cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Conformational Changes That Effect Oligomerization and Initiate Pore Formation Are Triggered throughout Perfringolysin O upon Binding to Cholesterol

Pore formation by the cholesterol-dependent cytolysins (CDCs) requires the presence of cholesterol in the target membrane. Cholesterol was long thought to be the cellular receptor for these toxins, but not all CDCs require cholesterol for binding. Intermedilysin, secreted by Streptococcus intermedius, only binds to membranes containing the human protein CD59 but forms pores only if the membrane contains sufficient cholesterol. In contrast, perfringolysin O (PFO), secreted by Clostridium perfringens, only binds to membranes containing substantial amounts of cholesterol. Given that different steps in the assembly of various CDC pores require cholesterol, here we have analyzed to what extent cholesterol molecules, by themselves, can modulate the conformational changes associated with PFO oligomerization and pore formation. PFO binds to cholesterol when dispersed in aqueous solution, and this binding triggers the distant rearrangement of a β-strand that exposes an oligomerization interface. Moreover, upon binding to cholesterol, PFO forms a prepore complex, unfolds two amphipathic transmembrane β-hairpins, and positions their nonpolar surfaces so they associate with the hydrophobic cholesterol surface. The interaction of PFO with cholesterol is therefore sufficient to initiate an irreversible sequence of coupled conformational changes that extend throughout the toxin molecule.
Detection of Antigen-Specific T Cells with Multivalent Soluble Class II MHC Covalent Peptide Complexes

Multimeric soluble MHC class II molecules stably occupied with covalently attached peptides bind with appropriate specificity to T cell hybridomas and T cells from T cell receptor transgenic mice. There is a direct correlation between soluble T cell receptor affinity for monomeric MHC/peptide and level of binding of multimeric MHC/peptide to T cells. While binding of the multimeric MHC/peptide complex is proportional to T cell receptor affinity and expression level, there is little influence of T cell CD4.
Citric acid etching of cervical sclerotic dentin lesions: an AFM study.

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) has been used to determine microstructural changes, etching rates of peritubular dentin, and intertubular dentin recession during demineralization in dilute acidic solutions. These studies have not included many forms of altered dentin, including noncarious sclerotic root dentin associated with Cl V (abfraction) lesions. We sought to determine microstructural changes and recession rates during demineralization in citric acid (pH 2.5, 0.018M) for the transparent/sclerotic zone. Highly polished dentin disks were prepared from teeth with noncarious C1 V lesions (n = 3) and compared with normal root dentin (n = 3). Samples were etched at 5-s intervals for 1 min and at longer intervals up to 30 min. The depth changes in various portions of the dentin with respect to the reference layer were measured and changes in microstructure observed in solution in the wet cell of the AFM. In sclerotic dentin, most tubule lumens were occluded with crystalline deposits that etched more slowly than the other dentin components, but etching rates could not be determined due to their irregular geometry. The intertubular dentin recession quickly reached a plateau after a depth change of <1 microm for all dentin types, in agreement with prior work. Mixed linear regression models indicated an important difference between the etching of sclerotic intertubular dentin and that of non-sclerotic root dentin that became apparent after 600 s (p = 0.037). The sclerotic intertubular dentin underwent less depth change at the plateau (558 nm) compared to normal root dentin (744 nm). In addition, normal root dentin underwent significantly greater recession than coronal dentin (p = 0.002). The results of this study indicate that intertubular sclerotic dentin from Cl V lesions etches differently than normal root dentin, and this may help explain the difficulties in restoring such lesions with current bonding procedures.
National Trends in Heart Failure Hospital Stay Rates, 2001 to 2009

Objectives This study sought to analyze recent trends over time in heart failure (HF) hospital stay rates, length of stay (LOS), and in-hospital mortality by age groups with a large national dataset of U.S. hospital discharges. Background Heart failure hospital stay rates, LOS, and mortality have fallen over the past decade for older Medicare beneficiaries, but whether this holds true for younger adults is unknown. Methods From the National Inpatient Sample, we calculated HF hospital stay rates, LOS, and in-hospital mortality from 2001 to 2009 with survey data analysis techniques. Results Hospital stays (n = 1,686,089) with a primary discharge diagnosis of HF were identified from National Inpatient Sample data between 2001 and 2009. The overall national hospital stay rate decreased from 633 to 463 hospital stays/100,000 persons, (−26.9%, p-for-trend Conclusions Younger patients have not experienced comparable declines in HF hospital stay, LOS, and in-hospital mortality as older patients. Black men remain a vulnerable population for HF hospital stay.
Disseminated intravascular coagulopathy: Manifestations after a routine dental extraction

