cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Physical and genetic map of the organomercury resistance (Omr) and inorganic mercury resistance (Hgr) loci of the IncM plasmid R831b.

Abstract Tn7 insertion mutagenesis has been used to facilitate the generation of a physical (restriction endonuclease) and genetic map of the IncM plasmid, R831b. The only selectable phenotypes carried by this 90-kb conjugative plasmid are resistances to inorganic mercury [Hg (II)] and to organomercury compounds. Mutants in the Hgr locus of R831b complemented previously described mutants in the mer operon of the IncFII plasmid R100, indicating functional homology of the locus in each of these different plasmids. However, the R83 Ib Hgr locus is not notably similar in restriction site pattern to either the mer operon of R100 or the mercury resistance transposon, Tn501. Although the enzymes they encode are co-ordinately regulated, the Omr locus of R831b maps approx. 13.5 kb away from the Hgr locus. Three insertions which affect neither phenotype lie between the Hgr and Omr loci; thus, the loci are separated both physically and genetically. One mutant was obtained which tentatively identifies the position of the Tra locus of R831b as adjacent to the Hgr locus.
A 9 Å single particle reconstruction from CCD captured images on a 200 kV electron cryomicroscope

Abstract Sub-nanometer resolution structure determination is becoming a common practice in electron cryomicroscopy of macromolecular assemblies. The data for these studies have until now been collected on photographic film. Using cytoplasmic polyhedrosis virus (CPV), a previously determined structure, as a test specimen, we show the feasibility of obtaining a 9 A structure from images acquired from a 4 k × 4 k Gatan CCD on a 200 kV electron cryomicroscope. The match of the α-helices in the protein components of the CPV with the previous structure of the same virus validates the suitability of this type of camera as the recording media targeted for single particle reconstructions at sub-nanometer resolution.
A free boundary problem for capillary surfaces

We prove existence and regularity of capillary surfaces between two parallel hyperplanes in ℝn. By geometrical arguments we also derive some properties of the minimizers of the functional related to the problem.
In vitro metabolism of mevalonic acid in the bovine retina.

: Bovine retinas were incubated with 3RS-[5-3H]- mevalonic acid under conditions similar to those previously shown to support opsin biosynthesis in vitro. TLC of the total lipids indicated the formation of numerous radiolabeled components, including sterols, hydrocarbons, and “fatty acid-like material.” The nonsaponifiable lipids were analyzed by TLC, GLC, and chromatography on columns of silicic acid-Super Cel, silica gel G-Super Cel-silver nitrate, and alumina-Super Cel-silver nitrate. The major nonsaponifiable components had the Chromatographic properties of squalene and “methylated sterols” (i.e., C30, C29, and C28 monohydroxy sterols). Cholesterol represented no more than 1% of the total radioactivity in the nonsaponifiable lipid fraction. The “fatty acid-like material” was derivatized with diazomethane, and the resulting methyl esters were analyzed by GLC before and after catalytic hydrogenation. The radioactivity did not correspond to the normal fatty acids endogenous to the retina, but rather had the Chromatographic properties of C15 and C20 isoprenoid acids. These results obtained with intact retinas are consistent with our previous observations concerning mevalonic acid metabolism in cell-free homogenates of bovine retinas.
A rapid and precise probe for measurement of liquid xenon polarization.

Abstract The relaxation time of liquid 129Xe is very long (>15 min) and the signal at thermal equilibrium is weak. Therefore, determination of the absolute polarization enhancement of hyperpolarized 129Xe by direct measurement is tedious. We demonstrate a fast and precise alternative, based on the dipolar field created by liquid hyperpolarized 129Xe contained in a cylindrical sample tube. The dipolar field is homogeneous in the bulk of the tube and adds to the external field, causing a shift in the Larmor frequencies of all nuclear spins. We show that the frequency shift of the proton in CHCl3 (chloroform), which dissolves homogeneously in xenon over a fairly broad temperature range, is an excellent probe for 129Xe polarization. Frequency measurements are precise and the experiment is much faster than by direct measurement. Furthermore the 129Xe polarization is minimally disturbed since no rf pulses are applied directly to 129Xe and since chloroform is a fairly weak source of 129Xe relaxation. The experiments are reproducible and require only standard NMR instrumentation.
Observation of calcium uptake by isolated sarcoplasmic reticulum employing a fluorescent chelate probe.

Abstract The fluorescent chelate probe technique is employed to observe the accumulation and binding of Ca ++ to isolated sarcoplasmic reticulum from skeletal and cardiac muscle. Chlorotetracycline serves as a fluorescent chelate probe which chelates to membrane bound Ca ++ giving rise to an intensely fluorescence adduct. An increase in fluorescence of chlorotetracycline is caused by ATP induced Ca ++ transport in both skeletal and cardiac muscle microsomes. The fluorescence spectra indicate that Ca ++ lies on the membrane surface in a relatively polar environment.
Mesoscopic fluctuations of tunneling through double quantum dots

We study fluctuations of conductance of two connected in series dots in the Coulomb blockade regime. The pattern of the fluctuations turns out to be extremely sensitive to a magnetic field. These conductance fluctuations also provide information about the mesoscopic fluctuations of charge of a partially opened single quantum dot, which are hard to measure directly.
The Argument from Abomination

