cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Concordance Between Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation and Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Derived Localization of Language in a Clinical Cohort

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a newer noninvasive language mapping tool that is safe and well-tolerated by children. We examined the accuracy of TMS-derived language maps in a clinical cohort by comparing it against functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-derived language map. The number of TMS-induced speech disruptions and the volume of activation during functional MRI tasks were localized to Brodmann areas for each modality in 40 patients with epilepsy or brain tumor. We examined the concordance between TMS- and functional MRI-derived language maps by deriving statistical performance metrics for TMS including sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, and diagnostic odds ratio. Brodmann areas 6, 44, and 9 in the frontal lobe and 22 and 40 in the temporal lobe were the most commonly identified language areas by both modalities. Overall accuracy of TMS compared to functional MRI in localizing language cortex was 71%, with a diagnostic odds ratio of 1.27 and higher sensitivity when identifying left hemisphere regions. TMS was more accurate in determining the dominant hemisphere for language with a diagnostic odds ratio of 6. This study is the first to examine the accuracy of the whole brain language map derived by TMS in the largest cohort examined to date. While this comparison against functional MRI confirmed that TMS reliably localizes cortical areas that are not essential for speech function, it demonstrated only slight concordance between TMS- and functional MRI-derived language areas. That the localization of specific language cortices by TMS demonstrated low accuracy reveals a potential need to use concordant tasks between the modalities and other avenues for further optimization of TMS parameters.
Invited Commentary: Linking Job Security and Mental Health-Challenges and Future Directions.

Research in the social and health sciences has linked job insecurity to poorer mental health, but relies on observational data and faces challenges of causal inference. In this issue of the Journal, LaMontagne et al. (Am J Epidemiol. XXXX;XXX(XX):XXXX-XXXX)) innovate by using both within-person fixed effects (FE) and random effects (RE) regression to analyze data from 14 annual waves spanning 2002 to 2015. Using this more rigorous design, they find that improvements in perceived job insecurity were associated with improvements in MHI-5 mental health scores in a large, nationally representative panel study of Australians. By using each respondent as their own control, fixed effects models remove the influence of time-invariant confounders. Innovative new approaches are still needed to address the causal directionality of the association and to capture both those whose exposure changes as well as those for whom it persists. Future work should also consider potential modifying factors including societal conditions, macroeconomic and other period effects, and characteristics of individuals, as well as drawing on multidisciplinary approaches that consider jobs as a combination of multiple health relevant exposures and embed individual workers in families and communities to assess the full reach and consequences of perceived job insecurity.
Adrenergic stress constrains the development of anti-tumor immunity and abscopal responses following local radiation

The abscopal effect following ionizing radiation therapy (RT) is considered to be a rare event. This effect does occur more frequently when combined with other therapies, including immunotherapy. Here we demonstrate that the frequency of abscopal events following RT alone is highly dependent upon the degree of adrenergic stress in the tumor-bearing host. Using a combination of physiologic, pharmacologic and genetic strategies, we observe improvements in the control of both irradiated and non-irradiated distant tumors, including metastatic tumors, when adrenergic stress or signaling through β-adrenergic receptor is reduced. Further, we observe cellular and molecular evidence of improved, antigen-specific, anti-tumor immune responses which also depend upon T cell egress from draining lymph nodes. These data suggest that blockade of β2 adrenergic stress signaling could be a useful, safe, and feasible strategy to improve efficacy in cancer patients undergoing radiation therapy.
The Omega spectrum for mod 2 $\mathit{KO}$-theory

The 8-periodic theory that comes from the KO-theory of the mod 2 Moore space is the same as the real first Morava K-theory obtained from the homotopy fixed points of the ℤ∕(2) action on the first Morava K-theory. The first Morava K-theory, K(1), is just mod 2 KU-theory. We compute the homology Hopf algebras for the spaces in this Omega spectrum.
Challenges, myths, and opportunities in hot carrier solar cells

Hot carrier solar cells hold the promise of efficiency significantly greater than that predicted by the Shockley–Queisser limit. Consequently, there has been considerable effort to create cells that achieve this goal, but so far, this has not been realized. There are many reasons for this. Here, the principles of the concept will be discussed along with some myths that hinder the future development of such devices. Also, a new approach to the hot carrier solar cell is described along with some recent experimental results that support such an approach.
AgMESH, a peritrophic matrix-associated protein embedded in Anopheles gambiae melanotic capsules modulates malaria parasite infection

