cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Beta-2-glycoprotein-I IgA antibodies predict coronary plaque progression in rheumatoid arthritis

Abstract Objectives To evaluate whether anti-Beta-2-Glycoprotein-I (anti-β2GPI) IgA antibodies associate with progression of coronary atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease (CVD) events in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Methods One hundred-fifty patients underwent plaque evaluation (total, non-calcified, mixed and calcified) with coronary computed tomography angiography; 101 were re-imaged within 6.9±0.3 years to assess progression. The Framingham-D'Agostino score assessed cardiovascular risk. Coronary artery calcium (CAC) and segment involvement score quantified plaque burden. Results Anti-β2GPI IgA were seen in 45 (30%) patients. Despite no link to baseline plaque burden, anti-β2GPI IgA associated with segment involvement score increase (adjusted-RR=1.64 [95%CI 1.02–2.63]), CAC change (adjusted-β=0.33 [95%CI 0.002–0.656]) and developing new extensive or obstructive plaque at follow-up (adjusted-OR=4.24 [95%CI 1.30–13.87]). Adding anti-β2GPI IgA to logistic regression models with conventional risk factors predicting plaque progression outcomes increased Area under the receiver-operator curve and improved Net Reclassification and Integrated Discrimination Improvement indices (all P Conclusion Anti-β2GPI IgA addition to clinical risk models improved prediction accuracy of CAC, plaque progression and transition to extensive/obstructive disease. They associated with new high-risk mixed plaques and delayed healing to calcified lesions. Anti-β2GPI IgA further modified the effect of inflammation on plaque progression and CVD events.
Diagnostic Accuracy and Uptake of the PHQ-9 Depression Scale in Pregnancy and the Postpartum Period

Purpose: Perinatal depression (PND) is a prevalent and disabling problem both during pregnancy and the postpartum period globally. While the legacy screening measure has been the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), the PHQ-9 is the most widely used depression measure in clinical practice and is considered a viable alternative in many PND guidelines. This systematic review examines the criterion and convergent validity of the PHQ-9 as a screener for PND. Methods: The following databases were searched in June 2020: MEDLINE, Embase, and PsychInfo. Search terms were the PHQ-9 AND perinatal AND depression. Variants of each were also included as an OR statement such as “patient health questionnaire” as a variant of the PHQ-9. Only studies published in English and after 2001 were accepted as the PHQ-9 was not available as a screening test before then. Results: A total of 35 articles were eligible for criterion (n=10) or convergent validity (n=25). Studies with criterion validity had sensitivity and specificity ranging from 65 to 95 and 62 to 89, respectively. For the 7 articles using the standard PHQ-9 cut point ≥ 10, median sensitivity and specificity were 0.82 and 0.84, respectively. The median AUC was 0.88. Of the 9 correlation values shared between the PHQ-9 and EPDS, values range from 0.36 to 0.77 with a median of 0.60. The median Cohen’s kappa value of 0.535 in four studies showed good agreement. Conclusion: Of the criterion validity articles, the sensitivity, specificity, and AUC indicate the PHQ-9 may be used to screen for PND. The convergent validity comparison articles between the PHQ-9 and EPDS also support use of the PHQ-9 in perinatal populations.
Lumbar Extradural Angiolipoma: Clinical Presentation and Management.

Angiolipomas are rare primary benign tumors that can arise in the epidural canal and cause stenosis. Of the few cases of spinal angiolipomas described, most lesions have been located in the thoracic spine, and presentation of angiolipoma in the lumbar spine is very rare. The surgical management of a 39-year-old morbidly obese woman with angiolipoma that caused stenosis with neurogenic claudication and urinary changes is described. The lesion spanned L1-L2 and surgical management consisted of T12-L2 laminectomy and en-bloc resection of the lesion. During the latest follow-up, four years after the surgery, the patient's neurological symptoms showed improvement and there was no recurrence.
Basic Concepts of Probability

This chapter discusses the basic concepts of probability. The starting point for probability theory is a set Ω called the sample space whose points are in one-to-one correspondence with the possible outcomes of a given performance of a random experiment. An event is defined as a subset of Ω. However, in a few situations, not all subsets may be regarded as events. The development of the mathematical theory is facilitated if it is required that the event class form an σ -field. Thus, countable unions, countable intersections, and complements of events may be formed so that the resulting sets are also events. For the probability to be assigned to an event, the basic physical requirement is that the probability corresponds to the relative frequency of the event in a very large number of independent repetitions of the random experiment.
Virtual Health Literacy–An Answer in a Time of Pandemic

In the midst of the COVID-19 global pandemic, discover how a consumer health librarian transitioned in-person programs, resources, services, and health education sessions into a completely virtual consumer health library reaching over 200% more people than the year before. © 2021 The Author(s). Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
The Pandemic Extends the Trend away from Globalism

The pandemic has made global communitarianism more necessary and more elusive than ever. One would expect, according to theories expounded by social scientists as well as B-movies, that when the people of the world face a major, devastating, external threat, they would unite to fight it. However, the response to the global spread of a very harmful virus, COVID-19, has had the opposite effect. It is leading many countries - in particular, the global leader, the U.S. - to rely on their domestic policies, exacerbate the autocratic tendencies of their economies, and accentuate their populistic-driven nationalism. As Nick Gvosdev put it, "[t]he coronavirus pandemic is stress-testing a global system that was already beginning to crack."
Knowledge guides attention to goal-relevant information in older adults.

