cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Nucleotide sequence of the rice cytochrome f gene and the presence of sequence variation near this gene.

Abstract The rice (Oryza saliva L. var. Labelle) chloroplast (cp) gene encoding cytochrome ⨍ has been isolated and sequenced. The coding region of this rice gene displays 95.1%, 85.3% and 85.2% nucleotide sequence homology with that of wheat, pea and spinach, respectively. To examine the cpDNA sequence variation in rice, cpDNA from Labelle and its parents, Belle Patna and Dawn was compared. Using the cytochrome ⨍ gene as the probe for hybridization, we found several differences in the size and number of restriction fragments in the cp genome of three rice varieties. An additional restriction fragment found in the Belle Patna cp suggests that this cp genome is either heterogeneous or contains two copies of cytochrome ⨍ gene per cpDNA.
The Best Published Result is Random: Sequential Testing and its Effect on Reported Effectiveness

Reusable test collections allow researchers to rapidly test different algorithms to find the one that works "best". But because of randomness in the topic sample, or in relevance judgments, or in interactions among system components, extreme results can be seen entirely due to chance, particularly when a collection becomes very popular. We argue that the best known published effectiveness on any given collection could be measured as much as 20% higher than its "true" intrinsic effectiveness, and that there are many other systems with lower measured effectiveness that could have substantially higher intrinsic effectiveness.
TEL-AML1 and BCR-ABL: different leukemias, similar questions

NEOPLASIA Leukemias expressing either the TEL-AML1 or BCR-ABL fusion transcript reflect two ends of a clinical spectrum. The TEL-AML1 fusion is expressed in at least 20% of children with the most curable form of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), which peaks in incidence between 2 and 6 years of
The pathogenesis of contact lens-related keratitis

Bacterial infection of the cornea is a rare, but sight-threatening, complication of contact lens wear that was first reported shortly after soft lenses were introduced onto the market in the 1970s. During the past 3 decades, various attempts to solve the problem with new lens types and lens care products have failed to make a significant impact on its incidence. Eliminating contact lens-related infections will likely require a better understanding of the ocular defense system, microbial virulence strategies, how they affect one another, and the effects of contact lens wear on both. Each of these topics is complex. Although research in this area is therefore challenging and necessitates a multidisciplinary approach, what we are learning along the way has significance beyond contact lens-related infection and could ultimately lead to the development of new strategies to prevent this and a range of other sight- and life-threatening diseases.
Effect on Blood Picture of 15-Day Embryo of Liver Extract Injected into Pregnant Rat.

Summary1. Potent and standardized liver preparations were injected into normal pregnant rats before, during and after the anlage of the mesoderm in the developing embryo. 2. Differential counts were made on wet and dry smears of blood from 15-day fetuses and the percent of non-nucleated red cells present taken as an index of maturation of the blood picture. 3. In a series of 264 treated and untreated fetuses from 66 litters of rats, statistical analysis of the data indicates the response in liver-treated animals to be within the range of biological variation.
The Nutrition of Pseudomonas Putrefaciens I. Nitrogen Requirements

Summary Nine of ten cultures of Ps. putrefaciens failed to grow in media containing ammonium salts as a source of nitrogen. Certain amino acids, asparagine, numerous complex hydrolyzed proteins, and intact protein materials were utilized. Hydrolyzed proteins afforded the best growth of the test cultures. One culture of Ps. putrefaciens which utilized ammonium salts, amino acids, and asparagine as a source of nitrogen grew relatively poorly in complex organic nitrogenous materials.
Effect of ethanol on subthreshold currents of Aplysia pacemaker neurons.

Abstract The subthreshold currents in bursting pacemaker neurons of the Aplysia abdominal ganglion were individually studied with the voltage clamp technique for sensitivity to 4% ethanol. The most prevalent effect ofethanol on unclamped bursting neurons was a hyperpolarization. This was shown to be due to a decrease of a voltage independent inward leakage current. Direct measurement of the Na-dependent slow inward current showed that this current was eliminated by 4% ethanol. Direct measurement of the Ca-dependent slow inward current showed that this current was substantially reduced by 4% ethanol. Injection of EGTA into cell bodies did not eliminate the ethanol-induced block of the slow inward calcium current. Thus, ethanol cannot be reducing the Ca-dependent slow inward current solely by an increase of internal calcium concentration. The effect of ethanol on voltage dependent outward current was measured by blockage of all inward current. The peak outward current was increased by ethanol. The rate of inactivation of this outward current was also increased. Calcium activated potassium current (IK(Ca)) is particularly complicated in its response to ethanol because it is dependent on both Ca and voltage for its activation. The level of IK(Ca) elicited in response to constant Ca injection was increased by ethanol treatment. The level of this current as activated by voltage clamp pulses was either increased or decreased depending on the neuron type. Ca2+ activated potassium conductance increased e-fold for a 26 mV depolarization in membrane holding potential. Ethanol decreased this voltage dependence to e-fold for a 55 mV change in potential. This result was interpreted to mean that ethanol shifted an effective Ca2+ binding site of these channels from about halfway through the membrane field to one quarter of the way across. The same theoretical approach allowed the further conclusion that ethanol caused an increased internal free calcium concentration probably by decreasing calcium binding by intracellular buffers.
Inhibition of ribosomal polyphenylalanine synthesis by soluble fractions from Escherichia coli B

