cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Inhibition by spinal morphine of the tail-flick response is attenuated in rats with nerve ligation injury.

Nerve ligation injury in rats produces increased sensitivity and exaggerated responses to nociceptive stimuli (hyperalgesia) as well as nociceptive responses to normally innocuous stimuli (allodynia) analogous to clinical conditions of neuropathic pain. However, the effect of nerve injury on acute nociception has not been extensively studied. Nerve ligation injury was produced by unilateral ligation of the L5 and L6 spinal roots of the sciatic nerve of male Sprague-Dawley rats. Intrathecal (i.th.) catheters were inserted for spinal drug administration. Response to acute nociception was measured by determining the latency to a rapid flick of the tail (TF) after immersion into a 55°C water bath before (control) and after i.th. morphine administration. No change in baseline response to the nociceptive stimulus was observed in either sham-operated or nerve-injured rats. In sham-operated rats, morphine produced dose-dependent antinociception with a 97±2.3% maximal possible effect (MPE) at a 60 μg dose; in these controls A50 (95% CL) was 22 μg (17–30 μg). Morphine administered to rats with nerve injury also produced dose-dependent increase in TF latency, but an MPE of only 60±17% was obtained at 100 μg; higher doses elicited signs of behavioral toxicity. While it was not possible to produce a proper dose-response curve with i.th. morphine in animals with nerve injury, an estimation of the A50 showed approximately a four-fold loss of potency compared to sham-operated controls. Antinociception was readily reversed by naloxone (5 mg/kg, i.p.) in both groups. These data indicate that nerve ligation injury reduces the potency and efficacy of i.th. morphine. While the reasons for this loss of morphine activity in nerve injured animals are unknown, it is possible to speculate that (a) degeneration of primary afferents subsequent to nerve ligation injury might result in a loss of presynaptic opioid (mu?) receptors in the dorsal horn, thereby reducing the antinociceptive activity of morphine at the spinal level; (b) changes in the efficiency of post-receptor transduction may occur following nerve injury which can reduce opioid efficacy; (c) changes in levels of spinal neurotransmitters (e.g., cholecystokinin) may act to diminish opioid action; or (d) sustained afferent input from the site of the injury may be important in limiting the activity of opioids.
Collection of Granulocytes for Transfusion

. When granulocytes are collected by either discontinuous-flow centrifugation or filtration leukapheresis, lysozyme is released. More lysozyme is released during the filtration procedure than during the centrifugation procedure. A small amount of red cell lysis occurs during the centrifugation but not the filtration procedure. A rise in lactate dehydrogenase levels consonant with the amount of hemolysis is observed. These findings suggest that granulocytes collected by either filtration or discontinuous-flow centrifugation undergo degranulation but not lysis sufficient to cause cytoplasmic enzyme release during the donation.
Three-dimensional X-ray structural microscopy with submicrometre resolution

Advanced materials and processing techniques are based largely on the generation and control of non-homogeneous microstructures, such as precipitates and grain boundaries. X-ray tomography can provide three-dimensional density and chemical distributions of such structures with submicrometre resolution; structural methods exist that give submicrometre resolution in two dimensions; and techniques are available for obtaining grain-centroid positions and grain-average strains in three dimensions. But non-destructive point-to-point three-dimensional structural probes have not hitherto been available for investigations at the critical mesoscopic length scales (tenths to hundreds of micrometres). As a result, investigations of three-dimensional mesoscale phenomena--such as grain growth, deformation, crumpling and strain-gradient effects--rely increasingly on computation and modelling without direct experimental input. Here we describe a three-dimensional X-ray microscopy technique that uses polychromatic synchrotron X-ray microbeams to probe local crystal structure, orientation and strain tensors with submicrometre spatial resolution. We demonstrate the utility of this approach with micrometre-resolution three-dimensional measurements of grain orientations and sizes in polycrystalline aluminium, and with micrometre depth-resolved measurements of elastic strain tensors in cylindrically bent silicon. This technique is applicable to single-crystal, polycrystalline, composite and functionally graded materials.
Factorial invariance and latent mean structure of questionnaires measuring social-cognitive determinants of physical activity among black and white adolescent girls.

Background. We previously developed questionnaires based on contemporary theories to measure physical activity determinants among youth [Motl et al., Prev Med 2000; 31:584–94]. The present study examined the factorial invariance and latent mean structure of unidimensional models fit to the questionnaires measuring attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, and self-efficacy about physical activity among black and white adolescent girls. Methods. Black (n = 896) and white (n = 823) girls in the 8th grade completed the questionnaires measuring attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, and self-efficacy about physical activity. The responses were subjected to analyses of factorial invariance and latent mean structure using confirmatory factor analysis with full-information maximum likelihood estimation in AMOS 4.0. Results. The unidimensional models of the four questionnaires generally demonstrated invariance of the factor structure, factor loadings, and factor variance across race but not invariance of the variance-covariance matrices or item uniquenesses. The analyses of latent mean structure demonstrated that white girls had higher latent mean scores on the measures of attitude and self-efficacy than black girls; there were similar, but smaller, differences between white and black girls on the measures of subjective norm and perceived behavioral control. Conclusions. The questionnaires can be employed in interventions to test the mediating influences of attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, and self-efficacy on participation in physical activity by black and white adolescent girls.
Isolevuglandin-modified proteins, including elevated levels of inactive calpain-1, accumulate in glaucomatous trabecular meshwork