Melanins are structurally complex pigments produced by organisms in all domains of life from bacteria to animals, including humans. In insects, melanins are essential for survival and have key roles in cuticle sclerotization, wound healing and innate immunity. In this study, we used a diverse set of molecular, biochemical, and imaging approaches to characterize mosquito melanin involved in innate immune defense (melanotic capsules ). We observed that melanotic capsules enclosing Plasmodium berghei ookinetes were composed of an acid-resistant and highly hydrophobic material with granular appearance, which are characteristic properties of melanins. Spectroscopical analyses reveal chemical signatures of eumelanins and pheomelanin. Furthermore, using an enrichment approach for the proteomic analysis, we identified a set of 14 of acid-resistant mosquito proteins embedded within the melanin matrix possibly related to an anti- Plasmodium response. Among these, Ag Mesh, a highly conserved protein among insect species that contains domains suggesting a role in immune recognition and function. We targeted Ag Mesh for further study using a RNAi-based gene silencing approach in mosquitos and challenged them with two Plasmodium spp. Surprisingly, Ag Mesh gene silencing in mosquitos was associated with reduced parasite infection, implying an important role in facilitating vector infection by Plasmodium spp. Our results provide a new approach to study aspects of insect melanogenesis that revealed proteins associated with melanotic capsule, one of which was strongly implicated in the pathogenesis of Plasmodium spp. mosquito infection. Given the conservation of Ag Mesh among disease-transmitting insect vector species, future analysis of this protein could provide fertile ground for the identification of strategies that block transmission of disease to humans.
The complex influences of back-barrier deposition, substrate slope and underlying stratigraphy in barrier island response to sea-level rise: Insights from the Virginia Barrier Islands, Mid-Atlantic Bight, U.S.A.

Abstract To understand the relative importance of back barrier environment, substrate slope and underlying stratigraphy in determining barrier island response to RSLR (relative sea-level rise), we use a morphological-behavior model (GEOMBEST) to conduct a series of sensitivity experiments, based on late-Holocene hindcast simulations of an island in the U.S. mid-Atlantic Bight (Metompkin Island, VA) having both salt marsh and lagoonal back-barrier environments, and we draw comparisons between these results and future simulations (2000–2100 AD) of island response to RSLR. Sensitivity analyses indicate that, as a whole, the island is highly sensitive to factors that reduce overall sand availability (i.e., high sand-loss rates and substrates containing little sand). Results also indicate that for all predicted future RSLR scenarios tested, islands having high substrate sand proportions (if allowed to migrate freely) will likely remain subaerial for centuries because of sufficient substrate sand supply and elevation to assist in keeping islands above sea level. Simulation results also lead to basic insights regarding the interactions among substrate slope, back-barrier deposition and island migration rates. In contrast to previous studies, which suggest that changes in substrate slope directly affect the island migration trajectory, we find that—in the presence of back-barrier deposition—the connection between substrate slope and island behavior is modulated (i.e., variability in migration rates is dampened) by changes in back-barrier width. These interactions—which tend to produce changes in shoreface sand content—lead to a negative feedback when the back-barrier deposit contains less sand than the underlying layer, resulting in a stable back-barrier width. Alternatively, a positive feedback arises when the back-barrier deposit contains more sand than the underlying layer, resulting in either back-barrier disappearance or perpetual widening.
Modelling Growth and Yield for Intensively Managed Forests

Growth and yield prediction methods, ranging from whole-stand models to individual-tree models, have been developed for forest types managed for wood production. The resultant models are used for a host of purposes including inventory updating, management planning, evaluation of silvicultural alternatives, and harvest scheduling. Because of the large investment in developing growth and yield models for improved genotypes and silvicultural practices for loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) in the Southern United States, this region serves to illustrate approaches for modelling intensively managed forests. Analytical methods and computing power generally do not restrict development of reliable growth and yield models. However, long-term empirical observations on stand development, which are time consuming and expensive to obtain, often limit modelling efforts. Given that growth and yield models are used to project present volumes and to evaluate alternative treatment effects, data of both the inventory type and the experimental type are needed. Data for developing stand simulators for loblolly pine plantations have been obtained from a combination of permanent plots in operational forest stands and silvicultural experiments; these data collection efforts are described and summarized. Modelling is essential for integrating and synthesizing diverse information, identifying knowledge gaps, and making informed decisions. The questions being posed today are more complex than in the past, thus further accentuating the need for comprehensive models for stand development.
Inhibition of Bovine Heart Mitochondrial NADH — Ubiquinone Reductase by Tinopal AN, A Cationic Benzoxazole

The effect of Tinopal AN (1,1-bis(3, N-5 dimethylbenzoxazol-2-yl)-methine p-toluene sulfonate) on the respiration of bovine heart mitochondria was investigated. This compound was found to inhibit electron transport in a concentration dependent manner at site 1, with half maximal inhibition at about 90 uM reagent. Tests with either submitochondrial particles (SMP) or isolated complex I indicate that Tinopal AN specifically inhibits electron flow between NADH and coenzyme Q, and not between NADH and artificial electron acceptors, except menadione. Concentrations of Tinopal AN too low to cause significant inhibition of SMP NADH oxidase activity changed the sigmoid-shaped rotenone inhibition curve to a hyperbolic function, indicating that at low concentrations Tinopal AN may bind at the high affinity lower inhibitory rotenone site within complex I. Kinetics experiments indicate mixed inhibition with respect to coenzyme Q, with a unusual concentration dependent pattern, which may suggest multiple binding sites of differing affinities. This appears to be supported by cross-linking studies which indicate concentration dependent conformational changes do occur within complex I in the presence of Tinopal AN.
Electricity: Changes and Issues

