cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effect of Long Term Sulfonylurea Therapy on Glucagon Levels in Maturity Onset Diabetes Mellitus

Glucagon secretion was studied before and after the control of hyperglycemia in 15 maturity onset male diabetics (mean age 56.1 yrs; mean duration of diabetes 7.3 yrs). Optimum control of hyperglycemia was achieved by addition of the sulfonylurea chlorpropamide to dietary treatment. A standardized 3 hour oral glucose tolerance test was performed before and after approximately eight months of individualized therapy with the sulfonylurea. The glucose tolerance test was repeated with each patient taking his usual dose of chlorpropamide 90 minutes prior to the administration of the glucose load. Basal hyperglucagonemia occurred both before and after reduction of fasting hyperglycemia, and glucagon levels for the group rose, rather than falling, following glucose administration. Peak glucagon level occurred at 60 min in each test, and fell but not significantly from 182.3 ± 29.4 pg/ml to 163.5 ± 26.4 pg/ml. While there were wide variations in individual responses, these data indicate that the hypoglycemic action of long term sulfonylurea treatment cannot be ascribed to lowering of circulating glucagon levels.
Nebular Compositions, Element Building, and Stellar Evolution

The relationship between chemical abundances in gaseous nebulae and element building processes in stars remains one of the most challenging problems in astrophysics. There are several aspects that merit examination: 1) The linkage between nucleogenesis and nebular chemical compositions is best defined for planetaries and a few other objects where we study the ejecta from a single star. How can theories of stellar evolution help us understand these objects? 2) Although a large fraction of the stellar population probably evolves into planetaries, the role of very massive O, of, and Wolf-Rayet (WR) stars is extremely important because these objects can return highly processed material, either through a stellar wind, through demise as a supernova, or both, and have a possible role in the origin of cosmic rays. 3) In particular, supernovae (although few in number) have a great effect on the chemistry of the ambient interstellar medium. Especially enlightening are a few objects such as Cas A where the chemical composition of the individual fragments of the detonation can be studied.
A Search for the Sources of the Stream of Consciousness

After a behavioristic hiatus of over half a century, American psychologists in the 1960s began, at first tentatively, to return consciousness to its former central position of concern. Because of this long period during which the use of the term was not allowed, we lost contact with the historical roots of the several different, but legitimate, definitions of consciousness. Today, we find psychologists of a wide variety of orientations using this word and assuming that its meaning is the same for others as it is for them. As William James pointed out in his Pragmatism (1907), many interminable quarrels continue because a key word in the dispute has two meanings that are incompatible. In most cases this incompatibility is quite real, for, as James says, the ”practical consequences” may be entirely different according to which meaning is followed.
The Effects of Emotion Suppression During Language Planning and Production.

Purpose Emotion regulation and language planning occur in parallel during interactive communication, but their processes are often studied separately. It has been suggested that emotion suppression...
Embodied Islamophobia: lived experiences of anti-Muslim discourses and assaults in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

This article examines embodied Islamophobia and aims to contribute to the scholarship on geographies of Islamophobia, as well as extend discussions on embodied geopolitics. Drawing on feminist work...
PdumBase: a transcriptome database and research tool for Platynereis dumerilii and early development of other metazoans

The marine polychaete annelid Platynereis dumerilii has recently emerged as a prominent organism for the study of development, evolution, stem cells, regeneration, marine ecology, chronobiology and neurobiology within metazoans. Its phylogenetic position within the spiralian/ lophotrochozoan clade, the comparatively high conservation of ancestral features in the Platynereis genome, and experimental access to any stage within its life cycle, make Platynereis an important model for elucidating the complex regulatory and functional molecular mechanisms governing early development, later organogenesis, and various features of its larval and adult life. High resolution RNA-seq gene expression data obtained from specific developmental stages can be used to dissect early developmental mechanisms. However, the potential for discovery of these mechanisms relies on tools to search, retrieve, and compare genome-wide information within Platynereis, and across other metazoan taxa. To facilitate exploration and discovery by the broader scientific community, we have developed a web-based, searchable online research tool, PdumBase, featuring the first comprehensive transcriptome database for Platynereis dumerilii during early stages of development (2 h ~ 14 h). Our database also includes additional stages over the P. dumerilii life cycle and provides access to the expression data of 17,213 genes (31,806 transcripts) along with annotation information sourced from Swiss-Prot, Gene Ontology, KEGG pathways, Pfam domains, TmHMM, SingleP, and EggNOG orthology. Expression data for each gene includes the stage, the normalized FPKM, the raw read counts, and information that can be leveraged for statistical analyses of differential gene expression and the construction of genome-wide co-expression networks. In addition, PdumBase offers early stage transcriptome expression data from five further species as a valuable resource for investigators interested in comparing early development in different organisms. To understand conservation of Platynereis gene models and to validate gene annotation, most Platynereis gene models include a comprehensive phylogenetic analysis across 18 species representing diverse metazoan taxa. PdumBase represents the first online resource for the early developmental transcriptome of Platynereis dumerilii. It serves as a research platform for discovery and exploration of gene expression during early stages, throughout the Platynereis life cycle, and enables comparison to other model organisms. PdumBase is freely available at http://pdumbase.gdcb.iastate.edu .
Synergy of Paracrine Signaling During Early-Stage Mouse Ovarian Follicle Development In Vitro

