cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Energy Metabolism of Osteocytes.

In this review, we provide a recent update on bioenergetic pathways in osteocytes and identify potential future areas of research interest. Studies have identified a role for regulation of bone formation and bone resorption through osteocyte mechanosensing and osteocyte secreted factors. Nevertheless, there is a paucity of studies on the bioenergetics and energy metabolism of osteocytes, which are required for the regulation of bone remodeling. Osteocytes are cells of the osteoblast lineage embedded in bone. The osteocyte lacunocanalicular network within the skeletal matrix is exposed to a unique hypoxic environment. Therefore, the bioenergetic requirements of these cells could differ from other bone cells due to its location in the ossified matrix and its role in bone regulation transduced by mechanical signals. Recent findings highlighted in this review provide some evidence that metabolism of these cells is dependent on their location due to the substrates present in the microenvironment and metabolic cues from stress pathways. Both glycolysis (glucose metabolism) and oxidative phosphorylation (mitochondrial dynamics, ROS generation) affect osteocyte function and viability. In this review, we provide evidence that is currently available about information regarding bioenergetics pathways in osteocytes. We discuss published studies showing a role for hypoxia-driven glucose metabolism in regulating osteocyte bioenergetics. We also provide information on various substrates that osteocytes could utilize to fuel energetic needs, namely pyruvate, amino acids, and fatty acids. This is based on some preliminary experimental evidence that is available in literature. The role of parathyroid hormone PTH and parathryoid hormone-related peptide PTHrP in bone anabolism and resorption, along with regulation of metabolic pathways in the cells of the skeletal niche, needs to be explored further. Mitochondrial metabolism has a role in osteocyte bioenergetics through substrate utilization, location of the osteocyte in the bone cortex, and mitochondrial biogenesis. While there are limitations in studying metabolic flux in traditional cell lines, there are now novel cell lines and sophisticated tools available to study osteocyte bioenergetics to help harness its potential in vivo in the future.
Factors Influencing Metastasis of Breast Cancer

Metastasis is the most critical attribute of all human cancers, particularly for those of nonvital, surface organs such as the breast. In general, patients undergoing removal of small breast tumors, prior to the development of axillary lymph node metastases, have a better cure or long-term survival rate than those with large tumors or axillary involvement. The ten-year survival rate of women with small breast cancers treated with standard extirpative surgery has been reported to be more than 80%, dropping to about 50% when one to three axillary lymph nodes are involved, and to 25% when more than three nodes are positive.(1, 2) Consequently, greater efforts are being directed toward the early detection of breast cancer by various means. However, even some small tumors may have already spread to the regional lymph nodes by the time they are clinically detected, and, in other instances, the cancer may recur and disseminate widely after an extended period of dormancy. The annual mortality rate of breast cancer patients, reported as 39%, has not changed over the past 40 years.(3) This lack of improvement in the survival rate can be attributed mainly to our deficient understanding of the biology of metastasis, and, more directly, to the insufficient knowledge of its mechanisms. Therefore, a critical analysis of factors influencing metastasis of breast cancer may be a useful and timely task.
Mythological, Biblical, and Literary Allusions in Donald Barthelme's The Dead Father

In Contemporary Novelists, Myron Taylor states that "Barthelme's stories produce their effect precisely because they elude satisfactory interpretation. Barthelme's works, like those of Edgar Allan Poe, seem to spring from a genuine doubt that any solution does in fact exist to the mysteries and miseries of the human condition." Even though Barthelme's works may actually "produce their effect" precisely because "they elude satisfactory interpretation," the humangod-mechanical .Dead Father character of Barthelme's most recent and "different" novel offers a multi-faceted study in ambiguity. The Dead Father is "dead but still with us, still with us, but dead. . . . a sleeper in troubled sleep, the whole great expanse of him running from the Avenue Pommard to the Boulevard Grist. Overall length, 3,200 cubits." The Dead Father is a part of the landscape "from the Avenue Pommard to the Boulevard Grist," just as the Irish giant Finn MacCool is a part of Joyce's Irish landscape in Finnegans Wake, as noted by Anthony Burgess in Re Joyce: "Dead Finnegan, really sleeping Finnegan is mourned by twelve citizens, but the feast is to be no mere matter of fish and ale and bread, though these are spread on the table: it is the flesh of the god himself that is to be sacramentally devoured. But before this can happen, we are made to see the body of Finnegan as part of the Irish landscape. He is the giant Finn MacCool asleep. His head is the Hill of Howth, his feet are near Earwicker's pub at Chapelizod (or Iseult's chapel). In the great dream he is, inevitably, transmuted from a mere drunken bricklayer to an archetypal builder of ancient civilizations, whose fall is so loud that it becomes Vico's thunderclap (always easily recognizable as a word of exactly one hundred letters), who is identifiable with Ibsen's Masterbuilder (Bygmester in Dano-Norwegian), with the legendary Irish giant Finn MacCool who was fifteen cubits high, and with Joyce's own mythical hero, HCE."
From NES-4021 to moSMB3.wmv: Speedrunning the Serial Interface

