cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Androgen Excess in Women and the Respiratory System

Numerous epidemiological studies have shown explicit sex and gender differences in the respiratory system under both physiological and pathological conditions. Here, we review the impact of sex steroids, with emphasis on androgens, upon the respiratory system in two endocrine hyperandrogenemic clinical scenarios: polycystic ovary syndrome and postmenopausal women. The primary sex hormones are testosterone in men and estrogens in women. Interestingly, in women, the plasma concentration of testosterone is much higher than estradiol; however, whether and how the excess of androgens may affect the respiratory system in women remain unclear. Hence, here we review some of the evidence that highlights the crucial role of androgens modulating respiratory physiology in these hyperandrogenemic endocrine conditions.
Gender differences among criminal justice-involved persons living with HIV interested in extended-release naltrexone treatment.

Background: Previous research has shown gender differences with respect to entry into medication treatment of substance use disorders (SUDs), yet few have examined gender differences among particip...
Phase equilibria of associating fluids : spherical molecules with multiple bonding sites

The effect of molecular associations on the phase coexistence properties of fluids with one or two directional, attractive centres is investigated. The individual molecules are represented by hard-sphere repulsive cores with off-centre, square-well attractive sites. Such a system’s thermodynamic properties can be calculated by using expressions based on a theory recently proposed by Wertheim. Isothermal-isobaric Monte Carlo simulations of hard-sphere fluids with one or two attractive sites are shown to be in good agreement with the results of the theory. In order to study the system’s phase equilibria using the theory, a simple van der Waals mean-field term is added to account for the dispersion forces. The critical points and phase equilibria of the associating fluids are determined for various values of the strength and range of the attractive site. Furthermore, results are presented for the degree of association in the gas and liquid phases along the vapour pressure curve. The theory can treat fluids with strong hydrogen-bonding associations such as those found in the carboxylic acids, the aliphatic alcohols, hydrogen fluoride, water etc.
Prevalence, Costs, and Consequences of Low-Value Preprocedural Urinalyses in the US.

This cohort study analyzes inpatient and outpatient episodes of procedural and surgical care to assess the prevalence and costs of low-value preprocedural urinalyses in the US from 2007 to 2017.
Rescripting Shakespeare: Appendix: productions cited

In this list I provide the date, venue, and director for stage productions included in this book. Unless otherwise noted, references to the Royal Shakespeare Company are to productions in the two large theatres (the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford, the Barbican in London) as opposed to the Swan, The Other Place (TOP), and the Pit. I do not distinguish between Oregon Shakespeare Festival productions at the Elizabethan Stagehouse and the Bowmer, Royal National Theatre productions at the Olivier and Lyttleton, and Stratford Festival Canada productions at the Festival Theatre and the Avon. When I supply two consecutive years for a RSC production ( Richard III , 1995–96), the later date refers to a remounting at the Barbican in London or on tour which was the version I actually saw. Not included in this list are (1) several shows to which I refer but did not see (for example, the Peter Brook 1955 Titus Andronicus ); (2) Jane Howell's productions of the Henry VI plays and Titus Andronicus for BBC-TV's “The Shakespeare Plays”; and (3) several movies cited in passing.
Generation of Far-Infrared Radiation*

Publisher Summary Various generation mechanisms have capabilities in the far-infrared radiation; the merits and limitations of these are discussed in the chapter. Contemporary hot-body radiators are generally gas discharge tubes. In this form they are relatively simple devices, which generate an extensive spectrum, from which usable narrow bands of radiation can be selected with diffraction gratings or interferometer filters. A new method of harmonic generation has recently been developed by Froome at the National Physical Laboratory, England. This device emerged from Froome's discovery of the high current densities at the cathode spot of a narrow electric arc, and the realization by Bleaney that the nonlinearity of such an arc might provide a mechanism of harmonic conversion. The most valued role of the magnetron is as a generator of microsecond-long pulses. In schemes somewhat different from the harmonic multipliers, relativistic electrons have been studied as Doppler frequency multiplier. It has been found that masers can generate milliwatts of power as harmonics of the cyclotron frequency, it is therefore likely that extensions deeper into the far-infrared can be achieved with somewhat lower magnetic fields.
MicroRNA-dependent modulation of histone acetylation in multiple sclerosis (THER3P.875)

Inhibitors of histone deacetylases (HDACs) are of interest for treatment of MS. However, global modifications of DNA and chromatin structure are found to be associated with toxicities and adverse effects. For example, HDAC inhibitor, Trichostatin A, was capable of ameliorating the development of a mouse model of MS (EAE). However, the clinical trials in MS patients showed exacerbation of symptoms. This discrepancy may have been due to the non-specific nature produced by the drug or additional genetic changes. Thus, novel epigenetic approaches capable of targeting a specific set of genes in encephalitogenic T cells are desirable for controlling MS while minimizing adverse effects. We recently found that encephalitogenic CD4+ T cells present with a specific miRNA and HDAC signature characterized by increased expression of let-7e, HDAC-3, -5, -9 and reduced miR-140-5p and the rest of HDAC. Predicted let-7e targeted genes include HDAC-2, -10, and -11. We confirmed that let-7e regulated expression of HDAC-10. Using lentivirus or synthetic oligonucleotides to modulate the expression level of let-7e, we found that down-regulated HDAC-10 accompanied with up-regulation of acetyl-histone-3 and -4, which led to increased encephalitogenic Th1- and Th17-cell development and EAE. Our results indicated that HDAC-10 contributed to the pathogenesis of MS. Thus, use of let-7e oligonucleotides may constitute an alternative to chemical HDAC inhibitors in the treatment of MS.
Cell killing by viruses. III. The interferon system and inhibition of cell killing by vesicular stomatitis virus.

