cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Decreased expression of stromal estrogen receptor α and β in prostate cancer

Background: Recently there has been an increased interest in the role of tumor-associated stroma in prostate tumorigenesis, but little is known about the respective roles of stomal ERα and ERβ in prostate cancer (PCa). This study characterizes the expression patterns of ERα and ERβ in tumor-associated stroma in association with various clinicopathological factors of importance in PCa prognosis and treatment. Design: Immunohistochemistry was performed using antibodies against ERα and ERβ to characterize their expression patterns in PCa tissue. Stromal ER levels (ERα and ERβ) on tissue sections (n=47), were compared between tumor associated stroma and adjacent benign associated stroma. Immunohistochemistry was also performed on a PCa tissue microarray (TMA) (n=177) to correlate stromal expression with various clinicopathological parameters. The levels of ER nuclear expression were scored semi-quantitatively. Results: The expression levels of both ERα and ERβ were significantly lower in tumor-associated stroma than stroma surrounding benign prostatic glands on the same tissue section (ERα: p 0.05). The level of ERβ expression in tumor-associated stroma was decreased in patients older than 60 years compared to younger patients (p=0.01). Conclusion: This study demonstrates significant down-regulation of ERα and ERβ expression in the tumor-associated stroma of PCa. However, the level of ERα expression in tumor-associated stroma shows a positive correlation with cancer differentiation and tumor stage.
Synthetic Medium for Acetobacter xylinum That Can Be Used for Isolation of Auxotrophic Mutants and Study of Cellulose Biosynthesis

Acetobacter xylinum is a bacterium that can synthesize cellulose when grown in an undefined medium containing glucose. We developed a defined minimal medium for A. xylinum that contains 1% glucose, 0.1% NH4Cl, 0.115% citric acid, 0.33% Na2HPO4, 0.01% KCl, 0.025% MgSO4. 7H2O, and 7.5 mg of nicotinamide per liter which both allows cellulose synthesis and can be used to isolate a variety of auxotrophic mutants.
The four world food organizations: Influence of the Group of 77

Abstract The influence of the Group of 77 (G77) within the four world food organizations in Rome is limited. The structure of power and the policy making process within each organization varies rather considerably, but in each of them G77 has neither the resources, information, unity nor leadership needed to play a very influential role. The international economy is presently in a state of doldrums, and the Group of 77 is struggling, not without some success, to maintain the status quo within the world food organizations that it estabilshed during the 1970s.
Assessing effectiveness of a field-trip based course in professional education: the AMISCONDE Costa Rica case study.

Abstract Field trips are important opportunities for students to learn and exercise integrative, interdisciplinary problem-solving skills for real-world situations. This paper examines the extent to which a field trip-based course in natural resource management contributes to the preparation of practitioners to solve complex environmental problems. It describes a field trip-based course at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, the individuals involved in the course, and a field trip to the La Amistad Biosphere Reserve, Costa Rica to carry out a rapid assessment of AMISCONDE, an integrated conservation and development project in southern Costa Rica. This paper also evaluates the success of the course in terms of how well it prepares students to deal with real-life natural resource management problems and in terms of the opportunity it provides to students to assess a natural resource management issue. The paper concludes that the course is to a large extent successful in the former and les...
Flame Retardants for Textiles

Flame resistance and fire resistance are often used in the same context as the terms flameproof and fireproof. A textile that is flame or fire resistant does not continue to burn or glow after the source of ignition is removed although there is some change in physical and chemical characteristics. Several theories have been postulated to explain the various types of flame retardants for cotton. These theories include coating, gas, thermal, and dehydration or chemical. Durability of a flame retardant on a textile is an important consideration since many retardants will not be effective after laundering. Types of retardants are divided into categories as follows: brominated, chlorinated, phosphorus- containing, nitrogen-containing, and inorganic. This article gives information on retardants for cellulosics (cotton), wool, thermoplastic fibers including woven and nonwoven materials, and blends. Applications are discussed as well as incorporating the retardant in the fiber. Upholstery and furnishings, protective clothing, combinations that give flame retardant capability as well as durable press performance are detailed. Keywords: flame retardants; textiles; cotton; synthetic fibers; applications
Legacy of Luiz Rijo in MT Exploration at the University of Utah and Beyond: Two-Dimensional Inversion and Frontier Solid-Earth Investigations

Among his many important research and educational contributions, one of the first developments of Professor Luiz Rijo (while still a graduate student) was a basic but powerful finite element algorithm for modeling twodimensional inductive EM scattering from Earth resistivity structure. Following additional efforts by colleagues and peers, this code became the basis for generalized platforms widely used to simulate and invert land, marine and airborne plane-wave data. The author’s experience in this technology emphasizes application to solid-earth and geothermal exploration field studies including the Great Basin, New Zealand and Antarctica where unique insights from resistivity structure have been possible.
Focal adhesion kinase and p53 synergistically decrease neuroblastoma cell survival

