cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Standalone gamma knife radiosurgery for brain metastasis of malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor

Abstract Background Brain metastasis (BM) of malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor (MPNST) is extremely rare. The importance of aggressive surgical resection with or without radiation therapy has been emphasized, while the significance of other local therapies has been rarely reported. Three reports documented patients treated with stereotactic radiosurgery, while no previous study reported a BM case of MPNST treated with standalone Gamma Knife (Elekta AB, Stockholm, Sweden) radiosurgery (GKRS). The aim of this report is to describe the detailed clinical course of a patient with BM of MPNST and its radiographic response to standalone GKRS. Case Description The patient was a 29-year-old male with a history of MPNST. Seven years prior to the current presentation, he experienced respiratory symptoms, and a chest CT showed multiple pulmonary nodules. A bronchoscopic biopsy confirmed the diagnosis of metastatic MPNST. His disease was refractory to chemotherapy, and 1 month prior to this presentation, the chest and abdominal CT scans showed systemic progression. He developed worsening headache and left-side weakness. A brain MRI revealed a large right parietal (10.1 cm3) enhancing mass. Considering his poor general condition and the large size of the lesion, the tumor was treated with standalone GKRS. The 2-month follow-up MRI revealed the lesion was smaller and associated with surrounding ill-defined heterogeneous enhancements, compatible with asymptomatic radiation necrosis. This lesion showed a low cerebral blood volume, consistent with non-viable tumor. Unfortunately, the patient died from his primary disease before his second follow-up. Conclusions This is the first case report describing the details of the post-treatment course and radiographic responses following standalone GKRS in a patient with BMs from MPNST.
Marital Conflict and Health: The Moderating Roles of Emotion Regulation and Marriage Order

This study examined differences between first-married and remarried couples in marital conflict, physical and mental health, and the emotion regulation strategies of cognitive reappraisal and expre...
Error Explanation with Distance Metrics

In the event that a system does not satisfy a specification, a model checker will typically automatically produce a counterexample trace that shows a particular instance of the undesirable behavior. Unfortunately, the important steps that follow the discovery of a counterexample are generally not automated. The user must first decide if the counterexample shows genuinely erroneous behavior or is an artifact of improper specification or abstraction. In the event that the error is real, there remains the difficult task of understanding the error well enough to isolate and modify the faulty aspects of the system. This paper describes an automated approach for assisting users in understanding and isolating errors in ANSI C programs. The approach is based on distance metrics for program executions. Experimental results show that the power of the model checking engine can be used to provide assistance in understanding errors and to isolate faulty portions of the source code.
Characteristics of Condom and Lubricant Use among a Nationally Representative Probability Sample of Adults Ages 18–59 in the United States

ABSTRACT Introduction Although most Americans have used condoms and/or lubricant during sex, little is known about the context of sexual events that involve the use of such products outside of experimentally manipulated studies. Aims To assess, in a nationally representative study of men and women in the United States ages 18–59, the characteristics of condom and lubricant use during participants' most recent sexual event and the relationship of their condom and lubricant use to event‐level ratings of sexual quality. Methods Data are from the National Survey of Sexual Health and Behavior, which involved the administration of an online questionnaire to a nationally representative probability sample of the U.S. adults. Main Outcome Measures Sociodemographic items: event‐level items related to sexual behavior, condom use, lubricant use, and participants' perceptions of their arousal, pleasure, ease of erection or lubrication, and pain associated with sex. Results During their most recent sexual experience, 27.5% of men (N = 237) and 22.3% of women (N = 175) reported using a condom. More than twice as many women as men were unsure whether the condom was lubricated (26.6% vs. 11.4%) and the material it was made of (23.6% vs. 8.9%). Participants consistently rated sex to be arousing and pleasurable whether or not they used condoms or lubricant. No significant differences were found in regard to men's ratings of the ease of their erections based on condom and lubricant use. Conclusions Although some have concerns about how condoms or lubricants may impact their enjoyment of sex, in a nationally representative sample of men and women ages 18–59, ratings of sex were largely quite high, with few differences based on condom and lubricant use. Women, more often than men, reported being unsure about the type of condom and lubricant used, which has implications for patient education. Herbenick D, Schick V, Reece M, Sanders SA, Smith N, Dodge B, and Fortenberry JD. Characteristics of condom and lubricant use among a nationally representative probability sample of adults ages 18–59 in the United States. J Sex Med **;**:**–**.
Remarks on the evolution of low-mass stars: More or less opaque?

We concentrate on a limited number of problems with understanding the structure or evolution of low-mass stars, where appropriate changes in opacity, or dominant mode of energy transport, may play a crucial role. The Hyades (classical lithium problem) and the Sun (high degree p-modes support the need for enhanced Population I envelope opacities, as apparently confirmed by recent theoretical opacity calculations. The Sun (solar neutrino problem, perhaps the low-degree p-modes and recent luminosity functions of globular clusters (a considerable excess of subgiant branch stars over conventional expectations) might require significantly enhanced central energy transport, as could be provided by accreted weakly interacting massive particles.
Disengaging From a Task Lower Self-Control or Adaptive Self-Regulation?