Clinical signs and symptoms of acute disseminated intravascular coagulopathy (DIC) include bleeding from body orifices, such as the nose, mouth, or ear, bleeding from an intravenous (IV) site, areas of ecchymosis, or blood in the urine or stool. The underlying disease triggering DIC usually determines the clinical presentation. However, patients with chronic DIC (compensated DIC) may possess subclinical signs and symptoms, and the bleeding disorder may only be identified through laboratory findings. In this compensated form, the triggering factor is exposed slowly and in small amounts (seen in malignancies and vasculitis), allowing replenishing of the augmented factors by the liver, adequate reticuloendothelial clearance of fibrin degradation products, and increased production of platelets, which prevent secondary fibrinolysis and the signs of bleeding. 1,4 We report a case of an 82-year-old male who presented to the emergency room 24 hours after a routine dental extraction with bleeding from the tooth socket, severe hypotension, and presence of ecchymosis on his chest. Clinical and radiographic exam revealed multiple thoracic and abdominal aortic aneurysms, as well as infrarenal and iliac aneurysms, continuous oral hemorrhage, and a unique presentation rarely documented in the literature: a bleeding tooth socket as the initial clinical sign and presentation of DIC.
The Human Capital Model and Federal Employees’ Pay: Gender, Veteran Status, and Occupation

Do the human capital variables education and experience, and the chosen occupations for which male and female veterans and nonveterans qualify affect pay in the federal civil service? Are the strength and direction of relationships similar before and after the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan? When compared to federal employees in other agencies, are differences in pay based on gender and veteran status the same for those who work for the Department of Defense (DOD)? This is an ordinary least squares regression analysis of Office of Personnel Management records for a 1 % random sample of federal employees in 2000 and 2009. These regression models based on the Human Capital Model, data from years before and after the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and separate analyses for DOD and non-DOD agencies differ from earlier analyses. Whether or not an employee works for the DOD, years of education and experience are significantly related to pay. In addition, between 2000 and 2009 the gender-based wage gap for nonveterans decreased while the gap between the pay of the reference group and male and female veterans grew for federal employees who did not work for the DOD. In the same years, for DOD employees there are fewer differences in pay based on veteran status and gender and race. With some exceptions for the DOD, the significant positive relationships between pay and occupation became significant negative relationships when the pay of women in each occupation was analyzed.
Optimization under variability and uncertainty: a case study for NOx emissions control for a gasification system.

Methods for optimization of process technologies considering the distinction between variability and uncertainty are developed and applied to case studies of NOx control for Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle systems. Existing methods of stochastic optimization (SO) and stochastic programming (SP) are demonstrated. A comparison of SO and SP results provides the value of collecting additional information to reduce uncertainty. For example, an expected annual benefit of $240 000 is estimated if uncertainty can be reduced before a final design is chosen. SO and SP are typically applied to uncertainty. However, when applied to variability, the benefit of dynamic process control is obtained. For example, an annual savings of $1 million could be achieved if the system is adjusted to changes in process conditions. When variability and uncertainty are treated distinctively, a coupled stochastic optimization and programming method and a two-dimensional stochastic programming method are demonstrated via a case ...
A prospective study of the association between APOE genotype and the risk of myocardial infarction among apparently healthy men.

Abstract Background : Apolipoprotein E (apoE) plays an important role in lipid metabolism. Three common alleles in the APOE gene, E2/E3/E4, have been associated with lipoprotein disorders but their effects on myocardial infarction (MI) risk remain uncertain. Methods : In a prospective cohort of 14 916 apparently healthy men enrolled in the Physicians' Health Study, APOE genotyping was conducted to determine three common alleles (E2/E3/E4) among 385 incident cases of first MI and among 373 age- and smoking-matched controls. Results : No significant differences in allele or genotype frequency for the APOE gene were detected between cases and controls. As expected, we observed significant positive associations between dyslipidemia (low HDL/high TG or high LDL) and MI risk ( P P P =0.04) or TG ( P =0.02). Compared with men homozygous for the E3 allele and after adjusting for multiple MI risk factors, men carrying the E4 allele (E4/4 or E4/3) had a relative risk of 0.93 (95% CI 0.63–1.37) and men carrying the E2 allele (E2/2 or E2/3) a relative risk of 1.03 (0.62–1.74). Moreover, no significant difference in MI risk was observed among different genotypes across different levels of lipids or smoking status. Conclusions : These data from a prospective study of apparently healthy men do not support the simple view of E2 as a protective factor and E4 as a susceptibility factor in predicting future risk of MI independent of lipid parameters. Nor did we observe any interaction between smoking and apoE4 allele on MI risk.
Recently Described Feline Dermatoses

This article discusses the etiology, clinical signs, diagnosis, and treatment of several diseases. Feline immunodeficiency, virus infection, cryptococcosis, dermatophyte pseudomycetomas, demodicosis, Sezary-like syndrome, and discoid lupus erythematosus in cats are reviewed.
Learning to search

Abstract Consumer search behavior in a market characterized by differentiated products is investigated in terms of a psychological reinforcement learning model. It is demonstrated that under these assumptions, consumers will vary in their propensities toward search despite similarities in search costs. There is no ‘equilibrium’ search behavior for an individual household, but there does exist a unique equilibrium distribution of search propensities. Although the behavioral hypothesis which underlies the model is quite different from the usual Bayesian formulations, the mean of the equilibrium distribution has properties which are very similar to those of normative Bayesian search models.
U.S. versus Global Auditing: Why the Differences Matter