Abstract The dose response of cell killing particle (CKP) activity of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) in GMK Vero cells treated with interferon or mouse L cells treated with poly(rI)·poly(rC) was determined from single-cell survival curves, and compared with dose-response curves for infectivity and viral transcript accumulation. “Pulse-infection” with temperature-sensitive (ts) mutants of VSV was used to confine formation of putative cell killing factor or its precursors to the time equivalent of a single cycle of growth. Cells which through interferon or poly(rI)·poly(rC) action survived a pulse-infection with ts-mutant virus at permissive temperature produced colonies normal in both appearance and growth rate. Cells treated with interferon or poly(rI)·poly(rC) and challenged with VSV generated a family of survival curves for CKP activity whose slopes decreased as the dose of the interferon-interference inducer increased. These survival curves revealed that the capacity to express CKP activity or accumulate transcripts in interferon-treated Vero cells were both lost initially at an exponential rate about four to five times slower than that observed for the loss of plaque or yield reducing capacity, demonstrating that it required four to five times more interferon to prevent cell killing or transcript accumulation by VSV than was needed to reduce infectivity by an equivalent amount. A marked tailing of the survival curves was observed as the interferon dose was increased, resulting in surviving activity for CKP and transcript accumulation far in excess of that expected by extrapolation from low-dose regions of the curve. These results are discussed in light of our previous hypothesis which stated that viral transcription was a requisite, though insufficient reaction to produce cell killing by VSV and that integrity of about one-fifth of the viral genome sufficed to provide these transcripts (Marcus, P. I., and Sekellick, M. J. (1974). Virology 57, 321–338; (1975). Virology 63, 176–190). We extend this hypothesis and propose that the lethal action of VSV on cells requires: (i) functional virion transcriptase, (ii) transcription of a special one-fifth of the genome, most likely that coding for proteins N and NS, (iii) translation of these transcripts into minimally functional polypeptides which lead to (iv) formation and subsequent action by a putative cell killing factor.
Therapy of acute myelogenous leukemia in adults

The clinical and biological heterogeneity of adult acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) is increasingly apparent. Incorporation of cytogenetic data into the WHO classification of AML [1] is a testament to the importance of disease biology in treatment outcomes. Therefore the approach to treatment of AML in adults need to be based on a risk-stratified approach, the risk being that of relapse or refractory disease not responding to induction chemotherapy. Another risk that needs to be considered in making treatment decisions particularly in elderly patients or those with poor-performance status and organ dysfunction is that of induction-related death. Co-morbidity indices can conceivably identify patients with higher possibility of induction-related death [2,3] and prospective application of such indices will help to resolve the question of whether less than intensive chemotherapy can impact outcome in this group. This review will focus on drug therapy of AML and not on the hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT).
Debtor's Prison in the Neoliberal State: 'Debtfare' and the Cultural Logics of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005

The enactment of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act (“BAPCPA”) of 2005, amending the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978, marks a transformation in bankruptcy law and policy that is representative of larger shifts in dominant economic and political models from “embedded liberalism” to free market “neoliberalism.” BAPCPA’s provisions are part of the new practices of the emergent neoliberal state as they relate to the American population’s middle class segment. In disciplining the middle class, BAPCPA shifts the risk and the responsibility of the lending relationship onto consumer debtors. BAPCPA does this by keeping financially distressed individuals servicing debt obligations both inside and outside the bankruptcy system. Socio-cultural theory provides a broadened frame for understanding the economic shift reflected in this fundamental transformation in legal mandates.
Behavioral Diversity and a Probabilistically Optimal GP Ensemble

We propose N-version Genetic Programming (NVGP) as an ensemble method to enhance accuracy and reduce performance fluctuation of programs produced by genetic programming. Diversity is essential for forming successful ensembles. NVGP quantifies behavioral diversity of ensemble members and defines NVGP optimal as an ensemble that has independent fault occurrences among its members. We observed significant accuracy improvement by NVGP optimal ensembles when applied to a DNA segment classification problem.
Combining ungrouped and grouped wildfire data to estimate fire risk

