cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Genetics of Sudden Cardiac Death

Advances in genetic testing technology have led to a proliferation of new genetic tests and accelerated developments in the field of cardiovascular genetic medicine. These advances enhance presymptomatic diagnosis and can establish a definitive molecular diagnosis for symptomatic patients at risk for sudden cardiac death. Most importantly, genotype-phenotype correlations can add important information for predicting outcome and selecting treatment for patients with inherited arrhythmic disorders. This paper reviews the current data regarding genotype-phenotype correlations and the role of clinical genetic testing in diagnosis, prognosis, and management of inheritable disorders leading to sudden cardiac death.
The interactive influence of conscientiousness and openness to experience on dissent

Recent research suggests that two psychological factors are necessary for group members to dissent: a capacity to form alternate perspectives on group issues, and a motivation to publicly express them. With respect to the influence of personality variables, Openness to Experience may predispose individuals toward the formation of alternate opinions, while Conscientiousness may motivate the articulation of deviant perspectives once they have been formed. Data across three studies evidenced this interactive pattern such that only among individuals high on Openness did Conscientiousness predict willingness to influence one's group, in particular via expression of dissenting opinions. Effects were not moderated by collective identification, indicating that these personality and social identity level variables can operate independently of one another.
Esophageal lesions in leukemia and lymphoma.

Review of 705 autopsied cases of leukemia and lymphoma showed eight with grossly evident esophageal infiltration, five of which had had clinically manifest esophageal obstruction. Microscopic esophageal infiltrates were found in 27.1% of 384 cases in which sections of the esophagus were available for review. In both leukemia and lymphoma, esophageal involvement was usually associated with widespread and extensive involvement elsewhere; exceptions were chiefly accounted for by invasive extension into the esophagus from regional lymphoma masses. Of 131 patients with microscopic esophageal erosions, 41 had complicating esophageal moniliasis. Esophageal erosions seemed likely to have been of major significance in the cause of death of 12 patients, either as a source for luminal hemorrhage or as the portal of entry for septicemia.
Mutagenic potential of plants grown on municipal sewage sludge-amended soil

TheSalmonella/microsome assay was used to monitor the mutagenic potential of the organic extract of plants grown on municipal sewage sludge amended soils. The solvent-extractabie organic chemicals from sewage sludge, unamended Padina fine sand (Grossarenic Paleustalf), sludge amended Padina fine sand, and two forage crops; alfalfa (Medicago sativa) and coastal bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon) were tested withSalmonella strain TA98 with and without metabolic activation. The mutagenic potential of the sludge-amended soil was greater than that of the unamended soil. Fractions extracted from the sludge amended soil over a 154 day period displayed an increase in mutagenicity. None of the plant extracts, whether collected from plants grown on sludge amended or unamended soils, induced a positive response (doubling of revertants at two consecutive dose levels) in the bioassay. Thus, for the evaluated conditions, plants are not likely to translocate significant quantities of organic mutagens from municipal sludge amended soil.
Molecular and cellular characterization of the glial roof plate of the spinal cord and optic tectum: A possible role for a proteoglycan in the development of an axon barrier

Abstract Certain types of glial structures, located at strategic positions along axon pathways, may provide the mechanical and/or chemical elements for the construction of barriers which can grossly direct the elongation of axons during development. The roof plate, a putative axon barrier, is located along the dorsal midline of the developing spinal cord and may be important for the guidance of the commissural and dorsal column axons. We examined the roof plate to determine the developmental morphology of the region and to determine which molecules were correlated with the barrier function when axons were growing nearby. Light and electron microscopic observations of the roof plate revealed that this glial domain undergoes a dramatic change in shape from a “wedge” with large extracellular spaces between the cell apices at E12.5 to a thin, dense septum with reduced extracellular space at E15.5. Immunocytochemical techniques demonstrated that highly sialylated neural cell adhesion molecule (N-CAM), the carbohydrate recognized by L2 monoclonal antibody, cholinesterase, stage-specific embryonic antigen 1, and a ligand that binds tetragonolobus purpureas agglutinin are expressed by the roof plate. These molecules, however, were also found in other regions of the spinal cord which are permissive or attractive to axon growth. A molecule which is unique to the roof plate when axons grow close to, but do not cross, the dorsal midline is a glycosaminoglycan (GAG), keratan sulfate. Keratan sulfate is also present in the tectal midline and in other noninnervated regions such as the outer epidermis and developing cartilage. Our data suggest that keratan sulfate, alone or in combination with other molecules expressed by the roof plate, may be responsible, in part, for the inhibition of axon elongation through the roof plate in the embryonic spinal cord.
Microwave accelerated three-component fluoroalkylations: expeditious routes to fluoropharmaceuticals and PET ligands

Abstract One-pot three-component coupling methods have been developed to allow in situ preparation of fluoroalkylated arenes and hydrocarbon chain analogs. The methods, which are accelerated under microwave irradiation gives access to ω-fluorinated alkyl, alkenyl, and alkynyl substituted arenes from readily available precursors. The methods involve late stage introduction of the fluorine and are well suited to application in the synthesis of 18F labeled PET imaging agents.
Watching, but not waiting: vascular neurology perspective on the disparate regulatory pathways for stroke.

