cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Gastrointestinal bleeding in infants and children.

1. John T. Boyle, MD* 1. *Clinical Professor of Pediatrics, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pa; Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pa After completing this article, readers should be able to: 1. Develop a differential diagnosis based on the clinical presentation of gastrointestinal (GI) blood loss. 2. Discuss the age-related causes of upper and lower GI bleeding. 3. Delineate the sequence of evaluation and decision process in a child who has GI bleeding. 4. Describe new medical therapies and endoscopic maneuvers to control GI bleeding. A previously well 3-week-old female infant presented with a 2-day history of rectal bleeding. Her parents described three to five loose stools per day mixed with bright and dark red blood and mucus. Associated symptoms included episodic nonbilious, nonbloody emesis and an erythematous rash on her arms and legs. The infant was receiving standard cow milk formula. Her weight gain and linear growth were excellent. The abdominal examination revealed no tenderness or organomegaly, and there were no anal fissures. Stool was guaiac-positive. The complete blood count (CBC) revealed normal hematocrit, mean corpuscular volume (MCV), platelet count, and white blood cell count. The total eosinophil count was mildly increased at 0.55×103/mm3. The stool culture was negative . Clostridium difficile toxin was present. Three days after having been switched to a protein hydrolysate formula, the infant's bowel frequency decreased to twice a day. Although the baby continued to appear well, with good weight gain and growth, her stools still contained gross strands of blood and mucus intermittently over the next 3 weeks. Flexible sigmoidoscopy at that time revealed moderate nodular lymphoid hyperplasia in the rectosigmoid region(Fig. 1). The colonic mucosa appeared normal otherwise. Biopsies from the sigmoid and rectum showed six eosinophils per high-power field, normal crypt architecture, and lymphoid nodules. The infant continued to receive the protein hydrolysate formula, and gross bleeding gradually resolved over the next 2 weeks . Figure 1. Nodular lymphoid hyperplasia: multiple submucosal nodules in the …
Melanoma Survival Disadvantage in Young, Non-Hispanic White Males Compared With Females

Importance Worse survival among patients with melanoma has been demonstrated in middle-aged and older men compared with women, but few studies have explored survival differences by sex in adolescents and young adults, in whom melanoma is the third most common cancer. Focusing on sex disparities in survival among younger individuals may provide further evidence of biological rather than behavioral factors that affect melanoma outcome. Objective To determine whether long-term survival varies between white male and female adolescents and young adults with melanoma (15 to 39 years of age at diagnosis) in the United States. Design, Setting, and Participants Population-based cohort with a mean follow-up of 7.5 years of 26 107 non-Hispanic white adolescents and young adults with primary invasive melanoma of the skin diagnosed from January 1, 1989, through December 31, 2009, and reported to the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results network of cancer registries. Main Outcome and Measure Melanoma-specific survival. Results There were 1561 melanoma-specific deaths in the study population. Although adolescent and young adult males accounted for fewer overall melanoma cases (39.8%) than females, they comprised 63.6% of melanoma-specific deaths. Adolescent and young adult males were 55% more likely to die of melanoma than age-matched females after adjustment for tumor thickness, histologic subtype, presence and extent of metastasis, and anatomical location (hazard ratio, 1.55; 95% CI, 1.39-1.73). Males were also more likely to die within each age range assessed (eg, 15-24, 25-29, 30-34, and 35-39 years), and even those with thin melanomas (≤1.00 mm) were twice as likely to die as age-matched females (hazard ratio, 1.95; 95% CI, 1.57-2.42). Adjustment for health insurance and socioeconomic status in a subanalysis did not significantly alter these results. Conclusions and Relevance Male sex is associated with worse survival among white adolescents and young adults with melanoma after controlling for thickness and other prognostic factors. Continued public health efforts are necessary to raise awareness of the outcome of melanoma in young men. Further investigation of possible biological mechanisms that account for these sex differences is merited.
A phosphorylation site in the Na+ channel required for modulation by protein kinase C

Voltage-gated sodium channels are responsible for generation of action potentials in excitable cells. Activation of protein kinase C slows inactivation of sodium channels and reduces peak sodium currents. Phosphorylation of a single residue, serine 1506, that is located in the conserved intracellular loop between domains III and IV and is involved in inactivation of the sodium channel, is required for both modulatory effects. Mutant sodium channels lacking this phosphorylation site have normal functional properties in unstimulated cells but do not respond to activation of protein kinase C. Phosphorylation of this conserved site in sodium channel alpha subunits may regulate electrical activity in a wide range of excitable cells.
All Cavity-Magnetron Axial Extraction Technique

A compact axial π-mode extraction scheme, which is based on a patent by Greenwood, is demonstrated in conjunction with the UM/L-3 relativistic magnetron using the particle-in-cell code ICEPIC. Cases utilizing Greenwood's extraction technique were compared with power extraction using traditional radial waveguides. Average extracted power values in all simulated axial cases were found to be within +/-6.5% of the radial cases. Cases utilizing 85 ° and 90° sector waveguides were found to have efficiencies up to ten percentage points higher than the radial case. The best performing case was found to use a set of three axially oriented 90 ° sector waveguides, shorted on the upstream side, with the short located 15 cm from the center of the magnetron apertures.
Differential effects of d-amphetamine in classical discrimination conditioning of rabbits

