cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Reversal of spinal cord non-opiate analgesia by conditioned anti-analgesia in the rat

Abstract The spinal cord contains endogenous substances (such as cholecystokinin, FMRFamide, etc.) that can block the analgesic effects of opiates. Anti-opiate actions have been most commonly studied by exogenous administration of receptor agonists and receptor antagonists of these substances. However, we have recently demonstrated that anti-analgesia can be brought under environmental control through Pavlovian conditioning. Whereas analgesia can be conditioned to signals for danger, anti-analgesia can be conditioned to signals for safety. Using this paradigm, we have previously demonstrated that conditioned anti-analgesia can reverse a variety of opiate analgesic states, including those produced by conditioned danger signals, systemic morphine, and intrathecal μ - and δ -opiate receptor agonists. These data raise the question of the generality of anti-analgesia actions. The present series of experiments examined the ability of conditioned anti-analgesia to affect non-opiate analgesic states induced by spinal delivery of GABA A , GABA B , 5HT 2 +5HT 1 , and 5HT 3 receptor agonists. While conditioned anti-analgesia had no effect on GABA A or 5HT 2 +5HT 1 non-opiate analgesias, conditioned anti-analgesia completely blocked GABA B and 5HT 3 non-opiate analgesias. These findings clearly demonstrate that conditioned anti-analgesia can powerfully modulate non-opiate as well as opiate analgesias and bring into question whether putative anti-opiate neuroactive substances may have broader actions than previously suggested.
Considerations in voice transformation with physiologic scaling principles

Abstract This study begins to explore the importance of the physiological domain in voice transformation. A general approach is outlined for transforming the voice quality of sentence-level speech while maintaining the same phonetic content. Transformations will eventually include gender, age, voice quality, emotional state, disordered state, dialect or impersonation. In this paper, only a specific voice quality, twang, is described as an example. The basic question is: relative to pure signal processing, can voices be transformed more effectively if biomechanical, acoustic and anatomical scaling principles are applied? At present, two approaches are contrasted, a Linear Predictive Coding approach and a biomechanical simulation approach.
Automatic stimulation triggered by bioelectrical events

Abstract A simple system is described for triggering a stimulator automatically upon the appearance of high amplitude phasic potentials in the EEG, EMG or EOG. These signals are amplified and applied to a neon lamp amplitude discriminator whose output is differentiated to provide the necessary trigger pulses. Elaboration of the basic circuit enables the height of the trigger pulses to be standardized.
Computing economic equilibria using benefit and surplus functions

This paper suggests some new algorithms for the computation of equilibria for private ownership competitive economies. The algorithms are based on two principles related to economic equilibria termed, respectively, thezero-maximum principle and thezero-minimum principle. These principles relate equilibria to certain optimization problems, and these relations can be used as a basis for actually computing equilibria. The algorithms suggested in this paper employ a standard fixed-point method as a fundamental component, as do other general purpose algorithms for determining equilibria. However, in this paper the fixed-point methods are applied to mappings that are derived from the optimization principles related to equilibria, and these mappings have several attractive features. Especially attractive is the fact that the mappings can be defined either with respect to prices (inm dimensions, wherem is the number of commodities) or with respect to utility levels (inn dimensions, wheren is the number of representative consumers). In applications, typicallyn is much less thanm and hence great efficiency is achieved by using the algorithms that are defined with respect to utility levels. Some computational experience with these algorithms is reported in this paper. This experience confirms the feasibility of using the algorithms and indicates an exceptional degree of reliability and speed.
Population and Consumption: Environmental Problems as Problems of Scale

Almost every time I teach environmental topics to undergrad uate students, at least one student confidently states the opinion that environmental problems are most basically caused by human population growth, and that if we could control population growth, that would be the end of the problems. Although I try never to show how appalled I am by ignorance among students?especially when they are volunteering opinions in a process of thinking through problems?I admit that in these cases I must consciously restrain myself from rebuking the student aloud. What is more appalling is that I fear that this belief is shared by many adults in the United States and perhaps throughout the developed world. This woefully oversimpli fied formula for understanding environmental problems is not just oversimplified, it is also morally dangerous. When used in conjunction with the apparent fact that indus trially developed nations are bringing their population growth under control, the re duction of environmental problems to population problems brings about a not-so-sub tle shift of responsibility for existing and emerging environmental problems to the less-developed world. In class, I try to shake the students' complacency about their own role, pointing out to them that, if the blame for environmental damage can be lo cated in the act of parenting, they should realize that each American child born (given current consumption patterns) has 40 to 50 times the environmental impact of a child born in poorer nations. Huge proportions of that consumption are made possible by material flows from less-developed nations of the South into the industrialized North. Even when these material flows bring rapid economic growth, as in Indonesia, for ex ample, the environmental and cultural costs are enormous, and it is often the case that only elites benefit from this growth.
Promoting Physical Activity: Addressing Barriers and Moving Forward

