cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Using diatoms to assess human impacts on streams benefits from multiple-habitat sampling

Benthic diatoms are important indicators of human impacts on streams. Epilithic diatoms are collected most often for bioassessments, but potentially important ecological information from other habitats could be missed. Within our study region, substrata ranged from 100% rock to 100% sandy silt at 61 sites, leading us to question the appropriateness of sampling solely epilithic surfaces in riffles. We compared two protocols for collecting diatoms: (1) epilithic habitat samples (EHS) within riffles and (2) multi-habitat samples (MHS), which proportionately included different habitats (e.g., riffles and pools) and substrata (e.g., sand, silt, and rock). Three streams were not compared because rocks were absent. Nonmetric multidimensional scaling indicated that diatom communities from EHS and MHS responded similarly to alkalinity and agricultural gradients, and Procrustes analysis showed that ordinations were similar (P < 0.01). Percent motile diatoms and metrics indicating high or low P and N from MHS showed stronger relationships with land use variables than those metrics from EHS. Bray-Curtis (BC) similarity between the protocols increased as diversity and richness decreased in MHS, as agricultural impacts increased, and as motile diatoms became more abundant in EHS, which likely indicated greater habitat homogeneity or an overriding effect of water chemistry. The two protocols classified 78% of sites concordantly as minimally impacted or impacted. Multi-habitat sampling is preferred where stream habitats vary greatly because it assessed land use impacts more effectively than EHS, while indicating water chemistry impacts as effectively. Multiple habitats also contained greater species diversity, which is important to documenting species distributions, and were always available for sampling, whereas epilithic habitats could be sparse or absent.
Genetic Epidemiology of Low-Density Lipoprotein Subclass Phenotypes

Heterogeneity in LDL particles can be described by two distinct phenotypes in individual subjects, denoted A and B, based on gradient gel electrophoresis. Phenotype A is characterized by a predominance of large, buoyant LDL particles, while phenotype B is characterized by a predominance of small, dense LDL particles. Several studies have demonstrated that LDL subclass phenotype B is associated with both increased risk of coronary heart disease and an atherogenic lipoprotein profile. Complex segregation analyses in families, heritability analyses in twins, and recent linkage analyses, uniformly support the presence of genetic influences on LDL subclass phenotypes. However, environmental and behavioural influences on LDL subclasses have also been documented. Understanding the mechanisms underlying LDL subclass phenotypes may lead to targeted intervention to reduce coronary heart disease (CHD) risk in genetically susceptible individuals. Thus, LDL subclass phenotypes represent a common, genetically-influenced risk factor for coronary heart disease.
Kinetics and affinity of reactions between an antigen-specific T cell receptor and peptide-MHC complexes.

Abstract We show here that the net rate of accumulation of complexes formed by the antigen-specific receptor of T cells (TCR) of a T cell clone with its natural ligand, an octapeptide in association with L d , a class I protein of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC), approaches the maximal value determined by the affinity of the TCR for this peptide-MHC Iigand In 1–2 min, which Is well within the lifetime of transient T cell-target cell conjugates. Consistent with this finding, we also found that the widely divergent affinity values (equilibrium constants) of this TCR for six related peptide-MHC complexes correlate well with the extent of specific lysis of target cells bearing various level of these complexes.
SU-E-T-397: A Review of Rapid Arc Standard Deviations

Purpose: he purpose of this study is to acquire baseline values for the standard deviations of MU and angle reported by a Varian 23ex linac following the delivery of a RapidArc field. Methods: During the delivery of RapidArc fields, the Varian linac records the gantry angle and cumulative MU every 50 ms. By comparing this data to the corresponding planned data, the system calculates the standard deviations of the MUs and the gantry angles for each field. These standard deviations are reported to the linac screen at the completion of each field and documented daily for each field along with the patient, plan, treatment site, and date. The data was then entered into Micorsoft Excel for analysis. This data was acquired for every RapidArc patient (88 total patients) over the course of the first year of RapidArc use. Results: The maximum MU standard deviation was 0.09 and the maximum gantry angle standard deviation was 0.30°. The averages are 0.05 MU and 0.19° respectively. No specific treatment site (prostate/prostate fossa, head and neck, brain, thorax, or other) differed significantly from these averages. Conclusion: If the MU standard deviation is greater than 0.1 or the gantry angle standard deviation is greater than 0.3°, the RapidArc QA tests of the linac and the plan should be promptly repeated to identify any possible problems. These baseline values may be specific to the linac in question but provide a point of reference for other linacs as well.
O8. Regulation of neuronal connectivity in the brain by ubiquitin signaling