D-Amphetamine was administered to rabbits performing a “difficult” and an “easy” classical discrimination task. The drug had no significant effect on overall nictitating membrane responding whereas it debilitated heart rate responding. Heart rate discrimination was debilitated for both tasks; however, amphetamine facilitated nictitating membrane discrimination for the “difficult” task while having no effect on the “easy” task. The results are discussed in terms of support for the “cue-monitoring” interpretation of amphetamine facilitation and the observed divergence of response systems in the rabbit.
Novel Broadband Planar Balun Using Multiple Coupled Lines

This study presents a novel broadband planar balun using multiple coupled lines, which are realized easily in thick-multi-layer structures, to improve broadband characteristics compared with the conventional planar Marchand balun. Additionally, an extra shunt capacitor is added to compensate the output amplitude and phase imbalances due to inductive grounding-vias. This balun is fabricated by LTCC (low temperature co-fired ceramic) technology and miniaturized successfully to 3.2 mm times 2.5 mm times 1 mm for UWB applications (3.1-8.0 GHz). Finally, the measured results agree well with the electromagnetic (EM) simulated responses
Subclinical chlamydial infection of the female mouse genital tract generates a potent protective immune response: implications for development of live attenuated chlamydial vaccine strains.

Chlamydia trachomatis is a major cause of sexually transmitted disease (STD) for which a vaccine is needed. CD4+ T-helper type 1 (Th1) cell-mediated immunity is an important component of protective immunity against murine chlamydial genital infection. Conventional vaccine approaches have not proven effective in eliciting chlamydial-specific CD4 Th1 immunity at the genital mucosa. Thus, it is possible that the development of a highly efficacious vaccine against genital infection will depend on the generation of a live attenuated C. trachomatis vaccine. Attenuated strains of C. trachomatis do not exist, so their potential utility as vaccines cannot be tested in animal models of infection. We have developed a surrogate model to study the effect of chlamydial attenuation on infection and immunity of the female genital tract by treating mice with a subchlamydiacidal concentration of oxytetracycline following vaginal infection. Compared to untreated control mice, antibiotic-treated mice shed significantly fewer infectious organisms (3 log10) from the cervico-vagina, produced a minimal inflammatory response in urogenital tissue, and did not experience infection-related sequelae. Antibiotic-treated mice generated levels of chlamydia-specific antibody and cell-mediated immunity equivalent to those of control mice. Importantly, antibiotic-treated mice were found to be as immune as control untreated mice when rechallenged vaginally. These findings demonstrate that subclinical chlamydial infection of the murine female genital tract is sufficient to stimulate a potent protective immune response. They also present indirect evidence supporting the possible use of live attenuated chlamydial organisms in the development of vaccines against chlamydial STDs.
On the design of binary polar codes for high-order modulation

In this work, we study the design of polar codes for high-order constellations. We propose a new methodology for selecting polar codes rates in multilevel coding scenarios in order to optimize the overall error performance. We also propose a novel method for the design of polar codes based on the second order statistics of the bit error performance of the equivalent bit channels. This new code design is applied to the proposed multilevel coding scheme as well as to the standard quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) constellations. We establish the effectiveness of the proposed algorithms through several practical examples.
Mass spectrometry for the biophysical characterization of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies

Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) are powerful therapeutics, and their characterization has drawn considerable attention and urgency. Unlike small-molecule drugs (150–600 Da) that have rigid structures, mAbs (∼150 kDa) are engineered proteins that undergo complicated folding and can exist in a number of low-energy structures, posing a challenge for traditional methods in structural biology. Mass spectrometry (MS)-based biophysical characterization approaches can provide structural information, bringing high sensitivity, fast turnaround, and small sample consumption. This review outlines various MS-based strategies for protein biophysical characterization and then reviews how these strategies provide structural information of mAbs at the protein level (intact or top-down approaches), peptide, and residue level (bottom-up approaches), affording information on higher order structure, aggregation, and the nature of antibody complexes.
iPresage: An innovative patent landscaping tool

iPresage is a web-based interactive tool for rapid and scalable patent landscaping. iPresage relies on sophisticated text mining, statistical machine learning and computational intelligence algorithms to allow analysts to mine large patent databases and evaluate whitespaces and temporal trends. This paper describes iPresage algorithms in detail and showcases iPresage functionality, using an illustrative example.
New sulfur adsorbents derived from layered double hydroxides: II. DRIFTS study of COS and H2S adsorption