The barriers that keep individuals from adopting and maintaining active lifestyles are very complex. Strategies for overcoming these barriers and to incentivize and assist inactive individuals to benefit from physical activity are necessary. In addition, it is important to examine the impact of public policy on active living. As youth physical inactivity has become a public health concern, organizations are seeking to increase the physical activity levels of inactive or low-active youth. Physical education has long been thought to be an ideal setting to promote physical activity and to prepare young people to participate in regular, appropriate physical activity to support health. Comments regarding the differences between physical activity and physical education are provided. Finally, the article presents an overview of national strategies for promoting physical activity with an emphasis on youth physical activity promotion.
A Chronicle of a Journey: An E-Mail Bounce Back System

Every email that originates from outside of an organization must go through a series of firewalls and gateways before reaching the intended recipient inside the organization. During this journey, each email may get scanned for possible viruses or other malicious programming codes. In some cases, the e-mail may also receive a score based on the possibility of spam content. On any stage of this processing email can be quarantined, or moved to a spam folder for the future possible analysis or simply deleted. Understandably, such complex structure helps secure the companyâ€™s internal infrastructure, however, e-mails have become an important tool in marketing for many e-commerce organizations and if marketing e-mails do not get to their intended receiver, the sending company will be disadvantaged. Therefore, from the point of view of the sender of an e-mail, it is important to understand the faith of the e-mail that was sent and whether it was received as intended. In this case study, we describe an e-mail bounce back system that was developed by a major e-commerce company in order to understand whether its e-mail based marketing was successful in delivering the intended message to its customers. In addition to the describing the development of the system, security and privacy issues are also discussed.
Prosodic Correlates of Stress in Babbling: An Acoustical Study

Prelinguistic babbling often seems remarkably speech-like, not because it has recognizable words but because it seems to have adult-like prosody. To quantify this impression, we compared disyllabic sequences from five infants and five adults in terms of the use of frequency, intensity, and duration to mark stress. Significantly larger values for the three acoustic variables were observed on stressed than on unstressed syllables independent of syllable position for both groups. Adults showed the correlates of utterance final syllables--lower f0, lower intensity, and longer duration; infants showed only decrease in intensity. Ratios for stressed to unstressed syllables and participation of the three variables in stress production in individual disyllables were highly similar in both groups. No bias toward the English lexical trochaic stress pattern was observed. We conclude that infants in English environments produce adult-like stress patterns before they produce lexical items, which specify stress. Acoustic and perceptual analyses are used to explore stress marking by prelinguistic infants in an English language environment. Results show that infants employ the three acoustic correlates of stress in individual syllables in a manner largely similar to that of adult speakers, although they do not show second-syllable declination effects or an English language trochaic stress bias.
Isolation of two somatic embryogenesis-related genes from orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata)

Orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata L.) leaf segments have a high capacity for direct embryogenesis from mesophyll cells and indirect embryogenesis through callus. Total RNA extracted from leaf cultures of embryogenic and nonembryogenic genotypes were used to generate two differentially expressed cDNA fragments. An embryogenic leaf culture cDNA library was screened with these fragments and two somatic embryogenesis-related genes designated DGE1 and DGE2 (for Dactylis glomerata embryogenesis) were identified. RNA blot analysis showed that the DGEs were expressed in embryogenic but not in nonembryogenic leaf cultures. DGE1 transcripts were detected in leaf cultures induced for direct and indirect embryogenesis, while DGE2 was found only in leaf cultures induced for direct embryogenesis. A 90 aa segment of DGE1 showed 81% identity with the WRKY DNA-binding protein 21 from Arabidopsis thaliana and contained the WRKY DNA-binding domain. The entire DGE2 sequence had no significant homology with any sequences contained in the Gene Bank. Both genes encode proteins with putative nuclear localization sequences. Collectively, our data indicate that DGE1 and DGE2 are somatic embryogenesis-related genes with possible nuclear regulatory functions. © 2002 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
Amorphous silicon-electrolyte interface

Abstract Amorphous silicon-electrolyte (AS-E) interface has been studied to determine the density of localized states in evaporated amorphous silicon films. Due to the large density of such states in amorphous semiconductors, very large fields are required to cause changes in the space-charge layer. AS-E system presents a more convenient system to meet this need for large fields than the usual MOS structure. A study of cpacitance as a function of bias shows that the density of localized states around E F is of the order of 10 18 /cm 3 · eV and that it is fairly uniform in the midgap region.
Long-period fiber gratings: sensors, sources, and beyond

Long period fiber grating devices are finding a broad range of applications as wavelength selective filters and spectrally selective sensors. In this paper I describe the theory and fabrication of long period fiber gratings, including mask considerations for UV fabrication, and give an overview of applications. Two applications are described in detail: an embeddable point sensor for strain and temperature in a structure, and an all-fiber, coupler-free Mach-Zehnder interferometer for WDM filtering applications.
The seismic spectrum, radiated energy, and the Savage and Wood inequality for complex earthquakes

Abstract We have integrated velocity squared spectra in order to determine the seismic energy radiated during fault rupture. The high frequency spectral fall-off and the shape of the spectrum at the corner frequency are critical to the energy calculation. High frequency spectral fall-offs of ω−2 beyond the corner frequency, in a Brune (1970) source model, return radiated energies approximately equal to that of an Orowan (1960) type fault failure, where the final stress level is equal to the dynamic frictional stress. Any spectra with an extended intermediate slope of ω−1 would therefore result in higher radiated energies. Savage and Wood (1971) proposed a model in which the final stress level was less than the dynamic stress level and that this was the result of “overshoot”. They based their model on the observation that the ratio of twice the apparent stress to the stress drop was typically around 0.3. We show that for such a ratio to exist high frequency spectral fall-offs of ≈ ω−3 would be required. Composite spectra have been constructed for several moderate to large earthquakes, these spectra have been compared to that predicted by the Haskell (1966) model and velocity squared spectra have been integrated to determine the radiated energy. In all cases this ratio, twice the apparent stress to the stress drop, is greater than or equal to one, violating the Savage and Wood (1971) inequality, and provides evidence against “overshoot” as a source model.
Exact solutions for a stream of bubbles in a Hele-Shaw cell

A new two-parameter family of exact solutions for an infinite stream of steady bubbles in an unbounded Hele-Shaw cell is obtained when surface tension is neglected. The bubble shapes found here correspond to a 90 degrees rotation of the solutions for a single bubble in a Hele-Shaw channel originally found by G. I. Taylor and P. G. Saffman.
Anon-line C++ class: implementation and experience

The on-line classroom project includes support for Web-based exams as well as a C++ program compile-execute-and-grade server. The paper discusses the design and implementation of the system as well as the experience to date.
The validation of an inventory for measuring depressive thoughts: The Crandell Cognitions Inventory.

Abstract The Crandell Cognitions Inventory (CCI) was demonstrated to be a valid and reliable measure of self-reported frequency of depressive thoughts developed on a clinically depressed population. The items individually and the scale as a whole significantly discriminate the cognitions of clinically depressed individuals from the thoughts of a nondepressed, psychiatric control group and a normal control group. The CCI demonstrates high internal consistency and a strong relationship to depth of depression. As predicted the scale has a moderately high correlation with depressive/distorted attitudes but shows little relationship to an extraneous variable: intelligence. As in other studies of depressive cognitions, no sex differences were found on the CCI. The results lend support to Beck's hypothesis that different nosological groups can be discriminated on the basis of specific cognitive content, and the results of a factor analysis support Beck's theory that the thoughts of depressed individuals are characterized by negative views of the self and the future. Partial support is provided for Beck's postulate that depressives hold negative views of the world.
Heteroscedastic ANOVA: old p values, new views

The generalization of the Behrens–Fisher problem to comparing more than two means from nonhomogeneous populations has attracted the attention of statisticians for many decades. Several approaches offer different approximations to the distribution of the test statistic. The question of statistical properties of these approximations is still alive. Here, we present a brief overview of several approaches suggested in the literature and implemented in software with a focus on investigating the accuracy of p values as well as their dependence on nuisance parameters and on the underlying assumption of normality. We illustrate by simulation the behavior of p values. In addition to the Satterthwaite–Fai–Cornelius test, the Kenward–Roger test, the simple ANOVA F test, the parametric bootstrap test, and the generalized F test will be briefly discussed.
Differential regulation of formyl peptide and platelet-activating factor receptors. Role of phospholipase Cbeta3 phosphorylation by protein kinase A.

Formylated peptides (e.g. n-formyl-Met-Leu-Phe (fMLP)) and platelet-activating factor (PAF) mediate chemotactic and cytotoxic responses in leukocytes through receptors coupled to G proteins that activate phospholipase C (PLC). In RBL-2H3 cells, fMLP utilizes a pertussis toxin (ptx)-sensitive G protein to activate PLC, whereas PAF utilizes a ptx-insensitive G protein. Here we demonstrate that fMLP, but not PAF, enhanced intracellular cAMP levels via a ptx-sensitive mechanism. Protein kinase A (PKA) inhibition by H-89 enhanced inositol phosphate formation stimulated by fMLP but not PAF. Furthermore, a membrane-permeable cAMP analog 8-(4-chlorophenylthio)-cAMP (cpt-cAMP) inhibited phosphoinositide hydrolysis and secretion stimulated by fMLP but not PAF. Both cpt-cAMP and fMLP stimulated PLCβ3phosphorylation in intact RBL cells. The purified catalytic subunit of PKA phosphorylated PLCβ3 immunoprecipitated from RBL cell lysate. Pretreatment of intact cells with cpt-cAMP and fMLP, but not PAF, resulted in an inhibition of subsequent PLCβ3phosphorylation by PKA in vitro. These data demonstrate that fMLP receptor, which couples to a ptx-sensitive G protein, activates both PLC and cAMP production. The resulting PKA activation phosphorylates PLCβ3 and appears to block the ability of Gβγ to activate PLC. Thus, both fMLP and PAF generate stimulatory signals for PLCβ3, but only fMLP produces a PKA-dependent inhibitory signal. This suggests a novel mechanism for the bidirectional regulation of receptors which activate PLC by ptx-sensitive G proteins.
Colorimetric determination of certain pteridines and purines.

