cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
SU-GG-T-557: Single-Segment IMRT Treatment Planning for Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy

Purpose: To demonstrate the advantages of a new planning technique, “single‐segment IMRT” (SS‐IMRT): field optimization via inverse planning for static fields. Field optimization extends beyond beam weighting to field shaping via MLC leaves. This can present a non‐uniform beam fluence to the PTV for single fields while the total plan still provides excellent dose coverage. Unlike typical IMRT, the fields are entirely static, presenting no problem for moving targets nor significantly more monitor units. This can be particularly beneficial in the case of SBRT for lung.Method and Materials: Multiple treatment plans were generated for 10 patients with lungtumors adjacent to the chest wall. All patients were planned for SBRT, typically 54Gy in 3 fractions. Conventional plans had MLCs conforming to the PTV, with minor manual adjustments made to achieve conformity and protect normal structures. SS‐IMRT plans used the treatment planning system's IMRToptimization to achieve those same goals while limiting each beam to a single segment. Plans were compared in terms of dose conformity and uniformity in the PTV, sparing of the normal structures, and planning time. Results: In all 10 cases SS‐IMRT achieved superior treatment plans with little increase in planning time. Improvements in dose conformity and uniformity depended primarily on the quality of the conventional forward plan. Significant reductions in the maximum chest‐wall dose were always achieved, although sometimes the volume of chest wall receiving low to intermediate dose was increased. Overall, SS‐IMRT plans were more consistent in their quality, and planning time was not significantly longer. Conclusion: Inverse planning algorithms developed for IMRT can be very useful for optimizing static field shapes when dynamic treatments are not ideal (e.g. lungSBRT). The inverse planning optimization algorithm was consistently able to improve PTV coverage, reduce hotspots overall, and shift high‐dose regions away from the chest wall.
Impacts of Resource Abundance on Populations of a Tropical Forest Rodent

Populations of Proechimys semispinosus (Central American spiny rat) were provisioned with fresh native fruits for 6 mo to test the hypothesis that populations of frugivorous rodents in seasonal Neotropical forests are not limited by food during the season of greatest resource abundance. Islands in the Panama Canal were used as experimental systems so that results would not be confounded by individuals commuting from the fringes of the study areas. Populations isolated on four islands were censused by monthly live-trapping and served as unmanipulated controls, while populations isolated on four additional islands were provisioned with fruit at 315.2 kg/ha and censused by similar methods. Natural fruit abundance was concurrently censused by counting numbers of fruiting trees and lianas to account for naturally available resources. Means of overall spiny rat density and density of known births were compared between treatment groups using repeated-measures analysis of covariance, with the density of fruiting trees and lianas as the covariate. Both variables showed a treatment effect, with higher-than-expected densities and densities of births within experimental populations based on natural resource abundance. Numbers of known births per adult female were compared between treatment groups by constructing a log-linear model. This model also revealed a treatment effect, with per capita production of young being higher within all experimental populations. Monthly survival rates of young and adults were compared between treatment groups by constructing separate linear models for young and adults, and no treatment effect was evident. Adult male body mass was compared among islands by analysis of variance and similarly showed no treatment effect. Results showed that these spiny rat populations were limited by food even during the period of high resource abundance, and increased densities were due to increased production and recruitment of young rather than to increased immigration or survival.
The semiotics of play: A bridge between nature and culture?

Thomas A. Sebeok. The Play of Musement. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1981. 312 pp. Illustrations and 3 Appendices. $35.00
Intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy and timing of delivery.

AbstractObjective: We examined the morbidities from delivery at earlier gestational ages versus intrauterine fetal demise (IUFD) for women with intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP) to determine the optimal gestational age for delivery.Methods: A decision-analytic model was created to compare delivery at 35 through 38 weeks gestation for different delivery strategies: (1) empiric steroids; (2) steroids if fetal lung maturity (FLM) negative; (3) wait a week and retest if FLM negative; or (4) deliver immediately. Literature review identified 18 studies that estimated IUFD in ICP; we used the mean rate, 1.74%, and assumed a uniform distribution from 34 to 40 weeks gestation. Large cohort data was used to calculate neonatal morbidity rates at each gestational age. Maternal and neonatal quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) were combined. Univariate sensitivity and Monte Carlo analyses were performed to test for robustness.Results: Immediate delivery at 36 weeks without FLM testing and steroid administrati...
Erratum to “Overt naming fMRI pre- and post-TMS: Two nonfluent aphasia patients, with and without improved naming post-TMS” [Brain Lang. 111 (2009) 20–35]

Erratum to ‘‘Overt naming fMRI preand post-TMS: Two nonfluent aphasia patients, with and without improved naming post-TMS” [Brain Lang. 111 (2009) 20–35] Paula I. Martin *, Margaret A. Naeser , Michael Ho , Karl W. Doron , Jacquie Kurland , Jerome Kaplan , Yunyan Wang , Marjorie Nicholas , Errol H. Baker , Miguel Alonso , Felipe Fregni , Alvaro Pascual-Leone b,c Harold Goodglass Boston University Aphasia Research Center, Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine and the Veterans Affairs Boston Healthcare System, USA Berenson-Allen Center for Noninvasive Brain Stimulation, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA c Institut Guttmann, Barcelona, Spain
The synthesis and storage of protein by isolated lymphoid cells, examined by autoradiography with the electron microscope