Frequently, models are required to combine information obtained from different data sources and on different scales. In this work, we are interested in estimating the risk of wildfire ignition in the USA for a particular time and location by merging two levels of data, namely, individual points and aggregate count of points into areas. The data for federal lands consist of the point location and time of each fire. Nonfederal fires are aggregated by county for a particular year. The probability model is based on the wildfire point process. Assuming a smooth intensity function, a locally weighted likelihood fit is used, which incorporates the group effect. A logit model is used under the assumption of the existence of a latent process, and fuel conditions are included as a covariate. The model assessment is based on a residual analysis, while the False Discovery Rate detects spatial patterns. A benefit of the proposed model is that there is no need of arbitrary aggregation of individual fires into counts. A map of predicted probability of ignition for the Midwest US in 1990 is included. The predicted ignition probabilities and the estimated total number of expected fires are required for the allocation of resources. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Depth determination of critical fluence-limiting defects within planarized and non-planarized mirror coatings

Multilayer interference optical mirror coatings are traditionally fluence-limited by nodular inclusions. Planarization of these defects modifies the geometrically and interference-induced light intensification to increase the laser resistance of mirror coatings. Previous studies using engineered defects on the substrate or buried in the middle of the coating stack have focused only on understanding the improvement in laser resistance. However, real coating defects are distributed throughout the coating. To better understand differences between the critical fluence-limiting defects of both planarized and non-planarized mirror coatings, laser damage pit depths were determined as a function of laser fluence.
CRITICAL STAR FORMATION RATES FOR REIONIZATION: FULL REIONIZATION OCCURS AT REDSHIFT z ≈ 7

We assess the probable redshift (z{sub rei} Almost-Equal-To 7) for full reionization of the intergalactic medium (IGM) using a prescription for the comoving star formation rate (SFR) density ({rho}-dot{sub SFR}) required to maintain photoionization against recombination. Our newly developed online reionization simulator allows users to assess the required SFR and ionization histories, using a variety of assumptions for galactic and stellar populations, IGM clumping factor and temperature, and Lyman continuum (LyC) escape fraction. The decline in high-redshift galaxy candidates and Ly{alpha} emitters at z = 6-8 suggests a rising neutral fraction, with reionization at z {approx}> 7 increasingly difficult owing to increased recombination rates and constraints from the ionizing background and LyC mean free path. The required rate is {rho}-dot{sub SFR}{approx}(.018 M{sub sun}yr{sup -1}Mpc{sup -3})[(1+z)/8]{sup 3}(C{sub H}/3)(0.2/f{sub esc})T{sub 4}{sup -0.845} scaled to fiducial values of clumping factor C{sub H} = 3, escape fraction f{sub esc} = 0.2, electron temperature T{sub e} = 10{sup 4} K, and low-metallicity initial mass functions (IMFs) and stellar atmospheres. Our hydrodynamical + N-body simulations find a mean clumping factor C{sub H} Almost-Equal-To (2.9)[(1 + z)/6]{sup -1.1} in the photoionized, photoheated filaments at z = 5-9. The critical SFR could be reduced by increasing the minimummore » stellar mass, invoking a top-heavy IMF, or systematically increasing f{sub esc} at high z. The cosmic microwave background optical depth, {tau}{sub e} = 0.088 {+-} 0.015, could be explained by full reionization, producing {tau}{sub e} = 0.050 back to z{sub rei} Almost-Equal-To 7, augmented by {Delta}{tau}{sub e} Almost-Equal-To 0.01-0.04 in a partially ionized IGM at z > 7. In this scenario, the strongest 21 cm signal should occur at redshifted frequencies 124-167 MHz owing to IGM heating over an interval {Delta}z Almost-Equal-To 3 in the range z Almost-Equal-To 7.5-10.5.« less
Seasonal changes of Bosmina (Crustacea, Cladocera) in Frains Lake, Michigan: laboratory observations of phenotypic changes induced by inorganic factors

Summary In Frains Lake, individuals of the species Bosmina longirostris decrease relative mucro and antennule lengths during the spring and summer, and increase them again during the fall. The cyclomorphosis involves both embryonic and post-embryonic events, since the relative sizes of parts in neonates and the relative growth rates of parts in later instars change seasonally. Antennules grow during winter, but may even regress during summer. Mucrones show an opposite pattern, growing maximally during late summer and fall. The kinds of cyclomorphotic changes in Bosmina suggest evolutionary adjustments to two principle types of predators: visual vertebrates and blindly grasping invertebrates. While laboratory experiments implicate temperature and turbulence as proximate factors in the cyclomorphotic changes, some unknown factor (or factors) also appears necessary to stimulate the magnitude of responses observed in nature.
Materials as stem cell regulators

The stem cell/material interface is a complex, dynamic microenvironment in which the cell and the material cooperatively dictate one another's fate: the cell by remodelling its surroundings, and the material through its inherent properties (such as adhesivity, stiffness, nanostructure or degradability). Stem cells in contact with materials are able to sense their properties, integrate cues via signal propagation and ultimately translate parallel signalling information into cell fate decisions. However, discovering the mechanisms by which stem cells respond to inherent material characteristics is challenging because of the highly complex, multicomponent signalling milieu present in the stem cell environment. In this Review, we discuss recent evidence that shows that inherent material properties may be engineered to dictate stem cell fate decisions, and overview a subset of the operative signal transduction mechanisms that have begun to emerge. Further developments in stem cell engineering and mechanotransduction are poised to have substantial implications for stem cell biology and regenerative medicine.
Gametic conflict versus contact in the evolution of anisogamy

