cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
RNA Interference-directed silencing of calcitonin receptor expression induces apoptosis and growth arrest of human prostate cancer cells in vivo

AACR Annual Meeting-- Apr 14-18, 2007; Los Angeles, CA 4381 Calcitonin (CT) and its receptor (CTR) are expressed in basal epithelium of benign prostate but whole epithelium of malignant prostates. The abundance of CT and CTR mRNA in prostate cancers increases with increase in tumor grade and all tumor cells of poorly differentiated prostate cancers co-express CT/CTR. Using CTR-positive PC-3M and CTR-deficient PC-3 cells as models, we tested the hypothesis that the expression and activation of CTR plays an important role in tumorigenicity of prostate cancer cells. We enforced CTR expression in PC-3 cells and silenced it in PC-3M cells. The effect of these modulations on oncogenicity of the cell lines was evaluated by cell proliferation, invasion and colony formation assays and in vivo growth in athymic nude mice. We also administered CTR siRNA plasmid intratumorally in preexisting tumors in nude mice, and examined its impact on further tumor growth. The harvested tumors were evaluated for CTR-activated signaling events. Our results suggest that the enforced expression of CTR in PC-3 cells dramatically enhanced their oncogenicity. In contrast, the silencing of CTR expression in PC-3M cells markedly reduced their oncogenicity. In vivo silencing of CTR expression in preexisting PC-3M xenografts led to their growth arrest and a large increase in apoptotic cell populations. These results, when combined with our results that all tumor cells of invasive prostate cancers co-express CT/CTR, support a possibility that the activation of CT-CTR axis plays an important role in the progression of PC from a localized tumor to a metastatic phenotype.
Ecology of a corallivorous gastropod, Coralliophila abbreviata, on two scleractinian hosts. II. Feeding, respiration and growth

Coralliophila abbreviata is a corallivorous gastropod that has been observed to cause large feeding scars on reef-building corals on Floridian and Caribbean reefs. We detected differences in the population structure (length-frequency distribution and sex ratios) of C. abbreviata populations living on two coral host taxa, Acropora palmata and Montastraea spp., in the Florida Keys in a previous study. We hypothesize that diet (host) has a major influence on snail population structure and, thus, we characterize metabolism, feeding and growth for snails residing on these coral taxa. Here, we present results of a reciprocal transplant experiment demonstrating that the taxon of the host influences snail growth rates, as indicated by changes in shell and body tissue weight. Regardless of the host from which they were drawn, snails resident on A. palmata grew faster than those resident on Montastraea spp. Thus, diet influences snail population structure. However, the tissue of Montastraea spp. provides more N and C per area of tissue than that of A. palmata. Respiration rates and tissue composition of snails collected from the two host taxa did not differ. Therefore, snails feeding on Montastraea spp. should have to consume less tissue per day to satisfy their metabolic requirements compared to snails feeding on A. palmata. Feeding rates for snails on A. palmata were measured in the laboratory over 48 h (1–9 cm2 coral tissue snail−1 day−1) and estimated from feeding scars observed in the field (weekly mean rate of 1.07 cm2 coral tissue snail−1 day−1). The lack of definition of snail feeding scars on Montastraea spp. required the calculation of coral tissue consumption rates based on estimated minimum carbon requirements. Calculated feeding rates for C. abbreviata were 0.13–0.88 cm2 coral tissue day−1 snail−1, when feeding on Montastraea spp., and 0.44–3.28 cm2 coral tissue day−1 snail−1, when feeding on A. palmata. The calculated range for the latter is consistent with measured rates. Thus, C. abbreviata exhibits high variation in growth parameters in response to environmental variability and/or food source. At mean levels of snail density on reefs off Key Largo, Fla., 20% of A. palmata colonies lose between 1.32 and 9.84 cm2 tissue day−1, while 50% of Montastraea spp. colonies lose between 1.04 and 7.04 cm2 tissue day−1. Together with published coral tissue regeneration rates, these results suggest that if sustained, such rates of predation could have a serious effect on the viability of these coral populations on Florida's reefs.
Ordering Power: Contentious Politics and Authoritarian Leviathans in Southeast Asia

Like the postcolonial world more generally, Southeast Asia exhibits tremendous variation in state capacity and authoritarian durability. Ordering Power draws on theoretical insights dating back to Thomas Hobbes to develop a unified framework for explaining both of these political outcomes. States are especially strong and dictatorships especially durable when they have their origins in 'protection pacts': broad elite coalitions unified by shared support for heightened state power and tightened authoritarian controls as bulwarks against especially threatening and challenging types of contentious politics. These coalitions provide the elite collective action underpinning strong states, robust ruling parties, cohesive militaries, and durable authoritarian regimes - all at the same time. Comparative-historical analysis of seven Southeast Asian countries (Burma, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Vietnam, and Thailand) reveals that subtly divergent patterns of contentious politics after World War II provide the best explanation for the dramatic divergence in Southeast Asia's contemporary states and regimes.
Environmental aspects of the combustion of sewage sludge in a utility boiler

