cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
International trends in rates of hypospadias and cryptorchidism.

Researchers from seven European nations and the United States have published reports of increasing rates of hypospadias during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. Reports of increasing rates of cryptorchidism have come primarily from England. In recent years, these reports have become one focus of the debate over endocrine disruption. This study examines more recent data from a larger number of countries participating in the International Clearinghouse for Birth Defects Monitoring Systems (ICBDMS) to address the questions of whether such increases are worldwide and continuing and whether there are geographic patterns to any observed increases. The ICBDMS headquarters and individual systems provided the data. Systems were categorized into five groups based on gross domestic product in 1984. Hypospadias increases were most marked in two American systems and in Scandinavia and Japan. The increases leveled off in many systems after 1985. Increases were not seen in less affluent nations. Cryptorchidism rates were available for 10 systems. Clear increases in this anomaly were seen in two U.S. systems and in the South American system, but not elsewhere. Since 1985, rates declined in most systems. Numerous artifacts may contribute to or cause upward trends in hypospadias. Possible "real" causes include demographic changes and endocrine disruption, among others.
The use of general circulation models in the analysis of the ecosystem impacts of climatic change

The use of general circulation models in the estimation of the impact of climatic change on the global ecosystem is seen to depend primarily on their ability to reliably depict the seasonal and geographical distribution of the changes in surface climate variables. While present GCMs generally simulate the observed distribution of surface air temperature reasonably well, they show significantly different changes in the equilibrium temperature as a result of doubled CO2, for example. These disagreements are attributed to differences in the model's resolution and parameterization of subgrid-scale processes. Such model-dependent errors notwithstanding, much more information of possible use in impact analysis can be extracted from general circulation model simulations than has generally been done so far. The completeness, consistency and experimental possibilities offered by simulated data sets permit the systematic extraction of a wide variety of statistics important to the surface ecosystem, such as the length of the growing season, the duration of rainless periods, and the surface moisture stress. Assuming further model improvements, the elements of a model-assisted methodology for climate impact analysis are seen to be: (1) the determination of the seasonal and geographical distribution of that portion of simulated climatic changes which are both statistically and physically significant; (2) the transformation of the (significant) large-scale climatic changes onto the local scale of impact (the climate ‘inversion’ problem); and (3) the design of specific statistical parameters or functions relevant to local ecosystem impacts.
Meaningful learning? Gendered experiences with an NGO-sponsored literacy program in rural Mali

This paper examines the effectiveness of an NGO-sponsored literacy program in rural Mali. The study employs ethnographic techniques to examine the type of literacy instruction provided, the level of participation, the meanings of literacy to participants, and the contextual factors that influence the social and personal effects of literacy. The analyses reveal that the program has been more advantageous for men, particularly in terms of opportunities for the use of literacy skills. Oversight of the cultural context combined with programmatic challenges including failure of the NGO to meet its own critical literacy goals have limited women's ability to access and derive benefits from the literacy program.
Preferred orientation in carbon and boron nitride: Does a thermodynamic theory of elastic strain energy get it right?

We address whether the elastic strain-energy theory (minimizing the Gibbs energy of a stressed crystal) of McKenzie and co-workers [D. R. McKenzie and M. M. M. Bilek, J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A 16, 2733 (1998)] adequately explains the preferred orientation observed in carbon and BN films. In the formalism, the Gibbs energy of the cubic materialsdiamond and cubic boron includes the strain that occurs when the phases form, through specific structural transformations, from graphitic precursors. This treatment violates the requirement of thermodynamics that the Gibbs energy be a path-independent, state function. If the cubic phases are treated using the same (path-independent) formalism applied to the graphitic materials, the crystallographic orientation of lowest Gibbs energy is not that observed experimentally. For graphitic (hexagonal) carbon and BN, an elastic strain approach seems inappropriate because the compressive stresses in energetically deposited films are orders of magnitude higher than the elastic limit of the materials. Furthermore, using the known elastic constants of either ordered or disordered graphitic materials, the theory does not predict the orientation observed by experiment.
Capillary Crack Imbibition: A Theoretical and Experimental Study Using a Hele-Shaw Cell

