cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Testing Functional Hypotheses for the Behavior of Resident Pine Voles, Microtus pinetorum, Toward Non‐Residents

Members of a social group should attempt to maximize their fitness by maintaining an optimal group composition. Allowing an immigrant into the group may be beneficial or costly depending on the characteristics of the immigrant as well as the composition of the group. Therefore, we examined behavioral interactions between pine voles to test three functional hypotheses proposed to explain behavior of residents toward non-residents: the resource defense, mate defense, and benefit of extra-pair copulation hypotheses. To test these, we examined the effects of age, sexual experience and sex of non-residents as well as the effects of sex of residents on the behavior of residents. Neither male nor female residents showed affiliative behavior toward non-residents. Residents were more aggressive toward non-residents than vice versa. The frequency of same-sex aggression was greater than opposite-sex aggression for male residents and this aggression was directed at adult male non-residents to a greater degree than at subadult males. Resident males were least aggressive toward adult females. We found no differences in the behavior of females toward subadults, sexually naive adult non-residents or sexually experienced adult non-residents. Females also displayed similar amounts of aggression toward male and female non-residents. Therefore, for males, aggression may function in defense of a mate while for females, aggression functions in resource defense. For both sexes, aggression is likely to play a role in the regulation of group composition.
Migrant Workers in the Middle East: Introduction

Transnational labor migration is one of the most visible features of our globalizing world. The International Organization for Migration estimates that there are 214 million migrant workers crossing national borders in the world today. Migration both in and to the Middle East constitutes an important part of this movement of laborers and has deep roots. In the mid-fifteenth century, workers across a broad spectrum of occupations, including stevedores, boatmen, and bakers, trekked from areas in eastern and central Anatolia to the new imperial Ottoman capital, Istanbul, where they lived and worked for months and even years. Workers from outside the Middle East also have been part of the fabric of life in the region for several centuries, the slave trade from sub-Saharan Africa, which long supplied labor for a variety of purposes, being one of the most notable. Migrant workers took on new significance in the twentieth century, especially after the oil price hikes of 1973. Today the nations on the Arabian Peninsula, the destination for most workers, have the highest ratio of migrants to locals in the world.
1-bar|t-butyl-5-isopropylidenebicyclo[2.1.0]pentane

Abstract The title compound, synthesized by a carbenoid cyclization-rearrangement route, is the most stable member of the bicyclo[2.1.0]pentane series yet prepared.
A correction to Potters and van Winden (1992)

This note amends the model of informational lobbying presented in Potters and van Winden (Public Choice 74:269–292, 1992). In the original article, the authors find that only separating and pooling equilibria exist when the cost of lobbying is intermediate and the policymaker’s prior favors the interest group’s preferred policy. However, we prove that a semi-separating equilibrium also exists under these conditions. Implications for lobbying behavior are discussed.
Physiological basis of host susceptibility of Florida mosquitoes to Dirofilaria immitis.

Abstract Young females of seven species of Florida mosquitoes were fed a meal of dog blood infected with Dirofilaria immitis to repletion to study the physiological mechanisms which control susceptibility and resistance in these mosquitoes. Various species of mosquitoes showed different grades of susceptibility. In all mosquitoes, microfilariae reached the midgut immediately after ingestion. Their movement from midgut to the specific host tissue—the Malpighian tubules—was either facilitated or inhibited depending on the presence or absence of anticoagulins in the salivary glands of these mosquitoes. In Anopheles quadrimaculatus, Aedes taeniorhynchus, and Aedes sollicitans, microfilariae move freely from the midgut to the Malpighian tubules, because of the presence of substantial amounts of anticoagulins in their salivary glands, and 30 to 60 mf/female developed normally to an infective stage. Very few microfilariae reached the tubules of Mansonia titillans as most of them were defaecated within a very short time after ingestion. In Aedes aegypti, Culex nigripalpus, and Culex pipiens quinquefasciatus movement of microfilariae from the midgut to the Malpighian tubules was obstructed by the coagulation of blood soon after ingestion. Coagulation of blood was followed by formation of oxyhaemoglobin crystals in C. nigripalpus and C. p. quinquefasciatus. It is suggested that secretions from symbiotic bacteria in the midgut of these mosquitoes lyse ingested red blood cells, and the released haemoglobin is oxidized to oxyhaemoglobin crystals which hinder the further movement of microfilariae and kill them. Microfilariae developed normally in A. quadrimaculatus, thus making them potentially the most susceptible mosquitoes, even though these mosquitoes did not survive to be effective potential vectors. A few microfilariae or their later developmental stages were melanized in the tubules of most A. sollicitans and A. taeniorhynchus, but the numbers of melanized stages were too few to affect the vectoring potentials of these species. In 20 per cent of A. sollicitans, 60 per cent of M. titillans, and ca. 80 per cent A. aegypti substantial numbers of the microfilariae after reaching the Malpighian tubules did not advance beyond the prelarval stage, and very few microfilariae developed successfully in the remaining mosquitoes. Very few microfilariae reached the Malpighian tubules of a small percentage of C. nigripalpus and C. p. quinquefasciatus and developed normally. The vectoring potentials of A. sollicitans, M. titillans, A. aegypti, and both Culex species were greatly hampered. These studies suggested that host-specificity of mosquitoes to D. immitis infection is controlled by the presence or absence of secondary physiological factors in their digestive tracts or in the Malpighian tubules.
Process Variation Aware Synthesis of Application-Specific MPSoCs to Maximize Yield