This paper discusses the environmental aspects of the combustion of dewatered municipal sewage sludge in a utility boiler. The information presented is based on the results of laboratory scale combustion tests performed on both sludge/coal and sludge/oil mixtures. Air pollution control and solid waste disposal considerations are included in this discussion.
Hyperkalemia among hospitalized patients and association between duration of hyperkalemia and outcomes

Introduction The aim of the study was to investigate predictors of mortality in patients hospitalized with hyperkalemia.
Surface microphysical mechanism for ice crystal growth habit development

Abstract The basic mechanism that controls the shape of ice crystal grown under different temperature and supersaturation, or the so-called “ice crystal growth habit,” has been investigated. The habit change is characterized by the existence of a maximum and a minimum in growth rates of prism and basal planes as a function of temperature. Under equilibrium condition, a liquid-like layer exists on the ice surface. During ice crystal growth in air due to vapor condensation, another transitional adsorption layer appears on the the crystal surface. This layer is shown to play a key role in the formation of habit change by making two-dimensional nucleation-controlled crystal plane growth possible. The crystal plane growth rate is maintained under steady-state by the balance of the sequential processes, the vapor condensation at the liquid-vapor interface and the freezing growth at the liquid-solid interface. When the temperature is sufficiently low, the slower of the two, or the condensational growth, dominates. With the temperature increase, however, the freezing process eventually slows down due to weakening in two-dimensional nucleation mechanism and becomes rate determining, resulting in formation of the plane growth rate maximum. As the temperature increases further towards the melting point, the plane growth rate is reported to increase again. If it does, the expected surface roughening may be responsible for the increase, reversing the slowing down tendency of the plane growth rate with temperature and resulting in the formation of the minimum.
Selective interpretation as a technique for debugging computationally intensive programs

As part of Rice University's project to build a programming environment for scientific software, we have built a facility for program execution that solves some of the problems inherent in debugging large, computationally intensive programs. By their very nature such programs do not lend themselves to full-scale interpretation. In moderation however, interpretation can be extremely useful during the debugging process. In addition to discussing the particular benefits that we expect from interpretation, this paper addresses how interpretive techniques can be effectively used in conjunction with the execution of compiled code. The same implementation technique that permits interpretation to be incorporated as part of execution will also permit the execution facility to be used for debugging parallel programs running on a remote machine.
Failure to Maintain Set A Measure of Distractibility or Cognitive Flexibility

The Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) is a general behavioral assessment that contains a myriad of dependent variables, each contributing to the overall assessment of executive function. In this paper, the authors explore the underlying ability that is measured by the variable failure to maintain set (FMS). Two opposing theories, cognitive flexibility and distractibility, are presented to determine what cognitive processes underlie failures to maintain set, and two analyses of archival data are presented. In analysis one, we analyzed data from a study where the WCST predicted creativity in participant constructions of Haiku poetry, but the analysis was not able distinguish whether FMS was predicting cognitively flexibility or distractibility. In analysis two, we analyzed data from a separate study where the WCST was used to predict vigilance in a divided attention task, and we detected that FMS inversely predicted vigilant performance. Our overall analysis suggests that FMS is an assessment of distractib...
Onset of a Charcot spinal arthropathy at a level lacking surgical arthrodesis in a paraplegic patient with traumatic cord injury

The study design included a case report of Charcot spinal arthropathy treated with posterior and anterior spinal instrumentation. The objective of the study was to report an unusual case of Charcot spinal arthropathy as a late complication of traumatic spinal cord injury in a patient previously treated with a long posterior thoraco-lumbar instrumentation and postero-lateral fusion. A 33-year-old man with T10–T11 complete paraplegia presented with focal low back pain, kyphotic deformity of the lumbar region with L2–L3 fracture–dislocation and hardware failure. Our treatment consisted of a circumferential arthrodesis performed with a combined anterior and posterior approach. Spinal stabilization was achieved and the patient was pain free and able to resume a sitting posture. This report suggests that the development of a Charcot spine arthropathy must always be considered as a late complication of a spinal cord injury. Moreover, we would emphasize the fundamental role of a strict clinical and radiological follow-up in order to detect an early Charcot spine complication.
Microculture assay for the rapid determination of antifungal activity.

Determination of hyphal growth rates in microslide cultures has been utilized to determine concentrations of griseofulvin. At concentrations between 0.001 mcg. and 0.01 mcg./ml. griseofulvin in Sabouraud liquid medium, the curve showing growth rate as a function of log dose is linear. In this concentration range the rate of hyphal elongation is constant with respect to time, and curling or distortion of hyphae is not seen except at the upper limit of the range. Microculture assays are compared to simultaneous assays performed using the current USP agar cup procedure. The microslide technique requires a combined incubation and reading period of 24 hr. It can be used to determine accurately one thousandth the concentration of griseofulvin required for the official procedure.
Improving the Common Vulnerability Scoring System

