cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The interpretation of electrokinetic measurements using a dynamic model of the stern layer: II. Comparisons between theory and experiment

Abstract The mathematical model developed in Part I (C. F. Zukoski IV and D. A. Saville, J. Colloid Interface Sci. 114, 32–44 (1986)), where the Stern layer is treated in a dynamic sense with ion transport by both diffusion and electromigration along the surface, has been used to interpret experimental data on particle mobility and suspension conductivity. In the model, particle charge arises from a balance between the effects of adsorbed cations, which neutralize covalently bound surface groups, and co-ions adsorbed to hydrophobic areas on the surface of the latex particles. Using the dynamic model of the Stern layer it is possible to depict the electrophoretic mobility of individual particles and electrical conductivity of a suspension over a wide range of electrolyte concentrations. According to the results ion motion parallel to the surface but within the Stern layer affects the bulk conductivity of the suspension more than the mobility of individual particles. Ion mobilities in the Stern layer are naturally smaller than in the bulk. The discrepancy between the ζ potentials (or surface charge densities) inferred from applying the standard theory (which omits the surface transport of ions) to mobility and conductivity measurements is due to the fact that lateral transport in the Stern layer acts so as to reduce the effective electric force on a small particle, which reduces the apparent charge, whereas such transport affects the conductivity in ways that increase the apparent charge.
Measuring Website Globalization

Abstract The article provides insight into the current state of online globalization as exhibited by various countries and industries. A country and industry wise analysis of the webpages of 870 U.S. and international companies shows that website globalization is still at a nascent stage, with almost 57% of the company websites surveyed showing low levels of website globalization. Comparatively, countries such as Switzerland, Netherlands, Sweden, and United States showed higher levels of website globalization. Among the industries, consumer software, electronics, entertainment, and consumer durables showed the highest levels of website globalization. The authors' purpose in conducting this measurement and analysis was to help companies determine what foreign markets or regions they should target, and what types of industry sectors show the promise for continued growth on the internet.
Fan Ownership Can Give UFL a Leg Up on Building Loyalty

This article/editorial discusses the potential business advantages stemming from allowing public investment into the UFL (a new, start-up professional football league).
Little River Experimental Watershed, Tifton, Georgia, United States: A geographic database

[1] The Little River Experimental Watershed is located in the headwaters of the Upper Suwannee River basin and is one of twelve national benchmark watersheds participating in the U.S. Department of Agriculture Conservation Effects Assessment Project–Watershed Assessment Studies. A geographic database has been established to include topography, land use, hydrology, soil distribution, watershed boundaries, and site locations for all weirs, rain gauges, soil moisture sites, and climate stations. These data provide the foundation for integrating point-based measurements with landscape attributes. Each spatial layer can be accessed individually for use within a geographic information system. The watershed boundary layer will serve as the base map, projected into universal transverse Mercator coordinates (zone 17), using NAD83 as the datum and GRS80 as the ellipsoid. Data may be accessed via ftp://www.tiftonars.org/.
Children of immigration

With some 460 languages spoken across the land, the United States has a deep reservoir of linguistic diversity. But our nation’s inconsistent language-learning policies and practices present a variety of obstacles for learning English. Understanding and then addressing student needs during the critical transition phase for newcomer students is an important area for intervention. The shared fortunes of immigrant and native citizens alike will be tied to successfully linking our youngest new Americans to the educational and economic opportunity structure, to civic belonging, and full democratic participation.
Subtyping aggression in children and adolescents.

To document the existence of "predatory" (goal-oriented, planned, hidden, or controlled) and "affective" (impulsive, unplanned, overt, or uncontrolled) subtypes of aggression, this study assessed 73 aggressive child and adolescent psychiatric patients for the presence of theoretically predatory and affective behaviors. Cluster analysis, using the reliable items, confirmed the predicted partition, yielding a "predatory" and an "affective" cluster. The scale, with a total score from +5 (fully predatory) to -5 (fully affective), had good internal consistency (alpha = .73). The score distribution tended to be bimodal, with peaks at -3 (predominantly affective) and 1 (mixed). Patients with "affective" aggression were more likely to have lower IQ, to receive neuroleptics or lithium, and to have a chart diagnosis of schizophrenia. History of drug abuse was more frequent among the "predatory" patients.
Corrections to “A Two-Channel 8–20-GHz SiGe BiCMOS Receiver With Selectable IFs for Multibeam Phased-Array Digital Beamforming Applications” [Mar 11 716-726]

In the above titled paper (ibid., vol. 59, no. 3, pp. 716-726, Mar. 2011), "EVM" is used as an acronym for both "evanescent-mode" and "error vector magnitude" causing confusion. Clarification of the text is presented here.
1673 IN VIVO VARIATION OF BRAIN OXIDATIVE metabolism with therapeutic lumbar PUNCTURE (LP)