Vascular neurologists have keenly watched the Watchman device (Atritech, Plymouth, Minnesota, USA) regulatory approval process. We are, as always, searching for additional options in the prevention and treatment of stroke to better care for our patients, and new approaches to the management of atrial fibrillation play a large part in this effort. Recently, a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) panel voted 13:1 in favor of the Watchman device for the prevention of ischemic stroke in non-valvular atrial fibrillation.1 The panelists came to this decision after reviewing data from large randomized trials that compared anticoagulation with warfarin, the standard of care at the time, with antiplatelet therapy plus occlusion of the left atrial appendage with the Watchman device.2 ,3 The studies found that the approach incorporating the Watchman device was non-inferior to warfarin in the prevention of stroke or systemic embolism, with an acceptable periprocedural safety profile. Therefore, the panel, mostly without stroke experience, gave near unanimous support for the device. Although the device offers an intriguing new approach to stroke prevention in this high-risk group of patients, the decision also underscores the seemingly disparate process for development of stroke therapies and the disengagement of the stroke community from recent cardiology-driven stroke trials. While designed as cardiology device trials to treat complications of a cardiac arrhythmia, studies examining thromboembolism from atrial fibrillation are, in fact, stroke prevention studies. The most relevant endpoint in these trials is the prevention of stroke, and it will be predominantly vascular neurologists, not cardiologists, who will ultimately manage, treat, and …
Cleaning up on carbon

Both national and global climate policy must redirect its focus from setting a price on carbon to promoting the rapid deployment of clean technologies.
Successful treatment of two lung cancer patients with erlotinib following gefitinib-induced hepatotoxicity

Abstract Introduction Hepatotoxicity secondary to gefitinib, an oral tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) against the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), is under-appreciated, even though it has a reported incidence of 10–20% in phase II trials. Methods/results We present two patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who developed grade 2/3 hepatotoxicity starting between 4 and 6 weeks after initiation of gefitinib, with toxicity peaking between 10 and 20 weeks. Both patients were switched to treatment with erlotinib, another EGFR TKI, without further development of hepatotoxicity. One patient with measurable metastatic disease achieved a durable near complete response while on erlotinib. The other patient experienced recurrence of hepatotoxicity when gefitinib was briefly reintroduced. Conclusions Patients with NSCLC receiving gefitinib should undergo routine monitoring of liver enzymes. For those who develop gefitinib-induced hepatotoxicity but are otherwise deriving clinical benefit, consideration can be given to switching to erlotinib.
Functionally tailored nanoparticle-based ionically self-assembled multilayer thin films

This paper describes the fabrication of functionally-tailored nanoparticle-based thin-films using the ionic self-assembled monolayer (ISAM) method. ISAM thin-films have been created by the consecutive coating of ceramic, polymer, metal and single-crystal substrate materials with numbers of layers of oppositely-charged polyelectrolyte species. We specifically report here the chemical synthesis of nanoparticles of several inorganic materials, having mean cross-sectional dimensions less than 10 nm and particle size distribution standard deviations as small as 0.5 nm or less. We next report the incorporation of these inorganic nanoparticles and high-performance polymers into multi-layer assemblies with as many as several hundred individual monolayers, each having excellent two-dimensional surface uniformity. Potential applications in smart optical, electromagnetic and mechanical systems are discussed.
Effects of L-Thyroxine on Lipides in the Hypophysectomized Rat

Hypophysectomized rats which received a cholesterol-free diet containing 10 % fat maintained somewhat higher hepatic concentrations of cholesterol, phospholipides and total fatty acids and slightly higher concentrations of cholesterol in plasma than normal rats previously studied. On the same diet, hypophysectomized rats which received excessive L-thyroxine maintained similar hepatic concentrations of phospholipides and total fatty acids; however, the concentrations of cholesterol were higher in liver and lower in plasma. The thyroxine-induced increase in hepatic cholesterol occurred in the nonesterified fraction. After the intraperitoneal injection of sodium l-C14-acetate, more carbon 14 was recovered in the digitonin-precipitable sterols, fatty acids and phospholipides from livers of the thyroxine-treated rats than in these substances from the livers of rats in the untreated group.
The influence of reinforcing effects of cocaine on cocaine-induced increases in extinguished responding in cynomolgus monkeys.