The assembly of neural circuits endows our brains with the ability to perform a vast array of functions from motor coordination to cognition. The goal of my laboratory is to identify the key mechanisms and principles that govern neuronal connectivity in brain development and disease. We have identified some of the first cell-intrinsic pathways that control axon, dendrite, and synapse development in the mammalian brain. Our studies reveal that the major cell cycle-regulated ubiquitin ligases Cdh1-APC and Cdc20-APC play crucial roles in neuronal morphogenesis and connectivity in postmitotic neurons in the mammalian brain. Cdh1-APC controls axon growth and patterning in the brain. In key follow-up studies, we have identified the transcriptional regulators SnoN and Id2 as critical substrates of Cdh1-APC in neurons. In other studies, we have discovered that the major mitotic ubiquitin ligase Cdc20-APC plays a key role in dendrite elaboration and growth in postmitotic neurons in the mammalian brain. Cdc20-APC operates at the centrosome in neurons to drive dendrite morphogenesis, suggesting a novel role for centrosomes in neuronal development. In recent studies, we have also discovered that Cdc20-APC drives the differentiation of presynaptic sites in the mammalian brain. At the meeting, I will present an update on the role of ubiquitin family pathways in neuronal connectivity.
Research Techniques Used in Evaluating Dental Materials

Research always is needed in designing tests for characterizing biomaterials. These tests should simulate conditions of use as much as is practicable; they often must subject the material to exaggerated or abusive service conditions; and they must have satisfactory reliability and validity. This report describes some of the research techniques used in evaluating dental materials.
Vector formulation for interferogram surface fitting

Interferometry is an optical testing technique that quantifies the optical path difference (OPD) between a reference wave front and a test wave front based on the interference of light. Fringes are formed when the OPD is an integral multiple of the illuminating wavelength. The resultant two-dimensional pattern is called an interferogram. The function of any interferogram analysis program is to extract this OPD and to produce a representation of the test wave front (or surface). This is accomplished through a three-step process of sampling, ordering, and fitting. We develop a generalized linear-algebra vector-notation model of the interferogram sampling and fitting process.
Efficient stereo coding in the multiscale representation

Stereo images are highly redundant; the left and right frames of typical scenes are very similar. We explore the consequences of the hypothesis that cortical cells—in addition to their multiscale coding strategies—are concerned with reducing binocular redundancy due to correlations between the two eyes. We derive the most efficient coding strategies that achieve binocular decorrelation. It is shown that multiscale coding combined with a binocular decorrelation strategy leads to a rich diversity of cell types. In particular, the theory predicts monocular/binocular cells as well as a family of disparity selective cells, among which one can identify cells that are tuned-zero-excitatory, near, far, and tuned inhibitory. The theory also predicts correlations between ocular dominance, cell size, orientation, and disparity selectivities. Consequences on cortical ocular dominance column formation from abnormal developmental conditions such as strabismus and monocular eye closure are also predicted. These findings...
Relationship between preferred orientation and receptive field position of neurons in extrastriate cortex (area 19) in the cat.

Orientation sensitivity is a characteristic of most retinal ganglion cells (Levick and Thibos, '82), most relay cells in the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus (Vidyasagar and Urbas, '82), and most neurons in the visual cortex (Hubel and Wiesel, '62) in the cat. In the retina there is a systematic relationship between receptive field position (polar angle) and preferred orientation. Outside of the area centralis most retinal ganglion cells respond best to stimuli oriented radially, i.e., oriented parallel to the line connecting their receptive fields to the area centralis (Levick and Thibos, '82). This relationship is strongest along the horizontal meridian (the visual streak) and appears to reflect the innate, radial orientation of retinal ganglion cell dendritic fields (Leventhal and Schall, '83). A relationship between preferred orientation and polar angle also exists in cat striate cortex; outside of the area centralis representation most cells respond best to lines oriented radially. This relationship is strongest for S type cells, the most orientation-selective cells, and cells in regions representing the horizontal meridian (Leventhal, '83). To determine if similar relationships exist in cat extrastriate cortex, the preferred orientations and receptive field positions of 226 neurons in area 19 were studied. We find that, as in area 17, most area 19 cells outside of the representation of the area centralis respond best to lines oriented radially; this relationship is strongest for the cells having the narrowest receptive fields and in regions subserving the horizontal meridian. Unlike in striate cortex, in area 19 the relationship between preferred orientation and polar angle is not dependent upon cell type (S or C) or to the degree of orientation sensitivity exhibited. Also, in area 19, but not in area 17, the relationship between preferred orientation and polar angle fails for the cells having the widest receptive fields. The results of this study show that the systematic relationship between preferred orientation and receptive field position which begins in the retina is largely preserved through extrastriate cortex. The functional architecture of orientation sensitive cells throughout the visual pathways may depend ultimately upon the innate, radial orientation of the dendritic fields of retinal ganglion cells.
Boundary integral solutions of coupled Stokes and Darcy flows

