cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Mathematical Modelling and Tuberculosis: Advances in Diagnostics and Novel Therapies

As novel diagnostics, therapies, and algorithms are developed to improve case finding, diagnosis, and clinical management of patients with TB, policymakers must make difficult decisions and choose among multiple new technologies while operating under heavy resource constrained settings. Mathematical modelling can provide helpful insight by describing the types of interventions likely to maximize impact on the population level and highlighting those gaps in our current knowledge that are most important for making such assessments. This review discusses the major contributions of TB transmission models in general, namely, the ability to improve our understanding of the epidemiology of TB. We focus particularly on those elements that are important to appropriately understand the role of TB diagnosis and treatment (i.e., what elements of better diagnosis or treatment are likely to have greatest population-level impact) and yet remain poorly understood at present. It is essential for modellers, decision-makers, and epidemiologists alike to recognize these outstanding gaps in knowledge and understand their potential influence on model projections that may guide critical policy choices (e.g., investment and scale-up decisions).
Top-down Modulation of Neural Activity in Anticipatory Visual Attention: Control Mechanisms Revealed by Simultaneous EEG-fMRI

In covert visual attention, frontoparietal attention control areas are thought to issue signals to selectively bias sensory neurons to facilitate behaviorally relevant information and suppress distraction. We investigated the relationship between activity in attention control areas and attention-related modulation of posterior alpha activity using simultaneous electroencephalography (EEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging in humans during cued visual-spatial attention. Correlating single-trial EEG alpha power with blood-oxygen-level dependent (BOLD) activity, we found that BOLD in the intraparietal sulcus (IPS) and left middle frontal gyrus was inversely correlated with occipital alpha power. Importantly, in IPS, inverse correlations were stronger for alpha within the hemisphere contralateral to the attended hemifield, implicating the IPS in the enhancement of task-relevant sensory areas. Positive BOLD-alpha correlations were observed in sensorimotor cortices and the default mode network, suggesting a mechanism of active suppression over task-irrelevant areas. The magnitude of cue-induced alpha lateralization was positively correlated with BOLD in dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, implicating a role of executive control in attention. These results show that IPS and frontal executive areas are the main sources of biasing influences on task-relevant visual cortex, whereas task-irrelevant default mode network and sensorimotor cortex are inhibited during visual attention.
Low energy ion-assisted deposition of metal films

Abstract A review is given of ion-beam-assisted (IBAD) metal film growth, focusing on ion beam techniques. Common experimental techniques including ion-beam-assisted evaporation and dual-ion-beam sputtering are described. Emphasis is placed on ion-bombardment-induced changes in film properties, including stress, resistivity, hardness, and magnetic properties. In addition, effects on film microstructure including grain size, texture, grain shape, and impurity incorporation are detailed. The themes emphasized in this review include (1) the complex relationship between changes in experimental deposition parameters and changes in film properties and microstructure, (2) current understanding of microstructure-property relations in ion-assisted films, and (3) important mechanisms for ion-assisted metal film growth.
La Maroma, or Chile, Credit and Chance: An Ethnographic Case of Global Finance and Middlemen Entrepreneurs

This article seeks to explain the local business behavior of middlemen entrepreneurs engaged in global-level capitalism. Following the trajectory of one commodity, chile, this case illustrates the cultural dynamics articulated by Mexican middlemen in business transactions, tying peasant producers to transnational capital and global markets. La Maroma, a logic of strategy, illuminates the financial manipulation, balance, and control used in coping with large capital expenditures in a transnational market system.
Tricuspid and Pulmonary Valve Disease Evaluation and Management

The clinical detection and quantification of tricuspid valve disease, although important, is not entirely accurate. Diagnostic evaluation is based on echocardiography, and color flow Doppler is useful for quantifying tricuspid regurgitation. Echocardiography provides information on heart chamber dimensions, right ventricular function, and the degree of pulmonary hypertension. In addition, tricuspid stenosis can be accurately assessed using mean and end-diastolic pressure gradient measurements. The treatment options for tricuspid stenosis include balloon valvuloplasty and surgical valve repair. Functional tricuspid regurgitation associated with left heart disease may require surgical attention during an operation to treat the left heart disease. Severe tricuspid regurgitation usually requires surgery to be performed in association with mitral valve surgery. Mild-to-moderate tricuspid regurgitation requires surgery when annular dilatation or severe pulmonary hypertension is present. The surgical options include tricuspid valve repair, with or without an annuloplasty ring. In patients with a primary anatomic deformity of the tricuspid valve, replacement of the valve with a bioprosthesis or mechanical valve may be considered. Intermediate and long-term results favor annuloplasty valve repair over valve replacement. Pulmonary valve disease is predominantly congenital, and generally takes the form of pulmonary stenosis. Pulmonary regurgitation often results from surgical or balloon valvuloplasty and is associated with deleterious long-term sequelae. The recent development of percutaneous valve replacement was a major advance.
Experimental Validation of Solar Chimney Performance Models and Operational Characteristics for Small Scale Remote Applications