This paper surveys recent developments in therestructuring and deregulation of the electric utilityindustry. New federal and state legislation isreviewed together with commission actions designed to carry out restructuring. The Department of Energy's highly controversial attempt to measure the netbenefits of electricity deregulation is noted, alongwith the response of DOE's critics. Five major factorsthat will affect the success or failure ofrestructuring and deregulation are examined at length. These include: growing industry concentration, theincreased risk premium attached to the market trading of electricity, the transition costs that will beincurred, the organization and governance of thetransmission network, and the adequacy of consumer and environmental protection in the new setting.
Influence of Formaldehyde-Treated Soybean Meal on Milk Production,

Forty-eight Holstein cows were fed one of four diets containing 12.5% crude protein (negative control); 15.5% crude protein with untreated soybean meal; 15.5% crude protein with formaldehyde (.3%)-treated soybean meal; or 18% crude protein (positive control). Diets were 60% concentrate, 22% corn silage, 14% alfalfa hay, and 4% beet pulp (dry matter). Data were collected during the first 200 d of lactation. Dry matter intake, milk, and milk component yields did not differ among cows fed the untreated soybean meal, treated soybean meal, and positive control diets. Cows fed negative control diet consumed less dry matter and produced less milk than cows fed the other diets. Milk protein yield was lower for cows fed the negative control diet compared with the other diets. Nonprotein nitrogen content of milk increased as dietary protein increased.
Characterization of iodovinylmisonidazole as a marker for myocardial hypoxia.

Misonidazole and related compounds are metabolically trapped in viable cells as a function of reduced cellular pO2. [18F]fluoromisonidazole has been used to detect hypoxia in the heart and in tumors noninvasively with positron emission tomography. The purpose of this study was to characterize the uptake of the iodinated misonidazole congener iodovinylmisonidazole (IVM) in ischemic myocardium. In six open chest dogs (Group 1), the left anterior descending (LAD) coronary artery was partially occluded and in four dogs (Group 2), demand ischemia was produced by the combination of atrial pacing and catecholamine infusion in the presence of a LAD stenosis. [131I]IVM (5-15 microCi/kg, i.v.) was given following the onset of ischemia. Tracer deposition was measured by postmortem tissue sampling 4 hr postinjection and compared to microsphere myocardial blood flow (MBF) measurements made at baseline and at 2 hr postinjection. In Group 1, regional IVM deposition in heart samples within the ischemic area was inversely related to MBF with maximum tissue:blood ratios of 3.2. For a given level of reduced blood flow, IVM uptake was higher in the subendocardium indicating a greater vulnerability of the subendocardium to reductions in oxygen delivery. In Group 2, enhanced IVM deposition was detected as a result of demand ischemia, even in some regions where absolute flow was normal or increased from baseline, indicating that flow per se is not the principal determinant of tracer uptake. We conclude that IVM is a promising marker for myocardial hypoxia with potential clinical application using gamma camera imaging.
Survey of Applied Legal Education

This report presents the results of the 2007-08 Center for the Study of Applied Legal Education (CSALE) “Survey of Applied Legal Education.” The Survey was composed of two parts – a Master Survey that was directed to each of the 188 ABA fully-accredited U.S. law schools and a Staffing Sub-Survey that was distributed to applied legal educators at those schools. The results provide valuable insight into the state of applied legal education in areas including program design and structure, pedagogical techniques and practices, common program challenges, and the treatment of applied legal educators in the legal academy. Because the Survey will be repeated every three years, the results provide a baseline for examining the growth and development of applied legal education going forward.
Results of multiple-slide, blinded review of Papanicolaou slides in the context of litigation. Determining what can be detected regularly and reliably.

BACKGROUND Multiple-slide, blinded review has been endorsed by several cytology and pathology organizations as the most appropriate method for the review of cervicovaginal specimens in the context of litigation. This process involves review of litigation slides in a blinded manner by multiple independent cytotechnologists and the comparison of those results with those of validation cases that are comprised of known abnormalities with biopsy follow-up. To the authors' knowledge, the results of this method have not been previously published. METHODS The results of the blinded review program at the Center for Cytopathology and Molecular Research at the Medical University of South Carolina for the years 1998–2004 were reviewed. RESULTS A total of 135 litigation slides and 122 validation slides were reviewed. The interpretations of these cases were found to be significantly different (P < 0.001). Litigation cases were significantly more likely to be interpreted as either negative for intraepithelial lesion (NIL) or atypical squamous cells/atypical glandular cells (ASC/AGC) (P < 0.001). The results appeared to be independent of the individual cytotechnologists involved. Approximately 10% of litigation cases were called at least ASC/AGC by all observers and 4% were interpreted as NIL by all observers. For litigation cases, ASC/AGC was found to be just as reproducible as high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion. The results demonstrated that only 10% of litigation cases are regularly and reliably identified as abnormal, whereas a single review as performed by an expert cytologist can be expected to classify 56% of cases as abnormal. CONCLUSIONS This program suggests that a majority of litigation cases are not regularly and reliably identified as abnormal, and a single review will routinely overestimate the percentage of cases that are identified regularly and reliably. Cancer (Cancer Cytopathol). Cancer (Cancer Cytopathol) 2005. © 2005 American Cancer Society.
Concomitant surgery for renal neoplasm with pulmonary tumor embolism