This study tests the assumption that disengagement from a task indicates poor self-control, especially following little progress. A total of 120 undergraduate students worked on Sudoku puzzles, a logical reasoning task for which progress could be measured. A binary logistic regression revealed a three-way interaction among dispositional self-control, dispositional self-awareness, and actual task progress in predicting disengagement versus persistence. Among individuals with high self-awareness, greater self-control was associated with significantly higher probabilities of task persistence during high task progress. Alternatively, greater self-control was associated with lower probabilities of task persistence during low task progress among individuals with high self-awareness. These results support theories of adaptive goal disengagement suggesting that how individuals apply control is dependent on factors other than self-regulatory capacity. Specifically, assessments of progress among highly self-aware individuals may facilitate adaptive self-regulation.
Positive Psychology and Gender

Though positive psychology has a broad appeal, the specific application to gender has been limited. This chapter explores how attempting a positive psychology of gender is complex because of the inevitable contextual notions of power and privilege associated with masculinity and femininity. Since notions of gender are clearly impacted by sociopolitical histories, this chapter examines the connections and disconnections between positive psychology and gender. A feminist view of positive psychology is explored, noting not only some of the limitations of positive psychology, but also how the intersection of positive psychology and the psychology of women can be both beneficial and problematic. The emerging blend of positive psychology and the psychology of men and masculinity is also reviewed. In closing the intersection of positive psychology and transgender individuals is examined. Throughout the chapter areas of research and the clinical application of positive psychology and the psychology of gender are addressed.
Resistance to Nucleotide Excision Repair of Bulky Guanine Adducts Opposite Abasic Sites in DNA Duplexes and Relationships between Structure and Function.

The nucleotide excision repair of certain bulky DNA lesions is abrogated in some specific non-canonical DNA base sequence contexts, while the removal of the same lesions by the nucleotide excision repair mechanism is efficient in duplexes in which all base pairs are complementary. Here we show that the nucleotide excision repair activity in human cell extracts is moderate-to-high in the case of two stereoisomeric DNA lesions derived from the pro-carcinogen benzo[a]pyrene (cis- and trans-B[a]P-N2-dG adducts) in a normal DNA duplex. By contrast, the nucleotide excision repair activity is completely abrogated when the canonical cytosine base opposite the B[a]P-dG adducts is replaced by an abasic site in duplex DNA. However, base excision repair of the abasic site persists. In order to understand the structural origins of these striking phenomena, we used NMR and molecular spectroscopy techniques to evaluate the conformational features of 11mer DNA duplexes containing these B[a]P-dG lesions opposite abasic sites. Our results show that in these duplexes containing the clustered lesions, both B[a]P-dG adducts adopt base-displaced intercalated conformations, with the B[a]P aromatic rings intercalated into the DNA helix. To explain the persistence of base excision repair in the face of the opposed bulky B[a]P ring system, molecular modeling results suggest how the APE1 base excision repair endonuclease, that excises abasic lesions, can bind productively even with the trans-B[a]P-dG positioned opposite the abasic site. We hypothesize that the nucleotide excision repair resistance is fostered by local B[a]P residue—DNA base stacking interactions at the abasic sites, that are facilitated by the absence of the cytosine partner base in the complementary strand. More broadly, this study sets the stage for elucidating the interplay between base excision and nucleotide excision repair in processing different types of clustered DNA lesions that are substrates of nucleotide excision repair or base excision repair mechanisms.
An Approach for Merging Plans Hierarchically in Decomposable Domains

Recent works in domain-independent plan merging have shown that the optimal plan-merging problem is NP-hard, and heuristic algorithms have been proposed to generate near-optimal solutions. These works have shown heuristic algorithms which assume that the mergeability of two actions can be determined by considering only the actions themselves. In this paper, we show that it is often that case that the surrounding actions in the plan must also be considered when determining the mergeability of two or more actions; therefore, the context in which the actions are used affects their mergeability. To address this problem, we have developed a plan-merging methodology that merges partial-order plans based on the the notion of plan fragments, which encapsulate actions with the context in which they are being utilized. This methodology applies to a class of planning domains, called decomposable domains, which consist of actions that follow all or some portion of a type sequence. Merging is performed hierarchically by action type. We also investigate the previously unexplored notion of alternative actions in domain-independent plan merging, which can improve the quality of the resulting merged plan. A novel approach is presented for removing cyclic dependencies that may occur during the plan-merging process. A key part of the methodology is the computation of a minimum cost cover of plan fragments. We provide theoretical analyses of two optimal algorithms and a greedy-based algorithm for computing the minimum cost cover. We support the theoretical analysis of these algorithms with experimental data to show that the greedy approach is near-optimal and efficient.
Percutaneous excimer laser coronary angioplasty of lesions not ideal for balloon angioplasty.