Neuroblastoma is the most common extracranial solid tumor of childhood and is responsible for over 15% of pediatric cancer deaths. Focal adhesion kinase (FAK) is a nonreceptor tyrosine kinase that is important in many facets of neuroblastoma tumor development and progression. The p53 oncogene, although wild type in most neuroblastomas, lacks significant function as a tumor suppressor in these tumors. Recent reports have found that FAK and p53 interact in some tumor types. We have hypothesized FAK and p53 coordinately control each other's expression and also interact in neuroblastoma. In the present study, we showed that not only do FAK and p53 interact but each one controls the expression of the other. In addition, we also examined the effects of FAK inhibition combined with p53 activation in neuroblastoma and showed that these two, in combination, had a synergistic effect on neuroblastoma cell survival. The findings from this present study help to further our understanding of the regulation of neuroblastoma tumorigenesis and may provide novel therapeutic strategies and targets for neuroblastoma and other pediatric solid tumors.
Carbon dioxide hydrate and floods on Mars.

Ground ice on Mars probably consists largely of carbon dioxide hydrate. This hydrate dissociates upon release of pressure at temperatures between 0 and 10 C. The heat capacity of the ground would be sufficient to produce up to 4% (by volume) of water at a rate equal to that at which it can be drained away. Catastrophic dissociation of carbon dioxide hydrate during some past epoch when the near-surface temperature was in this range would have produced chaotic terrain and flood channels.
The Social Sciences: Who Won the ‘90s in Scholarly Book Publishing

The study of prizes awarded to books in the 1990s by leading social sciences scholarly associations helps us understand the disciplines, publishing, and libraries during that decade. This article examines data on prizewinners of the American Anthropological Association, the American Educational Research Association, the Association of American Geographers, the American Political Science Association, the American Psychological Association, and the American Sociological Association. For the prizewinners, it reports the distribution of winners among publishers and universities; the extent of cross-disciplinary publishing; the degree of coauthorship; trends in library acquisitions of print versions; and accessibility of electronic versions. The University of Chicago Press ranked first among publishers, and the faculty at Harvard won more prizes than did faculty at any other institution. Library of Congress and Dewey Decimal classifications assigned to the winners show substantial cross-disciplinary interest. Sixteen percent of the books were coauthored. Library print holdings appeared to decline over the decade by approximately 20 percent; and in April 2004, 19 percent of prizewinners were available electronically.
Inhibition of platelet aggregation with histamine

A sensitive in vitro technique was used to demonstrate the inhibitory effects of histamine or human blood platelets. Platelet aggregation by epinephrine was completely inhibited at 10(-3) M concentrations of histamine. Persistent elevations of cyclic AMP levels were shown to occur in the platelets when histamine was added and corresponded to the inhibitory effects on platelet aggregation. In contradistinction to the analogous inhibitory effects by histamine on other cellular elements of the hematopoietic system, this inhibitory effect on platelets could not be blocked by equimolar concentrations of either of the classes of histamine antagonists presently available. It is suggested that there may be other additional histamine receptors on the surface of membranes of platelets or that histamine mediated its inhibitory effect on platelets through a mechanism other than surface receptors.
A characterization of finite Auslander—Reiten quivers

(a) We give necessary and sufficient conditions for a finite k-modulated translation quiver to be an Auslander-Reiten quiver in terms of certain homology groups associated to the quiver (Section 3). (b) We show that whether a finite k-modulated translation quiver is an Auslander-Reiten quiver depends only on the underlying valued translation quiver and the characteristic of k and give necessary and sufficient conditions only in terms of the valued quiver and char k. We also show that any valued quiver with valuations (1, n) or (n, l), n Q 3, admits a modulation over any prime field (Sections 5,6, 7). (c) To a valued translation quiver r we associate an unvalued translation quiver r (i.e., all valuations are 1) and show that a finite k-modulated translation quiver is an Auslander-Reiten quiver if and only if the associated unvalued translation quiver with the trivial K-modulation (K = prime field of k) is an Auslander-Reiten quiver (Section 8).
Nickel(II) Acetate-Treated Chinese Hamster Ovary Cells Differentially Express Vimentin, hSNF2H Homologue, and H Ferritin

In probing the possible non-genotoxic molecular mechanism(s) of nickel(II)-induced carcinogenesis, we performed a non-radioactive mRNA differential display analysis for nickel(II) acetate-treated Chinese hamster ovary cells (CHO-K1-BH4). Three out of thirty differentially expressed cDNAs had sequences highly similar to known genes. Down-regulation of vimentin and a hSNF2H homologue and up-regulation of ferritin heavy chain were confirmed by Northern blot analysis. The expression of these mRNAs was time- and nickel(II) concentration-dependent. For vimentin, the decrease in mRNA level was concurrent with a decrease in the protein level. For ferritin, the increase in mRNA had no effect on the protein level. Dysregulation of these gene products signifies their involvement in the epigenetic effects of carcinogenic nickel(II) compounds.
An evolutionary game-theoretic model for ethno-religious conflicts between two groups

