cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Fetal testosterone insufficiency and abnormal proliferation of Leydig cells and gonocytes in rats exposed to di(n-butyl) phthalate.

Abstract Adult male rats previously exposed on gestation days (GD) 12–21 to di(n-butyl) phthalate (DBP) have reproductive tract malformations, particularly agenesis of the epididymis, decreased sperm production, and Leydig cell hyperplasia and adenomas. Although similar effects are produced by the potent androgen receptor (AR) antagonist flutamide and are indicative of disruption of male sexual differentiation via an antiandrogenic mechanism, DBP is not an AR antagonist. The purpose of the study was to determine whether DBP causes pathologic changes and alterations in androgen status in the testis during the prenatal period of male reproductive tract differentiation. Pregnant CD rats were given corn oil, DBP (500 mg/kg/day), or flutamide (100 mg/kg/day) p.o. on GD 12–21. At GD 16–21, DBP caused hyperplasia of Leydig cells, many of which were 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase- and/or AR-positive. Focal areas of hyperplasia had increased numbers of Leydig cells positive for proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA). At GD 21, testis atrophy was apparent, seminiferous cords in DBP-exposed fetuses were enlarged and contained multinucleated gonocytes that, unlike controls, were PCNA-positive. DBP, but not flutamide, markedly decreased testicular testosterone levels at GD 18 and 21. Fewer epididymal ducts and reduced AR staining in some ducts were evident with DBP treatment, whereas decreased overall AR staining was seen with flutamide in the presence of mild Leydig cell hyperplasia. Leydig cell proliferation is likely a compensatory mechanism to increase testicular steroidogenesis triggered by testosterone insufficiency. The overall decrease in androgen concentration is not corrected and results in reproductive tract malformations. The multinuclearity and proliferation of gonocytes suggests an underlying Sertoli cell dysfunction.
Providing Catastrophic Yield Protection Through a Targeted Revenue Program

Much of the debate surrounding the 1990 Farm Bill has focused on the best means of providing producers with income protection in the event of a widespread yield shortfall. The debate is not new. Prior to 1980, the U.S. Department of Agriculture provided disaster assistance mainly through direct cash payments. Because of strong criticism that the disaster payment program was too expensive, restrictive in scope (only program crops were eligible for payments), and encouraged production in high-risk areas, the Federal Crop Insurance Act of 1980 was enacted to replace the disaster payment program, with crop insurance as the primary means of providing disaster protection to farmers. To encourage participation in the crop insurance program, producers were offered direct premium subsidies of up to 30 percent, and additional indirect subsidies.
A cloud-removal algorithm for SSM/I data

Microwave radiometers, while traditionally utilized in atmospheric and oceanic studies, can also be used in land surface applications. However, the problem of undesirable atmospheric effects caused by clouds and precipitation must be addressed. In this paper, temporal composite surface brightness images are generated from special sensor microwave/imager (SSM/I) data with the aid of new algorithms to eliminate small-scale distortion caused by clouds or precipitation. Mean, second-highest value, modified maximum average (MMA), and hybrid compositing algorithms are compared. The effectiveness of each algorithm is illustrated through simulation and real data distribution analysis. The results show that the second-highest value algorithm is biased high. MMA provides a more accurate brightness temperature estimate in areas of atmospheric distortion, while the mean is superior in regions with little or no distortion. A hybrid algorithm is developed that is a combination of MMA and mean. It utilizes the strengths of both to create a superior algorithm for regions with varying levels of distortion. Uses of composite images produced by these algorithms include studies of vegetation change, land cover classification, and surface parameter extraction.
Differential Effects of Insulin Sensitivity on Androgens in Obese Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome or Normal Ovulation

The differential effects of insulin sensitivity and adiposity on androgen concentrations in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) are unclear. To address this issue, we divided 43 overweight women into 4 groups based on both their clinical classification (PCOS or normal) and whether they were insulin resistant (IR) or insulin sensitive (IS) by their steady-state plasma glucose concentrations. Total testosterone concentrations were significantly increased as a function of both clinical classification (PCOS vs normal, P < .0001) and steady-state plasma glucose concentration (IR vs IS, P = .002). Mean testosterone concentrations were higher in PCOS-IR compared with PCOS-IS, normal-IR, or normal-IS women (P < .005). In addition, there was a statistically significant interaction (P = .03) between clinical classification (PCOS vs normal) and insulin sensitivity (IR vs IS) for testosterone concentrations. In contrast, androstenedione concentrations were higher in women with PCOS (P = .001), irrespective of whether they were IR or IS (P = .31); and no interaction between clinical classification and insulin sensitivity was discerned (P = .34). These results indicate that both PCOS and insulin resistance independently contributed to increased total testosterone concentrations within a group of overweight/obese women. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that the ovaries of women with PCOS are hypersensitive to the ability of insulin to increase testosterone production and that the more insulin resistant the patient, the higher the testosterone concentration. In contrast, androstenedione concentrations seem to be independent of differences in insulin resistance. Our findings emphasize the need to increase understanding of the factors that modulate ovarian androgen secretion.
Regenerative Scaffold Electrodes for Peripheral Nerve Interfacing