You know we now live in a global economy. U.S auditors must comply with global standards when dealing with multinational firms. But did you know that some international auditing requirements are more demanding than ours—and even conflict with them? © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Tongue drive: a wireless tongue- operated means for people with severe disabilities to communicate their intentions

Assistive technologies (ATs) can enable individuals with severe disabilities to communicate their intentions to other devices or individuals, particularly allowing them to control their environments via computers. In this article, we have introduced the basic concept and development of a new wireless tongue-operated AT, called Tongue Drive System (TDS), that can wirelessly detect users' tongue movements using an array of magnetic sensors and a small magnetic tracer secured on the tongue, and translate them into a set of user-defined commands in real time, which can then be used to communicate with target devices in the users' environments. Our goal is to provide users with an unobtrusive, minimally invasive, low-power, high-bandwidth, wireless, wearable, easy-to-use, and aesthetically appealing solution that is superior to other existing ATs for people with the most severe physical disabilities. The performance of the latest TDS prototype has been evaluated by both able-bodied subjects and patients with high-level spinal cord injuries. Results have demonstrated that the TDS can indeed offer its users much higher communication bandwidth compared to EEGbased brain computer interfaces.
LOCALISATION OF THE MOTOR AREA IN THE SHEEP

1. In the sheep the cortical motor area is located in the superior frontal convolution. It extends antero-posteriorly from a line about 2 mm. in front of the cruciate sulcus behind, almost to the frontal pole of the hemisphere, and latero-mesially from the coronal sulcus over the dorso-mesial border about 1 mm. on to the mesial aspect of the hemisphere. 2. It can be subdivided into four portions which are, from behind forwards, centres for movements of (a) hind limb, (b) fore limb, (c) head and eyes, and (d) face, mouth, and tongue. 3. Of these the centre for the fore limb is the most easily excitable, that for the face, mouth, and tongue the least. 4. In many individuals motor responses are not obtainable from one or more of these areas. The results of extirpation show that in the sheep these cortical centres are probably unimportant. 5. The best results were obtained under local anaesthesia with the animal in the conscious state. 6. No evidence of pain or other unpleasant sensation could be elicited from stimulation of any of the cortical surface which was exposed.
Linking resource use with demography in a synanthropic population of common ravens

A thorough understanding of a population’s ecology requires knowledge of the relationship between habitat use, resource use and demographic parameters. We undertook an empirical investigation of habitat use, resource use and demography in a population of common ravens (Corvus corax), a species widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere. The abundance of ravens is increasing in many parts of western North America, which represents a conservation concern since predation by ravens is thought to contribute to the decline of several sensitive species. We defined resources as the suite of physical and biological components in the environment that led to occupancy of a particular place by ravens. The home ranges of breeding and nonbreeding ravens contained similar proportions of resources, but breeding ravens used more edges, roads, forest, clearcuts, and towns than nonbreeders. We detected no differences in survival between the sexes, but breeding ravens survived at higher rates than nonbreeders, due to exclusion by breeding ravens from those resources positively associated with survival. Raven use of mature forests and anthropogenic land use types was positively associated with survival. Breeding raven use of clearcuts and patchy areas contributed to increased reproduction, but the use of clearcuts along with the use of roads was negatively associated with survival due to illegal shooting. Greater insight into the demography of synanthropic species such as the common raven will enable managers to make informed decisions for protecting biodiversity. This study is the first to consider the demographic consequences of habitat use and resource use for both nonbreeding and breeding common ravens.
Variable-retention harvests in the Pacific Northwest: A review of short-term findings from the DEMO study

In the Pacific Northwest (PNW) region of the contiguous United States, retention of live (green) trees in harvest units is an integral part of forest management practices on federal lands, yet the ecological benefits that result from various levels or patterns of retained trees remain speculative. The Demonstration of Ecosystem Management Options (DEMO) study was established to address these informational gaps. The experimental design consists of six treatments, each 13 ha in size, replicated at six locations (blocks) in western Washington and Oregon. Treatments represent strong contrasts in retention level (15–100% of original basal area) and pattern (trees dispersed vs. aggregated in 1-ha patches) in mature Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) forests. A wide variety of ecological responses and public perceptions of visual quality have been examined; this paper provides a comprehensive review of the short-term (1–7 years) results of these studies. Level of retention had a strong effect on many responses. At 15% retention, regardless of pattern, microclimate, ecological responses, and public perceptions of visual quality did not differ from those measured in the ‘‘clearcut’’ areas of aggregated treatments. In contrast to level of retention, pattern of retention had limited effect on most measures of biological response. Small changes within forest aggregates were balanced by large changes in adjacent harvested areas, thus on average, responses within aggregated treatments were comparable to those in dispersed treatments. Nevertheless, retaining trees in 1-ha aggregates provided several benefits over dispersed retention. Aggregates greatly reduced damage to and mortality of residual trees (particularly at lower levels of retention) and provided short-term refugia for forest organisms sensitive to disturbance or environmental stress (e.g., bryophytes and late-seral herbs). However, aggregates were susceptible to edge effects (e.g., elevated light and temperature), which may compromise their ability to serve as sources for recolonization of adjacent harvested areas. Collectively, our findings suggest that retention levels >15% are needed to effectively retain sensitive plants and animals, ameliorate harsh microclimatic conditions, and gain public acceptance of retention harvests in these forests. A combination of relatively large (1 ha) aggregates and dispersed trees at levels considerably greater than current minimum standards in the PNW may be the most effective strategy for sustaining a broad array of forest values in managed stands. Published by Elsevier B.V.
Incidence of cholinesterase inhibitor therapy initiation among hospitalized patients