In contemporary semiconductor technologies, considerable unpredictability in the behavior of manufactured chips is being observed due to the effects of process variations. This unpredictability translates into variations in power and performance within these chips. At the same time, with ever shrinking power budgets and rising cooling costs, most chip designs need to satisfy a hard limit on the maximum power that the chip can dissipate. In such a scenario, the yield of a design for a given process depends on the number of chips meeting both performance and power constraints. In this work, we propose a novel process variation-aware MPSoC synthesis framework that performs simultaneous mapping and voltage assignment of cores to mitigate the adverse effects of process variations while maximizing yield. Our experimental results show average improvements ranging from 2× to 3.8× in power-performance yield over other variation-aware MPSoC synthesis frameworks proposed in prior literature.
Changes in rat's meal patterns as a function of the caloric density of the diet

Rats in a laboratory foraging paradigm were offered each of four diets which differed in caloric density, and intakes, meal frequencies, meal sizes, and eating rates were monitored. The rats maintained a constant daily caloric intake by eating more frequent, larger meals of the lower density foods. However, caloric meal size was not regulated, and significant correlations between meal size and the length of the post-meal interval were rarely found. The 24-hour pattern of calorie intake was the same regardless of diet. Higher-calorie foods were consumed at a faster rate within meals than were lower-calorie foods. The feeding patterns observed suggest that caloric intake may be regulated over a time frame of several meals rather than on a meal-to-meal basis.
Classification of weighted dual graphs with only complete intersection singularities structures

Let p be normal singularity of the 2-dimensional Stein space V. Let π: M → V be a minimal good resolution of V, such that the irreducible components A i of A = π ―1 (p) are nonsingular and have only normal crossings. Associated to A is weighted dual graph Γ which, along with the genera of the A i , fully describes the topology and differentiable structure of A and the topological and differentiable nature of the embedding of A in M. In this paper we give the complete classification of weighted dual graphs which have only complete intersection singularities but no hypersurface singularities associated to them. We also give the complete classification of weighted dual graphs which have only complete intersection singularities associated with them.
Phase stability of glasses

Abstract Allowing rearrangements effected by covalent bond rupture it appears that all three-dimensional materials are more stable in some crystalline (or quasi-crystalline) state than in glassy form. The scaled glass temperature, T rmrg (= T g / T l , where T g is the actual glass and T l the liquidus temperature) might be taken as one index of the thermodynamics stability of the glass relative to its crystallized form. Reported values of T rg range from 0.45, for certain metallic glasses, to 0.87, for fused silica scaled with the quartz liquidus. The effects of covalent connectivity, molecular asymmetrization, and homophase compositional changes on T rg will be surveyed. The thermodynamic properties of some selected materials in their glassy and crystalline forms will be compared. The effects of relative glass stability on glass forming tendency, a property determined by the crystallization kinetics, will also be reviewed.
Ductile failure behavior of polycrystalline Al 6061-T6

Ductile failure in polycrystalline aluminum alloys is explored through uniaxial tension and notched tension experiments. Specimens obtained through tests interrupted at various stages of deformation and failure evolution are examined through microscopy to discern the mechanisms of failure and to evaluate the local strain evolution quantitatively. Fractographic observations are used to identify the onset and evolution of damage processes during deformation and failure of these aluminum alloys. Local strain levels are estimated from measurements of the change in grain size with deformation and used to indicate that the local values of failure strains are likely to be much larger than that estimated from strains averaged over characteristic specimen dimensions such as the gage length or the specimen diameter. Lower bound estimates of the failure strain at moderate triaxiliaties are obtained from the experiments.
Metastasis-suppressor transcript destabilization through TARBP2 binding of mRNA hairpins

