cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Adrenergic stimulation of diacylglycerol production in genital tract smooth muscle myocytes

Diacylglycerol (DAG) production has not been reported in previous studies that have characterized inositol phosphate production during alpha-1 adrenergic receptor signal transduction in the DDT1 MF-2 genital tract myocytes. The current study sought to measure norepinephrine (NE)-stimulated DAG production in these transformed myocytes utilizing thin layer chromatography. DAG production was characterized as an alpha-1 adrenergic mediated event utilizing subtype specific adrenergic agonist and antagonists. DAG production occurred in response to physiologic concentration of NE, was apparent by 30 s and was significantly increased by 2 min. Maximal DAG production was unaffected by pretreatment of the myocytes for 96 h with testosterone, which has previously been shown to induce a doubling of alpha-1 adrenergic receptors in these cells. In contrast, testosterone pretreatment did result in a shift of the dose-response curve resulting in a significantly lower EC50 for NE in the treated cells compared to control myocytes. In conclusion, these studies have confirmed that DAG production occurs as a component of alpha-1 adrenergic signal transduction in the DDT1 MF-2 myocytes; transduction events that were modulated by testosterone resulting in increased agonist sensitivity.
Leaf litter nutrient uptake in an intermittent blackwater river: influence of tree species and associated biotic and abiotic drivers

Summary Organic matter may sequester nutrients as it decomposes, increasing in total N and P mass via multiple uptake pathways. During leaf litter decomposition, microbial biomass and accumulated inorganic materials immobilize and retain nutrients, and therefore, both biotic and abiotic drivers may influence detrital nutrient content. We examined the relative importance of these types of nutrient immobilization and compared patterns of nutrient retention in recalcitrant and labile leaf litter. Leaf packs of water oak (Quercus nigra), red maple (Acer rubrum) and Ogeechee tupelo (Nyssa ogeche) were incubated for 431 days in an intermittent blackwater stream and periodically analysed for mass loss, nutrient and metal content, and microbial biomass. These data informed regression models explaining temporal changes in detrital nutrient content. Informal exploratory models compared estimated biologically associated nutrient stocks (fungal, bacterial, leaf tissue) to observed total detrital nutrient stocks. We predicted that (i) labile and recalcitrant leaf litter would act as sinks at different points in the breakdown process, (ii) plant and microbial biomass would not account for the entire mass of retained nutrients, and (iii) total N content would be more closely approximated than total P content solely from nutrients stored in leaf tissue and microbial biomass, due to stronger binding of P to inorganic matter. Labile litter had higher nutrient concentrations throughout the study. However, lower mass loss of recalcitrant litter facilitated greater nutrient retention over longer incubations, suggesting that it may be an important long-term sink. N and P content were significantly related to both microbial biomass and metal content, with slightly stronger correlation with metal content over longer incubations. Exploratory models demonstrated that a substantial portion of detrital nutrients was not accounted for by living or dead plant and microbial biomass, especially in the case of N. This suggests increased importance of both N and P sorption to inorganic matter over time, with possible additional storage of N complexed with lignin. A better understanding of the influence of these mechanisms may improve our understanding of detrital nutrient uptake, basal resource quality and retention and transport of nutrients in aquatic ecosystems.
Theoritical Inbreeding at Selectively Neutral Loci in Unparental Mass Selection and Recurrent Selection with Polycrossing of Selected Plants

Inbreeding depression is of great concern to breeders of crosspollinated plant species, especially if the breeders intend to release synthetics or open-pollinated cultivars. Estimation of inbreeding coefficients of cycles from recurrent selection helps planning a recurrent selection program or utilizing a population derived from recurrent selection. In this paper, we derived the formulas to estimate the inbreeding coefficient of any cycle at one locus for uniparental mass selection and for recurrent selection with polycrossing of selected plants, under the assumption that the locus is selectively neutral. For uniparental mass selection, the inbreeding coefficient of Cycle i is determined mainly by the number of plants selected in Cycle i - 2, while the total number of plants in Cycles i - 1 and i - 2 and the number of seeds contributed to the seed bag by each selected plant in Cycle i - 2 also have some effects. For recurrent selection with polycrossing of selected plants, the inbreeding coefficient of Cycle i is determined mainly by the number of plants selected in Cycle i - 1 while the number of plants selected in Cycle i - 2 and the number of seeds contributed to the seed bag by each selected plant in Cycle i - 2 also have some effects. To make an inference regarding the use of cycles from uniparental mass selecting or to compare the efficacy of uniparental mass selection with recurrent selection that includes intercrossing or polycrossing of selected plants or lines, one should use the seed derived from one generation of open pollination in isolation for uniparental mass selection. Submitted by the senior author as partial fulfillment of the Ph.D, degree.
The effects of hands‐on, minds‐on teaching experiences on attitudes of preservice elementary teachers