BACKGROUND Initiation of cholinesterase inhibitor (ChEI) therapy for delirium during hospitalization is ineffective and may be associated with increased morbidity and mortality. OBJECTIVE To describe the incidence of initiating ChEI therapy during hospitalization. DESIGN A retrospective cross-sectional study. SETTING A tertiary-care academic medical center. PATIENTS Inpatient admissions from September 2010 through March 2011 with ChEI administration. INTERVENTION None. MEASUREMENTS Incidence of ChEI exposure, initiation of ChEI therapy, initiation of antipsychotics and benzodiazepines, infection, in-hospital mortality, and hospital length of stay. RESULTS The incidence of adult admissions with ChEI exposure and ChEI initiation was 23.2 (95% confidence interval: 21.2–25.4) and 2 (95% confidence interval 1.5-2.8) per 1000 admissions, respectively. Of 476 admissions receiving ChEI, 9% (n = 42) initiated therapy during the hospital stay and 91% (n = 434) continued on previously started therapy. Patients initiated on ChEI therapy frequently had infection (20 of 42) and were commonly initiated on antipsychotics (14 of 42) and benzodiazepines (13 of 42). Patients were hospitalized for a median of 2 days (interquartile range, 1–4) before initiation of ChEI and were exposed to therapy for a median of 3 days (interquartile range, 2–6). Of the 41 patients discharged from the hospital, 90% (n = 37) had orders to continue the ChEI postdischarge. CONCLUSIONS Despite a lack of evidence to support the practice, 9% of patients who received ChEI therapy were initiated during the inpatient setting. These patients were not routinely screened for delirium and frequently received treatments associated with delirium. Journal of Hospital Medicine 2013;8:304–308. © 2013 Society of Hospital Medicine.
Clonal Cell Lines Produced by Infection of Neocortical Neuroblasts Using Multiple Oncogenes Transduced by Retroviruses

Abstract Toward understanding the early molecular development of neocortical neurons, we report the generation of two clonal murine cell lines derived by sequential oncogenic retroviral infection of neocortical neuronal precursors. The resulting cell lines stably express the telencephalon-specific gene BF-1 and a gene enriched in the neocortical ventricular zone, vzg-1. They also express early neuronal but not glial markers, possess neuron-like processes without chemical synapses by ultrastructure, and appear pyramidal or bipolar with processes resembling apical dendrites, bifurcating and beaded axons, or growth cones. Immortalization appears to have occurred through the expression of oncogene combinations SV40 large T with vras or SV40 large T with both vsrc and vmyc. These cell lines may represent developing neocortical neuroblasts blocked from complete differentiation, and they should be useful in the isolation and analysis of genes involved in early neocortical development.
Regarding dose-independent pharmacokinetic parameters in nonlinear pharmacokinetics.

There seems to be an increasing trend in pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics to deal with parameters that require minimal kinetic structure assumptions. Such parameters, which often inappropriately are called "model-independent parameters", seem more rational to work with than parameters that depend on the particular structure of specific models. The structure of specific models may be impossible to verify experimentally or to justify from physiological and/or anatomical considerations. Various mean time (MT) parameters such as mean residence time (MRT) and mean transit time (MTT) parameters were introduced in the early tracer kinetic and physiology literature.1-3 The generality and conceptual value of MT parameters have created a strong interest in such parameters, attested by the more than 100 recent publications specifically dealing with these parameters.4 There has been a similar interest in volume of distribution at steady state (Vda8)56 and clearance (CL) parameters. The above parameters have predominantly been applied in linear disposition kinetics. Although it appears to be true for many drugs in their therapeutic concentration range that the linear disposition assumption is a reasonably accurate assumption, significant deviations are seen for several drugs. The nonlinearity creates the problem that many of the popular pharmacokinetic parameters become quite meaningless as disposition parameters because they become dependent on the rate and extent of drug input (absorption). Essentially, they cannot be classified as disposition parameters in such cases, and should not be called parameters when they become time-dependent functions of the input. The purposes of this letter are threefold.
STUDIES ON MARINE PLANKTON DIATOMS. II. RESTING SPORE MORPHOLOGY1