The Common Vulnerability Scoring System is an emerging standard for scoring the impact of vulnerabilities. The results of an analysis of the scoring system and that of an experiment scoring a large set of vulnerabilities using the standard are presented. Although the scoring system was found to be useful, it contains a variety of deficiencies that limit its ability to measure the impact of vulnerabilities. The study demonstrates how these deficiencies could be addressed in subsequent versions of the standard and how these changes are backwards-compatible with the existing scoring efforts. In conclusion a recommendation for a revised scoring system and an analysis of experiments that demonstrate how the revision would address deficiencies discovered in the existing version of the standard are presented.
Isolation and expression analysis of foxj1 and foxj1.2 in zebrafish embryos

In this report, we present the isolation and identification of a zebrafish homolog of the winged helix\forkhead transcription factor Foxj1. Foxj1 was identified in other species but not in zebrafish. Foxj1 was shown in mice to be required in ciliogenesis and left-right asymmetry establishment. Here we present a spatio-temporal expression pattern of zebrafish foxj1, showing that this gene is expressed in dorsal forerunner cells, Kupffer’s vesicle, the floor plate, pronephric ducts and kidney. This expression pattern is overlapping but different from that of the foxj1.2, the closest related gene in zebrafish. Foxj1 in zebrafish appears to have similar functions as those reported in other species connected to ciliogenesis and left-right asymmetry.
Dominant Forms of Corporate Control in the U.S. Agribusiness Sector

Two forms of control over corporate decision making are analyzed: direct control through stockholding and network control through interlocking boards of directors. A majority of the 222 large agribusiness firms studied had strong direct control by owners or cooperatives, while the largest firms lacked such control. Tests relating direct control type to level of network control exposure show that strong direct control is associated with weak network control and vice versa, with firm size being the major factor in explaining both types of control. For the largest firms, network-based rather than direct control appears to limit management discretion.
Upper Bounds on Locally Countable Admissible Initial Segments of a Turing Degree Hierarchy

Where AR is the set of arithmetic Turing degrees, 0(w) is the least member of (a') I a is an upper bound on AR). This situation is quite different if we examine HYP, the set of hyperarithmetic degrees. We shall prove (Corollary 1) that there is an a, an upper bound on HYP, whose hyperjump is the degree of Kleene's 0. This paper gen- eralizes this example, using an iteration of the jump operation into the transfinite which is based on results of Jensen and is detailed in (3) and (4). In ? 1 we review the basic definitions from (3) which are needed to state the general results. ?1. Introduction. Where A c w, a is a Turing degree, and A e a, we may define a hierarchy of Turing degrees At. a(e) on XL(A). This hierarchy is studied in (2). We shall review the basic definitions. Where X is any set, let Lo(X) = M0(X) = ; Le+?(X) = where Y is the collection of all sets first-order definable over LJX); LA(X) = Ue where Y = Jf(Le(X)) and 1 < n < a. Both L(X) and M(X) are, by definition, structures; we shall abuse notation by letting 'Le(X)' and 'M(X)' also stand for the universes of these structures. Note that if A T B then M(A) = M(B) for any ordinal A. For B ' w, B is a master code for e relative to A c w iff:
African Americans and U.S. Politics: The Gradual Progress of Black Women in Political Representation

This paper argues that since the 1960s, African Americans have substantially increased their political participation in the U.S. political system. It claims that Blacks in the U.S. have built a strong political foundation and that their influence in the country’s political system has grown within the past four decades. The paper highlights, however, that more Black women tend to be active participants in the electoral process than Black men and that there is the potential for Black women to equal or surpass Black men in the number of elected officials within their race in the years and decades to come.
Elusive radial glial cells: historical and evolutionary perspective.

Since the discovery of radial glial cells in the human fetal forebrain, this specialized cellular population has been identified in most regions of the vertebrate brain during restricted developmental periods. However, their size, longevity, and significance for guiding migrating neurons have increased with the evolutionary expansion of the mammalian neocortex, reaching a peak in the gyrencephalic human forebrain. The phenotypic distinction of radial glial cells from the more specialized neuronal progenitors in the proliferative zones and from the migrating neurons in the intermediate zone of the primate fetal forebrain, based initially on morphological criteria, has been supported by their ultrastructural, molecular, and physiological characteristics. In addition, modern in vivo and in vitro approaches revealed that these specialized embryonic cells can also generate neuronal cell lines, which either immediately, or after several divisions, migrate along radial shaft processes of the mother cells that span the expanding and convoluted cerebral wall. The multiple functions of radial glial cells and their species-specific adaptations indicate a pivotal role in evolution, development, and pathology of the cerebral neocortex.
Some Characteristics of the Peak Latency and Amplitude of the Acoustically Evoked Response

This experiment explored some characteristics of peak latency and amplitude of the human evoked auditory response as functions of time and number of signals at two sensation levels (20 and 40 dB) i...
Binding of mismatched microsatellite DNA sequences by the human MSH2 protein

Alteration of the human mismatch repair gene hMSH2 has been linked to the microsatellite DNA instability found in hereditary nonpolyposis colon cancer and several sporadic cancers. This microsatellite DNA instability is thought to arise from defective repair of DNA replication errors that create insertion-deletion loop-type (IDL) mismatched nucleotides. Here, it is shown that purified hMSH2 protein efficiently and specifically binds DNA containing IDL mismatches of up to 14 nucleotides. These results support a direct role for hMSH2 in mutation avoidance and microsatellite stability in human cells.
A new stereographic technique for the reduction of scanline survey data of geologic fractures