An accurate computational method based on the boundary integral formulation is presented for solving boundary value problems for Stokes and Darcy flows. The method also applies to problems where the equations are coupled across an interface through appropriate boundary conditions. The adopted technique consists of first reformulating the singular integrals for the fluid quantities as single and double layer potentials. Then the layer potentials are regularized and discretized using standard quadratures. As a final step, the leading term in the regularization error is eliminated in order to gain one more order of accuracy. The numerical examples demonstrate the increase of the convergence rate from first to second order and show a decrease in magnitude of the error. The coupled problems require the computation of the gradient of the Stokes velocity at the common interface. This boundary condition is also written as a combination of single and double layer potentials so that the same approach can be used to compute it accurately. Extensive numerical examples show the increased accuracy gained by the correction terms.
HPLC Analysis of Amino Acids with Ion Exchange Chromatography and O-Phthalaldehyde Post-Column Derivatization: Applications to the Assay of Endogenous Free Amino Acids and Their Transport in Human Placental Villus

Abstract A method using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) for the analysis of primary amino acids in human placenta is described. This method involves separation of primary amino acids by high performance ion-exchange chromatography followed by post column derivatization using O-phlthalaldehyde (OPA) and 2-mercaptoethanol and fluorescence (excitation 340 nm and emission 410 nm) detection of derivatives. Waters 840 HPLC Amino Acid System was used for this purpose. For analysis, villus tissue was extracted with acetonitrile, and the recovered amino acids were reconstituted in a sodium diluent (pH 2.2). The complete profile of the primary amino acids in the sample could be constructed in about 90 minutes. Up to 44 samples can be analyzed without special attention. Using this method, essential amino acids (threonine, valine, methionine, isoleucine, leucine, tyrosine, phenylalanine, lysine, histidine) and nonessential amino acids (aspartic acid, serine, glutamic acid, glycine, alanine, arginine) we...
Characterization of very-low-density lipoproteins isolated from baboons, and fractionated using heparin-sepharose chromatography

Plasma very-low-density lipoproteins (VLDL) (d< 1.006 g/ml) were purified from baboons by repeated ultracentrifugation. The weight composition of VLDL purified from these animals was 59% triacylglycerol, 17% phospholipid, 13% cholesterol plus cholesteryl esters, and 11% protein. When purified VLDL was fractionated using heparin-Sepharose chromatography, an average of 33% of the total recovered proteins were unbound in a saline solution, and 67% (range, 31 to 92%) were bound by the column, but could be eluted with 3 M NaCl. Recoveries of starting protein and the major classes of lipids in the two fractions were 70–80%. The two fractions differed in both apolipoprotein and lipid compositions. Analysis of sodium dodecyl sulfate-treated apolipoproteins using 3–21.5% acrylamide gradient gel electrophoresis indicated that both VLDL fractions contained apolipoprotein B, but only the bound fraction possessed significant amounts of apolipoprotein E. On a weight percent basis, the apolipoprotein-E-rich (bound) VLDL fraction contained significantly more cholesterol and cholesteryl esters (P < 0.001) and less phospholipids (P < 0.005) compared to the apolipoprotein E-poor (unbound) VLDL. Apolipoprotein-E-poor VLDL had shorter retention times than E-rich VLDL upon gel filtration chromatography, suggesting a larger size. There was no significant correlation between plasma levels of apolipoprotein-E-poor VLDL and levels of apolipoprotein B. These results demonstrate that baboons possess VLDL which can be separated into apolipoprotein-E-poor and E-rich fractions and these fractions differ in protein and lipid composition and in size.
Aspects of evaporative water loss in the mud turtles kinosternon hirtipes and Kinosternon flavescens

Abstract 1. 1. Kinosternon hirtipes, a primarily aquatic turtle, consistently demonstrates greater rates of evaporative water loss (EWL) compared to the more terrestrial congener K. flaivscens . 2. 2. Quantitative serum chemistry analysis indicates that 12-day experimental dehydration does not produce extreme physiological stress in either species. 3. 3. Measurements of oxygen consumption and carton dioxide release suggest that interspecific variations in EWL are not attributable to respiratory w rer loss or metabolism. 4. 4. General morphology and moderate-sized plastrons of K. hirtipes and K. flavescens suggest similar functional evaporative surface areas for these species. 5. 5. Following dehydration, both species show increased thickening of the horny epidermal layer of integument. Interspecific variations in the degree of keratinization may account for the superior ability of K. flavescens to resist cutaneous water loss.
A GRAPHICAL ANALYSIS OF SPOT PRICE STABILIZATION USING FUTURES

