cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Introduction to Obesity and Fertility

The majority of Americans are overweight or obese [1]. This is problematic for clinicians and patients alike as obesity contributes to myriad of health problems including diabetes, coronary artery disease, and certain cancers [2–5]. While it is encouraging that obesity rates have begun to plateau, the epidemic of obesity will continue to challenge us for years to come. This book was compiled with reproductive scientists and women’s health providers specifically in mind as it outlines our current understanding of how obesity affects female reproductive function across the lifespan.
Transmission of Vibrio cholerae O1

Infection with Vibrio cholerae O1 is thought to occur only in humans and only after ingestion of the bacterium. Most of one's knowledge about the vehicles of cholera transmission stems from case-control investigations. Statistical tests can identify exposures that are reported significantly more frequently by patients than by controls, and such exposures are considered risk factors for illness. Cholera is exclusively a human disease, and no animal species has been found to be consistently infected. Municipal water systems that lack well maintained facilities for water disinfection and distribution provide a ready means of disseminating V. cholerae O1 to a much larger population than is usually served by a single contaminated source. Fish and shellfish have long been recognized as frequent vehicles of cholera transmission. Cooked grains and legumes support the growth of V. cholerae O1 quite well and have been repeatedly implicated in cholera transmission. Transmission of cholera can occur through a wide variety of food and water vehicles, and sometimes the vehicles have been items that were thought to be highly unlikely at the time, such as cooked crabs in Louisiana or bottled water in Portugal.
Rethinking the Legal Oversight of Benefit Program Exclusions

Increasingly, American workers rely upon employers to provide employee benefit programs that include critical health insurance and retirement savings plans. However, employers are finding that providing benefits is a costly undertaking. As a result an increasing number of employers are making use of alternative workforce systems. These involve supplementing a core of full-time workers with contingent employees for whom no commitments are made other than payment for services rendered. Such contingent workers have no expectation of indefinite or continuous employment, and are generally excluded from whatever benefit programs the company may provide. The increasing use of two-tier employment systems of traditional and contingent labor is fraught with danger. A lack of care in the design of the workplace environment can easily produce a personnel system that fails to incorporate the elements required to avoid the creation of an employer-employee relationship. If discovered, the result can be substantial financial liability. Even if properly structured, there are serious questions that arise from the successful creation of a two-tier personnel system that satisfies existing legal requirements. In such cases, the end product is to create a disfavored second-tier group of service providers who lack the job protections and benefits that are among the central goals of most workers. This article addresses both the legal and public policy implications of two-tier employment systems that deny some workers the right to participate in employee benefit programs including the use of independent contractor agreements and benefit plan eligibility criteria to restrict benefit program coverage. It concludes with recommendations for how the legal system should respond to this problem. There is an obvious need to be certain that exclusion criteria are clearly stated and do not make artificial distinctions between those extended coverage and those excluded. While there is justification to separate out true independent contractors and supplied labor who have access to benefits from other sources, arbitrary categorizations that lack any real underlying distinctions between worker groups should not be permitted. Artificial benefit program eligibility standards should not remain a device employers are free to use in order to frustrate a worker's right to participate in otherwise available workplace benefit programs.
Efficient model checking via the equational /spl mu/-calculus

This paper studies the use of an equational variant of the modal /spl mu/-calculus as a unified framework for efficient temporal logic model checking. In particular we show how an expressive temporal logic, CTL*, may be efficiently translated into the /spl mu/-calculus. Using this translation, one may then employ /spl mu/-calculus model-checking techniques, including on-the-fly procedures, BDD-based algorithms and compositional model-checking approaches, to determine if systems satisfy formulas in CTL*.
A Winn for Educational Pluralism

This short essay takes as its starting point on the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Winn v. Arizona Christian Tuition Organization, which involved an Establishment Clause challenge to Arizona’s scholarship tax program — a school-choice device that provides tax credits from state income taxes for donations to organizations granting scholarship to private K-12 schools. In Winn, a divided court ruled that taxpayers lack standing to challenge this and other tax credit programs — thereby dramatically limiting the Flast v. Cohen exception to the no-taxpayer-standing rule. The essay makes the case that the Winn will promote authentic educational pluralism by clearing the constitutional path for further expansion of scholarship tax credit programs, which enhance the educational opportunities available for students of modest means.
Adropin concentrations in term pregnancies with normal, restricted and increased fetal growth.