Although play is irreducible, games repeat. Beyond the serial repetition that characterizes industrial forms of mechanical reproduction like newspapers, comics, novels, and films, in the case of videogames the microtemporal speed of serial interfaces and massive scale of serial distribution operate both below and above the horizon of conscious experience. As such, the serial operations of videogames structure, enclose, and ultimately alienate the technical processes of play from the conscious knowledge of the player. In their essay, “Digital Seriality: On the Serial Aesthetics and Practice of Digital Games,” Shane Denson and Andreas Jahn-Sudmann characterize the diachronic sequencing of serial interfaces and synchronic consumption of videogames as “digital seriality.” This essay explores digital seriality through the history and practice of tool-assisted speedrunning, a form of metagaming that stages a ludic intervention at the level of serial interfacing and subsequently disrupts the collective serialization of videogames as a mass medium. From the operations of the NES-4021, a parallel-to-serial shift register that governs controller input in Nintendo Entertainment System, to the history of moSMB.wmv, an early speedrunning video by Morimoto that went viral in 2003, tool-assisted speedruns transform twitch-based platform games into turn-based puzzles and single player experiences into massively multiplayer online games by playing the serial interface.
Megadose Effects of Vitamin C on Vitamin B-12 Status in the Rat

Effects of ascorbic acid ingestion on the severity of vitamin B-12 deficiency were investigated by feeding weanling rats experimental diets containing 0-100 micrograms of vitamin B-12 activity per kg of diet, with or without 6.0 mg of ascorbic acid per ml supplied in drinking water for 15 wk. This daily consumption of up to 150 mg of ascorbic acid did not impair growth, but did result in significantly higher concentrations of ascorbic acid in plasma, liver, adrenal glands and feces. When rats were fed diets deficient or marginally deficient in vitamin B-12, liver concentrations of vitamin B-12 were markedly lower than in liver of rats fed adequate vitamin B-12. Ascorbic acid ingestion raised values significantly in the vitamin B-12-deficient diet group. Urinary methylmalonic acid was significantly elevated in the deficient rats. However, it was significantly reduced to more normal values by ascorbic acid in rats with both low and marginal vitamin B-12 status, as defined by dietary and liver concentrations of vitamin B-12 activity. Although coprophagy was not prevented, rats showed no increased consumption of feces with the higher ascorbic acid content. Thus, the results of this research indicate that vitamin C ingestion partially protects rats from vitamin B-12 deficiency.
Why do kimberlites from different provinces have similar trace element patterns

[1] Analysis of the trace element contents in kimberlites from various provinces around the world, including South Africa, India, and Yakutia (Siberia, Russia), reveals remarkable similarity of the maximum abundances. In addition, we find that abundances of the rare earth elements (REE) in the South African kimberlites are highly coherent between individual elements. We suggest that the observed similarity of the trace element patterns may result from a common physicochemical process operating in the kimberlite source region, rather than from peculiar source compositions and magmatic histories. The most likely candidates for such a process are (1) partial melting at very low melting degrees and (2) porous melt flow and diffusive exchange with the host rocks. These two processes can produce the same maximum trace element abundances and similar undersaturated patterns. We argue that the porous flow, and the associated chromatographic enrichment, is preferred because it allows high saturations at relatively large melt fractions of ∼1%. Observations of enrichment of the xenolith grain rims due to an exchange with metasomatizing melts of quasi-kimberlitic composition imply that the melt percolated beyond the source region, in agreement with basic assumptions of the percolation model. We demonstrate that the saturated REE patterns are in a good agreement with the maximum observed REE abundances in kimberlites from different provinces. The theoretical patterns are independent of the melt fraction and only weakly (if at all) depend on the source modal composition. Characteristic diverging fan-like patterns of trace elements predicted by the percolation model are identified in kimberlites from South Africa. We propose that a high coherency of the REE patterns in the South African kimberlites results from a general dependence of all REE abundances on the calcium content. According to this interpretation, the overall depletion of the source rocks in REE with temperature (and depth) postulated by our model is a natural consequence of a decrease in the calcium content along the lherzolite trend.
Amino Acid Compositions of Body and Milk Protein Change during the Suckling Period in Rats

The amino acid concentrations of rat body protein and rat milk protein were measured at 1, 6, 10 and 16 d of age to determine whether the concentration of each amino acid in proportion to the concentration of total recovered amino acids (amino acid composition) in the body changes during early growth and development and whether parallel changes occur in the amino acid composition of milk. The ratio of essential to nonessential amino acids in bodies decreased 10% during the suckling period (P < 0.05). The ratio of essential to nonessential amino acids in milk proteins decreased by 6% (P < 0.05). With the exception of threonine, the body to milk ratio for each essential amino acid seemed similar to that for the other essential amino acids, implying that most essential amino acids are equally limiting for the synthesis of body protein in exclusively milk-fed pups. Measurements of milk intake and milk composition were used to determine amino acid intakes and hence the efficiency with which milk amino acids were used for body protein deposition. The efficiency of essential amino acid utilization was 75% between 1 and 6 d, 86% between 6 and 10 d, and 62% between 10 and 16 d of age. Although the overall efficiency of nonessential amino acid utilization showed a similar pattern, the results suggested the need for a high degree of glycine and arginine synthesis.
The role of atropisomers on the photo-reactivity and fatigue of diarylethene-based metal–organic frameworks

