cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Duration of fasting but not diurnal variation affects the response to glucagon in healthy cats.

Abstract The role of glucagon disturbances in diabetes is increasingly recognized. Glucagon stimulation tests (GSTs) have been described in cats previously, but information is lacking on the response of cats to glucagon under specific conditions. The aim of this study was to assess a novel protocol for GST using human-recombinant glucagon and the effect of diurnal variation and duration of fasting using this protocol in healthy cats. All intravenous doses resulted in occasional vomiting and nausea, and eventually, a 20-μg/kg intramuscular dose was chosen. Five healthy cats were then used in a repeated-measures study. Cats were free-fed regularly at 7:30 AM and 5:30 PM for 30 min. In each cat, GST was performed at 7 PM after a 25-h fast (PM25), at 9 AM after a 25-h fast (AM25), and at 9 AM after a 15-h fast (AM15). Glucose and insulin concentrations were measured at −15, 0, 15, 25, 35, 45, and 60 min after stimulation. Baseline and peak concentrations were compared using the Friedman test. Baseline glucose and insulin did not differ significantly between treatment groups. Peak glucose concentrations occurred at 15 min and were significantly higher ( P = 0.0085) at AM15 (mean ± standard deviation=185.2 ± 43.0 mg/dL) vs AM25 (144.4 ± 10.5 mg/dL) and PM25 (128.0 ± 18.4 mg/dL). Similarly, peak insulin concentrations occurred at 15 min and were significantly higher ( P = 0.04) at AM15 (1,911 ± 1,153 pg/mL) vs AM25 (739 ± 52 pg/mL) or PM25 (549 ± 366 pg/mL). In conclusion, prolonged fasting significantly blunted the glycemic response to glucagon compared with shorter fasting, but diurnal variation had no significant effect on glucose or insulin responses.
The evolution of tissue migration in parasitic nematodes (Nematoda: Strongylida) inferred from a protein-coding mitochondrial gene.

Polymerase chain reaction was used to amplify and sequence a 710-bp region of the mtDNA protein-encoding gene, cytochrome c oxidase subunit I, in nine nematodes belonging to the order Strongylida, one nematode from the order Rhabditida and two nematodes from the order Ascaridida. This study tested the hypothesis that in the Strongylida, tissue migration in orally infecting nematodes reflects a legacy of skin penetrating strategies of host infection that were retained after an oral route of infection became established (percutaneous transmission model). Phylogenetic analyses (NJ, MP, ML) consistently produced a single tree topology with two clades within the Strongylida, one containing nematodes that incorporated tissue migration as part of their life cycles, and the other containing nematodes with no tissue migration. Our analysis concluded that the ancestral Strongylida possessed skin penetrating and tissue migrating characters that were modified as members of the group progressed along one of two evolutionary pathways. In one pathway, skin penetration was lost but tissue migration was retained as the nematodes evolved an oral infection route. In the other, both skin penetration and tissue migration characters were lost as the nematodes evolved an oral infection route. These data support the hypothesis of percutaneous transmission as being ancestral in the Strongylida.
Legal strategies for reducing persistent plastics in the marine environment

A variety of legal strategies could be employed to address aspects of the problem of persistent plastics in the marine environment. These include strategies based on international agreements, federal legislation, and state law. At the international level, plastic pollution from vessels is addressed by the International Convention Relating to Pollution from Ships (MARPOL), though its operative provisions are not yet in force. Vesselsource pollution can also be addressed, with varying degrees of effectiveness, through pollution laws, fishery and wildlife conservation laws, and fishing gear compensation programmes. These authorities provide a diverse set of opportunities for addressing the entanglement problem, though realizing such opportunities is likely to require an expanded perception on the part of their administrators of the types of hazards addressed by the pollution laws. Various state measures focus primarily on reducing or preventing the problem of generation of plastic pollution from land-based sources. These include several laws that impose degradability standards for certain plastic products or attempt to encourage recycling of plastic waste. The experiences of various states that have enacted such laws are described and recommendations are made with respect to needed measures for more effective implementation of such laws.
Surface Plasmon Amplification in Planar Metal Films

The propagation and amplification of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) is studied at the interfaces between metals and active media. A permittivity renormalization technique is proposed and developed to obtain an explicit analytic expression for the critical gain required to achieve infinite SPP propagation length. A specific multiple quantum-well (MQW) system is identified as a prospective medium for demonstrating efficient SPP amplification at telecommunication frequencies. The proposed system may have a strong impact on a variety of photonic devices ranging from plasmonic nanocircuits, subwavelength transmission lines and plasmonic cavities to nanosized transducers.
Searching for a minimal set of behaviors for autism detection through feature selection-based machine learning

