cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Activity-related changes in electrical thresholds of pyramidal tract axons in the behaving monkey.

In monkeys generating torques about the wrist we investigated changes in the excitability of pyramidal tract (PT) axons, measured as the probability of evoking antidromic responses in motor cortex with constant juxtathreshold stimuli delivered in the brain stem. When PT stimuli were delivered 2–20 ms after an orthodromic action potential in the PT neuron, the excitability of axons was elevated, with a characteristic post-spike time course. Excitability peaked at a post-spike delay of 7.0±2.7 ms (n=33). Axonal thresholds typically dropped to 80–90% of the unconditioned values (obtained for stimuli with no preceding spike). Controlling for such post-spike threshold changes by delivering stimuli at fixed post-spike delays, we found that excitability of many PT axons also fluctuated with the wrist responses, being slightly higher during flexion or extension. The phase of movement in which excitability increased had no consistent relation to the phase of movement in which the PTN fired. Taskrelated threshold changes were also seen in PTNs whose discharge was not modulated with the wrist response. Delivering a subthreshold conditioning stimulus also increased the excitability of most PT axons to a subsequent test stimulus. Such poststimulus changes may be mediated by the effects of adjacent fibers activated by the conditioning stimuli. The post-spike and post-stimulus changes added in a nonlinear way. All three types of threshold change may be mediated by a common mechanism: changes in the ionic environment of the axon produced by activity of the axon itself or its neighbors. Such changes could enhance the effectiveness of corticospinal impulses: the post-spike excitability increase could enhance the invasion of corticospinal terminals, and the interaction between neighboring fibers could enhance synchronous arrival of impulses at common targets.
Sodium‐Sensitive Cocaine Binding to Rat Striatal Membrane: Possible Relationship to Dopamine Uptake Sites

: In rat striatal membranes, NaCl induced a twofold increase in the maximal number of cocaine binding sites but did not alter the affinity of these sites for cocaine. This effect was concentration-dependent, specific to sodium ions, and occurred in membranes prepared from corpus striatum but not from other brain regions. Lesions with 6-hydroxydopamine but not with kainic acid eliminated the sodium-induced increase in binding and produced a decrease in the Bmax of binding measured in the presence of NaCl. The capacity of a series of drugs to interfere with Na+–dependent cocaine binding correlated well with their capacity to inhibit [3H]dopamine uptake into rat striatal synaptosomes. The present results suggest that Na+–dependent cocaine binding sites are localized presynaptically on dopaminergic nerve terminals in corpus striatum, and may be related to dopamine uptake sites.
The ingestion of different dietary proteins by humans induces large changes in the plasma tryptophan ratio, a predictor of brain tryptophan uptake and serotonin synthesis.

Summary Background & aims The ingestion by rats of different proteins causes large differences in the plasma ratio of tryptophan to other large neutral amino acids, which predicts brain tryptophan uptake and serotonin synthesis. We evaluated in humans whether ingesting these proteins also produces large excursions in the tryptophan ratio. Methods Fasting males ( n = 6) ingested V-8 Juice containing 40 g of α-lactalbumin, gluten, zein or starch. Blood was drawn before and at 30 min intervals after ingestion for 4 h; tryptophan and other large neutral amino acids were quantitated. Results Pre-meal plasma tryptophan was ∼50 nmol/ml; the tryptophan ratio was ∼0.010. α-Lactalbumin increased plasma tryptophan (3-fold) and the tryptophan ratio (50%); starch did not change either tryptophan variable, while gluten caused a modest (25%) and zein a large reduction (50%) in plasma tryptophan. Gluten and zein reduced the tryptophan ratio. The maximal difference in the tryptophan ratio occurred between α-lactalbumin and zein and was large (∼3-fold). Conclusion Since the plasma tryptophan ratio predicts brain tryptophan uptake and serotonin synthesis in rats, the differences in the ratio produced in humans by these proteins may modify serotonin synthesis, and perhaps elicit serotonin-linked changes in behavior.
Commentary: Environmental Justice in the Big Easy? The Agriculture Street Landfill Tragedy

After 20 years, Superfund has evolved from a risk-based, technically oriented, litigation-driven site cleanup program to an effort that places greater emphasis on negotiated settlements, voluntary cleanups, and community involvement The USEPA's environmental justice initiative reflects this adjustment and sometimes presents unexpected difficulties for both agency personnel and affected community members. Superfund sites, such as the New Orleans Agriculture Street Landfill, assume qualities of what geographer Kenneth Foote refer to as “landscapes of tragedy.” Despite the merging of technical and community approaches to resolving Superfund problems, attachments to place sometimes defy agency efforts. The Agriculture Street situation suggests an additional assessment of community ties to the neighborhood could facilitate remediation and resolution.
Templated Nanocrystal-Based Porous TiO2 Films for Next-Generation Electrochemical Capacitors