Paracrine signals, such as soluble cytokines and extracellular matrix cues, are essential for the survival and development of multicellular ovarian follicles. While it is well established that hydrogel-based culture systems successfully support the growth of late-stage follicles for fertility preservation, growing small, early-stage ovarian follicles still proves to be challenging. We hypothesized that paracrine factors secreted from neighboring follicles may be crucial for improving the survival of early-stage follicles in vitro. To test our hypothesis, we investigated the bi-directional crosstalk of the paracrine signals, such as cell-secreted cytokines, sex hormones and transcription factors (TFs), in follicles encapsulated and cultured for 12 days in alginate in groups of five (5×) and ten (10×). The differential profiles of TF activity and secretome during folliculogenesis were analyzed using TRanscriptional Activity CEllular aRray (TRACER) and data-driven multivariate modeling approach. The mechano- and oxygen-responsive TFs, NF-κB and HIF1, exhibited a unique upregulation signature in 10× follicles. Consistently, levels of proangiogenic factors, such as VEGF-A and angiopoietin-2, were significantly higher in 10× follicles than those in 5× follicles, reaching 269.77 and 242.82 pg/mL on the last day of culture. The analysis of TRACER and secreted cytokines also revealed critical early interactions between cytokines and TFs, correlating with the observed phenotypical and functional differences between conditions. We identified unique signatures of synergism during successful early-stage ovarian follicle development. These findings bring us closer to understanding of mechanisms underlying the downstream effects of interactions between the extracellular microenvironment and early-stage folliculogenesis in vitro.
Usefulness of a new neuroendoscope brain cylinder for intracerebral hematoma surgery

Abstract Objective In multiple series, intracerebral hematomas have been removed via endoscopic surgery. Although endoscopic surgery with tubular retractors has been able to access deep-seated lesions, it is difficult to confirm the depth of the retractor sheath in the surgical field using only the outer sheath. We built various sizes and lengths of neuroendoscopic cylinders, developed by the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) revitalization promotion program, with numerical scales visible during both endoscopic and radiographic procedures. Method and results The JST developed cylinders using new techniques for tantalum film implantation to form tubes made of fluorinated ethylene propylene. We successfully and safely removed various hematomas using these cylinders because we were able to clearly visualize the border of the brain parenchyma and the depth from the brain surface in the cylinder. In addition, we confirmed the area from the posterior to anterior horn using a 14-cm long cylinder during a trans-posterior horn approach under continuous irrigation for thalamic hemorrhage with ventricular hematoma. We ensured coagulation at the bleeding point with a bipolar coagulator using a brain cylinder, 12-mm in diameter, in a patient on antiplatelet therapy. Conclusion Cylinders equipped with a visible scale for both endoscopic and radiographic procedures, developed by JST programs, potentially provide greater patient safety during endoscopic surgery, negating, in some cases, the need for various inspections during surgery. In future, various sizes and lengths of cylinders might be useful across a variety of cases under endoscopic and radiographic guidance.
Designing and Implementing Site-Based Courses in Elementary Teacher Preparation

ABSTRACTIn response to calls to resituate teacher preparation in clinical settings, teacher educators are increasingly repositioning their work in PK–12 contexts. In this article, we describe our e...
FlipIn: A Game-Theoretic Cyber Insurance Framework for Incentive-Compatible Cyber Risk Management of Internet of Things.

Internet of Things (IoT) is highly vulnerable to emerging Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs) that are often operated by well-resourced adversaries. Achieving perfect security for IoT networks is often cost-prohibitive if not impossible. Cyber insurance is a valuable mechanism to mitigate cyber risks for IoT systems. In this work, we propose a bi-level game-theoretic framework called FlipIn to design incentive-compatible and welfare-maximizing cyber insurance contracts. The framework captures the strategic interactions among APT attackers, IoT defenders, and cyber insurance insurers, and incorporates influence networks to assess the systemic cyber risks of interconnected IoT devices. The FlipIn framework formulates a game over networks within a principal-agent problem of moral-hazard type to design a cyber risk-aware insurance contract. We completely characterize the equilibrium solutions of the bi-level games for a network of distributed defenders and a semi-homogeneous centralized defender and show that the optimal insurance contracts cover half of the defenders' losses. Our framework predicts the risk compensation of defenders and the Peltzman effect of insurance. We study a centralized security management scenario and its decentralized counterpart, and leverage numerical experiments to show that network connectivity plays an important role in the security of the IoT devices and the insurability of both distributed and centralized defenders.
Scripting the saints