Although the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has risen sharply in the last few years reaching 1 in 68, the average age of diagnosis in the United States remains close to 4—well past the developmental window when early intervention has the largest gains. This emphasizes the importance of developing accurate methods to detect risk faster than the current standards of care. In the present study, we used machine learning to evaluate one of the best and most widely used instruments for clinical assessment of ASD, the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) to test whether only a subset of behaviors can differentiate between children on and off the autism spectrum. ADOS relies on behavioral observation in a clinical setting and consists of four modules, with module 2 reserved for individuals with some vocabulary and module 3 for higher levels of cognitive functioning. We ran eight machine learning algorithms using stepwise backward feature selection on score sheets from modules 2 and 3 from 4540 individuals. We found that 9 of the 28 behaviors captured by items from module 2, and 12 of the 28 behaviors captured by module 3 are sufficient to detect ASD risk with 98.27% and 97.66% accuracy, respectively. A greater than 55% reduction in the number of behaviorals with negligible loss of accuracy across both modules suggests a role for computational and statistical methods to streamline ASD risk detection and screening. These results may help enable development of mobile and parent-directed methods for preliminary risk evaluation and/or clinical triage that reach a larger percentage of the population and help to lower the average age of detection and diagnosis.
Photographic Cytophotometry with a Dual Microscope

A modified comparison microscope assembly was developed for quantitative cytochemical analysis of stained or naturally pigmented objects. Test and control objects were photographed simultaneouslyon the same frame of color film. Pigments in the film image were then extracted and analyzed in a recording spectrophotometer. The total procedure is an extension and simplification of existing methods.
Various strategies to handle cannibalization in a competitive duopolistic market

We investigate an incumbent's optimal sequential introduction of new products over two periods in a competitive duopoly setting. The firm would like to preempt and counter competition from a future entrant. Alternatively, the firm should consider that one of its products might decrease sales for another of their products, a threat commonly known as cannibalization. In this paper, we examine three sequential introduction strategies. We find that a firm's optimal introduction sequence is governed by pressures from competition and cannibalization in the market. In general, competition has greater impact on firms’ profits than cannibalization. Introducing a high-end product before a low-end product can alleviate cannibalization for a weak entrant. In particular, the profit loss caused by competition is greater than that caused by cannibalization. When competition is intense, firms should consider alleviating the profit loss from competition over cannibalization by introducing a low-end product before a high-end product. In that case, the incumbent's high-end product's quality must be no lower than the entrant's quality but the profit is derived mostly from the mark-up on the low-end product. Much of the high-end product's profit is sacrificed in order to maximize profit from the entire product line. When cannibalization is intense and competition is mild (due to a weak entrant), the incumbent's profit gap between the high-end and low-end products is high. In that case, the firm can no longer afford to sacrifice its high-end products’ profit and the order of introduction reverses.
Molecular sensors based on the photoelectric effect of bacteriorhodopsin: Origin of differential responsivity

Abstract Bacteriorhodopsin is a popular advanced material. When oriented in a membrane or a thin film deposited on a transparent electrode, it responds to sudden changes of the illumination level with spikes of fast photoelectric signal, of which the amplitude and polarity reflect the extent and sense of changes (a phenomenon known as differential responsivity). The present article explain how light-induced rapid charge separation and recombination in the membrane leads to differential responsivity. This article also evaluates several alternative proposed mechanisms appearing in the literature.
Acceleration of evolutionary spread by long-range dispersal.

The spreading of evolutionary novelties across populations is the central element of adaptation. Unless populations are well mixed (like bacteria in a shaken test tube), the spreading dynamics depend not only on fitness differences but also on the dispersal behavior of the species. Spreading at a constant speed is generally predicted when dispersal is sufficiently short ranged, specifically when the dispersal kernel falls off exponentially or faster. However, the case of long-range dispersal is unresolved: Although it is clear that even rare long-range jumps can lead to a drastic speedup—as air-traffic–mediated epidemics show—it has been difficult to quantify the ensuing stochastic dynamical process. However, such knowledge is indispensable for a predictive understanding of many spreading processes in natural populations. We present a simple iterative scaling approximation supported by simulations and rigorous bounds that accurately predicts evolutionary spread, which is determined by a trade-off between frequency and potential effectiveness of long-distance jumps. In contrast to the exponential laws predicted by deterministic “mean-field” approximations, we show that the asymptotic spatial growth is according to either a power law or a stretched exponential, depending on the tails of the dispersal kernel. More importantly, we provide a full time-dependent description of the convergence to the asymptotic behavior, which can be anomalously slow and is relevant even for long times. Our results also apply to spreading dynamics on networks with a spectrum of long-range links under certain conditions on the probabilities of long-distance travel: These are relevant for the spread of epidemics.
Black Holes in Many Dimensions at the CERN Large Hadron Collider: Testing Critical String Theory

We consider black hole production at the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in a generic scenario with many extra dimensions where the standard model fields are confined to a brane. With $\ensuremath{\sim}20$ dimensions the hierarchy problem is shown to be naturally solved without the need for large compactification radii. We find that in such a scenario the properties of black holes can be used to determine the number of extra dimensions, $n$. In particular, we demonstrate that measurements of the decay distributions of such black holes at the LHC can determine if $n$ is significantly larger than 6 or 7 with high confidence and thus can probe one of the critical properties of string theory compactifications.
The source of follicular androgens in the hamster follicle.

