cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Origin of ascending intratrigeminal pathways in the cat

The retrograde horseradish peroxidase technique was used to locate neurons projecting to rostral trigeminal areas via ascending intranuclear pathways. After rostral trigeminal injections, labeled neurons were found in the subnucleus interpolaris and in all laminae of the medullary dorsal horn. Most neurons were labeled ipsilaterally in laminae III and IV, but some small neurons were labeled in lamina II in the medullary dorsal horn. The distribution of labeled cells suggested that these projections are topographically arranged. Labeled neurons were found in lamina I and lamina V, bilaterally; this was especially true if the parabrachial complex was included in the injection.
Role of growth regulators in the bean hypocotyl hook opening response.

The opening of the hypocotyl hook in bean seedlings is due to a rapid elongation of cells on the inner side of the hook elbow. Red light promotes hook opening by inducing this cell elongation. Opening is inhibited by low concentrations of indoleacetic acid (IAA) and 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D), and higher concentrations of these auxins cause a closure of the hook. In darkness, opening is induced slightly by p-chlorophenoxyisobutyric acid (PCIB), whereas in red light this auxin antagonist promotes opening only when IAA is added simultaneously to inhibit opening. The amount of diffusible auxin released by the hook tissue is not affected by red illumination that is sufficient to induce maximal hook opening. Gibberellic acid (GA) promotes the hook opening. The magnitude of its effect is, however, rather small, especially in darkness. (2-Chloroethyl)-trimethylammonium chloride (CCC) and 2′-isopropyl-4′-(trimethylammonium-chloride)-5′-methylphenyl piperidine-1-carboxylate (Amo-1618) inhibit hook opening in red light, and this inhibition is completely overcome by addition of GA. Cytokinins and abscisic acid at rather high concentrations inhibit hook opening in light but produce no significant effect in darkness. Hook opening is promoted by Ca++ and K+, and notably by Co++ and Ni++. It is concluded that 1. endogenous gibberellin assists in hook opening, but light does not act by changing the gibberellin level; 2. light does not act by decreasing the endogenous auxin level; and 3. cytokinins or abscisic acid do not seem to have a special role in the response.
A TECHNIQUE FOR ESTIMATING THE CONTRIBUTION OF PHOTOMECHANICAL RESPONSES TO VISUAL-ADAPTATION

Abstract This paper presents a technique for isolating and quantifying the contribution of photomechanical responses to visual adaptation. The technique is developed in the context of the pupillary mechanism that is active in the primary visual cells of the insect eye. Using a feedback-control model to represent the combination of retinular cell and pupil, it is shown that the effect of pupillary movements on retinal illumination can be inferred by analysing an intensity-response function of the pupil. When the technique is applied to the pupils of the butterfly and the fly, the results indicate that, in each case, the pupil decreases retinal illumination by approximately 0.7 log units when the ambient light level is increased from pupillary threshold to a level 2.5 log units higher. The validity of the technique is examined by applying it to the human pupil. The results predict changes of retinal illumination which are in close agreement with those expected on the basis of changes in iris diameter, including the Stiles-Crawford effect. The procedure presented here is simple and can, in principle, be applied to many forms of photomechanical adaptation.
The effects of rotation on initially anisotropic homogeneous flows

Rotation of initially anisotropic homogeneous flows is studied using a model spectral tensor. It is shown that the anisotropy changes because of the influence of rotation through phase scrambling. Phase scrambling causes the Reynolds stresses to develop with damped oscillations. The final Reynolds stress anisotropy is found to be proportional to the initial structural tensor anisotropy. Closure models for the rapid pressure strain terms should reflect this change in anisotropy, and should drive the anisotropy to reach its final predicted state. Finally, it is shown that long‐time integration using direct numerical simulations should be treated with care because phase scrambling effects on a discrete wave space can cause loss of resolution when time becomes large.
THE SOLID-PHASE SYNTHESIS OF ALPHA-MELANOTROPIN

The tridecapeptide amide, α-melanotropin, has been synthesized by the solid-phase method. The protected tridecapeptide was cleaved from a phenolic resin with ammonia, and the amide was reduced with sodium in liquid ammonia. Chromatographic purification gave the highly purified and fully active hormone.
Statistical model of nuclear multifragmentation.

We present a statistical approach to the problem of multifragmentation in heavy-ion collisions. We begin with a generalized Sakur-Tetrode expression for the entropy. Through it we find expressions for the configuration weight functions. Fluctuations in the configurations are shown to be Poisson-like. Fragmentation yields are calculated by minimizing the total information subject to conservation of energy and baryon number. We work within the framework of a liquid-gas phase transition, and include a study of the effects of the nuclear surface (including a surface curvature correction), the Coulomb energy, and the internal excited states of the drop. Coulomb effects are investigated using both a simple /ital A//sup 5/3/ dependence (as in the liquid-drop model) and a more complete expression which includes the presence of the surrounding vapor. We adopt a virial expansion for the equation of state and have found an analytic solution for the coexistence curve in infinite, uncharged matter. The case of charged, finite matter is also discussed. By identifying the clusters with the nuclei which are detected experimentally we can calculate fragment yields over a range of temperatures. We do so for a representative case and discuss the results.
Sources of family income and their effects on family income inequality: a study of fish farmers in Tripura, India