Autoradiography with the electron microscope was employed to locate sites of synthesis and storage of newly-formed protein in cells isolated from lymph nodes of immunized rabbits and incubated with tritium-labelled leucine. The chief object of the investigation was to locate the site of sequestration of newly-formed antibody during the half-hour that intervenes between its synthesis and release from the plasma cell. By making counts of grains over nuclei, Golgi complex and ergastoplasm, and relating these to the relative volume of each region, evidence was obtained that, during the latent period of secretion, antibody moves into the Golgi region from its site of synthesis in the ergastoplasm. In analyzing the data, some of the difficulties involved in quantitative autoradiography were considered and the statistical inappropriateness of using mean grain counts and their standard errors to estimate the concentration of isotope was discussed. As an alternative with a sounder theoretical basis, the ratio estimate was adopted, and Fieller's theorem was used to obtain conservative estimates of confidence limits. The results of statistical analysis supported the biological conclusion that newly-formed antibody migrates to the Golgi region, but the role of the Golgi complex in secretion of antibody remains to be explained. The hypothesis that plasma cells originate by differentiation from large lymphocytes received circumstantial support from the observation that among those cells active in synthesis of protein, a series transitional in structure from large lymphocytes to mature plasma cells could be assembled.
Quantifying the tradeoff between uniform computer-based and nonuniform manual sampling in stereology

Estimation of ratio or volume of tissue types in an image requires both mensuration and classification. The former is achieved through stereology - a set of techniques that estimate such parameters as length, area, surface area, volume, number and ratio. Classification is achieved by extracting features that capture the discriminating information about tissue type. Typically, manual stereological methods are based on uniform sampling. Nonuniform sampling, however, can yield better results for the same manual effort (hence, more-efficient) if we have prior knowledge of the spatial distribution or location of the parameter of interest. Both stereology and classification can be performed either manually or by computer. Manual techniques for the combination are based on coarse point counting (low resolution), but assumed perfect pixel classification. Computer-based methods, on the other hand, rely on very fine point counting but in general suffer from imperfect pixel classification. This paper examines the interaction between manual (nonuniform-sampling) and uniform-sampling image processing-based approaches; in particular, we present a measure that combines the classification and measurement errors. Analysis of the variance is used to define the conditions under which each method and its sampling design is and is not advantageous despite its underlying error. This allows the user to choose a method that optimizes overall performance, given the human and machine capabilities available. Illustrations are given of cases in which each method can be preferable, as measured by the variance of the estimate of the performance that was inferred from the measurement.
The use of flow cytometry and fluorescein-labeled antibodies to measure specific milk proteins in bovine mammary epithelial cells

A flow cytometric technique was developed to measure the relative concentration of whey protein and β-casein in individual fixed and permeabilized bovine mammary epithelial cells. Primary bovine mammary epithelial cells were compared to mammary cells isolated from explants after a 24-h incubation and a bovine mammary epithelial transfected cell line (MAC-T). Cells were incubated with rabbit anti-bovine whey protein (α-lactalbumin + β-lactoglobulin) or β-casein primary antibodies followed by a fluorescein-labeled goat anti-rabbit IgG second antibody. The number and intensity of fluorescing cells were measured using an EPICS Profile Flow Cytometer. Primary and explant cells contained 3.3 and 2.8 times more whey protein than MAC-T cells. Explant epithelial cells contained 2.9 and 5.1 times more β-casein than primary or MAC-T cells. The higher concentrations of specific proteins within the cells was attributed to either greater synthesis or reduced secretion. These data show that flow cytometry is capable of detecting differences in milk protein concentration in different mammary epithelial cell types.
Quantum dynamics of vortices in superconducting layers. Role of fermion bound states

Abstract The effective Euclidean action for a vortex in a superconducting layer is obtained microscopically as a functional of vortex position. At T =0, the dynamics is dominated by transitions between the lowest energy core bound states. In a clean superconductor, these transitions are responsible for an anomalously large inertial mass of the vortex. The Hall-force contribution to the action is of the same order of magnitude as in a classical superfluid. Dissipation tends to reduce the Hall force, and it leads to an ohmic-like action modified by the splitting between the core states.
Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of glycoproteins on single concentration and gradient gels.