How does viewers’ knowledge guide their attention while they watch everyday events, how does it affect their memory, and does it change with age? Older adults have diminished episodic memory for everyday events, but intact semantic knowledge. Indeed, research suggests that older adults may rely on their semantic memory to offset impairments in episodic memory, and when relevant knowledge is lacking, older adults’ memory can suffer. Yet, the mechanism by which prior knowledge guides attentional selection when watching dynamic activity is unclear. To address this, we studied the influence of knowledge on attention and memory for everyday events in young and older adults by tracking their eyes while they watched videos. The videos depicted activities that older adults perform more frequently than young adults (balancing a checkbook, planting flowers) or activities that young adults perform more frequently than older adults (installing a printer, setting up a video game). Participants completed free recall, recognition, and order memory tests after each video. We found age-related memory deficits when older adults had little knowledge of the activities, but memory did not differ between age groups when older adults had relevant knowledge and experience with the activities. Critically, results showed that knowledge influenced where viewers fixated when watching the videos. Older adults fixated less goal-relevant information compared to young adults when watching young adult activities, but they fixated goal-relevant information similarly to young adults, when watching more older adult activities. Finally, results showed that fixating goal-relevant information predicted free recall of the everyday activities for both age groups. Thus, older adults may use relevant knowledge to more effectively infer the goals of actors, which guides their attention to goal-relevant actions, thus improving their episodic memory for everyday activities.
NON-BETA-HEMOLYTIC GROUP M-REACTING STREPTOCOCCI OF HUMAN ORIGIN

Abstract Rifkind, David (National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Md.) and Roger M. Cole. Non-beta-hemolytic group M-reacting streptococci of human origin. J. Bacteriol. 84:163–168. 1962.—In 8 years, 14 strains of alpha- and gamma-hemolytic streptococci, reacting only with group M antiserum, were isolated from a variety of human sources. Two alpha-hemolytic strains from the blood of endocarditis patients were compared biochemically and immunologically with the two original canine beta-hemolytic strains of Fry (ATCC 9934 and 9935). The human strains do not produce ammonia or ferment glycogen, whereas the animal strains do. The animal strains share two trypsin-labile antigens with the human strains, and one of them (ATCC 9935) also shares at least four trypsin-stable antigens with the human strains. The other strain of Fry (ATCC 9934) appears to lack these trypsin-stable antigens. These results indicate that the human strains correspond to those designated biotype I whereas ATCC 9935 belongs to biotype II and ATCC 9934 to biotype III. The nature of the group M antigen is undefined, but the gel-diffusion methods employed in this work suggest that several antigens may be responsible for precipitates seen as positive reactions to group M antisera when testing is done by the usual methods in tubes.
Transcriptional regulation of angiotensinogen gene expression.

The renin–angiotensin system (RAS) is an extracellular hormonal system implicated in acute, homeostatic control of peripheral vascular resistance and electrolyte homeostasis. In this tightly regulated system, physiological regulators of blood pressure and fluid balance induce the production of the potent vasoactive angiotensin peptides by sequential proteolysis of the angiotensinogen (AGT) prohormone. AGT is the only known precursor of the angiotensin peptides, whose circulating concentrations influence the tonic activity of the RAS. AGT abundance is regulated at the transcriptional level through hormonal and cell-type specific regulators. In this review, we will discuss the identified mechanisms controlling AGT expression separately for the rodent and human genes. The most intensively investigated gene (rodent AGT) is regulated constitutively by multiple positive- and negative-acting cis factors that function in a cell-type dependent fashion. Inducible rodent AGT expression is mediated through a multihormone-inducible enhancer that integrates signals from steroid and cytokine hormones into AGT transcription. We review recent advances in understanding the mechanism of the nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) family in mediating cytokine-induced AGT expression and our recent discoveries on the existence of differentially inducible pools of cytoplasmic NF-κB. Constitutive control of the human AGT gene will be discussed; there is surprisingly little information on the cis - and trans -acting regulators controlling inducible expression of human AGT. Finally, we will explore some of the recent developments in gene linkage studies where human AGT alleles have been associated with hypertensive phenotypes through a mechanism that may involve enhanced transcription. These studies have provided a molecular explanation for a subset of heritable hypertensive disorders in humans.
Characterization of Medieval Window Glass by Neutron Activation Analysis

Recent research by a growing number of workers is demonstrating that neutron activation analysis can provide valuable assistance in establishing the provenance of potsherds; coins and other metal artifacts; obsidian; amber; and paintings.(l) One of the authors of this paper has been involved for some years in analytical studies of ancient glass which have included the earliest application of neutron activation with high resolution gamma ray spectroscopy, i.e., Ge(Li) detector counting, to the investigation of archeological artifacts. The study described in this paper was undertaken to determine whether this method could be of similar usefulness in the characterization of medieval window glass. Areas of practical interest include questions of which panes are original and which replacements and the precise provenance of specific windows.
Characterization of BLOC-2, a complex containing the Hermansky-Pudlak syndrome proteins HPS3, HPS5 and HPS6.