BACKGROUNDExcimer laser coronary angioplasty is a new, investigational technique for treating coronary artery stenoses. Initial reports have demonstrated acute efficacy and relative safety of this procedure, but have not addressed the effect of lesion type on acute success and complication rates.METHODS AND RESULTSIn the first 100 patients undergoing percutaneous excimer laser coronary angioplasty at our institution, acute laser success was obtained in 84% and procedural success was obtained in 94%. There were six acute closures during laser angioplasty and one myocardial infarction. Two patients required emergency coronary bypass surgery. Sixty-five percent of patients had lesions not ideal for balloon angioplasty because of lesion morphology (tubular, diffuse, or chronic total occlusion) or ostial location. There were 10 tubular stenoses, 29 diffuse lesions, 18 chronic total occlusions, and eight ostial lesions, including five aorto-ostial lesions. In this nonideal subgroup, the acute success rate with ...
Experimental studies on a mutant gene, a, causing albinism in the axolotl, Ambystoma mexicanum

Abstract Axolotls which are homozygous for the gene, a , are true albinos, i.e., they lack completely the ability to synthesize melanin. Previous investigations (C. P. Benjamin, 1970; Develop. Biol. 23, 62–85) showed that homogenates of albino embryos or larvae, unlike those of normally pigmented axolotls, are unable to carry out melanin synthesis when supplied with l -dopa. This result showed that tyrosine-dopa oxidase (TDO), the only known enzyme in the melanin pathway, is inactive in albinos. The present investigation has shown that, though the albino lacks TDO activity, the enzyme itself is present and can be activated by proteolytic enzymes. Immune precipitation of TDO from fresh crude skin extracts and comparison of the precipitates on SDS-polyacrylamide gels reveals that the inactive subunits from albino samples are some 8000 daltons larger than the active subunits from wild-type samples. Activation apparently consists of the cleavage of a covalently bound fragment(s) from the proenzyme. Albino skin homogenates also contain a TDO inhibitory factor specific for axolotl TDO. Evidence is presented that suggests that the inhibitor interacts reversibly with the proenzyme and irreversibly with the active form. A model is presented that proposes that, in wild-type axolotls, the A gene is responsible for the normal activity of a TDO activator. In the albino the activator does not function properly and this results in the continued presence of the inhibitor and of the latent form of the enzyme.
Effect of cocaine on responses of mouse phrenic nerve-diaphragm preparation

Effects of 5 to 40 microM cocaine on the compound action potential (AP) and tension responses of the mouse phrenic nerve-diaphragm preparation were monitored following nerve and muscle stimulation at 37 degrees C. Cocaine caused concentration dependent reduction in amplitude of the nerve AP, muscle AP, and tension response to a single nerve stimulus, and greater reduction in amplitude of these responses to repetitive nerve stimuli at 100 Hz for 0.5 sec. Cocaine caused similar reduction in the muscle AP and tension responses to direct muscle stimulation in the presence or absence of curare, and markedly reduced the overshoot, total potential, and maximum rate of rise and fall of intracellularly recorded muscle AP, without affecting the resting potential, or the contracture responses evoked by caffeine. These results indicate that cocaine reduces skeletal muscle function by reducing the excitability of muscle and nerve membranes, without significantly affecting neuromuscular transmission, excitation-contraction coupling or contractility.
The cost efficiency of trout farms in the Black Sea Region, Turkey

This research measured the cost efficiencies of trout farms and explored determinants of cost inefficiencies in the Black Sea Region, Turkey. Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) was used to estimate efficiency measures of sample farms. The mean technical, allocative and cost efficiencies for trout farms were measured to be 0.82, 0.83 and 0.68, respectively. Efficiency analysis revealed that inefficient farms would have needed to lower feed and labour costs by 32% to perform as well as other similar, best practice farms in the sample. The decomposition of the technical efficiency measure showed that pure technical inefficiency was the primary cause of technical inefficiency. Research results also suggested that there were positive relationships between cost efficiency and pond tenure, farm ownership, experience of the operators, education level of the operators, contact with extension services, off-farm income and credit availability. Feeding intensity, pond size, and capital intensity had negative effects on cost efficiency. Supplying complete technical packages (feed, credit, etc.) for trout farms may stimulate the adoption of improved technologies. Focusing on trout diseases, water quality, feed production and marketing efficiency in farmers training and extension programs may also help to increase economic efficiency in the research area.
Quadriceps tendon rupture after total knee arthroplasty. Prevalence, complications, and outcomes.