Ethno-religious conflict in multi-cultural societies has been one of the major causes of loss of life and property in recent history. In this paper, we present and analyze a multi-agent game theoretic model for computational study of ethno-religious conflicts in multi-cultural societies. Empirical fact-based research in sociology and conflict resolution literature have identified (a) ethno-religious identity of the population, (b) spatial structure (distribution) of the population, (c) existing history of animosity, and (d) influence of leaders as some of the salient factors causing ethno-religious violence. It has also been experimentally shown by Lumsden that multi-cultural conflict can be viewed as a Prisoner's Dilemma (PD) game. Using the above observations, we model the multi-cultural conflict problem as a variant of the repeated PD game in graphs. The graph consists of labeled nodes corresponding to the different ethno-religious types and the topology of the graph encodes the spatial distribution and interaction of the population. We assume the structure of the graph to have the statistical properties of a social network with the high degree nodes representing the leaders of the society. The agents play the game with neighbors of their opponent type and they update their strategies based on neighbors of their same type. This strategy update dynamics, where the update neighborhood is different from the game playing neighborhood, distinguishes our model from conventional models of PD games in graphs. We present simulation results showing the effect of various parameters of our model to the propensity of conflict in a population consisting of two ethno-religious groups. We also compare our simulation results to real data of occurrence of ethno-religious violence in Yugoslavia.
Listening to Children's Voices: Literature and the Arts as Means of Responding to the Effects of War, Terrorism, and Disaster

(2009). Listening to Children's Voices: Literature and the Arts as Means of Responding to the Effects of War, Terrorism, and Disaster. Childhood Education: Vol. 85, International Focus Issue 2009: Helping Children Cope With the Impact of War, Terrorism, and Disaster, pp. 357-363.
The 5'HS4 core element of the human beta-globin locus control region is required for high-level globin gene expression in definitive but not in primitive erythropoiesis.

To assess the contribution of DNase I-hypersensitive site 4 (HS4) of the beta-globin locus control region (LCR) to overall LCR function we deleted a 280 bp fragment encompassing the core element of 5'HS4 from a 248 kb beta-globin locus yeast artificial chromosome (beta-YAC) and analyzed globin gene expression during development in beta-YAC transgenic mice. Four transgenic lines were established; each contained at least one intact copy of the beta-globin locus. The deletion of the 5'HS4 core element had no effect on globin gene expression during embryonic erythropoiesis. In contrast, deletion of the 5'HS4 core resulted in a significant decrease of gamma and beta-globin gene expression during definitive erythropoiesis in the fetal liver and a decrease of beta-globin gene expression in adult blood. We conclude that the core element of 5'HS4 is required for globin gene expression only in definitive erythropoiesis. Absence of the core element of HS4 may limit the ability of the LCR to provide an open chromatin domain and/or enhance gamma and beta-globin gene expression in the adult erythroid cells.
Active Water Transport in Plants

There is no unanimous agreement about a definition of active water transport. The following definition was accepted: During an active transport or process, the water potential must increase and this gain must depend on the decrease in free energy in some metabolic process (5, 10). The passage of water from soil through plants to atmosphere can involve several active steps. A removal of solutes from the water represents a gain of osmotic water potential and this gain can exceed concurrent losses of other water potential components, resulting in a net gain of water potential. An increase of water potential was demonstrated in barley seedlings. Bleeding and guttation liquids were usually found to be more dilute than the external solution. Osmotic and gravitational potential components in exudates, thus, increased while other components remained virtually constant relative to the external solutions. The gain in osmotic potential depends most likely on a metabolic removal of salts: hence, the requirements for an active transport are satisfied. Active water transports, however, are not dependent or connected with the development of root pressure. The existence of active water transports disproves the rule that water flows only along water potential gradients (only against diffusion pressure deficit gradients). A gain in leaf water potential has a physiological significance since the range of soil water potentials a plant can withstand without wilting is extended.
Implementing defect tolerance in 3D-ICs by exploiting degrees of freedom in assembly

When assembling a three-dimensional integrated circuit (3D-IC), there are several degrees of freedom including which die are stacked together, in what order, and with what rotational symmetry. This paper describes strategies for exploiting these degrees of freedom to reduce the cost and complexity of implementing defect tolerance. Conventional defect tolerance schemes involve bypassing defects by reconfiguring the circuitry so that system operation is performed using defect-free circuitry. Explicit reconfiguration circuitry is required to perform the reconfiguration, and the power distribution network must be designed to support all redundant elements. The schemes proposed in this paper use the degrees of freedom that exist when a 3D-IC is assembled at manufacture time to implicitly bypass manufacturing defects without the need for explicit reconfiguration circuitry. Defects are identified during manufacture test, and the 3D-ICs are assembled in a way that avoids the use of the defective circuitry. It is shown that leakage power and performance overhead for defect tolerance can be significantly reduced.
Theories, Models, and Factor Approaches to Personality, Temperament, and Behavioral Types: Postulations and Measurement in the Second Millennium A.D.:

The chronology and historical developments in postulating theories, models, and factor approaches to personality, temperament, and behavioral types are discussed as they occurred during the 20th century A.D. The measurement of these models and approaches is from an historical perspective with a focus on the precursors of the five factor approaches that are currently the most commonly accepted ones today. The early beginnings dating back 2,500 years are also briefly discussed.
Entropy of rodlike particles : continuum versus lattice representations

Abstract The computationally tractable discrete lattice model is compared to a more realistic representation of rodlike particles, which allows continuous variation of rod position and orientation. This continuous-placement Monte Carlo method provides a measurement of the combinatoric entropy of rod configurations. Comparisons reveal that the discrete lattice model overestimates the entropy of short rods and of disordered phases. Three fundamental reasons for these predictive errors are discussed.
Study of poly(vinyl chloride) by inverse gas chromatography

Determination par IGC avec un support revetu de PVC des parametres d'interaction polymere-solvant et du parametre de solubilite pour 25 sondes. Determination des parametres d'interaction polymere-polymere et de solubilite en utilisant un melange 50/50 de PVC/polycoprolactone. Etude du comportement de retention de l'heptane et du THF en utilisant le PVC comme garnissage de colonne et comparaison avec une simulation sur ordinateur d'une absorption de type Langmuir
Promoting Long-Term Survival of Insulin-Producing Cell Grafts That Differentiate from Adipose Tissue-Derived Stem Cells to Cure Type 1 Diabetes

Background Insulin-producing cell clusters (IPCCs) have recently been generated in vitro from adipose tissue-derived stem cells (ASCs) to circumvent islet shortage. However, it is unknown how long they can survive upon transplantation, whether they are eventually rejected by recipients, and how their long-term survival can be induced to permanently cure type 1 diabetes. IPCC graft survival is critical for their clinical application and this issue must be systematically addressed prior to their in-depth clinical trials.
How Long Do Endoprosthetic Reconstructions for Proximal Femoral Tumors Last

Background As the life expectancy of patients with musculoskeletal tumors improves, long-term studies of endoprosthetic reconstructions are necessary to establish realistic expectations for the implants and compare them to other reconstruction approaches.
Neutrino flux from quark matter

The neutrino energy flux from quark matter predicted to exist in the cores of some collapsed stars is calculated and compared to the corresponding nucleon flux. It is shown that the quark neutrino flux is similar to that from nucleons.
The Use of an Innovative Device for Wound Closure after Upper Extremity Fasciotomy

Introduction The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the Silver Bullet Wound Closure Device (SBWCD, Boehringer Laboratories, Norristown, PA), a new device for delayed primary closure of fasciotomy wounds.
Anomalous Origin of One Pulmonary Artery from the Ascending Aorta Diagnostic, Physiological and Surgical Considerations

Six patients with origin of one pulmonary artery from the ascending aorta are presented. Two are alive: a 21-year-old female, unoperated, with bilateral pulmonary vascular obstructive disease (PVO) and a 4-year-old girl who underwent successful correction at age 5 months. In addition, the data are reviewed from previous reports of 44 patients with this anomaly. Among the total of 50 patients, 42 had congestive heart failure in infancy. The right pulmonary artery arose anomalously in 44. A patent ductus arteriosus was present in 38 cases. At cardiac catheterization, pressure in both pulmonary arteries was generally at systemic level and the diagnosis was confirmed by aortography. Histologically, no significant PVO was observed in the majority of 18 infants who died, while significant changes, mainly in the "systemic" lung, were observed in 6 of 10 older children. Twenty-two patients have been operated on with 13 survivors. Anastomosis of the aberrant pulmonary artery to the main pulmonary artery directly o...
Evaluation of microbiologically influenced corrosion inhibition using electrochemical noise analysis

Abstract Microbiologically influenced corrosion inhibition (MICI) has been observed for Al 2024, mild steel and cartridge brass when an artificial seawater (AS) solution containing growth medium was contaminated by bacteria. Impedance data clearly showed that pitting did not occur under these circumstances for Al 2024. For mild steel corrosion rates were decreased significantly. For brass corrosion rates were also greatly decreased and tarnishing was not observed. Analysis of electrochemical noise data obtained for the three materials in AS with and without growth medium did not reveal significant changes due to MICI except for an increase of the noise resistance Rn and a parallel shift of the current power spectral density plots to lower values for Al 2024 and mild steel. The observed increase of Rn was mainly due to a significant decrease of the standard deviation of the current fluctuations.
Molecular mechanisms of neutrophil dysfunction in glycogen storage disease type Ib.