Abstract A new procedure is presented which shows the frequency per unit distance of joints or other planar geologic features as stereographic plots akin to fabric density diagrams. The program uses normal scanline survey data as input. The resultant diagrams show the frequency of fractures having poles that fall within a fixed angular radius of the orientation shown on the diagrams. Any number of scanlines may be compiled on one plot. Frequencies are determined on the surface of the reference hemisphere. Diagrams showing the frequency of fractures intercepted as a function of drilling direction also may be prepared from the same data set. A new type of counting grid is employed which maintains an approximately constant density of grid nodes per unit of spherical surface area. This allows the program to select automatically appropriate contour levels. A new method for incrementing the grid is employed.
Peptides from antibodies to DNA elicit cytokine release from peripheral blood mononuclear cells of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: relation of cytokine pattern to disease duration.

Peptides from VH regions of antibodies to DNA drive immune responses in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). We studied peptide-induced cytokine release by peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of patients, the influence of peptide concentration, disease characteristics and HLA-D haplotypes. Cells secreting cytokines (IFNg, IL-2, IL-4 and IL-10) were measured by ELISPOT in PBMC from 31 patients with SLE and 20 matched healthy controls in response to seven peptides (A-G) from the CDR1/FR2 to CDR2/FR3 VH regions of human anti-DNA MAbs. Disease activity was assessed by SELENA-SLEDAI. HLA-DR and -DQ alleles were determined by molecular typing techniques. PBMC from significantly higher proportions of SLE patients than controls responded to VH peptides by generating IFNg and IL-10. Type of cytokines released in response to at least one peptide (D) depended on antigen concentration. Cytokine release was not associated with clinical features of SLE except for disease duration. A shift occurred from IFNg, IL-4 ...
Flavin Substrate Specificity of the Vitamin B2-Aldehyde-Forming Enzyme from Schizophyllum commune

Abstract Vitamin B 2 -aldehyde-forming enzyme from Schizophyllum commune catalyzes oxidation of the 5′-hydroxymethyl of riboflavin to the formyl group. We have monitored enzyme activity by spectrophotometrically measuring the reduction of 2,6-dichlorophenol-indolphenol as electron acceptor to assess 35 riboflavin analogs as potential substrates or competitive inhibitors with the purpose of delimiting structural requirements of the substrate binding site. Analogs with side chains of two-to six-carbon length modified by deletion of secondary hydroxyls or by changes in their epimeric configuration are not oxidized. The ω-hydroxyalkyl-flavins ( n = 2-6) are competitive inhibitors ( K i = 7-16 μM) of riboflavin oxidation, as are some analogs with L-secondary hydroxyls in the side chain. Analogs with bulky substituents on the isoalloxazine ring are also not substrates. The enzyme does not significantly bind flavins with an 8α- N -imidazole; diethylamino, methylethylamino, dimethylamino, ethylamino, or ethoxy groups at position 8; methyl at 6; and β-hydroxyethylamino at position 2. Also the replacement of N with CH in 1-deazariboflavin disallows substrate reaction. Analogs with fluoro, chloro, methyl, amino, or methylamino at position 8; chloro at 7; methyl or carboxymethyl at 3; thio at 2, and C replacing N at positions 3 or 5 are substrates with relative V max values ranging from 27 to 110% that of riboflavin. The K m values for the analogs oxidized are all found to be in the micromolar range (22-176 μM). Overall specificity of the enzyme for riboflavin is found to be rather narrow and sterically limited, which suggests that the vitamin is the natural substrate.
The synthesis of “stretched‐out” analogs of lumazine, 6,7‐dimethyllumazine and 2‐amino‐5,6,7,8‐tetrahydro‐6,7‐dimethyl‐4‐pteridinone

The synthesis of pyrazino[2,3-g]quinazolin-2,4-(1H,3H)dione (4) and its 7,8-dimethyl derivative (5), as linear benzo-separated lumazines, is reported. Also described is the preparation of 2-amino-6,7,8,9-tetrahydro-7,8-dimethylpyrazino[2,3-g]quinazolin-4-one (6), as a linear benzo-separated analog of a synthetic cofactor for phenylalanine hydroxylase. All of the syntheses began with ethyl 2,4,5-triaminobenzoate (8) and proceeded through the appropriate derivatives of ethyl 6-aminoquinoxaline-7-carboxylate (9, 10, and 11) which were subsequently ring closed to 4, 5, and 6.
Dose escalation in locally advanced carcinoma of the prostate

Radiotherapeutic management of advanced prostate cancer is challenging. Several retrospective analyses showed a dose response for local tumor control before the availability of conformal radiation therapy. Attempts to escalate dose without the benefit of modern treatment planning was commonly fraught with high rates of bowel or bladder complications. The advent of image-guided or computed tomography-based treatment planning has allowed safe delivery of high-dose radiation therapy in men with prostate cancer with an acceptable rate of side effects and complications. Several prospective clinical trials have been conducted both at single institutions and in the cooperative group setting. Early evidence suggests that patients with high-risk factors such as advanced clinical stage, high initial prostate-specific antigen, or poorly differentiated tumors may benefit from high-dose 3-dimensional conformal radiation therapy with improved biochemical and local tumor control. A published randomized trial with conformal radiation therapy shows that a modest escalation of radiation dose leads to improved biochemical disease-free survival for a select group of patients. A confirmatory trial within the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group is underway to determine if dose escalation will improve overall survival in men without compromising quality of life.
Direct adsorption and detection of proteins, including ferritin, onto microlens array patterned bioarrays.