SUMMARY A morphological study of resting spores in five marine planktonic diatom species using electron microscopy indicates that Bacteriastrum delicatulum Cleve and Leptocylindrus danicus Cleve spores bear little resemblance, to their vegetative cells. Detonula confervacea (Cleve) Gran and Stephanopyxis turris (Grev. & Arn.) Ralfs spores have several features in common with their vegetative cells, and Rhizosolenia setigera Brightwell lies between the two extremes. The function of resting spores in relation to diatom life cycles is briefly discussed. Spore formation may be a primitive characteristic in the life cycle and may no longer have significant survival value for the species.
Study of rapid thermal annealing effect on CdZnO thin films grown on Si substrate

CdZnO thin films were grown on Si (100) substrates by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. As-grown samples show near band edge emissions at 1.87, 2.03, and 2.16 eV, respectively, while the emission peak energy dramatically increases to up to ultraviolet region with increasing rapid thermal annealing temperature. Room temperature photoluminescence (PL), and temperature dependent PL show phase separations in the samples after the annealing process. Secondary ion mass spectroscopy measurements show redistribution of Cd in the as-annealed sample, which is believed to be the reason of PL peaks shift.
hp Optimization of finite element approximations: Analysis of the optimal mesh sequences in one dimension

This paper addresses the problem of the construction of the optimal hp meshes for the singular solution xα, α>12, in the one-dimensional setting. First, a review of the asymptotic analysis of Gui and Babuska [1] is given and is used to characterize the optimal hp meshes which are geometrically graded toward the singular point. The asymptotically optimal hp meshes are compared with the hp meshes which are constructed by employing the hp strategy of Rachowicz et al. [2], which employs the principle of maximum change of error per change in the number of degrees of freedom, and the true optimal hp meshes which minimize the error for fixed number of degrees of freedom and which are determined by searching through the entire sequence of the admissible hp meshes. It is shown that, for the singular solution, the meshes constructed by the hp strategy of Rachowicz coincide with the true optimal meshes; nevertheless, there exist various solutions for which the algorithm which employs the principle of maximum change of error may not converge. For this reason the hp strategy of Rachowicz is combined with the classical feedback algorithm to obtain a robust hp strategy which always converges. Further, it is shown that the asymptotically optimal hp meshes are very close to the true optimal hp meshes in the entire range of practical computation. The effect of the accuracy of the error estimator on the optimality of the constructed hp meshes is also analyzed. It is shown that unless the estimator is sufficiently accurate in the element adjacent to the singular point, the meshes constructed by the adaptive hp strategy can differ substantially from the true optimal meshes.
Multispectral imaging of formalin-fixed tissue predicts ability to generate tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes from melanoma

Adoptive T cell therapy (ACT) has shown great promise in melanoma, with over 50 % response rate in patients where autologous tumor-reactive tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) can be cultured and expanded. A major limitation of ACT is the inability to generate or expand autologous tumor-reactive TIL in 25–45 % of patients tested. Methods that successfully identify tumors that are not suitable for TIL generation by standard methods would eliminate the costs of fruitless expansion and enable these patients to receive alternate therapy immediately. Multispectral fluorescent immunohistochemistry with a panel including CD3, CD8, FoxP3, CD163, PD-L1 was used to analyze the tumor microenvironment in 17 patients with melanoma among our 36-patient cohort to predict successful TIL generation. Additionally, we compared tumor fragments and enzymatic digestion of tumor samples for efficiency in generating tumor-reactive TIL. Tumor-reactive TIL were generated from 21/36 (58 %) of melanomas and for 12/13 (92 %) tumors where both enzymatic and fragment methods were compared. TIL generation was successful in 10/13 enzymatic preparations and in 10/13 fragment cultures; combination of both methods resulted in successful generation of autologous tumor-reactive TIL in 12/13 patients. In 17 patients for whom tissue blocks were available, IHC analysis identified that while the presence of CD8+ T cells alone was insufficient to predict successful TIL generation, the CD8+ to FoxP3+ ratio was predictive with a positive-predictive value (PPV) of 91 % and negative-predictive value (NPV) of 86 %. Incorporation of CD163+ macrophage numbers and CD8:PD-L1 ratio did not improve the PPV. However, the NPV could be improved to 100 % by including the ratio of CD8+:PD-L1+ expressing cells. This is the first study to apply 7-color multispectral immunohistochemistry to analyze the immune environment of tumors from patients with melanoma. Assessment of the data using unsupervised hierarchical clustering identified tumors from which we were unable to generate TIL. If substantiated, this immune profile could be applied to select patients for TIL generation. Additionally, this biomarker profile may also indicate a pre-existing immune response, and serve as a predictive biomarker of patients who will respond to checkpoint blockade. We postulate that expanding the spectrum of inhibitory cells and molecules assessed using this technique could guide combination immunotherapy treatments and improve response rates.
Mesolevel: The Group

Whether they are gangs; clans; tribes; ethnic, religious, or regional groups; or nation-states, groups in conflict not infrequently escalate in a spiral of animosity which culminates in overt aggression. At all spatial levels—street, neighborhood, regional, and national—such violence may be both intense and enduring and may grow, at least in large part, from what Volkan (1988) aptly labeled, “the need for allies and enemies.” In the present chapter we seek to explore in depth the roots of such us-versus-them thinking, motivation, and behavior. We will do so by recourse to relevant research from both field and laboratory.
Altered Microviscosity at Brain Membrane Surface Induces Distinct and Reversible Inhibition of Opioid Receptor Binding