Background: There is relatively little information about quadriceps tendon tears after total knee arthroplasty. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of this condition and the outcomes of patients who had a tear of the quadriceps tendon after a total knee arthroplasty.Methods: Fr
Can relative spermatozoal galactosyltransferase activity be predictive of dairy bull fertility

The best and poorest bovine semen samples used commercially for artificial insemination in dairy cattle typically differ in pregnancy rates by 20 to 25% but are within a range that pregnancy rates cannot be predicted consistently by commonly used laboratory assays. Sperm motility and morphology are the characteristics most often evaluated. Laboratory assays that measure other functional traits of sperm may be useful as supplemental assays to increase the reliability of predicting fertility. One such functional trait is the ability of sperm to bind to the zona pellucida, a process mediated by complementary receptors on each gamete. On mouse sperm, β1,4-galactosyltransferase acts as a receptor for the zona pellucida. β1,4-Galactosyltransferase is expressed on sperm from many mammals, including bovine sperm, and is a candidate for a zona pellucida receptor. The ability of sperm to bind to the zona pellucida may be related to the amount of β1,4-galactosyltransferase present on sperm. The aim of this work was to determine if bull sperm β1,4-galactosyltransferase activity was related to fertility. β1,4-Galactosyltransferase enzyme assays were performed on sperm from 24 bulls whose fertility was estimated by nonreturn rate and on sperm from a second group of seven bulls whose fertility was ranked by in vivo competitive fertilization. β1,4-Galactosyltransferase activity varied between individual bulls but was not correlated to fertility as estimated by nonreturn rate or by competitive fertilization. These results demonstrate that β1,4-galactosyltransferase activity on sperm varies between animals, but that β1,4-galactosyltransferase activity alone is not an accurate indicator of fertility in dairy bulls.
Defining the role of Porphyromonas gingivalis peptidylarginine deiminase (PPAD) in rheumatoid arthritis through the study of PPAD biology

Background Antibodies to citrullinated proteins are a hallmark of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Porphyromonas gingivalis peptidylarginine deiminase (PPAD) has been implicated in the initiation of RA by generating citrullinated neoantigens and due to its ability to autocitrullinate. Objectives To define the citrullination status and biology of PPAD in P gingivalis and to characterise the anti-PPAD antibody response in RA and associated periodontal disease (PD). Methods PPAD in P gingivalis cells and culture supernatant were analysed by immunoblotting and mass spectrometry to detect citrullination. Recombinant PPAD (rPPAD), inactive mutant PPAD (rPPAD C351S ), and N-terminal truncated PPAD (rPPAD Ntx ) were cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli . Patients with RA and healthy controls were assayed for IgG antibodies to citrullinated rPPAD and unmodified rPPAD C351S by ELISA. Anti-PPAD antibodies were correlated with anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (third-generation) antibody levels, RA disease activity and PD status. Results PPAD from P gingivalis is truncated at the N-terminal and C-terminal domains and not citrullinated. Only when artificially expressed in E coli , full-length rPPAD, but not truncated (fully active) rPPAD Ntx , is autocitrullinated. Anti-PPAD antibodies show no heightened reactivity to citrullinated rPPAD, but are exclusively directed against the unmodified enzyme. Antibodies against PPAD do not correlate with anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide levels and disease activity in RA. By contrast, anti-PPAD antibody levels are significantly decreased in RA patients with PD. Conclusions PPAD autocitrullination is not the underlying mechanism linking PD and RA. N-terminal processing protects PPAD from autocitrullination and enhances enzyme activity. Anti-PPAD antibodies may have a protective role for the development of PD in patients with RA.
Effects of surface defects on rolling contact fatigue of heavily loaded lubricated contacts

AbstractSurface-initiated fatigue caused by surface defects is one of the most dominant failure modes for bearing contacts. In this study, a damage mechanics-based Voronoi finite-element model (VFE...
Intracellular free calcium concentration/force relationship in rabbit inferior vena cava activated by norepinephrine and high K+.

The changes in isometric force and the underlying fluctuations in intracellular free calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i) were monitored simultaneously in thin sheets of rabbit inferior vena cava loaded with the fluorescent Ca2+ indicator fura-2. In resting tissues bathed in physiological saline solution, the estimated [Ca2+]i was approximately 105 nM. The α-adrenergic agonist norepinephrine (10 μM) caused an initial rise in [Ca2+]i to 264 nM during force development, which dropped to 216 nM during force maintenance. The maintained norepinephrine-induced increase in force and [Ca2+]i was reversed in Ca2+-free (2 mM EGTA) solution. Membrane depolarization by high K+ (80 mM) significantly increased [Ca2+]i to 234 nM. Compared to norepinephrine, high K+ caused about the same steady-state increase in [Ca2+]i, but a smaller increase in force. [Ca2+]i/force curves were constructed at different concentrations of extracellular Ca2+, with either norepinephrine or high K+ as a stimulant. The curve generated with norepinephrine was located to the left of that generated with high K+.
Field studies of ice breakup and jamming in lower Peace River, Canada