Aberrant regulation of RNA stability has an important role in many disease states. Deregulated post-transcriptional modulation, such as that governed by microRNAs targeting linear sequence elements in messenger RNAs, has been implicated in the progression of many cancer types. A defining feature of RNA is its ability to fold into structures. However, the roles of structural mRNA elements in cancer progression remain unexplored. Here we performed an unbiased search for post-transcriptional modulators of mRNA stability in breast cancer by conducting whole-genome transcript stability measurements in poorly and highly metastatic isogenic human breast cancer lines. Using a computational framework that searches RNA sequence and structure space, we discovered a family of GC-rich structural cis-regulatory RNA elements, termed sRSEs for structural RNA stability elements, which are significantly overrepresented in transcripts displaying reduced stability in highly metastatic cells. By integrating computational and biochemical approaches, we identified TARBP2, a double-stranded RNA-binding protein implicated in microRNA processing, as the trans factor that binds the sRSE family and similar structural elements--collectively termed TARBP2-binding structural elements (TBSEs)--in transcripts. TARBP2 is overexpressed in metastatic cells and metastatic human breast tumours and destabilizes transcripts containing TBSEs. Endogenous TARBP2 promotes metastatic cell invasion and colonization by destabilizing amyloid precursor protein (APP) and ZNF395 transcripts, two genes previously associated with Alzheimer's and Huntington's disease, respectively. We reveal these genes to be novel metastasis suppressor genes in breast cancer. The cleavage product of APP, extracellular amyloid-α peptide, directly suppresses invasion while ZNF395 transcriptionally represses a pro-metastatic gene expression program. The expression levels of TARBP2, APP and ZNF395 in human breast carcinomas support their experimentally uncovered roles in metastasis. Our findings establish a non-canonical and direct role for TARBP2 in mammalian gene expression regulation and reveal that regulated RNA destabilization through protein-mediated binding of mRNA structural elements can govern cancer progression.
Zonal centrifugation and flotation-fractionation of msd mutant mouse brain.

Zonal centrifuge and flotation–fractionation profile analysis of neonatal mouse brain homogenates in iso-osmotic Ficoll–sucrose density–gradients demonstrates the presence of four light density fractions. In msd neurological mutant mice with a myelin-synthesizing deficiency syndrome, the bands appear to be relatively normal until after the 10th day of postnatal brain development. With the onset of visible neurological symptoms after the 11th day, the four density bands begin to disappear from the zonal profiles and are all but absent at the time of death at about the 21st postnatal day. In normal littermates of the mutants, the bands persist with age and intensify. Although their identities remain unknown, the top three identify by their density with adult myelin and the fourth with the lighter of two adult synaptosome fractions. Mixtures of brain homogenates between mutant and normal littermates give rise to zonal and banding profiles intermediate between the separate profiles but somewhat less than their average in intensity.
Laboratory Study of Mating Behavior as Related to Diapause in Overwintering Cacopsylla pyricola (Homoptera: Psyllidae)

Mating activity of pear psylla, Cacopsylla pyricola (Foerster), with emphasis on the morphologically distinctive overwintering winterform generation, was characterized in the laboratory. Generally, one spermatophore was passed per copulation. Presence of light, size of the mating arena, and the number of leaves in the arena affected mating frequency; the highest mean frequency observed was 9.18 matings per 24 h. Diapausing psylla males, after being conditioned under long photoperiod (16:8 [L:D]), mated significantly more often than those conditioned under a photoperiod of 12:12 or 10:14 (L:D). The photoperiodic experience of the female did not affect mating frequency. Visual observation of behavior revealed that the winterform males conditioned under short days made as many sexual advances as winterform males conditioned under long days, but diapause males were rejected by the females. Pairings of winterform females with summerform males had significantly fewer inseminations compared with pairings involving the same seasonal forms; there is a behavioral barrier to mating between the generations.
Adverse outcomes in hip arthroplasty: long-term trends.

Total hip arthroplasty is well established to be a safe and effective therapy for patients with advanced degenerative joint disease1,2. As recognition of the benefits of total hip arthroplasty has increased, there has been a dramatic increase in utilization of this procedure both in the United States and internationally3-6. The increase in utilization of total hip arthroplasty has been driven by an array of factors including the aging of the population7, improvements in surgical technique, and advances in joint implant design8 that are widely thought to result in reduced operative risk and improved patient outcomes. There have been very few rigorous empirical studies evaluating longitudinal trends in total hip arthroplasty outcomes and adverse events, and the studies that are available are largely from outside the United States9-13. One United States-based study recently examined adverse events in a relatively simplistic manner and failed to examine whether there might be different trends for different adverse outcomes14. Thus, on the basis of the available data, it is extremely difficult to know whether outcomes after primary and revision total hip arthroplasty are improving or whether certain complications are becoming more common. The lack of longitudinal data on total hip arthroplasty outcomes is striking when considered in comparison with other common and costly surgical procedures. For example, there have been numerous studies examining longitudinal trends in outcomes after cardiac surgery and angioplasty15-19 but analogous studies of total hip arthroplasty are limited. Such studies are important in guiding physician and patient decision-making about the risks and benefits of surgery. Likewise, such longitudinal data are important for evaluating the potential impact of changing practice patterns and increasingly resistant bacterial pathogens. The objective of this study was to evaluate long-term trends in complications after primary and revision total hip arthroplasty among older adults enrolled in the United States Medicare program.
The erosion of authority and the perceived legitimacy of inmate social protest: A study of prison guards