The advantages in using nanoscale materials for electrochemical energy storage are generally attributed to short diffusion path lengths for both electronic and lithium ion transport. Here, we consider another contribution, namely the charge storage from faradaic processes occurring at the surface, referred to as pseudocapacitive effect. This paper describes the synthesis and pseudocapacitive characteristics of block copolymer templated anatase TiO2 thin films synthesized using either sol−gel reagents or preformed nanocrystals as building blocks. Both materials are highly crystalline and have large surface areas; however, the structure of the porosity is not identical. The different titania systems are characterized by a combination of small- and wide-angle X-ray diffraction/scattering, combined with SEM imaging and physisorption measurements. Following our previously reported approach, we are able to use the voltammetric sweep rate dependence to determine quantitatively the capacitive contribution to the ...
A sample-and-hold current measurement integrated circuit for neural recording

This paper describes a new differential sample-and-hold technique of current measurement for neural probing. The design utilizes bottom plate sampling (BPS) and T-transmission switches to mitigate signal coupling and a differential sample-and-hold technique to reduce charge injection and clock feed through. The circuit was fabricated in a 0.35 µm CMOS process and tested using different input loads to model the electrochemical properties of the microelectrode. Test results matched closely with the simulation results, proving that the concept of the sample-and-hold current measurement circuit is valid for neural probing.
Results of Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation in Children With Sepsis

Abstract Background. Despite good results in neonates, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is less well accepted in pediatric patients. Older children frequently undergo ECMO for severe bacterial, viral, or aspiration pneumonia and many have coexisting systemic sepsis. We reviewed data from a national registry to study the influence of sepsis on survival from ECMO. Methods. Six hundred fifty-five patients (aged 2 weeks to 17 years) with respiratory failure treated with ECMO were divided into two groups by the presence (n = 76) or absence (n = 579) of sepsis. Groups were compared by univariate analysis and by multivariate logistic regression that considered 10 additional pre-ECMO variables (age, sex, weight, arterial blood gas results, ventilator parameters, and renal failure). Results. By univariate analysis, survival was lower in septic children (36.8% versus 51.6%; p p = 0.12). The ECMO complications predicted by the presence of sepsis included (1) seizures, (2) other neurologic complications, and (3) infection at other sites (all p Conclusions. Systemic sepsis does not independently influence survival in pediatric ECMO. This therapy should not be withheld solely because of sepsis, although neurologic complications may occur more frequently.
Barrier reduction via implementation of InGaN interlayer in wafer-bonded current aperture vertical electron transistors consisting of InGaAs channel and N-polar GaN drain

This letter reports the influence of the added InGaN interlayer on reducing the inherent interfacial barrier and hence improving the electrical characteristics of wafer-bonded current aperture vertical electron transistors consisting of an InGaAs channel and N-polar GaN drain. The current-voltage characteristics of the transistors show that the implementation of N-polar InGaN interlayer effectively reduces the barrier to electron transport across the wafer-bonded interface most likely due to its polarization induced downward band bending, which increases the electron tunneling probability. Fully functional wafer-bonded transistors with nearly 600 mA/mm of drain current at VGS = 0 V and Lgo = 2 μm have been achieved, and thus demonstrate the feasibility of using wafer-bonded heterostructures for applications that require active carrier transport through both materials.
Insulin resistance and coronary artery disease.

The purpose of the present study was to quantitate insulin-mediated glucose disposal in normal glucose tolerant patients with angiographically documented coronary artery disease (CAD) and to define the pathways responsible for the insulin resistance. We studied 13 healthy, normal weight, normotensive subjects with angiographically documented CAD and 10 age-, weight-matched control subjects with an oral glucose tolerance test and a 2-h euglycaemic insulin (40 mU · m−2· min−1) clamp with tritiated glucose and indirect calorimetry. Lean body mass was measured with tritiated water. All CAD and control subjects had a normal oral glucose tolerance test. Fasting plasma insulin concentration (66 ± 6 vs 42 ± 6 pmol/l, p < 0.05) and area under the plasma insulin curve following glucose ingestion (498 ± 54 vs 348 ± 42 pmol · l−1· min−1, p < 0.001) were increased in CAD vs control subjects. Insulin-mediated whole body glucose disposal (27.8 ± 3.9 vs 38.3 ± 4.4 μmol · kg fat free mass (FFM)−1· min−1, p < 0.01) was significantly decreased in CAD subjects and this was entirely due to diminished non-oxidative glucose disposal (8.9 ± 2.8 vs 20.0 ± 3.3 μmol · kg FFM−1· min−1, p < 0.001). The magnitude of insulin resistance was positively correlated with the severity of CAD (r = 0.480, p < 0.05). In the CAD subjects basal and insulin-mediated rates of glucose and lipid oxidation were normal and insulin caused a normal suppression of hepatic glucose production. In conclusion, subjects with angiographically documented CAD are characterized by moderate-severe insulin resistance and hyperinsulinaemia and should be included in the metabolic and cardiovascular cluster of disorders that comprise the insulin resistance syndrome or ’syndrome X'. [Diabetologia (1996) 39: 1345–1350]
Collaborative Decision Making Across Digital Interfaces