In synaptosomal membranes from rat and mon- key brain cortex, the addition of petroselenic (1 8: 1, A Viret et al., 1990). The results of these studies have confirmed the significance of membrane fluidity as a parameter that affects the dynamics and thereby the biological activity of various membrane constituents. However, it has also been shown that modulation of membrane protein function may oc- cur by the interaction of the proteins with distinct membrane lipids rather than as the result of an altered by oleic acid involved both the B,, and affinity of opioid binding. Cholesteryl hemisuccinate (0.5-3 pmol/mg of pro- tein), added to membranes previously modified by fatty acids, reversed the fluidization caused by the latter com- pounds and restored inhibited p-, 6, and rt-opioid binding toward control values. In particular, the B,, of (3H)- DPDPE binding completely recovered after being undetect- able. The results implicate membrane surface fluidity in the modulation of opioid receptor binding, reveal distinct sensi- tivity of 6, p, and u receptors toward that modulation, and identify unsaturated fatty acids and cholesterol as possible endogenous regulators of opioid receptor function. Key Words: p-, 6-, and u-opioid reeeptors-Fatty acids-Choles- terol-Membrane fluidity-Synaptosomal membranes- Fluorescence polarization. Imar D. F. and Medzihradsky F. Altered microviscosity at brain membrane surface in- duces distinct and reversible inhibition of opioid receptor binding. J. Neurochem. 59, 1233-1240 (1992).
Coxsackievirus-cell interactions that initiate infection in porcine ileal explants.

Coxsackievirus B 5 (CB 5) labeled with tritiated uridine was used to trace the interaction of the virus with explant cultures of porcine ileum. Similarly labeled human poliovirus 1 (PO 1), which is not specifically retained by porcine tissue, was used as a control. The explant procedure employed could maintain ileal tissue in a differentiated state for up to 48 hours. Porcine ileum was acquired from both young (4–6 week-old) and adult (9–11 month-old) animals. Inoculated explants of either absorptive or lymphoid tissue were incubated at temperatures selected to permit either viral adsorption or penetration and elution to occur. Retention of radioactive virus was quantitated by liquid scintillation counting and localized by autoradiography. Only in absorptive tissue explants from young animals did adsorption of CB 5 at 6°C exceed penetration at 37°C. This suggested that incubation at 6°C may not be an appropriate condition for studying enterovirus adsorption in explants. CB 5 penetrated most efficiently into lymphoid tissue explants from young animals, indicating that these tissues could discriminate between CB 5 and PO 1. In explants from adults, CB 5 penetrated equally well into lymphoid and absorptive tissues. Virus penetrated into the absorptive epithelial cells and, possibly, the lamina propria near the villous tips. Low efficiency of penetration, and the non-critical function of these target cells, may help account for the characteristic lack of gastrointestinal symptoms in enterovirus infections.
Smaller differences in total and regional adiposity with age in women who regularly perform endurance exercise

Our aim was to determine if women who regularly perform endurance exercise demonstrate age-related elevations in body mass and adiposity. Ninety-five healthy females were studied: premenopausal (n ...
A Numerical Implementation of Spherical Object Collision Probability

Collision probability analysis for spherical objects exhibiting linear relative motion is accomplished by combining covariances and physical object dimensions at the point of closest approach. The resulting covariance ellipsoid and hardbody can be projected onto the plane perpendicular to relative velocity when the relative motion is assumed linear. Collision potential is determined from the object footprint on the projected, two-dimensional, co-variance ellipse. The resulting double integral can be reduced to a single integral by various methods. This work addresses the numerical computation of this single integral using Simpson’s one-third rule to achieve at least two significant figures of accuracy over a wide range of parameters.
Angiotensin and the lamina terminalis: illustrations of a complex unity.

The subfornical organ, the median preoptic nucleus, and the OVLT are arranged in a dorsal to ventral column to form the lamina terminalis (“end wall”) of the third cerebral ventricle. In the decade of the 1970s, several labs showed that angiotensin II produces many of its effects in the brain by interacting with the structures of the lamina terminalis. This review concentrates on drinking behavior and on two structures: The subfornical organ as an important sensor of blood-borne angiotensin, and the median preoptic nucleus as a sensitive zone for central angiotensin. In the 1980s, histochemistry and tract-tracing have begun to clarify the structural framework for a complex of interactions. All three structures of the lamina terminalis are filled with angiotensin immunoreactive neural processes and angiotensin binding sites. The evidence suggests that angiotensinergic axons have intrinsic and extrinsic origins. Neurosecretion of angiotensin is apparent in some inbred strains of rats. It is concluded that t...
Lemuel J. Bowie, PhD (1944-1998)