Abstract Soluble fractions of Escherichia coli B have been found to inhibit polyphenylalanine synthesis when added to the ribosomal system. The substance(s) involved appears to be an altered transfer RNA.
Single-molecule junctions beyond electronic transport

This Review describes emerging techniques for characterizing the fundamental properties of molecular junctions besides electronic transport. The idea of using individual molecules as active electronic components provided the impetus to develop a variety of experimental platforms to probe their electronic transport properties. Among these, single-molecule junctions in a metal–molecule–metal motif have contributed significantly to our fundamental understanding of the principles required to realize molecular-scale electronic components from resistive wires to reversible switches. The success of these techniques and the growing interest of other disciplines in single-molecule-level characterization are prompting new approaches to investigate metal–molecule–metal junctions with multiple probes. Going beyond electronic transport characterization, these new studies are highlighting both the fundamental and applied aspects of mechanical, optical and thermoelectric properties at the atomic and molecular scales. Furthermore, experimental demonstrations of quantum interference and manipulation of electronic and nuclear spins in single-molecule circuits are heralding new device concepts with no classical analogues. In this Review, we present the emerging methods being used to interrogate multiple properties in single molecule-based devices, detail how these measurements have advanced our understanding of the structure–function relationships in molecular junctions, and discuss the potential for future research and applications.
Formation of Cage Compounds Containing Boron, Phosphorus, and Transition Metal Atoms.

The 1:1 reactions with (R(3)P)(2)MCl(2) (M = Ni, Pd, and Pt) have been surveyed, and bicyclic cage compounds containing boron, phosphorus and transition metal (Ni, Pd, or Pt) atoms have been isolated and characterized. The molecular structures of the species (Et(3)P)(2)Pd(PBN(i)Pr(2))(2) (2), (Et(3)P)(2)Pd(PBtmp)(2) (3), and (Et(3)P)(2)Pt(PBN(i)Pr(2))(2) (4) have been determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction techniques. 2 crystallized in the monoclinic space group C2/c with a = 20.212(4) A, b = 10.225(1) A, c = 17.460(2) A, beta = 107.72(1) degrees, and Z = 4. 3 crystallized in the orthorhombic space group P2(1)2(1)2(1) with a = 12.606(1) A, b = 12.618(1) A, c = 24.221(3) A, and Z = 4. 4 crystallized in the monoclinic space group C2/c with a = 20.195(3) A, b = 10.187(2) A, c = 17.280(2) A, beta = 107.53(7) degrees, and Z = 4. The spectroscopic and structural features of the new cage compounds are discussed in relation to their main group element cage analogs.
Analysis and Comparison of Replicated Declustering Schemes

Declustering distributes data among parallel disks to reduce the retrieval cost using I/O parallelism. Many schemes were proposed for the single-copy declustering of spatial data. Recently, declustering using replication gained a lot of interest and several schemes with different properties were proposed. An in-depth comparison of major schemes is necessary to understand replicated declustering better. In this paper, we analyze the proposed schemes, tune some of the parameters, and compare them for different query types and under different loads. We propose a three-step retrieval algorithm for the compared schemes. For arbitrary queries, the dependent and partitioned allocation schemes perform poorly; others perform close to each other. For range queries, they perform similarly with the exception of smaller queries in which random duplicate allocation (RDA) performs poorly and dependent allocation performs well. For connected queries, partitioned allocation performs poorly and dependent allocation performs well under a light load.
Effect of autoionization on the production rates of vibrationally excited O2+ by solar photoionization☆

Abstract The Fano configuration-interaction theory of autoionization is used to calculate the partial photoionization cross-sections for production of diatomic molecular ions in specific vibrational and electronic states. Expressions are presented which are useful in analysing photoelectron spectra when the exciting radiation (sharp lines or continuum) is in the vicinity of autoionizing states. The vibrational distribution in O2+(X2Пg) is calculated for both a uniform excitation continuum and with the solar vacuum-ultraviolet spectrum as an excitation source; the necessary oscillator strengths and autoionization lifetimes are determined from published photoelectron, photoionization, and absorption spectra of O2. Autoionization of the upper states of the Hopfield bands produces highly vibrationally excited ions. About 5 per cent of the O2+ produced by solar photoionization have more than 1 eV of vibrational energy.
The DSB method—Persuasive writing made simpler