An improved understanding of the sources of income and income distribution provides instructive insights into food insecurity and poverty, helping policy makers in the developing world to formulate new strategies for overcoming them. This paper analyses different sources of family income of fish farmers, and determines the impact that various income sources had on the overall level of family income inequality in the South Tripura district of Tripura in 2004–2005. Using decomposition of inequality by source, we examined how changes in particular income components affected overall inequality. Policies that increase fish yield in the study area have an important role to play in reducing poverty with negligible increase in income inequality. Increased income share from government jobs in lower income groups could play the dual role of alleviating poverty among relatively poor fish farmers and reducing income inequality among fish farming households in the study area.
Increased contraction frequency in rat uterine strips treated in vitro with o,p'-DDT.

Elevated levels of DDT and other organochlorine pesticides have been associated with spontaneous abortion and preterm birth in several species, including humans. Despite the prevalence of organochlorine pesticides in the environment, a mechanistic basis for this association has not been explored. Furthermore, while DDT has been associated with inhibition of calcium ATPases, altered gap junctional communication and electrophysiological changes, all of which could affect the excitation-contraction process characteristic of smooth muscle, direct effects of DDT on uterine smooth muscle have not been reported. This study was initiated to assess the direct effects of o,p{prime}-DDT (an estrogenic isomer present in the technical grade preparation) on pregnant rat uterine tissue.
Long-term trends in cancer mortality in the United States, 1930–1998

BACKGROUND Progress against cancer can be examined by analyzing long-term trends in cancer incidence and mortality. The recent directive from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to adopt the 2000 U.S. standard population for the age adjustment of death rates prompted the American Cancer Society to update historical cancer mortality statistics using the new standard. METHODS Mortality data were abstracted by race, gender, year, and age at death for 1930 through 1959 from annual volumes of Vital Statistics of the United States. For 1960 through 1998, these data were obtained from data tapes provided by the National Center for Health Statistics. Two U.S. standard million populations (1970 and 2000) were used to calculate age-adjusted rates. Average annual percent change was estimated for each decade by site, gender, and age, and the statistical significance of the change was assessed at p < 0.05. RESULTS After long-term increases or mostly level trends that date from the 1930s for some sites, death rates for cancers of the lung (in males), prostate, female breast, colon-rectum, pancreas, leukemia, and ovary were decreasing in the 1990s. Liver cancer death rates were increasing in the 1990s. Throughout the study period, death rates for female lung cancer increased, while death rates for stomach and uterine cancers declined. CONCLUSIONS The trends of decreasing cancer death rates for the leading cancer sites in the 1990s are encouraging. However, surveillance researchers must continue to monitor these declines to assess whether the progress seen in this decade persists. Efforts also must be made to study the sites with increasing trends and identify potential underlying causes. Cancer 2003;97(12 Suppl):3133–3275. Published 2003 by the American Cancer Society. DOI 10.1002/cncr.11380
Set theoretic estimation in color scanner characterization

A set theoretic approach for the spectral characterization of a color scanner is described. These devices usually employ three channels to obtain a device dependent RGB (red, green, blue) im- age. To display/print an image, the device dependent RGB values must be correctly transformed to the color space of the target de- vice. To determine accurate and efficient transformations for a num- ber of devices, knowledge of the spectral sensitivity of the scanner is essential. Direct measurement of the sensitivity requires a set of expensive narrow band reflectances and is often infeasible. Meth- ods that estimate the spectral sensitivity based on measurements with typical reflectance samples are therefore of interest. Due to the low dimensionality of the space of object reflectance spectra, this is a highly ill-conditioned problem. As a result, conventional estimation techniques that fail to take a priori knowledge into account perform rather poorly on this problem. A set theoretic approach that incorpo- rates available a priori knowledge into the estimation framework yields better results. Results are presented for a simulated scanner characterization problem and for an actual characterization to dem- onstrate the increased accuracy compared with conventional methods. © 1996 SPIE and IS&T.
Zeeman Effect in Porphyrins: Zero‐Field Splitting of the Excited Electronic States

Recent experimental studies have reported anomalous and contradictory results for the absorption of left and right circularly polarized light (LCPL and RCPL) by zinc and magnesium coproporphyrins in the presence of a magnetic field: for both compounds, the absorption bands for right and left circularly polarized light have distinctly different shapes at room temperature; at 77°K unexplained shoulders appear in the absorption spectra for both polarizations for the magnesium but not for the zinc compound; the value of the angular momentum of the lowest energy excited state computed from the separation of the peaks of the LCPL and RCPL absorption bands differs from the value obtained from magnetic circular dichroism (MCD) experiments by nearly 50%; no shape anomalies were observed in the MCD spectra. We derive a general solution for the mixing of two states by a magnetic field and show that all of the anomalous experimental data are explained if (a) the presumably degenerate pair of excited states are split ...
Criteria for Evaluating Authority Patterns

