cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
On the classification of C6 (tuberculum sextum) of the mandibular molars

Cusp six (C6) of the mandibular molars is well-represented in the Hominoid fossil record and occurs with irregular frequency in the various geographic populations of modernHomo as well as in many of the extant non-human primates. The literature reveals considerable controversy and confusion related to C6 anatomic location, definitions and scoring criteria, and a major problem exists in deciding what actually is the “real” or “true” C6, especially relative to variable hypoconulid (C5) expression (i.e., reduction forms and the “divided hypoconulid”). A method is proposed that involves dual 4-point ranking (absent, small, medium, large) and reporting of C5–C6 covariation within a framework of 13 morphological expressivity categories. When applied to 3 different human populations, the method provided a reasonably clear picture of the actual C5 and C6 covariation patterns observed in the mandibular molar dentition. Data obtained from this exercise illustrated that inter- and intrapopulation differences in reported C6 frequencies could be associated with variable scoring criteria as well as with different levels of occlusal attrition and age distribution of the samples.
Body fat is differentially related to body mass index in U.S.-born African-American and East African immigrant girls.

Objective: To examine ethnic differences in adiposity at a given body mass index (BMI) in a sample of U.S.-born African-American and East African immigrant adolescent girls. Methods: In a sample of black adolescent girls (n = 79; ages 14–20) we compared measures of adiposity across the range of BMI-for-age among 55 U.S.-born African-American (mean BMI: 30.4; age: 15.4) and 24 East African immigrant girls (mean BMI: 21.8; age: 16.7). Fat and fat-free mass were assessed with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). We used spline regression to examine the distributions of fat mass index and percent body fat across the range of BMI-for-age z-scores. Results: Compared with African-American girls, East African girls were smaller on all body measures, but appeared to have higher fat mass index and percent body fat at the same BMI-for-age. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that at a given BMI East African immigrants may have greater adiposity than African-American girls. If corroborated in larger samples, our data suggest that the cardiometabolic risks attendant to elevated adiposity may affect East African girls at a lower BMI than in African-American girls. Am. J. Hum. Biol., 2011. © 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Improvement of the R-SWAT-FME framework to support multiple variables and multi-objective functions

Application of numerical models is a common practice in the environmental field for investigation and prediction of natural and anthropogenic processes. However, process knowledge, parameter identifiability, sensitivity, and uncertainty analyses are still a challenge for large and complex mathematical models such as the hydrological/water quality model, Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT). In this study, the previously developed R program language-SWAT-Flexible Modeling Environment (R-SWAT-FME) was improved to support multiple model variables and objectives at multiple time steps (i.e., daily, monthly, and annually). This expansion is significant because there is usually more than one variable (e.g., water, nutrients, and pesticides) of interest for environmental models like SWAT. To further facilitate its easy use, we also simplified its application requirements without compromising its merits, such as the user-friendly interface. To evaluate the performance of the improved framework, we used a case study focusing on both streamflow and nitrate nitrogen in the Upper Iowa River Basin (above Marengo) in the United States. Results indicated that the R-SWAT-FME performs well and is comparable to the built-in auto-calibration tool in multi-objective model calibration. Overall, the enhanced R-SWAT-FME can be useful for the SWAT community, and the methods we used can also be valuable for wrapping potential R packages with other environmental models.
Recurrent Keratitis Profunda from Maxillary Sinusitis

Explosion of a stove blew soot and coal dust into the eye, this was followed by increasing photophobia, redness and swelling. Return to nearly normal was followed by recurrences. There was deep infiltration invaded by vessels from the limbus. Under treatment, permanent relief was only afforded by radical operations on both antra. Reported from the Department of Ophthalmology, Walter Reed General Hospital.
The effect of sustained salivary sulfathiazole levels on the oral bacterial population

Abstract The chewing of medicated gum results in a consistent and definite lowering of the oral bacterial population. The depression of the bacterial population in the dentulous and edentulous individual, based on the percentage change from the initial control count, was similar. The depression of streptococcal organisms appears to be slightly greater than the depression of the total bacterial flora. Based on these studies, it is suggested that for prolonged depression of the oral bacterial population the medicated gum be chewed for one-half hour, discarded, and a fresh wafer used one-half hour later.
Quantum theory of exchange reactions: Use of nonorthogonal bases and coordinates

A general approach to quantum scattering theory of exchange reactions utilizing nonorthogonal (’’over‐complete’’) basis sets and nonorthogonal coordinates is presented. The method is shown to resolve many of the formal and practical difficulties attending earlier theories. Although the inspiration came from the early and accurate work on the collinear H+H2 reaction by Diestler possible applications include electron transfer processes as well as chemical exchange reactions. The mathematics is formulated in detail and the solution is presented in terms of the R‐matrix propagation method preserving all the symmetries of the physical process, i.e., conservation of flux and microscopic reversibility.
In vivo gene delivery and expression by bacteriophage lambda vectors