Abstract H2S and COS adsorption were studied on two calcined layered double hydroxides (LDHs), Mg0.75Al0.25(OH)2(CO3)0.125 and Mg0.65Al0.35(OH)2(CO3)0.175, using diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS) and a chemisorption apparatus. Both demonstrated the ability to irreversibly adsorb H2S, corresponding to uptakes of 1.54 and 1.76 μmol/m2, respectively, but Mg0.75Al0.25 had a significantly larger capacity for COS, 1.62 μmol/m2 compared to 0.80 μmol/m2 for Mg0.65Al0.35. Analysis of the DRIFT spectra suggests the adsorption of H2S proceeds via the substitution of lattice oxygen with sulfur, resulting in the formation of H2O on the surface. COS adsorption is more complicated, although it appears that a similar substitution of lattice oxygen with sulfur occurs. This results in the formation of CO2 and subsequently bicarbonates and carbonates. The formation of hydrogen thiocarbonate is also involved, although this form is generally only observed in the later stages of adsorption and appears to form at the expense of bicarbonate. The Mg0.75Al0.25 LDH retained its ability to adsorb COS in the presence of propene.
Would a satanic resurrection world falsify Christian Theism?–Reply to Gregory S. Kavka

In a recent article in Religious Studies, Gregory S. Kavka argues that John Hick was wrong when he said that the statement ‘God (as conceived by Christians) exists’ is verifiable but not falsifiable. Kavka constructs an imaginary `resurrection world' ruled by Satan and inhabited by such resurrected evildoers as Hitler and Stalin. In such a world, those who had been virtuous in earthly life in the hopes of a Christ-dominated resurrection world discover that virtue is inversely rewarded, with the ‘living’ intolerable for them and worst of all for those among them who had lived especially virtuous lives, i.e. the saints. Further, they are told by presumably knowledgeable inhabitants of this world that:…the historical Christ was an agent sent by Satan to raise in good people false hopes of eternal salvation. This story is confirmed by Satan himself who demonstrates through a huge telescope-like device how he continues to send false saviours to other planets inhabited by intelligent beings in a cruel plan to make such beings miserable in the long run.
Peacekeeping, the Congo, and zones of peace

The history of peacekeeping offers important lessons for establishing “zones of peace.” Peacekeeping operations have relied on demilitarized zones and safety zones, two foundations for creating more comprehensive zones of peace that move beyond cease‐fire arrangements toward peace‐building activities. We can examine the development of one such peace zone by considering the U.N. peacekeeping mission in the Congo in the early 1960s. Its lessons may help us better provide future zones of peace.
Communication and culture: Predictors of treatment adherence among Mexican immigrant patients

This study examined communication and culture in clinicians' interactions with Mexican immigrants in Texas. Specifically, we explore the unique interplay among levels of acculturation, beliefs about culturally-based medical practices, perceptions of medical encounters, and the likelihood of adherence to medical therapy recommendations from US providers. Results suggest that: (a) acculturation predicts perceptions of out-group membership in the patient-provider interaction; (b) beliefs about complementary and alternative medicine are negatively related to medical adherence; (c) quality of care mediates the relationship between physician accommodation and medical adherence; and (d) there exists a complex relationship between out-group perceptions and adherence.
Cumulative damage study of highway bridges

Abstract Damage of highway bridges has become a serious problem nationwide. In this study, bridge damage is related to deterioration and/or distress which progress incrementally in stages. We use models that incorporate the Markov Chain concept to describe the cumulative damage of a bridge. Unfortunately, statistical data required for the damage increment are seldom available in most offices of the State Department of Transportation. However, bridge inspection reports are abundant. In these reports, bridge inspectors assess the conditions of the bridge components such as the bridge deck, superstructure, and substructure. They frequently use subjective notions in their ratings and descriptions of the component conditions. The concept of fuzzy set is used in this study to take advantage of these subjective judgements. The fuzzy operations result in fuzzy probability of component failures which is used to assess the cumulative damage of the bridge. A case study is presented to demonstrate the use of this method.
Cutaneous carcinoma following psoralen and long-wave ultraviolet radiation (PUVA) therapy for psoriasis

Multiple basal cell epitheliomas developed in two psoriatic patients during treatment with orally administered 8-methoxypsoralen and long-wave ultraviolet radiation (PUVA). Twenty-two basal cell epitheliomas (BCEs) were seen in the two patients, 80% occurring in non-sun-exposed areas. Since neither patient had any historical or clinical evidence of arsenic intake or the basal cell nevus syndrome, PUVA therapy may have been of pathogenetic responsibility for the development of these lesions.
Glyphosate-Tolerant Alfalfa Is Compositionally Equivalent to Conventional Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.)

Glyphosate-tolerant alfalfa (GTA) was developed to withstand over-the-top applications of glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup agricultural herbicides. As a part of the safety assessment, GTA (designated J101 x J163) was grown under controlled field conditions at geographically diverse locations within the United States during the 2001 and 2003 field seasons along with control and other conventional alfalfa varieties for compositional assessment. Field trials were conducted using a randomized complete block design with four replication blocks at each site. Alfalfa forage was harvested at the late bud to early bloom stage from each plot at five field sites in 2001 (establishment year) and from four field sites in 2003 (third year of stand). The concentration of proximate constituents, fibers, amino acids, coumestrol, and minerals in the forage was measured. The results showed that the forage from GTA J101 x J163 is compositionally equivalent to forage from the control and conventional alfalfa varieties.
Performance evaluation of the SX‐6 vector architecture for scientific computations