Abstract A comparison of the distribution patterns of glycoproteins released into the medium by normal and oncogenic virus-transformed mammalian cells on 5% and 2–12% linear gradient sodium dodecylsulfate-polyacrylamide gels was made. Marked differences were observed in the distribution patterns obtained with the two types of gels. The gradient gels separate the glycoproteins into three discrete groups, while the 5% gels show only numerous small peaks. It appears that gradient gels may be of unique value in the separation of glycoproteins and may permit the identification of groups of compounds not distinguishable on single porosity gels.
Supported chelating agents in remediation. The corkscrew model

Abstract High‐porosity, high‐surface area, inert, solid substrates have been used for many years to support reactive phases. Solid substrates supporting liquid phases have been the basis of gas and liquid chro‐matographic techniques. In the present study, supported chelating agents were successful in the treatment of aqueous solutions for ion extraction. In particular, a s‐diketone (LIX® 54), supported upon silica gel, was used in one step to extract copper ions from solution (749 ppm) to levels of approximately 1 ppm in a two‐minute contact time. This treatment shows an advantage over conventional liquid‐liquid extraction techniques. The 13‐diketone was incorporated on the solid substrate using a wedging or “corkscrew”; technique that promises to be useful.
Toward a Theory of the Big Five

I first interacted with Jack Block when he wrote to me to point out the parallels between a theory my colleagues and I have been developing (DeYoung, 2006; DeYoung, Peterson, & Higgins, 2002; Hirsh...
Real-life software projects as Software Engineering Laboratory exercises

The Software Engineering Laboratory is a one-academic-year course required for the Master of Software Engineering degree at Seattle University. It is designed to simulate a real-life software development project environment, providing equal focus on technical and managerial considerations. The output of the laboratory must be a software product of marketable quality.This paper describes the experience gained from the laboratory projects and discusses directions for future projects.
Gastric inhibitory polypeptide (GIP). Intestinal distribution and stimulation by amino acids and medium-chain triglycerides.

Radioimmunoassayable gastric inhibitory polypeptide was measured in extracts of canine antrum, duodenum, jejunum, and ileum. The highest GIP concentrations were found in the duodenum (347±53 ng/g) and jejunum (300±68 ng/g). An immunochemical similarity was demonstrable between porcine GIP and canine GIP. Dogs prepared with Mann-Bollman fistulae were given an amino acid (AA) mixture or medium-chain triglycerides (MTC) by intraduodenal perfusion. With AA, a peak mean serum concentration of 672±106 pg/ml was reached 15 min after starting the perfusion. MCT resulted in a peak mean serum GIP concentration of 504±55 pg/ml 30 min after beginning the perfusion. When compared to results previously reported from this laboratory, AA and MCT are not as potent as corn oil (long-chain triglyceride) or glucose in stimulating GIP release. We conclude: (1) Immunoassayable GIP concentrations are highest in the canine proximal small intestine. (2) AA and MCT are weak stimulants of GIP release in the dog.
Three-dimensional optical tomographic brain imaging during kainic-acid-induced seizures in rats

In this study, we explored the potential of diffuse optical tomography for brain oximetry and describe our efforts towards imaging hemodynamic changes in rat brains during kainic-acid (KA) induced seizures. Using electrophysiological techniques we first showed that KA induces a pronounced transient hypotension in urethane anesthetized rats that is coincident with seizure activity beginning in ventral and spreading to dorsal hippocampus. We observed sustained increases in vagus and sympathetic activity during generalized limbic seizure activity, which alters blood pressure regulation and heart rhythms. Subsequently, we used optical tomographic methods to study KA induced seizures in anesthetized animals to better define the hemodynamic cerebral vascular response. We observed a lateralized increase in deoxyhemoglobin after KA injection at the time when the blood pressure (BP) was decreased. By contrast, injection of phenylephrine produced a symmetric global increase in total hemoglobin. These findings indicate that our instrument is sensitive to the local hemodynamics, both in response to a global increase in blood pressure (phenylephrine injection) and a lateralized decrease in oxyhemoglobin produced by an asymmetric response to KA; a response that may be critically important for severe autonomic nervous system alterations during seizures. The results of this study provide the impetus for combining complimentary modalities, imaging and electrophysiological, to ultimately gain a better understanding of the underlying physiology of seizure activity in the rat.
Monoclonal antibody analysis of diphtheria toxin—I. Localization of epitopes and neutralization of cytotoxicity

Forty-three hybridoma cell lines producing monoclonal antibody to diphtheria toxin were isolated. Based upon their reactivity with various fragments of the toxin and mutant toxin-related proteins, the monoclonal antibodies were subdivided into 10 groups which recognize at least 10 distinct epitopes on the toxin molecule. Specific antibodies directed against both fragments A and B were found to neutralize cytotoxicity, both in vitro and in vivo. Neutralization was found to correlate with antibody-mediated inhibition of toxin binding to its eukaryotic cell surface receptor. The results presented suggest that the Pro378 and/or Gly431 of mature toxin are part of, or close to, the toxin receptor-binding domain. In addition, antigenic determinants in the C-terminal portion of fragment A, as well as a portion of the toxin defined by the tox-3 and tox-45 nonsense mutations (i.e. ca 31,000–42,000 daltons) appear to be juxtaposed to the receptor-binding domain and may form a secondary binding region.
The Effects of Reinforcement, Punishment and Dependency on Helping Behavior