— We study the filling of horizontal cracks with constant aperture driven by capillary forces. The physical model of the crack consists of a narrow gap between two flat glass plates (Hele-Shaw cell). The liquid enters the gap through a hole in the bottom plate. The flow is driven purely by the force acting on the contact lines between solid, liquid, and gas. We developed a theoretical model for this type of flow on the basis of Darcy's law; it allows for the consideration of different surface conditions.¶We run the experiment for two surface conditions: Surfaces boiled in hydrogen peroxide to remove initial contamination, and surfaces contaminated with 2-propanol after boiling in hydrogen peroxide. The flow rate depends on the gap aperture and on the interaction of the liquid with the air and the solid surfaces: The smaller the aperture, the lower the flow rate due to viscous resistance of the liquid. The flow rate is also reduced when the glass surfaces are contaminated with 2-propanol. The contact line force per unit length is approximately 60% higher on clean glass surfaces than it is on glass surfaces with the 2-propanol contamination. These experimental results are in agreement with our theoretical model and are confirmed by independent measurements of the liquid-solid interaction in capillary rise experiments under static conditions with the same Hele-Shaw cell.¶Another aspect of this study is the distribution of the liquid for the different surface conditions. The overall shape is a circular disk, as assumed in the theoretical model. However, a pronounced contact line roughness develops in case of the surfaces contaminated with 2-propanol, and air bubbles are trapped behind the contact line. A further analysis of the flow regime using the capillary number and the ratio of the viscosities of the involved fluids (water and air) reveals that the experiments take place in the transition zone between stable displacement and capillary fingering, i.e., neither viscous nor capillary fingers develop under the conditions of the experiment. The contact line roughness and the trapped air bubbles in the contaminated cell reflect local inhomogeneities of the surface wettability.
Edge Sharpening, Contrast Enhancement, And Feature Dependent Amplification In Inorganic Resist - A Simulation Study

Computer simulation of the photodoping and lateral diffusion of silver during exposure is used to explore the theoretical potential of inorganic resists and to explore the extent to which it is realized in the Ge-Se resist system. The resist exposure is modeled as photodoping, silver into the substrate at the bottom of a bleachable sensitized layer. The silver concentration is assumed to be uniform vertically throughout the layer and allowed to diffuse laterally. The amount of photo-doping is proportional to the product of the intensity of light reaching the bottom of the sensitized layer and the local silver concentration. The layer is assumed to have a bleachable absorption proportional to the silver concentration , a nonbleachable absorption and a bleaching rate coefficient. A FORTRAN algorithm for solving the resulting coupled differential equations has been developed for use with the SAMPLE program. Both dynamic bleaching (hole burning) and lateral diffusion can lead to a sharper edge and/or higher contrast in the photodoped silver concentration than those in the incident exposure aerial image. For the 100A thick Ge-Se system at 0.75 urn features on the GCA DSW4800 stepper, the diffusion length is two times larger than the feature size, so that the contrast is equal to that of the aerial image at any exposure time. For large features with large transition region between the clear and dark fields contrast enhancement can be obtained using thick resists ($>100 A sup 0$) at the expanse of longer exposure time. For Ge-Se the lateral diffusion combined with photodoping saturation allow a feature dependent amplification of the relative silver concentrations for various feature sizes. This together, with the high contrast development process [1] allow inorganic resist to image well at low contrast exposure.© (1983) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Indentation recovery of atactic polystyrene

Indentations made on the surface of atactic polystryene were annelaed for different lengths of time at various temperatures. The depths of these indentations were measured by using a modified Sloan surface profilometer. The variation of depth with time was found to follow second order kinetics at least for the later part of recovery. The activation energy associated with the second order rate constant was 163 kcal mol−1 which is comparable to the value of 160 kcal mol−1, measured in the same material for the recovery of coarse shear bands.
Human serum lyses RNA tumour viruses.

ALTHOUGH there is agreement that oncornaviruses infect and are associated with malignancies in mice, cats and chickens1, the evidence for oncornavirus infection in man remains controversial2. Similarly, antibodies to oncornavirus antigens have been detected in laboratory animals3–7, but there are few data indicating the presence of such antibodies in humans3,8,9. These findings suggest that man possesses a natural defence mechanism which inhibits or interferes with oncornavirus infection and replication. We report here evidence for such a mechanism.
An integrated manufacturing planning assistant — impa

In this paper, we describe our development of a fully integrated manufacturing planning assistant (IMPA) system, which is able to: (1) interpret the finished part requirements directly from the designer's CAD systems or solid modelers without user intervention or special feature coding; (2) check the machinability of a designed part; (3) automatically generate a process plan, a tool path and an NC (numerically controlled) code, and (4) support interactive user modification of the resulting plans, tool paths and NC code. A demonstration version of the system was designed to provide automated assistance for the planning of machining processes on three-axes NC machine tools. The underlying architectural concepts and reasoning algorithms can be extended to more complex machines such as four-or-more-axes NC machines. CAD, CAE, and CAM including robotic, FMS (flexible manufacturing system) and NC machines are widely used in industry today. There is increasing interest in automation of factory control software Merchant, (1988); this includes automating the generation of the control programs — that is, in developing systems which will automatically produce the NC code for machining the part, given a model of the part, the shape of the raw material, and the machine specifications. With such systems, there are several difficulties in the manual preparation of an NC program code such as, long and tedious calculations, high risk of error in data preparation, etc., which need to be eliminated. This is a critical step toward the integration of CAD and CAM into a truly concurrent engineering and manufacturing environment.
THE EFFECT OF INFLAMMATORY REACTIONS ON TISSUE IMMUNITY

