cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
INDUCED ANEUPLOIDY IN CLARKIA UNGUICULATA (ONAGRACEAE)

INDIVIDUALS IN wild populations of Clarkia unguiculata may have up to six chromosomes in addition to the basic diploid number of 18 (as C. elegants, Lewis, 1951). These additional chromosomes apparently represent duplications of part of the basic genome, and are perhaps repeatedly produced by certain structural heterogyzotes (Lewis, 1951, 1954). These naturally occurring supernumerary chromosomes have no known effect on the phenotype (Lewis, 1951). Nevertheless, species formation in the genus Clarkia has often been accompanied by the addition of whole chromosomes to the basic genome (Lewis, 1953), but in these instances, the addition of a chromosome is associated with morphological differences, differences in habitat preference, and barriers to gene exchange.
The effect of motor activity on the onset and progression of brachial plexus block with bupivacaine: a randomized prospective study in patients undergoing arthroscopic shoulder surgery.

BACKGROUND: A decreased latency of onset of neural blockade has been noted when muscular exercise of the hand was performed after supraclavicular brachial plexus block using lidocaine. In this observational study, we examined the effect of repetitive muscle contraction of the hand on the speed of onset of interscalene brachial plexus block (ISB) using bupivacaine. METHODS: Forty patients were enrolled, all of whom received an ISB as one component of their anesthetic management for elective arthroscopic shoulder surgery. Patients were asked either to rest their arms after the performance of the ISB (nonexercise group) or to perform a repetitive hand exercise for 5 min (exercise group). Bilateral hand grip strength and tolerance to transcutaneous electrical stimulation were used to quantify the degree of motor and sensory blockade. RESULTS: Patients in the exercise group had a statistically significant lower tolerance to transcutaneous electrical stimulation 20 min after completion of the block (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Our results imply that attempting to use a frequency-dependent conduction block with repetitive motor activity as a clinical adjuvant to brachial plexus block with bupivacaine is without merit.
OFf: bugspray for openflow

The increasing complexity of software-defined (SDN) applications requires comprehensive methods and tools for debugging and analyzing program and network behavior. A key challenge in SDN application development is that programs can interact with network devices and configurations in unexpected ways, depending on traffic and application mix. In this paper, we describe OFf, a debugging and test environment for SDN program development. OFf leverages the fs-sdn simulator, which was designed to offer simple-to-use, accurate, and scalable evaluation of OpenFlow-based SDN applications. OFf offers a variety of commonly available debugging features such as stepping, breakpoints, watchpoints, and inspection and modification of program state. It also offers SDN-specific capabilities that facilitate network behavior analysis including packet tracing and replay, visualization features, and alerts that are triggered when, for example, configurations change.
Some future directions for metal hydride surface studies: Electrons as probes of hydrogen

Abstract The current and possible future uses of electrons to detect hydrogen in metal hydride surfaces are reviewed. The available surface techniques, their sensitivity to hydrogen and the effects of electron beam damage are briefly evaluated. To underscore the utility of these “electron-only” techniques to study hydrides, the Auger electron and energy loss spectroscopic results for titanium hydride are given in some detail. As an example of the use of weak electron beam probing methods, tritium imaging, a newly developed technique for the positional detection of tritium, is described. Based on the current limited use of electron beams to probe hydride surfaces on the one hand and the variety of available techniques on the other, a widespread future application of electron beam techniques to study metal hydrides can be expected.
Gender Verification: A Term Whose Time has Come and Gone

The process of testing to determine gender in putatively female athletes was developed in order to prevent cheating, but has devolved instead into a clumsy mechanism for detecting disorders of sexual development (DSD’s). In over thirty years of compulsory testing, individuals with DSD’s have been stigmatized and some have been denied the right to compete, although frequently their condition provided no competitive advantage. More recent guidelines require testing only on a case-by-case basis; the South African runner Caster Semenya was the first major test of this policy, and her experience points to the need for a more sensitive and confidential process. In addition, her case dramatizes the inadequacy of the term “gender verification.” Gender identity is a complex entity and resists simple classification. Sports authorities may set guidelines for who can compete, but they should refrain from taking on themselves the authority to decide who is and who is not a female.
Tsr Formation as a Discourse Substratum in Hawaii Creole English

Hawaii Creole English presents a particular type of utterance structure, the "dollar utterance," which might be regarded as ill-formed in terms of the form-meaning coalition in Standard English (SE). Nonetheless, such an utterance seems to reflect an underlying discourse process in which three discourse representations — Theme, Scheme, Rheme — interact. An analysis is given within the framework of Schema theory to explain this unique linguistic phenomenon in Hawaii Creole English. The scheme, which is the most important entity of the three, resides either in the preceding text or in the abstract knowledge structure of human cognition. It is further claimed that the formation of Theme, Scheme, Rheme could have been transferred from Japanese as one of its substratum features in discourse. The probability of Japanese substratal influence is highly supportable from both linguistic and sociohistorical evidence.
Processing of text containing artificial inclusion relations.