This field experiment demonstrated that females who were punished for helping in one situation were less likely to help on a subsequent occasion than were females who were reinforced for having helped. In addition, subjects helped a high-dependent person more often than they did the low-dependent person. While subjects usually helped directly, this was less likely to occur for those subjects who were punished for having helped and then were confronted with a low-dependent person. The results were interpreted from a cost-reward model of helping behavior.
Metabolic Rate Changes Following Thyroid Destruction by AT211 and I131 in the Rat

Summary(1) The time course of the development of hypothyroidism in rats, as judged by the animals' metabolic rates, following the administration of thyroidectomizing doses of At211 and I131 has been studied. (2) The metabolic rate decreased abruptly to 74% of the control value between 6 and 8 days after the administration of 0.8 μc of At211 per g of body weight. A further decrease to the subsequent steady value (between 65% and 70% of the corresponding values for the control group) had occurred by about 20 days from the date of injection. (3) Slowing of the metabolic rate was first observed between 8 and 12 days after the administration of I131 (10 μC per g of body weight). The metabolic rate decreased more slowly in the I131-treated than in the At211-treated animals, but ultimately attained a similar steady value(4). It is suggested that the differences which have been observed after the administration of At211 and I131 may be correlated with the different nuclear properties of the 2 isotopes.
A family of novel basic leucine zipper proteins binds to seed-specification elements in the Carrot Dc3 gene promoter

We used a yeast one-hybrid system to isolate genes encoding proteins that bind to the embryo-specification and ABA-responsive elements in the promoter of the carrot lea-class gene Dc3. Thirteen positive clones were isolated from the screen of a GAL4-cDNA hybrid library prepared from sunflower immature seed RNA. Characterization of the cDNAs showed that one of them encoded a novel protein designated DPBF-3 (Dc3 Promoter-Binding Factor-3); the remaining twelve were identical to the previously described DNA binding proteins, DPBF-1 and 2 (Kim et al., 1997). DPBF-3 is a basic leucine zipper (bZIP) protein that is very similar to DPBF-1 and 2 in their shared basic region. Isolation of DPBF-3 suggests that a small family of bZIP transcription factors are involved in the seed-specific and ABA-responsive expression of the Dc3 gene. Both phylogenetic analysis and DNA-binding studies indicated that DPBFs belong to a novel class of bZIP factors that may potentially be global regulators of seed-specific and ABA-inducible genes.
Audiation-Based Improvisation Techniques and Elementary Instrumental Students' Music Achievement.

The purpose of this research was to develop and to examine an improvisation curriculum designed to improve the music achievement of elementary school instrumental music students. The specific problems of this study were (a) to investigate the effect of improvisation study on the music achievement of fifth-grade wind and percussion students, and (b) to investigate the effects of various levels of music aptitude on the music achievement of fifth-grade wind and percussion students.Sixty-six fifth-grade students participated in this study. Students who received instruction that included emphasis on improvisation were found to perform at significantly higher achievement levels than students who received instruction without such emphasis. High-aptitude students performed at higher achievement levels than low-aptitude and moderate-aptitude students. The data obtained in this research provide preliminary evidence that improvisation contributes to the improvement of instrumental music performance achievement in el...
Virulence Associated with Outbreak-Related Strains of Burkholderia cepacia Complex among a Cohort of Patients with Bacteremia

The Burkholderia cepacia complex includes 9 genomovars. The relative virulence of each is unknown. Host and pathogen features associated with mortality were evaluated among patients with B. cepacia complex bacteremia. Cases were ascertained through review of blood culture results for the period of May 1996 through May 2002. Isolates were identified to species level with 16S rDNA and recA-based species-specific polymerase chain reaction analyses and recA restriction fragment-length polymorphism. Strain typing was performed with pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. Fifty-three patients with B. cepacia complex bacteremia were identified; only 9 (17%) had cystic fibrosis. Twenty-five patients (47%) died within 14 days of bacteremia. After controlling for comorbid conditions and therapeutic interventions, 2 outbreak-related strains of Burkholderia cenocepacia (genomovar III) were associated with 14-day mortality (odds ratio, 5.5; 95% confidence interval, 1.20-25.02). B. cenocepacia is an emerging nosocomial pathogen. Certain strains are associated with an enhanced capacity for interpatient spread and poor outcome.
Detection of anticipated structural changes in a rational expectations environment

When agents have rational expectations, anticipated changes in the structure of the economy have an immediate affect on their behaviour. In this article, we investigate the interplay between a linear rational expectation model with predictable structural changes and reduced-form evidence of structural breaks. In our study, we vary the length of time between the announcement and the implementation of an inflation target change. Using a model similar to Ireland (2007) and the method presented in Bai and Perron (1998) and Bai and Perron (2003) to estimate unknown structural breaks, Monte Carlo simulation results suggest that reduced-form evidence of structural breaks are broadly in line with what is predicted by forward-looking rational expectation models; that is, as the transition period increases, break estimates gradually move farther from the policy announcement date.
Domain decomposition preconditioners for communication-avoiding krylov methods on a hybrid CPU/GPU cluster

