cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
In vivo degradation of mutant lac repressor.

The altered lac represser produced in strains of E. coli carrying the lac promoter deletion LI is degraded in vivo although the wild-type repressor is stable.
Structure−Activity Relationship Studies of Nordihydroguaiaretic Acid Inhibitors toward Soybean, 12-Human, and 15-Human Lipoxygenase

Lipoxygenase (LO) is a biological target for many diseases such as asthma, atherosclerosis, and cancer. Our labs have synthesized and investigated nordihydroguaiaretic acid (NDGA) derivatives and have established that the reductive inhibition of soybean and 15-human LO can be affected by the strength of the electron-withdrawing substituents on the phenyl rings of NDGA. In addition, we have determined that hydrophobic NDGA derivatives activate 15-HLO, suggesting a hydrophobic allosteric site.
Caffeine inhibition of cytokinesis: Dynamics of cell plate formation-deformation in vivo

The effect of caffeine on cell plate formation inTradescantia stamen hair cells has been studiedin vivo using Nomarski differential interference contrast microscopy. It is well known that caffeine is a potent inhibitor of cell plate formation. Direct examination of drug-treated cells reveals that the cell plate always arises and grows centrifugally until almost complete. Up to this point drug-treated cells are indistinguishable from controls. However in the presence of caffeine the plate never reaches completion but rather appears to melt away until no refractile structure remains. Even after cells have been cultured for 24 hours in caffeine a cell plate always arises only to subsequently break down. Studies on the time of caffeine action show that within minutes before the onset of cell plate formation, the drug efficiently reaches the target site. This effect is partially reversible by washing out the caffeine with HEPES/KCl buffer, however the time required for the cell plate to reach completion is prolonged and in some instances the plate appears to be fragmented. Adenosine is also partially effective in reversing the caffeine inhibition of cell plate formation.
Who Gets Confidential Care? Disparities in a National Sample of Adolescents

Using the 2001-2004 Medical Expenditures Panel Survey, we examined rates of past-year adolescent time alone with a clinician by visit type, and among youths with a preventive visit, examined age, gender, and race/ethnicity differences. Youths with a preventive visit have higher rates of time alone; rates for these youths increase with age, are higher for males (42%) versus females (37%), and are lowest among Hispanics. Time alone rates are low, especially for younger females and Hispanic youths. Special efforts are needed to increase time alone in these populations.
Aliasing and quantization in the efficient display of images

A class of image representations that are appropriate for display of continuous-tone imagery with a wide range of digital devices is analyzed. Special cases include pulse-amplitude modulation, ordered dither, and pulse-surface-area modulation. Quantization and Fourier domain aliasing are shown to be important factors in the degradations introduced by the nonlinear display process. The severity of these degradations may be minimized by proper design of the dot profile. Using a simple measure of image quality, the required information density and display resolution are calculated as a function of the number of display luminance levels for a well-known dot profile. Some experimental results are also presented.
Modulation in vitro of monoamine oxidase activity by thyroid hormones.

Abstract Experiments in vitro using whole rat brain homogenate revealed that l -thyroxine (T 4 ) and l -triiodothyronine (T 3 ) can increase indoleacetic acid (IAA) formation from the oxidative deamination of tryptamine. This effect was dependent upon (a) the homogenate concentration, (b) the hormonal concentration, (c) temperature and (d) pre-incubation of the hormones with the homogenate prior to the addition of trypatime. For T 4 , the extent of the increase in IAA production was correlated with the specific activity of the particular homogenate under test but no such correlation existed with T 3 . The influence of the thyroid hormones was shown to occur at the monoamine oxidase (MAO) step and appears to be mediated indirectly so as to increase MAO activity. The nature of the interaction is reversible but the precise mechanism(s) involved have not been elucidated. It is postulated that the thyroid hormones and/or their metabolites either suppress an endogenous inhibitor or function to dissociate aggregated MAO. A similar augmentation of IAA production was found in the liver, less in the kidney, and only slight increases were obtained in the heart. Thus, a degree of organ selectivity exists. The present finding describe a new effect of the thyroid hormones which may be of importance in the modulation of monoamine metabolism.
Foam Separation of Oil from Enzymatically Treated Wet-Milled Corn Germ Dispersions

More than 9 billion gallons of ethanol were produced in 2008, mostly from dry grind corn fermentation plants. These plants are a potential source of substantial amounts of corn oil, if an economical method of separating it can be developed. In this work, oil was separated from corn germ by aqueous enzymatic extraction (AEE). Batches of wet-milled corn germ in water were preheated in a pressure cooker, ground in a colloid mill, and churned in a vertical column/mixing vessel system, after the addition of enzyme. Nitrogen gas was then bubbled through the column removing an overflowing foam fraction which was subsequently centrifuged to separate free oil. Using a newly commercialized enzyme complex it was found that 80% of the oil could be recovered using a w/w ratio of enzyme solution to germ of 1:80. The low dose and low price of the enzyme complex leads to a cost estimate of AEE of corn oil from germ, similar to the wet-milled germ extracted, cost competitive with expelled oil (with the separation and drying of the foam protein), and feasible for commercialization in a dry grind plant retrofitted to separate germ.
Observing child abuse