This study examined how the science methods program at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln affected pre-service elementary teachers' attitudes toward teaching science. A pretest/posttest design was used to evaluate the change in attitude over the course of the semester. Results of the study indicated that the methods course positively influenced attitudes toward teaching science for all students. A description of the course which provides laboratory and peer teaching experiences is included. (Author/CW) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. **************************************************************t******** THE EFFECTS OF HANDS-ON MINDS-ON TEACHTNG EXPERIENCES ON ATTITUDES OF PRE-SERVICE ELEMENTARY TEACHERS Jon E. Pedersen and Donald W. McCurdy The University of Nebraska-Lincoln Complete Mailing Address Jon E. Pedersen 211 Henzlik Hall University of Nebraska-Lincoln Lincoln, Nebraska 68788-0355 402-472-3343 (office) Running Head: Attitudes "PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS MATERIAL HA.5)BEEN GRANTED BY \ TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER i RIC)" U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Off. P of idur at.onei Fteseerr n and Improvement E DUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) ThIS document has been IfIproducod as IN-Anted IrOM the person or oroamtatton orqpnal,ng Mnot c nanges been made to improvc reoroductlor. quality Po, ots of on or opinions stated in tn,s do-Cu men! do nt,1 nOCPSSfInly represent olfictal PI VOSIIIon or poll( 1,
Alterations of serum insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) and IGF-binding proteins (IGFBPs) in swine infected with the protozoan parasite Sarcocystis miescheriana.

The effects of a Sarcocystis miescheriana infection on insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) and insulin-like growth factor binding proteins (IGFBPs) were investigated to determine possible mechanisms of growth retardation in growing pigs. Sixteen pigs averaging 14 kg body weight were divided into 4 groups of 4 pigs each and infected either with 0.5, 1.0, or 3.0 × 106 sporocysts of S. miescheriana. Four pigs were retained as non-infected controls; however, they became serologically positive during the course of the infection. Effects also were investigated in 2 groups of 3 pregnant sows. One group was infected with 0.5 × 106 sporocysts and the other group was retained as uninfected controls. Body weights of infected growing pigs were depressed as compared to controls following the acute phase 15 d after infection (dai). Serum concentrations of IGF-I dropped significantly (p < 0.05) during the acute phase of infection in all infected groups of growing pigs. Conversely, the amounts of unsaturated serum IGFBPs were elevated significantly (p < 0.05) during the acute phase of infection. Specifically, serum concentrations of IGFBP-1, IGFBP-2, and IGFBP-4 were elevated at this time, as determined by ligand blot analysis. There was no association between growth factor alterations and tissue damage as measured by serum creatinine kinase and aspartate aminotransferase levels. The extent of effects in growing pigs was related to the amount of the original parasite inoculum. During the acute phase of infection 2 of 3 pregnant sows aborted. The third sow went to term, but piglets were stillborn or died within 24 hr. Compared to uninfected controls, serum concentrations of IGF-I in infected pregnant sows were depressed during and after the acute phase of the infection. Levels of unsaturated serum IGFBPs in pregnant sows were not affected. These data suggest that decreased IGF-I levels and/or elevated levels of specific forms of IGFBPs may be a mechanism by which growth is affected in feeder pigs infected with S. miescheriana.
Efficient privacy-preserving similar document detection

Similar document detection plays important roles in many applications, such as file management, copyright protection, plagiarism prevention, and duplicate submission detection. The state of the art protocols assume that the contents of files stored on a server (or multiple servers) are directly accessible. However, this makes such protocols unsuitable for any environment where the documents themselves are sensitive and cannot be openly read. Essentially, this assumption limits more practical applications, e.g., detecting plagiarized documents between two conferences, where submissions are confidential. We propose novel protocols to detect similar documents between two entities where documents cannot be openly shared with each other. The similarity measure used can be a simple cosine similarity on entire documents or on document fragments, enabling detection of partial copying. We conduct extensive experiments to show the practical value of the proposed protocols. While the proposed base protocols are much more efficient than the general secure multiparty computation based solutions, they are still slow for large document sets. We then investigate a clustering based approach that significantly reduces the running time and achieves over 90% of accuracy in our experiments. This makes secure similar document detection both practical and feasible.
The Female Educational Advantage Among Adolescent Children of Immigrants

The female advantage in educational achievement is especially puzzling in the case of children of immigrants because it departs from the pattern in most immigrants’ home countries. Using data from ...
It's all about "me" (behold the leader).

Abstract The group beholds its leader: a looming figure of fantasy, an emerging figure of reality. Psychic patterns that play out in group cohesion, culture, conflicts, and process are rooted in interaction with this combined object. I describe a two-day conference on relational group psychotherapy. An assemblage had beheld “me,” a visitor with gifts of knowledge, initially welcomed with collective expectation. Rivalrous and acquisitive desire (Girard, 2004) set group process in motion, involving scapegoating and open conflict, but also, self discovery and mutual appreciation. Confronted with “me,” the representative, messenger, even embodiment of truth, the group had to deal with feelings, fantasies, and thoughts that were “not nice.” There were moments of fear for the safety and survival of our group, yet I did not comprehend the extent to which envy, in tooth and nail, with devouring hunger tore into every aspect of our mentalities. Under its catabolic force, I was captured and I could not articulate t...
Synthesis, characterization, and DNA binding properties of a series of Ru, Pt mixed-metal complexes.