Photo-responsive metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) are one example of light controlled smart materials for use in advanced sensors, data storage, actuators and molecular switches. Herein we show the design, synthesis and characterization of a photo-responsive linker that is subsequently reacted to yield MOF single crystals. The photo-responsive properties of the resulting UBMOF-2 arise from the photo-induced cyclization of the diarylethene moiety designed into the linker. Computational modeling to assess the relative energies of linker atropisomers reveals a large energetic barrier preventing facile interconversion between key species. The role of this barrier on the observed photo-induced fatigue provides useful insight into the development of advanced photo-responsive nanoporous materials.
The effect of collimator backscatter radiation on photon output of linear accelerators

The field-size dependence of the photon output of linear accelerators in air has been attributed in part to changes in the amount of radiation backscattered from the collimator jaws into the dose monitor chamber. This possible effect was investigated for a variety of accelerators with energies from 4 to 15 MV by measuring the monitor unit rate (MU/min) for different collimator openings. This measurement was made without dose rate feedback control, i.e., with constant electron beam current in the accelerator. The monitor unit rate was independent of collimator setting for all machines tested. Hence, it is concluded that backscattered radiation from the collimator jaws into the dose monitor chamber does not contribute to the variation of output with field size.
Analytical value-at-risk with jumps and credit risk

This paper provides an analytical approximation for computing value at risk and other risk measures for portfolios that may include options and other derivatives with defaultable counterparties or borrowers. The risk setting is that of a classical multi-factor jump-diffusion for default intensities and asset returns, under which between-jump returns are correlated Brownian motions, with return jumps at Poisson arrivals that are jointly normally distributed. This allows for fat-tailed and skewed return distributions.
Studying Heterologous Transcription Factors in Yeast

Abstract Functional assays of heterologous proteins in yeast can be very productive. Yeast can produce and localize most eukaryotic proteins faithfully. And heterologous proteins often interact productively with the basic metabolic machinery of yeast. Moreover, the advanced techniques of yeast genetics permit the conversion of such interactions into simple genetic or enzymatic activities. Thus, yeast can be used for functional screens of cDNA libraries and for detailed structure-function studies of cloned genes. Here we focus on strategies and methods for studying heterologous transcription factors in yeast. We present critical considerations in the design of library screens and routine reporter gene assays, and we describe vectors and protocols that have proven useful for these types of studies.
Where we were, what has changed, what needs doing: a decade of progress

In the last decade, there has been recognition of the effects of low-dose radiation in children. A critical mass of scientists, health care providers and manufacturers of radiation-producing imaging equipment has come together to educate ordering physicians to request only indicated examinations and radiologists to achieve low-dose examinations with diagnostic images. The forces that caused these changes will be discussed.
Vitamin D Receptor Interactions with the Rat Parathyroid Hormone Gene: Synergistic Effects Between Two Negative Vitamin D Response Elements

Vitamin D response elements (VDREs) that are required for negative regulation of rat parathyroid hormone (rPTH) gene expression have been characterized. Gel mobility shift assays using DNA restriction enzyme fragments and recombinant proteins for vitamin D and retinoic acid X receptors (VDR/RXR) revealed a sequence between -793 and -779 that bound a VDR/RXR heterodimer with high affinity (VDRE1). Furthermore, a lower affinity site (VDRE2) was detected that acted in combination with VDRE1 to bind a second VDR/RXR complex. As determined by ethylation interference analysis, the nucleotide sequence of VDRE1 consisted of GGTTCA GTG AGGTAC, which is remarkably similar to the sequence of the negative VDRE found in the chicken PTH (cPTH) gene. Using the same technique, VDRE2 was identified between positions -760 and -746 and contained the sequence AGGCTA GCC AGTTCA. Functional analysis was determined by transfection studies with plasmid constructs that expressed the gene for chloramphenicol acetyl transferase (CAT). The ability of the VDREs to regulate gene expression was tested in their native context with the rPTH promoter as well as when positioned immediately upstream from the cPTH promoter. With either plasmid construct, exposure to 10(-8)M 1,25(OH)2D3 resulted in a 60-70% decrease in CAT gene expression when both VDRE1 and VDRE2 were present. Examination of the individual VDREs showed that inhibition by 10(-8) M 1,25(OH)2D3 was only 35-40% when just VDRE1 was present. By itself, VDRE2 was even less effective, as significant inhibition of CAT activity (20%) was observed only in the presence of higher concentrations of 1, 25(OH)2D3 (10(-7)M) or when a plasmid vector that overexpressed the VDR protein was cotransfected. In conclusion, the rPTH gene contains two negative VDREs that act in concert to bind two RXR/VDR heterodimer complexes and that both VDREs are required for maximal inhibition by 1,25(OH)2D3.
DIAGNOSIS AND MANAGEMENT OF COMMON COMPRESSION AND ENTRAPMENT NEUROPATHIES