As I have discussed in previous columns, successful technical documents possess critical qualities. One of these and the one most commonly missing in weak documents is persuasiveness. Simply, persuasiveness is demonstrated value or utility to the reader. Weak writers assume value if they highlight the hoops through which they jumped in completing their work. This is not the case. Effort is not value; value is value, and it has to be shown. It's easy to misconstrue persuasion or selling the value with a vision of a scientist or engineer as a stereotypical used-car salesperson with a gaudy sports coat and a slap on the back. That is not the case. By selling or persuading, I mean overtly and unquestionably demonstrating value, utility, and benefits and not placing the burden of finding value on the reader . Most readers won't go looking for value, and the document will fall into the abyss of the eminently forgettable. No authors want that. So we agree that persuasion is an important quality. Then, why is it so often overlooked or ignored and how can writers increase the persuasiveness of their documents? The answer to the first question comes from the traditional structure of technical writing. This structure is IMRaD, an acronym for I ntroduction, M eans/Methods, R esults, and D iscussion. IMRaD is pervasive. It's pervasive because it's easy; it's easy because it simply follows the work chronology. As discussed below, that's also its weakness. Before we discuss that weakness, let's analyze the parallel between IMRaD and work chronology. The first thing the researcher does or has done is background reading. The first element of IMRaD, the Introduction, is typically a boatload of summaries of papers, books, reports, abstracts, theses, etc. Some authors attempt to focus the summaries on their work. More often the …
Exclusion Technique for Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm and Horseshoe Kidney

An exclusion technique was utilized in dealing with an abdominal aortic aneurysm with an overlying horseshoe kidney. Use of this technique rather than symphysiotomy was necessitated by 1) a primati...
Putting Our Heads Together: Collaborating for Student Success after Concussion

The fact that 1.6 to 3.8 million concussions occur each year as a result of sport and physical activity indicates the need for more people to have a better awareness of concussion management. This article describes why a team approach to concussion education is necessary, and provides specific strategies for concussion prevention.
Prospective multicenter trial of esophageal Z-stent placement for malignant dysphagia and tracheoesophageal fistula

Abstract Background: Conventional esophageal prosthesis placement has been associated with a 6% to 8% perforation rate and numerous postplacement complications. Expandable esophageal stents have been developed to preclude the above but there are few studies that have prospectively defined clinical results and subsequent stent-related complications. Methods: All patients who underwent esophageal Z-stent placement at nine university or referral hospitals were prospectively assessed. Data collected included patient demographics, acute and subacute placement problems, the ability to occlude airway fistulas, prestent and poststent dysphagia scores, and patient survival. Results: Fifty-four of 56 patients (96%) with refractory dysphagia or malignant esophagoairway fistulae had 73 Z-stents successfully inserted. Initial distal deployment occurred in 13% of the patients and an additional 17% required balloon dilation to achieve maximal diameter. Acute placement complications occurred in 11% of patients and included severe pain (3), bleeding from necrotic tumor (2), and hiatal hernia intussusception (1). No perforations occurred. Eight of 11 patients (73%) had complete tracheoesophageal fistula occlusion and mean dysphagia score (±SD) improved from 2.6 (0.7) to 1.1 (1.2) ( p Conclusions: The authors conclude that esophageal Z-stents can be placed safely and successfully in the majority of patients. The tendency of distal deployment during placement and subsequent migration problems at a time distant from placement in a patient subset deserve attention and are currently being addressed. (Gastrointest Endosc 1996;44:562-7.)
DARD: Distributed Adaptive Routing for Datacenter Networks

Data center networks typically have many paths connecting each host pair to achieve high bisection bandwidth for arbitrary communication patterns. Fully utilizing the bisection bandwidth may require flows between the same source and destination pair to take different paths. However, existing routing protocols have little support for load-sensitive adaptive routing. We propose DARD, a Distributed Adaptive Routing architecture for Data center networks. DARD allows each end host to move traffic from overloaded paths to under loaded paths without central coordination. We use an Open Flow implementation and simulations to show that DARD can effectively use a data center network's bisection bandwidth under both static and dynamic traffic patterns. It outperforms previous solutions based on random path selection by 10%, and performs similarly to previous work that assigns flows to paths using a centralized controller. We use competitive game theory to show that DARD's path selection algorithm makes progress in every step and converges to a Nash equilibrium in finite steps. Our evaluation results suggest that DARD can achieve a close-to-optimal solution in practice.
Communication-Related Sense-Making and Adjustment during Job Transfers

Sense-making research has generally focused on how newcomers adjust to organizations. This study examined how sense-making facilitates employee adjustment when employees experience geographic transfers, a form of nonentry transition. Based on a longitudinal study of 91 transferees, the authors found that transferees did experience unmet expectations during their transitions. In particular, their unmet expectations for organizational support and community were associated with negative adjustment beyond that explained by their initial expectations and background characteristics. However, employees who were better able to make sense (develop knowledge) of appropriate forms of task communication in their new environments tended to experience more positive adjustment than did those who developed less knowledge.
A two-population insurgency in Colombia: Quasi-predator-prey models-A trend towards simplicity

