileging of economic considerations discursively erased equity and local language concerns associated with maintenance and non-White heritage constituencies. We argue that this discursive misdirection represents a narrow application of the language-as-resource policy orientation. We conclude with implications for favoring a version of globalized language ed...
Problems of Evil and Suffering

For centuries it has been widely recognized that there are philosophical problems for the theist who affirms the existence of an omnipotent and omnibenevolent God on the one hand and the reality of evil on the other. In this chapter we will tackle several of the main problems of evil confronting the theist, including logical and evidential ones. In addition, we will examine several theodicies, which are attempts to explain why God permits evil. The theist is not alone in needing to provide an account of evil and suffering, however. Two of the central Indian traditions, Hinduism and Buddhism, have their own approaches to addressing the subject. Finally, what about atheism? Is it off the hook when it comes to evil? We shall see.
Risk factors for hyponatremia in aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage

Hyponatremia occurs commonly in patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH). Our objective was to determine the time course of, and factors associated with, hyponatremia after aSAH. We performed a retrospective review of 259 patients with ruptured aneurysms at a single institution. Multivariate regression analysis was performed to determine the factors associated with hyponatremia. Increasing age was significantly associated with lower initial sodium (p=0.04) and incidence of delayed hyponatremia (p=0.01) while smoking was associated with longer duration of hyponatremia (p=0.02). Older patients should therefore be monitored closely for hyponatremia and patients who smoke should be treated more aggressively for hyponatremia given the greater frequency and longer duration of hyponatremia in these two groups, respectively.
GP-VI Disruption Confers Additional Protection against Arterial Thrombosis in PAR-4 Deficient Mice

Following vascular injury, platelets are recruited and activated by adhesive proteins exposed on the subendothelium (including collagen), released agonists and locally generated thrombin. In mice, protease activated receptor 4 (PAR-4) mediates the platelet signaling response to thrombin. Previous studies showed that platelets from PAR-4 null mice do not respond to thrombin and while platelet thrombi do form at the site of injury in PAR-4 deficient animals, they do not propagate and extend into the lumen like thrombi in wild-type mice. The activation pathway responsible for this juxtamural platelet accumulation remains unknown. The collagen exposed on the subendothelium activates and recruites platelets at the site of injury by interacting with membrane glycoprotein (GP) VI. Therefore, the collagen-GP-VI pathway is a putative candidate for the platelet thrombus formation near the vessel wall. Using hirudin as a thrombin inhibitor in mice with disrupted GP-VI expression, it has been previously shown that GP-VI signaling and thrombin activation pathways may cooperate during thrombus growth. To more precisely evaluate the interplay between the thrombin/PAR-4 and collagen/GP-VI signaling pathways, we crossed mice lacking PAR-4 and GP-VI, and subsequently compared bleeding time and arterial thrombus formation in PAR-4:GP-VI double or single deficient animals. All genetic combinations were born at the expected mendelian distribution. Double deficient females carried offspring to term and no bleeding was observed during parturition. Pups lacking both receptors demonstrated transient perinatal abdominal bleeding which resolved rapidly. However, we observed prolonged tail bleeding times in double deficient animals compared to their single deficient littermates. Furthermore in a FeCl3-induced carotid thrombosis model, mice lacking both receptors were completely protected compared to their littermates. This study suggests that there is an interaction between the thrombin and collagen activating pathways in the setting of hemostasis and thrombosis. ![Figure][1] Figure ![Figure][1] Figure [1]: pending:yes
Intralesional collagenase clostridium histolyticum study provides real-world analysis.

Yang and Bennett’s report (1) offers further support for the use of intralesional collagenase clostridium histolyticum (CCH) to improve both subjective symptoms and objective measures in men with Peyronie’s disease (PD). The study included men who would not have been eligible for the IMPRESS (2) trials, including those with active disease, hourglass configurations, ventral deformities, and no upper limit in initial curvature measurements. CCH therapy is currently contraindicated for patients with ventral plaques and hourglass deformities (3). Even with the inclusion of these men, average penile curvature in Yang and Bennett’s report decreased 32.4% compared to the IMPRESS trials, in which the average curvature decreased 34%, with similar efficacy. The percentage of men who had discernable changes to CCH therapy was 60.8% in the IMPRESS trials, while Yang and Bennett observed that 79.6% of men treated with CCH therapy had responded with a decrease in curvature. These results suggest that intralesional CCH therapy may be applied more broadly to PD patients than it is currently approved for.
Travel times of principal P and S phases over small distances in southern California

More than ten years ago the author published (Gutenberg, 1932) average travel-time curves for near-by shocks in southern California, I based on records of twenty-one shocks. Since then, additional shocks suitable for study have accumulated. From these, fifty shocks have been selected and studied in detail. Arrival times of all clearly marked phases were read repeatedly from originals as well as from enlarged copies, in which approximately 2 mm. correspond to 1 sec. Then each shock was studied separately.