Sequential cerebral spectra of phosphorus-containing compounds, ATP, phosphocreatine (Pcr), inorganic phosphate (Pi), phosphodiester (PD), and phosphomonoester (PME), by 31-P nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) were obtained in a severely asphyxiated premature infant with hydrocephalus and seizures. Between days 2-20, 10 therapeutic LP's were done and NMR cerebral spectra were obtained pre (a) and post (p) LP. Pcr/Pi (normal x = 1.01), a measure of bioenergetic reserve, was low at 48h; Left (L) = 0.50, Right (R) = 0.60. After the initial LP, Pcr/Pi rose to L=1.4 and R=0.6. After subsequent LP's, a sharp decrease in Pcr/Pi was followed by a rebound (a LP, L=1.50, R=1.03; p LP, L=0.87, R=0.62; 1½ hrs p LP, L=1.52, R=1.66). Pcr/Pi increased by day 8 (L=1.52, R=1.60) then stabilized during the next month (L=1.0, R=0.8). Tissue pH did not change significantly (day 5: a LP=7.07, p LP=7.02, 1½ hrs p LP=7.08; day 8: a LP=7.12, p LP=7.02, 1½ hrs p LP=1.12). PME/β-ATP, a precursor in membrane biosynthesis, declined (day 2, L=3.15, R=2.53; day 46, L=1.46, R=1.17) but changed inconsistently post LP. Acute changes in Pcr/Pi and PME/β-ATP represent changes in local cerebral metabolism. Removal of 5 cc of CSF may result in acute intracerebral tissue shifts, acute hydrostatic changes with probable effects on CSF and cerebral blood flow, and hence provision of metabolic substrate to brain tissue. These data suggest that acute transient changes in Pcr/Pi and PME/β-ATP, representing changes in local cerebral metabolism, reflect general changes in cerebral metabolic or seizure activity.
Discriminant function analysis of the central portion of the innominate.

Terry Collection innominates of 260 American whites and blacks (65 males and 65 females of each race) were analyzed by discriminant function analysis for sex assessment, race known, and for simultaneous race and sex assessment. Measurements from the preservationally favored central portion of the innominate were chosen for their potential usefulness in forensic casework and to objectify long-recognized “formal” differences between the sexes in the greater sciatic notch. These included acetabular diameter, greater sciatic notch height, and position of greatest notch depth. Accuracy of sex prediction when race is known is roughly 90% in both the base sample of 260 and a test sample of 200 (50 additional individuals for each group). For simultaneous race and sex assessment, accuracy of prediction is roughtly 60% for each group in both samples. This represents about a 45% reduction in error over random assignment by race and sex.
Determinants of Antiretroviral Therapy Adherence among Women in Southern Malawi: Healthcare Providers’ Perspectives

Background. The purpose of this study was to explore healthcare providers' perspectives on antiretroviral (ART) adherence in two ART clinics in southern Malawi. Nonadherence to ART is a significant hindrance to the success of HIV/AIDS treatment. Methods. A one-on-one semistructured interview was conducted with eight healthcare providers in two ART clinics in rural and urban southern Malawi. The interviews were focused on factors facilitating or hindering ART adherence and strategies to improve adherence. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and content-analyzed with the use of the constant comparison approach. Results. Of the eight participants, 63% were between the ages of 20 and 30 years and 37% were HIV counselors. Factors facilitating adherence include patients' belief and knowledge, HIV/AIDS education, and a supportive network. Barriers to adherence include discrimination, nondisclosure of HIV status, food insecurity, medication side effects, religion, misinformation, and staff and drug shortages. Strategies to improve adherence were identified by participants to include nutritional/food supplementation for malnourished or undernourished patients and patient counseling. Conclusions. There is a need for collaborative efforts between healthcare providers, patients, and faith-based organizations to identify and address hindrances and facilitators to patients' adherence. Further research is needed to develop strategies addressing religion, staff, and drug shortages.
Effect of soil physical factors on methyl iodide and methyl bromide

Production and importation of methyl bromide is scheduled to be banned by 2001. Methyl iodide was evaluated as a possible replacement soil fumigant. The effects of soil moisture, temperature, soil texture and fumigation time on the efficacy of methyl iodide for the control of two common weeds, Abutilon theophrasti and Lolium multiflorum, were characterized and compared with those of methyl bromide. The optimal soil moisture for methyl iodide to kill both weed species in sandy soils was 14% water content (w/w). Greater efficacy was obtained when the temperature during fumigation was above 20°C. Compared to methyl bromide, the efficacy of methyl iodide was more consistent in different soils. Time to 100% mortality of weeds was 24 h for methyl iodide fumigation and 36 h for methyl bromide when 200 μM of fumigant was used. On a molar basis methyl iodide was consistently more effective than methyl bromide across the range of environmental factors tested. In terms of application technology and spectrum of activity, methyl bromide can be directly replaced by methyl iodide. © 1998 SCI
Carbon dioxide fluxes in a spatially and temporally heterogeneous temperate grassland