A sequence of analytic mathematical models has been developed in the context of the ''low-level insurgency'' in Colombia, from 1993 to the present. They are based on generalizations of the two-population ''predator-prey'' model commonly applied in ecological modeling, and interestingly, the less sophisticated models yield more insight into the problem than the more complicated ones, but the formalism is available to adapt the model ''upwards'' in the event that more data becomes available, or as the situation increases in complexity. Specifically, so-called ''forcing terms'' were included initially in the coupled differential equations to represent the effects of government policies towards both the narco-terrorist or insurgent (I) and susceptible (S) populations. These terms are in general functions of time, since it is to be expected that changes in policy will occur as the outcomes of previously implemented policies are recognized. Both continuous and discontinuous forcing functions can be appropriate for each population. Although nonhomogeneous systems are discussed for both populations, the majority of the analysis focused on a system with forcing terms for the terrorist population only. Two categories of models emerged: 1 - in which the time-dependent forcing terms were independent of the two populations, and 2 - in which these terms were directly proportional to the respective populations. Model 2 in fact, can be considered as a generalization of the unforced (or homogeneous) version of model 1, and as such is implemented to describe the data obtained for the insurgent population from 1993-2003. This provides some restrictions on the unknown parameters in the model. Because of new government policy towards the insurgent population as a result of the election of President Uribe in 2002, a slight but significant modification of this model is used to describe the I-population from 2003 to the present time, again resulting in useful relationships between the various model parameters. The data suggest that a further simplification in this model is appropriate beyond 2003, and an analytic solution was found for both populations. A further simplification results from examining the related decoupled system of equations, yielding a straightforward predictive model for the behavior of the S-population in particular. Finally, in the Appendix, detailed analysis of model 2 yields a general analytic solution of the system for a wide range of sub-models, expressible in terms of confluent hypergeometric functions.
Nonspanning bivalent ligands as improved surface receptor binding inhibitors of the cholera toxin B pentamer.

Abstract A series of bivalent ligands of varying length were synthesized to inhibit the receptor-binding process of cholera toxin. Competitive surface receptor binding assays showed that significant potency gains relative to the constituent monovalent ligands were achieved independently from the ability of the extended bivalent ligands to span binding sites within the toxin pentamer. Several models that could account for the unexpected improvement in IC 50 values are examined, taking into account crystallographic analysis of each ligand in complex with the toxin pentamer. Evidence is presented that steric blocking at the receptor binding surface may play a role. The results of our study suggest that the use of relatively short, "nonspanning" bivalent ligands, or monovalent ligands of similar topology and bulk may be an effective way of blocking the interaction of multimeric proteins with their cell surface receptors.
Verification of a Finite Element Method for Solving One-Dimensional Equations of Blood Flow Incorporating a Viscoelastic Wall Model

The one-dimensional (1-D) equations of blood flow consist of the conservation of mass equation, balance of momentum equation and a wall constitutive equation with arterial flow rate, cross-sectional area and pressure as the variables. 1-D models of blood flow enable the solution of large networks of blood vessels including wall deformability. Their level of detail is appropriate for applications such as modeling flow and pressure waves in surgical planning and their computational cost is low compared to three-dimensional simulations.Copyright © 2009 by ASME
First principles modeling of charged oxygen vacancy filaments in reduced TiO 2 –implications to the operation of non-volatile memory devices

Abstract First principles density functional theory calculations were employed to study the band structure of reduced rutile TiO2 and the implications of oxygen vacancy charge states on the switching mechanisms observed in resistance change random access memory devices. The formation of conductive paths in TiO2 composed of oxygen vacancy filaments were investigated using the LDA + U d + U p method to calculate the band-structure, electron localization functions, partial charge densities of defect states and the Bader charge decompositions. The thermodynamic stability of charged oxygen vacancies on resistive switching are discussed based on the defect formation energies and a resistive switching mechanism is proposed based on models of filament formation and rupture.
Molecular orbital theory of bonding of nitrogen atoms to Cu(100)

Abstract Using an approximate molecular orbital theory, a 4 to 32 metal atom model study is made of the bonding of N to Cu(100). On making adjustments of atomic ionization energies for charge transfer, the N 2p energies are found to shift 6–7 eV to a position above the Cu d band and midway in the s band. The N 2s energies are estimated to shift to a position 1–2 eV beneath the Cu d band. The calculated surface N structure and these shifts of energy levels are in agreement with a LEED-UPS study by Burkstrand et al. Further, it is shown that for systems of N on Cu surfaces, and probably certain other systems, Cu may be treated approximately as a 4s 1 atom, with significant reductions in computational effort. This allows an examination of NN interactions on a large cluster. Small clusters appears, as a result, to be adequate for structure and energy level determinations.
Thermodynamics and the conceptual structure of evolutionary theory.

Thermodynamics and evolutionary theory have spent most of their shared history in adversarial relationship to one another. The point of this paper is to consider some qualitative ways in which thermodynamics can enrich both the theory and epistemology of evolution. The “autonomy of biology” posture in evolutionary theory hangs on the supposed uniqueness of why-questions in biology. With this posture, and with the general obstruction of constructive dialogue between evolution and the physical sciences it fosters, come the perennial accusations that Darwinism deals in adaptational teleology but not mechanisms. Thermodynamics provides for a two-tiered hierarchy of causation in nature in which the why-question is rendered not only legitimate materialistically, but essential to understanding the evolutionary process in its totality—from the emergence of life to the branching of lineages in speciation.
Generalized sagnac effect.