Krylov subspace projection methods are widely used iterative methods for solving large-scale linear systems of equations. Researchers have demonstrated that communication-avoiding (CA) techniques can improve Krylov methods' performance on modern computers, where communication is becoming increasingly expensive compared to arithmetic operations. In this paper, we extend these studies by two major contributions. First, we present our implementation of a CA variant of the Generalized Minimum Residual (GMRES) method, called CA-GMRES, for solving nonsymmetric linear systems of equations on a hybrid CPU/GPU cluster. Our performance results on up to 120 GPUs show that CA-GMRES gives a speedup of up to 2.5x in total solution time over standard GMRES on a hybrid cluster with twelve Intel Xeon CPUs and three Nvidia Fermi GPUs on each node. We then outline a domain decomposition framework to introduce a family of preconditioners that are suitable for CA Krylov methods. Our preconditioners do not incur any additional communication and allow the easy reuse of existing algorithms and software for the subdomain solves. Experimental results on the hybrid CPU/GPU cluster demonstrate that CA-GMRES with preconditioning achieve a speedup of up to 7.4x over CA-GMRES without preconditioning, and speedup of up to 1.7x over GMRES with preconditioning in total solution time. These results confirm the potential of our framework to develop a practical and effective preconditioned CA Krylov method.
Stochastic and Adiabatic Behavior of Particles Accelerated by Periodic Forces

The mechanism by which periodic nonrandom forces lead to stochastic acceleration of particles is examined. Two examples considered are (i) the Fermi problem of a ball bouncing between a fixed and an oscillating wall, with various wall-oscillation functions, and (ii) cyclotron-resonance heating in a magnetic mirror. Numerical studies show that the phase plane consists of a complicated but regular structure of islands embedded in a stochastic sea. These islands may have the character of either adiabatic barriers or sinks for particles. The islands can be described analytically by expansions about elliptic singular points. A velocity below which no islands exist is observed computationally and is predicted from Floquet theory. Computations also demonstrate that in some cases an adiabatic wall forms an upper limit to particle diffusion in velocity space. A lower bound on this wall is predicted analytically. The Fermi problem is reduced to a Hamiltonian form, and the nonlinear stability and approximate location of the adiabatic wall is predicted from adiabatic invariance theory. Introduction of an external random-force component modifies, but does not destroy, the basic results. For velocities below which no islands exist, it is shown that the random-phase assumption holds, and that the particle motion can be described by a Fokker-Planck equation. The solution to the Fokker-Planck equation is found to agree with the numerical calculations. Above the stochastic transition velocity, strong phase correlations exist, and a Fokker-Planck description is inappropriate.
Subclinical vascular disease and cerebral glutamate elevation in metabolic syndrome.

Metabolic syndrome (MetS), the co-occurrence of obesity, hypertension, hyperglycemia and dyslipidema, is an important risk factor for diabetes, cardiovascular disease and end-organ damage in the brain. Our goal was to determine if metabolic syndrome (MetS) differentially affects cerebral metabolism in middle-aged adults with varying degrees of subclinical vascular disease. Sixty-five neurologically healthy adults aged 40 to 60 years (19 with MetS and 46 controls) underwent ultrasound examination of carotid artery intima-media thickness (IMT), a measure of peripheral vascular disease, a full neuropsychological evaluation, and a proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H MRS) scan of occipitoparietal grey matter. The Johnson-Neyman technique and pick-a-point approach were used to test if MetS-related neurochemical changes were moderated by IMT. The MetS and control groups were comparable in age, education, gender distribution, average IMT, and cognitive performance. MetS individuals with low IMT values (1 SD below sample mean) demonstrated comparable neurochemical concentrations to the healthy controls (t = −0.21, p = 0.84, 95 % CI −0.106 to 0.086), while MetS individuals with high IMT values (1 SD above sample mean) exhibited significantly elevated glutamate concentrations (t = 2.84, p = 0.006, 95 % CI 0.038 to 0.220). We found that the level of peripheral atherosclerosis moderated the level of elevation of cerebral glutamate concentrations in patients with MetS. These results suggest that peripheral metabolic dysfunction in midlife likely acts in conjunction with subclinical vascular disease to foster pro-neurotoxic conditions in the central nervous system creating early brain vulnerability.
Interaction mean free paths of He fragments from ultrahigh-energy nucleus-nucleas collisions in emulsion

Abstract The interaction mean free paths of He fragments produced by the collisions of 32 S and 16 O at 200 GeV/n in nuclear emulsion have been investigated. 906 He fragments giving rise to 374 secondary interactions have been used in the present analysis. Within the present statistics, we do not observe any anomalous behavior in the mean free paths of He fragments. The interaction mean free paths are found to be independent of the projectile mass and the impact parameter of collision, at the highest available beam energies.
Pattern of extraocular muscle activation during reflex blinking

Studies in humans and rabbits suggest that cocontraction of extraocular muscles occurs with reflex and voluntary blinks. We determined the pattern of extraocular muscle activity elicited by blink-evoking visual and trigeminal stimuli by electromyographically recording antagonistic pairs of extraocular muscles in alert rabbits. In addition, we recorded the activity of antidromically identified oculomotor motoneurons in response to the same stimuli in alert rabbits. The data demonstrate that all extraocular muscles except the superior oblique transiently increase their activity in response to blink-evoking stimuli. The pattern of extraocular muscle activity with reflex blinks mirrors that occurring in the lid-closing muscle, orbicularis oculi, but the latency of extraocular muscle activation is longer.
SODIUM LACTATE EFFECTS ON MICROBIAL, SENSORY, AND PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF VACUUM‐PACKAGED PORK SAUSAGE