Abstract The comparative ability of granulosa cells and theca of the hamster preovulatory follicle to produce androgens in vitro from endogenous and exogenous substrates was assessed. The results indicate that theca are the major source of follicular androstene-dione, but that the granulosa cells may be the major source of follicular testosterone. Theca and granulosa cells accumulate comparable amounts of dihydrotestosterone from exogenous andro-stenedione and testosterone and both may be a significant source of follicular DHT. LH stimulates the conversion of progesterone and 17α-OH progesterone to androstenedione, testosterone and DHT in theca. LH does not stimulate the conversion of androstenedione to testosterone or DHT and that of testosterone to DHT in either granulosa cells or theca. FSH, in granulosa cells but not in theca, stimulates the conversion of androstenedione to testosterone but it has no effect in DHT accumulation from exogenous testosterone.
Enumerative modulation coding with arbitrary constraints and postmodulation error correction coding for data storage systems

Modulation constraints of practically any degree of complexity can be described by a state transition table with a finite number (Omega) of states. Examples include all (d,k;c) codes (where (Omega) <EQ 2(k + 1)(2c + 1)), more general codes with run-length limitations, and run- length limited codes which exclude certain bit-patterns. From the state transition table we construct a trellis diagram for code words of arbitrary length LO. If desired, the trellis may be confined in the beginning and/or at the end to a subset of states. We then show a simple method of enumeration that assigns a number to each code word in the trellis according to is lexicographic order. All the necessary information for enumerative encoding and decoding of binary data will be subsequently stored in an array of size LO X (Omega) ; both encoding and decoding can be achieved with a few simple operations using this table. In short, arbitrarily long blocks of data can be encoded into sequences that satisfy arbitrary constraints, with algorithms that are easy to implement. Since no additional constraints are imposed, the rates approach Shannon's noiseless channel capacity in the limit of long sequences. We present ideas for correction of random errors that occur in modulated sequences, so that errors in readout can be corrected prior to demodulation. The post-modulation error correction codes are necessary when modulation code words are long, in which case small errors can destroy large quantities of data. Also introduced in this paper is a simple, efficient algorithm for burst-error-correction. The primary application of the ideas of this paper is in the area of data encoding/decoding as applied in magnetic and optical data storage systems.
Some stereochemical aspects in genetics.

IT is a fundamental concept in modern chemical genetics that a separate gene is responsible for each step in the enzymatic biosynthesis of a given compound. Since in vitro the precursor (or precursors) of the compound would also be able to produce substances other than that formed in the tissue, a gene, as is well known, displays a chemical steering power which is directed toward a single structural target.
Quantitative changes in bacteria, amino acids and biogenic amines in sardine (Sardina pilchardus) stored at ambient temperature (25–28°C) and in ice

Summary Freshly caught sardines contained high levels of bacteria located mainly on the skin and the gills. These bacteria invaded and grew rapidly in sardine muscle, reaching 5x108 c.f.u. g-1 and 6x108 c.f.u. g-1 respectively after 24h at ambient temperature and 8 days in ice. Histidine, arginine, lysine, tyrosine and methionine levels decreased during storage. The other amino acids, except proline and taurine, accumulated in the fish muscle, indicating an extensive proteolysis. Histamine, cadaverine and putrescine accumulated to levels of 2350ppm, 1050ppm and 300ppm respectively, after 24h storage at ambient temperature. Histamine and cadaverine reached similar levels after 8 days storage in ice, whereas putrescine formation was insignificant. Spermidine and spermine levels increased slightly under ambient conditions. Salting the fish at 8% delayed bacterial and chemical changes but only in iced sardines. The high content of free histidine found in sardines and the susceptibility of its muscle to histamine and cadaverine formation could explain its increasing implication in incidents of histamine poisoning.
How Much Does Social Group Size Influence Golden Marmot Vigilance

A commonly cited benefit of group living is the ability for individuals to reduce the time devoted to scanning for predators with increasing group size - the 'group size effect'. Interestingly, most studies reporting a group size effect have focused on documenting a significant group size effect and did not discuss the relative 'importance' of group size. One way to study the relative importance of group size is to calculate the amount of variation in vigilance explained by group size. I studied effects of social group size on golden marmot (Marmota caudata aurea) vigilance in two ways. First, I estimated the overall amount of time marmots were vigilant during their morning active periods. Second, I estimated the amount of time marmots were vigilant specifically while foraging. Analyses statistically controlled for several factors that have been suggested to confound the study of group size effects. While marmots were active, only 14% of the variation in vigilance was explained by social group size. For foraging marmots, even less variation (about 6%) was explained by social group size. The amount of variation explained by social group size in golden marmots is considerably less that reported in several studies of other species where explained variation was reported or could be estimated from data. Some of the discrepancy between variation explained in this and other studies may stem from my focus on social group size which appears to explain less variation than the more commonly studied foraging aggregation size. However, species differ in the amount of time they devote to foraging and therefore vary in the magnitude of net benefit from group size effects. Future comparative work will be required to rigorously study the relationship between amount of time foraging and the magnitude of group size effects.
Formation, reactivity, and antiplatelet activity of mixed disulfide conjugates of clopidogrel.