Experiments were conducted to study light propagation in a light waveguide loop consisting of linearly and circularly moving segments. We found that any segment of the loop contributes to the total phase difference between two counterpropagating light beams in the loop. The contribution is proportional to a product of the moving velocity $\mathbit{v}$ and the projection of the segment length $\ensuremath{\Delta}\mathbit{l}$ on the moving direction, $\ensuremath{\Delta}\ensuremath{\phi}=4\ensuremath{\pi}\mathbit{v}\ifmmode\cdot\else\textperiodcentered\fi{}\ensuremath{\Delta}\mathbit{l}/c\ensuremath{\lambda}$. It is independent of the type of motion and the refractive index of waveguides. The finding includes the Sagnac effect of rotation as a special case and suggests a new fiber optic sensor for measuring linear motion with nanoscale sensitivity.
Mechanism and Enhanced Yield of Carbon Nanotube Growth on Stainless Steel by Oxygen-Induced Surface Reconstruction

It is well-known that carbon nanotubes (CNTs) can be grown directly on the surface of stainless steel (SS) alloys, because the native composition of SS contains elements that seed CNT growth upon hydrocarbon exposure at elevated temperature. Often such methods use acid immersion or oxidation in air to treat the surface prior to hydrocarbon exposure for CNT growth. However, there lacks a general understanding of how the surface chemistry and morphology influences the nucleation and growth of CNTs. Using environmental transmission electron microscopy, we observe that CNT growth is enabled by surface reconstruction of SS upon oxygen exposure at elevated temperature, followed by further breakup of the surface upon reduction, and subsequent CNT nucleation and growth upon hydrocarbon exposure. Using electron energy loss spectroscopy, we find that catalyst particles consist of both pure iron as well as iron alloys such as Fe–Cr and Fe–Ni. We use these insights to study the synthesis of CNTs on bulk net-shaped po...
Thermal equilibrium properties of surface hopping with an implicit Langevin bath

The ability of fewest switches surface hopping (FSSH) approach, where the classical degrees of freedom are coupled to an implicit Langevin bath, to establish and maintain an appropriate thermal equilibrium was evaluated in the context of a three site model for electron transfer. The electron transfer model consisted of three coupled diabatic states that each depends harmonically on the collective bath coordinate. This results in three states with increasing energy in the adiabatic representation. The adiabatic populations and distributions of the collective solvent coordinate were monitored during the course of 250 ns FSSH-Langevin (FSSH-L) simulations performed at a broad range of temperatures and for three different nonadiabatic coupling strengths. The agreement between the FSSH-L simulations and numerically exact results for the adiabatic population ratios and solvent coordinate distributions was generally favorable. The FSSH-L method produces a correct Boltzmann distribution of the solvent coordinate on each of the adiabats, but the integrated populations are slightly incorrect because FSSH does not rigorously obey detailed balance. The overall agreement is better at high temperatures and for high nonadiabatic coupling, which agrees with a previously reported analytical and simulation analysis [J. R. Schmidt, P. V. Parandekar, and J. C. Tully, J. Chem. Phys. 129, 044104 (2008)] on a two-level system coupled to a classical bath.
Supporting cells in avian vestibular organs proliferate in serum-free culture.

Abstract Explants of saccules and utricles taken from hatchling chicks were cultured in medium that contained fetal bovine serum and in serum-free medium. The mitotic tracers [ 3 H]thymidine and bromo-deoxyuridine were added to the media to label proliferating cells. High numbers of labeled supporting cells were found in cultures that were maintained in both serum-containing and serum-free media. After seven days in culture, some of the labeled cells had begun to differentiate as hair cells. The results suggest that any mitogenic factors necessary for supporting cell proliferation and the factors required for the initial stages of hair cell differentiation are produced by cells contained within expiants of the vestibular sensory epithelia.
Vortex Dynamics and Scaling in Turbulent Counterflowing Helium II

Dimensional analysis of the equation of motion for a vortex line yields a dimensionless velocity which controls the development of a vortex line tangle in counterflowing helium II. This scaling is applied to measurements of critical velocities and ratios of line density to counterflow velocity from experiments in channels of different sizes; substantially better agreement is found than previously reported. An asymptotic relationship is derived between line density and counterflow velocity which fits new and existing data remarkably well. This relationship is used to explain the increase in the power law of the Gorter-Mellink relationship between temperature gradient and heat flux near the λ point.
Evolution of Internet infrastructure in the twenty-first century: the role of private interconnection agreements

The infrastructure of the Internet is evolving from that of a public network to interconnected private networks that are selective in terms and conditions for connectivity to others. The connectivity, reach, and bandwidth of the Internet in the next century will depend on its infrastructure, which in turn depends on the economics and forms of the interconnection agreements that create the global network. We show that the benefits of private interconnection are unevenly distributed and that smaller networks gain more. Further, the smaller networks gain even more as the public peering points get more congested. This makes larger networks less willing to peer with others. This raises public policy issues about network mergers and consolidations that result in some networks being much larger than others.
Differential suppression of intracranial self-stimulation, food-maintained operant responding, and open field activity by paw incision and spinal nerve ligation in rats.

BACKGROUND: Detection of ongoing spontaneous pain behaviors in laboratory animals remains a research challenge. Most preclinical pain studies measure elicited behavioral responses to an external noxious stimulus; however, ongoing spontaneous pain in humans and animals may be unrelated to hypersensitivity, and likely diminishes many behaviors, particularly motivated behaviors, that we hypothesize will decrease after induction of acute and chronic pain. METHODS: In this study, 201 male rats were subjected to paw incision (INC), L5/L6 spinal nerve ligation (SNL), or INC in SNL rats, and the effects on paw withdrawal threshold (PWT) were assessed. For comparison, the behavioral-decreasing effects on nonevoked measures, including lever pressing for rewarding electrical stimulation of the ventral tegmental area intracranial self-stimulation (VTA ICSS) or food reinforcement (FR), and open field activity (OFA), were also assessed in these same rats. RESULTS: INC decreased PWT for 4 days, decreased VTA ICSS for 2 days, and FR for 1 day but did not alter OFA. SNL decreased PWT similarly to INC but did not decrease VTA ICSS or FR; SNL did however decrease OFA. INC in SNL rats reduced PWT, VTA ICSS, and FR similarly to INC alone and did not decrease OFA compared with SNL alone. CONCLUSIONS: The acute effects of INC on decreasing lever pressing for VTA ICSS and FR (1–2 days after incision) correspond to the timeframe in which ongoing spontaneous pain is expected to occur after INC. Therefore, these decreases are likely mediated by ongoing spontaneous pain, which may be unrelated to mechanical hypersensitivity that persists for up to 4 days after INC. PWT is decreased similarly by SNL, yet operant behavior (lever pressing for VTA ICSS and FR) was not decreased by SNL. SNL, but not INC, decreased rearing behavior but not total distance traveled during OFA. This further indicates that the presence and the extent of hypersensitivity are not predictive of many behavioral changes in rats thought to be mediated by the presence of ongoing pain. Surprisingly, the behavioral effects of INC are not exacerbated in SNL rats. These data support the growing belief that acute pain models produce short-lived spontaneous pain behaviors that are often less pronounced or absent in neuropathic pain models, and highlight the need for assessment of both evoked and nonevoked pain behaviors in developing future therapies for acute and chronic pain.
Regulation of T cell activation by leukotriene B4.

The evidence that endogenous arachidonic acid metabolites are important in normal T cell activation and proliferation is suggested by several experimental findings. Perhaps the most direct evidence was provided by Kelly and his coworkers (1), who showed that drugs which blocked all arachidonic acid metabolism also inhibit mitogen-induced T cell proliferation. Drugs such as nordihydroguaretic acid (NDGA) and BW755c inhibit all lipoxygenase enzymes as well as cyclooxygenase (which is also a lipoxygenase enzyme). There are also specific cyclooxygenase inhibitors with no activity on the lipoxygenases, such as indomethacin and the other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents (NSAIA’s). More recently, drugs which selectively inhibit 5-lipoxygenase, with little or no activity on 12 or 15-lipoxygenase or on cyclooxygenase, have been described. These inlcude caffeic acid (2), AA861 (3), and Rev 5901 (4). In addition, specific 12- lipoxygenase inhibitors and specific 15-lipoxygenase inhibitors are being developed by some pharmaceutical companies but are not yet available for study.
Dose rate effects on the survival of normal hematopoietic stem cells of balb/c mice

Abstract The use of total body irradiation (TBI) to ablate malignant stem cells in leukemia patients prior to bone marrow transplantation and the use of hemibody irradiation (HBI) for treating osseous metastases have focused attention on the dose rate effects, if any, exhibited by normal or malignant hematopoietic stem cells. Using male BALB/c mice 10 to 12 weeks old, we investigated dose rate effects at 103, 45 and 8 rad/min over the dose range from 100 to 500 rad. Bone marrow cells from the femurs of irradiated donor mice were transplanted into lethally irradiated (720 rad) mice of the same age, sex, and strain. Recipient mice were sacrificed 9 days later, their spleens fixed, stained with Bouin's solution, and the macroscopic colonies counted to determine the number of colony forming units (CFU) per femur. Surviving fractions were determined by comparisons to the CFU's of non-treated controls. The logarithms of the surviving fractions, S, versus dose, D, (in rad) were least squares fitted and the extrapolation number, n, and D 0 obtained. The extrapolation numbers ranged from 0.65 ± 0.15 to 0.81 ± 0.08, and D 0 ranged from 61.7 ± 3.4 to 69.0 ± 2.8. There are no statistically significant differences between the n's and D 0 's for these different dose rates over the dose range from 100 to 500 rad, as measured by spleen CFU assay of normal femoral marrow. The Do's are appropriate for this radiosensitive mouse strain. These data are compared to those from other studies using the same method of CFU assay.
Retinal Microangiopathy in a Mouse Model of Inducible Mural Cell Loss

Diabetes can lead to vision loss because of progressive degeneration of the neurovascular unit in the retina, a condition known as diabetic retinopathy. In its early stages, the pathology is characterized by microangiopathies, including microaneurysms, microhemorrhages, and nerve layer infarcts known as cotton-wool spots. Analyses of postmortem human retinal tissue and retinas from animal models indicate that degeneration of the pericytes, which constitute the outer layer of capillaries, is an early event in diabetic retinopathy; however, the relative contribution of specific cellular components to the pathobiology of diabetic retinopathy remains to be defined. We investigated the phenotypic consequences of pericyte death on retinal microvascular integrity by using nondiabetic mice conditionally expressing a diphtheria toxin receptor in mural cells. Five days after administering diphtheria toxin in these adult mice, changes were observed in the retinal vasculature that were similar to those observed in diabetes, including microaneurysms and increased vascular permeability, suggesting that pericyte cell loss is sufficient to trigger retinal microvascular degeneration. Therapies aimed at preventing or delaying pericyte dropout may avoid or attenuate the retinal microangiopathy associated with diabetes.
Solidity of the Inner Core of the Earth inferred from Normal Mode Observations

SOLIDITY of the inner core was originally inferred on the basis of the assumption that the inner core has the same composition as the surrounding material of the outer core1. If, however, the observed increase in compressional velocity is related to a compositional change or, as suggested by Elsasser and Isenberg2, to a new phase of iron with rearranged electronic orbits, then the inner core might be liquid3. It was believed that conclusive evidence of solidity of the inner core would come from observations of body waves of the type PKJKP, SKJKS or SKJKP, phases that travel through the inner core as a shear wave. But no reliable observations of these phases have been reported so far.
Hochauflösende MRT der Bänder des oberen Sprunggelenkes. Anatomie und typische Befunde

Zusammenfassung Ziel der ligamentaren Darstellung des OSG sollte eine moglichst hohe Auflosung der MRT-Bilder sein, um die anatomisch kleinen Strukturen verbessert darzustellen. Vorgestellt werden die Moglichkeiten der hochauflosenden MRT mit Oberflachenspulen (sogenannten Mikroskopiespulen), die eine im Vergleich zu der MRT-Routinediagnostik weit aus detailgetreuere Abbildung der Anatomie und pathologischer Veranderungen der Bander des oberen Sprunggelenkes erlauben. Die Untersuchungen wurden an einem 1.5 Tesla-Gerat (Fa. Phillips Intera) unter Verwendung hochauflosender Oberflachenspulen (Mikroskopiespulen) durchgefuhrt. Typische Parameter der anatomisch exakt zeichnenden Protonen gewichteten Turbospin-Echosequenzen waren: Messzeit unter 5 Minuten pro Sequenz (Durchschnitt 3.5-4.5 Minuten), Schichtdicke 1.5 mm, Field of View 60-70 mm, gemessene Ortsauflosung in der Schichtebene 0.3-0.4 mm (rekonstruiert auf 0,15 mm). Mit 3D Gradienten-Echo-Sequenzen wurden Schichtdicken im Submillimeterbereich (0.5-0.7 mm) erreicht.
Optimal statistical design for toxicokinetic studies.

Optimal statistical design strategies are applied to toxicokinetic experiments, for determining proper allocations of subjects and/or spacings of sampling times under a variety of nonlinear concentration-time models. The strategies include: (i) optimal allocations of subjects assuming the placement of time points is fixed, (ii) optimal spacing of design time points while assuming an equal allocation of subjects per time points and (iii) allocations/time-point spacings optimized jointly. Emphasis is placed on the first case, where a variance-minimization method is illustrated for optimizing the allocations when estimating specific toxicokinetic parameters. Appeals to forms of D -optimality are also considered, for cases when no specific toxicokinetic parameter is of specialized interest.
Wheelset-track resonance as a possible source of corrugation wear

Abstract This paper reports on the on-going investigation of the interaction of the torsional dynamics of the wheelset and the longitudinal dynamics of the track, coupled through the contact patch, as a possible source of rail corrugation wear. Previously developed computer models have been up-dated to include the complete dynamic creepage characterization of the contact patch. Possible sources of wheel-rail excitation, such as wheel-to-wheel differential running radii, wheel tread defects, wheel-to-wheel differential tangential force and track lubrication, which could induce wheelset-torsional-track-longitudinal vibrational resonance and thus constitute potential sources of corrugation initiation, have been investigated analytically. Simulation examples demonstrate that the identified sources may generate dynamic resonance response(s) of the wheelset-torsional and/or tracklongitudinal vibrational modes. The amplitude, frequency, and duration of such resonance, in addition to being functions of the system inertia, stiffness parameters and the wheel-rail coupling through the contact patch creep force, are shown to be highly sensitive to the magnitude and time rate of change of the excitation input.
Effectiveness of State and Federal Government Agreements with Major Credit Card and Shipping Companies to Block Illegal Internet Cigarette Sales