A series of mixed-metal complexes coupling ruthenium light absorbers to platinum reactive metal sites through polyazine bridging ligands have been prepared of the form [(tpy)RuCl(BL)PtCl2](PF6) (BL = 2,3-bis(2-pyridyl)pyrazine (dpp), 2,3-bis(2-pyridyl)quinoxaline (dpq), 2,3-bis(2-pyridyl)benzoquinoxaline (dpb); tpy = 2,2‘:6‘,2‘ ‘-terpyridine). These systems possess electron-rich Ru metal centers bound to five polyazine nitrogens and one chloride ligand. This leads to complexes with low-energy Ru → BL charge-transfer bands that are tunable with BL variation occurring at 544, 632, and 682 nm for dpp, dpq, and dpb, respectively. This tuning of the charge-transfer energy results from a stabilization of the BL(π*) orbitals in this series as evidenced by the cathodic shift in the first reduction of these complexes occurring at −0.50, −0.32, and −0.20 V vs Ag/AgCl, for dpp, dpq, and dpb, respectively. The chlorides bound to the PtII center are substitutionally labile giving these complexes the ability to covalen...
Theory for a test of the electric cable model of the myelinated axon and saltatory conduction.

Abstract An experiment is proposed as a test of the usual electric cable theory and saltatory conduction theory in the myelinated nerve fiber. The experiment consists of investigating the relationship between the following quantities: 1. (1) V(x, r) the minimum height of a depolarizing rectangular voltage pulse of duration τ applied at a distance x from the nearest stimulable node such that an action potential pulse is induced at that node. 2. (2) b(x) ≡ lim V(x, τ) the rheobase voltage at a distance x from the τ → ∞ stimulable node. 3. (3) T ≡ the duration of the depolarizing pulse. Usually the theoretical analysis for the propagation of an electric signal along a nerve fiber involves a computer solution of a non-linear cable equation. In the present treatment the solution for V(x, T) b(x) is developed in the form of the real part of a complex integral; Fourier techniques allow this. The complex integral is then evaluated by computer to any desired precision. This integral method may yield greater precision for the same amount of computer time than the usual numerical methods for solving differential equations. It is also shown that V(x,τ) b(x) = 1+ D(x) τ for small enough τ or large enough τ. V b is computed for broad ranges of values of x and τ. For τ small enough the values of D(x) can be determined. The explicit dependence of D(x) on x depends on the assumptions of the electric cable model and saltatory conduction. D(x) is found to be a simple linear function of x. Appropriate electronic equipment is now available and it appears that experimental techniques have advanced to the point that this experiment can be done. The general characteristics of experimental and theoretical data should agree in order that the combined electric cable and saltatory conduction theories be consistent with reality. Of particular interest is the comparison between theory and experiment regarding the explicit dependence of D(x) on x.
Influence of long-bright and increasing-dim photoperiods on live and processing performance of two broiler strains

The influence of long-bright and increasing-dim photoperiods on live and processing performance was investigated in 2 broiler strains. Fifty males of moderate (M) and high (H) yield strains were placed by strain in 2 pens in each of 12 rooms. Six rooms were provided a long-bright photoperiod (LB treatment) of 23L:1D with 2 footcandles of intensity. The other 6 rooms were provided an increasing-dim photoperiod (ID treatment) of 20L:4D from 1 to 10 d, 12L:12D from 10 to 21 d, 15L:9D from 21 to 28 d, 18L:6D from 28 to 35 d, and 20L:4D from 35 to 54 d, with 0.1 foot-candle throughout. Relative to LB, the ID treatment had lower BW from 7 to 28 d, feed consumption from 7 to 35 d, and feed conversion from 7 to 42 d; however, these variables did not differ between treatments at 54 d. The M strain had consistently greater BW and feed consumption than the H strain. However, M strain feed conversion was only greater from 7 to 35 d. Mortality was unaffected by treatment or strain. Total breast weights and yields were 42 g or 5.1% greater, respectively, in the LB than the ID treatment. Fillet weights and yields, and tender yields, were greater in the LB than ID treatment. Leg weights and yields, and wing yields, were greater in the ID than LB treatment. Total breast weights of M and H strains were similar; however, yield was 3.3% greater in the H than M strain. Fillet yields were greater in the H than M strain. Wing and leg weights and yields were greater in the M than H strain. There was an interaction effect on fat pad weights and yields, which were greater in H strain subjected to ID treatment than other strain and treatment combinations. These results indicate that increasing photoperiods and dim intensities, which often improve broiler live performance, may have a greater negative effect on breast meat production than differences in strains.
Well-Defined Poly(ethylene oxide)−Polyacrylonitrile Diblock Copolymers as Templates for Mesoporous Silicas and Precursors for Mesoporous Carbons

