cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Embryoid Body Defect in Mouse Rps19-Haploinsufficient Embryonic Stem Cell Model of Diamond Blackfan Anemia

Diamond Blackfan anemia (DBA) is an inherited bone marrow failure syndrome that is characterized by erythroid hypoplasia, risk of other cytopenias, congenital anomalies and a cancer predisposition. Thus far, all the genes identified as mutated in DBA encode ribosomal proteins (RPS19, RPS17, RPS24, RPL5, RPL11, and RPL35a). In the 25% of DBA patients with RPS19 mutations, haploinsufficiency of RPS19 has been linked to faulty ribosome biogenesis, which ultimately predisposes erythroid precursors to apoptosis through as yet unknown mechanisms. Previous attempts by others to apply targeted mutagenesis to Rps19 were unsuccessful because of compensatory Rps19 expression from the non-targeted allele. We have concentrated our efforts on characterizing the murine Rps19 -mutated embryonic stem (ES) cell, S17-10H1, which was generated using a genetrap strategy. The gene-trap vector contains a strong splice acceptor-β-geo cassette-poly A termination, and following insertion, it should cause splicing with the exon upstream and termination at the poly A signal, effectively cutting Rps19 in half. S17-10H1 was sequenced using 3′ RACE (rapid amplification of cDNA ends) to confirm insertion of the vector between exons 2 and 3 of Rps19 . PCR with primers against the β-geo sequence was also used to confirm insertion of the gene trap vector into the mutant ES cells. Western blot analysis of two different ES cell samples confirmed at least 50% less Rps19 protein than found in the wild-type parental ES cell line, AK7. The ES cells were subsequently induced to undergo primary differentiation into embryoid bodies (EBs). Although there was no significant difference in the EB size or shape at day 5 of culture, the number of EBs that formed in the mutant cultures was decreased by at least three-fold. Preliminary experiments indicated no obvious morphological differences in day 13 EBs derived from parental or mutant ES cells. We attempted to create chimeric mice by microinjection of the S17-10H1 cell line into 36 blastocysts. Six chimeric mice were set up in mating pairs with C57BL/6J partners. Analysis of more than 60 pups from the 60% chimeric male revealed a lack of germline transmission, possibly indicating that this mutation leads to embryonic lethality or inability to complete gametogenesis. We conclude that this ES cell differentiation model mimics the human disease in leading to Rps19 haploinsufficiency and provides a new and potentially powerful tool that can be used to elucidate molecular mechanisms and test potential therapies in DBA.
A New Test of the Signaling Theory of IPO Underpricing

This study leverages on a new model of IPO signaling theory in Obrimah (2017a) to develop an empirical algorithm that enables tests of signaling theory within which the incentive to signal private information is a conditional, as opposed to an unconditional incentive. Suppose comparable high or low quality firms issue new public equity in close proximity, with high quality issuers choosing to signal private information. Empirical results show signaling of private information by high quality issuers enables positive post IPO price drift. Consistent with quality rationales for signaling of private information, conditionally identified signalers are characterized by significantly smaller SEO underwriting and gross spreads or higher SEO underpricing in relation to non-signaling lower quality issuers. Consistent with predictions of prior models of IPO signaling theory, the empirical algorithm yields larger SEO proceeds for signalers in relation to non-signalers. Comparisons of forecast power show the conditional formulation of signaling incentives far outstrips unconditional formulations at predicting SEO activity. Combined, empirical findings indicate formulation of signaling incentives as conditional as opposed to unconditional incentives in Obrimah (2017a) renders IPO signaling theory, hitherto discredited by empirical findings in Jegadeesh et al. (1993), a viable theory for explaining cross-sectional differences in IPO underpricing.
Logic and Diagrams

Each of the previous represents a fundamental fact about logical reasoning. Here’s the problem The primary interest of mathematicians is not to discover truths, but rather to develop valid proofs. In geometry, there is a theorem; you might remember from high school geometry.
Opportunity: Scholarship of Teaching & Learning (SoTL) Course

Interested in conducting a Scholarship of Teaching & Learning (SoTL) project in your courses or teaching practice, but not sure how to start? Use your faculty tuition waiver to take a course in planning a SoTL project. This resources tells you about the course and how to use your tuition waiver to take it for free!
Computing Continuous Distributions from Limited Data

The hallmark of many lung diseases is maldistribution. For example, in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), ventilation (VA) is distributed non-uniformly with respect to volume (V), resulting in a multiexponential N2 washout. In COPD, asthma, interstitial fibrosis and many other types of lung disease, ventilation (VA) is distributed non-uniformly with respect to blood flow (Q), resulting in impaired steady-state gas exchange, generally manifest by hypoxemia ± hypercapnia. Methods for quantitating the degree of VA/V or VA/Q inequality in such patients have been proposed almost continuously since the numerical aspect of gas exchange was first brought to prominence some 30 years ago.
Toward a patient-specific tissue engineered vascular graft.