Anisogamy refers to gametes that differ in size, and characterizes the difference between males and females. The evolution of aniosgamy is widely interpreted as involving conflict between gamete producers with small sperm parasitizing on the investment made by the eggs. Using a population genetic model for evolution at a locus that codes jointly for sperm and egg sizes of a hermaphrodite, we show that the origin of anisogamy in an externally spawning population need not involve conflict between gamete producers. Gamete size dimorphism may be an adaptation that increases gamete encounter rates when large zygotes are selected, and we show this in a mechanistically general individual selection model. We use the Vance survival function without specific allometric assumptions to model the zygote fitness dependence on its size, and hence obtain ecological and life-history correlates of isogamy and anisogamy, which we successfully compare with data from Volvocales.
Spatially constrained scanning scheme applied for gap measurements

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate an optical‐based scanning modality for the real‐time measurements of automotive interior gaps.Design/methodology/approach – The hardware is based on a charge‐coupled device detector acquiring a laser illumination. The laser is projected on multitude of substrates with different reflectivities and surface profiles; while the scanning is progressed manually through a hand‐held setup.Findings – The proposed software identifies the optical gap location automatically and establishes a dynamic field of view.Research limitations/implications – The study conducts a tool reliability and repeatability study that yield an accuracy of 0.08 mm and a repeatability of less than 6.5 percent as user bias. The developed hardware/software combination, when compared with two commercial systems; a 3D scanner and an industrially packaged sensor unit used for exterior gaps, which provided repeatability values of 24 and 17 percent, respectively, with accuracies of 1.5 and 0.3...
Reference Resolution Challenges for Intelligent Agents: The Need for Knowledge

Natural language processing (NLP) is as yet far from achieving human levels of sophistication. This isn't surprising if we consider that people are amazing processors of language who leverage all of their knowledge of language, the speech context and the world in every language situation. A domain in which the divergence between the abilities of people and the abilities of machines is particularly manifest is reference resolution. Reference resolution is best defined as interpreting the meaning of each referring expression in a language input - like my finger, JFK, them, ran - and anchoring it in the mental model (memory) of the intelligent agent processing that input. This semantics-oriented, memory-oriented view of reference resolution is inspired by what people seem to accomplish when resolving reference. It stands in contrast to the more widely pursued NLP task of coreference resolution, whose final goal is to match coreferential text strings (words and phrases) with each other, typically with little or no connection to text meaning or memory population and management. This article provides an example-oriented overview of reference phenomena that are difficult for intelligent agents to process, as well as the types of knowledge, rendered machine tractable, that seem to be required to process them. We begin with a short introduction to "deep semantic" text processing, an approach to NLP that is currently not widely pursued but seems necessary to tackle problems like advanced reference resolution. Next comes an extended example that provides a concrete picture of the problem space in question. Then the full scope of reference phenomena is juxtaposed with the much narrower scope of phenomena that has been treated in systems to date. Comparisons are drawn between the primarily knowledge-lean approach, which has dominated the field so far, and the primarily knowledge-rich approach, which seems necessary for difficult phenomena. Following that are seven high-level questions and their answers that highlight some key challenges faced by reference resolving agents. The article concludes with some thoughts about what to do next in order to make significant progress on reference resolution. The organizational style - example-driven and Q&A - was selected to provide a more engaging introduction to the topic than would a formal, linguistically motivated classification.
Press Issue Agendas in the 1982 Congressional and Gubernatorial Election Campaigns

This article reports findings from a content analysis of press coverage of U.S. House, U.S. Senate, and gubernatorial election campaigns in twelve metropolitan newspapers for a one-month period in the autumn of 1982. The primary focus of the research is upon which public policy issues were most extensively covered in each type of race in each newspaper. It was found that House and Senate campaign agendas exhibit some similarity, although certain issues are emphasized in one area and ignored in others. Gubernatorial campaign press agendas are quite specific to the states in which they occur. The dominant issues in the congressional races can be categorized as the political economy of the Reagan presidency. It is argued that the press issue agendas are largely derived from the established institutional agendas of the political system, rather than from the press itself.
Novel hybrid objective structured assessment of technical skills/objective structured clinical examinations in comprehensive perioperative breast care: a three-year analysis of outcomes.

