cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Immunocytochemical distinction between primary and secondary granule formation in developing human neutrophils: correlations with Romanowsky stains

Electron-microscopic studies with peroxidase cytochemistry have shown that primary (azurophilic) granules in human neutrophils are synthesized in promyelocytes, while secondary (specific) granules are formed in myelocytes. However, these studies were limited by the lack of specific markers for secondary granules and by the inability to make direct comparisons of electron-microscopic morphology with the light-microscopic appearance of the same cell. Thus secondary granules cannot be identified reliably and the relevance of these findings to the light-microscopic interpretation of clinical bone marrow specimens cannot be evaluated. To circumvent these problems, we developed a method to permit immunofluorescent demonstration of primary and secondary granule markers in cells stained with Romanowsky agents. Normal human marrow cells were stained with May-Gruenwald-Giemsa and photographed. The slides were decolorized in buffered glycerine and saline for 24 hr and then stained with fluorescein- and rhodamine-conjugated monospecific antisera to human granulocyte myeloperoxidase, cathepsin G, elastas, lysozyme, and lactoferrin. The same cells were then located and examined for conjugate binding. Double stains with fluorescein- and rhodamine-labeled antisera offered the additional advantage of simultaneous identification of primary and secondary granules. This approach confirmed the partition of primary and secondary granule proteins and related their appearance to the maturation of developing neutrophilsmore » in normal human bone marrow.« less
In Defense of the Incorporation Strategy

Introduction Contract law must provide rules for interpreting the meaning of express terms and default rules for filling contractual gaps. Article 2 of the Uniform Commercial Code provides the same response to both demands: It incorporates the norms of commercial practice. This “incorporation strategy” has recently come under attack. Although some question the incorporation strategy for gapfilling, recent scholarship criticizes the incorporation strategy for interpretation as well. Critics charge that the expected rate of interpretive error under an incorporationist interpretive regime is so excessive that almost any plain-meaning regime would be preferable. The attack on the incorporation strategy for interpretation is fundamentally flawed. The best interpretive regime is one that, all else equal, minimizes the sum of interpretive error costs and the costs of specifying contract terms. Critics of the incorporation strategy have focused exclusively on the former and completely ignored the latter. Yet the chief virtue of the incorporation strategy for interpretation is its promise to yield specification costs well below that of plain-meaning regimes. Even if plain-meaning regimes have lower interpretive error costs, the incorporation strategy is superior if its lower specification costs outweigh its higher interpretive error costs. Moreover, most critics treat their objections to Article 2 as objections to the incorporation strategy generally. But Article 2 is just one possible institutional variant of the incorporation strategy. All of the sources of interpretive error critics identify can be substantially reduced, if not avoided, by making feasible alterations to Article 2 that nonetheless preserve its incorporationist character.
Diesel Particulate Oxidation Model: Combined Effects of Volatiles and Fixed Carbon Combustion

Diesel particulate samples were collected from a light duty engine operated at a single speed-load point with a range of biodiesel and conventional fuel blends. The oxidation reactivity of the samples was characterized in a laboratory reactor, and BET surface area measurements were made at several points during oxidation of the fixed carbon component of both types of particulate. The fixed carbon component of biodiesel particulate has a significantly higher surface area for the initial stages of oxidation, but the surface areas for the two particulates become similar as fixed carbon oxidation proceeds beyond 40%. When fixed carbon oxidation rates are normalized to total surface area, it is possible to describe the oxidation rates of the fixed carbon portion of both types of particulates with a single set of Arrhenius parameters. The measured surface area evolution during particle oxidation was found to be inconsistent with shrinking sphere oxidation. When the oxidation model for the fixed carbon was combined with a first-order model for the release and oxidation of volatiles, it was possible to obtain good agreement with the observed oxidation rates for both types of nascent (non-devolatilized) particulates. Additional studies are underway to confirm that intermediate fuel blends behave consistentlymore » with these limiting cases.« less
Multi‐mechanistic analgesia for opioid‐induced hyperalgesia

Summary What is known and Objective: The phenomenon of opioid-induced hyperalgesia (OIH), an increased sensitivity to pain attributed to the very opioid drugs administered to manage the pain, is well established in animal models, and there is concern that it also occurs in patients. Our objective is to briefly summarize the basic science and clinical evidence about OIH as background to consider the possible benefit of using a multi-mechanistic analgesic approach. Comment: It is unclear how OIH occurs, or even why; presumably, it is part of an adaptive response. But development of OIH poses a serious treatment dilemma. OIH differs from tolerance, which also presents as reduced analgesic effect, in that tolerance is addressed by judicious and monitored increase in opioid dose, but OIH would be treated by a decrease in opioid dose. Therefore, it is important to avoid induction of OIH. Currently, it is not clear which patients are at greater risk of developing OIH, or which drugs are at greater risk of producing it. What is new and Conclusion: We suggest that multi-mechanistic analgesia, accomplished within either a single drug or a combination of drugs, is a logical approach that might result in a reduced development of OIH.
Assessment of permanence of non-volitional EEG brainwaves as a biometric