Scripting the saintsThis essay approaches Hollywood movies about saints by analyzing the problems involved in at-tempting to follow both the scripts provided by the subjects’ lives and the surprisingly varied and often equally demanding scripts required of Hollywood movies in general and saints’ lives in par-ticular. Focusing on Hollywood movies about St. Francis of Assisi and Joan of Arc, it considers the impact of three kinds of scripts: positive demands to be dramatically well-constructed, inspirational, entertaining, uplifting, visually and sonically appealing, helpfully explicit in its exposition, and historically accurate; negative demands to avoid offending followers of the saints, members of the Catholic Church, and anyone else who might reasonably be construed as members of the target audience and to avoid the errors of earlier saint movies; and what might be called irrelevant scripts, those that might seem necessary for Hollywood saints’ lives to follow but that are actually either optional or impossible to follow.„Skryptowanie” świetychStreszczenie Niniejszy szkic jest probą przyblizenia hollywoodzkich filmow o świetych za pomocą analizy problemow wynikających z proby dochowania wierności zarowno scenariuszom dostarczonym dzieki zyciorysom świetych, jak i zaskakująco odmiennym oraz czesto rownie wymagającym scenariuszom, ktorych oczekuje sie od hollywoodzkich filmow w ogole, a od filmow o świetych szczegolnie. Gdy przyjrzymy sie hollywoodzkim filmom o św. Franciszku i Joannie d’Arc, zauwazymy wplyw trzech rodzajow, uzywając psychologicznego albo informatycznego terminu, skryptow: 1. skrypt pozytywnych wymagan, aby film byl poprawny dramaturgicznie, inspirujący, rozrywkowy, podnoszący na duchu, atrakcyjny wizualnie i dźwiekowo, z wyrazistym przeslaniem; 2. skrypt wymagan negatywnych dotyczących unikania urazenia ludzi czczących świetych, czlonkow Kościola katolickiego i kogokolwiek innego, kto moglby byc postrzegany jako czlonek grupy „targetowej” filmow, oraz wymog unikniecia bledow wcześniejszych filmow o świetych; 3. skrypt, ktory mozna by nazwac skryptem nieistotnym, ten, ktory moze sie wydawac wzywaniem do naśladowania hollywoodzkich świetych, ale ktory tak naprawde jest albo tylko opcjonalny, albo niemozliwy do realizacji.
Safety Update: COVID-19 Convalescent Plasma in 20,000 Hospitalized Patients.

OBJECTIVE: To provide an update on key safety metrics after transfusion of convalescent plasma in hospitalized coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) patients, having previously demonstrated safety in 5000 hospitalized patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: From April 3 to June 2, 2020, the US Food and Drug Administration Expanded Access Program for COVID-19 convalescent plasma transfused a convenience sample of 20,000 hospitalized patients with COVID-19 convalescent plasma. RESULTS: The incidence of all serious adverse events was low; these included transfusion reactions (n=78; <1%), thromboembolic or thrombotic events (n=113; <1%), and cardiac events (n=677, ~3%). Notably, the vast majority of the thromboembolic or thrombotic events (n=75) and cardiac events (n=597) were judged to be unrelated to the plasma transfusion per se. The 7-day mortality rate was 13.0% (12.5%, 13.4%), and was higher among more critically ill patients relative to less ill counterparts, including patients admitted to the intensive care unit versus those not admitted (15.6 vs 9.3%), mechanically ventilated versus not ventilated (18.3% vs 9.9%), and with septic shock or multiple organ dysfunction/failure versus those without dysfunction/failure (21.7% vs 11.5%). CONCLUSION: These updated data provide robust evidence that transfusion of convalescent plasma is safe in hospitalized patients with COVID-19, and support the notion that earlier administration of plasma within the clinical course of COVID-19 is more likely to reduce mortality.
Improving Numerical Reproducibility of Scientific Software in Parallel Systems

Recently, numerical reproducibility has received increased emphasis from the scientific community. Software results that are not reproducible make it difficult to examine the science the software supports. A common source of numerical reproducibility errors in computational science occurs during floating-point arithmetic. Finite precisions and limited storage for floating-point numbers require computers to truncate and round results of some math operations. As a consequence, an approximate value is stored instead of the exact result. One programming idiom that is not always reproducible is the global sum reduction of a distributed array. Changing the number of compute units changes the order array elements are added together which, in turn, changes the truncation and rounding. This may change the result of individual add operations and the resulting global sum. Therefore, floating-point addition is not always associative. This research has improved the numerical reproducibility of scientific applications on parallel systems. Automating the improvement of reproducibility in scientific software is the innovative contribution of this research. Two reproducible global sum reduction functions have been implemented and packaged in a software library. The automated improving of reproducibility has been done by developing a source code scanner to recognize certain MPI-based global sum reductions that may have reproducibility errors. The scanner replaces those reductions with calls to the library function containing reproducible codes. Reproducibility and performance testing have demonstrated the effectiveness of the system. This will extend the usefulness of legacy software and can lead to faster rates of discovery, and more efficient application of scientists' time.
Childhood Abuse and Positive and Negative Relationship Quality in Women: The Role of Depression