Advances in neural interfacing technology are required to enable natural, thought-driven control of a prosthetic limb. Here, we describe a regenerative electrode design in which a polymer-based thin-film electrode array is integrated within a thin-film sheet of aligned nanofibers, such that axons regenerating from a transected peripheral nerve are topographically guided across the electrode recording sites. Cultures of dorsal root ganglia were used to explore design parameters leading to cellular migration and neurite extension across the nanofiber/electrode array boundary. Regenerative scaffold electrodes (RSEs) were subsequently fabricated and implanted across rat tibial nerve gaps to evaluate device recording capabilities and influence on nerve regeneration. In 20 of these animals, regeneration was compared between a conventional nerve gap model and an amputation model. Characteristic shaping of regenerated nerve morphology around the embedded electrode array was observed in both groups, and regenerated axon profile counts were similar at the eight week end point. Implanted RSEs recorded evoked neural activity in all of these cases, and also in separate implantations lasting up to five months. These results demonstrate that nanofiber-based topographic cues within a regenerative electrode can influence nerve regeneration, to the potential benefit of a peripheral nerve interface suitable for limb amputees.
Enabling proteomics-based identification of human cancer variations

Background Shotgun proteomics is a powerful technology for protein identification in complex samples with remarkable applications in elucidating cellular and subcellular proteomes [1,2], and discovering disease biomarkers [3,4]. Shotgun proteomics data analysis usually relies on database search. Commonly used protein sequence databases in shotgun proteomics data analysis do not contain mutation information. This becomes a problem in cancer studies in which the detection of disease-related mutated peptides/proteins is crucial for understanding cancer biology [5]. Including protein mutation information into sequence databases can help alleviate this problem.
Clinical and laboratory features that distinguish dengue from other febrile illnesses in endemic populations.

OBJECTIVE Clinicians in resource-poor countries need to identify patients with dengue using readily-available data. The objective of this systematic review was to identify clinical and laboratory features that differentiate dengue fever (DF) and/or dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF) from other febrile illnesses (OFI) in dengue-endemic populations. METHOD Systematic review of the literature from 1990 to 30 October 2007 including English publications comparing dengue and OFI. RESULTS Among 49 studies reviewed, 34 did not meet our criteria for inclusion. Of the 15 studies included, 10 were prospective cohort studies and five were case-control studies. Seven studies assessed all ages, four assessed children only, and four assessed adults only. Patients with dengue had significantly lower platelet, white blood cell (WBC) and neutrophil counts, and a higher frequency of petechiae than OFI patients. Higher frequencies of myalgia, rash, haemorrhagic signs, lethargy/prostration, and arthralgia/joint pain and higher haematocrits were reported in adult patients with dengue but not in children. Most multivariable models included platelet count, WBC, rash, and signs of liver damage; however, none had high statistical validity and none considered changes in clinical features over the course of illness. CONCLUSIONS Several individual clinical and laboratory variables distinguish dengue from OFI; however, some variables may be dependent on age. No published multivariable model has been validated. Study design, populations, diagnostic criteria, and data collection methods differed widely across studies, and the majority of studies did not identify specific aetiologies of OFIs. More prospective studies are needed to construct a valid and generalizable algorithm to guide the differential diagnosis of dengue in endemic countries.
YOABS: Yet Other Aligner of Biological Sequences — an efficient linearly scaling nucleotide aligner

MOTIVATION Explosive growth of short-read sequencing technologies in the recent years resulted in rapid development of many new alignment algorithms and programs. But most of them are not efficient or not applicable for reads > or approximately equal to 200 bp because these algorithms specifically designed to process short queries with relatively low sequencing error rates. However, the current trend to increase reliability of detection of structural variations in assembled genomes as well as to facilitate de novo sequencing demand complimenting high-throughput short-read platforms with long-read mapping. Thus, algorithms and programs for efficient mapping of longer reads are becoming crucial. However, the choice of long-read aligners effective in terms of both performance and memory are limited and includes only handful of hash table (BLAT, SSAHA2) or trie (Burrows-Wheeler Transform - Smith-Waterman (BWT-SW), Burrows-Wheeler Alignerr - Smith-Waterman (BWA-SW)) based algorithms. RESULTS New O(n) algorithm that combines the advantages of both hash and trie-based methods has been designed to effectively align long biological sequences (> or approximately equal to 200 bp) against a large sequence database with small memory footprint (e.g. ~2 GB for the human genome). The algorithm is accurate and significantly more fast than BLAT or BWT-SW, but similar to BWT-SW it can find all local alignments. It is as accurate as SSAHA2 or BWA-SW, but uses 3+ times less memory and 10+ times faster than SSAHA2, several times faster than BWA-SW with low error rates and almost two times less memory. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION The prototype implementation of the algorithm will be available upon request for non-commercial use in academia (local hit table binary and indices are at ftp://styx.ucsd.edu).
Molecular comparison of GLT1+ and ALDH1L1+ astrocytes in vivo in astroglial reporter mice

