cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
STL1, a New AKT Inhibitor, Synergizes with Flavonoid Quercetin in Enhancing Cell Death in A Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Cell Line

Using a pharmacophore model based on the experimental structure of AKT-1, we recently identified the compound STL1 (ZINC2429155) as an allosteric inhibitor of AKT-1. STL1, was able to reduce Ser473 phosphorylation, thus inhibiting the PI3K/AKT pathway. Moreover, we demonstrated that the flavonoid quercetin downregulated the phosphorylated and active form of AKT. However, in this case, quercetin inhibited the PI3K/AKT pathway by directly binding the kinases CK2 and PI3K. In the present work, we investigated the antiproliferative effects of the co-treatment quercetin plus STL1 in HG-3 cells, derived from a patient affected by chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Quercetin and STL1 in the mono-treatment maintained the capacity to inhibit AKT phosphorylation on Ser473, but did not significantly reduce cell viability. On the contrary, they activated a protective form of autophagy. When the HG-3 cells were co-treated with quercetin and STL1, their association synergistically (combination index < 1) inhibited cell growth and induced apoptosis. The combined treatment caused the switch from protective to non-protective autophagy. This work demonstrated that cytotoxicity could be enhanced in a drug-resistant cell line by combining the effects of different inhibitors acting in concert on PI3K and AKT kinases.
Means of using advance processing to eliminate anomalous defects on SiC armor

Microstructural detects are known to be present in commercial silicon carbide armor materials. Isolated pores, low density regions, large grains and inclusions are common defects. Microstructural quality can be improved by improving both the chemical and physical uniformity of the body. The increased mixedness of sintering additives greatly improves chemical inhomogenieties which can give rise to localized density variations. Improved powder processing and green forming can significantly reduce the presence of isolated pores, large grains and inclusions. This study will show how commercial SiC powders can be improved by removing coarse inclusions. Colloidal processing will be shown as a means of improving the green microstructure of SiC compacts. The chemical uniformity of the final microstructure will be shown to be improved by the use of an aqueous based surfactant additive system.
The ARIES-I high-field Tokamak reactor: design-point determination and parametric studies

The multi-institutional Advanced Reactor Innovation and Evaluation Study (ARIES) has examined the physics, technology, safety, and economic issues associated with the conceptual design of a tokamak magnetic-fusion reactor. The ARIES-I variant envisions a deuterium-tritium (D-T) fueled device based on advanced superconducting coil, blanket, and power-conversion technologies and a modest extrapolation of existing tokamak physics. Key aspects of the ARIES-I physics model are summarized, and the engineering and costing models are discussed. Results of parametric studies leading to the identification of a design point to be subjected to detailed analysis and integration as well as to characterize the ARIES-I operating space are presented. >
The “Subject” and Black Queer Religious Discourse

This article is a brief response to Roger A. Sneed’s groundbreaking book Representations of Homosexuality. This critique is written by a New Testament scholar who nonetheless seeks to engage with the critical theologizing of the author from that vantage point. This response was delivered at a Black Theology panel dedicated to Sneed’s book at the 2011 meeting of the American Academy of Religion, in San Francisco.
Computational chemistry: Making a bad calculation

Computations of the energetics and mechanism of the Morita–Baylis–Hillman reaction are “not even wrong” when compared with experiments. While computational abstinence may be the purest way to calculate challenging reaction mechanisms, taking prophylactic measures to avoid regrettable outcomes may be more realistic.
Information, Choice, and Ethical Consumption

While "ethically-motivated consumption" can be traced back to at least the 19th century, globalization has recently prompted renewed attention to the promise and limits of consumption to further broader ethical and political goals. This paper evaluates factors that promote political consumption, drawing on the results of a 2009 national opinion survey conducted by the authors.
ISOTOPIC ENRICHMENT OF NITROGEN IN THE PHOTOLYSIS OF NO.

Photolysis of NO in the vacuum ultraviolet yielded N2, O2, NO2, and N2O. When the photolysis was carried out using the 1633 A line of bromine, the N2 initially formed was found to be enriched in nitrogen-15. The dependence of the enrichment on several parameters was studied, including temperature, pressure, the initial isotope ratio, and inert gases. The enrichment of the N2 in N15N14 over N228 produced in the photolysis was due to relatively more N15O being excited, and reacting before isotope scrambling occurred by energy transfer.
ARE WE SPEAKING THE SAME LANGUAGE