Aims: Bacteriophage vectors have potential as gene transfer and vaccine delivery vectors because of their low cost, safety and physical stability. However, little is known concerning phage-mediated gene transfer in mammalian hosts. We therefore performed experiments to examine phage-mediated gene transfer in vivo. Methods and Results: Mice were inoculated with recombinant lambda phage containing a mammalian expression cassette encoding firefly luciferase (luc). Efficient, dose-dependent in vivo luc expression was detected, which peaked within 24 h of delivery and declined to undetectable levels within a week. Display of an integrin-binding peptide increased cellular internalization of phage in vitro and enhanced phage-mediated gene transfer in vivo. Finally, in vivo depletion of phagocytic cells using clodronate liposomes had only a minor effect on the efficiency of phage-mediated gene transfer. Conclusions: Unmodified lambda phage particles are capable of transducing mammalian cells in vivo, and may be taken up – at least in part – by nonphagocytic mechanisms. Surface modifications that enhance phage uptake result in more efficient in vivo gene transfer. Significance and Impact of the Study: These experiments shed light on the mechanisms involved in phage-mediated gene transfer in vivo, and suggest new approaches that may enhance the efficiency of this process.
A frequency stabilized semiconductor mode-locked laser with a phase modulator and an intra-cavity etalon

A semiconductor laser is mode-locked by phase modulation at one-half the free spectral range of an intra-cavity etalon. The optical comb-lines are locked to the transmission peaks of the etalon using a Pound-Drever-Hall scheme.
Water as a melting point depressant for acrylic polymers

Water is known to strongly depress the melting point of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) and acrylic copolymers. A scanning calorimetric technique has been developed that utilizes this melting point depression in probing the structure of acrylic fibers. In this report the melting and crystallization of PAN and acrylonitrile-vinyl acetate copolymers is studied as a function of water content. Addition of water continually depresses the polymer melting point until a critical water level is reached where the molten polymer separates from the water and no further reduction in the melting point is observed. Both the minimum melting point and the critical amount of water required for phase separation decreases as the level of vinyl acetate comonomer is increased. The latter relationships are examined in terms of the acrylic polymer morphology and the possibility that the water molecules become associated with the nitrile group during the melting process.
Allergic contact dermatitis from Basic Red 46 in flame‐retardant work clothing

A 55-year-old man presented with a 6-month history of widespread erythema and itching, involving the entire body except for the head, hands, feet, and the axillary vault, since beginning a job that required him to wear flame-retardant clothing made of red Nomex® fabric. His problem tended to disappear when he was removed from his work environment. There was no personal or family history of atopy.
An efficient multilevel solution scheme for large scale non-linear systems

We present a new approach for the fast, efficient solution of large systems of non-linear equations arising from the finite element discretization. The proposed non-linear solver builds on the advantages of the popular methods of solution that are currently being employed, while eliminating most of their undesirable features. It combines the well-known BFGS method with the FAS version of the multigrid method, introduced by Brandt,1 to form a fast, efficient solution method for non-linear problems. We present numerical performance studies that are indicative of the convergence properties as well as the stability of the new method.
Melatonin receptor RNA expression in Xenopus retina.

Melatonin is an indolamine hormone presumably synthesized by retinal photoreceptors, and may act as a paracrine signal of darkness within the retina. Previous studies have suggested that melatonin, acting through specific receptors, may be involved in cyclic retinal functions such as photoreceptor outer segment disc shedding and phagocytosis, and modulation of neurotransmitter release in the inner retina. The goal of this study was to determine if melatonin receptor mRNA is expressed in the neural retina and retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) of Xenopus laevis. Sheets of RPE, devoid of contaminating cells, were obtained from Xenopus eyes, and epithelial cultures were subsequently established on microporous membrane filters in a defined medium. Total RNA was isolated from whole brain, neural retina, fresh RPE sheets, and cultured RPE cells. RNA expression of the three known Xenopus melatonin receptor subtypes (MEL1A, 1B, and 1C) was determined by reverse-transcription/polymerase chain reaction (RT/PCR) amplification, followed by Southern hybridization with RNA probes. PCR-amplified cDNA encoding melatonin receptor subtypes 1B and 1C, but not 1A, were detected in reverse-transcribed RNA obtained from brain, neural retina and RPE. RPE cells grown in culture for two weeks also demonstrated 1B and 1C receptor RNA expression. This study suggests that RNA encoding the 1B and 1C melatonin receptor subtypes is expressed in the neural retina and RPE of Xenopus retina, and the expression persists in RPE cells when grown in culture. The expression of melatonin receptor RNA in the RPE may reflect a regulatory role for melatonin in some diurnal events that occur in this tissue, such as phagocytosis of photoreceptor outer segment membranes, and intracellular migration of pigment granules.
Endoscopic electrohydraulic lithotripsy in the management of pancreatobiliary lithiasis