The conclusive reasons view of knowledge entails the “abominable conjunction” that I know that I have hands but I do not know that I am not a brain in a vat. The argument from abomination takes this as a reason to reject the view. This paper aims to buttress the argument from abomination by adding a new sort to this list: the logical abominations. These include: “I know that argument is sound and that sound arguments have true conclusions but I don’t know whether the conclusion of that argument is true”. Two standard replies to the argument from abomination are raised. It is argued that the logical abominations open new holes in both.
Transcriptional Activation of the Rhodobacter sphaeroides Cytochrome c2 Gene P2 Promoter by the Response Regulator PrrA

Anoxygenic photosynthetic growth of Rhodobacter sphaeroides , a member of the α subclass of the class Proteobacteria , requires the response regulator PrrA. PrrA and the sensor kinase PrrB are part of a two-component signaling pathway that influences a wide range of processes under oxygen-limited conditions. In this work we characterized the pathway of transcription activation by PrrB and PrrA by purifying these proteins, analyzing them in vitro, and characterizing a mutant PrrA protein in vivo and in vitro. When purified, a soluble transmitter domain of PrrB (cPrrB) could autophosphorylate, rapidly transfer phosphate to PrrA, and stimulate dephosphorylation of phospho-PrrA. Unphosphorylated PrrA activated transcription from a target cytochrome c 2 gene ( cycA ) promoter, P2, which contained sequences from −73 to +22 relative to the transcription initiation site. However, phosphorylation of PrrA increased its activity since activation of cycA P2 was enhanced up to 15-fold by treatment with the low-molecular-weight phosphodonor acetyl phosphate. A mutant PrrA protein containing a single amino acid substitution in the presumed phosphoacceptor site (PrrA-D63A) was not phosphorylated in vitro but also was not able to stimulate cycA P2 transcription. PrrA-D63A also had no apparent in vivo activity, demonstrating that aspartate 63 is necessary both for the function of PrrA and for its phosphorylation-dependent activation. The cellular level of wild-type PrrA was negatively autoregulated so that less PrrA was present in the absence of oxygen, conditions in which the activities of many PrrA target genes increase. PrrA-D63A failed to repress expression of the prrA gene under anaerobic conditions, suggesting that this single amino acid change also eliminated PrrA function in vivo.
Fixed-angle elastic scattering

Abstract We discuss the aymptotic behavior of elastic scattering amplitudes at fixed angles, and show how Sudakov effects may be taken into account systematically. The resulting expressions involve integrals over the separations of independent hard elastic scatterings of the Landshoff type. Their behavior is close to the dimensional counting result, as anticipated by Mueller.
The interchangeability of single element fonts

The objective of manufacturing a typewriter with interchangeable fonts is almost as old as the typewriter industry itself. The earliest serious effort in this direction was by Edmund Davis of New York who, in 1877, was granted a U.S. Patent for an “improvement in typewriters”. In his application, Davis declared, “I propose to use three sets of types... capable of being used interchangeably as required, one set being the upper and lower case of common Roman type, another the upper and lower case of italics, and the third the upper and lower case of a full-face or in some manner different style of type, to be used for headings and the like” [l] . Although Davis’ invention, requiring three swing position mounted wheels, is now a mere footnote to history, the idea of a typewriter capable of using more than one type font has become a modern reality. The first serious production model of a typewriter with interchangeable type was the 1880 Hammond, equipped with a two row “Ideal” keybank and an interchangeable partial wheel [2]. The typewriter had been designed by James Hammond, a newspaper correspondent, whose dispatches to his publisher were frequently misunderstood in the composing room. Hammond thought that a typewriter utilizing interchangeable type would enable him to prepare his dispatches using italics and bold fonts, thus aiding the composers. The keybank and basic styling of the first Hammond were refashioned several times [3] and the “Universal” keyboard arrangement was adopted, but the basic operating principles of the typewriter were unchanged when it was continued in 1927 as the Vari-typer [4] produced by Vari-typer, Inc. of New York. Rights to the typewriter were then bought by Ralph C. Coxhead who owned the Vari-typer until it was once again sold, in 1958, to Addressograph Multigraph. During its history, the Hammond-Vari-typer has achieved a noted place in the chronology of typewriters. It was the first typewriter to use a carbon ribbon and the first to introduce a carriage moving right-toleft or left-to-right at the turn of a switch [5]. President Wilson prepared his historic “Ten Points” on a Hammond, and it was on a Vari-typer that
Effects of Physical Habitat and Ontogeny on Lentic Habitat Preferences of Juvenile Chinook Salmon

Abstract We experimentally tested the habitat preferences of juvenile Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha to evaluate whether habitat availability was limited for a lake-rearing population in Lake Washington (Seattle, Washington). A segment of this population resides in shallow (<1 m deep), nearshore areas of the lake during January–May and migrates to saltwater at age 0. During the shallow, nearshore phase, fish are exposed to varying degrees of bottom slope, substrate, and cover (e.g., overhead docks and woody debris) formed by the natural and modified shorelines of this highly urbanized system. The effects of these three habitat variables on patch use or electivity were tested in combination with ontogeny and the presence or absence of piscivores. Fry and presmolts avoided steeper bottom slopes, but presmolt responses were strongest. Responses to substrate and cover options were weak, although fry exhibited some coherent preference for finer substrates. The habitat preferences displayed by both lif...
Hybrid vortex method for lifting surfaces with free-vortex flow