Purpose Objective Structured Assessment of Technical Skills (OSATS) and Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCE) are common tools used to objectively evaluate surgical residents. In 2005, our institution presented a novel hybrid OSATS/OSCE, which we renamed the Objective Structured Clinical Assessment (OSCA), encompassing all 6 core competencies regarding comprehensive care of the breast care patient. This study presents an analysis of the effects of a compulsory, comprehensive OSCA on our residents' competence in this index learning category. Methods Completed breast OSCA, Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) operative logs, and Report D of the American Board of Surgery in Training Examination (ABSITE) were collected for 24 senior-level residents. The OSCA was implemented for post graduate year (PGY)-3 residents in the 2003-2004 year. Data were also collected for an equal number of residents before the OSCA. Competence of residents was evaluated using the procedure-based OSCA that encompasses the 6 core competencies, completed for each resident by a specialty breast surgeon. Next, ACGME operative logs for graduating seniors were analyzed. Finally, breast care questions were identified from Report D. The number of residents scoring incorrectly on these questions was divided by the total number of resident-questions to yield a percent incorrect for each group. Similarly, the percent of total incorrect ABSITE examination questions was calculated, assessing overall group improvement. Results All assigned residents achieved competence in all designated categories of the OSCA. Since the OSCA, the average number of breast cases in our program has risen from a mean of 102 cases to 124 cases per graduating senior. ABSITE data showed 264 resident-questions before the OSCA, with 26.5% incorrect responses. After OSCA, there were 252 resident-questions, with 18.25% incorrect. This represents a significant decrease ( p p > 0.05) in incorrect responses on the entire examination. Conclusions Our data show consistent competence of residents in breast disease as evaluated by the OSCA, an increase in numbers of breast cases, and a decrease in incorrect responses on breast-related ABSITE questions. We believe a comprehensive, complete care OSCA represents a valuable learning tool for residents to increase their competence and improve their outcomes in breast care. We believe that comprehensive OSCAs will be necessary tools to evaluate resident competence and should be implemented in all areas of general surgery.
Increased Transcription of the Regulatory Subunit of γ-Glutamylcysteine Synthetase in Rat Lung Epithelial L2 Cells Exposed to Oxidative Stress or Glutathione Depletion

γ-Glutamylcysteine synthetase (GCS) is the initial and rate-limiting enzyme in the glutathione (GSH)de novosynthesis pathway. GCS is composed of a heavy (73-kDa) catalytic subunit and a light (30-kDa) regulatory subunit, which maintains theKmfor glutamate near physiologic concentrations. Previous studies have shown that the steady-state mRNA level and gene transcription for the catalytic subunit increased in response to the redox-cycling quinone 2,3-dimethoxy-1,4-naphthoquinone (DMNQ) in rat lung epithelial L2 cells (M. M. Shi,et al.,1994,J. Biol. Chem.269, 26512–26517). The ratio of the catalytic to regulatory subunit mRNAs varies among tissues, and the anticancer drug cisplatin appears to induce only the catalytic subunit, suggesting independent gene regulation of the two subunits. Nonetheless, the present study found that the steady-state mRNA level and the transcription rate of the GCS regulatory subunit also increased under DMNQ-induced oxidative stress. Changes in mRNA followed a pattern similar to that for the catalytic subunit. The mRNA levels of the two subunits of GCS also both increased above the baseline levels in cells treated with BSO, an inhibitor of GCS enzymatic activity. These data suggest that, under conditions of oxidative stress or glutathione depletion, the regulatory subunit is upregulated at the level of mRNA transcription. Along with the elevation of the catalytic subunit, this increase in GCS regulatory subunit transcription contributes to increases in GCS enzymatic activity and cellular GSH content.
Dose dependence of DNA repair in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) larvae exposed to UV-B radiation

We examined survival and DNA damage in rainbow trout larvae (Oncorhynchus mykiss) resulting from a range of sublethal to lethal ultraviolet-B exposures in the presence and absence of photoreactivating radiation. We found that after low, sublethal UV-B exposures trout larvae are quite proficient at photoenzymatic repair but that this capacity decreases exponentially with the total incident UV-B dose. The relationship between the dose dependence of PER and trout development and vulnerability in fisheries and in the natural environment are discussed.
PyvS: A Dominantly Acting Gene in C3H/BiDa Mice Conferring Susceptibility to Tumor Induction by Polyoma Virus

Abstract Results in a previous report established the presence of dominant genetic factor(s) in C3H/BiDa mice which contributed to the unusually high susceptibility of this strain to polyoma virus-induced tumors (Freund et al. (1992) Virology 191, 724-731). Here we show that C57BR/cdJ mice, while identical to C3H/BiDa at the H-2 locus, are almost completely lacking in susceptibility. Analysis of crosses between these two H-2 k strains has shown that susceptibility is due to a single dominant autosomal gene, designated Pyv S . On an H-2 k background, Pyv S acts in a highly penetrant manner to confer susceptibility to induction of a broad range of tumors by the virus. Analysis of F1 mice between C3H/BiDa and the highly resistant C57BL/6 (H-2 b ) strain shows that Pyv S can partially overcome the immunologically mediated resistance associated with an H-2 b haplotype. Pyv S does not encode cell receptors for the virus, nor does it affect levels of virus replication or anti-viral humoral responses in the host. Studies with early passage embryo fibroblasts in culture show that Pyv S does not affect intracellular events essential for either productive infection or cell transformation by the virus. Pyv S thus determines a generalized susceptibility of the host to polyoma-induced tumors but apparently does not act at the level of target cells for tumor induction.
Manifestations and treatment of human parvovirus B19 infection in immunocompromised patients