Background: Clinical evaluation of intraoperative endoscopy with electrohydraulic lithotripsy (EHL) in the management of 13 patients with pancreatobiliary lithiasis was undertaken. Methods: Ten patients with chronic pancreatitis with intraductal lithiasis in the head and three with biliary lithiasis (one choledochal, one cystic, one right intrahepatic) underwent intraoperative endoscopy with EHL. Shock waves were applied by visual contact with a 3-Fr gauge EHL probe until all stones were fragmented and irrigated free. All pancreatitis patients had failed ERCP attempts to stent their pancreatic ducts secondary to ductal lithiasis. Patients with pancreatic stones underwent lateral pancreatojejunostomy. Biliary stone patients underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy with common duct exploration (two cases) and open cholecystectomy with choledochoduodenostomy (one case). Results: Intraductal stone eradication was successful in all patients. Transampullary visualization of the duodenum was achieved in eight cases. Average EHL time was 65 min. There was no evidence of postoperative pancreatitis, cholangitis, or retained common duct stones. Conclusion: Intraoperative pancreatobiliary endoscopy with EHL is safe and effective in the eradication of pancreatic and bile duct stones. This novel technique represents a valuable adjunct in the management of chronic fibrocalcific pancreatitis with ductal lithiasis in the head region and in the open and laparoscopic management of intra- and extrahepatic bile duct stones.
Current practice, demographics, and trends of critical care trained emergency physicians in the United States.

Objectives: Critical care medicine (CCM) is of growing interest among emergency physicians (EPs), but the number of CCM-trained EPs and their postfellowship practice is unknown. This study’s purpose was to conduct a descriptive census survey of EPs who have completed or are currently in a CCM fellowship. Methods: The authors created a Web-based survey, and requests to participate were sent to EPs who have completed or are currently in a CCM fellowship. Responses were collected over a 12-month period. Physicians were located via multiple whom electronic mailing lists, including the Emergency Medicine Section of the Society of Critical Care Medicine, Critical Care Section of the American College of Emergency Physicians, and the Emergency Medicine Residents’ Association. The authors also contacted CCM fellowship coordinators and used informal networking. Data were collected on emergency medicine (EM) and other residency training; discipline, duration, and year of CCM fellowship; current practice setting; and board certification status, including the European Diploma in Intensive Care (EDIC). Results: A total of 104 physicians completed the survey (97% response rate), of whom 73 had completed fellowship at the time of participation, and 31 of whom were in fellowship training. Of those who completed fellowship, 36/73 (49%) practice both EM and CCM, and 45/73 (62%) practice in academic institutions. Multiple disciplines of fellowship were represented: multidisciplinary (39), surgical (28), internal medicine (16), anesthesia (14), and other (4). Together, the CCM fellowships at the University of Maryland R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center and the University of Pittsburgh have trained 42% of all EM-CCM physicians, with 38 other institutions training from one to four fellows each. The number of EPs completing CCM fellowships has risen: from 1974 to 1989, 12 EPs; from 1990 to 1999, 15 EPs; and from 2000 to 2007, 43 EPs. Conclusions: Emergency physicians are entering CCM fellowships in increasing numbers. Almost half of these EPs practice both EM and CCM. ACADAEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE 2010; 17:325–329 © 2010 by the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
Template properties of DNA alkylated with N-methyl-N-nitrosourea and N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea

Abstract Alkylation of DNA with N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (MeNU) and N-ethyl-N-itrosourea (EtNU) reduces its ability to support RNA synthesis catalyzed by exogenously added RNA polymerase. It is likely that 7-alkylguanine and alkyl phosphotriester in DNA are mainly responsible for the inhibition of RNA synthesis. The inhibitory effect of alkyl groups varies depending upon divalent metal ions and the type of RNA polymerase used as well as upon the presence of chromosomal proteins on DNA templates. Analyses of RNA products indicate that inhibition occurs primarily at the initiation step.
Structures of Acylated Anthocyan Pigments in Vitis vinifera variety Tinta Pinheira. II. Position of Acylation

SUMMARY Gas chromatographic analysis of the methylated sugar residues obtained from the band-2 pigment of Vitis vinifera var. Tinta Pinheira indicated that the acyl function, p-coumaric acid, was most likely attached at the four-position on the glucose portion of the anthocyanins. The possibility of an acid-catalyzed migration of the acyl function during the methylation process cannot, however, be ruled out completely. The acylated pigments of band 2 are thus considered to be the 3-monoglucosides of malvidin, peonidin, petunidin, and delphinidin, each acylated with p-coumaric acid at the four-position on the glucose.
Analyzing compositional drift transients in copolymerization systems using digital encoding