This paper presents a graphical analysis of stabilizing commodity prices via intervention in the futures market. It uses a two-period analysis. The paper identifies some of the major parameters which seem likely to influence the success of such a scheme, but it is without empirical content. Cet article presente une analyse graphique de la stabilisation des prix des biens au moyen a“interventions sur le marche des cotations en utilisant une analyse en deux phases. Ce document identifie quelques uns des principaux parametres qui semblamt vraisemblablement influencer le succes d'un tel projet, mais sans fondement empirique.
Presence of Food Organisms in the Prolarval Environment as a Factor in the Growth and Mortality of Larval Muskellunge (Esox masquinongy)

Abstract Three different feeding programs were used to assess the need for zooplankton in the environment of prolarval muskellunge. These were: (1) no zooplankton available to the larvae (filtered water) until 80% of them had become free-swimming, with pond zooplankton introduced daily thereafter, (2) pond zooplankton introduced daily after hatching was 90% complete, and (3) Artemia nauplii (under 4 days old) introduced 3 times daily beginning with 90% hatch. Neither mortalities nor dry weights differed significantly between treatments, indicating that presence of food organisms prior to swim-up was not critical to survival or growth of muskellunge larvae under the conditions of this experiment. Artemia appear to be a satisfactory hatchery diet for larval muskellunge during their first 3 weeks of life.
Adsorption in continuous-flow well-mixed tanks—the effect of residence time distribution of adsorbents

Abstract Equations describing liquid-phase adsorption in well-mixed continuous-flow tanks were developed and the effect of residence time distribution of adsorbents analyzed. Solutions corresponding to three different kinds of residence time distribution functions and for systems exhibiting linear adsorption equilibrium were obtained and their numerical results presented.
Common femoral artery stenosis after deployment of vascular clip closure device.

We describe a case of symptomatic common femoral artery stenosis following use of a vascular clip closure device (StarClose). Operative repair was performed, with removal of the clip device and subsequent vein patch angioplasty. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Correlation functions of spin operators on a torus

An expression for the arbitrary n-point correlation function of SO(2) spin operators on a torus is derived. From this expression one can calculate the n-point correlation function of any SO(2N) spin operators. Application of our results to the calculation of one-loop scattering amplitudes involving SO(16) and SO(10) spin fields in superstring theories is also given.
The Montreal Cognitive Assessment as a screening tool for cognitive dysfunction in Huntington's disease

Cognitive dysfunction is one of the hallmarks of Huntington's disease (HD) and may precede the onset of motor symptoms. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), a brief cognitive screening instrument with high specificity and sensitivity for detecting early cognitive impairments, has not been studied in the HD population. In this study, we compare the MoCA with the mini-mental state examination (MMSE) as a screening tool for cognitive dysfunction among 53 patients with HD. The mean MMSE score was 26 +/- 2.4, and mean MoCA score was 21 +/- 4.4. Twenty-one patients (81%) of those who scored >or=26 on the MMSE had the MoCA score or=24 on the MMSE had the MoCA score <24. The MoCA may be a more sensitive screening tool for cognitive impairments in HD relative to the MMSE.
The Leukocyte Semaphorin CD100 Is Expressed in Most T-Cell, but Few B-Cell, Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphomas

The 150-kd transmembrane protein CD100 is the first semaphorin protein shown to be expressed in lymphoid tissue. CD100 is present in the interfollicular T cell zones and is also expressed by B cells in the germinal centers of secondary lymphoid follicles, but not in the mantle zones. The CD100 molecule was recently cloned, and CD100 transfectants were shown to induce homotypic aggregation of human B cells and improve their viability in vitro, suggesting that CD100 may play a role in lymphocyte aggregation and germinal center formation. We studied the expression of CD100 in 138 clinical cases representing a range of lymphoproliferative disorders, to determine whether this molecule is expressed in these neoplastic processes. In general, we found CD100 expression to be common in peripheral T-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphomas but rare in B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphomas. CD100 expression was not detectable in low-grade B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphomas, including cases of small lymphocytic lymphoma (18 cases), marginal zone lymphoma (10 cases), and mantle cell lymphoma (10 cases), as might be expected for these neoplasms that are not of follicular center cell origin. Surprisingly, we found that the vast majority of follicular lymphomas (37 of 40 cases) as well as diffuse large-cell lymphomas of B-cell type (35 cases) did not express CD100. The neoplastic cells in 3 of 11 cases of predominantly large-cell-type follicular lymphoma did express CD100. In contrast, all five cases of high-grade, small non-cleaved (Burkitt-like) B-cell lymphoma were immunoreactive for CD100 expression, as were 18 of 20 cases (90%) of malignant T cell neoplasms. Northern blot analysis of CD100 expression correlated with immunohistochemical findings. Absence of expression of CD100 by neoplastic follicular center B cells is a common feature in follicular lymphomas, but expression of CD100 by T cells is maintained in T-cell lymphoproliferative disorders.
The Corporate Transformation of Medicine and Its Impact on Costs and Access to Care

In 1980, Arnold Relman, former Editor of The New England Journal of Medicine , noted the emergence of the medical- industrial complex, a huge new for-profit industry ranging from proprietary hospitals and nursing homes to diagnostic services, medical devices, hemodialysis, the pharmaceutical
Genetic factors in the etiology of breast cancer.

