cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Detecting small plant peptides using SPADA (Small Peptide Alignment Discovery Application)

Small peptides encoded as one- or two-exon genes in plants have recently been shown to affect multiple aspects of plant development, reproduction and defense responses. However, popular similarity search tools and gene prediction techniques generally fail to identify most members belonging to this class of genes. This is largely due to the high sequence divergence among family members and the limited availability of experimentally verified small peptides to use as training sets for homology search and ab initio prediction. Consequently, there is an urgent need for both experimental and computational studies in order to further advance the accurate prediction of small peptides. We present here a homology-based gene prediction program to accurately predict small peptides at the genome level. Given a high-quality profile alignment, SPADA identifies and annotates nearly all family members in tested genomes with better performance than all general-purpose gene prediction programs surveyed. We find numerous mis-annotations in the current Arabidopsis thaliana and Medicago truncatula genome databases using SPADA, most of which have RNA-Seq expression support. We also show that SPADA works well on other classes of small secreted peptides in plants (e.g., self-incompatibility protein homologues) as well as non-secreted peptides outside the plant kingdom (e.g., the alpha-amanitin toxin gene family in the mushroom, Amanita bisporigera). SPADA is a free software tool that accurately identifies and predicts the gene structure for short peptides with one or two exons. SPADA is able to incorporate information from profile alignments into the model prediction process and makes use of it to score different candidate models. SPADA achieves high sensitivity and specificity in predicting small plant peptides such as the cysteine-rich peptide families. A systematic application of SPADA to other classes of small peptides by research communities will greatly improve the genome annotation of different protein families in public genome databases.
Ion-beam studies of the reactions of atomic cobalt ions with alkenes

An ion-beam apparatus is employed to study the reactions of singly charged cobalt positive ions with 12 alkenes. While ethene and propene undergo no exothermic reactions, two processes are observed for larger olefins. One reaction yields cobalt ion alkadiene complexes and either methane or H/sub 2/. The second process involves cleavage of the alkene into two smaller olefins, one of which remains bound to Co/sup +/. A mechanism involving oxidative addition of an allylic C-C or C-H bond to the metal as the initial step is proposed to account for all observed products. Subsequent formation of a cobaltacyclobutane species is postulated for several of the cleavage reactions.
Combustion synthesis of heterogeneous calcium phosphate bioceramics from calcium oxide and phosphate precursors

The solid-state reaction of combustion synthesis has been demonstrated to be capable of rapidly producing materials for biomedical applications. Reactant powders of CaO and P2O5 were pressed into cylinders and reacted by heating a tungsten filament in either an argon, CO2 or N2 atmosphere. Reaction systems examined were: (1) 3CaO + P2O5 → Ca3(PO4)2 (TCP) and (2) 4CaO + P2O5 → Ca4P2O7 + O2 (TTCP). The product pellets were bright white with a thin glassy appearing outer layer observed with a very porous interior (range of 5–1000 μm pore diameter) regardless of reaction atmosphere. No evidence of sintering is apparent such as intact precursor particles or necking between particles. In the TCP system characteristic XRD peaks for crystalline β-, α-TCP, and HA are noted while in the TTCP system tetracalcium phosphate, α-TCP, and HA are present. DSC analysis indicates the ignition temperature 450°C when P2O5 decomposes to PO3 to react with CaO. SHS is a viable method to manufacture heterogeneous calcium phosphates from CaO and P2O5 precursors. The formation of HA and TCP, regardless of stoichiometry or atmosphere is due to thermodynamic energies of the products while other phases are preserved due to limited kinetics in the system’s rapid heating and cooling.
EFFECTS OF SPECIFIC INSTRUCTIONS TO FAKE ON GORDON PERSONAL PROFILE SCORES

The Gordon Personal Profile was administered under normal instructions and under one of two faking instructions to 4 groups of college students. Scores on Ascendancy, Responsibility, and Emotional ...
Comparative metabolism and genotoxicity of the structurally similar nitrophenylenediamine dyes, HC Blue 1 and HC Blue 2, in mouse hepatocytes.

Previous studies indicated that HC Blue 1 induced heptocellular carcinomas in B6C3F1 mice whereas the structurally similar nitroaromatic amine HC Blue 2 did not. In an attempt to elucidate the biochemical mechanisms responsible for their different carcinogenic potencies, comparative metabolism and genetic toxicity studies were undertaken. Eighteen-hour urinary recovery of administered radioactivity was equivalent for both compounds following oral gavage (100 mg/kg) in female B6C3FI mice. By HPLC analysis, HC Blue 1 yielded 3 major polar metabolite peaks, one of which was susceptible to glucuronidase. In vivo metabolism of HC Blue 2 yielded a single major metabolite peak which was not hydrolyzed by glucuronidase. Metabolism by B6C3FI mouse hepatocytes yielded metabolite profiles which were qualitatively similar to the profiles observed after in vivo metabolism. HC Blue 1 was metabolized by hepatocytes at approximately twice the rate of HC Blue 2. Cytogenetic evaluations of mouse hepatocytes after in vitro treatment indicated HC Blue 1 was more potent than HC Blue 2 in inducing chromosomal aberrations while both chemicals showed weak activity for inducing sister-chromatid exchanges. Furthermore, in the V79 cell metabolic cooperation assay, HC Blue I, but not HC Blue 2, inhibited cell-to-cell communication suggesting a non-genotoxic activity may be present for HC Blue 1. It is concluded that qualitative and quantitative differences exist in the metabolism of these compounds and that genotoxic as well as nongenotoxic effects may contributed to their different carcinogenic potencies.
Lack of relationship between mitochondrial heteroplasmy or variation and childhood obesity

Mitochondrial electron transport has a central role in regulating energy supply within a cell. We hypothesized that mitochondrial variants or increased levels of mitochondrial heteroplasmy could be associated with common childhood obesity through their effects on mitochondrial function. To investigate this question, we queried two genome-wide genotyped childhood obesity datasets, consisting of 1080 European-American (EA) obese children (defined as BMI ≥ 95th percentile) together with 2500 EA lean controls (defined as BMI<50th percentile) and 1479 African-American (AA) obese children and 1575 AA lean controls. Association was not observed between childhood obesity and any of the assayed mitochondrial polymorphisms in either ethnicity. We also found no observable differences in heteroplasmy between each obese and non-obese group. Finally, we analyzed the quantitative mitochondrial genotype cells generated, whether they exceeded the heteroplasmy threshold or not. With this more lenient test, we found six positions with a significant difference between EA cases and controls (P<1 × 10(-4)). However, when evaluating the AA data set, no differences were noted at these sites, suggesting that our initial observations were because of chance rather than a meaningful relationship to childhood obesity. As such, it is unlikely that common mitochondrial polymorphisms or heteroplasmy have a role in childhood obesity.
Solution of structural interaction equations for the proportional reserve factor: A survey of present practice

A review of the use of interaction equations as a means of quantifying the integrity of aerospace structures under combined loading is presented. The main methods of solution for the proportional reserve factor are discussed, with emphasis placed on present-day industry-standard numerical methods. Examples are presented that demonstrate the comparative ease with which interaction equations can now routinely be solved quickly and accurately. The application of this capability to the design of modern aircraft structures is reviewed and its usefulness as a complementary tool to finite element analysis is discussed.
Studies on the Influence of Terephthalic Acid and Broad Spectrum Antibiotics on Egg Production and Egg Shell Coloration in Caged Layers

Abstract TEREPHTHALIC ACID has been shown to increase the effectiveness of broad spectrum antibiotics in the domestic fowl. Terephthalic acid has increased the activity of the tetracycline antibiotics (oxytetracycline and chlortetracycline) in combatting certain diseases in poultry (Peterson, 1958, 1960; Peterson et al., 1959; Shelton and Olson, 1958). Reports by Peterson et al. (1959), Price et al. (1959) and Pensack et al. (1960) have shown that terephthalic acid fed with the tetracycline antibiotics (chlortetracycline and oxytetracycline) will increase the blood serum antibiotic level. The above studies mainly concern short term effects of terephthalic acid on antibiotic potentiation with little evidence of other physiological effects of terephthalic acid in the laying bird. In preliminary studies in this laboratory, a yellowish coloration was observed in egg shells from hens fed high levels of chlortetracycline. A review of previous work with antibiotics and terephthalic acid does not reveal any reported effect of the drugs …
Effect of mechanical ventricular unloading on mast cells in failing myocardium

age-matched nondiabetic patients. Results: Age and gender were similar for diabetic and nondiabetics (54.6 /10.5 with 82% male versus 55.4 /10.6 with 81% male). Using Kaplan Meier analysis, there was no difference in 1, 3, 5, or 10-year survival between diabetics and nondiabetics (Log rank p 0.1682, figure), or between type 1 and type 2 diabetics (p 0.44). Diabetic males had a survival advantage over females (p 0.018). Donor CMV status (p 0.085), LVAD (p 0.975), male/female mismatch (p 0.743), obesity (p 0.202), and pretransplant creatinine of 1.5 or greater (p 0.726) did not significantly impact survival. The incidence of infection within three years was 47.8% for diabetics and 32.9% for nondiabetics (p 0.006). The overall incidence of rejection and coronary artery disease within five years was 80.1% and 26.7% for diabetics as compared to 63.6% and 27.5% for nondiabetics (p 0.374, p 0.924). Conclusion: These results demonstrate similar short and long-term survival for diabetics as compared to nondiabetics undergoing cardiac transplantation. Furthermore, the incidence of post-transplant rejection and coronary artery disease were similar. This supports proceeding with transplantation in carefully selected diabetic patients.
Revisiting the Link Between Electoral Competition and Policy Extremism in the U.S. Congress

Prominent theories of American political parties imply that higher levels of competition cause lawmakers to be more responsive to the center of public opinion, but there is little empirical evidence to support this assertion. Furthermore, many studies have found that competition causes lawmakers to be less responsive to public opinion as a whole and more responsive to their own partisans. Parties and candidates pursue a “mobilization” rather than “moderation” strategy supposedly because competitive constituencies are inherently heterogeneous, which then creates a context for more ideological campaigns and a more partisan policymaking environment. An analysis of U.S. Senate roll call votes between 1989 and 2000 reveals that legislators from more marginal states are less responsive to the ideological center than legislators from safe states. Furthermore, there is no evidence of a relationship between constituency diversity and electoral competition or that greater partisanship is the result of greater diversity.
Freud and the figure of Moses: the Moses of Freud.

Moses was a lifelong preoccupation of Freud, representing a double and idealized self and object. Freud identified with different aspects of Moses during different periods of development, from concrete hero to abstract ideal. He turned to Moses in the concluding phase of his relationship with Fliess and his self–analysis, and then at other times of crisis. The Moses recreated by Freud is important to the evolution of the concepts of the superego, and his Moses studies simultaneously illuminate the developmental significance of internalization, identification, and abstract symbolic thought. Latently autobiographical, the Moses motif is related to the analysis of unconscious conflict and trauma and to issues of Jewish identity and analytic ideals.
Motor Skill Acquisition

The purpose of this article is to provide a framework for understanding motor skill and the process by which it is acquired. A selective historical overview is presented to demonstrate how the study of movement is a necessary preliminary to the study of motor skill learning. The phenomenon of skill is explored as an inherent feature of goal-directed organisms whose effective functioning depends on achieving a degree of competence in solving problems that are encountered in the everyday world. The relationship between problems and solutions is discussed. Movement is examined as a problem-solving tool and as the means by which the individual expresses skill. Factors that influence the individual's level of skill are fully explored, along with the implications for functional behavior. The creative use of resources in problem solving is thoroughly examined, and tasks are discussed in terms of the demands imposed on the individual.
Feasibility of laparoscopic extraperitoneal surgical staging for locally advanced cervical carcinoma in a gynecologic oncology fellowship training program

Abstract Study objective Feasibility of laparoscopic extraperitoneal surgical staging for locally advanced cervical carcinoma in a gynecologic oncology fellowship training program. Design Retrospective analysis (II-2) of all patients who underwent laparoscopic extraperitoneal surgical staging at Women and Children’s Hospital for locally advanced cervical cancer between June 2002 and June 2005. Setting Gynecologic oncology fellowship training program at a University-County Hospital Patients Thirty-two patients with clinical stage IIB-IVA cervical carcinoma were identified. Interventions Laparoscopic extraperitoneal surgical staging for clinical stage IIB-IVA cervical cancer. Measurements and main results A total of 32 cases of laparoscopic extraperitoneal surgical staging for locally advanced cervical cancer performed by fellows-in-training were identified. Fellows were first assistant surgeon in 10 cases, and operating surgeon in 22 cases. Each fellow was mentored an average of 5 cases as first assistant surgeon. As operating surgeon, all 22 fellow cases (100%) were successfully performed without conversion to laparotomy. Fellow mean operative time was 163 minutes. Fellow mean aortic nodal count was 14. Fellow mean blood loss was 42 mL. The mean hospital stay was 1.6 days. Overall, 2 patients (6.2%) experienced a complication from the procedure. Over one half (53%) of the patients reported a prior abdominal surgery. No lymphedema has been reported in patients who underwent laparoscopic extraperitoneal surgical staging with a median follow-up of 10 months. Surgical comorbidities such as hypertension, diabetes, and obesity were common in the study group. A steep surgical learning curve for the fellows was demonstrated by comparing mean operative times to academic year. Aortic nodal metastasis was detected in 25% of cases, and 14% were occult. Conclusions It is feasible to teach laparoscopic extraperitoneal surgical staging to fellows-in-training. Our data suggest that by the end of training, fellows can become proficient with the procedure and are capable of surgical outcomes and complication rates comparable to reported literature.
HIV-1 Tat activates indoleamine 2,3 dioxygenase in murine organotypic hippocampal slice cultures in a p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase-dependent manner

Background: We have established that activation of the tryptophan degrading enzyme indoleamine 2,3 dioxygenase (IDO) mediates the switch from cytokine-induced sickness behavior to depressive-like behavior. Because human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) Tat protein causes depressive-like behavior in mice, we investigated its ability to activate IDO in organotypic hippocampal slice cultures (OHSCs) derived from neonatal C57BL/6 mice. Methods: Depressive-like behavior in C57BL/6J mice was assessed by the forced swim test. Expression of cytokines and IDO mRNA in OHSCs was measured by real-time RT-PCR and cytokine protein was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs). p38 MAPK phosphorylation was analyzed by western blot. Results: Intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) administration of Tat (40 ng) induced depressive-like behavior in the absence of sickness. Addition of Tat (40 ng/slice) to the medium of OHSCs induced IDO steady-state mRNA that peaked at 6 h. This effect was potentiated by pretreatment with IFNg. Tat also induced the synthesis and release of TNFa and IL-6 protein in the supernatant of the slices and increased expression of the inducible isoform of nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and the serotonin transporter (SERT). Tat had no effect on endogenous synthesis of IFNg .T o explore the mechanisms of Tat-induced IDO expression, slices were pretreated with the p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) inhibitor SB 202190 for 30 min before Tat treatment. SB 202190 significantly decreased IDO expression induced by Tat, and this effect was accompanied by a reduction of Tat-induced expression of TNFa, IL6, iNOS and SERT. Conclusion: These data establish that Tat induces IDO expression via an IFNg-independent mechanism that depends upon activation of p38 MAPK. Targeting IDO itself or the p38 MAPK signaling pathway could provide a novel therapy for comorbid depressive disorders in HIV-1-infected patients.
Proceedings of the 1st international workshop on Data mining and audience intelligence for advertising

Global advertising is a half-a-trillion dollar a year business. Although online advertising is currently a small part of this enterprise, it is rapidly growing. The explosion in the number of participants in online advertising marketplaces, and other online entities such as blogs and social networks, has generated large volumes of data and exciting data mining problems. Earlier research on these online entities has focused on information organization, retrieval and understanding. Recently there is increased research interest in the advertisement angle to all these avenues also. Further, the on-line and offline advertising worlds are fast converging; for example, digital marketplaces are migrating from the online world to TV and radio and audience understanding work from offline media is trickling into the online realm. Hence there is strong need for a single forum to bring together researchers and practitioners who are involved in all aspects of digital advertising. We are addressing this need with the First Workshop on Data Mining and Audience Intelligence for Advertising. The goal of this workshop is to encourage data mining researchers to take on the numerous challenges faced by the rapidly changing digital advertising industry, and to increase communication between researchers working on seemingly different pieces of the advertisement pie. We want to bring together auction theorists, social network researchers, natural language researchers, information retrieval experts, audience understanding researchers, television advertisement analysts and many others, to promote a fruitful exchange of ideas to advance the field.
Mutual Injection Pulling Between Oscillators

This paper proposes a theory for the behavior of free-running or phase-locked oscillators that experience mutual injection pulling. The time- and frequency-domain responses are derived for each case and the profile of the resulting sidebands is calculated analytically. Experimental results obtained for two 1-GHz CMOS PLLs that are resistively coupled on-chip are presented.
Chemical Exchange Saturation Transfer Contrast Agents for Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agents have become an important tool in clinical medicine. The most common agents are Gd(3+)-based complexes that shorten bulk water T(1) by rapid exchange of a single inner-sphere water molecule with bulk solvent water. Current gadolinium agents lack tissue specificity and typically do not respond to their chemical environment. Recently, it has been demonstrated that MR contrast may be altered by an entirely different mechanism based on chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST). CEST contrast can originate from exchange of endogenous amide or hydroxyl protons or from exchangeable sites on exogenous CEST agents. This has opened the door for the discovery of new classes of responsive agents ranging from MR gene reporter molecules to small molecules that sense their tissue environment and respond to biological events.
Theory of phonon drag thermopower

The phonon contribution to the thermopower, S/sub p/, was first seen in germanium at low temperatures, and theoretically explained by Herring. Subsequently it was also predicted and identified in metals and alloys. In melts all phonons interact with the electron gas, and the theory is much simpler. In semiconductors only phonons of frequency below /spl omega//sub c/ can interact with electrons, where /spl omega//sub c//spl prop/T/sup 1/2 /. The magnitude of S/sub p/ depends on the relative strength of phonon scattering by electrons compared to either phonon-phonon or phonon-defect interactions. Phonon drag thermopower is important at low temperatures, but it can be appreciable also at higher temperatures, whenever the carrier concentration is large enough for the phonon-electron interaction to be strong below /spl omega//sub c/. This is the case in semiconductors used for energy conversion, where S/sub p/ can be comparable to k/e or 86 V/K, thus making a significant contribution to the figure of merit. To optimize that figure, one reduces the lattice thermal conductivity by point defects, which scatter high frequency phonons, while carrier scattering limits the contribution below /spl omega/c. Attempts have been made to scatter phonons of intermediate frequency by other imperfections. It is necessary to choose such imperfections carefully; if they scatter phonons below /spl omega//sub c/ strongly, the advantage of reducing the lattice thermal conductivity may be offset by a reduction in the thermopower.
Trivalent Intranasal Influenza Vaccine, Live

OBJECTIVETo review human data on the efficacy, safety, and clinical use of trivalent intranasal influenza vaccine, live (TIIVL).DATA SOURCESA MEDLINE search (1966–3rd week of January 2004) using the terms influenza vaccine, intranasal administration, and FluMist was conducted. References from pertinent articles were also reviewed.STUDY SELECTION AND DATA EXTRACTIONStudies conducted in humans and published in English were selected. Double-blind, controlled trials evaluating the efficacy and safety of TIIVL were evaluated.DATA SYNTHESISAdministration of TIIVL results in mucosal and humoral immunity to influenza. Results of clinical trials in children and adults have demonstrated that TIIVL reduces the incidence of influenza. In children, TIIVL was also associated with a decrease in febrile illness and febrile otitis media. In adults, reductions in workday absences and medical visits due to febrile upper respiratory tract illness were also documented. TIIVL is well tolerated, with rhinorrhea or nasal congest...
Erratum to: Acknowledgments

Please note that the list of reviewers for the Special Issue on ‘‘Children as Protagonists: Participatory Action Research in Collaboration with Children’’ (September 2010, Vol. 46, Nos. 1/2) was not complete. The full list of Reviewers for the issue is below. Apologies to all. Mark Aber Fabricio Balcazar Elisabeth Barratt Hacking Rupaleem Bhuyan Renee Boothroyd Caitlin Cahill Philip Darbyshire Melvin Delgado Jill Denner Roberta Downing Nancy Erbstein Ruth Emond Dorothy Faulkner Paul Flaspohler Kim Sabo Flores Sandy Fraser Benjamin Gardner Ron Glass Silvia Blitzer Golembek Jennifer Gong Davydd J. Greenwood Derek M. Griffith Lorraine Gutierrez Kelly Hazel Nora E. Hyland Leonard Jason Louise Jennings Jennifer Juras Rosemary Kilpatrick Rob Kleidman Soo Ah Kwon Meredith Minkler Michael Murray Melba J. Nicholson Branda Nowell Kysa Nygreen Martin O’Neill Deborah Parra-Medina Nickki Pearce Dawes Christopher Petr Cheryl Potgieter Patricia Sanchez Freya Sonenstein Brett G. Stoudt Darius Tandon Allison Tom Angela Veale Susie Weller Pamela Wridt Michael Wyness The online version of the original article can be found under doi:10.1007/s10464-010-9333-x .
Short- and Long-Term Effects of Element Costs and Failure Costs in Pontis

Experts familiar with bridge maintenance in Idaho estimated unit costs for Pontis bridge elements. These costs were compared to those provided by the California and Oregon departments of transportation. Some of the differences are due to regional variations in repair and rehabilitation costs, some reflect decisions to avoid certain actions by assigning them prohibitively high costs, and others reflect modeling decisions regarding the cost of leaving an element in its current condition. For a 5-year scenario, the projected needs using the Oregon element costs were from 1.6 to 6 times higher than those based on Idaho or California element costs. Likewise the projected benefits using Oregon element costs ranged from 2.2 to 40 times higher than the benefits projected using Idaho and California element costs. A 25-year scenario indicates that Pontis’ cost-optimal priorities allowed the Network Health Index to decrease, even when a more-than-ample budget was provided.
An Empiric Estimate of the Value of Life: Updating the Renal Dialysis Cost-Effectiveness Standard

Abstract Objectives Proposals to make decisions about coverage of new technology by comparing the technology's incremental cost-effectiveness with the traditional benchmark of dialysis imply that the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of dialysis is seen a proxy for the value of a statistical year of life. The frequently used ratio for dialysis has, however, not been updated to reflect more recently available data on dialysis. Methods We developed a computer simulation model for the end-stage renal disease population and compared cost, life expectancy, and quality-adjusted life expectancy of current dialysis practice relative to three less costly alternatives and to no dialysis. We estimated incremental cost-effectiveness ratios for these alternatives relative to the next least costly alternative and no dialysis and analyzed the population distribution of the ratios. Model parameters and costs were estimated using data from the Medicare population and a large integrated health-care delivery system between 1996 and 2003. The sensitivity of results to model assumptions was tested using 38 scenarios of one-way sensitivity analysis, where parameters informing the cost, utility, mortality and morbidity, etc. components of the model were by perturbed +/−50%. Results The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of dialysis of current practice relative to the next least costly alternative is on average $129,090 per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) ($61,294 per year), but its distribution within the population is wide; the interquartile range is $71,890 per QALY, while the 1st and 99th percentiles are $65,496 and $488,360 per QALY, respectively. Higher incremental cost-effectiveness ratios were associated with older age and more comorbid conditions. Sensitivity to model parameters was comparatively small, with most of the scenarios leading to a change of less than 10% in the ratio. Conclusions The value of a statistical year of life implied by dialysis practice currently averages $129,090 per QALY ($61,294 per year), but is distributed widely within the dialysis population. The spread suggests that coverage decisions using dialysis as the benchmark may need to incorporate percentile values (which are higher than the average) to be consistent with the Rawlsian principles of justice of preserving the rights and interests of society's most vulnerable patient groups.
The Politics of Population

This essay evaluates the implications of international political development on demographic transitions and economic outcomes from 1980 to 2050. Countries with high levels of political capacity experience the sharpest declines in birth and death rates as well as the greatest gains in income. Politics indirectly and directly affects the environment within which individuals make decisions about the size of families; these decisions, in turn, change the future economic dynamics of a country. We find that political capacity ensures that rules are evenly applied, allowing investment for long-term gain. Our projections show that under conditions of high political capacity, anticipated demographic and economic transformations will allow China to supersede the dominance of the United States by the end of this century and will also enable the rise of India into the ranks of the dominant powers. We assess the consequences of these changes in world politics.
Clopidogrel: To Test or Not to Test? That Is the Question—Still

“Personalized medicine” holds great promise to help target therapies to achieve the best clinical benefit for patients. One area where cardiovascular disease and personalized medicine intersect is in the use of genetic and platelet-function testing for evaluating the antiplatelet effects of the antiplatelet agent clopidogrel. While some have begun early adoption of this approach and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)2 has recently called attention to this issue via a “black box” warning (1), caution has recently been raised with a study by Pare et al. (2), who found the value of platelet genetic testing to be less clear. An emerging consensus is that additional larger clinical-outcome studies are needed to specifically evaluate any potential strategy of genetic and platelet testing with antiplatelet therapy adjustment before this approach can be recommended for clinical use. The focus on clopidogrel began with a series of studies that showed marked variation in the level of platelet inhibition achieved with the standard fixed dose of this drug. Because clopidogrel is a prodrug, its metabolism in the liver to the active metabolite became a focus of research to explain this variation in platelet response. In particular, several studies showed that clopidogrel-treated patients who had a reduced-function allele of CYP2C19 (cytochrome P450, family 2, subfamily C, polypeptide 19) (most commonly the *2 or *3 allele, roughly 30% of patients) had a significantly higher risk of cardiovascular events than those who had a normally functioning CYP2C19 enzyme (3). Patients with reduced-function alleles were also documented to have lower concentrations of the active clopidogrel metabolite and lower levels of platelet inhibition (3). Thus, data appeared to support the full chain of events: A genetic polymorphism of the reduced-function enzyme can lead to reduced active metabolite, less platelet inhibition, and an increased risk of cardiovascular events. Several …
Amino acid receptor-mediated transmission at primary afferent synapses in rat spinal cord

Intracellular recording techniques have been used to provide information on the identity of excitatory transmitters released at synapses formed between dorsal root ganglion (DRG) and spinal cord neurones in two in vitro preparations. Explants of embryonic rat DRG were added to dissociated cultures of embryonic dorsal horn neurones and synaptic potentials recorded intracellularly from dorsal horn neurones after DRG explant stimulation. More than 80% of dorsal horn neurones received at least one fast, DRG-evoked, monosynaptic input. In the presence of high divalent cation concentrations (5 mmol l-1 Ca2+, 3 mmol l-1 Mg2+) the acidic amino acid receptor agonists, L-glutamate, kainate (KA) and quisqualate (QUIS) excited all dorsal horn neurones which received a monosynaptic DRG neurone input, whereas L-aspartate and N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) had little or no action. 2-Amino-5-phosphonovalerate (APV), a selective NMDA receptor antagonist, was relatively ineffective at antagonizing DRG-evoked synaptic potentials and L-glutamate-evoked responses. In contrast, kynurenate was found to be a potent antagonist of amino acid-evoked responses and of synaptic transmission at all DRG-dorsal horn synapses examined. The blockade of synaptic transmission by kynurenate appeared to result from a postsynaptic action on dorsal horn neurones. Intracellular recordings from motoneurones in new-born rat spinal cord were used to study the sensitivity of the Ia excitatory postsynaptic potential (EPSP) to antagonists of excitatory amino acids. Superfusion of the spinal cord with APV did not inhibit the Ia EPSP but did suppress later, polysynaptic components of the afferent-evoked response. Kynurenate was a potent and selective inhibitor of the Ia EPSP, acting via a postsynaptic mechanism. These findings indicate that L-glutamate, or a glutamate-like compound, but not L-aspartate, is likely to be the predominant excitatory transmitter that mediates fast excitatory postsynaptic potentials at primary afferent synapses with both dorsal horn neurones and motoneurones.
Stress Testing in Patients With Diabetes Mellitus: Diagnostic and Prognostic Value

Received August 20, 2005; revision received October 19, 2005; accepted October 25, 2005. Exercise ECG and stress imaging tests are used for diagnostic and prognostic purposes and to monitor the effects of therapeutic interventions.1,2 Such testing is most often applied to individuals with known or suspected coronary artery disease (CAD), and its value has been well studied.1 CAD is more severe, more prevalent, and occurs at a younger age in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM). Diabetic patients without known CAD have similar rates of subsequent myocardial infarction (MI) compared with nondiabetic patients with a previous MI.3 Accordingly, DM is considered a risk equivalent to established CAD, and national guidelines for treatment of cardiac risk factors recommend similar goals for diabetic patients and those with known CAD.4–8 Diabetic patients have significantly higher rates of silent ischemia than the general population, and it has been postulated that this contributes to more advanced CAD on initial presentation and worse outcomes in diabetic patients.9 Because of this altered natural history, investigators have evaluated stress testing and its diagnostic and prognostic value among patients with DM. In particular, the utility of stress testing among asymptomatic diabetic patients remains an area of active study. The following article seeks to review the diagnostic and prognostic value of exercise ECG and stress imaging tests in symptomatic and asymptomatic patients with DM. Additionally, it aims to identify gaps in the current literature and summarize what recommendations can be made from the available data. PubMed and Medline 1966 through June 2005 databases were searched to identify all studies that addressed stress testing primarily among patients with DM using the following keywords: diabetes mellitus, stress testing, coronary arteriosclerosis, myocardial infarction or ischemia, exercise test, predictive value of tests, or electrocardiography. References within each article were evaluated …
Effect of Photoperiod on the Response of Developing Pullets to Different Nutritional Treatments

Abstract A PREVIOUS report from this laboratory (Berg and Bearse, 1961), indicated that restricting feed intake of pullets to 83 percent of ad libitum consumption from 8–21 weeks of age did not retard sexual maturity or affect subsequent rate of lay when the pullets were subjected to constant nine hours of light per day during the same period. This was in contrast to the results of Sunde et al. (1954), Milby and Sherwood (1956), Tomhave (1958) and MacIntyre and Aitken (1959) who found that restricted feeding retarded sexual development. The results of these investigators were obtained with winter or spring hatched pullets which matured under increasing or long day length. A more detailed experiment has been conducted to determine the effect of photoperiod on the response of developing pullets to restricted feeding. Restricting feed intake by 20 percent has been studied under four different lighting procedures. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE The test…
“Speaking a Mutual Language”: The Negro People's Theatre in Chicago

Putting black characters in their plays settled some formal debates for the Popular Front's new theatre, but it created entirely new questions about how the movement would involve actual African Americans. Fanny McConnell and Chicago's Negro People's Theatre (1938–1940) offered some answers.
Phosphoprotein SAK1 is a regulator of acclimation to singlet oxygen in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

Singlet oxygen is a highly toxic and inevitable byproduct of oxygenic photosynthesis. The unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii is capable of acclimating specifically to singlet oxygen stress, but the retrograde signaling pathway from the chloroplast to the nucleus mediating this response is unknown. Here we describe a mutant, singlet oxygen acclimation knocked-out 1 (sak1), that lacks the acclimation response to singlet oxygen. Analysis of genome-wide changes in RNA abundance during acclimation to singlet oxygen revealed that SAK1 is a key regulator of the gene expression response during acclimation. The SAK1 gene encodes an uncharacterized protein with a domain conserved among chlorophytes and present in some bZIP transcription factors. The SAK1 protein is located in the cytosol, and it is induced and phosphorylated upon exposure to singlet oxygen, suggesting that it is a critical intermediate component of the retrograde signal transduction pathway leading to singlet oxygen acclimation.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.02286.001.
Late Holocene expansion of ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) in the Central Rocky Mountains, USA

Aim Ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) experienced one of the most extensive and rapid post-glacial plant migrations in western North America. We used plant macrofossils from woodrat (Neotoma) middens to reconstruct its spread in the Central Rocky Mountains, identify other vegetation changes coinciding with P. ponderosa expansion at the same sites, and relate P. ponderosa migrational history to both its modern phylogeography and to a parallel expansion by Utah juniper (Juniperus osteosperma). Location Central Rocky Mountains, Wyoming and Montana, and Black Hills, Wyoming and South Dakota, USA. Methods Plant macrofossils were analysed in 90 middens collected at 14 widely separated sites in the northern part of the range of P. ponderosa var. scopulorum. Middens with and without P. ponderosa were 14C dated to pinpoint time of appearance at each site. Sensitivity experiments using a bioclimatic model were used to evaluate potential climatic drivers of late Holocene expansion. Results Pinus ponderosa colonized the Black Hills region by at least 3850 yr bp (all ages given in calendar years before present). It expanded into the eastern Bighorn Mountains of northern Wyoming by 2630 yr bp, quickly spreading north in the western Bighorns from 1400 to 1000 yr bp. Concurrent with the latter expansion, P. ponderosa spread c. 350 km to the Little Belt and Big Belt Mountains in western Montana, establishing its northern limit and the modern introgression zone between var. scopulorum and var. ponderosa. Expansion in the Central Rockies of P. ponderosa involved two known haplotypes. Main conclusions Pinus ponderosa expanded its range across large parts of northern Wyoming and central Montana during the late Holocene, probably in response to both northward and westward increases in summer temperature and rainfall. The underlying climatic driver may be the same as for the contemporaneous expansion of J. osteosperma, but will remain undetermined without focused development and integration of independent palaeoclimate records in the region.
Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Swords and Armor: Regulating the Theft of Virtual Goods

Despite the daily occurrence of theft within Massively-Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games and virtual worlds, this type of theft remains unregulated in the United States. This Comment takes the position that not only should the United States prosecute the theft of virtual goods under current theft penal statutes, but also that such approach is desperately needed given the economic prominence of virtual goods and the increasing rise of virtual good thefts. This Comment demonstrates how the current United States legal system could classify the theft of virtual goods as legally cognizable theft, while considering: (1) whether virtual goods can be considered property; (2) if virtual goods are property, what property rights players need to protect virtual goods from theft; and (3) whether existing legal provisions are sufficient to protect the theft of virtual goods, taking into account arguments against their application. This Comment also considers whether other regulatory schemes, including those of other countries, would better address the theft of virtual goods, and concludes that penal statutes would regulate the theft of virtual goods most effectively.
The Dynamics of DNA Supercoiling: A Brownian Dynamics Study

Induced torsional stresses lead to an increase in the magnitude of torque sustained by double stranded DNA. There exists a critical magnitude of torque at which the DNA buckles signaling the beginning of the formation of a plectonemically supercoiled domain in the DNA. Further torsional deformation leads to an increase in the size of the supercoiled domain while the torque sustained by the DNA remains constant. The formation of the supercoiled domain also leads to a reduction in the end-to-end extension of the DNA starting with an abrupt reduction at the onset of buckling. Experiments have shown that this reduction in extension follows a linear trend. We investigate, by means of Brownian dynamics simulations, the extensional and torsional response of dsDNA to induced torsional stresses.Copyright © 2015 by ASME
Implementations of Advanced Technology in Network Management — Introduction and Overview

For some time now the field of Network Management has been a source both for new requirements in the area of computer system building, and one of the most strenuous testing grounds for ideas and methodologies in that realm. Indeed, the complexity of an effective management system may necessarily exceed the complexity of the system it manages, since it must first master the intricacies of the managed system and its operation, and then render them comprehensible to a human operator or manager. The topic of this session therefore generated considerable expectations among the participants in the Workshop.
Effect of diethylaminoethyl-dextran on the replication of a murine sarcoma (Moloney)-leukemia virus complex in mouse embryo cultures (38577).

SummaryIsolates of a sarcoma (Molo-ney)-leukemia virus complex prepared as cell-free extracts from mouse tumors showed no enhancement in infectivity by DEAE-D either in the sarcoma moiety measured by focus formation or in the leukemia moiety measured by XC cell assay. The sarcoma moiety was not enhanced by DEAE-D in MEM and modified McCoy's 5a media or when varying amounts of FCS and glutamine were included in the media. Progressive enhancement of viral infectivity by DEAE-D was found when the viral preparations were passaged serially in MEF cells. DEAE-D also enhanced tumor formation in vivo by tissue culture passaged virus.
Workplace Challenges: Managing Project Teams and Flexible Work Programs

Today’s workplace presents a variety of challenges for managers and employees. In this issue of the Organization Management Journal, the Teaching & Learning section offers two articles that address...
82 TROUSSEAU'S SYNDROME SECONDARY TO PAPILLARY CARCINOMA OF THE THYROID.

A 47-year-old Caucasian male with a past medical history of 30 pack-year tobacco abuse and left lower extremity deep vein thrombosis (DVT) diagnosed a month prior to admission presented to the emergency room with right lower extremity swelling and superficial thrombophlebitis of right upper extremity of 10 days9 duration. He had been on Coumadin since his initial DVT. INR at admit was subtherapeutic. Physical exam revealed palpable cords of the right upper and lower extremity and in the leg was associated with warmth, erythema, and edema. His only medications were Coumadin 5 mg po daily and Percocet prn for pain. The rest of his history and physical examination was unremarkable. An ultrasound scan of right lower extremity failed to reveal any deep vein thrombosis and his basic metabolic panel was within normal limits. His white count was elevated at 18.4 3 103 /μL with a differential of 79% polymorphonuclear leukocytes, 13% lymphocytes, and 4% monocytes and INR was 1.44. A work-up failed to reveal any abnormal lab including factor V Leiden, lupus anticoagulant, factor XII, ANA, rheumatoid factor, homocysteine, thyroid-stimulating hormone, homocysteine, or rapid plasma regain (RPR). As Trousseau9s syndrome was considered a possibility a CT chest, abdomen, and pelvis was done to look for a primary malignancy that revealed bilateral pulmonary emboli as well as mediastinal and hilar adenopathy and thyroid nodules. The patient was fully anticoagulated with low-molecular-weight heparin. PET scan demonstrated uptake in the hilar and mediastinal node as well as a right supraclavicular node and the thyroid gland. There was no uptake that suggested a primary lung or abdominal/pelvic malignancy. As the supraclavicular node was too deep to be accessible a Chamberlain procedure was done and the mediastinal node in the aorticopulmonary window was biopsied. Pathology returned as positive for papillary carcinoma of undetermined primary. Special stains such as thyroid transcription factor 1 (TTF-1) and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) were positive but thyroglobulin and PSA were negative. An ultrasound of the thyroid revealed nodules that were biopsied and pathology revealed papillary carcinoma. In the absence of any other primary it was concluded that this was a case of Trousseau9s syndrome secondary to papillary carcinoma of the thyroid and to our knowledge the first case described in the medical literature.