Though the Solar Chimney (SC) concept is one that has been around for nearly a century, this technology has regained momentum in recent decades. Several large-scale projects have been constructed, and others are in the process of being constructed. CFD and numerical analysis have allowed research to progress in characterizing the performance of SCs. Previous research has focused primarily on large-scale, high power production designs. The authors have validated these analyses empirically for small-scale, low power production SCs through the design and fabrication of a small-scale SC with adjustable geometries. The performance of the SC was characterized by the primary variable of chimney height. The effects of secondary variables were also measured and characterized: chimney diameter, collector height, and collector slope.Results are presented showing that, though the numerical analysis and characteristic equations hold for large scale SCs, in small scale applications the reduction in size creates a greater dependence on the secondary variables in the overall performance of the SC. Optimization of both primary and secondary variables is discussed and demonstrated based on empirically gathered data. Though this study does not consider the turbine generator system, charge controller, or their efficiencies, power output as a function of collector geometry is discussed in detail.Copyright © 2012 by ASME
Technology development strategies for the 21st century

Abstract Integrated circuit technology has evolved rapidly over the past thirty years, but physical and economic limits are growing challenges. Optical lithography has been pushed beyond limits imagined 10–15 years ago, but should continue to scale for several more generations before X-ray or other approaches are necessary. Transistor delay has been reduced by at least 30% with every new generation and will continue to do so to below 0.1 μm channel lengths. Reducing power supply voltage along with scaling transistor feature size is necessary for both reliability and power considerations. Interconnects are now as important as transistors in determining the performance of logic circuits and will require more layers and new materials to maintain performance and density trends. The increase in technology complexity has brought with it a significant increase in cost, a trend that can not be continued. Cost is now as important a consideration as performance and density in developing integrated circuit technologies.
On the complex variable displacement method in plane isotropic elasticity

Abstract A modified formulation of the complex variable displacement method in plane isotropic elasticity is presented. It makes use of two equations deduced from the planar Navier equations in terms of the complex variable, which differs from England’s original formulation based on only one equation. This formulation is more direct and complements the one by England.
The effect of improper refrigerant charging on the performance of an air conditioner with capillary tube expansion

Abstract Air conditioners currently account for approximately 15% of the energy use in the U.S. residential sector. One of the more popular residential air conditioners is the split system. The outdoor subsystem (condenser and compressor) of a split-system unit is typically precharged with refrigerant at the factory. In the field, a technician has the responsibility of both installing the unit and assuring the proper refrigerant charge of the system. The objective of this investigation was to quantify the effect of improper refrigerant charge on the steady-state and seasonal performance of a residual split-system air conditioner. A literature review was conducted, an experimental setup constructed, and data were collected and analyzed. A 10.6 kW capacity split-system air conditioner with capillary tube expansion was used in the experiments. The charge in the system was systematically varied to determine its effect on system variables such as capacity, power consumption, coefficient of performance and seasonal coefficient of performance. The degradation in performance for each of the variables was generally greater for under-charging than for overcharging. Results indicated that undercharging by as little as 5% can cause as much as a 6.1% drop in seasonal coefficient of performance.
Explanation of high-temperature superconductivity without cuprate planes

Abstract The superconducting hole condensate resides in the SrO planes, or in the BaO planes, or in the interstitial regions of high-temperature perovskite superconductors, depending upon the crystal structure. Supporting evidence includes the following: firstly, PrBa2Cu3O7 superconducts in its BaO layers, and not in its cuprate planes; secondly, the similarity of the layer charges for YBa2Cu3Ox and PrBa2Cu3Ox indicates that both materials superconduct in their BaO layers; thirdly, Gd2-zCezSr2Cu2TiO10, Pr2-zCezSr2Cu2NbO10 and Eu2-zCezSr2Cu2TiO10 all superconduct in their SrO layers, and not in their cuprate planes; and fourthly, the superconducting hole condensate for Cu-doped Sr2YRuO6 (a material with no cuprate planes to better than 1%) must reside in its SrO layers.
Studies of aerogenic and anaerogenic variants of Salmonella schottmuelleri. I. Morphological and biochemical considerations.

1. A study dealing with the variational behavior ofSalmonella schottmuelleri (A.T.C.C. 9282) is presented. Smooth, mucoid, and rough aerogenic and anaerogenic types were isolated, and maintained in stable condition for 9 months of continuous subtransfer. 2. Cell morphology can be correlated to colony form, but there is no specific relationship between a particular colony state and the ability to produce gas from carbohydrate metabolism. 3. Aside from the difference in gas-producing ability and the lack of acid production from dulcitol by the anaerogenic rough type, the aerogenic and anaerogenic froms displayed comparable qualiative biochemical reactions.
A Simulation Study on Passenger Escape in Rail Tunnels

Metro system in China has been expanded with a remarkable speed resulting in great concerns on passenger safety in case of emergency. Accidents in rail tunnel may cause even severe fatalities as the results of its particular geometry and confined conditions. In this article, a simulation model was adopted to study the evacuation process in a rail tunnel. Nine cases were designed for understanding the influence of varied train stopping locations on passenger evacuation performances. The simulation results were then evaluated by several performance indicators including total clearance time, average egress time, average travel time as well as average delay for passengers in each case. The study revealed that different detrainment scenarios would probably result in varied evacuation process. Analysis in this study may provide implications for countermeasures against emergent detrainment in rail tunnel.
Observation of a strong surface radar duct using helicopter acquired fine-scale radio refractivity measurements