A new pattern of authority is emerging out of the contemporary erosion in the traditional authority bases of society. The new pattern emphasizes service, competence, the person, and role position. ...
A method which eliminates the discreteness in Poisson confidence limits and lessens the effect of moving cuts specifically to eliminate candidate events

Abstract In setting upper limits in counting experiments, a method exists which removes the discreteness in limits normally present for the Poisson probability distribution. The method, while essentially the same mathematically as a controversial statistical technique proposed around 1950, is now given more physical meaning: event quality information supplements the pure number of candidate events in calculating an upper limit. The method ameliorates the problem in searches for rare processes whereby small changes in data selection criteria (cuts) can have large, discontinuous effects on the limit quoted. It may thus have the potential to ease the reconciliation of different choices of cuts, while reducing the potential for bias in cut selection when one has knowledge of potential candidate events. Paradoxically, the method generally gives more restrictive upper limits than the usual method (assuming no background subtraction in either method), while strictly adhering to the classical definition of confidence intervals. Background subtraction is not yet incorporated.
Stereotactic radiosurgery for intracranial meningiomas: indications and results.

3(range 0.5–50.5 cm 3 ). The median tumor margin dose was 16 Gy (range 12–20 Gy). In 278 patients with 297 lesions the mean clinical and imaging follow-up period was 43 months (range 2–138 months). Two hundred seventy-eight tumors (94%) remained stable or decreased in size, and 19 tumors progressed in size. Factors associated with progression were tumor histological type and prior surgery. Treatment-related complications occurred in 8% of the patients and included cranial neuropathies, symptomatic edema, cyst formation, and stenosis of the internal carotid artery. In three patients (1%) tumor dedifferentiation was noted after SRS. Conclusions. Radiosurgical treatment of meningioma is safe and it has become the primary treatment for patients with small skull base tumors. Further study is needed to determine the long-term tumor control rates after such treatment, especially for patients treated with doses of 14 Gy or less.
A low-resolution study of testicular lactate dehydrogenase using the molecular replacement technique

Abstract The orientation of the molecular 2-fold axes of mouse testicular lactate dehydrogenase (LDHase ‡ -C 4 ) was determined by a rotation function search. These were subsequently identified with the P , Q , and R axes of dogfish LDHase-M 4 . Since LDHase-C 4 crystallized with one molecule in a triclinic cell, the origin of the co-ordinate system was arbitrarily fixed at the molecular center. Structure factor phases were derived from an appropriately oriented dogfish apo LDHase-M 4 phasing model and combined with the observed structure amplitudes to produce a hybrid electron density map. Density points related by the molecular 222 point symmetry were averaged so as to remove the bias of the phasing model. At 7.5 A resolution, the structure of the crystallized mouse LDHase-C 4 was found to be without coenzyme, with a conformation indistinguishable from that of dogfish apo LDHase-M 4 .
Regulatory and drug development issues related to female sexual dysfunction

Following the approval of sildenalfil for the treatment of erectile dysfunction, an increased awareness of and interest in female sexual dysfunction developed on the part of the academic and research communities as well as the pharmaceutical industry. This article will focus on regulatory issues related to the development of drug products to treat female sexual dysfunction and will describe a recently published drug development guidance document for this indication.
The Impact of Personality and Test Conditions on Mathematical Test Performance

Online and on-demand tests are increasingly used in assessment. Although the main focus has been cheating and test security (e.g., Selwyn, 2008) the cross-setting equivalence of scores as a function of contrasting test conditions is also an issue that warrants attention. In this study, the impact of environmental and cognitive distractions, as well as personality, on performance on a computerized mathematical problem-solving test was examined by comparing results in a standardized, proctored (school) setting with a non-standardized, unproctored (home) setting. Science and engineering college students (N = 315) were randomly assigned to one of these two test settings and completed a mathematical reasoning test. As hypothesized, model-based analysis demonstrated that greater environmental and cognitive distractions were reported in the unproctored (home) setting, while performance levels were higher in the proctored (school) setting. Furthermore, the process by which these variables impact performance was f...
On Estimating a Counter From Its Noisy Successive Instances

We consider the problem of estimating the initial state of an $L$ -bit counter given noisy soft decision data corresponding to consecutive instances of this counter. This is relevant to a GPS L1C receiver, and we present a novel low-complexity bit iterative technique involving linear combining of data across the multiple instances. We show that this significantly improves the ability of an autonomous receiver to decode time from the GPS signal. We also propose a solution to a related problem that finds application in a GPS L2C receiver in which the data corresponding to successive instances of the counter are convolutionally encoded. Simulations show that our solutions perform very close to the optimal estimator at a fraction of the computational cost.
A comparison of the abilities of 15 media to recover viable yeasts from pond, river and lake water