Astrocyte heterogeneity remains largely unknown in the CNS due to lack of specific astroglial markers. In this study, molecular identity of in vivo astrocytes was characterized in BAC ALDH1L1 and BAC GLT1 eGFP promoter reporter transgenic mice. ALDH1L1 promoter is selectively activated in adult cortical and spinal cord astrocytes, indicated by the overlap of eGFP expression with ALDH1L1 and GFAP, but not with NeuN, APC, Olig2, IbaI, PDGFRα immunoreactivity in BAC ALDH1L1 eGFP reporter mice. Interestingly, ALDH1L1 expression levels (protein, mRNA, and promoter activity) in spinal cord were selectively decreased during postnatal maturation. In contrast, its expression was up-regulated in reactive astrocytes in both acute neural injury and chronic neurodegenerative (G93A mutant SOD1) conditions, similar to GFAP, but opposite of GLT1. ALDH1L1(+) and GLT1(+) cells isolated through fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS) from BAC ALDH1L1 and BAC GLT1 eGFP mice share a highly similar gene expression profile, suggesting ALDH1L1 and GLT1 are co-expressed in the same population of astrocytes. This observation was further supported by overlap of the eGFP driven by the ALDH1L1 genomic promoter and the tdTomato driven by a 8.3kb EAAT2 promoter fragment in astrocytes of BAC ALDH1L1 eGFP X EAAT2-tdTomato mice. These studies support ALDH1L1 as a general CNS astroglial marker and investigated astrocyte heterogeneity in the CNS by comparing the molecular identity of the ALDH1L1(+) and GLT1(+) astrocytes from astroglial reporter mice. These astroglial reporter mice provide useful in vivo tools for the molecular analysis of astrocytes in physiological and pathological conditions.
Missing the Mark

Currently, most work in advertising assumes neutral or positive effects of exposed ads that are physically present, but not actively attended to by consumers. The primary justification for this assumption is the mere exposure effect. Recent work suggests that when people avoid distracting stimuli while engaged in a search or focused activity, however, negative affect for the distractor can occur. This distractor devaluation hypothesis was applied to banner ads. Results show that participants developed more negative attitudes toward avoided brands that appeared as distractor ads on a Web page, particularly when the ads were visually similar and near the target content.
Resolution of an Apparent Hook Effect in Roche Partner DRI Oxycodone Immunoassay

A presumed hook effect in the semiquantitative DRI Oxycodone immunoassay, OXY3S (Cobas Integra, Roche Diagnostics), was investigated in 14 urine samples with gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC-MS) >10,000 ng/mL but OXY3S 75,000 ng/mL oxycodone + oxymorphone by GC-MS confirmation. Patient samples needed 2- to 16-fold dilution to obtain the correct OXY3S response. The OXY3S test did not hook at high-spiked concentrations of oxycodone, oxymorphone or oxymorphone-3β-d-glucuronide in drug-free urine. The OXY3S test parameters were replicated in a development channel on the Cobas using DRI Reagents (Microgenics, CA, USA) and were subsequently modified. Delayed sample addition or doubling of Reagent 1 (R1: antibody/substrate/co-factor) yielded maximal immunoassay response (>10,000 ng/mL) in 12 of 14 and 14 of 14 undiluted patient samples, respectively. Supplementation of R1 with substrate alone did not correctly recover oxycodone from any of the samples, while co-factor supplementation resulted a maximal OXY3S response in 13 of 14 samples. The remaining (index) sample could only be corrected by supplemental R1. The semiquantitative utility of the DRI Oxycodone assay is questionable. Although the precise cause of the under-recovery could not be determined, the modification presented permits reliable oxycodone determination at the high concentrations frequently seen in clinical urine samples.
Mind your p's and q's: when politeness helps and hurts in online communities

Little is known about the impact of politeness in online communities. This project combines deductive and inductive approaches to automatically model linguistic politeness in online discussion groups and determine the impact of politeness on desired outcomes, such as getting people to reply to one another. We find that politeness triples reply rates in some technical groups, but rudeness is more effective in others. The model can be applied as a "politeness checker" to encourage people to write in ways likely to garner a response from specific communities.
Indians are drunks and drunks are Indians: alcohol and indigenismo in Guatemala, 1890–1940

Abstract This article explores the ways in which the use of alcohol articulated with the discourse of indigenismo in Guatemala between the late 1890s and the late 1930s. In the first decades of the twentieth century, the public language of alcoholism merged with that of indigenismo . By the early 1930s, during presidency of Jorge Ubico (1931–1944), the theoretical conflation of alcoholism and indigenismo was fully evolved, providing a seamless paradigm for those who would place the credited Guatemala's `drunken’ and `racially degenerate’ indigenous majority with the nation's underdevelopment. The article utilises indigenista literature, newspapers, contemporary legislation and judicial records on the alcohol contraband trade and drunkenness to construct this argument.
An open-resonator model for the analysis of a short external-cavity laser diode and its application to the optical disk head