Poly(ethylene oxide)−polyacrylonitrile (PEO-b-PAN) diblock copolymers were synthesized and used as supramolecular templates for mesoporous silicas and precursors for mesoporous carbons. The copolymers were prepared from poly(ethylene oxide) homopolymers through chain extension with polyacrylonitrile (PAN) via atom transfer radical polymerization and had a low polydispersity index (∼1.1), a degree of polymerization of PAN from 16 to 208, and a PAN content of 20−70 wt %. The copolymers were used as supramolecular templates for the formation of silica from tetraethyl orthosilicate in aqueous HCl solution. The obtained silica/PEO-b-PAN composites were calcined to obtain mesoporous silicas or heat-treated to convert PAN into carbon, the latter being isolated through the dissolution of silica. The silicas had specific surface areas of ∼550 m2 g-1, total pore volumes of 0.6−1.2 cm3 g-1, and uniform mesopores of diameter ∼10 nm, which appeared to be cylindrical with short-range ordering. The carbons had broad por...
Characterizing the latency hiding ability of GPUs

This paper demonstrates a latency profiling approach to characterize and evaluate for the latency-hiding capability of modern GPU architectures. We find that the fast context-switching and massive multi-threading architecture can effectively hide much of the latency by swapping in and out warps. However, for certain GPGPU applications, such as bfs, the performance is limited by other factors. In future work, we plan to use the latency profiling approach to further investigate the limits of GPUs and seek for performance improvement opportunities.
Design and Fabrication of the BNL Radio Frequency Quadrupole

The Brookhaven National Laboratory polarized H- injection program for the AGS will utilize a Radio Frequency Quadrupole for acceleration between the polarized source and the Alvarez Linac. Although operation will commence with a few ? amperes of H- current, it is anticipated that future polarized H- sources will have a considerably improved output. The RFQ will operate at 201.25 MHz and will be capable of handling a beam current of 0.02 amperes with a duty cycle of 0.25%. The resulting low average power has allowed novel solutions to the problems of vane alignment, rf current contacts, and removal of heat from the vanes. The cavity design philosophy will be discussed together with the thermodynamics of heat removal from the vane. Details of the fabrication will be presented with a status report.
Pulsed Doppler Echocardiographic and Color Flow Imaging Detection of Retrograde Filling of Anomalous Left Coronary Artery from the Pulmonary Artery

We report a case in which pulsed wave Doppler echocardiography and color flow imaging of blood flow direction in an anomalous coronary artery from the pulmonary artery assisted in the correct diagnosis and confirmed the adequacy of the surgical correction. Low-velocity color scales were used to show retrograde filling of the left coronary artery before surgery and antegrade filling of the left coronary artery after surgery. Detecting direction of blood flow in coronary arteries should increase the accuracy of the noninvasive diagnosis of anomalous left coronary artery from the pulmonary artery.
Influence of Locomotor Muscle Metaboreceptor Stimulation on the Ventilatory Response to Exercise in Heart Failure

Background— Whether locomotor muscle afferent neural activity contributes to exercise hyperpnea and symptoms of dyspnea in heart failure (HF) is controversial. We examined the influence of metaboreceptor stimulation on ventilation with and without maintaining end-exercise end-tidal CO2 levels. Methods and Results— Eleven patients with HF aged 51±5 years (ejection fraction, 32±3%; New York Heart Association class, 1.6±0.2) and 11 age- and gender-matched healthy control participants aged 43±3 years were studied. Participants underwent 3 steady-state cycling sessions at 60% of peak oxygen consumption for 4 minutes. The first exercise session was a baseline control trial. Bilateral thigh tourniquets were inflated to suprasystolic pressure at end exercise for 2 minutes during 2 of the trials (regional circulatory occlusion) with the addition of inspired CO2 to maintain end-exercise partial pressure of end-tidal CO2 during 1 trial (regional circulatory occlusion+CO2). Minute ventilation was measured continuously throughout each trial. At 2 minutes postexercise during the baseline control trial in patients with HF, minute ventilation was 54% of end exercise, whereas the control group averaged 41% ( P =0.11). During regional circulatory occlusion in patients with HF, minute ventilation was 60% of end exercise; however, the control group averaged 35% ( P <0.001). During regional circulatory occlusion+CO2, the minute ventilation of patients with HF averaged 67% of end exercise, whereas the control group averaged 44% ( P <0.001). Conclusion— These data suggest that increased afferent neural activity from the large locomotor muscles associated with metabolites generated during exercise contribute to the augmented ventilatory response to exercise in patients with HF. Received May 14, 2009; accepted December 16, 2009.
Fiber optics for microwave applications

Recently significant progress has been made in fiber-optic components and technology applicable to microwave (analog) systems; several unique microwave functions have been implemented in the fiber-optic domain. Along with or because of these technical advancements, acceptance of photonics for microwave systems has been expanding. This tutorial will review some of the current capabilities and limitations of fiber optics (primarily for wideband applications) as divided into four areas: sources/generation, receivers/detection, transmission, and microwave signal processing (including beamforming, filtering, switching, variable delay, and microwave circuit control). The advantages and disadvantages of different approaches are evaluated.
The Witness Reduction Technique