Integrating three-dimensional printing with the creation of tissue-engineered vascular grafts could provide a readily available, patient-specific, autologous tissue source that could significantly ...
Depth of invasion on pathological outcomes in clinical low‐stage oral tongue cancer patients

OBJECTIVES Depth of invasion was added to the eighth edition American Joint Committee on Cancer guidelines for T staging of HPV-negative oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma. Our aim was to determine the impact of depth of invasion on pathological variables and outcomes in low-stage tongue cancer patients. We also examine the impact of tumor thickness and tumor clinical staging for comparison. SUBJECTS AND METHODS All clinical T1/T2 N0 HPV-negative tongue squamous cell carcinoma patients who received elective neck dissections at our institution between 2000 and 2015 were included. Logistic regression models and Cox proportional hazard models were used to examine pathological variables, recurrence, and 3-year disease-free survival. RESULTS Sixty-seven patients met criteria; the mean age was 52.0 (SD: 17.7). Depth of invasion was a significant predictor of occult metastasis (OR: 2.0, p = 0.05) and lymphovascular invasion (OR: 4.1, p = 0.02), and tumor thickness was a significant predictor of lymphovascular invasion (OR: 3.3, p = 0.04). None of the variables were predictive of recurrence or disease-free survival. CONCLUSION Depth of invasion at biopsy may be a potential useful metric to inform on regional management selection in this radiographic node-negative population.
AN ANALYSIS OF THE DEPENDENCY STRUCTURE BETWEEN A GILT'S PREBREEDING AND REPRODUCTIVE TRAITS. I. PHENOTYPIC AND GENETIC CORRELATIONS

SUMMARY This study involved the records of 339 purebred Duroc, Hampshire and Yorkshire gilts and 192 two-breed cross gilts resulting from matings among the three breeds. The primary purpose of this paper was to investigate the relationship of prebreeding traits, including the growth of the gilt and her littermates, with subsequent measures of reproduction. Heritabilities were estimated for several traits and in general the estimates were somewhat higher than most estimates in the literature. Genetically, all measures of growth were favorably and moderately to highly correlated to ovulation rate, with the relationship being stronger for traits measured late in growth as compared to traits measured early in growth. The only traits that had large genetic correlations with number of corpora lutea per embryo were birth weight (rg=-.90) and weaning weight (rg=.91). None of the phenotypic correlations between prebreeding traits and reproductive traits were large and only eight of the 68 correlations were significant. Gilts which grew faster, were younger at 100 kg, were heavier at breeding and had more days from 100 kg to breeding also had higher ovulation rates. Gilts which were heavier and older ~tt breeding and had more days from 100 kg to breeding also had more embryos.
Interactive Higher-Order Network Analysis

Higher-order network modeling and analysis is vital to understand the structures governing the configuration and behavior of complex networks. While network motifs are known to be fundamental building blocks of complex networks, the higher-order configuration and organization of complex networks remains widely unknown. In this work, we develop interactive visual higher-order network mining and modeling techniques to gain insight into the higher-order structure and composition of complex networks. The approach uncovers higher-order configurations including important phenotypes in a human gene interaction network and hubs in a power grid network.
Comparison of Two Sampling Methods for Bacterial Culture of Salmonella enterica ssp. arizonae from Burmese Pythons (Python bivittatus)

Abstract Cloacal swabs and feces were collected for four consecutive months from 19 young, healthy Burmese pythons (Python bivittatus) that were culture-confirmed, asymptomatic carriers of Salmonel...
Extracellular vesicles as mediators of in vitro neutrophil swarming on a large-scale microparticle array

Neutrophils combat infections and promote healing of damaged tissues while protecting the surrounding healthy tissue through a process called swarming. Swarming neutrophils release soluble factors that recruit additional neutrophils and shape the inflammation response. Additionally, neutrophils release extracellular vesicles (EVs), which are gaining attention as important intercellular mediators. We developed a large-scale array of bioparticles on a glass substrate that triggers neutrophil swarming in vitro in a spatially and temporally controlled manner that facilitates the analysis of neutrophil migration. Our platform can generate 30 000 neutrophil swarms on a glass slide in a highly reproducible manner (98% patterning efficiency), which produces an EV-rich supernatant that enables quantitative characterization of inflammation-specific EVs. Healthy neutrophils were able to form uniform swarms across the bioparticle array, which demonstrates a high degree of intercellular coordination. However, neutrophils swarming on the bioparticle array tended to have a lower radial velocity than neutrophils swarming toward a single target. After collecting and isolating EVs released by swarming and non-swarming neutrophils, we found that neutrophils constitutively release exosomes and microvesicles. Furthermore, EVs released by swarming neutrophils cause neutrophil activation and contain the proinflammatory mediator galectin-3, suggesting that EVs have an active role during neutrophil swarming. Ultimately, understanding EVs' role in intercellular communication during swarming will improve understanding of the complex signaling pathways involved in the regulation of inflammation.
6.12 – Ion Channels☆