Abstract Since the late 1960s, a paucity of ice-jam flooding in the lower Peace River has resulted in prolonged dry periods and considerable reduction in the area covered by lakes and ponds that provide habitat for aquatic life in the Peace–Athabasca Delta region. To help identify the causes of this trend and assess future conditions under a changing climate, a field observation program was conducted during 1999–2003. Limited data were also obtained during a significant event in 2007. This program has furnished the first detailed documentation of ice processes in the lower Peace. Though focusing on the breakup period, relevant antecedent conditions were also documented. Freezeup often involves formation of thickened ice covers, which lead to high freezeup stages and potentially to enhanced growth of the solid-ice layer during the winter. Ice decay prior to breakup can be moderate to severe, and is manifested in saturation and candling. The type of observed breakup ranged from essential melt-out in 2000, to occasional jamming upstream of the delta reach in 2003, and to a moderate delta flood in 2007. The field observations and measurements, including the only ice jam profile that has been measured in the lower Peace, are shown to be consistent with current physical understanding of breakup and jamming processes. The main factors conducive to ice-jam flooding are identified and their relative importance is assessed using physically-based breakup criteria. Breakup patterns are shown to be strongly influenced by the very low slope of the river, which amplifies the importance of waves generated by ice jam releases.
Hybrid inferential security methods for statistical databases

Memoryless inference control methods have been shown to provide effective means of reducing the amount of sensitive information released from a statistical database while maximizing the release of non-sensitive information. Early memoryless inference controls have the additional benefit of providing control at a low computation and storage cost. Two recent extensions to memoryless inference control allow the controls to release more non-sensitive information but do so at a greater cost in terms of computation and storage. This paper describes a proposed hybrid inference control method that can potentially maximize the release of information while holding down computation costs.
Photodissociation of ClONO2: 1. Atomic Resonance Fluorescence Measurements of Product Quantum Yields

The quantum yields for the production of Cl, O, and ClO in the photolysis of ClONO2, measured by detecting Cl and O atoms by atomic resonance fluorescence, are reported. The resonance fluorescence signals were calibrated by generating known concentrations of Cl and O atoms from the photolysis of Cl2, HCl, O3, or N2O. The quantum yields for Cl in the 193.2, 222.0, 248.25, and 308.15 nm photolysis of ClONO2 were 0.53 ± 0.10, 0.46 ± 0.10, 0.41 ± 0.13, and 0.64 ± 0.20, respectively. The yields for O atoms at these wavelengths were, respectively, 0.37 ± 0.08, 0.17 ± 0.05, <0.10, and <0.05. The quoted uncertainties are 2σ precision of the measurements. ClO radical was converted to Cl via addition of NO and its signal compared to the Cl atom signal produced by photolysis of ClONO2. The obtained quantum yields for ClO were 0.29 ± 0.20, 0.64 ± 0.20, 0.39 ± 0.19, and 0.37 ± 0.19, at 193.2, 222.0, 248.25, and 308.15 nm, respectively. It appears that Cl + NO3 and ClO + NO2 are the major products in the photodissociat...
Minimally invasive surgery in the treatment of thoracolumbar metastatic tumors

Minimally invasive spine surgery (MISS) attempts to minimize the collateral damage inflicted upon the paraspinous musculature and joints during the traditional open approaches. Preservation of muscle attachments, innervation and joint structure may provide improved post-operative axial stability, thereby allowing implementation of shorter instrumentation constructs, decreasing post-operative pain, providing earlier mobilization and shorter hospitalization duration, and making spinal surgery available to a broader patient population. In patients with metastatic cancer, wound complications or early hardware failure may delay radiation and systemic therapy and have devastating consequences in their overall treatment of cancer. The rate of wound healing may be improved by minimizing the extent of dissection and the size of the incision. We review the published experience with the implementation of MISS in patients with thoracolumbar spine metastases and provide an illustrative case.
Re-engineering high risk, high complexity industries through multiple level technological learning A case study of the world nuclear power industry

Abstract Applying lessons learned at the national, the utility, and the plant level, from selected segments of the world-wide nuclear power industry, might facilitate an environmentally acceptable renaissance of the U.S. nuclear power industry through re-engineering it. Elements of this learning from experience process can be found: (a) at the national level in Europe, Japan, and the U.S., (b) at the utility level in two New York State nuclear power utilities, Niagara Mohawk and New York Power Authority, the Tenessee Valley Authority, and Duke Power and Light in the U.S., in Ontario Hydro in Canada, and in the Electricite de France (EdF) in France, and (c) at the plant level in several of these utilities. At the core of all the continuous quality improvement and re-engineering programs, lies this twofold mission: (a) to insulate society from foreseeable and unacceptably high environmental risks, and (b) to continuously improve the design and management of nuclear technology (including nuclear waste management and environmental risk management systems) by learning, learning how to learn, and learning to learn-how-to-learn, both explicitly and tacitly, through feedback from individual and organizational experience.
The oxidation—reduction potential of membrane-bound chloroplast plastocyanin and cytochrome f

Abstract The in situ oxidation—reduction potentials of plastocyanin and cytochrome f have been measured in the same preparation of spinach chloroplasts using electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy and dual-wavelength absorbance spectroscopy, respectively. A midpoint potential of 340 mV ( n = 1.0) at pH 7.8 was found for the bound plastocyanin and a value of 385 mV ( n = 1.0) was found for the bound cytochrome f .
Estimation of protein sulfhydryl groups with 5,5'-(35S) dithio-bis(2-nitrobenzoate).