Abstract Isoxanthopterin, 7-oxylumazine, guanine, and xanthine in sodium carbonate solution form orange-red derivatives with diazotized sulfanilic acid. This fact forms the basis of a rapid, sensitive, simple, and fairly specific colorimetric procedure for these compounds. The method is accurate and precise, and responds linearly from 0.5 to 500 micrograms of the reactive compounds. Related purines and pteridines, such as uric acid, adenine, pterin and xanthopterin, do not interfere with the method. The procedure has been used alone or in combination with enzymes to specifically analyze guanine, xanthine, 7-oxylumazine and isoxanthopterin in mixtures and biological extracts. In addition, the color test can be used to assay the activity of enzymes which produce or degrade these pteridines and purines.
Protein Response to Ligation Reactions in Myoglobin

A central question in Mb ligand binding is the dynamics and energetics of motion of the protein in response to ligation. Time-resolved infrared (TRIR) spectroscopy is uniquely suited as a probe for these processes, particularly the behavior of the protein, which generally is not observable by other spectroscopies [1].
Melatonin and thyroxine: Influence on compass orientation in salamanders

Tiger salamanders (Ambystoma tigrinum) trained as larvae to orient in a particular compass direction reverse their direction of movement approximately at metamorphosis, but the timing of reversal is not closely related to developmental stage. Although exogenous thyroxine facilitates metamorphosis, it does not simultaneously trigger reversal of movement (Fig. 1). The reversal occurs even if the animals are deprived of a continuous view of the sky. Administration of pulses of exogenous melatonin at noon, but not serotonin or thyroxine, caused the larvae to shift their directional response about 90° clockwise (Figs. 2, 3). This result is consistent with the view that melatonin pulses mimic “lights-on” and act to phase-delay the animal's endogenous timekeeping mechanism.
Gephyrin expression and clustering affects the size of glutamatergic synaptic contacts.

We have recently shown that disrupting the expression and post-synaptic clustering of gephyrin in cultured hippocampal pyramidal cells, by either gephyrin RNAi (RNA interference) or over-expression of a dominant negative gephyrin-enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) fusion protein, leads to decreased number of post-synaptic gephyrin and GABAA receptor clusters and to reduced GABAergic innervation of these cells. On the other hand, increasing gephyrin expression led to a small increase in the number of gephyrin and GABAA receptor clusters and to little or no effect on GABAergic innervation. We are now reporting that altering gephyrin expression and clustering affects the size but not the density of glutamatergic synaptic contacts. Knocking down gephyrin with gephyrin RNAi, or preventing gephyrin clustering by over-expression of the dominant negative gephyrin-enhanced green fluorescent protein fusion protein, leads to larger post-synaptic PSD-95 clusters and larger pre-synaptic glutamatergic terminals. On the other hand, over-expression of gephyrin leads to slightly smaller PSD-95 clusters and pre-synaptic glutamatergic terminals. The change in size of PSD-95 clusters were accompanied by a parallel change in the size of NR2-NMDA receptor clusters. It is concluded that the levels of expression and clustering of gephyrin, a protein that concentrates at the post-synaptic complex of the inhibitory synapses, not only has homotypic effects on GABAergic synaptic contacts, but also has heterotypic effects on glutamatergic synaptic contacts. We are proposing that gephyrin is a counterpart of the post-synaptic glutamatergic scaffold protein PSD-95 in regulating the number and/or size of the excitatory and inhibitory synaptic contacts.
Cross-modulation and intermodulation performance of MOS-FET's in tuned high-frequency amplifiers

The basic cross-modulation and intermodulation performance characteristics of MOS-FET's in a tuned amplifier at 75 MHz have been analysed, measured and compared for a wide range of power gain variations. The analysis uses the conventional Taylor Series approximation of the device transfer function and the corresponding measured d.c. and small-signal characteristics. The results of measurements and analyses indicate a fair degree of agreement, particularly when the device drain output non-linearity is negligible.
A Case of Generalized Tetanus Complicated with Hyperglycemic Coma

症例は62歳の男性。自宅で推定5日間倒れていたところを発見され他院を経て救急搬送となった。高血糖性昏睡,感染症のためICU入院治療施行していたが,第3病日,吸引刺激後,突然呼吸停止を起こし気管挿管,人工呼吸管理施行した。その後刺激による四肢の筋強直と自律神経活動異常の増悪がみられ,第7病日に全身型破傷風と診断し破傷風に対する治療を開始した。その後,集中治療管理で破傷風は改善し,第82病日にリハビリテーション目的に転院となった。入院当初より破傷風を示す臨床症症状があったにもかかわらず,他の合併症のため診断に苦慮した。本症例を通じて臨床症状より早期に破傷風と診断し重症化への予側と早期からの治療の必要性が考えられた。
Follow-up of small (4 mm or less) incidentally detected nodules by computed tomography in oncology patients: a retrospective review.

Introduction It is often not possible to determine whether small nodules detected on computed tomography (CT) in oncology patients are metastatic. We evaluated a group of oncology patients to determine the outcome of small pulmonary nodules and whether they can be ignored in the therapeutic decision process. Materials and Methods Radiology reports of thoracic CTs from a 2-year period were searched for keywords indicating a small pulmonary nodule. All CT images were evaluated by two thoracic radiologists for nodules 4 mm or less. There were 102 cases that met criteria for inclusion. Results Forty-seven had follow-up CT of less than 365 days, and 55 had follow-up CT for more than 365 days. For those with less than 365 days, the observed nodule was increased (17, 36%), increased and new nodules (9, 19%); stable (19, 40%); stable but new nodules developed (1); and decreased (1). For those with greater than 365 days follow-up, the observed nodule was increased (3, 5%); stable (51, 93%); and stable but new nodule developed (1). Combined, 28% of patient';s nodules increased (90% were within 365 days; 25% within 203 days; and 14% within 14 days). Conclusion In oncologic patients, 28% of small pulmonary nodules detected at initial CT will increase in size, suggesting metastasis. This increase in size tends to occur early, and follow-up CT in 3 months and 6 months would be appropriate in further evaluation. Small nodules that are stable in size for more than 365 days are unlikely to be pulmonary metastasis.
Calcitonin stimulates 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D production in diabetic rat kidney

In diabetic animals, there is a decrease in serum 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D [1,25(OH)2D] and in renal production of 1,25(OH)2D. In nondiabetic animals, renal 1,25(OH)2D production is markedly stimulated by parathyroid hormone (PTH) and calcitonin (CT). There is evidence that diabetes impairs the responsiveness of the kidney to PTH. The effect of diabetes on responsiveness to CT is unknown. The studies reported here determined the effect of streptozotocin-induced diabetes on renal responsiveness to PTH and CT. Experiments were performed in 7- to 8-week-old rats that were fed a diet sufficient in calcium and vitamin D and were thyroparathyroidectomized (TPTX) 5 days before hormone treatment. PTH (0.33 U/g body weight at 24, 12, and 2 hours before death) significantly increased renal 1,25(OH)2D production by threefold in nondiabetic rats. This effect was markedly attenuated by diabetes. On the other hand, CT (20 U/100 g body weight at 12 and 2 hours before death) produced a maximal response in both groups of animals. In diabetic rats, CT stimulated renal 1,25(OH)2D production fivefold, whereas PTH stimulated production only 1.5-fold. Diabetes did not affect the capacity of PTH to increase serum calcium or decrease renal tubular reabsorption of phosphorus (TRP). These findings suggest that the decrease in renal 1,25(OH)2D production seen in experimental diabetes may be due to decreased renal responsiveness to PTH, but not to decreased responsiveness to CT.
Antitermination of characterized transcriptional terminators by the Escherichia coli rrnG leader region.

We have used a plasmid antitermination test system to examine the response of an Escherichia coli rRNA operon antiterminator to transcription through Rho-dependent and Pho-independent terminator-containing fragments. We also monitored transcription through multiple copies of a terminator to explore the mechanism of rrn antitermination. Four principal observations were made about antitermination and transcriptional terminators. (1) The rrn antiterminator mediated efficient transcription through Rho-dependent terminators. (2) Under the influence of the rrn antiterminator, RNA polymerase transcribed through two and three copies of the Rho-dependent 16 S ⇐ terminator with nearly the same efficiency as through one. (3) The antiterminator had less effect on fragments containing Rho-independent terminators; the rpoC t fragment and three fragments derived from the rrnB terminator region stopped antiterminated transcription. Four other Rho-independent terminator fragments were weakly antiterminated in our test system. (4) Surprisingly, the strength of these terminator fragments was not strongly related to properties such as the −Δ G or number of trailing uridine residues of their canonical Rho-independent structures, but appears to be related to additional downstream terminators. We have drawn the following conclusions from these experiments. First, that ribosomal antitermination primarily reverses Rho-dependent termination by modifying the RNA polymerase elongation complex. Transcription through a 1700 nucleotide, multiple terminator sequence showed that the antiterminator caused persistent changes in the transcription process. Second, that fragments derived from the Rho-independent rrnB and rpoBC terminator regions can effectively stop antiterminated transcription. Third, that efficient in vivo termination may often involve regions with complex multiple terminators.
Naturally occurring genetic variation in the age‐specific immune response of Drosophila melanogaster

Summary Immunosenescence, the age-related decline in immuneresponse, is a well-known consequence of aging. To date,most studies of age-related changes in immune responsefocused on the cellular and physiological bases of thisdecline; we have virtually no understanding of the g eneticbasis of age-related changes in the immune system orif indeed such control exists. We used 25 chromosomesubstitution lines of Drosophila melanogaster derivedfrom a natural population to address three questions: (i)How is the function of the innate immune system influ-enced by age? (ii) Is there a genetic basis for phenotypicvariation in immune response at different ages? (iii) Isthere a genetic basis for differences in the way thatage influences the immune function? Virgin femalesfrom each line were assayed for immune response usingclearance of infection with Escherichia coli at 1 and 4weeks of age. We found significant genetic variationamong lines in immune response at each age. Unexpecte dly,when averaged across all lines, the immune responseactually improved with age. However, there was signifi-cant variation in the effect of age on immune responsewith 11 lines showing improvement, nine lines showingno change and five exhibiting a decline with age. Therewas no genetic correlation of immune response acrossages suggesting that different loci contribute to variationin immune response at each age. The genetic componentof the variation in immune response increased with age, apattern predicted by the mutation accumulation model ofsenescence. However, this increase in variation resultedin part from the improvement of the immune responsein some lines with age. Thus the observed changes ingenetic variation in immune function with age are notentirely explained by the mutation accumulation model.Key words: aging; immunosenescence; mutation accumu-lation; natural population; senescence.
Safety of Flexible Bronchoscopy, Rigid Bronchoscopy, and Endobronchial Ultrasound-Guided Transbronchial Needle Aspiration in Patients With Malignant Space-Occupying Brain Lesions

BACKGROUND Bronchoscopy in patients with space-occupying brain lesions is anecdotally felt to carry a high risk of neurologic complications. METHODS We conducted a retrospective cohort study of patients with evidence of a malignant, space-occupying brain lesion who were referred for flexible or rigid bronchoscopy or endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA). The primary outcome of interest was the incidence of neurologic complications following the procedures in these patients. RESULTS Of the 103 enrolled patients, flexible bronchoscopy was performed in 41, rigid bronchoscopy in 12, and EBUS-TBNA in 50. Among these patients, 41 (40') had evidence suggestive of increased intracranial pressure on imaging. Among all study patients, none (95' CI, 0-0.035) had neurologic, procedure-specific, or sedation-specific complications, and the level of care was not escalated in any of these patients. CONCLUSIONS On the basis of our findings, we recommend that procedures such as flexible or rigid bronchoscopy or EBUS-TBNA in patients with malignant space-occupying brain lesions should be considered reasonably safe as long as neurologic findings are stable.
Pseudorandom Generators for Read-Once ACC^0

We consider the problem of constructing pseudorandom generators for read-once circuits. We give an explicit construction of a pseudorandom generator for the class of read-once constant depth circuits with unbounded fan-in AND, OR, NOT and generalized modulo m gates, where m is an arbitrary fixed constant. The seed length of our generator is poly-logarithmic in the number of variables and the error.
On the planetary theory of sunspots

An investigation is conducted of the full tidal problem for Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Jupiter, the tide-raising planets, taking into account the complete orbital elements, including eccentricity, inclination, and their variation with time. Data for a comparison of tidal and sunspot dates are listed in a table. The investigation shows that the alignment of the tide-raising planets within 10 degrees is a common phenomenon, occurring approximately every 10.4 years. This alignment is not associated with drastic tidal effects.
Bubble bursting as an aerosol generation mechanism during an oil spill in the deep-sea environment: molecular dynamics simulations of oil alkanes and dispersants in atmospheric air/salt water interfaces

Potential of mean force (PMF) calculations and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were performed to investigate the properties of oil n-alkanes [i.e., n-pentadecane (C15), n-icosane (C20) and n-triacontane (C30)], as well as several surfactant species [i.e., the standard anionic surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), and three model dispersants similar to the Tween and Span species present in Corexit 9500A] at air/salt water interfaces. This study was motivated by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill, and our simulation results show that, from the thermodynamic point of view, the n-alkanes and the model dispersants have a strong preference to remain at the air/salt water interface, as indicated by the presence of deep free energy minima at these interfaces. The free energy minimum of these n-alkanes becomes deeper as their chain length increases, and as the concentration of surfactant species at the interface increases. The n-alkanes tend to adopt a flat orientation and form aggregates at the bare air/salt water interface. When this interface is coated with surfactants, the n-alkanes tend to adopt more tilted orientations with respect to the vector normal to the interface. These simulation results are consistent with the experimental findings reported in the accompanying paper [Ehrenhauser et al., Environ. Sci.: Processes Impacts 2013, in press, (DOI: 10.1039/c3em00390f)]. The fact that these long-chain n-alkanes show a strong thermodynamic preference to remain at the air/salt water interfaces, especially if these interfaces are coated with surfactants, makes these species very likely to adsorb at the surface of bubbles or droplets and be ejected to the atmosphere by sea surface processes such as whitecaps (breaking waves) and bubble bursting. Finally, the experimental finding that more oil hydrocarbons are ejected when Corexit 9500A is present in the system is consistent with the deeper free energy minima observed for the n-alkanes at the air/salt water interface at increasing concentrations of surfactant species.
Reconstitution of PKA-Dependent Modulation of Cardiac Cav1.2 Channels

L-type calcium currents through Cav1.2 channels initiate contraction in cardiac muscle. Their regulation by neurotransmitters and hormones through second messenger signaling cascades and protein kinase A (PKA) phosphorylation is a key controller of calcium signaling and contractile force. The α1 subunit C-terminus contains binding sites for multiple regulatory proteins including the PKA/A kinase anchoring protein 15 (AKAP15) complex. The C-terminal domain is proteolytically cleaved but reassociates non-covalently with the truncated channel and acts as a potent autoinhibitor of channel activity. Relief of autoinhibition by cellular regulatory signals acting on the C-terminus provides an attractive mechanism for producing the large increases in calcium current that are observed physiologically. In fact, consistent reconstitution of PKA-dependent regulation of Cav1.2 channels in non-muscle has been difficult to achieve. To reconstitute such PKA regulation, we optimized the expression of truncated Cav1.2 channels, the distal C-terminal domain, the α2δ subunit, and the β2b subunit to give a functional autoregulatory complex as assessed by whole-cell voltage clamp recordings of tsA-201 cells. Expression of the truncated Cav1.2 channel with the free distal domain resulted in large decreases in inward barium current and in coupling between voltage-dependent gating and pore opening. We hypothesized that AKAP15 expression would promote PKA association with the distal C-terminal of the channel and increase the likelihood of PKA-dependent phosphorylation. After optimizing AKAP15 expression, currents recorded in 5 μM forskolin were approximately 5-fold larger than those recorded in the presence of kinase inhibitor RO 31-8220 (1 uM). These findings show that the full-range of PKA-dependent modulation of Cav1.2 channels can be reproduced when an autoinhibitory complex is formed in this manner and provide a substrate for further studies of this physiologically important regulatory process.Supported by NIH grant HL007312-31 and AHA fellowship 09POST2080270.
Analogs of caffeine: Antagonists with selectivity for A2 adenosine receptors

Abstract Several analogs of caffeine have been investigated as antagonists at A 2 adenosine receptors stimulatory to adenylate cyclase in membranes from rat pheochromocytoma PC12 cells and human platelets and at A 1 adenosine receptors inhibitory to adenylate cyclase from rat fat cells. Among these analogs, 1-propargyl-3,7-dimethylxanthine was about 4- to 7-fold and 7-propyl-1,3-dimethylxanthine about 3- to 4-fold more potent than caffeine at A 2 receptors of PC12 cells and platelets. At A 1 receptors of fat cells, both compounds were about 2-fold less potent than caffeine. These caffeine analogs have an A 1 /A 2 selectivity ratio of about 10–20 and are the first selective A 2 receptor antagonists yet reported. The results may provide the basis for the further development of highly potent and highly selective A 2 adenosine receptor antagonists.
Initial study of 210Pb in indoor air.

An exploratory program was undertaken to determine the feasibility of measuring the indoor air concentration of 210 Pb. Low flow rate pumps and membrane filters were used to collect samples in an office. The air filter samples were stored for 1.6 y and 210 Po was chemically separated and measured by alpha spectrometry. Unsupported 210 Po was also determined in air samples collected at a later time. The average air concentrations were 150 μBq -1 Pb m -3 and 12 μBq 210 Po m -3 . The average indoor to outdoor ratio of 210 Pb in air is estimated to be 0.25
A Neutral Galactocerebroside Sulfate Sulfatidase from Mouse Brain

Abstract We have described an enzyme in brain that catabolizes galactocerebroside sulfatide with a pH optimum of 7.2. To our knowledge, this is the first description of a catabolic enzyme for sulfatide at a neutral pH. Activity at a neutral pH implies a non-lysosomal location for this sulfatidase. Galactocerebroside sulfate sulfatidase (n-sulfatidase) activity was not apparent in crude microsomal extracts and was detected following partial purification of the enzyme. This enzyme, n-sulfatidase, differs from other arylsulfatases in its Mr, inability to bind to concanavalin A, and substrate specificity; n-sulfatidase was unable to hydrolyze p-nitrocatechol sulfate or estrone sulfate. The molecular mass of n-sulfatidase obtained by Sephacryl S-200 chromatography was 72 kDa, and the active fraction from this procedure was purified >600-fold by isoelectric focusing. Following SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, two bands were obtained with apparent molecular masses of 58 and 66 kDa. Enzyme activity was regenerated from both of these bands, with the 66-kDa band showing greater activity. The Kof the sulfatidase was determined as 5.8 10 M. The pI of n-sulfatidase was 7.7 in contrast to the pI of 4.9 for the sulfotransferase. No requirement was found for Mgor ATP for sulfatidase activity; vitamin K1enhanced sulfatidase activity approximately 3.3-fold. Therefore, this enzyme may have a role in the pathogenesis of metachromatic leukodystrophy in which sulfatides accumulate in the nervous and other tissues and in myelination since sulfatides are an important component of myelin.
The Electric Field, Atmosphere and Effective Temperature of the Sun

The study of important electromagnetic effects in the solar atmosphere undertaken in previous papers is continued. It is shown that the large observed spread of effective temperatures of the sun's radiation can be accounted for by the presence of electric and magnetic fields in the solar atmosphere. The magnitude of the electric field at a level where the magnetic field is 25 gauss, calculated from the observed spread of temperatures, is found to be 0.015 volts.cm and agrees well with 0.013 volts/cm calculated earlier from the observed anomalous motions of the solar atmosphere. Gravitational equilibrium is found to be unnecessary in all regions of the atmosphere and it is shown that the "support" and stability of the chromosphere and its anomalous eastward motion are evidences of precisely the same electromagnetic mechanism. An electric field of the value given above is shown to account qualitatively for certain bright line spectra in the chromosphere of the sun. The strange observed relation between bright line spectra and rapid axial rotation of stars, just pointed out by O. Struve of the Yerkes Observatory, confirms in a striking manner some of the conclusions of this and earlier papers.
Cholinergic and adrenergic interactions in the thermoregulatory centers of the rat

