cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
N-cadherin acts in concert with Slit1-Robo2 signaling in regulating aggregation of placode-derived cranial sensory neurons

Vertebrate cranial sensory ganglia have a dual origin from the neural crest and ectodermal placodes. In the largest of these, the trigeminal ganglion, Slit1-Robo2 signaling is essential for proper ganglion assembly. Here, we demonstrate a crucial role for the cell adhesion molecule N-cadherin and its interaction with Slit1-Robo2 during gangliogenesis in vivo. A common feature of chick trigeminal and epibranchial ganglia is the expression of N-cadherin and Robo2 on placodal neurons and Slit1 on neural crest cells. Interestingly, N-cadherin localizes to intercellular adherens junctions between placodal neurons during ganglion assembly. Depletion of N-cadherin causes loss of proper ganglion coalescence, similar to that observed after loss of Robo2, suggesting that the two pathways might intersect. Consistent with this possibility, blocking or augmenting Slit-Robo signaling modulates N-cadherin protein expression on the placodal cell surface concomitant with alteration in placodal adhesion. Lack of an apparent change in total N-cadherin mRNA or protein levels suggests post-translational regulation. Co-expression of N-cadherin with dominant-negative Robo abrogates the Robo2 loss-of-function phenotype of dispersed ganglia, whereas loss of N-cadherin reverses the aberrant aggregation induced by increased Slit-Robo expression. Our study suggests a novel mechanism whereby N-cadherin acts in concert with Slit-Robo signaling in mediating the placodal cell adhesion required for proper gangliogenesis.
Mechanism of triazolo-benzodiazepine and benzodiazepine action in anxiety and depression: Behavioral studies with concomitant in vivo CA1 hippocampal norepinephrine and serotonin release detection in the behaving animal

1. Real time, in vivo microvoltammetric studies were performed, using miniature carbon-based sensors, to concurrently detect norepinephrine (NE) release and serotonin (5-HT) release, in 2 separate electrochemical signals, within CA1 region of hippocampus in the freely moving and behaving, male, Sprague Dawley laboratory rat. 2. Concurrently, four parameters of open-field behavior, i.e. Ambulations, Rearing, Fine Movements and Central Ambulatory behavior (a measure of anxiety reduction behavior), were assayed by infrared photobeam detection. 3. Time course studies showed that the mechanism of action of the triazolobenzodiazepine (TBZD), adinazolam, (Deracyn) is dramatically different from that of the classical benzodiazepine (BZD), diazepam (Valium, i.e., adinazolam increased, whereas diazepam decreased, 5-HT release within CA1 region of hippocampus in the freely moving and behaving rat. 4. Adinazolam initially increased NE release and then decreased NE release in CA1 region of hippocampus in the freely moving and behaving rat whereas diazepam only decreased the electrochemical signal for NE; the decrease in NE produced by adinazolam was greater than the decrease in NE release produced by diazepam. 5. The Behavioral Activity Patterns, derived from same animal controls, simultaneously with detection of in vivo microvoltammetric signals for NE release and 5-HT release, showed that the BZD, diazepam, exhibited more potent sedative properties than did the TBZD adinazolam. 6. Hippocampal 5-HT and NE release effects of the TBZD, adinazolam, concomitant with behavioral effects lends explanation to the dual anxiolytic/antidepressant properties of the TBZDs.
Occupationally Embedded Exercise Versus Rote Exercise: A Choice Between Occupational Forms by Elderly Nursing Home Residents

OBJECTIVES: The provision of options in the occupational form that encourages meaningful choices and subsequent purposeful occupational performances is a basic premise of occupational therapy. This study examines the preferences of elderly nursing home residents when presented with an occupationally embedded exercise versus a rote exercise and addresses the methodological problems identified in similar past research. METHODS: Fifty-two elderly nursing home residents were presented with a choice between an occupationally embedded exercise that involved unilateral dunking of a small, spongy ball into a basketball hoop and a rote exercise that involved moving the arm above the head in a simulation of the dunking exercise. Both exercises required flexion of the shoulder joint. Random assignment of the 52 subjects into one of four groups controlled for the order of the presentation of the exercises and the order of the choice statements. RESULTS: Sixty-nine percent of the subjects chose the occupationally embedded exercise. Analysis with the significance of a proportion statistic revealed a statistically significant difference (z = 2.77; p (one-tailed) = .003). CONCLUSION: Results were consistent with the hypothesis that elderly nursing home residents would tend to choose the occupationally embedded exercise. To further confirm this basic premise of occupational therapy, future studies that investigate therapeutic patterns of movement embedded in common occupations are recommended. Language: en
Sweet Dreams for LXR

Nuclear receptors (NRs) are transcription factors whose activities are modulated by the binding of small lipophilic ligands. The liver X receptors (LXRs) are an important pair of mammalian NRs that regulate lipid metabolism upon binding to cholesterol metabolites called oxysterols. A recent report that LXR activity is also regulated by binding to glucose (Mitro et al., 2007) expands the potential role of LXR in metabolic sensing and gene regulation. However, the hydrophilic nature of glucose and its low affinity for LXR present a challenge to central dogma about the nature of the NR-ligand interaction.
Determination of a liquid state from that of liquid solution coupled to it by a common vapor phase

Abstract We have found that NaCl solutions of different concentration and temperature, separately flowing through a chamber with a common vapor phase will be in a type of equilibrium despite the liquids not being in equilibrium with the vapor. The temperature of the liquid stream to which the vapor is flowing (the absorbing liquid) is that required to bring its calculated equilibrium vapor pressure to that of the calculated equilibrium vapor pressure of the evaporating liquid stream. We suspect this is a generally true phenomenon if the process is carried out close enough to conditions of actual equilibrium between the vapor and liquid phases.
Mechanical and Thermal Stresses in Superconducting Accelerator and Beam-Line Magnets

A solution to a similar problem has been given previously in which the magnetic field was generated by two sheet currents varying as cosine theta. One sheet current was located at the boundary between the innermost cylinder and the middle cylinder of structural material. The other sheet was located at the boundary between the middle cylinder and the outermost cylinder of structural material. The problem of improving the representation of the magnet excitation by replacing the two current sheets with a thick cosine theta current distribution in the middle structural region is discussed.
Screening for underlying bleeding disorders in women with menorrhagia

Objective: Menorrhagia, excessive menstrual bleeding, affects up to 20% of reproductive-aged women. Underlying bleeding disorders, such as von Willebrand’s disease (vWD) and platelet abnormalities, may present as menorrhagia. Gynecologists do not routinely screen women with menorrhagia for bleeding disorders. The purpose of this preliminary study was to detect underlying bleeding disorders in women with menorrhagia using a new screening test. Methods: Reproductive-aged women with a diagnosis of menorrhagia were identified. Participants were screened using the PFA-100 (Dade Behring, Inc., Miami, FL), an in vitro platelet function analyzer found to be both sensitive (95%) and specific (88%) in the detection of vWD and platelet disorders. A positive test result was defined as prolonged time until clot formation. Results were confirmed with additional testing. Results: During the first 8 months of the study, 43 women were enrolled. The median age was 40 years. Twenty-one (49%) were white, 21 (49%) were African American, and 1 (2%) was Asian. Sixteen of the 43 women had a positive PFA-100 test result. Eleven had positive results suggestive of aspirin use. Five (12%) were found to have an underlying bleeding disorder: two with vWD and three with platelet abnormalities. Conclusions: Our preliminary findings suggest that the PFA-100 is useful in the evaluation of women with menorrhagia. A significant number of these women appear to have underlying bleeding disorders.
Reactions in hand

Digitally controlled microreactors are providing chemists with a new playground for discovery.
MICROHABITAT-SPECIFIC CONTROLS ON SOIL RESPIRATION AND DENITRIFICATION IN THE MOJAVE DESERT: THE ROLE OF HARVESTER ANT NESTS AND VEGETATION

Seed harvesting ants (Pogonomyrmex rugosus) concentrate organic matter and nutrients near their nests and create biogeochemical hotspots in desert soil. We examined factors regulating denitrification and soil respiration in a Mojave Desert ecosystem to determine the role harvester ant colonies play in nitrogen loss and carbon mineralization. Organic matter and nutrient storage were significantly greater in colonies than under the dominant vegetation (i.e., Pleuraphis rigida, a bunch grass) and in bare soil, with standing stocks of inorganic nitrogen in colonies nearly 4-fold greater than in the other microhabitats. Soil respiration, measured with laboratory incubations, was below detection lim- its under ambient soil conditions. Respiration rate in soil from bare patches and under grass was limited by water and labile organic carbon, with secondary nitrate limitation evident only once carbon limitation was alleviated. Soil respira- tion in ant nest soil was limited by water and labile organic carbon only. Denitrification, measured by the acetylene block technique, was elevated in bare soil and under grass with the addition of nitrate. Ant nest soil also responded to a nitrate addition; however, denitrification rate was greatest with addition of glucose. Ordinarily desert soil has low rates of respiration and denitrification due to dry ambient conditions. However, ant colonies likely function as important sites for nitrogen loss and carbon mineralization following rain storms, especially if storms coincide with seed set and the temporally pulsed input of organic matter into colonies.
Atomic transformation pathways from terahertz radiation generated by shock-induced phase transformations

This work shows that detectable terahertz (THz) frequency radiation can be emitted when a wurtzite-structure crystal transforms to a rocksalt structure under shock compression on picosecond time scales. Information about the atomic-scale transformation pathway is contained in the sign of the emitted THz electric field and information about the kinetics is contained in the time dependence. This phenomenon provides an avenue to experimental measurement of microscopic transformation pathways in crystals on the shortest (picosecond) time scales.
Cerebral and blood pharmacokinetics of imipramine and its active metabolites in the pregnant rat

A single IP dose of imipramine (IMI) was administered to pregnant rats. Whole blood, plasma, and brain concentrations of IMI, desipramine (DMI), and their 2-hydroxylated metabolites were separated by high-pressure liquid chromatography and quantified by fluorescence detection. IMI and DMI rapidly appeared in brain tissue in concentrations greatly exceeding those in whole blood and plasma. The much higher concentration and longer persistence of DMI in brain compared to IMI suggests that the predominant central effects from administered IMI result from biotransformation to DMI. The metabolite: “parent” area under the curve ratios for the hydroxylated metabolites indicate that their contribution to the pharmacologic effects of IMI and DMI are probably negligible.
Evaluation of Scale Reliability for Unidimensional Measures Using Latent Variable Modeling

This article outlines a readily and widely applicable procedure of reliability evaluation for scales with unidimensional measures. The method is developed within the framework of the popular latent...
Coordinated expression of tristetraprolin post-transcriptionally attenuates mitogenic induction of the oncogenic Ser/Thr kinase Pim-1.

The serine/threonine kinase Pim-1 directs selected signaling events that promote cell growth and survival and is overexpressed in diverse human cancers. Pim-1 expression is tightly controlled through multiple mechanisms, including regulation of mRNA turnover. In several cultured cell models, mitogenic stimulation rapidly induced and stabilized PIM1 mRNA, however, vigorous destabilization 4–6 hours later helped restore basal expression levels. Acceleration of PIM1 mRNA turnover coincided with accumulation of tristetraprolin (TTP), an mRNA-destabilizing protein that targets transcripts containing AU-rich elements. TTP binds PIM1 mRNA in cells, and suppresses its expression by accelerating mRNA decay. Reporter mRNA decay assays localized the TTP-regulated mRNA decay element to a discrete AU-rich sequence in the distal 3′-untranslated region that binds TTP. These data suggest that coordinated stimulation of TTP and PIM1 expression limits the magnitude and duration of PIM1 mRNA accumulation by accelerating its degradation as TTP protein levels increase. Consistent with this model, PIM1 and TTP mRNA levels were well correlated across selected human tissue panels, and PIM1 mRNA was induced to significantly higher levels in mitogen-stimulated fibroblasts from TTP-deficient mice. Together, these data support a model whereby induction of TTP mediates a negative feedback circuit to limit expression of selected mitogen-activated genes.
On the falsification of rules theories

The introduction of pluralistic alternatives for communication theory is accompanied by a responsibility for specification of falsification criteria. This essay examines four necessary links in the falsification of rules propositions from an action perspective. The criteria suggested are an extension of the “covering law” criteria, which are adapted to a recent empirical conception of rules.
Virtual-detector synthetic aperture focusing technique with application in in vivo photoacoustic microscopy

ABSTRACT In this study, we introduce a synthetic aperture focusing technique which employs a virtual detector concept, combined with coherence weighting, to extend the depth of focus for an in-vivo photoacoustic microscopy system. This technique treats the transducers focal point as a virtual point detector of photoacoustic signals, delays adjacent scan lines relative to the virtual detector, and then sums the delayed signals to achieve focusing in the out-of-focus region. In addition, a coherence factor among the delayed signals for each synthesized imaging point is used as a weighting factor to further improve the focusing quality. Images of an Intralipid phantom containing a carbon fiber show how this technique improves the 6 dB lateral resolution from 49379 P m to 4653 P m and increases the SNR by 029 dB, depending on the distance from the ultrasonic focal point. In vivo experiments show that this technique also provides a clearer tumor-associated angiogenesis in the mouses scalp. The extended depth of focus for the photoacoustic microscopy system enables 3D reconstruction of the vascular network for the study of tumor angiogenesis. Keywords: Photoacoustic microscopy, virtual detector, synthetic aperture focusing technique, coherence weighting, depth of focus
Glucocorticoid and androgen signaling pathways diverge between advertisement calling and non-calling fish

Behavioral and neuroendocrine mechanisms of social vocalization in teleost fish are influenced by the glucocorticoid cortisol and the androgen 11-ketotestosterone (11kT). The relative abundance of both 11kT, which binds to androgen receptors (ARα, ARβ), and cortisol, which binds to glucocorticoid receptors (GR-1, GR-2), is regulated by 11β-hydroxylase (11βH) that converts 11-deoxycortisol to cortisol and testosterone to 11β-OH-testosterone, and 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (11βHSD) that converts cortisol to the inactive metabolite cortisone and 11β-OH-testosterone to 11kT. In midshipman fish, we tested the hypothesis that plasma steroid levels, mRNA abundance for 11βH and 11βHSD in the vocal muscle and testis (known site of 11kT synthesis), and mRNA abundances for ARs and GRs in vocal muscle, would differ between males that did or did not recently produce 'hum' advertisement calls. Quantitative real-time PCR demonstrated that non-calling male vocal muscle had significantly higher mRNA levels for all receptors except ARα, and a strong trend for higher 11βHSD; 11βH was similar to that in calling males. Calling males had higher plasma and testis 11kT, but lower plasma cortisol, levels. Testis enzyme levels did not differ between male groups, although calling males showed a positive linear correlation between plasma 11kT and testis 11βHSD mRNA levels, consistent with testis being the main source of plasma 11kT. We propose that higher vocal muscle 11βHSD levels in non-calling males reflect increased local conversion of elevated cortisol to cortisone, providing protection from cortisol-related toxicity, while increased receptor expression in non-calling males functions as a preparatory mechanism for meeting the physiological demands of future vocalization.
THE EFFECT OF VITAMIN B1 DEFICIENCY AND OF RESTRICTED FOOD INTAKE ON THE RESPONSE OF MICE TO THE LANSING STRAIN OF POLIOMYELITIS VIRUS

In several experiments it was shown that a deficiency of vitamin B(1) in the diet increased the resistance of mice to the Lansing strain of poliomyelitis. The source of the virus was a suspension of infected mouse brain in saline, which was injected intracerebrally. Both the mortality rate and the incidence of paralysis were lower in the deficient animals than in the normally fed controls. The protection was more pronounced with respect to paralysis than with respect to the number of deaths. Some deaths in the deficient groups were undoubtedly due to the vitamin deficiency, as indicated by numerous deaths among groups of animals which were given the deficient diet but injected with a suspension of normal brain. An attempt was made to maintain a state of chronic vitamin deficiency by giving small amounts of the vitamin. The results also seem to indicate that the effect of the deficiency was more in delaying the action of the virus than in preventing it. The greatest difference between normally fed and deficient animals receiving the virus came at about the 12th day after inoculation. Comparable results were obtained by restricting the intake of the complete diet to 1 gm. per mouse per day, which is about 40 per cent of the intake of the normally fed mice. Restriction of the caloric intake alone gave similar results. Restriction of food intake was effective in experiments in which extra vitamin B(1) was given in the diet and also when a diluted saline solution was given by stomach tube to assure a sufficient intake of fluid. Other data are necessary before an explanation can be given for the manner in which these deficiencies increase the resistance of the mice to the virus of poliomyelitis.
Greek Teachers' Perceptions of School Psychologists in Solving Classroom Problems.

Abstract The perceptions of Greek teachers and teacher trainees were studied regarding school psychologists. A survey that presented descriptions of three children, each of whom represented a different type of classroom problem (learning, conduct, or attention) was completed by 108 Greek teachers and teacher trainees. For each problem the teachers and trainees rated the usefulness of a school psychologist, the amount of confidence they would place in interventions suggested by a school psychologist, and the extent to which they would follow through on recommended interventions. Overall results on all problems suggested that teachers and trainees held positive perceptions about school psychologists. Willingness to follow through with recommended interventions was correlated with confidence and usefulness ratings. Experienced teachers rated the psychologist similarly across the three problems. Trainees rated the psychologist significantly more useful for the conduct problem than the learning problem. The implications of these findings are discussed in relation to the future development of school psychology in Greece.
Non-equilibrium all-atom molecular dynamics simulations of free and tethered DNA molecules in nanochannel shear flows

In order to gain insight into the mechanical and dynamical behaviour of free and tethered short chains of ss/ds DNA molecules in flow, and in parallel to investigate the properties of long chain molecules in flow fields, we have developed a series of quantum and molecular methods to extend the well developed equilibrium software CHARMM to handle non-equilibrium dynamics. These methods have been applied to cases of DNA molecules in shear flows in nanochannels. Biomolecules, both free and wall-tethered, have been simulated in the all-atom style in solvent-filled nanochannels. The new methods were demonstrated by carrying out NEMD simulations of free single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) molecules of 21 bases as well as double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) molecules of 21 base pairs tethered on gold surfaces in an ionic water shear flow. The tethering of the linker molecule (6-mercapto-1-hexanol) to perfect Au(111) surfaces was parametrized based on density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Force field parameters were incorporated into the CHARMM database. Gold surfaces are simulated in a Lennard-Jones style model that was fitted to the Morse potential model of bulk gold. The bonding force of attachment of the DNA molecules to the gold substrate linker molecule was computed to be up to a few nN when the DNA molecules are fully stretched at high shear rates. For the first time, we calculated the relaxation time of DNA molecules in picoseconds (ps) and the hydrodynamic force up to a few nanoNewtons (nN) per base pair in a nanochannel flow. The velocity profiles in the solvent due to the presence of the tethered DNA molecules were found to be nonlinear only at high shear flow rates. Free ssDNA molecules in a shear flow were observed to behave differently from each other depending upon their initial orientation in the flow field. Both free and tethered DNA molecules are clearly observed to be stretching, rotating and relaxing. Methods developed in this initial work can be incorporated into multiscale simulations including quantum mechanical, molecular and the microfluidic continuum regimes. The results may also be useful in extending existing macroscopic empirical models of DNA response dynamics in shear flows.
Significance Tests of Regression Coefficients: An Additional Reminder

referred to the "significance" of regression parameters based on two-stage least-squares (2SLS) or three-stage least-squares (3SLS) estimation procedures (Holland, p. 304; Radtke, pp. 590-91; Tryfos, p. 110). As is well known, 2SLS and 3SLS estimators are consistent and asymptotically normally distributed (Theil, pp. 497-98). However, 2SLS and 3SLS estimates are biased and for small samples, the ratio of the estimated coefficient to its estimated standard error does not follow the t distribution
Partially asynchronous, parallel algorithms for network flow and other problems

The problem of computing a fixed point of a nonexpansive function f is considered. Sufficient conditions are provided under which a parallel, partially asynchronous implementation of the iteration $x: = f(x)$ converges. These results are then applied to (i) quadratic programming subject to box constraints, (ii) strictly convex cost network flow optimization, (iii) an agreement and a Markov chain problem, (iv) neural network optimization, and (v) finding the least element of a polyhedral set determined by a weakly diagonally dominant, Leontief system. Finally, simulation results illustrating the attainable speedup and the effects of asynchronism are presented.
SU‐E‐T‐511: Distribution of Hysteresis Magnitude during Free Breathing

Purpose: To characterize and quantify the hysteresis motion component distribution during free breathing. Methods: We have hypothesized that lung tissue motion can be represented as a linear combination of two components: due to volume filling and due to hysteresis. Lung tissue trajectories were calculated using an existing 5D lung tissue trajectory model that uses two vector fields, alpha and beta, which were previously determined. Physically, the alpha motion vector was the tissue‐specific volume filling component and beta was the tissue‐specific hysteresis component. Due to natural variations in breathing patterns, we developed the concept of a characteristic breath. Each breath was corrected with a linear drift model from exhalation to exhalation. In order to characterize the hysteresis motion, the ratio of the volume filling to hysteresis components was examined throughout the subject's lungs by generating a bounding box with one side parallel to the alpha vector and the box lying in the plane defined by the alpha and beta vectors. The lungs were subdivided into geographic quadrants to observe the variation of the bounding box elongation. Because the displacement varied, the 15th and 85th percentile tidal volume displacements were selected to define the range of analyzed displacements. This study utilized 50 subject data sets from a 16 slice CT scanner. Results: The 15th and 85th percentile bounding box elongations were 0.090±0.005 and 0.187±0.037, and 0.083±0.013 and 0.203±0.053, in the upper and lower left lung and 0.092±0.006 and 0.184±0.038, and 0.085±0.013 and 0.196±0.043, in the upper and lower right lung, respectively, for volume displacements between 5–15mm. Conclusion: Hysteresis motion was relatively small compared to the volume‐filling motion, contributing between 8% and 20% of the overall motion. Little difference in this range was observed for upper and lower lung regions. This work supported in part by NIHR01CA116712 and NIHR01CA96679.
Physiologic Specialization of Puccinia triticina on Wheat in the United States in 2010.

Abstract Collections of Puccinia triticina were obtained from rust-infected leaves provided by cooperators throughout the United States and from wheat fields and breeding plots by United States Department of Agriculture–Agricultural Research Service personnel and cooperators in the Great Plains, Ohio River Valley, southeastern states, Oregon, and Washington State in order to determine the virulence of the wheat leaf rust population in 2010. Single uredinial isolates (537 total) were derived from the collections and tested for virulence phenotype on 19 lines of ‘Thatcher’ wheat and a winter wheat line that are near-isogenic for 20 leaf rust resistance genes. In 2010, 38 virulence phenotypes were described in the United States. Virulence phenotypes MLDSD, TDBJG, and TCRKG were the three most common phenotypes. Phenotype MLDSD is virulent to Lr17 and Lr39/Lr41 and was widely distributed throughout the United States. Phenotype TDBJG is virulent to Lr24 and was found in both the soft red winter wheat and hard ...
Resting State Functional Connectivity of the Ventral Attention Network in Children With a History of Depression or Anxiety

Objective We examined whether depression and anxiety disorders in early childhood were associated with changes in resting state functional connectivity (RSFC) of the ventral attention network (VAN), and whether RSFC in the VAN was associated with alterations in attention specific to these disorders. Important clinical features of these illnesses, including changes in attention toward novel stimuli and changes in attention to stimuli of negative valence (threat/sad bias), indirectly implicate the VAN. Method We collected resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging data in children aged 8 to 12 years. Data were volume censored to reduce artifact from submillimeter movement, resulting in analyzable data from 30 children with a history of depression and/or anxiety and 42 children with no psychiatric history. We compared pairwise RSFC among the following VAN regions: right ventro-lateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC), right posterior superior temporal gyrus (pSTG), and right ventral supramarginal gyrus (vSMG). We also collected measures of threat bias and current clinical symptoms. Results Children with a history of depression and/or anxiety had reduced RSFC among the regions of the VAN compared to children with no psychiatric history. The magnitude of VAN RSFC was correlated with measures of attention bias toward threat but not with current depressive, internalizing, or externalizing symptoms. No RSFC changes were detected between groups among homotopic left hemisphere regions. Conclusions Disruption in the VAN may be an early feature of depression and anxiety disorders. VAN changes were associated with attention bias and clinical history but not with current symptoms of depression and anxiety.
Levamisole-resistant mutants of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans appear to lack pharmacological acetylcholine receptors.

The body muscles of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans contract when the animal is cut in solutions of cholinergic agonists. The pharmacological specificity of the apparent nematode cholinergic receptor is most like a vertebrate nicotink ganglionic receptor. The anthelmintic levamisole resembles nicotine in its effects and acts directly or indirectly as both a cholinergic agonist and antagonist. Mutants at 7 loci conferring extreme resistance to levamisole respond very poorly to cholinergic agonists effective on the wild type. These mutants all share the same uncoordinated motor behavior and contract like the wild type in response to the noncholinergic muscle agonist ouabain. The uncoordinated motor behavior of the mutants and the resistance to levamisole and cholinergic agonists can be copied by exposing the wild type to the cholinergic blocking agent mecamylamine. Another class of mutants (8 loci, 5 corresponding to loci also producing extremely resistant alleles) possesses intermediate resistance to levamisole and cholinergic agonists and behaves pharmacologically and genetically like mutants moderately impaired in the levamisole-sensitive function. A third class of mutants (2 loci) with spasmodic muscle twitching is partially resistant to cholinergic agonists and to ouabain and probably represents defects in the muscle-contraction cycle physiologically downstream from the levamisole-sensitive function. Meta-phenyl-substituted derivatives of levamisole retain considerable biological activity and may be useful in the molecular analysis of our mutants. α-bungarotoxin, benzyltrimethyl-ammonium, and 3-quinuclidinyl benzilate, potential probes of cholinergic receptor function, do not show significant activity in our cut worm assay. The nature of the observed cholinergic response and the neuronanatomy of C. elegans suggest that the primary response occurs at muscle synapses. We believe that the physiological defect the extremely resistant mutants share is a severe lack of functional muscle acetylcholine receptors and that most of the wild type function of this molecule is not essential to the life of C. elegans. The ability to obtain such mutants may result from there being more than one pharmacological type of nematode cholinergic muscle receptor and/or from the coexistence of a noncholinergic motor mechanism. More generally, the ease with which levamisole-resistant mutants can be isolated (up to 74 mutants in one gene) makes these mutants a favorable system for understanding how a small group of related genes function in a simple animal.
Hemoglobin synthesis in isolated erythroid colonies from the chick embryo.

Abstract Primary cultures derived from mechanically dissociated definitive streak chick blastoderms were grown in a warm air stream on the stage of inverted phase microscope, through which in vitro erythroid development could be observed. Proerythroid cells divide three or four times in 48 hr to give rise to erythroid colonies ranging from 10 to 1000 cells, depending on the size of the blastoderm fragments from which they were derived. Erythroid cell development follows a similar course in cultures grown in a carbon dioxide incubator. Colonies consisting of about 50 cells, derived from blastoderm fragments containing 5 to 10 cells, were isolated and labeled with [3H]leucine, and their labeled hemoglobins were analyzed by isoelectric focusing. Both early hemoglobins (E,M,P,P′, and P″) and late hemoglobins (A and D) are made in colonies derived from single blastoderm fragments. The ratio of late to early hemoglobins is about 1.7 in all colonies analyzed. The implications of this finding for the clonal model of erythroid development are discussed.
Late Alk4/5/7 signaling is required for anterior skeletal patterning in sea urchin embryos

Skeletal patterning in the sea urchin embryo requires a conversation between the skeletogenic primary mesenchyme cells (PMCs) and the overlying pattern-dictating ectoderm; however, our understanding of the molecular basis for this process remains incomplete. Here, we show that TGF-β-receptor signaling is required during gastrulation to pattern the anterior skeleton. To block TGF-β signaling, we used SB431542 (SB43), a specific inhibitor of the TGF-β type I receptor Alk4/5/7. Treatment with SB43 during gastrulation blocks anterior PMC positioning and the formation of the anterior skeleton, but does not perturb general ectoderm specification or development. This is the first example of a signaling event required for patterning of a specific part of the skeleton. Alk4/5/7 inhibition does not prevent the formation of a mouth, although SB43-treated plutei display reduced feeding ability, presumably due to the loss of the structural support for the mouth conferred by the anterior skeleton. Both Univin and Nodal are potential ligands for Alk4/5/7; however, Nodal is unilaterally expressed on only the right side, whereas Univin is bilaterally expressed in the ectoderm adjacent to the anterior skeleton during the relevant time period. Our results demonstrate that Univin is both necessary and sufficient for secondary skeletal development in a control background, consistent with the hypothesis that Univin is a relevant Alk4/5/7 ligand for anterior skeletal patterning. Taken together, our data demonstrate that Alk4/5/7 signaling during gastrulation is required to direct PMCs to the oral hood, and suggest that Univin is a relevant ligand for this signaling event.
Application of conformal mapping and variational method to the study of heat conduction in polygonal plates with temperature/dependent conductivity

Abstract The stationary value problem of the local potential for heat conduction in a polygonal plate with temperature-dependent conductivity is transformed by a holomorphic function into an equivalent stationary value problem for another plate with a circular boundary. The equivalent problem is then solved by the Rayleigh-Ritz method since the coordinate functions in the circular region are readily available. This method offers a unified approach to the problem of the temperature distribution of one plate and of all others. The application of this method can be easily extended to other transport phenomena which are governed by the extremization of a functional.
Country-of-origin Effect on Chinese Consumers' Apparent Perceptions of Foreign-brand and Chinese-brand Apparel: An Experimental Study

Many companies are keenly interested in selling in the People's Republic of China's market; however, doing business with China is a great challenge. To compete successfully, companies must make an ...
Field performance of peat-lite mix encapsulated small minitubers

Small minitubers (1.3 to 1.9 cm diameter), produced in the greenhouse from tissue culture plantlets are usually discarded because they are undersized for field planting. They have potential as a means of expanding the production of basic nuclear potato seedstocks. Field trials were conducted to evaluate the performance of greenhouse-produced minitubers at 15 and 30 cm spacings, with one or two minitubers/hill, and with or without encapsulation in a moist ball of artificial greenhouse peat-lite mix. All minitubers were green-sprouted for about two weeks under 16 hr/day fluorescent lighting before planting. Encapsulation in moist peat-lite mix significantly increased total yield by an average of 44% over minitubers without the soil mix. Independent of encapsulation, closer seed spacing and two minitubers/hill increased yields by an average of 35% and 20%, respectively, compared to wider spacing and one minituber/hill. Yields of encapsulated minitubers compared favorably with cut (50 gm) and whole (80 gm) seed, averaging 103% of the cut and 87% of the whole seed yields, respectively. These results indicate that small minitubers can be used effectively to expand production of basic nuclear seedstocks.
On separation by families of linear functionals

Let S be a convex subset of a Banach space L, and G a subset of L∗. We prove that if G does a good job of separating points in S from convex subsets of S, then any point outside of S can be separated from S by a linear combination of at most three members of G.
Macroinvertebrate Production in the Submerged Aquatic Vegetation of the Mobile–Tensaw Delta: Effects of an Exotic Species at the Base of an Estuarine Food Web

This study, conducted in 1997, reports the first estimates of the impacts of the proliferation of an exotic submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) species (Myriophyllum spicatum) on macroinvertebrate production via comparisons with two co-occurring native SAV species (Heteranthera dubia and Vallisneria americana) in the tide-influenced Mobile–Tensaw Delta (located in the north-central Gulf of Mexico, 30°40′ N, 87°55′ W). Production of macroinvertebrates was greatest on M. spicatum and H. dubia and least on V. americana. The key determinant of these differences was a greater abundance of amphipods (Gammarus mucronatus) found on the leaves of M. spicatum and H. dubia. Macroinvertebrate production on M. spicatum was three times greater (>1 kg m−2 year−1) than on either of the native SAV species. No-choice palatability tests showed that these differences could not be attributed to differences in invertebrate grazing on these plants. Instead, it is probable that the high production within the structurally complex M. spicatum and H. dubia was the result of reduced predator foraging efficiency. If true, then the presence of this exotic species probably renders this elevated production inaccessible to most high-order predators.
Image Frequency Analysis for Testing of Fire Service Thermal Imaging Cameras

A growing number of first responders are purchasing infrared cameras (thermal imagers). Thermal imagers provide critical information for many firefighting operations: size up, tracking of fire growth, location of victims and egress routes, overhaul, etc…. Although thermal imagers have proven to be useful tools for the fire service over the past 10–15 years, there is no existing comprehensive performance standard for thermal imagers used in fire service applications. A suite of thermal imager performance metrics and test methods is being developed for possible inclusion in a proposed standard on thermal imagers for the fire service. The following goals apply to two of the imaging performance metrics in this suite: to explore the feasibility of a new spatial resolution metric and test method, the Random Modulation Transfer Function (MTF); and to transfer the essential characteristics of complex fire scene images to a thermal target for the effective temperature range test using image frequency content analysis. Images of humans standing in an upright position at varying distances from the thermal imager under test and wearing either street clothes or turnout gear were analyzed for frequency content. These data were then used to determine the frequency of a bar target for the bench-scale effective temperature range test.
Neural network application for fuzzy multi-criteria decision making problems

Abstract In this paper, a fuzzy multi-criteria decision making model is presented based on a feed forward artificial neural network. This model is used to capture and represent the decision makers' preferences. The topology of the neural network model is developed to train the model. The proposed model can use historical data and update the database information for alternatives over time for future decisions. Basically, multi-criteria decision making problems are formulated, and neural network is used to learn the relation among criteria and alternatives and rank the alternatives. We do not use any utility function for the modeling; however, a unique method is proposed for eliciting the information from decision makers. The proposed model is applicable for a wide variety of multi-attribute decision making problems and can be used for future ranking or selection without managers' judgment effort. Simulation of the managers' decisions is demonstrated in detail and the design and implementation of the model are illustrated by a case study.
Wideband cavity-backed slot antenna for ground penetrating free of direct ground bounce

Abstract A novel cavity-backed slot antenna is designed for ground-penetrating radars. When attached to the ground surface, this antenna is capable of coupling electromagnetic power into the ground with the maximum efficiency over wide frequency bands. A simulation tool is developed to precisely model the interaction between the antenna and ground media. Three fabricated antenna prototypes exhibit at least 25% input impedance bandwidth over a range of ground materials. Furthermore, a two-element antenna array is built, and bi-static radar measurement reveals that the impact of air–ground interface is successfully removed when the array is placed conformal to the sand surface.
Dietary fats containing concentrates ofcis ortrans octadecenoates and the patterns of polyunsaturated fatty acids of liver phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine

The effects of the mixedcis- 18∶1 isomers and mixedtrans-18∶1 isomers present in partially hydrogenated soybean oil (PHSO) upon the patterns of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) in liver phosphatidylcholine (PC) and phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) were studied in rats fed concentrates ofcis- 18∶1 ortrans- 18∶1 isomers isolated as triacylglycerides from PHSO. Thecis- 18∶1 andtrans- 18∶1 concentrates were fed at levels equal to those present in PHSO fed at 17.9% of the diet. All diets contained the required amounts of both linoleic and linolenic acids. Thetrans- 18∶1 concentrate was found to suppress the levels of 20∶4ω6 and 20∶3ω9, and to increase the levels of 18∶2ω6 and 20∶5ω3 in PC and PE. Thecis- 18∶1 concentrate suppressed 20∶4ω6 in PC, 20∶5ω3 in PC and PE, and 18∶2ω6 was more effective than thetrans concentrate in suppressing 22∶6ω3. Thetrans- 18∶1 concentrate was more effective in suppressing 20∶4ω6. Thetrans-18∶ isomers appear to modify PUFA metabolism by inhibition of PUFA synthesis, whereas thecis- 18∶1isomers appear to compete with 2-position fatty acyl transfer and to inhibit ω3 PUFA acylation.
ZEBRA: Zero-Effort Bilateral Recurring Authentication

Common authentication methods based on passwords, tokens, or fingerprints perform one-time authentication and rely on users to log out from the computer terminal when they leave. Users often do not log out, however, which is a security risk. The most common solution, inactivity timeouts, inevitably fail security (too long a timeout) or usability (too short a timeout) goals. One solution is to authenticate users continuously while they are using the terminal and automatically log them out when they leave. Several solutions are based on user proximity, but these are not sufficient: they only confirm whether the user is nearby but not whether the user is actually using the terminal. Proposed solutions based on behavioral biometric authentication (e.g., keystroke dynamics) may not be reliable, as a recent study suggests. To address this problem we propose Zero-Effort Bilateral Recurring Authentication (ZEBRA). In ZEBRA, a user wears a bracelet (with a built-in accelerometer, gyroscope, and radio) on her dominant wrist. When the user interacts with a computer terminal, the bracelet records the wrist movement, processes it, and sends it to the terminal. The terminal compares the wrist movement with the inputs it receives from the user (via keyboard and mouse), and confirms the continued presence of the user only if they correlate. Because the bracelet is on the same hand that provides inputs to the terminal, the accelerometer and gyroscope data and input events received by the terminal should correlate because their source is the same - the user's hand movement. In our experiments ZEBRA performed continuous authentication with 85% accuracy in verifying the correct user and identified all adversaries within 11s. For a different threshold that trades security for usability, ZEBRA correctly verified 90% of users and identified all adversaries within 50s.
Inefficiency in deregulated wholesale electricity markets: the case of the New England ISO

The efficiency of the New England Independent System Operator electricity market is examined. Using peak hour prices from March 2003 to February 2007, significant differences between Day Ahead (DA) and spot prices are found, indicating that profitable arbitrage opportunities existed in the DA market. It is also found that persistence of price volatility is higher in the DA market, indicating that information is not incorporated into DA prices as quickly as it is in the spot market.
Neonatal hippocampal damage in rats: Long‐term spatial memory deficits and associations with magnitude of hippocampal damage

This study investigated the effects of neonatal hippocampal ablation on the development of spatial learning and memory abilities in rats. Newborn rats sustained bilateral electrolytic lesions of the hippocampus or were sham-operated on postnatal day 1 (PN1). At PN20–25, PN50–55, or PN90–95, separate groups of rats were tested in a Morris water maze on a visible “cue” condition (visible platform in a fixed location of the maze), a spatial “place” condition (submerged platform in a fixed location), or a no-contingency “random” condition (submerged platform in a random location). Rats were tested for 6 consecutive days, with 12 acquisition trials and 1 retention (probe) trial per day. During acquisition trials, the rat's latency to escape the maze was recorded. During retention trials (last trial for each day, no escape platform available), the total time the rat spent in the probe quadrant was recorded. Data from rats with hippocampal lesions tested as infants (PN20–25) or as adults (PN50–55 and PN90–95) converged across measures to reveal that 1) spatial (place) memory deficits were evident throughout developmental testing, suggesting that the deficits in spatial memory were long-lasting, if not permanent, and 2) behavioral performance measures under the spatial (place) condition were significantly correlated with total volume of hippocampal tissue damage, and with volume of damage to the right and anterior hippocampal regions. These results support the hypothesis that hippocampal integrity is important for the normal development of spatial learning and memory functions, and show that other brain structures do not assume hippocampal-spatial memory functions when the hippocampus is damaged during the neonatal period (even when testing is not begun until adulthood). Thus, neonatal hippocampal damage in rats may serve as a rodent model for assessing treatment strategies (e.g., pharmacological) relevant to human perinatal brain injury and developmental disabilities within the learning and memory realm. Hippocampus 7:403–415, 1997. © 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.