Abstract 35 S-Labeled dithio-bis(2-nitrobenzoate) has been prepared and its usefulness for the measurement of protein sulfhydryl groups has been investigated. The technique is at least 20 times more sensitive than when dithio-bis(2-nitrobenzoate) is used colorimetrically. The adduct formed between the reagent and sulfhydryl groups is stable between pH 3–9 which should enable use of the reagent for the tagging of sulfhydryl-containing proteins in a wide variety of biochemical procedures. Removal of the adduct from a protein is achieved simply by treatment with a thiol reagent, with concomitant restoration of enzymic activity of the protein. The procedure has been successfully tested on alcohol dehydrogenase and mammalian ribosomes.
Cosmological constant in broken maximal supergravities

We examine the form of the cosmological constant in the loop expansion of broken maximally supersymmetric supergravity theories, and after embedding, within superstring and M-theory. Supersymmetry breaking at the TeV scale generates values of the cosmological constant that are in agreement with current astrophysical data. The form of perturbative quantum effects in the loop expansion is consistent with this parameter regime.
Dicode Partial Response Signaling over Inductively-Coupled Channel

Dicode partial response signaling system over inductively-coupled channel has been developed to achieve higher data rate than self-resonant frequencies of inductors. The developed system operates at five times higher data rates than conventional systems with the same inductor. A current-mode equalization in the transmitter designed in a 90-nm CMOS successfully reshapes waveforms to obtain dicode signals at the receiver. For a 5-Gb/s signaling through the coupled inductors with a 120-µm diameter and a 120-µm distance, 20-mV eye opening was observed. The power consumption value of the transmitter was 58mW at the 5-Gb/s operation.
Pornography Addiction and the Medicalization of Free Speech

Congressional testimony on the “science of pornography addiction” reflects the growing trend to place pornography use within biomedical discourses of addiction in order to draw on the cultural power of existing addiction narratives. The emerging narrative frames pornography use as a biological danger to those who use it in order to maintain traditional moralist fears about the effects of pornography while circumventing more complicated analyses of the role of culture, the importance of free speech, or the limitations of media effects research.
Nanodiamond powder compaction via laser shockwaves: Experiments and finite element analysis

Abstract Laser shock sintering (LSS) is an innovative technique employing mechanical forces to densify powders. It can impart compressive stresses into material to improve the relative density and generate residual stresses to enhance the fatigue strength. In this work, LSS of nanodiamond powders embedded in polycrystalline cubic boron nitride (PCBN) substrate was experimentally investigated using a 1064 nm, 10 ns Q-switched Nd:YAG laser with a peak power density of 6.37 GW/cm2. Finite element simulation (FEM) was applied to predict the mechanical deformations induced by LSS. The dynamic analysis by ABAQUS/Explicit and static analysis by ABAQUS/Standard were performed in detail to predict the residual stress field and densification of nanodiamond powder compacts. The predicted densification of nanodiamond powder compacts is in agreement with the experimental data for single and multiple laser shocks.
The economic impact of investment in the Pacific Northwest potato variety development program

Genetic improvement has been the principle contributor to productivity growth in almost all field crops. The Pacific Northwest (PNW) had the highest rate of potato yield growth combined with the least amount of varietal change in any specialized major field crop-producing region in North America. A coordinated potato variety development program, jointly funded by the USDA, the three land grant universities, and the potato industry in the PNW, was established in 1984. The program developed 17 new potato varieties during the 1989–2001 period, two of them are emerging as successful processing varieties.
Characteristics of the flow in the annulus-wall region of an axial-flow compressor rotor blade passage

Three-dimensional characteristics of the mean velocity and turbulence structure in the annulus-wall region of a moderately loaded compressor rotor have been investigated experimentally by employing triaxial hot-wire probes. Results are presented which indicate that the flow within and downstream of the rotor passage is highly complex due to the interaction of the annulus-wall boundary layer, blade boundary layers, tip leakage flow, and passage secondary flow. An understanding of the reported viscous flow interactions is important for establishing improved aerodynamic design criteria and efficiency, for predicting noise levels, and for determining the stall, surge, vibration, and flutter characteristics of turbomachinery.
Who are We? Producing Group Identity through Everyday Practices of Conflict and Discourse

Multiracials have the flexibility to opt out of multiracial identity, to shift identities depending on context, and are characterized by in-group diversity. Given this fluid space, how do multiraci...
Prolonged poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 activity regulates JP-8-induced sustained cytokine expression in alveolar macrophages.