The transport of ions across biological membranes, via ion channels, is a critical event that regulates signal transduction, ionic homeostasis, and other cellular physiological and biochemical processes like the osmotic health of cells, providing nutritional requirements, and maintaining electrogenic gradients. Ion channels are integral pore-forming membrane proteins that are activated by changes in membrane voltage or by binding of specific ligands. Specific binding sites on ion channels are also modulatory targets for a variety of toxic compounds, which affect ion channel function resulting in deleterious toxicological effects. Several toxins that target one specific subtype of ion channels have been isolated from a variety of plants, invertebrates, and vertebrates. Voltage-gated sodium channels are ubiquitously expressed in several cell types. The classification of toxins is based on toxin-specific binding sites. Sodium channel physiology and toxicology have been extensively researched, and the major types of toxins that modulate these channels include tetrodotoxin, saxitoxin, scorpion toxins, spider toxins, sea anemone toxins, and pyrethroids. The potassium channels show great variation in terms of their genetic diversity and channel properties. The major toxins that modulate potassium channels include scorpion toxins and dendrotoxins. The voltage-gated calcium channels are classified based upon their voltage threshold for activation and channel properties and are affected by toxins such as ω-conotoxins, ω-agatoxins, huwenotoxins, and glycerotoxin. Chloride channels are inhibited by Georgia anion toxin and are different from the ligand-gated γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and glycine receptors. GABA receptors are well characterized in terms of toxicology and are prominent targets of certain insecticides. The ionotropic glutamate receptors are one class of ligand-gated receptors that are affected by heavy metal ions and toxins, both synthetic and natural. The other major types of receptors include acetylcholine receptors and serotonin receptors; the former are targets of peptide toxins from venoms and the latter are targets of abused drugs of plant origin. The ion channel toxins, especially the ones with high binding affinities, have served as valuable tools for elucidating the structure and function of various ion channels. In addition, the knowledge of ion channel modulations by toxins serves as a basis for the future development of effective therapies. This chapter provides an updated systematic review of ion channel toxicology, particularly of the voltage-gated ion channels.
Cosmopolitan patriot: The life and scholarship of Peeter Tulviste (1945–2017):

Professor Peeter Tulviste (1945–2017) was a leading figure in the study of psychology and the history of psychology, whose life and scholarship went through several unexpected phases. Building on t...
Effect of cross-chamber flow electrode recirculation on pH and faradaic reactions in capacitive deionization

Abstract Mitigating faradaic reactions is critical for improving charge efficiency, reducing energy consumption, and protecting electrodes from degradation during desalination in capacitive deionization (CDI). In this study, we examined the influence of recirculating flow electrodes (FEs) within their respective anode and cathode chambers [within-chamber (WC)] or across them [cross-chamber (CC)] on pH, faradaic reactions, and energy demand under constant current operation. By changing from WC to CC (without FEs), the difference in pH between the anode and cathode chambers decreased from 10 to 4.5 units. Adding FEs to CC recirculation further reduced the pH gradient between anode and cathode chambers and resulted in the most stable pH (10.4 ± 0.08) of all treatments. We attributed the improvements in CC recirculation to faradaic consumption of anode-generated H+ at the cathode and neutralization of H+ and OH− via water formation. The capacitive behavior of FEs reduced several faradaic reactions by decreasing the whole-cell voltage. The energy consumption by the electrodes was reduced by 25% for the anode and 35% for the cathode when FEs were operated in CC instead of WC recirculation. These findings indicate that continuously recirculating FEs across the anode and cathode chambers can minimize detrimental faradaic reactions and pH changes in FE-CDI.
Over-current Protection for Series-connected IGBTs based on Desaturation Detection

One major challenge regarding series-connected IGBTs is the protection against over-current faults, besides voltage balancing among the devices. In this paper, an over-current protection method based on desaturation detection is proposed for series-connected IGBTs which are controlled by a digital signal processor (DSP) to realize voltage sharing. A hardware test platform was built, which is capable of generating current spikes of various magnitudes and durations. Different aspects of system behavior under fault are characterized to provide design guidance to ensure safety. Finally, experimental results show that the proposed series IGBT control can achieve voltage balance without slowing down the switching transients. Additionally, the desaturation circuit can detect an over-current in less than 1 μs. Furthermore, with the proposed protection method, the fault can be fully cleared depending solely on voltage balancing circuits, while maintaining voltage balance during the entire process.
AdaTune: Adaptive Tensor Program Compilation Made Efficient

Deep learning models are computationally intense, and implementations often have to be highly optimized by experts or hardware vendors to be usable in practice. The DL compiler, together with Learning-to-Compile has proven to be a powerful technique for optimizing tensor programs. However, a limitation of this approach is that it still suffers from unbearably long overall optimization time. In this paper, we present a new method, called AdaTune, that significantly reduces the optimization time of tensor programs for high-performance deep learning inference. In particular, we propose an adaptive evaluation method that statistically early terminates a costly hardware measurement without losing much accuracy. We further devise a surrogate model with uncertainty quantification that allows the optimization to adapt to hardware and model heterogeneity better. Finally, we introduce a contextual optimizer that provides adaptive control of the exploration and exploitation to improve the transformation space searching effectiveness. We evaluate and compare the levels of optimization obtained by AutoTVM, a state-of-the-art Learning-to-Compile technique on top of TVM, and AdaTune. The experiment results show that AdaTune obtains up to 115% higher GFLOPS than the baseline under the same optimization time budget. Furthermore, AdaTune provides 1.3–3.9\(\times\) speedup in optimization time over the baseline to reach the same optimization quality for a range of models across different hardware architectures.
Inventory pooling technique from the car rental industry: now and in the autonomous future