We report that protein adducts of iso[4]levuglandin E2 (iso[4]LGE2), a highly reactive product of free radical-induced lipid oxidation, accumulate in human glaucomatous trabecular meshwork (TM) but not in controls. Reactive oxygen species play a pathogenic role in primary open angle glaucoma by fostering changes that reduce permeability of the TM tissue and consequently impede aqueous humor outflow resulting in elevated intraocular pressure. IsoLGs covalently modify proteins and are especially effective in causing protein−protein cross-linking. We found elevated levels of calpain-1 in glaucomatous TM. However, calpain activity in glaucomatous TM is only about 50% of that in controls. This paradox is explicable by the fact that modification by isoLGs renders calpain-1 inactive. Thus, treatment of calpain-1 with iso[4]LGE2 in vitro results in covalent modification, inactivation, the formation of high molecular weight aggregates (as determined by Western and dynamic light scattering analyses), and resistance...
Neutron Flux Measurement - an Inherent Part of the Reactor Protection System, also in Technology

La mesure du flux de neutrons joue un role cle dans la surveillance et le controle du fonctionnement d'un reacteur. Elle sert a surveiller l'etat sous-critique du reacteur a l'arret et au cours du demarrage, a surveiller les parametres representatifs principaux tels que le niveau de puissance ou la distribution de puissance, a garantir des conditions limites definies de fonctionnement liees a la puissance et/ou a la distribution de puissance et a proteger le coeur de l'installation en cas d'incident ou d'accident au moyen de contre-mesures automatiques. Pour la mesure du flux de neutrons, des detecteurs de differents types, qui sont situes soit a l'exterieur (hors du coeur), soit a l'interieur de la cuve du reacteur (dans le coeur), sont utilises. La plage de mesure du flux neutronique couvre une gamme allant de l'etat sous-critique a froid jusqu'a 150 % de la puissance nominale, soit de 10 a 11 decades. En raison des besoins techniques specifiques a la mesure du flux neutronique, un materiel dedie est necessaire, par exemple pour l'alimentation haute tension et l'amplification importante des signaux. Cet equipement est distinct des autres systemes de controle -commande (I&C). Framatome ANP a a ce jour developpe un ensemble complet de modules materiels pour fournir toutes les fonctionnalites necessaires aux systemes d'instrumentation nucleaire (NIS), totalement integrees a la plate-forme systeme TELEPERM XS. TELEPERM XS est agree pour les applications de securite dans les centrales nucleaires et une duree de vie de plus de 20 ans est garantie. Les modules TELEPERM XS pour NIS donnent l'opportunite de remplacer les systemes identiques existants et meme d'optimiser la structure I&C globale. TELEPERM XS fournit des capacites de pointe pour la maintenance et les essais, un etalonnage informatique des signaux des detecteurs, la possibilite de verifier les parametres de conception du coeur au moyen d'une fonction de reactimetre TELEPERM XS integree et des capacites de traitement complet des signaux comprenant des techniques de filtrage avancees. Une premiere mise en oeuvre commerciale a ete faite a la centrale de Grohnde en Allemagne, 48 detecteurs n-β de distribution de puissance (PDD) dans le coeur ont ete equipes des nouveaux modules TELEPERM XS. Les resultats obtenus jusqu'a present demontrent la pleine disponibilite du NIS TELEPERM XS pour les centrales nucleaires et des marges de fonctionnement augmentees equivalant a environ 5 % de la puissance nominale.
Small-angle neutron scattering and the errors in protein structures that arise from uncorrected background and intermolecular interactions

Small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) provides a unique method to probe soft matter in the 10–100 nm length scale in solutions. In order to determine the shape and size of biological macromolecular structures correctly with SANS, a background-subtracted, undistorted scattering curve must be measured, and the required accuracy and precision is especially needed at the short-length-scale limit. A true scattering curve is also needed to discern whether intermolecular interactions are present, which also are probed in the SANS experiment. This article shows how to detect intermolecular interactions so that subsequent structure modeling can be performed using only data that do not contain such contributions. It is also shown how control of many factors can lead to an accurate baseline, or background, correction for scattering from proteins, especially to account for proton incoherent scattering. Failure to make this background correction properly from proteins, polymers, nucleic acids and lipids can result in incorrect values for the calculated shapes and sizes of the molecules as well as the derived magnitudes of the intermolecular interactions.
Demography as Policy Science in the British Empire, 1918-1969