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to ascertain from the leaders of interior design practitioner organizations their perceptions regarding the purpose, need, and role of research and the types and sources of research used in practice. RESEARCH DESIGN: Using a modified DELPHI technique, two successive surveys were designed and sent to leaders in the Unified Voice Task Force. The first survey solicited responses from all participating organizations on the task force. The second survey, which was generated from responses to the first survey, obtained perceptions regarding research from leaders in only the design practitioner organizations. ANALYSIS: Cross-tabular presentation of the data was used in the analysis. Statistical significance was determined using chi-square where possible. For tables with too few observations per cell, the Fisher Exact Test was used to determine statistical significance. KEY FINDINGS: Analysis of the data reveals that there is dichotomy of language within the profession. Practitioners' perceptions of research are multifaceted and pragmatic in nature. The findings indicated that practitioners have a preference for “soft” types and sources of information in their design problem-solving process. CONCLUSIONS: Lack of attention to developing a body of knowledge from within is threatening the existence of interior design as a separate and distinct profession. Interior design educators, practitioners, and industry representatives need to hold discussions to address the language differences that exist as well as the purpose, need, and role of research.
A Model of Nutrient Exchange in the Rhizobium-Legume Symbiosis

Rhizobium bacteria and leguminous plants can establish a symbiotic relationship in which photosynthetic products made by the plant supply energy used by Rhizobium to reduce atmospheric dinitrogen (Bergerson, 1982; Verma and Long, 1983). Reduced nitrogen is returned to the plant to complete the exchange. Details of the interaction are not completely understood but it is clear that the relationship has required considerable adaptation by both symbiotic partners. For instance, the low oxygen tension needed to stabilize nitrogenase is preserved by leghemoglobin, a plant-derived protein produced only in the nodule. Unusual forms of glutamine synthetase are found in both the plants and the bacteria (Cullimore et al. 1983; Darrow and Knotts, 1977).
SO(18) family unification in eight-dimensional space-time☆

Abstract We investigate an SO(18) gauge theory in an instanton-induced compactified manifold M 4 × S 4 . The instanton is embedded in a diagonal subgroup SU(2) 2+3 of SO(18) ⊃ SO(10) × SU(2) 1 × SU(2) 2 × SU(2) 3 × SU(2) 4 . The effective gauge theory in Minkowski space M 4 is described by SO(10) × SU(2) 1 × Su(2) 4 × SU(5), and a set of chiral fermions are obtained in the harmonic expansion of one complex SO(18) spinor representation of Weyl fermions in eight dimensions. These fermions contain four ordinary families and four mirror families. Some crucial roles of the isometry SO(5) are clarified concerning the family problems and the low-energy phenomenology.
Fulfilling the Promise of Percutaneous Angioplasty

It is ironic that in 1964, Dotters’ initial application of percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) targeted femoral-popliteal stenoses.1 Now, nearly 4 decades later, although angioplasty has gained wide acceptance as a first-line treatment for diseased coronary, iliac, and renal arteries, its role in femoral-popliteal vessels remains controversial and poorly defined. The initial PTA procedure is nearly always a success. Improved technology, including slick guidewires, sleek balloons, and sinuous stents can reliably open most femoral-popliteal obstructions. However, one cannot attempt angioplasty in the lower legs without running into its Achilles heel: restenosis. In contradistinction to angioplasty in the coronary, iliac, and renal vasculature, restenosis rates after lower-extremity PTA are unacceptably high. The femoral-popliteal system has unique anatomic and physiological properties. Blood flow rates are low, resistance is high, and lesions are often very long, with poor run-off. These characteristics raise the risk of recurrence to well over 50%, and in some reports, over 80%.2 3 Alternative surgical approaches using saphenous and prosthetic grafts provide better long-term patency but cause significantly more morbidity.4 Often, patients with peripheral vascular disease also have cardiac, cerebrovascular, and/or renal disease that increases the risk of major surgery. Although surgery is often embraced for limb salvage, surgery for the treatment of claudication is generally avoided. It is not surprising, therefore, that so many vascular medicine specialists currently recommend conservative medical therapy and walking programs as a first-line treatment for symptomatic femoral-popliteal disease. Over the past decade, much has been learned about the mechanism of restenosis. There are 2 major components of restenosis: the first is the mechanical renarrowing of the dilated region; the second is the biological proliferative response to injury.5 6 Percutaneous angioplasty is a purely mechanical intervention. In recent years, our mechanical tools have improved considerably. Careful quantitative angiography has taught us …
Effects of lithium chloride on induction and expression of methylphenidate sensitization

Repeated administration of psychomotor stimulants produces an enduring and progressively enhanced behavioral response known as behavioral sensitization, which has been implicated as a model for psychiatric disorders such as mania, schizophrenia, and drug addiction. The objective of the study was to determine whether lithium chloride (LiCl), an anti-manic agent, is effective in blocking the development and/or the expression of behavioral sensitization to methylphenidate. Male Sprague-Dawley rats (n=64) weighing 170-190 g were randomly divided into seven treatment groups. A computerized animal activity monitor system continuously recorded locomotor activity for 16 days. Effects of LiCl on induction of methylphenidate sensitization were studied by giving LiCl before or during six daily methylphenidate administrations. Effects of LiCl on the expression of methylphenidate sensitization were studied by injecting LiCl after sensitization to methylphenidate was induced. It was shown that LiCl treatment modulated the acute methylphenidate effects by transiently attenuating the locomotor response to methylphenidate during the six daily methylphenidate administrations but neither single nor multiple treatments with LiCl blocked the development or the expression of behavioral sensitization.
MECHANISMS OF FOOD REDUCTION, TRANSPORT AND DEGLUTITION: HOW THE TEXTURE OF FOOD AFFECTS FEEDING BEHAVIOR