Evidence from a study conducted at the New York Foundling Hospital and Albert Einstein College of Medicine, as well as previous research by the investigators, shows that abusive mothers are insensitive to the moods and signals of their children. A quantitative analysis of videotaped interaction sequences of 12 mother-child dyads indicated that abusive mothers sped less time looking at their children, are less focused in their attention on them, barrage them with words and actions that are unmodulated by the child's response, are physically coercive, and spend more time issuing directives and orders than mothers from similar backgrounds who do not physically abuse their children. We suggest that child abuse is part of a complex interaction system characterized by lack of mutual attunement between caretaker and child, of which acts of physical violence are dramatic exemplars. These data support the view that in order to ameliorate parenting skills of abusive parents, interactive patterns that appear early in the caretaker-child relationship must be understood and addressed.
To infinity … and beyond! Human spaceflight and life science

The early writings of Jules Verne (From the Earth to the Moon, 1865; Fig. 1) and H. G. Wells (First Men on the Moon, 1901; Fig. 2) were the starting point of science fiction and the dream of space exploration. Verne proposed a “projectile bullet capsule” shot from a long cannon named Columbiad as a means for 3 explorers to achieve the escape velocity needed to leave Earth’s gravity (1). Even in 1865 there were concerns about humans’ ability to survive extreme velocities. Verne made crude calculations on the length of cannon needed for a human to survive a launch to the moon. Almost 100 yrs later, the United States used a very similarly shaped Apollo capsule named Columbia to take 3 astronauts—Armstrong, Collins, and Aldrin—to the moon and return to Earth. The vision of spaceflight began with science fiction literature, which was followed decades later by the science, engineering and other technological achievements that made it a reality. It took the momentum of war to further advance technology to a point where space travel was possible. After World War II, the United States and the USSR repurposed the spoils of war, transforming the once terrorizing German V-2 rocket program into new space programs. Some vehicles are specifically designed for suborbital (ballistic) flight; examples include crewed vehicles, such as the X-15 rocket plane, sounding rockets, and Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo, and uncrewed rockets, such as intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). The first spaceflight was ballistic and reached an altitude of 17 nautical miles (31.5 km) above the earth. Ballistic flights, by definition, do not go into orbit and have only brief periods of microgravity (10 3 to 10 6 g). During ballistic flights, spaceflight microgravity lasts from a few seconds or minutes to a few hours before returning to the planet. This type of flight only offers short opportunities for scientific query. Orbital flights travel at 17,500 nautical miles per hour ( 32,400 km/h) around the planet and are on a different scale of experimental time since microgravity can last from days, weeks, and months to years. Orbital flights support a wide range of science investigations
An exploratory field study of the relationships between the controller's department and overall organizational characteristics☆

Abstract This paper describes an exploratory field study which applies organizational research perspectives to the study of the relationship between the controller's department and characteristics of the overall organizations of a sample of 18 manufacturing companies. Correlation analysis is used to assess the extent of association between a wide variety of controller's department and overall organization variables. The findings point to a number of significant relationships between the nature of the controller's department and characteristics of the overall organization.
Control of Doping and Electronic Transport in Nanowires

We propose a novel concept, namely, delta-doping of nanowires, to control the carrier mobility in nanowires. Different from the traditional doping, our approach features doping of a nanowire only on its surface. Our calculations based on Anderson models for nanowires with surface disorder showed remarkably different results from the traditional doping where impurities are distributed inside the nanowire. We found that there exist transition energy levels similar to the mobility edges in three-dimensional disordered systems. If the Fermi energy is below the transition energy level, the delta-doped nanowire is simply an insulator. But once the Fermi energy exceeds this energy level, the carrier mobility increases significantly. The transition levels are almost independent of the degree of disorder in the regime of strong disorder.
Automating data dependability

If you can't make your data dependable, then you can't make your computing dependable, either. The good news is that the list of data protection techniques is long, and growing. The bad news is that the choices they offer are getting more complicated: how many copies of data to keep? whether to use full or partial redundancy? how often to make snapshots? how to schedule full and incremental backups? what combination of techniques to use? The stakes are getting higher: web access means that services must have 24x7 availability, and users are willing to switch if services are unavailable. Finally, human administrators can (and often do) make mistakes. These factors compel us to simplify and automate data dependability decisions as much as possible.We are developing a system that will automatically select which data protection techniques to use, and how to apply them, to meet user-specified dependability (i.e., reliability and availability) goals. This paper describes our approach and outlines our initial descriptions for user requirements, failure characteristics and data protection techniques.
The Unexplained Female Predominance of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: Clues from Genetic and Cytokine Studies