Human breast cancer appears to be a heterogeneous disease whose causes are at present unknown. A variety of interrelated genetic, environmental, sociobiologic and physiological factors appear to be associated with increased risk of breast cancer, but no single factor or combination of variables presently known are sufficient to explain the etiology of the disease. Evidence for a genetic role in susceptibility to breast cancer is based on findings from several lines of investigation including: 1) family history of breast cancer, especially bilaterality, 2) marked difference in rates between certain racial groups; 3) lack of major change in incidence of breast cancer over many years despite dramatic changes in other cancers; 4) concordance of breast cancer in monozygotic twins, and 5) concordance of laterality of breast cancer in closely related patients. Recognition of familiality and bilaterality has important clinical value in the identification of high-risk women for special screening and diagnostic studies. It is not known if a single gene or several genetic mutations are responsible for a specific predisposition to breast cancer. Possible genetic traits that control or influence physiological functions of the breast may be inherited by certain women. These genetic factors that increase or decrease the probability of neoplastic transformation may operate through their control over viral, hormonal or other stimuli and through their regulation of the response of the alveolar-ductal epithelium of the breast to these stimuli and to secreted extrinsic carcinogens. A working hypothesis has been developed that interrelates genetic-environmental interactions in breast cancer etiology and pathogenesis. In this model, the turnover rate of breast secretions is the primary determinant of the extent and duration of exposure of the breast epithelium to extrinsic and endogenous carcinogens. The model emphasizes interaction of genetic, physiological, endocrine and environmental factors in the epidemiology of breast cancer.
Altered glycosaminoglycan metabolism in injured arterial wall.

Glycosaminoglycans (GAG) are believed to be important in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. We have previously demonstrated that areas of injured aorta that have been reendothelialized accumulate increased amounts of lipid and GAG when compared to areas remaining de-endothelialized. We have now examined the net incorporation of labeled precursors into the individual GAG present in both re-endothelialized and de-endothelialized areas of rabbit aorta. Aortic tissue was examined at 2–3 and 10–14 weeks after a denuding injury by incubating tissue minces with [3H]glucosamine and sodium [35S]sulfate for 24 hr. Following incubation, the aortic GAG were isolated and assayed for uronic acid concentration and radioactivity. Results indicate that the total GAG concentration was significantly greater (P < 0.001) in the re-endothelialized (9.46 ± 0.29 μg/mg lipid-free dry residues (LFDR), mean ± SE) as compared to de-endothelialized (7.89 ± 0.43 μg/mg LFDR) areas. The concentration in uninjured aorta was 9.01 ± 0.69. The difference between the injured tissues was attributable to increased concentrations of sulfated GAG. Hyaluronic acid and chondroitin sulfate were the most metabolically active of the GAG in either uninjured or injured aorta, together accounting for over 75% of the 3H label. The 3H specific radioactivities of the four GAG in the short-term, re-endothelialized subgroup were all increased nearly twice that found in uninjured and de-endothelialized tissues. With the exception of heparan sulfate, no significant differences were noted in the 3H specific radioactivities between the re-endothelialized and de-endothelialized areas in the long-term subgroup. These results indicate that, relative to adjacent areas of de-endothelialization, GAG preferentially accumulated in re-endothelialized areas even as early as 2–3 weeks following a denuding injury. Overall, metabolic data suggest that increased synthesis is responsible for this effect, although the net contribution of degradative processes cannot be overlooked since GAG turnover was not specifically examined. Thus, it is possible that regenerated endothelium may modify the GAG metabolism of the arterial wall following arterial injury.
Mate choice and uncertainty in the decision process.

The behavior of females in search of a mate determines the likelihood that a high quality male is encountered in the search process and alternative search strategies provide different fitness returns to searchers. Models of search behavior are typically formulated on an assumption that the quality of prospective mates is revealed to searchers without error, either directly or by inspection of a perfectly informative phenotypic character. But recent theoretical developments suggest that the relative performance of a search strategy may be sensitive to any uncertainty associated with the to-be-realized fitness benefit of mate choice decisions. Indeed, uncertainty in the decision process is inevitable whenever unobserved male attributes influence the fitness of searchers. In this paper, we derive solutions to the sequential search strategy and the fixed sample search strategy for the general situation in which observed and unobserved male attributes affect the fitness consequences of female mate choice decisions and we determine how the magnitude of various parameters that are influential in the standard models alter these more general solutions. The distribution of unobserved attributes amongst prospective mates determines the uncertainty of mate choice decisions—the reliability of an observed male character as a predictor of male quality—and the realized functional relationship between an observed male character and the fitness return to searchers. The uncertainty of mate choice decisions induced by unobserved male attributes has no influence on the generalized model solutions. Thus, the results of earlier studies of these search models that rely on the use of a perfectly informative male character apply even if an observed male trait does not reveal the quality of prospective mates with certainty. But the solutions are sensitive to any changes of the distribution of unobserved male attributes that alter the realized functional relationship between an observed character and the fitness return to searchers. For example, the standard sequential search model exhibits a reservation property—the acceptability of prospective mates is delimited by a unique threshold criterion—and the existence of this model property under generalized conditions depends critically on the association between the observed and unobserved male characters. In our formulations of the models we assumed that females use a single male character to evaluate the quality of prospective mates, but the model properties generalize to situations in which male quality is evaluated by a direct inspection of multiple male characters.
Effect of UV/ozone treatment on surface tension and adhesion in electronic packaging