The interpersonal nature of childhood abuse has led researchers to examine how abuse in childhood is associated with the quality of adult women's romantic relationships. Depression is one pathway by which childhood abuse may be associated with relationship quality. The current study considers whether childhood abuse is linked to positive and negative relationship quality through depressive symptoms. Data were obtained from women participating in the Longitudinal Study of Childhood Abuse and Neglect (LONGSCAN; N = 544) and were analysed using structural equation modelling. Results indicate a significant indirect effect from childhood abuse to both positive and negative quality through women's depressive symptoms. The indirect effect from abuse to negative relationship quality through depression was significantly larger than positive relationship quality. These results suggest that childhood abuse and subsequent depressive symptoms has a twofold effect on women's romantic relationships.
Biological strategies for osteoarthritis: from early diagnosis to treatment

To provide an updated review of the literature on the use of orthobiologics as a potential treatment option to alleviate symptoms associated with osteoarthritis (OA), slow the progression of the disease, and aid in cartilage regeneration. A comprehensive review of the literature was performed to identify basic science and clinical studies examining the role of orthobiologics in the diagnosis and management of osteoarthritis. Certain molecules (such as interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-8 (IL-8), matrix metalloproteinase (MMPs), cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP), and tumor necrosis factor (TNF), microRNAs, growth differentiation factor 11 (GDF-11)) have been recognized as biomarkers that are implicated in the pathogenesis and progression of degenerative joint disease (DJD). These biomarkers have been used to develop newer diagnostic applications and targeted biologic therapies for DJD. Local injection therapy with biologic agents such as platelet-rich plasma or stem cell–based preparations has been associated with significant improvement in joint pain and function in patients with OA and has increased in popularity during the last decade. The combination of PRP with kartogenin or TGF-b3 may also enhance its biologic effect. The mesenchymal stem cell secretome has been recognized as a potential target for the development of OA therapies due to its role in mediating the chondroprotective effects of these cells. Recent experiments have also suggested the modification of gut microbiome as a newer method to prevent OA or alter the progression of the disease. The application of orthobiologics for the diagnosis and treatment of DJD is a rapidly evolving field that will continue to expand. The identification of OA-specific and joint-specific biomarker molecules for early diagnosis of OA would be extremely useful for the development of preventive and therapeutic protocols. Local injection therapies with HA, PRP, BMAC, and other stem cell–based preparations are currently being used to improve pain and function in patients with early OA or those with progressed disease who are not surgical candidates. Although the clinical outcomes of these therapies seem to be promising in clinical studies, future research will determine the true role of orthobiologic applications in the field of DJS.
Integration in or Near Oncogenes Plays Only a Minor Role in Determining the in Vivo Distribution of HIV Integration Sites Before or During Suppressive Antiretroviral Therapy

Abstract HIV persists during antiretroviral therapy (ART) as integrated proviruses in cells descended from a small fraction of the CD4+ T cells infected prior to the initiation of ART. To better understand what controls HIV persistence and the distribution of integration sites (IS), we compared about 16,000 and 54,000 IS from individuals pre-ART and on ART, respectively, with approximately 385,000 IS from PBMC infected in vitro. The distribution of IS in vivo is quite similar to the distribution in PBMC, modified by selection against proviruses in expressed genes, by selection for proviruses integrated into one of 6 specific genes, and by clonal expansion. The clones in which a provirus integrated in an oncogene contributed to the survival of the clone comprise only a small fraction of the clones that persist in HIV-infected individuals on ART. Mechanisms that do not involve the provirus, or its location in the host genome, are more important in determining which clones expand and persist. Author Summary In HIV-infected individuals, a small fraction of the infected cells persist and divide. This reservoir persists on ART and can rekindle the infection if ART is discontinued. Because the number of possible sites of HIV DNA integration is very large, each infected cell, and all of its descendants, can be identified by the site where the provirus is integrated (IS). To understand the selective forces that determine the fates of infected cells in vivo, we compared the distribution of HIV IS in freshly-infected cells to cells from HIV-infected donors sampled both before and during ART. We found that, as has been previously reported, integration favors highly-expressed genes. However, over time the fraction of cells with proviruses integrated in highly-expressed genes decreases, implying that they grow less well. There are exceptions to this broad negative selection. When a provirus is integrated in a specific region in one of six genes, the proviruses affect the expression of the target gene, promoting growth and/or survival of the cell. Although this effect is striking, it is only a minor component of the forces that promote the growth and survival of the population of infected cells during ART.
The Perfect Cytokine Storm: Utilization of Lung Ultrasound During Urgent Surgery in an Infant With Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children and Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis

Reports of children with a temporal association to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 hospitalized with cardiogenic shock or Kawasaki-like disease began emerging in April 2020. In May 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published the criteria for what came to be known as multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, a postinfectious inflammatory immune response to coronavirus disease 2019 exposure. Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis is a heterogeneous disease state associated with systemic hyperinflammation secondary to immune dysregulation. We describe the utility of perioperative lung ultrasound in an infant with both disease states.
A single theory for some quasi-static, supersonic, atomic, and tectonic scale applications of dislocations