The most common focal neuropathies are carpal tunnel syndrome, ulnar neuropathy at the elbow, and peroneal neuropathy at the fibular head, but many other focal neuropathies, due to external compression or entrapment, may occur. Rational management depends on accurate localization; a thorough understanding of the basic anatomy, pathology, and pathophysiology helps in dealing with the vagaries of clinical presentation and electrodiagnostic evaluation. The differential diagnosis includes musculoskeletal conditions, plexopathies, radiculopathies, and occasionally, central nervous system dysfunction. Some focal neuropathies are an accentuation of a more generalized process, and a complex interplay of focal and diffuse pathology can arise.
Ventral horn motoneurons 10, 20 and 52 weeks after T-9 spinal cord transection

To determine if transneuronal degeneration occurs in ventral horn motoneurons caudal to a spinal cord transection, we completely transected the spinal cord at T-9 in seven-week-old female rats. Ten, 20 or 52 weeks later, the motoneurons of the right sciatic nerve of transected and control rats were retrogradely labeled with Fluoro-Gold. There were no differences between control and transected rats in numbers or rostrocaudal distribution of labeled motoneurons at either 10, 20 or 52 weeks. At 20 weeks, there was no significant difference between control and transected rats in mean cross-sectional area of labeled neurons. We conclude that transneuronal degeneration did not occur.
Sequence data: posted vs. published.

Large-scale DNA sequencing projects take a considerable amount of time to complete, including 2 to 3 years for the final or “finishing” stage. This fact is not always appreciated by those who are not directly involved in such efforts, as appears to be the case with Elaine Bell in her letter (1 Dec., p. [1696][1]) about the Policy Forum by Lee Rowen et al. , “Publication rights in the era of open data release policies” (15 Sept., p. [1881][2]). In her letter, Bell, as editor of Immunology Today , discusses what factors were considered in the decision to publish two articles that contained information from publicly available sequence data that had not been previously published. A major factor, according to her, was the length of time that the primary sequence had been available in the public domain ” (emphases added). But the time referred to, about a year, is not adequate for such projects given the nature of the work involved. Large-scale sequencing projects can be divided into three unequal stages: (1) random (shotgun) sequencing (a relatively fast process); (2) assembly of the shotgun data, done many times during the course of the project; and (3) finishing. During this last stage, physical gaps in the sequence are closed, ambiguities in the sequence are resolved, contaminating sequences are removed, and errors in the sequence are identified and corrected. Finishing is a slow process, often taking 2 to 3 years for large sequencing projects. Thus, the almost complete sequence will be available for an extended length of time while the sequence is finished and published. Posted sequence (from stages 2 and 3), as well as sequence found in the GenBank database, is easily distinguished from published sequence. The posted sequence is often incomplete, might contain errors and contamination, and has not gone through peer review. In fact, the high-throughput genome sequence section of GenBank was established precisely to contain sequences not yet sufficiently complete and secure to be published. Thus, posted sequences are public, but they are not thereby automatically in the public domain. Unpublished sequence should be treated as are all other unpublished scientific data. Therefore, a third party who wants to publish an analysis of other scientists' unpublished sequence should obtain the written consent of those other scientists. Absent that consent, that third party would be committing a “misappropriation of data” as defined by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) ( ). As such, misappropriation of data is one of the NIH definitions of plagiarism: “As a general working definition, [Office of Research Integrity] considers plagiarism to include both the theft or misappropriation of intellectual property and the substantial unattributed textual copying of another's work.” Plagiarism is one definition of fraud in science. [1]: /lookup/volpage/290/1696b [2]: /lookup/volpage/289/1881
Inhibition of Human Aldehyde Oxidase Activity by Diet-Derived Constituents: Structural Influence, Enzyme-Ligand Interactions, and Clinical Relevance

The mechanistic understanding of interactions between diet-derived substances and conventional medications in humans is nascent. Most investigations have examined cytochrome P450-mediated interactions. Interactions mediated by other phase I enzymes are understudied. Aldehyde oxidase (AO) is a phase I hydroxylase that is gaining recognition in drug design and development programs. Taken together, a panel of structurally diverse phytoconstituents (n = 24) was screened for inhibitors of the AO-mediated oxidation of the probe substrate O(6)-benzylguanine. Based on the estimated IC50 (<100 μM), 17 constituents were advanced for Ki determination. Three constituents were described best by a competitive inhibition model, whereas 14 constituents were described best by a mixed-mode model. The latter model consists of two Ki terms, Kis and Kii, which ranged from 0.26-73 and 0.80-120 μM, respectively. Molecular modeling was used to glean mechanistic insight into AO inhibition. Docking studies indicated that the tested constituents bound within the AO active site and elucidated key enzyme-inhibitor interactions. Quantitative structure-activity relationship modeling identified three structural descriptors that correlated with inhibition potency (r(2) = 0.85), providing a framework for developing in silico models to predict the AO inhibitory activity of a xenobiotic based solely on chemical structure. Finally, a simple static model was used to assess potential clinically relevant AO-mediated dietary substance-drug interactions. Epicatechin gallate and epigallocatechin gallate, prominent constituents in green tea, were predicted to have moderate to high risk. Further characterization of this uncharted type of interaction is warranted, including dynamic modeling and, potentially, clinical evaluation.
The in vivo response of stem and other undifferentiated spermatogonia to the reversible inhibition of glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor signaling in the adult.