Electrical brain activities can be measured noninvasively using electroencephalogram (EEG). This electric signal changes for different tasks, and also changes from subject to subject. Previous studies have shown that the EEG signal is unique enough to be used as a biometric characteristic. However, it is well known that the brain activity can change according to our emotion or stress status, among many other factors. The stability of EEG signals as a biometric has not yet been well explored and understood. In this work, we explicitly investigated and assessed the permanence of the non-volitional EEG brainwaves over the course of time. Specifically, we analyzed how much the EEG signal changes over a period of six months, since any drastic change would make it unusable as an authentication method. The results are very encouraging, yielding high accuracy throughout the six-month period.
Nonlinear control of magnetization process

This paper presents a novel method for closed loop control of magnetization process using feedback linearization. A macroscopic model for the temporal evolution of magnetization is developed to account for the physical phenomena of domain rotation and hysteresis. A tracking control system using feedback linearization method is derived to assure zero steady state error between the flux density with respect to the desired. The proposed nonlinear control method is evaluated by simulation results for a desired constant setpoint and a sinusoidal function tracking.
A model for traumatic brain injury using laser induced shockwaves

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) represents a major treatment challenge in both civilian and military medicine; on the cellular level, its mechanisms are poorly understood. As a method to study the dysfunctional repair mechanisms following injury, laser induced shock waves (LIS) are a useful way to create highly precise, well characterized mechanical forces. We present a simple model for TBI using laser induced shock waves as a model for damage. Our objective is to develop an understanding of the processes responsible for neuronal death, the ways in which we can manipulate these processes to improve cell survival and repair, and the importance of these processes at different levels of biological organization. The physics of shock wave creation has been modeled and can be used to calculate forces acting on individual neurons. By ensuring that the impulse is in the same regime as that occurring in practical TBI, the LIS model can ensure that in vitro conditions and damage are similar to those experienced in TBI. This model will allow for the study of the biochemical response of neurons to mechanical stresses, and can be combined with microfluidic systems for cell growth in order to better isolate areas of damage.
Alan Paskow, The Paradoxes of Art: A Phenomenological Investigation

Though the title suggests a phenomenological account of art and, in fact, has some important and insightful things to say about art, this work focuses primarily on the ontological status of ‘‘fictional beings’’ and the question of ‘‘representation’’ in art and in experience more generally. Paskow makes a case for a ‘‘realist’’ aesthetic. The first part of the book, which provides examples from literature and painting, culminates in a discussion of why fictional beings can be important to us. The second part of the book is almost exclusively devoted to a consideration of painting. It illustrates how a realist aesthetic can be brought to bear on painting and develops this aesthetic in relation to this particular art form. Throughout Paskow is concerned not only with what we should take art to be, but why it should matter to us. This work is genuinely ‘‘phenomenological’’ in the sense that it attends directly to our experience of the work of art, especially the painting. Unlike much American current literature in continental philosophy, it is not primarily a commentary on the texts of continental philosophers who have addressed the topic at hand. In fact, for good or ill, Paskow ignores the twentieth century phenomenological literature on art and painting—Geiger, Heidegger, Ingarden, Dufrenne, Merleau-Ponty, among others. The body of literature that he does explicitly take up (Chapter I) is contemporary analytic aesthetics: especially Walton and Yanal, but also Carroll, Boruah, and Rosebury, among others. However varied, complex, and insightful the work of these philosophers is, Paskow takes them all to be committed to some sort of representationalism. On his account, they are all committed to an orientation characterized by a subject-object split and thus end up quarreling over subjectivistic and objectivistic accounts of art. Paskow’s realism is not an objectivism. He finds his orientation in the Heidegger of Being and Time, the Heidegger of phenomenological ontology. Chapters II and III draw on Being and Time for an account of how we might have a non-instrumental relation to things and ‘‘why and
Infrastructure and growth in Africa

The goal of the paper is to provide a comprehensive assessment of the impact of infrastructure development on growth in African countries. Based on econometric estimates for a sample of 136 countries from 1960-2005, the authors evaluate the impact on per capita growth of faster accumulation of infrastructure stocks and of enhancement in the quality of infrastructure services for 39 African countries in three key infrastructure sectors: telecommunications, electricity, and roads.Using an econometric technique suitable for dynamic panel data models and likely endogenous regressors, the authors find that infrastructure stocks and service quality boost economic growth. The growth payoff of reaching the infrastructure development of the African leader (Mauritius) is 1.1 percent of GDP per year in North Africa and 2.3 percent in Sub-Saharan Africa, with most of the contribution coming from more, rather than better, infrastructure. Across Africa, infrastructure contributed 99 basis points to per capita economic growth, versus 68 points for other structural policies. Most of the contribution came from increases in stocks (89 basis points), versus quality improvements (10 basis points). The findings show that growth is positively affected by the volume of infrastructure stocks and the quality of infrastructure services; simulations show that our empirical findings are significant statistically and economically. Identifying areas of opportunity to generate productivity growth, the authors find that African countries are likely to gain more from larger stocks of infrastructure than from enhancements in the quality of existing infrastructure. The payoffs are largest for telephone density, electricity-generating capacity, road-network length, and road quality.
A Framework for Rule-Based Management of Parallel Scientific Applications