A Nonlinear Hybrid Vortex method (NHV-method) has been developed for predicting the aerodynamic characteristics of wings exhibiting leading- and side-edge separations. This method alleviates the drawbacks of the Nonlinear Discrete Vortex method (NDV-method, also known as the multiple line vortex method.) The NHV-method combines continuous-vorticity and vortex-line representations of the wing and its separated free shear layers. Continuous vorticity is used in the near-field calculations, while discrete vortex-lines are used in the far-field calculations. The wing and its free shear layers are divided into quadrilateral vortex panels having second-order vorticity distributions. The aerodynamic boundary conditions and continuity of the vorticity distributions are satisfied at certain nodal points on the vortex panels. An iterative technique is used to satisfy these conditions in order to obtain the vorticity distribution and the wake shape. Distributed and total aerodynamic loads are then calculated.
Field Funneling and Range Straggling in Partially Depleted Silicon Surface-Barrier Detectors

The effects of field funneling and range straggling have been quantitatively observed in the measurement of charge collected from alpha-particle tracks in silicon surface-barrier charged-particle detectors. The method described may be used for the straight-forward measurement of charge collection from heavy ions in these and other semiconductor devices.
Expression and Folding of Recombinant Bovine Prethrombin-2 and Its Activation to Thrombin

Bovine prethrombin-2 has been produced in Escherichia coli using a T7 expression system. The expressed prethrombin-2 formed intracellular inclusion bodies which were solubilized by reversible sulfonation of the cysteines in the presence of 7 M guanidine hydrochloride. Sulfonated prethrombin-2 was refolded in the presence of 4 M guanidine hydrochloride, using oxidized and reduced glutathione as the redox couple. The folded protein was purified by heparin affinity chromatography and activated to thrombin with Echis carinatus snake venom. The resulting thrombin was also purified by heparin affinity chromatography. Kinetic constants were determined for the hydrolysis of H-D-phenylalanyl-L-pipecolyl-L-arginine-p-nitroaniline by recombinant thrombin (kcat = 123 ± 10 s−1 and Km = 2.91 ± 0.3 μM). These values are in good agreement with those determined for wild-type thrombin (kcat = 97 ± 8 s−1 and Km = 2.71 ± 0.25 μM). From the thrombin-mediated release of fibrinopeptide A from fibrinogen, kcat/Kmwas found to be the same for recombinant (17.3 ± 1.2 μM−1 s−1) and wild-type (16.7 ± 2.0 μM−1 s−1) thrombin. These results, taken together with circular dichroism spectra and the elution position of prethrombin-2 from a heparin affinity resin, indicate that prethrombin-2 was folded into a conformation similar to that of the wild-type protein. In addition, since E. coli produces deglycosylated enzymes, these findings suggest that the carbohydrate on the B chain of wild-type thrombin does not affect the amidolytic and fibrinolytic activities of thrombin. Finally, this expression system can be used to prepare mutants of prethrombin-2 for future structure-function studies involving thrombin and its substrates; some preliminary results of this type are presented here.
Role of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator in innate immunity to Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections

Chronic Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection occurs in 75-90% of patients with cystic fibrosis (CF). It is the foremost factor in pulmonary function decline and early mortality. A connection has been made between mutant or missing CF transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) in lung epithelial cell membranes and a failure in innate immunity leading to initiation of P. aeruginosa infection. Epithelial cells use CFTR as a receptor for internalization of P. aeruginosa via endocytosis and subsequent removal of bacteria from the airway. In the absence of functional CFTR, this interaction does not occur, allowing for increased bacterial loads in the lungs. Binding occurs between the outer core of the bacterial lipopolysaccharide and amino acids 108-117 in the first predicted extracellular domain of CFTR. In experimentally infected mice, inhibiting CFTR-mediated endocytosis of P. aeruginosa by inclusion in the bacterial inoculum of either free bacterial lipopolysaccharide or CFTR peptide 108-117 resulted in increased bacterial counts in the lungs. CFTR is also a receptor on gastrointestinal epithelial cells for Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi, the etiologic agent of typhoid fever. There was a significant decrease in translocation of this organism to the gastrointestinal submucosa in transgenic mice that are heterozygous carriers of a mutant DeltaF508 CFTR allele, suggesting heterozygous CFTR carriers may have increased resistance to typhoid fever. The identification of CFTR as a receptor for bacterial pathogens could underlie the biology of CF lung disease and be the basis for the heterozygote advantage for carriers of mutant alleles of CFTR.
Soviet Military and Civilian Resource Allocation 1951-1980

The “guns versus butter” literature focuses mainly on the industrialized capitalist democracies and has reported little success in empirically substantiating the existence of durable trade-off rela...
Evaluation of Gifted Programs--As Easy as ABC.

