cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effect of ethanol feeding upon levels of a male-specific hepatic estrogen-binding protein: a possible mechanism for feminization.

Male, but not female, rat liver cytosol contains an estrogen-binding protein with unique properties: rapid binding of estradiol, high binding capacity, moderate affinity for estradiol, and specificity for steroidal estrogens and weak androgens, but not for nonsteroidal estrogens or other steroids. The estradiol-binding activity of this protein is reduced in cytosol from livers of alcohol-fed rats as compared to that from their isoca-lorically fed controls. The properties of this male-specific hepatic estrogen-binding protein suggest a role for this protein in the regulation of estrogen levels in the male animal. Moreover, the reduction in activity of this unique protein in the liver of alcohol-fed animals may explain, at least in part, the feminization commonly seen in chronic alcoholic men.
Cellular Reprogramming: Chromatin Puts On the Brake

Directed reprogramming of differentiated cells allows the generation of specific cell types for therapeutics and can provide unexpected insights into development. A recent study demonstrates that efficient reprogramming of Caenorhabditis elegans germ cells into neurons can be achieved by knocking down a histone chaperone gene and ectopic expression of a terminal selector transcription factor.
A Bayesian/Geometric Framework For Reconstructing 3-D Shapes In Robot Vision

We introduce a new Bayesian/Geometric method for estimating orientation and depth from shade and/or texture. The method is based on a prior distribution on the space of all posible (random) surfaces, and a variant of the annealing algorithm for constraint global optimization problems. The method is also useful for partially classifying image contours.
Treatment of Severe Pediatric Ethylene Glycol Intoxication Without Hemodialysis

Background: There is limited experience treating severe ethylene glycol poisoning in children without hemodialysis. The objective of this study was to describe the clinical course and outcome of severe pediatric ethylene glycol poisoning treated without hemodialysis. Methods: Patient records were identified retrospectively by hospital discharge diagnosis (ICD‐9 code) of ethylene glycol poisoning from 1999 through 2002 at a pediatric medial center. Patients with initial serum ethylene glycol concentrations less than 50 mg/dL or those who received hemodialysis were excluded. Results: Six patients with an age range of 22 months to 14 years were admitted for treatment of ethylene glycol poisoning over a four‐year period. Initial serum ethylene glycol concentrations ranged from 62 to 304 mg/dL (mean 174.0 mg/dL). The lowest‐measured individual serum bicarbonates ranged from 4 to 17 mEq/L. All patients were initially admitted to intensive care. One patient received ethanol only, two patients received fomepizole...
Changes in kinetic characteristics of sheep liver microsomes following induction and dietary stress

Abstract The effects of dietary stress and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) on the kinetic characteristics of ovine liver microsomal oxidases were studied. Curvilinear Lineweaver-Burke kinetic plots were obtained for the O -deethylation of p -nitrophenetole. Increasing linearity of the plots resulted from microsomal induction due to both dietary stress and PCB exposure. This suggests two enzyme systems with different magnitudes of induction catalyzing the same reaction.
Imagining the Beloved: Gender and Nation Building in Early Twentieth-Century Hebrew Literature

This article traces the gender dimensions of Zionist nation building by examining literary texts written in the first three decades of the twentieth century. It offers a gender-oriented analysis of a range of canonic and marginal literary texts and their historical contexts, and pays special attention to the ways in which literary production in general, and in Hebrew in particular, became an essential component in the effort to create an image of a ‘New Hebrew Man’. This highly gendered image was a central foundation of the Zionist project of nation building in Europe, and in the Jewish community in Palestine. Hebrew poems, stories and novels produced and sustained the symbolic economy of gender of the Zionist cultural project. At the same time, I argue that some Hebrew writers resisted the overt and implicit ideological demands of this project by calling attention to the internal contradictions inherent in the feminine figuration of the nation and the attempts to transform Jewish masculinity.
A comparison of Web and print media for physical activity promotion among adolescent girls.

Abstract Purpose To compare the effectiveness of a Web-based physical activity (PA) intervention with identical content delivered in a printed workbook among a sample of adolescent girls. Methods Participants consisted of 319 girls with home Internet access enrolled in four middle schools within one school district. A randomized trial design was used to compare changes in PA self-efficacy and intentions after two weeks of exposure to either a Web- or print-based intervention delivered to their home. Self-reported physical activity was assessed as a secondary outcome. Analysis of covariance was conducted to determine changes between the intervention groups while controlling for baseline levels of PA constructs. Results Both Web and print groups had significant changes in physical activity self-efficacy (Web: t [155] = 2.58, p = .01; print: t [156] = 3.11, p = .002) and intentions (Web: t [157] = 2.27, p = .02; print: t [159] = 6.32, p ≤ .001). The print group demonstrated significantly greater increases in intentions compared with the Web group ( F [1,315] = 13.53, p ≤ .001). Self-reported physical activity increased significantly in the print group only ( t [159] = 3.21, p = .002). Conclusions It cannot be assumed that new media technologies are superior to traditional media such as print for health communication to adolescents. These results suggest that a printed workbook was more effective than an identical website for increasing physical activity intentions and behavior among a sample of middle school girls.
Choroidal Blood Flow: III. Reflexive Control in Human Eyes