1. Animals showing natural bacterial allergy to filtrates of B. lepisepticum survive infection by this organism more frequently than weak reactors. This increased resistance is manifested by better localization of infection. 2. Bacterial filtrates injected into skin 24 hours before infection exert a non-specific protection of that area against the organism, even in susceptible animals. The cells of this protected area seldom undergo necrosis when infected. 3. Severe injury of tissues either by chemicals or an antigen-antibody reaction produces a loss of local resistance even in immune animals. Mild injuries have the opposite effect. It is believed that in cases of severe injury, the affected areas undergo a segregation from the circulating antibodies. 4. When bacterial immune serum is injected with a protein antigen into the skin of a sensitized animal, a local alteration occurs in which substances necessary for the effective action of the immune serum are destroyed. 5. A protective action is restored to the altered immune serum by addition of complement to the lesion. 6. It is felt that allergy is not the chief mechanism in cellular resistance to infection, however data are advanced which suggest that allergy does exert local protection by acceleration of the immune processes and by rendering the cells locally refractory to further injury. 7. Chronic infection by a single strain of organism excites cellular reactivity to many strains of bacteria often unrelated biologically. Hence a non-specific mechanism for localizing infections throughout the body may be induced.
Droplet Entrainment in Two-Phase Flow Under Reduced Gravity

Liquid droplets entrained in concurrent gas flows were investigated under reduced gravity condition produced by parabolic flight paths onboard a NASA C-9 research aircrafts. Reduced gravity results were compared with terrestrial ones. Microgravity tests were performed at two water flow rates,. The results shows that pressure drop in the test section is higher under reduced gravity as compared to normal gravity. Preliminary results indicate that for horizontal or slightly inclined channels in normal gravity, gravity plays a stabilizing role. It is shown that critical gas velocities characterizing the entrainment onset for reduced gravity tests are lower than the corresponding normal gravity results at the same water flow rate.
Multi-blade Navier-Stokes simulations of rotor-stator interaction in a turbine stage

Turbulent flow fields of multiblade rotor/stator configurations in a turbine stage for the high pressure fuel side turbopump of the space shuttle main engine are obtained using a computer program that can simulate flows in a stage with an unequal number of rotor and stator blades. The calculations are performed on a system of multiple patched and overlaid grids using the unsteady, thin-layer Navier-Stokes equations in two-dimension. Aerodynamic performance of two rotor/stator configurations are studied and compared in the form of pressure contours, Mach number contours, time averaged surface pressure, and unsteady pressure amplitude. Spatial and temporal accuracy of flow calculations along with computation cost are evaluated for the purpose of engineering design applications.
Fermentation of a pentose by yeasts.

Summary Several yeasts have been found to be able to ferment D-xylulose, a catabolite of D-xylose, and to produce ethanol thereby. The fermentation is carried out by several species which can utilise D-xylose oxidatively as well as by several which cannot do so. Xylose itself, and the other aldopentoses, are not utilised anaerobically by yeasts. Fermentation of D-xylulose by D-xylose oxidising species indicates that a control operates under conditions of low oxygen tension which prevents the catabolism of D-xylose to D-xylulose. The results are pertinent in efforts to obtain yeasts which can ferment biomass pentoses, a problem of interest in attempts to obtain a liquid fuel from a renewable resource.
Evidence supporting the role of a proteinaceous, loosely bound extracellular molecule in the cell density signaling between tendon cells

Normal cells in culture respond to cell density by altering their proliferation rates and their pattern of protein expression. Primary avian tendon (PAT) cells are a case in point where procollagen production increases ∼10-fold at high cell density while proliferation almost ceases. In an earlier report focusing on the cell density regulation of procollagen expression, the signaling mechanism communicating the presence of other cells was shown to have the characteristics of a loosely bound component of the cell layer. Extending these studies to the cell density regulation of proliferation, the cell density signal (CDS) was again shown to be altered by medium agitation, stimulating cell division. Agitation, however, was only disruptive to cell signaling when there was a high ratio of medium to cells. When sufficient cells were present, agitation was less effective. Therefore, the CDS controlling procollagen production and the CDS controlling the inhibition of growth seemed to be linked because the signaling mechanism is disrupted in a parallel manner by agitation. However, the proliferative response of PAT cells is more complex in that there is also a positive influence at moderate cell density (>2×104 cells/cm2) on the rate of cell division. As a consequence, PAT cells would not proliferate into an area of low cell density, but within the same dish would rapidly fill an area of moderate density. PAT cells were capable of filling a gap between high cell density areas if the gap was less than 2 mm. Medium agitation also affected cells at low cell density in a different manner. It was inhibitory if all the cells were at low cell density but it was stimulatory if the cells at low cell density were in close proximity to cells at high cell density. In addition, medium conditioned by agitation over cells at a high cell density would stimulate cells at low cell density to divide and grow out into low cell density regions. Using the growth-promoting activity of the conditioned medium as an assay, this component of the CDS was shown to have unique characteristics: heat, pH, dithiothreitol (DTT) stable; tris ion and protease sensitive. By gel exclusion chromatography it was larger than 100 kDa. But after DTT treatment its mobility shifted to <30 kDa while retaining activity.
Estimating the U.S. Import Demand for Melons: A Dynamic Analysis Approach