How a program is evaluated is determined by the target audience for that evaluation. This article provides guidelines and descriptions of several approaches for program evaluation.
Spatio-temporal profile of DNA fragmentation and its relationship to patterns of epileptiform activity following focally evoked limbic seizures.

Abstract The specific electrographic activity responsible for seizure-induced DNA damage remains little explored. We therefore examined the regional and temporal appearance of DNA fragmentation and cell death and its relationship to specific electrographic seizure patterns in a rat model of focally evoked limbic epilepsy. Animals received intra-amygdaloid injection of kainic acid (KA) to induce seizures for 45 min during continuous electroencephalographic (EEG) monitoring, after which diazepam (30 mg/kg) was administered. DNA polymerase I-mediated biotin-dATP nick translation (PANT) and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) were used to detect single- and double-stranded DNA breaks, respectively. Injection of 0.01 μg KA induced seizures characterized by ictal fast activity but without consequent brain injury. By contrast, 0.1 μg KA induced an additional pattern of seizure activity characterized by bursts of high frequency polyspike paroxysmal discharges. In these animals, there was a significant reduction in numbers of pyramidal neurons within the ipsilateral and contralateral CA3 subfield of the hippocampus, detectable as little as 4 h following seizures. PANT- and TUNEL-positive cells appeared in similar numbers 16 h following seizure cessation within the CA3, declining after 72–96 h. Varying the duration of polyspike paroxysmal discharges determined that as little as 30 s elicited maximal injury. These data suggest single- and double-stranded DNA breaks are generated during the cell death process and are consequent on a specific component of seizure activity electrographically determined.
EMOTION AND THE PHYSICIAN-PATIENT RELATIONSHIP

This paper develops a framework of the role of empathy in patient care and explicitly links the framework to important outcomes. Following a definition of empathy and clinical examples, evidence is reviewed on the relevance of empathy to increasing patient satisfaction, increasing adherence with physician recommendations, and decreasing the frequency of medical malpractice suits.
Estrogenic Activity in Milk of Cows and the Bile of Calves Fed Low Levels of Diethylstilbestrol

Summary Milk from cows fed diethylstilbestrol (DES), and bile from calves fed this substance, were extracted and tested in castrate mice, using uterine weight as the criterion for measuring estrogenic activity. The following conclusions were drawn: Extracts of milk from untreated cows, in different phases of sexual cycles, gave no estrogenic response. Extracts of milk from cows fed 10mg. diethylstilbestrol (DES) per 1,000lb. body weight per day caused no measurable estrogenic response. Test mice consistently responded to known amounts of 0.048mg. DES each. Known amounts of DES were placed in milk, then extracted. These extracts caused consistent responses for estrogenic substances in test mice. Bile from calves that had been given 10mg. DES daily was extracted. This extract in test mice caused responses indicating that a daily collection of bile contained 46.08μg. of free DES or its equivalent of estrogenic substance. Bile extracts from an untreated male calf indicated no estrogenic response.
Neutral proteinases from articular chondrocytes in culture. 2. Metal-dependent latent neutral proteoglycanase, and inhibitory activity

Abstract Monolayer and spinner cultured rabbit articular chondrocytes released into the medium latent metal-dependent enzyme with activity against bovine proteoglycan. Pretreatment of medium with p- aminophenylmercuric acetate or trypsin followed by soybean trypsin inhibitor significantly increased enzyme activity. The monolayer-cultured chondrocytes released more of this activity than spinner cultures. The neutral proteoglycanase activity increased with medium concentration and incubation time. Like the human cartilage proteoglycanase, its pH optimum on proteoglycan subunit was 7.25. Gel filtration on BioGel P-30 indicated that the proteoglycanase occurred in two molecular weight forms: 20 000–30 000 and 13 000. The latent enzyme was about 30 000–40 000. The metalchelators, o- phenanthroline (5 mM) and EDTA (10 mM) inhibited the activated proteoglycanase almost completely, but trypsin and chymotrypsin inhibitors had little effect. The cultured chondrocytes also released into the media a heat-labile inhibitor against the proteoglycanase. The inhibitory activity was present in the nonactivated media and eluted on Sephadex G-100 chiefly at a position corresponding to molecular weights of 10 000–13 000.
Finely porous models and radially averaged friction factors

The finely porous (FPM) and modified finely porous (MD-FPM) models were used to generate sieving curves for the permeation of polyethylene glycol solutions through a nanofiltration membrane. The curves were calculated at five different operating pressures. Both models use Faxen's equation to calculate the friction factor b−1. Faxen's equation represents the friction between a solute molecule translating along the centerline of a cylindrical pore and the pore wall. The resulting sieving curves were quite different from the typical sigmoidal curves found in ultrafiltration. The departure from this typical shape, was considerable at the lower pressures used in nanofiltration and was less pronounced at the higher pressures found in reverse osmosis. Reasonable sieving curves were obtained when Faxen's equation was radially averaged. Differences in PEG separation of 22 to 32% were obtained between the averaged and the centerline approaches. The partition coefficient K was predicted, for sucrose, raffinose, and NaCl. The use of centerline values of the friction factor led to the overestimation of solute rejection by a factor of 1.24 to 3.11. Finally, in both the FPM and MD-FPM models, centerline correlations of the friction factor, b−1, must be multiplied by (1−λ)2 in order to be consistent with other averaged quantities.
Phase Relations in Coal