Protein arrays continue to increase in importance as tools for analysis of biological samples. This paper describes a new method for preparing bioarrays that is compatible with high throughput manufacturing. First, a native oxide terminated silicon substrate is coated with a monolayer of a polyethylene-glycol-containing silane. The coated substrate is then placed beneath a microlens array (MA) and the array is irradiated with a brief (4 ns) pulse of 532 nm laser light. The MA focuses the laser light onto the substrate, causing monolayer removal. The microlenses in the array employed in this work are square packed and have a spacing of 100 μm, that is, there are 10000 microlenses/cm2 in the optic and therefore 10000 spots/cm2 on surfaces patterned with this array. The patterned substrate is then immersed in a dilute (10-5 M) solution of a protein. Time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry shows that all of the proteins studied, including avidin, BSA, ferritin, lysozyme, myoglobin, protein A, and strep...
Influence of particle volume fraction, shape, and aspect ratio on the behavior of particle-reinforced metal-matrix composites at high rates of strain

Abstract Compressive plastic deformation of particle-reinforced metal–matrix composites is investigated through numerical modeling at high rates of strain. The numerical modeling is performed using axisymmetric unit cell models, with the particles treated as elastic ellipsoids or cylinders embedded within a viscoplastic matrix. The constitutive behavior of the matrix material uses a power law strain-rate hardening formulation and is obtained from independent experimental results on the matrix. The flow stress of the composites is predicted over a range of strain rates for different particle volume fractions and for varying particle shapes and particle aspect ratios. The results show that both the flow stress and the strain-rate hardening increase with increasing volume fraction of the reinforcement. It is also shown that the rate-dependent flow stress is influenced not only by particle aspect ratio but also by particle shape (spheroidal or cylindrical). A simple analytical model has been constructed that is able to capture the quantitative features of the computational predictions. Both computational and analytical models have been compared with experimental data on two different composites from two different sources in the literature, with excellent quantitative agreement on the rate-dependent stress–strain behavior.
Identification and characterization of proteins that interact with the carboxy terminus of poly(A)-binding protein and inhibit translation in vitro

Poly(A)-binding proteins (PABPs) are multifunctional proteins that play important roles in mRNA stability and protein translation. Two cucumber ( Cucumis sativus L.) proteins, PCI6 (PABP-CT-interacting) and PCI243 were identified based on ability to interact with the carboxy terminus (CT) of PABP in yeast two-hybrid and in vitro binding assays. PCI6 and PCI243 share a conserved amino acid domain (SxLnpnApxFxP) in common with human PABP-CT interactors, and with Arabidopsis ERD15 (early-responsive to dehydration). Deletion analysis and point mutations indicate that presence of this domain is necessary for the interaction, and tests with ERD15 demonstrate that it is predictive of interaction. Other plant proteins possessing this domain fall into two categories: small, acidic proteins like PCI6, PCI243 and ERD15, and larger neutral proteins that also include an RNA recognition motif. PCI6 is expressed in a range of tissues, e.g., leaves, roots, stems and flowers, and follows a diurnal pattern of expression, increasing during light hours and declining overnight. In wheat germ and mouse ascites Krebs-2 in vitro translation systems, PCI6 inhibited translation whereas the non-interacting mutant, PCI6-23A, did not or had a greatly reduced effect. The activity of PCI6, therefore, is reminiscent of that of human PABP-interacting protein 2 (Paip2). These results demonstrate a novel interaction between PABP and several plant proteins sharing a SxLnpxApxFxP motif, with possible implications for translational regulation.
The Relative Salience of Sex, Race, Age, and Glasses in Children's Social Perception

The relative salience for children of various human facial features was examined in five experiments. The first two experiments were designed to validate the conclusion from previous research (McGraw, Durm, & Patterson, 1983) that the sex of adult faces is more salient than their race or age, and that the presence or absence of glasses is extremely unsalient. Children's spontaneous verbal descriptions confirmed the salience hierarchy of sex, race, age, and glasses. Experiments 3, 4, and 5 were designed to ascertain whether the salience of race, glasses, and age would be stable across potentially relevant subject and task-stimuli differences. There were some salience asymmetries; most notably, black skin was more salient than white skin for both Black and White children. In general, the results of these studies indicate that sex, race, age, and glasses represents a naturally occurring salience hierarchy that is reliably present among children of preschool and early elementary school age.
Cultural Difference in George Macartney’s An Embassy to China, 1792–94

Sir George Macartney’s British embassy to the court of the Qianlong emperor in 1792–94 was a political and commercial failure. This essay seeks to think critically about Macartney’s failure as it pertains to his journal—the posthumously published Journal of an Embassy from the King of Great Britain to the Emperor of China in the Years 1792, 1793, and 1794 (1807)—and its imaginative engagement with Chinese culture. While Macartney’s narrative partakes of formal and aesthetic qualities associated with travel writing from the Grand Tour and with scientific exploration, it cannot wholly be identified with either. Instead, Macartney adopts a skeptical, self-conscious position with regard to his diplomatic and intellectual limitations in dealing with the Qing. Critical analysis of his narrative’s literary qualities, as well as manuscripts in the Charles W. Wason Collection at Cornell University, enable an appreciation of the sophistication and deliberateness of Macartney’s narrative. Thus, I argue that Macartney’s “failure” is predicated on his understanding and exploration of cultural difference—his narrative opens a space that brings British and Chinese representatives together while also revealing differences between the two cultures. To illuminate that rich yet liminal cultural space in Macartney’s narrative, I draw on a parallel moment in Sino-British cultural relations in the years leading up to the Opium wars—George Chinnery’s painting, Rev. Morrison Translating the Bible in to Chinese (1829). Reading Macartney’s narrative through the lens of Chinnery’s painting, a work that also represents a relationship between the two cultures, brings out the distinctive tone and historiographical understanding of Macartney’s An Embassy to China, 1792–94 .
Psychosocial Adaptation to Illness by Women with Breast Cancer and women with Cancer at Other Sites

Claims that distinctive psychological sequelae are aqsociated with breast canccr treated by mastectomy were evaluated by means of an aggregated case study strategy. Intensive semistructured interviews were conducted with 36 women: 14 had breast cancer, 14 had gynecologic cancers, and 8 had cancer at other sites. Q-sort methodology was used to quantify the interview material. Considerable interindividual variation in psychosocial response to cancer was found, but the variation was not associated with the site of the disease: that is, the women with breast cancer (or gynecologic cancers) were no more like each other than they were like women with cancer at different sites. However, the breast cancer patients tended to adapt more effectively to their illness than did the others. Age, marital status, time since primary treatment, and prognosis were not significantly associated with psychosocial status, but severity of physical impairment and discomfort had significant and widely ramified implications for pati...
Idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension: An avian model for plexogenic arteriopathy and serotonergic vasoconstriction

Idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (IPAH) is a disease of unknown cause that is characterized by elevated pulmonary arterial pressure and pulmonary vascular resistance attributable to vasoconstriction and vascular remodeling of small pulmonary arteries. Vascular remodeling includes hypertrophy and hyperplasia of smooth muscle (medial hypertrophy) accompanied in up to 80% of the cases by the formation of occlusive plexiform lesions (plexogenic arteriopathy). Patients tend to be unresponsive to vasodilator therapy and have a poor prognosis for survival when plexogenic arteriopathy progressively obstructs their pulmonary arteries. Research is needed to understand and treat plexogenic arteriopathy, but advances have been hindered by the absence of spontaneously developing lesions in existing laboratory animal models. Young domestic fowl bred for meat production (broiler chickens, broilers) spontaneously develop IPAH accompanied by semi-occlusive endothelial proliferation that progresses into fully developed plexiform lesions. Plexiform lesions develop in both female and male broilers, and lesion incidences (lung sections with lesions/lung sections examined) averaged approximately 40% in 8 to 52 week old birds. Plexiform lesions formed distal to branch points in muscular interparabronchial pulmonary arteries, and were associated with perivascular mononuclear cell infiltrates. Serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) is a potent vasoconstrictor and mitogen known to stimulate vascular endothelial and smooth muscle cell proliferation. Serotonin has been directly linked to the pathogenesis of IPAH in humans, including IPAH linked to serotonergic anorexigens that trigger the formation of plexiform lesions indistinguishable from those observed in primary IPAH triggered by other causes. Serotonin also plays a major role in the susceptibility of broilers to IPAH. This avian model of spontaneous IPAH constitutes a new animal model for biomedical research focused on the pathogenesis of IPAH and plexogenic arteriopathy.
Identification of candidate genes downstream of TLR4 signaling after ozone exposure in mice: a role for heat-shock protein 70.

Background: Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) is involved in ozone (O3)-induced pulmonary hyperpermeability and inflammation, although the downstream signaling events are unknown. Objectives: The aims of our study were to determine the mechanism through which TLR4 modulates O3-induced pulmonary responses and to use transcriptomics to determine potential TLR4 effector molecules. Methods: C3H/HeJ (HeJ; Tlr4 mutant) and C3H/HeOuJ (OuJ; Tlr4 normal) mice were exposed continuously to 0.3 ppm O3 or filtered air for 6, 24, 48, or 72 hr. We assessed inflammation using bronchoalveolar lavage and molecular analysis by mRNA microarray, quantitative RT-PCR (real-time polymerase chain reaction), immunoblots, immunostaining, and ELISAs (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays). B6-Hspa1a/Hspa1btm1Dix/NIEHS (Hsp70–/–) and C57BL/6 (B6; Hsp70+/+ wild-type control) mice were used for candidate gene validation studies. Results: O3-induced TLR4 signaling occurred through myeloid differentiation protein 88 (MyD88)-dependent and -independent pathways in OuJ mice and involved multiple downstream pathways. Genomewide transcript analyses of lungs from air- and O3-exposed HeJ and OuJ mice identified a cluster of genes that were significantly up-regulated in O3-exposed OuJ mice compared with O3-exposed HeJ mice or air-exposed controls of both strains; this cluster included genes for heat-shock proteins (e.g., Hspa1b, Hsp70). Moreover, O3-induced inflammation, MyD88 up-regulation, extracellular-signal–related kinase-1/2 (ERK1/2) and activator protein-1 (AP-1) activation, and kerotinocyte-derived chemokine (KC) protein content were significantly reduced in Hspa1a/Hspa1btm1Dix (Hsp70–/–) compared with Hsp70+/+ mice (p < 0.05). Conclusions: These studies suggest that HSP70 is an effector molecule downstream of TLR4 and is involved in the regulation of O3-induced lung inflammation by triggering similar pathways to TLR4. These novel findings may have therapeutic and preventive implications for inflammatory diseases resulting from environmental exposures.
Morphology and development of floral shoots and organs in certain Zannichelliaceae

Development of reproductive shoots and associated organs in Vleisia aschersoniana, Althenia filiformis, Lepilaena bilocularis and L. cylindrocarpa (Zannichelliaeeae, sensu Dumortier) has been examined using an epi-illumination technique to provide photographic documentation. Floral shoots share a similar basic developmental pattern. The vegetative shoot is terminated by a unisexual flower, but growth is continued from the axils of leaves immediately below so that fairly regular sympodia develop. Vleisia is most variable in the expression of this pattern. The flowers are simple, consisting of a single stamen or three carpels (one in Vleisia) and show marked similarity in development. Short scale-like appendages, reminiscent of a perianth, develop at the base of the stamen in Althenia and Lepilaena. An outgrowth at the tip of the connective in Lepilaena bilocularis and two at its middle part in Vleisia are initiated at late stages of stamen development. Carpels are subtended by membranous tepal-like appendages that are initiated at the same time as the carpel primordia. Each carpel primordium becomes peltate and develops a bitegmic ovule on the adaxial portion of the carpel wall which in turn overgrows the ovule and ultimately forms a long thin style with either a funnel-shaped (Vleisia, L. cylindrocarpa), peltate (L. bilocularis) or feathery (Althenia) stigma. Relationships with other Alismatales are discussed.
High-Stakes Testing & Student Learning

A brief history of high-stakes testing is followed by an analysis of eighteen states with severe consequences attached to their testing programs. These 18 states were examined to see if their high-stakes testing programs were affecting student learning, the intended outcome of high-stakes testing policies promoted throughout the nation. Scores on the individual tests that states use were not analyzed for evidence of learning. Such scores are easily manipulated through test-preparation programs, narrow curricula focus, exclusion of certain students, and so forth. Student learning was measured by means of additional tests covering some of the same domain as each state's own high-stakes test. The question asked was whether transfer to these domains occurs as a function of a state's high-stakes testing program.
Hypoxia-inducible factors: central regulators of the tumor phenotype

Low oxygen levels are a defining characteristic of solid tumors, and responses to hypoxia contribute substantially to the malignant phenotype. Hypoxia-induced gene transcription promotes characteristic tumor behaviors, including angiogenesis, invasion, metastasis, de-differentiation and enhanced glycolytic metabolism. These effects are mediated, at least in part, by targets of the hypoxia-inducible factors (HIFs). The HIFs function as heterodimers comprising an oxygen-labile alpha-subunit and a stable beta-subunit also referred to as ARNT. HIF-1alpha and HIF-2alpha stimulate the expression of overlapping as well as unique transcriptional targets, and their induction can have distinct biological effects. New targets and novel mechanisms of dysregulation place the HIFs in an ever more central role in tumor biology and have led to development of pharmacological inhibitors of their activity.
Effect of whole-body pH changes on thoracic duct lymph flow in anesthetized sheep

Physiologic alterations of pH in vitro produce alterations of the oncotic pressure of both plasma and interstitial proteins, the effect being more marked in the latter. Therefore we postulated that by changing an animal's pH we could produce alterations in fluid distribution and affect the whole-body lymph flow rate. To test this hypothesis, we infused seven, acutely nephrectomized anesthetized sheep with 2% body weight/volume isosmotic lactated Ringer's solution and bicarbonate (200 mEq) after a 30-minute control period. The fluid was infused over a 10-minute period with 20-minute recovery intervals. To another group of seven ewes, we infused the same volume of lactated Ringer's solution and hydrochloric acid (40 mEq). Throughout the experiment, we continuously measured arterial and venous pressures and lymph flow rate. Every 10 minutes we obtained samples for arterial pH, for hematocrit, and for plasma and lymph protein and osmolality. The infusion of bicarbonate was associated with a comparatively lower peak lymph flow rate (383% over baseline compared with 757% for acid infusion). Also the lymph flow rate after acid infusion started to increase -5 minutes after the beginning of the infusion, as compared with -10 minutes after the base infusion. Acid infusion did not increase arterial pressure, in contrast to the other infusions. The changes in pH obtained with the infusions were insignificant for the Ringer's infusion, +0.17 for the base, and -0.16 for the acid. The plasma/ lymph protein concentration ratios at the end of the infusion were no different for acid or base: 112.4% ± 4.4% and 101.9% ± 5% (difference from control, mean ± SEM) respectively (p>0.1). In conclusion, minimal alterations of pH produced alterations in the cardiovascular and lymph flow rate responses to fluid challenge in anesthetized animals.
Therapy for inflammatory breast cancer: Impact of doxorubicin-based therapy