Based on the open resonator theory, a model of a complex coupling coefficient suitable for the analysis of an ultrashort external-cavity laser diode is presented. It is shown that the effective reflectivity of the short external-cavity laser diode calculated by using this model is a function of the size of the laser-emitting area and is significantly influenced by the phase-modification factor as well as by the amplitude-reduction factor of the complex coupling coefficient. The calculated output power characteristics show good qualitative agreement with experimental observation. The necessary condition that the optical disk head using an external-cavity laser diode does not fail to detect the recorded signal for a broad range of flying height is also derived. >
Ipilimumab: controversies in its development, utility and autoimmune adverse events

A promising new class of anti-cancer drugs includes antibodies that mediate immune regulatory effects. It has become very clear over the last decade that different types of immune cells and different pathways serve to suppress anti-cancer immunity, particularly in the microenvironment of the tumor. The first examples of immune modulating antibodies are those directed against cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen-4 (CTLA-4), a molecule present on activated T cells. Human antibodies that abrogate the function of CTLA-4 have been tested in the clinic and found to have clinical activity against melanoma. In this review, we discuss some of the controversies surrounding the potential clinical utility of one of those antibodies, ipilimumab, formerly MDX-010, from Medarex and Bristol Myers Squibb. The optimal dose and schedule of ipilimumab was derived in multiple clinical trials whose latest results are described below. Favorable survival in patients with stage IV melanoma were observed that appear to be associated with unique side effects of the drug called “immune-related adverse events”. The management of these side effects is described, and the unusual kinetics of anti-tumor response with ipilimumab as well as a newly proposed schema for assessing anti-tumor responses in patients receiving biologic compounds like ipilimumab, which may supercede RECIST or WHO criteria, are addressed.
Convective instability in packed beds with throughflow

Resultats des calculs numeriques des limites de stabilite lineaire de convection libre dans les lits de garnissage. Influence de la direction de l'ecoulement et de differentes conditions limites
Fetal alcohol syndrome: knowledge and attitudes of family medicine clerkship and residency directors

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) are the leading preventable causes of developmental disabilities with serious permanent consequences. Regardless of the increased awareness of fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), 13% of women in the United States drink alcohol during pregnancy. Health care professionals do not routinely assess the frequency and quantity of alcohol use by their patients. This study examined the knowledge, skills, and practices of family medicine residency and clerkship directors and assessed the time devoted and format of FAS curricula in the programs. A self-administered anonymous survey was sent to the residency and clerkship directors (N 5 571). Response rate of clerkship directors was 52% and residency directors 46%. Both groups showed high level of knowledge of FASD and of alcohol counseling practices for pregnant women. Although almost two thirds of the residency programs had FASD integrated in the curriculum, an equivalent fraction of predoctoral programs did not. More than half of the clerkship directors without FASD in their curriculum agreed that a need exists for its inclusion. These findings raise important medical education and policy issues and provide insight into the disparity in FASD content of curricula between predoctoral and family medicine residency programs in the United States. The role of physician counseling in primary prevention of FAS should continue to be stressed in predoctoral and residency education. 2010
Antagonistic effects of NES and NLS motifs determine S. cerevisiae Rna1p subcellular distribution

Nucleus/cytosol exchange requires a GTPase, Ran. In yeast Rna1p is the GTPase activating protein for Ran (RanGAP) and Prp20p is the Ran GDP/GTP exchange factor (GEF). RanGAP is primarily cytosolic and GEF is nuclear. Their subcellular distributions led to the prediction that Ran-GTP hydrolysis takes place solely in the cytosol and GDP/GTP exchange solely in the nucleus. Current models propose that the Ran-GTP/Ran-GDP gradient across the nuclear membrane determines the direction of exchange. We provide three lines of evidence that Rna1p enters and leaves the nuclear interior. (1) Rna1p possesses leucine-rich nuclear export sequences (NES) that are able to relocate a passenger karyophilic protein to the cytosol; alterations of consensus residues re-establish nuclear location. (2) Rna1p possesses other sequences that function as a novel nuclear localization sequence able to deliver a passenger cytosolic protein to the nucleus. (3) Endogenous Rna1p location is dependent upon Xpo1p/Crm1p, the yeast exportin for leucine-rich NES-containing proteins. The data support the hypothesis that Rna1p exists on both sides of the nuclear membrane, perhaps regulating the Ran-GTP/Ran-GDP gradient, participating in a complete RanGTPase nuclear cycle or serving a novel function.
The Affine-Scaling Method

In the previous chapter, we showed that the step direction for the path-following method can be decomposed into a linear combination of three directions: a direction toward optimality, a direction toward feasibility, and a direction toward centrality. It turns out that these directions, or minor variants of them, arise in all interior-point methods.
A model for the prediction of relative titres of avian malaria and Aspergillus spp. IgG in Jackass penguin (Spheniscus demersus) females based on maternal IgG in egg-yolk