In 1944, Robert Kuczynski, a demographer working with the Colonial Office, wrote a memo discussing plans for a postwar census of the British Empire. He called for the creation of a Colonial Demographic Service, arguing that Colonial Office programs “offer no guarantee of a decisive improvement unless there is an expert on the spot to make an effective use of these means.” Kuczynski's firm belief in the need for expert knowledge matched the growing willingness of the Colonial Office to call upon experts in a variety of fields to assist in the reshaping of colonial government. This article examines why demography came to be seen as useful for colonial governance in the interwar years and how officials attempted to make use of demographers and demographic information in the final years of the British Empire. At present, this topic falls between several existing literatures. Works by Richard Soloway, Daniel Kelves, and others document the domestic history of demography in Great Britain, particularly its involvement in debates over hereditarian views of population. At the international level, most recent studies deal with the United States and trace the origins of American support for programs of population control after 1945. Still another body of literature chronicles the unique nature of policy formation in Britain and its relationship with social science in the twentieth century. This article seeks to connect these literatures by focusing on the colonial and international role of British demography from the end of World War I to the postcolonial era of the 1960s.
The specific NMDA receptor antagonist AP-7 attenuates focal ischemic brain injury

Abstract Pharmacologic blockade of excitatory amino acid receptors, especially the N- methyl- d -aspartate-preferring subclass of glutamate receptors, has been shown to reduce neuronal damage in models of global cerebral ischemia followed by reperfusion. The pharmacologic blockade at the NMDA receptor attenuates infarct size following permanent focal vascular occlusion in brain. Functional recovery is improved as well. These effects were seen with treatment begun 15 min following the stroke.
High-field 1H NMR studies of prostaglandin H2 and its decomposition pathways

Abstract Prostaglandin H 2 displays at 500 MHz a detailed 1 H-NMR in which all methylene groups are non-equivalent in C 6 D 6 solution. The spectrum was assigned by analogy to isosteric structures. The dissymmetric perturbation and steric hindrance of the bicyclo [2.2.1] core caused by the side-chains provides a rationale for the selective fragmentations which PGH 2 undergoes. Purified PGH 2 is considerably more robust than previous literature accounts suggest. The following transformations were monitored by 1 H-NMR: 1) OO bond cleavage by Ph 3 P, 2) aqueous media fragmentation to PGE 2 and PGD 2 , 3) base catalyzed fragmentation to ketoaldehydes, and 4) thermolysis attempts.
Security Risks Associated with Radio Frequency Identification in Medical Environments

Radio frequency identification (RFID) is a form of wireless communication that is used to identify assets and people. RFID has significant benefits to the medical environment. However, serious security threats are present in RFID systems that must be addressed in a medical environment. Of particular interest are threats to patient privacy and safety based on interception of messages, interruption of communication, modification of data, and fabrication of messages and devices. This paper presents an overview of these security threats present in RFID systems in a medical environment and provides guidance on potential solutions to these threats. This paper provides a roadmap for researchers and implementers to address the security issues facing RFID in the medical space.
Temperature and field dependent 13C NMR relaxation studies of the reorientation of methyl iodide.

Abstract The temperature behavior of the 13 C spin-lattice relaxation rate and NOE enhancements were monitored in methyl iodide. The various relaxation mechanisms contributing to the overall relaxation process in this molecule were separated and analyzed. The results indicate that although small, the chemical shift contribution can not be completely ignored. This observation indicates that earlier studies on the relaxation processes in this molecule overestimated the importance of the spin-rotation mechanism. Various a priori theoretical models were applied in attempting to describe the temperature behavior of the reorientational correlation time in this molecule. It was found that rotational times calculated through the Gierer-Wirtz microviscosity model, while assuming free rotation about the unique axis, are in quantitative agreement with the experimental reorientational times at all temperatures.
Assembly of the β-Barrel Outer Membrane Proteins in Gram-Negative Bacteria, Mitochondria, and Chloroplasts.

In the last decade, there has been an explosion of publications on the assembly of β-barrel outer membrane proteins (OMPs), which carry out diverse cellular functions, including solute transport, protein secretion, and assembly of protein and lipid components of the outer membrane. Of the three outer membrane model systems—Gram-negative bacteria, mitochondria and chloroplasts—research on bacterial and mitochondrial systems has so far led the way in dissecting the β-barrel OMP assembly pathways. Many exciting discoveries have been made, including the identification of β-barrel OMP assembly machineries in bacteria and mitochondria, and potentially the core assembly component in chloroplasts. The atomic structures of all five components of the bacterial β-barrel assembly machinery (BAM) complex, except the β-barrel domain of the core BamA protein, have been solved. Structures reveal that these proteins contain domains/motifs known to facilitate protein-protein interactions, which are at the heart of the assembly pathways. While structural information has been valuable, most of our current understanding of the β-barrel OMP assembly pathways has come from genetic, molecular biology, and biochemical analyses. This paper provides a comparative account of the β-barrel OMP assembly pathways in Gram-negative bacteria, mitochondria, and chloroplasts.
Global Circuit Response to Seasonal Variations in Global Surface Air Temperature