Don’t you feel cheated when someone tells you the answer to a question before you’ve had a chance to ponder the issue for yourself? Sure you do, but this happens all the time. For example, if you are reading this book, you probably already know the beautiful theory of NP-completeness that was built by Cook, Levin, and Karp a few decades ago. So you already know the standard, striking, subtle answer the field has built to Pause to Ponder 5.1, namely, “We don’t know whether or not SAT is in P, but we do know that SAT is in P if and only if all of the following thousand problems are in P, and we also know that SAT is in P if and only if at least one of the following (same) thousand problems is in P.” (For reasons of space, we omit the list of one thousand NPcomplete problems.) Basically, your ability to consider Pause to Ponder 5.1 as a fresh problem has been pretty thoroughly tainted.
Bilateral spatial filtering: refining methods for localizing brain activation in the presence of parenchymal abnormalities.

Abstract Functional MRI (fMRI) is an important tool for pre-surgical localization of eloquent cortex prior to resection of brain lesions. To increase the inherently low activation signal to noise ratio, fMRI pre-processing steps often include spatial smoothing. However, the effects of smoothing in the presence of brain lesions have not been studied. We have adapted the widely used method of Gaussian spatial filtering to include an “edge stopping” function. This method, termed bilateral filtering, minimizes blurring of apparent brain activity across anatomic boundaries and into regions of non-activation. fMRI data were acquired in a patient with a known low grade glioma during a blocked finger-tapping paradigm. Simulated activity was superimposed on baseline images of non-activated brain using the same paradigm, with additive signal equal to 1, 3, and 5% of the mean physiologic background. Comparison of Gaussian and bilateral filtering suggests that the modified technique more accurately locates brain activation and increases the significance of activation bordering sharp transitions. Thus, spatial pre-processing with a bilateral filter may be particularly useful in the pre-operative assessment of brain lesions.
Definitions of Friendship and their Consequences in Old Age

In an attempt to gauge the quality of relationships, definitions of friendship were delineated through inductive analysis of transcripts of guided conversations with 30 men and 30 women aged 60 + who related their biographies using friendships as a constant referent. Two definitions of friendship were constructed, one which focuses on ‘friends as particular individuals’ and another which focuses on ‘friends as relationships’. Each is described in turn, followed by a discussion of the consequences of holding one or the other or both in old age. Suggestions for intervention strategies tailored to specific definitions are made.
Gender and Relational-Distance Effects in Arrests for Domestic Violence:

This study tests two hypotheses regarding factors affecting arrest of the perpetrator in domestic violence incidents. Black’s relational-distance thesis is that the probability of arrest increases with increasing relational distance between perpetrator and victim. Klinger’s leniency principle suggests that the probability of arrest is lower for male perpetrators assaulting female intimate partners, compared with other scenarios. The authors employed marginal logistic regression models using incident-based data from the National Survey of Violence and Threats of Violence Against Women and Men in the United States, 1994-1996, to test both effects. They found support for Black’s thesis: The likelihood of arrest was lower when the perpetrator was an acquaintance, a relative, or a romantic partner of the victim, versus a stranger. However, the authors’ results failed to support Klinger’s hypothesis. They found that men were more likely to be arrested when assaulting a female—regardless of relationship status—c...
Aircraft Nonminimum Phase Control in Dynamic Sliding Manifolds

The approximate causal nonminimum phase output tracking problem is considered for an F-16 nonlinear sixdegree-of-freedom modelandaddressed via sliding modecontrol.Asymptoticoutputtracking-errordynamicswith desired eigenvalue placement are provided in case of tracking causal reference output proe le with a e nite number of nonzero time derivatives (piecewise polynomial spline model ) in the presence of unmatched disturbances of the same kind. A complete constructive algorithm for tracking controller design is built for a class of uncertain nonlinear multi-input/multi-output systems with known linear unstable internal dynamics. An analysis is made of the issue that the given nonlinear aircraft model yields to the approach developed.
Breaking the silos : Distributed knowledge and strategic responses to volatile exchange rates

A model of effective decision-making in a situation of distributed knowledge is developed, drawing on three perspectives: the sociocognitive perspective, which focuses on framing issues; the economic perspective, which focuses on the role played by incentives in the integration of knowledge and decision-making authority; and the process perspective, which stresses the role of integrating mechanisms and of processes that either hinder or foster risk awareness and flexibility. The model is tested on a sample of managers from different functional areas of Fortune 500 firms, using strategic responses to exchange-rate volatility as the context. The results show that all three perspectives - framing, incentives and process - are significant in explaining the effectiveness of strategic responses to volatile exchange rates. The findings suggest that simultaneously addressing managerial mindsets, incentives and process may be crucial to generating effective strategic responses across functions.
Minimizing Wallpaper Waste, Part 1: A Class of Traveling Salesman Problems