Despite recent progress in the understanding of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), the striking 9:1 female to male ratio of disease incidence remains largely unexplained. In addition, peak SLE incidence rates occur during the early reproductive years in women. Studies which illuminate potential causes underlying this sex difference and characteristic onset during the reproductive years have the potential to fundamentally advance our understanding of disease pathogenesis in SLE. Similarly, progress in this area will likely inform human reproductive immunology. Studies of sex hormone function in the immune system are of obvious importance; however, it seems likely that many other types of sex-related genetic and immunological differences will contribute to SLE. In this review, we will focus on recent work in sex-related differences in cytokine pathways and genetics of these pathways as they relate to SLE pathogenesis. It seems quite possible that many of these sex-related differences could be important to reproductive fitness, which may explain the conservation of these immune system features and the observed female predominance of SLE.
Ab initio structure and energetics of Pu(OH)4 and Pu(OH)4(H2O)n clusters: Comparison between density functional and multi-reference theories

Abstract The electronic and geometric structure of the Pu(OH) 4 molecule and Pu(OH) 4 (H 2 O) n ( n = 1 - 19 ) clusters are compared using a range of single- and multi-reference theories. We find that single-reference methods such as unrestricted, second-order Moller–Plesset perturbation theory provide a reasonable description, and explicit inclusion of multi-configurational effects involving Pu 5 f -electrons is not essential. However, density functional theory (DFT) with standard approximations for exchange–correlation performs poorly for Pu(OH) 4 and Pu(OH) 4 (H 2 O) n clusters. We propose the use of DFT + U as a simple improvement over standard DFT, and determine an ab initio parameterization of DFT + U suitable for atomistic simulations of Pu(OH) 4 in aqueous environments.
Non-destructive elemental quantification of polymer-embedded thin films using laboratory based X-ray techniques

Abstract Thin coatings are important for a variety of industries including energy (e.g., solar cells, batteries), consumer electronics (e.g., LCD displays, computer chips), and medical devices (e.g., implants). These coatings are typically highly uniform layers with thicknesses ranging from a monolayer up to several micrometers. Characterizing these highly uniform coatings for their thickness, elemental composition, and uniformity are all paramount, but obtaining these measurements can be more difficult when the layers are subsurface and must be interrogated non-destructively. The coupling of confocal micro-X-ray fluorescence (confocal MXRF) and nano-scale X-ray computed tomography (nano-CT) together can make these measurements while meeting these sensitivity and resolution specifications necessary for characterizing thin films. Elemental composition, atomic percent, placement, and uniformity can be measured in three dimensions with this integrated approach. Confocal MXRF uses a pair of polycapillary optics to focus and collect X-rays from a material from a 3D spatially restricted confocal volume. Because of the spatial definition, individual layers (of differing composition) can be characterized based upon the elementally characteristic X-ray fluorescence collected for each element. Nano-scale X-ray computed tomography, in comparison, can image the layers at very high resolution (down to 50 nm) to precisely measure the embedded layer thickness. These two techniques must be used together if both the thickness and atomic density of a layer are unknown. This manuscript will demonstrate that it is possible to measure both the atomic percent of an embedded thin film layer and confirm its manufacturing quality. As a proof of principle, a 1.5 atomic percent, 2 μm-thick Ge layer embedded within polymer capsules, used for laser plasma experiments at the Omega Laser Facility and National Ignition Facility, are measured.
A combined filter for GPS-based attitude and baseline estimation

This paper describes a methodology for combining attitude and baseline estimation into one comprehensive filter. The nominal filter states include attitude quaternion errors, angular velocity errors, and baseline errors. Previous approaches have relied on determining accurate baselines first and then using those baselines for attitude estimation. The method presented here combines these two steps into one algorithm. The advantage is that baseline calibration can be performed while simultaneously producing attitude information. In addition, the combined filter allows for baseline flexure, whereas previous approaches are based on the assumption of fixed baselines. This algorithm works best when attitude motion is present and when a good dynamic model is available. Results from simulated data as well as flight data are presented.
Polyvinylacetate Gel Permeation Chromatography of H-Coal Liquids and Model Compounds. Comparison with Rigid Gel, Reversed Phase and Normal Phase Chromatography

Abstract This paper reports the application of polyvinylacetate gel (Fractogel) for size fractionation of the H-Coal liquids and model aromatic hydrocarbons. The four H-Coal liquids were each divided into three classes according to solubility in hexane, benzene, and pyridine. A model mixture of eight compounds when applied to the Fractogel column yielded four fractions; a similar performance was given by a prepacked, Toyo Soda microparticulate column containing styrene-divinylbenzene copolymer. Regarding the twelve H-Coal solvent fractions, the chromatograms obtained from the Fractogel column were analogous to those from the Toyo Soda column. By making further use of model compounds, the Fractogel results are compared with those obtained from reversed phase chromatography on a Partisil ODS column and those from normal phase chromatography on a LiChrosorb silica column. These comparisons reveal the usefulness in separating certain aromatic hydrocarbons by the Fractogel column. Furthermore, judging from the...
Final-state effects in photoelectron diffraction