In this paper we present the design of the rule-based framework for the runtime management of high-performance parallel scientific applications. The framework addresses the formulation of application management behaviors as reaction rules, the injection of rules at runtime, their correct, efficient and scalable parallel enforcement, and the detection and resolution of rule conflicts. Unlike rule-based frameworks in business management and security and resource management domains, the presented framework focuses on high-performance parallel scientific applications, which require consistent and efficient management across processors and components. The framework is part of the Accord programming system (Liu et al., 2004)
Road network extraction from digital imagery

Reliable and accurate methods for road network detection and classification in satellite imagery are essential to many applications. We present an image vectorization approach to the road network extraction from digital imagery that is based on proximity graph analysis. An input to the presented approach is spectrally segmented image that contains a set of candidate road fragments. First, non-intersecting contours are extracted around image elements. Second, constrained Delaunay triangulation and Chordal Axis transform are used to extract global centerline topology characterization of the delineated candidate road fragments. Then, constrained Delaunay triangulation of the extracted set of attributed center lines is performed. The tessellation grid of the Delaunay triangulation covers the set of candidate road fragments and is adapted to its structure, since triangle vertices and edges reflect the shapes and spatial adjacency of the segmented regions. The produced Delaunay network edges can be attributed with spectral and structural characteristics that are used for spatial analysis of the edges relations. This leads to the reconstruction of the road network out of the Delaunay edges. A subset of the tessellation grid contains the Euclidian Minimum Spanning Tree that provides an approximation of road network. The approach can be generalized to the multi-criteria MST and multi-criteria shortest path algorithms to integrate other factors important for road network extraction, in addition to proximity relations considered by standard MST.
Same-day contralateral implantation of a permanent device after lead extraction for isolated pocket infection

Aims The purpose of this study is to examine the safety and outcomes of same-day reimplantation at the contralateral pectoral site in patients with device extraction for pocket infection but with negative blood cultures and no signs of systemic infection. Methods and results Clinical and procedure-related data were retrospectively collected on 15 (11 male, mean age 77) device-dependent patients who underwent device and complete lead extraction (mean 2.5 leads per patient, mean implant duration 6.2 years) for local pocket infection, and who had a new contralateral device implanted on the same day. Temporary pacing via the femoral vein was used during extraction. The infected pocket was managed with an elliptical skin incision, debridement, full capsule resection, and primary wound closure with the end of the wound left open for a Penrose drain. Intravenous antibiotics were used prior to and through the procedure, and continued for a mean of 2 days post-procedure, with oral antibiotics used thereafter for a mean course of 2 weeks. No infections of the new device system occurred, with a mean follow-up of 39.6 months (range 12–74 months). Conclusion In the setting of device erosion and isolated pocket infection without systemic or bloodstream involvement, a new contralateral device may be implanted on the same day as pocket debridement and system extraction without developing infection of the new permanent hardware. This strategy can be useful in patients with pacemaker-dependence, as an alternative to using a temporary pacing system.
Parallel Solution-Phase Synthesis of an Adenosine Antibiotic Analog Library

A library of eighty one adenosine antibiotic analogs was prepared under the Pilot Scale Library Program of the NIH Roadmap initiative from 5′-amino-5′-deoxy-2′,3′-O-isopropylidene-adenosine 3. Diverse aldehyde, sulfonyl chloride and carboxylic acid reactant sets were condensed to 3, in solution-phase fashion, leading after acid-mediated hydrolysis to the targeted compounds in good yields and high purity. No marked antituberculosis or anticancer activity was noted on preliminary cellular testing, but these nucleoside analogs should be useful candidates for other types of biological activity.
Evidence-Based Psychotherapy Means Evidence-Informed, Not Evidence-Driven

Some advocates of empirically-supported treatments (ESTs) argue that practitioners who do not use them are practicing unethically. I argue that it is unethical to try to impose EST criteria on the field of psychotherapy practice when (a) there is considerable controversy over these criteria, (b) there are alternative ways to construe evidence-based practice, and (c) by other criteria many approaches are evidence-based. I consider views of the relationship of science to practice, and other bases for practice such as practical knowledge and ethics. I conclude with a case history of client-centered therapy.
TU-A-204B-01: The CBCT Performance of a New Treatment Platform