Glycogen storage disease type Ib (GSD-Ib) is an autosomal-recessive syndrome characterized by neutropenia and impaired glucose homeostasis resulting from a deficiency in the glucose-6-phosphate (G6P) transporter (G6PT). The underlying cause of GSD-Ib neutropenia is an enhanced neutrophil apoptosis, but patients also manifest neutrophil dysfunction of unknown etiology. Previously, we showed G6PT interacts with the enzyme glucose-6-phosphatase-β (G6Pase-β) to regulate the availability of G6P/glucose in neutrophils. A deficiency in G6Pase-β activity in neutrophils impairs both their energy homeostasis and function. We now show that G6PT-deficient neutrophils from GSD-Ib patients are similarly impaired. Their energy impairment is characterized by decreased glucose uptake and reduced levels of intracellular G6P, lactate, adenosine triphosphate, and reduced NAD phosphate, whereas functional impairment is reflected in reduced neutrophil respiratory burst, chemotaxis, and calcium mobilization. We further show that the mechanism of neutrophil dysfunction in GSD-Ib arises from activation of the hypoxia-inducible factor-1α/peroxisome-proliferators–activated receptor-γ pathway.
Social Background and Academic Performance Differentials: White and Minority Students at Selective Colleges

This article uses the National Longitudinal Survey of Freshmen (NLSF) to study the continuing consequences of segregation. Data show that minority students from segregated backgrounds attended substandard schools, received lower quality instruction, were exposed to higher levels of disorder and violence, and were less prepared socially for campus life. Minority students also experience higher levels of stress within their social networks while at college. Operating through these intervening variables, segregation significantly depresses minority academic achievement.
Peaks and decays of student knowledge in an introductory E&M course

A common format for assessment of learning is pretesting and post-testing. In this study, we collect student test data several times per week throughout a course, allowing for the measurement of the changes in student knowledge with a time resolution on the order of a few days. To avoid the possibility of test-retest effects, separate and quasirandom subpopulations of students are tested on a variety of tasks. We report on data taken in a calculus-based introductory E class populated primarily by engineering majors. Unsurprisingly for a traditional introductory course, there is little change in many conceptual questions. However, the data suggest that some student performance peaks and decays rapidly during a quarter, a pattern consistent with memory research yet unmeasurable by pretesting and post-testing. In addition, it appears that some course topics can interfere with prior knowledge, decreasing performance on questions related to earlier topics in the course.
Small animal imaging using a curved array photoacoustic tomography system

We report experimental imaging results with mice using an array-based photoacoustic tomography system designed for small animal imaging. The system features a 128-element curved transducer array with stage rotation to enable complete two-dimensional tomographic imaging in less than 15 seconds. High fidelity imaging of ex vivo mouse brain vasculature was achieved with resolution of vessels less than 200 microns in diameter in the cortex as well as the cerebellum. Images obtained using varying measurement surface angular spans clearly illustrate the impact on feature definition with orientation. The high sensitivity of the system was demonstrated by images of the brain vasculature with an overlying turbid medium (μa=0.03 cm-1 and μs'~7 cm-1 at 780 nm) of over 2 cm depth. In phantom experiments, high-quality images of blood tubing in a turbid medium were achieved at depths greater than 3 cm for incident fluences of less than 15 mJ/cm2. These results illustrate the suitability for near real-time small animal imaging of deep tissue with high definition.© (2008) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Renormalization group approach to lattice gauge field theories. II. Cluster expansions

The fluctuation field integral, constructed in Part I, is represented by the exponentiated cluster expansion. It is proved that the terms of the expansion satisfy the inductive assumptions. This completes the construction of the sequence of effective actions in the small field approximation.
The shadow wind in high-mass X-ray binaries

We present hydrodynamic simulations of the most X-ray luminous high-mass X-ray binary systems, such as Cen X-3 and SMC X-1. These models illustrate the presence of both a normal radiatively driven wind confined to the X-ray shadow of the primary star -- a shadow wind -- and a thermally driven wind excited by the X-ray heating of the primary's stellar surface -- an X-ray-excited wind. The X-ray flux in these systems is sufficiently intense that any circumstellar gas exposed to the X-ray source will be highly photoionized. These extreme ionization conditions prevent the formation of a normal radiatively driven wind from the irradiated surface of the primary, but such a wind can still form on the shadowed side of the primary. Orbital rotation can then bring this shadow wind into the line of sight toward the X-ray source, enhancing the column density of the wind seen near eclipse egress. Furthermore, such a high X-ray flux can also excite a thermal wind from the irradiated surface of the primary. Again, orbital rotation tends to deflect the wind, this time leading to an enhanced column density near eclipse ingress.
Building systems that users want to use

User commitment is essential to the success of even the best-designed IT systems. And to make that connection successfully begins by examining the burning question: "Does IT matter?"
What’s New in the AFIP Fascicle on Salivary Gland Tumors: A Few Highlights from the 4th Series Atlas

After a 12 year interval from the previous fascicle, a new fascicle on Tumors of the Salivary Glands in the new fourth series of the AFIP Atlas of Tumor Pathology was published in 2008. The data, presentation, illustrations, tables, and physical characteristics of the newest fascicle have been updated and improved. There have only been a few alterations and additions to the classification of tumors and tumor-like non-neoplastic conditions of salivary gland. Three of the most significant are discussed in this paper. Sialoblastoma has been reclassified as malignant; inflammatory pseudotumor has been reclassified as neoplastic and re-identified as inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor; and sclerosing polycystic adenosis is a new entity among tumor-like conditions.
Electromagnetic phenomena in rotating media