Choroidal blood flow helps maintain a stable temperature environment for the outer retinal layers, especially in the macular area. Recent studies in monkeys have demonstrated a centrally mediated reflexive mechanism that increases choroidal blood flow in response to light or light-generated heat. This increase in choroidal blood flow can be detected as an elevation in ocular surface temperature. With the use of ocular surface temperature as a semiquantitative index of alterations in choroidal blood flow, the existence of a similar reflex was demonstrated in normal human volunteers.
Whitman in China

Briefly examines the impact of Whitman in China and predicts that Whitman's reputation and influence in China will increase.
EXAFS of sputter-deposited MoS2 films

Abstract The composition and structure of sputter-deposited MoS2 solid lubricant films are difficult to analyze by diffraction techniques because the films typically exhibit poor crystallinity. The extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) technique is ideal for analyzing these properties because it probes short-range (local) order parameters such as interatomic bond lengths. EXAFS data for the Mo K X-ray absorption edge were analyzed, including least-squares fitting, to investigate films produced under a number of conditions, as well as those produced with varied amounts of oxygen incorporated in the films. The results were compared with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction data of the same films. Analysis showed that the films, which contained 9–40 at.% oxygen, consisted predominantly of a MoS2-xOx phase, with x continuously variable. The MoS2−xOx phase exhibited a MoS2-like structure, where oxygen atoms had substituted for sulfur atoms in the MoS2 crystal lattice. In addition, smaller quantities of pure MoS2 (10–;25 times lower) were detected in the films. Increasing oxygen content correlated with increasing values of x in the MoS2−xOx phase, as well as with decreasing relative amounts of the pure MoS2 phase. The presence of the MoS2−xOx phase may explain the decrease in friction with increasing oxygen content that has been observed for MoS2 films. In addition, the poor order (high defect level) in this phase may explain the density enhancement caused by crystallite size reduction; higher densities can be correlated with beneficial wear behavior of the films.
Interhemispheric rivalry during simultaneous bilateral task presentation in commissurotomized patients.

Summary Six commissurotomized patients were tested and the performances of their left and right hemisphere on a dot counting task were compared during unilateral and bilateral input to study aspects of interhemispheric interference. From 1 to 5 dots were flashed, either in the left or the right visual field alone, or in each of the two fields simultaneously, and the patients were asked to indicate the number of dots seen in each field by extending the same number of fingers with the ipsilateral hand. Comparison trials were also presented where the number of dots were replaced by a corresponding numeral to eliminate counting. Comparable incidences of responses extinction to the dots and to the numerals were frequently observed during bilateral input. Their occurrence bore no clear relationship to the performance levels during unilateral input. Rather, the predominant side of extinction varied among the patients and seems to be related to the presence of some contralateral brain damage. Despite frequent response extinctions, no concurrent increase in counting errors was observed during bilateral input, indicating that interhemispheric interference in the present case is not equally present in all stages of the input-output chain, but takes the form of an all-or-none rivalry in some gating mechanism. Ancillary findings support different modes of information processing by the two hemispheres, and a possible presence of weak ipsilateral projection of visual information.
Command governor-based model reference control

In this paper we develop a new model reference control architecture for uncertain dynamical systems that can effectively suppress the system uncertainties and achieve a guaranteed system performance. The proposed approach neither resorts to nonlinear adaptive control laws nor relies on excessive modeling information as often done in traditional robust control frameworks. It only requires a parameterization of the system uncertainty given by unknown weights with known conservative bounds in order to stabilize the uncertain dynamical system. The proposed methodology is based on a recently developed command governor theory that minimizes the effect of system uncertainty and shapes the system's input through feedback in order to improve overall system performance. Specifically, we show the controlled uncertain dynamical system approximates a given ideal reference system by properly choosing the design parameter of the command governor. Unlike model reference adaptive control approaches, the proposed model reference controller preserves linearity of the controlled uncertain dynamical system since its control laws are linear, and hence, the closed-loop performance is predictable for different command spectrums. A numerical example is provided to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed architecture.
Performance Limitations Of The Microchannel Spatial Light Modulator

The Microchannel Spatial Light Modulator (MSLM) is a versatile, highly-sensitive and optically-addressed modulator that is well suited for low-light-level, real time, optical information processing. It consists of a photocathode, a microchannel plate, a planar acceleration grid, and an electro-optic plate in proximity focus. The image processing operations that can be achieved with the MSLM include contrast reversal, contrast enhancement, edge enhancement, image addition and subtraction, analog and digital intensity level thresholding, and binary-level logic operations such as AND, OR, EXCLUSIVE OR and NOR. Recent prototype MSLMs have exhibited a half-wave exposure sensitivity of 2.2nJ/cm2, an optical information storage time of more than two months, and a framing rate of 20 Hz with full modulation depth (100 Hz with 20% modulation depth). The materials and device parameters that limit the ultimate performance of the modulator are discussed.© (1981) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Association of lipid A disaccharide synthase with aerobic glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase in extracts of Escherichia coli