Vacuum-packaged fresh meat products held at refrigeration temperatures have limited shelf-life expectancies, often due to growth of anaerobic lactic acid-producing bacteria. Agents that can suppress the growth of this group are beneficial. Fresh pork sausage, formulated to contain 0%, 1%, 2%, or 3% sodium lactate (SL), was vacuum packaged and stored at 4C for 0, 10, 17, 24, and 31 days. A trained sensory panel evaluated pork, salty, sour, and bitter flavors. Aerobic total plate counts (APC), anaerobic total plate counts (AnPC), aerobic lactic acid producers (ALC), anaerobic lactic acid producers (AnLC), TBA values, and pH were determined. SL depressed APC, AnPC, and AnLC. Addition of 1% SL extended shelf-life of vacuum-packaged fresh pork sausage by 1 week compared to controls; samples containing 2% and 3% SL had not reached spoilage level (log10 7.0 CFU/g) at the conclusion of this study. Addition of SL increased salty taste and prevented loss of pork flavor over time, but had no effect on sour or bitter flavors.
Combination reactions of superoxide with 8-Oxo-7,8-dihydroguanine radicals in DNA: kinetics and end products.

Abstract One of the major biomarkers of oxidative stress and oxidative damage of cellular DNA is 8-oxo-7,8-dihydroguanine (8-oxoGua), which is more easily oxidized than guanine to diverse oxidative products. In this work, we have investigated further oxidative transformations of 8-oxoGua in single- and double-stranded oligonucleotides to the dehydroguanidinohydantoin, oxaluric acid, and diastereomeric spiroiminodihydantoin lesions. The relative distributions of these end products were explored by a combined kinetic laser spectroscopy and mass spectrometry approach and are shown to depend markedly on the presence of superoxide radical anions. The 8-oxaGua radicals were produced by one-electron oxidation of 8-oxoGua by 2-aminopurine radicals generated by the two-photon ionization of 2-aminopurine residues site specifically positioned in 5′-d(CC[2-aminopurine]TC[8-oxoGua]CTACC). The hydrated electrons also formed in the photoionization process were trapped by dissolved molecular oxygen thus producing superoxide. A combination reaction between the 8-oxoGua and superoxide radicals occurs with the rate constant of (1.3 ± 0.2) × 108 m–1 s–1 and (1.0 ± 0.5) × 108 m–1 s–1 in single- and double-stranded DNA, respectively. The major end products of this reaction are the dehydroguanidinohydantoin lesions that slowly hydrolyze to oxaluric acid residues. In the presence of Cu,Zn-superoxide dismutase, an enzyme that induces the rapid catalytic dismutation of superoxide to the less reactive H2O2 and O2, the yields of the dehydroguanidinohydantion lesions become negligible. Under these conditions, the 8-oxoGua radicals do not exhibit any observable reactivities with oxygen (k < 102 m–1 s–1), decay on the time interval of several seconds, and the major reaction products are the spiroiminodihydantoin lesions. The possible biological implications of the 8-oxoGua oxidation are discussed.
Team Virtues and Performance: An Examination of Transparency, Behavioral Integrity, and Trust

Virtue-based research in business ethics has increased over the last two decades, but most of the research has focused on the actions of an individual person. In this article, we examine the associations among team-level virtues using data from two studies. Specifically, we investigate whether transparency (usually thought to be an organizational- or collective-level construct), behavioral integrity (usually thought to be an individual-level construct), and trust (usually thought to be an individual-level construct) can be conceptualized and operate at the team level of analysis and, if so, what their relationships are to team performance. Using Partial Least Squares (PLS) analysis, we found in both studies that team transparency was positively related to team behavioral integrity, which in turn was positively related to team trust. We also found evidence of a positive relationship between team trust and team performance. Implications of these findings for future teams and ethics research are discussed.
Cortical and reticular influences upon evoked responses in dorsal column nuclei

Abstract Cortical influences, conducted in the pyramidal tract, can modify the amplitude and form of the evoked response in dorsal-column nuclei. Both an increase and a decrease in magnitude of responses can be produced by direct cortical stimulation. When the cortex is excited indirectly, through specific thalamocortical connections, only facilitation occurs. This study has explored further ways in which the response can be modified. In the encephale isole of the cat, evoked response in dorsal column nuclei can be reduced by stimulation of midbrain tegmentum. When sensorimotor cortex is ablated, this reduction can no longer be obtained; instead, facilitation occurs. Additionally, serially evoked responses in dorsal-column nuclei display a pronounced increase in amplitude after ablation of the sensorimotor cortex. In low pyramidal preparations, the depressor effect continues functioning, showing that this is a direct action through the pyramidal tract. It is concluded that: the cerebral cortex exerts an inhibitory influence upon afferent potentials in the gracile and cuneate nuclei; stimulation of the reticular formation is capable of activating this mechanism; and the reticular formation also has a direct facilitatory effect on these responses in the dorsal-column nuclei.
Hustling online: understanding consolidated facebook use in an informal settlement in Nairobi