The growing gap between sustained and peak performance for scientific applications is a well-known problem in high performance computing. The recent development of parallel vector systems offers the potential to reduce this gap for many computational science codes and deliver a substantial increase in computing capabilities. This paper examines the intranode performance of the NEC SX-6 vector processor, and compares it against the cache-based IBM Power3 and Power4 superscalar architectures, across a number of key scientific computing areas. First, we present the performance of a microbenchmark suite that examines many low-level machine characteristics. Next, we study the behavior of the NAS Parallel Benchmarks. Finally, we evaluate the performance of several scientific computing codes. Overall results demonstrate that the SX-6 achieves high performance on a large fraction of our application suite and often significantly outperforms the cache-based architectures. However, certain classes of applications are not easily amenable to vectorization and would require extensive algorithm and implementation reengineering to utilize the SX-6 effectively.
An unusual electrocardiographic pattern associated with mild myocardial infarction.

Abstract 1. (1) An unusual ECG pattern of mild acute myocardial infarction is described consisting of ST segment depressions and lowering of the R waves, usually in the same leads. 2. (2) The ECG abnormalities are usually limited to a small area of the heart. 3. (3) The clinical course of patients showing these changes is mild, and the ECG usually returns to normal. 4. (4) The infarcts responsible for this ECG pattern are probably patchy and incomplete.
Efficacy of vaccine-induced Vif-specific CTL responses against SIVmac239 infection: implications for antigen design in AIDS vaccines

Background Optimization of antigens as well as delivery system is crucial for development of an effective T-cell based AIDS vaccine. Our recent results suggested higher antiviral efficacy of Vifand Nef-specific CTLs as well as Gag-specific ones (JEM 199:1709, 2004; AIDS 24:2777, 2010). Here, we examined efficacy of Gag-specific or Vif/Nef-specific CTL induction by vaccination against SIV infection.
Electroenzymatic synthesis (regeneration of NADH coenzyme) : use of nafion ion exchange films for immobilization of enzyme and redox mediator

Abstract A carbon electrode coated with lipoamide dehydrogenase and methyl viologen ( 1 ) under a Nafion® film provides the basis for a convenient system for electrochemical regeneration of NADH.
SORPTION OF TRIVALENT METAL ION ON FIBROUS CERIUM(IV) HYDROGENPHOSPHATE

ABSTRACT Thermodynamics of trivalent metal ions/hydrogen ions exchange on a fibrous cerium(IV) hydrogenphosphate have been investigated by the micro-amount uptake. Selectivities for trivalent metal ions increase in the order; La3+ <Y3+ <Eu3+ <<Sc3+. The standard enthalpy change and entropy change of the ion exchange reaction increase in the order of Eu3+ <La3+ <Y3+ <Sc3+ and Eu3+ < Sc3+ <La3+ <Y3+, respectively. An enthalpy - entropy compensation relation holds except for Sc3+ ion. X-ray diffractometry and thermal analyses were also conducted the ion-exchanger phase for the macro-amount uptake. The maximal interlayer spacings were observed around the metal loading of 0.5mmol/g and the weight loss for the adsorbed and interlayer water at the low metal loading increased in the order; Sc3+ <La3+ <Eu3+ <Y3+. In the case of scandium ion, the formation of insoluble scandium phosphate was confirmed by the DTA peak at 255°C and characteristic peaks to Sc(PO4) - 2H2O in the XRD pattern.
Structural characterization of novel l-galactose-containing oligosaccharide subunits of jojoba seed xyloglucans

Abstract Jojoba seed xyloglucan was shown to be a convenient source of biologically active xyloglucan oligosaccharides that contain both l - and d -galactosyl residues [E. Zablackis et al., Science, 272 (1996) 1808–1810]. Oligosaccharides were isolated by liquid chromatography of the mixture of oligosaccharides generated by treating jojoba seed xyloglucan with a β-(1 → 4)-endoglucanase. The purified oligosaccharides were reduced with NaBH4, converting them to oligoglycosyl alditol derivatives that were structurally characterized by a combination of mass spectrometry and 2-dimensional NMR spectroscopy. This analysis established that jojoba xyloglucan oligosaccharides contain the novel side-chain [ α- l - Gal p-(1 → 2)-β- d - Gal p-(1 → 2)-α- d - Xyl p-(1 → 6)- ], which is structurally homologous to the fucose-containing side-chain [ α- l - Fuc p-(1 → 2)-β- d - Gal p-(1 → 2)-α- d - Xyl p-(1 → 6)- ] found in other biologically active xyloglucan oligosaccharides.
Optothermal mathematical model and experimental studies for laser irradiation of arteries in the presence of blood flow.