Although reinstatement of extinguished cocaine self-administration is widely used as an animal model of relapse, it is unclear which behavioral effects of the drug stimulus (i.e., unconditioned, discriminative or reinforcing) mediate the increases in responding after extinction. To examine the influence of experience with cocaine as a reinforcer on the ability of response-independent cocaine injections to increase extinguished responding. Effects of noncontingent injections of cocaine (0.01–1.0 mg/kg, i.v.) were assessed in two groups of cynomolgus monkeys, those with extensive histories of cocaine self-administration when responding was maintained under a concurrent fixed ratio (FR) 50 schedule of saline and food presentation (n = 8) and cocaine-naive monkeys (n = 5) responding under an FR 50 schedule of food presentation. In the latter group, the effects of noncontingent cocaine and food (one or five pellets) were examined before and after a brief history of cocaine (0.03 mg/kg/inj) self-administration under an FR 50 schedule. In the cocaine-experienced subjects responding under a concurrent schedule of saline and food availability, noncontingent cocaine dose-dependently increased injection-lever responding. In the initially cocaine-naive subjects, no dose of cocaine increased extinguished food-maintained responding before or after a brief exposure to cocaine self-administration. In contrast, noncontingent delivery of five food pellets significantly increased extinguished food-maintained responding after cocaine self-administration. These results support the view that, under self-administration conditions, the discriminative stimulus effects of cocaine play a prominent role in the ability of cocaine to increase extinguished responding.
Taxon‐specific differences in C/P and N/P drawdown for phytoplankton in the Ross Sea, Antarctica

[1] Data from 11 cruises to the Ross Sea, Antarctica show that non-Redfield N/P and C/P drawdown ratios for diatoms and Phaeocystis antarctica were a consistent feature of the phytoplankton communities between 1990 and 1998. Ratios of N/P drawdown for waters dominated by P. antarctica ranged from 17.2–19.5, consistently exceeding the Redfield ratio of 16. Similarly, the C/P drawdown ratio for P. antarctica-dominated waters ranged from 120–154, 13–45% greater than the Redfield ratio of 106. Waters dominated by diatoms exhibited much lower ratios than Redfield for N/P (mean = 11.9) and C/P (mean = 76.2) drawdown. There was no seasonal trend to the drawdown ratios by either taxa. Sediment trap data exhibited C/P ratios for P. antarctica-dominated samples that were twice that for diatoms, suggesting that the large taxonomic difference in C/P drawdown ratio is expressed as a difference in particulate C/P ratio which is subsequently exported to depth.
Observations of denitrification and dehydration in the winter polar stratospheres

It is argued that denitrification of the Arctic stratosphere can be explained by the selective growth and sedimentation of aerosol particles rich in nitric acid. Because reactive nitrogen species moderate the destruction of ozone by chlorine-catalyzed reactions by sequestering chlorine in reservoir species such as ClONO2, the possibility of the removal of reactive nitrogen without dehydration should be allowed for in attempts to model ozone depletion in the Arctic. Indeed, denitrification along with elevated concentrations of reactive chlorine observed in 1989 indicate that the Arctic was chemically primed for ozone destruction without an extended period of temperatures below the frost point, as is characteristic of the Antarctic.
Retail Store Spatial Affinities

Heterogeneous and homogeneous data sets are examined to determine whether retail store spatial affinities exist within the central business districts of a sample of American cities. Use is made of a test designed to identify statistically significant spatial associations. The findings of the study suggest that there are undoubtedly some significant affinities between business types, but that they are very limited in number and not constant from city to city. When data from the cities are combined, four groups are shown to emerge, the most prominent displaying a strong bond between women's clothing, women's accessory, and variety stores.
Zebrafish Wnt9a,9b paralog comparisons suggest ancestral roles for Wnt9 in neural, oral–pharyngeal ectoderm and mesendoderm

The Wnts are a highly conserved family of secreted glycoproteins involved in cell-cell signaling and pattern formation during early embryonic development. Teasing out the role of individual Wnt molecules through development is challenging. Gene duplications are one of the most important mechanisms for generating evolutionary variations. The current consensus suggests that most anatomical variation is generated by divergence of regulatory control regions rather than by coding sequence divergence. Thus phylogenetic comparisons of divergent gene expression patterns are essential to understanding ancestral morphogenetic patterns from which subsequent anatomy diversified in modern lineages. We previously demonstrated strongest expression of zebrafish wnt9b within its heart tube, limb bud and ventral/anterior ectoderm during oral and pharyngeal arch patterning. Our goal is to compare and contrast zwnt9b to its closest paralog, zwnt9a. Sequenced, fulllength zebrafish wnt9a and wnt9b cDNA clones were used for phylogenetic analysis, which suggests their derivation from a common pre-vertebrate archeolog by gene duplication and divergence. Here we demonstrate that zwnt9a expression is found within unique (CNS, pronephric ducts, sensory organs) and overlapping (pectoral fin buds) expression domains relative to zwnt9b. Apparently, Wnt9 paralogs differentially parsed common ancestral expression domains during their subsequent rounds of gene duplication, divergence and loss in different vertebrate lineages. This expression data suggests ancestral roles for Wnt9s in early patterning of neural/oral-pharyngeal ectoderm and mesendoderm derivatives.
Compositions of droplet chondrules in the Manych (L-3) chondrite and the origin of chondrules