In this paper we shall study the propagation of electromagnetic waves through media at rest in either an inertial frame or a rotating disk. We shall consider separately the problem of an inertial frame or a rigid rotating frame. This problem is associated with the SA6NAr [1] effect. The experiment of SAGNAr with a rotating interferometer is an example of an optical sensor to detect absolute rotation by measuring the fringe shift between two opposite traveling electromagnetic waves resulting from the rotation of the system. In recent years interest in the Sagnac effect has been renewed on account of the development of a self-oscillating version of the Sagnac interferometer. Experiments by MAeEK & DAVIS [2] and CHEO & HEER [3] used an optical ring laser attached to a rotating disk with a refractive medium in the path of two opposite moving light beams. They have shown that the rotation of the disk can be detected by measuring the frequency difference between the two beams. The original Sagnac experiment is shown in Fig. 1. The two opposite light beams result from the original monochromatic plane transverse wave of the light
Impact and perspectives of radioactive beam experiments for the rp-process

Abstract Nuclear Astrophysics is concerned with the study of nuclear processes at stellar temperature and density conditions and its influence on nucleosynthesis and energy generation in stars and stellar explosions. Of particular interest is the understanding and interpretation of hot and explosive stellar scenarios and the concomitant nucleosynthesis involving nuclear processes far off β -stability. Neutron induced explosive processes occur in the neutrino-wind driven shock front of supernova explosions or can be triggered by the merging of two neutron stars. Hydrogen induced explosive processes occur in the thermonuclear runaway on the surface of an accreting white dwarf (novae) and in the hydrogen rich electron degenerate accreted material in the atmosphere of neutron stars (X-ray bursts, X-ray pulsars). The associated nuclear reaction and decay processes are far away from β -stability and need to be measured by using radioactive ion beams or radioactive targets. Limitations for these experiments are low beam intensities and high background radiation. Several radioactive beam facilities are already in operation and more are expected based on improved technological developments allowing reliable studies of reaction processes far off stability. We will discuss recent results of radioactive beam experiments and their implications for explosive stellar hydrogen burning in novae, X-ray bursts, and X-ray pulsars. We will also identify specific needs for nuclear reaction and decay data of specific importance for explosive hydrogen burning for future radioactive ion beam experiments.
COSMIC RADIATION INTENSITY-TIME VARIATIONS AND THEIR ORIGIN. I. NEUTRON INTENSITY VARIATION METHOD AND METEOROLOGICAL FACTORS

An experimental method has been developed for extending the study of primary cosmic radiation intensity variations vs time to the low energy portion of the primary particle spectrum by measuring the nucleonic component intensity within the atmosphere. It is pointed out that this extension of intensity variation observations to the low energies now makes it possible to determine the energy dependence of primary intensity variations as well as to determine the intensity variations with time. The possibility of determining acceleration, perturbation, or injection processes within the solar system as the origin of intensity-time variations is considered. A phenomenological outline of kinds of intensity variations with definitions is presented and their relation to the present studies are discussed. The detector system is a pile structure of lead and paraffin within which the rate of local neutron production is measured by ${\mathrm{B}}^{10}$${\mathrm{F}}_{3}$ proportional counters. Details on the large geomagnetic latitude effect of the nucleonic component or local neutron production are discussed.
ASSOCIATION OF CONGENITAL HEART DISEASE AND ORO- FACIAL ANOMALIES

Frequent occurence of electrocardiographic abnormalities in children with cleft lip and palate has been reported. The incidence of congenital heart disease in patients with oro-facial anomalies has been studied. Data Bank Records of 838 consecutive patients referred to Center for Craniofacial Anomalies Clinic were analyzed for the incidence of congenital heart disease. Diagnosis of congenital heart disease was made in 71 (8.5%) patients, a much higher frequency than that found in the general population. The 71 patients included 30 with cleft lip and palate alone, 12 with facial clefts associated with other syndromes 12 Craniofacial syndromes without clefts, and 17 with congenital palato-pharyngeal incompetence. Age at diagnosis of the congenital heart disease ranged from birth to 15 years. There were 29 males, 42 females (2 with Turner Syndrome (XO)). Congenital heart disease was confirmed by cardiac catheterization in 53, 6 were diagnosed at autopsy. Cardiovascular surgery was performed in 33. The most common cardiac malformations were: isolated ventricular septal defects in 22 (31%), Tetrology of Fallot in 8 (11%), patent ductus arteriosus in 8 (11)%, atrial septal defect in 6 (8%), and coarctation of aorta in 7 (10%), a combination of ventricular septal with an atrial septal defect or patent ductus arteriosus or coarctation of aorta in 7 (10%) and other malformations (13). No transposition of great vessel was found. The data indicates a high frequency of congenital cardio-vascular defects in patients with Craniofacial anomalies.
Aggregation Methods for Lineary-Solvable Markov Decision Process