AbstractObjective: To determine levels of adropin (implicated in insulin resistance and endothelial dysfunction) in intrauterine growth restricted (IUGR), large (LGA) and appropriate for gestational age (AGA) pregnancies.Methods: Cord-blood (UC) adropin and insulin concentrations were measured in 30 IUGR, 30 LGA and 20 AGA full-term infants and their mothers (MS).Results: No significant differences in adropin concentrations were observed between the three groups. In the IUGR group MS adropin was significantly decreased when neonates had higher birth weights [b = −0.003, 95% CI −0.006 to 0.0, p = 0.043]. In all groups, MS adropin levels were positively correlated with UC ones (r = 0.282, p = 0.011) and were significantly increased in female neonates [b = 0.977, 95% CI 0.122–1.832, p = 0.026]. In the LGA group, MS insulin was negatively correlated with UC adropin (r = −0.362 p = 0.049).Conclusions: Increased maternal adropin levels in severe IUGR cases might represent a regulatory feedback mechanism again...
Management of epiphrenic diverticula

Epiphrenic diverticula are very rarely seen and are often associated with achalasia, esophageal body dysmotility, and a high resting lower esophageal sphincter pressure. The aim of this study was to evaluate the different treatment options for patients with epiphrenic diverticula. Patients with an epiphrenic diverticulum were divided into two treatment groups: surgical and nonsurgical. Retrospective chart review was performed, and a symptom questionnaire was created. There were six patients in the nonsurgical group and 11 patients in the surgical group. The mean follow-up was 26.4 months. Ten patients had a laparoscopic operation performed. One patient was operated on thoracoscopically and had to be converted to a thoracotomy. Two diverticula were inverted with good results. There was one postoperative esophageal leak where no myotomy was added. An empyema developed in another patient at 4 weeks after surgery. One patient, in whom no antireflux procedure was performed, reported postoperative heartburn. Patients in the nonsurgical group had smaller diverticula, were not good candidates for surgery, or were asymptomatic. Esophageal diverticula are very rarely seen. Asymptomatic patients may not require therapy. If surgery is performed and the diverticulum is large, it should be removed. The laparoscopic approach is the surgical treatment of choice. A long myotomy and an antireflux procedure should be added to avoid esophageal leakage at the line of repair and gastroesophageal reflux.
Schottky barrier height of sputtered TiN contacts on silicon

Abstract The Schottky barrier height of sputtered TiN on both p - and n -type silicon was determined by I-V and C-V measurements. The barrier height is found to increase on n -Si and to decrease on p -Si, upon thermal annealing. The experimental results are explained in terms of sputtering damage. This damage is modeled by donor-like traps whose concentration decays exponentially from the silicon surface. A characteristic length equal to 45 A accounts for the observed characteristics. The trap-free values of the barrier height were obtained by I-V measurements after sequential thermal annealing up to 600°C. These values are φ Bn = 0.55 V on n -type and φ Bp = 0.57 V on p -type silicon.
Determination of aerosol parameters from light-scattering data using an inverse Monte Carlo technique

An inverse, Monte Carlo (IMC) technique is developed to solve the electromagnetic inverse-scattering problem from generally complex distributions of dielectric particles. One can verify the technique using simulated scattering data from aerosols composed of spherical dielectrics. The IMC method is found to give accurate inversion results even when the data have a signal-to-noise ratio to as low as 3:1.
An acid mucopolysaccharide in cockroach ganglia.

IN a recent histochemical investigation of the neurones and connective tissues of the meso- and meta-thoracic ganglia of the cockroach, Periplaneta americana1, it was noticed that an area surrounding the central mass of nerve fibres stained metachromatically with toluidine blue. The region separates the neurones and connective tissue sheath from the main mass of nerve fibres. There is no comparable region in the interganglionic connectives or peripheral nerves. This seems at present to be a structure peculiar to Periplaneta and other cockroaches; a similar region has been seen after staining with toluidine blue in Blaberus craniifer, Blatta orientalis, Blattella germanica and Diploptera punctata. No such region is found in insects of other orders which have been studied histochemically, for example, Ephestia kuhniella, (Richards, A. G., personal communication), Locusta migratoria (unpublished observations) and sucking lice2.
30 Chromosomes of Couples with Repeated Spontaneous Abortions

Because a 20–25 % incidence of chromosomal abnormalities has been reported among spontaneously aborted fetuses, it was decided to study the chromosomes of couples who have had 3 or more spontaneous abortions. Using a commercial kit method for culturing peripheral blood leukocytes, approximately 750–1000 metaphases were scanned in each patient in order to obtain 50 satisfactory for counting. For each patient, all metaphases with abnormal counts and 5 with normal counts were photographed and karyotypes made. Among 4 couples with repeated abortions and one or more children with multiple anomalies, 2 husbands showed a balanced translocation in all metaphases studied. Among the other 38 couples studied a number showed abnormalities in a few cells (trisomy, partial trisomy, balanced and unbalanced translocations, fragments, dicentrics, endoreduplication, tetraploidy, XO, long-armed Y, quadriradials and triradials). Partially trisomic cells were seen approximately 5 times as frequently among the women as among the men, and 6 patients were observed to have a single metaphase with a quadriradial chromosome. (APS)
Action imitation in birds

Action imitation, once thought to be a behavior almost exclusively limited to humans and the great apes, surprisingly also has been found in a number of bird species. Because imitation has been viewed by some psychologists as a form of intelligent behavior, there has been interest in how it is distributed among animal species. Although the mechanisms responsible for action imitation are not clear, we are now at least beginning to understand the conditions under which it occurs. In this article, I try to identify and differentiate the various forms of socially influenced behavior (species-typical social reactions, social effects on motivation, social effects on perception, socially influenced learning, and action imitation) and explain why it is important to differentiate imitation from other forms of social influence. I also examine some of the variables that appear to be involved in the occurrence of imitation. Finally, I speculate about why a number of bird species, but few mammal species, appear to imitate.
Value of soybean trypsin inhibitor in preventing the toxic effects of human placental thromboplastin.