Abstract Expanded beam microprobe analyses of 18 drop-formed chondrules and 5 irregular masses of devitrified glass in the Manych chondrite show trends and ranges of chemical variation similar to those reported previously for large microporphyritic chondrules in this meteorite. These variations are inconsistent with differentiation of chondrules by crystal-liquid fractionation or separation of immiscible silicate and Fe-Ni-S liquids at various oxygen fugacities. They appear to reflect non-representative sampling of microporphyritic precursor rocks texturally and mineralogically similar to, but in some cases coarser than, the microporphyritic chondrules in Manych. About half of the droplet chondrules and devitrified glasses also bear evidence of more or less vapor-liquid fractionation. The chemical and petrographic properties of Manych chondrules are best explained by a genetic model which entails: (1) melting of extended masses of chondritic material (≥10 cm across); (2) extraction of immiscible Fe-Ni-S liquids; (3) crystallization of the remaining silicate liquids to form microporphyritic rocks; and (4) fragmentation of these rocks to produce microporphyritic chondrules or, with remelting, droplet chondrules. The initial melting may have been caused by either impact or solar heating, but fragmentation and remelting of the microporphyritic precursor rocks were most likely caused by impact.
LES Sub-Grid Diffusion for Lagrangian Particles

A continuous random walk (CRW) turbulent diffusion model was developed for Lagrangian particles within flow fields simulated by hybrid RANS/LES methodologies. For RANS flow-fields, the conventional time-scale and length-scale constants were determined by the turbulence intensity and dissipation values computed by the single-phase solver with a k-ω (Menter SST) model and subsequent comparison with turbulent particle diffusion experimental results of Snyder & Lumley (1971). This allowed validation against data for four particle types ranging from hollow glass to copper shot in grid-generated turbulence. The stochastic diffusion model was then extended to utilize the Nichols-Nelson k-ω hybrid RANS-LES turbulence model in a more complex turbulent flow resulting from the unsteady, three dimensional wake of a cylinder at Mach number of 0.1 and Reynolds number (ReD ) of 800. The gas flow was computed with a 5th -order upwind-biased scheme. Throughout the wake, the sub-grid random walk model yielded good predictions of particle diffusion as compared with DNS. Also, these results indicate that crossing trajectory effects and inertia-based drift corrections are critical to handling a variety of particle Stokes numbers as well as regions of non-homogeneous turbulence, even when most of the kinetic energy is captured with the resolved-scales of an LES approach.Copyright © 2008 by ASME
Comparison of detection systems in time-of-flight transillumination imaging

ABSTRACT Noncoherently detected transillurnination light waves only provide information about the absorptioncharacteristics of a tissue subject. Coherent detection is capable of providing information about the disper-sion characteristics. However, a relationship exists between absorption and dispersion at optical frequen-cies. Both types of detection are seen to be mathematically equivalent. The difference lies in noise rejectioncapability and ease or difficulty of system realization. Models of absorption and dispersion properties are.also presented. 1. INTRODUCTION In the present context, transillurnination refers to the process of transmitting and receiving bursts of lowpower, coherent light through human tissue for the purpose of providing relatively harmless non-invasiveimaging. Current studies are concentrated on finding the best possible way to detect these light signalswithout increasing the incident radiation to harmful levels [1—7]. In contrast, X-ray transillumination,mammography for example, is potentially hazardous due to the introduction of ionizing radiation. Spears,et al. [3], and Sullivan [4] have shown how time-of-flight imaging, the process by which only a portion ofthe transmitted wave is captured, enhances spatial resolution in the subsequent image as a result of scatterreduction. Recently, Hebden, et al., came to the same conclusion in a comparison study [5].There are currently two ways of detecting the transmitted coherent signal. One is called chrono-coherentimaging (CCI) holography [1—4] and refers to the coherent detection of phase changes between a referencesignal and the signal having passed through the tissue. The other detection method is simply a means byrhich wave intensity is noncoherently measured at the detector.In previous work we have shown how the two detection methods are mathematically equivalent undercertain conditions [1]. In this paper, we elaborate on that equivalence condition and derive explicit formulaefor the tissue characteristics of absorption and dispersion in terms of known variables. Finally, we comparethe two detection schemes under investigation and comment on their feasibility.
On Formalism in Specifications

A critique of a natural-language specification, followed by presentation of a mathematical alternative, demonstrates the weakness of natural language and the strength of formalism in requirements specifications.
SU-E-J-173: Can a Metal Artifact Reduction Algorithm Affect Accuracy of Dose Calculation?

Purpose: In external beam radiotherapy, the presence of metal implants such as hip prostheses causes significant streak artifacts in planning images, thus affecting the accuracy of target and critical organ delineation. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the improvement of image quality and impact on accuracy of dose calculation by using a commercially available metal artifact reduction (MAR) algorithm. Methods: Nine patients were selected for this study, including 5 patients with unilateral hip prostheses for orthopedic irradiation, and 4 patients with unilateral or bilateral hip prostheses for prostate cancer treatment. For each patient, simulation CTimage was reconstructed with and without MAR correction. Contours of the prostate, bladder and rectum were delineated on both images by an experienced physician for the prostate patients. The difference of contours between MAR corrected and un‐corrected images was quantified by an overlap index, and dose calculation accuracy was evaluated for both target and critical organs.Results: For orthopedic patients, dose difference between MAR corrected and un‐corrected images was negligible: 0.1±0.1% for maximum dose and 0.8±1.8% for dose at isocenter. For prostate patients, no significant dosimetric difference was observed between MAR corrected and un‐corrected images if same contours were used in the treatment planning. For the PTV, the average dose variation in D99 was 0.9±0.6%. The dose differences in D50 of the bladder and rectum were 1.0±0.8% and 0.4±0.3%, respectively. The average overlap index of prostate between the two images was 0.86±0.12 for patients with bilateral hip replacements. Substantial changes in the dose‐volume‐histograms were observed if different contours were used in the treatment planning.Conclusions: The commercial MAR algorithm can improve the image quality dramatically and the MAR corrected images do not affect dose calculation accuracy. The improvement of accuracy in organ delineation provides significant dosimetric advantage. Philips Healthcare
Résultats nationaux de la chirurgie ouverte pour anévrysme de l’aorte abdominale incluant à un pontage rénal ou viscéral