Facebook is a global phenomenon, yet little is known about use of the site in urban parts of the developing world where the social network's users are increasingly located. We qualitatively studied Facebook use among 28 young adults living in Viwandani, an informal settlement, or slum, in Nairobi, Kenya. We find that to overcome the costs associated with Internet use, participants consolidated diverse online activities onto Facebook; here we focus on the most common practice--using Facebook to support income generation. Viwandani residents used the site to look for employment opportunities, market themselves, and seek remittances from friends and family abroad. We use our findings to motivate a design agenda for the urban poor built on an understanding that Facebook is used, with mixed-success, to support income generation. A key part of this agenda calls for developing ICT interventions grounded in users' existing practices rather than introducing new and unfamiliar ones.
Identification of phosphorylation sites on AChR delta-subunit associated with dispersal of AChR clusters on the surface of muscle cells.

The innervation of embryonic skeletal muscle cells is marked by the redistribution of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (AChRs) on muscle surface membranes into high-density patches at nerve-muscle contacts. To investigate the role of protein phosphorylation pathways in the regulation of AChR surface distribution, we have identified the sites on AChR ‰-subunits that undergo phosphorylation associated with AChR cluster dispersal in cultured myotubes. We found that PKC-catalyzed AChR phosphorylation is targeted to Ser 378 , Ser 393 , and Ser 450 , all located in the major intracellular domain of the AChR ‰-subunit. Adjacent to one of these sites is a PKA consensus target site (Ser 377 ) that was efficiently phosphorylated by purified PKA in vitro. The PKC activator 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) and the phosphoprotein phosphatase inhibitor okadaic acid (OA) produced increased phosphorylation of AChR ‰-subunits on the three serine residues that were phosphorylated by purified PKC in vitro. In contrast, treatment of these cells with the PKA activator forskolin, or with the cell-permeable cAMP analogue 8-bromo-cAMP, did not alter the phosphorylation state of surface AChR, suggesting that PKA does not actively phosphorylate the ‰-subunit in intact chick myotubes. The effects of TPA and OA included an increase in the proportion of surface AChR that is extracted in Triton X-100, as well as the spreading of AChR from cluster regions to adjacent areas of the muscle cell surface. These findings suggest that PKC-catalyzed phosphorylation on the identified serine residues of AChR ‰-subunits may play a role in the surface distribution of these receptors.
Quantitative autoradiographic mapping of herpes simplex virus encephalitis with a radiolabeled antiviral drug.

29-Fluoro-5-methyl-l-beta-D-arabinosyluracil (FMAU) labeled with carbon-14 was used to image herpes simplex virus type 1-infected regions of rat brain by quantitative autoradiography. FMAU is a potent antiviral pyrimidine nucleoside which is selectively phosphorylated by virus-coded thymidine kinase. When the labeled FMAU was administered 6 hours before the rats were killed, the selective uptake and concentration of the drug and its metabolites by infected cells (defined by immunoperoxidase staining of viral antigens) allowed quantitative definition and mapping of HSV-1-infected structures in autoradiograms of brain sections. These results show that quantitative autoradiography can be used to characterize the local metabolism of antiviral drugs by infected cells in vivo. They also suggest that the selective uptake of drugs that exploit viral thymidine kinase for their antiviral effect can, by appropriate labeling, be used in conjunction with clinical neuroimaging techniques to define infected regions of human brain, thereby providing a new approach to the diagnosis of herpes encephalitis in man.
Effect of concentrate level on milk production of cattle grazing high-quality pasture.

Abstract Over a six-year period milking cows grazed on pasture as a source of forage were given various levels of concentrates to determine effect on milk production. Several experimental designs were used. A 3 × 3 Latin-square design replicated three times was used in the first two years (modified between first and second years), after which continuous comparisons were made. In most instances the cows were past the peak of milk flow when comparisons started. In a limited way cows in full milk flow were tested for effects of variation in concentrate intake. While milk production was significantly affected by level of concentrate feeding in the first two trials, it would be very misleading to use mean values for economic analysis. The changes in milk production caused by increasing concentrate feeding levels over a given range were quite different in magnitude from results of decreasing levels. Furthermore, both responses, i.e., increases or decreases, were affected by how adequately the cow was meeting energy requirements at the time the change was made and her responsiveness to change. The changeover designs used the first two years were completely inadequate to derive data for meaningful economical analysis relating milk production to feeding levels. Results of continuous comparisons of different levels of concentrate intake indicated that most Holstein cows producing close to 23 kg milk daily could be supported by good pasture alone. There were indications that high production (>23 kg daily) would decline unless concentrates were provided. Higher levels of production appear to need supplementation with concentrates.
Chern-Simons topological Lagrangians in odd dimensions and their Kaluza-Klein reduction