The United States is one of the world's leading consumers as well as one of the world's leading producers of melons. However, U.S. melons are produced only from May through December. In order to supplement the domestic demand and make melons available year-round, the United States imports melons from Latin American countries. This article analyzes the U.S. demand for imported fresh and frozen melons using monthly data on import volumes and values. A static and a dynamic linear Almost Ideal Demand System are estimated using Seemingly Unrelated Regression (SUR). The estimated parameters are used to estimate the short- and long-run price and expenditure elasticities.
UNUSUAL STRUCTURE IN A QUASI-TWO-DIMENSIONAL BINARY COLLOID FLUID

Abstract We have examined the character of the pair correlation functions of binary colloid mixtures in which the small particles can move in three dimensions but the large particles can move in only two dimensions. Our results provide evidence for unusually long-ranged spatial ordering of the dense large-sphere component of a quasi-two-dimensional binary colloid fluid for a particular ratio of concentrations of the small and large particles. This observation is rationalized by comparison with the results of simulations of the structure of a binary hard sphere fluid.
Computed tomographic detection of asymptomatic striated muscle metastasis from ovarian carcinoma

Metastatic disease to the skeletal muscle is rare. Previously it was considered that secondary tumors of striated muscle represented invasion from contiguous structures. We present an unusual case in which an asymptomatic gluteus muscle metastasis from primary ovarian carcinoma was detected by computed tomography.
Differential μ Opiate Receptor Phosphorylation and Desensitization Induced by Agonists and Phorbol Esters (

μ opiate receptors, the principal sites for opiate analgesia and reward, can display compensatory responses to opiate agonist drug administration. Agonist-induced K+ channel responses mediated by these receptors desensitize when examined in Xenopus oocyte expression systems. Mechanisms underlying such processes could include phosphorylation events similar to those reported to desensitize other G-protein-linked receptors. We used C-terminally directed anti-μ receptor antibodies to immunoprecipitate a phosphoprotein with size appropriate for the μ receptor from stably expressing Chinese hamster ovary cells. Phosphorylation of this μ opiate receptor protein was enhanced approximately 5-fold by treatment with the μ agonist morphine. The time course and dose-response relationships between μ receptor phosphorylation and agonist-induced desensitization display interesting parallels. Phosphorylation of μ opiate receptor protein is also enhanced ~5-fold by treatment with the protein kinase C activator phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate. The protein kinase inhibitor staurosporine blocked the effect of phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate on μ receptor phosphorylation. However, staurosporine failed to block morphine-induced phosphorylation. These observations suggest that several biochemical pathways can lead to μ receptor phosphorylation events that may include mechanisms involved in μ receptor desensitization.
The impact of practice setting and financial incentives on career satisfaction and perceived practice limitations among surgeons

Abstract Objective: To study how practice setting and financial incentives affect career satisfaction and perceived impact on practice in surgery. Methods: Data are from the Community Tracking Study (CTS) physician survey, a national survey of active physicians in the United States fielded between August 1996 and August 1997. Surveys with 1,738 practicing surgeons were completed. To be eligible, surgeons had to have completed their medical training (which excludes residents, interns, or fellows), be practicing in the contiguous United States, and be providing direct patient care for at least 20 hours per week. The dependent variables measured are career dissatisfaction and perceived limitations/pressures on time spent with patients, clinical freedom, income, and continuity. The dependent variables are regressed on practice setting, percentage of managed care practice revenue, individual financial incentives, age group, gender, international medical graduate, and board certification. Results: Working in a small practice is the strongest predictor of career dissatisfaction, with about twice the adjusted rate of career dissatisfaction (26%) than other practice settings (13% in group practices, 16% in staff-model HMOs, 9% in medical schools, 18% in hospitals). Managed care plays a much smaller role; an increase in the dependence on managed care equivalent to the difference between 25th and 75th percentile only increases career dissatisfaction by 3 percentage points. Surgeons in solo or two physician practices are also more likely than surgeons in other settings to report that income pressure and limitations on clinical freedom and patient continuity compromise quality of care.
Property and Selfhood in Herman Melville's Pierre

In Pierre; or, the Ambiguities (1852) Herman Melville analyzes the intricacies of subjectivity and economics by way of two concrete and quite different forms of antebellum American property relations-the residual estates of the landed gentry in upstate New York and the emergent urban market economy of New York City. A condition of unassailability, of timelessness and imperviousness, infuses the family estate in Pierre, while incessant exchange characterizes the novel's urban finale. Taken together, these opposed economic arrangements represent Melville's meditation on how the very concept of alienability, the definitive aspect of modern property relations, impacted forms of non-slave identity in the antebellum United States. The condition of inalienability that structures the patrimonial estates presents the initially attractive possibility of removal from the turbulent world of property relations, exchange, and commodification, but it turns out to be an ideological fantasy supported primarily by violence and death. Melville, always one to brood about selfhood, and faced in Pierre with his realization of the rottenness at the core of his fantasy of a subjectivity not riven by alienability, responds with the novel's urban section. This second portion of the novel presents market relations as a horror wreaked principally on the self. Pierre, ultimately, represents Melville's monument to the desirability, and his dismay at the impossibility, of imagining identity outside the syntax of a market economy's version of property relations.
Factor substitutability: Another view