Abstract Variants of the Escherichia coli UDP-G1cNAc O-acyltransferase (LpxA) and of the lipid A disaccharide synthase (LpxB) containing affinity chromatography tags (C-terminal histidine8 [H8] tails) were constructed in order to investigate whether or not these enzymes interact with other E. coli proteins. These variants (LpxA-H8 and LpxB-H8) had specific activities in vitro that were similar to wild-type enzymes. Crude extracts made from E. coli cells expressing LpxA-H8 or LpxB-H8, were chromatographed over Ni2+-NTA-Agarose, and proteins purifying with the tagged proteins were identified by SDS-PAGE, followed by blotting and N-terminal microsequencing. At high levels of LpxB-H8, expression, two heat-shock proteins (DnaK and GroEL) were associated with the disaccharide synthase, but not with the acyltransferase. Another major protein recovered with LpxB-H8 (both at low and high levels of expression) was the aerobic glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GlpD). The latter interaction was specific, since GlpD did not bind the affinity resin when the affinity tag was present on the UDP-GlcNAc O-acyltransferase (LpxA-H8). Velocity centrifugation experiments indicated that both wild-type LpxB and GlpD sedimented together under some conditions, but these aggregates were smaller than and distinct from inner membranes. Our findings suggest a possible new mechanism by which the biosynthetic pathways for lipid A and glycerophospholipids may be coordinated.
Shot Noise Models for Outage and Throughput Analyses in Wireless Ad Hoc Networks

Shot noise processes with a decaying power law impulse response function are ideally suited for modeling the network self-interference in an ad hoc network where the nodes are distributed in a plane according to a Poisson point process. A stochastic impulse response function can be used to model different random parameters like channel fluctuation, variable transmission power of the nodes etc. However, for a decaying power law, all the moments of the interference diverge. In this paper, we extend the 2D shot noise model to represent a modified power law that is not only more realistic but also allows for finite moments for the interference. For this model, we present performance curves for the AWGN channel with and without variable transmission power at the nodes as well as for the fading channel. Then, we impose a guard zone around each receiver node in the network, modify the shot noise model to this channel access scheme and demonstrate the improvement in per-node throughput that a guard zone is capable of providing.
Effectiveness of Probiotics in the Treatment of Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Recently, the use of tegaserod and alosetron -- drugs approved for the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) -- has been restricted because of adverse events. This has resulted in a need for additional modalities for the treatment of IBS. Our objective was to determine the effectiveness of probiotics in the global relief of symptoms associated with IBS and in the improvement of flatulence, abdominal pain, transit time, and bacterial counts. Using the MEDLINE database from 1966-October 2007 and manually searching article references for relevant articles and abstracts, we identified 14 blinded, placebo-controlled clinical trials of the effectiveness of probiotics in the treatment of IBS. Of 11 studies in which overall symptom relief was assessed, seven indicated a significant improvement with probiotics versus placebo. Five of eight investigations of abdominal pain and distention revealed a benefit with probiotic use. Four studies demonstrated an improvement in symptomatic flatulence in probiotic treatment groups, whereas one study showed no significant benefit. Four of five studies of the effects of probiotics on colonic transit time revealed a benefit compared with placebo. As probiotics have shown benefit and possess a favorable adverse-effect profile, their use may represent an option for symptom relief in patients with IBS. However, additional data are necessary before probiotics can become a standard of care in the treatment of IBS, a complex and chronic condition.
The Primary Structures of Rat Ribosomal Proteins L4 and L41

The amino acid sequences of the rat 60S ribosomal subunit proteins L4 and L41 were deduced from the sequences of nucleotides in recombinant cDNAs. Ribosomal protein L4 has 421 amino acids; the molecular weight is 47,280. L41 is the smallest ribosomal protein; it has 25 amino acids and a molecular weight of 3,454. Hybridization of the cDNAs to digests of nuclear DNA suggests that there are 7 to 8 copies of the L4, and 9 to 12 of the L41, genes. The mRNA for L4 is about 1,500 nucleotides in length and that for L41 about 500 nucleotides. The 5' noncoding sequence of the L4 cDNA is exceptional in that it has, in addition to a short polypyrimidine sequence at the 5' end, a second stretch of 15 consecutive pyrimidines near the site of initiation of translation. The 3' noncoding sequence of the L41 mRNA is unusual in that it is at least 246 nucleotides long. Rat L4 and L41 are related to ribosomal proteins from other eukaryotes.
Lifting: Black Feminist Leadership in the Fight Against HIV/AIDS

This phenomenological study captured the unique perspectives and insight of how 10 black women experience and define leadership in their HIV/AIDS community work. Black feminist epistemology provide...
Species detection vs. habitat suitability: Are we biasing habitat suitability models with remotely sensed data?