A very strong surface duct was observed near San Nicolas Island, California, using a unique helicopter-based data acquisition system developed for making fine-scale measurements of radio refractivity in the lower marine troposphere. Such fine-scale measurements are used in a computer model (TEMPER) for predicting microwave propagation in the first 400 m above the ocean surface. The helicopter system makes measurements of atmospheric temperature, pressure, relative humidity, and radar altitude. These measurements are acquired by an on-board computer, which derives and displays real-time plots of modified refractivity versus altitude. Data is stored on floppy disks for later use in the TEMPER (Tropospheric Electromagnetic Parabolic Equation Routine) computer model for microwave propagation prediction. The helicopter measurements are presented and compared with TEMPER computer model microwave propagation predictions using this helicopter data and a standard atmosphere profile.
Optimum dimensions for pipeline mixing at a T‐junction

Conditions are identified which insure optimum pipeline mixing at a T-junction. Analytical expressions, that result from detailed measurements of both near and far-field momentum-dominated jet trajectories in a crossflow, are renormalized in terms of pipe coordinates. It is demonstrated that a simple sealing law exists for the limiting geometry of either large or small jet-to-pipe diameter ratios. The scaling laws are shown to accurately correlate existing data for each limiting geometry. (14 refs.)
Subpicosecond x-ray streak camera

We have designed and built an x-ray streak camera with subpicosecond time resolution. This camera attains its fast temporal resolution through a very strong extraction field, 100,000 V/cm, at the photocathode. It incorporates a narrow electron emission band photocathode that will also help the time resolution. The total time resolution has been calculated to be near 600 fs.© (1992) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
The geometry of the ribosomal polypeptide exit tunnel.

The geometry of the polypeptide exit tunnel has been determined using the crystal structure of the large ribosomal subunit from Haloarcula marismortui. The tunnel is a component of a much larger, interconnected system of channels accessible to solvent that permeates the subunit and is connected to the exterior at many points. Since water and other small molecules can diffuse into and out of the tunnel along many different trajectories, the large subunit cannot be part of the seal that keeps ions from passing through the ribosome-translocon complex. The structure referred to as the tunnel is the only passage in the solvent channel system that is both large enough to accommodate nascent peptides, and that traverses the particle. For objects of that size, it is effectively an unbranched tube connecting the peptidyl transferase center of the large subunit and the site where nascent peptides emerge. At no point is the tunnel big enough to accommodate folded polypeptides larger than α-helices.
RESPONSE BY SUGAR BEET TO POTASSIUM AND SODIUM FERTILIZERS, PARTICULARLY IN RELATION TO SOILS CONTAINING LITTLE EXCHANGEABLE POTASSIUM

Twenty experiments between 1970 and 1974 tested the effect of spring applications of all combinations of five amounts of potassium (0–333 kg K/ha) and two amounts of sodium (0, 150 kg Na/ha) on sugar-beet yield, profitability and the amount of K and Na in the crop in mid-summer. The experiments were in commercial sugar-beet crops where soils contained little exchangeable potassium, most having less than 100 mg K/l in top soil. On average, sugar yield was greatest when 150 kg Na/ha plus 167 kg K was used, the fertilizer increasing yield by 0·71 t/ha. Response to this combination of K and Na fertilizers was 1·45, 0·57 and 0·22 t sugar/ha when the soil contained less than 60, 61–120 and more than 120 mg K/l respectively.From results of earlier experiments, it was thought that response to even a large amount of K without Na would be less than to Na without K because usually there is insufficient rainfall in the spring for maximum response to K. In fact, 333 kg K/ha increased yield by about the same amount as Na, probably because a large proportion of these experiments were made in wetter-than-average springs.The concentration of K in dried tops and roots in mid-summer increased linearly with soils containing from 40 to 120 mg K/l but when there was more K in the soil the concentration of K in the plants did not increase further. By contrast, the concentration of Na in plants did not reach a similar plateau. Whole plants in mid-summer contained between 128 and 251 kg K/ha and 42–102 kg Na/ha, depending on the fertilizer treatment. Recovery of applied K varied from 90% when small amounts were used on fields containing least K to about 20% when large amounts were given on fields containing moderate amounts. Recovery of Na varied from about 50 to 23%.The comparison of the financial return from using K alone or K plus Na showed that Na was essential for maximum profit. On average, the most profitable dressing of K gave a return of £14/ha whereas K plus Na gave up to £46/ha. On fields with least K, the corresponding results were £50 and £115/ha respectively. In relation to soil K, the most profitable application was 150 kg Na/ha plus about 150 kg K/ha on soils with 60 mg K/l or less, and 150 kg Na/ha plus about 75 kg K/ha on most other soils.
Molecular Upstaging of Sentinel Lymph Nodes in Melanoma: Where Are We Now?