A model for the prediction of IgG titres in females of the Jackass penguin (Spheniscus demersus) was developed, based on IgG which was maternally transmitted to the yolk of unembryonated eggs produced by these females. However, prediction of the female titre based on the titre of embryonated eggs may be inadequate. Blood samples from 10 S. demersus females and their corresponding embryonated (n = 10) and unembryonated (n = 49) eggs were analysed by indirect ELISA for avian malaria (Plasmodium relictum, P. elongatum) IgG and Aspergillus spp. IgG. There was no correlation between humoral responses to avian malaria and Aspergillus spp. in females or in their eggs. Avian malaria and Aspergillus spp. titres were significantly higher (P < 0.05) in the eggs than in the corresponding females and were significantly correlated (P < 0.01) with the blood titres, r = 0.84, r = 0.89, respectively. No correlation was found between titres of embryo yolk-sac (embryonated eggs) and the blood of their female parent; however, the embryo blood and the corresponding female titres were significantly (P < 0.05) correlated (avian malaria, r = 0.74; Aspergillus spp., r = 0.69). Blood and the corresponding egg-yolk (unembryonated eggs) IgG titres regressed significantly (P < 0.01). Female IgG titre (y) is related to (unembryonated) egg-yolk IgG titre by the significant (P < 0.05) regression y = -0.61 + 1.46X for avian malaria, and y = -0.02 + 0.85X for Aspergillus spp., with +/- 95% prediction limits of +/- 0.15 and +/- 0.12, respectively. This model provides access to serological information on the remote free-ranging Jackass penguins and captive Jackass-penguin colonies without the necessity of stressful blood collection.
Diphenylhydantoin: effects on amylase release, cyclic nucleotides and ion fluxes in mouse parotid acini.

Abstract The effects of diphenylhydantoin were investigated on isolated mouse parotid acini. Diphenylhydantoin inhibited carbachol-stimulated amylase release at concentrations of 5 × 10 −4 M and greater; isoproterenol-stimulated amylase release was not affected. The inhibition of carbachol-stimulated amylase release was attributable to inhibition of 45 Ca 2+ uptake. The ability of diphenylhydantoin to inhibit carbachol-stimulated cyclic GMP (c-GMP) accumulation was also related to inhibition of 45 Ca 2+ uptake. Diphenylhydantoin (5 × 10 −4 M) alone, was found to stimulate c-GMP accumulation, an effect related to enhanced 45 Ca 2+ efflux. Diphenylhydantoin alone, however, failed to enhance amylase release. These findings suggest that the effects of diphenylhydantoin on carbachol-stimulated amylase release and on c-GMP accumulation are related to its effects on transmembrane calcium movements.
Local Structure and Dynamics of Ferroelectric Solids

Details of local atomic structure and dynamics play a significant role in determining the ferroelectricproperties, even though ferroelectricity is a highly collective phenomenon. They are most importantin disordered ferroelectrics, the relaxor ferroelectrics in particular. In this chapter we discuss howneutron scattering measurements enable us to see directly the local structure and dynamics and facilitatethe understanding of their role through the static and dynamic atomic pair-density function (PDF) analysis.The PDF provides direct information on the local atomic structure, even when the structure is disordered,and complements the conventional crystallographic approaches. Recent advances in the pulsed neutron sourcesand in spectrometers have made this technique particularly powerful for studies of disordered ferroelectricsolids. We focus on the role of Pb2+ ions in mixed ferroelectrics and the atomisticdynamic mechanism of relaxor ferroelectrics.
The Challenge of Child Care for Rural Low-Income Mothers

Authors examine the lives of rural low-income mothers, highlighting the conditions that, for most families, contribute to a work–child care compromise. An overview of child care in the United States is presented as well as program and policy contexts to help the reader understand the choices made by rural families as they balance employment and child care commitments. The authors examine child care from the experiences of Rural Families Speak (RFS) rural low-income families, and present the benefits and relationship costs that informal care providers have for families. Further research needs and recommendations are included.
Better Understanding of Severe Immunological Reactions: Food Allergy

In the past few decades, the prevalence of food allergies has increased significantly, affecting millions of adults and children worldwide. This increase in the prevalence of food allergies cannot be explained simply by either genetic or environmental factors, but it is obvious that the complex interaction between both factors is essential in pathogenesis. In this chapter, I discuss the immunological mechanism underlying food tolerance conditions, how immune tolerance is broken down, and how the immune reactivity to food is sensitized to lead to food allergies in certain individuals. Understanding the molecular mechanism is crucial for designing better drugs and treatments, because currently there are no approved therapeutics to treat these complicated diseases, excepting corticosteroid and epinephrine to rescue some allergic reactions. I also summarize here the present understanding of the genetic risks detected in patients with allergic reactions. Recent promising results in immunotherapy to treat food allergies are attracting a vast amount of interest in research and drug development. However, to better understand the dysfunction of the immune system in these allergic patients, we need to obtain comprehensive information about interindividual differences, as well as the temporal and spatial changes of the immune responses in each patient through detailed analysis of T cells, B cells, or other immune-related cells. Finally, I show our next-generation sequencing approach that allows us to analyze millions of T-cell receptor (TCR) and B-cell receptor (BCR) sequences to gain insights into the immune responses in patients with food allergies.
Identifying Rhizobia by the Indirect Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay

The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) is a colorimetric enzyme immunoassay used to detect antigens. Several other variations of the assay have been developed. An indirect method is described here that does not require the conjugation of the primary (rabbit) antibody with an enzyme. In this procedure, the antigen is immobilized in the wells of polystyrene microtiter plates and is reacted with specific (primary) antibodies. After a washing step, the primary antibodies bound to the antigens in the wells are reacted with alkaline phosphatase conjugated to secondary antibodies that bind specifically to the primary antibodies. Reaction with an enzyme substrate causes a color change, the intensity of which corresponds to the amount of primary antibodies present.
Bivariate Logistic Regression Analysis of Childhood Psychopathology Ratings using Multiple Informants

A central issue in studies of risk factors for childhood psychopathology is utilization of the information obtained about the child's mental health status from multiple informants. In this paper, the authors propose a new approach to the analysis of risk factor data when the outcomes are binary ratings (presence/absence of symptoms). This new approach has several attractive features in this setting. The strategy taken is to perform a single analysis using multivariate modeling, in which simultaneous logistic regressions are conducted for the outcomes given by each of several informants. The advantages of this approach include the following: 1) it retains the complete information about case status for each informant; 2) it permits assessment of informant-risk factor interactions as well as "overall" risk factor effects; 3) it provides measures of association between the multiple informants and adjusts for the association between responses in the analysis; and 4) missing data on a subset of respondents can be incorporated in a straightforward way, permitting all subjects with at least one informant to be used in the analysis. To illustrate the methods, the authors present findings on risk factors for measures of "Internalizing" and "Externalizing" behaviors from two surveys using parent and teacher ratings of 6- to 11-year-old children in Connecticut between 1986 and 1989.
Complex Litigation: CAFA Exceptions

Commentary and analysis of the carve-outs and exceptions to federal court jurisdiction under the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 (CAFA). The article surveys the emerging judicial decisions that construe the CAFA home-state exception and the local-controversy exception. Congress enacted CAFA to create a new federal diversity jurisdiction for class actions where the class members and the defendants were from diverse states; there are at least 100 members in the class, and the amount in controversy exceeds $5 million. 28 U.S.C. § 1332(d). The statute only requires minimal diversity among the parties and damages of the claimants may be aggregated to satisfy the amount-in-controversy requirement. CAFA nonetheless recognizes two exceptions to this federal jurisdiction. One is called the local controversy exception, which is mandatory. 28 U.S.C. § 1332(d)(4)(A). The other is the home-state exception, which also is mandatory. 28 U.S.C. § 1332(d)(4)(B). Courts generally agree that plaintiffs carry the burden of showing that the exceptions apply to defeat federal jurisdiction, drawing on the statute’s legislative history. However, other courts have determined that the burden is on the defendant to show the inapplicability of either exception.
Surgical management of an odontogenic tumor in a banded Gila monster (Heloderma suspectum cinctum) with a novel herpesvirus

An adult, 817 g, male, wild-caught banded Gila monster (Heloderma suspectum cinctum) was evaluated during a quarantine examination. The lizard was obtained from the Arizona Game and Fish Department...
Pennsylvania Department of Corrections et al. v. Ronald R. Yeskey: prisons and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

This article reviews a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that addresses the issue of whether Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, which prohibits a public entity from discriminating against a person with a disability due to that individual's disability, applies to inmates in state prisons. Potential ramifications of this important decision are briefly addressed.
Corona networks as three-dimensional records of transport scale and pathways during metamorphism

Coronal textures in metamorphic rocks are physical evidence that diffusion was the rate-limiting process in the local reactions that produced these layered structures. Mass balance, however, requires that chemical communication must also take place at length scales significantly greater than those of the corona. Evidence for the anatomy and scale of pathways along which chemical communication occurred is rarely recorded in metamorphic rocks, but orthoamphibole-cordierite gneiss from the Thor-Odin dome, British Columbia (Canada), preserves multi-layered coronal reaction textures around garnet and Al2SiO5 connected by anastomosing networks of cordierite and biotite that represent relict pathways along which mass transport occurred during reaction texture development. Calculations of component fluxes between reaction textures and surrounding mineral assemblages indicate that relatively long-distance (centimeter-scale) diffusional exchange was required for development of ∼150–500-μm-thick corona. Results of electron backscattered diffraction analysis and high-resolution X-ray computed tomography give new information about the scale and pathways of chemical communication during high-grade metamorphism, and show that length-scales of material transport were two orders of magnitude greater than those of the reaction textures.
Germ Tube-positive Candida tropicalis