The present studies were based on the hypothesis that the majority of college students have available to them the appropriate schema for understanding set inclusion relations, but that various factors influence the likelihood that the schema is used in the processing of text containing artificial inclusion relations. Although group data did not support this hypothesis, the data of individual subjects could be readily interpreted as resulting from the selection of one of a small set of representational schemata. Among the factors shown to influence schema selection were the choice of sentence frame used to present each relation, the presence or absence of real-world contextual information, and the structure (simple vs. complex) of the underlying inclusion relation. In addition, one experiment showed that the processes used in constructing a mental representation of an inclusion relation and in retrieving information from the representation are similar to those used with linear orderings.
Using Authentic Cultural Materials to Teach Reading in Chinese

The usage of authentic texts to develop cultural understanding extends to at least three types of culture—functional, informational and achievement. Even seemingly survival (functional) oriented texts such as transportation time schedules embody a great deal of informational culture. The present project describes how to utilize two timetables (one boat, one train) from the People's Republic of China to enhance students' understanding of elements of the informational culture on the mainland, as well as their performative ability with respect to the functional culture. Specifics of both pre-reading and reading activities are provided, as well as a suggestion for a post-reading activity which may serve as an effective language game either within or outside of the formal language classroom.
The implementation and application of a protocol aware architecture

System On a Chip and other highly integrated mixed signal devices have exploded in design and function complexity. New device designs exhibit non-determinism in timing, phase and data; functional blocks without a coherent shared time base; and the integration of many differing protocols and external busses. Traditional semiconductor ATE addresses these challenges with stored stimulus and response vectors and pre-planned timing, greatly increasing the difficulty of debug, lowering development productivity and reducing test coverage. The challenge is further extended by multi-site and concurrent test. Recent ideas in the development of protocol aware test methods and architectures promise to meet these challenges and introduce a new paradigm for test development. This paper will present an implementation of these ideas in a new digital channel architecture and demonstrate their application in a complete mixed signal SOC semiconductor ATE design.
Non-appetitive passive avoidance in rats with septal lesions.

Abstract Rats with lesions of the septum were compared with normal rats in the acquisition of two types of non-appetitive passive avoidance tasks in order to investigate the role of approach training in the production of passive avoidance deficits in rats with septal lesions. Rats with septal damage exhibited passive avoidance deficits both immediately and 24 hr after shock treatment. The results are discussed in terms of deficits in fear conditioning following septal lesions.
Affective, Cognitive, and Behavioral Dimensions of Communicative Attitudes

Affective, Cognitive, and Behavioral dimensions have been hypothesized to be separate manifestations of a common mediating process that makes up the total attitude structure. This hypothesis was tested for attitudes about communication, showing that the affective dimension is strongly related to the behavioral but that the tests that are usually used as measures of these dimensions may not be as sensitive as they should be.
Plumbagin, a plant derived natural agent inhibits the growth of pancreatic cancer cells in in vitro and in vivo via targeting EGFR, Stat3 and NF-κB signaling pathways

Pancreatic cancer (PC) is the most aggressive malignant disease, ranks as the fourth most leading cause of cancer-related death among men and women in the United States. We present here that plumbagin (PL), a quinoid constituent isolated from the roots of the medicinal plant Plumbago zeylanica L, inhibits the growth of PC cells both in vitro and in vivo model systems. PL treatment induces apoptosis and inhibits cell viability of PC cells (PANC1, BxPC3 and ASPC1). In addition, i.p. administration of PL (2 mg/kg body weight, 5 days a week) in severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) mice beginning 3 days after ectopic implantation of PANC1 cells resulted in a significant (P < 0.01) inhibition of both tumor weight and volume. PL treatment inhibited (1) constitutive expression of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), pStat3Tyr705 and pStat3Ser727, (2) DNA binding of Stat3 and (3) physical interaction of EGFR with Stat3, in both cultured PANC1 cells and their xenograft tumors. PL treatment also inhibited phosphorylation and DNA-binding activity of NF-κB in both cultured PC cells (PANC1 and ASPC1) and in PANC1 cells xenograft tumors. Downstream target genes (cyclin D1, MMP9 and Survivin) of Stat3 and NF-κB were similarly inhibited. These results suggest that PL may be used as a novel therapeutic agent against human PC. Published 2012 Wiley-Liss, Inc. This article is a US Government work, and, as such, is in the public domain in the United States of America.
Sustained release of lysozyme from zein microcapsules produced by a supercritical anti-solvent process

Delivery systems with sustained release of antimicrobials are possible solutions to minimize the binding between antimicrobials and food matrices, thereby enhancing the efficacy of antimicrobials during shelf-lives of foods. In this work, GRAS (generally recognized as safe) corn zein was used as a carrier material and 90% aqueous ethanol was used as a solvent to microencapsulate GRAS hen egg white lysozyme using a supercritical anti-solvent (SAS) process. The microcapsules showed a continuous matrix with internal voids. The release of lysozyme was observed over 36 days at room temperature, with slower release at a higher pH between 2 and 8. At pH 4, release kinetics was further slowed by the addition of sodium chloride. Stronger molecular attraction between lysozyme and carrier zein was attributed to slower release at a higher pH and a higher ionic strength at the same pH. Our work demonstrated that SAS may be a feasible process to manufacture GRAS delivery systems to enhance antimicrobial efficacy.
Failure of Secretin or Duodenal Acidification to Inhibit Ethanol-Induced HCl Secretion by Heidenhain Pouches.∗:

ConclusionNeither secretin (Vitrum) nor acidification of the duodenum is an effective inhibitor of the gastric secretory response of Heidenhain pouches in dogs to ethanol given intragastrically.
Getting More From the Missionary/Cannibal Problem

The missionary/cannibal type of problem is a pedagogical tour‐de‐force for the discrete mathematics course. In its standard form involving two missionaries and two cannibals, the problem is modeled by an automaton having a bipartite state graph. Solutions can be obtained by visualization of the graph or by use of Dijkstra's shortest path algorithm. The number of distinct solutions can be obtained by examining the powers of the adjacency matrix. It is instructive to show the student that the problem does not scale‐up, that is there are no solutions when there are more than three missionaries and cannibals. The problem is particularly beneficial in convincing the student that existence theorems and the proper application of inductive principles are important.
Linear multistep methods for the numerical solution of volterra functional differential equations

In this paper the Dahlquist Henrici characterization of convergent methods for ordinary differential equations is extended to Volterra functional differential equations. This result is then used to show that every convergent linear multistep method for ordinary differential equations can be extended to a convergent method for Volterra functional differential equations.
Debilitating Public Deliberation: Ronald Reagan's Use of the Conversation Metaphor

On August 5, 1980, Ronald Reagan spoke to the National Urban League as a political candidate and used a conversation metaphor to structure his speech. However, while Reagan masterfully built common ground and framed the media's interpretation of the event, I critique the temptation to laud this trope, with its emphasis on relational concerns, informal participative structures over clearly outlined policy discussions, and more conversation over clear methods for accountability and issue resolution, as the ideal means for minority members to deliberate. Specifically, I argue that although the norms of public deliberation guided by Reagan's conversation metaphor privileged sincere motives, consensus, and polite rules of engagement, a never-ending dialogue often limits instead of widens participation to those struggling to find a means to gain political voice that influences policy formation.
Commentary: “Re-Programming or Selecting Adult Stem Cells?”

The recent observations that embryonic stemness-associated genes could assist in the “de-differentiation” of adult skin fibroblast cells to “embryonic-like stem cells”, using the “somatic cell nuclear transfer” techniques, have been interpreted as indicating a “re-programming” of genes. These reports have demonstrated a “proof of principle” approach to by-pass many, but not all, of the ethical, scientific and medical limitations of the “therapeutic cloning” of embryonic stem cells from embryos. However, while the interpretation that real “re-programming” of all those somatic fibroblastic differentiation genes might be correct, there does exists an alternative hypothesis of these exciting results. Based on the fact that multipotent adult stem cells exist in most, if not all, adult organs, the possibility exists that all these recent “re-programming” results, using the somatic nuclear transfer techniques, actually were the results of transferred rare nuclear material from the adult stem cells residing in the skin of the mouse, monkey and human samples. An examination of the rationale for this challenging hypothesis has been drawn from the hypothesis of the “stem cell theory of cancer”, as well as from the field of human adult stem cells research.
Nucleon-nucleon partial-wave analysis to 1.6 GeV.

An energy-dependent analysis and set of energy-independent analyses are presented for the nucleon-nucleon elastic-scattering data below 1.6 GeV. The database from which the energy-dependent and 25 $pp(18 np)$ single-energy solutions are obtained consists of 11 880 $\mathrm{pp}$ and 7572 $\mathrm{np}$ data. A resonancelike structure is found to occur in the $^{1}D_{2}$, $^{3}F_{3}$, and $^{3}P_{2}\ensuremath{-}^{3}F_{2}$ partial waves; this behavior is associated with poles in the complex energy plane. The pole positions and residues are obtained through analytic continuation of the "production" piece of the $T$ matrix obtained in the energy-dependent solution.
Quality of life and clinical severity in pathological skin picking and trichotillomania

Pathological skin picking (PSP) and trichotillomania (TTM) are disorders characterized by distress and impaired functioning. This study sought to compare quality of life for individuals with PSP or TTM. PSP or TTM subjects completed the quality of life inventory and valid and reliable measures of clinical severity. Analyses included group comparisons of PSP, TTM and healthy controls, and within-group comparisons. 59 subjects with PSP (mean age 33.4±12.8; 88.1% female), 70 with TTM (mean age 34.8±12.0; 88.6% female), and 25 healthy controls (mean age 31.3±10.1; 80% female) were included. PSP subjects reported more psychosocial impairment compared to TTM subjects (p=0.013). Both PSP and TTM subjects had lower quality of life scores compared to healthy controls. Quality of life was not associated with symptom severity. Larger studies should examine further the impact PSP and TTM have on quality of life as well as the role quality of life itself plays in the severity and duration of illness.
Towards a Quality Model for Effective Data Selection in Collaboratories