This review reports on the results of videofluorographic (VFG) studies focused on establishing the characteristics of the feeding sequence and the effect of food type on that behavior in normal human subjects. Lateral projection VFG records vertical and antero-posterior movement. The Postero-Anterior projection records vertical and medio-lateral movement. Both were used. Normal young adults of both sexes were fully consenting participants in these studies. They were fed 6 g of banana, chicken spread, cookie and peanuts. A second study used 1 g carrot instead of the peanuts. In a third, 6 g of meat with different textures was supplied. The methods are fully detailed in Palmer et al. (1992, 1997). Analysis of feeding sequences using the stop-frame, slow motion and variable speed controls on the VCR gave data on the timing and so duration of 'in sequence stages': i.e., start Stage I transport; start processing; start Stage II transport (i.e., start OPAT) and also the swallow and its duration. Parts of the feeding sequence show a very significant difference (P < 0.0001) between soft (banana and chicken spread) and harder foods (meat, cookie and carrot) in (1) the duration of processing and (2) OroPharyngeal Accumulation Time (OPAT). There were no such differences for Stage I transport or the actual swallow. These results show that the texture dependent parts of the feeding sequence are those associated with food breakdown (processing/chewing) and with OPAT. The results also show that there is a general pattern of response to foods of different initial consistency/texture. However, individual subjects have their own behaviors in managing these foods to terminal swallow.
Accumulation of water during transformation of cells by an avian sarcoma virus

Abstract Chick embryo (CE) cells transformed by the Bryan "high titer" strain of Rous sarcoma virus (RSV-BH) are larger than nontransformed CE cells, as determined by direct measurements of diameter and volume. An observed general increase in cell mass is insufficient to fully account for the larger size. However, RSV-BH-transformed cells contain a greater proportion of water, which is reflected in a decrease in cellular density. These changes in size, water content, and density were not found in cells infected with the Schmidt-Ruppin strain of avian sarcoma virus. CE cells infected with a mutant of RSV-BH are morphologically transformed at 37°C but not at 41°C, and after shifting from 41°C to 37°C they become larger, accumulate more water, and band higher in density gradients. These changes occur without a requirement for new RNA or protein synthesis. The noted increase in cellular water may be an early event leading to changes in transcription and translation, culminating in malignancy in cells transformed by RSV-BH.
Brillouin-Scattering Study of the Ferroelectric Transition in K H 2 P O 4

The Brillouin-scattering spectrum of K${\mathrm{H}}_{2}$P${\mathrm{O}}_{4}$ has been studied over the temperature range $118\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}\mathrm{K}lTl300\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}\mathrm{K}$ with particular emphasis on the region close to the ferroelectric transition at 122\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}K. Results in the paraelectric phase are analyzed in terms of the piezoelectric coupling of the acoustic ${X}_{y}$ shear mode to the ferroelectric soft mode. Results in the ferroelectric phase indicate that the transition is better described by the Slater-Takagi-Senko model than by Cochran's model.
De-Mystifying Employment Test Validation: A Process to Get High Validity Coefficients

This article presents a model of test validation which yielded high validity and reliability coefficients. The study was conducted for a mid-level secretary position in a state universities civil service system. An employment selection test was developed around 25 tasks of work identified in the job analysis. A research performance appraisal was developed with behavioral statements which matched each of the test sections. The validity coefficients of the composite test scores of Form A and Form B and the composite performance appraisal rating of each incumbent were .55 and .49, respectively. The reliability coefficient for Form A and Form B is .94. These high validity and reliability coefficients compare favorable with the literature reviews of criterion validity studies with clerical positions.
The invertibility of the product of unbounded Toeplitz operators

In this note I give necessary and sufficient conditions on outer functionsf andg for the operator $$T_f T_{\bar g} $$ to be bounded and invertible on H2. I also discuss the relationship of this question to two open questions in operator theory and weighted norm inequalities.
The nature of pluralism and the African American case

A truly pluralistic society can never be achieved, much less maintained, without pluralism in education. Despite the fact that many laud pluralism as a worthy goal, its achievement in this society continues to elude us. Pluralism requires that members of diverse ethnic, religious, and racial groups maintain autonomous participation in and development of their traditional culture and special interest within the confines of a common society. Such a goal requires special consideration in the case of African Americans in the United States today. Among the conditions necessary to a pluralistic society is a level of consciousness among the masses that would sustain an understanding and appreciation of differences. In order to attain such a level of consciousness, massive educational programs may have to be undertaken. At present, racism, sexism, and other societal "isms" based on negation of difference are still alive and well in the United States of America. Closer examination of the situation reveals that national attitudes reflecting tolerance of difference have a high positive correlation to the state of the nation's economy. Historically, racism has increased as the nation's economy declined. Clearly, the general population is functioning around the "concrete" stage of development (a low level of consciousness), limited by materialism and economics. Is this the highest level of functioning of which the masses are capable? Is what we are observing a "natural" phenomenon that would be ob-
On the Ptak-Young generalization of the Schur-Cohn theorem