a b s t r a c t Remotely sensed datasets are increasingly being used to model habitat suitability for a variety of taxa. We review habitat suitability models (HSMs) developed for both plants and animals that include remote sensing predictor variables to determine how these variables could affect model projections. For models focused on plant species habitat, we find several instances of unintentional bias in HSMs of vegetation due to the inclusion of remote sensing variables. Notably, studies that include continuous remote sensing variables could be inadvertently mapping actual species distribution instead of potential habitat due to unique spectral or temporal characteristics of the target species. Additionally, HSMs including categorical classifications are rarely explicit about assumptions of habitat suitability related to land cover, which could lead to unintended exclusion of potential habitat due to current land use. Although we support the broader application of remote sensing in general, we caution developers of HSMs to be aware of introduced model bias. These biases are more likely to arise when remote sensing variables are added to models simply because they improve accuracy, rather than considering how they affect the model results and interpretation. When including land cover classifications as predictors, we recommend that modellers provide more explicit descriptions of how habitat is defined (e.g., is deforested land considered suitable for trees?). Further, we suggest that continuous remote sensing variables should only be included in habitat models if authors can demonstrate that their inclusion characterizes potential habitat rather than actual species distribution. Use of the term 'habitat suitability model' rather than 'species distribution model' could reduce confusion about modelling goals and improve communication between the remote sensing and ecological modelling communities.
Multi-decadal thermohaline variability in an ocean–atmosphere general circulation model

A century scale integration of a near-global atmosphere–ocean model is used to study the multi-decadal variability of the thermohaline circulation (THC) in the Atlantic. The differences between the coupled and two supplementary ocean-only experiments suggest that a significant component of this variability is controlled by either a collective behavior of the ocean and the atmosphere, particularly in the form of air-sea heat exchange, or sub-monthly random noise present in the coupled system. Possible physical mechanisms giving rise to the mode of this THC variability are discussed. The SST anomaly associated with the THC variability resembles an interdecadal SST pattern extracted from observational data, as well as a pattern associated with the 50–60 year THC variability in the GFDL coupled model. In each case, a warming throughout the subpolar North Atlantic but concentrated along the Gulf Stream and its extension is indicated when the THC is strong. Concomitantly, surface air temperature has positive anomalies over the warmer ocean, with the strongest signal located downwind of the warmest SST anomalies and intruding into the western Eurasian Continent. In addition to the thermal response, there are also changes in the atmospheric flow pattern. More specifically, an anomalous northerly wind develops over the Labrador Sea when the THC is stronger than normal, suggesting a local primacy of the atmospheric forcing in the thermohaline perturbation structure.
Complex Valued Spectral Hermite Approximations for the Actively Mode-Locked Laser

We construct a numerical approximation of the governing equations of an actively mode-locked laser. The governing equation is complex valued and a novel scaling is employed that is designed to simplify the associated line integral in the complex plane. The resulting approximation is based on a set of shifted Hermite polynomials on an infinite line. Numerical comparisons are given with a finite difference scheme on a mapped domain as well as a finite element method on a truncated domain.
Two Corticotectal Areas Facilitate Multisensory Orientation Behavior

It had previously been shown that influences from two cortical areas, the anterior ectosylvian sulcus (AES) and the rostral lateral suprasylvian sulcus (rLS), play critical roles in rendering superior colliculus (SC) neurons capable of synthesizing their cross-modal inputs. The present studies examined the consequences of selectively eliminating these cortical influences on SC-mediated orientation responses to cross-modal stimuli. Cats were trained to orient to a low-intensity modality-specific cue (visual) in the presence or absence of a neutral cue from another modality (auditory). The visual target could appear at various locations within 45° of the midline, and the stimulus effectiveness was varied to yield an average of correct orientation responses of approximately 45%. Response enhancement and depression were observed when the auditory cue was coupled with the target stimulus: A substantially enhanced probability in correct responses was evident when the cross-modal stimuli were spatially coincident, and a substantially decreased response probability was obtained when the stimuli were spatially disparate. Cryogenic blockade of either AES or rLS disrupted these behavioral effects, thereby eliminating the enhanced performance in response to spatially coincident cross-modal cues and degrading the depressed performance in response to spatially disparate cross-modal cues. These disruptive effects on targets contralateral to the deactivated cortex were restricted to multisensory interactive processes. Orientation to modality-specific targets was unchanged. Furthermore, the pattern of orientation errors was unaffected by cortical deactivation. These data bear striking similarities to the effects of AES and rLS deactivation on multisensory integration at the level of individual SC neurons. Presumably, eliminating the critical influences from AES or rLS cortex disrupts SC multisensory synthesis that, in turn, disables SC-mediated multisensory orientation behaviors.
Participation in alcoholics anonymous and post-treatment abstinence from alcohol and other drugs