Coal is a macromolecular solid having many phases. This results partly from the great variability of the precursors of coal and partly from the great variety of chemical, temperature, and pressure environments existing during many millions of years of fossilization. Nevertheless, it is a material appropriate for study by techniques of materials science. The organic constituent is a mixture of aromatic and aliphatic components similar to those of many polymers. Indeed, it displays internal friction and dielectric loss peaks virtually identical to those of synthetic polymers. This polymeric character is shown also by many studies of chemical-scission and solvent-induced swelling, as well as by NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance) and infrared spectroscopy. The hydrocarbon matter contains many impurities substituted in the organic constituent, similar to solid solutions in metallic and ceramic systems. The most important of these organic impurities is sulfur. Many included impurity particles also occur, analogous to precipitates in metallic alloys and ceramic solids. Chief among these are the sulfides and the clays.
Social Norms and Private Provision of Public Goods

The formation of social norms for voluntary contributions to a public good is analyzed in a game in which people have preferences for private consumption, a public good, and social approval. Each person chooses to be one of the two types: a contributor or a non-contributor. Thereafter, each person meets people who can observe his type. A non-contributor feels disapproval, whereas a contributor feels approval if he believes that a contributor observes his type. The game has two asymptotically stable states: one in which everybody is a contributor, and one in which nobody is a contributor. Governmental subsidization of the public good can move the society to the former state, whereas a governmental contribution to the public good can move the society to the latter. Indeed, this crowding in or crowding out prevails even after policy reversal.
A note on generalized Room squares

Abstract Using the properties of the Steiner system on 24 points a generalized Room square of degree 4 and order 24 is constructed. Results on a proposed alternative method for constructing generalized Room squares are given which use the notion of a (2, 4, k ) array, introduced here.
Expanded Decision-Scaling Framework to Select Robust Long-Term Water-System Plans under Hydroclimatic Uncertainties

AbstractThis paper presents a decision-scaling based framework to determine whether one or more preselected planning alternatives for a multiobjective water-resources system are robust to a variety of nonstationary hydroclimatic conditions and modeling uncertainties. The decision-scaling methodology is advanced beyond previous applications with an efficient procedure to select realizations of climate variability and Bayesian methods to assess the effects of hydrologic uncertainty. Monte Carlo simulations are used to identify long-term planning alternatives that are robust despite the hydroclimatic uncertainties. A new metric is proposed to define robustness in this context. The framework is coupled with a host of long-term projections to understand the likelihood of potential future changes and provide useful guidance for planning. The effects of climate model downscaling and credibility on the decision process are discussed. The approach is demonstrated in a case study for a dual-purpose surface water re...
Mechanistic studies of the deposition and cathodic stripping of thioacetamide at a silver electrode in alkaline media

Cathodic stripping experiments of thioacetamide in alkaline solutions, pH = 13, were performed using a rotating silver disk electrode and a silver microelectrode. Applicability of these two electrode systems for the determination of thioacetamide over a wide range of concentrations has been found using the stripping peak of bulk silver sulfide. A further improvement in the detection limit is suggested when only an underpotential deposition layer of silver sulfide is formed during deposition. Then cathodic stripping analysis of thioacetamide below 10−8. M is feasible. The mechanism for the reactions during the deposition and cathodic stripping of thioacetamide in alkaline media at silver electrode has been elucidated.
Increasing minority representation in the teaching profession through alternative certification: A case study

Abstract Data regarding the demographic composition of America's teaching force suggest a serious problem regarding the recruitment and retention of minorities. Nationwide, there is a severe disparity between the number of minority students and the number of minority teachers. In an effort to address this need, a state university in the south, a county public school system, and the Kentucky Department of Education forged a partnership to create an alternative certification program for qualified post‐baccalaureate candidates interested in teaching students who attend elementary schools. The authors of this article describe this program, discuss evaluation data, and suggest implications for those wishing to establish programs with similar goals.
The generation of capillary instabilities on a liquid jet

The coupling between imposed disturbances and capillary instabilities on a liquid jet is examined. It is shown that in most physical situations the forcing produces neutral waves, which can then turn into growing waves as the profile relaxes or may be amplified nonlinearly by a mechanism of the type considered by Akylas and Benney (1980). The effectiveness of the coupling is expressed quantitatively by numerically computed values of the 'coupling coefficient'.
Interferon-γ and Activin A Promote Insulin-Like Growth Factor-Binding Protein-2 and -4 Accumulation by Human Luteinizing Granulosa Cells, and Interferon-γ Promotes Their Apoptosis1

Insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-binding proteins (IGFBPs) antagonize IGF and gonadotropin actions on granulosa cells. Human atretic follicles express IGFBP-2 in granulosa cells more strongly and contain higher levels of IGFBP-2 and IGFBP-4 than healthy follicles. We studied the effects of interferon-γ (IFNγ) and activin A, which decrease progesterone accumulation, on granulosa cell IGFBP production and apoptosis. Conditioned media from luteinizing granulosa cells cultured with IFNγ or activin A and/or LH were subjected to ligand blotting; northern blots of total ribonucleic acid (RNA) from these cells were probed for IGFBP-2 and -4. Apoptosis was measured by in situ DNA end labeling. LH decreased medium IGFBP-2 to 21% of the control value. Although IFNγ did not alter basal medium IGFBP-2, in the presence of LH it increased IGFBP-2 3.4-fold, with parallel changes in messenger RNA levels. Activin A also tended to increase medium IGFBP-2 in LH-treated cultures. In conditioned medium, IGFBP-4 was consistentl...
Rate of nucleation in liquids for fcc and icosahedral clusters

Abstract A recent theory developed by the authors (Ruckenstein, E., and Nowakowski, B., J. Colloid Interface Sci. , 137, 583 (1990)) was used to predict the rate of nucleation for approximately spherical fcc crystalline and icosahedral clusters. The critical radius and the nucleation rate were calculated as a function of the supersaturation ratio for clusters constructed by adding complete layers of atoms successively to a central atom. It was found that the results for the fcc clusters are not smooth, monotonic functions of supersaturation, but exhibit an irregular behavior. This feature is explained in terms of the irregular dependence of the mean interaction potential between a surface atom and a cluster on the cluster size. The corresponding plots for the icosahedral clusters are monotonic, since layer by layer addition preserves the elements of symmetry of the atoms on the surface of the clusters. Irregularities are expected, however, to occur for both structures when the clusters are formed by adding single atoms instead of complete layers. Experimental results indicate that the predicted nonmonotonic behavior is possible.
Perioperative Doses of Ondansetron or Dolasetron Do Not Lengthen the QT Interval

Objective: To test the primary hypothesis that ondansetron or dolasetron extends the rate-corrected QT electrocardiographic interval (QTc) greater than 60 milliseconds or increases the fraction of patients with QTc greater than 500 milliseconds in patients having noncardiac surgery, and the secondary hypothesis that QTc prolongation is worse in diabetic patients. Patients and Methods: We extracted data from the Cleveland Clinic’s Perioperative Health Documentation System between March 25, 2006, and September 30, 2010, and additional perioperative medications from Cleveland Clinic pharmacy’s Epic Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) system. We searched for patients who had a preoperative electrocardiogram within 1 month of surgery and postoperatively within 2 hours. We excluded patients given an antiemetic drug other than ondansetron or dolasetron perioperatively, and those given amiodarone. Results: A total of 1429 patients given serotonin-3 receptor (5HT3R) antagonists and 1022 controls met the enrollment criteria. Seventeen percent of patients given 5HT3R antagonists (n¼242) and 22% of
Effects of Dietary Vanadium on Performance and Immune Responses of Commercial Egg-Type Laying Hens

Abstract Davis, E.G., Miles, R.D., Butcher, G.D. and Comer C.W. 2002. Effects of dietary vanadium on performance and immune responses of commercial egg-type laying hens. J. Appl. Anim. Res., 22: 113–124. The influence of dietary supplementation of vanadium (V) on feed consumption, feed conversion, egg production, egg interior quality, egg weight, egg shell weight, cell-mediated and humoral immune responses was investigated in a 6-wk experiment using White Leghorn laying hens. Four dietary treatments consisting of a corn/soybean meal basal control diet supplemented with 0, 10, 20 and 30 ppm V were used. Feed consumption was not significantly different among treatments, but a decline in feed intake resulted as higher levels of supplemental V. were fed. Hen-day egg production declined in the hens fed the two highest supplemental levels of V, but the decline was only significant for hens fed 30 ppm supplemental V. Egg weight and egg shell weight were similar for birds fed all four diets, but on d 24 and 29 of...
Isolation and characterization of an adenylyl-protein complex formed during the incubation of membranes from Dictyostelium discoideum with ATP

Abstract When tritiated ATP is incubated with a membrane-enriched fraction prepared from the eukaryotic microorganism Dictyostelium discoideum significant levels of radioactivity can be precipitated with cold, 10% trichloroacetic acid. Reaction product was formed from ATP and dATP but not from GTP, CTP and UTP. Other studies showed that the maximum amount of the acid-insoluble product was formed about 1 min after the addition of the membranes and that, with further incubation, this reaction product was degraded. The rate of degradation of the reaction product was greatly reduced when the temperature was reduced to 4°C, and when either NaF, Na 2 SO 4 or dithiothreitol was added to the reaction mixture. These additions or conditions had no effect on the product-formation reaction. The rate of degradation was also reduced following the addition of adenosine to the reaction and this result did not occur following the addition of ADP, AMP or cyclic AMP. The acid-insoluble reaction product could be solubilized with SDS and analysis by gel-filtration chromatography on Sephadex G-75 revealed that the radioactivity was associated with a macromolecule that was not sensitive to RNAase or DNAase but was degraded by pronase. The nucleotide-protein complex was stable at room temperature but radioactivity was released in hot acid, which, after analysis by thin-layer chromatography, was found to co-migrate with authentic AMP, suggesting the formation of an adenylyl-protein complex as the reaction intermediate. The complex bond was stable at neutral and alkaline pH, suggesting a phosphoamide linkage between the protein and the adenylyl moiety.
Psychosocial predictors of smoking trajectories during middle and high school.