This investigation studies the current car rental industry's inventory pooling technique to understand its potential impact on the industry's future survival and success possibility once autonomous vehicles (AVs) requiring no human input. The research utilises live pricing data from the US car rental and ridesharing industry to detect: 1) how players from the car rental industry apply pricing strategy to reduce inventory shuttling activities and balance the demand with supply; 2) whether the current pooling model can be transferred into the future assuming the business model and pricing strategy of the future robotaxi market is similar to those of today's ridesharing industry. Data reveals that between locations within a pool, pricing fluctuations correlate to weekends or weekdays demand pending on its discrete or complimentary relationship. Hypotheses are developed; consequently, determinants impacting inventory pooling are utilised to analyse their compatibility in the future robotaxi market.
Neurophysiology: The Three-Dimensional Building Blocks of Object Vision.

Summary A new study of the macaque visual cortex has revealed that visual area V4 performs substantial analysis of solid shape structure. The findings draw new attention to the embedding of local three-dimensional shape analysis into the early cortical stages of visual processing.
Development of a Negative Ethos by Educators in an Age Overly Reverential of Quantification

A negative ethos is likely to develop among teachers when educational policies, even unintentionally, denigrate the work of teachers and castigate the public schools in which they work. In recent decades, in the USA, the negativism associated with public schooling is spread by social and political forces, particularly through modern media, unencumbered by facts. The proximal cause of this is a test-oriented culture, where media spread the word that simple numbers can stand in for the complex human systems that characterize each classroom and school. An ethos of humanism has been challenged by the rise of norm-referenced accountability systems, insuring that some nations, some schools-within-nations, and some teachers must lose. Such is the nature of norm-referenced accountability systems. Under these stressful conditions, educators frequently make decisions about students and curriculum that reflect compromised ethics, if not a more general loss of their humanity. Their professional lives, then, are too frequently dominated by a negative ethos.
History, Testimony, and Two Kinds of Scepticism

It is a thesis traditional in Indian philosophy, advanced, for example, by D. M. Datta in Book VI of his The Six Ways of Knowing 1 and recently refurbished and redeployed by Arindam Chakravarti in this volume, that testimony (śabda) is an irreducible source and ground of knowledge. Western philosophers for the most part 2 have not so much refuted this thesis as underestimated its importance, anchoring their epistemologies in perception and inference. I think this is to be regretted, for it seems to me to be both important and true. Philosophers must come to terms with the central fact that most of our beliefs are based on testimony.
Electric birefringence study of the solution structure of chymotrypsin-cleaved Acanthamoeba myosin II.

After removal of the 66 COOH-terminal amino acids from each of its two heavy chains by chymotrypsin digestion, Acanthamoeba myosin II forms only parallel dimers under conditions in which native myosin II forms bipolar filaments (Kuznicki, J., Cote, G. P., Bowers, B., and Korn, E. D. (1985) J. Biol. Chem. 260, 1967-1972). We have studied the solution structure of the chymotrypsin-cleaved myosin II by electric birefringence. Only two species, known to be monomer and parallel dimer from previous studies, were detected. The contribution to the birefringence decay from dimer increased from about 10 to 70% as the KCl concentration was lowered from 100 mM to 0 in 50% glycerol. At all ionic strengths, the monomer had a relaxation time corrected to water at 20 degrees C of 8.2 microseconds, whereas a relaxation time of 10.3 microseconds was expected for monomers with straight rigid rods. This strongly indicates that the myosin rod in solution is bent. On the assumption that there is a single bend 26 nm from the tip of the tail, as suggested by electron microscopy, it was calculated that the average bend angle would be 110 degrees, in solution, if as seems most likely, the average angle between the two globular heads were 180 degrees. The observed relaxation time of the dimer corrected to water at 20 degrees C was 25 microseconds, independent of ionic strength, which, if the motion of the heads were unrestricted, is consistent with a structure for a parallel dimer in which either the two monomer subunits have straight rigid rods and are staggered by about 28 nm or only one is bent and the stagger is 30 nm. As described in the accompanying Appendix, either of these dimers can be assembled into a bipolar filament compatible with the apparent structure of filaments of native myosin II (Pollard, T.D. (1982) J. Cell Biol. 95, 816-825).
Computational Approaches to Predict Protein–Protein and Domain–Domain Interactions