Landscape position, grazing, and seasonal variation in precipitation and temperature create spatial and temporal variability in soil processes, and plant biomass and composition in grasslands. However, it is unclear how this variation in plant and soil properties affects carbon dioxide (CO2) fluxes. The aim of this study is to explore the effect of grazing, topographic position, and seasonal variation in soil moisture and temperature on plant assimilation, shoot and soil respiration, and net ecosystem CO2 exchange (NEE). Carbon dioxide fluxes, vegetation, and environmental variables were measured once a month inside and outside long-term ungulate exclosures in hilltop (dry) to slope bottom (mesic) grassland throughout the 2004 growing season in Yellowstone National Park. There was no difference in vegetation properties and CO2 fluxes between the grazed and the ungrazed sites. The spatial and temporal variability in CO2 fluxes were related to differences in aboveground biomass and total shoot nitrogen content, which were both related to variability in soil moisture. All sites were CO2 sinks (NEE>0) for all our measurments taken throughout the growing season; but CO2 fluxes were four- to fivefold higher at sites supporting the most aboveground biomass located at slope bottoms, compared to the sites with low biomass located at hilltops or slopes. The dry sites assimilated more CO2 per gram aboveground biomass and stored proportionally more of the gross-assimilated CO2 in the soil, compared to wet sites. These results indicate large spatio-temporal variability of CO2 fluxes and suggest factors that control the variability in Yellowstone National Park.
Revision in memories of relationship development: Do biases persist over time?

Partners often recall that their relationship satisfaction has improved over the recent past, even when their satisfaction has actually declined, and such perceptions appear to contribute to optimism about the future. But what happens to memories as the recent past recedes into the distant past? To address this question, data were examined from a U.S. sample of 53 newlywed couples. Every 6 months, spouses reported their memories of relationship change. After 2½ years, they again reported their memories of change over these time periods. Initially, spouses recalled significant improvements over each interval, even though no improvements were observed. By the end of 2½ years, however, they had revised their memories, recalling improvements only in the recent past. Such revisions have implications for research relying on self-reported relationship change and suggest a way for spouses to benefit from the perception of recent improvement while maintaining a generally accurate view of the course of the relationship overall.
Maquiladoras and border industrialization: Impact on economic development in Mexico

(1990). Maquiladoras and border industrialization: Impact on economic development in Mexico. Journal of Borderlands Studies: Vol. 5, No. 1, pp. 5-9.
Gingival pigmentation as the sole presenting sign of chronic lead poisoning in a mentally retarded adult

A diagnosis of chronic lead poisoning in a mentally retarded adult with pica was initially proposed because of the presence of a "lead line" on the patient's gingiva. The patient had no other signs or symptoms suggestive of her toxic state. Lead poisoning is reviewed from the standpoint of epidemiology, pathophysiology, clinical and oral manifestations, and diagnostic procedures. Dentists working with children or mentally retarded patients should be aware of the increased incidence of lead poisoning in these patient populations and the importance of oral findings and lead-screening techniques in the detection of lead poisoning.
Continuous Stern-Gerlach effect: Noise and the measurement process

Abstract This paper resumes the discussion of the continuous Stern-Gerlach effect, a method to continuously and nondestructively determine the spin state of the same individual electron, quasipermanently confined in a Penning trap in ultrahigh vacuum at liquid helium temperatures. Here the focus is on limitations to spin-state detection due to thermal and zero-point noise and on the quantum-mechanical measurement process. Illustrations of the continuous spin measurement process in the presence of selected perturbations are provided. The alteration of the spin state brought about by the frequency measurement process is exhibited. To resolve Zeno's paradox in a specific example, a slow resonant spin flip is discussed, when interrupted by frequent spin-state measurements. The continuous Stern-Gerlach effect is shown to be a near-ideal example for the quantum mechanical measurement process, for which all steps may be followed in quantitative detail.
Creativity in illness: methodological linkages to the logic and language of science in folk pursuit of health in central Italy.

Abstract Field research in a rural section of central Italy provides the basis for this paper on the structuring of information about health and illness. Here a population is presently engaged in creating a grammar and rhetoric of health culture and life style that begins to link its own traditions to what it learns of medical scientific method, both in praxis and from media fare on the ‘discourse’ of medical science. We follow this thought modality in exploration of therapeutic choices and the evolving of ethnotherapies.
Activation of the Jun N-Terminal Kinase Pathway by Friend Spleen Focus-Forming Virus and Its Role in the Growth and Survival of Friend Virus-Induced Erythroleukemia Cells

Members of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) family, including Jun amino-terminal kinase (JNK) and extracellular signal-related kinase (ERK), play an important role in the proliferation of erythroid cells in response to erythropoietin (Epo). Erythroid cells infected with the Friend spleen focus-forming virus (SFFV) proliferate in the absence of Epo and show constitutive activation of Epo signal transduction pathways. We previously demonstrated that the ERK pathway was constitutively activated in Friend SFFV-infected erythroid cells, and in this study JNK is also shown to be constitutively activated. Pharmacological inhibitors of both the ERK and JNK pathways stopped the proliferation of primary erythroleukemic cells from Friend SFFV-infected mice, with little induction of apoptosis, and furthermore blocked their ability to form Epo-independent colonies. However, only the JNK inhibitor blocked the proliferation of erythroleukemia cell lines derived from these mice. The JNK inhibitor caused significant apoptosis in these cell lines as well as an increase in the fraction of cells in G 2 /M and undergoing endoreduplication. In contrast, the growth of erythroleukemia cell lines derived from Friend murine leukemia virus (MuLV)-infected mice was inhibited by both the MEK and JNK inhibitors. JNK is important for AP1 activity, and we found that JNK inhibitor treatment reduced AP1 DNA-binding activity in primary erythroleukemic splenocytes from Friend SFFV-infected mice and in erythroleukemia cell lines from Friend MuLV-infected mice but did not alter AP1 DNA binding in erythroleukemia cell lines from Friend SFFV-infected mice. These data suggest that JNK plays an important role in cell proliferation and/or the survival of erythroleukemia cells.
Is telemetry useful in evaluating chest pain patients in an observation unit