Conclusion1. When given intravenously to 4 species, the soybean trypsin inhibitor, in doses up to 0.5 g/kg, was devoid of any apparent toxic or anaphylactic effect. In the monkey, it was noted that the material caused a prolongation of the plasma coagulation time.2. Given either intravenously or intramuscularly, the soybean trypsin inhibitor offered considerable protection against the subsequent administration of lethal doses of human placental thromboplastin, as shown in Table I.
Molecular diffusion model of neurotransmitter homeostasis around synapses supporting gradients

Neurotransmitter homeostasis in and around a synapse involves complex random processes such as diffusion, molecular binding, and uptake by glial transporters. A three-dimensional stochastic diffusion model of a synapse was developed to provide molecular-level details of neurotransmitter homeostasis not predicted by alternative models based on continuum approaches. The development was illustrated through an example case cortico-accumbens synapse that successfully integrated neuroadaptations observed after chronic cocaine. By incorporating cystine-glutamate exchanger as a nonsynaptic release site for glutamate, the stochastic model was used to quantify the relative contributions of synaptic and nonsynaptic sources to extracellular concentration and to estimate molecular influx rates into the perisynapse. A perturbation analysis showed that among the parameters considered, variation in surface density of glial transporters had the largest effect on glutamate concentrations. The stochastic diffusion model of the example synapse was further generalized to characterize glial morphology by studying the role of diffusion path length in supporting neurotransmitter gradients and isolating the synapse. For the same set of parameters, diffusion path length was found to be proportional to the gradient supported.
Domain stabilities in protein kinase R (PKR): evidence for weak interdomain interactions.

PKR (protein kinase R) is induced by interferon and is a key component of the innate immunity antiviral pathway. Upon binding dsRNA, PKR undergoes autophosphorylation reactions that activate the kinase, leading it to phosphorylate eIF2α, thus inhibiting protein synthesis in virally infected cells. PKR contains a dsRNA-binding domain (dsRBD) and a kinase domain. The dsRBD is composed of two tandem dsRNA-binding motifs. An autoinhibition model for PKR has been proposed, whereby dsRNA binding activates the enzyme by inducing a conformational change that relieves the latent enzyme of the inhibition that is mediated by the interaction of the dsRBD with the kinase. However, recent biophysical data support an open conformation for the latent enzyme, where activation is mediated by dimerization of PKR induced upon binding dsRNA. We have probed the importance of interdomain contacts by comparing the relative stabilities of isolated domains with the same domain in the context of the intact enzyme using equilibrium ...
Resilience Challenged: Thoughts on Children's Mental Health in the Gulf Coast 5 Years After Katrina

Geographic circumstances: Soon after Hurricane Katrina, I tended to the mental health needs of children and families and to the need for developing programs to take care of the most affected populations; I revisited the Gulf Coast area of impact about twice per month for days at a time for ∼3 years. About the author: I am a fellow at the Harvard Program in Refugee Trauma and adjunct faculty at the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University, and I privately practice psychology in New York City. A few days after Katrina's landfall I participated in a needs assessment with the National Center for Disaster Preparedness. While at the George R. Brown center in Houston, Texas, I interacted with many evacuees and helped them connect with relatives and offered them psychological first aid and support. This shelter was housing literally tens of thousands of people, which allowed us to both help many people and obtain information that later helped to shape our programs. My life and that of my colleagues at Columbia's National Center for Disaster Preparedness and the Children's Health Fund changed dramatically as it became our mission to develop permanent medical and mental health programs and training that would provide assistance not only immediately but also in the long-term aftermath of this horrible disaster. Although my home remained in New York City, I spent a great deal of time in Louisiana and Mississippi over the next 3½ years. I feel honored to … Address correspondence to Paula A. Madrid, PsyD, Harvard Program in Refugee Trauma, 22 Putnam Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139. E-mail: questions{at}paulamadrid.com
Hypophysial hormones and a G1 block in the lens epithelium of the adult frog (Rana pipiens).