We diagnosed infections from human parvovirus B19 in three patients by using dot-blot hybrodization and a polymerase chain reaction to detect B19 DNA and using an enzyme immunoassay to detect IgG and IgM to B19. For 5 months a 5-year-old boy with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in remission had anemia without reticulocytes or bone marrow erythrocyte precursors. His serum lacked IgG and IgM to B19 but contained B19 DNA. He received gamma globulin intravenously (0.4 gm/kg/day for 5 days); his viremia promptly cleared and reticulocytosis developed. A 14-year-old boy with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in remission had fever, rash, neutropenia ( 3 ), and a hemophagocytic syndrome lasting 3 weeks. His serum contained IgM to B19 and B19 DNA. Without therapy, IgG to B19 developed; although low levels of B19 DNA persisted, the leukocyte count returned to normal. In a 19-year-old patient with systemic lupus erythrmatosus and hemolytic anemia, an aplastic crisis lasted 2 weeks. Her serum lacked IgG and IgM to B19 but contained B19 DNA. Without therapy, IgG and IgM to B19 appeared, viremia diminished, and reticulocytosis occurred. These patients illustrate the varied manifestations of chronic B19 infections, the importance of DNA detection for diagnosis, and the possible efficacy of gamma globulin therapy
Short-time beta grain growth kinetics for a conventional titanium alloy

The kinetics of beta grain growth during short-time, supertransus heat treatment of Ti-5Al-4V were determined using a salt-pot technique. The finite-time, subtransus temperature transient during salt-pot heating was quantified through measurements of the heat transfer coefficient characterizing conduction across the salt-titanium interface and a simple heat conduction analysis which incorporated this heat transfer coefficient. Grain size versus time data adjusted to account for the subtransus temperature transient were successfully fit to the parabolic grain growth law d{sup n} {minus} d{sub 0}{sup n} = kt exp({minus}Q/RT) using an exponent n equal to 2.0. Comparison of the present results to rapid, continuous heat treatment data in the literature for a similar titanium alloy revealed a number of semi-quantitative similarities.
Follicle-Restricted Compartmentalization of Transforming Growth Factor β Superfamily Ligands in the Feline Ovary

Abstract Ovarian follicular development, follicle selection, and the process of ovulation remain poorly understood in most species. Throughout reproductive life, follicle fate is balanced between growth and apoptosis. These opposing forces are controlled by numerous endocrine, paracrine, and autocrine factors, including the ligands represented by the transforming growth factor β (TGFβ) superfamily. TGFβ, activin, inhibin, bone morphometric protein (BMP), and growth differentiation factor 9 (GDF-9) are present in the ovary of many animals; however, no comprehensive analysis of the localization of each ligand or its receptors and intracellular signaling molecules during folliculogenesis has been done. The domestic cat is an ideal model for studying ovarian follicle dynamics due to an abundance of all follicle populations, including primordial stage, and the amount of readily available tissue following routine animal spaying. Additionally, knowledge of the factors involved in feline follicular development co...
Yolk formation by transplanted cockroach oocytes.

Intraspecific transplantation of ovaries in 18 species of cockroaches resulted in the initiation of yolk formation and oocyte growth rates similar to sham-operated controls. Host vitellogenins were sequestered by transplanted oocytes in concentrations equal to those observed in oocytes of unoperated cockroaches. Ovaries transplanted interspecifically sequestered host vitellogenins and grew to terminal stages only when donor and host were closely related. Yolk formation did not occur when ovaries were transplanted between species of different superfamilies or families, whereas several cases of successful ovary transplantations were observed between species of different subfamilies. Unsuccessful transplants either failed to take up host vitellogenins and did not increase in size or were encapsulated and degenerated.
Towards Practical Architectures for SRAM-Based Pipelined Lookup Engines

Lookup engines for various network protocols can be implemented as tree-like search structures. Mapping such search structures onto static random addressable memory (SRAM) -based pipeline architectures has been studied as a promising alternative to ternary content addressable memory (TCAM) for high performance lookup engines in next generation routers. Incremental update and memory balancing are identified as two of the major challenges for the SRAM-based pipelined solutions to be practical. Although these two challenges have been separately addressed in some previous work, whether they can be solved simultaneously remains a question. Most of the existing mapping schemes to achieve balanced memory distribution across pipeline stages are static, where the entire search structure needs to be re-mapped to the pipeline once the lookup table has been updated. This paper takes IP lookup as a case study and proposes the incremental mapping scheme to support incremental updates while preserving balanced memory distribution across stages in a linear pipeline. We discuss two variants of the scheme and evaluate their performance in terms of memory balancing and update cost. Furthermore, we optimize the scheme to enable interfacing with external SRAMs so that even larger routing table can be supported using a single chip with limited on-chip memory. Simulation using real-life routing tables validates our schemes. Prototype on a state-of-the-art field programmable gate array (FPGA) shows that our architecture can sustain 80 Gbps throughput for minimum size packets while supporting the currently largest routing table. We believe the proposed schemes can be applied to other SRAM-based pipelined lookup engines for various network protocols.
Molecular physiology: protecting the heart.