A new proof of the Ptak-Young generalization of the Schur-Cohn theorem is given, showing that the inertia of a certain generalized Bezoutian matrix determines the root distribution of a polynomial with respect to the unit disk. It is shown that the Ptak-Young theorem can also be formulated in terms of a Pick matrix. It is noted that the generalized Bezoutian is a structured matrix having a so-called generalized displacement structure. >
The elastic and ultimate properties of compact bone tissue

Abstract The use of a tranversely isotropic model is tested for the elastic behavior of bovine and human bone and the five independent constants of this model are determined. The accuracy of the model is tested for eight cases by comparing the off-axis modulus predicted by a rotation of stiffness matrix with an experimentally determined off-axis modulus. Ultimate properties are presented for bovine and human bone for tension, compression, and torsional loads. A Hankinson type failure criterion is proposed for off-axis ultimate stress and this predicted value compared with experimental values for nine cases.
Contract length, monetary policy and exchange rate variability

Abstract This paper investigates the dependence of exchange rate variability on average contract length in the goods market when changes in the money supply are the driving force for movements in the exchange rate. It is shown that, in general, an increase in average contract length will increase the volatility of the exchange rate. We then discuss how changes in the money supply process affect average contract length. Besides providing an explanation for changes in the conditional variance of the exchange rate our results are interesting in the light of the changes in Monetary Control Procedures implemented by the Federal Reserve Board in October 1979 and the consequent increase in exchange rate volatility.
Ischemic brain damage and memory impairment: A commentary

Studies in humans and monkeys have identified structures in the medial temporal lobe essential for memory (the hippocampal region, i.e., the dentate gyrus, the hippocampus, and the subicular complex, and the adjacent perirhinal, entorhinal, and parahippocampal cortices). Additional work has revealed that for both species, damage limited to the hippocampal region produces less severe memory impairment than damage that includes additional structures within the medial temporal lobe. This work has been based on both neurosurgical lesions and on lesions produced by global ischemia or anoxia. An important issue about ischemic damage is whether the damage identifiable in histopathological examination provides an accurate estimate of direct neural damage or whether additional direct damage might be present that is sufficient to disrupt neuronal function in areas important for memory and sufficient to impair behavioral performance, but not sufficient to progress to cell death and to be detectable in conventional histopathology. This commentary explores the issue of ischemic damage and memory impairment. Although few studies have addressed this issue directly, the currently available data from global ischemia in rats, monkeys, and humans are consistent with the hypothesis that the detectable neuronal damage is responsible for the severity of the observed behavioral impairment. Yet it is also true that this hypothesis has not been the target of very much systematic work. We encourage additional experimental work, especially in rats, that could further illuminate how to evaluate the behavioral effects of ischemic lesions.
ALTERATION OF THE PROTEINS OF THE PITUITARY GLAND OF THE RAT BY ESTRADIOL AND CORTISOL

The major electrophoretic component seen in extracts of pituitary glands of rats disappears when the animals are made hypothyroid. The disappearance could be prevented by administration of estradiol or cortisol. Bio-assay of the major band and whole extracts of glands from hypothyroid rats treated with cortisol showed a normal amount of growth hormone, indicating that when the major band remained growth hormone activity was maintained. With glands of untreated hypothyroid rats, only a small amount of growth hormone was present in the area of the column normally occupied by the major component. Whole glands from hypothyroid animals were also essentially devoid of growth hormone. Growth hormone that had been isolated from pituitary glands of normal rats by fractionation with ethanol had the same electrophoretic mobility as the major electrophoretic component seen in hypophysial extracts from normal rats. (Endocrinology 76: 362, 1965)
Memories of statements spoken in everyday contexts

This study examined personal memories of statements spoken in everyday contexts. Eighty college students completed a questionnaire in which they recounted the first spoken statement to come to mind, and statements made by a parent, teacher, sibling and friend. Respondents also provided information about the speakers and the circumstances of transmission. Content analyses identified six primary statement types: rules, evaluations, speaker information, pronouncements, unusual phrases and everyday speech. The incidence of different statement types varied across speakers. Memorability of a specific verbalization appears to be related to the statement's communicative function, the listener's reactions to the utterance, the speaker's gender, and the relationship between the speaker and the listener.
Results of the ASTM Nuclear Methods intercomparison on NIST apple and peack leaves standard reference materials