Abstract A new methodology termed “Digital Encoding of Polymeric Chains” was developed by Debling and Teymour (Macromol. Symp. 182 (2002) 195). It involves replacing distinguishable features of the chain such as monomer units, branches, functionality, etc., with a numeric code that can be translated into a unique decimal equivalent number. This technique provided a suitable method for the graphical representation of the chain type distribution (CTD), which was not previously possible. CTD represents concentration fractions of all polymer chain types including polymer isomers which are chains of same length and composition, but have different monomeric sequences. This work focuses on the analysis of the transient behavior of CTD in contrast with the compositional behavior for free radical copolymerization chemistry in batch reactors, in semi-batch reactors operated under different compositional drift control policies, and finally in grade transitions of continuous stirred tank reactors (CSTRs). Results show that many time-dependent policies succeed in maintaining a homogenous copolymer composition and CTD; however, for grade transitions in CSTRs, a uniform copolymer composition cannot ensure the same level of uniformity in CTD resulting in the possibility of fairly different product grades than required.
Synthesis of 2′-amino-2′-deoxy-5-fluorocytidine

Acetylation of 2′-deoxy-5-fluoro-2′-trifluoroacetamidouridine with acetic anhydride in pyridine, followed by treatment with phosphorus pentasulfide in refluxing dioxane afforded 3′,5′-di-O-acetyl-2′-deoxy-5-fluoro-2′-trifluorothioacetamido-4-thiouridine (3). Treatment of 3 with methanolic sodium methoxide furnished 2′-deoxy-2′-trifluorothioacetamido-4-thiouridine (4), whereas its treatment with methanolic ammonia gave 2′-amino-2′-deoxy-5-fluorocytidine (5). An alternative approach for the preparation of this compound proceeding from 2′-trifluoroacetamidocytidine was unsuccessful, since the use of acetic anhydride in pyridine led to the replacement of the trifluoroacetyl function by an acetyl group, yielding an intermediate unsuitable for obtaining the target compound. The title compound was inactive at 1 × 10−4 M concentration against HeLa and leukemia L1210 cells in vitro, but inhibited the in vitro growth of E. coli cells at a concentration of 1 × 10−7 M. It was also found to be a substrate for CR/dCR deaminase partially purified from human liver, with a Km of 128 μM.
Permanental polynomials of graphs

Abstract The first section surveys recent results on the permanental polynomial of a square matrix A, i.e., per(xI – A). The second section concerns the permanental polynomial of the adjacency matrix of a graph. The final section is an introduction to the permanental polynomial of the Laplacian matrix of a graph. An appendix lists some of these latter polynomials.
Vascular and bowel complications during retroperitoneal laparoscopic surgery.

ABSTRACTPurpose: We report on vascular and bowel complications during major retroperitoneal laparoscopic renal and adrenal surgery.Materials and Methods: A total of 404 patients underwent retroperitoneoscopy for various renal and adrenal pathology between July 1997 and February 2001. The occurrence of intraoperative vascular and bowel injuries, specific intraoperative circumstances, management techniques and outcomes were evaluated.Results: There were 7 vascular injuries (1.7%) and 1 bowel injury (0.25%), which involved the right adrenal vein (2), left renal vein (2), right renal vein (1), right renal artery (1), inferior vena cava (1) and a superficial, small serosal injury to the duodenum (1). Of these 8 cases 5 (63%) had been treated prior with major open intra-abdominal surgery. Average blood loss for patients with vascular injuries was 1,186 cc (range 300 to 3,000). Of the 8 cases 1 was converted to open surgery and in another 2 cases the vascular injury was controlled through the extraction incision...
Dominations in trapezoid graphs

Abstract We present O( nm ) time algorithms for the weighted domination problem and its two variants, total domination and connected domination in a trapezoid graph of n vertices and m edges.
Moving to a slow beat

The tracing offered no evidence of atrial fibrillation. ather, it documented a regular, narrow complex rhythm ith no discernable P waves at a rate of 31 bpm (Figure 1). his is a junctional escape rhythm due to sinus arrest. Note hat the baseline from the end of the T wave to the begining of the next QRS complex is remarkably flat; the conpicuous absence of P waves indicates that the atria are lectrically silent. In contrast, patients with complete—or hird degree—heart block have atrial activity that cannot be onducted to the ventricles. As a result, an escape rhythm rises below the level of block. For example, when the mpasse is beneath the AV junction, a ventricular focus then aces the heart. In our patient’s case, an escape rhythm ccurred because there was no atrial activity in the first lace. Shortly after the ECG, the patient’s heart rate increased,
A new error-free floating-point summation algorithm

Summation is a basic operation in scientific computing; furthermore division-free arithmetic computations can be boiled down to summation. We propose a new summation algorithm, which consists of double-precision floating-point operations and outputs the error-free sums. The computational time is proportional to the condition number of the problem, is low according to both our estimates and extensive experiments, and further decreases for producing faithful rounding of the sum, rather than its error-free value.
Computational investigation of amine-oxygen exciplex formation.