Hermansky–Pudlak syndrome (HPS) defines a group of at least seven autosomal recessive disorders characterized by albinism and prolonged bleeding due to defects in the lysosome-related organelles, melanosomes and platelet-dense granules, respectively. Most HPS genes, including HPS3, HPS5 and HPS6, encode ubiquitously expressed novel proteins of unknown function. Here, we report the biochemical characterization of a stable protein complex named Biogenesis of Lysosome-related Organelles Complex-2 (BLOC-2), which contains the HPS3, HPS5 and HPS6 proteins as subunits. The endogenous HPS3, HPS5 and HPS6 proteins from human HeLa cells coimmunoprecipitated with each other from crude extracts as well as from fractions resulting from size-exclusion chromatography and density gradient centrifugation. The native molecular mass of BLOC-2 was estimated to be 340 ± 64 kDa. As inferred from the biochemical properties of the HPS6 subunit, BLOC-2 exists in a soluble pool and associates to membranes as a peripheral membrane protein. Fibroblasts deficient in the BLOC-2 subunits HPS3 or HPS6 displayed normal basal secretion of the lysosomal enzyme β-hexosaminidase. Our results suggest a common biological basis underlying the pathogenesis of HPS-3, -5 and -6 disease.
Ophthalmologic findings in children with cerebral palsy.

In a study of 98 children with cerebral palsy, 67 (68%) had either gross ocular defects or significant refractive errors, or both. Only 20 children were known to be under the care of an ophthalmologist. Ophthalmologic recommendations were indicated for 69 children. Seventeen children had a visual handicap severe enough to warrant special educational measures. Forty-three children were found to have strabismus, the most frequent ocular defect found. This was approximately evenly divided between esotropia and exotropia. Children with the spastic types of cerebral palsy had twice as many ocular defects and twice as many refractive errors as the athetoid types. A complete ophthalmologic evaluation of every child with cerebral palsy is recommended as part of the total examination of the child.
In vivo and in vitro differentiation of neurons and astrocytes in the rat embryo: Immunofluorescence study with neurofilament and glial filament antisera

Antisera raised against neurofilament (NF) peptides and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFA) (subunit of glial filaments) have been used to identify neurons and astrocytes in order to study their development and differentiation in rat embryo. In vivo observations showed that NF-positive cells first appeared in 12-day-old embryos, whereas GFA-positive cells appeared in brain and spinal cord on the 18th day. In vitro observations showed that NF-positive cells could be obtained only in cultures from 12-day embryos onwards. The further differentiation of neurons involved neurite elongation, aggregation of cell bodies to form islets, and emergence of very brightly staining prominent neurons with large cell bodies and long neurites which took part in complicate pattern formation. GFA-positive cells appeared in vitro on the 16th day and they could be observed even in cultures obtained from 10-day-old embryos. As the culture aged, the GFA staining became highly fibrillary. There was no physical interaction between neuronal and glial processes.
A balanced perspective on unbalanced growth and thymineless death

The early history of the esoteric phenomenon of thymineless death (TLD) is recounted, from the pioneering discovery by Seymour Cohen and Hazel Barner, through my graduate studies at Yale and postdoctoral research in Copenhagen. My principal contribution was the discovery that restricted synthesis of protein and RNA permits cultures of Escherichia coli to complete their DNA replication cycles without initiating new ones, and that cells held in this physiological state are immune to the lethality of thymine deprivation; unbalanced growth is not the fundamental cause of TLD. The successful synchronization of the DNA replication cycle contributed to formulation of the replicon concept. Studies at Stanford revealed a specific requirement for transcription and led to the discovery of a TLD-resistant mutant in a new gene, termed recQ, with important homologs in humans and most other organisms. The lessons learned from research on TLD underscore the value of basic research in bacterial systems that can have profound implications for human health.
Scaling for Rotationally Symmetric Potential in Uniaxial Media

In this article it is shown that a rotationally symmetric potential can be derived in a uniaxially anisotropic medium whose optical axis is parallel to the axis of symmetry of a rotational boundary. The medium can be homogeneous or piece-wise homogeneous, i.e., stratified or inhomogeneous where the inhomogeneity is along the axis of symmetry. It is further shown that a scaled Neumann problem can be formulated. Scaling can be extended for proper complex anisotropies. As an example, the scattered field of a dipole above and alined with the axis of symmetry of a conducting prolate spheroid immersed in a uniaxially anisotropic, homogeneous medium whose optical axis is parallel to the axis of symmetry of the boundary, is discussed. A special case of this problem is the field of a dipole scattered by a conducting disc perpendicular to the dipole.
Naturally Occurring Single Nucleotide Mutations Alter the Function of a Highly Conserved Hsp70 Gene in Humans

Molecular chaperones and in particular the 70-kD heat shock proteins (Hsp70s) are key regulators of the cellular stress response and alterations in their function have direct physiological conseque...
A laser-triggered mini-Marx for low-jitter, high-voltage applications

A relatively simple method for generating high-voltage (/spl sim/200 kV) trigger pulses with low jitter (/spl sim/1 ns) has been developed at the Nike KrF Laser Facility. The output pulse (/spl sim/10 mJ) from a frequency-quadruple Nd:YAG laser is focused between the electrodes of a spark gap, which acts as the first-stage switch in a compact, eight-stage Marx generator. The spark gap is pressurized with a mixture of sulfur hexafluoride and air. The UV (266 nm) laser energy ionizes the SF/sub 6/, creating a spark which triggers the switch. A 20-cm focal length lens is used. The defocusing laser light then illuminates the remaining, self-breaking spark-gap switches in the Marx, pre-ionizing them. The Marx output is approximately 200 kV into 50 ohms, with a risetime of 2 ns. A single Marx is capable of triggering six 100-kV spark gaps via six 65-ohm cables in parallel, with an overall jitter of /spl plusmn/1 ns. A single laser triggers three Marxes; the trigger timing of each can be adjusted independently by changing the laser path lengths. The system uses off-the-shelf components throughout.
CT and ultrasound imaging of retropharyngeal abscesses in children.

PURPOSE To show the role of ultrasound (US) in distinguishing retropharyngeal abscess from adenitis in children. METHODS Eleven infants and children had clinical symptoms suggestive of retropharyngeal infection. Radiographic evaluation included, lateral neck radiography (11/11), contrast-enhanced neck CT (10/11), contrast-enhanced neck MR (1/11), and real time US (11/11) patients. US was used to characterize masses as solid (adenitis) or complex (abscess) and for guiding intraoperative aspiration and drainage. RESULTS Contrast CT and MR showed findings suspicious for abscess in all 11 cases. Only three children had surgically drainable abscesses. CT numbers within inflammatory masses did not distinguish adenitis from abscess. US was able to correctly diagnose abscess or adenitis in each case. CONCLUSION Lateral neck radiography and contrast CT identify and localize retropharyngeal inflammatory masses in children. US, but not CT, distinguishes between adenitis and abscess and aids in intraoperative aspiration and drainage.
Stronger, Tougher Steels

Insights into the microstructure and brittle failure of steels is leading to a new generation of structural steels.
Iron deficiency impairs protein synthesis in immune tissues of rat pups

To determine if decreased protein synthesis is a factor in reduced immunocompetence of iron deficiency, RNA, DNA and in vitro protein synthesis were measured. Rats were fed diets containing 6 (severe anemia), 11 (moderate anemia) or 250 (iron sufficient) mg iron/kg diet throughout gestation and lactation. On d 2 of lactation, litters were adjusted to contain six pups. On d 12 of lactation, two pups from each litter were immunized with sheep red blood cells (SRBC) and on d 17, tissues were removed for the determination of protein synthesis and evaluation of RNA and DNA contents. In the moderately iron-deficient pups, protein synthesis was lower (30%) in spleen than that in iron-sufficient pups. Protein synthesis in liver and thymus was not changed by moderate iron deficiency. In spleen, liver and thymus, protein synthesis in severely iron-deficient pups was less than half that of iron-sufficient pups. Protein synthesis in the spleen of the moderately iron-deficient group was higher after immunization with SRBC than in iron-sufficient controls, whereas the severely iron-deficient pups failed to respond. Impaired protein synthesis may be the mechanism responsible for compromised ability to produce antibody in iron deficiency.
Fungal oxalate decarboxylase activity contributes to Sclerotinia sclerotiorum early infection by affecting both compound appressoria development and function

Summary Sclerotinia sclerotiorum pathogenesis requires the accumulation of high levels of oxalic acid (OA). To better understand the factors affecting OA accumulation, two putative oxalate decarboxylase (OxDC) genes (Ss-odc1 and Ss-odc2) were characterized. Ss-odc1 transcripts exhibited significant accumulation in vegetative hyphae, apothecia, early stages of compound appressorium development and during plant colonization. Ss-odc2 transcripts, in contrast, accumulated significantly only during mid to late stages of compound appressorium development. Neither gene was induced by low pH or exogenous OA in vegetative hyphae. A loss-of-function mutant for Ss-odc1 (Δss-odc1) showed wild-type growth, morphogenesis and virulence, and was not characterized further. Δss-odc2 mutants hyperaccumulated OA in vitro, were less efficient at compound appressorium differentiation and exhibited a virulence defect which could be fully bypassed by wounding the host plant prior to inoculation. All Δss-odc2 phenotypes were restored to the wild-type by ectopic complementation. An S. sclerotiorum strain overexpressing Ss-odc2 exhibited strong OxDC, but no oxalate oxidase activity. Increasing inoculum nutrient levels increased compound appressorium development, but not penetration efficiency, of Δss-odc2 mutants. Together, these results demonstrate differing roles for S. sclerotiorum OxDCs, with Odc2 playing a significant role in host infection related to compound appressorium formation and function.
Teaching International Business Abroad: Paradigms Suggested by Metaphor Theory

When International Business (IB) is taught abroad, the educational institution has to decide on organizational issues and educational and teaching paradigms. College and university programs abroad can adopt organizational values and identities similar to the home institution, or adapt to local operating environments. Likewise, educational and pedagogic paradigms can mirror those in the home institution or expand to realize and consider local contexts. Based on a consideration of metaphor theory, it is suggested that there are three ways of dealing with international educational experiences. The non‐metaphoric paradigm fails to recognize and engage with ambient difference. The comparison paradigm compares and contrasts acquired institutional understandings with local realities. The domains‐interactive seeks to stimulate a dynamic exploration of home and local assumptions, looking for new emergent themes and understanding. Insight derived from metaphor theory not only suggests how these different paradigms ...
Comparison of the autolyzed and unautolyzed forms of μ- and m-calpain from bovine skeletal muscle

Bovine skeletal muscle mu- and m-calpain autolyze when incubated with Ca2+. During the first 30 to 300 s, autolysis: (1) has little effect on the specific proteolytic activity of either mu- or m-calpain when assayed at 5 mM Ca2+; and (2) produces two new proteolytically active forms of calpain in addition to the original mu- and m-calpain. The four proteolytically active forms of calpain are: (1) autolyzed mu-calpain, having polypeptide subunits of 76 and 18 kDa and requiring 0.60 microM Ca2+ for half-maximal activity; (2) mu-calpain with 80- and 28-kDa subunits and requiring 7.1 microM Ca2+ for half-maximal activity; (3) autolyzed m-calpain with 78- and 18-kDa subunits and requiring 180 microM Ca2+ for half-maximal activity; and (4) m-calpain with 80- and 28-kDa subunits and requiring 1000 microM Ca2+ for half-maximal activity. All four forms of the calpains have similar pH optima (7.4 to 7.6) and almost identical circular dichroism spectra in the far ultraviolet (all four have little secondary structure with 26-30% alpha-helix and less than 10% beta-sheet structure). Autolyzed mu- and unautolyzed mu-calpain are fully activated proteolytically by Mn2+ with activity starting at 125 microM Mn2+. Autolyzed m-calpain is also activated by Mn2+ up to 80% of the maximum proteolytic activity obtained with Ca2+; Mn2+ activation begins at 320 microM Mn2+. Unautolyzed m-calpain has only 6 to 8% as much activity in the presence of Mn2+ as it does in the presence of Ca2+. Autolysis increases the axial ratios of the calpains from 3.5 to 4.6 for mu-calpain and from 3.7 to 5.0 for m-calpain (assuming 20% hydration). The estimated length of the calpain molecules increases by 13% upon autolysis from 73 to 84 A for mu-calpain and from 76 to 90 A for m-calpain (assuming 20% hydration). The autolyzed calpains elute after their unautolyzed counterparts off a DEAE-ion exchange column. Because autolyzed forms of the calpains are not found in DEAE elution profiles of cell extracts, bovine skeletal muscle cells must contain very little (less than 5% of total calpain) or none of the autolyzed form of the calpains.
Statistical Characteristics of Daily Precipitation: Comparisons of Gridded and Point Datasets

Gridding of daily precipitation data alleviates many of the limitations of data that are derived from point observations, such as problems associated with missing data and the lack of spatial coverage. As a result, gridded precipitation data can be valuable for applied climatological research and monitoring, but they too have limitations. To understand the limitations of gridded data more fully (especially when they are used as surrogates for station data), annual precipitation total, rain-day frequency, and annual maxima are calculated and compared for five Midwestern grid points from the Climate Prediction Center’s Unified Rain Gauge Dataset (URD) and those of its nearest (rain gauge) station. To further examine differences between the two datasets, return periods of daily precipitation were calculated over a region encompassing Illinois and Indiana. These analyses reveal that the gridding process used to create the URD produced nearly the same annual totals as the rain gauge data; however, the gridding significantly increased the frequency of low-precipitation events while greatly reducing the frequency of heavy-precipitation events. Extreme precipitation values also were greatly reduced in the gridded precipitation data. While smoothing nearly always occurs when data are gridded, the gridding of discrete variables such as daily precipitation can produce datasets with statistical characteristics that are very different from those of the original observations.
Radiocarbon dating of dissolved inorganic carbon in groundwater from confined parts of the Upper Floridan aquifer, Florida, USA

Geochemical reaction models were evaluated to improve radiocarbon dating of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) in groundwater from confined parts of the Upper Floridan aquifer in central and northeastern Florida, USA. The predominant geochemical reactions affecting the 14C activity of DIC include (1) dissolution of dolomite and anhydrite with calcite precipitation (dedolomitization), (2) sulfate reduction accompanying microbial degradation of organic carbon, (3) recrystallization of calcite (isotopic exchange), and (4) mixing of fresh water with as much as 7% saline water in some coastal areas. The calculated cumulative net mineral transfers are negligibly small in upgradient parts of the aquifer and increase significantly in downgradient parts of the aquifer, reflecting, at least in part, upward leakage from the Lower Floridan aquifer and circulation that contacted middle confining units in the Floridan aquifer system. The adjusted radiocarbon ages are independent of flow path and represent travel times of water from the recharge area to the sample point in the aquifer. Downgradient from Polk City (adjusted age 1.7 ka) and Keystone Heights (adjusted age 0.4 ka), 14 of the 22 waters have adjusted 14C ages of 20–30 ka, indicating that most of the fresh-water resource in the Upper Floridan aquifer today was recharged during the last glacial period. All of the paleowaters are enriched in 18O and 2H relative to modern infiltration, with maximum enrichment in δ18O of approximately 2.0‰.
Congenital megalourethra associated with hypospadias

Abstract Megalourethra is an extremely rare congenital anomaly. Association with hypospadias has not been previously noted. It is essential that this condition be recognized so that circumcision is not performed. More importantly, other congenital anomalies must be suspected. Onestage surgical repair of the condition is not difficult and generally offers good results.
Stimulation of translation in 3T3-L1 cells in response to insulin and phorbol ester is directly correlated with increased phosphate labelling of initiation factor (eIF-) 4F and ribosomal protein S6

One of the earliest responses to growth-promoting compounds in quiescent or serum-starved cells is stimulation of phosphorylation of ribosomal protein S6. Exposure of 3T3-L1 cells to insulin or phorbol ester (phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate, PMA) also promotes phosphorylation of specific initiation factors. In this study, stimulation of phosphate labelling of S6, eIF-4F and eIF-4B in response to insulin and PMA has been examined in 3T3-L1 cells and compared with changes in protein synthesis. The rate of phosphate incorporation into eIF-4F and S6 is rapid and parallels the transient stimulation of protein synthesis observed with insulin. Whilst a similar correlation exists with PMA, the response is not as great as with insulin, but is more sustained. A role for the co-ordinate phosphorylation of initiation factors and ribosomal protein S6 in the stimulation of protein synthesis is discussed.
Process and truth-table characterisations of randomness

This paper uses quick process machines to provide characterisations of computable randomness, Schnorr randomness and weak randomness. The quick process machine is a type of process machine first considered in work of Levin and Zvonkin. A new technique for building process machines and quick process machines is presented. This technique is similar to the KC theorem for prefix-free machines. Using this technique, a method of translating computable martingales to quick process machines is given. This translation forms the basis for these new randomness characterisations. Quick process machines are also used to provide characterisations of computable randomness, Schnorr randomness, and weak randomness in terms of truth-table reducibility.
Screening cottonseed for aflatoxins

A rapid screening method for detecting aflatoxins in cottonseed has been developed. Using long-wave ultraviolet light and samples containing aflatoxins, the fibers on a few cottonseed fluoresced a greenish yellow and the ends of some sticks and stems (foreign material) fluoresced with a bluish color. Nine out of 10 of the 2300 samples of cottonseed were correctly screened during the last two years of the study. In only one category, 1–10 ppb aflatoxins, was there an appreciable error in the screening method.
SODIUM-22 RETENTION AND 17-HYDROXYCORTICOSTEROID EXCRETION IN AFFECTIVE DISORDERS: A PRELIMINARY REPORT

THE STUDY of electrolyte changes in affective disorders is receiving increasing attention. The possibility has been considered by some authors that the reported changes are not simply secondary,' but are related in a more essential way to the basic pathophysiological changes in the central nervous system. I SCHOTTSTAEDT el gL found a decreased sodium and potassium excretion and water retention during depressed periods in normal subjects. 2 RUSSELL, however, using conventional balance techniques, was unable to find a statistically significant change in the balance of sodium, potassium and water with recovery from depression, a Although COPPEN and SHAW also found a fall in exchangeable sodium with recovery from depression, the results were not statistically significant. 4 The fall in residual sodium, however, after recovery averaged 180 m-equiv, and was highly significant at the <0.001 level. We have previously demonstrated the usefulness of whole-body counting in a long-term study of isotopic retention, s The present paper applies the method of whole-body counting to a study of 2ZNa retention in psychiatric patients and relates the observed changes in salt retention to changes in clinical state and to administered drugs. In addition, urinary 17-hydroxycorticosteroid (17-OHCS) excretion has been studied longitudinally in the patients, and the results have been considered both in relation to clinical state and to sodium retention.
Ethane production rate in rats exposed to high oxygen concentration.

Production rates for ethane gas, a hydrocarbon byproduct of lipid peroxidation, measured from the ethane present in the exhaled breath of rats, were used to determine changes in oxygen-free radical activity. Rates of ethane production were measured in rats housed in metabolic chambers and exposed to room air and to high oxygen concentrations. Expired ethane, adsorbed onto activated charcoal and then liberated by heating, was measured by gas chromatography. Ethane production rates in groups of 8 rats increased during 8 h of 100% oxygen exposure from a mean (± SE) room air value of 11.30 ± 1.15 to 27.85 ± 2.93 pmol/min/100 g rat (p < 0.005). The mean (± SE) percent increases in ethane production after exposure to 100% oxygen in 8 rats pretreated with 0.1 mg/100 g of vitamin E in corn oil vehicle (0.1 ml/100 g) injected intraperitoneally and in a group of 5 rats injected with vehicle alone averaged 157.16 ± 37.83% and 150.98 ± 25.19%, respectively. The percent changes noted were not significantly different a...
The Backscatter Matrix of Ice Samples: Its Relation to the Identification of Hail by Radar

Abstract Measurements of the backscatter matrix, including phase, have been made at 2.86 GHz on blocks of ice intended to approximate oblate and prolate spheroids with axial ratios of 0.6 and 0.8. For 2.5<ka<4.5 respective cancellation ratios in the order of 0 and 5 dB were obtained compared with Rayleigh values of 19 and 25 dB. The relevance of these and other polarization characteristics for the identification of hail is considered with examples from Ku-band radar observations.
Inferences about Ice Nucleation from Ice Crystal Observations.

Abstract The total concentration of ice crystals found in natural cap clouds appears to result from the nucleating behavior of at least two types of ice nuclei, i.e., freezing and deposition. The respective contributions of these two modes of nucleation have been partitioned by the use of techniques in which the identification of ice crystals resulting from frozen droplets can be made. Furthermore, the identification of deposition ice crystals at water saturation, when compared with similar data obtained during water subsaturated but ice supersaturated conditions, has yielded an insight as to the dependence of deposition ice crystal concentration (deposition nuclei) upon both temperature and ice supersaturation.
A comparison of ab initio optical rotations obtained with static and dynamic methods

Abstract Optical rotations of several chiral molecules have been calculated with both static and dynamic methods and these predictions are compared to the experimental optical rotations. The optical rotation signs predicted by the static method are the same as those predicted by the dynamic method with London orbitals, except for one molecule. The optical rotations predicted by these two methods compare favorably with the experimental observations. Nevertheless, the ability to calculate wavelength-dependent and gauge-origin-independent optical rotations makes the use of the dynamic method with London orbitals more attractive.
Public policy considerations in reclamation planning

Social change often reflects upon mineral production practices. Industry can either increase turbulence and negative public reaction, or it can increase social acceptance of the facts of a modern economy; residuals are inevitable and need management. Future social turbulence can be mitigated by residuals management, ecological and landscape planning, and long-range natural resources planning.
Interactive albedo editing in path-traced volumetric materials

Materials such as clothing or carpets, or complex assemblies of small leaves, flower petals, or mosses, do not fit well into either BRDF or BSSRDF models. Their appearance is a complex combination of reflection, transmission, scattering, shadowing, and inter-reflection. This complexity can be handled by simulating the full volumetric light transport within these materials by Monte Carlo algorithms, but there is no easy way to construct the necessary distributions of local material properties thatwould lead to the desired global appearance. In this article, we consider one way to alleviate the problem: an editing algorithm that enables a material designer to set the local (singlescattering) albedo coefficients interactively, and see an immediate update of the emergent appearance in the image. This is a difficult problem, since the function from materials to pixel values is neither linear nor low-order polynomial. We combine the following two ideas to achieve high-dimensional heterogeneous edits: precomputing the homogeneous mapping of albedo to intensity, and a large Jacobian matrix, which encodes the derivatives of each image pixel with respect to each albedo coefficient. Combining these two datasets leads to an interactive editing algorithm with a very good visual match to a fully path-traced ground truth.
Fisheries Management Models: Assumptions and Realities or, Why Shrimpers in Mississippi Are Not Firms

The Schaefer-Gordon model of fisheries management does not adequately predict the state of stocks or the behavior of fishermen. In any scientific discourse, this should call the basic assumptions into question. I review the challenges to the model's biological assumptions and argue that its economic assumptions are also flawed. I review the approach developed by A.V. Chayanov for studying peasant economies in conjunction with comparative data on other fisheries and data from Mississippi Shrimpers to show that Chayanov's model characterizes the shrimpers of Mississippi. From the comparative and ethnographic data, I conclude that fishermen do not operate as firms. This further calls into question the adequacy of the current fisheries management model and raises the question of how and why such an inadequate model is perpetuated.
Modeling the reactivity of superoxide reducing metalloenzymes with a nitrogen and sulfur coordinated iron complex.

The synthesis and structure of a five-coordinate Fe(II) complex, [FeIISMe2N4 (tren)](PF6) (1), which models the reactive properties of superoxide reductases (SORs), is reported. SORs catalyze the reduction of superoxide to peroxide in anaerobic organisms, thereby avoiding the O2 formed in the more typical superoxide degradation enzyme superoxide dismutase (SOD). The thiolate ligand contained in model 1, as well as in SORs, appears to play an important role in promoting SOR activity.
Compressing term positions in web indexes

Large search engines process thousands of queries per second on billions of pages, making query processing a major factor in their operating costs. This has led to a lot of research on how to improve query throughput, using techniques such as massive parallelism, caching, early termination, and inverted index compression. We focus on techniques for compressing term positions in web search engine indexes. Most previous work has focused on compressing docID and frequency data, or position information in other types of text collections. Compression of term positions in web pages is complicated by the fact that term occurrences tend to cluster within documents but not across document boundaries, making it harder to exploit clustering effects. Also, typical access patterns for position data are different from those for docID and frequency data. We perform a detailed study of a number of existing and new techniques for compressing position data in web indexes. We also study how to efficiently access position data for ranking functions that take proximity features into account.
A test of insulator interactions in Drosophila

Insulators are a class of elements that define independent domains of gene function. The Drosophila gypsy insulator is proposed to establish regulatory isolation by forming loop domains that constrain interactions between transcriptional control elements. This supposition is based upon the observation that insertion of a single gypsy insulator between an enhancer and promoter blocks enhancer function, while insertion of two gypsy insulators promotes enhancer bypass and activation of transcription. To investigate this model, we determined whether non-gypsy insulators interacted with each other and with the gypsy insulator. Pairs of scs or scs′ insulators blocked enhancer function. Further, an intervening scs insulator did not block gypsy insulator interactions. Taken together, these data suggest that not all Drosophila insulators interact, with this property restricted to some insulators, such as gypsy. Three gypsy insulators inserted between an enhancer and promoter blocked enhancer function, indicating that gypsy insulator interactions may be restricted to pairs. Our studies imply that formation of loop domains may represent one of many mechanisms used by insulators to impart regulatory isolation.
Activation of the PTEN/mTOR/STAT3 pathway in breast cancer stem-like cells is required for viability and maintenance

Side-population (SP) cells within cancers and cell lines are rare cell populations known to enrich cancer stem-like cells. In this study, we characterized SP cells from the human breast cancer cell line MCF7 as a model for cancer stem-like cells. Compared with non-SP cells, MCF7 SP cells had higher colony-formation ability in vitro and greater tumorigenicity in vivo, suggesting that MCF7 SP cells enrich cancer stem-like cells. cDNA microarray analysis of the SP cells indicated higher expression of ATP-binding cassette transporters and genes involved in quiescence, which were confirmed by quantitative RT-PCR and flow cytometry cell cycle analysis. To identify signal pathways important for cancer stem-like cells, we analyzed cDNA microarray data and identified nine pathways that were altered in the SP cells. To analyze the protein signaling networks, we used reverse-phase signaling pathway protein microarray technology and identified three signaling proteins that are significantly different between MCF7 SP and non-SP cells. Notably, signaling of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), signal transduction and activator of transcription (STAT3), and phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) was confirmed to be critical for MCF7 SP cell survival and proliferation by pathway specific inhibitors, selected gene knockdown, and in vivo tumorigenicity assay. The STAT3 pathway was found to be positively regulated by mTOR signaling, whereas PTEN served as a negative regulator of both STAT3 and mTOR signaling. This study suggests the existence of prosurvival signaling pathways critical for cancer stem-like cell maintenance, which could be selectively targeted for inhibiting cancer stem-like cells for improved treatment.
Role of Tree Trunks, Foliage Type, and Canopy Size in Host Selection by Lymantria dispar (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae)

In caged choice experiments, Lymantria dispar (L.) larvae strongly preferred Acer saccharum Marsh. and Fraxinus pennsylvanica Marsh. trunks (44.3 and 43.3% of larvae, respectively) to Betula papyrifera Marsh. trunks (5.7%). When larvae were allowed to choose among the foliage of live seedlings of the same species, they preferred B. papyrifera (71.0%) over A. saccharum (14.3%) and F. pennsylvanica (0.7%). Trunk sections of A. saccharum and B. papyrifera were wrapped around live seedlings of the same trees and F. pennsylvanica in six possible combinations of trunk and foliage species to evaluate the impact of trunk characteristics on host selection in the presence of foliage. The most preferred trunk-foliage combinations, in descending order of percentage larvae found on each, were as follows: A. saccharum-B. papyrifera (41.0%), B. papyrifera-B. papyrifera (19.0%), A. saccharum-A. saccharum (14.8%), B. papyrifera-A. saccharum (12.2%), A. saccharum-F. pennsylvanica (2.2%), and B. papyrifera-F. pennsylvanica (1.0%). Both trunk species and foliage species Significantly influenced larval choice. The effect of tree canopy size, as measured by leaf surface area, on the distribution of larvae was measured in a forest clearing where five replications of 17 tree species and cultivars were planted. The tree species ranged from highly susceptible ( Malus sp.) to highly resistant ( Gleditsia triacanthos L.). The number of larvae per tree was explained well by the size of the leaf canopy for the six most preferred tree species and cultivars. This relationship did not exist for the remaining 11 species and cultivars of less preferred trees. Apparently, the size of preferred trees influences the distribution of gypsy moth larvae among them.