Aims Little is known about the heterogeneity in and risk factors associated with trajectories of smoking during adolescence. This study aimed to (1) identify smoking trajectories empirically and (2) identify risk factors for trajectory group membership. Design Latent growth mixture models were used to identify population smoking trajectories, and logistic regression was used to estimate risk factors for group membership. Setting The participants were drawn from seven middle schools in a Maryland school district. Participants Participants consisted of 1320 6th graders who were followed to the 9th grade. Measurements Measurements of smoking risk factors were made in the fall of 6th grade and smoking stage was assessed on five different occasions between the fall of 6th and 9th grades. Findings Five distinct smoking trajectories were identified. Overall, being female, having friends who smoked, deviance acceptance and outcome expectations were associated with an increased likelihood of being an intender, delayed escalator, early experimenter and early user compared to a never smoker. Additionally, comparisons with never smokers revealed unique identifiers for intenders, early experimenters and early users, but not delayed escalators. Conclusions There is much heterogeneity in the manner in which middle-schoolers progress from having no intention of smoking to becoming smokers. Implications for prevention programs are discussed.
Extensible, not relational: finding bodies in the landscape of electronic information with wireless body area networks

This article examines a medical biotechnology known as a wireless body area network (WBAN) as a way to discuss how electronic information infrastructure is spatially extending human bodies into physical landscapes. The term extensible body is introduced, framed by the object-oriented philosophy of Graham Harman. WBANs are sensors placed on or inside of the human body to measure, record, and transmit data about the biological processes of a medical patient. I argue that these body-data should be considered components of bodies themselves, not representations of them. Further, I argue that the geographical discourse on relationality should be less about object relations and more about object extensions. Harman’s explication of the “quadruple object,” and specifically his use of real and sensual objects makes this possible. This questions the spatial beginnings and ends of categorical objects such as bodies and information, the implications of which could have profound impacts on how policies are framed in sectors such as public health, environment, planning, and medicine. The notion of extensibility is crucial in theorizing how, and where, the Geoweb exists as a spatial-technical assemblage of objects and information. The case of WBANs shows that a theorization of the Geoweb must include the built infrastructure of data storage as a spatial extension of being human.
Inventing a Socialist Nation: Heimat and the Politics of Everyday Life in the GDR 1945–1990

Jan Palmowski, Inventing a Socialist Nation: Heimat and the Politics of Everyday Life in the GDR 1945–1990 (2009), xv + 342 (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge and New York, £90.00/$102.00). Jan...
Gender differences in emotional responses to interpersonal stress during adolescence

A frequently recognized hallmark of the transition to adolescence is the onset of new biological, psychological, and social challenges. Although “storm and stress” theories of adolescence have been called into question [1], youth undoubtedly are faced during this time with a variety of novel experiences that may tax their coping resources and may jeopardize their well-being. Indeed, research has demonstrated that the transition into adolescence is characterized by a “pileup” of stressful events and circumstances [2–4]. Exposure to stress has, in turn, been linked to a range of psychological and physical difficulties [5,6]. How these challenges of adolescence are negotiated has critical implications for long-term health and development [7]. Drawing from stress and coping models of development, researchers have begun to consider the role that stress exposure and reactivity play in the emergence of gender differences in emotional distress [4,8–11]. One of the most robust findings in psychopathology research concerns the increased vulnerability to anxiety and depression in females compared to males. This vulnerability becomes particularly salient during adolescence, and continues through adulthood [10,12]. The central proposal of the present paper is that gender differences in the experience of stress and in emotional reactions to stress, particularly within an interpersonal context, contribute to the development of gender differences in anxiety and depression during adolescence. The paper begins with an overview of a model that links gender differences in interpersonal stress processes with gender differences in emotional distress. Next, empirical evidence that upholds this model is summarized. Finally, several new directions are proposed for future investigations in this area, accompanied by a discussion of recent research that provides support for an expanded model of gender differences in interpersonal stress and emotional distress.
Motor Deficits and Decreased Striatal Dopamine Receptor 2 Binding Activity in the Striatum-Specific Dyt1 Conditional Knockout Mice

DYT1 early-onset generalized dystonia is a hyperkinetic movement disorder caused by mutations in DYT1 (TOR1A), which codes for torsinA. Recently, significant progress has been made in studying pathophysiology of DYT1 dystonia using targeted mouse models. Dyt1 ΔGAG heterozygous knock-in (KI) and Dyt1 knock-down (KD) mice exhibit motor deficits and alterations of striatal dopamine metabolisms, while Dyt1 knockout (KO) and Dyt1 ΔGAG homozygous KI mice show abnormal nuclear envelopes and neonatal lethality. However, it has not been clear whether motor deficits and striatal abnormality are caused by Dyt1 mutation in the striatum itself or the end results of abnormal signals from other brain regions. To identify the brain region that contributes to these phenotypes, we made a striatum-specific Dyt1 conditional knockout (Dyt1 sKO) mouse. Dyt1 sKO mice exhibited motor deficits and reduced striatal dopamine receptor 2 (D2R) binding activity, whereas they did not exhibit significant alteration of striatal monoamine contents. Furthermore, we also found normal nuclear envelope structure in striatal medium spiny neurons (MSNs) of an adult Dyt1 sKO mouse and cerebral cortical neurons in cerebral cortex-specific Dyt1 conditional knockout (Dyt1 cKO) mice. The results suggest that the loss of striatal torsinA alone is sufficient to produce motor deficits, and that this effect may be mediated, at least in part, through changes in D2R function in the basal ganglia circuit.
Pleural fibrin body simulating cardiac aneurysm; report of a case.