Mechanical injury initself may be responsible for the transition of lens epithelial cells from the G0 to the G1 compartment of the cell cycle. This traverse which does not depend on DNA-dependent hypophysial hormones may be in part reversible.
DUST AND DIFFUSE INTERSTELLAR BANDS IN THE z~a = 0.524 ABSORPTION SYSTEM TOWARD AO 0235+164

The authors present new HST STIS NUV-MAMA and STIS CCD observations of the BL Lac object AO 0235+164 and the intervening damped Ly {alpha} (DLA) line at z{sub {alpha}} = 0.524. The line profile gives N(HI) = 5 {+-} 1 x 10{sup 21} cm{sup -2} and, combined with the H I 21 cm absorption data leads to a spin temperature of Ts = 220 K {+-} 60 K. Those spectra also show a strong, broad feature at the expected position of the 2175 {angstrom} graphitic dust feature at z{sup {alpha}} = 0.524. Assuming a Galactic type dust extinction curve at z{sub {alpha}} = 0.524 gives a dust-to-gas ratio of 0.19 Galactic, but the fit, assuming the underlying, un-reddened spectrum is a single power-law, is poor in the far-UV. A dust-to-gas ratio of 0.19 Galactic is similar to the LMC, but the AO 0235+164 spectrum does not fit the LMC extinction curve, or the SMC extinction curve (which has practically no 2175 {angstrom} feature). A possible interpretation includes dust similar to Galactic, but with less of the small particles that produce the far-UV extinction. The metallicity of the z{sub {alpha}} = 0.524 absorber, estimated from the observed N(HI) and excess X-raymore » absorption (beyond Galactic) derived from contemporaneous and archival ASCA and ROSAT.« less
U.S. air carriers and work-rule constraints – Do airlines employ an allocatively efficient mix of inputs?

Past research on the allocation of factor inputs for the airline industry suggests an overutilization of labor relative to other inputs immediately following deregulation. This study argues rigid work rules in conjunction with productivity improvements of nonlabor inputs may create an incentive for carriers to under-invest in labor relative to nonlabor inputs. Findings derived from estimating a long-run shadow cost function for this industry suggest that airlines over-employ non-labor inputs relative to labor. Simulations suggest potential savings ranging from 13 to 14 percent derived from satisfying the conditions of allocative efficiency for carriers in the study's sample.
Effects of "task-related stress" on human performance on a two-component monitoring task.

Male and female Ss performed a two-component monitoring task under 3 conditions of stress, No-stress, Task-related Stress, and Task-unrelated Stress. Dependent variables were reaction time, cumulative responses, and cumulative response errors. The results indicated faster reaction time under conditions of Task-related Stress than during the other two conditions. Differences in cumulative responses and cumulative response errors also occurred over monitoring periods, suggesting improved vigilance with practice. The results were interpreted as indicative of a “protective-adaptive” response to stress, during which S protects himself by adapting within his response repertoire to stressors.
A novel ice storm manipulation experiment in a northern hardwood forest

Ice storms are an important natural disturbance within forest ecosystems of the northeastern United States. Current models suggest that the frequency and severity of ice storms may increase in the ...
Multivariate analysis of AVIRIS data for canopy biochemical estimation along the Oregon transect.

Abstract High spectral resolution data from the Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) acquired over several forest stands in west-central Oregon were analyzed with respect to variations in forest canopy biochemical content (kg ha−1), foliar biochemical concentration (mg cm2 leaf area), and leaf area index (LAI). The Lowtran-7 atmospheric radiative transfer code was used to convert AVIRIS at-sensor radiance into reflectance factor. The correlation of reflectance factor and first-difference AVIRIS spectra with total nitrogen (TN), lignin, starch, total chlorophyll content (kg ha−1), and LAI is presented. Correlogram structure in the 1200–2400 nm region is compared with the occurrence of known absorption features associated with organic molecular bonds which comprise foliar biochemical constituents. Regression equations relating the first-difference AVIRIS data to chemical variables and LAI were developed. The chlorophyll red edge spectral region was strongly related to LAI, canopy TN content, and canopy chlorophyll content. Generally good correspondence was found between wavelength selections for TN and lignin (concentration and content) and overtones of fundamental CH and NH absorptance features. The AVIRIS data were not significantly correlated with either starch concentration or starch content, although wavelength selections for starch were consistent with those made in previous laboratory-based studies.
The determination of physical and dynamical parameters of Pluto/Charon and binary asteroids by least-square formation of a matched filter for a time series of images. I - The operational theory

A theory is derived for the determination of the masses, radii, and orbital elements of the Pluto/Charon, or similar, system based on the prediction of an image distribution over space and time and its comparison with observation. The comparison may be ultimately through the theory of least squares or the application of a matched filter to the observations as a three-dimensional signal stream at an initial or intermediate state. The theory is an approximation correct to fifth order in the diameters of celestial bodies. The theory of astronomical seeing that is used is based on Kolmogorov turbulence in the long-exposure limit. The images must be photometric. Linear tracking errors that can be removed are preferable to either automatic or manual guiding, in the collection of candidate observations.
Thyroxine and oxygen consumption in Pseudemys scripta elegans

Abstract 1. 1. Thyroxine dramatically increases oxygen utilization in Pseudemys. 2. 2. The effect of thyroxine on oxygen utilization shows a strong temperature dependence, enhancement being greatest between 6 and 16°C and above 26°C. 3. 3. No increase in oxygen utilization is seen at ambient temperatures of 21–26°C or at 2°C or below.
Abstracts of the 8th Meeting of the Italian Peripheral Nerve Study Group: 51