Abstract Background This study examined associations between two types of AA participation (i.e., meeting attendance, having a sponsor) and two types of post-treatment abstinence (i.e., abstinence from alcohol, abstinence from drugs). Method Respondents completed measures that assessed their demographic characteristics, the severity of their substance use, and their motivation to change when they enrolled in treatment (T1). They completed measures of AA participation at T1 and a 3 month follow-up assessment (T2), and measures of recent abstinence at T1 and a 6 month follow-up assessment (T3). Results T2 sponsor was associated prospectively with T3 abstinence from alcohol. Conclusions Having a sponsor served as a marker for subsequent abstinence. Future research can examine factors that may mediate or moderate the associations between having a sponsor and subsequent abstinence.
International technical education: a comparative study of five countries

The criteria used in the US by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) for evaluating engineering programs are summarized. As an example, one university's electrical engineering curriculum is presented to illustrate how it meets the ABET criteria. The illustration also provides detailed aspects of the ABET requirements. Other countries' educational philosophies (Japan, Federal Republic of Germany, Turkey, and India) are discussed with regard to basic education, employment for graduates, funding, the role of the professor, and curriculum. >
Clonal variation in the Spodoptera frugiperda IPLB-SF21-AE insect cell population

Clones have been isolated from the heterogeneous Spodoptera frugiperda IPLB-SF21-AE insect cell population. Five of these clones, in addition to the parent cell line and the SF9 cell line (another clonal isolate of the parent cell line), have been compared in regards to morphology, growth, budded virus synthesis, and recombinant protein synthesis. No significant differences in cell morphology were found among these cell lines. There was, however, a significant difference in the average cell size, with diameters ranging from 9.30 ± 0.184 to 11.11 ± 0.22 μm and from 9.17 ± 0.05 to 11.25 ± 0.24 μm for cells growing in Excell 401 serum-free medium in spinner flask cultures and in TNM-FH medium supplemented with 10% FBS in tissue flask cultures, respectively. While no significant differences in the growth rates were found in TNM-FH medium containing 10% calf serum, significant differences were found in Excell 401 serum-free medium, with population doubling times ranging from 38.5 ± 6.6 to 64.5 ± 6.4 h in spinner flask studies. Significant differences in expression levels of Escherichia coli β-galactosidase (β-gal) were also found in both 12-well plates and spinner flasks. In the 12-well plate studies, the peak levels of β-galactosidase obtained by these cell lines ranged from 0.332 ± 0.091 to 0.805 ± 0.117 mg/106 cells and from 0.580 ± 0.130 to 1.458 ± 0.132 mg/106 cells in Excell 401 and Hyclone Hy-Q serum-free media, respectively. In the spinner flask studies, peak expression levels ranged from 0.128 ± 0.053 to 0.573 ± 0.215 mg/106 cells in Excell 401 serum-free medium. Significant differences were also found in the expression levels of budded virus, which ranged from 64 ± 29 to 1125 ± 521 plaque-forming units (pfu)/cell and from 67 ± 31 to 233 ± 95 pfu/cell for the wildtype and recombinant (β-gal) Autographa californica nuclear polyhedrosis viruses, respectively.
A FRESH LOOK AT NECROTIZING ENTEROCOLITIS

Prematurity, asphyxia, infection, and feeding--singly or in combination--have been cited as etiologies of necrotizing enterocolitis. To further define the relative importance of each factor, the clinical courses of 55 patients seen between 1954 and 1973 were reviewed. In most cases the diagnosis of NEC was confirmed at operation or postmortem examination. Other patients included had radiographic evidence of intramural air in addition to other symptoms consistent with the diagnosis. Only 8 of the 55 patients had a gestational age greater than 38 weeks. Three of these had severe cyanotic CHD; others developed NEC at an older age (14-42 days) after a prolonged period of diarrhea. Antenatal complications were documented in 60% of the group; 26% had low Apgar scores and/or asphyxia. Forty infants had symptoms or signs of sepsis. Blood cultures were positive in 36 patients; in 97% of these, the isolated organism was a gram negative baccilus. Thrombo-cytopenia and/or abnormal clotting profiles were present in 72% of the patients. Abdominal x-rays were normal in only 4% of the patients; intramural pneumatosis was seen in 47%, free air in 23%, and non-specific abnormalities in the remainder. Every patient with intramural pneumatosis or free air, radio-graphically or on direct examination, had been fed. These findings suggest that all the cited factors play a role in development of NEC.
EPIDERMAL GROWTH FACTOR STIMULATES CONTRACTION AND ATTENUATES COLD-INDUCED CONTRACTION IN NEWBORN LAMB MIDDLE CEREBRAL ARTERY (MCA): ROLE FOR PROTEIN TYROSINE KINASE. • 466

EPIDERMAL GROWTH FACTOR STIMULATES CONTRACTION AND ATTENUATES COLD-INDUCED CONTRACTION IN NEWBORN LAMB MIDDLE CEREBRAL ARTERY (MCA): ROLE FOR PROTEIN TYROSINE KINASE. • 466
Blood component and immunotherapy in neonatal sepsis