The ASTM Task Group on Nuclear Methods of Chemical Analysis (E10.05.12) has conducted a trace element intercomparison among some of its members over the past two years. Eight non-NIST laboratories submitted data using nuclear techniques, with a total of 111 values for the apple leaves and 116 values for the peach leaves, on 46 and 50 elements, respectively. This intercomparison provided a unique opportunity for the analytical laboratories, because the analytical values submitted could be later compared to the NIST certified values. For the seven elements which were certified by NIST and had three or more intercomparison values, the results showed that: 1) 61% of all 56 intercomparison values submitted had results whose stated uncertainty overlapped the uncertainty limits of the NIST certified values, and 2) less than 6% of the intercomparison values had means which fell outside ±20% of the NIST values. In general, the intercomparison values submitted showed excellent agreement with the NIST values. However, many reported uncertainties accompanying intercomparison values appeared overly optimistic.
What You Don't Know Can Cost You: A Web-Based Experiment in Price Discrimination

This paper presents a Web-based experiential learning tool to assist instructors in conveying the central principles of price discrimination under asymmetric information. The game allows students to make monopoly-pricing decisions when the characteristics of individual consumers are not known. The Web-based approach allows for involvement by all students in the class and can be used in or out of class as a support for classroom lectures. Price discrimination is a central concept in agricultural marketing, having obvious applications in a world of product differentiation. Traditionally, price discrimination is taught by discussing differences in demand elasticities across separate markets. Students are taught to equate marginal revenue and marginal cost, resulting in maximum total profit, with the price in the inelastic market being higher than in the elastic market. Teaching price discrimination is relatively straightforward, with many ready applications and examples. However, the theoretical model assumes that firms have perfect information about consumer preferences (i.e., firms can perfectly identify which consumers belong to which markets). This assumption appears tenable when the distinctions are obvious (e.g., country of residence, age, gender, etc.), but is much less realistic when attempting to segregate markets where no obvious distinction exists. In this case, the consumer has private, or asymmetric, information about their preferences. Quality-differentiated products are an obvious example. The seller can differentiate the product, but has no way to identify the groups who will demand the different products. This
Consistent Estimation of Rasch Item Parameters and Their Standard Errors Under Complex Sample Designs

U.S. state educational testing programs administer tests to track student progress and hold schools accountable for educational outcomes. Methods from item response theory, especially Rasch models, are usually used to equate different forms of a test. The most popular method for estimating Rasch models yields inconsistent estimates and relies on ad hoc adjustments to obtain good approximations. Furthermore, psychometricians have paid little attention to the estimation of effective standard errors for Rasch models, especially under complex sample designs. This article presents a computationally efficient, statistically consistent estimator for Rasch models, based on a nonparametric marginal maximum likelihood approach, along with complete, design-consistent estimators of the standard error, based on the full information matrix and including covariance terms among items, covariances between items, and parameters of the distribution of the latent trait. Simulations support the consistency of the estimators i...
Shear flow-ballooning instability as a possible mechanism for hydromagnetic fluctuations

A unified linear electromagnetic analysis of both the Kelvin-Helmholtz (shear flow) instability and of the ballooning (interchange) instability is carried out on the basis of MHD theory. In the analysis, the concept of the Richardson instability of hydrodynamic flows is extended into the hydromagnetic context by unifying both the shear flow and the ballooning instability. As essential concept of the analysis is the role played by the magnetic buoyancy due to an effective gravity produced by the curvature of the field lines which provides the basic step by which both instabilities could be coupled. The results of the study are applied to the plasmapause to explain the excitation of hydromagnetic waves in that region, including the effect of the hot particles from the plasma sheet.
Force-induced on-rate switching and modulation by mutations in gain-of-function von Willebrand diseases.

Mutations in the ultralong vascular protein von Willebrand factor (VWF) cause the common human bleeding disorder, von Willebrand disease (VWD). The A1 domain in VWF binds to glycoprotein Ibα (GPIbα) on platelets, in a reaction triggered, in part, by alterations in flow during bleeding. Gain-of-function mutations in A1 and GPIbα in VWD suggest conformational regulation. We report that force application switches A1 and/or GPIbα to a second state with faster on-rate, providing a mechanism for activating VWF binding to platelets. Switching occurs near 10 pN, a force that also induces a state of the receptor−ligand complex with slower off-rate. Force greatly increases the effects of VWD mutations, explaining pathophysiology. Conversion of single molecule kon (s−1) to bulk phase kon (s−1M−1) and the kon and koff values extrapolated to zero force for the low-force pathways show remarkably good agreement with bulk-phase measurements.
The magnetic properties of bis[N-(8-quinolyl)-salicylaldimine]halogenoiron(III)·X hydrate, Fe(8-QS)2X·χH2O: A reexamination

Abstract The magnetic susceptibilities of the series of compounds [Fe(8-QS)2]X·χH2O (X = Cl, Br, I, NCS) have been reexamined to clarify the seemingly anomalous values which had been reported by others. Values of μeff as a function of T and Mossbauer parameters show that the central Fe(III) ions are S ′ = 5 2 , S ′ = 1 2 , S ′ = 5 2 → S ′ = 1 2 spin states depending upon the anion and the degree of hydration.
Does New Guinea Cannibalism Have Nutritional Value