Abstract The level of control exercised by guards over inmates, it has been argued, has decreased recently as a result of therapeutic, legal, and bureaucratic changes in American prisons. Feeling that inmates too often and too easily circumvent their authority, and that greater inmate rights pose a serious threat to their ability to maintain order, guards tend to discredit inmate complaints and to deny inmates the right to lawful social protest. Questionaire data are analyzed to examine (1) the extent and degree to which guards perceive as legitimate the various means by which inmates may protest unfair treatment by staff and (2) the relationship of this perceived legitimacy of inmate social protest to a variety of factors that prior research has isolated as important in understanding prison guards as an occupational group.
New operative method for tracheal compression in congenital heart disease

A new technique is described for repairing tracheal compression caused by ascending aorta associated with corrected transposition of the great arteries and pulmonary atresia in a 113-day-old infant. Surgical repair for the tracheal compression was accomplished by suspending the pericardium around the aortic arch to the underside of the sternum. This method seems to be useful for some patients with tracheal compression caused by the ascending aorta.
Induced chondroblastic differentiation of human fibroblasts by three-dimensional culture with demineralized bone matrix

Demineralized bone powder (DBP) implanted in vivo induces endochondral bone formation (osteoinduction). Connective tissue cells migrate to the powders and they begin to produce cartilage matrix. Subsequently, vascularization is stimulated and the cartilage is replaced by bone and marrow. Demineralized bone implants have been used clinically for a variety of osseous reconstructive applications. We designed a novel three-dimensional (3-D) device to examine the mechanism of chondroinduction in vitro. Normal human dermal fibroblasts (hDFs) were cultured in 3-D collagen sponges with and without DBP. The cells migrated through the collagen lattice and they attached to and spread onto particles of demineralized bone. Cells vicinal to the DBP produced cartilage matrix proteoglycans. Induced cells expressed cartilage-specific gene products, type II collagen and aggrecan. Control hDFs did not produce cartilage matrix when cultured in plain collagen sponges. This experimental system has the potential to reveal mechanisms of gene activation and other early steps in postnatal chondro/osteoinduction. Further, these results suggest that it may be possible to engineer human cartilage for transplantation by culturing autogenous dermal fibroblasts with a chondroinductive agent.
SAMPLE SIZE DETERMINATIONS USING LOGISTIC REGRESSION WITH PILOT DATA

Suppose the goal of a projected study is to estimate accurately the value of a ‘prediction’ proportion p that is specific to a given set of covariates. Available pilot data show that (1) the covariates are influential in determining the value of p and (2) their relationship to p can be modelled as a logistic regression. A sample size justification for the projected study can be based on the logistic model; the resulting sample sizes not only are more reasonable than the usual binomial sample size values from a scientific standpoint (since they are based on a model that is more realistic), but also give smaller prediction standard errors than the binomial approach with the same sample size. In appropriate situations, the logistic-based sample sizes could make the difference between a feasible proposal and an unfeasible, binomial-based proposal. An example using pilot study data of dental radiographs demonstrates the methods.
Endothelial dysfunction in patients with chest pain and normal coronary arteries

BACKGROUND A subgroup of patients with chest pain and angiographically normal epicardial coronary arteries have reduced dilator response to metabolic or pharmacological stimuli, but the mechanisms responsible for this reduced dilator response are unknown. In this study, we have investigated whether microvascular endothelial dysfunction is a cause of the observed reduced vasodilator reserve. METHODS AND RESULTS The functional response of the microvasculature was studied with rapid atrial pacing at 150 beats per minute. Fifty-one patients, 20 hypertensive and 31 normotensive, with chest pain and normal epicardial coronary arteries ( 50%) constriction with < 10(-5) M acetylcholine concentration, was evident in five patients (10%). In the remaining 46 patients, coronary blood flow increased with acetylcholine (mean, 78 +/- 43%) and atrial pacing (mean, 51 +/- 37%), and coronary vascular resistance decreased by 35 +/- 16% and 29 +/- 14%, respectively, but the responses were heterogeneous. There was a correlation between the coronary resistance change with acetylcholine and the change with atrial pacing: r = 0.68, p < 0.001 in these 46 patients. Thus, patients with depressed dilation with atrial pacing had reduced endothelium-dependent dilation with acetylcholine, and vice versa. However, the microvascular dilation caused by sodium nitroprusside was not significantly different between patients with and those without reduced dilation with atrial pacing, indicating that the vasodilator defect was not caused by smooth muscle dysfunction. There were no differences in the vasodilator responses with atrial pacing, acetylcholine, or nitroprusside between normotensive and hypertensive patients. Multivariate regression analysis was performed to determine whether age, sex, serum cholesterol level, hypertension, presence of mild epicardial vessel atherosclerosis, resting left ventricular function, change in left ventricular ejection fraction with exercise, vasodilation with acetylcholine, and vasodilation with sodium nitroprusside were independently related to the vasodilator response to atrial pacing. Only the change in coronary vascular resistance with acetylcholine was independently correlated with the change in resistance with atrial pacing: R2 = 0.46, p < 0.0001. CONCLUSIONS Patients with chest pain, normal epicardial coronary arteries, and reduced vasodilation in response to atrial pacing appear to have associated endothelial dysfunction of the coronary microvasculature. Thus, microvascular endothelial dysfunction may contribute to the reduced vasodilator reserve with atrial pacing and anginal chest pain in these patients.
Prevalence of Blastocystis in Shelter-Resident and Client-Owned Companion Animals in the US Pacific Northwest