We address the problem of wallpapering a room so as to minimize the paper wasted. We show that the problem is equivalent to finding a shortest hamiltonian chain in a highly structured graph. When the chain connects two equivalent nodes traveling salesman problem, the "nearest-neighbor" technique yields an optimal solution.
The influence of withdrawal time on the performance of broiler chickens fed semduramicin

Abstract Three 49-d experiments, with a total of 6,528 male broiler chicks in floor pens, were conducted to test the hypothesis that Semduramicin feeding-time affects the body weight gain, feed consumption, and feed conversion ratio of broilers. Semduramicin ionophore was added to corn and soybean meal-based diets at the recommended level, 25 mg/kg for 0,34,39, or 42 d. Thus, three withdrawal times were employed (7, 10, and 15 d) during each experiment. Significant differences among experiments were observed for body weight gain, feed intake, and feed conversion ratio, but no significant differences due to Semduramicin were noted in body weight or feed intake. There was only one treatment by experiment interaction found for 0-to-34-d feed intake (P = 0.028), but it was not evident for 0 to 39 d (P = 0.818) or any other times. Feeding Semduramicin with a 10- or 15-d withdrawal period resulted in an improvement in feed conversion of about 0.04 units.
Comparison of isometric contractile properties of the tongue muscles in three species of frogs, Litoria caerulea, Dyscophus guinetti, and Bufo marinus.

Previous studies show that anurans feed in at least three different ways. Basal frogs have a broad tongue that shortens during protraction and emerges only a short distance from the mouth. Some frogs have long, narrow tongues that elongate dramatically due primarily to inertia from mouth opening, which is transferred to the tongue. A few species have a hydrostatic mechanism that produces tongue elongation during protraction. This functional diversity occurs among frogs that share the same two pairs of tongue muscles. Our study compares the isometric contractile properties of these tongue muscles among three frog species that represent each feeding mechanism. Nerves to the paired protractors and retractors were stimulated electrically in each species to record the force properties, contraction speeds, and fatigabilites of these muscles. Few differences were found in the isometric contractile properties of tongue muscles, and the greatest differences were found in the retractors, not the protractors. We propose that the unique arrangement of the tongue muscles in frogs results in a retractor that may also be coactivated with the protractor in order to produce normal tongue protraction. Inertial effects from body, head, and jaw movements, along with clear differences that we found in passive resistance of the tongues to elongation, may explain much of the behavioral variation in tongue use among species.
Combining Neural and Symbolic Learning to Revise Probabilistic Rule Bases

This paper describes RAPTURE - a system for revising probabilistic knowledge bases that combines neural and symbolic learning methods. RAPTURE uses a modified version of backpropagation to refine the certainty factors of a MYCIN-style rule base and uses ID3's information gain heuristic to add new rules. Results on refining two actual expert knowledge bases demonstrate that this combined approach performs better than previous methods.
Object recognition in a digital image

The goal of image processing is generally to identify objects and their relationships in a digital image. The first step in this process is normally the identification of the edges in the digital image. There are many different ways to do this and they will be discussed briefly in the background and literature section. This paper assumes that a given object is presented and the software program is asked to determine if that particular object is present in a given image. The final result would consist of informing the user that the object was represented in the image and computing the pixel position of the search object in the given image. Of course if the object is not found, the user should be given that information. The proposed algorithm uses cubic Bezier curves to represent both the search object and the edges identified in the image. The advantages of the Bezier curve approach are discussed.
The MI-RBFN: mapping for generalization

The mutual information-radial basis function network (MI-RBFN) is an efficient, general, and integrated method of approximating complex, continuous, deterministic systems from incomplete information. The nodes of the MI-RBFN are located by clustering local mutual information estimates thereby yielding a, mapping that inherently generalizes better than one formulated by seeking solely to minimize residuals. The expectation-maximization algorithm is introduced for Gaussian clustering of MI estimates. A further improvement in the methodology is marked by the specification of a set of rules for intelligently determining the binning interval of the input and target spaces.
ONTOGENY OF SEXUAL DIMORPHISM IN CHINCHILLA LANIGERA (RODENTIA: CHINCHILLIDAE)

Growth patterns that lead to sexual dimorphism in adults are not well quantified. We measured 49 skeletal dimensions in male and female Chinchilla lanigera from radiographs of growing individuals taken during 320 days. Measurements for each individual were fit with a nonlinear Gompertz equation to quantify growth patterns. Differences in Gompertz parameters between sexes were compared with a t-test. Most significant differences between sexes in growth and final size were in the pelvic girdle (which formed the birth canal) and viscerocranium. Sexual dimorphism in the viscerocranium may support the hypothesis that differences in use of ecological niche often causes sexual dimorphism where females are larger than males.
CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS OF COMMINUTED PRODUCTS | Other Ingredients

Legal additives and their limits that can be combined with meat products to improve or alter their physical, chemical, flavor profile, microbiological population, shelf life, and economic character are discussed. The typical ingredients used in meat products are independently outlined along with how they function and contribute to the desired meat characteristics, both singularly and in combination with other additives.
School Observations and Classroom Experience