Abstract Environmental pollutants inducing oxidative stress stimulate chronic inflammatory responses in the lung leading to pulmonary tissue dysfunction. In response to oxidative stress, alveolar macrophages produce both reactive oxygen species and reactive nitrogen species, which induce the expression of a wide variety of immune-response genes. We found that a prolonged exposure of alveolar macrophages to a nonlethal dose (8 μg/ml) of JP-8, the kerosene-based hydrocarbon jet fuel, induced the persistent expression of IL-1, iNOS, and COX-2, as well as cell adhesion molecules (ICAM-1 and VCAM-1). Because poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP-1), a coactivator of NF-κB, regulates inflammatory responses and associated disorders in the airways, we determined whether JP-8 induces the poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation automodification of PARP-1 in alveolar macrophages. We observed that PARP-1 is activated in a time-dependent manner, which was temporally coincident with the prolonged activation of NF-κB and with the augmented expression of the proinflammatory factors described above. The 4 μg/ml dilution of JP-8 also increased the activity of PARP-1 as well as the expression of iNOS and COX-2, indicating that lower doses of JP-8 also affect the regulation of proinflammatory factors in pulmonary macrophages. Together, these results demonstrate that an extensive induction of PARP-1 might coordinate the persistent expression of proinflammatory mediators in alveolar macrophages activated by aromatic hydrocarbons that can result in lung injury from occupational exposure.
Follicular dynamics during the ovulatory season in goats

Growth and regression of ovarian follicles>or=3 mm were studied by transrectal ultrasonography for 4 interovulatory intervals in each of 5 Saanen goats. The observed number of growing identified 4-mm follicles per day differed (P or=6 mm followed a pattern of significant peaks on Days 0 (ovulation), 4,8 and 14. A follicular wave was defined by consecutive days of entry of follicles>or=6 mm into the wave, and the day of emergence was defined as the first day that the >or=6 mm follicles were 3 mm. In 15 of 20 (75%) interovulatory intervals, 1 wave emerged during each of Day -2 to Day 1 (Wave 1); Days 2 to 5 (Wave 2); Days 6 to 9 (Wave 3); and Days 10 to 15 (Wave 4). Ovulation occurred during Wave 4. The mean days of emergence of Waves 1 to 4 were Days -1, 4, 8 and 13, respectively. However, in 5 of these 15 interovulatory intervals, 50% of the apparent waves merged or were continuous so that a distinction could not be made between 2 waves. The largest follicle grew to a larger (P<0.05) maximum diameter for Waves 1 (8.7+/-0.3 mm) and 4 (9.7+/-0.3 mm) than for Waves 2 (7.2+/-0.2 mm) and 3 (7.3+/-0.2 mm). The following observations suggested that the phenomenon of follicular dominance was more common during Waves 1 and 4 than during Waves 2 and 3: 1) the interwave intervals (days) were longer (P<0.05) for Waves 1 (3.4+/-0.2) and 4 (4.3+/-0.6) than for Waves 2 and 3 (2.5+/-0.2 for each wave) and 2) the correlation between maximum diameter of largest follicle and the subsequent interwave interval was significant for Waves 1 and 4 but not for Waves 2 and 3. The 5 remaining interovulatory intervals were irregular and involved more than 4 waves, including 2 interovulatory intervals with prolonged follicular phases (14 and 21) and failures of ovulation. In conclusion, the predominant follicular-wave pattern was 4 waves with ovulation from Wave 4, and apparent follicular dominance was expressed during some follicular waves, especially during Waves 1 and 4.
Large Granular Lymphocytic Leukemia Presenting Late After Solid Organ Transplantation: A Case Series of Four Patients and Review of the Literature

Post-transplantation lymphoproliferative disorder (PTLD) is a significant complication of solid organ transplantation. Most PTLD is of the B-cell subtype, although T-cell subtype PTLD uncommonly occurs. T-cell PTLDs are usually aggressive neoplasms and shorten patient and allograft survivals significantly. We present a single-center case series of 4 patients who developed T-cell large granular lymphocytic (LGL) leukemia, a rare T-cell PTLD characterized by large granular lymphocytes that have characteristic azurophilic granules and a highly variable clinical course.
Acute effects of pentobarbital in a monkey operant behavioral test battery

Abstract The effects of acute pentobarbital treatment were assessed using a complex operant test battery containing five tasks in which correct performance is thought to depend upon processes associated with short-term memory and attention [delayed-matching-to-sample (DMTS)], color and position discrimination [conditioned position responding (CPR)], motivation [progressive ratio (PR)], time perception [temporal response differentiation (TRD)], and learning [incremental repeated acquisition (IRA)]. Adult, male rhesus monkeys were tested 15 min after IV injection of saline or pentobarbital (1, 3, 5.6, 10, or 15 mg/kg). Behavioral endpoints measured included percent task completed, response rate or latency, and response accuracy. The order of task sensitivity to disruption by PBT was TRD > IRA = DMTS = PR > CPR, in which sensitivity was defined as a significant disruption in ant aspect of task performance. PBT slowed response rates at 10.0 and/or 15.0 mg/kg in all tasks. Accuracy was decreased in the TRD task at ≥5.6 mg/kg but doses of ≥10.0 mg/kg were required to decrease accuracy in the IRA, DMTS, and CPR tasks. Thus, behavior thought to model time perception (TRD) was more sensitive than behavior modeling learning (IRA), short-term memory and attention (DMTS), and motivation (PR). CPR was the least sensitive behavior. Because pentobarbital exerts its effects at least in part via GABA systems, the effects in the current study were compared with those of a previous study of the acute effects of diazepam. The two compounds exerted fundamentally different effects on operant test battery performance.
Recombination processes in far infrared photoconductors