We report a case of peripheral both demyelinating and axonal polyneuropathy in a patient affected from intestinal aganglionosis with high dose intermittent metronidazole therapy. Intestinal aganglionosis is a myenteric plexus disorder with lack of innervation concerning the whole digestive tract from the rectum to the esophagus. The familial incidence of this condition seems to be high and a recessive autosomal transmission is likely. In the pathogenesis of this disorder aberrant neural crest migration seems to be implicated: indeed frequent neurologic signs resembling dysautonomic ones, deafness and rare peripheral demyelinating or axonal neuropathies are associated. The patient was a 12 years old female child affected by intestinal aganglionosis and underwent to chronic intermittent Metronidazole treatment, with daily doses of 500 mg for 15 day every month. She was admitted to our Hospital for inability to walk, dysesthesias and pain at lower limbs, acutely started and progressively worsening. At the admission neurological examination showed ataxic gait with bilateral foot drop, severe distal weakness, bilateral tibialis anterior muscle atrophy, absent deep tendon reflexes, rapidly worsening. CSF was normal. Antibodies against to peripheral nerve (antigangliosides, sulfatide, MAG, glycosaminoglycans) resulted negative. Spinal cord MRI revealed increased roots size and increased epidural space. EMG showed denervation spontaneous activity with neurogenic MUAP modification on distal muscles. Nerve conduction study showed severe slowing of motor velocity on right and left peroneal nerves with reduced amplitude of CMAP. Sensory conduction was mild slowing on both sural nerves with reduced amplitude of SAP. Metronidazole therapy was discontinued; desametazone, high dose vitamin and intravenous immunoglobulin therapy was established in addition to rehydration and parenteral nutrition. Clinical conditions progressively improved and at two months follow up the girl was able to walk with mild ataxia. The authors emphasize in described case the difficulty to differentiate toxic or vitamin deficiency or autoimmune pathogenesis.
Ideokinetic Imagery as a Postural Development Technique

Abstract In two experiments we examined the effectiveness of ideokinetic imagery and flexibility combined with abdominal strength training as methods for improving the spinal angles of lordosis and, kyphosis and reducing low back pain. Ideokinetic imagery is a postural development technique that involves using movement images to gain subcortical control over the spinal musculature. Experiment 1 investigated the effectiveness of these treatments for males with a previous history of low back pain. Findings indicated that only ideokinetic imagery had a positive effect on the spinal column and low back pain. Experiment 2 extended these findings by investigating males and females using a noninvasive video analysis technique to record changes in spinal angles. The study further supports the effectiveness of ideokinetic imagery as a postural development technique in males with acute spinal angles. In these subjects spinal angles improved significantly, and the subjects reported compute cessation of low back pain...
Parallel Evolution and Coexpression of the Proteolipid Proteins and Protein Zero in Vertebrate Myelin

Abstract Vertebrate myelin contains two proteins that mediate compaction: protein zero (P 0 ), an immunoglobulin gene superfamily member, or proteolipid proteins, 4-hydrophobic domain–motif proteins biogenetically unrelated to P 0 . The prevailing view has been that expression of P 0 and proteolipid proteins is mutually exclusive; P 0 , which mediates myelin compaction in fish, is thought to be completely replaced by the newer proteolipid proteins in the terrestrial vertebrate CNS. However, we now find that proteolipid proteins are actually major myelin constituents in bony fish and amphibia, and so are coexpressed with P 0 . Clearly, myelin proteolipids are not new additions to the myelin protein repertoire, but instead were ancestral sheath components, expressed ∼440 million years ago in the first myelinated fish that existed at least ∼100 million years before the origin of amphibians. In conclusion, P 0 and the proteolipid proteins are evolving in parallel in myelinating cells of most vertebrate species.
Cloning and characterization of a novel mouse myeloid DAP12-associated receptor family

The presence of a negatively charged residue in the transmembrane domain of DAP12 precludes its cell surface expression in the absence of a partner receptor containing a positive charge in its transmembrane domain. We utilized this property of DAP12 to screen a BALB / c macrophage cDNA library for novel molecules that induce cell surface expression of DAP12. By this method, we cloned a cell surface receptor with a single Ig (V) domain, a transmembrane lysine residue, and a short cytoplasmic domain. By homology screening of BALB / c macrophage libraries, we identified a second cDNA for a highly homologous receptor. These receptors appear to be the mouse orthologues of a recently identified human cDNA, TREM-2, so we have designated the receptors as mouse TREM-2a and TREM-2b. By Northern blotting, transcripts for TREM-2 were found in each of three macrophage cell lines but not in a variety of other hematopoietic cell lines. We further demonstrate that TREM-2a is associated with endogenous DAP12 in macrophage cells, and cross-linking of TREM-2a on the surface of macrophages leads to the release of nitric oxide. Our studies define TREM-2 as a receptor family in mouse macrophages and demonstrate the capacity of these receptors to activate macrophage function through DAP12.
Perineural growth in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: A review