Introduction Nous avons evalue les resultats nationaux de la chirurgie ouverte des anevrysmes de l’aorte abdominale (AAA) incluant un pontage renal ou visceral (PRV). Methodes En se basant sur la base de donnees nationale National Inpatient Sample de 1993 a 2006, les reparations d’AAA etaient identifiees par les codes diagnostiques ICD9 pour les AAA non rompus associes a une procedure chirurgicale ouverte. Les patients definis PRV avaient egalement eu un pontage aorto-renal et/ou aorto-mesenterique ou une endarteriectomie mesenterique. Les dissections ainsi que les anevrysmes thoraciques et thoracoabdominaux etaient exclus. Les donnees demographiques et les comorbidites etaient relevees. La mortalite et les complications etaient comparees a celles des AAA infrarenaux (AIR) sans PRV. Les facteurs predictifs de mortalite peri-operatoire etaient analyses par regression logistique multivariee. Resultats Au total, 41166 PRV et 362808 AIR etaient identifies. Le volume des interventions pour PRV diminuait de 58% tandis que celui des AIR diminuait de 59% entre 1993 et 2006. Les patients PRV avaient une mortalite superieure (5,8% vs. 4,4%, p Conclusion Le volume des interventions avec PRV a diminue a travers ces dernieres annees de maniere similaire a celui des interventions ouvertes pour AIR et pourrait etre lie a l’augmentation de l’utilisation des techniques endovasculaires. La mortalite apres PRV est elevee et dependante de l’âge, de l’insuffisance renale, et de l’insuffisance cardiaque congestive. Au total, une chirurgie incluant un PRV est associee a de moins bons resultats; cependant, cette etude ne peut conclure qu’eviter ce type de reparation ameliorera les resultats. Cela devrait etre pris en compte lors de la prise de decision chez ces patients.
Tax Subsidy of Home Ownership

This paper considers the tax treatment of homes as investments and as consumer goods in light of current and conventional arguments that home-ownership is subsidized through the tax structure. Unconventional comparisons of tax effects with particular reference to the USA are presented which call into question the conventional view. It has become conventional wisdom among economists that there are 'tax subsidies' of home ownership built into the tax system. These tax subsidies in the USA are said to derive from income tax deductions for mortgage interest and property taxes, the option of deferring capital gains taxes, and the lack of a tax on imputed rent (see CBO, I98I; White and White, 1977; Henderson and Ioannides, 1983; Simonson, I98I; Farmer and Barrell, I98I; Welhar, I982). Recently some public discussion has been taking place about possibilities for reducing or eliminating these tax subsidies. This paper raises certain challenges to the conventional arguments and raises the possibility that the alleged homeowner subsidies may be non-existent, at least for middle-class homeowners. Certain aspects of the subsidy argument are treated, followed by an estimate of the size of the net subsidy or burden on homeowners. Many politically conservative individuals are favorably disposed toward the tax subsidy view since it provides a rationale for efforts to divert funds away from housing and toward productivity-enhancing investments in industry. Many politically liberal individuals are also favorably disposed toward the tax subsidy view since it provides a rationale for direct subsidies of housing for the poor. Clearly, if middle-class housing is subsidized through the tax structure, then it is only fair that housing for the poor should also be subsidized. This paper will not deal with the merits of productivity enhancement measures or of * The author wishes to thank the anonymous reviewers for helpful comments on the original draft of this paper. This content downloaded from 40.77.167.54 on Wed, 06 Jul 2016 04:08:59 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms
Chemical reactivity of protonated aziridine with nucleophilic centers of DNA bases.