In this work, we investigated the formation, reactivity, and antiplatelet activity of various mixed disulfide conjugates of clopidogrel. Our results showed that the production of the active metabolite (AM) from 2-oxoclopidogrel by human liver microsomes (HLMs) is greatly affected by the thiol reductants used. Among the 10 thiol compounds tested, glutathione (GSH) is most efficient in producing the AM at a rate of 167 pmoles AM/min/mg HLM. Interestingly, no AM but only the mixed disulfide conjugates were formed in the presence of 6-chloropyridazine-3-thiol (CPT), 2,5-dimethylfuran-3-thiol, and 3-nitropyridine-2-thiol (NPT). The mass spectrometry (MS) and MS2 spectra of the conjugates of these thiol compounds confirmed the presence of a mixed disulfide bond linkage between the AM and the thiol reductants. Kinetic studies revealed that the mixed disulfide conjugates were capable of exchanging thiols with GSH to release the AM with second order rate constants ranging from 1.2 to 28 M−1s−1. The mixed disulfide conjugates of CPT and NPT showed potent inhibition of platelet aggregation after pretreatment with 1 mM GSH, confirming that the AM is responsible for the antiplatelet activity of clopidogrel. Collectively, our results provide strong support for a cytochrome P450 (P450)-mediated bioactivation mechanism involving the initial formation of a glutathionyl conjugate, followed by thiol-disulfide exchange with another GSH molecule to release the AM. Furthermore, the stable mixed disulfide conjugates identified in this study provide a platform to quantitatively generate the therapeutic AM without the need for P450-mediated bioactivation. This property can be further explored to overcome the interindividual variability in clopidogrel therapy.
Effect of loading conditions, contractile state, and heart rate on early diastolic left ventricular filling in conscious dogs.

We investigated left ventricular (LV) early diastolic filling in 10 normal conscious dogs that had been previously instrumented to measure LV and left atrial (LA) pressures and three orthogonal LV internal dimensions. LV volume was calculated as a general ellipsoid. The pressure within a passive structure increases as it is filled. If myocardial relaxation is rapid enough to substantially aid LV diastolic filling, it may overcome this effect and cause LV pressure to fall despite an increase in volume. Thus, we defined the amount of LV filling that occurred while LV pressure was falling as relaxation filling, which is a measure of the importance of LV relaxation during early diastolic filling. The time constant of relaxation (T) was derived from the exponential fall of LV pressure during isovolumic relaxation. While LV pressure was falling early in diastole (the relaxation filling period), all three LV diameters increased. Autonomic blockade with hexamethonium (5 mg/kg) and atropine (0.1 mg/kg) reduced relaxation filling from 21 +/- 6% (mean +/- SD) to 12 +/- 3% of the stroke volume (p less than 0.01). The mean LA pressure also was significantly decreased (from 12 +/- 2 to 10 +/- 5 mm Hg, p less than 0.05), while the duration of the relaxation filling period and T were unchanged. Positive inotropic stimulation with dobutamine (10 micrograms/kg/min) shortened T without changing LA pressure. The maximum LA-LV pressure gradient, dV/dtmax, and relaxation filling all increased. Augmented preload produced by dextran infusion (500 ml/10 min) caused an increase in LA pressure (from 11 +/- 3 to 21 +/- 8 mm Hg, p less than 0.05) without altering T. This also increased the maximum LA-LV pressure gradient, dV/dtmax, and relaxation filling. Augmented afterload produced by methoxamine (10 mg/3 min i.v.) significantly increased LA pressure (from 9 +/- 4 to 15 +/- 10 mm Hg, p less than 0.05) and lengthened T (from 35 +/- 4 to 50 +/- 7 msec, p less than 0.05) and the duration of relaxation filling (from 36 +/- 5 to 44 +/- 9 msec, p less than 0.01) without altering the maximum LA-LV pressure gradient, dV/dtmax, or LV relaxation filling. Incremental changes in heart rate induced by atrial pacing (from 100-180 beats/min) resulted in progressive decreases in the time constant of LV relaxation and the duration of relaxation filling. The LA pressure was also decreased. There was no corresponding increase in the amount of active LV filling until the heart rate reached 180 beats/min. During all these interventions, T correlated with the duration of LV relaxation filling (r = 0.99. p less than 0.05). The amount of relaxation filling and dV/dtmax both correlated with the maximum LA-LV pressure gradient.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
A Librarian's Role in Enhancing Patients’ Knowledge and Self-Advocacy