Perineural growth is a unique route of tumor metastasis that is associated with poor prognosis in several solid malignancies. It is diagnosed by the presence of tumor cells inside the neural space seen on histological or imaging evaluations. Little is known about molecular mechanisms involved in the growth and spread of tumor cells in neural spaces. The poor prognosis associated with perineural growth and lack of targeted approaches necessitates the study of molecular factors involved in communication between tumor and neural cells. Perineural growth rates, shown to be as high as 63% in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), correlate with increased local recurrence and decreased disease-free survival. Here we describe the literature on perineural growth in HNSCC. In addition, we discuss factors implicated in perineural growth of cancer. These factors include brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), nerve growth factor (NGF), neurotrophin-3 and -4, glial cell-line derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), the neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM), substance P (SP), and chemokines. We also explore the literature on membrane receptors, including the Trk family and the low-affinity nerve growth factor receptor. This review highlights areas for further study of the mechanisms of perineural invasion which may facilitate the identification of therapeutic targets in HNSCC.
Selective attention to facial identity and facial emotion

Patients with lesions to either the right or left hemisphere and control subjects were asked to discriminate photographs of faces and then to sort these photographs according to the identity of the face or the emotion displayed. Whether identity and emotion were correlated, independent, or constant was varied across trials. Patients with right hemisphere damage were significantly impaired at discriminating both identity and expression, and at selectively attending to either sort of facial information. However, these subjects could selectively attend to attributes of geometric figures suggesting that their impairment with faces cannot be attributed to deficits in selective attention in general.
Sickle cell hepatopathy

Sickle cell hepatopathy encompasses a range of hepatic pathology arising from a wide variety of insults to the liver in patients with sickle cell disease. It occurs predominantly in patients with homozygous sickle cell anemia, and to a lesser extent in patients with sickle cell trait, Hb SC disease and Hb S b thalassemia. The hepatic disease may primarily be caused by the sickling process, but more commonly arises as a consequence of the multiple transfusions that these patients require in their lifetime. The term multitransfusion hepatopathy may therefore be more appropriate for these latter patients. The direct manifestations of sickle cell disease in the liver relate predominantly to vascular occlusion with acute ischemia, sequestration, and cholestasis, although chronic cholestatic syndromes have also been described. The main hepatic complications of multiple transfusions include acute and chronic infection with hepatitis B and C and iron overload. A further potential consequence of the chronic hemolysis is the development of pigment stones, with consequent cholecystitis and acute and chronic biliary obstruction from choledocholithiasis. Unfortunately, much of the literature on sickle cell hepatopathy lacks depth, because there are few sizeable or controlled studies, and most studies provide only incomplete information regarding coexisting chronic infection with hepatitis B or C, hepatic iron deposition, and chronic biliary obstruction from choledocholithiasis. It is therefore difficult to evaluate the contributing effects of these various insults in the final pathologic and clinical picture in these patients. As will be discussed subsequently, sickle cell anemia may lead to several unique liver syndromes (Table 1).
Protein Determinants of RNA Binding by DNA Polymerase of the T4-related Bacteriophage RB69

DNA polymerase (gp43) of phage T4 plays two biological roles, one as an essential DNA binding replication enzyme and the other as an mRNA-specific autogenous translational repressor. Binding of T4 gp43 to its mRNA target (translational operator RNA) interferes with gp43-DNA interactions, but it is unclear how the protein determinants for binding DNA are affected by the dynamics of gp43-mRNA interactions. We have used RB69 gp43, a natural variant of the T4 enzyme whose crystal structure has been determined to identify protein sites that respond to the interaction with specific RNA. We used protein phosphorylation markers, photocross-linking studies, protease sensitivity assays, and mutational analyses to examine the effects of operator RNA on the enzyme's five structural domains (N, exo, palm, fingers, and thumb). Our studies suggest that this RNA affects gp43-DNA interactions through global effects on protein structure that occlude DNA-binding sites but leave the enzyme accessible to interactions with the sliding clamp (RB69 gp45) and possibly other polymerase accessory proteins. We discuss the possible biological significance of putative RNA-binding motifs in the N and palm domains of RB69 gp43.
Ligand-induced heme ruffling and bent no geometry in ultra-high-resolution structures of nitrophorin 4.

The nitrophorins are a family of proteins that use ferric heme to transport nitric oxide (NO) from the salivary glands of blood-sucking insects to their victims, resulting in vasodilation and reduced blood coagulation. We have refined atomic resolution structures of nitrophorin 4 (NP4) from Rhodnius prolixus complexed with NO (1.08 A) and NH 3 (1.15 A), yielding a highly detailed picture of the iron coordination sphere. In NP4-NO, the NO nitrogen is coordinated to iron (Fe-N distance ) 1.66 A) and is somewhat bent (Fe-N-O angle ) 156°), with bending occurring in the same plane as the proximal histidine ring. The Fe(NO)(heme)(His) coordination geometry is unusual but consistent with an Fe(III) oxidation state that is stabilized by a highly ruffled heme. Heme ruffling occurs in both structures, apparently due to close contacts between the heme and leucines 123 and 133, but increases on binding NO even though the steric contacts have not changed. We also report the structure of NP4 in complexes with histamine (1.50 A) and imidazole (1.27 A). Unexpectedly, two mobile loops that rearrange to pack against the bound NO in NP4-NO, also rearrange in the NP4-imidazole complex. This conformational change is apparently driven by the nonpolar nature of the NO and imidazole (as bound) ligands. Taken together, the desolvation of the NO binding pocket through a change in protein conformation, and the bending of the NO moiety, possibly through protein-assisted heme ruffling, may lead to a nitrosyl-heme complex that is unusually resistant to autoreduction.
Effects of Ionic Strength and Flow Rate on Colloid Release: Relating Kinetics to Intersurface Potential Energy