Purpose: To characterize the CBCT performance of a new radiation therapy platform (Trilogy MX). Methods: An entirely new CBCT system has been developed for Trilogy MX. The new CBCT system differs from that of the On‐Board Imager® (OBI) in the use of a beam hardening filter, which reduces patient dose, and an improved reconstructor, which uses scatter correction algorithms to account for the x‐ray scatter caused by the cone‐beam geometry. Scans of Catphan® and electron density (Model 062A, CIRS) phantoms have been compared with OBI scans. Hounsfield unit (HU) accuracy was checked by changing the z scan length and the phantom diameters for pelvis (125kVp, 680mAs, 45cm dia.) acquisitions. The Catphan was imaged using doses ranging between 5–20mGy (CTDIw). Projections acquired using clinical OBI units were also reconstructed for comparison using the new reconstructor.Results: The new CBCT system has higher dose efficiency and higher HU accuracy. When the volume length is reduced from 160mm to 90mm or when the phantom diameter is reduced from 330mm to 180mm, the HU values measured for the same inserts differ by −190 to +80HU for OBI scans and by –60 to +50HU for Trilogy MX scans (for electron densities between 0.2 and 1.2). The contrast detectability of the 1% contrast objects in the Catphan phantom improves from 9mm to 4mm diameter when using the same CTDIwdose as OBI. Clinical images exhibit much better uniformity, elimination of streaks and better definition of the skin surface. Conclusions: The new reconstruction algorithm makes substantial improvements in CBCTimage quality, reduces patient dose and increases HU accuracy. The new system produces CBCTimages, which are much better suited to image guidance and which may be suitable for other tasks such as adaptive RT planning.
Search strategies and evaluation in protein–protein docking: principles, advances and challenges

Protein–protein docking is attracting increasing attention in drug discovery research targeting protein–protein interactions, owing to its potential in predicting protein–protein interactions and identifying ‘hot spot’ residues at the protein–protein interface. Given the relative lack of information about binding sites and the fact that proteins are generally larger than ligand, the search algorithms and evaluation methods for protein–protein docking differ somewhat from those for protein–ligand docking and, hence, require different research strategies. Here, we review the basic concepts, principles and advances of current search strategies and evaluation methods for protein–protein docking. We also discuss the current challenges and limitations, as well as future directions, of established approaches.
Frontal P300 decrements, alcohol dependence, and antisocial personality disorder

Abstract Background: The purpose of this study was to examine the independent and interactive effects of alcohol dependence, antisocial personality disorder (ASPD), and age on brain function. Methods: P300 event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded from 393 alcohol-dependent and 170 non–alcohol-dependent adults while they performed a visual oddball task. The two subject groups were further subdivided based upon age and the presence/absence of ASPD. Results: Alcohol dependence was associated with a significant P300 amplitude decrement at anterior electrode sites only. Antisocial personality disorder was also associated with reduced P300 amplitudes at anterior electrode sites; however, the effects were only significant among subjects 30 years of age or younger. To validate this association between ASPD and P300 amplitude a correlational analysis was performed; the correlation between anterior P300 amplitude and the total number of childhood conduct disorder and adult ASPD symptoms was significant. Conclusions: The P300 amplitude decrement found at anterior electrode sites among subjects with ASPD is consistent with the results of numerous ERP, neuroimaging, or neuropsychologic studies of anterior brain function. Our study is unique in suggesting that the effects of ASPD on anterior brain function are best detected during early adulthood. The study also suggests that the detrimental neurophysiologic effects of alcohol dependence predominantly involve the anterior brain.
Cost-benefit determinants of decision process and accuracy

Abstract Both costs and benefits were manipulated in monetary terms in a business relocation task in an effort to test cost-benefit models of decision making (e.g., Beach & Mitchell, 1978). Results indicated that both information costs and awards significantly affected depth, variability, and latency of search. Effects of cost of information on decision accuracy were mediated primarily by depth of search. The strongest support for cost-benefit models of decision making consisted of the very large difference between experimental conditions and a control condition to which costs and rewards were not manipulated. Future research should further explore the importance of cost-benefit manipulations and the impact of decision process variables on decision accuracy.
RAMP: A rule-based agent for Ms. Pac-Man

RAMP is a rule-based agent for playing Ms. Pac-Man according to the rules stipulated in the 2008 World Congress on Computational Intelligence Ms. Pac-Man Competition. During the competition, our highest score was 15,970, outscoring the eleven other entrants in the competition. In runs reported here, RAMP achieves an average score over 10,000 and a high score of 18,560 across 100 runs; the highest score RAMP has achieved to date is 19,000. These are scores that are better than typical human novice players, including the paper authors themselves. The system was designed to have an evolutionary component, however, this was not developed in time for the competition, which instead used hand-coded rules. We have found the process of tuning the rule sets and accompanying parameters to be a time consuming and inexact process that is expected to benefit from an evolutionary computation approach. This paper describes our initial implementation as well as our progress towards adding an evolutionary computation component to enable the agent learn to play the game.
Goitre plongeant: intrathoracic goiter demonstrated by the Valsalva maneuver.