The germ tube test is routinely used for the rapid identification of Candida albicans and its variant C. stellatoidea, and is generally thought to be specific for these organisms. Four cases in which yeastlike fungi were isolated, and, although they were germ tube-positive, further morphologic and biochemical examinations identified them as Candida tropicalis are presented.
Addressing Solar-PV Power Generation: Commercialization Assessment for the US Energy Market

ABSTRACT Solar-Photovoltaic (PV) utility power is more expensive to produce compared with conventional sources. Current utility power purchase agreement policies discourage private investment because far future cash flow does not add to asset value. This article presents an overview of a study that assesses the commercialization of PV power generation in the US energy market. Data analysis substantiates that for PV power to be competitive with conventional power plants, much lower discount rates are required during the first half of the PV utility lifecycle, after which solar PV will have a much lower cost due to a drastic reduction in the cost of capital. Additionally, the levelized cost of energy analysis for a longer lifecycle indicates that the utility scale solar PV cost gap can be bridged. Therefore, this article aims to influence policy makers to introduce long-term power purchase agreements, taking into account the avoided costs due to the unevaluated quality of long life at anticipated low operat...
Measurements of Roughness of very Smooth Surfaces 1 1Contribution of the U. S. National Bureau of Standards, not subject to copyright, except for Figures 2-10 and 15, reprinted with permission from other sources.

This paper reviews the rapid developments in profiling techniques for the measurement of roughness of very smooth surfaces, particularly those used in optical components. Three classes of techniques are discussed: stylus methods, optical profiling, and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM); and key factors are the vertical and lateral ranges of the various instruments. In the field of optical profiling we have seen the development of at least four types of unique instruments with vertical resolution of 0.1 nm or less, slightly superior to that of the stylus instrument. However, the latter still seems to have superior lateral resolution. By comparison, STM has atomic lateral resolution and subatomic vertical resolution, so it is a revolutionary advance in surface profiling for certain applications.
Study on Blossom and Capsule Law and Capsule Development Character at Different Position of Sesame

Three parts of nodes were divided at the full-blooming stage of sesame:the lower nodes(below 8th node),the central nodes(9-20 th nodes) and the upper nodes(above 20th node).To study the blossom and capsule law and capsule development character of different parts of Zhengzhi 98N09,an investigation was conducted under field conditions.The results indicated that: the number of blossom and capsule was first increased then decreased with the increase of node of Zhengzhi 98N09.This study further showed that the maximum number of blossom and capsule was observed at No.15 node(9.3 flowers/node),No.12 node(4.2 capsules/node),respectively.The middle nodes had the highest capsule ability of 45.1%,followed by the upper nodes,30.1%,and the capsules of the lower nodes were fewest,only 25.0%.According to the statistical result,the capsule length,capsule width,capsule fresh weight,seed fresh weight,seed dry weight,peel dry weight and grain filling rate of the central capsules were higher than the lower capsules and the upper capsules.Moreover,grain filling rates of the lower,central,upper capsules were0.003 5,0.004 4,0.003 0 g/(capsule·d).It suggested that the substances gave priority to supply the middle capsules during the development of capsules.
Impact of the conjugate pneumococcal vaccine in arkansas.

Background: On the basis of the success of the early trials in the prevention of invasive pneumococcal disease in infants and children using a heptavalent conjugate pneumococcal vaccine, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended in August 2000 that the vaccine be given concurrently with other childhood immunizations. Methods: Data concerning invasive pneumococcal infections from 1998-2000 were compared with 2001-2003 to assess the impact of the heptavalent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine in Arkansas. Basic demographic data were gathered as well as history of vaccination with the pneumococcal vaccine, underlying medical conditions, site of infection and morbidity and mortality. Pneumococcal isolates were serogrouped or serotyped and penicillin susceptibilities were obtained. Results: The incidence of invasive disease decreased from a high of 5.78/100,000 population to 3.02/100,000 population (P = 0.002). Although the percentage of White patients increased from 2001-2003, the overall incidence of disease did not change. The incidence of disease among Blacks fell from 20.5/100,000 population to 4.9/100,000 population. The greatest decrease of disease occurred in children 24 months of age or younger with the incidence rate falling from 44.2/100,00 population to 8.30/100,000 population (P < 0.02). The incidence among White children 24 months of age or younger fell from 19/100,000 population to 1.8/100,000 population, whereas that of Black children 24 months of age or younger declined from 164/100,000 to 35/100,000. From 1998 to 2000, 3.7/100 cases were from nonvaccine serogroups compared with 44/100 cases from 2001 to 2003 (P < 0.001). In children 24 months of age or younger, the number of nonvaccine isolates increased from 1.3/100 cases to 30.5/100 cases (P < 0.001). Overall 56 (44%) were nonsusceptible to penicillin from 1998 to 2000; that was not significantly different from 2001-2003 when 37 (46%) of 81 isolates were nonsusceptible to penicillin. Conclusions: A significant decrease of invasive pneumococcal disease has been documented in Arkansas. Of concern, however, is the increasing number of invasive isolates not included in the current vaccine.
The sexual attribution of the La Quina 5 Neandertal