Abstract Due to the complexity and large amount of computation time required for full sphericalwave treatments of photoelectron diffraction (PD), most calculations to date have made use of either plane wave scattering or s-emission approximations (or both). In this paper we apply the efficient and relatively simple scattering-matrix formalism of Rehr and Albers to photoelectron diffraction, making explicit the computational steps required to implement a spherical-wave PD calculation for arbitrary initial angular momentum li. Our treatment includes full li + 1 and li −1 interchannel interference within the single-scattering approximation. We apply the method to a prototypical system, a photoemitter and one scatterer, to demonstrate the importance of treating the angular momenta and sphericalwave nature of the photoelectrons correctly, particularly at lower energies.
Ionic liquid solvent properties as predictors of lignocellulose pretreatment efficacy

Effective pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass is vital to its bioconversion to a usable liquid fuel. A growing body of work has focused on using room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) to pretreat lignocellulose for subsequent fermentation. However, little is known about the physicochemical parameters of RTILs that promote effective pretreatment. In this work we examine the relationship between the Kamlet–Taft α, β, and π* solvent polarity parameters of different RTILs ([Emim][OAc], [Bmim][OAc], and [Bmim][MeSO4]) and effective pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass. We find the β parameter is an excellent predictor of pretreatment efficacy. Acetate containing RTILs (β > 1.0) remove >32% of lignin from maple wood flour and significantly reduce cellulose crystallinity, resulting in >65% glucose yields after 12 h cellulase hydrolysis. Pretreatment in [Bmim][MeSO4] (β = 0.60) results in the removal of only 19% of the wood flour's lignin with no decrease in crystallinity, and no improvement in sugar yield over untreated wood flour. The addition of water and the dilution of the acetate anion with the methyl sulfate anion decrease the β value and subsequently have a negative impact on lignin extraction, cellulose crystallinity, and sugar yields.
Observations of Far Infrared Atmospheric Windows at 44 cm−1 and 50 cm−1 from Pikes Peak

ABSORPTION by atmospheric water vapour seriously restricts astronomical observations from the ground in the far infrared region of the spectrum. Between 300 cm−1 and 18 cm−1, the atmosphere is nearly opaque from the ground, except from high mountain sites where weak windows appear at 29 and 22 cm−1 (350 and 450 µm). These windows were first observed by Gebbie1; they have since been used by several investigators for mountain top astronomical measurements2–10. To our knowledge, there have been no astronomical observations from the ground in the region between 300 cm−1 and the 29 cm−1 window. In this frequency decade of the electromagnetic spectrum astronomy has required the use of aircraft11–16 and balloons17–24 as observing platforms.
Generating Non-Intentional Semantically-Correct English Sentences in an Object-Oriented Environment

When a human being is constructing a sentence, he/she chooses words that not only ensure syntactical integrity but also satisfy semantic and in most cases contextual constraints. The system developed here mimics the way humans form sentences. In our approach a sentence is generated as a chain of words satisfying a number of semantic, syntactic and contextual constraints concurrently. This chaining process ensures the compatibility of different components and results in a cohesive and unambiguous sentence. The static lexical and structural objects which contain both semantic and syntactic knowledge interact with dynamically created objects which contain contextual knowledge in order to construct the word and phrase objects which ultimately constitute the sentence.
The Core of Tau-Paired Helical Filaments Studied by Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy and Limited Proteolysis†

In Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal dementias the microtubule-associated protein tau forms intracellular paired helical filaments (PHFs). The filaments formed in vivo consist mainly of full-length molecules of the six different isoforms present in adult brain. The substructure of the PHF core is still elusive. Here we applied scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) and limited proteolysis to probe the mass distribution of PHFs and their surface exposure. Tau filaments assembled from the three repeat domain have a mass per length (MPL) of approximately 60 kDa/nm and filaments from full-length tau (htau40DeltaK280 mutant) have approximately 160 kDa/nm, compared with approximately 130 kDa/nm for PHFs from Alzheimer's brain. Polyanionic cofactors such as heparin accelerate assembly but are not incorporated into PHFs. Limited proteolysis combined with N-terminal sequencing and mass spectrometry of fragments reveals a protease-sensitive N-terminal half and semiresistant PHF core starting in the first repeat and reaching to the C-terminus of tau. Continued proteolysis leads to a fragment starting at the end of the first repeat and ending in the fourth repeat. PHFs from tau isoforms with four repeats revealed an additional cleavage site within the middle of the second repeat. Probing the PHFs with antibodies detecting epitopes either over longer stretches in the C-terminal half of tau or in the fourth repeat revealed that they grow in a polar manner. These data describe the physical parameters of the PHFs and enabled us to build a model of the molecular arrangement within the filamentous structures.
Singlet Oxygen Generation from the Reaction of Ozone with Plant Leaves