The diagnosis of an intrathoracic goiter can, on occasion, be difficult to confirm. The Valsalva maneuver was found useful in making this diagnosis in 2 patients whose case histories are reported. Such goiters are termed plunging goiters. The phenomenon is discussed and the use of the Valsalva maneuver in demonstrating such lesions is emphasized.
A non-equilibrium isoelectric focusing method to determine states of phosphorylation of cardiac troponin I: Identification of Ser-23 and Ser-24 as significant sites of phosphorylation by protein kinase C

Phosphorylation of cardiac troponin I (cTnI) by cAMP-dependent kinase (PKA), protein kinase C (PKC) and potentially other kinases modulates the activity of myofilaments. To elucidate the signaling mechanisms involving this modulation, it is important to determine the phosphorylation states of cTnI and its phosphorylation sites in a simple and efficient manner. In this report, we describe a method to determine the phosphorylation states of cTnI with non-equilibrium isoelectric focusing gel electrophoresis (NEIEF). Our method easily separates cTnI species with a single-charge difference. To further establish a role of PKC-dependent phosphorylation of cTnI, we have applied this approach to analysis of cTnI phosphorylation in the Tn complex following treatment with recombinant PKC, and in heart samples treated with a phorbol ester. Using mass spectrometry analysis of Tn and thin filaments, we identified Ser-23 and Ser-24 (normally considered to be PKA-dependent sites) as substrates for phosphorylation by PKC-β and PKC-e.
Effects of vitrectomy on age-related macular degeneration

Purpose To determine whether vitrectomy alters the long-term progression of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Design Retrospective case-control study. Participants Forty-four eyes of 22 patients with AMD who underwent vitrectomy in 1 eye were included in the study. The progression of AMD at follow-up in the 22 eyes that underwent vitrectomy was compared with the 22 fellow, nonvitrectomized eyes. Methods The charts and photographs of subjects with Age-Related Eye Disease Study category 3 AMD in both eyes who previously underwent vitrectomy surgery for an epiretinal membrane or macular hole were reviewed. Subjects were excluded if they had had a vitrectomy in both eyes, had Main Outcome Measures The development or progression of geographic atrophy of the retinal pigment epithelium and the development of CNV. Results Twenty-two patients were included. The average follow up interval was 5.5 years (range, 2–15). Choroidal neovascularization developed in 5 control eyes and in 2 vitrectomized eyes, and atrophy developed in 7 control and 4 vitrectomized eyes. The difference between vitrectomized eyes and fellow eyes for the combined end points of RPE geographic atrophy or CNV was significant ( P = 0.02). Conclusions In this pilot study, we did not detect that vitrectomy increased the progression of AMD. In fact, it was associated with a reduced progression to geographic atrophy or CNV. Additional studies are needed to confirm or refute this association. Financial Disclosure(s) The authors have no proprietary or commercial interest in any of the materials discussed in this article.
Three-dimensional numerical study of flow and heat transfer from a cube placed in a uniform flow

Abstract The fluid flow and heat transfer from a stationary cube placed in a uniform flow is studied numerically. The three-dimensional unsteady Navier Stokes and energy equations are solved using higher order temporal and spatial discretizations. Computations are carried out for a Reynolds number range of 50–400. At Re = 218, the symmetry seen at Re = 216 breaks down in one of the orthogonal planes while remains symmetric on the other thus showing a planar symmetry. The flow experiences a Hopf bifurcation at a Reynolds number between 265 and 270 and becomes unsteady. The thermal field also shows all the transitions same as those of flow transitions. The drag coefficient decreases while the heat transfer shows an increasing trend with Reynolds number. The transition from a steady to an unsteady flow does not show any significant increase in the heat transfer. Both the flow and thermal fields show multiple frequencies at high Reynolds number and the number of frequencies increases with the increase in Reynolds number. The instantaneous flow and temperature field are seen to deviate from planar symmetry at Re = 400.
Thermal effects of seasonal coat change in three subarctic mammals

Abstract 1. 1.|Seasonal moult has major effects on coat insulation and solar heat gain in the three species of subarctic mammals that shift between white winter pelages and darker summer coats: Lepus americanus, Mustela erminea , and Phodopus sungorus . 2. 2.|At low wind speeds, coat thermal resistance is elevated 27% ( Phodopus ) to 87% ( Lepus ) in winter months compared to summer months. 3. 3.|In most cases, fractional solar heat gain to the skin is reduced in winter coats compared to summer coats. 4. 4.|The decrease in solar heat gain in winter coats is due largely to increased insulation and not to altered optical qualities. This is because the thermal effect of radiation penetrating more deeply into winter coats importantly counteracts the effects of these coat's higher reflectivity.
Enantiospecific synthesis of isomeric8,9,12-trihydroxyeicosa-5(Z),10(E),14(Z)-trienoic acids

Abstract Five stereoisomers of triol 2 , an arachidonic acid metabolite isolated from platelets, were prepared using a convergent strategy based on β-oxido ylide homologation of a carbohydrate-derived precursor.
Comparative tissue distribution and excretion of orally administered [3H]diacetoxyscirpenol (anguidine) in rats and mice.