Les evaluations morphologiques et paleobiologiques des Neandertaliens sont ameliorees par des indications sexuelles fiables pour les restes fossiles. Le squelette partiel du Neandertalien de La Quina, La Quina 5, a le plus souvent ete considere comme femelle, malgre l’absence du coxal et les remarques de Martin, Hrdlicka et Smith sur la robustesse et la grandeur de son squelette facial. Etant donne l’importance des identifications sexuelles pour certaines analyses paleoanthropologiques, la diagnose sexuelle de La Quina 5 a ete reprise, par comparaison avec des Neandertaliens avec ou sans indications sexuelles coxales. Ses dimensions neurocrâniennes, faciales et des os des membres ont ete utilisees. Sa capacite crânienne est petite mais pas diagnostique pour le sexe, puisqu’il y a des Neandertaliens mâle (Feldhofer 1) et femelle (Tabun 1) avec des crânes aussi petits. Son epaisseur parietale, avec celle de Tabun 1, est exceptionnellement petite par rapport aux autres Neandertaliens. La longueur du radius, la grandeur de la diaphyse femorale et l’epaisseur du torus supraorbitaire se placent entre les mâles et femelles neandertaliens. En revanche, la longueur de la mandibule, la projection du processus mastoide et les dimensions de l’humerus (longueur, hypertrophie diaphysaire et largueur articulaire) le rangent parmi les Neandertaliens mâles. A la suite de ces comparaisons, La Quina 5 doit etre considere comme mâle ou de sexe inconnu, la seconde interpretation etant la plus prudente. Il est difficile de le considerer comme femelle.
Treatment of Non-APL Acute Myelogenous Leukemia with Intravenous Arsenic Trioxide Plus Ascorbic Acid.

Introduction: Arsenic trioxide (ATO) has demonstrated efficacy in acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL), inducing complete remissions (CR) in 85% of relapsed patients. On the other hand, ATO alone has no activity in non-APL AML. Although this difference could be explained by degradation of the APL specific PML/RAR fusion protein, ATO has shown to be active against APL cells by mechanisms that are independent of this gene rearrangement. ATO-induced apoptosis correlates inversely with intracellular concentrations of reduced glutathione (GSH) via generation of reactive oxygen species (ie, cells with high concentrations of GSH are more resistant to ATO). APL cells were found to have low levels of GSH compared to non-AML cells. Agents that reduce intracellular GSH, such as ascorbic acid (AA), increase ATO-induced apoptosis and can overcome resistance to ATO in non-APL AML cell lines; AA alone has no activity in these cells. Thus, the combination of ATO and AA was evaluated in patients with non-APL AML. Methods: ATO (0.25 mg/kg/d) was administrated intravenously over 1–4 hours with intravenous AA (1g/d, given 30 minutes after ATO) for five days/week (five days on/2 days off) for five weeks (25 doses=one cycle). These doses were based on a phase I/II trial of ATO + AA in patients with multiple myeloma (Behalis et al Clin Cancer Res 8:3658, 2002). Responding patients received an additional consolidation cycle of 25 doses followed by maintenance including ATO + AA two weeks of every month for 4 cycles. Patients who failed to respond after two cycles were considered treatment failures. Results: Eleven patients, aged 36–84 years (median: 66 years), were enrolled: 5 had relapsed after chemotherapy; and 6 elderly, aged 66–84, (including 5 with antecedent MDS), were previously untreated. One patient was discontinued prematurely because of QT prolongation. Major response was seen in 3 (27%) pts: CR or CRp in 2 patients and decrease in bone marrow blasts to 500 msec), anorexia, fatigue, sensory neuropathy, elevated bilirubin (n=1 each). One responding patient developed shortness of breath with severe hypoxemia, reminiscent of the APL differentiation syndrome, which responded immediately to dexamethasone. Conclusion: ATO + AA can have anti-leukemic activity in poor risk non-APL AML with much less toxicity than chemotherapy, especially in previously untreated patients. Most relapsed patients did not respond to ATO +AA, suggesting that chemotherapy can induce resistance to this combination. Further studies are needed to explore the potential of ATO +AA as a front-line therapy instead of intensive chemotherapy in elderly patients with non-APL AML.
Microbial control of arthropod-borne disease

Arthropods harbor a diverse array of microbes that profoundly influence many aspects of host biology, including vector competence. Additionally, symbionts can be engineered to produce molecules that inhibit pathogens. Due to their intimate association with the host, microbes have developed strategies that facilitate their transmission, either horizontally or vertically, to conspecifics. These attributes make microbes attractive agents for applied strategies to control arthropod-borne disease. Here we discuss the recent advances in microbial control approaches to reduce the burden of pathogens such as Zika, Dengue and Chikungunya viruses, and Trypanosome and Plasmodium parasites. We also highlight where further investigation is warranted.