It has been suggested that fluorescence from amine-containing dendrimer compounds could be the result of a charge transfer between amine groups and molecular oxygen [Chu, C.-C.; Imae, T. Macromol. Rapid Commun.2009, 30, 89.]. In this paper we employ equation-of-motion coupled cluster computational methods to study the electronic structure of an ammonia–oxygen model complex to examine this possibility. The results reveal several bound electronic states with charge transfer character with emission energies generally consistent with previous observations. However, further work involving confinement, solvent, and amine structure effects will be necessary for more rigorous examination of the charge transfer fluorescence hypothesis.
Tandem mass spectrometric characterization of the conversion of xylose to furfural

Abstract Thermal decomposition of xylose into furfural under acidic conditions has been studied using tandem mass spectrometry. Two different Bronsted acids, maleic and sulfuric acids, were used to demonstrate that varying the Bronsted acid does not affect the mechanism of the reaction. Two selectively labeled xylose molecules, 1-13C and 5-13C-xyloses, were examined to determine which carbon atom is converted to the aldehyde carbon in furfural. This can be done by using tandem mass spectrometry since collision-activated dissociation (CAD) of protonated unlabeled furfural results in the loss of CO from the aldehyde moiety. The loss of a neutral molecule with MW of 29 Da (13CO) was observed for protonated furfural derived from 1-13C-labeled xylose while the loss of a neutral molecule with MW of 28 Da (CO) was observed for protonated furfural derived from 5-13C labeled xylose. These results support the hypothesis that the mechanism of formation of furfural under mildly hot acidic conditions involves an intramolecular rearrangement of protonated xylose into the pyranose form rather than into an open-chain form.
Coal dust flame propagation in a laboratory flammability tube

Abstract Coal dust flammability experiments are essential in order to evaluate propagation limit concentrations and the fundamental burning velocity rate as a function of dust concentration. This paper presents such data for Pittsburgh seam bituminous coal dust using a relatively large scale horizontal flammability apparatus, the gravity tumbler flammability tube (GTFT). The reported lean limit (based on propagating a steady state constant pressure flame) was measured as 420 g/m3, a factor of two or three greater than that reported from the modified Hartmann bomb apparatus. A maximum steady state flame speed was measured as 34 cm/s, at a concentration of 900 g/m3, a value greater than that observed when using held flame facilities.
To Form a More Perfect Union

Author's Summary— Too many foreign-language teachers, through incomplete training and experience, have a narrow outlook upon their profession and do not work in harmony even with themselves. Especially harmful is their failure to seek a proper and vital union with teachers of English.)
Modelled hydraulic redistribution by sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) matches observed data only after including night-time transpiration

The movement of water from moist to dry soil layers through the root systems of plants, referred to as hydraulic redistribution (HR), occurs throughout the world and is thought to influence carbon and water budgets and ecosystem functioning. The realized hydrologic, biogeochemical and ecological consequences of HR depend on the amount of redistributed water, whereas the ability to assess these impacts requires models that correctly capture HR magnitude and timing. Using several soil types and two ecotypes of sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) in split-pot experiments, we examined how well the widely used HR modelling formulation developed by Ryel et al. matched experimental determination of HR across a range of water potential driving gradients. H. annuus carries out extensive night-time transpiration, and although over the last decade it has become more widely recognized that night-time transpiration occurs in multiple species and many ecosystems, the original Ryel et al. formulation does not include the effect of night-time transpiration on HR. We developed and added a representation of night-time transpiration into the formulation, and only then was the model able to capture the dynamics and magnitude of HR we observed as soils dried and night-time stomatal behaviour changed, both influencing HR.
Towards deeper understanding: Deep convex networks for semantic utterance classification

Following the recent advances in deep learning techniques, in this paper, we present the application of special type of deep architecture — deep convex networks (DCNs) — for semantic utterance classification (SUC). DCNs are shown to have several advantages over deep belief networks (DBNs) including classification accuracy and training scalability. However, adoption of DCNs for SUC comes with non-trivial issues. Specifically, SUC has an extremely sparse input feature space encompassing a very large number of lexical and semantic features. This is about a few thousand times larger than the feature space for acoustic modeling, yet with a much smaller number of training samples. Experimental results we obtained on a domain classification task for spoken language understanding demonstrate the effectiveness of DCNs. The DCN-based method produces higher SUC accuracy than the Boosting-based discriminative classifier with word trigrams.
DETINNING IN CANNED TOMATOES CAUSED BY ACCUMULATIONS OF NITRATE IN THE FRUIT

ABSTRACT— The 1965 experimental crop of Floradel variety tomatoes accumulated no nitrate and removed only about 15% of the tin from their containers in a 2-yr storage period. The 1966 Florida crop of Homestead 24 variety tomatoes accumulated from about 50–80 ppm in the fruit and removed about 70% of the tin from their cans. All fertilizer application variables except the lowest resulted in about the same level of nitrate accumulation. The nitrate in most of these variables was exhausted in about 6 mo and the rate of detinning leveled off soon after. The correlation between loss of nitrate and tin removal was significant at the 5% level. Detinning in these cans approached a “problem level’ in that about 70% of the tin was removed in 18 mo. In the 1965 tomato crop at Ohio State University there was no apparent connection between the levels of applied nitrogen and the nitrate accumulated in the fruit. In the 1966 Ohio tomatoes, the treatments with no applied nitrogen accumulated less nitrate in the fruit than the other treatments with varying levels of nitrate fertilization. The differences among the detinning histories of the various treatments followed in a general way the differences in nitrate accumulation. Detinning in individual cans varied between extremely wide limits. There were no differences apparent among the treatment variables in the 1965 crop. In the 1966 tomatoes the zero applied nitrogen treatment consistently showed less detinning than the others. In both the 1965 and 1966 crops the nitrate in the canned samples was exhausted after about 2 mo of storage. Essentially all of the detinning in these tomatoes occurred during the first 6 mo. Regression equations from pooled results of field studies and work on nitrate fortification of non-aggressive tomatoes suggest that an initial nitrate concentration of the order of 100 ppm can constitute a rapid detinning problem in tomatoes in a 303 can having a tin coating weight of 1.00 Ib/bb.
Modified Sensory Features of Social Stimulation Alter the Perceptual Responsiveness of Bobwhite Quail Chicks (Colinus virginianus)