Abstract The effects of ionic strength and flow rate on the release of hematite colloids from quartz surfaces were observed in a packed bed column. The rates of colloid release, prompted by an abrupt increase in solution pH, increased as ionic strength was decreased; however, the corresponding intersurface potential energy barriers, calculated using extended DLVO theory and a Born repulsion collision parameter of σ = 5 A, increased in size. Furthermore, the observed release rates increased with increasing flow rate. These results suggest that colloid transport "over an energy barrier" was not the rate-limiting step in these experiments. We hypothesized that the increase in solution pH was sufficient to cause the disappearance of the detachment energy barrier in these experiments. When we calculated the double layer potentials with surface potentials (estimated using a surface complexation-double layer model) instead of zeta potentials (which decrease with increasing ionic strength owing to compression of the double layer), the potential energy profiles still contained energy barriers. To force removal of the energy barriers in the calculated potential energy profiles, we increased the short-range repulsive energy by increasing the Born collision parameter from 5 to 20 A, resulting in effective distances of closest approach of about 7 A. This change resulted in correspondence of the trends in the observed and predicted detachment behavior. In the absence of an energy barrier, we hypothesized that colloid transport across a diffusion boundary layer would control the rate of colloid release. In this case, the colloid release rate should be related to the flow rate through the influence of the flow rate on the thickness of the diffusion boundary layer. The observed dependence of the release rates on the estimated boundary layer thickness was close to that predicted for the release rate-boundary layer thickness relationship.
SALIVARY SECRETION OF A, B AND H SUBSTANCES IN GASTRIC CANCER IN JAPAN AND THE U.S.A.

The purpose of this investigation was to examine salivary secretion of A, B and H blood group substances in gastric cancer subjects of two ethnic groups, the Asian Japanese with a known increased incidence of the disease and the U.S.A. Whites with an intermediate incidence of the disorder. Eighty-two histologically proven cases of stomach cancer and 130 control subjects from U.S.A. and 212 cases of cancer of the stomach and 177 control subjects in Asian Japanese were tested for salivary blood group substances. It was found that by mean tube titer analysis U.S.A. Whites with gastric cancer secreted more H substance than controls (p<0.001), and possibly more A substance (p<0.05). By similar analysis, Japanese with gastric cancer did not secrete more of these substances as compared to their controls. When all subjects tested were assigned either secretor or non-secretor status on the basis of bi-modal distribution behavior, then more secretors were found in the Japanese gastric cancer group than in controls (p = 0.01), and a similar trend was seen in U.S.A. Whites (p.<0.05). Some observations on blood group secretor phenomena and disease are reviewed, and a speculation is offered in regard to a possible mechanism of importance in the pathogenesis of gastric cancer. This speculation attempts to relate neoplasia of gastric epithelial cells to introduction of viral DNA, and the suggestion is made that virus might find it easier to penetrate a cell containing A substance rather than one containing H substance or none at all.
Positive Effects of Shade and Shelter Construction by Ants on Leafhopper-Ant Mutualism

The myrmecophilous five-spotted gamagrass leafhopper, Dalbulus quinquenotatus DeLong and Nault, and its tending ants on gamagrass Tripsacum dactyloides L. were examined to determine the influence of shade and ant-constructed shelters on the population sizes of D. quinquenotatus and ants. Gamagrass plants hosting ants and leafhoppers were exposed to 50, 30, or 0% artificially constructed shade. The greatest numbers of leafhoppers and ants were found on plants that received 50% shade. Shelters made by the ant Solenopsis geminata (F.) contained large numbers of leafhoppers and ants but were found only on T. dactyloides exposed to 50% shade in artificially constructed habitats. Additional sampling was conducted on wild gamagrass plants in the field to explore the presence of ants tending leafhoppers in shelters and to evaluate whether ant-constructed shelters protect leafhopper nymphs from parasitoid wasps. Large aggregations of S. geminata in shelters were also found in natural gamagrass habitats. Leafhopper nymphs living in shelters made by S. geminata may be protected against the dryinid wasp parasitoid Anteon ciudadi Olmi. No sheltered nymphs were parasitized by dryinids, whereas 24% of unsheltered nymphs had dryinid parasitism.
Ovalbumin is more immunogenic when introduced into brain or cerebrospinal fluid than into extracerebral sites.