Librarians can play an important role in enhancing a patient's ability to engage fully in the clinical encounter by encouraging patient self-advocacy and patient-physician communication. In clinica...
Creating a New Organizational Structure for a Small Academic Library: The Merging of Technical Services and Access Services

To meet new and continuing demands on library services while absorbing cuts to budgets, a small academic library reorganized its departmental structure. Access Services, formerly a unit within the Public Services Department, was merged with the Technical Services Department under the new title Bibliographic, Access, and Metadata Services (BAMS). Public Services has refocused its efforts on information literacy and outreach under the title Research, Instruction and Outreach Services (RIOS). BAMS is now in a position to leverage synergies in collections, cataloging, and lending services while providing opportunities for cross-trained staff to work more effectively with users as well as behind the scenes.
Exploring Emotional Intelligence, Learner Autonomy, and Retention in an Accelerated Undergraduate Degree Completion Program

This article presents the results of research that explored the relationship between emotional intelligence and learner autonomy in the context of nontraditional higher education and their impact on student retention. This was predicated on previous research that suggested emotional intelligence might lead to student success and that autonomous learners persevere toward academic goals with more resourcefulness, initiative, and persistence than other learners do. For this study, 129 nontraditional undergraduate students associated with a small, private, liberal arts college in the northeastern U.S. completed web-based surveys measuring emotional intelligence and learner autonomy. Results indicate a strong relationship between emotional intelligence and learner autonomy. Two of three emotional intelligence constructs and two of four learner autonomy constructs contributed to retention in a logistic regression model. The article concludes with discussion of limitations of the study, suggestions for future research, and how administrators of nontraditional programs can benefit from this study.
Teaching Engineering Management Via the Web

AbstractDrexel University, a recognized innovator in computer-based educational support, has begun a strategically significant project aimed at producing a distributed instruction model program for a master's degree in Engineering Management. The production of high-quality Web-based graduate courses needs a concerted team effort because of the complexity involved in developing truly interactive and effective courses. An optimal blend of content, pedagogy, and technology is essential.The Drexel development team worked with a media technology company so that the essential spectrum of distance learning skills and expertise were available: project management, subject matter, instructional design, human/computer interaction, multimedia design, evaluation and assessment, quality control, and programming.Drexel's goal is to develop a model distance learning series that provides expanded and convenient access as well as a quality educational experience — one that can equal or even improve upon the traditional cla...
2,3-Butanedione 2-Monoxime (BDM) Induces Calcium Release from Canine Cardiac Sarcoplasmic Reticulum☆

2,3-Butanedione 2-monoxime (BDM) is a well known inhibitor of skeletal and cardiac muscle contraction. Recently, it has been discovered that BDM has an influence on the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR). We investigated the effects of BDM on the SR in our digitonin lysed myocyte system, which measures accumulated SR Ca2+. While BDM (30 mM) had no effect on SR Ca2+ uptake (under conditions that included Ca2+ release channel efflux inhibitors), it induced SR Ca2+ release (no efflux inhibitors) with a maximal reduction of 72% of SR Ca2+ at pCa 6.0. A titration showed that even 5 mM BDM resulted in a 45% reduction at that same pCa. Also, a positive correlation was found between the degree of BDM induced Ca2+ release and free Ca2+ concentration. Thus, the use of even low concentrations of BDM as an excitation-contraction uncoupler must be approached with caution.
Magnetic dipole transitions in quarkonia

Amplitudes for allowed and hindered M1 transitions are analyzed in a theory in which relativistic effects are taken into account to order (v/c)/sup 2/. Relativistic effects are small for allowed transitions. For hindered transitions, on the other hand, retardation and relativistic effects and coupled-channel mixing are important. We have calculated retardation and relativistic effects, and find strong cancellation between the various contributions. Results are given for psi'..-->..eta/sub c/..gamma.. and for both allowed and hindered transitions in the UPSILON system. When coupled-channel mixing is taken into account in the psi'..-->..eta/sub c/..gamma.. case, we find that theory and experiment agree within error.
SPECIFIC RESTORATION OF AGGLUTININ FORMATION IN X-IRRADIATED RABBITS BY NUCLEOPROTEIN FRACTIONS FROM IMMUNE DONORS.