This paper looks at the issue of factor substitutability versus complementarity from the point of view of directional causality. That is, prior to estimating a production function, is there any empirical support for the belief that capital, labour, energy and materials are substitutes or complements for one another in the production process? The results suggest that capital is a substitute for the other factors of production but when the other factors are compared pairwise, such a conclusion does not follow.
Abdominal obesity and ethnic differences in diabetes awareness, treatment, and glycemic control

OKOSUN, IKE S. AND G.E. ALAN DEVER. Abdominal obesity and ethnic differences in diabetes awareness, treatment, and glycemic control. Obes Res. 2002;10: 1241–1250. Objective: To compare racial/ethnic differences in diabetes awareness, treatment, and glycemic control between non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic black, and Hispanic Americans. We also determined the impact of abdominal obesity on racial/ethnic differences in diabetes awareness, treatment, and glycemic control between these population groups. Research Methods and Procedures: Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) data were utilized for this study. Diabetes awareness was defined as acknowledging diabetic status. Diabetes treatment was defined as current use of anti-diabetic medications, good glycemic control as HbA1c 8%, and abdominal obesity as waist circumference larger than expected. The impacts of abdominal obesity on racial/ ethnic differences in diabetes awareness, treatment, and glycemic control were assessed using logistic regression analyses. Adjustments were made for age, education, smoking, alcohol intake, and health insurance. Results: Rates of diabetes awareness in whites, blacks, and Hispanics suffering from abdominal obesity were 74%, 30%, and 21% in men and 77%, 32%, and 19% in women, respectively. Rates of diabetes treatment were 70%, 23%, and 14% in men and 57%, 45%, and 23% in women, respectively. In men, rates of glycemic control were 64%, 40%, and 30%, and in women, they were 62%, 51%, and 27%, respectively. Abdominal obesity was associated with decreased diabetes awareness and glycemic control in women. Discussion: Subjects with abdominal obesity were found to have poorer glycemic controls compared to those without abdominal obesity. Because diabetes prevalences were partially explained by racial/ethnic differences in diabetes awareness, treatment, and glycemic control, there is a need to craft diabetes awareness, treatment, and control programs along racial/ethnic origins.
Sex differences in naturally occurring leg muscle pain and exertion during maximal cycle ergometry

This investigation examined the role of sex in perceptions of leg muscle pain during exercise. Males (N = 26; age = 23.2 ± 3.9) and females (N = 26; age = 21.9 ± 3.5) matched on weekly energy expenditure completed a ramped maximal cycle ergometry test. Leg muscle pain thresholds were determined and pain intensity ratings as well as ratings of perceived exertion were obtained during and after exercise. The power output at pain threshold was lower in females (129.9 ± 46.5 watts) compared to males (148.2 ± 56.6 watts). Peak power output and peak pain intensity ratings were lower (P < 0.001) in females (211.3 ± 39.1 watts; 5.5 ± 2.9) compared to males (303.6 ± 27.5 watts; 8.5 ± 2.3). A Sex X Relative Intensity (i.e., % peak power output) ANOVA revealed that females reported lower pain ratings at each relative intensity examined (F = 17.7; df = 1,50; p < 0.001). The primary conclusion of this investigation is that females rate naturally occurring leg muscle pain as less intense than males when data are relativ...
Multiple melting in a four-layered barred-olivine chondrule with compositionally heterogeneous glass from LL3.0 Semarkona

Chondrule K7p from LL3.0 Semarkona consists of four nested barred-olivine (BO) chondrules. The innermost BO chondrule (chondrule 1) formed by complete melting of an olivine-rich dustball. After formation, the chondrule was incorporated into another olivine-rich dustball. A second heating event caused this second dustball to melt; the mesostasis and some of the olivine in chondrule 1 were probably also melted at this time, but the chondrule 1 structure remained largely intact. At this stage, the object was an enveloping compound BO chondrule. This two-step process of melting and dustball enshrouding repeated two more times. The different proportions of olivine and glass in chondrules 1–4 suggest that the individual precursor dustballs differed in the amounts of chondrule fragments they contained and the mineral proportions in those fragments. The final dustball (which ultimately formed chondrule 4) was somewhat more ferroan; after melting, crystallizing, and quenching, chondrule 4 contained olivine and glass with higher FeO and MnO contents than those of the earlier formed chondrules. Subsequent aqueous alteration on the LL parent body transformed the abundant metal blebs and stringers at the chondrule surface into carbide, iron oxide, and minor Ni-rich metal. Portions of the mesostasis underwent dissolution, producing holes and adjacent blades of more resistant material. Much of the glass in the chondrule remained isotropic, even after minor hydration and leaching. The sharp, moderately lobate boundary between the extensively altered mesostasis and the isotropic glass represents the reaction front beyond which there was little or no glass dissolution.
Hyperlocomotion induced by dopamine or cholecystokinin + dopamine in the nucleus accumbens is not modified by chronic lithium treatment.