This paper examines the question of the nutritional value of cannibalism. Although other authors have concluded that the practice does not have such value, we argue that this cannot properly be determined except in the context of the total subsistence economy and local human ecology. The paper also presents a format for the empirical investigation of foodgetting and new ethnographic information about New Guinea cannibalism. Our major conclusion is that this practice does have nutritional value for certain human groups, specifically tropical peoples living at lowmedium population densities and exploiting a diverse range of animal foods.
Financial Dimensions of Veterinary Medical Education: An Economist's Perspective

Much discussion has transpired in recent years related to the rising cost of veterinary medical education and the increasing debt loads of graduating veterinarians. Underlying these trends are fundamental changes in the funding structure of higher education in general and of academic veterinary medicine specifically. As a result of the ongoing disinvestment by state governments in higher education, both tuition rates and academic programs have experienced a substantial impact across US colleges and schools of veterinary medicine. Programmatically, the effects have spanned the entire range of teaching, research, and service activities. For graduates, both across higher education and in veterinary medicine specifically, the impact has been steadily increasing levels of student debt. Although the situation is clearly worrisome, viable repayment options exist for these escalating debt loads. In combination with recent income and employment trends for veterinarians, these options provide a basis for cautious optimism for the future.
DNA melting profiles from a matrix method.

In this article we give a new method for the calculation of DNA melting profiles. Based on the matrix formulation of the DNA partition function, the method relies for its efficiency on the fact that the required matrices are very sparse, essentially reducing matrix multiplication to vector multiplication and thus making the computer time required to treat a DNA molecule containing N base pairs proportional to N2. A key ingredient in the method is the result that multiplication by the inverse matrix can also be reduced to vector multiplication. The task of calculating the melting profile for the entire genome is further reduced by treating regions of the molecule between helix-plateaus, thus breaking the molecule up into independent parts that can each be treated individually. The method is easily modified to incorporate changes in the assignment of statistical weights to the different structural features of DNA. We illustrate the method using the genome of Haemophilus influenzae. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Biopolymers 73: 216–228, 2004
The influence of service-learning on intercultural sensitivity: A quantitative study

This quantitative study examines the influence of service-learning on levels of intercultural sensitivity of international school students in Hong Kong using the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI). IDI scores are found to correlate with a variety of demographic variables and variables related to four models of service programs. One service-learning model evidences statistically significant posttest gains in the Encapsulated Marginality stage.
Prior uncertainty and amount of diagnostic evidence as variables in a probabilistic inference task

Abstract Subjects' probabilistic inference capabilities were evaluated in a simulated threat-diagnosis task. Subjects revised probabilities on the basis of equivocal, contradictory, and unreliable evidence. Revisions of subjective probability were compared with theoretical revisions calculated using a modification of Bayes' theorem. Subjects' revisions and the theoretical revisions showed a significantly increasing disparity as the amount of evidence to be processed was increased. The overall disparity between subjects' and theoretical revisions obtained when a uniform prior probability distribution was assumed did not differ significantly from the disparity obtained under an assumed nonuniform prior probability distribution. A general paradigm for complex inference task situations is discussed.
The effect of food deprivation on within-session patterns of wheel running.

In the present study, rats' wheel running was reinforced when they responded at different food deprivations. In experiment 1, fourths of a wheel turn were reinforced on a variable interval (VI) 15- or 60-s schedule during 50-min sessions. Subjects responded at 75, 85 or 95% of their free-feeding body weights, across conditions. Within-session decreases in responding were steepest at subjects' 75% weights for the VI 60-s schedule, but were similar at different weights for the VI 15-s schedule. In experiment 2, subjects responded on a VI 60-s schedule at 75 or 95% of their free-feeding body weights. Reinforcer size was one or four food pellets. Steeper within-session decreases in responding were observed at subjects' 75% weight than at their 95% weight, with no effect of reinforcer amount. The present results cannot disconfirm either leading theory for within-session changes because the terms involved (i.e. habituation and satiation) are not adequately defined. However, the present results seem to pose problems for both explanations.
Plasma components are required for platelet activation by the toxin of Loxosceles reclusa.