A series of molecular orbital calculations, using MINDO/3 and CNDO/2L methods, have been used to characterize the chemical reaction of protonated aziridine with DNA nucleophilic base sites. The N-7 atom of guanine is found to be the preferred alkylation site only when the O-6 atom of guanine is involved in base-pair hydrogen bonding. Otherwise O-6 is the predicted major site of alkylation. This indirectly suggests that protonated aziridine alkylation processes involve base-paired DNA structures, since N-7 guanine is the observed major site of alkylation. Alkylation of N-3 adenine is predicted to be more favorable than chemical attack of the N-7 adenine position. Both of these sites, however, are predicted to be less reactive than N-7 of guanine. These chemical reactivity studies resolve alkylation specifically not achieved in the DNA–alkylator physical association calculations reported in the preceding paper.
Brucella abortus Rough Mutants Are Cytopathic for Macrophages in Culture

Rough mutants of Brucella spp. are attenuated for survival in animal models. However, conflicting in vitro evidence has been obtained concerning the intracellular survival of rough mutants. Transposon-derived rough mutants isolated in our laboratory were previously shown to exhibit small but significant reductions in intracellular survival in a 12-h in vitro assay. Several recent publications report that rough mutants exhibited increased macrophage uptake relative to their smooth parental strains, and a reduction in numbers at the end of the assay has been interpreted as intracellular killing. In an effort to explore the role of O antigen in the interaction between Brucella abortus and macrophages, we have monitored the uptake of rough mutants and survival in vitro by using the murine macrophage cell line J774.A1. The results confirm a 10- to 20-fold-increased uptake of rough mutants over that of smooth organisms under standard conditions. Recovery of the rough mutants persisted up to 8 h postinfection, but at the point when intracellular replication of the smooth organisms was observed, the number of rough organisms recovered declined. Fluorescence microscopy revealed the intracellular multiplication of both smooth and rough organisms, and assays performed in the absence of antibiotic confirmed the replication of the rough organisms. Examination by phase-contrast microscopy revealed the lytic death of macrophages infected with the rough mutants, which was confirmed by the release of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) from the cell cytoplasm. Thus, the decline in the number of rough organisms was the result of the lysis of macrophages and not from intracellular killing. The cytopathic effect is characterized as necrotic rather than apoptotic cell death based on early LDH release, annexin V and propidium iodide staining, morphological changes of infected cells and nuclei, and glycine protection. The cytopathic effect was observed with macrophages at multiplicities of infection (MOIs) of as low as 20 and was not observed with epithelial cells at MOIs of as high as 2000. These findings suggest a role for O antigen during the early stages of host-agent interaction that is essential in establishing an intracellular niche that maintains and supports persistent intracellular infection resulting in disease.
Mesoscale Phase Field Modeling of Glass Strengthening Under Triaxial Compression

Recent “hydraulic bomb” and “confined sleeve” tests on transparent armor glass materials such as borosilicate glass and soda-lime glass showed that the glass strength was a function of confinement pressure. The measured stress–strain relation is not a straight line as most brittle materials behave under little or no confinement. Moreover, borosilicate glass exhibited a stronger compressive strength when compared to soda-lime glass, even though soda-lime has higher bulk and shear moduli as well as apparent yield strength. To better understand these experimental findings, a mesoscale phase field model is developed to simulate the nonlinear stress versus strain behaviors under confinement by considering heterogeneity formation — under triaxial compression and the energy barrier of a micro shear banding event (referred to as pseudo-slip hereafter) in the amorphous glass. With calibrated modeling parameters, the simulation results demonstrate that the developed phase field model can quantitatively predict the pressure-dependent strength, and it can also explain the difference between the two types of glasses from the perspective of energy barrier associated with a pseudo-slip event.
The Role of Personality in Psychotherapy for Anxiety and Depression

A trait approach to personality has many implications for psychotherapy. Given that traits contribute to the expression of symptoms of common psychiatric disorders, are moderately heritable, and relatively stable (yet also dynamic to some extent), long-term change in symptoms is possible but is likely to be limited. Analogous to the manner in which genes set the reaction range for phenotype, standing on certain traits may set the patient's "therapeutic range." On the other hand, some of the same traits that may limit the depth of therapeutic benefits might also increase their breadth. In addition, taking the patient's standing on different traits into account can inform the choice of therapeutic strategy and targets and can affect the formation of the therapeutic alliance and compliance with self-help exercises. Finally, other aspects of personality beyond traits, such as ego development and narrative identity, also appear to have important implications for psychotherapy.
Development and Installation of BPA's New Generation Transmission Conductors

The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) has developed a family of new generation conductors which promises to reduce transmission line life-cycle costs. These trapezoidal wire conductors reduce air void area by 80 percent over conventional round rod conductors, allowing a denser packing of conducting material and greater efficiency through increased conductance and/or reduced tower loads. The trapezoidal wire family is made up of nine conductors ranging in size from 1.0 to 1.8 inches; six are all aluminum and three are aluminum with steel reinforcement. The new conductors are expected to satisfy all of BPA's typical conductor requirements for new construction, rebuild, and reconductoring projects, where the economics of resistive losses dominate the design. This paper introduces the new conductor family and assesses its uses and limitations. It discusses design details; mechanical, stress-strain, creep, and self-damping characteristics; and conductor sizing, procurement, handling and sagging, savings, and lattice steel and wood pole applications. It also describes the first use of the trapezoidal wire conductor family on the BPA Boundry Integration/Reinforcement Project.
Transcriptional activation by TLX1/HOX11 involves Gro/TLE corepressors.