Abstract A general class of stochastic optimal control problems has recently been reduced to computing the principle eigenfunction of a linear operator. Here we present an approximation framework for solving such problems by using soft state aggregation over a continuous space. This approach enables us to avoid matrix factorization and take advantage of sparsity by using efficient iterative solvers. Adaptive schemes for basis placement are developed so as to provide higher resolution at the regions of state space that are visited more often. Numerical results on test problems are provided.
The Impact of a Historically Black College on African American Students: The Case of LeMoyne-Owen College

An exploratory study assessed the impact of LeMoyne-Owen College (LOC) on students. Eighty randomly selected students (34 freshmen and 46 seniors) participated. They received measures of college adjustment (to the LOC mission), faculty interaction, study habits, personal management, and social adjustment. Results were controlled for social class, aptitude, and variations in age. The results showed that (a) seniors scored higher on all five scales measuring aspects of college adjustment, (b) the strongest effect was the impact of the LOC mission, (c) males showed more widespread development by a factor of 3 to 1, (d) vocational aspiration was the best predictor of grades, and (e) grade point average was the best predictor of the socioeconomic status of vocational aspiration and was positively affected by LOC. The most important implication for institutional action is the power of the mission statement to presage effects on students. Implications for the study of Black student development in college are dis...
Comparison of 0.1N sodium hydroxide with 0.1M sodium pyrophosphate in the extraction of soil organic matter from various soil horizons

Abstract Soil samples representing the O, A, B, and C soil horizons from soil organic matter (SOM) studies were selected to study the relative effectiveness of 0.1N sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and 0.1M sodium pyrophosphate (NaPyr) in extracting organic carbon (OC). Replicate samples were extracted with each extractant in a ratio of about 1:144 and successive extractions were performed for each soil. Results indicated the importance of successive extractions for more complete removal of extractable OC. A single extraction removed an average of only 68%, 78%, 86%, and 60% of the OC extracted with four successive extractions for the O, A, B, and C horizons, respectively. The C horizons were lowest in OC and the slowest to release OC in the extraction process. Organic C was solubilized from the B horizons most quickly with an average of 95% of the successively extractable OC removed with only two extractions. The extractability of the soil TOC was highest in the Bhs and then the Bw, C, A, and O horizons at 92% an...
A branching process model for the evolution of transposable elements.

A discrete-time multitype branching process model is presented for the evolution of transposable elements in haploid populations. An individual is classified as type i if it possesses i copies of the TE, i⩾0. The general model incorporates copy-dependent selection and transposition, and recursion relations are derived for the distribution of the number of individuals of the various types. The asymptotic relative proportions of individuals of the different types is studied in the neutral case. The behavior of this equilibrium distribution is examined for various patterns of regulated transposition and deletion.
High resolution ion cyclotron resonance spectroscopy

Abstract Methods are described for greatly improving the mass resolution of an ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometer. The factors affecting mass resolution are examined in detail, and the conditions for maximum resolution are discussed. Only three parameters — magnetic field strength, cyclotron frequency, and analyzer cell trapping voltage — are needed to make accurate, absolute mass measurements. Ions are detected with a solid-state marginal oscillator circuit which has been designed to be stable at very low r.f. levels.
Experimental impact of assay-dependent differences in plasma indocyanine green concentration determinations

The purposes of the present investigation were (i) to directly compare in man, indocyanine green (ICG) plasma concentrations analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) vs. spectrophotometry; (ii) to evaluate whether the pharmacokinetic parameters generated for ICG from a clinical study are assay-dependent; (iii) to examine whether the method of pharmacokinetic analysis affects the magnitude of any assay-related differences observed in ICG's pharmacokinetic parameters; and (iv) to evaluate whether assay methodology and/or method of pharmacokinetic analysis affect the conclusions derived from a clinical study employing ICG as a marker for hepatic blood flow (HBF). Plasma samples obtained from a clinical study designed to assess the effects of cimetidine and posture on HBF were analyzed by spectrophotometry and HPLC. The spectrophotometric method overestimated ICG plasma concentrations when compared to HPLC. This finding is consistent with the observations of others suggesting the presence of a chemical impurity in the commercial ICG preparation. Data generated by the spectrophotometric method produced lower ICG clearance and HBF estimates and a longer ICG half-life regardless of the method of pharmacokinetic analysis. The method of pharmacokinetic data analysis had no effect on any pharmacokinetic parameter. The experimental conclusions derived from the clinical study were not affected by either analytical methodology or method of data analysis.
Decision making under risk and uncertainty

Decision making is studied from a number of different theoretical approaches. Normative theories focus on how to make the best decisions by deriving algebraic representations of preference from idealized behavioral axioms. Descriptive theories adopt this algebraic representation, but incorporate known limitations of human behavior. Computational approaches start from a different set of assumptions altogether, focusing instead on the underlying cognitive and emotional processes that result in the selection of one option over the other. This review comprehensively but concisely describes and contrasts three approaches in terms of their theoretical assumptions and their ability to account for behavioral and neurophysiological evidence from experimental research. Although each approach contributes substantially to our understanding of human decision making, we argue that the computational approach is more fruitful and parsimonious for describing and predicting choices in both laboratory and applied settings and for understanding the neurophysiological substrates of decision making. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website.
Effect of immunodeficiency and tumor marker expression on HIV-related diffuse large B-cell lymphoma prognosis.