Abstract We describe a model based on continuum mechanics that reduces the study of a significant class of problems of discrete dislocation dynamics to questions of the modern theory of continuum plasticity. As applications, we explore the questions of the existence of a Peierls stress in a continuum theory, dislocation annihilation, dislocation dissociation, finite-speed-of-propagation effects of elastic waves vis-a-vis dynamic dislocation fields, supersonic dislocation motion, and short-slip duration in rupture dynamics.
An architecture for software-based iSCSI: experiences and analyses

Supporting multi-gigabit/s of iSCSI over TCP can quickly saturate the processing abilities of a SMP server today. Legacy OS designs and APIs are not designed for the multi-gigabit IO speeds. Most of industry's efforts had been focused on offloading the extra processing and memory load to the network adapter (NIC). As an alternative, this paper shows a software implementation of iSCSI on generic OSes and processors. We discuss an asymmetric multiprocessing (AMP) architecture, where one of the processors is dedicated to serve as a TCP engine. The original purpose of our prototype was to leverage the flexibility and tools available in generic systems for extensive analyses of iSCSI. As work proceeded, we quickly realized the viability of generic processors to meet iSCSI requirements. Looking ahead to chip-multiprocessing, where multiple cores reside on each processor, understanding partitioning of work and scaling to cores will be important in future server platforms.
Thorpe-Ziegler reaction

The intramolecular version of the Thorpe reaction, which is base-catalyzed selfcondensation of nitriles to yield imines that tautomerize to enamine.
FEEDING REQUIREMENTS OF KRILL IN RELATION TO FOOD SOURCES

ABSTRACT During the Melville expedition to the Scotia Sea in January-March 1981, a multidisciplinary team of investigators studied the distribution and biomass of Euphausia superba, in addition to its food resources. The areas studied included five north-south transects of the Scotia Sea (33°–50°W) where krill were relatively sparse, and an area north of Elephant Island where a superswarm of krill was encountered. Krill biomass, determined on samples obtained by paired bongo nets (1 m2), has been used to calculate the minimal daily food requirements for all stages of krill from Calyptopis I to the adult stage. The mean krill biomass in the upper 200 m of the water column in the Scotia Sea (10.6 mg dry weight m–3) would require 0.105–-0.211 mg C m–3 d–1; the corresponding value for krill in the swarm area (270 mg dry weight m–3) was 2.4-5.4 mg C m–3 d-'. The phytoplankton productivity for the upper 200 m in the Scotia Sea and in the swarm area was estimated to be 4.8 and 4.2 mg C m–3 d-', respectively. Our calculations have been concerned mainly with the minimal daily carbon requirements for "maintenance" metabolism. Data of other investigators have been used to compare the total carbon requirement for growth of krill on a seasonal basis. In areas of dense krill aggregations (such as that north of Elephant Island) our calculations indicate that phytoplankton productivity can sustain "maintenance" metabolism by the krill population, but may not provide for full growth of the individuals. Other factors must be invoked here, such as dispersal of the swarm, horizontal movements of the krill along lines of increasing food concentrations, and advection of food resources into the swarm area. Floristic analyses of phytoplankton "in" and "out" of krill swarms suggest that the krill preferentially consume the larger phytoplankton, and leave most of the nannoplankton. Our data from the Scotia Sea indicate that this area is very high in primary production as compared to most other sections of the Antarctic Ocean, and this might be responsible for the high krill biomass reported for this area. The BIOMASS acoustic data set indicates, however, that the greatest krill concentrations exist in the East Indian Ocean (61 mg dry weight m–3), where data indicate that primary production is very low. This anomaly requires further investigation on the relationship of large-scale zones of high primary production in Antarctic waters and their relation to zooplankton biomass.
Granulysin, a cytolytic molecule, is also a chemoattractant and proinflammatory activator.

Granulysin, a cationic protein produced by activated human CTL and NK cells, is cytolytic against microbial and tumor targets. In this study we show that granulysin also functions as a chemoattractant and activates monocytes to produce cytokines/chemokines. Although granulysin-mediated cytotoxicity occurs at micromolar concentrations, chemoattraction occurs in the nanomolar range, and immune activation occurs over a wide range of concentrations (nanomolar to micromolar). Granulysin causes a 2- to 7-fold increase in chemotaxis of monocytes, CD4 + , and CD8 + memory (CD45RO) but not naive (CD45RA) T cells, NK cells, and mature, but not immature, monocyte-derived dendritic cells. Pertussis toxin treatment abrogates chemoattraction by granulysin, indicating involvement of G-protein-coupled receptor(s). At low concentrations (10 nM), granulysin promotes a 3- to 10-fold increase in MCP-1 and RANTES produced by monocytes and U937 cells, while a 2-fold increase in TNF-α production by LPS-stimulated monocytes requires higher concentrations of granulysin (micromolar). Taken together, these data indicate that the local concentration of granulysin is critical for the biologic activity, with high concentrations resulting in cytotoxicity while lower concentrations, presumably further from the site of granulysin release, actively recruit immune cells to sites of inflammation.
The management of stage T1 grade 3 transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder.