We have developed an optothermal model for the interaction of laser light and the tissue of arterial walls and have checked its validity with animal experiments. The mathematical model consists of a laser diffusing tip positioned intraluminally in a cylindrical artery, in which the diffused laser light is incident on a blood–tissue interface at a distance from the tip. A temperature profile throughout the interface is obtained by considering the optical interaction and the thermal conduction and convection of the blood and tissue. The distribution of light in the media is determined using both Beer’s law and the Kubelka-Munk two-flux theory in cylindrical coordinates. For experimental in vivo verification, a diffusing tip was inserted in canine arteries and the temperature profile varied by restricting the volume of blood; this simulated degrees of occlusion to determine the influence of blood flow on heat transport. The measured temperature profiles compared favorably to the theoretical results. Temperature profiles are also predicted for a water-filled lumen. The theoretical model will be useful in predicting the depth of ablation and extent of normal tissue damage during laser angioplasty treatment of atherosclerosis.
Settlement of the Early Linear Ceramics Culture at Brunn am Gebirge, Wolfholz site

The early Neolithic sites I to V from Brunn Wolfholz, south of Vienna, were excavated between 1989 and 2005. Till now about 75 longhouses, with the standardized size of 20x7 m have been recognized. The whole settlement has a length from North to South of 850 m and from East to West of 500 m. The oldest part is site IIa in the south; it contains rough ceramics with plastic ornaments, which seem to be in a Starcevo tradition. The Early Linear Ceramics starts only in site III. The youngest phase of the settlement is in the North in site I, which apparently leads already to the Notenkopf Ceramics.
Force-frequency and relaxation-frequency relationships in neonatal goats: Physiologic mirrors of changes in cytosolic calcium. • 94

Force-frequency (FFR) and relaxation-frequency relationships (RFR) and post-extrasystolic potentiation (PESP) act as physiologic mirrors reflecting changes in Ca2+ release and uptake by sarooplasmic reticulum (SR). It has been proposed that SR is relatively immature in neonatal animal and FFR and RFR may be impaired in them. We studed certain new aspects of FFR and RFR in 4 neonatal goats (Age: 4 weeks) and 3 adult goats. Left ventricular (LV) dP/dtmax and time constant of relaxation (τ) were calculated from micromanometric LV pressure tracings at increasing heart rates (HR) generated by right ventricular pacing. The phenomenon of PESP was studied by pacing at a constant cycle length(400ms) and by introducing an extrasystole and post-extrasystole at cycle lengths of 250ms and 600 ms, respectively. Both FFR(dP/dtmax vs HR) and RFR (τ vs HR) have biphasic relationships separated by a critical HR at which this transition occurs. Critical HR was nearly identical for both FFR and RFR. Mean critical HR was higher in neonatal vs adult goats (250± 35 vs 180±22 beats/min, p, 0.05). Following ryanodine (a SR Ca2+-release channel blocker), critical HR was shifted to the left in both neonatal and adult goats (170±34 vs 140±28 beats/min). Fig. 1
Effects of NPY and the specific Y1 receptor agonist [d-His26]-NPY on the deficit in brain reward function and somatic signs associated with nicotine withdrawal in rats

Tobacco addiction is a chronic disorder that is characterized by dysphoria upon smoking cessation and relapse after periods of abstinence. Previous research suggests that Neuropeptide Y (NPY) and Y1 receptor agonists attenuate negative affective states and somatic withdrawal signs. The aim of the present experiments was to investigate the effects of NPY and the specific Y1 receptor agonist [D-His(26)]-NPY on the deficit in brain reward function and somatic signs associated with nicotine withdrawal in rats. The intracranial self-stimulation procedure was used to assess the effects of nicotine withdrawal on brain reward function as this procedure can provide a quantitative measure of emotional states in rodents. Elevations in brain reward thresholds are indicative of a deficit in brain reward function. In the first experiment, NPY did not prevent the elevations in brain reward thresholds associated with precipitated nicotine withdrawal and elevated the brain reward thresholds of the saline-treated control rats. Similar to NPY, [D-His(26)]-NPY did not prevent the elevations in brain reward thresholds associated with precipitated nicotine withdrawal and elevated the brain reward thresholds of the saline-treated control rats. Neither NPY nor [D-His(26)]-NPY affected the response latencies. In a separate experiment, it was demonstrated that the specific Y1 receptor antagonist BIBP-3226 prevented the NPY-induced elevations in brain reward thresholds. NPY attenuated the overall somatic signs associated with precipitated nicotine withdrawal. [D-His(26)]-NPY did not affect the overall somatic signs associated with precipitated nicotine withdrawal, but decreased the number of abdominal constrictions. Both NPY and [D-His(26)]-NPY attenuated the overall somatic signs associated with spontaneous nicotine withdrawal. These findings indicate that NPY and [D-His(26)]-NPY attenuate somatic nicotine withdrawal signs, but do not prevent the deficit in brain reward function associated with precipitated nicotine withdrawal. In addition, NPY decreases the sensitivity to rewarding electrical stimuli via an Y1 dependent mechanism.
Influence of gonadal and adrenal cortical hormones on estrogen-induced depletion of pituitary gonadotropin content.