Abstract A quantitative comparison of tissue distribution and excretion of an orally administered sublethal dose of [3H]diacetoxyscirpenol (anguidine) was made in rats and mice 90 min, 24 hr, and 7 days after treatment. Total recoveries of 95–100% were obtained. Approximately 90% of the dose was excreted in urine and feces during the first 24 hr with a feces:urine ratio of about 1:4.5 in both species. Carcass and tissue radioactivity dropped rapidly during the first 24 hr but remained relatively constant at low, but detectable, levels (1.5–3.5% of dose) over the course of the experiment. Few substantive interspecies differences were noted in tissue distribution. At 90 min the highest percentage of dose was in tissues involved in sequestering diacetoxyscirpenol because of high body water/lipid content (carcass, skin) or the absorption (stomach, small intestine), metabolism (liver), or excretion (kidney) of the toxin. The rank order of these tissues was generally stable over the course of the experiment. When data were expressed as specific radioactivity (dpm/g tissue) instead, the carcass and skin dropped from the top rank tissues at 90 min and were replaced by the spleen and cecum. At 24 hr and 7 days the top-ranked order of tissues shifted to include organs associated with trichothecene-induced toxicity such as the lymphohematopoietic system (spleen, thymus, and femur bone marrow), heart, and testis (in mouse) as well as the cecum and large intestine. In addition, the rate of loss of radioactivity with time generally did not decrease as rapidly in these target organs as observed in liver, kidney, skin, and carcass. Brain radioactivity, though very low, also diminished relatively slowly. Significant differences in specific radioactivity which did occur between the rat and mouse tended to occur in target organs and with the higher levels present in the mouse. These data were discussed in terms of interspecies differences in lethality and target organ toxicity.
Modified spontaneous emission from laterally injected photonic crystal emitter

The first use of lateral current injection to excite membrane photonic crystal light emitters is reported. The devices utilise a transverse diode that is created via ion implantation into a 280 nm-thick InGaAsP membrane. Photonic bandgap effects and spectral tuning of the electroluminescence spectra due to the graphene geometry photonic crystal are presented.
Understanding deficient emotional self-regulation in adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: a controlled study.

While symptoms of deficient emotional self-regulation (DESR) such as low frustration tolerance, temper outbursts, emotional impulsivity, and mood lability are commonly associated with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), little is known about their nature. The main aim of this post hoc study was to examine the correlates of DESR in a large sample of adults with and without ADHD. Subjects were 206 adults with ADHD and 123 adults without ADHD from a family study of ADHD. Emotional impulsivity was operationalized using items from the Barkley Current Behavior Scale. Subjects were comprehensively assessed for psychiatric comorbidity using structured diagnostic interview methodology. We used the Quality of Life, Enjoyment, and Satisfaction Questionnaire-Short Form (QLES-Q-SF) and Social Adjustment Scale-Self-report (SAS-SR) to assess quality of life and psychosocial functioning. DESR was more common among ADHD compared with non-ADHD adults, and 55 % of adults with ADHD reported extreme DESR of greater severity than 95 % of control subjects. The association of ADHD and DESR was not entirely accounted for by either current or lifetime comorbid disorders. DESR was also associated with significant functional impairment as evaluated by the QLES-Q-SF and SAS-SR, and with reduced marital status, as well as higher risk for traffic accidents and arrests. DESR adversely impacts quality of life in adults with ADHD. More work is needed to further evaluate DESR in clinical and investigational studies of subjects with ADHD.
Competencies in palliative care for cardiology fellows.

An 87-year-old man with a history of coronary artery disease, and having had 1-vessel coronary artery bypass surgery 10 years prior to admission, was admitted in a severe coma to the cardiovascular intensive care unit (CCU) for an acute myocardial infarction complicated by cardiogenic shock. He was
Niacin subsensitivity is associated with functional impairment in schizophrenia.

Abstract Objective Sensitivity to the skin flush effect of niacin is reduced in a portion of patients with schizophrenia. Though this peripheral physiological abnormality has been widely replicated, its relevance to neuropsychiatric manifestations of the illness has been unclear. The goal of this study was to determine if the niacin response abnormality in schizophrenia is associated with functional impairment. Methods Following psychiatric assessment, a Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) score was assigned to each of 40 volunteers with schizophrenia. For each subject, the blood flow responses to several concentrations of topical methylnicotinate were recorded. Blood flow was measured objectively, using laser Doppler flowmetry. From the dose–response data, EC50 values were derived. GAF scores were assigned without knowledge of the participants' niacin response data. Results There was a significant negative correlation between GAF scores and EC50 values for methylnicotinate (Pearson r = − 0.42; p = 0.007). Conclusions Reduced niacin sensitivity is associated with greater functional impairment among patients with schizophrenia. These findings raise the possibility that a subset of schizophrenia patients possesses a biochemical abnormality that reduces niacin sensitivity in the skin and contributes to functional impairment from the disease.
Primary Retroperitoneal Seminoma Staging and Surveillance by Means of Fluoro-2-Deoxyglucose-Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography

Primary retroperitoneal seminoma is a very rare entity. We present a case of 39-year-old male with primary retroperitoneal seminoma with staging and surveillance by means of F-18 fluoro-2-deoxyglucose-positron emission tomography/computed tomography (FDG-PET/CT). The case demonstrates that primary retroperitoneal seminoma can be easy to identify with FDG-PET/CT and potential follow-up on recurrence, or metastatic disease can be performed using this technique.
A note on induced stress changes in hydrocarbon and geothermal reservoirs