The future role of IVIG remains unclear. Many, but not all, studies indicate efficacy in the prevention of late-onset disease in premature infants. The role of type-specific IVIG is evolving and may hold promise for both prevention and treatment of neonatal sepsis. Granulocyte transfusions, as adjuvant therapy in neonatal sepsis, seem to be beneficial. However, the difficulty and expense of collection, as well as the advent of colony-stimulating factors, have shifted the focus away from their routine use. Colony-stimulating factors present varied and exciting potential uses, including modulating neonatal hematopoiesis. Current studies are primarily aimed at understanding their effects on neonatal hematopoiesis. Future studies will need to expand on this knowledge and examine what effects they have on treating or preventing neonatal sepsis.
Experimental and theoretical analysis on the procedure for estimating geo-stresses by the Kaiser effect

Acoustic emission tests of the core specimens retrieved from boreholes at the depth over 1000 m in Hongtoushan Copper Mine were carried out under uniaxial compressive loading, and the numerical test was also done by using the rock failure process analysis (RFPA2D) code, based on the procedure for estimating geo-stresses by the Kaiser effect under uniaxial compression. According to the statistical damage mechanics theory, the Kaiser effect mechanism was analyzed. Based on these analyses, it is indicted that the traditional method of estimating geo-stresses by the Kaiser effect is not appropriate, and the result is usually smaller than the real one. Furthermore, the greater confining compression in the rock mass may result in a larger difference between the Kaiser effect stresses acquired from uniaxial loading in laboratory and the real in-situ stresses.
Optimal tax depreciation

Abstract Currently, solutions to the choice of depreciation methods for tax purposes are obtained through numerical simulation. This paper presents a simple capital budgeting technique which, in conjunction with Descartes' rule of signs, analytically derives the optimal regular depreciation method under the existing U.S. tax code. This technique is then used to determine the optimal depreciable life for short-lived assets and, finally, the analysis is extented to cover the choice of depreciation methods under the Class Life Asset Depreciation Range System.
Microbial competition: effect of Pseudomonas fluorescens on the growth of Listeria monocytogenes

Abstract Listeria monocytogenes Scott A was cultured alone and in coculture with Pseudomonas fluorescens ATCC 33231 to characterize quantitatively the effects of microbial competition on the growth of this psychrotrophic pathogen. The bacteria were cultured in brain–heart infusion broth (BHI), using a 3×3×3×2 complete factorial design to assess the impact of temperature (4, 12, 19°C), initial pH (5·0, 6·0, 7·0), and sodium chloride content (5, 25, 45 gl −1 ) on the interaction between the two micro-organisms. Samples were periodically plated on BHI agar and Vogel Johnson agar to obtain total counts and L. monocytogenes counts, respectively. Growth curves were generated by fitting the data to the Gompertz equation, and the derived growth kinetics were compared. When P. fluorescens did influence the growth of L. monocytogenes , the primary effect was a suppression of the maximum population density (MPD) reached by the pathogen. Suppression of L. monocytogenes was generally associated with low incubation temperatures (4°C) and sodium chloride levels (5 and 25 gl −1 ). Slight increases ( −1 ) in the MPD attained by L. monocytogenes were observed when grown in the presence of P. fluorescens at higher temperatures (12 and 19°C) and sodium chloride levels (25 and 45 gl −1 ) when the pH was 5·0. The current study supports earlier work that indicates that reliance on microbial competition as a barrier to control L. monocytogenes in refrigerated foods will require detailed knowledge of how the interaction between the pathogen and the microflora is affected by environmental and food characteristics such as storage temperature, pH, and water activity.
Duality in quasi-Newton methods and new variational characterizations of the DFP and BFGS updates

It is known that quasi-Newton updates can be characterized by variational means, sometimes in more than one way. This paper has two main goals. We first formulate variational problems appearing in quasi-Newton methods within the vector space of symmetric matrices. This simplifies both their formulations and subsequent solutions. This part of the paper may be viewed as an efficient, modern survey of the variational problems occurring in quasi-Newton methods. We then construct, for the first time, duals of the variational problems for the DFP and BFGS updates and discover the remarkable fact that the solution to a dual problem is either the same as the corresponding primal solution or the solutions are inverses of each other. Consequently, we obtain six new variational characterizations for the DFP and BFGS updates, three for each one. Finally, we extend some of our results to an infinite dimensional setting.
Clinical guide for audiologic tinnitus management I: Assessment

Purpose: This article is the first of 2 that present basic guidelines for audiologists to provide clinical management of tinnitus. The method, termed audiologic tinnitus management (ATM), was devel...
The scheduling and organization of periodic associative computation: Efficient networks