Low CD4/high marker 4.0 1.6-10.2 0.004 3.3 1.0-11.5 0.057 Low CD4/low marker 1.8 0.7-4.9 0.236 1.0 0.2-4.8 0.970 High CD4/high marker 1.6 0.3-7.7 0.557 1.3 0.3-5.1 0.739 High CD4/low marker (ref) 1.0 - - 1.0 -
Analysis of visual quality attributes of white shrimp by machine vision

An important component of shrimp quality evaluation is determination of visual attributes by trained inspectors. This is subjective, time consuming, and difficult to quantify. An automated device was developed for repeatable, objective measurement of visual quality of shrimp. The device measured the count, uniformity ratio, color, melanosis, and detected foreign objects. Shrimp area viewed by a camera was used to estimate weight after calibration, and count and uniformity ratio was calculated. The system quantified color changes in white shrimp during iced storage. Melanosis was quantified and correlated with the grading of a trained inspector. The method objectively measured visual quality attributes of white shrimp in less than 1 min per sample.
Attenuation of arterial baroreflex control of renal sympathetic nerve activity during lidocaine infusion in alpha-chloralose-anesthetized dogs

The purpose of this study was to identify the relationship between sensitivity of arterial baroreflex and plasma concentrations of lidocaine. Using twelve mongrel dogs anesthetized with alpha-chloralose, the left kidney was exposed retroperitoneally, and renal sympathetic nerve activity was recorded continuously. Lidocaine was infused in four different doses: 2 mg.kg BW-1 bolus + 100 micrograms.BW-1 x min; 3 mg.kg BW-1 bolus + 200 micrograms.kg BW-1 x min; 6 mg.kg BW-1 bolus + 400 micrograms.kg BW-1 x min; and 12 mg.kg BW-1 + 800 micrograms.kg BW-1 x min. Baroreflex depressor and pressor tests using sodium nitroprusside (5-10 micrograms.kg-1) and phenylephrine (2-4 micrograms.kg-1) were performed before and at 10 min after beginning lidocaine infusion. Plasma lidocaine concentrations determined by high performance liquid chromatography revealed that the steady-state levels were maintained during the baroreflex tests. Baroreflex sensitivity was preserved at plasma concentrations of lidocaine below 5 micrograms.ml-1. However, cardiac and sympathetic baroreflex sensitivity were significantly attenuated (P < 0.01) when plasma lidocaine concentrations were well above human convulsion levels (10 micrograms.ml-1). The results indicate that hemodynamic derangement observed in the lidocaine-induced central nervous system toxicity is, at least in part, due to the attenuated arterial baroreflex.
Experimental pituitary basophilism

The dual purposes of this study were: (1) to determine whether prolonged injections of the pituitary gonadotropic hormone would reproduce in animals any semblance of the malady as “pituitary basophilism”; and (2) thereby to throw further light on whether the basophilic elements of the pituitary body are actually the source of this hormone, as has long been assumed though without wholly conclusive proof. Briefly stated, clinical gigantism and acromegaly are associated with adenomas composed of acidophilic cells of the pars distalis and these disorders may therefore be regarded as states produced by “pituitary acidophilism.” Another more recently described clinical syndrome (Cushing, 1932) is associated with an actively secreting adenoma composed of basophilic elements, this condition in contrast having been conveniently termed “pituitary basophilism.”
Maturation of poliovirus capsid proteins.

The primary functions of viral capsids are (a) to protect the encapsidated nucleic acids from degradation, (b) to interact with specific cellular receptors on susceptible host cells in a manner that results in internalization of the genome, (c) to selectively package the newly synthesized genome, and (d) to facilitate its eventual exit. Poliovirus provides an attractive model to study the relationship between these different biological functions and the structural rearrangements that virions undergo to accommodate them at various points in the viral life cycle. Poliovirus has a relatively simple composition (Ruecker-t, 1990) several assembly precursors and intermediates have been identified and characterized (Rueckert, 1990; Putnak and Phillips, i 981) and the three dimensional structure of the mature virion has been determined by X-ray crystallography (Hogle et al., 1985; Filman et al., 1989). Two recent developments have accelerated progress in characterizing the complementary processes of poliovirus assembly and disassembly. First, the availability of infectious cDNA copies of the poliovirus genome (Racaniello and Baltimore, 1981) and of synthetic infectious RNA transcripts thereof (van der Werf et al., 1986) has allowed detailed characterization of individual steps in these two processes following genetic and biochemical analysis of defined mutants, and second, new means of analyzing intermediates have been developed (Flore et al., 1990; Fricks and Hogle, 1990).