Objective Gross tumor pulmonary embolism from renal carcinoma is rarely diagnosed preoperatively. Individual cases of intraoperative embolization of tumor during radical resection of the kidney have been reported. We report on 9 patients who underwent pulmonary arterial tumor removal concomitant with nephrectomy. Methods Between 2000 and 2008, 9 patients underwent simultaneous nephrectomy and removal of gross embolic tumor from the pulmonary arteries. In 7 of these patients the diagnosis was made preoperatively by either computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging. Cardiopulmonary bypass was used in all cases. Bilateral removal of pulmonary artery tumor was required in 7 patients and unilateral in 2. Results All patients survived to hospital discharge after a median stay of 8.8 days (mean, 6–17 days). Two patients are currently alive 4 and 56 months after the operation. Six patients died of distant metastasis or local recurrence of disease after 6, 9, 12, 17, 25, and 29 months. Actuarial survival at 6 months, 1, 2, and 3 years was 100%, 75%, 50%, and 25%, respectively. Conclusions Pulmonary artery embolic tumor removal concomitant with nephrectomy for renal carcinoma can be performed safely. Survival of patients with combined surgery is comparable with that of patients with the same stage of renal neoplasm without pulmonary tumor embolism. The pulmonary tumor embolism in patients with renal carcinoma should be considered as extension of vena caval tumor but not as a distant metastasis. Pulmonary tumor removal provides symptomatic relief and may provide a survival benefit in these patients.
Lower Cretaceous Rocks in Gulf Coastal Plain of United States: ABSTRACT

Rocks of Early Cretaceous (Comanchean) age underlie most of the Gulf coastal plain. Their thickness varies from zero at the updip subsurface pinchout in the eastern region and less than 2,000 ft at the outcrop in central Texas to about 7,000 ft at the downdip limit of control. Carbonates make up most of the section west of the East Texas embayment; alternating carbonates, terrigenous clastics, and some anhydrite compose the section in eastern Texas and adjacent parts of Louisiana and Arkansas; and sandstone and shale, with some beds of limestone and anhydrite, represent the Lower Cretaceous in the eastern region. The percentage of carbonates increases seaward in all segments of the Gulf Coast. Deposition was in shallow open-sea to restricted marine, deltaic, coastal-interdeltaic, and coastal-plain End_Page 358------------------------------ environments. Subsidence was generally at the same rate as sedimentation, and all sediments were deposited near sea level. The shoreline fluctuated greatly in the eastern clastic province but shifted little in the western carbonate region after the Early Cretaceous transgression. Deltas were constructed in several segments of the Gulf Coast during earliest Cretaceous, and in the central and eastern regions during several later regressive intervals. The tectonic-sedimentation history of the Gulf Coast Lower Cretaceous was optimum for the development and preservation of abundant organic matter adjacent to deltaic sandstone and porous carbonate rocks, creating favorable conditions for petroleum occurrence. End_of_Article - Last_Page 359------------
In support of content theories of art

A content theory of art would identify an artwork with the meaningful or representational content of some concrete artistic vehicle, such as the intentional, expressive, stylistic, and subject matter-related content embodied in, or resulting from, acts of intentional artistic expression by artists. Perhaps surprisingly, the resultant view that an artwork is nothing but content seems to have been without theoretical defenders until very recently, leaving a significant theoretical gap in the literature. I present some basic arguments in defence of such a view, including the following. Content views of linguistic communication are ubiquitous, so why should they not be applicable in artistic cases as well? Also, propositional accounts of language involve two kinds of content (the proposition expressed by a sentence, plus the worldly state of affairs it represents), both of which kinds can be used in explaining artworks. In addition, the differing modal properties of artworks and concrete artefacts can be used...
Counting Legionella Cells within Single Amoeba Host Cells

Here we present the first attempt to quantify Legionella pneumophila cell numbers within individual amoeba hosts that may be released into engineered water systems. The maximum numbers of culturable L. pneumophila cells grown within Acanthamoeba polyphaga and Naegleria fowleri were 1,348 (mean, 329) and 385 (mean, 44) CFU trophozoite(-1), respectively.
Modeling of fungal and bacterial spore germination under static and dynamic conditions.