This paper characterizes the efficient decentralized networks for calculating the associative aggregate of cohorts of data of a fixed size that arrive periodically. Radner (1993) proposed this problem of periodic parallel associative computation as a model of the ongoing information processing and communication by the administrative staff of a large organization. For a simpler model in which the organization processes a single cohort of data – which is equivalent to the periodic model when the agents are paid only when busy – he found that the efficient networks are hierarchical but quite irregular, even though the computation problem and technology are each symmetric. In the periodic model in which managers are paid even when idle, it becomes important to minimize idle time when scheduling managers to processing tasks. Such scheduling appears more difficult when each problem is processed by an irregular hierarchy, which suggest that hierarchies might be more regular in the periodic model. However, we show that in a class of efficient networks for periodic computation that spans the efficiency frontier, the processing of each cohort is similar to the efficient processing of a single cohort, and the overall organizational structure is not even hierarchical.
Risk of Intracranial Arteriovenous Malformation Rupture Due to Venous Drainage Impairment A Theoretical Analysis

Background and Purpose Increased resistance in the venous drainage of intracranial arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) may contribute to their increased risk of hemorrhage. Venous drainage impairment may result from naturally occurring stenoses/occlusions, or if draining veins (DVs) undergo occlusion before feeding arteries during surgical removal, or after surgery in the presence of “occlusive hyperemia.” We employed a detailed biomathematical AVM model using electrical network analysis to investigate theoretically the hemodynamic consequences and the risk of AVM rupture due to venous drainage impairment. Methods The AVM model consisted of a noncompartmentalized nidus with 28 vessels (24 plexiform components and 4 fistulous components), 4 arterial feeders, and 2 DVs. An expression for the risk of AVM nidus rupture was derived on the basis of functional distribution of the critical radii of component vessels. Risk was calculated from biomathematical simulations of volumetric flow rate with both DVs patent ...
PROSODY, SYNTAX AND PRAGMATICS OF WH-QUESTIONS IN JAPANESE

It is well-known that the acceptability judgments reported on Subjacency and some related effects in Japanese are fuzzy, unstable and variable. I will attempt to demonstrate that we can bring back order to the chaos in this research area if we, first, pursue a syntactic analysis designed to simultaneously capture prosodic and semantic aspects of Wh-questions in Japanese, and second, appeal to extra-grammatical aspects such as pragmatics and processing to account for certain performance biases that hinder the straightforward reflection of grammar in language users' acceptability judgments on Subjacency examples. It is concluded that even the study of formal aspects of grammar must be conducted with much more careful attention to a larger context of language than is generally exercised.
Welding of austenitic stainless steel using double sided arc welding process

This study explores an improved method of welding austenitic stainless steel. The method uses two series connected arcs to weld the workpiece simultaneously from opposite sides. Owing to this arc configuration, the welding current is forced to flow from one arc to the other through the workpiece. It is known that such current flow concentrates the arcs and thus improves the penetration capability. Also, the current flowing through the workpiece generates fluid flow within the weld pool. In addition, owing to the use of the two opposite arcs, the heating tends to be symmetric. In addition to the increased penetration, the use of this method for welding austenitic stainless steel results in improved microstructure in the resultant welds because of an increased columnar to equiaxed transition and a decreased angular distortion, which sometimes induces solidification cracking.
Analysis and Prediction of Edge Effects in Laser Bending

Laser forming of sheet metal offers the advantages of requiring no hard tooling and thus reduced cost and increased flexibility. It also enables forming of some materials and shapes that are not possible now. In single-axis laser bending of plates, the bending edge is found to be somewhat curved and the bending angle varies along the laser-scanning path. These phenomena are termed edge effects, which adversely affect the accuracy of the bending and result in undue residual stress. Numerical investigations are carried out to study the process transiency and the mechanism of the edge effects. Temperature dependency of material properties and strain-rate dependency of flow stress are considered in the numerical simulation to improve prediction accuracy. Numerical results are validated in experiments. Patterns of edge effects and resultant residual stress distributions are examined under a wide range of conditions. A more complete explanation for the mechanism of the edge effects is given.
Improved performance of pyrosequencing using single-stranded DNA-binding protein.

In modern biology, there is a critical need to develop a high-throughput and inexpensive platform for DNA sequencing. Pyrosequencing is a nonelectrophoretic single-tube DNA sequencing method that takes advantage of cooperativity between four enzymes to monitor DNA synthesis. In these studies, single-stranded DNA-binding protein (SSB) was added to the primed DNA template prior to the Pyrosequencing reaction. The addition of SSB to a Pyrosequencing reaction system resulted in a read length of more than 30 nucleotides. Improvements were observed as: (i) increased efficiency of the enzymes, (ii) reduced mispriming, as measured by nonspecific signals, (iii) an increase in signal intensity during the reaction, (iv) higher accuracy in reading the number of identical adjacent nucleotides in difficult templates, and (v) longer reads. The usefulness of these results for future Pyrosequencing applications is discussed.
Spinal Cord Ischemic Injury: Development of a New Model in the Rat