The presence of lymph node metastasis is the best predictor of disease progression and overall survival in patients who have melanoma. Lymphatic mapping and selective lymphadenectomy allows directed pathologic analysis of the node or nodes most likely to have metastatic disease. To diagnose metastatic disease in SLNs reliably requires a coordinated effort by nuclear medicine physicians, surgeons, and pathologists. Errors may occur if quality assurance is not emphasized at any point during the process. This, along with the presence of occult metastatic disease, may lead to disease recurrence and progression, even when SLN histologically are free of disease. Molecular up-staging of occult malignant disease has the potential to provide important information to facilitate the diagnosis, surveillance, and treatment of cancer. The detection of occult tumor cells in SLNs and blood provides a powerful tool for assessing early regional and systemic disease spread in patients who have AJCC stage II and III-not only melanoma but also other solid tumors. The use of varying panels of markers from different laboratories has hampered the interpretation of data and made it difficult to unravel the merits of molecular up staging. Molecular approaches have made a major impact on the field of infectious disease and should one day be of equal usefulness in the diagnosis of cancer.
Black Mats, Spring-Fed Streams, and Late-Glacial-Age Recharge in the Southern Great Basin☆

Black mats are prominent features of the late Pleistocene and Holocene stratigraphic record in the southern Great Basin. Faunal, geochemical, and sedimentological evidence shows that the black mats formed in several microenvironments related to spring discharge, ranging from wet meadows to shallow ponds. Small land snails such asGastrocopta tappanianaandVertigo berryiare the most common mollusk taxa present. Semiaquatic and aquatic taxa are less abundant and include Catinellids,Fossaria parva, Gyraulus parvus,and others living today in and around perennial seeps and ponds. The ostracodesCypridopsis okeechobiandScottia tumida,typical of seeps and low-discharge springs today, as well as other taxa typical of springs and wetlands, are common in the black mats. Several new species that lived in the saturated subsurface also are present, but lacustrine ostracodes are absent. The δ13C values of organic matter in the black mats range from −12 to −26‰, reflecting contributions of tissue from both C3(sedges, most shrubs and trees) and C4(saltbush, saltgrass) plants. Carbon-14 dates on the humate fraction of 55 black mats fall between 11,800 to 6300 and 230014C yr B.P. to modern. The total absence of mats in our sample between 6300 and 230014C yr B.P. likely reflects increased aridity associated with the mid-Holocene Altithermal. The oldest black mats date to 11,800–11,60014C yr B.P., and the peak in the14C black mat distribution falls at ∼10,00014C yr B.P. As the formation of black mats is spring related, their abundance reflects refilling of valley aquifers starting no later than 11,800 and peaking after 11,00014C yr B.P. Reactivation of spring-fed channels shortly before 11,20014C yr B.P. is also apparent in the stratigraphic records from the Las Vegas and Pahrump Valleys. This age distribution suggests that black mats and related spring-fed channels in part may have formed in response to Younger Dryas (YD)-age recharge in the region. However, the inception of black mat formation precedes that of the YD by at least 40014C yr, and hydrological change is gradual, not rapid.
High-energy behavior and second class constraints in quantum gravity

Abstract It is proposed that sensible high-energy behavior in a quantum theory of gravity may be achieved in a class of theories in which the connection and metric are independent and unconstrained and where the action is chosen so that no derivatives of the metric appear. This is because in these theories all ten of the metric field equations are realized as second class constraints. These can in principle be solved, expressing the operators g μν as functions of the operators for the components of the connection and their canonical momenta. Thus, the metric has no independent quantum fluctuations, and the instabilities resulting from the usual curvature squared terms are eliminated. Furthermore, there is no need to assume metric compatibility, as it is automatically restored in the low-energy limit by the dominance of dimension-two terms. In order to explore these ideas a toy model with two degrees of freedom, corresponding to a metric and a connection variable, is quantized and shown to have a sensible high energy limit, while a related model, in which a constraint analogous to metric compatibility is imposed, is found to be unstable at high energies.
Glutamate as a CNS transmitter. I. Evaluation of glucose and glutamine as precursors for the synthesis of preferentially released glutamate

Summary Slices of the molecular layer of the dentate gyrus of the hippocampal formation were incubated with either [14C]glucose, [14C]pyruvate or14C glutamine and the efflux of endogenous and radioactive glutamate was monitored under various conditions. After prelabeling with either [14C]glutamine or [14C]glucose elevation of K+ concentration to 56 mM (Ca2+ free) increased efflux of endogenous and [14C]glutamate. Introduction of Ca2+ into the elevated K+ medium further increased the efflux of endogenous glutamate and radioactive glutamate derived from any of the precursors tested. In glutamine containing media, the increase in glutamate efflux as well as basal efflux was considerably higher than in the absence of glutamine and the specific activity of glutamate released was higher than that in the tissue. Thus glutamine was superior to glucose or pyruvate as precursor and most specifically labeled the putative transmitter pool of glutamate. Similar experiments were carried out 4 and 14 days after a unilateral lesion in the entorhinal cortex which provides about 60% of the total synaptic input to the dentate granule cells. The Ca2+ dependent release of glutamate derived from either glucose or glutamine was markedly reduced on the operated side. This result suggests that the transmitter pool of glutamate is in perforant path terminals and can be synthesized from glucose or glutamine.
Non-canonical gauge coupling unification in high-scale supersymmetry breaking

Abstract The string landscape suggests that the supersymmetry breaking scale can be high, and then the simplest low energy effective theory is the Standard Model (SM). Considering grand unification scale supersymmetry breaking, we show that gauge coupling unification can be achieved at about 10 16 – 17 GeV in the SM with suitable normalizations of the U ( 1 ) Y , and we predict that the Higgs mass range is 127 to 165 GeV, with the precise value strongly correlated with the top quark mass m t and SU ( 3 ) C gauge coupling. For example, if m t = 178 ± 1 GeV , the Higgs boson mass is predicted to be between 141 and 154 GeV. We also point out that gauge coupling unification in the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM) does not imply the canonical U ( 1 ) Y normalization. In addition, we present 7-dimensional orbifold grand unified theories (GUTs) in which such normalizations for the U ( 1 ) Y and charge quantization can be realized. The supersymmetry can be broken at the grand unification scale by the Scherk–Schwarz mechanism. We briefly comment on a non-canonical U ( 1 ) Y normalization due to the brane localized gauge kinetic terms in orbifold GUTs.
THE RDP (RIBOSOMAL DATABASE PROJECT)

The Ribosomal Database Project (RDP) is a curated database that offers ribosome-related data, analysis services and associated computer programs. The offerings include phylogenetically ordered alignments of ribosomal RNA (rRNA) sequences, derived phylogenetic trees, rRNA secondary structure diagrams, and various software for handling, analyzing and displaying alignments and trees. The data are available via anonymous FTP (rdp.life.uiuc.edu), electronic mail (server@rdp.life.uiuc.edu), gopher (rdpgopher.life.uiuc.edu) and WWW (http://rdpwww.life.uiuc.edu/ ). The electronic mail and WWW servers provide ribosomal probe checking, approximate phylogenetic placement of user-submitted sequences, screening for possible chimeric rRNA sequences, automated alignment, and a suggested placement of an unknown sequence on an existing phylogenetic tree.
The HPOL Spectropolarimeter at Ritter Observatory

The HPOL spectropolarimeter, previously operated by the University of Wisconsin at Pine Bluff Observatory (PBO), has been restored and relocated to the University of Toledo's Ritter Observatory. We achieved first light with HPOL at Ritter Observatory on 2012 March 11. We present a detailed instrument description of HPOL in its current configuration at Ritter Observatory, and a description of the standard observing procedure. We performed frequent observations of unpolarized standard stars to calibrate the instrumental polarization. We present polarimetric calibration results for observations spanning 2012 March 11 to 2013 May 2. Our calibration work shows that the systematic uncertainties of observations obtained with HPOL at Ritter Observatory are comparable to, and sometimes outperform, the systematic uncertainties obtained at PBO. We have successfully recommissioned the HPOL spectropolarimeter at Ritter Observatory, making it once again available for ongoing science observations.
Ncking BCR-mediated PI3K activation

Nck has been recently shown to be a crucial regulator of B cell receptor (BCR) signaling and link it to PI3K pathways. Notably, this is independent from the known role of Nck in actin reorganization.
Re-entering foster care: Trends, evidence, and implications

Abstract The child welfare system strives to balance protecting the safety and well-being of abused and neglected children with preserving families whenever possible. When children must be removed from their homes and placed in foster care, family reunification is the preferred child welfare strategy. Unfortunately, not all reunifications are successful, and a significant number of children re-enter foster care each year. Foster care re-entry represents a failure of permanency that has potentially serious negative effects on children. Thus the child welfare system must work to reduce and prevent re-entry to foster care. This literature review examines the research on foster care re-entry, including risk and correlates of foster care re-entry and resilience and correlates of successful reunification to understand factors related to re-entry that can be used to design assessment tools and interventions. The article then describes the effects of child welfare services and program models on reducing foster care re-entry, and concludes with a discussion of the implications of the findings for child welfare practice and future research.
Elevated focal adhesion kinase expression facilitates oral tumor cell invasion.

BACKGROUND Understanding the molecular mechanisms of metastasis is critical with respect to oral tumorigenesis. The focal adhesion kinase (FAK) is an intracellular tyrosine kinase associated with the regulation of cell growth, migration, and survival. The purpose of the current study was to determine whether elevated FAK expression in oral malignancies was associated with increased invasiveness and oral carcinoma. METHODS Immunohistochemical analysis was used to assess levels of FAK expression in archived oral carcinoma tissue samples. Invasion assays after transfections were used to assess the effect of increased FAK expression on invasive potential of oral tumor cells. RESULTS The human oral carcinoma cell line SCC25 was significantly more invasive (P < 0.05) and expressed higher levels of FAK compared with the less invasive human oral carcinoma cell line SCC15. FAK expression was 3.0-fold higher in the SCC15 cell line and 5.0-fold higher in the SCC25 cell line compared with normal epithelial cells. In the highly invasive SCC25 cell line, FAK expression was 1.5-fold higher compared with the less invasive SCC15 cell line. FAK immunostaining in oral tumors was significantly more intense compared with the immunostaining in surrounding normal epithelium or chronic mucositis. Overexpression of FAK in low-invading SCC15 cells resulted in a 4.5-fold increase in the rate of invasion compared with untransfected or neotransfected control SCC15 cell lines and a nearly 1.5-fold greater rate compared with the highly invasive untransfected SCC25 cell line. CONCLUSIONS The current results suggest that enhanced expression of FAK in oral carcinoma cells may lead to a selective growth advantage and increased invasive potential of the primary oral tumor. Cancer 2002;95:2508–15. © 2002 American Cancer Society. DOI 10.1002/cncr.10992
Using a standard clock technique for efficient simulation