This study examined the sensory features of postnatal social experience that bobwhite quail chicks (Colinus virginianus) require to maintain species-typical responding to maternal auditory-visual cues. Chicks were reared in 1 of 3 conditions after hatching: altered tactile, auditory, or visual experience with siblings. Findings revealed that altered tactile, auditory, or visual experience during the first 36 or the first 72 hr following hatching modified chicks' preferential responding to species-specific maternal cues. During the second 36 hr, altered tactile or auditory experience disrupted chicks' perceptual development, whereas altered visual experience did not affect species-typical responsiveness. Results indicate that (a) timing of early postnatal visual experience can affect early filial responsiveness to maternal cues and (b) normal sensory experience derived from early social interaction affects species-typical perceptual development.
Correlations between selected tumor markers and fluorodeoxyglucose maximal standardized uptake values in esophageal cancer

Objective: Esophageal cancer tumor biology is best assessed clinically by 2-[18F]fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG)-PET. Both FDG-PET maximal positron emission tomography (PET) standardized uptake values (SUVmax) and selected tumor markers have been shown to correlate with stage, nodal disease, and survival in esophageal cancer. Interestingly, there is limited data examining the relationship between FDG-PET SUVmax and expression of these tumor markers in esophageal cancer. The purpose of this study was to determine the correlation of tumor markers with FDG-PET SUVmax in esophageal cancer. Methods: FDG-PET SUVmax was calculated in 67 patients with esophageal cancer of which 59 (88%) had adenocarcinoma. Neoadjuvant radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy were administered to 42% (28/67) of patients. Esophageal tumor tissue and surrounding normal tissue was obtained and tissue microarrays were created. Immunohistochemical analysis was performed for five known esophageal cancer tumor markers (GLUT-1, p53, cyclin D1, epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)). Assessment of each tumor marker was made by two independent, blinded pathologists using common grading criteria of intensity and percentage of cells stained. A p value <0.05 was considered significant. Results: There were 55 men (82%) and 12 women (18%) with a median age of 63 years (range 40-83). Pathologic staging included stage I (n = 29, 43%), stage II (n = 19, 28%), stage III disease (n = 18, 27%), and stage IV disease (n = 1, 2%). PET SUVmax correlated with Tstage (p = 0.001). In patients undergoing surgery without induction therapy, increasing SUVmax values correlated with increased expression of GLUT-1 transporter (p = 0.01). There was no correlation between SUVmax and EGFR, cyclin D1, VEGF, or p53 expression in primary tumor. Conclusions: FDG-PET SUVmax correlates with an increased expression of GLUT-1 transporter in esophageal cancer specimens not subjected to induction therapy. No significant difference in tumor marker expression was noted between patients undergoing induction therapy or surgery alone except p53 expression decreased in primary tumors following induction therapy. Failure of SUVmax values to correlate with known prognostic esophageal cancer tumor markers suggests that FDG-PET may have limited clinical utility in assessing response to therapies targeting these markers.
Quantitation of Viral DNA by Real-Time PCR Applying Duplex Amplification, Internal Standardization, and Two-Color Fluorescence Detection

A real-time PCR method was developed to quantitate viral DNA that includes duplex amplification, internal standardization, and two-color fluorescence detection without the need to generate an external standardization curve. Applied to human parvovirus B19 DNA, the linear range was from 10(2) to at least 5 x 10(6) copies per ml of sample. The coefficient of variation was 0.29 using a run control of 2,876 copies per ml. The method reduces the risk of false-negative results, yields high precision, and is applicable for other DNA targets.
Epiligrin, the major human keratinocyte integrin ligand, is a target in both an acquired autoimmune and an inherited subepidermal blistering skin disease.