Abstract R. S. Rees , C. Gates , S. Timmons , R. M. Des Prez and L. E. King, Jr . Plasma components are required for platelet activation by the toxin of Loxosceles reclusa. Toxicon26, 1035–1045, 1988.—We have used a partially purified toxin from the venom of the brown recluse spider, Loxosceles reclusa, to study its effects on human platelets isolated from plasma proteins. This toxin, which produced skin necrosis in rabbits, contained sphingomyelinase D activity. The toxin induced platelet aggregation and secretion of [3H]serotonin in human plasma but not in buffer or in human neonate plasma. Ca2+ was required for the interaction of toxin, platelets, and plasma factor(s). The addition of C-reactive protein restored aggregation and serotonin release of platelets incubated in human neonate plasma. The ADP-degrading enzyme, apyrase, and the non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory drug, indomethacin, inhibited platelet aggregation, suggesting that ADP secreted from platelet storage granules and indomethacin-sensitive pathway(s) are involved in the toxin-induced human platelet activation (aggregation and serotonin release). Generation of platelet activating factor (PAF) from the platelet by brown recluse toxin is not likely since the PAF receptor antagonist, BN 52021, did not inhibit platelet aggregation induced by the brown recluse toxin.
Toll-Like Receptor 4 Is a Regulator of Monocyte and Electroencephalographic Responses to Sleep Loss

STUDY OBJECTIVES Sleep loss triggers changes in inflammatory signaling pathways in the brain and periphery. The mechanisms that underlie these changes are ill-defined. The Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) activates inflammatory signaling cascades in response to endogenous and pathogen-associated ligands known to be elevated in association with sleep loss. TLR4 is therefore a possible mediator of some of the inflammation-related effects of sleep loss. Here we describe the baseline electroencephalographic sleep phenotype and the biochemical and electroencephalographic responses to sleep loss in TLR4-deficient mice. DESIGN, MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS TLR4-deficient mice and wild type controls were subjected to electroencephalographic and electromyographic recordings during spontaneous sleep/wake cycles and during and after sleep restriction sessions of 3, 6, and 24-h duration, during which sleep was disrupted by an automated sleep restriction system. Relative to wild type control mice, TLR4-deficient mice exhibited an increase in the duration of the primary daily waking bout occurring at dark onset in a light/dark cycle. The amount of time spent in non-rapid eye movement sleep by TLR4-deficient mice was reduced in proportion to increased wakefulness in the hours immediately after dark onset. Subsequent to sleep restriction, EEG measures of increased sleep drive were attenuated in TLR4-deficient mice relative to wild-type mice. TLR4 was enriched 10-fold in brain cells positive for the cell surface marker CD11b (cells of the monocyte lineage) relative to CD11b-negative cells in wild type mouse brains. To assess whether this population was affected selectively by TLR4 knockout, flow cytometry was used to count F4/80- and CD45-positive cells in the brains of sleep deprived and time of day control mice. While wild-type mice exhibited a significant reduction in the number of CD11b-positive cells in the brain after 24-h sleep restriction, TLR4-deficient mice did not. CONCLUSION These data demonstrate that innate immune signaling pathways active in the monocyte lineage, including presumably microglia, detect and mediate in part the cerebral reaction to sleep loss.
Olivine-matrix reactions in thermally metamorphosed Apollo 14 breccias

Abstract Olivine clasts, which have mantles formed by reaction of the olivine with the breccia matrix, are present in the high-grade thermally metamorphosed Apollo 14 breccias. The mantled olivine clasts are most abundant in 14311, but they are also present in 14304 and 14319. Typically the mantles consist of two zones: an inner corona containing pyroxene, ilmenite and commonly plagioclase, and an outer light-colored halo where the matrix is depleted in ilmenite. The growth of the coronas involved matrix-to-corona diffusion of TiO 2 and corona-to-matrix diffusion of MgO and FeO. These diffusive fluxes can be attributed to chemical potential gradients developed between mineral assemblages in local equilibrium at the olivine-corona boundary and the matrix.
Deep flow variability in the vicinity of the Yucatan Straits from a high‐resolution numerical simulation

[1] The deep flow variability in the vicinity of the Yucatan Channel between the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico is examined within a high-resolution numerical simulation of the North Atlantic Ocean. We focus on the 6 year integral cycle of Loop Current (LC) ring formation, and we study the flow regimes both in the Yucatan Channel and farther north in the LC. The circulation in the vicinity of the Yucatan Channel presents a high variability in the flow regimes and in the shedding period, in good agreement with earlier observations. The outflow (toward the Caribbean Sea) in the Yucatan Channel is shown to be controlled in part by a regular shift of the LC maximum velocity position, in phase with the transport variations. The outflow follows the inflow variations independently of the northward extension of the LC. Our analysis of the growth of the loop is also shown to be in good agreement with the ballooning process proposed by Pichevin and Nof (1997) and Nof and Pichevin (2001) to explain the LC ring formation. Moreover, at the end of each cycle of ring formation a sudden deepening of the LC deepest layer occurs together with an intensification of the transport and of the currents in the deep layers beneath the LC. This process is shown to be connected with the growth of cyclones in the deep layers. They result from the bottom-intensified instability of the LC ring and contribute to its separation from the LC.
Gay science: assisted reproductive technologies and the sexual orientation of children