Comparisons are made between the seasonal behavior of the global electrical circuit and the surface air temperature for the Tropics and for the globe. Positive correlations between global circuit parameters and temperature are identified on both semiannual and annual timescales. Lightning is the global circuit quantity found most responsive to temperature, with a sensitivity of the order of 10% per 1 C. These findings lend further validity to the use of global circuit measurements as a diagnostic for global change.
Evaluation of polyvinyl fluoride as a container material for air pollution samples

Abstract Data from an oxidant transport study in Ohio and ambient air bag irradiation experiments in St. Louis indicated that polyvinyl fluoride containers may produce sample contamination. Subsequent experiments established that solvent or other manufacturing residues contaminate the film, and that upon irradiation compounds are produced which interfere with the analysis of hydrocarbons commonly found in ambient air. This renders polyvinyl fluoride unsuitable as a photochemical reaction container for air pollution studies. Hydrocarbon samples can be stored in polyvinyl fluoride bags if the bag material has not been exposed to sunlight or artificial light.
Factors affecting the time course of decay of end‐plate currents: a possible cooperative action of acetylcholine on receptors at the frog neuromuscular junction.

1. End-plate currents have been studied in gylcerol-treated frog sartorius nerve-muscle preparations with the voltage-clamp technique. 2. Adding the anticholinesterase prostigmine (3 muM) to the solution bathing the muscle caused a 2-7 (mean 3-3) times increase in the time constant of decay of end-plate currents. The anticholinesterase edrophonium (15 muM) also prolonged the time course of end-plate currents. 3. Pre-treatment of the preparation with collagenase, which leads to the removal of acetylcholinesterase in the synaptic cleft, prolongs the time course of end-plate currents. 4. Curare (1-2 muM), cobratoxin (0-13 muM), or alpha-bungarotoxin (0-13-0-26 muM) decreased the time constant of decay of end-plate currents in the presence of prostigmine. 5. These observations are consistant with the suggestion that repeated binding of acetylcholine (ACh) molecules to receptors as the ACh escapes from the synaptic cleft can contribute to the prolongation of end-plate currents which occurrs when acetylcholinesterase activity is eliminated. 6. Increasing the amount of transmitter released from the presynaptic nerve terminal leads to a prolongation of end-plate currents in the presence of prostigmine. 7. In the presence of prostigmine, the second of two end-plate currents (interval 2-10 msec) decays more slowly than the first. 8. ACh (1-40 muM) or carbachol (40 muM) applied in the solution bathing the muscle prolongs end-plate currents in the presence of prostigmine. 9. It is suggested on the basis of the observations described in paragraphs 6 to 8 that the time constant of decay of end-plate currents in the presence of prostigmine increases with increasing concentrations of ACh in the synaptic cleft. In the absence of prostigmine, increasing the concentration of ACh in the synaptic cleft did not change the time constant for decay of end-plate currents. 10. We interpret these results to suggest that ACh can have a cooperative action on receptors such that the association of ACh with one receptor (defined as binding a single ACh molecule) favours the binding or retention of ACh at other receptors. This implies that receptors can interact.
Identification of recombinant antibodies against multiple distinct toll-like receptors by homolog mining a single immune scFv phage library

The generation of recombinant single-chain antibodies from either non-immune or immune phage display antibody libraries is an effective means to obtain high affinity antibodies against a specific target. Non-immune libraries contain a wide variety of antibodies but these are often low affinity. Immune libraries contain a high frequency of high affinity antibodies, but are typically limited to a single antigen. Due to the VH and VL recombination that occurs during antibody library construction, we hypothesized that an immune antibody library produced against one member of a protein family would contain antibodies specific for other members of the same protein family. Here, we tested this hypothesis by mining an existing anti-human Toll-like receptor-2 (hTLR2) antibody library for antibodies specific for other members of the TLR family. This procedure, referred to as homolog mining, proved to be effective. Using a cell-based system to pan and screen the anti-TLR2 library, we identified single chain antibodies specific for three of the four hTLR2 homologs we targeted. The antibodies identified, anti-murine TLR2, anti-hTLR5, and anti-hTLR6, bind specifically to their target, with no cross-reactivity to hTLR2 or other TLRs tested. These results demonstrate that combinatorial re-assortment of VH and VL fragments from multiple sources during Ab library construction increases Ab repertoire complexity, allowing antibody libraries produced by immunization with one antigen to be used to obtain antibodies specific to related antigens. The principle of homolog mining may be extended to other protein families and will facilitate and accelerate antibody production processes.
Nonseismic phenomena in the generation and augmentation of tsunamis

While earthquakes generate about 90% of all tsunamis, volcanic activity, landslides, explosions, and other nonseismic phenomena can also result in tsunamis. There have been 53 000 reported deaths as a result of tsunamis generated by landslides and volcanoes. No death tolls are available for many events, but reports indicate that villages, islands, and even entire civilizations have disappeared. Some of the highest tsunami wave heights ever observed were produced by landslides. In the National Geophysical Data Center world-wide tsunami database, there are nearly 200 tsunami events in which nonseismic phenomena played a major role. In this paper, we briefly discuss a variety of nonseismic phenomena that can result in tsunamis. We discuss the magnitude of the disasters that have resulted from such events, and we discuss the potential for reducing such disasters by education and warning systems.
Supersymmetric approach to excited states.