Abstract 1. 1. Peptides such as cholecystokinin have been reported to modulate the effects of dopaminergic agonists on locomotion in rats. 2. 2. The present experiments tested the possibility that lithium interacts with dopaminergic function through the same mechanism by which cholecystokinin potentiates dopaminergic function. 3. 3. The results suggest that dietary lithium has no effect on the ability of either dopamine alone, or the combination of dopamine plus cholecystokinin, microinjected directly into the nucleus accumbens, to stimulate hyperlocomotion.
Tailoring the Cooperative Acid–Base Effects in Silica‐Supported Amine Catalysts: Applications in the Continuous Gas‐Phase Self‐Condensation of n‐Butanal

Author(s): Shylesh, S; Hanna, D; Gomes, J; Krishna, S; Canlas, CG; Head-Gordon, M; Bell, AT | Abstract: A highly efficient solid-base organocatalyst for the gas-phase aldol self-condensation of n-butanal to 2-ethylhexenal was developed by grafting site-isolated amines on tailored silica surfaces. The catalytic activity depends largely on the nature of amine species, the surface concentration of amine and silanol groups, and the spatial separation between the silanol and amine groups. In situ FTIR measurements demonstrated that the formation of nucleophilic enamines leads to the enhanced catalytic activity of secondary amine catalysts, whereas the formation of imines (stable up to 473 K) leads to the low activity observed for silica-supported primary amines. Blocking the silanol groups on the silica support by silylation or cofeeding water into the reaction stream drastically decreased the reaction rates, demonstrating that weaker acidic silanol groups participate cooperatively with the amine groups to catalyze the condensation reaction. This work demonstrates that the spatial separation of the weakly acidic silanols and amines can be tuned by the controlled dehydration of the supporting silica and by varying the linker length of the amine organosilane precursor used to graft the amine to the support surface. A mechanism for aldol condensation was proposed and then analyzed by DFT calculations. DFT analysis of the reaction pathway suggested that the rate-limiting step in aldol condensation is carbon-carbon bond formation, which is consistent with the observed kinetics. The calculated apparent activation barrier agrees reasonably with that measured experimentally. Secondary amines come first: A solid-base organocatalyst achieved by grafting amines onto silica surfaces is applied to the gas-phase aldol self-condensation of n-butanal to 2-ethylhexenal. Silica-supported secondary amine catalysts demonstrate a much higher catalytic activity than the primary amine analogues, owing to the respective formation of enamines as shown by in situ FTIR analysis. The reaction pathway is analyzed by DFT calculations. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH a Co. KGaA, Weinheim.
Mutagenesis of two acidic active site residues in human muscle creatine kinase: implications for the catalytic mechanism.

Creatine kinase (CK) catalyzes the reversible phosphorylation of the guanidine substrate, creatine, by MgATP. Although several X-ray crystal structures of various isoforms of creatine kinase have been published, the detailed catalytic mechanism remains unresolved. A crystal structure of the CK homologue, arginine kinase (AK), complexed with the transition-state analogue (arginine-nitrate-ADP), has revealed two carboxylate amino acid residues (Glu225 and Glu314) within 2.8 A of the proposed transphosphorylation site. These two residues are the putative catalytic groups that may promote nucleophilic attack by the guanidine amino group on the γ-phosphate of ATP. From primary sequence alignments of arginine kinases and creatine kinases, we have identified two homologous creatine kinase acidic amino acid residues (Glu232 and Asp326), and these were targeted for examination of their potential roles in the CK mechanism. Using site-directed mutagenesis, we have made several substitutions at these two positions. T...
Structural features of mammalian gonadotropins