The FSH content of male rat pituitaries was reduced by doses of estradiol ranging from 0.004 to 0.4 mg/kg/day. Concurrent injections of testosterone or its propionic acid ester prevented the estradiol-induced depletion of FSH to an extent proportional to the size of the dose of the androgen and to the degree of androgenic effects on the sex accessory organs. Pregnant mare serum gonadotropins (PMS) at 50 RU/kg/day also prevented the depletion of FSH brought about by estradiol. Progesterone produced a significant reversal of the estradiol effect on pituitary FSH content, but this gonadal steroid was considerably less effective than testosterone. The effective dose of progesterone, 20 mg/kg, brought about slight ventral prostate growth in the estrogenized males. Desoxycorticosterone acetate and cortisone acetate were inactive at daily dose levels up to 20 mg/kg. Additionally, testosterone propionate, restored in part the FSH content of pituitaries of rats given daily injections of estradiol started 2 weeks b...
Load Updating for Finite Element Models

A method for reducing the differences between experimental testing or real-world events and their finite element counterparts is presented. In this method system identification or finite element model updating are not performed; instead, the loads on the finite element model that would create equivaient displacements or strains are identified by various means, thus saving a large amount of computational effort. This method of finding an applied load is also extremely useful in the analysis of testing data for vehicles and other structures. Using methods based on classical least-squares methods, we present the basis for finite element load updating and sample application through the use of a computer program for a beam under static loads. We examine the conditioning number of the resulting system of equations and provide a least-squares solution that is more robust through the use of singular value decomposition. This allows an easier analysis of structural models, for example, of a prototype vehicle, by determining the loads that the prototype is subjected to in testing. These loads can then be used on other models of that vehicle during the design process to decrease the time spent in testing while increasing design's reliability by reducing uncertainties in the applied load.
Radar And Optical Edge Measurements

Several pattern recognition methods have been used in scene matching. These methods include the use of intensity difference, edge measurements, invariant moments and symbolic descriptions as measurement features. This paper describes a method used in extracting edge measurements from radar and optical images for the purpose of scene matching.© (1980) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Enantiomeric enrichment on the prebiotic Earth.

Evaporation of an aqueous solution of a chiral, nonracemic (partially resolved) amino acid or hydroxy acid from a clay or silica surface is shown to produce crystals in six cases that possess increased concentrations of the more abundant enantiomer.The increases range from a factor of 1.2 as the low to a high greater than 6-fold above the near 8% enantiomeric excess starting levels. This newly discovered enantiomeric enrichment process is presented in the context of it having been a possible instrument in the attainment of levels of configurational homogeneity sufficient for the emergence of life on Earth.
Yeast artificial chromosomes: tools for mapping and analysis of complex genomes

Libraries of yeast artificial chromosomes (YACs) are representative of complex genomes, and typical YACs contain single fragments of DNA that are up to a megabase or more in size, are stable during growth, and are faithful to genomic DNA. Such YACs may permit (1) the use of complete gene units for a number of research and medical purposes; and (2) the assembly of chromosome-sized contigs in a single map that unifies genetic and physical data.
Characterization of esophageal submucosal glands in pig tissue and cultures

The submucosal glands (SMGs) of the pig esophagus, like the human, secrete mucin and bicarbonate, which help in luminal acid clearance and epithelial protection. The aim of this study was to characterize histochemically the esophageal SMGs and a primary culture obtained from these glands. Tissues and cultures were stained with hematoxylin and eosin, periodic acid Schiff, Alcian blue, lectins, or cytokeratins. In the perfused esophagus, addition of carbachol increased mucin secretion by approximately 2-fold. The results indicate that [1] a method for culturing SMG cells was developed; [2] conventional staining indicates the presence of sulfated, acidic, and neutral mucopolysaccharides in glands and cultures; [3] lectin binding indicates the presence of N-acetyl glucosamine, N-acetyl neuraminic acid, N-acetyl galactosamine, and alpha-L: -fucose in mucous cells and cultures; [4] cytokeratin and lectin staining indicated similarities with Barrett epithelium (columnar metaplasia of the esophagus); and [5] cholinergic agonists enhance mucin secretion and this could play a significant role in esophageal protection.
Pinocytosis in eyes of a snail, Helix aspersa.

Extirpated eyes of the snail Helix aspersa , from which lenses were removed surgically, were incubated in horseradish peroxidase (HRP) and prepared cytochemically for electron microscopy to determine the positions of HRP. There was some internalization of tracer by pinocytic vesicles and tubules in Type I sensory cells and much uptake by Type II sensory cells and by supportive cells. Eyes of dark-adapted snails exhibited more endocytosis of HRP than eyes of light-adapted specimens. There was no uptake of tracer by the distal ends of retinal cells in eyes incubated in HRP but with lenses in place. Pinocytosis occurred basally, however, where the cells rest on the capsule of the eye. New features described include: pinocytic tubules, fusion of photic vesicles to form endoplasmic reticulum (ER), origin of microvillar membrane from ER, development of autophagic vacuoles, and degeneration of microvilli. Turnover of photoreceptoral membranes of sensory cell microvilli is discussed.
The effectiveness of quetiapine versus conventional antipsychotics in improving cognitive and functional outcomes in standard treatment settings.