I was deeply saddened to learn of the death of Lemuel J. Bowie, PhD, on December 25, 1998, in Evanston, Illinois, from cancer. We had been colleagues and family friends for a quarter of a century, and it is difficult to realize that our frequent encounters by telephone and in person have ended. He leaves his vivacious wife, Cheryl, and their wonderful children, Kwame and Shani. Lem was born on April 23, 1944, in Vicksburg, Mississippi, where he was raised and obtained his education through high school. In 1966, he completed his Bachelor of Science at Xavier University in New Orleans with a specialization in medical technology. He was a part-time graduate student at Howard University Medical School, Washington, DC, before starting on a doctoral program at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. Lem obtained his PhD in Biochemistry in 1972 with research investigations on bioluminescence. It was at this stage of Lem’s …
Selected List of Low Energy Beam Transport Facilities for Light-Ion, High-Intensity Accelerators

This paper presents a list of Low Energy Beam Transport (LEBT) facilities for light-ion, high-intensity accelerators. It was put together to facilitate comparisons with the PXIE LEBT design choices. A short discussion regarding the importance of the beam perveance in the choice of the transport scheme follows.
Biliary System Anatomy, Physiology, and Embryology

The biliary system is equally complex and fascinating. From inception, its development, structure, and function rely heavily on other organ systems, yet it maintains a degree of independence and unique properties found nowhere else in the body. When operating on the biliary tract, thorough knowledge of this organ system is of critical importance. Never is this more apparent than when faced with aberrance and injury. However, by strengthening our understanding of biliary embryology, anatomy, and physiology, we can better prepare and manage when things go awry.
Combined Abdominal and Vaginal Approach for Bladder Neck Closure and Permanent Suprapubic Tube: Urinary Diversion in the Neurologically Impaired Woman

Chronic indwelling Foley catheter placement in the neurologically impaired patient can lead to pressure necrosis of the urethra with incontinence. We report on 2 series of patients who underwent bladder neck closure and insertion of a suprapubic catheter for this problem. Our initial group includes 4 patients who underwent 5 transvaginal procedures, of which 2 (40%) were successful. Subsequently, we modified our approach, and used a combined abdominal and transvaginal repair, which was successful in 10 consecutive patients with a followup of 6 to 40 months (mean 15.6).
Total abdominal colectomy has a similar short-term outcome profile regardless of indication: data from the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the 30-day postoperative complications rate in patients undergoing elective total abdominal colectomy (TAC) for chronic constipation, neoplastic disorders,...
Angiotensin II-induced structural and functional alterations in spontaneously hypertensive rat kidney.

The purpose of this study was to compare functional and structural changes in the kidneys of spontaneously hypertensive (SHR) and Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats during prolonged administration of angiotensin II. Rats were pretreated with captopril, and the effects of exogenous angiotensin II (200 ng.kg-1.min-1 for 7–14 days sc) on renal hemodynamics and renal vascular structure were examined. Angiotensin II induced significant reductions of renal blood flow and glomerular filtration and increases of renal vascular resistance in SHR but not WKY. Furthermore, angiotensin II induced an increase of the media/lumen ratio in the interlobular arteries (0.33 +/- 0.02 to 0.56 +/- 0.02) and arcuate arteries (0.27 +/- 0.02 to 0.53 +/- 0.07) of SHR without significantly altering the media/lumen ratio in the interlobular arteries (0.34 +/- 0.03 to 0.34 +/- 0.02) and arcuate arteries (0.30 +/- 0.02 to 0.36 +/- 0.05) of WKY (two-factor analysis of variance, strain x treatment; P = 0.0002 for interlobular arteries and P = 0.0319 for arcuate arteries). Results from this study indicate that the SHR kidney is more responsive than the WKY kidney to the functional and structural effects of prolonged angiotensin II infusion.
“Adolescence, Thy Name is Ophelia!”: The Ophelia-ization of the Contemporary Teenage Girl

Recently I was shopping on Melrose Avenue in Hollywood, the virtual aorta of American trend. While en route from one trendy boutique to another, a poster in the window of an ultra-hip record store exposed my inner Shakespeare-geek. It was an advertisement for a performance of Ophelia Rising, a band of four young women dressed defiantly in rocker makeup and slashed black mesh and leather. They looked a little miffed at the world, and the word “Rising” in their title suggests that they are not willing to suffer a pounding of injustices from the patriarch that raised them. My retro Pumas stopped dead in their tracks. I put down my latte and reached into my handbag for a pen and paper. On the back of a Starbucks receipt I wrote: “OPHELIA RISING: zombie hipster or bad metaphor?” I wondered what Shakespeare’s hopeless mad-girl and these hard-core chicks actually had common; why was it suddenly cool to be Ophelia?
A new, effective smoking cessation programme based on the Internet