We present here a supersymmetric (SUSY) approach for determining excitation energies within the context of a quantum Monte Carlo scheme. By using the fact that SUSY quantum mechanics gives rises to a series of isospectral Hamiltonians, we show that Monte Carlo ground-state calculations in the SUSY partners can be used to reconstruct accurately both the spectrum and states of an arbitrary Schrodinger equation. Since the ground state of each partner potential is nodeless, we avoid any “node” problem typically associated with the Monte Carlo technique. Although we provide an example of using this approach to determine the tunneling states in a double-well potential, the method is applicable to any 1D potential problem. We conclude by discussing the extension to higher dimensions.
On the synthesis of useful social laws for artificial agent societies

We present a general model of social law in a computational system, and investigate some of its properties. The contribution of this paper is twofold. First, we argue that the notion of social law is not epiphenomenal, but rather should be built into the action representation; we then offer such a representation. Second, we investigate the complexity of automatically deriving useful social laws in this model, given descriptions of the agents' capabilities, and the goals they might encounter. We show that in general the problem is NP-complete, and identify precise conditions under which it becomes polynomial.
Caspase-1 activity is required to bypass macrophage apoptosis upon Salmonella infection

Here we report AWP28, an activity-based probe that can be used to biochemically monitor caspase-1 activation in response to proinflammatory stimuli. Using AWP28, we show that apoptosis is triggered upon Salmonella enterica var. Typhimurium infection in primary mouse bone marrow macrophages lacking caspase-1. Furthermore, we report that upon Salmonella infection, inflammasome-mediated caspase-1 activity is required to bypass apoptosis in favor of proinflammatory pyroptotic cell death.
Simultaneous analysis of 22 volatile organic compounds in cigarette smoke using gas sampling bags for high-throughput solid-phase microextraction.

Quantifying volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in cigarette smoke is necessary to establish smoke-related exposure estimates and evaluate emerging products and potential reduced-exposure products. In response to this need, we developed an automated, multi-VOC quantification method for machine-generated, mainstream cigarette smoke using solid-phase microextraction gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (SPME-GC–MS). This method was developed to simultaneously quantify a broad range of smoke VOCs (i.e., carbonyls and volatiles, which historically have been measured by separate assays) for large exposure assessment studies. Our approach collects and maintains vapor-phase smoke in a gas sampling bag, where it is homogenized with isotopically labeled analogue internal standards and sampled using gas-phase SPME. High throughput is achieved by SPME automation using a CTC Analytics platform and custom bag tray. This method has successfully quantified 22 structurally diverse VOCs (e.g., benzene and associated monoaro...
A Bioorganometallic Chemistry Overview: From Cytochrome P450 Enzyme Metabolism of Organotin Compounds to Organorhodium-Hydroxytamoxifen Complexes with Potential Anti-Cancer Properties; A 37 Year Perspective at the Interface of Organometallic Chemistry and Biology

A 37 year perspective on bioorganometallic chemistry studies, which included metabolism of organotin compounds with cytochrome P450 enzymes, and their biomimics; reactions of organorhodium aqua complexes with nucleobases, nucleosides, and nucleotides; supramolecular organorhodium-nucleobase complexes as hosts for aromatic amino acid and aromatic carboxylic acid guests; regioselective reduction of NAD+ biomimics with an organorhodium hydride; tandem catalysis of an organorhodium hydride reduction to provide a 1,4-NADH biomimic for horse liver dehydrogenase stereoselective reduction of achiral ketones to chiral alcohols, and oxidation reactions with cytochrome P450 enzymes; and organorhodium-hydroxytamoxifen pharmaceuticals, will be presented. Each of these areas of bioorganometallic chemistry will be briefly discussed in this personal synopsis of the new, important, and exciting field of bioorganometallic chemistry, and its impact on metal-based drug research.
Tasting fat : Cephalic phase hormonal responses and food intake in restrained and unrestrained eaters

Restrained eaters exhibit strict cognitive control over their food intake, primarily by limiting intake of high-fat foods. Earlier studies indicate a relationship between dietary restraint and cephalic phase insulin release, which is hypothesized to influence hunger and food intake. To compare cephalic phase hormonal responses to high- and low-fat stimuli and determine if the sensory experience of tasting fat alters hormonal responses and influences subsequent food intake in restrained and unrestrained eaters, normal weight women classified as unrestrained (n=11) or restrained (n=11) eaters were tested under 3 conditions: (1) fasting, (2) sham-feeding a non-fat cake, and (3) sham-feeding a high-fat cake. Following an overnight fast, arterialized venous blood was drawn prior to and for 30 min immediately following a 3-min sham feed. Plasma samples were analyzed for insulin, glucose, glucagon and pancreatic polypeptide (PP). Subjects were subsequently given a selection of high-fat and low-fat foods and allowed to select what they wished to eat. Cephalic phase PP was significantly greater following oral sensory stimulation by the high-fat food (205.4+/-83.6) compared to the fasting control (11.1+/-38.8, p=0.04). No significant differences in hormonal responses to the food stimuli were found between restrained and unrestrained eaters but the restrained eaters consumed more food after the high-fat condition (p<0.05) relative to the fasted condition and compared to the unrestrained group (p<0.05). In conclusion, the sensory experience of tasting fat increases food intake in restrained eaters and increases vagal efferent activity compared to a non-fat food in both populations.
A REGIONAL COOPERATION TO SUPPORT FINANCIAL CRISIS MANAGEMENT AND PREVENTION: AN APPLICATION OF A MODEL WITH UNCERTAINTY AND FEEDBACK INFLUENCES