Abnormal enlargement of the heart muscle can be life-threatening. Unexpected insight into the underlying molecular mechanisms has come from investigating a gene that regulates cardiac calcium levels.
Interleukin-12 regulates natural killer cell-dependent Propionibacterium acnes-primed, lipopolysaccharide-induced liver injury.

AIM Interleukin (IL)-12, produced primarily by macrophage/monocytes, modulates mature T and natural killer (NK) cell functions, including cytotoxicity and cytokine production. METHODS To determine the role of IL-12 in Propionibacterium acnes (P. acnes)-primed, lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced liver injury, mice were injected with an anti-IL-12 monoclonal antibody (mAb) 1 and 2 days before P. acnes injection (day 0) or 5 and 6 days before LPS challenge (day 7). The survival rates, plasma cytokine levels, and liver mononuclear cell phenotypes were evaluated for the mice treated with and without anti-IL-12 mAb. RESULTS The observed mortality with P. acnes-primed, LPS-induced liver injury in C57BL/6 (B6) mice was 100%, but was reduced to 0% in interferon (IFN)-gamma receptor-deficient mice and B6 mice treated with anti-IL-12 mAb on 1 and 2 days before P. acnes exposure (day 0). The plasma IFN-gamma levels weresignificantly lower (P < 0.05), and significantly less ( approximately 90% reduction) hepatic infiltrating mononuclear and NK1.1 cells were also found in the IL-12 mAb-treated, P. acnes-primed mice. The plasma cytokine levels after LPS challenge and in vitro cytokine release by liver mononuclear cells were significantly lower (P < 0.05) in the mice treated with anti-IL-12 mAb prior to P. acnes exposure. The in vivo administration of anti-NK1.1 mAb also improved survival in this liver injury model. CONCLUSION IL-12-regulated IFN-gamma production is crucial during the priming phase by P. acnes, but not at the time of the subsequent LPS challenge. NK1.1(+)CD3(-)CD4(-) NK or NK1.1(+)CD3(+)CD4(-) NKT cells are important in this model of liver injury.
Middle ear pressure: Effects on the auditory periphery

The effects of direct variation in static middle ear pressure were studied in the acute guinea pig. Pressure differences of from −500 to +500 mm of H2O were examined. Pure tones were delivered to the test ear in a closed system and the sound pressure levels monitored with a condenser microphone and probe tube situated 2 mm from the tympanic membrane. The cochlear microphonic was recorded from a round window electrode. Both the relative impedance change and cochlear microphonic were noted at various middle ear pressure levels. The animals were perfused with Prussian blue and cochleas stained with osmic acid and prepared for histopathological study. It was found that negative pressure causes greater changes on impedance and transmission than positive pressure. Increase in positive pressure was found to cause a monotonic increase in input impedance and decrease in transmission. For negative pressures, the effect was nonmonotonic. Observed changes in transmission with both positive and negative pressures coul...
Variation in protein composition of the eye lens nucleus in ocean whitefish, Caulolatilus princeps.

Abstract 1. 1. Protein from the nucleus of the eye lens in ocean whitefish was analyzed by a modified method of cellulose acetate electrophoresis. Distilled water and physiological saline were used to extract the protein. 2. 2. Fifty fish were caught at Cedros Island, Baja California, and nine at the Coronados Islands, near southern California. Fish of both regions produced two protein patterns in common, while fish from Cedros Island produced two additional patterns. 3. 3. The uniformity of the patterns in fish living 500 miles apart clearly demonstrates the reliability of the electrophoretic method. The presence of extra protein patterns in fish from Cedros Island indicates that electrophoresis of nuclear lens protein can be used to identify separate breeding populations. 4. 4. This method (electrophoresis of nuclear lens protein) effectively identifies molecular differences that reflect genetic variation between individuals of the same species.
A bullous neutrophilic dermatosis in a patient with severe rheumatoid arthritis and monoclonal IgA gammopathy

A 35-year-old man presented with a 2-month history of itchy grouped vesiculobullae with crusted papules and confluent plaques, distributed symmetrically on the thighs, knees, and elbows. The man had experienced severe disabling seropositive rheumatoid arthritis for 18 years previously. Histologically, subepidermal vesicles were noted, and a dense, diffuse neutrophilic infiltration of the dermis. Direct immunofluorescence studies did not detect IgA deposits. The patient responded well to dapsone (100 mg/d) but not to systemic steroids. This patient's eruption might have been an unusual manifestation of rheumatoid neutrophilic dermatitis.
Rap-music Attitude and Perception Scale: A Validation Study:

Objective: This study tests the validity of the Rap-music Attitude and Perception (RAP) Scale, a 1-page, 24-item measure of a person’s thoughts and feelings surrounding the effects and content of r...
Endorectal pull-through procedure for Hirschsprung's disease with and without primary anastomosis