Epiligrin, the major component of human keratinocyte extracellular matrix, serves as the preferred integrin ligand for alpha 3 beta 1 in plasma membranes and focal adhesions, and colocalizes with alpha 6 beta 4 in hemidesmosomes. In human skin, epiligrin is found in the lamina lucida subregion of epidermal basement membrane, where it is thought to be associated with anchoring filaments. We have identified three patients with an acquired mucosal predominant subepidermal blistering disease who have IgG anti-basement membrane autoantibodies that bind the lamina lucida/lamina densa interface of epidermal basement membrane, stain cultured human keratinocyte extracellular matrix, and immunoprecipitate disulfide linked polypeptides of 170, 145, 125, and 95 kD in human keratinocyte culture media in a pattern identical to that of P1E1, a murine monoclonal antiepiligrin antibody. Comparative immunoprecipitation studies of patient sera, P1E1, and GB3 monoclonal antibody show that epiligrin is identical to the antigen (i.e., BM600 or GB3 antigen) previously reported to be absent from the skin of patients with lethal junctional epidermolysis bullosa, an inherited subepidermal blistering disease. Moreover, skin from a fetus with this disease shows no evidence of reactivity to patient antiepiligrin autoantibodies or P1E1. These studies show that antiepiligrin autoantibodies are a specific marker for a novel autoimmune blistering disease and that the epidermal basement membrane antigen absent in patients with lethal junctional epidermolysis bullosa is epiligrin.
FDDI network availability analysis

Various FDDI network configurations are characterized and their availabilities evaluated. From these results it is concluded that an FDDI network backbone should be interconnected using dual attachment concentrators. This is essential for guaranteeing high availability. Furthermore, dual-homing configurations are required to maintain high availability of the path between end-stations and the backbone. For less stringent availability requirements, single attachment concentrator trees with single attachment stations may suffice. A cost analysis of the configurations is also included. >
The length of a set in the sphere whose polynomial hull contains the origin

Abstract Let X be a compact subset of the unit sphere in the complex Euclidean space C n such that the origin 0 ∈ C n belongs to the polynomial hull of X. Assuming that X is rectifiable in the Hausdorff ( H 1, 1)-sense, it is shown that the length of X is at least 2π.
Pyridoxine or pyridoxal phosphate for intractable seizures

Commentary on the paper by Wang et al (see page 512) The short answer is pyridoxal phosphate, but before reaching for the prescription pad it’s worth looking at the context. Intractable seizures have no set definition.1 One practical approach is to review management when seizures continue despite the use of two appropriate anticonvulsants at maximum tolerated doses. Points to consider include whether the diagnosis is correct, as syncope and other non-epileptic events can still mislead; the cause of the seizures, for example structural, chromosomal, neurodegenerative, or metabolic conditions; whether there is an avoidable precipitant; whether the choice of drug and dose were correct, as for example carbamazepine can exacerbate some primary generalised epilepsies; and compliance.1 Treatment options include other anticonvulsants; drugs such as vitamins, acetazolamide, or steroids; IVIG; specific diets; resective and other types of surgery, the vagal nerve stimulator, and a variety of other approaches such as yoga, epilepsy dogs, etc. Pyridoxine dependency is a rare but well described recessive condition whose biochemical and genetic cause is unknown. It classically presents with a neonatal epileptic encephalopathy but can present with seizures later in childhood as well. For this reason it is included in the various metabolic encephalopathies with seizures which are excluded by a trial of vitamins such as pyridoxine, folinic acid, or biotin.2 As early treatment may improve the …
Converting the JCV T antigen Rb binding domain to that of SV40 does not alter JCV's limited transforming activity but does eliminate viral viability

Two sets of mutations were introduced into a region of the JC virus (JCV) large tumor (T) antigen involved in binding the retinoblastoma susceptibility gene product (Rb). The first set converted the JCV sequences to those found in the corresponding region of the simian virus 40 (SV40) T antigen. The second set contained sequence changes predicted to abolish Rb binding. Each of these mutations was also inserted into a chimeric T antigen (MSTn) composed of JCV and SV40 sequences at its amino- and carboxy termini, respectively. The JCV T antigen is less efficient than its SV40 counterpart at transforming Rat2 cells and at binding Rb and viral DNA. These activities were altered in the two sets of mutants generated in this study. A JCV T antigen mutant having an SV40-like Rb-binding domain exhibited increased DNA binding activity while, unexpectedly, displaying decreased Rb binding and wild-type transforming behavior. A mutant T antigen that was unable to bind Rb exhibited decreased DNA binding and failed to transform Rat2 cells. Both mutants were defective for DNA replication and did not produce infectious virions. Additional phenotypic changes were observed when each mutation was introduced into the chimeric MSTn T antigen. As the oligomerization state of SV40 T antigen is known to influence several of its activities, including Rb binding, the quaternary structure of the T proteins used in this study was assessed by sucrose gradient sedimentation. The SV40 and chimeric MSTn T antigen sedimented as a mixture of monomers/dimers and higher oligomers, whereas the JCV T antigen sedimented predominantly as monomers/dimers; neither mutation in the T antigen Rb-binding motif affected the sedimentation profiles of the parental T proteins. Restricted biochemical activity of the JCV T protein relative to that of SV40 supports the suggestion that this regulatory protein contributes to the attenuation of the JCV lytic cycle.
Abiotic and microbial oxidation of laboratory-produced black carbon (biochar).