Domestic dogs and cats are commonly infected with a variety of protozoan enteric parasites, including Blastocystis spp. In addition, there is growing interest in Blastocystis as a potential enteric pathogen, and the possible role of domestic and in-contact animals as reservoirs for human infection. Domestic animals in shelter environments are commonly recognized to be at higher risk for carriage of enteropathogens. The purpose of this study was to determine the frequency of infection of shelter-resident and client-owned domestic dogs and cats with Blastocystis spp in the Pacific Northwest region of the USA. Fecal samples were collected from 103 shelter-resident dogs, 105 shelter-resident cats, 51 client-owned dogs and 52 client-owned cats. Blastocystis were detected and subtypes assigned using a nested PCR based on small subunit ribosomal DNA sequences. Shelter-resident animals were significantly more likely to test positive for Blastocystis (P<0.05 for dogs, P = 0.009 for cats). Sequence analysis indicated that shelter-resident animals were carrying a variety of Blastocystis subtypes. No relationship was seen between Blastocystis carriage and the presence of gastrointestinal disease signs in either dogs or cats. These data suggest that, as previously reported for other enteric pathogens, shelter-resident companion animals are a higher risk for carriage of Blastocystis spp. The lack of relationship between Blastocystis carriage and intestinal disease in shelter-resident animals suggests that this organism is unlikely to be a major enteric pathogen in these species.
Progressive elongation of lower member by callotasis in the child: Results of 36 lengthenings

The authors reviewed a series of 36 progressive lengthenings of the lower member by callotasis (22 femur and 14 tibia) in 33 patients with an inequality of length of the lower member (ILLM). Median age was 13 years; etiology was dominated by infection, congenital defects, and trauma. The lengthening procedure was completed in 26 children; it was necessary to abandon seven lengthening attempts. Median lengthening achieved was 45 (range 30–100) mm. Complications were frequent, with 66 during the different stages (184%). Most were benign (40); seven were determined to be grave, requiring abandonment of the lengthening; while 17 were judged as serious and required an unforeseen supplementary general anesthesia. Upon review of these results, it appears that progressive lengthening is an attractive technique with considerable benefits. However, management is not simple and complications are frequent, requiring close collaboration between the nursing team, the child, and the child's parents. For patient and family, the psychological benefits of this procedure are considerable.
Assessment of locus of control in patients with anxiety and depressive disorders

We studied Levenson's Internal (I), Powerful Others (P), and Chance (C) locus of control scales in 193 patients with six DSM-III-R diagnoses: Major Depression (MD), Panic Disorder (PD), Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), Social Phobia (SP), Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), and Mixed Anxiety Depressive Disorder (MAD). Compared to the comparison groups (CG), we found specific patterns for some of the diagnostic categories. There were no significant differences between the I scale scores and of those in the different anxiety and depressive disorder groups and the CG. But, patients with MD, SP, or MAD had significantly higher P scale scores than the CG. Patients with MD, PD, SP, and MAD had higher C scale scores than the CG. The OCD patients had the lowest P and C scale scores of any of the groups and not significantly different than the CG. The findings have some research and clinical implications.
Histological and Physical Factors Affecting Digestibility of Forages

Factors that limit forage quality are complex and interactive. Structural characteristics that limit forage breakdown are primarily highly lignified support tissues like sclerenchyma and xylem. However, the presence of chemical barriers (likely the low molecular weight phenolic compounds) within “living” cell walls, such as the parenchyma bundle sheath and epidermis, prevents fiber degradation in these tissues. The presence of high proportions of these tissues in leaves of warm-season grasses plus growth in hotter climates, which tends to speed maturity, combine to limit breakdown of warm-season grass leaves compared to cool-season species. Legume leaflets in warm- and cool-season species can be readily degraded due to a high proportion of mesophyll. However, leaflets of certain species or cultivars with high tannin concentrations are poorly degraded, with mesophyll and vascular bundles comprising the residue. Grass stems have a more rigid structure than leaves, with the non-digestible epidermis, sclerenchyma ring, and vascular tissue occupying about 30% of the tissues in the cross sections. In addition, mature grass stems have a poorly degraded parenchyma that contributes to a rigid structure in the residue. Parenchyma in legume stems is totally degraded, leaving a residue of a hollow cylinder surrounded by a uniformly lignified ring. Possibly, variations between structures of mature grass and legume stems contribute to observed differences in forage quality for these forage types. Rumen bacteria and fungi both physically associate with the more recalcitrant forage tissues. Fungi are better able to colonize the liguocellulosic tissues and can partially degrade the most resistant xylem tissues. Research avenues for improving forage quality are: (i) to enhance the ability of anaerobic fungi to weaken lignocellulosic barriers, (ii) to reduce the amount of non-degradable barriers, particularly in stems, by plant breeding, and (iii) to improve by plant breeding the rate and extent of slowly or partially degraded tissues in leaves.
Are American children and youth fit