Since the development of coronary care units (CCUs), telemetry has rapidly become the standard of care in evaluating patients with suspected acute coronary syndromes, regardless of the probability for ischemia. However, there is no data to support this practice. Our objective was to evaluate the utility of routine cardiac monitoring in a chest pain observation unit. We prospectively studied the utility of routine cardiac monitoring in 249 consecutive patients admitted to an observation unit in an academic Emergency Department over a 6-month period. All the patients presented with chest pain thought to be cardiac ischemia. Observation included serial cardiac enzymes, ECG cardiac monitoring, and exercise testing in a designated chest pain observation unit. These patients were determined to be at low risk for an acute coronary event by two criteria: first, the symptoms had resolved by the time of observation unit admission, and second, the initial ECG was normal, unchanged or non-diagnostic for acute ischemia. Adverse outcomes included cardiac arrest, hospital admission secondary to cardiac dysrhythmia, or alteration in the patient’s medical therapy upon discharge from the observation unit, secondary to cardiac dysrhythmia. There were 249 patients included with a median age of 52 with 60% women. Fifteen percent of the patients were, subsequently, admitted to the hospital for further evaluation of ischemia based on enzyme, ECG, and exercise testing results. One patient with known Tachy-Brady syndrome was noted to have 1.5–2 s pauses while sleeping, and discharged with instructions to hold beta blocker therapy pending results of a continuous loop recorder. Of the remaining 248 patients, no patient suffered a cardiac arrest, no patient was admitted to the hospital secondary to cardiac dysrhythmia, and no alteration in a patient’s medical therapy was made secondary to cardiac dysrhythmia. No patient returned to the Emergency Department within 72 h with cardiac arrest, acute dysrhythmia or acute myocardial infarction. Although telemetry may be the standard of care in evaluating the patients with suspected acute coronary syndromes, regardless of the probability of an acute ischemic syndrome, in those patients with a normal or non diagnostic ECG and resolved symptoms, routine cardiac monitoring is unnecessary.
Exploiting visual quasi-periodicity for real-time chewing event detection using active appearance models and support vector machines

Steady increases in healthcare costs and obesity have inspired recent studies into cost-effective, assistive systems capable of monitoring dietary habits. Few researchers, though, have investigated the use of video as a means of monitoring dietary activities. Video possesses several inherent qualities, such as passive acquisition, that merits its analysis as an input modality for such an application. To this end, we propose a method to automatically detect chewing events in surveillance video of a subject. Firstly, an Active Appearance Model (AAM) is used to track a subject's face across the video sequence. It is observed that the variations in the AAM parameters across chewing events demonstrate a distinct periodicity. We utilize this property to discriminate between chewing and non-chewing facial actions such as talking. A feature representation is constructed by applying spectral analysis to a temporal window of model parameter values. The estimated power spectra subsequently undergo non-linear dimensionality reduction. The low-dimensional embedding of the power spectra are employed to train a binary Support Vector Machine classifier to detect chewing events. To emulate the gradual onset and offset of chewing, smoothness is imposed over the class predictions of neighboring video frames in order to deter abrupt changes in the class labels. Experiments are conducted on a dataset consisting of 37 subjects performing each of five actions, namely, open- and closed-mouth chewing, clutter faces, talking, and still face. Experimental results yielded a cross-validated percentage agreement of 93.0%, indicating that the proposed system provides an efficient approach to automated chewing detection.
Tumor necrosis factor-α and lymphotoxin-α increase macrophage ABCA1 by gene expression and protein stabilization via different receptors

Abstract Objective The tumor necrosis factor superfamily may exert cardioprotective or atherogenic effects, depending on the state of lesion progression. Tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF) induces macrophage ATP-binding cassette transporter A1 (ABCA1), a cardioprotective transmembrane protein that exports cellular cholesterol to apolipoprotein A-I. Here we examined the role of TNF receptors (TNFRs) in ABCA1 induction and tested the effects of lymphotoxin-α (LT), another TNF family member, on macrophage ABCA1 levels. Methods Primary macrophages taken from mice deficient in TNF receptors were used to determine ABCA1 expression and cholesterol efflux activity in response to treatment with exogenous TNF or LT. Results We studied TNFR2 −/− and TNFR1 −/− /R2 −/− mice and found that both receptors are necessary for maximal induction of ABCA1 by TNF. Peritoneal macrophages from TNFR1 −/− /R2 −/− mice had no change in ABCA1 mRNA levels when treated with TNF while cells from TNFR2 −/− mice had ABCA1 mRNA levels that were half that of wild-type (WT) cells. In contrast, incubating TNFR1 −/− /R2 −/− mice with LT increased ABCA1 by stabilizing the protein, which was not observed in WT mice and this was associated with downstream signaling through the LTβ receptor. Conclusion TNF requires both of its receptors to maximally induce ABCA1. Despite previous studies suggesting that LT has proatherogenic properties, we found that LT increases ABCA1 protein in TNFR1 −/− /R2 −/− but not WT macrophages and may supplement TNF in enhancing ABCA1-dependent cholesterol export from early atherosclerotic lesions.
Planktonic foraminiferal assemblages preserved in surface sediments correspond to multiple environment variables

Abstract Here we investigate the relationships between modern planktonic foraminiferal species assemblages from Atlantic and Pacific core-top sediment samples and 35 water-column and preservation properties using Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA). CCA finds two faunal dimensions (axes) that are most highly correlated to the environmental variables, and describes each axis in terms of the best linear combination of environmental variables. CCA Axis 1 (30.4% of the faunal variance) is related primarily to mean annual sea-surface temperature (SST, r=−0.96). CCA Axis 2 (7.9% of the faunal variance) is related to environmental variability associated with an inverse relationship between SST and surface salinity, as well as pycnocline phosphate concentrations, the seasonal range in nitrate concentrations, water depth, and chlorophyll concentrations at the sea surface. Based on this clustering of nutrient and chlorophyll on Axis 2, we infer an ecological response to oceanic fertility. No evidence is found for a unique dissolution influence, suggesting that sea-floor carbonate ion concentration cannot be estimated reliably from planktonic foraminiferal assemblages. Our results support the use of foraminiferal assemblages to estimate mean annual SST.
Duchenne muscular dystrophy: how bad is the heart?

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), and the associated cardiomyopathy, develops from mutations the dystrophin gene. Dystrophin supports the plasma membrane of skeletal myofibres and cardiomyocytes. Nearly all skeletal muscle groups are affected in DMD with preferential early involvement of the limbs and trunk, followed by respiratory muscle compromise and cardiomyopathy. Because of enhanced ventilatory support, DMD patients now survive longer, and cardiac involvement dominates the later stage management. Treatment using β adrenergic blockade and inhibition of angiotensin-converting enzymes (ACEs) has been shown to be effective in promoting favourable remodelling. Management of cardiac arrhythmias presents challenges in the DMD patient. The majority of DMD-associated mutations result in the complete loss of dystrophin, and the loss of dystrophin protein interrupts the normal link between the actin cytoskeleton and the plasma membrane of muscle.1 Dystrophin associates with a series of membrane-spanning proteins to complete the connection to the extracellular matrix. Disruption of dystrophin or its associated proteins, the sarcoglycans, destabilises the sarcolemma of cardiomyocytes and skeletal myofibres. In both cardiac and skeletal muscle, dystrophin protects cardiomyocytes against contraction-induced damage. Cellular repair mechanisms and regeneration are generally insufficient, yielding progressive loss of skeletal myofibres and cardiomyocytes. Skeletal muscle undergoes a robust regeneration that cannot be sustained, leading to fibrofatty replacement of muscle and progressive muscle weakness. In the heart, there is little to no evidence of ongoing regeneration. Most DMD boys are diagnosed before the age of 5 …
Toward fault-tolerant quantum computation without concatenation

It is known that quantum error correction via concatenated codes can be done with exponentially small failure rate if the error rate for physical qubits is below a certain accuracy threshold. Other, unconcatenated codes with their own attractive features such as improved accuracy threshold, local operations, have also been studied. By iteratively distilling a certain two-qubit entangled state it is shown how to perform an encoded Toffoli gate, important for universal computation, on codes whose C-NOT operation is bitwise. For certain codes, over a very large range of block sizes, this technique requires at most one concatenation.
Nitrification and denitrification in partially aerated biological aerated filter (BAF) with dual size sand media.

A 104-mm (4-inch) diameter pilot-scale biological aerated filter (BAF) with a media depth of 2.5 m (8.3 feet) was operated with an anaerobic, anoxic and oxic zone at a temperature of 23°C. The medium for the anaerobic and anoxic zones was 10 mm diameter sand while the medium for the oxic zone was 5 mm diameter sand. The influent sCOD and total nitrogen concentrations in the feedwater were approximately 250 mg/L and 35 mg N/L, respectively. sCOD removal at optimum hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 3 h with recirculation rates of 100, 200 and 300% in the column was above 96%. Nitrification was found to be more than 96% for 3 h HRT at 200 and 300% recirculation. Total nitrogen removal was consistent at more than 80% for 4 and 6 h HRT at 300% recirculation. For 3 h HRT and 300% recirculation, total nitrogen removal was approximately 79%. The ammonia loading rates for maximum ammonia removed were 0.15 and 0.19 kg NH3-N/m3-day for 100 and 200% recirculation, respectively. The experimental results demonstrated that the BAF can be operated at an HRT of 3 h with 200–300% recirculation rates with more than 96% removal of sCOD and ammonia and at least 75% removal of total nitrogen.
Enhanced apoptosis mediates inhibition of EBV-transformed lymphoblastoid cell line proliferation by curcumin.

Abstract Background. Epstein–Barr virus (EBV)-associated B-cell lymphomas occur more frequently in immunodeficient states such as organ transplantation and HIV infection. We have previously reported that B cell immortalization with EBV was promoted by cyclosporin A (CyA) and that curcumin (Cur), a natural phenol with known antioxidant and antitumor properties, blocked EBV-induced B cell immortalization. In the following experiments we show that Cur inhibits the proliferation of EBV-transformed lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCL) via enhanced apoptosis. Methods. LCL were generated by infecting freshly isolated human B cells with EBV (B95-8) for 12 h and coculturing with predetermined optimal concentrations of CyA (500 ng/ml) for 4 weeks. LCL were then either frozen for future use or propagated for immediate experiments. These cells were then plated in 96-well plates with 20 μM Cur or 0.1% DMSO (vehicle control). The number of immortalized colonies/well, cell count, and 3 H uptake were used as an index of immortalization. To assess apoptosis rate LCL were cultured with 0.1% DMSO or Cur (20 μM) for 0, 18, and 42 h in culture flasks and then stained with MC540 and H33342, as markers for apoptosis, and analyzed by FACS. Results. A profound inhibition of proliferation was seen in the LCL with 20 μM curcumin compared to 0.1% DMSO control. The colony count reduced from 34.5 ± 3.4 to 0/well ( P = 0.005), cell number reduced from 101,250 ± 12,093 to 3750 ± 1500/well ( P = 0.002), and 3 H uptake reduced from 40,889 ± 3669 to 70 ± 5.2/well ( P = 0.001). The apoptosis rate of LCL in the DMSO control at 24.07 and 16.87% increased significantly with 20 μM Cur to 76.4 and 95.1% at 18 and 42 h, respectively ( P = 0.02). Conclusion. Cur is a potent inhibitor of EBV-transformed LCL. This effect appears to be mediated through enhanced apoptosis. A further investigation of this effect may be useful in prevention and therapy of B-cell lymphoma in immunodeficient patients.
Structure of the 3’ Region of the Human Elastin Gene: Great Abundance of Alu Repetitive Sequences and Few Coding Sequences

Two overlapping clones encompassing 8.5 kb of the human elastin gene were isolated from two genomic libraries constructed by partial digestion with either HaeIII/AluI or Sau3A and contained in lambda Charon 4A or EMBL3, respectively. The 6 kb of DNA comprising the most 3' portion of the gene were sequenced demonstrating an extremely low coding ratio since only three exons containing a total of 134 translated nucleotides were identified. Two exons totaling 78 bp of translated sequences which were previously found in the bovine gene were absent in the human gene. The 3' most exon encoded the unusual amino acid sequence, GGACLGKACGRKRK. The human gene was terminated by 1.2 kb of untranslated sequence which contained two polyadenylation attachment signals. The remainder of the 6 kb was composed of intervening sequences which were abundantly rich in Alu family repetitive sequences found in both orientations. This first report of the characterization of the human elastin gene suggests that significant variation in the gene may exist between species and raises the possibility of consequential polymorphism, mediated by recombination between Alu sequences, in the human population.
Decay‐accelerating factor and CD59 expression in peripheral blood cells in aplastic anaemia and report of a case of paroxysmal nocturnal haemoglobinuria secondary to aplastic anaemia

Summary. Using flow cytometry, decay-accelerating factor (DAF) and CD59 have been measured in peripheral blood cells of 11 patients with aplastic anaemia and 34 healthy controls. Ten of the patients had monophasic fluorescence profiles similar to those of the controls. However, one patient had small DAF- and CD59-negative populations in granulocytes and monocytes, but not in erythrocytes. One year after the first assay, a second flow cytometric study revealed that all peripheral blood cell species, including erythrocytes, contained DAF- and CD59-deficient populations. At this time. a sucrose haemolysis test was positive. This is the first reported case of aplastic anaemia-PNH syndrome in which DAF- and CD59-negative cells appeared first in granulocytes and monocytes and later in all types of peripheral blood cells.
Is the kinetic method a thermodynamic method

The kinetic method is examined from the point of view of a proponent of a complementary and sometimes competitive technique, threshold collision-induced dissociation. Limitations in the kinetic method and assumptions that have not been thoroughly examined in the literature are pointed out. A case study involving recent experiments in the author's laboratory is used to illlustrate the importance of including entropic effects in the data analysis, even for systems where the ligands are fairly similar. The author concludes by encouraging the use of the advanced kinetic methods outlined by Cooks et al. in the accompanying Commentary. Copyright © 1999 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Molecular biology: Cohesins slip sliding away

Cohesin complexes have a central role in cell division, mediating the association between sister chromosomes. It now seems that cohesin binding is dynamic, adapting to changes in gene transcription.
Piercing connected subsets of 2-spheres with tame arcs

Abstract A subset X of E 3 is called a pierced set if there exists a 2-sphere S in E 3 containing X such that S can be pierced by a tame arc at each point of X . A set X is said to be universally pierced if each 2-sphere containing X can be pierced by a tame arc at each point of X . In this paper we give a criterion for the pierceability of a set X by tame arcs to be independent of the 2-spheres which contain X . Using this criterion, we prove that a pierced set X in E 3 is universally pierced if it has no degenerate component. In addition, we describe an example of a pierced set which has a degenerate component and is also universally pierced.
Neurobehavioral assessment of transplanted porcine Sertoli cells into the intact rat striatum.