Pyrogenic or “black” carbon is a soil and sediment component that may control pollutant migration. Biochar, black carbon made intentionally by biomass pyrolysis, is increasingly discussed as a possible soil amendment to increase fertility and sequester carbon. Though thought to be extremely refractory, it must degrade at some rate. Better understanding of the rates and factors controlling its remineralization in the environment is needed. Release of CO2 was measured over 1 year from microbial and sterile incubations of biochars made from a range of biomass types and combustion conditions. Carbon release from abiotic incubations was 50−90% that of microbially inoculated incubations, and both generally decreased with increasing charring temperature. All biochars displayed log−linearly decreasing mineralization rates that, when modeled, were used to calculate 100 year C losses of 3−26% and biochar C half-lives on orders ranging from 102 to 107 years. Because biochar lability was found to be strongly controll...
Narrowband interference suppression in multi-band UWB communication systems

In this paper we present a new method for mitigating narrowband interference in multiband OFDM (MB-OFDM) ultra wideband (UWB) systems. The method employs spectral shaping of the transmitted signal using binary signature sequences with minimum total squared correlation (TSC) to avoid the narrowband interfering signal. We illustrate the proposed method with plots that show the spectrum of the transmitted signal with and without spectral shaping, and present also simulation results that show improvement in the bit error rate (BER) performance of the system when the method is applied.
Nonlinear Modeling of Information Embedded Power Systems On All-Electric Naval Combatants

Future power systems on all-electric naval combatants will be heavily relying on real-time computer network communication of measurement data between remote computing elements for purposes such as: autonomous control and system-wide fight-thru reconfigurability. It is important to investigate and understand how random communication delays can affect the accuracy of the measurements as viewed by destination data processing and control elements. This paper develops a model of a shipboard electrical power system, with its inherent embedded communication system, for the purpose of studying the characteristics of power system measurement errors due to communication delays. This model is referred to as an "information embedded shipboard power system" to emphasize the inclusion of information variables that represent measurements that have been delivered across the communication system and observed at a control station. These information variables are added to the standard power system model for the energy balance within the power system. A non-linear stochastic system model is developed, which is composed of both the physical infrastructure of the power system as well as the embedded computer network communication infrastructure. An experimental platform has also been designed to validate the developed model.
Flow in horizontally anisotropic multilayered aquifer systems with leaky wells and aquitards

[1] Flow problems in an anisotropic domain can be transformed into ones in an equivalent isotropic domain by coordinate transformations. Once analytical solutions are obtained for the equivalent isotropic domain, they can be back transformed to the original anisotropic domain. The existing solutions presented by Cihan et al. (2011) for isotropic multilayered aquifer systems with alternating aquitards and multiple injection/pumping wells and leaky wells were modified to account for horizontal anisotropy in aquifers. The modified solutions for pressure buildup distribution and leakage rates through leaky wells can be used when the anisotropy direction and ratio ( Kx/Ky) are assumed to be identical for all aquifers alternating with aquitards. However, for multilayered aquifers alternating with aquicludes, both the principal direction of the anisotropic horizontal conductivity and the anisotropy ratio can be different in each aquifer. With coordinate transformation, a circular well with finite radius becomes an ellipse, and thus in the transformed domain the head contours in the immediate vicinity of the well have elliptical shapes. Through a radial flow approximation around the finite radius wells, the elliptical well boundaries in the transformed domain are approximated by an effective well radius expression. The analytical solutions with the effective radius approximations were compared with exact solutions as well as a numerical solution for elliptic flow. The effective well radius approximation is sufficiently accurate to predict the head buildup at the well bore of the injection/pumping wells for moderately anisotropic systems ( Kx/Ky≤25). The effective radius approximation gives satisfactory results for predicting head buildup at observation points and leakage through leaky wells away from the injection/pumping wells even for highly anisotropic aquifer systems (Kx/Ky≤1000).
Topological scaling and plant root system architecture: developmental and functional hierarchies

SUMMARY Topology is an important component of the architecture of whole root systems. Unfortunately, most commonly applied indices used for characterizing topology are poorly correlated with one another and thus reflect different aspects of topology. In order to understand better how different methods of characterizing topology vary, this paper presents an exploration of several different methods for assigning order within branched root systems on the basis of (a) developmental (centrifugal) vs. functional (centripetal) ordering sequences and (b) whether orders are assigned to individual links or groups of adjacent links (segments). For each ordering system, patterns of scaling in relation to various aspects of link and segment size are explored using regression analyses. Segment-based ordering systems resulted in better fits for simple scaling relationships with size, but these patterns varied between developmental vs. functional ordering as well as the different size metrics examined. The functional (centripetal), link-based ordering system showed complex, non-linear scaling in relation to numbers of links per order. Using a simple simulation model of root growth, it is demonstrated that this method of characterizing root topology in relation to root size might be a more powerful tool for characterizing root system architecture than in the use of simple, single-index characterizations of topology.