ABSTRACT Isothermal germination curves, sigmoid and nonsigmoid, can be described by a variety of models reminiscent of growth models. Two of these, which are consistent with the percent of germinated spores being initially zero, were selected: one, Weibullian (or “stretched exponential”), for more or less symmetric curves, and the other, introduced by Dantigny9s group, for asymmetric curves (P. Dantigny, S. P.-M. Nanguy, D. Judet-Correia, and M. Bensoussan, Int. J. Food Microbiol. 146:176–181, 2011). These static models were converted into differential rate models to simulate dynamic germination patterns, which passed a test for consistency. In principle, these and similar models, if validated experimentally, could be used to predict dynamic germination from isothermal data. The procedures to generate both isothermal and dynamic germination curves have been automated and posted as freeware on the Internet in the form of interactive Wolfram demonstrations. A fully stochastic model of individual and small groups of spores, developed in parallel, shows that when the germination probability is constant from the start, the germination curve is nonsigmoid. It becomes sigmoid if the probability monotonically rises from zero. If the probability rate function rises and then falls, the germination reaches an asymptotic level determined by the peak9s location and height. As the number of individual spores rises, the germination curve of their assemblies becomes smoother. It also becomes more deterministic and can be described by the empirical phenomenological models.
High-speed Super-resolution Imaging through Interpolated Deconvolution of Live-cell TIRF Images

Recent progresses in overcoming the diffraction-limited optical resolution have mostly relied on spatial modulation of fluorophore's distribution between its bright and dark photophysical states. Such feat is often accomplished through complex and expensive experimental setups, and almost all the related super-resolution imaging techniques are hostile towards live-cell studies. In contrast, super-resolution imaging through interpolated deconvolution (Carrington et al., 1995, Science, 268:1483) is a post-acquisition image-processing technique that is independent on microscope platform. Its efficient collection and utilization of fluorescence photons also make the technology potentially a preferred method for live-cell imaging. However, performance of the technique is context-dependent: e.g., weak fluorescence signals and clustered sub-resolution structures typically yield poor deconvolution results. We have evaluated such difficulty using realistically simulated TIRF images of GLUT4 glucose transporters in cultured adipocytes, whose average diameter of 75nm is far below the optical resolution. An essential image-processing step isolating regions of high information content from a TIRF image was discovered, which enables subsequent deconvolution resolution approaching 100nm. Detailed analysis of deconvolution results as a function of signal-to-noise qualities of the original images suggests that super-resolution details can be resolved with TIRF images of live cells acquired at speed up to 10 fps.
A biophysical model of southern pine beetle, Dendroctonus frontalis Zimmermann (Coleoptera: Scolytidae), development☆

Abstract Predicting the population dynamics of the southern pine beetle, Dendroctonus frontalis Zimmermann, in forests of the U.S.A. requires predictive models of cohort development. The cryptic nature of the insect, however, prevents direct observations of its development, and undefined host requirements of early stage larvae prevent rearing it in the laboratory. Consequently, obtaining the information needed to formulate predictive models is difficult. This study describes experimental, analytical, and modeling techniques used to obtain information on beetle development times, the distribution of those times, and percent mortality over a full range of constant temperatures. Our data indicate that D. frontalis is highly sensitive to temperature. Cohort development occurs over extended intervals of time with the durations of development influenced by temperature in a nonlinear fashion. Information on development rates and the distributions of development times were used to formulate biophysical models of life stage development and development from eggs to adult emergence. Tests of the latter model here and elsewhere (Feldman et al., 1981a) showed good agreement with data from several field populations. These tests provided a basis for incorporating the model into a larger population dynamics model for this insect (Feldman et al., 1981b).
A READING TECHNIQUE IN ELEMENTARY FOREIGN LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION: STRUCTURE*

Author's summary.— Description of a language course, in actual operation for nine years, which puts reading in the foreground and gives the students in it, at the end of one year, a fairly permanent reading adaptation or even a reading skill plus a will to read.
Radiologic assessment of earliest, best, and plateau response of gastrointestinal stromal tumors to neoadjuvant imatinib prior to successful surgical resection.

Background To determine the timing of earliest, best and plateau response to neoadjuvant imatinib in patients with GIST. Materials and methods In this IRB-approved retrospective study, we included all 20 patients (10 women; mean age 61 years, range 30–83 years) with KIT-positive primary GIST who received neoadjuvant imatinib and underwent surgery between January 2001 and December 2012. Earliest (earliest time to partial response), best (percentage reduction in longest axial diameter [LAD] and volume correlated with RECIST 1.1 and volumetric criteria) and plateau (time point when there was <10% change in treatment response between two consecutive scans beyond best response) responses were analyzed on review of imaging. Results Median tumor size at baseline was 7.2 cm (range, 3.0–31.4 cm). Median duration of neoadjuvant imatinib was 32 weeks (IQR, 16–36 weeks). Partial response was noted in 16/20 patients (median interval = 16 weeks; IQR, 7–26 weeks); 4/20 had stable disease. Median time to earliest PR was 16 weeks (IQR, 7–26 weeks). At best response, median decrease in LAD and volume were 43% (IQR, 31–48%) and 83% (IQR, 63–87%), (median interval = 28 weeks; IQR, 18–37 weeks), at which point 10 tumors were resected. Plateau response (45% [IQR, 35–45%] LAD reduction) was noted in the remaining 10 patients (median interval = 34 weeks; IQR, 26–41 weeks) before resection. Tumor size, location or risk category did not correlate with best response or time to best response. Conclusion Best response to neoadjuvant imatinib was seen at 28 weeks irrespective of tumor size and location. Plateau response was seen at 34 weeks, beyond which further treatment may not be beneficial.
Initial conditions for inflation

