cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Primary Production in Laboratory Streams 1,2

Six laboratory streams are being used to study primary production and community respiration in simple communities under different environmental conditions. A photosynthesis-respiration chamber has been developed to perform experiments relating primary production to different environmental conditions and to verify primary production measurements made directly in the laboratory streams or in natural streams. Gross primary production in the six streams under 6,000 lux of illumination ranged from 2.4 to 4.7 g of oxygen per m2 per day. Community respiration ranged from 1.6 to 4.2 g of oxygen per m2 per day. The P/R ratios usually varied between 1.0 and 2.0. The relationship between illumination intensity and primary production was approximately linear between zero and 4,000 lux, and maximum photosynthetic rates were obtained at about 21,000 lux.
Gas sorption and transport in poly(tertiary-butyl methacrylate)

Abstract Gas sorption and transport properties of poly(tertiary-butyl methacrylate) (PtBMA) have been measured at 35°C and are compared with prior results for poly(methyl acrylate) (PMA), poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), and poly(ethyl methacrylate) (PEMA). The t-butyl substitution increases the gas permeability as a result of increases in both diffusivity and solubility coefficients; however, the ideal selectivity for a given gas pair may increase or decrease depending upon the methacrylate polymer to which it is compared. Poly(t-butyl methacrylate) does not show plasticization by CO 2 up to 10 atm of CO 2 . The effect of t-butyl substitution on gas permeability observed here for the methacrylate polymer is compared to that reported in the literature for other polymer types. This substitution causes a larger increase in permeability the smaller the repeat unit of the base polymer since this results in a greater modification in structure and subsequent greater decrease in efficiency of chain packing.
Race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status influence the survival of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma in the United States

BACKGROUND: Racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic disparities in the survival of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) continue to exist. The authors of this report hypothesized that these differences result from inequities in access to care and in response to therapy. METHODS: Patients with HCC (n = 20,920) were identified from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database, and patients who underwent liver transplantation for HCC (n = 4735) were identified from the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) database. Clinical and pathologic factors were compared after patients were stratified by race and ethnicity. RESULTS: The survival of patients with HCC improved over time for all racial, ethnic, and income groups (P < .001). Black and low income individuals had the poorest long-term survival (P < .001). On multivariate analysis, black race was predictive of the poorest survival (hazard ratio [HR], 1.15; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.09-1.22; P < .001), whereas Asian race was associated with the best survival (HR, 0.87; 95% CI, 0.83-0.91; P < .001). After liver transplantation, black patients had the worst graft survival and overall survival (median survival [MS], 30.5 months and 39.7 months, respectively; P < .001), whereas Hispanics had the best survival (MS, 83.4 months and 86.6 months, respectively; P < .001). In a multivariate analysis of transplantation patients, race and ethnicity were associated significantly with outcome. CONCLUSIONS: Significant racial and ethnic disparities in the outcome of patients with HCC persist despite the receipt of comparable treatment. The authors concluded that further investigations are warranted to identify the reasons for the stark disparity in outcomes between black patients and Hispanic patients after liver transplantation for HCC. Cancer 2010. © 2010 American Cancer Society.
Mössbauer investigation of the transformations of the iron minerals in oil shale during retorting

Abstract Iron phases in raw and retorted shales have been studied from the TOSCO II, Paraho, and Lawrence Livermore Laboratory (LLL) 125 kg retorting processes by Mossbauer effect spectroscopy. Using the Mossbauer effect, changes in the iron mineralogy during retorting were monitored. Results show that the pyrite fraction in the TOSCO II, and LLL hydrogen run S-9 samples underwent changes during retorting whereas the iron-containing carbonates did not. As in other pyrolysis processes, FeS2 breakdown is affected by the presence of organic matter. Hydrogen released by the indigenous kerogen acts to reduce pyrite to the magnetic sulphide pyrrhotite. In all of the retorts containing oxygen, carbonate breakdown was observed prior to pyrite oxidation. Free oxygen is introduced to several retorts. The iron minerals within these systems eventually become a mixture of the oxides hematite and magnetite. This study demonstrates that alteration of specific iron minerals during retorting may be controlled by varying the internal retorting conditions.
Rotator cuff tears: diagnostic performance of MR imaging

To determine the diagnostic performance of magnetic resonance (MR) imaging in the evaluation of suspected rotator cuff tears, eight asymptomatic volunteers and 32 patients with rotator cuff tendonopathy who underwent surgery were examined with MR imaging. Twenty-four of these patients also underwent contrast arthrography. The ability of MR imaging to depict the size of cuff tears and the quality of torn tendon edges was also evaluated. The MR imaging and arthrographic studies were reviewed without knowledge of surgical results or of the other studies. A scoring system was developed and a score assigned to each patient's MR study. The sensitivity of MR imaging for all tears (partial and full thickness) was 0.91, and the specificity was 0.88; whereas the sensitivity and specificity of arthrography were each 0.71. The scoring system improved the sensitivity to 1.0 and the specificity to 0.92. Linear regression analysis showed excellent correlation between preoperative assessment of the size of rotator cuff tears and measurement at surgery (r = .95).
The Transition from Hydrogen Bonding to Ionization in (Hci)N(nh3)N and (Hci)N(h2o)N Clusters: Consequences for Anharmonic Vibrational Spectroscopy

Anharmonic vibrational frequencies and intensities are calculated for 1:1 and 2:2 (HCl)(sub n)(NH3)(sub n) and (HCl)(sub n)(H2O)(sub n) complexes, employing the correlation-corrected vibrational self-consistent field method with ab initio potential surfaces at the MP2/TZP computational level. In this method, the anharmonic coupling between all vibrational modes is included, which is found to be important for the systems studied. For the 4:4 (HCl)(sub n)(H2O)(sub n) complex, the vibrational spectra are calculated at the harmonic level, and anharmonic effects are estimated. Just as the (HCl)(sub n)(NH3)(sub n) structure switches from hydrogen-bonded to ionic for n=2, the (HCl)(sub n)(H2O)(sub n) switches to ionic structure for n=4. For (HCl)2(H2O)2, the lowest energy structure corresponds to the hydrogen-bonded form. However, configurations of the ionic form are separated from this minimum by a barrier of less than an O-H stretching quantum. This suggests the possibility of experiments on ionization dynamics using infrared excitation of the hydrogen-bonded form. The strong cooperative effects on the hydrogen bonding, and concomitant transition to ionic bonding, makes an accurate estimate of the large anharmonicity crucial for understanding the infrared spectra of these systems. The anharmonicity is typically of the order of several hundred wave numbers for the proton stretching motions involved in hydrogen or ionic bonding, and can also be quite large for the intramolecular modes. In addition, the large cooperative effects in the 2:2 and higher order (HCl(sub n)(H2O)(sub n) complexes may have interesting implications for solvation of hydrogen halides at ice surfaces.
Regulating political advertising in the EU and USA: a human rights perspective

Underlying the American model of political campaign communication are the US Constitutional guarantees of free speech, which secure the rights of citizens to support political candidates of their choosing and express that support in various forms, from bumper stickers to television advertising. Courts have at times struck down measures regulating political advertising, including limits on the amounts of such advertising and the amounts of funds which candidates, parties and individuals may spend on election-related speeches and advertising as infringements of these rights. With few exceptions, in the USA, government may not limit the number of spots a candidate airs in an election. In Europe, international norms concerning free expression and fair elections appear in a number of legal instruments, including, most recently, the UK's Human Rights Act 1998 and the EU's Charter of Fundamental Rights. This paper compares the role and development of American First Amendment doctrines in limiting restrictions on political advertising in the USA with the development of comparable norms of free expression under the European Convention on Human Rights, European Union treaties and legislation and national laws of the member states and accession countries. In particular, this paper addresses the validity and enforceability of European legal limits on number, timing, placement, quantity and content of political advertisements under applicable human rights rules and similar regulations. The paper concludes that (1) a combination of European legal instruments, including the European Convention on Human Rights, the European Community Treaty, the European Community's ‘Television Without Frontiers’ Directives and the Council of Europe's Convention on Transfrontier Television offer protections of a kind and type which broadly track the protections of the USA's First Amendment; that (2) it seems that governmental justifications for restricting these freedoms are more readily accepted in Europe than they might be in courts in the USA; and that (3) certain restrictions on political advertising identified in previous studies as existing throughout Europe will face increased judicial scrutiny and some of them are probably illegal under European Human Rights principles. Copyright © 2004 Henry Stewart Publications
Thermal decomposition of curium tetrafluoride and terbium tetrafluoride

The thermal decompositions of both curium and terbium tetrafluorides have been studied using mass spectrometry to monitor the effusate from a Knudsen cell containing the condensed fluoride. Curium tetrafluoride was found to decompose at 330–430°C in vacuum. A Second Law enthalpy of 26.3 ± 2 kcal/mole (at 370°C) is derived from van't Hoff plots of results obtained for the decomposition reaction: CmF4(s)→CmF3(s) + 12 F2(g) Decomposition fluorine pressures are derived and comparison is made with related studies of terbium tetrafluoride carried out in conjunction with the curium experiments. The results are compared both with data reported in the literature for lanthanide and actinide tetrafluorides and with predictions that have been made for CmF4.
Comparison of eating disorders and body image disturbances between Eastern and Western countries.

Factors associated with the development of eating disorders in countries with non-Western cultures have not been adequately investigated in relation to Westernized countries. We therefore studied 243 girls [age =16.5±1.2 (SD)], recruited from schools in India, Tibet, the US and France. They completed the Figure Rating Scale (FRS), the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT), and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). The Tibetan group had a lower body mass index (BMI) than the other groups (p<0.0001), which did not differ from each other. All groups differed significantly on socio-economic status (SES), with those living in India having the highest (p<0.0001). Prior to controlling for age, SES, and BMI, there were no significant differences on any psychological measure between the individual countries, or when collapsed by East vs. West. However, after controlling for the same covariates, the Tibetan group selected a significantly larger current (p<0.0001) and ideal body size (p=0.03), compared to all the other countries, and had more body image discrepancy than the American group (p=0.04). After controlling only for BMI, the girls from the East had a larger current and ideal, but no difference on body image discrepancy. Body image discrepancy scores were best predicted by EAT scores and BMI, accounting for 35% of the variance (p<0.0001). EAT scores themselves were best predicted by mother’s education, BDI, body image discrepancy, and drug and tobacco use, accounting for 33% of the variance (p<0.0001). Unlike some other studies, we did not observe greater body image discrepancy and eating pathology in Western cultures, whether or not controlling for age, SES, and BMI. There were no differences in eating and depression pathology between those in the US, France, or India. Indeed, the Tibetans, after controlling for their low BMI and SES, had the greatest body image discrepancy.
Regulation of Hematopoietic Stem Cell Processing and Transplantation

The widespread use of tissue including hematopoietic stem cell products is justification for the development of standards by professional societies and for regulation by governmental agencies. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) developed a tiered, risk-based regulatory model.At the low end of risk to the tissue recipient, the regulations being developed by the FDA are comparable to standards developed by the Foundation for the Accreditation of Hematopoietic Cell Therapy (FAHCT) and recognize a basic level of practice in the collection, processing, and distribution of hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) products. This basic level of practice, when fully enacted, will be found in part 1271 of chapter 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), which includes criteria for facility management, quality control, donor selection, and the processing of cells. The regulatory approach adopted by the FDA is more comprehensive than FAHCT standards, however. It defines higher levels of regulatory oversight that combines appropriate sections of part 1271 with current good manufacturing practice requirements described in parts 210, 211, and 820 of chapter 21 of the CFR for HSC products that are more than minimally manipulated.
Formation of nitric oxide from fuel nitrogen in ethylene flames

The yield of nitric oxide from small additions of various nitrogen compounds was measured in premixed ethylene flames of mixture strengch= 0.9 to 2.0 and of temperature = 1860 to 2250°K. The additives were pyridine, methacrylonitrile, methyl amine, or ammonia, and with any of these the observations satisfied the equation [ NO ] X = 1 · e x p ( − [ N ] + [ NO ] 2 X ) where [N]= nitrogen compound added, espressed as ppm NO if all N formed NO. [NO] = ppm NO formed from the additive. X = a parameter characteristic of the flame and independent of [N]. The parameter X is a normalizing factor for [N], the yield [NO]/[N]being the same in all flames at equal [N]/X. For small [N]/X. [NO] = [N]; for large [N]/X, [NO] = X and is independent of [N] The values of X are larger the hotter and the less fuel-rich the flame, and are consistent with the identification X = (2–3) [OH] where [OH] represents ppm hydroxyl radicals in the flame. A possible interpretation of the experiments is that all the additives gave the same nitrogenous intermediate which reacted 2–3 times faster with OH than with NO to form and to destroy NO respectively. The equation also fits test stand data obtained in an oil spray, turbulent diffusion flame at 5 atm pressure with an overail fuel/air wt ratio of 0.021. The yields of NO from fuel nitrogen agree with the equation if this particular diffusion flame possessed an X parameter approptrate to an adiabatic premixed flame of mixture strength= 1.5–1.6.
Effect of pacemaker site on cardiac output and ventricular activation in dogs with complete heart block

Abstract The sequence of ventricular activation was recorded in dogs with complete heart block while the heart was paced from each of 11 ventricular sites; cardiac output was determined while the heart was paced from each of 8 ventricular sites at rates of 90, 120 and 150 per minute. The following conclusions were reached: 1. 1. Each ventricular pacemaker site results in a specific pattern of ventricular activation. 2. 2. Differences of over 100 per cent in cardiac output were recorded when the heart was paced from different ventricular sites at the same pacemaker rate. 3. 3. The optimal pacemaker rate is dependent upon the ventricular site selected for the implantation of the pacemaker electrode and the condition of the cardiovascular system. 4. 4. The hemodynamic effectiveness of the left ventricular pacemaker sites is inversely related to the muscle mass activated by muscle conduction. 5. 5. The hemodynamic effectiveness of right ventricular pacemakers is dependent upon the pattern of left ventricular depolarization. 6. 6. The hemodynamically more effective left ventricular pacemaker sites resulted in higher cardiac outputs than any of the right ventricular sites tested. 7. 7. The changes in cardiac performance when the heart is paced from various pacemaker sites is best explained by varying degrees of asynchrony during ventricular contraction and/or the position of the atrioventricular valves early in ventricular systole. 8. 8. The clinical implications of this study have been considered.
Mode Decomposition Evolution Equations

Partial differential equation (PDE) based methods have become some of the most powerful tools for exploring the fundamental problems in signal processing, image processing, computer vision, machine vision and artificial intelligence in the past two decades. The advantages of PDE based approaches are that they can be made fully automatic, robust for the analysis of images, videos and high dimensional data. A fundamental question is whether one can use PDEs to perform all the basic tasks in the image processing. If one can devise PDEs to perform full-scale mode decomposition for signals and images, the modes thus generated would be very useful for secondary processing to meet the needs in various types of signal and image processing. Despite of great progress in PDE based image analysis in the past two decades, the basic roles of PDEs in image/signal analysis are only limited to PDE based low-pass filters, and their applications to noise removal, edge detection, segmentation, etc. At present, it is not clear how to construct PDE based methods for full-scale mode decomposition. The above-mentioned limitation of most current PDE based image/signal processing methods is addressed in the proposed work, in which we introduce a family of mode decomposition evolution equations (MoDEEs) for a vast variety of applications. The MoDEEs are constructed as an extension of a PDE based high-pass filter (Wei and Jia in Europhys. Lett. 59(6):814---819, 2002) by using arbitrarily high order PDE based low-pass filters introduced by Wei (IEEE Signal Process. Lett. 6(7):165---167, 1999). The use of arbitrarily high order PDEs is essential to the frequency localization in the mode decomposition. Similar to the wavelet transform, the present MoDEEs have a controllable time-frequency localization and allow a perfect reconstruction of the original function. Therefore, the MoDEE operation is also called a PDE transform. However, modes generated from the present approach are in the spatial or time domain and can be easily used for secondary processing. Various simplifications of the proposed MoDEEs, including a linearized version, and an algebraic version, are discussed for computational convenience. The Fourier pseudospectral method, which is unconditionally stable for linearized high order MoDEEs, is utilized in our computation. Validation is carried out to mode separation of high frequency adjacent modes. Applications are considered to signal and image denoising, image edge detection, feature extraction, enhancement etc. It is hoped that this work enhances the understanding of high order PDEs and yields robust and useful tools for image and signal analysis.
JC virus agnoprotein enhances large T antigen binding to the origin of viral DNA replication: evidence for its involvement in viral DNA replication.

Abstract Agnoprotein is required for the successful completion of the JC virus (JCV) life cycle and was previously shown to interact with JCV large T-antigen (LT-Ag). Here, we further characterized agnoprotein's involvement in viral DNA replication. Agnoprotein enhances the DNA binding activity of LT-Ag to the viral origin (Ori) without directly interacting with DNA. The predicted amphipathic α-helix of agnoprotein plays a major role in this enhancement. All three phenylalanine (Phe) residues of agnoprotein localize to this α-helix and Phe residues in general are known to play critical roles in protein–protein interaction, protein folding and stability. The functional relevance of all Phe residues was investigated by mutagenesis. When all were mutated to alanine (Ala), the mutant virus (F31AF35AF39A) replicated significantly less efficiently than each individual Phe mutant virus alone, indicating the importance of Phe residues for agnoprotein function. Collectively, these studies indicate a close involvement of agnoprotein in viral DNA replication.
Laparoendoscopic Single Site Live Donor Nephrectomy: Initial Experience

Purpose: We present our initial experience in 40 patients undergoing laparoendoscopic single site donor nephrectomy.Materials and Methods: We prospectively collected data on 40 consecutive patients. A single access GelPOINT™ device was inserted into the abdomen through a 4 to 5 cm periumbilical incision. We used a bariatric camera with a right angle attachment for the light cord to maximize triangulation. Parameters analyzed included warm ischemia time, operative time, estimated blood loss, visual analog pain score, time to recipient creatinine less than 3 mg/dl, and recipient creatinine at discharge home, and 3 and 6 months.Results: A total of 38 left and 2 right donor nephrectomies were performed. Complete laparoendoscopic single site donor nephrectomy was successful in 38 cases. One left and 1 right case were converted to a hand assisted approach. Average ± SD body mass index was 26.1 ± 5.2 kg/m2. Mean operative time to allograft extraction was 93.5 ± 27.5 minutes and mean total operative time was 166....
Modernization and Activation of the NASA Ames 11- by 11-Foot Transonic Wind Tunnel

The Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel (UPWT) was modernized to improve performance, capability, productivity, and reliability. Automation systems were installed in all three UPWT tunnel legs and the Auxiliaries facility. Major improvements were made to the four control rooms, model support systems, main drive motors, and main drive speed control. Pressure vessel repairs and refurbishment to the electrical distribution system were also completed. Significant changes were made to improve test section flow quality in the 11-by 11-Foot Transonic leg. After the completion of the construction phase of the project, acceptance and checkout testing was performed to demonstrate the capabilities of the modernized facility. A pneumatic test of the tunnel circuit was performed to verify the structural integrity of the pressure vessel before wind-on operations. Test section turbulence, flow angularity, and acoustic parameters were measured throughout the tunnel envelope to determine the effects of the tunnel flow quality improvements. The new control system processes were thoroughly checked during wind-off and wind-on operations. Manual subsystem modes and automated supervisory modes of tunnel operation were validated. The aerodynamic and structural performance of both the new composite compressor rotor blades and the old aluminum rotor blades was measured. The entire subsonic and supersonic envelope of the 11-by 11-Foot Transonic leg was defined up to the maximum total pressure.
Iron/soot interaction in a laminar ethylene nonpremixed flame

A laminar, coannular, ethylene/air nonpremixed flame doped with ferrocene additive is employed toaddress the fundamental question of how iron becomes incorporated into the carbonaceous soot phase, thus interfering with the soot formation processes. The structure and chemical composition of individual aggregates are characterized with respect to flame coordinates via a combination of thermophoretic sampling, transmission electron microscopy, and energy dispersive spectrometry. Soot aggregate microstructure clearly reveals iron occlusion, as well as stratification of soot layers overthe occluded phase. The study provides physical evidence that the soot and iron compounds combine in the flame to form a hybrid (inhomogeneous) particulate phase. The reported observations are consistent with the hypothesis that ferrocene decomposes early in the combustion process and before the onset of soot particle inception, thus forming a fine aerosol for the subsequent deposition of carbonaceous substances. Examination of a series of inhomogeneous soot aggregates shows that the flame aerosol composition varies with flame coordinates. In particular, aggregates transported in the soot annulus near the luminous flame front are primarily composed of carbon and oxygen, with traces of iron finely dispersed through the aggregate matrix. On the other hand, carbonaceous soot transported at low heights and near the flame axis contains iron in its elemental form. Finally, soot aggregates in all other areas of the flame contain both iron and oxygen, thus implying the possible presence of iron oxides within the carbonaceous matrix.
An Analytical Model of a Microscale Heat Exchanger: Ambient Interaction and General End-Wall Boundary Conditions

Developments in manufacturing have led to progressively smaller and more complex micro-elctro-mechanical systems (MEMS), many of which employ heat exchangers to enhance performance. Due to the size constraints on these devices, adiabatic surfaces are difficult to create, and thus, ambient thermal interaction becomes an import factor in heat exchanger performance. Similarly, end-wall boundary conditions also become a concern at this scale. A closed form mathematical solution is presented for single-pass, two-fluid, parallel and counter flow microscale heat exchangers. The model includes the effects of axial wall conduction, ambient thermal interaction at the axial exterior surface, and general end-wall boundary conditions. Heat exchanger effectiveness values above unity were found to be possible depending on the magnitude of the ambient thermal interaction and the objective of the heat exchanger. It was also found that heat flux and convection boundary conditions, can enhance heat exchanger performance. Furthermore, it was determined that the heat capacity rate ratio could be controlled to mitigate the effects of the ambient thermal interaction.Copyright © 2010 by ASME
Property taxation and human migration

Various factors explain human migration as it relates to the growth of cities. Some are closely related to the location of modern industry: people follow jobs or at least are attracted by better economic opportunities. Cities also attract population by a quality of life otherwise unavailable. Some move to particular cities for personal reasons etc. But for the United States at least and for White migrants two factors are also important in affecting migration decisions: White migrants are attracted by higher educational spending and lower property tax burdens relative to areas with lower spending and higher burdens. White migrants in 1960-70 apparently preferred areas with mild or warm climates but were less sensitive to income differences. (authors)
Visceral organ mass in wethers consuming low- to moderate-quality grasses

Crossbred wethers (72; 31 k 0.5 kg) were used to determine effects of different grass sources and qualities on visceral organ mass after 42 and 84days. Wethers consumed ad libitum bermudagrass (BER; Cynodon dactylon) (H, 24-day regrowth; M, 42-day regrowth; L, full-season growth) or orchardgrass (ORC; Dactylis glomeruta) (H, late vegetative to pre-anthesis; M, post-anthesis; L, seed in dough stage). DOMI averaged 730, 603, 550, 592, 514 and 387 gday-’ (SE 32.4) for BER-H, BER-M, BER-L, ORC-H, ORC-M and ORC-L, respectively. Total gastrointestinal tract digesta mass (fresh weight) was greater (P = 0.01) for BER than for ORC (8.14, 8.36, 8.00, 7.64, 7.21 and 6.71 kg for BER-H, BER-M, BER-L, ORC-H, ORC-M and ORC-L, respectively). Mass of the reticula-rumen (722, 675, 617, 606, 577 and 512 g; SE 20.6) and small intestine (659, 620, 548, 585, 521 and 484g; SE 25.9) were greater (P < 0.01) for BER than for ORC, and liver mass generally differed similarly (period 1: 389, 406, 318, 390, 321 and 2868 (SE 10.2); period 2: 405, 392, 346, 372, 369 and 2898 (SE 10.6) for BER-H, BER-M, BER-L, ORC-H, ORC-M and ORC-L, respectively). A slightly greater proportion of variability in reticula-ruminal mass was attributable to digesta mass than to DOMI, although DOMI but not digesta mass was related to small intestinal tissue mass. Liver mass was more highly related to gastrointestinal tract tissue mass than to DOMI. In conclusion, physical attributes of digesta that differ among low- to moderate-quality grasses may affect mass and energy consumption by splanchnic tissues. 0 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.
Inactivation of Cdc42 in embryonic brain results in hydrocephalus with ependymal cell defects in mice

The establishment of a polarized cellular morphology is essential for a variety of processes including neural tube morphogenesis and the development of the brain. Cdc42 is a Ras-related GTPase that plays an essential role in controlling cell polarity through the regulation of the actin and microtubule cytoskeleton architecture. Previous studies have shown that Cdc42 plays an indispensable role in telencephalon development in earlier embryo developmental stage (before E12.5). However, the functions of Cdc42 in other parts of brain in later embryo developmental stage or in adult brain remain unclear. Thus, in order to address the role of Cdc42 in the whole brain in later embryo developmental stage or in adulthood, we used Cre/loxP technology to generate two lines of tissuespecific Cdc42-knock-out mice. Inactivation of Cdc42 was achieved in neuroepithelial cells by crossing Cdc42/ flox mice with Nestin-Cre mice and resulted in hydrocephalus, causing death to occur within the postnatal stage. Histological analyses of the brains from these mice showed that ependymal cell differentiation was disrupted, resulting in aqueductal stenosis. Deletion of Cdc42 in the cerebral cortex also induced obvious defects in interkinetic nuclear migration and hypoplasia. To further explore the role of Cdc42 in adult mice brain, we examined the effects of knocking-out Cdc42 in radial glial cells by crossing Cdc42/flox mice with human glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP)-Cre mice. Inactivation of Cdc42 in radial glial cells resulted in hydrocephalus and ependymal cell denudation. Taken together, these results highlight the importance of Cdc42 for ependymal cell differentiation and maintaining, and suggest that these functions likely contribute to the essential roles played by Cdc42 in the development of the brain.
Potential Benefit of an Agonistic Anti IGFIR Antibody (scFv-Fc) as an Effective Breast Cancer Therapy.

Multiple monoclonal antibodies targeting the type-1 insulin-like growth factor receptor (IGFIR) are currently in different phases of clinical trials. All the reported antibodies inhibit biochemical activation of IGFIR and block cell proliferation. In contrast, we have reported an agonistic anti-IGFIR antibody scFv-Fc that stimulates IGFIR and its downstream signaling of PI3K and MAPK pathways to promote cell proliferation in vitro. Like the purely antagonistic antibodies, our previous work has shown that scFv-Fc can down regulate IGFIR levels, partially inhibit xenograft growth of MCF-7 cells in athymic mice, and render MCF-7 cells refractory to the mitogenic effects of IGF-I after the initial wave of agonistic activity. MCF-7 cells maintained long term in scFv-Fc have low levels of IGFIR expression, yet the remaining receptor is activated and inhibited by an IGFIR tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) AEW541. In this study, we have further explored the future potential of using this antibody as breast cancer therapy. The common characteristic effect of anti-IGFIR antibodies is to down regulate IGFIR. Since scFv-Fc can activate IGFIR signaling in a manner different than the natural ligand IGF-I, we examined if this antibody could render cells more sensitive to TKI. In MCF-7 cells, IC50 of the IGF1R tyrosine kinase inhibitor AEW541 was decreased 5 to 10 fold when cultured in scFv-Fc. ER negative MDA-MB-231 cells are insensitive to both inhibitory antibody (AVE1642) and TKI (AEW541) in the presence or absence of IGF-I, which may due to the very low levels of IGF1R that are weakly activated by IGF-I. MDA-MB-231 cells were not affected by AEW541 in monolayer growth assays. After chronic treatment of MDA-MB-231 with scFv-Fc for 2 months, AEW541 significantly inhibited monolayer cell growth by 30% in the presence or absence of IGF-I. We also examined the effect of scFv-Fc9s effect on AEW541 inhibition of cell motility in MDA-MB-231 cells. Both acute and chronic treatment of scFv-Fc dramatically inhibited cell migration by 90%.Inhibitory antibodies AVE 1642 and MK 0646 had no effect on cell migration. Both IGF-I and excess amounts of AVE 1642/MK 0646 did not reverse scFv-Fc inhibition on cell migration, suggesting other cell signaling system may be involved. In MDA231-BO, a metastatic variant of MDA-MB-231, scFv-Fc had less inhibitory effect on basal cell migration, but in combination of AEW541 treatment, cell migration was significantly decreased by 70%. In conclusion, our data suggests an antibody with agonistic activity may have different properties than purely inhibitory antibodies. Specifically, initiating biochemical signaling followed by inhibition of tyrosine kinase activity and receptor downregulation may be a potent way to disrupt IGF mediated breast cancer cell biology. Citation Information: Cancer Res 2009;69(24 Suppl):Abstract nr 3125.
Identification of Monocyte Chemotactic Activity Produced by Malignant Cells

Human malignant cells secrete low molecular size proteins that attract peripheral blood monocytes and may be responsible for the accumulation of tumor-associated macrophages observed in vivo. Similar chemotactic proteins are secreted by cultured vascular smooth muscle cells. The predominant monocyte chemoattractants produced by tumor cells of differing origin were demonstrated to be related to smooth muscle cell-derived chemotactic factor. Thus, a single class of chemotactic proteins is produced by different cell types, which suggests a common mechanism for the recruitment of monocytes and macrophages. These results are significant in view of the potential of macrophages to affect tumor growth.
Theory of Phase Diagrams and Azeotropic Conditions for Two-Phase Reactive Systems

Expressions for the partial derivatives of the intensive properties that characterize the equilibrium states in two-phase systems, in which the components undergo one equilibrium chemical reaction, are derived. The necessary and sufficient conditions for an azeotropic transformation to occur are found. It is shown that whereas stationary points in the isobaric temperature-composition or isothermal pressure-composition equilibrium surfaces correspond to the formation of reactive azeotropes, reactive azeotropes do not necessarily correspond to stationary points in these equilibrium surfaces. The conditions under which reactive azeotropes are not equivalent to stationary points in the equilibrium surfaces are presented.
Harmonic Wave Propagation in Nonhomogeneous Layered Composites

A new method for analyzing plane wave propagation in a periodically layered, elastic, nonhomogeneous composite body is proposed. The nonhomogeneity considered is a variation of the material properties within each composite layer. Results from probability theory are used to arrive at the two fundamental solutions of the governing second order ordinary differential equations. Floquet’s wave theory is combined with a Wronskian formula to yield the dispersion relationship for this nonhomogeneous composite. Numerical results show that the presence of material nonhomogeneity affects the range of frequencies which can pass through the composite unattenuated.
The male sling for stress urinary incontinence: a prospective study.

Purpose: This is a report of a prospective study of the male sling for treating stress urinary incontinence.Materials and Methods: A total of 21 men underwent sling surgery. There were 2 titanium screws loaded with polypropylene suture placed in each descending pubic ramus through a 3.5 cm. perineal incision at the level of the bulbar urethra. A polypropylene mesh was placed over the urethra and tied to the bone anchors, adjusting sling tension to a compression pressure of 60 cm. water. Followup was done with the incontinence section of the University of California, Los Angeles/RAND Prostate Cancer Index.Results: Mean followup was 12 months (range 5 to 21). Overall, incontinence was cured in 16 (76%) patients, substantially improved (stress urinary incontinence very small or small problem, 1 pad daily) in 3 (14%), somewhat improved (moderate problem—2 pads) in 1 and procedure failed (no improvement) in 1 (5%). The patients with stress urinary incontinence after undergoing transurethral prostatectomy were ...
The Kindness Cut of All

Has this problem happened to someone you know? A SaveScreen file compiled on Monday wasn't erased. All of Tuesday's work was added to the existing file and the problem wasn't discovered until the file was printing or downloading into the Cataloging Micro Enhancer software. The result? A pile of unwanted printouts, or ME records that must be deleted one at a time (If you notice the problem early enough, you might elect to delete the entire file and try again.)
Actin-containing cables within anchorage-dependent rat embryo cells are dissociated by plasmin and trypsin

Abstract The distribution of intracellular actin has been examined by specific immunofluorescence in a series of normal and SV40-transformed cell lines of rat origin. A consistent correlation was found between the presence of large thick sheathes of actin-containing material and anchorage-dependent growth control. Anchorage-independent growth by these cells has been shown to be associated with the production and secretion of a plasminogen activator, and dependent upon the presence of the active protease plasmin. We have found that these phenomena can be linked as follows. First, treatment with plasmin, but not urokinase or plasminogen, reversibly removes the actin-containing cables from normal rat embryo fibroblasts, and similar results are obtained with trypsin. Thrombin and chymotrypsin are relatively ineffective in causing the disappearance of the cables. Second, sera such as dog or monkey, which permit high levels of plasmin formation and activity, support cell growth in semi-solid media better than sera in which plasminogen is activated poorly or that are plasminogen-deficient; concomitantly, cables disappear in the former but not in the latter sera. The addition of a plasmin inhibitor prevents the disappearance of actin-containing cables.
Effects of participative management on the performance of software development teams

Researchers and practitioners advocate a participative management style for improving employee productivity and job satisfaction. Field studies have shown that participation has a modest, yet positive influence on productivity and job satisfaction. For software development teams, however, management approaches such as the notion of the chief programmer suggest that participation might not be productive. Systematic research has not been conducted to investigate the importance of a participative management style when managing software development teams. In this study we examine the relationship between software development team members' participative style and team performance.We collected survey data from 573 respondents of 91 software development teams. 112 businesses and IS managers provided the performance ratings for the study. Findings suggest that two contextual factors, team size and the professional experience of team members moderate the relationship between participation and performance. In small teams that consist of experienced members, participation is strongly associated with team performance. Also, in large teams that consist of relatively inexperienced members, participation is significantly related to team performance. Other findings and implications are discussed in the paper.
The interestingness of association rules

The observation that isomorphic relations have isomorphic high frequency patterns implies some unexpected properties about the association rules. First of all, the patterns are properties of the isomorphic class, not an individual relation. Second, those countings on itemsets, association rules and etc. are invariants under isomorphism, and hence the probability theory based such countings is again a theory of the whole class, not an individual relation. On the other hand, examples show that "interesting-ness" (of association rules) are properties of an individual relation, not the whole isomorphic class. As a corollary, contrary to many authors beliefs, we conclude that interestingness cannot be characterized by such a probability theory.© (2003) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
X-33 Attitude Control System Design for Ascent, Transition, and Entry Flight Regimes

The Vehicle Control Systems Team at Marshall Space Flight Center, Systems Dynamics Laboratory, Guidance and Control Systems Division is designing under a cooperative agreement with Lockheed Martin Skunkworks, the Ascent, Transition, and Entry flight attitude control system for the X-33 experimental vehicle. Ascent flight control begins at liftoff and ends at linear aerospike main engine cutoff (NECO) while Transition and Entry flight control begins at MECO and concludes at the terminal area energy management (TAEM) interface. TAEM occurs at approximately Mach 3.0. This task includes not only the design of the vehicle attitude control systems but also the development of requirements for attitude control system components and subsystems. The X-33 attitude control system design is challenged by a short design cycle, the design environment (Mach 0 to about Mach 15), and the X-33 incremental test philosophy. The X-33 design-to-launch cycle of less than 3 years requires a concurrent design approach while the test philosophy requires design adaptation to vehicle variations that are a function of Mach number and mission profile. The flight attitude control system must deal with the mixing of aerosurfaces, reaction control thrusters, and linear aerospike engine control effectors and handle parasitic effects such as vehicle flexibility and propellant sloshing from the uniquely shaped propellant tanks. The attitude control system design is, as usual, closely linked to many other subsystems and must deal with constraints and requirements from these subsystems.
Nanoscale friction: Sliding charges

In contrast to the ultralow friction that exists between carbon layers in multiwalled carbon nanotubes, multiwalled boron nitride nanotubes are found to exhibit ultrahigh interlayer friction as a result of their ionic character.
Some Classes of Limit Laws Containing the Stable Distributions

An important class of limit laws are those which serve as limiting distributions of normed sums of independent random variables. Within the context of the Central Limit Theorem, these distributions are necessarily infinitely divisible. Such distributions, or equivalently their characteristic functions, are referred to as self-decomposable or members of the class L. Recently some rather interesting theorems concerning the class L have been proven. Yamazato [15] has resolved the unimodality problem by demonstrating that all class L distributions have densities which are unimodal i.e., for some number a, the density function is increasing on ( -oo , a) and decreasing on (a, + oo). Subsequently, Sato and Yamazato 1-12] describe deeper analytical properties of such distributions. Kumar and Schreiber [8] have characterized certain subclasses of the class L by establishing special L6vy-Khinchin representations. In this paper, special class L distributions will be studied. In order to illucidate the nature of the problem to be considered here, we first record the following well-known theorems.
Bovine Blood Quality Control Material for Cadmium, Mercury, and Lead

A protocol is elaborated for the preparation and characterization of a quality control material (QCM) containing intrinsic concentration of cadmium (Cd) (0.8 microgram/L) and lead (Pb) (13.4 micrograms/dL) from bovine blood and an elevated QCM containing Cd (5.0 micrograms/L), mercury (Hg) (11.2 micrograms/L), and Pb (34.5 micrograms/dL) from bovine blood spiked with aqueous spiking-solutions prepared with salts of Cd, Hg, and Pb. Borosilicate glass septum vials of 7-mL capacity were filled with 5 mL of blood, sealed with Teflon-silicone discs and plastic screw caps, and stored at -20 degrees C. Quality control, intervial and intravial, and storage stability values for Cd, Hg, and Pb were ascertained by analyzing the blood in randomly selected vials by an internal laboratory using modified published methods which were established for detection limit, accuracy, and precision. Validation of the protocol was demonstrated by intravial and intervial homogenity for Cd, Hg, and Pb and no change occurred in the concentrations of the elements in bovine blood containing EDTA at storage temperatures of 4 degrees C and -20 degrees C for 2 years.
Phenomenology: Neither auto- nor hetero- be

Dennett’s contrast between auto- and hetero-phenomenology is badly drawn, primarily because Dennett identifies phenomenologists as introspective psychologists. The contrast I draw between phenomenology and hetero-phenomenology is not in terms of the difference between a first-person, introspective perspective and a third-person perspective but rather in terms of the difference between two third-person accounts – a descriptive phenomenology and an explanatory psychology – both of which take the first-person perspective into account.
Validation of an algorithm to disaggregate whole-building hourly electrical load into end uses

Abstract We have developed an algorithm to disaggregate short-interval (hourly) whole-building electrical load into major end uses. Hourly load data, hourly load-temperature regression coefficients and simulation end-use results comprise the algorithm input. The algorithm produces hourly load profiles for air conditioning, lighting, fans and pumps, and miscellaneous loads. Measured data from two end-use metered buildings (an office and a retail store) have been used to validate the algorithm. For the retail store, the algorithm estimates of hourly end use compare remarkably well with the monitored end-use data (average error of less than 5% during daytime operation). For the office building, the algorithm gives a consistent bias of about 12 and 27% in overestimating the HVAC and lighting electric loads, respectively, at the expense of underestimating the miscellaenous load by 35%. Results may be attributed to the presence of inconsistencies between office audit information and measured end-use data. A three-fold difference between the auditor's estimate for miscellaneous energy use and the metered amount has been found. The validation, however, indicates great promise for application of the algorithm to whole-building load data for obtaining reliable end-use data.