Lymph-node cell-suspensions obtained from shigellaimmunized donor rabbits were fractionated into subcellular preparations, including cell-free homogenate, nuclei, mitochondria, desoxyribonucleoprotein and ribonucleoprotein- containing fractions. No serologically detectable shigella agglutinins or antigens could be observed with these preparations. Injection into nonimmunized recipient rabbits, either nontreated or whole-body-irradiated with 425 r 24 hr previously, resulted in appearance of antishigella agglutinins in the sera of the recipients. The time and magnitade of the agglutinin response was relatively similar to that observed following transfer of control whole cell suspensions. A majority of recipient rabbits receiving cell-free fractions had detectable shigella agglutinins within three to nine days, with peak titers at nine to twenty days. Possible mechanisms responsible for the appearance of these agglutinins were discussed. (auth)
Identification of a high concentration of scyllo-inositol in the brain of a healthy human subject using 1H- and 13C-NMR

The peak at 3.35 ppm in the 1H-NMR spectrum characteristic for scyllo-inositol may be a marker for cerebral pathology, although it has a well-known constant concentration relative to myo-inositol. Such a peak was observed with an intensity at least 300% above normal in the brain of a healthy volunteer. The scyllo-inositol signal was assigned based on the detection of a corresponding peak at 74.5 ppm in the 13C-NMR spectrum and on the demonstration of singlet characteristics of the proton signal. The presence of substantial brain concentrations of scyllo-inositol suggests that scyllo-inositol metabolism may be regulated independently from myo-inositol and that such concentrations are compatible with normal health.
Expression of 3G11 epitope defines subpopulations of regulatory T cells with different suppressive potency

3G11, a sialylated carbohydrate epitope on the disialoganglioside molecule, is expressed predominantly on the surface of mouse CD4+ T cells. Our previous studies suggested that lack of the 3G11 molecule could be a new cell surface marker for regulatory CD4+ T cells. In the present study, we explore the relationship between 3G11− and CD25+ T cells, a well-defined, naturally occurring regulatory T cell population. We found that a large proportion of CD25+CD4+ T cells lack expression of 3G11 and that more 3G11−CD4+ T cells express Foxp3 compared to the 3G11+CD4+ population. Based on 3G11 and CD25 expression we sorted four CD4+ T cell subpopulations and tested their phenotypes. Among four CD25/3G11-related CD4+ T cell subpopulations, CD25+3G11− T cells expressed the highest levels of Foxp3 and IL-10 and most efficiently inhibited mitogenic and antigen-specific immune responses in vitro and clinical EAE in vivo, while CD25−3G11+ T cells produced a higher level of proinflammatory cytokines and enhanced autoimmune responses. Thus, among CD4+CD25+ T cells, CD25+3G11− T cells represent a more effective Treg subpopulation than CD25+3G11+ T cells.
Nature of Electron Equilibrium in Heterogeneous Solids and the Proposed Electron Energy Distribution in Degenerate p-n Junctions

Nature of Electron Equilibrium in Heterogeneous Solids and the Proposed Electron Energy Distribution in Degenerate p-n Junctions
Imaging use among employed and self-employed urologists.

Purpose: Compared to physicians paid on salary (ie employed), those who own their practice (ie self-employed) derive financial benefit from providing more care. Whether the volume based incentives of ownership influence physician use of other ancillary services, like diagnostic imaging, remains unknown. We explored this possibility among urologists.Materials and Methods: We used data from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (2006 to 2007) to identify outpatient urology visits. We determined whether the urologist who was responsible for the encounter was employed or self-employed. We calculated the proportion of visits at which imaging was ordered, and we evaluated for a difference between visits directed by employed vs self-employed urologists. We used multivariable logistic regression to measure the relationship between urologist employment status and imaging use, adjusting for patient, provider and practice level characteristics.Results: More than 1 in 5 urology visits resulted in imaging. While...
Burkitt's Lymphoma

Imaging is often vital in the diagnosis and staging of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) patients with regard to infections and malignancies. Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is an AIDS-defining illness and a common AIDS-related malignancy. These lymphomas are usually high-grade immunoblastic, primary central nervous system (CNS) or Burkitt's, and occasionally Hodgkin's. In Europe and North America, Burkitt's lymphoma occurs vastly more often in AIDS. Images of three widely varied cases of AIDS-related Burkitt's lymphoma reflect its radiologic features.
New techniques for patterned wafer inspection based on a model of human preattentive vision

In recent years automated patterned wafer inspection systems have been replacing manual inspection in semiconductor manufacturing facilities. Smaller features and larger devices have made manual inspection inefficient if not impossible, and several commercial systems have been developed to meet the needs of the semiconductor industry. The defect detection techniques used by these systems can be divided into reference comparison and spatial filtering. Reference comparison is the most common. The reference can be another chip on the same wafer or a golden part [4] . Spatial filtering has been successfully applied to the inspection of repetitive patterns [7]. A third inspection technique based on design rule checks is common in printed circuit board inspection but has yet to be successfully applied to integrated circuits, which present a much more complex and variable pattern due to the small feature size and multiple levels. The reference and spatial filter based automatic systems far exceed the performance of human inspectors. Current systems inspect a single chip in minutes, detecting defects as small as one half micron, and in the near future machines will take only seconds to inspect a chip for quarter micron defects. In one respect only, does the human inspector's performance exceed that of the machine: To date, no automatic patterned wafer inspection system is capable of filtering out real defects from nuisance defects such as granularity in metal or polysilicon. Humans, however, are able to detect defects in grainy, textured fields with little difficulty. Furthermore, for humans no knowledge of the pattern is needed to detect obvious anomalies such as breaks or neckdowns in lines. Conversations with people who inspect patterned wafers indicate that they do not serially scan the pattern for defects. Instead they allow their gaze to relax as they move the pattern under the microscope objective. When a defect comes into the field of view, they report that it "pops out" , grabbing their attention. This phenomenon is characteristic of preattentive or effortless vision, a subject that has been extensively studied in psychophysics. Preattentive vision is generally considered to be based on the decomposition of the visual input into a limited set of features which are detected in parallel. Since these operations extend well beyond the foveal or high resolution area of the visual field, one may assume that they are based on lower resolution features. Such parallelism and data reduction imply computationally efficient processing that could be emulated for machine vision pattern recognition purposes. It was with this in mind that we launched a project aimed at developing new pattern inspection techniques based on models of human preattentive vision. This paper will first briefly describe current theories of preattentive vision. It will then outline the model used as a basis on which to develop the pattern inspection techniques. Lastly it will discuss two defect detection techniques, which will be illustrated with examples.
Exposure to animal abuse and group context: two factors affecting participation in animal abuse