Abstract Membrane filtration (MF) is probably the most widely used technique for the recovery and enumeration of yeasts from freshwater. Because there is little information available on the comparative performances of the various agar-based media used in MF, a comparison was made of the abilities of 15 media to recover viable yeasts from pond, river, and lake water. The type of water filtered appeared to influence the abilities of the media to recover yeasts. Media containing glucose, that were also rich in peptone, yeast extract, and malt extract, tended to recover the most yeasts; however, no medium was clearly superior for all the water samples. Medium composition was observed to bias yeast-population estimates by up to 79%. Thus, it may be advisable to select optimal yeast-recovery media for individual water bodies. The results indicated that some nutrient-rich media were susceptible to mould overgrowth whereas low-nutrient media tended not to be susceptible. Elimination of yeast counts from filters that had ⩾25% of their surface area obscured
The M4M5 Cytoplasmic Loop of the Na,K-ATPase, Overexpressed in Escherichia coli, Binds Nucleoside Triphosphates with the Same Selectivity as the Intact Native Protein

Abstract Escherichia coli was used to overexpress the large cytoplasmic loop of the rat Na,K-ATPase. A 1260-base DNA segment encoding Lys354–Lys774of the rat α1-subunit was constructed via polymerase chain reaction. The polymerase chain reaction product was successfully subcloned into the expression vector pET-28 (Novagen), which produces an N-terminal 6-histidine-tagged fusion protein. The pET-28 vector containing rat α-loop, i.e. pAN, was used to transform calcium-competentE. coli BL21(DE3) cells, and positive clones were selected by kanamycin resistance. Bacterial cultures were grown, and protein synthesis was induced with isopropyl β-d-thiogalactoside. Cells were harvested and lysed, revealing production of the His-tagged fusion protein (∼46 kDa). The fusion protein was affinity-purified from other soluble cellular proteins via a Ni-NTA column, which routinely yielded ∼20 mg of soluble His6-α-loop/L cell culture. The His6-α-loop retained significant native structure, as evidenced by the ability of ATP and ADP (but not AMP, CTP, GTP, or UTP) to protect against chemical modification by either fluorescein isothiocyanate or maleimidylanilinonapthalene sulfonic acid. More specifically, circular dichroism spectroscopy was used to estimate the secondary structure of the His6 loop, revealing an ordered folding composed of 23% α-helix, 23% antiparallel β-sheet, 4% parallel β-sheet, 19% β-turn, and 32% random coil. The 6-histidine loop bound the fluorescent ATP analog trinitrophenyl-ATP with high affinity, as determined by measuring the fluorescence changes associated with binding. Affinities for ATP (∼350 μm) and ADP (∼550 μm) were determined by their ability to compete with and displace 2′,3′-O-[2,4,6,-trinitrophenyl]-ATP. These nucleotide affinities are similar to those observed for the E2conformation of the intact Na,K-ATPase.
Complications related to vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty

Vertebral augmentation with percutaneous vertebroplasty or kyphoplasty is rapidly becoming a preferred intervention for the treatment of pain associated with vertebral body disruption. Vertebral integrity can be compromised by a variety of processes, including vertebral compression fractures, which account for the majority of vertebral augmentation procedures performed each year. Most published outcome studies of vertebroplasty reveal improvement in short-term pain reduction. Long-term follow-up studies are lacking. Complications arising from these procedures are uncommon and most often involve leakage of cement into the perivertebral tissues. Cardiovascular, neurologic, and severe hypotensive complications are also seen with these procedures and can result in significant morbidity and mortality. Complication incidence studies are needed.
A hands-on environment for teaching GPU programming

GPU programming is fast becoming an essential skill for computer graphics students. It has immediate application in all areas of graphics including science, engineering, art, animation, and gaming. Because it is new, experience with teaching GPU programming is scarce. This paper describes the teaching of a GPU programming course with a hands-on program called glman. glman allows students to create a shader scene description file which not only creates the 3D scene, but creates an interactive user interface to adjust shader parameters. Our experience in an experimental class taught in Spring 2006 is that glman is flexible enough to donstrate and experiment with many shader concepts, and creates a fast and fun learning curve for the students.
Reliability considerations of hot-carrier induced degradation in analogue nMOSFET amplifier

A successful implementation of substrate current and gain degradation models for an nMOSFET amplifier is demonstrated. The substrate current has to be taken into consideration in order to predict the drain conductance degradation. It is shown that the V/sub gs/ bias point for the nMOSFET amplifier is very limited when reliability is taken into consideration.
Modulation of Presaccadic Activity in the Frontal Eye Field by the Superior Colliculus

A cascade of neuronal signals precedes each saccadic eye movement to targets in the visual scene. In the cerebral cortex, this neuronal processing culminates in the frontal eye field (FEF), where neurons have bursts of activity before the saccade. This presaccadic activity is typically considered to drive downstream activity in the intermediate layers of the superior colliculus (SC), which receives direct projections from FEF. Consequently, the FEF activity is thought to be determined solely by earlier cortical processing and unaffected by activity in the SC. Recent evidence of an ascending path from the SC to FEF raises the possibility, however, that presaccadic activity in the FEF may also depend on input from the SC. Here we tested this possibility by recording from single FEF neurons during the reversible inactivation of SC. Our results indicate that presaccadic activity in the FEF does not require SC input: we never observed a significant reduction in FEF presaccadic activity when the SC was inactivated. Unexpectedly, in a third of experiments, SC inactivation elicited a significant increase in FEF presaccadic activity. The passive visual response of FEF neurons, in contrast, was virtually unaffected by inactivation of the SC. These findings show that presaccadic activity in the FEF does not originate in the SC but nevertheless may be influenced by modulatory signals ascending from the SC.
The Effects of Refreezing on the Tensile Properties of the Medial Collateral Ligament-Bone Complex: A Rabbit Model

Biomechanical tests of soft tissues, especially those from human cadavers, are generally done after a period of postmortem storage by freezing. In some instances, specimen preparation and testing can be complex and can take place over several days, thus necessitating an additional period of frozen storage before biomechanical evaluation is completed. Studies have been done in the past, which investigated the effects of postmortem freezing on the tensile properties of ligament-bone complexes (Viidik and Lewin 1966; Noyes and Grood 1976; Dorlot 1980; Barad 1982; Nikolaou 1986; Woo, Orlando et al. 1986). It has been shown in our laboratory that careful postmortem freezing for up to three months did not significantly change the mechanical properties of the ligament midsubstance and the cyclic stress relaxation behavior and the structural properties of the ligament-bone complex, but the area of hysteresis was significantly reduced in the stored specimens for the first few cycles of cyclic stress relaxation (Woo, Orlando et al. 1986). Hence, it is important to ensure that an additional freezing and thawing cycle will not further change the tensile properties of these tissues. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of freezing and thawing twice at 20°C on the structural and viscoelastic properties of femur-medial collateral ligament-tibia complex (FMTC) in a rabbit model.Copyright © 2003 by ASME
Analysis of Tn3 sequences required for transposition and immunity

Abstract Tn 3 is a 5-kb transposon (Tn) with 38-bp inverted terminal repeats (ITR). The two 38-bp terminal sequences are required in cis for TnJ transposition. In this study, the role of the ITR in Tn 3 transposition has been further dissected by the use of various mini-Tn 3 Tn's. The transposition frequency of these mini-Tn's demonstrate that (1) Tn 3 contains no sequence other than the ITR sequences that are necessary for the first step in transposition; (2) the two terminal repeats must be oriented as ITR for transposition to occur; (3) the outside 34 bp of the ITR are required for transposition; and (4) reducing the distance between the terminal sequences does not affect transposition frequency. Moreover, mutant copies of the ITR sequences that cannot function in transposition do not confer transposition immunity.
Kinetics of growth of superhard boride layers during solid state diffusion of boron into titanium

Solid state boriding of titanium is a very effective and inexpensive way to create surface layers that can impart high hardness and wear resistance. In this work, the growth kinetics of hard titanium boride layers created by the solid-state boron (B) diffusion through titanium (Ti) surface at various temperatures has been determined. The hard boride layers comprised of a monolithic titanium diboride (TiB2) layer at the top and a titanium boride (TiB) sub-layer that mostly consisted of TiB whiskers with high aspect-ratio growing normal to the surface. The structure and the crystallography of the layers were also confirmed by X-ray diffraction. Experimental results show that the growth rates of the TiB2 as well as the composite (TiB2þTiB) coating layers follow the parabolic kinetics. It is shown that the thickness development as a function of time can be predicted reasonably accurately, using the error function solutions for the two simultaneously growing boride layers developed in our previous work. The maximum degree of growth as dictated by the diffusivity of B in the boride phases was achieved using a solid state B powder pack in an ambient furnace atmosphere. & 2012 Elsevier Ltd and Techna Group S.r.l. All rights reserved.
On the Switching Parameter Variation of Metal-Oxide RRAM—Part I: Physical Modeling and Simulation Methodology

The variation of switching parameters is one of the major challenges to both the scaling and volume production of metal-oxide-based resistive random-access memories (RRAMs). In this two-part paper, the source of such parameter variation is analyzed by a physics-based simulator, which is equipped with the capability to simulate a large number ( ~1000) of cyclic SET-RESET operations. By comparing the simulation results with experimental data, it is found that the random current fluctuation experimentally observed in the RESET processes is caused by the competition between trap generation and recombination, whereas the variation of the high resistance states and the tail bits are directly correlated to the randomness of the trap dynamics. A combined strategy with a bilayer dielectric material and a write-verification technique is proposed to minimize the resistance variation. We describe the simulation methodology and discuss the dc results in Part I. The corroboration of the model and the device optimization strategy will be discussed in Part II.
Massive μ-pair production in hadron-hadron collisions and the asymptotically free parton model

Abstract Recursive (renormalization group) equations for the momentum space distribution functions of asymptotically free constituents of hadrons are obtained. The transverse momentum distributions are discussed qualitatively in a simple model field theory. The physical picture is applied to μ-pair production and we conclude that the μ-pair's transverse momentum distribution will spread at moderate values of √Q2, the mass of the μ-pair, but its rate of growth will become negligible at high Q2 as the theory's invariant charge vanishes.
A Phase Ib Trial of Erlotinib, an EGFR Inhibitor, and Everolimus (RAD001), an mTOR Inhibitor, in Patients with Metastatic Breast Cancer.

Background: The EGFR and the PI3K pathways have been implicated in breast cancer9s prognosis and mechanisms of resistance to conventional therapies. Preclinical data have shown synergy between EGFR and PI3K/Akt pathway blockade. Therefore, we conducted a phase Ib trial to determine the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) and antitumor activity of Erlotinib, an oral EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor, and Everolimus (RAD001), an oral mTOR inhibitor, given daily to patients with metastatic breast cancer.Materials and Methods: This was an open-label, phase I dose-escalation study. Everolimus was started at 2.5 mg/d and Erlotinib was started at 100 mg/d on a 28-day treatment cycle. Doses were escalated over 6 levels (Everolimus 2.5, 5 or 10 mg daily with Erlotinib 100 or 150 mg daily). Treatment was continued until consistent dose-limiting toxicity (DLT) was observed or until progression of disease. All toxicities were documented using the NCI CTC v.3. Disease assessment was done every 2 months after initiation of therapy.Results: A total of 14 patients were enrolled on the first 2 dose levels (Erlotinib 100 mg with Everolimus 2.5 mg [level I] and 5 mg [level II] daily). Eight patients were enrolled on level I and 6 patients were enrolled on level II. The median age of all patients enrolled was 55 years of age, and 92% of them had visceral disease. Half of the patients had ER+ disease, 35% had HER2 + disease, and 15% had triple-negative disease. The median number of previous chemotherapy regimens in the metastatic setting was 4. Two patients on the level II cohort discontinued trial due to grade 3 stomatitis prior to their first disease assessment. Of the remaining 13 patients, 11 progressed at the time of their first disease assessment, and 1 patient on the dose level I cohort had a partial response that lasted for 7 months. The most common toxicities were rash (16%), transaminase elevation (15%), stomatitis (13%), fatigue (7%) and diarrhea (5%). Grade 3 and 4 toxicities were overall uncommon (3.5%), and mostly consisted of stomatitis, transaminase elevation and rash. Stomatitis was the only DLT, and was seen at dose level II. The MTD was determined to be Erlotinib 100 mg and Everolimus 2.5 mg daily.Discussion: In patients with metastatic HER2-negative breast cancer the combination of Erlotinib and Everolimus was overall well tolerated, but clinically ineffective from a tumor activity point of view in this heavily pre-treated patient population. Stomatitis was one of the most common toxicities and also the DLT in the cohort treated with dose level II. In view of the plethora of novel active agents currently in clinical trials in breast cancer, we do not believe the above combination warrants further testing in this disease. Citation Information: Cancer Res 2009;69(24 Suppl):Abstract nr 3094.
Evidence for the Effectiveness of Manipulations of Communal and Exchange Relationships

This study examined the effectiveness of manipulations of desire for communal and exchange relationships that have been used in several studies. In these past studies, to create desire for communal relationships subjects have been exposed to an attractive target person who, they discover, is single, new at the university, and anxious to meet new people. To create desire for exchange relationships subjects have been exposed to the same attractive target who, they discover, is married and has been at the university for two years. In the present study, half of the subjects were exposed to the communal manipulation and half to the exchange manipulation. In addition, to examine whether the effectiveness of the manipulations depends upon the confederate being physically attractive, half the subjects were exposed to an attractive and half to an unattractive target. Following these manipulations subjects' desire to follow communal and exchange norms in their relationship with the other was measured. The results s...
Determination of complex ionization amplitudes by (e,2e) spectroscopy.

[ital (]e,2[ital e]) spectroscopy has been used to investigate interference between resonant dipole and nonresonant monopole electron-impact ionization of Cd. A technique is described which allows the experimental determination of the relative magnitude and phase of the amplitudes for these processes. The method makes use of the rapid variation with energy of the continuum phase in the region of autoionizing resonances. The experimental relative dipole/monopole amplitude for momentum transfer 0.18 a.u. is found to be in substantial disagreement with a plane-wave Born approximation calculation.
Fully automatic software for retinal thickness in eyes with diabetic macular edema from images acquired by cirrus and spectralis systems.

Purpose To determine whether a novel automatic segmentation program, the Duke Optical Coherence Tomography Retinal Analysis Program (DOCTRAP), can be applied to spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) images obtained from different commercially available SD-OCT in eyes with diabetic macular edema (DME). Methods A novel segmentation framework was used to segment the retina, inner retinal pigment epithelium, and Bruch's membrane on images from eyes with DME acquired by one of two SD-OCT systems, Spectralis or Cirrus high definition (HD)-OCT. Thickness data obtained by the DOCTRAP software were compared with those produced by Spectralis and Cirrus. Measurement agreement and its dependence were assessed using intraclass correlation (ICC). Results A total of 40 SD-OCT scans from 20 subjects for each machine were included in the analysis. Spectralis: the mean thickness in the 1-mm central area determined by DOCTRAP and Spectralis was 463.8 ± 107.5 μm and 467.0 ± 108.1 μm, respectively (ICC, 0.999). There was also a high level agreement in surrounding areas (out to 3 mm). Cirrus: the mean thickness in the 1-mm central area was 440.8 ± 183.4 μm and 442.7 ± 182.4 μm by DOCTRAP and Cirrus, respectively (ICC, 0.999). The thickness agreement in surrounding areas (out to 3 mm) was more variable due to Cirrus segmentation errors in one subject (ICC, 0.734-0.999). After manual correction of the errors, there was a high level of thickness agreement in surrounding areas (ICC, 0.997-1.000). Conclusions The DOCTRAP may be useful to compare retinal thicknesses in eyes with DME across OCT platforms.
Micro Raman Spectroscopy of Silicon Nanocrystals Produced by Picosecond Pulsed Laser Ablation

Pulsed laser ablation has been used to produce silicon nanocrystals. Variation of the laser fluence, backing gas type and pressure result in nanocrystals with controllable size distributions. Properties of nanocrystals produced with this method also depend on the distance of the nanocrystal from the center of the laser plume. Correlated atomic force microscopy and in-situ micro-Raman measurements confirm that particle size decreases as distance from the plume center increases. Silicon peaks in the micro raman spectra taken at increasing distance from plume center show considerable differences in both center energy and width. Confocal micro raman spectra from thicker (> 10 micron) samples show little variation with depth, in contrast with porous silicon samples.
New dog: old tricks.

(2002). New Dog: Old Tricks. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science: Vol. 5, No. 3, pp. 239-242.
Practical Appraisal of Alternative Solutions

The first step in solving a problem or answering a question is to define the problem clearly and concisely. Everyone is aware of the recent concern for protecting and improving the environment. Ecology, pollution, conservation, environmental protection, and eutrophication have suddenly become common household words. Their meaning frequently depends on the interest or concern of the individual. However, actions by local, state, national, and international agencies make it obvious that there is concern and, thus, a problem in protecting and improving the environment. The general mass hysteria is being replaced with sound and factual concern. Manure management is a specific problem that needs special attention. Agriculture is only one of many industries and groups that has been indicted for causing environmental problems. Likewise, agriculture is only one industry that is facing the challenge and problem of decreasing the general pollution problem. In fact, agriculture rightfully has been patted on the back for significant contributions to environmental protection and improvement. Preventing erosion, conserving water, establishing forests, feeding byproducts from food processing, and recycling manure are common practices that have existed for years on farms. However, on attending or reading proceedings of state, national, or international conferences or just driving through the agricultural areas, it is obvious that there is room for expanding and improving these practices. These brief comments on the concerns of agriculture in environmental improvement are mentioned to point out three areas that have practical solutions. First, the positive or benet~cial role of agriculture in improving environment needs to be told and understood by the genera/ public. Second, the well-established practices used by many farmers are still ignored by some. Third, the proper solution to manure handling is a part of the total agriculture and not a separate problem.
Autonomic Mediation of Glucagon Secretion During Insulin-Induced Hypoglycemia in Rhesus Monkeys

Autonomic activation mediates the majority of the increase of glucagon secretion during insulin-induced hypoglycemia in several species including dogs, mice, and rats. However, the role of the autonomic nervous system to increase glucagon during hypoglycemia in humans remains controversial, and investigations in nonhuman primates have not been previously conducted. The autonomic contribution to glucagon secretion during hypoglycemia in a nonhuman primate was examined by two independent pharmacological approaches. Glucagon responses to clamped insulin-induced hypoglycemia were compared in conscious rhesus monkeys in the presence or absence of ganglionic blockade with trimethaphan, or during combined muscarinic and adrenergic receptor blockade with atropine, propranolol, and tolazoline. Insulin-induced hypoglycemia (plasma glucose = 1.9 +/- 0.1 mmol/l) activated parasympathetic nerves to the pancreas as assessed by increased plasma pancreatic polypeptide (PP) levels (delta = 135.0 +/- 36.8 pmol/l, P < 0.01), produced sympathoadrenal activation as assessed by elevations of plasma epinephrine (EPI) (delta = 22.3 +/- 2.95 nmol/l, P < 0.0005) and norepinephrine (NE) (delta = 3.72 +/- 0.77 mmol/l, P < 0.0025) and increased plasma immunoreactive glucagon (IRG) (delta = 920 +/- 294 ng/l, P < 0.025). Nicotinic ganglionic blockade with trimethaphan prevented parasympathetic (deltaPP = 16.5 +/- 16.3 pmol/l, P < 0.01 vs. control) and sympathoadrenal (deltaEPI = 1.52 +/- 0.98 nmol/l; deltaNE = -0.62 +/- 0.24 mmol/l, both P < 0.0025 vs. control) activation during hypoglycemia and inhibited the IRG response by 70% (delta = 278 +/- 67 ng/l, P < 0.025 vs. control). Combined muscarinic and adrenergic receptor blockade reduced parasympathetic activation (deltaPP = 48.3 +/- 16.3 pmol/l, P < 0.01 vs. control) and inhibited the IRG response by a similar degree to ganglionic blockade (deltaIRG = 284 +/- 60 ng/l, P < 0.025 vs. control). These results demonstrate by two independent pharmacological approaches that autonomic activation makes a substantial contribution to increased glucagon secretion during hypoglycemia of approximately 2.0 mmol/l in a species of nonhuman primate.
Inhibition of rabbit sperm acrosomal protease by human alpha1-antitrypsin and other protease inhibitors

Abstract Human alpha 1 -antitrypsin preparations inhibit rabbit sperm acrosomal protease using BAEE and gelatin as substrate. In BAEE tests, the alpha 1 -antitrypsin shows a progressive kinetics of inhibition in contrast to the trypsin kallikrein inhibitor from bovine lung that reacts immediately. Human inter-alpha-trypsin inhibitor also inhibits rabbit sperm acrosomal protease. The reaction is of the immediate type but less extensive in the BAEE test. Human alpha 1x -antichymotrypsin does not inhibit rabbit sperm acrosomal protease.
The effect of CTO recanalization on FFR of the donor artery

This case illustrates that fractional flow reserve (FFR) in addition to the severity and length of the coronary stenosis is critically dependent on the extent of viable myocardium perfused. In the presented case, the left anterior descending artery (LAD) that had modest angiographic stenosis supplied collaterals to the entire left ventricle. After recanalization of chronic total occlusions (CTO) of the right and circumflex arteries, FFR in the LAD had normalized.
Use of natural variation reveals core genes in the transcriptome of iron-deficient Arabidopsis thaliana roots

Iron (Fe) is an essential mineral micronutrient for plants and animals. Plants respond to Fe deficiency by increasing root uptake capacity. Identification of gene networks for Fe uptake and homeostasis could result in improved crop growth and nutritional value. Previous studies have used microarrays to identify a large number of genes regulated by Fe deficiency in roots of three Arabidopsis ecotypes. However, a large proportion of these genes may be involved in secondary or genotype-influenced responses rather than in a universal role in Fe uptake or homeostasis. Here we show that a small percentage of the Fe deficiency transcriptome of two contrasting ecotypes, Kas-1 and Tsu-1, was shared with other ecotypes. Kas-1 and Tsu-1 had different timing and magnitude of ferric reductase activity upon Fe withdrawal, and different categories of overrepresented Fe-regulated genes. To gain insights into universal responses of Arabidopsis to Fe deficiency, the Kas-1 and Tsu-1 transcriptomes were compared with those of Col-0, Ler, and C24. In early Fe deficiency (24-48 h), no Fe-downregulated genes and only 10 upregulated genes were found in all ecotypes, and only 20 Fe-downregulated and 58 upregulated genes were found in at least three of the five ecotypes. Supernode gene networks were constructed to visualize conserved Fe homeostasis responses. Contrasting gene expression highlighted different responses to Fe deficiency between ecotypes. This study demonstrates the use of natural variation to identify central Fe-deficiency-regulated genes in plants, and identified genes with potential new roles in signalling during Fe deficiency.
Boron nitride protective coating of beryllium window surfaces

Abstract A commercially available boron nitrade aerosol has been found to protect while X-ray beamline beryllium windows, whose surfaces are exposed to atmosphere, from contamination and degradation. The physical characteristics and chemical makeup of the aerosol are described. The results of studies on a variety of beamlines at the NSLS show that certain experimental configurations benefit from this protective coating.
Periventricular hemorrhagic infarction : Risk factors and neonatal outcome

The aim of this study was to define the incidence, clinical associations, and short-term outcome of periventricular hemorrhagic infarction in the modern neonatal intensive care unit. From 5774 infants (birth weight
A double-vector integral equation method for antenna interaction with photonic band-gap materials

This paper describes a double vector-integral-equation (DOVIE) method for the modeling of antennas on photonic band-gap (PBG) materials. The proposed computational method deals with radiating-elements interacting with periodic structures The method of solution involves two stages of vector integral-equations. The first integral equation formulation is to find the Green's function for a PBG structure. A spectral-domain moment-method is applied to the second vector integral-equation to determine the fields or currents on the antennas and the associated parameters of interest. A microstrip dipole on a PEG substrate is used to highlight the proposed numerical method.
Metadata Efficiency in Versioning File Systems

Versioning file systems retain earlier versions of modified files, allowing recovery from user mistakes or system corruption. Unfortunately, conventional versioning systems do not efficiently record large numbers of versions. In particular, versioned metadata can consume as much space as versioned data. This paper examines two space-efficient metadata structures for versioning file systems and describes their integration into the Comprehensive Versioning File System (CVFS), which keeps all versions of all files. Journal-based metadata encodes each metadata version into a single journal entry; CVFS uses this structure for inodes and indirect blocks, reducing the associated space requirements by 80%. Multiversion b-trees extend each entrys key with a timestamp and keep current and historical entries in a single tree; CVFS uses this structure for directories, reducing the associated space requirements by 99%. Similar space reductions are predicted via trace analysis for other versioning strategies (e.g., on-close versioning). Experiments with CVFS verify that its current-version performance is sim-ilar to that of non-versioning file systems while reducing overall space needed for history data by a factor of two. Although access to historical versions is slower than con-ventional versioning systems, checkpointing is shown to mitigate and bound this effect.