Data-driven scientific applications utilize workflow frameworks to execute complex dataflows, resulting in derived data products of unknown quality. We discuss our on-going research on a quality model that provides users with an integrated estimate of the data quality that is tuned to their application needs and is available as a numerical quality score that enables uniform comparison of datasets, providing a way for the community to trust derived data.
Interference of redroot pigweed (Amaranthus retroflexus) with snap beans

Abstract Snap beans are a common processing vegetable whose yield and quality can be reduced when a few weeds emerge with or soon after the crop. The effect of redroot pigweed's emergence time and density on snap bean growth and yield was studied. Redroot pigweed, at four densities, was seeded with snap beans (early) or at the first trifoliate leaf stage (late). In 1998 the yield loss at 8 redroot pigweed plants m−1 row was 42 and 58%, whereas in 1999 it was 39 and 48% for late- and early-planted redroot pigweed, respectively. The effect of redroot pigweed density on snap bean yield loss was predicted with the hyperbolic yield equation. Coefficient A (percent yield loss as weed density approaches infinity), determined from the hyperbolic equation, varied from 47 to 63% and coefficient I (percent yield loss as weed density approaches zero) varied from 10 to 32% depending on the year and time of weed emergence, with the greater values for early-emerging redroot pigweed. Snap bean pod number and biomass were...
Sedimentary features, occurrence, and cyclicity of microbialite facies in the Roubidoux and Jefferson City Formations of Missouri and Kansas

Outcrop studies of sedimentary and stratigraphic features of microbial buildups are important in developing conceptual models for exploration of potential microbialite reservoirs. This study examines the occurrence and distribution of Lower Ordovician microbial fabrics in central Missouri and Kansas. The units studied include the Roubidoux, Jefferson City, and Cotter Formations of the Arbuckle Group. To determine the depositional environments suitable for microbialite development, micro-, meso-, and macroscale features were examined, and their stratigraphic relationships were established to the surrounding lithofacies. Microscopic-scale analysis reveals heavy dolomitization of strata; however, remnant depositional features provide vital clues about the microbialite development. The occurrence of microbial structures is placed within a cycle stratigraphic framework. The microbialites occurred within cyclical shallow-marine deposits and are grouped into three cycle types. Type 1 deposits include subtidal mudstones to packstones that grade into intertidal stromatolites. Type 2 deposits are composed of subtidal mudstones and packstones with thrombolite fabrics that grade into supratidal facies. Type 3 deposits include intertidal or supratidal facies that grade into supratidal facies.
Serum aminotransferase changes with significant weight loss: sex and age effects

In obese subjects, the liver may be differentially affected by significant weight loss depending on as yet unknown factors. We explored clinical factors associated with serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) changes during significant weight loss in a residential weight loss program. Clinical data from 362 adults who received a comprehensive weight loss intervention (ie, diets, physical fitness, and behavioral modification) in the program were analyzed. Serum ALT was used as a surrogate marker of liver injury. The ALT changes during the program were calculated to create study outcome categories (improvement, no change, or deterioration of ALT during significant weight loss). Variables of demography, lifestyle, and comorbidities at baseline, and total/rate of weight change during the program were explored for associations with the ALT change categories using multiple logistic regression models. Variation by sex was apparent among predictors of ALT deterioration; men with rapid weight loss and women with higher initial body mass index were more likely to experience ALT deterioration, whereas men with prior alcohol consumption were less likely to experience ALT deterioration even after adjusting for baseline ALT (Ps < .03). Variation by age was apparent among predictors of ALT improvement; younger patients with current smoking and older patients with rapid weight loss, diabetes or impaired fasting glucose, or sleep apnea or who followed a reduced-carbohydrate diet were less likely to experience ALT improvement (Ps < .05). A number of clinical factors influence ALT changes during weight loss in sex- and age-specific manners. The patterns that we detected may have pathophysiologic significance beyond the practical implications of our findings in clinical practice related to underlying changes in fat metabolism.
Correcting broken characters in the recognition of historical printed documents

This paper presents a new technique for dealing with broken characters, one of the major challenges in the optical character recognition (OCR) of degraded historical printed documents. A technique based on graph combinatorics is used to rejoin the appropriate connected components. It has been applied to real data with successful results.
APBC 2010. The Eighth Asia Pacific Bioinformatics Conference Bangalore, India, 18-21 January 2010