AbstractOver the previous three decades, an emerging body of literature has highlighted the significance of animal abuse as an important indicator of disturbed social development. The current study attempted to expand upon previous research by examining two factors associated with participation in animal abuse: age of first exposure to animal abuse and group versus solitary participation in animal abuse. Within a sample of 206 college students, the age at which a participant reported that they were first exposed to animal abuse was an important determinant of the risk associated with that exposure. Those who reported having first observed animal abuse prior to 13 years of age were more likely to have engaged in animal abuse than were those who reported having first observed abuse at 13 years or later. In addition, those who reported having engaged in animal abuse alone on at least one occasion had higher self-reported delinquency scores, and exhibited less sensitivity to the treatment of animals, than tho...
Effects of cadmium on two biocontrol insects and their host weeds.

Cd added to the nutrient solution at 1 mg·L−1 significantly reduced growth of alligatorweed and purple nutsedge. Both plant species increased about threefold in Cd content when exposed to the added Cd over the 3 to 4 wk periods. A significant difference existed between the two insect species in their response to Cd; the alligatorweed flea beetle was very sensitive to Cd levels in the alligatorweed and the nutsedge moth was virtually unaffected by the levels in the purple nutsedge and diet. These results implied that the alligatorweed/alligatorweed flea beetle system might serve as a sensitive bioassay for heavy metal pollution in sewage effluent, particularly since alligatorweed has been considered as a potential biological filter for effluent (Wolvertonet al. 1975). Other trace elements may be involved in the biogeography of plants and insects and would merit investigation.
Aggregation of humic acid in solution: contributions of different fractions.

Abstract The role of lipid components in the aggregation of several humic acids isolated from different sources was investigated using surface tensiometry. A combination of aqueous alkaline and organic solvent extractions was used to isolate two humic-like fractions (HA1 and HA2) and one lipid-like fraction from each humic acid. Fraction HA1 represents approximately two-thirds of the total organic carbon of the original humic acid and under alkaline conditions is a weak surfactant that lowers the surface tension of water by only a small amount. The HA2 fraction represents up to one-third of the humic acid and significantly lowers the surface tension of water. It is also intimately associated with the lipid fraction. Unlike the original humic acid samples, HA2 does not show micelle-like aggregation over the concentration range studied. Aggregate formation is discussed as an emergent characteristic that results from the interaction of the humic acid’s components with the lipid components serving a facilitative role.
Gene transfer in experimental medicine.

Gene transfer technology has many potential applications in medicine. Phase I and phase II gene-based clinical trials have been conducted for the treatment of cancer, monogenic disorders, some neurodegenerative illnesses, cardiopathies and infectious diseases. A phase I gene therapy clinical trial has recently been approved for the treatment of Parkinson's disease, while preclinical studies are in progress to develop gene-based interventions for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease and Huntington's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, spinal cord injury, and diabetes type 1 and type 2. A number of gene transfer models have been generated for gene therapy and genetic immunization programs. Vector design is addressing several pressing issues in the matter of gene delivery improvement, stabilization of transgene expression and safety. This is necessary in order to achieve efficient gene-based therapeutic interventions. Indeed, considerable progress has been reported in the field of vector design, which has produced some encouraging results in clinical trials and preclinical studies. However, vector design should be further developed to allow for the successful application of gene transfer technology in therapy. This review summarizes the latest achievements and controversies in clinical trials and preclinical studies in the field of gene therapy.
Correlates of root caries experience in middle-aged and older adults in the Northwest Practice-based REsearch Collaborative in Evidence-based DENTistry research network.