Maintaining adequate numbers of spermatogonial stem cells is required for the production of the millions of sperm required for male fertility. To date, however, the mechanisms that regulate the size of this pool in the adult are poorly defined. Glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) is required for establishing this pool in the prepubertal animal, but its in vivo function in the normal adult testis has never been examined directly. We used a chemical-genetic approach to address this issue. We generated mice carrying a single amino acid mutation (V805A) in Ret, the kinase subunit of the GDNF receptor. This mutation does not affect normal GDNF signaling but renders it susceptible to inhibition by the ATP competitive inhibitor, NA-PP1. When GDNF signaling was blocked in adults for 11 days, only a few cells remained that expressed the stem spermatogonial markers, Gfrα1 and Zbtb16, and testicular Ret mRNA content was reduced markedly. These decreases were associated with depletion of functional stem spermatogonia; some were lost when GDNF signaling was inhibited for only 2 days while others survived for up to 11 days. However, when signaling was restored, the remaining stem cells proliferated, initiating tissue restoration. In conclusion, these results provide the first direct proof that GDNF acutely regulates the number of spermatogonial stem cells in the normal adult testis. Additionally, these results demonstrate different sensitivities among subpopulation of these stem cells to inhibition of GDNF signaling. STEM CELLS2012; 30:732–740
Cross-Correlation Continuous Capillary Electrophoresis: Resolution, Processing Time, and Concentration Effects

An expression is derived that relates the signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio in continuous-mode electrophoresis to system parameters. In this process, the time-based cross-correlation function (TCCF) is computed from signals caused by individual analyte passage through two separate detectors. As a characteristic of the noise, the cross-variance of the TCCF is proposed, so that the S/N ratio is defined as the TCCF divided by the square root of the cross-variance. From the derived expressions, the important parameters for method optimization are identified. The dependence of the S/N ratio on system parameters varies with analyte size due to a contribution from the variance in the flight time, which is affected by particle diffusion. For all molecules, the S/N increases with the processing time and the rate at which particles pass through the detectors. The latter increases with particle concentration and migration velocity. Lower sample concentrations require a longer processing time to achieve a specified S/N rat...
Safe at any scale? Food scares, food regulation, and scaled alternatives

The 2006 outbreak of E. coli O157:H7, traced to bagged spinach from California, illustrates a number of contradictions. The solutions sought by many politicians and popular food analysts have been to create a centralized federal agency and a uniform set of production standards modeled after those of the animal industry. Such an approach would disproportionately harm smaller-scale producers, whose operations were not responsible for the epidemic, as well as reduce the agroecological diversity that is essential for maintaining healthy human beings and ecosystems. Why should responses that only reinforce the problem be proffered? We use the framework of accumulation and legitimation to suggest corporate and government motives for concealing underlying problems and reinforcing powerful ideologies of individualism, scientism, and centralizing authority. Food safety (or the illusion of safety) is being positioned to secure capital rather than public welfare. We propose implementing the principle of subsidiarity as a more democratic and decentralized alternative. Because full implementation of this principle will be resisted by powerful interests, some promising intermediate steps include peer production or mass collaboration as currently applied to disease prevention and surveillance, as well as studying nascent movements resisting current food safety regulations.
Optical studies of the regions of the gamma-ray bursts of 19 November, 1978 and 5 March, 1979

Optical studies were made of two well-located gamma-ray burst regions in the Southern Hemisphere using the 1.5 m telescope at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile. Multi-filter image tube plates and UBV photometry surveys were made of both regions. The field of the 19 November, 1978 gamma-ray burst shows no early star or star with unusual colors out to several diameters of the nominal error box. The region of the 5 March, 1979 gamma-ray burst, which includes N49, contains several blue giants in the LMC, two of which deserve further study.
Factors affecting performance on a shock escape task in rats with septal lesions.