Abstract We analyzed data from the National School Population Fitness Survey (Reiff et al., 1986) and data collected by the authors of the original study to assess the fitness of American children and youth based on the results of additional analyses. We then compared the numbers of children and youth meeting norm-referenced standards to numbers meeting recently adopted criterion-referenced health (CRH) standards for individual test items in the Fitnessgram (Institute for Aerobics Research, 1987) and AAHPERD Physical Best (AAHPERD, 1988) test batteries. The number of children and youth meeting CRH standards for multiple items in a test battery was also determined. Finally, data were analyzed to determine if changes in fitness have occurred among American children and youth over recent decades. Our results suggest that, with the exception of measures of arm and shoulder girdle strength!endurance, more children and youth meet criterion-referenced health standards than norm-referenced standards (50th percent...
SU‐E‐J‐101: Weighted Voting Method for Multi‐Atlas Segmentation in CT Scans

Purpose: We investigate automating the task of segmenting structures in head and neck CT scans, to minimize time spent manually contouring. We focus on the brainstem and left and right parotids. Methods: To generate contours for an unlabeled image, we assume an atlas of labeled images. We register each of these images to the unlabeled target image, transform their structures, and then use a weighted voting method for label fusion. Our registration method starts with multi‐resolution translational alignment, then applies a relatively higher resolution affine alignment. We then employ a diffeomorphic demons registration to deform each atlas to the space of the targetimage. Our weighted voting method acts one structure at a time to determine for each voxel whether or not it exists in a structure. The weight for a voxel's vote from each atlas depends on the intensity difference of the target and the transformed atlas at that voxel, in addition to the distance of that voxel from the boundary of the structure. Results: We applied our method to sixteen labeled images, generating automatic segmentations foreach using the other fifteen images as the atlas. We compared the resulting Dice and Hausdorff metrics with a majority voting method using the same registrations and saw remarkable improvement. Mean Dice scores were around .7, with maximum Hausdorff of about 15mm, and mean Hausdorffs around 2 or 3mm. Conclusions: Our method produces contours with boundaries usually only a few millimeters away from the manual contour, which could save physicians considerable time, because they only have to make small modifications to each slice instead of contouring from scratch.
Genetic thrombophilia mutations are not increased in patients with recurrent losses

Abstract Objective: To assess the frequency of genetic thrombophilia mutations in patients with recurrent pregnancy loss. Study design: We did a retrospective study over 30 months of women referred for consultation with two or more first-trimester or a second- or third-trimester loss. Patients were tested for the factor V Leiden (FVL), prothrombin G20210A (ProG), and methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) mutations. Maternal demographics were collected. Prevalence data adjusted to match the ethnic origin of the study population were used for comparison. Results: One hundred patients were evaluated. The median age, gravidity, and parity were 33 years (range, 17–46 years), 4 (range, 1–11), and 1 (range, 0–5), respectively. Of the patients, 61% were Caucasian, 26% African-American, 11% Hispanic, and 2% Asian. First-, second-, and third-trimester loss frequencies were 32%, 36%, and 48%, respectively. The prevalence of any mutation was not different between patients with first-trimester loss (n = 22) or second- or third-trimester losses (n = 78). Prevalence P FVL heterozygous 5.68% NS ProG 2.86% NS MTHFR heterozygous 33.8% NS MTHFR homozygous 4.84% NS Conclusions: Thrombophilia mutations do not appear to be higher in a referral population with pregnancy losses.
"Minnesota slots": An observational study of pull tab gambling.