In spite of the increasing social awareness of the hazards of smoking, the prevalence of smoking among Japanese is still very high: statistics show that 58% of men and 14% of women are smokers. Since September 1994, we have been holding a smoking cessation clinic for patients with various diseases.For instance, although smoking is an important risk factor for complications of diabetes, diabetic patients often fail to stop smoking for fear of gaining weight and poor control of diabetes after cessation. Between September 1994 and November 1995,29 male diabetic patients aged 35–80 years visited our clinic and were advised to ingest a lot of cold water, hot Japanese tea, seaweeds, sliced tangle and boiled vegetables. The one-year cessation rate was 72% (21/29); none of the patients gained more than 2 kg of body weight and haemoglobin alkalinity was lowered. As a part of our counselling to help people quit smoking, we designed a programme based on Internet mailing list capability to reach people. It was first introduced in June 1997.
Iron biology is key to understanding how inflammation, stress and obesity affect maternal and child health

Iron is an essential micronutrient, integral to understanding the relationship between nutrition, inflammation, and immunity. It is also vital for promoting health during pregnancy and in infants. Our research has shown that obesity, stress, and illness, in addition to poor nutrition, compromise the placental transfer of maternal iron to the fetus. This reduction reflects iron sequestration, similar to the universal response to bacterial infection. Decreased iron absorption and transfer of systemic iron to storage is an acute phase reaction induced by IL-6 and hepcidin. Leukocytes are also critically involved in postnatal iron homeostasis. Macrophages scavenge iron from dying red blood cells in young infants, and recycle it to the liver. Therefore, we investigated if delayed cord clamping, expanding neonatal blood volume by 15–50 mL, reduced the risk for iron deficiency. In addition, stable iron isotopes, administered to the gravid female before term, were employed to track iron recycling and conservation. Finally, we tested a novel remedial strategy using the storage form of iron, ferritin, for treating anemia, instead of free iron. The goal was to reduce iron bioavailability to pathogenic bacteria in the gut. We demonstrated that consumable yeast, genetically modified to express human ferritin, provides an effective therapeutic modality for the prevalent anemia of infancy. This finding has worldwide significance for population health, especially in regions where iron-responsive enteric pathogens and malaria, are endemic.
Analysis of bacterial communities in and on concrete

Bacteria are known to catalyze degradation of concrete, and have more recently been used to repair micro-cracks in or form protective biofilms on cement mortar. However, the microbial communities in and on concrete under ordinary weathering conditions have not been characterized, in part because of difficulty in extracting DNA from inside concrete specimens. Here, we report a method for extraction of nucleic acids directly from hardened concrete. Using this method and classical cultivation methods, we demonstrate that most bacteria in or on concrete belong to two taxonomic groups, that the bacterial diversity is similar on the concrete surface and in the interior, and that many bacteria in and on concrete are related to microbes found in other dry, saline, or alkaline environments. This method lays the foundation for the creation of bioindicators for concrete and may open new avenues for the fields of non-destructive evaluation and assessment of concrete structures.
Research Note: Corrections to Rg Group Velocity Dispersion in Southwestern New England

INTRODUCTION The purpose of this note is to correct previously published results of Rg group velocity dispersion studies in southwestern New England (SWNE). These corrections are necessary because we have recently discovered that a crucial station (Brookfield, CT; BCT) had an incorrect value for longitude entered into the computer file used for calculating distances between sources and receivers. Based on recent results of Rg wave dispersion studies in southern New England (e.g. Kafka, 1988; Kafka and Skehan, 1990), there appeared to be a distinct Rg dispersion region in SWNE. This dispersion region, the “Waterbury dispersion region” (WDR), was thought to be an area of relatively high group velocities compared to the rest of southern New England. This conclusion was based on the analysis of seismograms of quarry blasts detonated at three quarries in Connecticut and recorded at BCT. The three quarries were: New Britain-Plainville, CT (NPCT), North Branford, CT (NBCT) and Reed Gap, CT (RGCT). Figure 1 shows the locations of quarry blasts and stations discussed in this note, and Figure 2 shows the dispersion curves previously published for various parts of southern New England. The path length used in the Rg dispersion analysis described in previous publications was assumed to be about 8 km longer than it actually is. Thus, we have recalculated the group velocities for the paths in SWNE that were used to produce Figure 2. Once this correction to path length is taken into account, we find that, on average, Rg group velocities in SWNE do . . .
Permaculture and climate change adaptation: inspiring ecological, social, economic, and cultural responses for resilience and transformation

Before I started reviewing the content of this book in depth, I posed a number of general questions that I wanted to answer based on my own experience with and knowledge of permaculture: Do the aut...
Day Schools in the Orthodox Sector – A Shifting Landscape

This chapter documents the composition and growth patterns of Orthodox Jewish education in America and the population of schools in that field. It then argues that, situated within a competitive marketplace of ideologies and institutions, Orthodox schools both reflect and shape contemporary dynamics within American Orthodoxy. Analysis at the field level begins by recognizing what may be the most salient twin circumstances of contemporary American Jewish schooling in the Orthodox sector. First, Orthodox schools comprise a decentralized organizational field operating in a competitive market environment. Second, these schools carry, perpetuate, and shape the cultural-reproductive aspirations of a number of ideological movements and strands within contemporary Orthodoxy. These circumstances interact to produce a variety of institutional and educational pressures upon schools. This chapter argues that they have shaped a field that has grown more diverse, more competitive, more ideologically differentiated, and also more innovative than ever.