Objective: To examine the effectiveness of quetiapine versus conventional antipsychotics in improving cognitive and functional outcomes. Method: Forty stable outpatients with DSM-IV schizophrenia treated in public outpatient clinics were randomly assigned to continue taking conventional antipsychotic medications or switch to quetiapine for 6 months, beginning September 1998 and ending July 2000. Neurocognitive and functional measures were obtained at study entry, 3 months, and 6 months by raters blinded to treatment. Group differences were examined using repeated-measures analyses of covariance for mixed models. Results: The mean (SD) dose of conventional antipsychotics in chlorpromazine equivalents was 348.00 (348.28) mg/day; the mean (SD) dose of quetiapine was 319.25 (142.55) mg/day. A cognitive function summary score improved in the quetiapine group relative to the group treated with conventional antipsychotics over the 6-month period (F = 5.80, df = 1,28.9; p <.023). Patients taking quetiapine did better with respect to both verbal fluency (initiation) and verbal memory. There were also statistically significant group differences with respect to quality of life favoring the quetiapine group (F = 4.87, df = 1,29; p <.04). Differences were not found with respect to adaptive functioning. Conclusion: Quetiapine improved cognition relative to conventional agents. After 6 months, groups differed by more than I standard deviation when baseline cognitive functioning was taken into account. No group differences were found with respect to improvements in community functioning. Improvements in adaptive functioning may lag behind improvements in cognition. Psychosocial programming may be necessary to translate gains in cognition into improvements in adaptive functioning.
Role of microfouling organisms in marine corrosion

A primary bacterial film on a metal surface immersed in natural waters can create electrochemical conditions at the base of the film that are radically different from those in the bulk water. The concentrations of dissolved oxygen and other chemical species; as well as pH at the metal surface are usually affected. These changes influence electrochemical reactions taking place on the metal during corrosion. On the other hand, the electrochemistry of corrosion can also change the pH and ionic concentrations at the metal surface, thus influencing biofilm formation. This paper will examine what types of changes take place under marine biofilms, the mechanisms by which these changes influence several types of corrosion on a variety of metals, and the implications of that influence to both corrosion rates and corrosion control.
Stagnation or transformation of a dual economy through endogenous productivity growth

A growth model is developed for an open dual economy. The economy expands owing to a higher growth rate of labour productivity in the modern sector through the Kaldor-Verdoorn channel and higher effective demand through a Keynesian channel. The model incorporates a retardation mechanism affecting the slopes of productivity and output growth schedules as labour surplus and economies of scale diminish. A wage-led or profit-led regime and initial conditions may give rise to: de-industrialization in terms of both output and employment; a growth trap sustaining a situation of structural heterogeneity; or sustainable employment and adequate output and productivity growth.
Ritual harmony: Toward an evolutionary theory of music

Juslin & Vastfjall (J&V) advance our understanding of the proximate mechanisms underlying emotional responses to music, but fail to integrate their findings into a comprehensive evolutionary model that addresses the adaptive functions of these responses. Here we offer such a model by examining the ontogenetic relationship between music, ritual, and symbolic abstraction and their role in facilitating social coordination and cooperation.
A Question of the Specificity of Rabbit Atrial Chronotropic Histamine Receptors and Agents Which Affect Their Activity

The histamine chronotropic response of rabbit atria appears to be controlled by both H1 and H2 receptors and can be blocked in part by either metiamide (an H2 antagonist) or diphenhydramine (an H1 antagonist), while both 2- and 4-methylhistamine (H1 and H2 agonists, respectively) stimulated the chronotropic response. At low agonist concentrations, the simultaneous presence of both H1 and H2 blockers results in considerably less inhibition than could be expected from calculations of individual inhibition data, suggesting that some sites behave as if they have both H1 and H2 properties. Additional compounds were tested for specific action on H1 and H2 receptors: 2-(2-pyridyl) ethylamine, reported to be an H1 agonist, appears to stimulate rabbit atria by releasing norepinephrine and guinea pig atria by releasing both norepinephrine and histamine; while dimaprit, reported to be an H2 agonist, may stimulate histamine receptors directly but has a nonspecific depressant action on rabbit atria which interferes with its use as an agonist in this species.
Malignant Transformation of Human Fibroblasts in vitro

Although carcinogens cause human tumors, normal human fibroblasts in culture have not been successfully transformed to malignancy by exposure to carcinogens. It is now recognized that malignant transformation involves multiple changes within a cell and, therefore, successive clonal selection of cells containing such changes must occur. One explanation for the failure to induce in vitro malignant transformation of human cells could be inability to recognize cells that have undergone intermediate changes so as to expand the population, expose the cells a second time, cause further changes, etc. Therefore, we transfected finite life span diploid human fibroblasts with oncogenes known to be active in cells derived from human fibrosarcomas or effective in transforming animal fibroblasts to determine the phenotypes they produced. Transfection of a sis gene, or an H-, or N-ras oncogene caused the cells to acquire many characteristics of malignant cells, but not to acquire an infinite life span or become malignant. We recently succeeded in developing an infinite life span human fibroblasts cell strain, designated MSU-1.1, which has a stable, near-diploid karyotype, composed of 45 chromosomes including two marker chromosomes. We have shown that these cells can be transformed to malignancy by transfection of the H-, K-, or N-ras oncogene. All of the malignant H-, K-, or N-ras transfected derivatives examined have exhibited the stable karyotype of the original MSU-1.1 cells. We have also found rare spontaneous clonal variants of MSU-1.1 that are malig-nantly transformed and have shown that carcinogen treatment can cause the MSU-1.1 cells to become transformed into malignant cells.
Memory: sins and virtues