Managing financial sector under a liberalized system is always difficult; it faces a risk of financial crisis. Financial managers in most emerging markets, be it in the corporate, banking or public sector, have experienced such a challenge, and those in East Asia have learned the hard lesson during the 1997–98 financial crisis. Although efforts have been made to restructure the domestic financial sector by imposing a better risk analysis, in a world of free capital flows there is no guarantee that the system can be totally impervious to a crisis. This implies that financial managers will continue to face a major challenge in terms of how to manage and prevent a financial catastrophe. They have given a particular attention to a possible cooperation with one another. In the case of East Asia, this will lead to the formation of a Regional Financial Arrangement (RFA). This study analyzes this process by focusing on the search for a particular form of RFA that would enable financial managers to better deal with the challenge of a crisis and prevent it whenever possible. Given the fact that the issue and the process of forming a regional cooperation/arrangement involves not only economic considerations but also political factors and other intangibles, a specific model known as the Analytic Network Process (ANP) is employed. It is revealed that financial managers and policy makers alike should not only consider the benefits and costs of each alternative form of RFA, but also the possible risks and opportunities that may arise. The extent to which financial managers will be able to cope with the challenge of a financial crisis depends on all these factors.
Effect of Teat-End Vacuum Fluctuations on Milking Rate and Mastitis

Summary Two groups of eight cows each were milked for 25-day periods with either a regular milking machine or one in which the milk was elevated 6ft before it was returned to the milker pail. The purpose of this experiment was to determine the effect of teat-end vacuum fluctuations resulting from the elevation of milk on the incidence of udder irritation and the rate of milking. At the end of the 25-day period the treatments were reversed and the study was continued for another 25-day period. One group of cows was free from all mastitis organisms, whereas the second group had 12 quarters with persistent mastitis infections. The maximum vacuum fluctuations were measured during the maximum rate of flow and they averaged 2.81 and 3.36 in. Hg for the control and elevated-line milkings, respectively. The cows milked with the elevated line had a significantly longer total milking time, a lower maximum rate of flow, and the vacuum level was lower in comparison to when they were milked with the control machine. No difference was noted in the California Mastitis Test (CMT) ratings or leucocyte counts due to the different milking systems; however, the CMT ratings were significantly higher during the second 25-day period than the first.
Sedimentation and Erosion on Horizon Guyot

A small part (300 km 2 ) of the 2-km-deep summit of Horizon Guyot, a flat-topped submarine ridge at the eastern end of the Mid-Pacific Mountains, was surveyed in detail with a deeply towed instrument package. This followed up the work of several earlier Scripps Institution of Oceanography expeditions to the same feature. Three hundred and fifty stereo pairs of bottom photographs were taken, intensive coring and rock dredging were carried out, and near-bottom current meters were deployed. The summit cap of Tertiary nannoplankton ooze has truncated horizons, including Eocene chert layers, which crop out at its margins. Continuing erosion has winnowed away the fine components of the sediment, while bed-load transport of the remaining foraminiferal sand creates regular trains of ripples and dunes. All three current meters recorded currents faster than 15 cm/sec within 12 m of the sea floor. Analysis of their records indicates that scouring and sediment redistribution is performed by locally accelerated tidal currents. Net movement of sand is upslope. Hard-rock terraces underlying the pelagic sediment are exposed at the margins of the summit platform. They are probably deposits of highly mobile hyaloclastite flows, rather than relict erosional forms. Some accessory basalt clasts within the pyroclastic rocks have cracks containing an Albian (Lower Cretaceous) fauna of planktonic Foraminifera.
A case-control study of nosocomial ampicillin-resistant enterococcal infection and colonization at a university hospital.