The number of Mini-Reviews per issue is being increased to three for the foreseeable future. As mentioned before, I believe they add to the reader-friendliness of the journal, and are enjoyable and informative. This month, the controversial topics of T1 G3 bladder cancer, surgery for penile fractures and managing patients on warfarin are dealt with. I hope that readers will feel free to write to me if they have strong feelings about these or any other subjects in the Journal.
Effects of continuously administered murine interleukin-1 alpha: tolerance development and granuloma formation.

Abstract Continuous infusion of murine recombinant interleukin-1 alpha (rIL-1 alpha) into rats by using intraperitoneally implanted osmotic pumps led to marked decreases in body weight, liver enzymes (serum glutamic oxalacetic transaminase, serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase, and sorbitol dehydrogenase), appetite, and mobility and increases in drinking, blood urea nitrogen, and total peripheral blood leukocytes within 3 days. Granuloma formation was found in the local area of rIL-1 alpha release. As early as day 3, a focal infiltrate of polymorphonuclear leukocytes, mononuclear leukocytes, and plasma cells filled the area; by day 6, extensive fibrosis was found. A loss of rIL-1 alpha-induced changes, with the exception of granuloma formation, occurred by day 10. A marked decrease in the response to rIL-1 alpha was also observed when animals were challenged by implantation of new pumps containing rIL-1 alpha, with monitoring of body weight, or by subcutaneous injection of rIL-1 alpha, with monitoring of serum colony-stimulating factor production. We propose that, even in the continuous presence of interleukin-1, replacement of the acute responses to interleukin-1 by restoration of more normal physiology may be advantageous upon acquisition of specific immunity.
Microautoradiography in studies of Pu(V) sorption by trace and fracture minerals in tuff

Microautoradiography was used to evaluate the mineralogic basis of Pu(V) retention by tufts from Yucca Mountain, Nevada. Altered orthopyroxenes and oxide minerals are associated with high Pu retention, but are limited to specific stratigraphic horizons. A weaker but more general association of Pu with smectite occurs in most samples. Thin-sections that cross fractures allow comparative studies of Pu retention by fracture-lining versus matrix minerals. Using Ag metal in emulsions as a measure of underlying Pu concentration, electron-microprobe (EMP) analysis can quantify Pu retention along fracture walls and provide mineral/mineral Pu retention factors. For smectite-lined microfractures in zeolitized tuff, the smectite/clinoptilolite Pu retention factor is > 80.
MyD88-dependent induction of allergic Th2 responses to intranasal antigen

MyD88 is a common Toll-like receptor (TLR) adaptor molecule found to be essential for induction of adaptive Th1 immunity. Conversely, innate control of adaptive Th2 immunity has been shown to occur in a MyD88-independent manner. In this study, we show that MyD88 is an essential innate component in the induction of TLR4-dependent Th2 responses to intranasal antigen; thus we demonstrate what we believe to be a novel role for MyD88 in pulmonary Th2 immunity. Induction of the MyD88-independent type I IFN response to LPS is defective in the pulmonary environment. Moreover, in the absence of MyD88, LPS-induced upregulation of costimulatory molecule expression on pulmonary DCs is defective, in contrast to what has been observed with bone marrow-derived DCs (BMDCs). Reconstitution of Th2 responses occurs upon adoptive pulmonary transfer of activated BMDCs to MyD88-deficient recipients. Furthermore, the dependence of Th2 responses on MyD88 is governed by the initial route of antigen exposure; this demonstrates what we believe are novel site-specific innate mechanisms for control of adaptive Th2 immunity.
Occurrence of a 6S intermediate form of the progesterone receptor that is sensitive to ribonuclease.

Steroid receptors exist in cytosol as 9S, non-DNA-binding species and as 4S (transformed) species that bind to DNA or nuclei. Labeling the progesterone receptor from rabbit uterine cytosol with [3H]progesterone in the presence of 10 mM sodium molybdate revealed a 9S species on sucrose gradient centrifugation. Without molybdate, the receptor sedimented as an intermediate species of 6S, which converted to 4S in 0.3 M NaCl. The 6S species could also be generated from the 4S species by dialysis. Dilution of the same 4S species gave only partial re-aggregation with 50% of the receptor remaining as 4S. Dialysis appeared to retain the association of a macromolecular aggregation factor present in cytosol. Serum did not seem to be the source of the aggregation factor, as perfusion of the uterine vasculature before excision did not affect the S value of the receptor. We tested whether RNA was involved by treating receptor with RNase A (100 µg/400 µl cytosol). While the molybdate-stabilized cytosol receptor (9S) was unaffected, RNase A partially (50%) converted the 6S form of receptor to 4S. RNase A also partially converted the re-aggregated form back to 4S. Protease inhibitors had no effect on this action of RNase. Formation of receptor-ribonucleotide protein particles may play a role in steroid action in the cell.
Plasma Concentrations of Immunoreactive Human Epidermal Growth Factor (Urogastrone) in Man