Surface tension of material surfaces and interfaces is an important parameter that affects wetting and adhesion. Surface tension can be divided into three components: Lifshitz-van der Waals component, acid component, and base component. In this study, the three-liquid-probe method was used to investigate the surface tension and its three components of various surfaces of electronic packaging materials: benzocyclobutene (BCB) passivation, FR-4 board, polyimide board, and alumina board. When UV/ozone was employed to treat the surfaces, the surface tension increased, and the base component increased the most. The change in surface tension due to UV/O/sub 3/ treatment decayed with time after the treatment. The difference in surface tension between untreated and treated surface became smaller with the increase of time after UV/O/sub 3/ treatment. Different substrates showed different rate of decay in surface tension change. Among the surfaces studied, BCB passivation showed the fastest decay after treatment, while alumina showed the slowest decay. The contact angles of several liquid underfill materials on BCB passivation and their surface tension before and after curing were also measured. It was found that the wetting was not the controlling factor in adhesion of the system investigated.
Aberrant thyroid gland attached to ascending aorta.

Abstract R.D., a 47-year-old man, died of intracerebral hemorrhage soon after injecting heroin into a vein. Necropsy disclosed cardiomegaly (heart weight 450 g) without cavity dilatation or myocardial foci of fibrosis or necrosis. A brownish red nodule that measured 3 × 2.3 × 1.5 cm and weighed about 15 g was attached to the adventitia of the ascending aorta (Fig. 1).
Boosting Alternating Decision Trees Modeling of Disease Trait Information

We applied the alternating decision trees (ADTrees) method to the last 3 replicates from the Aipotu, Danacca, Karangar, and NYC populations in the Problem 2 simulated Genetic Analysis Workshop dataset. Using information from the 12 binary phenotypes and sex as input and Kofendrerd Personality Disorder disease status as the outcome of ADTrees-based classifiers, we obtained a new quantitative trait based on average prediction scores, which was then used for genome-wide quantitative trait linkage (QTL) analysis. ADTrees are machine learning methods that combine boosting and decision trees algorithms to generate smaller and easier-to-interpret classification rules. In this application, we compared four modeling strategies from the combinations of two boosting iterations (log or exponential loss functions) coupled with two choices of tree generation types (a full alternating decision tree or a classic boosting decision tree). These four different strategies were applied to the founders in each population to construct four classifiers, which were then applied to each study participant. To compute average prediction score for each subject with a specific trait profile, such a process was repeated with 10 runs of 10-fold cross validation, and standardized prediction scores obtained from the 10 runs were averaged and used in subsequent expectation-maximization Haseman-Elston QTL analyses (implemented in GENEHUNTER) with the approximate 900 SNPs in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium provided for each population. Our QTL analyses on the basis of four models (a full alternating decision tree and a classic boosting decision tree paired with either log or exponential loss function) detected evidence for linkage (Z ≥ 1.96, p < 0.01) on chromosomes 1, 3, 5, and 9. Moreover, using average iteration and abundance scores for the 12 phenotypes and sex as their relevancy measurements, we found all relevant phenotypes for all four populations except phenotype b for the Karangar population, with suggested subgroup structure consistent with latent traits used in the model. In conclusion, our findings suggest that the ADTrees method may offer a more accurate representation of the disease status that allows for better detection of linkage evidence.
Energizing the Mind and Body