In distributed product realization problems, new paradigms and accompanying software systems are necessary to support the collaborative work of geographically dispersed engineering teams from different disciplines who have different knowledge, experience, tools and resources. In the context of prototyping product using SFF technologies, digital interfaces are constructed between engineering teams, especially between design and manufacturing teams, to separate their product realization activities. Across digital interfaces, each engineering team holds its own perspective towards the product realization problem, and each controls a subset of design variables and seeks to maximize its own payoff function subject to individual constraints. That is, engineering teams act like players in a team sport (i.e., a game) cooperating to achieve a set of overall goals. Hence, we postulate the use of principles from game theory to model the relationships between engineering teams. In this paper, a decision template is used as a digital interface enabling information about product realization activities to be transferred between engineering teams. Three game protocols are used to facilitate collaborative decision making without iteration across digital interfaces. A simple product realization scenario is introduced to demonstrate the efficacy of inserting digital interfaces between design and manufacturing teams.© 2002 ASME
Blunt cardiac injury in the elderly trauma patient

Abstract Elderly patients are at significant risk for development of complications afer a traumatic event as a result of the aging process. This case discusses the diagnosis and sequelae of blunt cardiac injury, as well as the needs and approaches for an elderly patient. Nursing care interventions are provided.
Compact state machines for high performance pattern matching

Pattern matching is essential to a wide range of applications such as network intrusion detection, virus scanning, etc. Pattern matching algorithms normally rely on state machines to detect predefined patterns. Recently, parallel pattern matching engines, based on ASICs, FPGAs or network processors, perform matching with multiple state machines. The state migration in the matching procedure incurs intensive memory accesses. Thus, it is critical to minimize the storage of state machines such that they can be fit in on-chip or other fast memory modules to achieve high-speed pattern matching. This paper proposes novel optimization techniques, namely state re-labeling and memory partition, to reduce state machine storage. The paper also presents architectural designs based on the optimization strategy. We evaluate our design using realistic pattern sets, and the results show state machine memory reduction up to 80.1%.
TGFβ elicits opposite responses in clonal subpopulations of NRK-49F cells

Abstract Clonal subpopulations of NRK-49F cells were isolated and characterized for their responses to transforming growth factor beta (TGFβ). Two fibroblastic clones, N 1 and N 4 , were found to have opposite TGFβ responses. TGFβ inhibits EGF-induced proliferation in growth-arrested, subconfluent monolayer cultures of N 1 but not N 4 cells. In contrast, TGFβ stimulates DNA synthesis and an increase in cell number in N 4 but not N 1 cells. The inhibitory effect of TGFβ on DNA synthesis in N 1 cells is due not to modulation of the EGF receptor or other early G 1 events. EGF-induced myc mRNA accumulation is not inhibited, and the action point for TGFβ inhibition of the entry into S of N 1 cells is at the G 1 -S boundary.
Response of soil microbial activity to grazing, nitrogen deposition, and exotic cover in a serpentine grassland

Exotic species, nitrogen (N) deposition, and grazing are major drivers of change in grasslands. However little is known about the interactive effects of these factors on below-ground microbial communities. We simulated realistic N deposition increases with low-level fertilization and manipulated grazing with fencing in a split-plot experiment in California’s largest serpentine grassland. We also monitored grazing intensity using camera traps and measured total available N to assess grazing and nutrient enrichment effects on microbial extracellular enzyme activity (EEA), microbial N mineralization, and respiration rates in soil. Continuous measures of grazing intensity and N availability showed that increased grazing and N were correlated with increased microbial activity and were stronger predictors than the categorical grazing and fertilization measures. Exotic cover was also generally correlated with increased microbial activity resulting from exotic-driven nutrient cycling alterations. Seasonal effects, on abiotic factors and plant phenology, were also an important factor in EEA with lower activity occurring at peak plant biomass. In combination with previous studies from this serpentine grassland, our results suggest that grazing intensity and soil N availability may affect the soil microbial community indirectly via effects on exotic cover and associated changes in nutrient cycling while grazing directly impacts soil community function.
TH-A-303A-01: Practical Procedures for Achieving and Maintaining ACR CT Accreditation

Accreditation of computed tomography systems is increasingly important as reimbursements become tied to the successful achievement and maintenance of accreditation status. This presentation reviews the technical requirements for the medical physicist who will be in charge of performing quality assurance and ACR accreditation testing of a CT scanner. These duties include establishing schedules for routine quality assurancetesting, performing pre‐submission and annual testing, and performing testing for the ACR submission. All of these are reviewed from a practical standpoint of performing the required studies in an efficient manner with appropriate record keeping and documentation. Learning Objectives: Attendees will gain understanding of the 1. Requirements for the physics testing for ACR accreditation 2. Practical aspects of testingCT systems 3. Performance of annual surveillance testing and pre‐application testing 4. Establishment of routine quality assurance protocols and record keeping
Demographic and Placement Variables Associated with Overweight and Obesity in Children in Long-Term Foster Care