Abstract Earthquakes have been induced by oil and gas production, where pore pressures have decreased, in some cases by several tens of MPa. It has previously been suggested that such earthquakes are caused by poroelastic stressing of crust surrounding the reservoir. Induced earthquakes are also common in geothermal fields, such as The Geysers, where strong correlations between both steam production and condensate injection, and earthquake activity have been observed over the last several decades. Stress measurements within hydrocarbon reservoirs show that the least horizontal stress decreases with declining reservoir pressure, as predicted by poroelasticity. For circular disk-shaped reservoirs, isothermal reduction in pore pressure induces a relative horizontal tension within the reservoir. Production-induced stressing may promote frictional sliding on pre-existing faults. Within the reservoir itself, normal faulting is promoted if the regional stress is extensional and the Biot coefficient is sufficiently large, α>0.85 for reasonable coefficients of friction. On the other hand, dilatant fracturing and normal faulting are always promoted, in extensional environments, near the edge of the reservoir or in regions of high pore-pressure gradient. It is suggested that such fracturing could enhance fracture permeability in tight rocks adjacent to portions of the reservoir that experience large reductions in pore pressure due to production. In regional compressional environments, production modestly favors reverse faulting above and below the reservoir. The ratio of thermal to poroelastic stress can be quite large in geothermal reservoirs such as The Geysers. Reservoir-wide energy balance considerations suggest that the average temperature has declined at The Geysers by 6°C during the past 20 years. Reservoir average stress changes are thus on the order of ∼2 MPa, and are certainly much larger near injection wells and steam-producing fractures.
Persistent current in an annular superconducting thin film

Pearl's description of a superconducting thin film is applied to a persistent current I in a narrow annulus. The temperature dependence of I can provide a direct measure of the transverse penetration length.
The benthic macroinvertebrates of the Block Island Sound

Abstract The benthic invertebrates of Block Island Sound have not been adequately studied, in contrast to other adjacent southern New England sounds. This study examines the species composition, abundance and biomass of benthic macrofaunal invertebrates at nine locations within Block Island Sound. The sites sampled, represent a wide range of subtidal habitats within the Sound, and were visited in February and September. Some 224 species were identified, of which almost half (104) were polychaetes. The benthic assemblages at most stations were dominated numerically by tube dwelling, surface detritus or suspension feeding amphipods, e.g. Ampelisca agassizi and A. vadorum, as well as the protobranch bivalve, Nucula proxima. This dominant Ampelisca-Nucula assemblage was associated with silty fine sand sediments. The average macrofaunal biomass for all stations was 158 g (wet weight) m−2, two thirds the average benthic biomass of Georges Bank, an important fishery area. Based on the examination of the records of earlier surveys in Block Island Sound, there is evidence that this silty-sand, ampeliscid-dominated assemblage has persisted since at least the mid-1940s.
Genetic evaluation of traits distributed as Poisson-binomial with reference to reproductive characters.

A procedure of genetic evaluation of reproductive traits such as litter size and survival in a polytocous species under the assumption of polygenic inheritance is described. Conditional distributions of these traits are assumed to be Poisson and Bernoulli, respectively. Using the concept of generalized linear models, logarithmic (litter size) and probit (survival) functions are described as linear combinations of “nuisance” environmental effects and of transmitting abilities of sires or individual breeding values. The liability of survival is expressed conditionally to the logarithm of litter size. Inferences on location parameters are based on the mode of their joint posterior density assuming a prior multivariate normal distribution. A method of estimation of the dispersion parameters is also presented. The use of a “truncated” Poisson distribution is suggested to account for missing records on litter size.
Epoxyeicosatrienoic acids, 20-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid, and renal microvascular function.

Abstract The development of pharmacological, genetic, and biochemical tools have allowed for detailed studies to determine the contribution of cytochrome P450 (CYP) metabolites of arachidonic acid to renal microvascular function. Renal microvessels can generate CYP hydroxylase metabolites including 20-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (20-HETE) and CYP epoxygenase metabolites, epoxyeicosatrienoic acids (EETs). 20-HETE constricts afferent arterioles and contributes to renal blood flow autoregulation. EETs act as endothelium-dependent hyperpolarizing factors (EDHFs) on the renal microcirculation. 20-HETE inhibits whereas EETs activate renal microvascular smooth muscle cell large-conductance calcium-activated K+ channels (KCa). Likewise, 20-HETE renal microvascular actions are pro-hypertensive and EET actions are anti-hypertensive. These findings in the renal microvasculature and those of others have provided impetus for the development of enzymatic inhibitors, agonists, and antagonists for 20-HETE and EETs to determine their potential therapeutic value. Initial genetic studies and experimental studies with soluble epoxide hydrolase inhibitors to increase EETs, EET analogs, and 20-HETE inhibitors have demonstrated improved renal microvascular function in hypertension. These findings have demonstrated the important contributions that 20-HETE and EETs play in the regulation of renal microvascular function.
Combined use of platinum(II) complexes and palladium(II) complexes for selective cleavage of peptides and proteins.