Aqueous extracts of the intercellular fluid from Sedum album L. leaves generated singlet oxygen chemiluminescence at 1270 nm when exposed to a nitrogen gas stream containing ozone at 21 ± 2 ppm. The concentration of ascorbic acid in the intercellular fluid extracts was 310 ± 40 μM. The intensity of the singlet oxygen chemiluminescence from the intercellular fluid extracts was comparable with the chemiluminescence from a control solution containing 300 μM ascorbic acid. The intensity of the singlet oxygen emission from intercellular fluid treated with ascorbate oxidase was 0.19 ± 0.07 of the intensity of the singlet oxygen chemiluminescence from untreated samples of intercellular fluid extract. The simplest explanation for the effect of ascorbate oxidase is that ascorbic acid is the major ozone target generating singlet oxygen. Much weaker singlet oxygen chemiluminescence was detected at 1270 nm when intact S. album L. plant tips were exposed to a nitrogen gas stream containing ozone at 22 ± 5 ppm. Various explanations for the relatively low intensity of the singlet oxygen chemiluminescence from intact S. album L. plant tips are discussed.
Hydrocodone for cough in advanced cancer

Cough is a common symptom in advanced cancer. Hydrocodone is the antitussive of choice in our palliative medicine inpatient unit. We reviewed the pharmacy records for the use of hydrocodone for all cancer admissions to our unit from May 1996 to December 1998. Median treatment duration with hydrocodone was three days (range 1-18). Median maximum daily dose was 15 mg (range 5-100), and median total dose during the hospital stay was 32 mg (range 5-455). Lung cancer as a primary cancer site was strongly related to the use of hydrocodone. The highest median duration of treatment (five days) was for esophageal cancer and the highest median maximum daily dose (35 mg) and total dose (75 mg) were for treating kidney cancer. This retrospective review provides information regarding the use of hydrocodone on the palliative medicine unit of the Cleveland Clinic Foundation. Controlled trials are needed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of hydrocodone for cough in advanced cancer.
Fine-needle aspiration biopsy in the diagnosis and management of bone lesions: A study of 450 cases

BACKGROUND Fine-needle aspiration (FNA) biopsy has proved to be a cost-effective technique, with low complication risks and high diagnostic value in distinguishing neoplastic versus nonneoplastic lesions in many organs. This study was designed to determine the reliability, areas of diagnostic difficulty, and limitations of FNA in the diagnosis of bone lesions encountered in a university-affiliated tertiary care hospital. METHODS The cytology of 450 FNA biopsies of bone lesions, performed on 427 patients between 1979 and 1996, were reviewed. The results were correlated with the corresponding histology when available, and with clinical follow-up, in an attempt to define the role of FNA in managing patients with bony lesions. RESULTS The patients ranged in age from 5 to 94 years, with a male-to-female ratio of 1.25:1. The spine was the most frequently aspirated site (49%), followed by the ilium, sacrum, mandible, ribs, and femur. Three hundred and eighty-five aspirates (86%) were adequate for evaluation, with 215 cases diagnosed cytologically as positive for malignancy, 11 cases as suspicious but not diagnostic of malignancy, and 2 cases as inconclusive. One hundred and fifty-seven cases were interpreted as showing no evidence of malignancy. Metastatic carcinoma was present in 175 of the 215 malignant aspirates, and 67% of these were adenocarcinomas. Forty cases were primary malignant bone neoplasms, including myeloma, lymphoma, Ewing's sarcoma, chondrosarcoma, ameloblastoma, chordoma, neurofibrosarcoma, and unclassified high grade sarcoma. False-negative diagnoses were rendered in ten cases; however, on review, material representative of the bone lesion was not present in six cases. Five cases were correctly diagnosed as malignant but were misclassified with regard to the type of malignancy. CONCLUSIONS FNA biopsy of bone lesions is a reliable and easily performed diagnostic test for metastatic and primary bone tumors. False-positive results have major therapeutic implications, hence the significance of the authors' conservative diagnostic approach, which resulted in a false-positive rate of 0.2%. Areas of difficulty were due to inadequate sampling or misclassification with regard to the exact type of malignancy. The simplicity and accuracy of this procedure, which does not require any surgical incisions (open biopsy or manipulation), supports its important role in triaging and managing bone lesions with minimum risk or morbidity. Cancer (Cancer Cytopathol) 1997; 81:148-56. © 1997 American Cancer Society.
Turgor-responsive gene transcription and RNA levels increase rapidly when pea shoots are wilted. Sequence and expression of three inducible genes

Reduction of turgor in pea shoots caused the accumulation of several poly(A) RNAs. cDNA clones derived from three different poly(A) RNAs which accumulate in wilted pea shoots were isolated, sequenced and expression of the corresponding genes examined. Clone 7a encoded a 289 amino acid protein. The C-terminal 180 amino acids of this protein were homologous to soybean nodulin-26. RNA hybridizing to cDNA 7a was abundant in roots, and induced in shoots by dehydration, heat shock and to a small extent by ABA. Hydropathic plots indicate that the protein encoded by cDNA 7a contains six potential membrane spanning domains similar to proteins which form ion channels. Clone 15a encoded a 363 amino acid protein with high homology to cysteine proteases. RNA hybridizing to cDNA 15a was more abundant in roots than shoots of control plants. Dehydration of pea shoots induced cDNA 15a mRNA levels whereas heat shock or ABA treatment did not. Clone 26g encoded a 508 amino acid protein with 30% residue identity to several aldehyde dehydrogenases. RNA hybridizing to cDNA 26g was induced by dehydration of shoots but not roots and heat shock and ABA did not modulate RNA levels. Levels of the three poly(A) RNAs increased 4–6-fold by 4 h after wilting and this increase was not altered by pretreatment of shoots with cycloheximide. When wilted shoots were rehydrated, RNA hybridizing to cDNA 26g declined to pre-stress levels within 2 h. Run-on transcription experiments using nuclei from pea shoots showed that transcription of the genes which encode the three poly(A) RNAs was induced within 30 min following reduction of shoot turgor. One of the genes showed a further increase in transcription by 4 h after dehydration whereas transcription of the other 2 genes declined. These results indicate that plant cells respond to changes in cell turgor by rapidly increasing transcription of several genes. Furthermore, the expression of the turgor-responsive genes varies with respect to the time course of induction and reversibility of the wilting-induced changes.
Stimulation of TGF-β1 mRNA concentration in mouse skin treated with benzo[a]pyrene