An efficient simulation is introduced where sample paths of a finite number of discrete-event dynamic systems under different parameter values are generated simultaneously. One clock mechanism is used to generate the trajectories. The simplicity of the clock mechanism and the sharing of the information between sample paths account for simulation work reduction and hence for efficiency.
Methadone treatment at forty.

In the view of a clinician who has been providing methadone therapy since its inception 40 years ago, the status of the treatment today reflects the culmination of two trends: an increase in understanding, skills, and standards on the one hand, and a deterioration of patients’ health on the other. A retreat of stigma, greater physician interest, and the evolution of standards are beginning to move the treatment toward the mainstream.
STRUCTURAL FLUCTUATIONS OF A CRYPTOPHANE-TETRAMETHYLAMMONIUM HOST-GUEST SYSTEM: A MOLECULAR DYNAMICS SIMULATION

Cryptophanes are aromatic hosts which bind a variety of guests. Here, we describe a 25 ns molecular dynamics simulation of a particular cryptophane host−guest complex in water. The cryptophane used...
Environmental determinants of extinction selectivity in the fossil record.

How large-scale environmental factors influence the evolution of biological communities through geological time remains largely the subject of speculation and controversy. It has long been known that seafloor communities in the Palaeozoic era differed markedly from the subsequent Mesozoic and Cenozoic eras. Shanan Peters now explains why: in the Palaeozoic, seafloors were mostly based on carbonates, whereas succeeding ones were generally sandy. In addition the ebbs and flows of sea level and sediment deposition appear to be in step with species extinctions, primarily of marine plants and animals, raising the possibility that changes in ocean environments related to sea level influence rates of extinction and generally determine the composition of life in the oceans. Seafloor communities in the Palaeozoic Era differed markedly from the subsequent Mesozoic and Cenozoic eras. This is because in the Palaeozoic, seafloors were mostly based on carbonates, whereas succeeding ones were generally sandy. The causes of mass extinctions and the nature of biological selectivity during extinction events remain central questions in palaeobiology. Although many different environmental perturbations have been invoked as extinction mechanisms1,2,3, it has long been recognized that fluctuations in sea level coincide with many episodes of biotic turnover4,5,6. Recent work supports the hypothesis that changes in the areas of epicontinental seas have influenced the macroevolution of marine animals7,8, but the extent to which differential environmental turnover has contributed to extinction selectivity remains unknown. Here I use a new compilation of the temporal durations of sedimentary rock packages to show that carbonate and terrigenous clastic marine shelf environments have different spatio-temporal dynamics and that these dynamics predict patterns of genus-level extinction, extinction selectivity and diversity among Sepkoski’s Palaeozoic and modern evolutionary faunae9. These results do not preclude a role for biological interactions or unusual physical events as drivers of macroevolution, but they do suggest that the turnover of marine shelf habitats and correlated environmental changes have been consistent determinants of extinction, extinction selectivity and the shifting composition of the marine biota during the Phanerozoic eon.
Relativistic reduced-mass and recoil corrections to vacuum polarization in muonic hydrogen, muonic deuterium, and muonic helium ions

The reduced-mass dependence of relativistic and radiative effects in simple muonic bound systems is investigated. The spin-dependent nuclear recoil correction of order $(Z\ensuremath{\alpha}){}^{4} \ensuremath{\mu}{}^{3}/{m}_{N}^{2}$ is evaluated for muonic hydrogen and deuterium and muonic helium ions ($\ensuremath{\mu}$ is the reduced mass and ${m}_{N}$ is the nuclear mass). Relativistic corrections to vacuum polarization of order $\ensuremath{\alpha}(Z\ensuremath{\alpha}){}^{4}\ensuremath{\mu}$ are calculated, with a full account of the reduced-mass dependence. The results shift theoretical predictions. The radiative-recoil correction to vacuum polarization of order $\ensuremath{\alpha}(Z\ensuremath{\alpha}){}^{5} \mathrm{ln}{}^{2}(Z\ensuremath{\alpha})\ensuremath{\mu}{}^{2}/{m}_{N}$ is obtained in leading logarithmic approximation. The results emphasize the need for a unified treatment of relativistic corrections to vacuum polarization in muonic hydrogen, muonic deuterium, and muonic helium ions, where the mass ratio of the orbiting particle to the nuclear mass is larger than the fine-structure constant.
Oxyhemoglobin measurement of whole blood specimens in a silicon microfabricated cuvette