Insulin can get a bum rap. Although a mainstay of diabetes treatment, when secretion increases in response to a low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet or insulin resistance, insulin has been purported to raise blood pressure, potentiate cardiovascular risk, and, to make matters worse, promote weight gain (1,2). But many in the lay public, popular media, and health care are not aware (or choose not to acknowledge) that insulin predated leptin as an adipostat hormone—one that circulates in the blood in proportion to body weight and binds to key brain centers to lower body weight (3). However, to rehabilitate insulin’s reputation and validate its beneficial role in weight regulation requires strong evidence because “obesity” and “insulin” are so frequently entwined. Until recently, the mechanistic role of insulin in the central nervous system control of body weight had been worked out exclusively in animal models (4–8), whereas evidence for its effect in humans remained circumstantial and controversial. For example, an inverse association of postprandial insulin secretion at breakfast and a reduction in subsequent food intake at lunch has been reported in humans (9) and is consistent with insulin’s role as an anorectic hormone. In contrast, intensive diabetes therapy that includes increasing insulin dosage is frequently accompanied by unwanted weight gain and even obesity (10). Hence the conundrum: is insulin good or bad for body weight in humans? To answer the question of how central insulin action regulates energy balance, insulin would need to be administered directly to brain centers involved in determining …
Spatial and temporal variation of rod photoreceptor reflectance in the human retina

Using adaptive optics imaging tools to image the living retina, numerous investigators have reported temporal fluctuation in the reflectivity of individual cone photoreceptors. In addition, there is cone-to-cone (spatial) variation in reflectivity. As it has only recently become possible to image the complete rod photoreceptor mosaic in the living human retina, we sought to characterize the reflectivity of individual rods and compare their behavior to that of foveal/parafoveal cones. Across two subjects, we were able to successfully track the reflectance behavior of 1,690 rods and 1,980 cones over 12 hours. Rod and cone photoreceptors showed similar regional and temporal variability in their reflectance profiles, suggesting the presence of a common governing physiological process. Within the rod and cone mosaics, there was no sign of spatial clumping of reflectance profile behavior; that is, the arrangement of cells of a given archetypal reflectance profile within the mosaic was indistinguishable from random. These data demonstrate the ability to track the behavior of rod reflectivity over time. Finally, as these and other reflectance changes may be an indicator of photoreceptor function, a future extension of this method will be to analyze this behavior in patients with rod photoreceptor dysfunction (e.g., retinitis pigmentosa, Usher’s syndrome, and congenital stationary night blindness).
Molecular evaluation of the phylogenetic position of the enigmatic species Trivettea papalotla (Bertsch) (Mollusca : Nudibranchia)

Tritoniid sea slugs are specialised predators that feed on a variety of octocorals, including soft corals, gorgonians and sea pens. Trivettea papalotla is a recently described species found in Baja California and mainland Mexico that is unusual in its morphology and feeding behaviour. It is the first tritoniid nudibranch known to feed on zoanthid anthozoans, specifically on an undescribed species of the genus Epizoanthus. Trivettea papalotla also has retractable respiratory structures, prominent dorsal vessels and several other traits not found in any other species of the Tritoniidae. In its original description these unique features of T. papalotla were considered autapomorphies, and the species was tentatively placed within Tritonia based on a morphological phylogenetic analysis. Subsequently, the monotypic genus Trivettea was erected for T. papalotla based on unpublished molecular data. In the present study, the phylogenetic placement of Trivettea is investigated based on molecular data. These phylogenies show T. papalotla is not nested within Tritonia or Tritoniidae and instead appears to be a basal, distinct cladobranch. However, the analyses conducted resulted in poorly resolved basal relationships, suggesting additional markers are probably necessary to fully resolve the phylogeny for the Cladobranchia.
Imaging of negative polarity dc breakdown streamer expansion in transformer oil due to variations in background pressure

The breakdown physics of transformer oil is investigated using high speed electrical and optical diagnostics. Experiments are done in self-breakdown mode utilizing a needle/plane geometry. Shadowgraphy combined with high-speed electrical diagnostics are aimed at measuring streamer expansion as a function of external pressure. Assuming a breakdown mechanism for negative needle based on bubble formation with subsequent carrier amplification in the gas phase implies a pressure dependence, which is observed in the experiments, i.e. the expansion velocity decreases with increasing pressure.
Advancing management of hypertension through pharmacogenomics

Hypertension is the most common, chronic disease in the world, and there are many effective pharmacological agents available for its treatment. Despite the plethora of treatment options, data across the globe suggest that blood pressure control rates are < 50%, a fact likely influenced in part by the inability to predict the antihypertensive drug likely to be most effective for an individual patient. Pharmacogenomics in hypertension holds the promise of identifying genetic biomarkers for antihypertensive drug response, which might be used in the future in treatment selection. Research in the field is also likely to enhance our understanding of hypertension and the mechanisms by which the various drugs produce efficacy. There are several examples in the literature of genes with relatively strong data on associations of genetic polymorphisms with antihypertensive response; the data on ADRB1, CACNB2, and NEDD4L are detailed as examples. Substantial additional data in hypertension pharmacogenomics are expected to be forthcoming from recently completed genome-wide association studies. Increased collaboration among research groups will help insure successful discoveries from these large-scale studies. The next decade should clearly define the potential clinical implications of the research in hypertension pharmacogenomics that is currently in progress.
DNA polymerase beta: analysis of the contributions of tyrosine-271 and asparagine-279 to substrate specificity and fidelity of DNA replication by pre-steady-state kinetics.