Human epidermal growth factor (hEGF), a stimulator of the growth of a variety of tissues, appears to be identical to human β-urogastrone (hUG), an inhibitor of stimulated gastric acid secretion. Using immune affinity chromatography to extract hEGF from plasma, we have measure plasma concentrations of immunoreactive (IR) hEGF/UG. Plasma IR hEGF/UG extracted by immune affinity column was immunologically, biologically, and physicochemically indistinguishable from highly purified hEGF standard isolated from human urine. Concentrations of plasma IR hEGF/UG in normal males and females were 163.4 ± 13.7 and 138.5 ± 6.9 pg/ml (mean ± SE), respectively; there was no significant sex difference (P > 0.2). Neither the half-hourly plasma concentrations nor the urinary excretion of IR hEGF/UG in two normal young subjects showed any apparent circadian periodicity. There was no significant correlation (P > 0.1) between concentrations of IR hEGF/UG and hGH during the 24/h study. Concentrations of plasma IR hEGF/UG in preg...
Entropy production in chiral symmetry breaking transitions

It is now well known that nonequilibrium chemical systems may reach conditions that spontaneously generate chiral asymmetry. One can find a host of model reactions that exhibit such behavior in the literature. Among these, models based on one originally devised by Frank have been studied extensively. Though the kinetic aspects of such model reactions have been discussed in great detail, the behavior of entropy in such systems is rarely discussed. In this article, the rate of entropy production per unit volume, σ, in a modified Frank model is discussed. It is shown that the slope of σ changes at the point at which the asymmetric states appear, behavior similar to that observed in second-order phase transitions. Chirality, 2008. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Analysis of LPCVD process conditions for the deposition of low stress silicon nitride. Part I: preliminary LPCVD experiments

Abstract A wide range of process conditions were investigated to optimize conditions for the deposition of low stress silicon nitride films by low-pressure chemical vapor deposition. Experiments carried out in a standard, multi-wafer batch system generated films with an index of refraction ranging from about 2.04 to 2.82 and residual stress ranging from about 700 MPa tensile to –90 MPa compressive. The relationship between residual stress and index of refraction was characterized and results compared to those presented in the technical literature. Increase in the index of refraction beyond about 2.3 by means of increasing the gas flow did not reduce the residual stress appreciably but had a significant detrimental impact on the thickness uniformity and deposition rate. In contrast to results reported by other researchers, uniformity was not observed to increase with increasing DCS/NH3 ratio in this study. Efforts to minimize thickness non-uniformity by suppressing deposition rate at the gas inlet region of the deposition system while increasing deposition rate at the rear were not successful. While increasing the temperature at the exhaust end of the system was intended to improve thickness non-uniformity, significant thickness and index of refraction uniformity was not realized. The reduction in deposition rate and corresponding increase in index of refraction at the exhaust end of the system indicated a variation in gas species from inlet to exhaust of the system. These experimental results revealed that the index of refraction decreased while the deposition rate decreased with increasing partial pressure of DCS. This suggests that the inhomogeneity observed within the repeatability runs is due to ammonia depletion along the length of the load.
Random Arrangement of Chromosomes in a Radial Metaphase Configuration

During metaphase II of spermatogenesis the chromosomes of the grasshopper, Melanoplus femurrubrum (De Geer), are arranged at the periphery of the metaphase plate in what has been termed the radial metaphyse configuration. Cells at this stage contain two long, three short, and either six or seven chromosomes of medium length. The arrangement of the chromosomes in the metaphase plate was analyzed by counting the number of medium-sized chromosomes which separated the two long chromosomes. In the 351 cells analyzed the frequencies of cells with the various types of arrangements agreed closely with those expected from a random arrangement of the chromosomes in the metaphase plate. The possible role of chromosome-to-chromosome connectives in the arrangement of the chromosomes in the radial configuration is discussed.
Cold-Formed Steel Framed Gypsum Shear Walls: In-Plane Response

AbstractCold-formed steel (CFS) framed gypsum shear walls are common elements on light-frame structures, and they may be designed as the primary lateral force-resisting (LFR) system or function as secondary LFR elements. This paper presents the results of monotonic and reversed cyclic gypsum shear wall tests and discusses wall performance in detail. Increased strengths and wall toughness may be achieved with closer intermediate panel fastener spacing, and the difference between monotonic and reversed cyclic shear wall responses, although different, may not be significant. Additionally, aspect ratio and abutting supported vertical panel joints have little effect on shear wall performance. The scope of testing also introduces three new panel attachment configurations for design. Overall, this paper’s discussion provides a helpful supplemental commentary on the performance of CFS framed gypsum shear walls.
Study on ketalization reaction of poly(vinyl alcohol) by ketones. VII. Reaction between poly(vinyl alcohol) and aromatic ketones and behavior of poly(vinyl ketal) in water