Most Internet vendors offer tax-free cigarettes making them cheaper than those sold at stores. This undermines the impact that higher prices have upon reducing consumption. Most Internet tobacco sales have violated taxation and youth access laws, which led to landmark voluntary agreements in 2005 with the major credit card companies and major private shippers to ban payment transactions and shipments for all Internet cigarette sales. Objective To assess whether these bans increased the rate of Internet Cigarette Vendors (ICVs) ceasing online sales, decreased the proportion of vendors offering banned payment and shipping options, and decreased consumer traffic to the most popular ICVs. Design Websites in a longitudinal study of ICVs were visited in 2003 (n = 338), 2004 (n = 775), 2005 (n = 664), 2006 (n = 762), and 2007 (n = 497) to assess whether they were in business and monitor their advertised sales practices. The number of unique monthly visitors to the 50 most popular ICVs at baseline was examined for the period one year before and two years after the bans to determine whether the bans altered traffic. Results Following the bans, the rate of ICVs ceasing online sales year to year increased, but due to an influx of new vendors, there was a net increase in ICVs. The proportion of vendors accepting banned payment options dropped from 99.2% to 37.4% after the bans, and the proportion offering banned shipping options dropped from 32.2% to 5.6%, but there was a corresponding increase in vendors offering non-banned payment options (e.g., personal checks) and shipping options (e.g., US Postal Service). Following the bans, there was a 3.5 fold decline in traffic to the most popular ICV websites. Conclusions This promising approach to controlling the sale of restricted goods online has implications for regulating other products such as alcohol, firearms, quack cures, and medicines sold without a prescription.
Photoneutron Reactions in N, O, F, Cu, Ag, and In

Using an energy scale based on an electrical "zero" and the ($\ensuremath{\gamma}, n$) thresholds of ${\mathrm{F}}^{19}$, ${\mathrm{N}}^{14}$, and ${\mathrm{C}}^{12}$, five ($\ensuremath{\gamma}, n$) thresholds were measured: ${\mathrm{Ag}}^{109}$, 9.14\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.05 Mev; ${\mathrm{Ag}}^{107}$ to 24-min ${\mathrm{Ag}}^{106}$, 9.43\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.05; ${\mathrm{Cu}}^{65}$, 9.89\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.11; ${\mathrm{Cu}}^{63}$, 10.80\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.04; and ${\mathrm{In}}^{115}$ to 49-day ${\mathrm{In}}^{114m}$, 9.22\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.10. Breaks, interpreted to be levels in the initial nucleus, were found at 10.47\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.02 Mev in ${\mathrm{F}}^{19}$ and 16.17\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.05 Mev in ${\mathrm{O}}^{16}$. The observed ${\mathrm{O}}^{16}(\ensuremath{\gamma}, n){\mathrm{O}}^{15}$ threshold was in poor agreement with the known $Q$ value. Two half-lives were measured: ${\mathrm{F}}^{18}$, 1.83\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.02 hours and ${\mathrm{In}}^{114m}$, 49\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}1 days.
INVERSION OF THE PLY LAY-UP SEQUENCE FOR MULTI-LAYERED FIBER REINFORCED COMPOSITE PLATES USING GENETIC ALGORITHM

Abstract In this paper, the feasibility of identifying the stiffness constants of a unidirectional single layer composite is first illustrated using dispersion curve analysis.Second, the lay-up identification in layered composites, is examined based on the dispersion curve behavior of fluid-loaded laminates. The acoustic data domains considered are the leaky (fluidloaded) plate wave dispersion curves based on the total transmission criteria. Only crossply symmetric laminates composed of equal thickness layers of one specific material, are considered. A sensitivity analysis on the influence of two different types of ply orderings-­staggered and inverted - is also presented. The inverse problem is stated in the form of a multi-parameter minimization function and Genetic Algorithm was used in searching for the solution.
The circadian Clock mutation increases exploratory activity and escape‐seeking behavior

Disturbances of circadian rhythms are associated with many types of mood disorders; however, it is unknown whether a dysfunctional circadian pacemaker can be the primary cause of altered emotional behavior. To test this hypothesis, male and female mice carrying a mutation of the circadian gene, Clock, were compared to wild-type mice in an array of behavioral tests used to measure exploratory activity, anxiety, and behavioral despair. Female Clock mutant mice exhibited significantly greater activity and rearing in an open field and a greater number of total arm entries in the elevated plus maze. In addition, female Clock mutant mice spent significantly more time swimming in the forced swim test than wild-type mice on both days of a 2-day test. Male Clock mutant mice also exhibited increased exploration of the open field and increased swimming in the forced swim test; however, behavioral changes were less robust in Clock mutant males compared to Clock mutant females. These changes in behavior were not dependent on the expression of a lengthened free-running period but were more or less striking depending on the testing conditions. These data indicate that the Clock mutation leads to increased exploratory behavior and increased escape-seeking behavior, and, conversely, does not result in increased anxiety or depressive-like behavior. These results suggest that the Clock gene is involved in regulating behavioral arousal, and that Clock may interact with sex hormones to produce these behavioral changes.