Memory plays an important role in everyday life but does not provide an exact and unchanging record of experience: research has documented that memory is a constructive process that is subject to a variety of errors and distortions. Yet these memory "sins" also reflect the operation of adaptive aspects of memory. Memory can thus be characterized as an adaptive constructive process, which plays a functional role in cognition but produces distortions, errors, or illusions as a consequence of doing so.
The Perceived Bitterness of Beer and 6-n-Propylthiouracil (PROP) Taste Sensitivity

ABSTRACT: Pelchat and Danowski found a significantly higher proportion of nontasters of 6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP) among children of alcoholics than among children of nonalcoholics, suggesting a possible genetic association between alcoholism and PROP tasting ability. They suggested that nontasters may not find alcohol as bitter as tasters do and may be at greater risk for alcoholism because they like the taste of alcoholic beverages more. In the present study we tested this hypothesis by examining how nontasters, medium tasters, and supertasters of PROP judged the taste of two kinds of beer. Forty-seven males and 53 females between the ages of 21 and 49 rated the perceived bitterness of Budweiser and Pilsner Urquell on the oral Labeled Magnitude Scale (LMS). Subjects also rated their degree of liking or disliking for the two beers on a 9-point. Likert scale. PROP papers and the LMS were used to classify subjects into tasting groups. The results lent some support to the hypothesis in that male nontasters liked the taste of Pilsner Urquell better than male supertasters, when they tasted Pilsner Urquell after Budweiser. (This finding was not replicated for females.) Also, as subjects' ratings of bitterness for the two beers increased, their degree of liking for the taste decreased. Supertasters rated Pilsner Urquell significantly more bitter than medium tasters. Subjects were asked about their drinking habits, and supertasters reported consuming significantly less beer than nontasters when they first started drinking beer on a regular basis. There were no significant differences in current drinking behavior between tasting groups. These results suggest that supertasters are distinct from nontasters with regard to their taste for beer and may to some degree be protected against alcoholism by their dislike for bitter substances.
On connectionism and rule extraction

There are two major motivations for rule extraction from trained artificial neural networks. First, some of the proposed neural network architectures, like multiplayer perceptrons, are so complex that that it is difficult to understand the logic behind any decision or inference made by such a network. So from an engineering standpoint, rule extraction from such a complex network provides a way to understand and explain the logic behind any decision made by it. By the way, [11] define the rule extraction from neural networks task as follows: “Given a trained neural network and the examples used to train it, produce a concise and accurate symbolic description of the network.” So the objective of rule extraction is to provide a certain type of symbolic description of the network. A second major motivation for rule extraction is to bridge the divide between symbolic AI and connectionism; that is, to show that connectionist subsymbolic systems are just an implementation of higher-level symbolic systems. Thus rule-extraction and rule-insertion, whereby a connectionist network is created from a set of symbolic rules [16,17], provides a seamless integration between these two levels, the symbolic and the subsymbolic.
Nutritional and Functional Properties of Dates: A Review

This review article provides information on the nutritional and functional constituents of dates (Phoenix dactylifera L.) and their seeds from over 80 references. Date flesh is found to be low in fat and protein but rich in sugars, mainly fructose and glucose. It is a high source of energy, as 100 g of flesh can provide an average of 314 kcal. Ten minerals were reported, the major being selenium, copper, potassium, and magnesium. The consumption of 100 g of dates can provide over 15% of the recommended daily allowance from these minerals. Vitamins B-complex and C are the major vitamins in dates. High in dietary fiber (8.0 g/100 g), insoluble dietary fiber was the major fraction of dietary fiber in dates. Dates are a good source of antioxidants, mainly carotenoids and phenolics. Date seeds contain higher protein (5.1 g/100 g) and fat (9.0 g/100 g) as compared to the flesh. It is also high in dietary fiber (73.1 g/100 g), phenolics (3942 mg/100 g) and antioxidants (80400 micromol/100 g). This detailed information on nutritional and health promoting components of dates and their seeds will enhance our knowledge and appreciation for the use of dates in our daily diet and their seeds as a functional food ingredient.
Nitrogen Fixation: The Mechanism of the Mo-Dependent Nitrogenase

This review focuses on recent developments elucidating the mechanism of the Mo-dependent nitrogenase. This enzyme, responsible for the majority of biological nitrogen fixation, is composed of two component proteins called the MoFe protein and the Fe protein. Recent progress in understanding the mechanism of this enzyme has focused on elucidating the structures of the active site metal clusters and of the proteins, understanding substrate interactions with the active site, defining the flow of electron transfer between the metal clusters, and defining the various roles of MgATP hydrolysis.