Background: Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) carries an ominous prognosis. Before 1988, women with IBC at our institution were treated with neoadjuvant cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, and 5-fluorouracil (CMF) with or without vincristine and prednisone (CMF/VP). After 1988, women with IBC were treated with cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, and 5-fluorouracil (FAC). This study compares these two regimens with regard to response and survival.
High-flux magnetorheology at elevated temperatures

Commercial applications of magnetorheological (MR) fluids often require operation at elevated temperatures as a result of surrounding environmental conditions or intense localized viscous heating. Previous experimental investigations of thermal effects on MR fluids have reported significant reductions in the magnetorheological stress with increasing temperature, exceeding the predictions made by considering the thermal variations in the individual physical properties of the fluid and solid constituents of a typical MR fluid. In the low-flux regime, designers of MR fluid actuators can alleviate this thermal reduction in stress by increasing the applied magnetic field strength. However, this is not possible in the high-flux regime because of magnetic saturation, and it becomes necessary to explore and understand the intrinsic limitations of the fluid at elevated temperature. We describe a new magnetorheological fixture, which was designed as an accessory to a commercial torsional shear rheometer, capable of applying magnetic flux densities up to 1 T and controlling the sample temperature up to 150°C. During the design of the instrument, close attention was given to the uniformity of the magnetic field applied to the sample by using numerical simulations. Incorporation of a custom-built magnetic flux sensor which matches the environmental capabilities of the fixture enables in situ measurement of the local magnetic field at each temperature. The numerical results are also validated by spatially resolved measurements of the local magnetic field. Finally, we explore the ability of a shift factor between fluid magnetization and yield strength to describe the measured variation in the MR fluid response at elevated temperatures.
Osmolality of enteral formulas for maternal phenylketonuria

Osmolalities of individual products and composite diets used in the treatment of maternal phenylketonuria were measured. Mathematical equations were developed which predict osmolality. Quantitative information on osmolalities of enteral formulas for women with maternal phenylketonuria may help clinicians plan diets to avoid the risk of gastrointestinal disturbances and to increase acceptability.
Sensitivity analysis of goal programming with pre-emption

Abstract Empirical applications of goal programming with pre-emption to-date have failed to deal with the effects of changes in parameters after the optimal solution has been obtained. A few studies that attempted to do this employed the existing linear programming packages as the basic tool for the analysis, with numerical weights assigned in place of the pre-emptive priority factors. Here an attempt is made to extend the duality theory of linear programming and to relate it to the analysis c f po8t-optimality, especially regarding changes in the priority structure. To this end, the dual problem is constructed and interpreted. It is shown that a duality-based sensitivity analysis helps a decision maker have a better feel for the soundness of bis priority structure of goals.
There is No Alternative: Prospect Theory, the Yes Campaign and Selling the Good Friday Agreement

Abstract This article examines how the non‐party ‘Yes Campaign’ orchestrated the successful passage of the 1998 referendum for the Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland. It argues that the Campaign’s use of strategies based upon the tenets of prospect theory – focusing on the risks of failure rather than the benefits of success – had numerous impacts throughout the six‐week campaign, ultimately resulting in the referendum’s passage with enough unionist support to insulate the Agreement from some degree of criticism. The article does this by tracing the Campaign’s main themes and the narratives surrounding their use by the Campaign itself, by other pro‐agreement individuals and parties and by their reflection in voter choices and rationales for supporting the Agreement. More than 200 documents were analyzed, largely focusing on news accounts, but also including books, journal articles, websites, images and interviews with key players in the Campaign.
Shear-Layer Effects on Trailing Vortices

Crosswind shear can influence the trailing vortex trajectories significantly, according to both field measurement and numerical simulations. Point vortex models are used in this paper to study the fluid dynamic mechanism in the interactions between trailing vortex pair and shear layers. It has been shown that the shear-layer deformation causes the vortex descent history difference in the two vortices of the vortex pair. When a shear layer is below the vortex pair with the same sign as the left vortex, the right vortex descends less than the left vortex. When the same shear layer is above the vortex pair, the right vortex descends more. The descent altitudes of the two vortices are the same when they go through a constant, non-deformed shear layer. Those trends are in agreement with Navier-Stokes simulations.
Effectiveness of antiscatter grids in digital radiography. A phantom study.

INTRODUCTION.With ever-increasing interest in bedside radiography using digital imaging techniques, one question often asked is whether and which antiscatter grid should be used to reduce the effects of scattered radiation. In this article, the authors quantitatively analyze and compare images obtai