Abstract By clarifying the behavior of generic Chern-Simons secondary invariants under infinitesimal variation and finite gauge transformation, it is proved that they are eligible to be a candidate term in the Lagrangian in odd dimensions (2k − 1 for gauge theories and 4k − 1 for gravity). The coefficients in front of these terms may be quantized because of topological reasons. As a possible application, the dimensional reduction of such actions in Kaluza-Klein theory is discussed. The difficulty in defining the Chern-Simons action for topologically nontrivial field configurations is pointed out and resolved.
Bilateral Acute Iris Transillumination Following Systemic Moxifloxacin for Respiratory Illness: Report of Two Cases and Review of the Literature

Purpose: To describe two cases of bilateral acute iris transillumination following systemic administration of moxifloxacin and review the literature.Methods: Review of clinical records, and review of the literature using the PubMed database.Results: A 75 year-old man and 33 year-old woman presented with bilateral conjunctival injection, photophobia, and atonic, distorted pupils. The symptoms began acutely following a respiratory illness, for which both were treated with moxifloxacin. Both patients demonstrated profound iris transillumination, sectoral posterior bowing of the iris, corneal endothelial pigment dusting, and trabecular meshwork hyperpigmentation. One patient had a cotton-wool spot. A literature review identified 59 previous reports in 5 publications, including 17 patients with no antecedent fluoroquinolone use.Conclusions: Increased awareness of this recently described clinical entity should lead to a decrease in unnecessary diagnostic evaluations. It is currently unclear whether this disease...
In silico studies of the mechanism of methanol oxidation by quinoprotein methanol dehydrogenase.

The mechanism of bacterial methanol dehydrogenase involves hydride equivalent transfer from substrate to the ortho-quinone PQQ to provide a C5-reduced intermediate that subsequently rearranges to the hydroquinone PQQH2. We have studied the PQQ reduction by molecular dynamic (MD) simulations in aqueous solution. Among the five simulated structures, either Asp297 or Glu171 or both are ionized. Reasonable structures are obtained only when both carboxyl groups are ionized. This is not unexpected since the kinetic pH optimum is 9.0. In the structure of the enzyme‚PQQ‚HOCH3 complex, the hydrogen bonded Glu171-CO2 - ‚‚‚H-OCH3 is in a position to act as a general base catalyst for hydride equivalent transfer to C5 of PQQ. We thus suggest that Glu171 plays the role of general base catalyst in PQQ reduction rather than Asp297 as previously suggested. The reduction is assisted by Arg324, which hydrogen bonds to the ortho-quinone moiety of PQQ. The rearrangement of the C5-reduced intermediate to provide hydroquinone PQQH2 is also assisted by proton abstraction by Glu171-CO2 - and the continuous hydrogen bonding of Arg324 throughout the entire reaction. These features as well as the mapping of the channel for substrate and water into the active site entrance are the observations of major importance.
International Patenting, Patent Rights, and Technology Gaps

International patenting activity is a source of international technology diffusion. However, technology diffuses imperfectly and technology gaps exist between nations. Indeed patenting activity is largely concentrated in developed countries. A gap also exists in patent protection levels across countries, being weak in largely developing countries. Hence this paper studies the extent to which the strengthening and harmonization of patent rights would stimulate international patenting and help narrow technology gaps. International total factor productivity (TFP) differences are used as measures of technology gaps. The paper develops and estimates a model of international patenting and TFP behavior using a panel data set of 44 countries, developed and developing, over the period 1975 - 2005. Of these countries, 25 of them will serve as 'source countries' (i.e., the source of technologies). Overall, however, the paper finds that international patent reforms (even those that involve major regime changes) have relatively modest effects on the technology gap between developed and developing nations.
Effects of polyamines on in vitro phosphorylation of soluble and plasma membrane proteins in tobacco, cucumber and Arabidopsis thaliana

Abstract Polyamines are essential for growth and development in prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms. In this study, we report the effect of cadaverine, putrescine, spermidine and spermine on the phosphorylation of soluble and plasma membrane proteins of tobacco, cucumber and Arabidopsis thaliana . Except for the enhanced phosphorylation of several cucumber soluble proteins, cadaverine had little or no effect on the phosphorylation of soluble and plasma membrane proteins of the three plants. In tobacco, putrescine increased the phosphorylation of some soluble proteins and had no effect on the phosphorylation of plasma membrane proteins, whereas spermidine and spermine decreased the overall phosporylation of soluble proteins but enhanced the phosphorylation of three plasma membrane proteins with molecular weights of 16.5, 34 and 60 kDa. Spermidine had a stronger effect on the phosphorylation of tobacco plasma membrane proteins than spermine and had concentration optimum of ca. 6 mM. Putrescine, spermidine and spermine enhanced the phosphorylation of some soluble proteins from A. thaliana and cucumber and decreased the phosphorylation of others. The three polyamines enhanced the phosphorylation of many plasma membrane proteins. Polyamines increased serine and threonine phosphorylation of plasma membrane proteins prepared from tobacco.