The first Asia Pacific Bioinformatics Conference was held in 2003 in Adelaide, Australia, and has been an annual event ever since. While the locations of the previous conferences have been in the Pacific Rim, this is the first time that APBC is being held in South Asia. India is not just an emerging economy but also a burgeoning center for biotechnology and related sciences. This ISCB affiliated event was well publicized through the web, various related mailing lists and carefully targeted poster displays. We received a healthy number of submissions from 31 countries: Netherlands, Denmark, Chile, Sweden, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Portugal, Philippines, Malaysia, France, Ireland, Iran, New Zealand, United Arab Emirates, Norway, Israel, United Kingdom, Italy, Switzerland, Australia, Singapore, Japan, Republic of Korea, Germany, Bangladesh, Canada, Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, United States and India. We are happy to observe that the participation covers all continents, with the exception of Africa. While the list here has been compiled using the location of the affiliated institutes, we are certain that the authors themselves represent a wider geography than this. We received 231 submissions, about forty percent more than we expected (and surpassing each of the numbers in the previous editions of APBC). We have deliberately used a very flexible definition of "bioinformatics", as it is a continually evolving field, to define the scope of the conference. The diverse composition of the program committee (see Additional file 1) was well equipped to handle the challenge of the broad spectrum of topics covered under the large, versatile umbrella of bioinformatics and computational biology. This is reflected in the following categorization of the subject matter: (1) Patterns and Motifs, (2) Gene Regulation, (3) Interactomics, (4) Functional Genomics, (5) Genomics & Metagenomics, (6) Proteomics, (7) Disease Studies, (8) Association Studies, (9) Comparative Genomics, (10) Structural Genomics and (11) Phylogeny. The program committee, working in all time-zones, did an excellent job, burning the midnight oil when required. We targeted about three independent reviews for each of the submissions. We received four reviews for 1 paper, two reviews for 49 papers and three reviews for each of the remaining. None of the papers with two reviews were close-calls. At the end of the day, we made the difficult decision of selecting 67 papers for oral presentation at the conference and publication in BMC Bioinformatics. We are cognizant of the fact that due to the typical constraints of a conference setting many worthy submissions did not make it to this short list. Judging by the diversity of the topics as well as the reviews, we have decided deliberately not to indulge in 'best paper' assignments. We are very grateful to the program committee members who invested a significant amount of time and energy, in spite of their busy schedules, to carry out their tasks in an objective and timely manner.
An impulsive source with variable output and stable bandwidth for underwater acoustic experiments

The Combustive Sound Source (CSS) is being developed as an environmentally friendly source to be used in ocean acoustics research and surveys. It has the ability to maintain the same wide bandwidth signal over a 20 dB drop in source level. The CSS consists of a submersible combustion chamber filled with a fuel/oxidizer mixture. The mixture is ignited and the ensuing combustion and bubble activity radiates an impulsive, thus broadband, acoustic pulse. The ability to control pulse amplitude while maintaining bandwidth is demonstrated.
Gas Exchange, MRS and NIRS Assessment of Metabolic Transients in Skeletal Muscle

I.T.B.A.—National Research Council, Via F.lli Cervi 93, I-20090 Segrate (MI), Italy SYNOPSIS. The study of the kinetics of O2 consumption (VO2) at the onset and offset of constant-load submaximal exercise (VO2 on- and off-kinetics) is useful from a practical point of view (a faster adjustment of oxidative metabolism follow- ing an increased metabolic demand reduces the need for substrate level phosphor- ylation, with implications on exercise tolerance and muscle fatigue) and can give valuable insights into the regulation of oxidative metabolism in skeletal muscle. Measurements have been carried out both in man and in animals, at the tissue and at the whole body level. At the tissue level, the VO2 on- and off-kinetics were determined: a) Directly, by dynamic solution of the Fick equation throughout the transients; attempts were also made to obtain similar informations by near-infra- red spectroscopy. b) Indirectly, from the kinetics of phosphocreatine hydrolysis and resynthesis, by chemical methods or by 31 P magnetic resonance spectroscopy. At the whole body level, VO2 on- and off-kinetics are determined from breath-by- breath measurements of pulmonary gas exchange. The VO2 5 f(t) function is a complex one, particularly during the on-transient. The so-called ''phase 2'' of the VO2 on-response, as well as the VO2 off-response, yield relevant metabolic infor- mations. In muscle the VO2 on- and off-kinetics are characterized by half-times (t‰) of 15-20 sec. At the whole-body level, t‰ of the VO2 on-kinetics show a wider variability, related to the experimental protocol and to other factors. The VO2 off- phase is more constant, and its kinetic parameters appear closer to those obtained at the tissue level. The study of the VO2 kinetics is valuable for a functional eval- uation of skeletal muscle oxidative metabolism. In ordinary conditions muscle VO2 kinetics appears mainly imposed by intrinsic (metabolic) rather than extrinsic (O 2 delivery) factors.
Time-dependent changes in the brain arachidonic acid cascade during cuprizone-induced demyelination and remyelination