A case is reported in which a large fibrin body lodged in the left pleural space in such a position as to simulate an aneurysm of the apex of the heart on the postero-anterior film of the chest. Fluoroscopy and oblique projection, together with comparison of pre-pneumothorax roentgenogram revealed the true nature of the condition.
Pressure drop with highly subcooled flow boiling in small-diameter tubes

Abstract Pressure drop may be the most important consideration in designing heat-removal systems utilizing high-heat-flux subcooled boiling. In this study, an experimental investigation was performed to identify the important parameters affecting pressure drop across small-diameter tubes in highly subcooled flow boiling. The effects of five parameters—mass flux, inlet temperature, exit pressure, tube internal diameter, and length-to-diameter ratio—on both single- and two-phase pressure drop were studied and evaluated. Experiments were carried out with tubes having inside diameters ranging from 1.05 to 2.44 mm. Mass fluxes ranged from 25,000 to 45,000 kg/(m2 s), exit pressures from 4 to 16 bar, and inlet temperatures from 22 to 66°C. Two length-to-diameter ratios were tested. These conditions resulted in critical heat flux levels of 50–80 MW/m2. The experiment results indicate that mass flux, tube diameter, and length-to-diameter ratio are the major parameters that alter the pressure-drop curves. Both single- and two-phase pressure drops increase with increasing mass flux and length-to-diameter ratio but decrease with increasing internal diameter. Inlet temperature and exit pressure have been shown to have significant effects on two-phase pressure drop but very small effects on single-phase pressure drop. These results agree well with those from other investigations under similar conditions. As a result of this study, pressure-drop correlations are presented for predicting both single-phase and subcooled boiling pressure drop in small-diameter tubes under different heat-flux conditions.
Survival outcomes for men with mediastinal germ-cell tumors: The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center experience

Abstract Objective Primary mediastinal germ-cell tumors are rare, and the effect of newer drugs and treatment strategies in this disease on overall survival is not known. We retrospectively assessed treatment outcomes at a single institution. Materials and methods We identified men seen at our institution from 1998 through 2005 for mediastinal germ-cell tumors. Medical records were reviewed for patient characteristics, histology, tumor markers, treatment, and survival outcome. Results Thirty-four patients met study criteria, of whom 27 had nonseminomatous germ-cell tumor (NSGCT) and 7 had pure seminoma. Eleven patients (41%) with NSGCT were alive at last contact with a median overall survival time of 33.5 months. Among 13 patients with NSGCT referred to us at initial diagnosis, 7 (54%) were alive and recurrence-free at a median follow-up of 56.5 months. Progression-free survival was associated with absence of risk factors (any histology other than endodermal sinus tumor, β-hCG > 1000 mIU/mL, or disease outside the mediastinum). For the patients whose disease progressed ( n = 5) or who had been referred to us for salvage treatment ( n = 14), the 3-year overall survival from the date of first progression was 23%. Conversely, patients with seminoma did uniformly well with platinum-based chemotherapy; most did not undergo radiation or surgery. Conclusion Chemotherapy given to maximum effect followed by surgical consolidation resulted in long-term progression-free survival for 54% of patients with mediastinal NSGCT. The number of risk factors present at diagnosis may be associated with survival outcome and should be studied in a larger test group.
Rapid preparation of vector-free hybridization probes suitable for screening recombinant libraries.

Abstract A procedure is described to rapidly prepare radioactively labeled DNA inserts from crude recombinant plasmid DNA preparations. These probes can subsequently be used to identify homologous nucleotide sequences in bacteria containing recombinant plasmids by colony hybridization. In a single procedure, crude recombinant plasmid DNA is both 32P-labeled and fragmented by nick-translation in the presence of sufficient pancreatic DNase I to produce radioactive DNA of about 0.2–0.3-kb single-strand length. At this DNA fragment length the majority of the vector and insert sequences are on different DNA fragments. The insert DNA can then be separated from vector and contaminating Escherichia colt host chromosomal DNA by the following method. The DNA fragment population is first denatured and renatured under conditions such that the recombinant plasmid DNA reassociates but host DNA does not. The renatured plasmid DNA fragments are separated from the denatured host DNA by hydroxylapatite chromatography. The plasmid DNA fragments are then denatured and renatured with an excess of insert-free vector DNA. Conditions are chosen such that the insert DNA remains single-stranded while the vector DNA becomes double-stranded. The single-stranded insert DNA can be separated from the double-stranded vector DNA on hydroxylapatite and used directly for colony hybridization.