Abstract The advantages of the endorectal pull-through procedure with primary anastomosis are: (1.) The absence of any pelvic dissection; (2.) the presence of normal propulsive colon right down to the anus; (3.) the preservation of the rectal muscular cuff and its sensory receptors; (4.) few, if any, anastomotic problems; (5.) the preservation of all sphincters and (6.) simple postoperative care. Although more time and experience are required to evaluate the procedure, we believe that its relative ease of performance, inherent safety, and physiologic soundness may make it the operation of choice for Hirschsprung's disease.
Copper-based Conductive Polymers: A New Concept in Conductive Resins

Abstract The history of making plastic materials conductive to both electric currents and to the transfer of thermal energy has traditionally been accomplished by the addition of metallic particles into a resin matrix. Principally, such metals as aluminum, silver, gold, nickel and copper have been used. Copper has had a limited success due to its tendency to form a non-conductive oxide surface layer and currently such adhesives depend primarily on silver for high conductivity. An intense research effort to eliminate the problems associated with copper-filled conductive polymers resulted in a treatment and preparation of copper flake that allows the stable formation of a conductive structure within a polymer matrix. Once the activated copper particles are in the resin, the formulation is stable. Most of the resins evaluated have been epoxy resins although certain thermoplastic resins have also been made conductive. Volume resistivities as low as 10−5 ohm-cm have been achieved.
Enzymatic deamidation of the C-terminal tetrapeptide amide of gastrin by mammalian tissues☆

Abstract As the initial phase of a study of mammalian catabolism of the peptide hormone gastrin, we demonstrated in rat tissues the presence of an enzymatic activity catalyzing deamidation of the phenylalanine amide of the biologically active C-terminal tetrapeptide amide fragment of gastrin (Try-Met-Asp-Phe-NH2) to produce the biologically inactive tetrapeptide free acid. Because an interfering aminopeptidase that acts on the C-terminal tetrapeptide amide was widespread in rat tissues, N-acylated BOC-tetrapeptide amide was used as the substrate for studying the amidase activity. Identification of BOC-tetrapeptide free acid as a product of the amidase reaction was achieved by thin-layer chromatography and by demonstrating that the reaction product was a substrate for carboxypeptidase A, which catalyzes liberation of phenylalanine from BOC-tetrapeptide free acid but not from BOC-tetrapeptide amide. A quantitative assay was developed to measure the generation of BOC-tetrapeptide free acid; this product and ammonia were shown to be produced in equivalent amounts during the reaction. The enzyme activity was concentrated in the microsomal cell fraction. The pH optimum for the reaction was found to be approximately 6.7. Liver was found to be a rich source of the amidase activity in the rat and this activity was also demonstrated to be present in small intestinal mucosa and several other tissues of the rat and of other mammalian species. Another enzymatic activity, most abundant in rat kidney, was found to catalyze hydrolysis of the peptide bond between methionine and aspartic acid of BOC-tetrapeptide amide. The amidase activity and the peptidase activity identified in the kidney may contribute to the inactivation of gastrin or of its biologically active degradation products in vivo.
2010 Research Consortium Graduate Student Award Winners

Abstract This abstract will be among those presented in the Research Consortium Poster Social scheduled for Wednesday, March 17, 4:30–6:00 p.m.
Development of large high-voltage pressure insulators for the princeton TFTR flexible transmission lines

Specially formulated insulator materials with improved strength and high-voltage properties were developed and used for critical components of the flexible transmission lines to the TFTR neutral beam ion sources. These critical components are plates which support central conductors as they exit the high-voltage power supply and enter the ion source enclosure. Each plate acts both as a high-voltage insulator and as a pressure barrier to the SF 6 insulating gas. The original plate was made of commercial glass-epoxy laminate which limited the plate voltage capacity. The newly developed insulator is made of specially-formulated cycloalphatic di-epoxide whose isotropic properties exhibit increased are resistance. It is cast in one piece with skirts which greatly increase the breakdown voltage. This paper discusses the design, fabrication and testing of the new insulator.
The Protection of Solid Insulation by Lightning Arresters

Introduction THE protection of distribution transformers or other apparatus against lightning involves the basic problem of limiting the voltage applied to the insulation to a value adequately below the insulation strength. The effect on insulation of chopped waves and full waves of standard impulse wave shapes such as 1.5×40 microseconds has been thoroughly investigated in the past. However, there has been a lack of the information necessary to compare the effect of chopped waves with the effect of voltages of other than standard wave shape resulting from arrester breakdown followed by the impedance drop that occurs during the impulse current discharge. Also there have been little data available on the failure of low voltage insulation. For these reasons an investigation has been made using oil immersed solid insulation of a type used in distribution transformers. The puncture voltage and number of shots to failure were determined when the insulation was in parallel with lightning arresters or gaps which controlled the wave shape of the voltage applied to the insulation. These results have been correlated with the single shot puncture voltage determined from tests in which failure occurred on the wave front. It was found that repeated applications of voltages in excess of approximately 70 per cent of the single shot puncture voltage may damage the insulation.