Topical application of benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) at dose rates of 32 or 64 micrograms/week to the dorsal skin of female Swiss (ICR) mice resulted in a marked and rapid increase in concentration of RNA for transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-beta 1) in epidermis. Two RNA species 1.9 and 2.5 kb, detected by a mouse TGF-beta 1 cDNA probe, were coordinately expressed. The concentration of these species appeared to be maximal 6-12 h after application, and returned to control levels after 48 h. A second, less intense maximum was observed 72-96 h after treatment. Similar effects were observed in CD-1 and HRS (both hr/hr and hr/+) mice, which are also sensitive to B[a[] tumorigenesis. In comparison with 32 and 64 micrograms/week a dose rate of 16 micrograms/week was essentially without activity in increasing TGF-beta 1 RNA concentration. All three dose rates induced an increase in epidermal RNA for ornithine decarboxylase, however, and with kinetics similar to those observed with the potent tumor-promoting phorbol ester 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate. The results obtained support other findings made in this laboratory, that at high dose rates above 16 micrograms tumorigenesis by B[a]P involves a strong tumor-promoting component. The latter further appears to be mediated by increased TGF-beta 1 expression.
Correlation energy of an electron gas at high density: plasma oscillations

The contribution from zero-point plasma oscillations to the correlation energy of an electron gas at high density is considered, using the exact high- density theory of GellMann and Brueckner and of Sawada. The plasmon energy is determined as a function of q by an eigenvalue equation identical with the dispersion relation of Bohm and Pines. The plasma solutions are stable only below the energymomentum values at which they merge with the continuum spectrum arising from particle excitation, thus introducing a natural cutoff into the theory. At high density, however, it is shown that this cutoff can be allowed to become infinite without affecting the correlation energy. The contribution from the plasma energy is exactly re-expressed in terms of the contribution from the scattering states by making use of the analytic properties of the scattering amplitudes. This transformation also establishes the connection between the Gell- Mann-Brueckner and Sawada results. Some remarks are finally made on the relation between these results and those of Bohm and Pines. (auth)
Comparison of immature sorghum midge (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) development on resistant and susceptible sorghums

Development of immature sorghum midges, Contarinia sorghicola (Coquillett), in spikelets of a resistant and susceptible sorghum, Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench, hybrid was compared by periodically collecting spikelets from midge-infested panicles, and by dissecting the spikelets under a stereomicroscope. Proportionally, a greater number of midges reached the late immature instars (large larvae and pupae) in spikelets of the susceptible hybrid compared with the resistant hybrid. In addition, a higher proportion of large larvae and pupae were positioned next to the caryopsis in spikelets of the susceptible hybrid compared with the resistant hybrid. Tolerance was not an important resistance mechanism.
Sphingosine 1-phosphate analogs as receptor antagonists.

Sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) is a lysophospholipid mediator that evokes a variety of cell and tissue responses via a set of cell surface receptors. The recent development of S1P receptor agonists, led by the immunomodulatory pro-drug FTY720, has revealed that S1P signaling is an important regulator of lymphocyte trafficking. With the twin goals of understanding structure-activity relationships of S1P ligands and developing tool compounds to explore S1P biology, we synthesized and tested numerous S1P analogs. We report herein that a subset of our aryl amide-containing compounds are antagonists at the S1P1 and S1P3 receptors. The lead compound in series, VPC23019, was found in broken cell and whole cell assays to behave as a competitive antagonist at the S1P1 and S1P3 receptors. The structure-activity relationship of this series is steep; for example, a slight modification of the lead compound resulted in VPC25239, which was one log order more potent at the S1P3 receptor. These new chemical entities will enable further understanding of S1P signaling and provide leads for further S1P receptor antagonist development.
Volatile mercury release from vascular plants

Sixty-four species of vascular plants were tested for their ability to release volatile mercury. Rates ranged from 0.001 to 39.5 μg.kg−1.hr−1 depending upon species and method of measurement. Of 13 monocot families 9 contained at least one species capable of Hg emission and of 19 dicot families, 14 possessed this ability.
Predictability and number of pairings in the establishment of a secondary reinforcer

Rats were given appetitive secondary reinforcement training under three conditions in a Skinner box. In the first condition, CSs and USs occurred randomly and independently; in the second condition, USs intermittently followed CSs, but did so within a specific time period; in the third condition, USs consistently followed CSs within a specific time period. Following acquisition, a test phase was given in which CSs were contingent upon bar pressing. The first condition resulted in less secondary reinforcement acquisition than either of the other two conditions.
Entrainment of 2 subjective nights by daily light:dark:light:dark cycles in 3 rodent species.