Abstract Inflation has attracted cosmologists because of its potential to free the standard big bang model from its worst flaw, the need for special initial conditions and, in particular, the requirement of initial acausal homogeneity. Naturally one must check whether inflation itself depends critically on initial conditions. Several “no hair” theorems and perturbation calculations have indicated that inflation is stable, and that it will take place when the initial conditions are perturbed. This has led to the belief that inflation will start in any generic universe. On the other hand, since most studies of inflation were carried out in a FRW background, inflation has been criticized and it was suggested that, like the big bang model, it depends heavily on an unnatural homogeneous initial state. Great progress has been achieved in the last few years in understanding which conditions are indeed necessary for inflation to begin. In this paper we review the various conditions required for the onset of both “chaotic” and “new” inflation. We review the various studies of the effects of the scalar field kinetic term, the cosmological “no hair” conjecture, the possible roles of curvature and anisotropy, and the influence of inhomogeneities. We describe the essential conditions for the onset of inflation for all these cases. We show that “chaotic” inflation is not very sensitive to the initial conditions. It requires that the average value of the scalar field be larger than a few mpl over a region of several initial horizon radii; short-wavelength gradients on top of a high average field will generally not prevent inflation. “New” inflation is much more dependent on the initial conditions and, unless the potential is extremely flat, it requires that after the “new” inflation phase transition the scalar field must be localized at rest on the top of its potential at the origin. While our main objective is to classify the different initial conditions required for inflation, we also discuss some of the physical significance of these conditions. For example, we address the issue of whether the conditions that we find necessary for “chaotic” inflation prevail in the post quantum era early universe. These prerequisites could have far-reaching implications for inflationary models and for quantum cosmology and particle physics.
The duplication of an eight‐residue helical stretch in Staphylococcal nuclease is not helical: A model for evolutionary change

A common method of evolutionary change is gene duplication, followed by other events that lead to new function, decoration of folds, oligomerization, or other changes. As part of a study on the potential for evolutionary change created by duplicated sequences, we have carried out a crystallographic study on a mutant of Staphylococcal nuclease in which residues 55-62 have been duplicated in a wild-type variant termed PHS. In the parental protein (PHS) these residues form the first two turns of a helix running from residue 54 to 68 (hereafter designated as helix I). The crystal structure of the mutant is very similar to that of the parental, with helix I being unaltered. The duplicated residues are accommodated by expanding an existing loop N-terminal to helix I. In addition, circular dichroism (CD) studies have been carried out on a parental peptide containing helix I with six flanking residues at each terminus (residues 48-74) and on the same peptide expanded by the duplication, as a function of 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol (TFE) concentration. Each peptide possesses only modest helical propensity in solution. Our data, which is different from what was observed in T4 lysozyme, show that the conformation of the duplicated sequence is determined by a balance of sequential and longer-range effects. Thus duplicating sequence need not mean duplicating structure. Proteins 2000;40:465-472.
Pyridine nucleotide-linked four-electron transfer dehydrogenases

Abstract Three types of four-electron transfer, pyridine nucleotide-linked dehydrogenases are known: β-methyl-β-hydroxyglutaryl CoA reductase, histidinol dehydrogenase, and nucleoside diphosphate sugar dehydrogenases. Although the reactions catalysed by the latter two classes of enzyme are very similar, the enzymes are structurally different.
The ocular surface: the challenge to enable and protect vision: the Friedenwald lecture.