Background and Purpose Spinal cord ischemic injury (SCII) with resulting paralysis is a major cause of morbidity after operations on the thoracic aorta. Since the vascular supply to the spinal cord is similar in rats and humans, the rat appears important for studies of mechanisms of injury and development of therapeutic strategies to avoid this complication. Methods In group A rats, we induced SCII using a previously described method, by occluding the descending thoracic aorta for 15, 20, 24, or 30 minutes with the inflated balloon of a 2F Fogarty catheter inserted through the femoral artery. In group B, the catheter was inserted through the left common carotid artery, and the aorta was occluded just distal to the carotid origin for 20 minutes. In group C, in addition to the procedure described for group B, hypovolemia was induced during a 12-minute period of aortic occlusion by equilibrating the left femoral artery pressure to the atmospheric pressure. The motor function of the hind limbs and the associa...
Color-word performance as a joint function of manifest anxiety and stimulus conflictfulness

Performance on two color-word tests varying in the degree of conflict between word and color was studied in relation to drive level. Predictions based on H × D theory were not supported by the data. Limited evidence of a possible momentary drive factor was provided.
Stage D1 (T1-3, N1-3, M0) Prostate cancer: a case-controlled comparison of conservative treatment versus radical prostatectomy

Abstract Objectives There is no consensus on the management of Stage D1 prostate cancer. The literature suggests that radical prostatectomy, as compared with pelvic lymphadenectomy (PLND) alone, may extend survival. Despite evidence that lymph node tumor burden influences cancer survival, few groups of researchers have controlled for this variable when comparing management strategies. We performed a study that was case-controlled for nodal tumor burden to determine if a survival advantage exists for radical prostatectomy. Methods Of 168 men with Stage D1 disease diagnosed between 1983 and 1995, 127 underwent pelvic lymphadenectomy and radical retropubic prostatectomy (PLND/RRP) and 41 underwent PLND alone. Clinical charts were reviewed for follow-up, and lymph node tumor burden was assessed by volume of nodal metastases and the percentage of positive nodes sampled. Adjuvant treatment was based on the surgeon's preference and clinical situation. Nineteen patients from each group were matched for age, PSA, Gleason score, clinical stage, follow-up, and nodal tumor burden. Results Comparison of the non-case-controlled PLND/RRP and PLND groups showed no differences in age, prostate-specific antigen level, Gleason score, clinical stage, or follow-up. The nodal tumor burden was greater for the PLND group (P = 0.001). The 10-year cancer-specific survival rates for the PLND/RRP and PLND groups were statistically different (P = 0.006). In the case-controlled group, the results were similar for cancer-specific survival at 10 years (56% and 34%, respectively; P = 0.09). Conclusions These data suggest that in Stage D1 prostate cancer, a trend toward a statistical difference in survival may exist for radical prostatectomy as compared with conservative treatment. Further case-controlled and prospective randomized studies are needed to verify these results.
An efficient algorithm for the location‐allocation problem with rectangular regions

The location-allocation problem for existing facilities uniformly distributed over rectangular regions is treated for the case where the rectilinear norm is used. The new facilities are to be located such that the expected total weighted distance is minimized. Properties of the problem are discussed. A branch and bound algorithm is developed for the exact solution of the problem. Computational results are given for different sized problems.
Editorial for special issue on epidemiology and prevention of prostate cancer.

We are very proud of the quality and range of the contributions from the authors of this edition of World Journal of Urology with a specific focus on the epidemiology and prevention of prostate cancer. This disease is a conundrum for governments and healthcare agencies across the globe: while they all aspire to increase life expectancy from any number of public health measures, as longevity increases, so does the risk of prostate cancer diagnosis and mortality. The organized response to this expanding risk of disease has frequently been an increased focus on early detection, generally with the monolithic use of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and digital rectal examination (DRE), using [4 ng/mL and ‘abnormal’ as indications for biopsy and intervention with a goal to reduce mortality. While in some regions and countries, within years of the inception of this approach, a fall in prostate cancer mortality has been seen, a concurrent enormous increase in treatment has also been the result with substantial reallocation of resources as well as the growth of huge populations of prostate cancer survivors, almost all of whom have at least some change in their quality of life to show for their experience. The fundamental two challenges with prostate cancer are its prevalence and its range of behaviors. Regarding the former, the prevalence of the disease in an individual man is very close to his age. For example, about 60% of 60-year-olds harbor what would be deemed ‘prostate cancer cells’ in their prostate if fully examined histologically. As the lifetime risk of prostate cancer mortality ranges from 3 to 4%, it is clear that the bulk of these prostate cancers are not truly ‘cancer’ phenotypically, but only histologically. Similarly, some prostate cancers are quite aggressive, developing into systemic disease early on; fortunately, this is uncommon. Again, the challenge for well-intentioned clinicians and healthcare agencies is that, in the search for the tumors that will take a man’s life, we inadvertently (and more commonly) stumble on tumors that will not. Historically, in the United States, prostate cancer has often been viewed monolithically and treated as if all of these ‘tumors’ behaved as ‘cancers’. Thus, over 90% of low-risk cancers received radical surgery or radiation [1]. To the reader of this issue, it is clear that this approach is inappropriate, especially given the level of knowledge we have today. A far more rational approach would be as follows: