cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Regulatory T cells for tolerance therapy: revisiting the concept.

The discovery of regulatory T cells (Tregs) as a crucial component of peripheral down-regulation of immunity to self and allogeneic antigens, has raised legitimate hope for the development of Treg-based clinical protocols for tolerance to allografts. The present review addresses the question of whether or not therapeutic Tregs are ready to enter the clinical transplantation arena. In the light of recent experimental observations, we will revisit some fundamentals of T cell and biology that stress the need for further studies prior to applications and provide conceptual cues for novel therapeutic approaches.
Applied sources for teachers of structural equation modeling

This article describes materials for use in teaching a course in structural equation modeling. The materials include basic textbooks, supplementary conceptual articles, and applied research studies. All of these materials are helpful and are favorably received by students in the course.
Crystal structure of 10-(2'-pyrazyl)phenothiazine and spectroscopic identification of its radical-cations and dications

The crystal structure of 10-(2′-pyrazyl)phenothiazine has been determined by the single crystal x-ray diffraction technique. The crystal belongs to the orthorhombic system with a space group of Pbca. The unit cell parameters are a = 10.633(3), b = 7.525(2), and c = 32.984(6)A, with eight molecules in a unit cell. The final disagreement index, R, is 0.057 for 1944 observed reflections. The central ring of the phenothiazine ring system is in a broad conformation and the 10-(2′-pyrazyl)substituent is attached to the phenothiazine central ring in a boat-axial conformation. This is the first reported phenothiazine whose 10-substituent is perpendicular to the plane bisecting the dihedral angle of the phenothiazine nucleus. Ultraviolet absorption maxima of the title compound in various oxidizing and non-oxidizing medium is reported. These data indicate that the geometry of 3 changes when it is oxidized to its radical-cations and dications.
Purpose in life and depressive symptoms in persons living with HIV disease.

Purpose: To examine relationships among purpose in life, HIV disease severity, demographic variables, and depressive symptoms in people living with HIV disease (PLWHIV). The hypothesis tested was that purpose in life is a stronger predictor of depressive symptoms than is HIV disease severity. Design: Descriptive, correlational study using a convenience sample of 123 PLWHIV recruited from an urban infectious disease clinic in a university teaching hospital in the Southeast United States. Methods: A self-administered questionnaire, including a sociodemographic tool, the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), and the Purpose in Life Scale (PIL), was used to collect data. Concurrent severity of HIV disease measures included HIV RNA viral load, CD4+ T-lymphocyte count, and the Revised HIV Medical Symptom Scale. Analytical methods included descriptive and inferential statistics and hierarchical regression analysis. Findings: Depressive symptoms were greater and purpose in life was lower than in normative samples. Purpose in life was a stronger predictor of depressive symptoms than was HIV disease severity. Conclusions: Purpose in life was more important than were laboratory markers of disease progression for predicting depressive co-morbidity. Results from this study indicate the need for routine assessment of depressive symptoms in PLWHIV. Purpose in life should be explored as a potential buffer for depressive symptoms.
The impact of college on sex-atypical career choices of men and women

Abstract This study sought to identify the college environments and experiences associated with changes in sex-atypical career aspirations among men and women. A sample of 17,637 students attending baccalaureate institutions across the country was surveyed upon college entry and again 4 years later. The findings revealed that aspects of the college environment, including the peer culture, faculty interaction, and curriculum, all contribute to shifts to or from nontraditional career choices.
Creation of chimeric mutant axolotls: a model to study early embryonic heart development in Mexican axolotls.

The Mexican axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum) provides an excellent model for studying heart development since it carries a cardiac lethal mutation in gene c that results in failure of contraction of mutant embryonic myocardium. In cardiac mutant axolotls (c/c) the hearts do not beat, apparently because of an absence of organized myofibrils. To date, there has been no way to analyze the genotypes of embryos from heterozygous spawnings (+/c×+/c) until stage 35 when the normal (+/c or +/+) embryos first begin to have beating hearts; mutant (c/c) embryos fail to develop normal heartbeats. In the present study, we created chimeric axolotls by using microsurgical techniques. The general approach was to transect tailbud embryos and join the anterior and posterior halves of two different individuals. The chimeric axolotl is composed of a normal head and heart region (+/+), permitting survival and a mutant body containing mutant gonads (c/c) that permits the production of c/c mutant offspring: 100% c/c offspring were obtained by mating c/c chimeras (c/c×c/c). The mutant phenotypes were confirmed by the absence of beating hearts and death at stage 41 in 100% of the embryos. Examination of the mutant hearts with electron microscopy and comfocal microscopy after immunofluorescent staining for tropomyosin showed identical images to those described previously in naturally-occurring c/c mutant axolotls (i.e., lacking organized sarcomeric myofibrils). These ”c/c chimeric” axolotls provide a useful and unique way to investigate early embryonic heart development in cardiac mutant Mexican axolotls.
NASA's X2000 Program: An Institutional Approach to Enabling Smaller Spacecraft

NASA's X2000 Program is important for many reasons - It develops the technology that will enable new types of deep space space exploration - It is a new, faster and cheaper process for technology infusion into NASA missions - It transfers these capabilities to US industry so they are available for future spacecraft. Many of these new capabilities are relevant to Earth missions as well X2000 will work with the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (and others) to help make these capabilities available to a larger community.
An orthogonal factor solution for the receptive speech scale of the luria-nebraska neuropsychological battery

Previous principal components factor analyses with oblique rotation to simple structure have produced widely disparate results for the Receptive Speech Scale of the Luria-Nebraska Neuropsychological Battery (LNNB). Four of six scales based on the second factor solution lack internal consistency. A new principal components factor solution was computed with Varimax orthogonal rotation to simple structure for the current study. Three factors emerged that matched the strongest factors of the previous factor solutions closely. Internal consistency of the obtained factors was satisfactory. Theoretical implications and issues for clinical application were discussed.
Duration of synthesis phase in neurilemma cells in mouse sciatic nerve during degeneration

Abstract Synthesis phase of proliferating neurilemma cells in adult mouse sciatic nerve was studied during Wallerian degeneration. Its duration was found to be relatively constant (8.6–10.3 hours) and independent of variations in the neurilemma cell labeling index (0.8–15.5%). By the same technique, the duration of the synthesis phase in proliferating neurilemma cells in 2-day-old mouse sciatic nerve (10.5 hours) was roughly comparable to that during peripheral nerve degeneration in the adult mouse.
Back to Basics: On the Very Idea of “Basic Emotions”

In this essay, I take on the idea of basic emotions, first from the recent debate in psychology, then from the much-longer running literature on emotions in philosophy. I explore the matter from a number of different angles, for instance, from claims that there are basic emotions (a la affect programs, linguistic analysis, phenomenology, and models borrowed from the physical sciences) and that there are no basic emotions (and see what that leaves us with). I also want to ask whether the current emphasis on basic emotions is directing our attention in an overly narrow way, or perhaps in the wrong direction altogether. The question is not only whether there are any such basic building blocks of emotion but whether the search for them distorts rather than furthers our understanding of emotions. The search for simples is bound to obscure all sorts of complexities. My aim is to combat what I see as a debilitating reductionism in emotion theory and to defend the view that emotions provide a particularly rich field of complex phenomena in which chemical and building-block models seem simplistic, inappropriate and utterly misleading.
Effects of reciprocal inhibitory coupling in model neurons.

Abstract Central pattern generators are neuron networks that produce vital rhythmic motor outputs such as those observed in mastication, walking and breathing. Their activity patterns depend on the tuning of their intrinsic ionic conductances, their synaptic interconnectivity and entrainment by extrinsic neurons. The influence of two commonly found synaptic connectivities – reciprocal inhibition and electrical coupling – are investigated here using a neuron model with subthreshold oscillation capability, in different firing and entrainment regimes. We study the dynamics displayed by a network of a pair of neurons with various firing regimes, coupled by either (i) only reciprocal inhibition or by (ii) electrical coupling first and then reciprocal inhibition. In both scenarios a range of coupling strengths for the reciprocal inhibition is tested, and in general the neuron with the lower firing rate stops spiking for strong enough inhibitory coupling, while the faster neuron remains active. However, in scenario (ii) the originally slower neuron stops spiking at weaker inhibitory coupling strength, suggesting that the electrical coupling introduces an element of instability to the two-neuron network.
Functional significance of coronary collateral vessels in patients with coronary artery disease.

Abstract Regional myocardial perfusion was measured in 12 normal subjects and in 34 patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) at rest and during infusion of isoproterenol. Increments in regional flows normalized for change in heart rate-systolic product were 91 ± 28% (S.D.) in normals, 71 ± 44% in normal regions in diseased hearts, 58 ± 33% in regions supplied by 50% to 70% stenosed arteries, 35 ± 32% in regions supplied by arteries stenosed by more than 70%, and 16 ± 27% in regions supplied by collateral vessels only. In 3 of 14 regions perfused entirely via collateral pathways, regional perfusion decreased with isoproterenol. Therefore the extent to which coronary flow reserve estimated with isoproterenol was compromised varied directly with the severity of anatomic coronary artery lesions and, in some regions entirely perfused by collateral vessels, an increase in heart rate-systolic pressure product was accompanied by a decrease in perfusion below resting levels. It is concluded that collateral vessels effectively maintain flow rates at normal levels at rest but tent to be inefficient at delivering blood when myocardial oxygen demand is increased.
Realization and validation of Delay Tolerant Behavior Control based Adaptive Bandwidth Allocation for networked control system

In network based path tracking control of systems with multiple unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs), performance can be affected by network constraints including time-varying network delays and bandwidth limitation. Different static as well as dynamic bandwidth management strategies like Larger Error First (LEF), Rate Monotonic (RM), Behavior Control (BC) Based Allocation etc. have been proposed in the past to allocate bandwidth. However, these existing methods are not robust to network delay which is an important constraint in a Network Control System (NCS). The Delay Tolerant Behavior Control (DTBC) based Adaptive Bandwidth Allocation is one of the bandwidth allocation techniques that is robust to network delays[1]. In this paper, DTBC algorithm has been validated and compared to the performance of existing algorithms in an intelligent space environment. IEEE 802.15.4 standard wireless protocol was used for communication between the unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) and the Supervisory Controller. A T-test was conducted and we found that at network delays of more than 200ms we can say with 99% confidence that DTBC's performance is better than the existing algorithms. Furthermore, using the slope of the linear fit calculated for each algorithm's performance at different network delays, the performance of DTBC was found to be at least 25% to at most 57% better than the existing algorithms.
Ticket and Challenge-Based Protocols for Timestamping

In this paper we introduce two methods that allow you to certify the time when a particular document was presented to a certifying authority. While some of the algorithms that served this purpose already existed in the literature, our methodology has significant practical advantages. The two methods we show are more straightforward, by giving a user a chance, in some cases, to operate on one value rather than two. They give the user the flexibility to select the most appropriate algorithm. They provide for a reasonable sharing of the workload between the user and the timestamping authority.
A case of AIDS associated cryptococcal meningitis with multiple cranial nerve neuropathies

Cryptococcal meningitis is a common opportunistic infection among patients with AIDS. Cranial nerve neuropathies are well-known complications that occur due to increased intracranial pressure and inflammation of cranial nerves in such patients but have not been previously reported to involve more than four cranial nerves simultaneously. Our patient had involvement of five cranial nerves resulting in the complete loss of vision and hearing as well palsies of the third, sixth and seventh cranial nerves. He was treated with multiple antifungal medications. Repeated high volume lumbar punctures and Ommaya reservoir were used to lower intracranial pressure. At the time of discharge the patient had complete recovery of the functions of third, sixth and seventh cranial nerves bilaterally and partial recovery of hearing and vision.
Polypeptide components of virions, top component and cores of reovirus type 3.

Abstract The capsid protein moiety of virions of the Dearing strain of reovirus type 3 consists of seven species of polypeptides as determined by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The molecular weights of these polypeptides have been estimated by comparing their rate of migration in SDS-containing gels with that of marker proteins of known molecular weights. The number of molecules of each polypeptide in the virion has also been determined. There are 113 and 80 molecules, respectively, of polypeptides λ 1 (M.W. 155,000) and λ 2 (M.W. 140,000); 23 and 550 molecules, respectively, of polypeptides μ 1 (M.W. 80,000) and μ 2 (M.W. 72,000); and 31, 202, and 890 molecules, respectively, of polypeptides σ 1 (M.W. 42,000), σ 2 (M.W. 38,000), and σ 3 (M.W. 34,000). In addition virions also contain about 500 molecules of a very small polypeptide, the molecular weight of which is 5000–10,000. The polypeptides in reovirus top component (particles lacking RNA) are identical with those of virions. Treatment with chymotrypsin or trypsin converts virions to cores which lack the outer shell of capsomeres. Cores contain capsid polypeptides λ 1 , λ 2 , and σ 2 . Cores can similarly be prepared from top component. Top component cores contain the same polypeptides as virion cores, but the enzyme treatment necessary for the conversion cleaves polypeptide λ 1 . The molecular weights of the three size classes of capsid polypeptides are such that they are probably coded by monocistronic messenger RNA molecules transcribed from the L, M, and S segments of reovirus genome RNA. The capsid polypeptides thus use the information in 2 of the 3 L segments, 2 (or possibly only 1) of the 3 M segments, and 3 of the 4 S segments.
A finite element method for analysis of fluid flow, heat transfer and free interfaces in Czochralski crystal growth

A finite element algorithm is presented for simultaneous calculation of the steady state, axisymmetric flows and the crystal, melt/crystal and melt/ambient interface shapes in the Czochralski technique for crystal growth from the melt. The analysis is based on mixed Lagrangian finite element approximations to the velocity, temperature and pressure fields and isoparametric approximations to the interface shape. Galerkin's method is used to reduce the problem to a non-linear algebraic set, which is solved by Newton's method. Sample solutions are reported for the thermophysical properties appropriate for silicon, a low-Prandtl-number semiconductor, and for GGG, a high–Prandtl–number oxide material. The algorithm is capable of computing solutions for both materials at realistic values of the Grashof number, and the calculations are convergent with mesh refinement. Flow transitions and interface shapes are calculated as a function of increasing flow intensity and compared for the two material systems. The flow pattern near the melt/gas/crystal tri-junction has the asymptotic form predicted by an inertialess analysis assuming the meniscus and solidification interfaces are fixed.
BREATHING MOVEMENTS TRANSIENTLY INCREASE LUNG VOLUMES 1N FETAL SHEEP

Recent studies indicate that fetal breathing movements (FBM) stimulate fetal lung growth. We chronically studied 18 fetal sheep to determine if FBM affect lung growth by transiently increasing the total volume of fluid (TVF) in the potential airways and air spaces. In 14 fetuses, the trachea was ligated; a catheter with an exteriorized loop diverted all tracheal fluid into a soft intrauterine bag. In 4 fetuses, the trachea was patent; we aspirated tracheal fluid through a small catheter after occluding the glottis with an inflated balloon tipped catheter. On alternate days, we aspirated fluid from the lungs after ≥9 minutes of either FBM or no FBM. The order of collection varied. Using inulin dilution, 64.8±9.6% of the TVF was aspirated through the tracheal catheters (mean ±SD; similar after FBM or no FBM). In every fetus, the volume aspirated after FBM was greater than that aspirated after no FBM. These volumes, in fetuses with the ligated trachea, were 20.5±7.9 ml/kg after no FBM and 28.9±9.8 ml/kg after FBM (p<0.01). In fetuses with the patent trachea, these volumes were 20.7±2.5 after no FBM and 24.5±2.4 ml/kg after FBM (p<0.05). The daily incidence of FBM (both groups) and the tracheal fluid production rate (ligated group) were similar on both study days for each fetus. We conclude: FBM intermittently increase the volume of fluid that can be aspirated from the fetal lungs. This suggests that the TVF in the potential airways and air spaces also increases; this increase in volume may stimulate lung growth. (USPHS HL-27356)
Trachoma: the forgotten cause of blindness.

Trachoma is a condition of chronic conjunctivitis caused by ocular infection with Chlamydia trachomatis. The second leading cause of blindness worldwide and causing more blindness than any other infectious eye disease trachoma affects an estimated 300-500 million people of whom 5-7 million are blind. Although trachoma used to be endemic in most countries it has largely disappeared from the Americas and Europe but remains hyperendemic in many areas of Africa Asia and the Middle East. Because of its disappearance from developed countries and its endemicity in the poorest communities trachoma has largely been forgotten as a public health issue. Trachoma is often prevalent in those communities which have the fewest resources with which to address health issues striking the vulnerable women and children of such communities. The organism C. trachomatis the clinical signs of trachoma diagnostic tests for C. trachomatis immunity the epidemiology of trachoma mathematical models for trachoma and strategies to control trachoma are discussed.
Overloading and spurious responses in transistor FM tuners

A transistor, when used as a mixer in an FM tuner, will produce spurious responses that cause interference from other FM stations. The use of two mixer diodes in a balanced circuit to minimize this type of response is shown. Also described is a double-tuned circuit ahead of the r-f stage which will improve the spurious response ratio along with a decreased possibility of overloading the r-f amplifier.
A Self of One’s Own Taiwanese Immigrant Women and Religious Conversion

Although recent scholarship focuses on the importance of religion to immigrants in the United States, relatively little attention has been given to how religion shapes the everyday lives of immigrant women. This article examines how Taiwanese immigrant women as religious converts use Buddhism and Christianity to construct a distinct sense of self from the family. Buddhism and Christianity challenge traditional gender roles by offering alternative conceptions of a genderless self. Women’s new religious commitments may compete with their traditional commitments to their families. Through religious conversion, women carve out spaces of independence and authority for themselves, albeit never at the cost of threatening the nuclear family.
Extraction and measurement of morphine: correlation of brain level and s.c. dose in drug-naive and morphine-tolerant rats.

A method was recently developed by Raffa et al (1) for rapid analysis of brain levels of morphine in rats given the drug subcutaneously. The technique combines the extraction procedure of Sprague and Takemori (2) and the HPLC methodology of Peterson et al (3). The purpose of the present work was verification of the accuracy of this technique and its application to an accompanying study in which the dissociation constants of morphine determined in drug-naive and morphine-tolerant rats were compared. Male, Sprague-Dawley rats (180-220 g) were given morphine sulfate s.c. 60 min prior to testing. Each rat in the "tolerant" group received two 75 mg morphine pellets subcutaneously which were removed 96 h later. Brain levels of morphine were measured a further 24 h later. Morphine levels in rat brain ranged from 52 to 1800 ng, corresponding to subcutaneous doses of 2.5 to 320 mg/kg. This range of brain levels agrees well with those obtained using different methods (4,5). We found no significant difference in brain levels of morphine in naive and tolerant rats given the same doses of morphine (10, 20, 40, and 80 mg/kg, s.c.). Thus, in the determination of dissociation constants for morphine, the same relation can be used for both naive and morphine-tolerant rats when converting administered dose to brain level.
Current meter performance with CF2 controller

Testing and calibrating a current meter is part of bringing a new design into production. The opportunity to demonstrate this has been provided by the re-engining of the acoustic differential travel-time current meter, MAVS (Modular Acoustic Velocity Sensor) [1]. In 2012, the supplier of the controller used by MAVS announced End of Life for their product. A search for a suitable replacement took a year, and in summer 2013, the CF2 by Persistor [2] was selected. The interface board to adapt the CF2 to the footprint of its predecessor on the MAVS mother board was designed in midsummer 2013 and laid out in the fall of 2013. Circuit boards were etched in late fall of 2013 and the first prototype was tested in January 2014. A significant trial of the interface board was to adapt the 3.3v CF2 to the 5v logic of MAVS with minimum impact on the well-tested and validated MAVS. This required level shifter circuits for both up shifting and down shifting on the interface board. These were tested without the new code required to run the program of measurement. Power switching imposes another constraint since it is necessary to turn off the 5v logic between measurement bursts while the 3.3v CF2 is still running. An up shifter circuit requires that the output never be lower voltage than the input but without the 5v logic powered there is an issue, solved for now by a voltage limiting Schottky diode to protect the up shifter when powered down. The consequences on the powered down 5v logic have yet to be tested.
The Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) Hadron Calorimeter

Abstract The Hadron Calorimeter of the CMS detector for the CERN LHC accelerator is designed to measure hadron jets as well as single hadrons. It has six segments. The central barrel made of brass and scintillators covers the |η| range of about 0 to 1.3. Two End Caps, also made of brass and scintillators extends the |η| range to 3.0. Two Forward calorimeters made of iron and quartz fibers cover the range 3.0 to 5.0. Since the barrel portion of the calorimeter is only 6.5 interaction lengths, the outer barrel will sample, by scintillators, outside the magnet coil and cryostat. Progress has been made on all subsystems and prototypes have been built. We now have a better understanding of magnetic field effects on calorimeters.
Exact and efficient computation of noise covariance for fan-beam FBP reconstructions that use rebinning to parallel-beam geometry

X-ray CT data collected in fan-beam geometry is often rebinned to parallel-beam geometry before image reconstruction. In this work, we propose an exact, efficient method to analytically calculate the covariance between image pixels for an FBP reconstruction when such a rebinning step is performed. As a special case, the method also enables calculation of image variance. Our approach builds on a previous investigation of noise covariance for direct fan-beam FBP reconstruction, and encompasses commonly used variants of parallel-beam rebinning algorithms that include data interleaving steps to process fan-beam data acquired with either a quarter-detector offset or a flying focal spot. The accuracy of the variance and covariance calculation results is validated through comparison with Monte Carlo estimates.
Engineering the Next Generation of Solid State Proton Conductors: Synthesis and Properties of Ba3―xKxHx(PO4)2

A new series of compounds with general chemical formula Ba_(3−x)K_(x)H_(x)(PO_4)_2 has been successfully prepared. This particular stoichiometry was targeted as a candidate solid-state proton conductor because of its anticipated structural similarity to known M_(3)H(XO_4)_2 superprotonic conductors (M = Cs, Rb, NH4, K; X = Se, S) and to the known trigonal compound Ba_(3)(PO_4)_2. The materials were synthesized from aqueous solution using barium acetate, dipotassium hydrogen phosphate, and potassium hydroxide as starting materials. Through variations in the initial solution stoichiometry or the synthesis temperature, the final stoichiometry could be controlled from x ~ 0.5 to ~1. X-ray powder diffraction, energy dispersive spectroscopy chemical analysis, ^(1)H magic angle spinning (MAS) nuclear magnetic spectroscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis were all employed to establish potassium and proton incorporation. The diffraction data confirmed crystallization of a trigonal phase, and chemical analysis showed the (Ba+K):P ratio to be 3:2, consistent with the target stoichiometry. The conductivity of the Ba_(3−x)K_(x)H_(x)(PO_4)_2 materials, as measured by A.C. impedance spectroscopy, is about 3 orders of magnitude greater than the end-member Ba_(3)(PO_4)_2 material with only a slight dependence on x, however, it is substantially lower than that of typical superprotonic conductors and of the M_(3)H(XO_4)_2 materials in particular. The close proximity of Ba to the hydrogen bond site is proposed to explain this behavior. At 250 °C, the conductivity is 2.4 × 10^(−5) S/cm for the composition x = 0.80, which, when combined with the water insolubility and the relatively high thermal stability, may render Ba_(3−x)K_(x)H_(x)(PO_4)_2 an attractive alternative in selected electrochemical applications to known superprotonic conductors.
A Fully Automated Method for CT-on-Rails-Guided Online Adaptive Planning for Prostate Cancer Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy

Purpose: This study was designed to validate a fully automated adaptive planning (AAP) method which integrates automated recontouring and automated replanning to account for interfractional anatomical changes in prostate cancer patients receiving adaptive intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) based on daily repeated computed tomography (CT)-on-rails images. Methods and Materials: Nine prostate cancer patients treated at our institution were randomly selected. For the AAP method, contours on each repeat CT image were automatically generated by mapping the contours from the simulation CT image using deformable image registration. An in-house automated planning tool incorporated into the Pinnacle treatment planning system was used to generate the original and the adapted IMRT plans. The cumulative dose–volume histograms (DVHs) of the target and critical structures were calculated based on the manual contours for all plans and compared with those of plans generated by the conventional method, that is, shifting the isocenters by aligning the images based on the center of the volume (COV) of prostate (prostate COV-aligned). Results: The target coverage from our AAP method for every patient was acceptable, while 1 of the 9 patients showed target underdosing from prostate COV-aligned plans. The normalized volume receiving at least 70 Gy (V{sub 70}), and themore » mean dose of the rectum and bladder were reduced by 8.9%, 6.4 Gy and 4.3%, 5.3 Gy, respectively, for the AAP method compared with the values obtained from prostate COV-aligned plans. Conclusions: The AAP method, which is fully automated, is effective for online replanning to compensate for target dose deficits and critical organ overdosing caused by interfractional anatomical changes in prostate cancer.« less
Display/Control Integrality and Time-Sharing Performance

Time-sharing performance was investigated as a function of the display and response integrality of the time-shared tasks. A manual step-tracking task was time-shared with a Stroop task that could be responded to manually or by speech. A secondary task technique was employed to manipulate the resource allocation between the two tasks. Display integrality was manipulated by: (1) contingent processing of the different dimensions of the Stroop task, and (2) the “objectness” of the dual task display. Response integrality was manipulated by the number of responses required of the dual task and the response modality of the Stroop task. A prevalent resource competition effect between the manual responses of the two tasks were observed, supporting the concept of multiple resources. Results were also in concordance with Kahneman's object file model of attention; demonstrating that irrelevant elements within an object were difficult to ignore. The findings demonstrated the interactive effects of resource competition...
Atherosclerotic oxalosis in coronary arteries.

Abstract Background Systemic oxalosis may be hereditary or acquired. In these cases, calcium oxalate deposits have been reported in numerous tissues, including the media of arteries. In any category, calcium oxalate deposition has not been described within atherosclerotic plaques in any arteries. Methods As part of a retrospective clinicopathologic study, 80 hearts were obtained from the National Neurological AIDS Bank in an effort to study coronary atherosclerosis in patients infected with HIV. The population consisted of 66 HIV-positive and 14 HIV-negative patients with an average age of 47 years; 79% were males. Proximal coronary arteries were serially sectioned and processed routinely. Sections were studied by hematoxylin and eosin staining and, in selected cases, von Kossa stain and alizarin red S under different conditions, including polarized light, to allow distinction of calcium phosphate from calcium oxalate. Medical histories, autopsy reports, and general autopsy slides were reviewed. Results In four patients (three with AIDS), calcium oxalate crystals were observed within atherosclerotic plaques in the coronary arteries. Similar deposits were seen in the thyroid gland and other organs but not in the kidneys. None of the patients had chronic renal failure. Conclusion The calcium oxalate crystal deposits observed in the atherosclerotic plaques in the coronary arteries of these four patients are unique in two ways: (a) these deposits have not previously been described in atherosclerotic plaques; (b) the patients did not demonstrate any of the recognized patterns of oxalosis. We suggest the phrase “atherosclerotic oxalosis” to describe this finding.
Major Asian aeolian inputs indicated by the mineralogy of aerosols and sediments in the western North Pacific

Recent atmospheric chemistry studies have shown that substantial quantities of soil material are being transported out of Asia and across large regions of the North Pacific1,2. In the central North Pacific, the estimated1 (6–12×1012 g yr−1) and measured2 (20×1012 g yr−1) deposition rate of mineral aerosols could account for a substantial fraction of the non-biogenic portion of deep-sea sediments in this region, where sedimentologists have previously estimated that 75–95%3,4 of the surface sediment is derived from atmospheric dust fallout. The quantitative importance of wind-transported (aeolian) material to sedimentation in the North Pacific would be more firmly established if it could be shown that the composition of the present-day soil aerosol is similar to that of mineral particles in the underlying sediments, which have been deposited over a period of thousands of years. Here we compare the compositions of soil aerosols and sediments collected from the western North Pacific and find that their mineralogies are identical, except for one mineral. This supports the hypothesis that the sediments are heavily impacted by aeolian sources.
Triiodothyronine Exerts a Major Pleiotropic Effect on Reverse Cholesterol Transport Phenotypes

Abstract The thyroid hormone triiodothyronine (T3) is known to be a potent mediator of APOA1 gene expression. With the use of multivariate quantitative genetic analysis, we have assessed the magnitude of shared effects of T3 on plasma concentrations of apolipoprotein AI (apo AI) and three related phenotypes: HDL-C, apo AII, and LpAI (which is a concentration of apo AI that contains HDL particles). Maximum likelihood techniques were used to simultaneously estimate mean effects and variance components in large, extended Mexican American families living in San Antonio, Tex. We found that T3 accounted for 16%, 23%, 21%, and 37% of the additive genetic variance in HDL-C, apo AI, apo AII, and LpAI, respectively, while explaining virtually none of the random environmental variance in these phenotypes. T3 also has a pronounced effect on the pairwise genetic correlations among the four phenotypes: After the pleiotropic effects of T3 concentrations are controlled for, the genetic correlations are reduced by 6% in t...
Inhibition of the enzymatic activity of prostate-specific antigen by boric acid and 3-nitrophenyl boronic acid.

BACKGROUND Prostate specific antigen (PSA) is a well-established marker of prostate cancer, but it can also degrade extracellular matrix proteins such as fibronectin and could be involved in tumor progression and metastasis. In this study, we have addressed the use of boric acid and 3-nitrophenyl boronic acid (NPBA) as PSA inhibitors in vitro. METHODS The inhibition of PSA by boric acid was studied by using specific fluorogenic substrates. Fibronectin, a biologically relevant substrate for PSA, was used as a substrate in a zymographic assay, and the degradation of fibronectin by PSA in the presence of boric acid and NPBA was followed by Western Blot. RESULTS Low concentrations of boric acid partially inhibited the proteolytic activity of PSA toward a synthetic fluorogenic substrate. Also, by Western blot, we have found significant inhibition in the proteolysis of fibronectin by PSA in the presence of boric acid as well as NPBA. Results indicate that the boronated compounds used in this study can be used for the modulation of PSA activity. CONCLUSION PSA activity is inhibited in vitro by boric acid and NPBA. If degradation of fibronectin by PSA were, in fact, an important step in the progression of prostate cancer, then borate-induced inhibition of PSA activity should help reduce the development and proliferation of prostate carcinomas. Prostate 54: 44–49, 2003. © 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Mouse model of diffuse brain damage following anoxia, evaluated by a new assay of generalized arousal

Diffuse brain damage following anoxia due to cardiac failure, drowning, carbon monoxide exposure or other accidents constitutes a major medical problem. We have created a novel mouse model using the breathing of pure nitrogen, followed by a recently developed assay that reflects an operational definition of generalized arousal. The operational definition is precise, complete, and leads to quantitative, physical measures in a genetically tractable animal. Exposure to pure nitrogen for controlled periods had a surprising bifurcate effect: about half the mice survived with neurological measures that were virtually normal while the other half died. The new assay detected behavioral deficits unrevealed by neurological screening. Two important features of the results were that (i) deficits were not equal across the circadian cycle, and (ii) deficits were not equal across all the measures within the operational definition of arousal. Specific voluntary motor measurements were decreased in a manner that depended on the phase of the circadian cycle. Sensory responses were also decreased, with an emphasis on vertical movement responses; but, interestingly, fear learning was not damaged. This study establishes the first useful approach to diffuse brain damage in a genetically tractable animal. The model and its outcome measurements will be useful during future attempts at amelioration of acquired neurological disabilities following hypoxic-ischemic injuries.
Use of pipeline flow diverting stents for wide neck intracranial aneurysms: A retrospective institutional review

Background: Intracranial aneurysms (ICA) if inadequately treated may result in serious morbidity and mortality. Wide-neck; large/giant, fusiform, and dissecting aneurysms are not well treated using the conventional coil embolization technique. Recent advance in endovascular treatment and technology has introduced flow diverter devices including pipeline embolization devices (PED) and Silk stents that have been shown to be more effective in treating these more complicated aneurysms. Flow Diverter devices offer a more physiologic approach to ICA treatment. Methods: We conducted a retrospective chart review of 23 adult patients who underwent aneurysm treatment utilizing the pipeline stent at Duke University Medical Center from July 2011 to March 2013. Results: Majority of patients (19, 82.7%) showed angiographic evidence of complete obliteration of aneurysm at 6 months follow-up, with sustained clinical improvement on modified Rankin scale score. All of the patients tolerated the procedure well with no intra-operative hemorrhage or intra-operative thromboembolic complications. Conclusions: Our experience shows that use of PED offers a safe and effective strategy for treatment of complex ICA. Larger prospective studies are needed to confirm these observations.
Subjective assessment of right ventricle enlargement from computed tomography pulmonary angiography images

To retrospectively evaluate prognostic accuracy of subjective assessment of right ventricle (RV) enlargement on CT pulmonary angiography (CTPA) images in comparison with objective measures of RV enlargement in patients with acute pulmonary embolism (PE). For 200 consecutive patients with acute PE, two readers blinded to patient outcomes subjectively determined whether the maximum RV diameter was greater than that of the left ventricle (LV) using axial CTPA images. For the objective measurements, RV/LV diameter ratios were calculated using axial images and 4-chamber reformatted images. For all assessments, sensitivities and specificities for predicting PE-related death within 30-days and a composite outcome including PE-related death or the need for intensive therapies were compared. The agreement between two readers was 91.5% (kappa = 0.83) and all other assessments had pair-wise agreement over 75% (kappa = 0.53–0.72). There was no significant difference in sensitivity between the subjective and objective methods for predicting both outcomes. The specificity for subjective RV enlargement (55.4–67.7%) was significantly higher than objective measures (45.8–53.1%), except for the 4-chamber views where, for one reader, the specificity of the subjective evaluation was higher but did not reach statistical significance. Complex measurements of RV/LV diameter ratios may not be needed to maximize the prognostic value from CTPA. The radiologist who interprets the CTPA images should report RV enlargement when the RV diameter subjectively appears larger than the LV.
Milk folate binding protein (FBP): A secretory protein for folate?

Abstract Analyses of human milk samples reveal that although folate binding protein (FBP) concentration varies considerably among individuals, a positive correlation with milk folate concentrations exists. The equation expressing this relationship is Y=29.2+0.78 X, where Y and X represent FBP and folate concentrations, respectively. Since folylpolglutamates comprise at least half of total milk folate and are known not to cross biological membranes, these data suggest that folate is likely to be secreted from the lactating cell as a complex with FBP. This complex could exit from the lactating cell by a route which is common to other milk proteins.
Inhibition of epidermal growth factor receptor signalling reduces hypercalcaemia induced by human lung squamous-cell carcinoma in athymic mice

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the role of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) in parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHrP) expression and humoral hypercalcaemia of malignancy (HHM), using two different human squamous-cell carcinoma (SCC) xenograft models. A randomised controlled study in which nude mice with RWGT2 and HARA xenografts received either placebo or gefitinib 200 mg kg(-1) for 3 days after developing HHM. Effectiveness of therapy was evaluated by measuring plasma calcium and PTHrP, urine cyclic AMP/creatinine ratios, and tumour volumes. The study end point was at 78 h. The lung SCC lines, RWGT2 and HARA, expressed high levels of PTHrP mRNA as well as abundant EGFR protein, but very little erbB2 or erbB3. Both lines expressed high transcript levels for the EGFR ligand, amphiregulin (AREG), as well as, substantially lower levels of transforming growth factor-alpha (TGF-alpha), and heparin binding-epidermal growth factor (HB-EGF) mRNA. Parathyroid hormone-related protein gene expression in both lines was reduced 40-80% after treatment with 1 muM of EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor PD153035 and precipitating antibodies to AREG. Gefitinib treatment of hypercalcaemic mice with RWGT2 and HARA xenografts resulted in a significant reduction of plasma total calcium concentrations by 78 h. Autocrine AREG stimulated the EGFR and increased PTHrP gene expression in the RWGT2 and HARA lung SCC lines. Inhibition of the EGFR pathway in two human SCC models of HHM by an anilinoquinazoline demonstrated that the EGFR tyrosine kinase is a potential target for antihypercalcaemic therapy.
Existence of steady-state probability distributions in multilocus models for genotype evolution.

It is shown that a representative Fisher-Wright model withn(≥3) diallelic loci admits a necessary condition for existence of a time-independent steady-state probability distribution. This necessary condition states that a global integral depending on the phenotype fitness functions of natural selection must be larger than a certain quantity depending on the parameters associated with genetic drift.
Transforming Growth Factor β Can Stimulate Smad1 Phosphorylation Independently of Bone Morphogenic Protein Receptors

Transforming growth factor-β (TGFβ) superfamily ligands control a diverse set of cellular processes by activating type I and type II serine-threonine receptor kinases. Canonical TGFβ signaling is mediated via the TβRI/ALK5 type I receptor that phosphorylates Smad2 and Smad3 in their SXS motif to facilitate their activation and subsequent role in transcriptional regulation. Canonical bone morphogenic protein (BMP) signaling is mediated via the ALK1/2/3/6 type I receptors that phosphorylate Smad1, Smad5, and Smad8 in their SXS motif. However, studies in endothelial cells have shown that TGFβ can also lead to the phosphorylation of Smad1, dependent on ALK1 receptor activity. Here we present data showing that TGFβ can significantly induce Smad1 phosphorylation in several non-endothelial cell lineages. Additionally, by using chemical inhibitors specific for the TGFβ/activin/nodal (ALK4/5/7) and BMP (ALK1/2/3/6) type I receptors, we show that in some cell types TGFβ induces Smad1 phosphorylation independently of the BMP type I receptors. Thus, TGFβ-mediated Smad1 phosphorylation appears to occur via different receptor complexes in a cell type-specific manner.
SPERMATOGENESIS IN COLEOCHAETE PULVINATA (CHAROPHYCEAE): SPERM MATURATION1

Ultrastructural study showed that the sequence of developmental events occurring during spermatozoid maturation in Coleochaete pulvinata Braun was similar in a number of respects to sperm development in the Charales and lower land plants. Elaboration of cytoskeletal components and associated flagellar basal bodies occurs early, and is followed by an extensive decrease in cytoplasmic volume and increases in densities of cytoplasm and nucleoplasm. Volume decrease and density increases appear to result from exocytosis involving dictyosome vesicles and perhaps endoplasmic reticulum. Elongation of flagella is accompanied by deposition of flagellar and body scales as in the Charales. During final stages of sperm maturation, the MLS undergoes changes in organization of the lamellar strip, which may also occur in archegoniates. In mature sperm of C. pulvinata the MLS and basal bodies are so occluded by dense material that determination of absolute orientation (configuration) is difficult. Thus, absolute orientation of the flagellar apparatus was determined by study of mid-stage spermatids, and found to be the same as previously described by Sluiman for zoospores of C. pulvinata. Finally, it is proposed that the large complex, striated fiber which connects basal bodies in C. pulvinata has been evolutionarily reduced in the Charales and Phaeoceros sp., ultimately disappearing from most embryophytic lines of descent.