A study of pull tab gambling in Minnesota was undertaken to describe the state's most popular form of gambling. The study also focused on the detection of any abuses or addictive problems that might be associated with it. Pull tab gambling is similar to slot machine gambling. The game, fundamentals of play, and some of the behaviors of pull tab gamblers are described. Various playing patterns and strategies, pull tab etiquette, the numbers and types of players, amounts of money bet, player's wins and losses, house profits, gambling abuses, behaviors which may indicate problem gambling, and dealer/player relationships are discussed. The study concludes with suggestions to help minimize some of the actual and potential problems and abuses that accompany pull tab gambling.
The effect of alpha-interferon, cyclosporine A, and radiation-induced immune suppression on morphine-induced hypothermia and tolerance

Abstract An interconnection between the immune and the central nervous systems has been suggested by investigators studying the actions of several types of immune modifying agents and procedures upon opiate related phenomena. These studies have included the effects of altering immune system function by administration of either alpha-interferon, cyclosporine or radiation exposure upon naloxone-precipitated opiate withdrawal and upon opioid antinociceptive effects. The present study extends these earlier investigations by examining the effect of immune modulation upon opiate induced hypothermia. The results demonstrate that interferon and cyclosporine have no effects on baseline temperature or morphine induced hypothermia, while irradiation exposure elicits hyperthermia without affecting morphine-induced hypothermia. Finally, neither cyclosporine nor irradiation affect the development of tolerance to morphine induced hypothermia, while a single injection of the immune system modifier interferon was able to prevent the development of such tolerance. These observations suggest that yet another opiate-related phenomenon may be regulated at least in part by the immune system. These results together with our previous findings are further evidence of a link between the immune system and the CNS mediated through the opioid system. In addition, these studies further support our earlier hypothesis that “Interferon” is one of the endogenous substances which serves to prevent the development of tolerance and dependence to endogenous opioids.
Markers of inflammation, proteolysis, and apoptosis in ESRD

Abstract Background: Hemodialysis (HD) is associated with protein catabolism and augmented apoptosis. Although the effect of metabolic acidosis and inflammatory cytokines on activation of the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway and branched-chain keto acid dehydrogenase (BCKAD) is well known, the effect of HD on these pathways remains unexplored. Methods: Twelve patients with end-stage renal disease were studied before and during HD. Eight controls also were studied. Plasma levels of complement components and cytokines, interleukin-1 (IL-1), IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) were measured. Messenger RNA (mRNA) levels of caspase-3, a mediator of apoptosis; ubiquitin, a marker of proteolysis; and BCKAD-E2, an enzyme regulating branched-chain amino acid oxidation, were estimated in skeletal muscle biopsy specimens by means of reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. Annexin-V expression was quantified by DNA array. Before the study, participants were placed on a 1.2-g/kg/d protein diet, and metabolic acidosis was corrected. Results: During HD, plasma IL-6 levels increased from 7.54 ± 2.24 to 27.86 ± 4.94 pg/dL ( P P P P
Current cases in which epitope mimicry is considered as a component cause of autoimmune disease: immune-mediated (type 1) diabetes

Autoimmune diseases result from a combination of genetic, immunologic, hormonal, and environmental factors. Infectious agents may induce the breakdown of immunological tolerance and the appearance of autoreactivity. However, the specific relationship between infection and autoimmunity is still unclear. One of the mechanisms responsible could be molecular mimicry between the infectious agent and self. The concept of molecular mimicry is a viable hypothesis in the investigation of the etiology, pathogenesis, treatment, and prevention of autoimmune disorders. Immune-mediated (type 1) diabetes in humans and in non-obese diabetic (NOD) mice is polygenic and characterized by autoimmune destruction of insulin-producing pancreatic beta cells in islets of Langerhans. In NOD mice, a T-helper 1 (Th1)-based autoimmune response arises spontaneously against glutamate decarboxylase (GAD) concurrently with the onset of insulitis. Subsequently. this Th1-type autoreactivity spreads intra- and intermolecularly to other beta cell autoantigens, suggesting that a Th1-type response is responsible for the progression of the disease, whereas Th2 responses when experimentally induced are protective. In humans, a homology between GAD and the P2-C protein of Coxsackie B make a cause-and-effect molecular mimicry an attractive hypothesis. Evidence to support the concept of molecular mimicry in diabetes is reviewed.
Using Performance Reference Compounds in Polyethylene Passive Samplers to Deduce Sediment Porewater Concentrations for Numerous Target Chemicals

Polymeric passive samplers are useful for assessing hydrophobic organic chemical contamination in sediment beds. Here, an improved method is described for measuring concentrations of contaminants in porewater by using performance reference compounds (deuterated phenanthrene, pyrene, and chrysene) to calibrate sampler/site-specific mass transfer behavior. The method employs a one-dimensional diffusion model of chemical exchange between a polymer sheet of finite thickness and an unmixed sediment bed. The model is parametrized by diffusivities and partition coefficients for both the sampler and sediment. This method was applied to estimate porewater concentrations for seventeen PAHs from polymeric samplers deployed for 3−10 days in homogenized sediment from a coal-tar contaminated site. The accuracy of the method was verified by comparing the passive sampler results to concentrations measured through liquid−liquid extraction of physically separated porewaters, with corrections for sorption to colloidal organ...
Estimation of Means and Totals from Finite Populations of Unknown Size