The purpose of this study was to develop a miniaturized CO- oximeter for hemoglobin derivative measurement using microfabrication technology. A microcuvette (volume equals 507 nl) was fabricated for analysis of percent oxyhemoglobin (O2Hb%) in whole blood. A cuvette of 50 micrometer pathlength produced optimal absorbance sensitivity to changes in O2Hb%. The pressure differential for a nominal blood flow rate of approximately 1 microliter/second was 4.1 kPa (16.6 in water, 0.6 psi). Entrained bubbles were easily discharged at these pressures. Spectral measurements were made using an ocean optics miniaturized spectrophotometer (500 - 700 nm). A fiber optic probe with one receiving and six emitting fibers (200 micrometer core and 0.22 NA) was used for spectral measurement. Heparinized fresh blood from a healthy volunteer was tonometered with N2, CO2, and O2 mixtures to produce six samples with O2Hb% from 22 - 97%. Chemometrics was used for data analysis. The second derivatives of spectra were taken to eliminate baseline changes caused by RBC light scattering. Indirect calibration by principal component regression was applied to the second derivative. Four factor cross validation showed a correlation coefficient of 0.9994 between measured O2Hb% of lysed blood using an OSM3 CO- oximeter (Radiometer America, Ohio) and whole blood using the microfabricated cuvette. The linear relationship is: O2Hb%micro-cuvette equals 0.8411% plus 0.9882 multiplied by O2Hb%OSM3. We conclude that O2Hb% measurement on unlysed whole blood using a silicon microfabricated cuvette is practical and that results are similar to traditional CO- oximetry.© (1997) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Prevalence and Mechanisms of Secondary Intraocular Pressure Elevation in Eyes with Intraocular Tumors

Abstract A survey of 2704 eyes with intraocular tumors in patients who were evaluated on the Oncology Service at Wills Eye Hospital showed that 126 of the tumor-containing eyes (5%) had tumor-induced elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) at the time of diagnosis of the tumor. Of the 2111 eyes with uveal melanomas, secondary IOP elevation was present in 55 (3%). Secondary IOP elevation was present in 7% of eyes with iris melanoma, 17% with ciliary body melanoma, and 2% with choroidal melanoma. The most common mechanism of elevated IOP was tumor invasion of the angle in the case of iris melanomas, pigment dispersion and tumor invasion of the angle in the case of ciliary body melanomas, and iris neovascularization in the case of choroidal melanomas. Of the 256 eyes with uveal metastases, secondary IOP elevation was found in 12 eyes (5%). Secondary IOP elevation was present in 64% of eyes with iris metastases, 67% with ciliary body metastases, and 1 % with choroidal metastases. The most common mechanism of elevated IOP was tumor invasion of the angle in the case of iris and ciliary body metastases, and angle closure in the case of choroidal metastases. There were 303 eyes with retinoblastoma, 17% of which had elevated IOP which was secondary to iris neovascularization in 70% of cases and to an angle closure without neovascularization in 27%. Several other intraocular tumors including lymphoma, leukemia, medulloepithelioma, melanocytoma, and adenoma of the iris pigment epithelium were occasionally associated with secondary elevated IOP.
Expression of 5-oxoETE receptor in prostate cancer cells : Critical role in survival

Previously, we reported that metabolism of arachidonic acid through the 5-lipoxygenase (5-LOX) pathway plays an important role in the survival and growth of human prostate cancer cells. Inhibition of 5-LOX by pharmacological inhibitors triggers apoptosis in prostate cancer cells within hours of treatment, which is prevented by the metabolites of arachidonate 5-lipoxygenase, 5(S)-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (5(S)-HETE), and its dehydrogenated derivative, 5-oxoeicosatetraenoic acid (5-oxoETE). These findings suggested that 5-lipoxygenase metabolites are critical survival factors of prostate cancer cells. However, molecular mechanisms by which 5(S)-HETE and its derivative 5-oxoETE exert their effects on prostate cancer cell survival are yet to be understood. Here, we report that human prostate cancer cells differentially express a G-protein-coupled 5-oxoETE receptor (5-oxoER) in them. Blocking expression of 5-oxoER by short-interfering RNA (siRNA) significantly reduced the viability of prostate cancer cells, suggesting that 5-oxoER is critical for prostate cancer cell survival, and that the 5-LOX metabolite, 5-oxoETE, controls survival of prostate cancer cells through its own G-protein-coupled receptor, 5-oxoER.
A two-person non-zero-sum game model of the world oil market

Abstract The world oil market is modelled as a two-person non-zero-sum game in normal form with each player having a continuum of strategies. The two players are the oil importing nations (OPIC) and the oil exporting nations (OPEC). The game is solved in the noncooperative sense using the equilibrium point solution concept due to Nash. The Nash equilibrium point solution yields an analytic expression for the optimal price per barrel of oil for OPEC and the optimal level of imports of oil for OPIC assuming noncooperation between the players. The cooperative solution to the game is also investigated using the von Neumann-Morgenstern negotiation set solution and Nash's bargaining point solution. Again, we give analytic expressions for the optimal price of a barrel of oil and the optimal level of imports of oil assuming that the players cooperate (negotiate, bargain, etc., for a binding agreement) in arriving at a solution.
Compressible laminar boundary layer on a cone at high angle of attack