Overweight and obesity is a growing problem for children in foster care. This study describes the prevalence of overweight and obesity in an urban, ethnic minority population of children ages 2–19 in long-term foster care (N = 312) in Los Angeles, California. It also investigates whether demographics or placement settings are related to high body mass index. The estimates of prevalence of overweight/obesity (≥85th percentile) and obesity (≥95th percentile) were presented for gender, age, ethnicity, and placement type. Multiple logistic regression was used to examine potential associations between demographic and placement variables and weight status. The prevalence of overweight/obesity was almost 40 % and obesity was 23 % for the study population. Children placed in a group home had the highest prevalence of overweight/obesity (60 %) and obesity (43 %) compared to other types of placement. Within this study, older children (ages 12–19) were more likely to be overweight/obese than normal weight compared to children between 2 and 5 years old when controlling for gender, ethnicity and placement (OR = 2.10, CI = 1.14–3.87). These findings suggest that older age and long-term foster care in general may be risk factors for obesity. Child welfare agencies and health care providers need to work together to train caregivers with children in long-term foster care in obesity treatment interventions and obesity prevention strategies.
Convergence and limit points of neural network and its application to pattern recognition

A novel neural network model, based on the gradient system theory, is introduced. The proposed design approach solves the problem of parasitic limit points. This could have significant impact on many potential applications, particularly in the area of pattern classification/recognition. The design approach, the development of the Lyapunov function, the stability analysis, and the convergence characteristics of the neural network are discussed in detail. Design examples and simulation results are presented to illustrate the design process and the convergence characteristics of the proposed neural network. One example shows its application in pattern recognition. >
Complements, Mollifiers and the Propensity to Disrupt.

Gately [1974] andLittlechild/Vaidya [1976] defined and studied ratio measures of “disruption propensity” of coalitions in ann-person game. We define and study new incremental measures giving rise to a wide variety of “disruption solution” concepts free of various ratio defects and affording advantages of analysis and acceptability in terms of solution specifications. Various “mollifier” and “homomollifier” solution concepts are characterized which appear to be of promising utility.
Article Commentary: Response to commentary: Benign paroxysmal position vertigo:

In November 2008, a multidisciplinary clinical practice guideline on the diagnosis and treatment of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) was published in Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery. This guideline makes several evidence-based statements regarding the management of BPPV to facilitate the accurate, efficient, and cost-effective diagnosis and treatment of BPPV. It sets forth specific diagnostic criteria for BPPV and also recommends that clinicians should not routinely obtain radiographic imaging or vestibular testing when the diagnosis of BPPV is made based on history and physical examination. A recent commentary argues that vestibular testing should play a greater role in the diagnosis of BPPV. We review the guideline's recommendations and the rationale behind the recommendation against radiographic and vestibular testing in uncomplicated BPPV.
Distinguishing Reversible from Irreversible Virus Capsid Assembly

Capsids of spherical viruses may be constructed from hundreds or thousands of copies of the major capsid protein(s). These assembly reactions are poorly understood. Here we consider the predicted behavior for assembly where the component reactions have weak association energy and are reversible and compare them to essentially irreversible reactions. The comparisons are based on mass action calculations and the behavior predicted from kinetic simulations where assembly is described as a cascade of low order reactions. Reversible reactions are characterized by a pseudo-critical concentration, whereas irreversible reactions consume all free subunits. Irreversible reactions are more susceptible to kinetic traps comprised of numerous small intermediates. In the case where only the ultimate step is irreversible, very low concentrations of intermediates slow the completion of the reaction so that overall it closely matches the predictions for the reversible reactions that make up the majority of the cascade. Data in the literature strongly support the hypothesis that most viruses are held together by many weak interactions.
A comparative evaluation of automated medical history systems

As the practice of medicine shifts from crisis intervention to the prevention of disease and the maintenance of health, the role of the comprehensive patient medical history becomes even more important than it has been formerly.
The CO 2 tracer clock for the Tropical Tropopause Layer

Observations of CO 2 were made in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere in the deep tropics in order to determine the patterns of large-scale vertical transport and age of air in the Tropical Tropopause Layer (TTL). Flights aboard the NASA WB-57F aircraft over Central America and adjacent ocean areas took place in January and February, 2004 (Pre-AURA Validation Experiment, Pre-AVE) and 2006 (Costa Rice AVE, CR-AVE), and for the same flight dates of 2006, aboard the Proteus aircraft from the surface to 15 km over Darwin, Australia (Tropical Warm Pool International Cloud Experiment, TWP-ICE). The data demonstrate that the TTL is composed of two layers with distinctive features: (1) the lower TTL , 350–360 K (potential temperature(θ); approximately 12–14 km), is subject to inputs of convective outflows, as indicated by layers of variable CO 2 concentrations, with air parcels of zero age distributed throughout the layer; (2) the upper TTL , from θ=~360 K to ~390 K (14–18 km), ascends slowly and ages uniformly, as shown by a linear decline in CO 2 mixing ratio tightly correlated with altitude, associated with increasing age. This division is confirmed by ensemble trajectory analysis. The CO 2 concentration at the level of 360 K was 380.0(±0.2) ppmv, indistinguishable from surface site values in the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) for the flight dates. Values declined with altitude to 379.2(±0.2) ppmv at 390 K, implying that air in the upper TTL monotonically ages while ascending. In combination with the winter slope of the CO 2 seasonal cycle (+10.8±0.4 ppmv/yr), the vertical gradient of –0.78 (±0.09) ppmv gives a mean age of 26(±3) days for the air at 390 K and a mean ascent rate of 1.5(±0.3) mm s −1 . The TTL near 360 K in the Southern Hemisphere over Australia is very close in CO 2 composition to the TTL in the Northern Hemisphere over Costa Rica, with strong contrasts emerging at lower altitudes ( 2 observed unexpected input from deep convection over Amazonia deep into the TTL. The CO 2 data confirm the operation of a highly accurate tracer clock in the TTL that provides a direct measure of the ascent rate of the TTL and of the age of air entering the stratosphere.
Constructal optimization of nonuniformly distributed tree-shaped flow structures for conduction