Summary Systemic administration of pilocarpine causes a fall in body temperature in the rat. This effect can be reproduced by direct injection of the drug into the rostral hypothalamic thermoregulatory centers. The fall in temperature following systemic administration of pilocarpine can be attenuated or blocked by prior injection of norepinephrine into the rostral hypothalamus. Injection of α-blocking agents into the thermoregulatory centers, immediately preceding injection of norepinephrine at the same site, prevents the inhibitory effect of norepinephrine on the hypothermic response to systemic pilocarpine. It appears that temperature regulation involves a cholinergic link in the rostral hypothalamus. Catecholamines may also play a role in the control of body temperature by changing the degree of polarization of these cholinergic neurons and thus adjusting the sensitivity of the thermoregulatory centers. Such an adjustment of the membrane potentials by endogenous catecholamines could be a factor in the physiological regulation of the set point of the central thermostat.
An Economic View Of Electron Beam Lithography

Currently electron beam exposure systems with performance characteristics suitable for the rapid fabrication of high resolution photo master masks are coming onto the market. These machines also have the capability to write patterns directly onto silicon wafers with high accuracy and defect densities better than obtainable by optical techniques to date. Due to the high initial costs of these systems, the costs per mask at low throughput rates ( 1000 master masks per year), electron beam generated masks can be fabricated more economically than by conventional techniques. Additional benefits which also have an economic impact can be derived through the use of E-beam lithographic techniques due to the fast turn around of masks, and pattern flexibility on the same substrate. Also, the very low defect densities obtained using E-Beam techniques, substantially affect the economic viability of the very large scale integrated circuits (VLSI).© (1977) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
A comparative study of naticid gastropod predation on Varicorbula caloosae and Chione cancellata, Plio-Pleistocene of Florida, U.S.A.

Abstract Naticid gastropod predation on members of the bivalve family Corbulidae has been reported to be unusual in its lack of stereotypy, low rate of success, and lower frequency than predicted by a net energy maximization model. The cause behind these atypical patterns has been attributed to layers of conchiolin within the valve microstructure of corbulids, which are thought to inhibit shell penetration by naticids. The mechanism of shell penetration by drilling gastropods, as well as scattered instances of typical predation rates and patterns on corbulids suggest, however, that factors other than conchiolin layers should be investigated as potential causes of anomalous predation. We examined naticid-prey interactions by comparing naticid predation on Varicorbula caloosae and Chione cancellata from the Plio-Pleistocene of Florida. We tested for borehole site selectivity and prey size selectivity, two typically stereotyped behaviors. We compared the degree of predation success on both species, and compared observed prey-preference rankings with rankings predicted from cost/benefit analyses based on the net energy maximization model of Kitchell et al. (1981). We found that naticid predatory behavior was generally stereotyped in both species. The cases of unstereotyped predatory behavior on V. caloosae may be linked to its small size, rather than the presence of conchiolin layers. We also found that predicted rankings calculated from cost/benefit analyses were generally inconsistent with observed rankings; the size range of C. cancellata predicted to be the most profitable was not preferred. Size and size selectivity, however, are predictable from the net energy maximization model because they are behaviors that maximize net energy gain (Kitchell, 1986). Therefore, our results support the idea of naticids as energy maximizing predators, but we question the assumptions of the Kitchell et al. (1981) model, especially when applied to fossil assemblages.
Effects of periodic forcing on mixing in turbulent shear layers and wakes

The effects of a periodic disturbance, applied to the one of the the free streams, on large-scale structure and mixing processes in chemically reacting shear layers and wakes were investigated over a range of Reynolds numbers above and below the mixing transition range. Two different methods were employed to measure the amount of chemical product and thus the extent of molecular-scale mixing. Absorption by reacted phenolphthalein provided cross-stream average product thickness and laser induced fluorescence intensity provided the product concentration distribution. These methods provided, in addition, effective flow visualization of the large-scale structures and of their response to the periodic forcing. The detailed effects of periodic forcing on distribution of mixing along a free shear layer are complex, but the predominant, overall effect is to increase mixing at low Reynolds number (in respect to the mixing transition) and to decrease it at high Reynolds number.
Seasonal Moving‐average Unit Root Tests in the Presence of a Linear Trend

To distinguish stochastic from deterministic seasonality, test procedures are developed for a unit root in the integrated seasonal moving-average (SMA) model when an underlying deterministic trend is present. Locally best invariant unbiase (LBIU) and point optimal invariant tests are considered. Their asymptotic distributions are developed and are found to differ from those for the no-linear-trend case. The limiting distribution of the LBIU statistic is expressed as a functional of Brownian motions. The procedures are extended to more general seasonal autoregressive moving-average (ARMA) models, and to the inclusion of exogenous regressors. Finite-sample distributions are also derived for the SMA(1) model. Simulations suggest that these distributions provide accurate approximations for more general ARMA models. A numerical example is included to illustrate the tests.