Abstract Problems of estimating the sum of metric values of a finite population of unknown number of elements are discussed for the case in which independent samples are available. Methods of point estimation applicable to the situation, frequent in economics, in which the samples are not simple random samples but rather are probability samples, with the sampling weights unknown, are investigated. Approximations to the expectation and variance of two alternative estimators are derived, in terms of parameter values. The approximate bias and variance of each is shown to depend strongly on the relation between the sampling patterns and the distribution of the variable. Some discussion of point estimation of the population size and of the mean of the variable when the samples are not simple random samples is given. The entire discussion concerns the use of previously (and unsatisfactorily) collected data, rather than the use of data from well-designed samples.
Attenuating a sickle cell crisis with annexin V

A sickle cell crisis is a painful and dangerous condition that defies effective treatment but fortunately it usually terminates spontaneously and patients spend far more time crisis free than in its painful throes. This suggests that an unstable physiologic balance exists between steady state sickle cell disease (SCD) and the crisis state and if this is so a therapeutic nudge during a crisis may help to terminate it. Annexin V may be able to provide this push. The phosphatidylserine (PS) molecules normally appear on the surface of senescent erythrocytes where they are recognized by macrophages and rapidly removed so that normally only about 1% are present in the circulation but in SCD 30-40% are prematurely senescent and their removal is delayed. The PS+ sickle erythrocytes remaining in the circulation adhere to the endothelium and their exposed PS acts as a platform for the initiation of the coagulation cascade that is responsible for clot propagation. Annexin V's great affinity for PS allows it to bond to it forming a shield that blocks both of these actions suggesting that its therapeutic administration during a sickle crisis may be able to hasten its termination.
G1 phase dependent nuclear localization of relaxed-circular hepatitis B virus DNA and aphidicolin-induced accumulation of covalently closed circular DNA.

During chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, virus persistence relies on the maintenance of a pool of covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA) in the nuclei of infected hepatocytes. To achieve this, HBV DNA has to be transported from the cytoplasm to the nucleus. By carrying out subcellular fractionation experiment, both of the relaxed-circular (RC) and single-stranded (SS) HBV DNA were found in the cytoplasm whereas only RC form could be detected in the nucleus of a hepatoblastoma cell line (HepG2) stably producing HBV. This fraction of nuclear RC viral DNA was clearly demonstrated in the G1 but not S phase of synchronized HepG2 cells. Conversely, the relative amount of cytoplasmic RC viral DNA in the S phase was larger than that in the G1 phase. Although no cccDNA could be detected in HepG2 cells without synchronization, an increasing amount of cccDNA in the nucleus was demonstrated after prolonged incubation of the cells in aphidicolin. Finally, by undertaking in situ hybridization using a probe specific to plus-strand HBV DNA, nuclear viral DNA was detected predominantly in the G1 phase of HepG2 cells. In summary, the results indicated that only RC but not SS form of HBV DNA was localized to the nuclei of HepG2 cells. The nuclear localization occurred preferentially in the G1 but not S phase and prolonged treatment with aphidicolin resulted in accumulation of nuclear cccDNA. J. Med. Virol. 55:42–50, 1998. © 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Degeneracy and regeneracy in the axial field of a focused truncated Gaussian beam

An investigation is made of the variations in the Fresnel diffraction along the axis of a Gaussian beam that is focused by a lens-and-aperture system. The general features of these variations can be described by two processes that function in opposite directions: one is the merger (or the cancellation) of the intensity maxima and their adjacent minima and the other is the recurrence of these extreme points in the axial intensities. In low-Fresnel-number focusing systems, these two processes advance alternately as the influence of the truncation of the beam by the aperture decreases. In the operation of these processes, the oscillations and rapid transitions of the focal shift can be observed, and also a discontinuous development occurs in the axial field that transforms it from a highly fluctuating distribution into a smoother one, as predicted by the theory of focusing of a nontruncated Gaussian beam.
Rheological and Chemical Analysis of Reverse Gelation in a Covalently Cross-Linked Diels−Alder Polymer Network

A network polymer, incorporating dynamic and reversible cross-links, was synthesized using the Diels−Alder reaction. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy was used to characterize the reaction rate and thermodynamic equilibrium over a broad temperature range. Equilibrium conversion of the furan and maleimide varied from 74% at 85 °C to 24% at 155 °C, demonstrating significant depolymerization via the retro-Diels−Alder reaction. The gel point temperature, as determined by rheometry using the Winter−Chambon criterion, was 92 °C, corresponding to a gel-point conversion of 71%, consistent with the Flory−Stockmayer equation. The scaling exponents for the complex moduli, viscosity, and plateau modulus, in the vicinity of the gel-point, were determined and compared with experimental and theoretical literature values. Further, the material exhibited a low frequency relaxation owing to dynamic rearrangement of cross-links by the Diels−Alder and retro-Diels−Alder reactions.