Abstract Constructal tree designs are hierarchical high-conductivity paths that minimize the global resistance between an entire volume and one point. In past work, the structure was optimized as a sequence of building blocks (volume sizes), which started with the smallest size (elemental volume) and continued toward larger and more complex assemblies (first construct, second construct, etc.). The resulting structure had a `uniform' distribution of interstitial spaces, because the size of the elemental volume was fixed. In this paper we relax the elemental size constraint, and show that the added design freedom leads to significant improvements in global performance, i.e., to decreases in the global resistance to volume–point flow. Each tree structure, or the distribution of high-conductivity material through low-conductivity background, is optimized by simulating numerically and comparing large numbers of designs where the geometry changes smoothly from one design to the next. The results show that each optimized structure has not one but several elemental volume sizes, and that the volume elements situated far from the root of the tree are notably smaller. The resulting tree is nonuniform, i.e., denser near the periphery of its canopy. In sum, better global performance is achieved when the complexity and number of degrees of freedom of the structure are increased. In the same direction, the optimized nonuniform tree structure looks more and more natural.
CATABOLISM OF 6-METHOXY-BENZOXAZOLINONE AND 2-BENZOXAZOLINONE BY FUSARIUM MONILIFORME

The ability of the corn pathogen Fusarium moniliforme to degrade 6-methoxy-benzoxazolinone (MBOA) and 2-benzoxazolinone (BOA), natural com? pounds associated with fungal and insect resistance in corn (Zea mays), was investigated in vitro. The fungus completely catabolized 2.5 mM concentrations of both MBOA and BOA within 24 hours after addition of the compounds to liquid Czapek-Dox medium. Shake cul? tures of the fungus degraded both compounds more rapidly than static cultures, and BOA was catabolized more rapidly than MBOA. All isolates of F. moniliforme that were isolated from sweet or field corn catabolized these compounds. However, an isolate from rice (Ory- zae sativa) catabolized neither MBOA nor BOA under these conditions. This finding is particularly interest- ing since rice does not contain the benzoxazolinones.
A methodology to study multiple sclerosis (MS) based on distributions of standardized intensities in segmented tissue regions

This paper presents (1) an improved hierarchical method for segmenting the component tissue regions in fast spin echo T2 and PD images of the brain of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) patients, and (2) a methodology to characterize the disease utilizing the distributions of standardized T2 and PD intensities in the segmented tissue regions. First, the background intensity inhomogeneities are corrected and the intensity scales are standardized for all acquired images. The segmentation method imposes a feedback-like procedure on our previously developed hierarchical brain tissue segmentation method. With gradually simplified patterns in images and stronger evidences, pathological objects are recognized and segmented in an interplay fashion. After the brain parenchymal (BP) mask is generated, an under-estimated gray matter mask (uGM) and an over-estimated white matter mask (oWM) are created. Pure WM (PWM) and lesion (LS) masks are extracted from the all-inclusive oWM mask. By feedback, accurate GM and WM masks are subsequently formed. Finally, partial volume regions of GM and WM as well as Dirty WM (DWM) masks are generated. Intensity histograms and their parameters (peak height, peak location, and 25th, 50th and 75th percentile values) are computed for both T2 and PD images within each tissue region. Tissue volumes are also estimated. Spearman correlation coefficient rank test is then utilized to assess if there exists a trend between clinical states and the image-based parameters. This image analysis method has been applied to a data set consisting of 60 patients with MS and 20 normal controls. LS related parameters and clinical Extended Disability Status Scale (EDSS) scores demonstrate modest correlations. Almost every intensity-based parameter shows statistical difference between normal control and patient groups with a level better than 5%. These results can be utilized to monitor disease progression in MS.
Sex differences in absolute rates of bone resorption in young rats: Appendicular versus axial bones

This study compares absolute rates of bone resorption and formation at the organ level in adolescent Sprague-Dawley rats as a function of sex and type of bone. Bone r’esorption and formation were quantified in rapidly growing male and female rats (4-7 weeks of age) who were multiply prelabeled with [3H]tetracycline. Ten different whole bones were compared: four cranial or appendicular bones and six axial bones. Absolure rate of bone r’esorption was measured isotopically by the loss of3H-tetracycline from each whole bone. Bone growth was quantified in terms of relative and absolute increase in bone calcium mass. When the rates of bone resorption (loss of [3H]-tetracycline as percent of whole bone per 3 weeks) were compared between sexes, the six axial bones showed significantly higher rates(P < 0.05-0.001) in males (64-73) than in females (37-66). No significant sex differences were observed in rate for the two cranial and two appendicular bones. During 4–7 weeks of age, a comparison of bone masses showed that only one bone (calvaria) gained more mass in the male and two bones (mandible and hum’erus) gained more mass in the female. In contrast, five of six axial bones gained more mass in the female. Thus, 7 out of 10 bones were larger in the female. In growing male and female rats, an inverse relationship appears between rate of bone r’esorption and mass for most of the axial bones; this relationship was not apparent for cranial or appendicular bones. Sexual dimorphism was consistently seen by greater axial bone mass in females. However, greater rates of bone resorption were seen in male axial bones but not in cranial or appendicular bones. It is apparent that the different types of bones are heterogeneous in their rates of resorption and formation during this period of growth.
Erratum to “Absence of a self-induced decay effect in 198Au” [Nucl. Instr. and Meth. A 659 (2011) 269]

Erratum to ‘‘Absence of a self-induced decay effect in Au’’ [Nucl. Instr. and Meth. A 659 (2011) 269] Richard M. Lindstrom, Ephraim Fischbach , John B. Buncher , Jere H. Jenkins , Andrew Yue e a Analytical Chemistry Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899, USA b Department of Physics, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA c Department of Physics, Wittenberg University, Springfield, OH 45501, USA d School of Nuclear Engineering, Purdue University, 400 Central Drive, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA e Department of Physics, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
Voltage gating of gap junctions in cochlear supporting cells: evidence for nonhomotypic channels.

The organ of Corti has been found to have multiple gap junction subunits, connexins, which are localized solely in nonsensory supporting cells. Connexin mutations can induce sensorineural deafness. However, the characteristics and functions of inner ear gap junctions are not well known. In the present study, the voltage-dependence of gap junctional conductance (G j ) in cochlear supporting cells was examined by the double voltage clamp technique. Multiple types of asymmetric voltage dependencies were found for both nonjunctional membrane voltage (V m ) and transjunctional (V j ) voltage. Responses for each type of voltage dependence were categorized into four groups. The first two groups showed rectification that was polarity dependent. The third group exhibited rectification with either voltage polarity, i.e., these cells possessed a bell-shaped G j -V j or G j -V m function. The rectification due to V j had fast and slow components. On the other hand, V m -dependent gating was fast (<5 msec), but stable. Finally, a group was found that evidenced no voltage dependence, although the absence of V j dependence did not preclude V m dependence and vice versa. In fact, for all groups V j sensitivity could be independent of V m sensitivity. The data show that most gap junctional channels in the inner ear have asymmetric voltage gating, which is indicative of heterogeneous coupling and may result from heterotypic channels or possibly heteromeric configurations. This heterogeneous coupling implies that single connexin gene mutations may affect the normal physiological function of gap junctions that are not limited to homotypic configurations.
Venus atmospheric waves: A challenge for nonlinear dynamics

Abstract Planetary-scale cloud patterns seen in ultraviolet images of Venus are produced by atmospheric waves traveling slowly with respect to the cloud-top winds. The cloud features often combine to produce a dark horizontal “Y” shape that encircles the planet. Linear wave theory and detailed observations of the waves show that the “Y” is a combination of two components-a midlatitude wave traveling somewhat slower than the winds and an equatorial wave moving slightly faster. However, nonlinear effects must be invoked in order to couple the two modes in such a way as to reproduce the observations.
Flow of Control in Networks

Many complex systems can be viewed as networks, in which nodes represent system elements and edges correspond to interactions between those elements. In such networks, a subset of nodes—the driver nodes—can yield control of the entire network when they are driven by external signals ( 1 – 3 ). However, to control a system, one must know not only what parts need to be controlled but also why these particular parts need to be controlled. On page 1373 of this issue, Ruths and Ruths ( 4 ) put forward an elegant framework that elucidates the origin of control in networks. The framework divides nodes into three categories based on how they affect the flow of control in networks. This approach gives rise to control profiles that the authors use to classify a host of empirical and synthetic networks. The results suggest that networks from different domains but in the same category may be more similar to one another than previously thought.
East Meets West: A Nonlinear Model for Understanding Human Growth and Development

Life-span theories (e.g., Erikson) represent a cornerstone in social work education and practice. We believe these theories that articulate development as a sequence of stages deserve closer scrutiny and could be strengthened through application of nonlinear views for understanding human growth and development. For our purposes, Taoist principles provide this nonlinear perspective. In this article, we provide a summary of Erikson's writings, introduce four Taoist principles as a means of critiquing and expanding on Erikson's work, propose a model for understanding human growth and development that integrates these Taoist principles, and discuss implications for social work education and practice.
Temporal Rates of Growth and Decay of Microscopic and Macroscopic Surface Structures in a Wind-Wave Tank

Abstract The distributions of water-surface slopes and wave heights were measured under suddenly started and stopped winds. The root-mean-square slopes and average wave heights are found to grow and decay exponentially with time; in each case, the growth rate is faster than the decay rate. Quantitative growth and decay rates of these slopes and heights approaching and departing an equilibrium state, respectively, are presented. The growth rates show strong dependence and the decay rates show insignificant dependence an wind-friction velocity. The growth time of slope statistics is found to be shorter than that of height statistics, suggesting that the ripples can be excited directly and effectively by the wind and that wave-wave interaction and wind gusts are important to wave generation by wind. This comparison, along with measurements of instantaneous growth of microscopic surface structures reported by others, also reveals that the development of the wave spectrum indeed starts at the high-frequency en...
Humoral immune response to melanoma-associated membrane antigen and fetal brain antigen demonstrated by indirect membrane immunofluorescence. I

A melanoma-associated membrane antigen and a fetal brain antigen were identified on the surface of a human melanoma cell line by indirect membrane immunofluorescence techniques. The target melanoma cells were grown in gamma globulin-depleted human serum. Sera from melanoma patients were used as the source of antimelanoma antibodies. To remove alloantibodies, the allogeneic sera were preabsorbed with cultured lymphoblastoid cells derived from the peripheral lymphocytes of the donor of the target cell line. To further define the antigen responsible for antibody activity, sequential absorption tests were performed with fetal brain cells, cultured sarcomas, and breast carcinomas. Some antibody activity was removed by fetal brain tissues. Further absorption with fetal brain or the cultured sarcoma or breast carcinoma did not remove additional activity. However, antibody activity was completely removed by either cultured or biopsy-derived melanoma cells. A serum autochthonous to the target cell line was also tested. The antibody titer of the serum was completely removed by absorption with either autochthonous biopsied tumor or an allogeneic melanoma cell line, but not with the normal tissues. Thus it appeared that sera from melanoma patients contained antibody to both a melanoma-associated membrane antigen and a fetal brain antigen.
Antithrombin is protective against myocardial ischemia and reperfusion injury

Summary. Background: Antithrombin (AT) is a plasma serpin inhibitor that regulates the proteolytic activity of procoagulant proteases of the clotting cascade. In addition to its anticoagulant activity, AT also possesses potent antiinflammatory properties. Objectives: The objective of this study was to investigate the anti-inflammatory activity of wild-type AT (AT-WT) and a reactive centre loop mutant of AT (AT-RCL) which is not capable of inhibiting thrombin. Methods: The cardioprotective activities of AT-WT and AT-RCL were monitored in a mouse model of ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury in which the left anterior descending coronary artery was occluded and then released. Results: We demonstrate that AT markedly reduces myocardial infarct size by a mechanism that is independent of its anticoagulant activity. Thus, AT-RCL attenuated myocardial infarct size to the same extent as AT-WT in this acute injury model. Further studies revealed that AT binds to vascular heparan sulfate proteoglycans via its heparinbinding domain to exert its protective activity as evidenced by the therapeutic AT-binding pentasaccharide (fondaparinux) abrogating the cardioprotective activity of AT and a heparin-site mutant of AT exhibiting no cardioprotective property. We further demonstrate that AT up-regulates the production of prostacyclin in myocardial tissues and inhibits expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-a and interleukin (IL)-6 in vivo by attenuating ischemia/reperfusion-induced JNK and NF-jB signaling pathways. Conclusions: The present results suggest that both AT and the non-anticoagulant AT-RCL, through their anti-inflammatory signaling effects, elicit potent cardioprotective responses. Thus, AT may have therapeutic potential for treating cardiac I/R injury.
Recent Structural and Mechanistic Insights into Endplate Acetylcholine Receptors

Voluntary movement mediated by skeletal muscle relies on endplate acetylcholine receptors (AChR) to detect nerve-released ACh and depolarize the muscle fiber. Recent structural and mechanistic studies of the endplate AChR have catalyzed a leap in our understanding of the molecular steps in this chemical-to-electrical transduction process. Studies of acetylcholine binding protein (AChBP) give insight into ACh recognition, the first step in activation of the AChR. An atomic structural model of the Torpedo AChR at a resolution of 0.4 nm, together with single-ion channel recording methods, allow tracing of the link between the agonist binding event and gating of the ion channel, as well as determination of how the channel moves when it opens to allow flow of cations. Structural models of the human AChR enable precise mapping of disease-causing mutations, while studies of the speed with which single AChR channels open and close cast light on pathogenic mechanisms.
Yellow luminescent diodes utilizing poly(2,5-bis(cholestanoxy)-1,4-phenylene vinylene)