Sertoli cells, a testes-derived cell with immunosuppressive and trophic properties, may serve as an alternative cell source for transplantation in a number of neuro degenerative diseases. However, before Sertoli cells can be considered for clinical use, safety studies must be conducted to ensure that the cells themselves produce no adverse effects when transplanted into the central nervous system. The present study assessed the behavioral effects of transplanting porcine Sertoli cells into the striatum of normal rats and provided a histological examination of the graft site and host striatum. Activity monitors revealed significant increases in nocturnal locomotor activity over time following both sham and Sertoli trnasplants. Ambulation and rearing, but not stereotypic measures, were increased compared to pre-transplant levels. Sertoli animals exhibited less behavioral alteration than sham controls. Histological examination of the striatum demonstrated surviving Sertoli cell transplants in an intact striatum. These results indicated that Sertoli cell xenografts might be a safe alternative cell source for neurotransplantation procedures requiring immune or trophic support.
Early central andean metalworking from mina perdida, peru

Copper and gold artifacts in contexts dated to ∼3120 to 3020 carbon-14 years before the present (∼1410 to 1090 calendar years B.C.) recovered in excavations at Mina Perdida, Lurin Valley, Peru, show that artisans hammered native metals into thin foils, in some cases with intermediate anneals. They gilded copper artifacts by attaching gold foil. The artifacts show that fundamental elements of the Andean metallurgical tradition were developed before the Chavin horizon, and that on the Peruvian coast the working of native copper preceded the production of smelted copper objects.
Ligand-Based Steric Effects in Ni-Catalyzed Chain-Growth Polymerizations Using Bis(dialkylphosphino)ethanes

The role of ligand-based steric effects was investigated in the polymerization of 4-bromo-2,5-bis(hexyloxy)phenylmagnesium chloride. Three different Ni(L-L)Cl2 catalysts were synthesized using comm...
Neuroblastoma metastatic to the central nervous system: The memorial sloan-kettering Cancer Center experience and a literature review

BACKGROUND The central nervous system (CNS) can be a sanctuary site for cancer cells, because the blood-brain barrier impedes penetration of most chemotherapeutic agents. The authors hypothesized that, with improved survival from childhood metastatic neuroblastoma (NB), the incidence of CNS (intraparenchymal and leptomeningeal) spread may increase. They undertook this study to assess the frequency of CNS NB, to analyze risk factors and treatment options, and to review the literature. METHODS The authors retrospectively analyzed all patients with metastatic NB who were treated on protocols N4, N5, N6, and N7 from 1980 to 1999 at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC), during which time there was an increase in the overall survival rate. RESULTS Two hundred fifty-one patients with Stage 4 NB (Group 251) were studied, of which 127 (Group 127) were newly diagnosed patients who were treated initially at MSKCC. None had CNS NB at the time of diagnosis. Eleven patients developed documented CNS disease; 8 of these 11 recurrences were isolated in the CNS. For Group 127, the overall incidence rate of CNS NB was 6.3%, with an increase in incidence from N4-N5 to N6-N7 of from 1.7% to 11.7%. Seven patients had isolated CNS disease recurrences. Only lumbar punctures (LP) performed near the time of diagnosis in patients with known bone marrow involvement were associated with subsequent development of CNS disease. For the entire group of 251 patients, lumbar puncture at the time of diagnosis and elevated serum lactic dehydrogenase levels were prognostic. Among the larger series reported in the literature, CNS involvement from metastatic lesions was rare at the time of diagnosis and remained an uncommon complication. CONCLUSIONS The incidence of CNS NB may be increasing. Because it is the sole site of disease recurrence in 64% of patients, the CNS may represent a sanctuary site for NB. CNS NB is associated with diagnostic lumbar punctures in patients with known bone marrow disease, raising the possibility that circulating or epidural microscopic tumor cells may seed the craniospinal axis. Cancer 2001;91:1510–9. © 2001 American Cancer Society.
Strong exciton-plasmon coupling in graphene-semiconductor structures

We study strong coupling between plasmons in monolayer charge-doped graphene and excitons in a narrow gap semiconductor quantum well separated from graphene by a potential barrier. We show that the Coulomb interaction between excitons and plasmons result in mixed states described by a Hamiltonian similar to that for exciton-polaritons and derive the exciton-plasmon coupling constant that depends on system parameters. We calculate numerically the Rabi splitting of exciton-plasmariton dispersion branches for several semiconductor materials and find that it can reach values of up to 50 - 100 meV.
Study of tip vortex cavitation inception using navier-stokes computation and bubble dynamics model

The Rayleigh-Plesset bubble dynamics equation coupled with the bubble motion equation developed by Johnson and Hsieh was applied to study the real flow effects on the prediction of cavitation inception in tip vortex flows. A three-dimensional steady-state tip vortex flow obtained from a Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes computation was used as a prescribed flow field through which the bubble was passively convected. A “window of opportunity” through which a candidate bubble must pass in order to be drawn into the tip-vortex core and cavitate was determined for different initial bubble sizes. It was found that bubbles with larger initial size can be entrained into the tip-vortex core from a larger window size and also had a higher cavitation inception number.
Comparison of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and pregnanolone with existing pharmacotherapies for alcohol abuse on ethanol- and food-maintained responding in male rats

The present study compared two putative pharmacotherapies for alcohol abuse and dependence, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and pregnanolone, with two Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved pharmacotherapies, naltrexone and acamprosate. Experiment 1 assessed the effects of different doses of DHEA, pregnanolone, naltrexone, and acamprosate on both ethanol- and food-maintained responding under a multiple fixed-ratio (FR)-10 FR-20 schedule, respectively. Experiment 2 assessed the effects of different mean intervals of food presentation on responding for ethanol under a FR-10 variable-interval (VI) schedule, whereas Experiment 3 assessed the effects of a single dose of each drug under a FR-10 VI-80 schedule. In Experiment 1, all four drugs dose-dependently decreased response rate for both food and ethanol, although differences in the rate-decreasing effects were apparent among the drugs. DHEA and pregnanolone decreased ethanol-maintained responding more potently than food-maintained responding, whereas the reverse was true for naltrexone. Acamprosate decreased responding for both reinforcers with equal potency. In Experiment 2, different mean intervals of food presentation significantly affected the number of food reinforcers obtained per session; however, changes in the number of food reinforcements did not significantly affect responding for ethanol. Under the FR-10 VI-80 schedule in Experiment 3, only naltrexone significantly decreased both the dose of alcohol presented and blood ethanol concentration (BEC). Acamprosate and pregnanolone had no significant effects on any of the dependent measures, whereas DHEA significantly decreased BEC, but did not significantly decrease response rate or the dose presented. In summary, DHEA and pregnanolone decreased ethanol-maintained responding more potently than food-maintained responding under a multiple FR-10 FR-20 schedule, and were more selective for decreasing ethanol self-administration than either naltrexone or acamprosate under that schedule. Experiment 2 showed that ethanol intake was relatively independent of the interval of reinforcement in the food-maintained component, and Experiment 3 showed that naltrexone was the most effective drug at the doses tested when the interval for food reinforcement was low and maintained under a variable-interval schedule.
Existential Muck: Romantic Borderlessness and Dissolving Dualisms in Schiller's Die Räuber

The essay investigates Romantic tendencies in Schiller's inaugural drama, Die Rauber [The Robbers]. The play's overt discourse of dualism and exchange rests on a more viscous foundation of existential muck. Franz von Moor's “morastige Zirkel der menschlichen Bestimmung” [muckish cycle of human determination] is a cyclical solvent that engulfs the play's dualisms and dissolves opposition and exchange. Forms rise from the muck, taking on borders (dimensions, limits) and they descend back into the muck, becoming once more borderless. This may be the other side of an all-encompassing Freude [Joy], both originary and terminal, yet as “alle Menschen werden Bruder” [all people become brothers], we are reminded of what it means to be brothers in the Moor clan. As a belated product of the proto-Romanticism of the Sturm und Drang, Schiller's 1781 play is a specimen of retro-proto-Romanticism.
Clinical Outcomes of Artificial Root-end Barriers with Mineral Trioxide Aggregate in Teeth with Immature Apices

The purpose of this retrospective study was to evaluate the clinical outcomes of ProRoot mineral trioxide aggregate used as an artificial apical barrier in teeth with immature apices. Twenty teeth from 19 patients were included in this study. A healed diagnosis was based on periapical index scores of 1 or 2 and no clinical signs or symptoms at recall examinations. Eighty-five percent (17/20) of these teeth were healed, and improvements in periapical index scores at recall appointments were shown to be statistically significant (P < .001, Wilcoxon signed-rank test). Chi-square test indicated that age, gender, primary treatment versus retreatment, presence of preoperative lesion, and differences in recall times did not significantly influence healing outcome. Overall, these results indicated that the mineral trioxide aggregate apical barrier technique is a successful method for obturating teeth with immature apices.
On semiparametric transformation cure models

A general class of semiparametric transformation cure models is studied for the analysis of survival data with long-term survivors. It combines a logistic regression for the probability of event occurrence with the class of transformation models for the time of occurrence. Included as special cases are the proportional hazards cure model ( Farewell, 1982; Kuk & Chen, 1992; Sy & Taylor, 2000; Peng & Dear, 2000) and the proportional odds cure model. Generalised estimating equations are proposed for parameter estimation. It is shown that the resulting estimators are asymptotically normal, with variance-covariance matrix that has a closed form and can be consistently estimated by the usual plug-in method. Simulation studies show that the proposed approach is appropriate for practical use. An application to data from a breast cancer study is given to illustrate the methodology.
Neuroprotective Interventions: Is It Too Late?

In most cases of neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, the exact timing of the hypoxic-ischemic event is unknown, and we have few reliable biomarkers to precisely identify the phase of injury or recovery in an individual patient. However, it is becoming increasingly clear that for neuroprotection in neonates to succeed, an understanding of the phase of injury is important to ascertain. In addition, in utero antecedents of chronic hypoxia, hypoxic preconditioning, intrauterine infection, and fetal gender may change the expected time course of injury. Neuroprotective interventions, such as hypothermia and N-acetylcysteine, currently have efficacy in human and animal studies only if instituted early in the inflammatory cascade. Although these cascades are currently being investigated, molecular mechanisms of recovery have received little attention and may ultimately reveal a window for therapeutic intervention that is much longer than current paradigms.