This chapter describes the clinical experiences of four teacher candidates while they were completing student teaching in a program with a heavy emphasis on help seeking and delay of gratification as two self-regulated learning strategies and it describes a set of classroom observations. The institution’s core values influence every aspect of teacher preparation including how student teaching placements are selected. Teacher candidates should be able to thrive in learning environments with diverse populations in urban settings, but in addition, be challenged to work with parents and educators whose backgrounds and life experiences are unfamiliar. Both public and private school settings provided venues for clinical experiences and the completion of the Teacher Work Sample. In addition, teacher candidates were observed in these settings using reliable instruments constructed to measure help seeking before, during, and after a lesson was planned and delivered. The findings across all teacher candidates evidence behaviors during their individual clinical experiences that can be attributed to self-regulatory practices. Engagement in self-monitoring and self-evaluation enabled teacher candidates to attribute success and failure to specific areas of weakness or strength.
Impact of QFD utilization in the development of a nondestructive damage detection system for aerospace structures

The impact of the use of Quality Function Deployment (QFD) in the development of a nondestructive damage detection algorithm and the associated products for an aerospace structure is evaluated. An overview of QFD, a description of how QFD is utilized to develop the products, and an evaluation of the impact of QFD utilization on the project is provided. The products developed here include elements of the Project Management, a nondestructive damage localization and severity estimation mechanism with specified characteristics, a specifically designed report, and a software package containing the algorithm. It is shown that the impact of QFD utilization is to improve the quality of the research and development process by increasing the performance and reliability of the process and ensuring its conformance. It is also shown that the major impact of QFD utilization on the products is to ensure product conformance with user–demanded quality.
Unity Airways: Chris Watson (B)

Just as Chris Watson thanked the previous client for her patience, the shift supervisor reminded Watson that the line was still very long and that the cases needed to be resolved expeditiously and cost-effectively. As the next client stepped forward, Watson saw someone who was obviously vexed by the interruption of the flight and by the delay in rescheduling her itinerary.
Clinical Microbiology in Real Time: The High Noon of a New Era

“Ah! That accounts for it,” said the Hatter. “He won't stand beating. Now, if you only kept on good terms with him, he'd do almost anything you like with the clock. For instance, suppose it were nine o'clock in the morning, just in time to begin lessons: you'd only have to whisper a hint to Time, and round goes the clock in a twinkling! Half past one, time for dinner!”
Endoscopic-Assisted Atraumatic Coronary Artery Bypass

Minimally invasive operations designed to graft the left anterior descending coronary artery with the left internal mammary artery are either traumatic to the chest wall or technically difficult and expensive. This report describes a novel procedure that is less traumatic and simpler.
Electrochemical Immunosensor Using Nanoparticle-Based Signal Enhancement for Escherichia Coli O157:H7 Detection

An electrochemical immunosensor based on the assembly of three nanoparticles for the rapid detection of Escherichia coli O157:H7 has been developed. The biosensor assay consists of magnetic separation using antibody-functionalized magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) and electrochemical reporters using gold nanoparticle (AuNP)-conjugated lead sulfide (PbS) nanoparticles via oligonucleotide linkage. The AuNPs were also functionalized with polyclonal anti-E. coli O157:H7 antibodies in order to bind the target bacterial cells which were captured and separated from the sample by antibody-functionalized MNPs. Because each AuNP was linked to multiple PbS nanoparticles, each binding event to the target resulted in substantial amplification. The signal of PbS was measured on screen-printed carbon electrode by square wave anodic stripping voltammetry. Results show that the biosensor could detect E. coli O157:H7 in the range of 10 1 -10 6 colony forming units per milliliter (cfu/ml) with a signal-to-noise ratio ranging from 2.77 to 4.31. With sample preparation being minimized, results were obtained in 1 h from sample processing to final readout. Due to its high sensitivity, this trinano immunosensor has great potential applications in public health, biodefense, and food/water safety monitoring.
Possible occurrence of multiple antigens in type 2 poliomyelitis and GDVII mouse encephalomyelitis viruses.

Discussion and SummaryThere are several possibilities which may account for complement fixing activity present in the supernatants of acetone-ether but not in saline-ether extracts of MEF1 infant mouse virus obtained by centrifugation at 35000 rpm for 75 minutes. The acetone-ether extraction not only inactivates a large amount of infectivity, but at the same time decreases the density of such inactivated virus or breaks down a portion of the virus particles into smaller units. The CF activity of the supernatant, on the other hand, may represent a second antigen evident with acetone-ether but not saline-ether extracts because of concentration effects. In addition, it is possible that acetone-ether but not saline-ether treatment releases from the virus particles a second antigen. Finally, inhibitor substance(s) which partially interfere with CF activity of MEF1 virus may be removed by acetone-ether treatment. With GDVII virus it would appear that a physical separation of 2 CF antigens was realized, one asso...
On the water lapping of felines and the water running of lizards: A unifying physical perspective.