Recent work with exotic 24-h light:dark:light:dark (LDLD) cycles indicates surprising flexibility in the entrainment patterns of Syrian hamsters. Following exposure to an LDLD cycle, hamsters may adopt a form of rhythm splitting in which markers of subjective night (e.g., activity, melatonin) are expressed in each of the twice daily scotophases. This pattern contrasts markedly with that of conventionally entrained hamsters in which markers of subjective night are expressed once daily in only 1 of the 2 dark periods. The "split" entrainment pattern was examined further here in Syrian and Siberian hamsters and in mice exposed to LDLD 7:5:7:5, a condition that reliably induces split activity rhythms in all 3 species. The phase angle of entrainment and activity duration were generally similar comparing the 2 daily activity bouts in each species. The stability of this split entrainment state was assessed by deletions of photophases on individual days, by exposure to skeleton photoperiods, and by transfer to constant darkness. As in Syrian hamsters, the one-time substitution of darkness for one 7-h photophase did not grossly alter activity patterns of Siberian hamsters but acutely disrupted the split rhythms of mice. Skeleton light pulses of progressively shorter duration did not significantly alter split entrainment patterns of either Syrian or Siberian hamsters. Both species continued to exhibit stable entrainment with activity expressed in alternate scotophases of an LD 1:5 cycle presented 4 times daily. In contrast, the split activity rhythms of mice were not maintained under skeleton pulses. In constant darkness, rhythms of Siberian hamsters remained distinctly split for a minimum of 2 cycles. Split entrainment to these novel LDLD and 4-pulse skeleton lighting regimes demonstrates a marked degree of plasticity common to the circadian systems of several rodent species and identifies novel entrainment patterns that may be reliably elicited with simple environmental manipulations. Inter- and intraspecific differences in the stability of split activity rhythms likely reflect differences in coupling interactions between the component circadian oscillators, which, adopting separate phase relations to these novel LD cycles, yield a split entrainment pattern.
Abstract B106: Alcohol consumption and TMPRSS2:ERG gene fusion in prostate cancer

Objectives: The novel TMPRSS2:ERG gene fusion is a common somatic event in prostate cancer that in some studies is linked with a more aggressive disease phenotype. TMPRSS2 is strongly regulated by androgens, and our preliminary data suggests that TMPRSS2:ERG‐positive tumor cells may be more responsive to IGF signaling pathways. Alcohol consumption has been shown to be associated with a number of hormones in men, including higher total and free testosterone levels, and lower circulating IGF‐1. Thus, this study aims to determine whether increased alcohol consumption levels are associated with the presence of TMPRSS2:ERG‐negative prostate cancer. Methods: We evaluated the association of baseline alcohol consumption with the risk of developing TMPRSS2:ERG gene fusion‐positive and ‐negative prostate cancer nested among 16,601 men in the Physicians9 Health Study I, 1982–2008. Alcohol consumption levels were defined as low (0–3 drinks/month), moderate (1–6 drinks/week), and daily (1+ drinks/day). We characterized the TMPRSS2:ERG fusion using fluorescent in situ hybridization assay on tissue microarrays constructed from paraffin‐embedded prostate cancer specimens (N=317). We applied Cox proportional hazards regression, separately for fusion‐positive and ‐negative prostate cancer, to compare the effects of alcohol use on the risk of developing prostate cancer, controlling for baseline characteristics and dietary factors. Results: Of 317 cases, 42.6% were fusion positive. The risk of developing TMPRSS2:ERG‐positive prostate cancer tended to decrease with each increasing level of alcohol consumption (p‐trend 0.30). Compared to men with low consumption, the hazard ratio was 0.90 (95% Confidence Interval [CI] 0.59–1.37) for men with moderate intake and 0.75 (95% CI 0.44–1.28) for men with daily intake. The risk of developing TMPRSS2:ERG‐negative prostate cancer increased with each increasing level of alcohol consumption (p‐trend 0.03). Compared to men with low consumption, the hazard ratio was 1.02 (95% CI 0.69–1.49) for men with moderate intake and 1.58 (95% CI 1.04–2.41) for men with daily intake. Conclusions: Prostate cancer is a heterogeneous disease that may be defined by molecular subtypes such as the TMPRSS2:ERG fusion. The regulation of TMPRSS2:ERG by androgens and possibly IGF suggests that the epidemiology may differ for fusion‐positive and ‐negative prostate cancer. Results from our study suggest that alcohol consumption is more likely related to the development of TMPRSS2:ERG‐negative prostate cancer tumors rather than TMPRSS2:ERG‐positive prostate cancer tumors. Understanding external modifiable risk factors such as diet and lifestyle will help emphasize the importance of individual behavior in the prevention of prostate cancer development and progression. Citation Information: Cancer Prev Res 2010;3(1 Suppl):B106.
The Ivory-Billed Woodpecker, Ecopsychology, and the Crisis of Extinction: On Annihilating and Nurturing Other Beings, Relationships, and Ourselves