Abstract Rats with septal lesions were compared to an operated control group on a shock escape task. It was found that little difference existed between the groups initially but the control group decreased the latency of responding over days, while the septal animals exhibited little change. As a result, the control group was significantly superior to septals in the later stages of testing. An analysis of incidental behavior indicated that the amount of time spent holding the bar paralleled performance on the escape task. The inferior performance of the septal group appeared to be secondary to a failure to remain at the bar during the intertrial interval. It is suggested that this behavior is consonant with a response disinhibition hypothesis of septal lesions, and that incidental behavior may be an important factor in other types of behavioral experiments.
Aggressive behavior associated with naturally elevated serum testosterone in mares

Abstract Naturally elevated serum testosterone levels do occur in mares and may be of adrenal or ovarian origin, due to lesions in these organs themselves or to a lesion in the hypothalamo—pituitary axes. These elevated levels work on sexually dimorphic areas of the body to result in certain masculine characteristics. Of the mares exhibiting these characteristics, some are normal with respect to androgen levels, some have tumors of either the adrenal cortex or the ovary, and the others may have impairments in enzymatic transformation which result in the elevated serum testosterone levels.
Third harmonic interference effects in the mpi spectrum of acetylene

Abstract We report a study of the 3 + 1 MPI spectrum of acetylene in the 74450–90100 cm 1 energy range. Many Rydberg and some valence states are observed, most of which are stable on the time scale of the experiment Only in a region with high density of valence states is there evidence for non-radiative decay. We also report non-linear optical processes in C 2 H 2 , particularly third-harmonic generation (THG). At pressures above a few Torr, THG effectively quenches the MPI signal for all states of the correct symmetry. This observation explains the absence of most Rydberg structure in a previous 3+1 MPI study of C 2 H 2 , and demonstrates the need to work at very low densities.
Assortative marriage for cognitive abilities.

One hundred and twenty-three spouse pairs gathered as part of a family study of the genetics of special abilities were examined on a battery of ability tests. Four principal components were interpreted after rotation: Spatial, Verbal, Perceptual Speed, and Memory. In addition, the first factor from a common factor analysis (unrotated) was taken as an estimate of g. Assortative marriage was measured by the spouse correlations on the test and factor scores. Three multiple regression models were designed to determine whether phenotypic convergence during marriage occurs and whether resemblance between spouses in cognitive ability is related to fertility. The following independent variables were partialed out in the models: (1) sex and age; (2) sex, age, and length of marriage; and (3) sex, age, and number of children. Model 1 (age and sex) accounted for part of the correlation between spouses on the spatial tests, the verbal tests and the spatial and general factors. The perceptual speed and memory tests and factors were largely unaffected by partialing out the independent variables. No evidence of phenotypic convergence over years of marriage or of a relationship between fertility and resemblance in abilities was found.
VECTOR AND AXIAL-VECTOR MESON DOMINANCE IN THE K/sub 3$pi$/ DECAYS.

A model for $K\ensuremath{\rightarrow}3\ensuremath{\pi}$ decays is proposed in which the amplitudes are assumed to be dominated by vector and axial-vector meson poles. $S$-wave and $P$-wave amplitudes are treated on the same footing in this scheme. The strong-coupling constants appearing in the model can be determined from strong decays. The $K\ensuremath{\rightarrow}3\ensuremath{\pi}$ slopes and average amplitude ratios are then determined in terms of one parameter characterizing the $\ensuremath{\Delta}I=\frac{1}{2}$ part of the weak Hamiltonian. Estimates are made of the effects of a $\ensuremath{\Delta}I=\frac{3}{2}$ contribution to the weak interaction.
Communication: An exact short-time solver for the time-dependent Schrödinger equation.

The short-time integrator for propagating the time-dependent Schrodinger equation, which is exact to machine's round off accuracy when the Hamiltonian of the system is time-independent, was applied to solve dynamics processes. This integrator has the old Cayley's form [i.e., the Pade (1,1) approximation], but is implemented in a spectrally transformed Hamiltonian which was first introduced by Chen and Guo. Two examples are presented for illustration, including calculations of the collision energy-dependent probability passing over a barrier, and interaction process between pulse laser and the I2 diatomic molecule.
The transport of energetic particles and cosmic rays in the heliosphere

Abstract We discuss recent observations of energetic particles and cosmic rays lending insight into how these particles are influenced by the interplanetary magnetic field and what can be learned about the field itself by using the energetic particles as probes. Two recent observations on which we focus attention are those by Ulysses at high heliographic latitudes and those by the Advanced Composition Explorer of impulsive solar flare events. The Ulysses observations of low-rigidity energetic particles at high latitudes associated with corotating interaction regions at lower latitudes are consistent with propagation in a stochastic field superimposed on a Parker spiral. These observations indicate that the particles undergo a significant cross-field diffusion. More-recent observation of energetic particles from impulsive solar flare events show structure on a fine scale which seems also to reflect the field-line meandering. Large small-scale gradients normal to the local magnetic field are shown to be completely consistent with significant cross-field diffusion on larger time scales.
Providing Context for Social Workers’ Response to Sexual Assault Victims:

The authors sought to give voice to women victims of sexual assault whose stories otherwise remain muted. The study reported here provided rare insights into victims who sought emergency services at a hospital following a sexual assault. The data (N = 745) were collected by sexual assault nurse examiners in one northeastern state between 1997 and 2007.
The self-reporting of cocaine use.