The ketalization reaction of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVAL) by cyclic ketones, with dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) as solvent, in the presence of an acidic catalyst in homogeneous system, was carried out. The synthesis of poly(vinyl ketals) was thus successfully performed, except for the case of poly(vinyl ketal) highly ketalized by cyclohexanone; these poly(vinyl ketals) with a ketalization degree of more than 60 mol % were insoluble in DMSO, and, thus, the reaction could not be carried out in a homogeneous system. The equilibrium constant at 40°C was ca. 0.50 in the case of cyclohexanone and ca. 0.35 in the case of cyclopentanone, some 10–50 times higher compared with the case of aliphatic ketones. Because the heat of reaction is 7.5 kcal/mol in all ketones, all ketalization reactions are considered to proceed by the same reaction mechanism. Films prepared from the poly(vinyl ketals) were soaked in water, and hydrolysis, degree of swell, and solubility were measured. The dissolution time of films is affected by the kind of the ketones, ketalization degree, and the pH of water, which reveals that deketalization reaction proceeds proportionally to the proton concentration. It is more difficult to dissolve poly(vinyl ketal) obtained by cyclohexanone than that by cyclopentanone. The rate of hydrolysis of poly(vinyl ketal) film obtained by cyclohexanone is nearly equal to that by methyl butyl ketone, and that by cyclopentanone is nearly equal to that by methyl propyl ketone. The contact angle, surface free energy, moisture regain, and water permeability of poly(vinyl ketal) films were measured. All the results show that poly(vinyl ketal) obtained from cyclohexanone is a more hydrophobic polymer than that from cyclopentanone. The hydrophobicity seems to depend upon the kind of the original ketones and the flexibility of the ring. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Flow in a Co-Axial Control Valve

An experimental and computational investigation of the complex flow inside a co-axial flow control valve with various piston configurations was performed. A transparent full-scale prototype of a control valve was installed into an instrumented flow loop. The acrylic test article allows optical access for diagnostics, such as flow visualization and Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV). Global performance was assessed in terms of the valve flow coefficient for various piston configurations in the control valve at various flow rates by measuring the pressure drop across the valve using an electronic manometer. These results were compared to those for conventional control valves, and as expected, the co-axial design exhibited considerably lower losses (up to 30 times lower). However, the differences in piston geometry designed for different valve characteristics, such as linear, fast-opening, etc. led to different flow coefficients. Investigation of the mechanisms leading to the differences in the global performance involved PIV measurements of the velocity field in several planes within the valve. Complex piston geometries caused regions of separated flow and vortical structures to form. Companion computational studies were performed for the same valve geometries as installed in the flow loop using a commercial CFD package, FLUENT. A fully 3-D Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) model employing on the order of 800,000 cells was used with a Renormalized Group theory (RNG) k-e turbulence model. The computational results were compared qualitatively to the experimental data. The CFD results were then used to investigate details of the flow that were not accessible to the experiments, including streamlines, distributions of the static pressure and turbulent kinetic energy throughout the flow field.Copyright © 2003 by ASME
The mechanism of ADP-ribosylation of elongation factor 2 catalyzed by fragment A from diphtheria toxin.

Abstract Measurements of the initial rate of ADP-ribosylation of elongation factor 2 (EF-2) catalyzed by Fragment A from diphtheria toxin support a sequential mechanism and suggest that the reaction proceeds through a central ternary complex involving Fragment A and the substrates, EF-2 and NAD. The Michaelis constants for EF-2 and NAD are 0.15 and 1.4 μM, respectively. As determined by equilibrium gel permeation, EF-2 does not bind Fragment A significantly, alone or in the presence of adenine, ADPribose, nicotinamide or NADH. Based on these and earlier results, we propose an ordered sequential mechanism for the reaction; the sequence of binding of substrates is NAD, followed by EF-2.
Scattering of Spin Waves by Magnetic Defects

A previous calculation of the scattering amplitude for the scattering of spin waves by magnetic defects in a simple cubic lattice is simplified and extended to body-centered and face-centered cubic lattices. Expressions are given for the mean free path, and the thermal resistivity due to defect scattering is calculated by a method which takes some account of spin-wave interactions.
Thick-film Technology: An Introduction to the Materials

The use of thick-film technology to manufacture electronic circuits and discrete passive components continues to grow at a rapid rate worldwide. When applied to hybrid microcircuits, it can be viewed as a means of packaging active devices, spanning the gap between monolithic integrated circuit chips and printed circuit boards with attached active and passive components. The strength of the thick-film approach is a consequence of function, size, and unit cost trade-offs; advances in materials have played a major role relative to each of these factors. Thick-film materials are developed to meet needs defined by electronic circuit design and process engineers. A general understanding of thick films is provided from a materials standpoint, particularly for the new engineer. Background is developed for a basic, yet simple, understanding of the components that make up resistor, conductor, and dielectric compositions, of processing, and of the properties of the final thick-film composite structures.