Knowledge of protein and domain interactions provides crucial insights into their functions within a cell. Various high throughput experimental techniques such as mass spectrometry, yeast two hybrid, and tandem affinity purification have [Q3] generated a significant amount of large-scale high throughput protein interaction data [9,19,21,28,29,35,36,58]. Advances in experimental techniques are paralleled by the rapid development of computational approaches designed to detect protein– protein interactions [11,15,24,37,45,46,48,50]. These approaches complement experimental techniques and, if proven to be successful in predicting interactions, provide insights into principles governing protein interactions. A variety of biological information (such as amino acid sequences, coding DNA sequences, three-dimensional structures, gene expression, codon usage, etc.) is used by computational methods to arrive at interaction predictions. Most methods rely on statistically significant biological properties observed among interacting proteins/domains. Some of the widely used properties include co-occurence, coevolution, co-expression, and co-localization of interacting proteins/domains.
Influence of subglacial geology on the position of a West antarctic ice stream from seismic observations

Ice streams drain much of the interior West Antarctic Ice Sheet and buffer the main ice reservoir from oceanic influences1,2. The slow-flowing interior feeds the floating Ross Ice Shelf with ice via fast-flowing ice streams3 that are believed to modulate sea-level change through their control of inland ice storage. Understanding ice-stream behaviour, and predicting the response to climate change4, requires a better knowledge of the subglacial geology5,6. It is known that a thawed ice-bed and high-pressure basal water are necessary, but not sufficient, conditions to cause ice streaming7,8. Moreover, it has been hypothesized that a soft sedimentary bed is also required, because of its intrinsic low frictional resistance to flow9, and owing to its high erodibility so as to generate till that can deform and lubricate ice motion10,11, or to bury rough features and smooth the bed for sliding. Here we use seismic observations to provide evidence that one margin of the upglacier part of an ice stream is directly above the boundary of a basin with such sedimentary fill. The ice stream is within the basin and the ice outside the basin is slow-flowing. The basin fill presents an order-of-magnitude lower frictional resistance to ice flow than the subglacial material outside the basin. We conclude that the ice stream position is dependent on subglacial geology.
Critical components of uncertainty communication in life cycle assessments of emerging technologies: : Nanotechnology as a case study

Because of their recognition as a comprehensive tool of environmental assessments and their increasing use by governments and industries, life cycle assessments (LCAs) are positioned to be prominent sources of mass media information on new products and technologies. The LCA studies underlying media reports are often viewed by nonexperts after the initial reporting. However, uncertainty is rife in early assessments of emerging technologies, and LCA's ability to inform environmental opinions and decisions is limited without the accompanying communication on uncertainty. Though approaches to the technical aspects of uncertainty analysis in LCA are available in the literature, those on communicating that uncertainty, in ways that are cognitively accessible to the nonexperts, are still lacking despite their highlighted importance across various disciplines. With the focus on communication, this article uses the existing literature to derive five criteria for making uncertainty communication accessible to a nonexpert audience. Then, LCAs on engineered nanomaterial (ENM) and ENM-enabled products, as a case study of emerging technologies where uncertainties abound, are reviewed for whether they meet these five criteria. The study concludes with recommendations for communicating uncertainty in LCAs in order to enhance their role as decision- and public opinion–informing assessments
Enabling Linguistic Analysis of Scientific Metadata through Internationalizing NASA JPL's PODAAC

This paper describes the iPReS project, which provides a web service-based framework for i18n-type (internationalized) access to scientific data products and product metadata contained within the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory Physical Oceanography Distributed Active Archive Center, otherwise known as PO.DAAC. PO.DAAC is an element of the EOSDIS, which freely provides science data to the global community of users. The mission of the PO.DAAC is to preserve the quality of NASA's oceanic and climate data and make these universally accessible. iPReS directly shadows this mission objective.
Venture Capital Research

Venture capital has had an outsized influence on funding high growth ventures, backing such companies as Google, eBay, and Twitter amongst others. This article places venture capital into the funding context by classifying types of venture capital firms (corporate and traditional) amongst other equity sources like individuals (angels) and brokers. The article then details what do; specifically, it looks at the pre- and post-investment activities. Although venture capital has been extensively researched, there are still plenty of opportunities for continuing study. In the pre-investment stage (includes all activities up and to signing the investment contract), fruitful avenues include deeper study of investment biases, differing investment contexts, quality of information surrounding investments, and the due diligence process. In the post-investment stage (all activities undertaken after the investment has been made), research might investigate conflict management between the entrepreneur and venture capitalist, and how reputation impacts the ability of the venture capitalist to add value. Finally, more recent research has started to study the founding of venture capital firms, specifically around raising funds. Venture capital continues to be a critically important source of capital for new ventures and an area for fruitful research. Keywords: angel; broker; corporate venture capital; post-investment process; traditional venture capitalist; venture capital process
Ultraviolet radiation and skin cancer: in mice and men.