To the Editor. —Drs McNagny and Parker 1 present the results of their study of the validity of self-reports of recent cocaine use among predominantly African-American patients aged 18 to 34 years in an inner-city, hospital-based, walk-in clinic. 1 Their study reveals that the prevalence of cocaine use in this population is (1) quite high (39% had positive urinalysis for cocaine); (2) higher than self-reported use (only 45.6% with cocaine-positive urinalysis reported use in the past week); and (3) considerably higher than that reflected in the National Household Survey for African Americans in this age group (12%). Among other conclusions are (1) patient self-report of illicit drug use is highly inaccurate; (2) less specific questions result in more valid responses; and (3) policymakers seeking information from surveys of illicit drug use must realize that respondent self-report may provide severe underestimates of use. This conclusion reaches beyond the limitations of the
Life-History Aspects of Fundulus stellifer (Southern Studfish) (Actinopterygii: Fundulidae) in Northern Georgia

Abstract Fundulus stellifer (Southern Studfish) was studied using 12 monthly collections from Moore's Creek near Waleska, GA. Female specimens ranged from 24.72 mm to 94.29 mm SL and up to 15.90 g total weight. Male specimens ranged from 27.81 mm to 96.07 mm SL and up to 18.60 g total weight. Increases in size were greatest in spring and summer. Maximum age appears to be just over 2 years for both sexes, as the oldest specimens collected were estimated at 28 months of age. Spawning likely occurred between late April and early June. Sexual maturity was reached in the second full spawning season for both sexes, with females having a maximum ova diameter of 2.75 mm. The primary diet of F. stellifer consisted of Chironomidae, Branchiopoda, and unidentified insect parts, with other food items seasonally. The amount of food consumed is greatest in the months preceding and during spawning and lowest during fall and early winter.
IMMUNIZATION OF GUINEA PIGS AGAINST LYMPHOCYTIC CHORIOMENINGITIS WITH FORMOLIZED TISSUE VACCINES

Guinea pigs can be immunized against lymphocytic choriomeningitis by 2 or 3 injections with formolized vaccines prepared from a variety of infected guinea pig tissues. Vaccines prepared from the consolidated areas of diseased lungs gave the best results. The immunity produced was partial in the majority of the cases, in that the vaccinated animals as a rule showed fever after the test of immunity and virus was present in the circulation during the febrile period. Vaccines prepared from infected mouse tissue had no, or very little, immunizing power for guinea pigs, even when prior to formolization they contained at least as much virus as guinea pig tissue vaccines. This failure to immunize appears to be due to the interference by heterologous antigens, since the immunity induced by homologous vaccines was often inhibited when formolized normal mouse tissue suspensions treated in the same manner as the guinea pig tissue vaccines were added to the latter before inoculation. The inhibitory effect of the heterologous tissue was less marked when it was not mixed with the vaccine but injected simultaneously on the opposite side of the body. The immunizing power of homologous vaccines did not parallel their virus content prior to formolization. A high degree of immunity, characterized by protective antibodies in the serum, was produced in some guinea pigs by prolonged treatment with large doses of homologous vaccine, while sera of guinea pigs vaccinated in the ordinary manner contained no detectable neutralizing antibodies. It is possible, therefore, that the immunity produced by inactive virus differs only quantitatively from that induced by an infection.
Interferometric Determination of the Distance Dependence of the Phase Structure Function for Near-Ground Horizontal Propagation at 6328 Å

A triple-beam interferometer has been used to determine the transverse-distance dependence of the phase fluctuations for short, near-ground horizontal propagation paths on a meteorologically instrumented range for typical-day turbulence conditions. Experimental results are compared with the predictions of the 23-power law; it is found that the unmodified Obukhov–Kolmogorov theory does not describe the results correctly, and a considerably lower value for the exponent is observed.
Research Frontiers in Writing Analysis

This article describes recent advances in writing analysis. The principal theme is that text analysis of written products complements process-centered research and is needed for an integrated theory of writing. Recent paradigm shifts in writing, linguistics, and text analysis are discussed, followed by a brief review of selected empirical studies using two different approaches, sentence based and process centered. The implications of these approaches for the teaching of ESL writing are examined. The past decade has witnessed a major paradigm shift in composition theory and research: The emphasis has moved from the product to the process of writing. According to Hairston (1982), the product-centered, traditional paradigm stressed expository writing, made style the most important element in writing, and maintained that the writing process is linear, determined by writers before they start to write. The process-centered paradigm, on the other hand, focuses on writing processes; teaches strategies for invention and discovery; considers audience, purpose, and context of writing; emphasizes recursiveness in the writing process; and distinguishes between aims and modes of discourse (e.g., expressive, expository, persuasive; and description, narration, evaluation, classification). Within this paradigm, research on texts and text analysis is developing rapidly. Hairston (1982), for example, includes research in linguistics and cognitive sciences as part of the new paradigm for teaching writing and emphasizes that process theory is diverse, flexible, and still emerging. Others have articulated various synergic relationships between process and product research and have called for theories of writing integrating the two views. Phelps (1985), for example, argues for a unified theory in which the "overarching process" is the cooperative enterprise whereby writers and readers construct meanings
Characterization of Sputter Deposited Al-Nitride and Al-Oxide by X-Ray Photoelectron Loss Spectroscopy