There are two species for which both pituitary and placental gonadotropins are readily available, humans and horses. The human gonadotropins are better characterized than equine gonadotropins. Nevertheless, the latter are very interesting because they provide exceptions to some of the general structure-function principles derived from studies on human and other mammalian gonadotropins. For example, separate genes encode the hLHβ and hCGβ subunits while a single gene encodes eLHβ and eCGβ. Thus, eCG and eLH differ only in their oligosaccharide moieties and eLH is the only LH that possesses the O-glycosylated C-terminal extension previously believed to be restricted to chorionic gonadotropins. Truncation experiments involving eLHβ and hCGβ have suggested the C-terminal extension has no effect on receptor binding. However, the largest of three eCG forms which differ only in the extent of O-glycosylation possessed reduced affinity for LH and FSH receptors. This result suggested that effects of O-glycosylation need to be considered when examining the glycosylation differences between eLH and eCG responsible for the 10-fold lower eCG receptor binding affinity compared with that of eLH. Contribution of αAsn56 N-linked oligosaccharides to the different biological activities of eLH and eCG has been evaluated following selective removal using peptide-N-glycanase digestion of native equine α-subunit preparations. Hormone-specific patterns of glycosylation were observed on αAsn56 of eLH, eFSH, and eCG. Removal of αAsn56 oligosaccharides increased the rate of subunit association, the extent of association, and receptor binding activity. Some unassociated α-subunit oligosaccharides were identified which may interfere with subunit association because they were more abundant in unassociated subunit oligosaccharide maps than in a total oligosaccharide map. This was most striking in the case of eCGα in which two minor peaks became the major oligosaccharide peaks detectable in the unassociated eCGα fraction following association with eLHβ and eFSHβ. The biological activities exhibited by hybrid hormones, eLHα reassociated with oLHβ and pLHβ, found to be greater than those of oLH and pLH provided an interesting exception to the general rule that the β-subunit determines the potency of the heterodimer. LH receptor binding activities of eLHβ-chimeric ovine/equine α-subunits suggested that the equine α-subunit N-terminal domain may be responsible for this effect. Equine FSH has higher FSH receptor binding activity than human, ovine, and porcine FSH preparations. This probably results from two factors. First, the presence of the equine α-subunit promotes receptor binding as noted above. Second, the overall −2 charge of the eFSHβ determinant loop, which is less negative that the −3 observed in other species, results from the presence of an Asn residue at position 88 instead of Asp. This apparently facilitates binding to the FSH receptor.
Cognitive and psychosocial correlates of adults' eyewitness accuracy and suggestibility

Abstract College students' eyewitness accuracy and suggestibility were assessed with two measures of suggestibility: (1) the non-forensic version of the Gudjonsson Suggestibility Scale [GSS 2; Gudjonsson, G. H. (1987). A parallel form of the Gudjonsson Suggestibility Scale. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 27, 185–187; Gudjonsson, G. H. (1997). The Gudjonsson suggestibility scales manual. East Sussex, UK: Psychology Press.] in which participants hear a story and are then asked leading and suggestive questions and (2) a Standard Misinformation Paradigm in which participants experience an event, later receive misleading information regarding that event, and are then tested for their memory of the original event. The students also completed two personality inventories [NEO PI-R, Costa, P. T., & McCrae, R. R. (1992). Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI R) and NEO Five Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI). Odessa, Florida: Psychological Assessment Inventories.; Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (MPQ); Tellegen, A. (1982). Brief manual for the differential personality questionnaire. Unpublished manuscript, University of Minnesota, Department of Psychology, Minneapolis.], and four measures of perceived control. Findings on both suggestibility measures indicated that adults who were more suggestible had poorer recall of the original event. In addition, suggestibility on the GSS 2 was predicted by the perceived control dimensions of memory efficacy and locus of control, by facets on the extraversion and conscientiousness domains of the NEO PI-R, and by the traditionalism scale of the MPQ. In contrast, suggestibility on the Misinformation Paradigm was associated with facets on the openness to experience and agreeableness domains of the NEO PI-R. The results are discussed in terms of the multidimensionality of eyewitness suggestibility.
Limits of focused attention in three-dimensional space

The present experiment examined the shape of the attentional gradient in three-dimensional space. Subjects performed a response-compatibility task in which they were instructed to respond to a centrally located target and ignore flanking distractors. The irrelevant distractors were presented at combinations of seven different depths, three different horizontal separations, and three different vertical separations relative to the target. Depth was varied in a stereoscopic display viewed through polarized glasses. Overall, the size of the response-compatibility effect decreased with increased separation in all three dimensions. Interestingly, the response-compatibility effect was larger for horizontal separations than for vertical separations and was larger for crossed disparities than for uncrossed disparities. The results suggest an elliptical focus of attention, with steeper gradients in the vertical dimensions than in the horizontal dimensions. In addition, the results suggest, along the vertical dimension, a steeper gradient for objects located beyond the focus of attention relative to that for objects located between the observer and the focus of attention.
Co-Firing Feedlot and Litter Biomass: Coal Blends in a Laboratory Scale Boiler Burner

The co-firing of animal biomass fuels with coal has the potential to solve both biomass disposal problems, and reduce net CO2 emissions. The high flame temperatures produced by coal will allow the low heating value, high ash biomass to be completely burnt. Unfortunately, the animal biomass fuels are high in nitrogen and sulfur, which could lead to greater air pollution levels in the form of NO and SO2 . To determine the effect of switching to 90:10 Coal:biomass blend on combustion efficiency and emissions, the blends were fired in a 30 kW (100,000 BTU/hr) laboratory scale boiler burner. The results are presented along with the their relation to the fuel properties.Copyright © 2002 by ASME
Entomogenous fungi from corn insects in Iowa