Phospholipases A(2) (PLA(2)) are the enzymatic keys for the activation of the arachidonic acid (AA) cascade and the subsequent synthesis of pro-inflammatory prostanoids (prostaglandins and tromboxanes). Prostanoids play critical roles in the initiation and modulation of inflammation and their levels have been reported increased in several neurological and neurodegenerative disorders, including multiple sclerosis (MS). Here, we aimed to determine whether brain expression PLA(2) enzymes and the terminal prostagland in levels are changed during cuprizone-induced demyelination and in the subsequent remyelination phase. Mice were given the neurotoxicant cuprizone through the diet for six weeks to induce brain demyelination. Then, cuprizone was withdrawn and mice were returned to a normal diet for 6 weeks to allow spontaneous remyelination. We found that after 4-6 weeks of cuprizone, sPLA(2)(V) and cPLA(2), but not iPLA(2)(VI), gene expression was upregulated in the cortex, concomitant with an increase in the expression of astrocyte and microglia markers. Cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 gene expression was consistently upregulated during all the demyelination period, whereas COX-1 sporadically increased only at week 5 of cuprizone exposure. However, we found that at the protein level only sPLA(2)(V) and COX-1 were elevated during demyelination, with COX-1 selectively expressed by activated and infiltrated microglia/macrophages and astrocytes. Levels of PGE(2), PGD(2), PGI(2) and TXB(2) were also increased during demyelination. During remyelination, none of the PLA(2) isoforms was significantly changed, whereas COX-1 and -2 were sporadically upregulated only at the gene expression level. PGE(2), PGI(2) and PGD(2) levels returned to normal, whereas TXB(2) was still upregulated after 3 weeks of cuprizone withdrawal. Our study characterizes for the first time time-dependent changes in the AA metabolic pathway during cuprizone-induced demyelination and the subsequent remyelination and suggests that sPLA(2)(V) is the major isoform contributing to AA release.
Vitamin A Depletion Is Associated with Low Phosphoenolpyruvate Carboxykinase mRNA Levels during Late Fetal Development and at Birth in Mice

Expression of the phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) gene is repressed during fetal liver development and activated at birth. It has been shown that the PEPCK gene is a retinoid-responsive gene, but whether it is regulated by vitamin A in the fetus has not been established. In this study, we found that PEPCK mRNA can be detected in the murine fetal liver as early as gestational d 17. In addition, expression and cAMP induction of the PEPCK gene during late gestation and at birth require vitamin A sufficiency in the fetus and neonate. The PEPCK promoter contains several regulatory elements that bind a diverse array of transcription factors and nuclear coregulators, although it is largely unknown which of these factors are expressed early in liver development. Expression of some of these nuclear factors in livers of fetal mice was investigated by immunohistochemistry (IHC). Fetuses were from dams that were fed from the beginning of gestation diets that were adequate or devoid of vitamin A. Hepatocyte nuclear factor 4alpha (HNF4alpha) was expressed at the earliest stage of liver development on d 11, whereas retinoid X receptor alpha (RXRalpha) and nuclear coactivator CREB-binding protein (CBP) were expressed from d 16 onward. Although expressions of RXRalpha and CBP in livers of vitamin A-sufficient and vitamin A-depleted fetal mice did not differ, the level of HNF4alpha was consistently lower in the latter. Our findings strongly suggest that vitamin A is required during liver development for staged expression of the PEPCK gene and that HNF4alpha may be involved in mediating vitamin A regulation of the PEPCK gene at these critical periods.
Pathology of Infectious Diarrhea of Infant Rats (IDIR) Induced by an Antigenically Distinct Rotavirus

Suckling rats were inoculated with a group B rotavirus to determine the progression of the mor- phologic changes induced in the intestine by this virus. Several changes were observed by light microscopy 1 day after viral inoculation: shortening of small intestinal villi, villous epithelial necrosis, and villous epithelial syncytia. The lesions were most often present in the distal small intestine, although other small intestinal segments were affected to a lesser degree. By day 3 post-inoculation, epithelial necrosis, and syncytia were no longer present; however, the villous epithelium was disorganized and irregularly vacuolated, and intestinal crypt epithelium was hyperplastic. Alterations in villous height to crypt depth ratios were present in portions of the small intestine for the remainder of the 12-day study period. Epithelial syncytia appeared to form by the breakdown of the lateral interdigitating membranes of the absorptive villous epithelium. Viral particles, abundant in the syncytia, appeared to form from amorphous or reticular arrays of viral precursor material. Group B rotaviral antigens, as detected by indirect immunofluorescence, were present in large amounts in the small intestinal villous epithelium only on the first day after viral inoculation. These studies show that two important diagnostic features of group B rotaviral infections of rats, epithelial syncytia and viral antigen as determined by immunofluorescence, are present only on the first day of disease. These findings should be taken into consideration when attempting to diagnose disease induced by this agent. ~,~~~~~
Effects of a School-Based Mentoring Program on School Behavior and Measures of Adolescent Connectedness.

In an effort to increase students’ success, schools and communities have be gun to develop school-based mentoring programs (SBMP) to foster positive outcomes for children and adolescents. However, experts have called for more research into the effectiveness of these efforts for students across grade levels. Therefore, this study was designed to examine the impact of participation in a SBMP on behavioral and social outcomes for sixth through tenth grade students. Analyses revealed that compared to control students, SBMP participants had significantly fewer unexcused absences (with moderate effect size) and dis cipline referrals (with large effect size) and reported significantly higher scores on four measures of connectedness (with moderate to negligible effect sizes). First year participants also reported significantly higher scores on one measure of connectedness (with a large effect size). Implications for practice and sugges tions for further research are provided.
A collaboration specification language

COCA (Collaborative Objects Coordination Architecture) was proposed as a novel means to model and support collaborations over the Internet. Our approach separates coordination policies from user interfaces and the policies are specified in a logic-based language. Over the past year, both the collaboration model and the specification language have been substantially refined and evaluated through our experience in building real-life collaboration systems. This paper presents the design of the specification language and illustrates the main ideas with a few simple design examples. Semantics, implementation, runtime support, and applications are also covered but not as the focus of this paper.
Testing the structure of weak neutral currents by inelastic neutrino scattering from nuclei

Abstract By using selected nuclear transitions specific pieces of the weak neutral current may be greatly enhanced, leading to widely different results for different models of the weak neutral current. Predictions for low-energy inelastic neutrino scattering from 12C are examined within the framework of a variety of SU(2)W × U(1) gauge theory models.
Refuge availability: a key to understanding the summer disappearance of Daphnia

SUMMARY. 1. The mid-summer declines of Daphnia species in three small lakes were investigated to examine the relative roles of reduced natality and increased mortality. Reduced natality (assessed by quantifying clutch size, lipid index, and available food) could not account for the decline in daphnid abundance in any of the populations examined. 2. The role of increased mortality imposed by zooplanktivorous fish was assessed by estimating the sizes of the mid-water refuge areas where daphnids could escape fish predation. The boundaries of the refuge areas were estimated from field measurements and literature values and were based on gradients of temperature, dissolved oxygen and light. Observed decreases in refuge thicknesses correlated well with the mid-summer declines of large-bodied Daphnia species in all three lakes. Intermediatesized daphnids were less affected as the refuges thinned and small-bodied species increased in abundance. 3. The importance of refuge thickness in modifying zooplanktivore-induced mortality was further tested in large enclosures where refuge thickness was experimentally modified. In the presence of zooplanktivorous fish, large-bodied Daphnia, which used the refuge, persisted when the refuge was thick but disappeared when it thinned. Daphnia galeata mendotae, which did not occupy the refuge zone, was rapidly eliminated regardless of refuge thickness. We conclude that refuge availability plays a major role in Daphnia population dynamics.
Regulation of phospholipid asymmetry in the erythrocyte membrane.

Purpose of reviewAlterations in the transbilayer distribution of phospholipids in the erythrocyte membrane have significant physiologic consequences. Understanding the cause of these perturbations and the molecular mechanisms by which they are regulated is essential for ameliorating some of the cons
Full digital control of a single-phase series-parallel uninterruptible power supply

In this paper, a new digital deadbeat controller is designed, implemented, and applied to a single-phase series-parallel line-interactive uninterruptible power supply (UPS). In this topology, most of the power is supplied directly from the AC line to the load. Therefore, the overall efficiency is higher than that of the conventional on-line UPS. Current and voltage control of the system in different operating modes are discussed. Simulation and experimental results are presented, which show the viability of the proposed controller for this topology.
Ce que les planaires nous apprennent sur les cils, les centrioles et les centrosomes

Roles physiologiques des cils cellulaires Les cils sont de longues protrusions que l’on trouve pratiquement sur toutes nos cellules et qui, en fonctionnant comme des antennes pour la reception de signaux intercellulaires, jouent un role majeur dans le developpement et l’homeostasie des vertebres (Figure 1A). Les cils peuvent aussi etre motiles et intervenir, par exemple, dans la propulsion des spermatozoides ou l’evacuation du mucus dans les voies respiratoires. Chez l’humain, des mutations qui affectent l’assemblage des cils sont a l’origine d’une classe de pathologies appelees ciliopathies. Celles-ci peuvent consister en des anomalies du developpement comme l’hydrocephalie ou la polykystose renale, ou encore s’accompagner d’infections respiratoires chroniques et de problemes de fertilite [1]. Les cils sont assembles a partir des centrioles, des organites cylindriques constitues d’une grande diversite de proteines dont beaucoup n’ont pas encore ete caracterisees. Outre leur role dans l’assemblage des cils, les centrioles forment aussi le cœur du centrosome, le principal centre organisateur du cytosquelette microtubulaire de la cellule animale (Figure 1B). Dans les cellules en proliferation, les deux centrioles presents au sein du centrosome sont dupliques a chaque cycle cellulaire pour former deux centrosomes, qui participent a la separation des chromosomes, et dont herite chacune des deux cellules issues de la division. Ces dernieres annees, plusieurs proteines controlant les etapes initiales de la duplication des centrioles, comme la kinase Plk4 (polo kinase 4) et les proteines Sas-4 ou Sas-6, ont pu etre identifiees [2, 3]. Les centrioles des cellules multiciliees humaines et non humaines Outre la duplication des centrioles dans les cellules en proliferation, une autre voie d’assemblage des centrioles, beaucoup moins bien connue, permet Ce que les planaires nous apprennent sur les cils, les centrioles et les centrosomes
Synthesis, Characterization and Properties of Conjugated Poly(1-Alkyl-2,5-Pyrrylene Vinylene)