We report visible yellow light emission from diodes made from a new derivative of poly(p-phenylene vinylene). The soluble di-cholestanol derivative, poly(2,5-bis(cholestanoxy)-l, 4-phenylene vinylene), allows fabrication of the light emitting diodes by spinning the electroluminescent polymer film from solution prepared at room temperature with no subsequent processing or heat treatment required. These initial devices turn on at >8 V and have a peak emission wavelength of 570 nm at room temperature with quantum efficiencies of approximately 0.3% photons per electron.
Desglycyl-8-arginine vasopressin affects regional mouse brain cyclic AMP content

The content of cyclic AMP in various regions of the brains of young, adult male Swiss ICR mice, were altered at 60 minutes and 24 hours after a single intraperitoneal administration of desglycyl-8-arginine vasopressin (DGAVP). These time periods are well beyond the reported plasma half-life for this behaviorally active peptide. At 60 minutes, 5 brain regions showed significant elevations. The most notable response was in the septal area, (225%), followed by the thalamus (121%), the olfactory bulb, (144%), and hippocampus, (122%). After 24 hours, cyclic AMP content was significantly elevated in 10 brain regions. Maximal response was found in the hippocampus, (167%), the parietal cortex, (194%), and the occipital cortex, (190%). Other responsive regions included the olfactory bulb, (197%), medulla-pons, (153%), hypothalamus, (152%), septal area, (154%), striatum, (135%), and the frontal cortex, (133%). A substantial response to the injection of a placebo was noted in control animals. In each of the 12 regions examined, the content of cyclic AMP was significantly lower (p<0.01 or greater) at 24 hours compared to 1 hour after administration of the placebo. This is consistent with our previous findings of a late effect of the placebo injection. The regional cyclic AMP responses were qualitatively different from those observed after a single injection of ORG 2766, a tri-substituted ACTH (4–9) peptide fragment with different effects on memory. On the basis of the marked increase of cyclic AMP in the septal area, thalamus and olfactory bulb, at 60 minutes, and the prolonged response to DGAVP in multiple brain regions which were found at 24 hours, we conclude that DGAVP triggers serially related biochemical mechanisms which continue to affect the metabolism and function of these areas for long time periods after a single injection.
Abnormal anxiety-related behavior in serotonin transporter null mutant mice: the influence of genetic background

Serotonin transporter (5-HTT) null mutant mice provide a model system to study the role genetic variation in the 5-HTT plays in the regulation of emotion. Anxiety-like behaviors were assessed in 5-HTT null mutants with the mutation placed on either a B6 congenic or a 129S6 congenic background. Replicating previous findings, B6 congenic 5-HTT null mutants exhibited increased anxiety-like behavior and reduced exploratory locomotion on the light dark exploration and elevated plus-maze tests. In contrast, 129S6 congenic 5-HTT null mutant mice showed no phenotypic abnormalities on either test. 5-HTT null mutants on the 129S6 background showed reduced 5-HT(1A) receptor binding (as measured by quantitative autoradiography) and reduced 5-HT(1A) receptor function (as measured by 8-OH-DPAT-induced hypothermia). These data confirm that the 5-HTT null mutation produced alterations in brain 5-HT function in mice on the 129S6 background, thereby discounting the possibility that the absence of an abnormal anxiety-like phenotype in these mice was due to a suppression of the mutation by 129 modifier genes. Anxiety-like behaviors in the light dark exploration and elevated plus-maze tests were significantly higher in 129S6 congenic +/+ mice as compared to B6 congenic +/+ mice. This suggests that high baseline anxiety-like behavior in the 129S6 strain might have precluded detection of the anxiety-like effects of the 5-HTT null mutation on this background. Present findings provide further evidence linking genetic variation in the 5-HTT to abnormalities in mood and anxiety. Furthermore, these data highlight the utility of conducting behavioral phenotyping of mutant mice on multiple genetic backgrounds.
Introducing a new experimental design for controlled studies of flake formation: results for exterior platform angle, platform depth, angle of blow, velocity, and force

Potential variables that underlie variation in flake size, and in some instances shape, are investigated in a newly designed experiment. This new design, which utilizes glass cores molded to a specific shape, results in flakes that are identical to archaeological ones. Variation in exterior platform angle, platform depth and angle of blow all directly affect flake size, and in the case of exterior platform angle, flake shape as well (in spite of constant core surface morphology). In treating velocity and force independently, neither is found to affect flake size or shape. These results have implications for understanding different strategies that flintknappers may employ to control the size of their flake products.
Measurement of the thermal conductivity of composites using heat flow sensors

A thermal conductivity measuring apparatus that uses heat flow sensors to measure the heat flux through samples was constructed of inexpensive materials. This device was used to measure the thermal conductivity (k) of two composites used in the space program that consist of fibrous or granular components embedded in a resin matrix. The k-values that were determined ranged from 0.035 to 0.059 Btu/h sq ft-F/ft (-163 to 553 F) and 0.029 to 0.035 Btu/h-sq ft-F/ft (77 to 212 F). Thermal conductivity values of the composites conformed to the rule of mixture. The accuracy of the system was found to be comparable to the guarded hotplate and it requires neither a skilled operator nor extensive maintenance.