Abstract Nine genera of fungi were isolated from more than 200 insects representing eight species of corn pests. They are Beauveria, Metarrhizium, Fusarium, Aspergillus, Penicillium, Paecilomyces, Rhizopus, Scopulariopsis , and Mycoderma . The European corn borer, Ostrinia nubilalis (Hubner), was used as a test animal for pathogenicity tests with the fungus organisms. Beauveria bassiana and Metarrhizium anisopliae were the most pathogenic strains recovered. Aspergillus ustus, Fusarium neoceras, paecilomyces varioti, Penicillium decumbens, P. puberulum , and Scopulariopsis brevicaulis had not previously been reported from insects.
Studies on the bromination of saturated hydrocarbons Under GoAggIII conditions

Abstract The bromination reaction of saturated hydrocarbons under GoAggIII conditons (FeCl3.6H2O picolinic acid, H2O2 in pyridine/acetic acid) and under radical chain conditions (dibenzoyl peroxide in pyridine/acetic acid or initiation by UV light) are compared. Differences in the selectivity and kinetic behavior for a series of polyhaloalkanes are in agreement with a non-radical mechanism for GoAggIII bromination. Comparison of the kinetic order of reactivity for a series of polyhaloalkanes under chain radical conditions and under GoAggIII conditions is in agreement with a non-radical reaction pathway for the Gif-type bromination reaction.
A cascade analysis of the interaction of mercury and coproporphyrinogen oxidase (CPOX) polymorphism on the heme biosynthetic pathway and porphyrin production.

Mercury (Hg) exposure in various forms remains a persistent public health concern in many parts of the world. In previous studies, we have described a biomarker of mercury exposure characterized by increased urinary concentrations of specific porphyrins, pentacarboxyporphyrin (5-CP) and coproporphyrin (4-CP), and the atypical keto-isocoproporphyrin (KICP), based on selective interference with the fifth (uroporphyrinogen decarboxylase, UROD) and sixth (coproporphyrinogen oxidase, CPOX) enzymes of the heme biosynthetic pathway. Whereas this response occurs in a predictable manner among ∼85% of subjects with Hg exposure, an atypical porphyrinogenic response (APR) has been observed in approximately 15% of Hg-exposed persons, in which the three porphyrins that are affected by Hg, i.e., 5-CP, 4-CP and, KICP, are excreted in substantial excess of that predicted on the basis of Hg exposure alone. This APR has been attributed to a specific polymorphism in exon 4 of the CPOX gene (CPOX4). In the present study, we sought to further confirm the hypothesis that the observed changes in porphyrin excretion patterns might serve as a biomarker of Hg exposure and potential toxicity by statistically modeling the cascading effects on porphyrin concentrations within the heme biosynthetic pathway of Hg exposure and CPOX4 polymorphism in a human population with long-term occupational exposure to elemental mercury. Our results are highly consistent with this hypothesis. After controlling for precursor porphyrin concentrations, we demonstrated that 5-CP and 4-CP are independently associated with Hg concentration, while KICP is associated only with the CPOX4. An unpredicted association of Hg with heptacarboxyporphyrin (7-CP) may indicate a previously unidentified point of mercury inhibition of UROD. These findings lend further support to the proposed utility of urinary porphyrin changes as a biomarker of exposure and potential toxicity in subjects with mercury exposure. Additionally, these findings demonstrate the successful application of a computational model for characterizing complex metabolic responses and interactions associated with both toxicant exposure and genetic variation in human subjects.
Nitric oxide deficiency in chronic kidney disease

The overall production of nitric oxide (NO) is decreased in chronic kidney disease (CKD) which contributes to cardiovascular events and further progression of kidney damage. There are many likely causes of NO deficiency in CKD and the areas surveyed in this review are: 1. Limitations on substrate (l-Arginine) availability, probably due to impaired renal l-Arginine biosynthesis, decreased transport of l-Arginine into endothelial cells and possible competition between NOS and competing metabolic pathways, such as arginase. 2. Increased circulating levels of endogenous NO synthase (NOS) inhibitors, in particular asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA). Increased methylation of proteins and their subsequent breakdown to release free ADMA may contribute but the major culprit is probably reduced ADMA catabolism by the enzymes dimethylarginine dimethylaminohydrolases. 3. Reduced renal cortex abundance of the neuronal NOS (nNOS)alpha protein correlates with injury while increasing nNOSbeta abundance may provide a compensatory, protective response. Interventions that can restore NO production by targeting these various pathways are likely to reduce the cardiovascular complications of CKD as well as slowing the rate of progression.
Characterizing a bright two-photon source using a polarization-maintaining microstructure fiber

After characterizing the Raman scattering spectrum of a polarization-maintaining microstructure fiber, we produced a high brightness two-photon source with a two-photon coincidence/accidental (C/A) ratio of 1000 at 100 Hz.