This study shows, for the first time, the advantages of combining two transition-metal complexes as selective proteolytic reagents. In this procedure, cis-[Pt(en)(H2O)2]2+ is followed by [Pd(H2O)4]2+. In the peptide AcAla-Lys-Tyr-Gly-Gly-Met-Ala-Ala-Arg-Ala, the Pt(II) reagent cleaves the Met6-Ala7 peptide bond, whereas the Pd(II) reagent cleaves the Gly4-Gly5 bond. In the peptide AcVal-Lys-Gly-Gly-His-Ala-Lys-Tyr-Gly-Gly-Met-Ala-Ala-Arg-Ala, the Pt(II) reagent cleaves the Met11-Ala12 peptide bond, whereas the Pd(II) reagent cleaves the Gly3-Gly4 bond. All cleavage reactions are regioselective and complete at pH 2.0 and 60 °C. Each metal ion binds to an anchoring side chain and then, as a Lewis acid, activates a proximal peptide bond toward hydrolysis by the solvent water. The selectivity in cleavage is a consequence of the selectivity in this initial anchoring. Both Pt(II) and Pd(II) reagents bind to the methionine side chain, whereas only the Pd(II) reagent binds to the histidine side chain under the re...
Components of photosynthesis in the intertidal saccate alga Halosaccion americanum (Rhodophyta, Palmariales)

Rates of photosynthesis for the intertidal saccate alga Halosaccion americanum Lee were determined under submersed and emersed conditions. By fitting the data to a hyperbolic tangent function, P max was 4.08 mmol CO2. m−2. h−1 and Ik was 116.4 μE. m−2. s−1. under submersed conditions. Under emersed conditions, P max was 1.89 mmol CO2. m−2. h−1 and Ik was 22.9 μE. m−2. s−1. Dark fixation represented 3.7% of Pmax in submersed thalli, whereas it equalled 33.3% of Pmax in emersed thalli. Photosynthetic uptake from the thallus cavity represented a significant source of carbon, achieving 68.8% of that from the atmosphere and 29.4% of that from seawater. Retained seawater also greatly reduced drying under emersed conditions. Experimental thalli lost 70.4% of their water after 120 min under desiccating conditions, whereas control thalli lost only 6.3%. Emersed photosynthetic rates were enhanced by desiccation, At times, rates for desiccated thalli were two times those of fully-hydrated ones. Only after water loss exceeded 47% did photosynthetic rates fall below fully-hydrated rates. Utilizing data from this study a model was constructed to determine total photosynthetic production of H. americanum over a single daylight period. These caluclations demonstrate that photosynthetic contributions from emersed photosynthesis and retained seawater are significant. Because production from all sources is almost equal, total photosynthesis over a single day does not change greatly regardless of the time spent in air or in water.
Is AIDS a just punishment

There are religious and philosophical versions of the thesis that AIDS is a punishment for homosexual behaviour. It is argued here that the religious version is seriously incomplete. Because of this incompleteness and because of the indeterminacies that ordinarily attend religious argumentation, it is concluded that the claim may be set aside as unconvincing. Homosexual behaviour is then judged for its morality against utilitarian, deontological, and natural law theories of ethics. It is argued that such behaviour involves no impediment to important moral goals and is not therefore immoral. Where natural law might be used to condemn homosexual behaviour, it is argued that the theory itself is not well established. Consequently there is a prima facie reason for rejecting the philosophical version of the punishment thesis. This conclusion is further supported by noting the lack of proportion between the purported immorality of homosexuality and a punishment as devastating as AIDS.
Effect of dimethylsulfoxide alone and combined with N‐dimethylamino succinamic acid (B995) or (2‐Chloroethyl)trimethylammonium chloride (CCC) on the growth and alkaloid biosynthesis of Datura tatula

Dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), B995, and CCC were administered in the form of a spray to the aerial parts of Datura tatula . DMSO did not affect plant height, but caused reductions in plant weight and the total alkaloid content per plant. The concentration of alkaloids in the roots was decreased. The growth retardants, B995 and CCC, induced significant reductions in plant height and total plant weight. Generally, the concentration of alkaloids in the stems was increased, while that in the roots was decreased. The inhibitory effects on height, growth, and alkaloid content were greater in those plants receiving the combined treatment with DMSO and retardant than in those treated with retardant alone. Phytotoxicity was noted in the plants treated with CCC alone or when combined with DMSO.
Core-periphery contrasts in China's development during the early eighties

Abstract This paper examines macrovariations in China's development during the early eighties. The conceptual framework used was the core-periphery model. Sixteen variables were collected for all of the 29 provincial level units of mainland China. After collapsing the data into two important dimensions by means of principal components analysis, maps of component scores were drawn to show the existence of core and periphery in China's development. To cross-check these results, several cluster analysis procedures were tried to arrive at the best grouping of provinces. A conceptual model was proposed to help understand China's development. Discussions were also made relating the results to the current open-door policy of China to speculate on the future development in China.