We consider two biological phenomena taking place at the air-water interface, the water lapping of felines and the water running of lizards. Although seemingly disparate motions, we show that they are intimately linked by their underlying hydrodynamics and belong to a broader class of processes called Froude mechanisms. We describe how both felines and lizards exploit inertia to defeat gravity, and discuss water lapping and water running in the broader context of water exit and water entry, respectively.
Abstract 5380: Prophylactic MUC1/Poly-ICLC vaccine in individuals with the history of advanced colorectal adenoma

Background MUC1 is aberrantly expressed in a hypoglycosylated form with lack of luminal polarity in variety of human adenocarcinomas including colon cancer. Aberrant MUC1 is also highly expressed in colonic adenomas where it may promote malignant transformation by interacting withβ-catenin known to be an important pathway in colon carcinogenesis. We hypothesized that induction of an immune response against aberrant MUC1 in individuals with a recent history of adenoma may prevent adenoma recurrence and/or their progression to colon cancer. We conducted a clinical study using MUC1 peptide and Poly-ICLC adjuvant vaccine to evaluate the safety and immunogenicity in individuals who are cancer free but at high risk for developing colorectal cancer because of a recent history of advanced adenoma. Method Patients with advanced colorectal adenoma which meets at least one of following criteria: 1) ≥ 1cm in maximal diameter, 2) villous or tubulovillous histology, 3) high-grade dysplasia, were vaccinated with 100μg of 100aa MUC1 peptide (H2N-(GVTSAPDTRPAPGSTAPPAH)5-CONH2) admixed with 500μg of Poly-ICLC (TLR-3 agonist) as adjuvant, on week 0, 2, 10 and one year later. Bloods were collected two weeks after each injection for monitoring of general immunocompetence, development of anti-MUC1 antibody and safety. Results The vaccine was well tolerated without any adverse event grade 2 or higher. Among 36 evaluable patients, anti MUC1 IgG antibody was elicited in 17 patients as measured on week12 (response rate 47.2%). This response rate and the high levels of IgG have never been seen in response to MUC1 vaccines in cancer patients. Antibody titers declined over time but could be boosted to previous or higher levels at 1 year, showing development of immune memory. Vaccine responders were distributed across most HLA-DR and DQ types with similar frequency as in the general population, indicating that the MUC1 peptide could be presented by multiple Class II alleles. Immune competence of colon adenoma patients evaluated by cytokine production of lymphocyte and regulatory T cell frequency was generally equal to healthy individuals, however myeloid derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) were significantly increased in colon adenoma patients. Increase in MDSCs was especially pronounced in non-responders to the vaccine. Conclusion MUC1 poly-ICLC vaccine is highly immunogenic in this prophylactic setting and no significant adverse events have been seen. Vaccine immunogenicity is reduced in individuals with increased numbers of MDSC and this immunosuppressive population might be used as a biomarker to select patients most likely to respond. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 5380. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-5380
Use of Survivorship Care Plans and Analysis of Patient-Reported Outcomes in Multinational Patients With Lung Cancer

Purpose:Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death and is a significant source of morbidity. Patient-reported outcomes (PROs) have been shown to be prognostic for survival. We have analyzed emerging patterns of longitudinal PROs collected in the development of survivorship care plans (SCPs).Methods:OncoLife and the LIVESTRONG Care Plans are Internet-based programs designed to generate unique SCPs. We selected SCPs from patients identifying as survivors of primary lung cancer. Patient-reported demographics and treatment and toxicity data were examined. Effects were categorized by the physiologic system that they affected.Results:Six hundred eighty-nine plans were created for users self-identifying as survivors of primary lung cancer. Average time from diagnosis to reporting was 1.68 years (range, 0 to 24 years). Most were white (85.9%), well educated (61.1% “some college” or higher), and lived in the United States (90.7%). Patients underwent chemotherapy (75.8%), radiotherapy (54.7%), and surgery (54...
Could Stem Cells Be Used to Treat or Model Alzheimer’s Disease?

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the leading cause of age-related dementia, affecting more than five million people in the United States alone. Unfortunately, the incidence of AD is expected to double in the next 20 years. Yet, currently approved therapies provide only marginal short-term benefit. Thus, there is a critical need to accelerate translational research for AD. One area of study that has received increasing attention is the potential application of stem cells for AD. Many studies have now shown promising preclinical benefits of stem cell transplantation in animal models. In addition, rapid progress in the development of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) is providing an exciting new platform for disease modeling and the development of future therapies. In this chapter, we will review the current state of research on stem cell transplantation for AD. We will also examine the mechanisms that underlie the effects of stem cell transplantation and the considerable challenge in translating these findings toward clinical trials. Lastly, we will discuss the potential clinical and disease-modeling applications of patient-derived iPSCs for AD.
New incision for penile surgery.

AbstractWe present a recent modification of the surgical incision used for patients with Peyronie’s disease of the dorsal penile shaft and/or who require a concomitant complete dorsal vein ligation procedure. This approach spares the penile skin from trauma and torsion, and allows for improved access to the more proximal penile shaft. Our experience to date has demonstrated no evidence of increased morbidity with excellent cosmetic results.