Abstract The conductivity, photoresponse and noise in germanium doped with Zn and Cu have been measured at 4.2°K as a function of applied electric field and incident background photon flux in an effort to better understand the free carrier generation and recombination processes that determine the behavior of these materials as detectors of far infrared radiation. The I - V characteristic shows a high field breakdown similar to that observed in the dark. At intermediate values of electric field, the current varies as I = I 0 exp( V / 0 V ) where I 0 is proportional to the incident photon flux and V 0 is of the order of 0.25 to 0.4 of breakdown voltage. For low fields the samples are ohmic with conductivity proportional to the incident photon flux. The deviation from ohmic behavior is attributed to the increase of the free carrier recombination time as the carriers are heated by the electric field. There are indications that carrier effective temperatures depend also on the spectral distribution of the incident radiation.
Heavy metal concentrations in organisms from an actively dredged Texas bay.

Organisms from San Antonio Bay have been shown to have low heavy metal concentrations. This is most likely the result of low natural metal levels in the area and minimal man-introduced contamination due to the bay's location far from any dense industrial or population centers. In addition, vigorous shell dredging activity in the bay for more than 50 years has not in any obvious way increased the concentrations of heavy metals in the organisms found there. Analyses have shown that metal concentrations in sediments from depths up to 2 meters (representing several centuries) are both low and uniform (Trefry, 1974). This indicates that the sediments do not represent any unusual metal reservoir for dredging to disturb, and shows that no recent increase in metal input to the bay has occurred. In general, organisms from San Antonio Bay were lower in almost every metal than organisms from other areas where dredging and pollution are thought to be minimal. Molluscs were observed to concentrate metals more than the other organisms studied, but the levels observed are very much lower than those thought to be lethal or toxic (Bowen, 1966). Except for a few large fish, metal concentrations did not correlate significantly with the size or growth stage of the individual. In the fish, certain organs, such as the liver, were found to concentrate metals, in agreement with previous reports.
Interrupt modeling for efficient high-level scheduler design space exploration

Single Chip Heterogeneous Multiprocessors executing a wide variety of software are increasingly common in consumer electronics. Because of the mix of real-time and best effort software across the entire chip, a key design element of these systems is the choice of scheduling strategy. Without task migration, the benefits of single chip processing cannot be fully realized. Previously, high-level modeling environments have not been capable of modeling asynchronous events such as interrupts and preemptive scheduling while preserving the performance benefits of high level simulation. This paper shows how extensions to Modeling Environment for Software and Hardware (MESH) enable precise modeling of these asynchronous events while running more than 1000 faster than cycle-accurate simulation. We discuss how we achieved this and illustrate its use in modeling preemptive scheduling. We evaluate the potential of migrating running tasks between processors to improve performance in a multimedia cell phone example. We show that by allowing schedulers to rebalance processor loads as new tasks arrive significant performance gains can be achieved over statically partitioned and dynamic scheduling approaches. In our example, we show that system response time can be improved by as much as 1.96 times when a preemptive migratory scheduler is used, despite the overhead incurred by scheduling tasks across multiple processors and transferring state during the migration of running tasks. The contribution of this work is to provide a framework for evaluating preemptive scheduling policies and task migration in a high level simulator, by combining the new ability to model interrupts with dramatically increased efficiency in the high-level modeling of scheduling and commuincation MESH already provides.
Perimeter, complexity and generalization of a form discrimination by cats

Sixteen cats learned a successive discrimination between circles and 1-shaped figures and were then tested for generalization with seven new stimulus figures. Seven cats maintained responsiveness to visual cues on the generalization tests, and the results from these Ss indicated that cats classify visual figures as open or closed in terms of both complexity (number of sides) and perimeter. The other nine cats continued to respond correctly to the training figures but manifested strong position preferences on the nondifferentially rewarded test trials. The results are compatible with the argument that stimulus generalization reflects a failure of discrimination.
Exchange Striction Effects in MnO and MnS

Lattice constants of MnO and MnS have been measured as a function of temperature from 7 to 300\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}K. Below the N\'eel temperature, the fcc lattices undergo a trigonal distortion as well as a volume contraction. By subtracting the usual thermal expansion from this volume contraction, the isotropic exchange striction has been studied. For MnO below the N\'eel temperature (${T}_{N}\ensuremath{\cong}118\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}$K), good agreement with the randomphase Green's-function theory previously developed to describe sublattice magnetization is obtained for the trigonal distortion; on the other hand, for the volume contraction, there are no theoretical results available for the region immediately below the N\'eel temperature to compare with the experimental next-nearest-neighbor spin-correlation curve which has been obtained. For MnS, below ${T}_{N}(\ensuremath{\cong}147\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}\mathrm{K})$ the observed trigonal distortion was found to be a contraction along the [111] direction; the magnetization curves suggest, but do not positively prove, the absence of a biquadratic-exchange effect.