The surface of the eye is an extraordinary and vital component of vision. The smooth, wet surface of the cornea is the major refractive surface of the visual system, which, along with corneal transparency, enables light to proceed through the lens and onto the retina for photoreceptor activation. The presence of the smooth, wet refractive ocular surface required for vision comes, however, at a cost. Unlike all other wetsurfaced epithelia of the body, the ocular surface is directly exposed to the outside world where it is especially subject to desiccation, injury, and pathogens. As a consequence, numerous protective mechanisms are provided by the Ocular Surface System, to ensure vision. The Ocular Surface System Maintenance and protection of the smooth refractive surface of the cornea is the function of the Ocular Surface System (Fig. 1). 1 It is defined as the ocular surface, which includes the surface and glandular epithelia of the cornea, conjunctiva, lacrimal gland, accessory lacrimal glands, and meibomian gland, and their apical (tears) and basal (connective tissue) matrices; the eyelashes with their associated glands of Moll and Zeis; those components of the eyelids responsible for the blink; and the nasolacrimal duct. All components of the system are linked functionally by continuity of the epithelia, by innervation, and by the endocrine, vascular, and immune systems. The rationale for the use of the term “Ocular Surface System” is several-fold. First, the primary, synergistic function of the system components is to provide, protect, and maintain a smooth refractive surface on the cornea. Thus, the term Ocular Surface System is linked to its primary function at the ocular surface. Second, all the epithelia at the ocular surface are continuous, with no breaks between regions, and all are derived from the surface ectoderm. The corneal and conjunctival epithelia are continuous, through the ductal epithelium, to the lacrimal glandular epithelium, as is the case with the accessory lacrimal glands, the meibomian gland, and the nasolacrimal system. The glandular systems are essentially involutions from and specializations of the surface epithelium. Communication along these epithelia occurs through gap junctions and cytokines. 2‐4 Third, all regions of the ocular surface epithelia produce components of the refractive tear film; the corneal and conjunctival epithelia produce hydrophilic mucins that hold tears onto the surface of the eye; the lacrimal and accessory lacrimal glands secrete water and a host of protective proteins; the meibomian gland provides the superficial tear lipid layer that prevents tear evaporation. The nasolacrimal epithelial system adsorbs tear components and is believed to, through its cavernous vascular system, control and regulate tear outflow, helping to maintain the appropriate tear level—a fine balance between secretion and outflow. 5 The functions of the various
Antitumor agents 278. 4-Amino-2H-benzo[h]chromen-2-one (ABO) analogs as potent in vitro anti-cancer agents

Abstract 4-Amino-2H-benzo[h]chromen-2-one (ABO) analogs were designed, synthesized, and evaluated for cytotoxic activity. Among all 4-substituted ABO analogs, cyclohexyl (12), N-methoxy-N-methylacetamide (14), and various aromatic derivatives (15–25 and 27) exhibited promising cell growth inhibitory activity with ED50 values of 0.01–5.8 μM against all tested tumor cell lines. The 4′-methoxyphenyl derivative (18) and 3′-methylphenyl derivative (24) showed the most potent antitumor activity against a broad range of cancer cell lines with ED50 values of 0.01–76 μM. Preliminary SAR results indicated that substitutions on nitrogen are critical to the antitumor potency.
Tolerance to the analgesic, but not discriminative stimulus effects of morphine after brief social defeat in rats

One of the most prominent consequences of defeat in a social confrontation is a long-lasting tolerance-like insensitivity to the analgesic effects of opiates, even when only small short-lived changes in nociception are detectable during the acute social stress. The present experiments examined (1) which kinds of social experiences lead to morphine tolerance, (2) whether or not the morphine tolerance in defeat-experienced rats extends from the analgesic effects to the discriminative stimulus and rate-decreasing effects of morphine, and (3) how long morphine tolerance lasts after a defeat experience. After five brief social confrontations including attack and threat by a resident rat leading to submission or defeat of the intruder, the latter exhibits marked tolerance to the analgesic effects of morphine, but not to the discriminative stimulus or behaviorally suppressive effects. Changes in social housing did not alter morphine's behavioral effects. Tolerance to the analgesic morphine effects was detected for 2 months after the defeat experience, whereas the discriminative stimulus and rate-decreasing effects were closely similar to those before defeat. This pattern was seen in animals for whom discriminative stimulus training with morphine was suspended after defeat as well as in those for whom it continued. In additional defeated and non-defeated animals, morphine's effects on the acoustic startle reflex was assessed. In contrast to the tail flick reflex to a noxious heat stimulus, the acoustic startle response remained unaffected by defeat experience or by morphine (up to 30 mg/kg). The long-lasting and large degree of tolerance after brief social defeat experiences appears to be limited to the analgesic effects of morphine.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Loss of p16 in recurrent malignant mixed müllerian tumors of the uterus.

Uterine malignant mixed mullerian tumors (MMMTs) are rare and highly aggressive malignancies with poor clinical prognoses. We examined for differences in the oncoprotein profiles of primary versus recurrent MMMTs. Five cases of recurrent uterine MMMT were examined by paraffin immunohistochemistry for the expression of p53, p16, P-cadherin, and Cerb-B2. P16, p53, and P-cadherin were each expressed in 100%, 80%, and 60% of the primary cases, respectively. Three cases expressed all three oncoproteins. All five cases were negative for Cerb-B2. No difference in antigen expression was seen in the epithelial versus sarcomatous components. Primary and recurrent tumors were concordant for p53, P-cadherin, and Cerb-B2. However, three cases of recurrent tumors were negative for p16 expression. P53, p16, and P-cadherin are common tumor suppressor genes expressed in uterine MMMT. Interestingly, p16 protein expression was lost in some cases of MMMTs when they recurred. This suggests that the oncoprotein and possibly genetic profile of p16 changes over time. We did not observe any difference in antigen expression between areas of epithelial or sarcomatous differentiation, which would support a single pluripotential malignant clone in the histogenesis of these tumors.
Reversible hypothyroidism in Addison's disease.

Abstract Four patients with Addison's disease are described in whom reduced thyroid function was demonstrated at the time of diagnosis of adrenocortical insufficiency. Replacement therapy consisting of physiological doses of adrenal steroids alone led to complete recovery of thyroid function in these patients, suggesting that hypothyroidism occurring in association with adrenal insufficiency may be reversible. The reason for the improvement in thyroid function after treatment with adrenal steroids is unknown.
Analysis of economics and use of MR imaging units in the United States in 1990.

Personnel from the 72 facilities with the most experience in MR imaging were surveyed, and 45 questionnaires were returned with data to study the economics and use of MR imaging facilities. The data from 1990 were compared with results of studies done in 1985 and 1987. The facilities studied were highly selected, and the data and conclusions are unlikely to be representative of all MR facilities currently operational in the United States. The "typical" MR unit operated about 66 hr per week and imaged 68 patients. Most procedures were examinations of the head and spine (73%), with examinations of bone and joint increasing in frequency (17%). Scheduling delays for both inpatients and outpatients have decreased since 1987, indicating that clinical demand is being met by MR facilities. The global (technical plus professional) charge for an examination was approximately $950, and the charge for IV contrast material was an additional $200. IV contrast material was used in approximately 40% of head and 20% of sp...
Preferences in the Repetition of Successful and Unsuccessful Activities as a Function of Age and Personality

* Recommended for publication by Henry A. Murray, Jr., accepted by Carl Murchison of the Editorial Board, and received in the Editorial Office, July 27, 1932.
The Impact of Married Individuals Learning HIV Status in Malawi: Divorce, Number of Sexual Partners, and Condom Use With Spouses

This article assesses how married individuals’ knowledge of HIV status gained through HIV testing and counseling (HTC) affects divorce, the number of sexual partners, and the use of condoms within marriage. This study improves upon previous studies on this topic because the randomized incentives affecting the propensity to be tested for HIV permit control for selective testing. Instrumental variable probit and linear models are estimated, using a randomized experiment administered as part of the Malawi Longitudinal Study of Families and Health (MLSFH). The results indicate that knowledge of HIV status (1) does not affect chances of divorce for either HIV-negative or HIV-positive respondents; (2) reduces the number of reported sexual partners among HIV-positive respondents; and (3) increases reported condom use with spouses for both HIV-negative and HIV-positive respondents. These results imply that individuals actively respond to information about their HIV status that they learn during HTC, invoking protective behavior against future risk of HIV/AIDS for themselves and their actual and potential sexual partners. Some limitations of this study are a small sample size for those who are HIV-positive and dependence on self-reported sexual behaviors.
The zoogeographic and phylogenetic relationships of early catarrhine primates in Asia

Catarrhines originated in Afro-Arabia during the Paleogene, and were restricted to this zoogeographic province until the early Miocene. During this period of isolation, several major clades of catarrhines originated. The pliopithecoids were the first catarrhines to migrate out of Africa at ~18–20 Ma, while contemporary proconsulids and dendropithecids may have been restricted to Afro-Arabia. Hominoids and Old World monkeys originated in Africa prior to 20 Ma, but neither clade became an important component of the catarrhine fauna until the middle to late Miocene. At ~15–17 Ma, hominoids expanded into Eurasia, while cercopithecids arrived somewhat later, during the late Miocene. The earliest catarrhines in Eurasia, Dionysopithecus and Platodontopithecus from Sihong in China (~17–18 Ma), represent the primitive sister group of all other pliopithecoids. From this ancestral stock in Asia, the more specialized pliopithecines extended their range westwards into Europe by ~16–17 Ma, where a pliopithecine-like common ancestor gave rise to the crouzeliines. The only known crouzeliine from Asia, Laccopithecus, from the late Miocene of China, points to a late arrival of this clade in the region. Small catarrhines from the middle Miocene of Pakistan (~16–17 Ma), and new material from China, may possibly have closer ties with dendropithecids, proconsulids, or hylobatids.
Myocardial blood perfusion and transport modeling using inert-tracer techniques: a review and recent investigations

Abstract The inert-gas clearance method for measuring blood perfusion in the heart may be useful in detecting and assessing coronary disease and myocardial infarctions. Estimating perfusion from clearance data requires a model of tracer transport. The tracer transport models in use are the compartmental model, the kinetic model, and more complex models which yield estimates by optimal estimation techniques. The implementation of one such complex model in which tissue need not be assumed homogeneous, and the resulting myocardial perfusion and diffusibility estimates, are discussed. Methods are reviewed which may be used to detect and assess coronary disease by average and regional myocardial-perfusion measurements. Possible explanations for the observed multicompartment myocardial clearance curve are discussed.