An approximate integral method is applied to the three-dimensional laminar boundarylayer equations, including the energy equation for Prandtl number equal to unity, to obtain a solution to the attached boundary layer on slender cones in hypersonic flight at high angles of attack. The velocity and total enthalpy profiles are of the Timman type. The crossflow velocity profile is a two-parameter family allowing for nonzero crossflow at streamline inflection points. Because of the high angles of attack considered, the solution includes the effect of large crossflow velocity on the boundary layer. Using the pressure data available in the literature, results for the heat transfer coefficient, surface shear stress direction, and position of separation are computed. The computations compare favorably with data from the literature.
Stimulus-response functions of the lateral dorsal striatum and regulation of behavior studied in a cocaine maintenance/cue reinstatement model in rats.

Rationale: To investigate potential neurocognitive mechanisms underlying drug-seeking and drug-taking behavior, the effects of reversible lidocaine-induced inactivation of the lateral dorsal striatum (DST) on behavior studied in a drug maintenance/cue reinstatement model were evaluated. This region of the DST was investigated because it selectively regulates stimulus-response learning that is disrupted by 10 µg of bilaterally infused lidocaine. Methods: Rats (n=6) were trained to self-administer 1 mg/kg per infusion cocaine under a second-order schedule of drug delivery. The effects of bilateral lidocaine (30–100 µg) inactivation of the lateral DST were evaluated during drug maintenance tests as well as during tests in which responding was reinstated by cocaine-associated cues presented in combination with a cocaine priming injection. The lower 10 µg dose was used to examine the effects of lidocaine on reinstatement of responding induced by presentation of cues alone. Results: During drug maintenance tests, drug-seeking behavior was significantly increased after inactivation by 100 µg lidocaine. The number of infusions earned did not change. During cue-induced reinstatement tests preceded by a cocaine priming injection, 100 µg lidocaine significantly decreased both drug-seeking behavior and the number of infusion-paired light deliveries earned. During reinstatement tests with cues presented alone, inactivation of the lateral DST by 10 µg lidocaine did not influence either behavior. Conclusions: These findings suggest that stimulus-response functions of the lateral DST may regulate the dose-related effects of self-administered cocaine because the lidocaine-induced changes in behavior during the maintenance and cocaine priming tests resembled the effects of exposure to increasingly lower doses of cocaine, respectively. Given the lack of an effect of lidocaine during the cues-alone tests, the lateral DST does not appear to regulate drug-seeking behavior per se (i.e., responding maintained by drug-associated cues at times when drug is not available).
Diversity and ubiquity of K channels.

Abstract The following developments since this review was prepared and submitted (February, 1987) are important to the theme and conclusions made here: 1. Apamin block of Ca-activated K channels has now been observed in neurons of at least two mammalian brain areas: in neurosecretory neurons in the rat superoptic nucleus of the hypothalamus [Bourque C.W. and Brown D.A. (1987) Neurosci Lett.82, 185] and in neurons in the guinea-pig mammillary bodies (Alonso A., personal communication). In hippocampal neurons, a Ca-activated K channel which may be responsible for the slow AHP has been identified in single channel recordings. However, this channel has unique properties and it is not blocked by Apamin. This is another example that suggests that more than one subclass of Ca-activated K channel may mediate slow AHPs. Therefore, the term IAHP channel used in Table 5 for the Apamin-sensitive channel may be incorrect. 2. cDNAs for the “high threshold” “A” channel encoded in the Shaker gene locus in Drosophila have been cloned [Kamb A., Iverson L.E. and Tanouye M.A. (1987) Cell50, 405; Papazian D.M., Schwarz T.L., Tempel B.L., Jan Y.N. and Jan L.Y. (1987) Science237, 794]. The primary transcript of this gene undergoes extensive differential splicing generating a large diversity of products (Kamb A., Tseng-Crank J. and Tanouye M.A. Cell, submitted). At least three of these express “A” currents in Xenopus oocytes (Iverson L.E., Davidson N., Lester H., Tanouye M. and Rudy B. Proc. Natn. Acad. Sci., U.S.A., submitted; Timpe L.C., Schwarz T.L., Tempel B.L., Papazian D.M. Jan Y.N. and Jan L.Y. Nature, in press), which differ in inactivation kinetics. In all cases, however, the voltage-dependence of activation and inactivation is similar among the various clones and distinct from the “low threshold” “A” channels (Table 3). It is possible then that the Shaker “A” channel is a subclass of “A” channels (see Table 4) that then diversifies into distinct types. Knowledge of the molecular relationship between the Shaker “A” channels, the “low-threshold” “A” channels (Table 3) and other voltage-dependent K channels may eventually help in establishing a hierarchy of K channel diversification into classes, subclasses and types as suggested here. 3. G protein subunits may also activate K channels directly in the CNS [Andrade R., Malenka R.A. and Nicoll R.A. (1986) Science234, 1261]. 4. A book on ion-channel modulation, with many examples of modulation of K channels was published: Kaczmareck L.K. and Levitan I.B. (1987) Neuromodulation: The Biochemical Control of Neuronal Excitability. Oxford University Press, New York.