— In both mice and men the effects of repeated exposures to UVR accumulate. Unresolvable uncertainty pertains in both cases. Incidence of skin cancer in human populations may be influenced by various factors that cannot be separately evaluated. Uncertainty of predictions regarding the effect of increased UVR due to diminution of stratospheric ozone cover is discussed.
Incentive relativity effects reduced by exogenous insulin

In two experiments rats shifted from 32% to 4% sucrose consumed less of the 4% than rats maintained on the 4% solution. This negative contrast effect was eliminated if the rats were injected with insulin (5.4 U/kg) on the shift day. This insulin dose reduced blood glucose levels to less than 50% of control levels, but the brief access period to 4% sucrose just before blood sampling reliably increased blood glucose levels. The results were discussed in terms of the effects of deprivation conditions on incentive relativity.
Effective Thermal Conductivity Within Packed Beds of Spherical Particles

Five beds of different materials were evaluated to determine the effective thermal conductivity as a function of the mechanical load on the bed, the conductivity of the bed material, and the interstitial gaseous environment surrounding the bed particles. The effective thermal conductivity of the packed beds were found to be dependent upon the thermal conductivity of the bed material and the axial load
What We Have Learned about Field Programs

Based on personal experience and input from colleagues, the natural history of a field program is discussed, from conception through data analysis and synthesis of results. For convenience, the life cycle of a field program is divided into three phases: the prefield phase, the field phase, and the aftermath. As described here, the prefield phase involves conceiving the idea, developing the scientific objectives, naming the program, obtaining support, and arranging the logistics. The field phase discussion highlights the decision making process, balancing input from data and numerical models, and human interactions. The data are merged, analyzed, and synthesized into knowledge mainly after the field effort.
Localized prostate cancer. Relationship of tumor volume to clinical significance for treatment of prostate cancer.

Background. Using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program of the National Cancer Institute and American total mortality rates, the authors calculated the probability at birth of having a diagnosis of prostate cancer within a man's life to be 8.8% and then subtracted the incidence of microscopic Stage A cancers too small to ever be clinically significant. This gave a final probability of 8%. Methods. Prostates were examined after 139 consecutive unselected cystoprostatectomies from patients with bladder cancers in whom it was unknown whether they had prostate cancer
Helix-Coil Kinetics of Individual Polyadenylic Acid Molecules in a Protein Channel

Helix-coil transition kinetics of polyadenylic acid [poly(A)] inside a small protein channel is investigated for the first time, at the single molecule level. The confinement of a RNA molecule inside the channel slows its kinetics by nearly 3 orders of magnitude as compared to bulk measurements of free poly(A). These findings are related to the interaction energy of the RNA structure with the interior of the pore, explained by a simple two-state model. These results shed light on the way intermolecular interactions alter nucleic acid kinetics.
A METEOROLOGICALLY OPERATED STACK CONTROL SYSTEM

Abstract The standard deviation of wind direction and the mean wind speed have been incorporated in to a system for controlling the release of radioactive gaseous wastes from the 200-ft stack of the Enrico Fermi Atomic Power Plant. The meteorological sensor used in the system is a Bendix-Friez Aerovane, located on top of a 100-ft meteorological tower near the stack. Data from the Aerovane are processed by a small analog computer whose outputs are displayed on the control board of the reactor control room and recorded on strip chart recorders. The display enables the reactor operator to know whether the stack is open to the atmosphere or whether the gases are being stored in containment tanks. Averaging times of the meteorological variables may be switched to 3, 6, 12 or 24 minute periods. The paper concludes with a discussion of several representative records from the computer and the Aerovane, pointing out some of the interesting features of this system.
Dynamical Adjustment of the Cosmological Constant

Abstract We examine a recent proposal by Peccei, Sola and Wetterich for the dynamical cancellation of the cosmological constant and explicitly demonstrate that their mechanism is plagued by a fine-tuning problem, order-by-order in perturbation theory. Our analysis, however, suggests a modification of their scheme which seems to have a good chance of solving the cosmological constant problem. It involves the existence of more than one dilaton. We also discuss the relevance to “fifth” forces.
Kompatibilität in HLA-DQA1 und HLA-DQB1 Allelen zwischen Mutter und Fetus ist kein zusätzlicher Risikofaktor bei idiopatischen wiederholten Aborten

Die Hypothese, das eine HLA-Kompatibilitat zwischen Mutter und Fetus mit einer erhohten Abortrate einhergeht (3), ist umstritten. Ziel der Studie war, zu untersuchen, ob Paare mit idiopathischen wiederholten Spontanaborten (WSA), die in Antigenen der HLA-Klasse II (HLA-DR, HLA-DQ) ubereinstimmen, auch uberwiegend HLA- DQA1 und HLA-DQB1 kompatible Feten abortieren.
The Cleveland Collaborative and the Pursuit of Mathematics Curriculum Reform

The main effect of the Cleveland (Ohio) Collaborative for Mathematics Education has been to rejuvenate the teachers. They have benefited not only from the opportunity to join other professionals in a decision-making process, but from the regular association with other mathematics teachers in the district, which has led to productive forms of collegiality. Despite these gains, curriculum and instruction for mathematics remains under the heavy influence of systematic programming, traditional conceptions of teaching and learning, and serious attendance problems. This article argues that the Collaborative must next work to effect a shift from system wide programming to classroom teacher decision making.
Lipomatous metaplasia in patients with myocardial infarction: evaluation with cardiac magnetic resonance

Introduction There has been few report on myocardial fat in MI using traditional MR techniques discriminating fat (i.e, T1WI with and without fat suppression), which probably attributes to reduced ability to characterize myocardial fat due to poor contrast of microscopic fat and partial-volume effects. Therefore somewhat sophisticated means such as multiecho Dixon method and IR-SSFP sequence were recently introduced to increase sensitivity of fat detection. We hypothesized that myocardial fat can be readily identified on cine imaging among generally used CMR sequences in which cancellation artifact occurs in borders of fat and water.
Acute pulmonary effects of smoking a reference cigarette.

The acute pulmonary effects of smoking a reference cigarette of known, standard composition have been studied in 30 subjects grouped according to their smoking habits. The results of selected ventilatory function tests did not change significantly after smoking. Inspiratory and expiratory lung airflow resistance was estimated before and after smoking by transiently occluding the subject's airway during tidal breathing, measuring the transairway pressure at the instant of interruption and relating the latter pressure to the rate of airflow recorded immediately prior to interruption. Control pulmonary resistance values obtained just prior to smoking were highest in the group of heavy smokers and in this group smoking produced a significant decrease in expiratory resistance to airflow. In nonsmokers inhalation of cigarette smoke resulted in a significant increase in expiratory resistance, but the site of the reduction in airway caliber was not determined.
High-level specification and efficient implementation of pipelined circuits

This paper describes a novel approach to high-level synthesis of complex pipelined circuits, including pipelined circuits with feedback. This approach combines a high-level, modular specification language with an efficient implementation. In our system, the designer specifies the circuit as a set of independent modules connected by conceptually unbounded queues. Our synthesis algorithm automatically transforms this modular, asynchronous specification into a tightly coupled, fully synchronous implementation in synthesizable Verilog.
Unconjugated cortisol in human amniotic fluid: relationship to lecithin/sphingomyelin ratio.

Abstract A specific and thoroughly validated competitive protein binding radioassay has been developed for the measurement of unconjugated cortisol in human amniotic fluid. Cortisol levels rose throughout normal gestation from 8.6 ± 0.8 ng/ml at less than 20 weeks to 19.8 ±1.5 ng/ml at 30-40 weeks. Levels were significantly higher in amniotic fluid samples having mature lecithin/sphingomyelin (US) ratios (>2), and good correlation with individual cortisol values was obtained (r = 0.79; P < 0.001). These results support the hypothesis that cortisol plays a role in fetal lung maturation.
Critical oxygen tension of reptilian embryos

Abstract 1. 1. Critical oxygen tension ( P c ) was determined for five species of reptilian eggs at early, middle and late incubation. 2. 2. All embryos maintained normal oxygen consumption ( v o 2 ) to some degree of hypoxia, but P c of four species increased during incubation. The increase of P c was probably because the increments of O 2 transport did not offset the increasing V O 2 during development. 3. 3. At a given developmental stage, the P c can be further modified by the surface-volume ratio and possibly egg hydration. 4. 4. The ability of embryos to acquire O 2 to support V O 2 in hypoxia does not correlate with their habitats.
EVALUATION OF VIDEOWINDOWS PHOTOLOG LASER VIDEODISC VIEWING SYSTEM

A low-cost alternative to the photolog laser videodisc (PLV) retrieval station is described. A video-overlay-board-based PLV viewing system or mini-PLV provides virtually the same functionality and acceptable image resolution for all applications described previously with the pavement rating. Not only does the mini-PLV lower hardware costs by almost two-thirds, from $31, 000 to $11, 000, but it also significantly reduces the system footprint, thereby providing a true desktop imageretrieval system.
Preliminary Study of the SGS Time Scales for Compressible Boundary Layers using DNS Data

We use direct numerical simulation data of turbulent boundary layers and a priori testing to estimate the time scales that are associated with the subgrid-scale terms in the conservative form of the governing equations. The exact and modeled subgrid-scale terms are gathered from the ltered direct numerical simulation elds for several time steps. The model coecien ts are evaluated using the Lagrangian averaging technique. We analyze the time scales directly by performing temporal autocorrelations along uid particle paths. To assess the subgrid-scale models, we compare the time scales and the quantities given by the exact and modeled representations. It is found that in general, mixed models give a larger integral time scale than that of the exact terms and that the discrepancy is not related to the prescribed memory length associated with the evaluation of the model coecien ts.
Effect of the efflux inhibitors 1-(1-naphthylmethyl)-piperazine and phenyl-arginine-β-naphthylamide on antimicrobial susceptibility and virulence factor production in Vibrio cholerae

OBJECTIVES The aim of the study was to test the hypothesis that the efflux pump inhibitors (EPIs) 1-(1-naphthylmethyl)-piperazine (NMP) and phenyl-arginine-beta-naphthylamide (PAbetaN) can inhibit the Vibrio cholerae resistance-nodulation-division (RND) family efflux systems, and thereby render V. cholerae susceptible to antimicrobial agents and inhibit the production of the virulence factors cholera toxin (CT) and the toxin coregulated pilus (TCP). METHODS The susceptibility of V. cholerae to antimicrobial compounds was determined in the presence or absence of NMP and PAbetaN. Transcriptional reporters were used to assess the effects of NMP and PAbetaN on the expression of the genes encoding the virulence factor regulators TcpP and ToxT, whereas CT and TCP production were determined by ELISA using GM1 ganglioside-coated microtitre plates and TcpA Western immunoblotting, respectively. RESULTS NMP and PAbetaN potentiated antimicrobial compounds that were substrates for the V. cholerae RND efflux systems. PAbetaN exhibited complete inhibition of the RND efflux systems for Triton X-100 and deoxycholate, but partial inhibition of the efflux systems for cholate and erythromycin. NMP exhibited partial inhibition for all compounds tested except for SDS. The presence of NMP reduced the MIC of SDS to a level that was lower than that observed in an RND efflux-deficient strain, whereas the SDS MIC was unaffected by the presence of PAbetaN. Neither EPI potentiated polymyxin B, penicillin, ampicillin or chloramphenicol. Both NMP and PAbetaN inhibited the production of CT and the TCP and appeared to have additional virulence gene repressing activity independent of RND efflux inhibition. CONCLUSIONS RND efflux inhibitors represent potential novel therapeutics for the treatment of cholera.
A sensitive delayed-type hypersensitivity model in the rat for assessing in vivo cell-mediated immunity

Many drugs and other chemicals can alter cell-mediated immunity (CMI), a response that often correlates with delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH). Several DTH assays were evaluated to determine a method best suited for assessing chemically induced modulation of CMI in rats. The effects of various antigens, adjuvants, doses, routes, and immunosuppressants were investigated. The DTH method which produced optimum results in rats uses a footpad swelling reaction elicited by specific preparations of bovine serum albumin (BSA) and Freund's complete adjuvant (FCA). The rats were sensitized with 100 micrograms BSA in FCA injected subcutaneously at the base of the tail, and were challenged 7 days later with 75 microliter of 2% heat-aggregated BSA suspension injected into the left rear footpad. Footpad swelling was measured with pressure calipers 24 h later and compared to the contralateral footpad which was sham-injected with 75 microliters of physiological saline. Antigen-injected footpads were nearly double the thickness (7-8 mm) of the control footpads (3-4 mm), and variation between animals was small (CV = 5%). Dexamethasone and cyclophosphamide significantly suppressed the DTH reaction. Histopathological examination of the DTH reaction sites revealed a mononuclear cell infiltrate which is characteristic of type IV hypersensitivity. In addition to being highly quantitative and sensitive, this method provides a simple and reproducible assessment of CMI responses in the rat.
Drug-Induced Sexual Dysfunction

A large body of data, as well as clinical experience, link prescribed medications and substances of abuse with sexual dysfunction. This review surveys the relevant literature and summarises key points relating various classes of medications and their possible sexual side effects. Surprisingly, there were very few carefully designed, well organised, systematic studies of the effects of medication upon sexual performance. The preponderance of data is in the form of either case studies or collections of patient reports of side effects. As a result, there are great variations in the reported rates of sexual disturbances associated with the administration of a given medication. A further difficulty is the lack of precision in the use of terms which describe the various sexual disorders. A final problem is the almost total lack of data concerning both disordered and normal sexual functioning in females.
Money Manager Capitalism and the Commodities Market Bubble

Many economists, journalists, and public policy officials have argued that speculation has had little to do with the recent rapid run-up in the price of oil. If true, a case for regulation of oil markets would be more difficult to make. But the author examines the evidence in detail and finds it highly plausible that speculation is a significant contributor to recent high oil prices.
Transforming normality into pathology: the DSM and the outcomes of stressful social arrangements.

The sociology of stress shows how nondisordered people often become distressed in contexts such as chronic subordination; the losses of status, resources, and attachments; or the inability to achie...
Novel, environmentally friendly crosslinking system of an epoxy using an amino acid: Tryptophan-cured diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A epoxy

Tryptophan, an amino acid, has been used as a novel, environmentally friendly curing agent instead of toxic curing agents to crosslink the diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA) epoxy resin. The curing reaction of tryptophan/DGEBA mixtures of different ratios and the effect of the imidazole catalyst on the reaction have been evaluated. The optimum reaction ratio of DGEBA to tryptophan has been determined to be 3:1 with 1 wt % catalyst, and the curing mechanism of the novel reaction system has been studied and elucidated. In situ Fourier transform infrared spectra indicate that with the extraction of a hydrogen from NH3+ in zwitterions from tryptophan, the formed nucleophilic primary amine and carboxylate anions of the tryptophan can readily participate in the ring-opening reaction with epoxy. The secondary amine, formed from the primary amine, can further participate in the ring-opening reaction with epoxy and form the crosslinked network. The crosslinked structure exhibits a reasonably high glass-transition temperature and thermal stability. A catalyst-initiated chain reaction mechanism is proposed for the curing reaction of the epoxy with zwitterion amino acid hardeners. The replacement of toxic curing agents with this novel, environmentally friendly curing agent is an important step toward a next-generation green electronics industry. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 181–190, 2007