OBJECTIVE To assess risk factors for colonization and nosocomial infection with ampicillin-resistant enterococci (ARE). DESIGN Patients with ampicillin-resistant enterococci were compared retrospectively by logistic regression analysis with controls harboring susceptible strains. ARE were characterized by whole plasmid DNA analysis and restriction enzyme analysis of plasmid (REAP) DNA with EcoRI. SETTING The study was done at a 1,125 bed, tertiary-care teaching hospital in North Carolina with patients from whom enterococci were isolated from June 1, 1989, to March 30, 1991. PATIENTS The final study group comprised 44 cases with nosocomially-acquired colonization or infection with ARE and 100 controls with ampicillin-susceptible strains. Clinical and epidemiological risk factors for ARE were abstracted by chart review. RESULTS After controlling for age and site of infection, patients with ARE were more likely to have been admitted previously to our hospital and to have received third-generation cephalosporins and clindamycin. However, only advanced age and clindamycin therapy were independently associated with presence of ARE. REAP with EcoRI showed 20 groups of enterococci on 19 different wards. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that ARE are endemic and multifocal in origin in our hospital and that advanced age and use of clindamycin are important selective risk factors for ARE colonization and infection.
Measurement of three-dimensional Mode-I stress intensity factor using multiple embedded grid moire technique

Abstract Multiple embedded grid moire and strain gage techniques are used to calculate the variation in Mode-I stress intensity factor throughout the thickness of ASTM E-399 standard compact tension specimens of Merlon polycarbonate. The specimen grids near the crack tip on the surface and in the interior were recorded for the unloaded condition and for various loaded states using high resolution photographic techniques. Optical processing produced moire patterns from which the change in the crack opening displacement could be determined. From the information about the crack opening displacement in the region of the crack tip, the Mode-I stress intensity factor was calculated for various interior planes and on the surface of the specimen. The stress intensity factor was found to be higher in the midplane than on the surface, and it causes crack initiation to start at the midplane.
General Diffraction Theory of Optical Aberration Tests, from the Point of View of Spatial Filtering

A general theory of optical-aberration tests, encompassing many well-known practical tests, is presented, utilizing the formalism of spatial filtering, employing coherent illumination. The basic diffraction integrals of the Ronchi-grating test, Foucault knife-edge test, phase Foucault knife-edge test, and the Zernike phase-contrast test are derived. Typical situations have been analyzed and numerical results are shown and discussed.
Direct imaging of Au and Ag clusters by scanning tunneling microscopy

Clusters of Au and Ag deposited on the surface of highly oriented pyrolitic graphite have been imaged in air using a scanning tunneling microscope. An image is shown of a 350‐A silver cluster obtained in the constant‐current (topographic) mode. In the variable‐current mode, clusters of 6–20 atoms have been observed with atomic resolution. The motion and growth of clusters on the support are observed.
Heat transfer and frost formation inside a liquid nitrogen-cooled tube

An experimental study was undertaken of simultaneous heat transfer and frost deposition inside a liquid nitrogen-cooled tube for a range of humidities and Reynolds numbers. The data indicate that diffusion of water vapor within the frost layer caused the frost density and thermal conductivity to increase with time. The increase was so great that the heat transfer rate became constant even while frost continued to accumulate. In a separate study the thermal conductivities of frosts formed on a cryogenic surface were measured and found to be lower than values near the freezing point of water.
Second order time evolution of the multigroup diffusion and P1 equations for radiation transport

An existing solution method for solving the multigroup radiation equations, linear multifrequency-grey acceleration, is here extended to be second order in time. This method works for simple diffusion and for flux-limited diffusion, with or without material conduction. A new method is developed that does not require the solution of an averaged grey transport equation. It is effective solving both the diffusion and P1 forms of the transport equation. Two dimensional, multi-material test problems are used to compare the solution methods. In earlier papers [1,2], a simple second order time evolution method was demonstrated for the solution of the flux-limited diffusion and the Pn forms of the radiation transport equation. Those calculations included a material energy equation with thermal conduction. Here that operator split method with linearization is extended to the multigroup form of the transport equation. Again that algorithm is found to be stable, robust, and (given the same time steps and convergence criteria) computationally faster than the standard backward Euler first-order solution technique. In high energy density plasmas, much of the energy transport is through photons. Frequency dependence is often an important aspect of understanding how the energy flows. Efficiently solving the frequency-dependent transport equation for photons is a long-standing difficult problem to solve. Two of the current approaches [3,4] are both based on using a grey solution to accelerate the convergence of the iterations at each time step. While similar in name, the two approaches are quite different. The first [3] is based on historical approaches (see references in [3]), which used intuition and common sense. The second [4] is more formal and is based on synthetic acceleration schemes [5]. Although it is impossible to do any meaningful survey, the second approach may be the method with the widest current usage. The authors of this linear multifrequency-grey acceleration (LMFGA) technique acknowledge in [4] that while the method is unconditionally effective in one-dimensional problems, it sometimes works less well in multidimensional problems with large material discontinuities. Therefore in [4] they revised LMFGA by placing it inside of a Krylov-based iteration. Straightforward approaches to averaging the multigroup equation to develop a consistent grey transport equation leads to negative diffusion coefficients in physical situations analogous to the greenhouse effect. Ref. [3] presents special spatial differencing that is numerically stable in this situation. In the LMFGA technique [4,5], the grey acceleration equation is based on an equilibrium solution and does not appear to encounter negative diffusion coefficients. However, the requirement of
HuD distribution changes in response to heat shock but not neurotrophic stimulation.