Abstract : The results of an x-ray photoelectron loss spectroscopy (XPLS) study of several wide band gap aluminum compounds are presented here. XPLS is a new application of x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy involving the determination of the energy separation, Delta E, between a particular core photoelectron peak and its principal loss peak. The materials investigated here are sputter deposited thin film Al-nitride and oxide, and bulk single crystal alpha-alumina. It is not possible to distinguish between these materials on the basis of the chemical shift in the binding energy of the Al2p and Al2s photoelectrons (Siegbahn shift). The results show that XPLS can be used to distinguish between these materials. Delta E in Al-oxides and nitride differs by several eV and is independent of sample charging. Comparison with Delta E' calculated using a free electron gas model is made and related to the plasmon nature of Delta E.
Dynamic scaling: Distinguishing self-organized from generically critical systems.

The dynamic scaling approach separates nonequilibrium critical phenomena into two distinct categories: (a) those that are ``generically`` critical due to symmetry and (b) those that are self-organized critical. This phenomenological approach is demonstrated in the context of interface growth and depinning, where the surface width obeys the scaling form {ital W}({ital L},{ital s}{sub 0},{ital s}{sub 0}+{ital s}) =({ital s}/{ital L}{sup {ital d}}){sup {beta}}{ital F}({ital s}{sub 0}/{ital L}{sup {ital D}},{ital s}/{ital L}{sup D}). The quantity {ital L} is the linear system size, {ital s}{sub 0} is the total motion of the interface, and {ital s} is the amount of growth separating two configurations. In case (b) the function {ital F} has a nontrivial dependence on {ital s}{sub 0}/{ital L}{sup {ital D}} reflecting a diverging correlation length, while in case (a) it does not.
On spin and modularity in conformal field theory

Abstract We shall investigate chiral conformal field theories with 1-dimensional conformal anomalies with or without spin. We shall rigorously classify such anomalies and describe their modularity properties. Thereby, we give a detailed mathematical treatment of the simplest case of G. Segal's approach to conformal field theory.
Prediction and reality in Bosnia: Two years after Dayton

Geographers often rush into print with their assessments of and predictions for developing crises. The authors joined this trend with a 1996 assessment of ‘The Political Geography of the Dayton Accords’ which sought to provide analytical insights, constructive criticism, and policy recommendations. More than two years have passed, and the authors now seek to assess the accuracy of their predictions against the reality in Bosnia, and to speculate on the utility of such predictions in general. A review of the application of the three perspectives of boundary and frontier studies, peace geography, and the functional approach finds that in most cases the predictions were borne out, the policy recommendations were sound, and the criticisms valid. Based on the Bosnian case, it appears that the application of political geographic perspectives to emerging crises yields useful insights and policy prescriptions. Thus political geographers using other perspectives are urged to address current and emerging problems a...
Spacetime tangent bundle with torsion

It is demonstrated explicitly that the bundle connection of the Finslerspacetime tangent bundle can be made compatible with Cartan's theory of Finsler space by the inclusion of bundle torsion, and without the restriction that the gauge curvature field be vanishing. A component of the contorsion is made to cancel the contribution of the gauge curvature field to the relevant component of the bundle connection. Also, it is shown that the bundle manifold remains almost complex, and that the almost complex structure can be made to have a vanishing covariant derivative if additional conditions on the torsion are satisfied. However, the Finsler-spacetime tangent bundle remains complex only if the gauge curvature field vanishes.
Mutational Analysis of the Stator Subunit E of the Yeast V-ATPase *

Subunit E is a component of the peripheral stalk(s) that couples membrane and peripheral subunits of the V-ATPase complex. In order to elucidate the function of subunit E, site-directed mutations were performed at the amino terminus and carboxyl terminus. Except for S78A and D233A/T202A, which exhibited V1Vo assembly defects, the function of subunit E was resistant to mutations. Most mutations complemented the growth phenotype of vma4Δ mutants, including T6A and D233A, which only had 25% of the wild-type ATPase activity. Residues Ser-78 and Thr-202 were essential for V1Vo assembly and function. The mutation S78A destabilized subunit E and prevented assembly of V1 subunits at the membranes. Mutant T202A membranes exhibited 2-fold increased Vmax and about 2-fold less of V1Vo assembly; the mutation increased the specific activity of V1Vo by enhancing the kcat of the enzyme 4-fold. Reduced levels of V1Vo and Vo complexes at T202A membranes suggest that the balance between V1Vo and Vo was not perturbed; instead, cells adjusted the amount of assembled V-ATPase complexes in order to compensate for the enhanced activity. These results indicated communication between subunit E and the catalytic sites at the A3B3 hexamer and suggest potential regulatory roles for the carboxyl end of subunit E. At the carboxyl end, alanine substitution of Asp-233 significantly reduced ATP hydrolysis, although the truncation 229-233Δ and the point mutation K230A did not affect assembly and activity. The implication of these results for the topology and functions of subunit E within the V-ATPase complex are discussed.