There are no technologies at the present time that would allow parents to select the sexual orientation of their children. But what if there were? Some commentators believe that parents should be able to use those techniques so long as they are effective and safe. Others believe that these techniques are unethical because of the dangers they pose to homosexual men and women in general. Both sides point to motives and consequences when trying to analyse the ethics of this question. These arguments are reviewed, and it is concluded that opponents of these technologies have not shown good reason why the law or policy should override parental choice in this matter. In general, therefore, if technologies become available to choose the sexual orientation of children, parents should be allowed to use them, provided they are safe and disrupt no interest of the child. This use will, at the very least, protect homosexual children from parents who do not want them, but it will also allow parents who want homosexual children to make that choice as well.
Regulation of Sertoli cell differentiated function: testicular transferrin and androgen-binding protein expression

The regulation of Sertoli cell function was investigated through an examination of the effects of various hormones, regulatory agents, and culture conditions on testicular transferrin and androgen-binding protein (ABP) synthesis and steady state levels of mRNA. FSH stimulated both transferrin and ABP production 2-fold above control levels. Interestingly, FSH had a differential effect on transferrin and ABP mRNA levels, with 1.25- and 2.0-fold respective increases in steady state levels of mRNA. Insulin and retinol stimulated both transferrin and ABP synthesis in a similar manner. Testosterone had no significant effect on either transferrin or ABP mRNA levels or synthesis. Maximum stimulation of both transferrin and ABP production occurred when Sertoli cell cultures were treated with a combination of FSH, insulin, and retinol, which resulted in a greater than 4-fold stimulation of synthesis and 2-fold stimulation of gene expression. Optimal transferrin and ABP secretion occurred between days 4-6 of Sertoli cell culture and subsequently declined. Sertoli cell number decreased with time in culture, such that approximately a 50% loss of cells was observed after 10 days of culture. The responsiveness of Sertoli cells to regulatory agents was altered by cell density, with a maximum responsiveness achieved at a density of 12 micrograms DNA/2 cm2 for both transferrin and ABP. As the cell density deviated from this level the responsiveness of cells to regulatory agents decreased and approached control values. These observations indicate that the culture conditions and the method of data normalization are important parameters in an analysis of the hormonal regulation of Sertoli cell function. FSH actions on Sertoli cells increased both cellular and excreted cAMP levels but had no effect on cGMP levels. (Bu)2 cAMP affected transferrin and ABP mRNA levels and synthesis in a similar manner, with approximately a 3-fold increase in synthesis and a 1.5-fold increase in steady state levels of mRNA. The minimum and maximum effective concentrations of (Bu)2AMP for both proteins were 1 and 10 microM, respectively. Observations imply that regulatory agents that act via a cAMP-mediated signal transduction mechanism, such as FSH, will probably have similar actions on transferrin and ABP production. In addition, data obtained with insulin and retinol indicate that transferrin and ABP production can be similarly regulated with cAMP-independent signal transduction mechanisms. Results indicate that transferrin and ABP mRNA levels and synthesis are regulated in a coordinate manner with the regulatory agents and culture conditions evaluated.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Approaches to using Performance Enhancing Proxies in the GIG Black Core

It has long been understood that Transport Control Protocol (TCP) traffic performs poorly across satellite links. To overcome this performance challenge, SATCOM users have traditionally used Performance Enhancing Proxies (PEP) to "accelerate" TCP traffic. PEPs work by breaking the end-to-end TCP connection, running a different layer 4 protocol across the satellite link, and proxying the TCP connections with each end host. To do this, PEPs must be able to inspect and modify the entire IP packet, including the TCP segment header, to ensure proper handling of TCP traffic over the link. The Department of Defense (DoD) is in the process of implementing the Global Information Grid (GIG), an Internet-like network for warfighters anywhere on Earth. Current plans call for the GIG to transition to a "Black", or IP-encrypted, Core in the future [3]. Within the Black Core, IP packets will be completely encrypted, obscuring all information at layer 3 and above. Such an approach would render existing PEPs useless if placed in the Black Core. This is referred to in this paper as the Black Core problem. Many solutions have been proposed to the Black Core problem. Proposed solutions have included making changes to the network architecture, to the network protocols, or both. This paper expands upon the overview of PEP-based solutions presented in [4], and details several additional approaches. Additionally, this paper overviews the advantages and disadvantages for each method.
Patient-Centered Outcomes in Surgical and Orthodontic Treatment

Patient-centered health care has two characteristics: it is closely congruent with and responsive to the patient's wants, needs, and preferences, and it considers the psychological, social, cultural, and economic dimensions of the patient in addition to physical findings. The ultimate benefit to the patient has always been a primary concern of clinicians providing coordinated orthodontic and orthognathic surgical treatment. However, in the past 10 years, a much greater emphasis has been placed in both medicine and dentistry on the patient as a coparticipant in decision making and the process of treatment. In addition, it has been realized the success of treatment must be defined not just in terms of the objective findings of clinicians, but also in the context of the patient's perceptions of what was achieved. This article discusses the impact of the new emphasis on patient-centered care on clinical practice and research in orthodontics and orthognathic surgery and provides two examples of how patient-centered outcomes can be assessed and used to improve the quality of care in these patients.