A series of poly(N-alkylpyrrylene vinylenes)( alkyl = methyl(l), hexyl(2), dodecyl(3)) have been synthesized from the monomer, N-alkyl-2,5-bis(thiophenylmethylene)pyrrole, by base induced elimination and polymerization. The resulting deep purple conjugated polymers (2, 3) were soluble in a variety organic solvents. The electrical conductivities of the polymers lie in the range, 10-2 to 2.5 S/cm. The highest yield was obtained when the polymers were synthesized in refluxing THF with a monomer/ base mole ratio of 1/4. The optical band gap of the undoped polymers were 1.89 eV(1), 1.69 eV(2) and 1.65 eV(3). Characterization of the polymers includes IR, CV, 1H and 13C NMR, UV-vis spectroscopy, TGA and molecular weight studies.
Rat alveolar macrophages express preprotachykinin gene-I mRNA-encoding tachykinins

Although the tachykinins substance P (SP) and neurokinin A have been largely localized to neurons, eosinophils have also been shown to express these peptides. Our aim was to determine whether rat alveolar macrophages (AM) express preprotachykinin gene-I (PPT-I) mRNA that encodes these tachykinins and to examine expression during inflammation. PPT-I mRNA was detected by reverse transcription (RT)-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in AM and brain (control) but not in peritoneal macrophages. Northern analysis showed that PPT-I mRNA was induced two- to fourfold by in vivo treatment of rats with intratracheal lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and in vitro after 4 h of exposure to LPS. This increase was inhibited by dexamethasone. In situ RT-PCR and immunocytochemistry further confirmed that AM express PPT-I mRNA and SP-like immunoreactivity, respectively, which was enhanced by LPS treatment. A 1.3-kb transcript consistent with PPT-I mRNA was detected by Northern analysis of bronchoalveolar lavage neutrophils. Therefore, rat AM express PPT-I mRNA that is upregulated in AM by LPS and is attenuated by dexamethasone. PPT-I mRNA was also detected in lung neutrophils.
Post-transplant diabetes mellitus: risk reduction strategies in the elderly.

New-onset diabetes mellitus in a previously non-diabetic transplant recipient is a serious adverse event that confers significant morbidity and mortality. The most significant consequences of post-transplant diabetes mellitus (PTDM) in solid organ transplant recipients include decreased patient and graft survival, an increased risk of infectious complications, and morbid cardiovascular events. The development of PTDM in the elderly is of particular concern because this group is already at increased risk of progression of cardiovascular disease. Because the elderly, especially those aged >65 years, are the fastest-growing segment of the renal transplant population, attention needs to be given to PTDM risk reduction and post-transplant management. PTDM develops as a consequence of both impaired insulin production and enhanced peripheral insulin resistance. A number of non-modifiable factors such as age, race, family history, hepatitis C, polycystic kidney disease and emerging genetic causes have been identified as risk factors for PTDM. However, a number of modifiable factors can be targets for intervention in high-risk patients, including bodyweight (through dietary restriction and exercise), hypertension, hyperlipidaemia and the effects of certain immunosuppressive agents. The two agents most responsible for PTDM are tacrolimus and corticosteroids, especially when used in combination. Attempts to modify doses and regimens designed to eliminate or avoid these drugs should be considered. Use of HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors (‘statins’) and ACE inhibitors is particularly helpful in controlling hypertension and hyperlipidaemia in the elderly because these agents confer protection against future adverse cardiovascular events. Bisphosphonates are also advantageous in controlling the progression of osteoporosis and possible increased risk of bone fractures. Future trials in the elderly should focus on such endpoints as PTDM, post-transplant neoplasia, cardiovascular events and bone fracture events in order to identify the safest regimens that provide the optimal control of rejection while limiting the morbidity from these secondary events.
The Generalized Jacobian of a Singular Curve and its Theta Function

In this section we will define and describe the generalized Jacobian of the simplest singular curves: the curves obtained by identifying 2g points of IP1 in pairs. We will then determine their theta functions and theta divisors. Finally, we will apply this theory to understand analytically and geometrically the limits of the solutions to the KdV equation that were discussed in the previous section, when the hyperelliptic curve becomes singular of the above form.
Homeostasis and the physiological dimension of niche construction theory in ecology and evolution

Niche construction theory (NCT) has been represented as a new and comprehensive theory of evolution, one that breaks the constraints imposed by the dominant and largely gene-selectionist standard evolutionary model that is presently mischaracterized as “Darwinian.” I will argue that NCT is not so much a new theory, as it is a fruitful readmission of a venerable physiological perspective on adaptation, selection and evolution. This perspective is closer in spirit and philosophy to the original (and richer) Darwinian idea developed by Darwin himself, and that animated much of the rich late nineteenth century debate about evolution, heredity, adaptation and development, a debate that was largely eclipsed by the early twentieth century emergence of the Neodarwinian synthesis. I will argue that a full realization of the promise of NCT turns on a full understanding of another intellectual revolution of the nineteenth century, Claude Bernard’s conception of homeostasis, a profound statement of the nature of life that has, through the twentieth century, come to be widely misunderstood and trivialized.