Abstract The magnitudes of serum antibody responses to ovalbumin have been compared following immunization via cerebral or extracerebral sites in Sprague-Dawley rats. In central nervous system (CNS)-immunized rats, conditions were designed to ensure normal brain barrier permeability. Extracerebral immunization was via the footpad or along pathways of antigen outflow from the CNS. The relative immunogenicity of different injection sites is: CSF > brain tissus > extracerebral sites. Enhancement of the antibody response to CNS-administered antigen appears to depend on events initiated within the CNS, since ovalbumin injected into blood (which reaches the spleen) or nasal submucosa (which drains to cervical nodes) fails to elicit a similar response.
Phase-field-crystal model for fcc ordering.

We develop and analyze a two-mode phase-field-crystal model to describe fcc ordering. The model is formulated by coupling two different sets of crystal density waves corresponding to $⟨111⟩$ and $⟨200⟩$ reciprocal lattice vectors, which are chosen to form triads so as to produce a simple free-energy landscape with coexistence of crystal and liquid phases. The feasibility of the approach is demonstrated with numerical examples of polycrystalline and (111) twin growth. We use a two-mode amplitude expansion to characterize analytically the free-energy landscape of the model, identifying parameter ranges where fcc is stable or metastable with respect to bcc. In addition, we derive analytical expressions for the elastic constants for both fcc and bcc. Those expressions show that a nonvanishing amplitude of [200] density waves is essential to obtain mechanically stable fcc crystals with a nonvanishing tetragonal shear modulus $({C}_{11}\ensuremath{-}{C}_{12})/2$. We determine the model parameters for specific materials by fitting the peak liquid structure factor properties and solid-density wave amplitudes following the approach developed for bcc [K.-A. Wu and A. Karma, Phys. Rev. B 76, 184107 (2007)]. This procedure yields reasonable predictions of elastic constants for both bcc Fe and fcc Ni using input parameters from molecular dynamics simulations. The application of the model to two-dimensional square lattices is also briefly examined.
The Master of Science in Artificial Intelligence Program at the University of Georgia

Abstract The interdisciplinary Master of Science program in Artificial Intelligence at the University of Georgia is intended to prepare students for careers as developers of artificial intelligence applications or for further graduate work in artificial intelligence or related areas. The program includes foundational courses in computer science, linguistics, logic, philosophy, and psychology as well as specialized courses in artificial intelligence programming languages and techniques. Seminars emphasize knowledge-based systems, natural language understanding, and logic programming. Students are admitted to the program with degrees in many areas including business, computer science, education, linguistics, philosophy, and psychology. A liberal undergraduate education with some previous experience in computing is desirable. It normally takes two years to complete all prerequisites, all required courses, and the thesis.
Effect of age on substance P levels in the rat mesenteric artery and vein

The content of substance P in the vasculature of Fischer 344 rats 6 to 27 months of age was determined by radioimmunoassay. Substance P could not be measured in the subclavian vein, femoral artery and vein or cerebral arteries of 6 month old rats. Levels of substance P in the mesenteric artery and vein of 6 month old rats averaged 4.8 +/- 1.0 and 8.3 +/- 1.8 pmole/g wet weight (n = 6-7), respectively. At 20 months of age, substance P levels in the vein were significantly increased. At 27 months, levels of substance P in both mesenteric artery and vein were increased to almost twice the values found in younger animals. This increased substance P content could reflect increased nerve density, or, more likely, an increased substance P content in each nerve ending. In the latter case, it is not possible to distinguish between increased content due to decreased nerve activity or increased content which would result in increased amounts of substance P released with each nerve impulse.
Infarcted splenule—a case report

A 38-year-old woman presented with abdominal pain and left shoulder pain. A computed tomography scan was obtained, which demonstrated a rounded soft tissue density with surrounding stranding. It was interpreted as an infarcted splenule. Due to the increasing severity of the patient’s symptoms, a laparoscopic exploration was performed. Pathology demonstrated an infarcted splenule. As infarcted splenules are rare, an understanding of its pathogenesis and familiarity with the corresponding imaging findings may be helpful for its diagnosis in the patient with the appropriate clinical scenario. It is important to recognize this entity as a cause of abdominal pain that can be managed nonsurgically.
Near-field cosmology and the first stars: Insights from chemical evolution

Abstract I present a new Galactic chemical evolution model motivated by and grounded in the hierarchical theory of galaxy formation. This model accurately reproduces the “metallicity distribution function” (MDF) for Population II stars residing today in the Galactic halo, and implies that the IMF of the first stars was peaked in the range of massive stars that experience core-collapse supernovae (mean mass 〈 M 〉 = 8–42 M ⊙ ), similar to the masses predicted by models of primordial star formation that account for formation feedback. The observed MDF and the apparent absence of true Population III stars from the Galactic halo strongly imply that there is some critical metallicity, Z crit ≲ 10 −4 Z ⊙ , below which low-mass star formation was inhibited. Metal-poor halo stars below [Fe/H] ≲ −3 had only 1–10 metal-free stars as their supernova precursors, such that the relative abundances in these halo stars exhibit IMF-weighted averages over the intrinsic yields of the first supernovae. This model is the first component of a long-term program to relate near-field indicators of early star formation to the high-redshift universe, an approach termed “near-field cosmology”.