This study is an exploration of today's mass extinction of species and mass extinction of relationships: When species become extinct and ecosystems are destroyed, distinctive interrelationships are extinguished. Humans and nature are mutually impoverished. This crisis of consciousness and culture involves our exclusive identification as (supposedly) separate egoic subjects, dissociation of humans and nature, and anthropocentrism. An emerging psychocultural therapy may help us transcend such narcissistic alienation and realize our nondual intimacy with the rest of nature. The primacy of interrelating is explored via Merleau-Ponty's phenomenological ontology and Buddhist psychology. Direct experiences with nature interact in mutually enhancing ways with interpersonal relationships and sociocultural structures/discourses that value nature.We may thereby cultivate mutual intimacy, health, and justice in our intersubjective relationships with the natural world.
Topography and tectonics of the central New Madrid seismic zone: Results of numerical experiments using a three‐dimensional boundary element program

We present results of a series of numerical experiments designed to test hypothetical mechanisms that derive deformation in the New Madrid seismic zone. Experiments are constrained by subtle topography and the distribution of seismicity in the region. We use a new boundary element algorithm that permits calcuation of the three-dimensional deformation field. Surface displacement fields are calculated for the New Madrid zone under both far-field (plate tectonics scale) and locally derived driving strains. Results demonstrate that surface displacement fields cannot distinguish between either a far-field simple or pure shear strain field or one that involves a deep shear zone beneath the upper crustal faults. Thus, neither geomorphic nor geodetic studies alone are expected to reveal the ultimate driving mechanism behind the present-day deformation. We have also tested hypotheses about strain accommodation within the New Madrid contractional step-over by including linking faults, two southwest dipping and one vertical, recently inferred from microearthquake data. Only those models with step-over faults are able to predict the observed topography. Surface displacement fields for long-term, relaxed deformation predict the distribution of uplift and subsidence in the contractional step-over remarkably well. Generation of these displacement fields appear to require slip on both the two northeast trending vertical faults and the two dipping faults in the step-over region, with very minor displacements occurring during the interseismic period when the northeast trending vertical faults are locked. These models suggest that the gently dippling central step-over fault is a reverse fault and that the steeper fault, extending to the southeast of the step-over, acts as a normal fault over the long term.
Treatment of Advanced Ovarian Carcinoma in the Elderly

Abstract This study retrospectively analyzes the treatment of advanced ovarian cancer (Stages III and IV) in elderly patients (⩾65) compared to that in younger patients ( 2 , log rank, Kaplan-Meier, and Cox model analyses were performed for multiple variables including age, grade of tumor, adequacy of surgery, and dose intensity. The elderly significantly differed from the young in the following analyses: median length of hospitalization, 20 days vs 11 days ( P P = 0.02); initial chemotherapeutic dose reduction, 15.4% vs 0% ( P = 0.02); median survival compared to age, 19.2 months vs 36.7 months ( P
Wild-type p53 activates transcription in vitro

The p53 protein is an important determinant in human cancer and regulates the growth of cells in culture. It is known to be a sequence-specific DNA-binding protein with a powerful activation domain, but it has not been established whether it regulates transcription directly. Here we show that intact purified wild-type human and murine p53 proteins strongly activate transcription in vitro. This activation depends on the ability of p53 to bind to a template bearing a p53-binding sequence. By contrast, tumour-derived mutant p53 proteins cannot activate transcription from the template at all, and when complexed to wild-type p53, these mutants block transcriptional activation by the wild-type protein. Moreover, the simian virus 40 large T antigen inhibits wild-type p53 from activating transcription. Our results support a model in which p53 directly activates transcription but this activity can be inhibited by mutant p53 and SV40 large T antigen through interaction with wild-type p53.
Multiscale, Heterogeneous Computer Aided Design Representation for Metal Alloy Microstructures

Most heterogeneous computer aided design (CAD) representations in the literature represent materials using a volume fraction vector, which may not by physically realizable or meaningful. In contrast, the multiscale, heterogeneous CAD representation presented here models materials using their microstructure. For the specific metal alloys of interest in this work, the material model is a probabilistic model of grain characteristics, represented as cumulative distribution functions (CDFs). Several microstructure reconstruction algorithms are presented that enable different alloy grain structures to be reconstructed in a part model. Reconstructions can be performed at any desired size scale, illustrating the multiscale capability of the representation. A part rendering algorithm is presented for displaying parts with their material microstructures. The multiscale, heterogeneous CAD representation is demonstrated on two Inconel alloys and is shown to be capable of faithfully reconstructing part representations consistent with the probabilistic grain models.