The role of Groucho/transducin-like Enhancer of split (Gro/TLE) family members as corepressors of transcription is well documented. TLX1 is a homeodomain transcription factor involved in splenogenesis and neuron formation, and its aberrant expression gives rise to T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia. We demonstrate by glutathione-S-transferase pull-down assays, in vivo biotinylation tagging and confocal laser microscopy that TLX1 interacts with TLE1 via an Eh1-like motif. Paradoxically, we found that this motif is essential for optimal transcriptional activation of two TLX1 target genes, Aldh1a1 and Fhl1. Using a well characterized target of the Hairy/Enhancer of split 1 (HES1)·TLE1 repressor complex, the ASCL1 gene, we show that TLX1 counteraction of ASCL1 repression by HES1 in SK-N-BE(2) neuroblastoma cells is associated with dismissal of TLE1 from the ASCL1 promoter and requires the Eh1-like motif for maximal effect. Collectively, these results indicate that TLX1-mediated target gene activation can occur in part via derepression strategies involving Gro/TLE corepressors.
A Zero-Sum Game with Incomplete Information and Compact Action Spaces

We make use of distributional strategies to describe player's choices of actions in a zero-sum game with incomplete information and compact action spaces. Under very mild assumptions we obtain the existence of equilibria.
Effects of Visual Exposure to the Opposite Sex: Cognitive Aspects of Mate Attraction in Human Males

This research is an investigation into the cognitive aspects of mate attraction in human males. Two experiments demonstrate that visual exposure to women (in person or within photographs) can prime large changes in the attitudes, mood states, and personality trait descriptions of male participants. These changes, furthermore, are such that participants show greater conformity to female mate preferences as described in the extant literature: In particular, men exposed to potential mates reported higher valuations of material wealth, greater momentary feelings of ambition, higher valuations of other indicators of social status, and personality trait descriptions indicative of high surgency/extraversion. All such effects occurred without participants' awareness that their responses had been affected by the experimental manipulations. These findings suggest a model of mate attraction mechanisms in which input cues from potential mates can prime those psychological representations that facilitate the behavioral expression of courtship tactics.
Bipolar medications, mechanisms of action

Edited by H.K. Manji, C.L. Bowden, and R.H. Belmaker. American Psychiatric Press, Washington, DC. 488 p. $58.50
Understanding the Role of Entertainment Media in the Sexual Socialization of American Youth: A Review of Empirical Research.

Abstract Whereas it is often suggested that the media have assumed a prominent role in the sexual socialization of American youth, empirical evidence supporting this premise has been slow to accumulate. To provide both the fuel and motivation for future research in this area, this review presents a comprehensive overview of the existing state of the field, covering research on both magazine and television content, and on both high school and college student samples. In addressing the three central issues of what, how, and where/to what extent, this review first examines the nature and prevalence of sexual content both on TV and in magazines. It then describes several theoretical mechanisms outlining how potential influence might occur, and then presents findings examining such influences. Overall, evidence indicates that frequent and involved exposure to sexually oriented genres such as soap operas and music videos is associated with greater acceptance of stereotypical and casual attitudes about sex, with higher expectations about the prevalence of sexual activity and of certain sexual outcomes, and, even occasionally, with greater levels of sexual experience. In light of these findings, I offer a working conceptual model of the media’s role as a sexual socialization agent, and conclude by outlining 14 specific suggestions for future research.
Conservation of flow demonstrated using the two-slit velocimeter and cross correlator in epiilluminated surface microvessels of the mouse brain.

Objective: To validate the use of two-slit velocimetry in an epiilluminated microvascular bed by demonstrating conservation of flow and to compare this validation with that provided by the literature for transilluminated beds.Methods: The brain surface vessels of mice were epiilluminated with a mercury lamp and observed with a Leitz Ultrapak objective (22X) and dipping cone. The internal diameters were measured with an ocular micrometer. The Instrumentation for Physiology and Medicine (IPM) velocimeter and cross correlator were used to measure red blood cell (RBC) velocity at the centerline of 17 different microvascular branch points. The velocity in the feeding arteriole and each branch or in the tributaries and draining venule were used, together with the respective diameters, to calculate flow in each vessel. Findings in the arterioles and venules were combined, because the results were the same in either set of vessels.Results: Flow in the main vessel (nl/sec) = 0.97 (sum of flow in branches or tribut...
Electoral Systems, Party Competition, and Strength of Partisan Attachment: Evidence from Three Countries

This article brings together the literatures on individual voting behavior and on the effect of electoral systems. While most students of tactical voting stress the link between voter choice and electoral systems, we argue that electoral systems shape not just the incentives of vote choice, but also have an impact on the deeper psychology of attachment to political parties. We argue that party identification is shaped not just by personal factors but also, and perhaps more importantly, by party and electoral systems. We present evidence from three countries--Australia, Canada, and Germany--consistent with our argument.
Evaluation of synthetic water-soluble metal-binding polymers with ultrafiltration for selective concentration of americium and plutonium

,Water-soluble metal-binding polymers in combination with ultrafiltration are shown to be an effective method for selectively removing dilute actinide ions from acidic solutions of high ionic strength, The actinirte-binding properties of commercially available water-soluble polymers and several polymers which have been repotted in the literature were evrduated, The functional groups incorporated in the polymers were pyrrolidone, amine, oxime, and carboxylic, phosphoric, or sulfonic acid. The polymer containing phosphoric acid groups gave the best results with high distribution coefficients and concentration factors for 241Am(]II) ~d 238pu(III)/(IV) at pH 4 to 6 and ionic strengths of 0.1 to 4.
Radioimmunoassay (RIA) of serum corticosterone in rats.