DNA polymerase β (pol β) from rat brain, overexpressed in Escherichia coli, was used as a model to study the factors responsible for substrate specificity [k pol , K d (app) and k pol K d (app)] and fidelity during DNA synthesis. The roles of two active-site residues, Asn-279 and Tyr-271, were examined by construction of N279A, N279Q, Y271A, Y271F and Y271S mutants followed by structural analyses by NMR and CD and functional analyses by pre-steady-state kinetics. The results are summarized as follows. (i) None of the two-dimensional NMR spectra of the mutants was significantly perturbed relative to that for wild-type pol β, suggesting that Tyr-271 and Asn-279 are not important for the global structure of the protein. (ii) CD analyses of guanidinium hydrochloride-induced denaturation showed that all mutants behaved similarly to the wild type in the free energy of denaturation, suggesting that Tyr-271 and Asn-279 are not critical for the conformational stability of pol β. (iii) The K d (app) for the correct dNTP was lower than that for the incorrect dNTP by a factor of 10–30 in the case of wild-type pol β. Upon
Advances in silicon semiconductor device technology for radio and wireless applications

Silicon technology has progressed over the last several years from a digitally oriented technology to one well suited for microwave and RF applications at a high level of integration. Technology scaling, both at the transistor and back-end metallization level, has driven this progress. This paper summarizes the silicon technology advances associated with radio and wireless applications.
GENE THERAPY FOR PROSTATE CANCER: WHERE ARE WE NOW?

Purpose: The ability to recombine specifically and alter DNA sequences followed by techniques to transfer these sequences or even whole genes into normal and diseased cells has revolutionized medical research and ushered the clinicians of today into the age of gene therapy. We provide urologists a review of relevant background information, outline current treatment strategies and clinical trials, and delineate current challenges facing the field of gene therapy for advanced prostate cancer. Materials and Methods: We comprehensively reviewed the literature, including PubMed and recent abstract proceedings from national meetings, relevant to gene therapy and advanced prostate cancer. We selected for review literature representative of the principal scientific background for current gene therapy strategies and National Institutes of Health Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee approved clinical trials. Results: Current prostate cancer gene therapy strategies include correcting aberrant gene expression, exploiting programmed cell death pathways, targeting critical cell biological functions, introducing toxic or cell lytic suicide genes, enhancing the immune system antitumor response and combining treatment with conventional cytotoxic chemotherapy or radiation therapy. Conclusions: Many challenges lie ahead for gene therapy, including improving DNA transfer efficiency to cells locally and at distant sites, enhancing levels of gene expression and overcoming immune responses that limit the time that genes are expressed. Nevertheless, despite these current challenges it is almost certain that gene therapy will be part of the urological armamentarium against prostate cancer in this century.
How Do Natural Resources Influence Civil War? Evidence from Thirteen Cases

Recent studies have found that natural resources and civil war are highly correlated+ Yet the causal mechanisms behind the correlation are not well under- stood, in part because data on civil wars is scarce and of poor quality+ In this article I examine thirteen recent civil wars to explore the mechanisms behind the resource- conflict correlation + I describe seven hypotheses about how resources may influence a conflict , specify the observable implications of each, and report which mechanisms can be observed in a sample of thirteen civil wars in which natural resources were "most likely" to have played a role + I find that two of the most widely cited causal mechanisms do not appear to be valid; that oil, nonfuel minerals, and drugs are caus- ally linked to conflict , but legal agricultural commodities are not; and that resource wealth and civil war are linked by a variety of mechanisms, including several that others had not identified+
Effective Real Dynamics

The study of computability in analysis has a long history, going back to the papers of Lacombe [6] in the 1950’s. There has been much work on the connection between recursive function theory and computable analysis. One key result which we will use here is a theorem of Nerode’s from [7] that the existence of a recursive continuous function mapping a real a to a real b implies that b is truth-table reducible to a. Another connection which we will use is given in the papers of Soare [11, 12] on recursion theory and Dedekind cuts, where the effectively closed real intervals are characterized. One important aspect of computable analysis is the search for effective versions of classical theorems. This is in the spirit of the well-known Nerode program for applying recursion theory to mathematics. As an example, if K is a closed subset of the real line ℜ, then the distance function δK’ defined by δK(x) = min{|x − y|: y ∈ K} is continuous. Thus the question arises whether an effectively closed set K has an effectively continuous (i.e., recursive) distance function. (In general, the answer is no.) Closed sets play an important role in the study of analysis. For example, the set of zeros of a continuous function F is a closed set, as is the set of fixed points of F. We are particularly interested in the role of effectively closed, or Π0 1 classes. Π1 0 classes are important in the applications of recursion theory and have been studied extensively. (See [4] for a survey of results.)