Cellular stress leads to a change in distribution of RNA-binding proteins. HuR, a member of the ELAV/Hu family of RNA-binding proteins, is nuclear in distribution and following heat shock is found in large cytoplasmic stress granules where translation is inhibited. HuD, another ELAV/Hu RNA-binding protein, stabilizes the GAP-43 mRNA in response to nerve growth factor (NGF) stimulation in PC12 cells. We were interested in determining the nuclear distribution of HuD and if neurotrophic stimulation induced changes in the distribution of HuD. In PC12 cells, we found, as expected, that HuR translocates from the nucleus to the cytoplasm in response to heat shock. In response to heat shock, HuD forms large cytoplasmic stress granules, consistent with a role for HuD in the cessation of translation. In unstimulated cells, HuD is distributed in small granules in the cytoplasm and is consistently present at low levels in the nucleus. Stimulation of PC12 cells with NGF induces neuronal differentiation including outgrowth of neurites and increased levels of GAP-43 protein, whereas HuD remains localized in small cytoplasm granules and is still present in the nucleus. These results suggest that, following neurotrophic stimulation, the lack of changes in HuD distribution are due to continued steady state of HuD nuclear shuttling in PC12 cells, or that HuD is not normally shuttled from the nucleus in response to NGF. (J Histochem Cytochem 54:1129-1138, 2006)
Non-linear viscoelastic behavior of polyethylene

Abstract The response of viscoelastic solids to quasi-static loading, under conditions where non-linear theories have to be used, are discussed. Creep measurements of tension and of torsion in polyethylene specimens are described. Step loading was used and the deformations were measured optically by means of travelling microscopes for the tension experiments and by the reflection of light beams from mirrors for the torsion experiments. The deformations were too large for the theory of linear viscoelasticity to hold and the constitutive relations used were of multiple integral form; some of the kernels involved have been determined. It was found that for the loading range used, two kernels were sufficient to describe pure shear deformations and three kernels were required for tension. Some experiments in which two loading steps were applied are also described and discussed.
Glucose deprivation elicits neurofibrillary tangle-like antigenic changes in hippocampal neurons: prevention by NGF and bFGF.

A decrement in glucose utilization in brain was previously demonstrated in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and this abnormality has been proposed to play a role in the process of neuronal degeneration. We now report that glucose deprivation in cultured hippocampal neurons can result in antigenic alterations similar to those seen in AD neurofibrillary tangles (NFT) and, ultimately, cell death. Hypoglycemia caused an increase in neuronal immunoreactivity toward τ and ubiquitin antibodies. The antigenic alterations resulted from hypoglycemia-induced elevations in intracellular calcium levels as measured using the calcium indicator dye fura-2. The increased intraneuronal calcium levels, increased τ and ubiquitin immunoreactivities, and neuronal damage resulted from influx through the plasma membrane since they were not observed when cells were incubated in calcium-deficient medium. Neuronal damage and NFT-like antigenic changes were completely prevented by nerve growth factor (NGF) and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), but not by epidermal growth factor (EGF). NGF and bFGF, but not EGF, prevented the aberrant rise in intracellular calcium levels that normally resulted from glucose deprivation. These data are consistent with the possibility that reduced glucose availability to neurons may contribute to the neuronal degeneration that occurs in AD. They also suggest that growth factors may normally protect neurons against hypoglycemic damage.
SU-FF-T-450: Verification of the GEANT4 Monte Carlo Code in Low Energy Photon Transport

Purpose: GEANT4 is a powerful and versatile general‐purpose Monte Carlo code. The reliability of GEANT4 in high energy photontransport has been largely confirmed. On the other hand, the discrepancy to other Monte Carlo codes in low energy range has also been reported in the past years. The purpose of this investigation is to explore the performance of GEANT4 at low photon energies (< 50 KeV), and to verify the recent improvements of GEANT4 in photon physics. Method and Materials: The MCNP Monte Carlo code will be used as the reference in this study. The physics of dominant photon interactions in low energy range (Photoelectric effect, Compton scattering, and Rayleigh scattering) implemented in the two codes and the corresponding cross section/attenuation coefficient data will be compared. The production of fluorescent photons, which play an important role in dose deposition of KV photons, will be especially addressed. Simplified cases involving 125I/103Pd or KV X‐ray beam will be modeled and simulated with both MCNP and the latest version of GEANT4 to exemplify the extent of influence under various situations. Results: Detailed physics descriptions are required for modeling low energy photontransport in Monte Carlo codes. Differences in physics implementation between MCNP and GEANT4 are known. These differences could induce noticeable differences in radiationdose and particle flux. Conclusion: GEANT4 has been gradually accepted to be a very useful Monte Carlo simulation tool to tackle many problems in radiation therapy. A comprehensive study of KV photontransport provides verification of the reliability of the code in the low energy range, and will potentially boost the applications of GEANT4 in radiotherapy modalities such as eye plaque therapy, prostate seed implant brachytherapy, and intraoperative radiotherapy (IORT).