A radioimmunoassay for corticosterone was developed and characterized using corticosterone antiserum (377, Niswende) and a simple ethanol extraction procedure. The antiserum appeared to be highly specific fo corticosterone. Intraassay variability was 3.67 +- 0.75% (mean +- SE) at 50 pg of corticosterone; interassay variability with a mean value of 51.15 pg was 6.98 +- 1.01%. Assay sensitivity was 9.48 +- 0.60 pg. Utilizing this assay, serum obtained from adrenalectomized and adrenalectomized-ovariectomized rats yielded lower corticosterone values than serum from intact or ovariectomized rats. Intact females had lower corticosterone values than intact males. Rats exposed to elevated temperature (32.5/sup 0/) displayed significantly (P < 0.001) elevated plasma corticosterone levels (48.48 +- 4.37 ..mu..g/100 ml) compared to control (24.5/sup 0/) animals (21.31 +- 2.02 ..mu..g/100 ml). The high specificity, sensitivity, precision, recovery level, and ease of this technique make it useful for the study of either serum or plasma corticosterone.
Genetic AVP deficiency abolishes cold-induced diuresis but does not attenuate cold-induced hypertension

Chronic cold exposure causes hypertension and diuresis. The aim of this study was to determine whether vasopressin (AVP) plays a role in cold-induced hypertension and diuresis. Two groups of Long-E...
Linear sweep voltammetry in flooded porous electrodes at low sweep rates

Abstract A theoretical analysis of linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) in flooded-porous electrodes is treated for reversible (Nernstian) and first-order irreversible reactions. At low sweep rates, the ohmic potential drop within the electrode is negligible and concentration gradients are predominantly in the axial direction. The solution to the reversible case is mathematically simple, but the results are presented to understand the influence external mass-transfer resistance has on the voltammogram. For irreversible kinetics, a Green’s function technique is used to obtain an analytical solution to the diffusion equation. An analytical solution for the current as a function of the electrode dimensions, sweep rate and reaction kinetic parameters allows one to predict the voltammogram over a wide range of conditions. The analytical solution is used to develop correlations that enable the kinetic parameters (i.e. exchange current density per unit volume and the transfer coefficient) to be easily extracted from experimental data.
Decreasing Length of Stay After Pancreatoduodenectomy

Hypothesis: Decreased length of stay (LOS) after pancreatoduodenectomy is due to multiple factors, including a lower complication rate and more efficient perioperative care for all patients, with and without complications.
Stem/progenitor cell proliferation factors FGF‐2, IGF‐1, and VEGF exhibit early decline during the course of aging in the hippocampus: Role of astrocytes

Dentate neurogenesis, important for learning and memory, declines dramatically by middle age. Although studies have shown that this age-related decrease can be reversed to some extent by exogenous applications of mitogenic factors, it is unclear whether one or more of these factors exhibits decline by middle age. We hypothesize that multiple stem/progenitor cell proliferation factors exhibit early decline during the course of aging in the hippocampus, and some of these declines are linked to age-related alterations in hippocampal astrocytes. We measured the concentrations of fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF-2), insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in the hippocampus of young, middle-aged, and aged F344 rats, using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). In addition, we quantified the total number of FGF-2 immunopositive (FGF-2+) and glial fibrillary acidic protein immunopositive (GFAP+) cells in the dentate gyrus and the entire hippocampus. Our results provide new evidence that the concentrations of FGF-2, IGF-1, and VEGF decline considerably by middle age but remain steady between middle age and old age. Further, decreased concentrations of FGF-2 during aging are associated with decreased numbers of FGF-2+ astrocytes. Quantification of GFAP+ cells, and GFAP and FGF-2 dual immunostaining analyses, reveal that aging does not decrease the total number of astrocytes but fractions of astrocytes that express FGF-2 decline considerably by middle age. Thus, dramatically decreased dentate neurogenesis by middle age is likely linked to reduced concentrations of FGF-2, IGF-1, and VEGF in the hippocampus, as each of these factors can individually influence the proliferation of stem/progenitor cells in the dentate gyrus. Additionally, the results demonstrate that decreased FGF-2 concentration during aging is a consequence of age-related impairment in FGF-2 synthesis by astrocytes. © 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Sorption of Acid Dyes by Nylon Under Nonequilibrium Conditions

Nylon filament yarn colored with acid dyes frequently shows unevenness in appearance. In some cases this unevenness can be traced to slight differences in orientation due to uneven drawing. In other cases small changes in the number of amine end-groups in the polymer cause this effect. It has been found that this unevenness can be minimized, and with some colors completely eliminated, by dyeing in a bath so dilute in dye as to be colorless to the eye.