ABSTRACT Background The authors examined the correlates of root caries experience for middle-aged adults (aged 45–64 years) and older adults (65 years and older) to test the hypothesis that the factors related to root caries are different for middle-aged adults than they are for older adults. Methods The authors conducted an observational cross-sectional study that focused on adult patients aged 45 to 97 years recruited from the Northwest Practice-based REsearch Collaborative in Evidence-based DENTistry research network (N = 775). The outcome variable was any root caries experience (no/yes). The authors hypothesized that sociodemographic, intra- oral and behavioral factors were root caries correlates. The authors used Poisson regression models to generate overall and age-stratified prevalence ratios (PRs) of root caries, and they used generalized estimating equations to account for practice-level clustering of participants. Results A total of 19.6 percent of adults had any root caries. A dentist’s assessment that the patient was at high risk of developing any caries was associated with greater prevalence of root caries experience in both middle-aged adults (PR, 2.70; 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 1.63–4.46) and older adults (PR, 1.87; 95 percent CI, 1.19–2.95). The following factors were associated significantly with increased root caries prevalence but only for middle-aged adults: male sex ( P = .02), self-reported dry mouth ( P P = .03) and increased frequency of eating or drinking between meals ( P = .03). No other covariates were related to root caries experience for older adults. Conclusions Within a practice-based research network, the factors associated with root caries experience were different for middle-aged adults than they were for older adults. Research is needed to identify relevant root caries correlates for adults 65 years and older. Practical Implications Interventions aimed at preventing root caries are likely to be different for middle-aged adults than for older adults. Dentists should use root caries prevention programs that address appropriate aged-based risk factors.
Testing the Index of Problematic Online Experiences (I-POE) with a national sample of adolescents.

Abstract This article assesses the utility of the Index of Problematic Online Experiences (I-POE) in a national sample of adolescents in the United States. The study was based on a cross-sectional national telephone survey of 1560 Internet users, ages 10 through 17. Data were collected between August, 2010 and January, 2011. The I-POE is an 18-item binary response index which can be used to assess problematic internet use across multiple behaviors and activities. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis supported a revised index with two factors: a 9-item “excessive use” scale and a 9-item “online social and communication problems” scale among this population. The I-POE showed favorable psychometric properties including adequate internal consistency for the overall scale and for the two subscales. Scores correlate with offline emotional and behavioral difficulties and the I-POE could have value for use as a part of broad mental health assessment procedures in clinical or school settings.
Sensory, Flavor, and Microbial Analyses of Raw, Pasteurized, and Irradiated Apple Ciders

: Ten trained descriptive panelists evaluated the sensory characteristics of raw, pasteurized, and irradiated apple cider, with and without sorbate. For the main effect of processing treatments, raw, pasteurized, and irradiated ciders were not different from each other in sweetness, sourness, astringency, and caramelized flavor. Irradiated cider had less apple flavor and lower ester content than raw cider. For the main effect of sorbate, the addition of sorbate (0.05%) increased sweetness. Irradiated cider had higher musty flavor than both raw and pasteurized ciders, and the addition of sorbate to irradiated cider further increased musty flavor. The addition of potassium sorbate to apple cider effectively reduced yeast and aerobic bacteria counts and minimized the degradation of several esters during irradiation.
Later stages of sperm penetration and second polar body and blastodisc formation in the egg of Fundulus heteroclitus

This study represents a follow-up to earlier papers in which the initial stages of sperm penetration and cortical vesicle breakdown in activated eggs of Fundulus heteroclitus were described. Light and electron microscopy were used to examine later events of fertilization, second polar body formation, and changes in animal pole cytoplasm as the embryonic blastodisc forms. Fusion of sperm and egg plasmalemmae is quickly followed by the formation of a distinctive fertilization cone which persists for only 3 to 5 minutes. The protruding sperm flagellum disappears to the inside of the egg within 10 to 15 minutes. Inside the egg cytoplasm the sperm nucleus begins to undergo chromatin decondensation and nuclear envelope fragmentation as early as 20 seconds post-insemination. In the egg the second meiotic spindle underlies the first polar body and the second polar body begins to form within about 3 minutes post-insemination. The animal pole cytoplasm triples or quadruples in thickness within 3 minutes after insemination. It continues to thicken to form the definitive blastodisc by 1 to 1.75 hours after insemination. Details of changes in the surface topography of the egg which accompany these events are presented.
New mechanisms for sulfonylurea control of insulin secretion.

Oral antidiabetic sulfonylureas like tolbutamide and glyburide have been used to treat patients with noninsulin dependent diabetes mellitus. These agents lower blood glucose by stimulating insulin secretion from the pancreatic islets of Langerhans. A major component of this stimulation is sulfonylurea-mediated closure of the ATP-inhibited potassium channels (KATP channels) of islet β-cells. Closure of these channels leads to cell depolarization, calcium uptake, and insulin exocytosis. Progress leading up to the recent cloning of the high-affinity sulfonylurea receptor and reconstitution of the KATP channel is reviewed in this article together with new data showing that sulfonylureas may control secretion by activating a novel chloride ion channel, inhibiting an islet Na/K/ATPase or via distal stimulation of granule exocytosis by a kinase C dependent mechanism.